All posts for the month April, 2012

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Announced; VYSE IS INCLUDED

IGN drops the word that Sega will announce a sequel to their Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, subtitled Transformed. Skies of Arcadia hero Vyse will be making his presence felt on the race track alongside Golden Axe’s Gilius Thunderhead (and Dr. Eggman and AiAi). It’s amazing what one character can do to spike interest in something. :p I’ll keep you informed on how much Skies of Arcadia love the game will feature once I know more. More info on gameplay at the link.

Update – Press Release from Sega doubly confirms Vyse’s appearance:

SONIC & ALL-STARS RACING TRANSFORMED™ CHANGES THE RULES OF RACING

LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO – 30th April 2012 – SEGA® Europe and SEGA® of America Inc. are excited to announce Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed™, a thrilling new racing experience featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and a fantastic cast of SEGA All-Stars competing across land, air and water in vehicles that fully transform from cars, to planes to boats. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will speed on to the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation® Vita, Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system and PC Digital Download late in 2012.

Following on from the huge success of Sonic & SEGA All-Star’s Racing™, the characters now have their own unique transforming vehicles designed to take advantage of the varying terrain. The line up on the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed grid sees SEGA favourites – including Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr Eggman and AiAi – return to battle against newcomers that include Gilius Thunderhead of Golden Axe and Vyse of Skies of Arcadia. The brand new dynamic environments and tracks in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed are once again inspired by SEGA’s illustrious gaming history. When the road falls away beneath you in Super Monkey Ball’s Temple Trouble track your car transforms into a boat and speeds down the rivers and rapids, whilst the Panzer Dragoon inspired track, Dragon Canyon, takes you into the sky in complete control of your plane, barrel rolling to out-manoeuvre rivals and obstacles before transforming back in to a car and racing to the finish line.

“Given the fantastic feedback we received from critics and consumers alike for the first game we really wanted to push the boundaries on our follow up game, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed” commented David Corless, Global Sonic Brand Director. “Transforming vehicles allow us to do this – as well as drifting your car around the corners of a track, you get to fly your plane and pilot your boat against others all within one race. Add to this a grid full of star characters, retro IP, fun, fast race modes and cool tracks and racing fans of all ages are sure to love this one!”

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed also sees the popular All-Star moves return with a brand new mechanic allowing your All-Star bar to power up faster if you race daringly and stylishly. An all new fair weapon system ensures that weapons fired at your vehicle can either be blocked or evaded once you have gained the skills to do so, making each race a unique and exhilarating experience whether it’s on water, in the air or on land. Old rivalries can be settled and new track records set in the enhanced online multiplayer mode, whilst the Grand Prix mode and competitive Battle Arenas will prove that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is certainly set to change the rules of the race.

by WildcatJF on April 30, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Games
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Posted by WildcatJF on April 30, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/sonic-all-stars-racing-transformed-announced-vyse-is-included/

Gamer’s Playlist – “AVGN Intro Remix”

Gamer's Playlist Logo

I was hesitant as to whether or not I should post this, but darn it, it’s catchy.

This is a cool techno remix of the theme song for The Angry Video Game Nerd. It’s actually the full version of the song, which is not often heard in regular episodes.

Needless to say, both the song and video are extremely crude, so I’m flagging this as NSFW.

Title: “AVGN Intro Remix”
Composers: Kyle Justin, James Rolfe
Remix: Cusimo & Co.

by Nester on April 29, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Features, Film, Gamer's Playlist, Games
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Posted by Nester on April 29, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/gamers-playlist-avgn-intro-remix/

Weekly Whose Line? – Daytime Talk Show

Brad hosts a kooky talk show segment. I haven’t seen this one before. Enjoy!

by WildcatJF on April 28, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Film
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Posted by WildcatJF on April 28, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/weekly-whose-line-daytime-talk-show/

Stripping Away Silence: SONY SMASH BROS. … I mean, Playstation All Stars Battle Royale!

Sometimes rumors seem too odd to be true, like when I heard Sony was developing a Super Smash Bros. clone with their own characters. It makes sense, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so blatant as the footage above shows. Am I interested in a Sony free-for-all? Nowhere near as much as a Nintendo get-together, and I’d like to explain why.

First of all, Sony lacks the character depth Nintendo has. I adore Sly Cooper’s universe immensely ,and I like Kratos, although his angst can get a little exhausting after a while. That’s about the extent of my Sony fandom. The remainder of the confirmed roster doesn’t really inspire me much. Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal is a chunky psychopathic clown whose representation in the game (4P in the screenshot) is very drab. Killzone Colonel Radec is just a futuristic suit of armor to me. Parappa the Rapper is nice to see, but I haven’t played his games, so I don’t have a bond to him. And Fat Princess seems like a desperate bid to shove some sort of female representation onto the roster. Of course, I’d like to see some direct footage of the game to better understand how each character ticks. All I’ve seen are short clips interspersed with commentary, and I think I may feel a little more enthused if I could see how they are function better. Sly Cooper for example apparently is a very technical character who ditches the ability to block to instead vanish under an invisibility trick, and can even swipe AP (Action Points, the item that boosts the game’s super meter) from other fighters. I’d love to see that in motion, but alas, I have to wait.

