If there's one thing that most Xbox owners can agree on, it's this: it sucks that downloadable Xbox games don't have achievements. Sure, it's cool and convenient to get some of the rarer titles, like Psychonauts. However, for a person that already owns such titles, there is literally no incentive whatsoever to buy the downloadable version. Sure, I guess for games like Halo where you could still have a LAN it would be convenient to have it downloaded to your HDD instead of tracking down your disk, but $15 is a lot to pay for such a small convenience. So, without further adieu, I give you
Games That NEED to be on XBLA: Halo Custom Edition
I see that look you're giving your computer and therefore are vicariously giving to me. You're saying "But Halo is already an Xbox Originals download, it'd be stupid to rerelease it!" To which I reply...yeah, you're kind of right, but hear me out.
Aside from the fact that Halo is popular enough to rerelease almost indefinitely, console gamers are still missing a substantial part of the experience that only PC and MAC gamers got to experience; online Halo 1. Halo PC, along with its MOD heavy multiplayer only counterpart Halo Custom Edition, not only offered the original Halo in higher resolution than its Xbox brother, but also offered online multiplayer with up to 16 players. Now, I realize that Halo 2 and 3 offer the same experience, but ask nearly any hardcore Halo fan what they would rather do given the chance: play Halo 3 online, or play Halo 1 online. 9 times out of 10 I bet they pick Halo 1. Although you'd have to be a fanboy to call the original Halo's gameplay balanced (OMG THE PISTOL ISN'T OVERPOWERED IT'S JUST DEADLY IN A SKILLED PLAYERS HANDS), one would be hard pressed to find anyone willing to say that Halo 2 or 3 have better maps than 1. In fact, Halo 1's muliplayer map design is so well done, I doubt any future Halos, heck, any FPS will live up to its high standard in that particular nuance. All that said, I bet you're starting to see my point; people would pay for a console version of Halo 1 if it had online multiplayer. Here's how I think they could do it; either they could port Halo PC over to the console single player intact OR they could port over Halo Custom Edition along with all it's crazy user created content.
Now, it should go without saying that an XBLA release of Halo should include the 6 exclusive PC maps, and that they would include the standard achievements and leaderboards required for every XBLA release. It would be awesome if they could go the extra mile and add online co-op (which was strangely missing from the original's release). I wouldn't really expect them to add online co-op, but it would be pretty sweet nonetheless. I suspect a leaderboard for Halo would either involve a total number of online muliplayer kills, or a speedrun leaderboard for the single player campaign, or both. As far as achievements, I reckon they would go something like this:
I Can't Wait for the Sequel: Complete the campaign on any difficulty
Heroic: Complete the campaign on Heroic difficulty
Legendary: Complete the campaign on Legendary difficulty
Bang, Zoom, to the Moon: Launch a Warthog a predetermined length
What did he just say?: Find the food nipple grunt
Mythic: Listen to Marty's hidden song
Megg: Find the elusive Megg easter egg
Superior: In a ranked match, kill an opponent with just 3 shots from the M6D
Seven is Darker: Kill 777 people total
Killtacular: People used to think 4 in a row was HUGE
Well Traveled: Play a full ranked game on every multiplayer map
Blood Gulch Chronicles: Play a private match on Blood Gulch starring the original cast of RvB.
I should elaborate for the last achievement. It would involve a party of 9 players, each wearing a specific armor color corresponding to the original Red vs Blue cast. For the record, that's Blue for Caboose, Cobalt for Church, Cyan for Tucker, Black for Tex, Red for Sarge, Orange for Grif, Maroon for Simmons, Light Red for Donut, and Brown for Lopez. Also, it would need to be played with vehicles, because we can't forget about Sheila.
The other option for a release of Halo on XBLA is a gimped multiplayer only version. Again, I'd expect at the very least it would include the 6 exclusive PC maps, but if they REALLY wanted to make fans happy, they could create a site online that houses user map Halo Custom Edition maps that allows Xbox Live members to cue up specific maps for download. Of course, that would require a pretty huge amount of work on Microsoft's part, but I personally think it would be worth it. If they didn't have user made content, we could at least hope that they would update the online interface to mirror Halo 2 and 3's experience system. I don't imagine that would take too much work, and it would help the game feel fresh even if it only included the original multiplayer maps. Just for fun, here's a second list of achievements that are multiplayer only:
Superior: In a ranked match, kill an opponent with just 3 shots from the M6D
Predator: In a ranked match, kill an opponent from behind while invisible
Seven is Darker: Kill 777 people total
Killtacular: People used to think 4 in a row was HUGE
Running Riot: Killing 10 people without dying seemed so much harder back then
Well Traveled: Play a full ranked game on every multiplayer map
Team Player: Win a team game with the highest score on your team
One Man Army: Win a ranked free for all match by having at least a 10 kill lead
Flag Fan: Capture 7 enemy flags
My Precious: Win an Oddball match with at least a 20 second lead
Why did they get rid of this?: Win a race
Hail to the King: Win a game of King of the Hill with at least a 15 second lead
Blood Gulch Chronicles: Play a private match on Blood Gulch starring the original cast of RvB.
Obviously, there's some overlap. If the impossible happened, and they allowed user generated content, I imagine there would be at least one achievement based on that.
Halo 1's multiplayer NEEDs to be experienced on a modern day connection on a modern day console with modern day people. It would undoubtedly become one of XBLA's fastest selling games, and would reignite the passion for the franchise in the heart's of fans across the globe.
-AfroRyan
I didn't forget about all you Xlink Kai players
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
GTN2BOXBLA: Cosmic Spacehead
Cosmic Spacehead is a game near and dear to my heart. I used to play it all the time as a kid, and practically have the first 3 hours of the game memorized. Cosmic Spacehead is a hybrid point-and-click adventure/platformer/racing game. The main game consists of the point-and-click stuff, following all the standard rules of the genre (Observe problem, get item, fix problem, repeat). The platforming sections make up the rest of the game, where the player has to deal with Cosmic's ridiculously short jumping ability. It's challenging, but never unfair. The racing segment is basically a retooled micromachines, which makes sense since it's by the same developer.
It's beautiful considering its limitations; the original Genesis version came out in 1990, and yet manages to have vibrant colors, original character and level design, and even has a pretty catchy (albeit limited) soundtrack.
The game also came with a built in "pie-slap" minigame, which was really just a Combat rip-off...but it was fun anyways...so yeah, online multiplayer lol.
Potential Achievements:
Freebird - Send the Cyclops on a grand journey
HOW MUCH!? - Obtain the color camera
Jackpot - Get a jackpot on the fruit machine
Number 1 - Win the Bumper Car Races
Extra Man - Collect 10 candies
No Mans - Complete a platforming section without dying
Surf's Up - Complete the surfing section
Slap! - Win a game of Pie Slap
They Exist - Complete the game
Completionist - Hear the majority of the dialogue
Baby Fark McGee-zax - Collect all the space bucks
Old School - Black and White even
Considering the increasing popularity in the thought-to-be-dead point-and-click genre, I'd say Cosmic Spacehead would do a good job carving its own niche in the niche genre. It's one thing to drive a car and play a mini game in Sam and Max...it's another for half the game to be a platformer.
