News fresh from Comic Con 2011, a good week before EVO 2011, arguably the biggest fighting game tournament in the world, and Marvel Vs Capcom 3's first appearance on the grand stage of competitive gaming, comes the announcement of Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3.
So for the reduced price of $39.99, you'll receive 12 new characters (not including Jill and Shuma Gorath, the previously DLC exclusive characters, which will be available to play in Ultimate as well), some new stages to play on, improved net code and a spectator mode, and a re balancing of the entire cast.
Initial response to the news is dependent on who you poll. A friend of mine who doesn't play fighters remarked with cynicism. Myself, a fighting game fan, returned with excitement. Reading comments on G4 or Kotaku are vastly different from the comments on Shoryuken. Casual fighting game fans seem to believe Capcom is milking the fans and are somewhat salty about the news. More invested fighting game fans are jumping on the hype train!
Here's why you should be excited about the announcement of the news or at the very least dry your salty tears and stop pouting.
$ Value: 12 new characters for the price of $40 dollars comes out to about $3.33 per character. If you didn't pick up Jill and Shuma (or the collector's edition), that's another 2 characters, bringing the value of the new additions to $2.85 per character. Consider that most DLC characters for fighting games so far (Blazblue CS, Mortal Kombat and MvC3) have been priced at about $5.00 per character. So already that's a $30 to $20 savings.
Why not DLC?: In the age of DLC, everybody seems to be demanding the ability to receive new updates, patches, and characters via digitally over the internet and since it's possible, why not? So why aren't these characters being released as DLC instead of an all new reiteration of the game? Well, as already mentioned, would you actually be happier if Capcom charged you $5.00 a character and released characters one at a time over an extended duration (like Mortal Kombat)? So there's the value aspect to consider when taking the disc approach. The advantage of a disc based upgrade also means a much smaller uptake of memory on your PS3/360 hard drive (something I don't have the luxury of thanks to my massive Rockband collection). I think the biggest reason we're getting this game on disc as opposed to DLC though, and this is speculation at this point--there may be a DLC port announced in the future, is because this is the first time we've seen such a large addition to the game in terms of new characters. MK added 5 characters to it's cast, the most so far for DLC additional characters in a game, but Marvel is getting 12! That brings the roster to a full 50 characters to choose from. Moreover, Marvel is such a team based game, it's more accurate to think of your character as a team rather than three characters combined, since a lot of characters play in a manner that fulfills a specific function or role in that team. To have gamers pick and choose which DLC they want to purchase creates an incomplete experience, if gamers are only dowloading certain characters and not the full roster, they do not have the full toolset to experiment with different team setups and experimentation with team setups is what makes a new game (especially Marvel) so exciting.
It's not just New Characters: New stages are a moot point since they're just backgrounds and don't actually add any gameplay value to the game. Spectator mode is a great addition because Marvel is just such a fun and fast paced game that it's actually exciting to watch. What's really exciting is the possibility of the new gameplay rebalancing. Coming into EVO, there have been cries for patching Phoenix and Wolverine, citing them as overpowered and in dire need of being nerfed (I disagree personally but if that team demolishes at EVO, then rebalancing them may be what the game needs). A rebalancing of the game means renewed interest and re-evaluation of the entire roster, it cracks the game wide open all over again and opens up the game to new discoveries.
The New Characters are Awesome: STRIDER!! Phoenix Wright!! Hawkeye!! Doc Strange!! Iron Fist!! Virgil!! Did I mention STRIDER? Haha, somewhere Clockwork is crying tears of joy.
But I Already Bought Marvel vs Capcom 3: But now there's new characters and the cast has been retooled, that means this is a whole new game. If you don't play fighting games very much, it's hard to appreciate the nuances and subtleties, just like how I don't understand the differences between yearly iterations of Madden (though if you asked a competitive Madden player, I'm sure they could rattle off a list of alterations). If you take Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition and compare it to Vanilla (Street Fighter IV), the changes are actually rather astounding both superficially (new characters) and deep (gameplay changes). If you play fighting games and invest in them, UMvC3 is a no brainer. If you're a casual fan, then maybe there's no reason to purchase Ultimate and that's fine too.
Capcom is ripping us off! I knew they'd come out with a new edition later on: Now we get to the main reason why people seem so salty. They interpret the news of a new iteration as a reflection of the status of the original game. As if to suggest that MvC3 was an incomplete game and Capcom had planned to milk the series and the gamers' money all along. I expected an update somewhere down the line but I admit even I am surprised at how soon the new version will be released. Competitively, MvC3 will have only lasted 9 months before becoming obsolete. Ask yourself this though, if you purchased MvC3, were you unsatisfied with the game? The game is crazy fun and for 9 months we've had the opportunity to play it. What's the last game you can remember with a shelf life of 9 months or longer? Granted, fighting games replay value depends on the ability to play the game against friends and other human competitors, it has always been a multiplayer genre. If you haven't been playing the game these past months then you're probably not going to pick up Ultimate in the first place, so why cry about it?