I also have a bit of concern for the game’s method of combat. Eschewing the Smash Bros. mold in terms of K.O.’s, you won’t win by smashing opponents off the stage via conventional means. You’ll need to boost up your Special Meter via AP to be able to win, and there’s a progression of three levels that further boost your effectiveness at knocking out your foes. This sounds a little over-reliant on a gimmick to win, and puts the actual fighting as a lesser focus. Of course, I haven’t seen a full match, so I may be premature in my worries. One thing I do like is the merging of franchises in backgrounds. The screenshot above shows God of War melding with Patapon, and it does look pretty neat in motion. Items also are from all over the Sony pantheon, like a WipEout shield, for example.

In short, I’m both intrigued and questioning Sony’s bid into the mascot fighting war. I’ll keep you posted on its development. What do you think of Sony Smash Bros.?

by WildcatJF on April 27, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Editorial, Games
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Posted by WildcatJF on April 27, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/stripping-away-silence-sony-smash-bros-i-mean-playstation-all-stars-battle-royale/

Virtual Console Recommendations – Super Street Fighter II (Genesis)

Super Street Fighter II (SFAC)

W- AGAIN? Another Street Fighter port?!? Over Demon’s Crest, Bionic Commando, Breath of Fire and Mega Man 64? Capcom, you’re killing me here. Luckily, there is the bonus incentive of online play that makes this port justifiable to some degree. Nester breaks down the two ports quite nicely here, so I’ll defer to him. I for one will skip it.

by WildcatJF on April 27, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Features, Games
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Posted by WildcatJF on April 27, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/virtual-console-recommendations-super-street-fighter-ii-genesis/

Music Wednesdays – The Beach Boys’ “That’s Why God Made the Radio”

Never thought I’d have the opportunity to say this, but…

Here’s the latest song from The Beach Boys, off their new album (coming June 5th)!

It’s amazing to hear all their voices blending again. Nobody — nobody — harmonizes like The Beach Boys.

by Nester on April 25, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Features, Music
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Posted by Nester on April 25, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/music-wednesdays-the-beach-boys-thats-why-god-made-the-radio/

Artistic Discussion – The Good and Bad of Gaming Box Art: 4/25/2012

Good – Shin Megami Tenshi: Persona 3 Portable (PSP, Atlus)

Despite my dislike of the game’s conclusion (see here if you don’t mind spoilers), I still adore Shigenori Soejima’s spin on the franchise, and this is an eye-catching cover. It puts the focus on the choice of a male or female protagonist, one of the game’s selling points, and it’s effectively using blues and blacks to give it an excellent sense of mood.

Bad – Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year (Xbox 360, Warner Bros./Rocksteady)

Wha…?

This is how to take your box art in the wrong direction. First off, this looks like an magazine advertisement, not a box. This kind of over-saturated blurbage quickly makes my eye wander off to somewhere else. It’s okay to maybe squeeze one blurb on there normally, but to have four wedged into nearly every tiny bit of space is overkill. Second, the render of Batman is rather poor. What exactly made Warner Bros. decide to go with “Batman wiping blood off of his face in an extreme closeup” for their GOTY box? That’s rather unattractive. And then there’s the double logo, one shoved into the top right corner and the other lurking in the background. Plus the bonus content! Can’t forget to throw that in there.

In short, there’s too damn much going on on this box, and there’s nothing appealing about it whatsoever.

by WildcatJF on April 25, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Artistic Discussion, Features, Games
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Posted by WildcatJF on April 25, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/artistic-discussion-the-good-and-bad-of-gaming-box-art-4252012/

Music Wednesdays – Deftones’ “One Weak”

Here’s something a little heavy for you this week, or ‘weak’ as the Deftones state here. This is off of Adrenaline, their first CD, and I happen to like this one the most. I don’t listen to them as much as I did in my teenage years, but they are an excellent band. If you need some hard rock injected into your system, you can’t go wrong here.

by WildcatJF on April 25, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Features, Music
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Posted by WildcatJF on April 25, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/music-wednesdays-deftones-one-weak/

Gamer’s Playlist – “Enter the Guru”

Gamer's Playlist Sonic Logo

The classic arcade beat-em-up Double Dragon is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. So, for this Gamer’s Playlist, check out this awesome medley of tracks from the original game, rearranged by Nintendo Guru for Overclocked Remix.

Title: “Enter the Guru”
Composer: Kazunaku Yamane
Arranger: Nintendo Guru

by Nester on April 22, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Features, Gamer's Playlist, Games, Music
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Posted by Nester on April 22, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/gamers-playlist-enter-the-guru/

Weekly Whose Line? – Film, TV and Theater Styles

Colin and Ryan go it alone in this sketch. I don’t think I’ve seen this one before. Enjoy!

by WildcatJF on April 21, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Film
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Posted by WildcatJF on April 21, 2012

http://lvls.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/weekly-whose-line-film-tv-and-theater-styles-3/

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