-AfroRyan
Of course the South Park reference would have to go...
It's beautiful considering its limitations; the original Genesis version came out in 1990, and yet manages to have vibrant colors, original character and level design, and even has a pretty catchy (albeit limited) soundtrack.
The game also came with a built in "pie-slap" minigame, which was really just a Combat rip-off...but it was fun anyways...so yeah, online multiplayer lol.
Potential Achievements:
Freebird - Send the Cyclops on a grand journey
HOW MUCH!? - Obtain the color camera
Jackpot - Get a jackpot on the fruit machine
Number 1 - Win the Bumper Car Races
Extra Man - Collect 10 candies
No Mans - Complete a platforming section without dying
Surf's Up - Complete the surfing section
Slap! - Win a game of Pie Slap
They Exist - Complete the game
Completionist - Hear the majority of the dialogue
Baby Fark McGee-zax - Collect all the space bucks
Old School - Black and White even
Considering the increasing popularity in the thought-to-be-dead point-and-click genre, I'd say Cosmic Spacehead would do a good job carving its own niche in the niche genre. It's one thing to drive a car and play a mini game in Sam and Max...it's another for half the game to be a platformer.
-AfroRyan
Of course the South Park reference would have to go...
Monday, June 15, 2009
GTNA: Pokemon
So I've decided to evolve my original "Games that NEED to be on XBLA." The more I try to think up games that NEEDed to be on XBLA, the more my brain kept going to Nintendo franchises. So, instead of having that omnipresent feeling in the back of my mind, I figured I'd act on the feeling and simply talk about the purely hypothetical existence of a downloadable version of Pokemon Red/Blue. So, here goes, the first
Games That NEED Achievements: Pokemon
A game as time consuming as Pokemon NEEDs achievements. You know how awesome I'd feel if I had an achievement that said "You are a Pokemon Master," or "You collected all 151 pokemans?" SUPER AWESOME is the answer to that question. The whole franchise would be perfect as downloadable titles...you eliminate 'poor sports' by making it virtually impossible to trade with yourself via two games/game consoles. You actually force people to play with each other in order to collect all the pokemon as was originally intended. Being downloadable, it goes without saying that it would be online; no need for link cables, wireless hotspots, or any of that jazz. Online tournaments would be handled so much better through a service like Xbox Live, and trading pokemon would be a simple "invite friend to game" click away...none of that calling them via cell phone to ask them if they want to trade pokemon crap, just a simple "hey, so-and-so is onine and playing pokemon! I bet he would like to trade/battle!"
Potential Achievements:
RED VERSION:
Pokemon Master - Become a Pokemon Master (Defeat the Elite 4)
Caught 'em All! - Collect all 150 original Pokemon
BFF - Never take your starter out of your party until it is leveled to 100.
Super Team - Train no less than 6 pokemon to level 100
I Love Collecting - Obtain every known HM and TM
Poor Little Guy - Teach a single pokemon 4 different HMs
Rocked His Socks - Obtain your first gym badge
Twisted Fire Starter aka Hard Mode - Choose the Fire Pokemon as your starter
Millionaire - Collect 1,000,000 money
Wanna Be My Friend? - Collect all pokemon exclusive to Red Version
Legendary - Catch your first legendary pokemon
It's nice to have friends - Evolve a Pokemon by trading it.
BLUE VERSION:
Pokemon Master - Become a Pokemon Master (Defeat the Elite 4)
Caught 'em All! - Collect all 150 original Pokemon
BFF - Never take your starter out of your party until it is leveled to 100.
Super Team - Train no less than 6 pokemon to level 100
I Love Collecting - Obtain every known HM and TM
Poor Little Guy - Teach a single pokemon 4 different HMs
Rocked His Socks - Obtain your first gym badge
I Like Turtles aka Easy Mode - Choose the Water Pokemon as your starter
Millionaire - Collect 1,000,000 money
Wanna Be My Friend? - Collect all pokemon exclusive to Blue Version
Legendary - Catch your first legendary pokemon
It's nice to have friends - Evolve a Pokemon by trading it.
I'd love to add more achievements, but I'm purposely restricting myself to 12 like any XBLA game. It's also a good way to weed out any boring achievements, and limit myself in order to make the best list possible. I'd like to have some for battling online, but that could always be included in DLC...lol.
DLC Achievements:
He wasn't under the truck - Catch Mew
With friends like these - Defeat your first online opponent
Battle Frontier Mater - Conquered the Battle Frontier
Bam!
-AfroRyan
I caught 'em all, but all you have is my word on it.
Games That NEED Achievements: Pokemon
A game as time consuming as Pokemon NEEDs achievements. You know how awesome I'd feel if I had an achievement that said "You are a Pokemon Master," or "You collected all 151 pokemans?" SUPER AWESOME is the answer to that question. The whole franchise would be perfect as downloadable titles...you eliminate 'poor sports' by making it virtually impossible to trade with yourself via two games/game consoles. You actually force people to play with each other in order to collect all the pokemon as was originally intended. Being downloadable, it goes without saying that it would be online; no need for link cables, wireless hotspots, or any of that jazz. Online tournaments would be handled so much better through a service like Xbox Live, and trading pokemon would be a simple "invite friend to game" click away...none of that calling them via cell phone to ask them if they want to trade pokemon crap, just a simple "hey, so-and-so is onine and playing pokemon! I bet he would like to trade/battle!"
Potential Achievements:
RED VERSION:
Pokemon Master - Become a Pokemon Master (Defeat the Elite 4)
Caught 'em All! - Collect all 150 original Pokemon
BFF - Never take your starter out of your party until it is leveled to 100.
Super Team - Train no less than 6 pokemon to level 100
I Love Collecting - Obtain every known HM and TM
Poor Little Guy - Teach a single pokemon 4 different HMs
Rocked His Socks - Obtain your first gym badge
Twisted Fire Starter aka Hard Mode - Choose the Fire Pokemon as your starter
Millionaire - Collect 1,000,000 money
Wanna Be My Friend? - Collect all pokemon exclusive to Red Version
Legendary - Catch your first legendary pokemon
It's nice to have friends - Evolve a Pokemon by trading it.
BLUE VERSION:
Pokemon Master - Become a Pokemon Master (Defeat the Elite 4)
Caught 'em All! - Collect all 150 original Pokemon
BFF - Never take your starter out of your party until it is leveled to 100.