Isn't it a little soon for an update?: It took Capcom ten years to revisit the MvC games. Would you rather they take another ten before updating? If anything, we should be excited that Capcom is investing in their fighting games again and the fighting game community. The reality is, fighting games have always had updates and revisions. Everybody jokes about Street Fighter II and the numerous upgrades that game received but every fighting game experiences tweaks and rebalances, it's just that most of the times those revisions occur in the arcades and are unnoticed by casual gamers. Before Street Fighter III Third Strike, there was a Second Impact and a Vanilla. Virtua Fighter 5, a game released in arcades in 2006, just received it's 4th build revision (Final Showdown) last year, 4 years after the game's initial release.
So grab yourself a tissue and wipe your tears, if you're still upset or have no interest in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, then clearly the game wasn't meant for you. If however, you're excited about the news and can't wait for more information on the game and the see more footage of the new characters in action, locate your curly mustache, arm yourself with your bionic arm, and hop aboard the hype train because Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is going to take you for a ride and I couldn't be happier.
As a final note, remember to tune into Shoryuken.com or Iplaywinner or evo2k next weekend (July 29-31) for live streams of EVO World Finals in Rio Las Vegas. If you have any interest in fighting games played at the competitive level, you'll want to check Evo out.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Silverball
There's not a whole lot of exciting things to do growing up on a military base. Most Army bases are pretty standard, they all seem to have a Popeyes, a Burgerking, a PX and a Commissary, and a trusty bowling alley. My parents would join a bowling league and I would often spend Wednesday nights with them at the bowling alley. I didn't have the patience for bowling at a younger age, instead I was always far more interested in the video game arcades in every bowling alley. The nineties was one of the last great eras of arcades, thanks to the competitive and addicting nature of video games like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat and while the fighting genre and beat em ups were the main attraction and pinballs' popularity was on the decline, no arcade was complete without a few pinball tables of their own. As such, pinball made up a good portion of my childhood and I have fond memories of playing the silver ball.
There's something aesthetically beautiful about pinball machines. Most arcade cabinets are essentially a monitor and buttons and joysticks. Pinball machines have flashing lights, moving parts, different leveled ramps, dot matrix videos, plungers, buttons, artwork, and sounds. The playing board of a pinball table is something to marvel at, something that can be studied, it's art appreciated, it's looping ramps and flashing targets and hidden passages to be traced and explored. Even when you remove the paneling and uncover the machine's guts, it's an intricate array of wires and switches. I told myself when I was little, that one day when I'm wealthy enough, I want to own my own pinball machine.
Unfortunately, pinball and arcades have become a dying breed and are now sparse and few. You're lucky to find a pinball machine or two in a movie theater or bowling alley but the likelihood of finding some of the classic pinball machines of the late eighties and nineties is much more difficult, or if you do, they're in dire need of a tuneup and repair. I continued to play pinball on the PC and on my Playstation but the emulated pinball just isn't the same
I first heard of the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown a few years back when I was attending CU at Boulder. I saw a postcard sized flyer for the weekend long Pinball convention. Unfortunately I had already missed the convention by the time I saw the flyer. This would repeat for the next 4 years. Haha. It seemed like every time I remembered the convention, it would be a month or two too late. I was determined to go one year and this year I made special note of it at the start of the year.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I first entered the Embassy Suite, where the convention was held today. I paid my admission fee and filled out some contact information, received a wrist band and walked into their main lobby. There were a few pinball machines around and a stage and I was a little confused at first. Weren't there supposed to be more machines I thought? I played a few quick rounds of the machines I saw in the lobby and then decided to do some investigating. I passed by the bar and turned the corner and instantly recognized the sounds of flippers, bells, sound effects, and bumpers, all the familiar sounds of pinball. I entered their conference room and discovered the convention's main stash of pinball machines, there must have been 25 or so machines in the room, a row of tables against the wall as you entered and two rows of tables back to back in the center of the room as well. There were really old classic machines, to the newest fanciest Sterns pinball tables. I took a walk around the room to check out all the tables, as well as a second conference room where there were even more pinball machines and pinball tournaments taking place. It was as if I had died and gone to pinball heaven.
It's interesting the crowd of players that came to the convention that night. Most of them were older, probably people who grew up when pinball was in it's prime. Some looked like they had clearly spent way too much time playing pinball. I don't mind people who take their pinball seriously, I admire anyone who's determined in their hobby or sport. I did have a problem with some of the more aggressive players, who vented their frustrations by shaking and tilting the table roughly. I understand tilting is an aspect of the game but these machines are on loan by private collectors for the sake of everyone enjoying pinball, why risk breaking someone's machine? There were some little kids there as well and they were adorable. They would get so excited when they played! It reminded me why I played Pinball in the first place, the joy and fun of the game.