Super Team - Train no less than 6 pokemon to level 100
I Love Collecting - Obtain every known HM and TM
Poor Little Guy - Teach a single pokemon 4 different HMs
Rocked His Socks - Obtain your first gym badge
I Like Turtles aka Easy Mode - Choose the Water Pokemon as your starter
Millionaire - Collect 1,000,000 money
Wanna Be My Friend? - Collect all pokemon exclusive to Blue Version
Legendary - Catch your first legendary pokemon
It's nice to have friends - Evolve a Pokemon by trading it.
I'd love to add more achievements, but I'm purposely restricting myself to 12 like any XBLA game. It's also a good way to weed out any boring achievements, and limit myself in order to make the best list possible. I'd like to have some for battling online, but that could always be included in DLC...lol.
DLC Achievements:
He wasn't under the truck - Catch Mew
With friends like these - Defeat your first online opponent
Battle Frontier Mater - Conquered the Battle Frontier
Bam!
-AfroRyan
I caught 'em all, but all you have is my word on it.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
GTN2BOXBLA: Puzzle Bobble
I freaking love Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move. If you don't know what game I'm talking about...Snood. Snood is the bastard freeware turned commercial ripoff of Puzzle Bobble...that for some stupid reason, is more recognizable among the American gaming crowd than the OG.
Puzzle Bobble is sweet for a number of reasons. Firstly, its awesome multiplayer. The back and forth battles of Puzzle Bobble are so freaking intense I don't even know how to properly explain it. The way the board drops on you or your opponent depending on how well you're doing is just so crazy, you don't even know.
The single player experience is also a fun time. You've got a puzzle mode where you only get a certain number of shots before the board collapses, and an Outrun "choose your own path" style battle mode where you fight different AI opponents. And of course there's the standard endless mode. A game worth having even if you didn't have any friends.
Potential Achievements:
Reach the end of the Single Player Journey Mode
Reach the end of every possible route in Single Player Journey Mode
Beat Puzzle Mode
Get a High Score in Endless Mode
Finish the Vs mode
Finish the Vs mode on Hard
Get 1 ranked win
Get 100 ranked wins
Finish 10 puzzles in the least amount of shots possible
Finish all puzzles in the least amount of shots possible
Come back from having only one unit of space left on the playing field
Popped every color of bubble
The only thing I hate about Puzzle Bobble is its myriad releases. Puzzle Bobble 2 is the pinnical of the franchise, and any entry past that sucks for one reason or another. The major problem with future releases is the addition of multiple multiplayer characters, each with his or her (or its) own unique advantages and disadvantages. On paper, this sounds cool...and works in other games; Super Puzzle Fighter comes to mind. However, it just doesn't work in Puzzle Bobble. There are certain characters that are just better than others, creating a tier list that isn't necessary in a game like Puzzle Bobble. The only cool thing about it is that players that suck can pick them against players of higher skill...a reverse handicap mode of sorts...of course this is only fun when both players agree on their choices, and it has no place on Xbox Live.
Now if you're up on your ESRB listings, you might be wondering why I even bothered writing this up. "Ultra Bust a Move" is listed as a downloadable Xbox release...the problem with this is that it could be an Xbox Original...although that wouldn't require a new ESRB listing...but I for one don't really trust the ESRB's listings enough to put a lot of faith in this being an honest to goodness XBLA release. Also, part of the charm of Puzzle Bobble is it's Neo Geo style character sprites...Ultra Bust a Move is full 3D and ugly as sin...I'm sometimes accused of wearing my nostalgia goggles too often, but most gamers would agree that Puzzle Bobble is a game that should stay sprite based.
-AfroRyan
Besides, Neo Geo sprites are gorgeous!
Puzzle Bobble is sweet for a number of reasons. Firstly, its awesome multiplayer. The back and forth battles of Puzzle Bobble are so freaking intense I don't even know how to properly explain it. The way the board drops on you or your opponent depending on how well you're doing is just so crazy, you don't even know.
The single player experience is also a fun time. You've got a puzzle mode where you only get a certain number of shots before the board collapses, and an Outrun "choose your own path" style battle mode where you fight different AI opponents. And of course there's the standard endless mode. A game worth having even if you didn't have any friends.
Potential Achievements:
Reach the end of the Single Player Journey Mode
Reach the end of every possible route in Single Player Journey Mode
Beat Puzzle Mode
Get a High Score in Endless Mode
Finish the Vs mode
Finish the Vs mode on Hard
Get 1 ranked win
Get 100 ranked wins
Finish 10 puzzles in the least amount of shots possible
Finish all puzzles in the least amount of shots possible
Come back from having only one unit of space left on the playing field
Popped every color of bubble
The only thing I hate about Puzzle Bobble is its myriad releases. Puzzle Bobble 2 is the pinnical of the franchise, and any entry past that sucks for one reason or another. The major problem with future releases is the addition of multiple multiplayer characters, each with his or her (or its) own unique advantages and disadvantages. On paper, this sounds cool...and works in other games; Super Puzzle Fighter comes to mind. However, it just doesn't work in Puzzle Bobble. There are certain characters that are just better than others, creating a tier list that isn't necessary in a game like Puzzle Bobble. The only cool thing about it is that players that suck can pick them against players of higher skill...a reverse handicap mode of sorts...of course this is only fun when both players agree on their choices, and it has no place on Xbox Live.
Now if you're up on your ESRB listings, you might be wondering why I even bothered writing this up. "Ultra Bust a Move" is listed as a downloadable Xbox release...the problem with this is that it could be an Xbox Original...although that wouldn't require a new ESRB listing...but I for one don't really trust the ESRB's listings enough to put a lot of faith in this being an honest to goodness XBLA release. Also, part of the charm of Puzzle Bobble is it's Neo Geo style character sprites...Ultra Bust a Move is full 3D and ugly as sin...I'm sometimes accused of wearing my nostalgia goggles too often, but most gamers would agree that Puzzle Bobble is a game that should stay sprite based.
-AfroRyan
Besides, Neo Geo sprites are gorgeous!
GTN2BOXBLA: Puyo Pop
Puyo Pop is in my personal opinion the BEST competitive puzzler ever. After all, it was designed to be a competitive game from the beginning. Puyo Pop is one of the rare puzzlers where the standard "last as long as you can before you finally mess up and die" mode ISN'T the main mode, instead opting for a one vs one mode against the computer, so that tells you something.
Imagine...Xbox Live Puyo Pop multiplayer...I'm practically sweating just thinking about it. The adrenaline rush accompanied by intense battles would only be intensified (for me at least) while playing complete strangers. The only thing it has going against it is the potential for lag...but in these days of broadband hopefully that wouldn't be a problem.
Potential Achievements:
Destroy your opponent by dropping enough trash puyos that they can't make a move
Make a nice comeback
Beat the game
Beat the game on hard mode
Win 10 ranked matches
Win 100 ranked matches
Unlock all characters
Get a 2X combo
Get a 4X combo
Get an 8X Combo
Get a High Score in Endless mode
Get an all clear after having more than half the screen full of puyo
Puyo Pop is just so perfectly suited for an XBLA release, I have trouble imagining why it hasn't happened already...except that Puyo Pop Fever is available as an Xbox Original title on the Japanese Xbox Marketplace. *sigh*
-AfroRyan
DRMBM and KA are just posers...cool cool posers.
Imagine...Xbox Live Puyo Pop multiplayer...I'm practically sweating just thinking about it. The adrenaline rush accompanied by intense battles would only be intensified (for me at least) while playing complete strangers. The only thing it has going against it is the potential for lag...but in these days of broadband hopefully that wouldn't be a problem.
Potential Achievements:
Destroy your opponent by dropping enough trash puyos that they can't make a move
Make a nice comeback
Beat the game
Beat the game on hard mode
Win 10 ranked matches
Win 100 ranked matches
Unlock all characters
Get a 2X combo
Get a 4X combo
Get an 8X Combo
Get a High Score in Endless mode
Get an all clear after having more than half the screen full of puyo
Puyo Pop is just so perfectly suited for an XBLA release, I have trouble imagining why it hasn't happened already...except that Puyo Pop Fever is available as an Xbox Original title on the Japanese Xbox Marketplace. *sigh*
-AfroRyan
DRMBM and KA are just posers...cool cool posers.
GTN2BOXBLA: Phantasy Star Online
Phantasy Star Online NEEDS to be on XBLA. A few things would need to be cut in order to make it cost effective, namely, no dedicated servers. Still, a modified version of the splitscreen would suffice, allowing players to act as their own server instead of relying on an outside source.. PSO to me is the perfect modern day reinvention of games like Gauntlet. A 4 player extravaganza where you kill tons of monsters and level up. Obviously it's a bit more RPG than Gauntlet, what with all the collecting rare loot, different weapons, etc. but it still fits the basic Gauntlet formula pretty closely...it certainly plays more like Gauntlet than it does the original Phantasy Star or modern MMO.
I'd expect all the content from Episode 2 and Blue Burst/Episode 4 to be available, either initially or as DLC, whatever. Maybe even Episode 3...but that's really so altogether different it would be better as a separate release altogether.
PSO is one of my personal favorite Dreamcast games, and I think everyone should experience its greatness. PSU just doesn't live up to PSO (even though it isn't terrible by any stretch of the imagination).
Potential Achievements:
Acquire a rare weapon
Level up a Mag to 50
Level up a Character to 100
Level up a Character to 200
Beat the game on Ultra Mode
Beat every boss by yourself
Complete all side missions
Play in a party made up of all HUs
Play in a party made up of all RAs
Play in a party made up of all FOs
Play in a party made up of all Androids
Play in a party made up of one HU, one RA, one FO, and an Android
On a game like PSO, you're either limited by incredibly time consuming/hard achievements, or nothing but run of the mill progression achievements. To compensate, I figured going 50/50 with easy achievements and hard achievements would be a big intensive to most people.
-AfroRyan
I like playing a HUcast, Red and White like a Dreamcast.
I'd expect all the content from Episode 2 and Blue Burst/Episode 4 to be available, either initially or as DLC, whatever. Maybe even Episode 3...but that's really so altogether different it would be better as a separate release altogether.
PSO is one of my personal favorite Dreamcast games, and I think everyone should experience its greatness. PSU just doesn't live up to PSO (even though it isn't terrible by any stretch of the imagination).
Potential Achievements:
Acquire a rare weapon
Level up a Mag to 50
Level up a Character to 100
Level up a Character to 200
Beat the game on Ultra Mode
Beat every boss by yourself
Complete all side missions
Play in a party made up of all HUs
Play in a party made up of all RAs
Play in a party made up of all FOs
Play in a party made up of all Androids
Play in a party made up of one HU, one RA, one FO, and an Android
On a game like PSO, you're either limited by incredibly time consuming/hard achievements, or nothing but run of the mill progression achievements. To compensate, I figured going 50/50 with easy achievements and hard achievements would be a big intensive to most people.
-AfroRyan
I like playing a HUcast, Red and White like a Dreamcast.
Blast From the Past SSBB
Part 1, circa May 10th, 2006
SSBB
Dude...when I saw the new Super Smash Bros. trailer, I went from 0 to Geek in .03 seconds...like seriously, thick framed glasses, a pocket protector, the works, all magically materializing on my person as I think of the wonderful possibilities this game could potentially hold. As soon as I heard the codec beep, I seriously crapped myself, and when he popped out from under the box, I think Snake turned me gay.
Think of the possibilities! Third party characters in SSB!? Assuming more are added, here, in no particular order, are my favorite picks:
Sonic (Sega)
Knuckles (Sega)
Tails (Sega)
Robotnik (Sega)
Vectorman (Sega)
Megaman (Capcom)
Viewtiful Joe (Capcom)
One or both of the Buster Bros. (Capcom)
King Arthur (Capcom)
Alucard (Konami)
Cyborg Ninja (Konami)
Bomberman (Hudson)
Bonk (Hudson)
Pacman (Namco)
The Prince (Namco)
Others (Anyone)
Any Sonic character is a MUST if anybody from Sega makes it. If Capcom's in, Megaman would HAVE to be there, but Viewtiful Joe (since it pretty much ripped off SSB anyways) would fit perfect too. Since Konami's on board, I suspect at least one or two more characters will make the cut, and Alucard and the Cyborg Ninja have the swordplay. Since Hudson's on board with the virtual console, and they've collaborated on things in the past (Mario Party, Wario Blast [a Bomberman/Wario crossover, btw]), Bomberman would be a real safe bet. As for Bonk...A guy can dream, can't he? Also, who can forget Namco? After all, Pacman has already appeared alongside Mario and Company in Mario Kart: Arcade GP. However, the Prince (from Katamari fame) is just wishful thinking...think about it...the Prince vs. Olimar (from Pikmin)...clash of the titans!
And of course, let's not forget the new Nintendo characters announced: Pit, Wario, and Metaknight pretty much rocked my socks off...Samus...well, she (the character) has already been in it, but it's still cool. One thing I do find humorous though, is that Kirby looks exactly the freaking same during the "transformation" sequence in the beginning.
-AfroRyan
I guess Ryu or Ken (or Ryu AND Ken) could work too...
UPDATE:
Phoneix Wright 2...awesome!
Part 2 Circa January 17th, 2008
So, on day one of the original SSBB trailer revealing Snake, I posted a list of my personal favorite choices for additional 3rd party characters in Brawl. They weren't predictions, just wishful thinking. Well, many things have come to pass in between now and then, the biggest of which was the reveal of Sonic as a playable character. I would have never predicted the Assist Trophies announcements, so I never would have thought that my character list might be wholly represented via playable characters/assist trophies. Cyborg Ninja was announced as an assist trophy a while back, so scratch him off the list. Still, I must say that my personal favorite coincidence was that I jokingly referred to a fight between Olimar and the Prince (from Katamari) turned out half-true. I would have never guessed Olimar, since I had determined (using fanboy logic) that Olimar had 0% chance of being in Smash Bros given his tiny size (at least 3 CM, at most 3 IN). Now, I'm being serious when I say this: if Prince is announced as a bonus "WTF" 3rd party character, I will probably just explode due to the excess amount of awesome that would accumulate within my body.
Here's my original dream list circa 5/10/06:
Sonic (Sega) - OMG SONIC CONFIRMED FOR BRAWL!!!111!!11!!
Knuckles (Sega) - Assist Trophy?
Tails (Sega) - Assist Trophy?
Robotnik (Sega) - Boss?
Vectorman (Sega) - NO
Megaman (Capcom) - NO *cries*
Viewtiful Joe (Capcom) - NO
One or both of the Buster Bros. (Capcom) - NO
King Arthur (Capcom) - NO
Alucard (Konami) - NO
Cyborg Ninja (Konami) - Confirmed as Assist Trophy
Bomberman (Hudson) - NO
Bonk (Hudson) - NO
Pacman (Namco) - NO
The Prince (Namco) - NO
Others (Anyone) - NO
And just to brag one more time, I also mentioned Olimar, who was confirmed.
I will update this list after the release of Brawl. I predict that the rest of the Sonic clan will probably be assist trophies, while Robotnik will most likely be a boss in SSE. As far as Vectorman goes, again, assist trophies make anything possible, and I wouldn't exactly be surprised to see more non-Sonic characters represented. Other companies though are a HUGE grey area. I'm personally doubtful of any additional MAJOR 3rd party character. My reason for believing so boils down to simple logic: Why would Nintendo not announce someone as huge as Megaman when they KNOW it would be sell more copies of Brawl? My pessimistic view of Nintendo when it comes to marketing doesn't prove anything, it's just a simple hunch. Lord knows, I would be PUMPED if Megaman was kept secret. It would prove to me that Nintendo still has some genuine love for their fans. Still, that's just a [warp] pipe dream.
EDIT: My predicted WTF character (note: only WTF to non-Japanese territories): DeMille, from Alpah Dreams' AMAZING original Mario RPG style GBA RPG, "Tomato Adventure." He would be awesome, and I for one would nerdgasm...one of probably very few Americans.
EDIT2: Had a sudden realization that Sketch Turner (Comix Zone) would make an amazing guest character. POWER SLAM *RIIIIIP*!!!!!!!! No chance really, but it would be crazy awesome.
EDIT3: So...everything leaked a few days ago (today is 01/31/08)...so yeah, I'm disappointed. I shouldn't be. If Nintendo wasn't so worried about making money (not a negative thing mind you), this exact same roster could have been awesome! All they would have had to do was make all the unlockable veterans (Captain Falcon, Ness, Marth, etc.) included in the starting roster, and make all the new original starting roster (Olimar, King Dedede, etc.) unlockable. That's not too hard to imagine. You know everyone would have freaked out when they saw Challenger Approaching: OLIMAR flash across their screens. Also, I know this would be impossible to pull off, but what if they had kept the 3rd party characters absolutely secret? It's funny; I would have fully accepted the roster, regardless of anything negative, had Sonic been the final unlockable (and it was a surprise). However, that's not how it turned out. Everyone's (including myself) freaking out because the final roster doesn't really impress. But that's the thing, the unlockables simply aren't as cool as the starters (I'm counting Snake and Sonic as starters, even though they are technically unlockable). I mean, the only 2 original unlockable characters we're getting are R.O.B. and Lucario. Everyone else is just a clone (although I was PUMPED when I saw that Toon Link replaced Young Link as a clone), or someone we were expecting (Luigi, C. Falcon, Jigglypuff, Ness)...Oh, and regardless of how I look at it, it really is unforgivable that there are three, THREE Fox clones...SERIOUSLY. I like Fox, and I know he's a go to character for tourneys, but seriously...three nearly identical characters. Ridiculous.
-AfroRyan
March 9th better be the REAL release date, or I'm killing myself.
SSBB
Dude...when I saw the new Super Smash Bros. trailer, I went from 0 to Geek in .03 seconds...like seriously, thick framed glasses, a pocket protector, the works, all magically materializing on my person as I think of the wonderful possibilities this game could potentially hold. As soon as I heard the codec beep, I seriously crapped myself, and when he popped out from under the box, I think Snake turned me gay.
Think of the possibilities! Third party characters in SSB!? Assuming more are added, here, in no particular order, are my favorite picks:
Sonic (Sega)
Knuckles (Sega)
Tails (Sega)
Robotnik (Sega)
Vectorman (Sega)
Megaman (Capcom)
Viewtiful Joe (Capcom)
One or both of the Buster Bros. (Capcom)
King Arthur (Capcom)
Alucard (Konami)
Cyborg Ninja (Konami)
Bomberman (Hudson)
Bonk (Hudson)
Pacman (Namco)
The Prince (Namco)
Others (Anyone)
Any Sonic character is a MUST if anybody from Sega makes it. If Capcom's in, Megaman would HAVE to be there, but Viewtiful Joe (since it pretty much ripped off SSB anyways) would fit perfect too. Since Konami's on board, I suspect at least one or two more characters will make the cut, and Alucard and the Cyborg Ninja have the swordplay. Since Hudson's on board with the virtual console, and they've collaborated on things in the past (Mario Party, Wario Blast [a Bomberman/Wario crossover, btw]), Bomberman would be a real safe bet. As for Bonk...A guy can dream, can't he? Also, who can forget Namco? After all, Pacman has already appeared alongside Mario and Company in Mario Kart: Arcade GP. However, the Prince (from Katamari fame) is just wishful thinking...think about it...the Prince vs. Olimar (from Pikmin)...clash of the titans!
And of course, let's not forget the new Nintendo characters announced: Pit, Wario, and Metaknight pretty much rocked my socks off...Samus...well, she (the character) has already been in it, but it's still cool. One thing I do find humorous though, is that Kirby looks exactly the freaking same during the "transformation" sequence in the beginning.
-AfroRyan
I guess Ryu or Ken (or Ryu AND Ken) could work too...
UPDATE:
Phoneix Wright 2...awesome!
Part 2 Circa January 17th, 2008
So, on day one of the original SSBB trailer revealing Snake, I posted a list of my personal favorite choices for additional 3rd party characters in Brawl. They weren't predictions, just wishful thinking. Well, many things have come to pass in between now and then, the biggest of which was the reveal of Sonic as a playable character. I would have never predicted the Assist Trophies announcements, so I never would have thought that my character list might be wholly represented via playable characters/assist trophies. Cyborg Ninja was announced as an assist trophy a while back, so scratch him off the list. Still, I must say that my personal favorite coincidence was that I jokingly referred to a fight between Olimar and the Prince (from Katamari) turned out half-true. I would have never guessed Olimar, since I had determined (using fanboy logic) that Olimar had 0% chance of being in Smash Bros given his tiny size (at least 3 CM, at most 3 IN). Now, I'm being serious when I say this: if Prince is announced as a bonus "WTF" 3rd party character, I will probably just explode due to the excess amount of awesome that would accumulate within my body.
Here's my original dream list circa 5/10/06:
Sonic (Sega) - OMG SONIC CONFIRMED FOR BRAWL!!!111!!11!!
Knuckles (Sega) - Assist Trophy?
Tails (Sega) - Assist Trophy?
Robotnik (Sega) - Boss?
Vectorman (Sega) - NO
Megaman (Capcom) - NO *cries*
Viewtiful Joe (Capcom) - NO
One or both of the Buster Bros. (Capcom) - NO
King Arthur (Capcom) - NO
Alucard (Konami) - NO
Cyborg Ninja (Konami) - Confirmed as Assist Trophy
Bomberman (Hudson) - NO
Bonk (Hudson) - NO
Pacman (Namco) - NO
The Prince (Namco) - NO
Others (Anyone) - NO
And just to brag one more time, I also mentioned Olimar, who was confirmed.
I will update this list after the release of Brawl. I predict that the rest of the Sonic clan will probably be assist trophies, while Robotnik will most likely be a boss in SSE. As far as Vectorman goes, again, assist trophies make anything possible, and I wouldn't exactly be surprised to see more non-Sonic characters represented. Other companies though are a HUGE grey area. I'm personally doubtful of any additional MAJOR 3rd party character. My reason for believing so boils down to simple logic: Why would Nintendo not announce someone as huge as Megaman when they KNOW it would be sell more copies of Brawl? My pessimistic view of Nintendo when it comes to marketing doesn't prove anything, it's just a simple hunch. Lord knows, I would be PUMPED if Megaman was kept secret. It would prove to me that Nintendo still has some genuine love for their fans. Still, that's just a [warp] pipe dream.
EDIT: My predicted WTF character (note: only WTF to non-Japanese territories): DeMille, from Alpah Dreams' AMAZING original Mario RPG style GBA RPG, "Tomato Adventure." He would be awesome, and I for one would nerdgasm...one of probably very few Americans.
EDIT2: Had a sudden realization that Sketch Turner (Comix Zone) would make an amazing guest character. POWER SLAM *RIIIIIP*!!!!!!!! No chance really, but it would be crazy awesome.
EDIT3: So...everything leaked a few days ago (today is 01/31/08)...so yeah, I'm disappointed. I shouldn't be. If Nintendo wasn't so worried about making money (not a negative thing mind you), this exact same roster could have been awesome! All they would have had to do was make all the unlockable veterans (Captain Falcon, Ness, Marth, etc.) included in the starting roster, and make all the new original starting roster (Olimar, King Dedede, etc.) unlockable. That's not too hard to imagine. You know everyone would have freaked out when they saw Challenger Approaching: OLIMAR flash across their screens. Also, I know this would be impossible to pull off, but what if they had kept the 3rd party characters absolutely secret? It's funny; I would have fully accepted the roster, regardless of anything negative, had Sonic been the final unlockable (and it was a surprise). However, that's not how it turned out. Everyone's (including myself) freaking out because the final roster doesn't really impress. But that's the thing, the unlockables simply aren't as cool as the starters (I'm counting Snake and Sonic as starters, even though they are technically unlockable). I mean, the only 2 original unlockable characters we're getting are R.O.B. and Lucario. Everyone else is just a clone (although I was PUMPED when I saw that Toon Link replaced Young Link as a clone), or someone we were expecting (Luigi, C. Falcon, Jigglypuff, Ness)...Oh, and regardless of how I look at it, it really is unforgivable that there are three, THREE Fox clones...SERIOUSLY. I like Fox, and I know he's a go to character for tourneys, but seriously...three nearly identical characters. Ridiculous.
-AfroRyan
March 9th better be the REAL release date, or I'm killing myself.
Vidya Reviews: Meteos
Circa July 5th, 2005
Meteos
Meteos, brainchild of Kirby/SSB creator Masahiro Sakurai, is quite the unique puzzle game. For the Nintendo DS, Meteos doesn't require the touch screen. However, using it makes things a lot faster, and as my review is about to say; this game is all about speed.
Instead of Lumines' trance like gameplay, Meteos throws the player into a hyper fight for survival. I'm sure I could make some joke about one game being like one drug and the other being like...some other drug, but I won't. Meteos' concept involves the player lining up 3 or more blocks of the same color vertically or horizontally to blast them off into space (the top screen). The player can only move the blocks up and down, so it's kinda like the opposite of tetris attack (where you can only move the blocks from side to side). Oh, and I forgot to mention, the player is constantly pounded with a barrage of meteos falling out of the sky. It is vital to your survival that you stay on your toes, and always be alert.
The graphics are vibrant for a puzzle game, with all sorts of cool effects and colors. The sound effects and music are pretty cool too, but sound doesn't play any real role the way Lumines' does, but it kinda tricks you into thinking it does. Like Lumines, the game has multiple skins (planets) that all have unique music and sound effects. On top of this, they also have different gravity...this may sound strange, but in a puzzle game that involves blasting the puzzle pieces off the top of the screen, it feels natural. There are all sorts of gametypes (and in this way, Meteos reflects Super Smash Bros. Melee in style/presentation), but they all basically have you doing the same thing, you just have different goals (1000 meteos ware, 2 minute war, etc.).
Basically, Meteos is the polar opposite in feel and presentation to Lumines, just not in quality. Both games are superb puzzlers, each with their own intricacies that just scream "PLAY ME!!! I HATE MY BROTHER!!! DON'T PLAY HIM!!!" So, as you can imagine, things can get a little complicated. I give Meteos another solid 9/10.
-AfroRyan
METEOS, GO TO YOUR ROOM!!! And Lumines, I can't believe you told your brother that his music sucks! Need I remind you of "Morning Beats?"
Meteos
Meteos, brainchild of Kirby/SSB creator Masahiro Sakurai, is quite the unique puzzle game. For the Nintendo DS, Meteos doesn't require the touch screen. However, using it makes things a lot faster, and as my review is about to say; this game is all about speed.
Instead of Lumines' trance like gameplay, Meteos throws the player into a hyper fight for survival. I'm sure I could make some joke about one game being like one drug and the other being like...some other drug, but I won't. Meteos' concept involves the player lining up 3 or more blocks of the same color vertically or horizontally to blast them off into space (the top screen). The player can only move the blocks up and down, so it's kinda like the opposite of tetris attack (where you can only move the blocks from side to side). Oh, and I forgot to mention, the player is constantly pounded with a barrage of meteos falling out of the sky. It is vital to your survival that you stay on your toes, and always be alert.
The graphics are vibrant for a puzzle game, with all sorts of cool effects and colors. The sound effects and music are pretty cool too, but sound doesn't play any real role the way Lumines' does, but it kinda tricks you into thinking it does. Like Lumines, the game has multiple skins (planets) that all have unique music and sound effects. On top of this, they also have different gravity...this may sound strange, but in a puzzle game that involves blasting the puzzle pieces off the top of the screen, it feels natural. There are all sorts of gametypes (and in this way, Meteos reflects Super Smash Bros. Melee in style/presentation), but they all basically have you doing the same thing, you just have different goals (1000 meteos ware, 2 minute war, etc.).
Basically, Meteos is the polar opposite in feel and presentation to Lumines, just not in quality. Both games are superb puzzlers, each with their own intricacies that just scream "PLAY ME!!! I HATE MY BROTHER!!! DON'T PLAY HIM!!!" So, as you can imagine, things can get a little complicated. I give Meteos another solid 9/10.
-AfroRyan
METEOS, GO TO YOUR ROOM!!! And Lumines, I can't believe you told your brother that his music sucks! Need I remind you of "Morning Beats?"
Vidya Reviews: Lumines
Circa June 30th, 2005
Lumines
Ok, if you haven't slit your wrists in anticipation, here's my review for Lumines, the ONLY game worth buying a PSP for. From the mastermind Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Lumines is an amazing puzzle game involving the matching together of two colors into squares or rectangles. Blocks of four drop from the top, and when you make a combo, it's cleared out when a tempo line crosses it. There's also special blocks that will clear out any blocks of the same color touching it. There's some pretty cool music pumping straight into your eardrums that is so awesome, it makes me want to throw up sometimes. The music changes as you play , and depending on how big your combo is, different sounds play (a four or more combo usually results in an awesome background noise). One of the cooler things about the game is that not only is the music unique per skin, but all of the accompanying sound effects are unique as well. There are a few modes: Challenge, Single Skin, Puzzle, Time Attack, and Vs CPU. Challenge mode consists of the player progressing through different skins (songs), unlocking skins for use in Single Skin mode. Typically a new skin is unlocked every five "levels," and ends at level 100 (well, doesn't END, but that's the last skin, and it starts over from there). I can't tell you how many times I played this game in 6-10 hour sprees, not even aware of what's going on around me. It's puzzle gaming bliss at it's finest. It's like you're in a trance, and it only gets better. There's only a couple of songs I don't like (I'm sure it's simply a preference thing), so don't expect EVERY song to be pure gold.
Another cool thing I enjoyed about Lumines is that you can actually tell when you're getting better. You start seeing combos you didn't see the first few times you played it, and where you may only get to level 30 or so for your first few times playing it, you'll find yourself getting farther and farther in subsequent play throughs. I rarely "die" before level 110 anymore, which is funny, because I used to think level 40 was nearly impossible.
Single Skin mode is what it sounds like, you just pick one song to play. So once you've played through level 100, you can just play that special song anytime you want, which is convenient. Also, there's a few skins you unlock just for playing the game a long time (one for 10 hours, and another for 20), so you'll HAVE to play those in Single Skin mode if you want to hear them.
Puzzle mode is kind of confusing to explain. Basically, you make these shapes that it tells you to make, but since there's only two colors, it can be very challenging. The shapes also have to be enclosed by the opposite color, so that can be pretty confusing. Basically, it should only keep you busy for a few minutes (not because it isn't cool, but because it's not that hard).
Time Attack is what you'd expect it to be. You simply play for a certain amount of time, and score as many points as possible. You can unlock new characters (purely a cosmetic change, nothing special about them) by accomplishing certain tasks.
Vs CPU is exactly that; you just play against the CPU. I have a love/hate relationship with the Vs mode, because it can be very one-sided. For whatever reason, both players get randomized blocks, so if one character starts off with an autocombo (a block with only one color), they've already got the lead. You see, the way you play Vs mode involves the players trying to outdo the other in combos, and if one gets a bigger combo than the other, it knocks his playing field over one block's length. Basically, you're screwed if your opponent happens to get some crazy set of blocks for their starters. You can unlock both skins and characters in Vs CPU mode.
There's also a normal Vs mode you can play over the WLAN, but I haven't played it with anyone (but the concept is the same as Vs CPU). I'd expect it to be pretty fun. I've also noticed a pretty cool stat tracker in the options for Wins/Losses stuff for Vs mode.
Basically, if you bought a PSP, but didn't buy Lumines, I hate you and you should kill yourself. Ignorance is no excuse. This game deserves your money WAY more than any gay game on PSP, so if you have to, trade in that stupid Ape Escape or Metal Gear Ac!d, it's worth it. A very solid 9/10.
Next up, Meteos for DS. From the makers of Lumines!
-AfroRyan
Q Entertainment can have my baby
Lumines
Ok, if you haven't slit your wrists in anticipation, here's my review for Lumines, the ONLY game worth buying a PSP for. From the mastermind Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Lumines is an amazing puzzle game involving the matching together of two colors into squares or rectangles. Blocks of four drop from the top, and when you make a combo, it's cleared out when a tempo line crosses it. There's also special blocks that will clear out any blocks of the same color touching it. There's some pretty cool music pumping straight into your eardrums that is so awesome, it makes me want to throw up sometimes. The music changes as you play , and depending on how big your combo is, different sounds play (a four or more combo usually results in an awesome background noise). One of the cooler things about the game is that not only is the music unique per skin, but all of the accompanying sound effects are unique as well. There are a few modes: Challenge, Single Skin, Puzzle, Time Attack, and Vs CPU. Challenge mode consists of the player progressing through different skins (songs), unlocking skins for use in Single Skin mode. Typically a new skin is unlocked every five "levels," and ends at level 100 (well, doesn't END, but that's the last skin, and it starts over from there). I can't tell you how many times I played this game in 6-10 hour sprees, not even aware of what's going on around me. It's puzzle gaming bliss at it's finest. It's like you're in a trance, and it only gets better. There's only a couple of songs I don't like (I'm sure it's simply a preference thing), so don't expect EVERY song to be pure gold.
Another cool thing I enjoyed about Lumines is that you can actually tell when you're getting better. You start seeing combos you didn't see the first few times you played it, and where you may only get to level 30 or so for your first few times playing it, you'll find yourself getting farther and farther in subsequent play throughs. I rarely "die" before level 110 anymore, which is funny, because I used to think level 40 was nearly impossible.
Single Skin mode is what it sounds like, you just pick one song to play. So once you've played through level 100, you can just play that special song anytime you want, which is convenient. Also, there's a few skins you unlock just for playing the game a long time (one for 10 hours, and another for 20), so you'll HAVE to play those in Single Skin mode if you want to hear them.
Puzzle mode is kind of confusing to explain. Basically, you make these shapes that it tells you to make, but since there's only two colors, it can be very challenging. The shapes also have to be enclosed by the opposite color, so that can be pretty confusing. Basically, it should only keep you busy for a few minutes (not because it isn't cool, but because it's not that hard).
Time Attack is what you'd expect it to be. You simply play for a certain amount of time, and score as many points as possible. You can unlock new characters (purely a cosmetic change, nothing special about them) by accomplishing certain tasks.
Vs CPU is exactly that; you just play against the CPU. I have a love/hate relationship with the Vs mode, because it can be very one-sided. For whatever reason, both players get randomized blocks, so if one character starts off with an autocombo (a block with only one color), they've already got the lead. You see, the way you play Vs mode involves the players trying to outdo the other in combos, and if one gets a bigger combo than the other, it knocks his playing field over one block's length. Basically, you're screwed if your opponent happens to get some crazy set of blocks for their starters. You can unlock both skins and characters in Vs CPU mode.
There's also a normal Vs mode you can play over the WLAN, but I haven't played it with anyone (but the concept is the same as Vs CPU). I'd expect it to be pretty fun. I've also noticed a pretty cool stat tracker in the options for Wins/Losses stuff for Vs mode.
Basically, if you bought a PSP, but didn't buy Lumines, I hate you and you should kill yourself. Ignorance is no excuse. This game deserves your money WAY more than any gay game on PSP, so if you have to, trade in that stupid Ape Escape or Metal Gear Ac!d, it's worth it. A very solid 9/10.
Next up, Meteos for DS. From the makers of Lumines!
-AfroRyan
Q Entertainment can have my baby
Vidya Reviews: Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution
This Episode of Vidya Reviews Brought to you in part by: My RvB account circa June 29, 2005
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
Arguably (VERY arguably) the best 3D fighter in existence, Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (VF4:E, for short) is so deep, it makes the Marianas trench seem somewhat less deep. Unlike certain other 3D brawlers, VF4:E's characters all play totally different, having completely different timing, combos, counters, etc. VF4:E is no button masher.
VF4:E's character customization, though simple, allows you to change your character in so many ways, that the chances of you finding another player with the exact same appearance are VERY slim. For example, I play a Kage (Only I named him Cage), the typical ninja character with the typical ninja appearance...except I gave him army colors, night vision goggles, an awesome haircut, some katanas, some ninja stars, and sometimes a bunny of shame. I find it somewhat humorous to see how many other fighters are totally ripping off this feature, and they STILL aren't as good.
VF4:E's arcade mode is cool, sure, but the quest mode is WHERE IT'S AT! You fight at different arcades around the map, and you fight against AI's based on the best VF4 players ever. It's really fun to take on AI, even if they eventually kick your arse every 9/10 fights. Again, I find it funny how many 3D fighters are starting to copy this mode (not quest, but AI based on real people).
V4F:E's chock full of unlockables, not that it matters much, as the game is so fun, you would continue playing it regardless. There's Levels to be unlocked, costumes, and a lone secret character that any Virtua Fighter fan would already know (hint: it's Dural). Mix this all in with a special edition version of Virtua Fighter 1, and you've got plenty to keep the hardcore game inside happy.
It is very hard to find any fault within VF4:E. The graphics are superb, the music is fitting (if somewhat annoying), and load times virtually (HA) non-existent. The only draw back I can find is that there is no way a n00b 10th kyu fighter is going to win against some 9th Dan, and I mean NO WAY. Personally, I find that a good quality, but I can see where that could be a turn off to a newcomer expecting to climb the ladder quickly. However, a fight between to seasoned fighters can be very rewarding. It's like a battle against the very Gods themselves! Just make sure you have someone else playing about as good as you.
I would give VF4:EVO a 10/10, but then again, I'm shallow. But the $20 price tag is too good to ignore. It blows me away to think that some people out there like Tek...never mind, I'd rather not start a flame war. Other 3D fighters are special in their own way.
You can believe me when I say I could make this review an in depth research paper. I COULD write about each individual characters pros and cons, or each levels special attributes, but I won't. I'll leave that to the readers (of which, I know are VERY small, like literally 1 person).
Next up on the Review list, Lumines. A puzzle game so incredibly awesome, you may want to slit your wrists right now!
-AfroRyan
Picking up Meteos later today.
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
Arguably (VERY arguably) the best 3D fighter in existence, Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (VF4:E, for short) is so deep, it makes the Marianas trench seem somewhat less deep. Unlike certain other 3D brawlers, VF4:E's characters all play totally different, having completely different timing, combos, counters, etc. VF4:E is no button masher.
VF4:E's character customization, though simple, allows you to change your character in so many ways, that the chances of you finding another player with the exact same appearance are VERY slim. For example, I play a Kage (Only I named him Cage), the typical ninja character with the typical ninja appearance...except I gave him army colors, night vision goggles, an awesome haircut, some katanas, some ninja stars, and sometimes a bunny of shame. I find it somewhat humorous to see how many other fighters are totally ripping off this feature, and they STILL aren't as good.
VF4:E's arcade mode is cool, sure, but the quest mode is WHERE IT'S AT! You fight at different arcades around the map, and you fight against AI's based on the best VF4 players ever. It's really fun to take on AI, even if they eventually kick your arse every 9/10 fights. Again, I find it funny how many 3D fighters are starting to copy this mode (not quest, but AI based on real people).
V4F:E's chock full of unlockables, not that it matters much, as the game is so fun, you would continue playing it regardless. There's Levels to be unlocked, costumes, and a lone secret character that any Virtua Fighter fan would already know (hint: it's Dural). Mix this all in with a special edition version of Virtua Fighter 1, and you've got plenty to keep the hardcore game inside happy.
It is very hard to find any fault within VF4:E. The graphics are superb, the music is fitting (if somewhat annoying), and load times virtually (HA) non-existent. The only draw back I can find is that there is no way a n00b 10th kyu fighter is going to win against some 9th Dan, and I mean NO WAY. Personally, I find that a good quality, but I can see where that could be a turn off to a newcomer expecting to climb the ladder quickly. However, a fight between to seasoned fighters can be very rewarding. It's like a battle against the very Gods themselves! Just make sure you have someone else playing about as good as you.
I would give VF4:EVO a 10/10, but then again, I'm shallow. But the $20 price tag is too good to ignore. It blows me away to think that some people out there like Tek...never mind, I'd rather not start a flame war. Other 3D fighters are special in their own way.
You can believe me when I say I could make this review an in depth research paper. I COULD write about each individual characters pros and cons, or each levels special attributes, but I won't. I'll leave that to the readers (of which, I know are VERY small, like literally 1 person).
Next up on the Review list, Lumines. A puzzle game so incredibly awesome, you may want to slit your wrists right now!
-AfroRyan
Picking up Meteos later today.
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