There were quite a few tables I remembered fondly from my childhood. The Adams Family machine is one of the most popular pinball machines of all time and I had played my share of games on it. I forgot however how crushingly unforgiving the game is compared to more modern pinball machines so it took me a few games to get a decent score up. Another favorite was the Twilight Zone table and I ended up scoring a major jackpot and racking up a good score on it as well. One of my absolute favorite tables however is the 94 World Cup pinball table. I remember distinctly playing the machine in the bowling alleys while my father was stationed in Korea. What's really cool about the table is the center target is a soccer goal with a goalie moving back and forth and flipping the ball past the goalie scored major points and unlocked missions and targets. It's also a very high scoring game and very popular because of the numerous targets on the playing board. When I finally was able to play the machine, nostalgia overtook me. Pressing that start button, watching that dot matrix video pop up, taking my position in front of the machine with my left hand along the button and the right grasping that plunger, pulling it back and letting it go and sending that ball into play brought a genuine and irresistible smile to my face.
I ended up playing pinball for nearly five hours straight. So long that my neck began to fatigue and sore from looking down on the playing table. By the time I walked out of the hotel, it had started snowing in Denver. The visibility was actually pretty bad all the way to Castle Rock but I didn't care. Being able to replay the pinball machines of my childhood, to place my hands along the side of the table, fingering the buttons along the side, resting my weight slightly forward on the table itself, and to take in the flashing lights, the buzzing, and silver ball bouncing back and forth and the slight rumble of the table with each score of a target brought back a lot of nostalgia for me. It was the first time in a while that I've been so happy, forgetting about everything else and just enjoying the simple joy of the game of pinball.
There's something aesthetically beautiful about pinball machines. Most arcade cabinets are essentially a monitor and buttons and joysticks. Pinball machines have flashing lights, moving parts, different leveled ramps, dot matrix videos, plungers, buttons, artwork, and sounds. The playing board of a pinball table is something to marvel at, something that can be studied, it's art appreciated, it's looping ramps and flashing targets and hidden passages to be traced and explored. Even when you remove the paneling and uncover the machine's guts, it's an intricate array of wires and switches. I told myself when I was little, that one day when I'm wealthy enough, I want to own my own pinball machine.
Unfortunately, pinball and arcades have become a dying breed and are now sparse and few. You're lucky to find a pinball machine or two in a movie theater or bowling alley but the likelihood of finding some of the classic pinball machines of the late eighties and nineties is much more difficult, or if you do, they're in dire need of a tuneup and repair. I continued to play pinball on the PC and on my Playstation but the emulated pinball just isn't the same
I first heard of the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown a few years back when I was attending CU at Boulder. I saw a postcard sized flyer for the weekend long Pinball convention. Unfortunately I had already missed the convention by the time I saw the flyer. This would repeat for the next 4 years. Haha. It seemed like every time I remembered the convention, it would be a month or two too late. I was determined to go one year and this year I made special note of it at the start of the year.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I first entered the Embassy Suite, where the convention was held today. I paid my admission fee and filled out some contact information, received a wrist band and walked into their main lobby. There were a few pinball machines around and a stage and I was a little confused at first. Weren't there supposed to be more machines I thought? I played a few quick rounds of the machines I saw in the lobby and then decided to do some investigating. I passed by the bar and turned the corner and instantly recognized the sounds of flippers, bells, sound effects, and bumpers, all the familiar sounds of pinball. I entered their conference room and discovered the convention's main stash of pinball machines, there must have been 25 or so machines in the room, a row of tables against the wall as you entered and two rows of tables back to back in the center of the room as well. There were really old classic machines, to the newest fanciest Sterns pinball tables. I took a walk around the room to check out all the tables, as well as a second conference room where there were even more pinball machines and pinball tournaments taking place. It was as if I had died and gone to pinball heaven.
It's interesting the crowd of players that came to the convention that night. Most of them were older, probably people who grew up when pinball was in it's prime. Some looked like they had clearly spent way too much time playing pinball. I don't mind people who take their pinball seriously, I admire anyone who's determined in their hobby or sport. I did have a problem with some of the more aggressive players, who vented their frustrations by shaking and tilting the table roughly. I understand tilting is an aspect of the game but these machines are on loan by private collectors for the sake of everyone enjoying pinball, why risk breaking someone's machine? There were some little kids there as well and they were adorable. They would get so excited when they played! It reminded me why I played Pinball in the first place, the joy and fun of the game.
There were quite a few tables I remembered fondly from my childhood. The Adams Family machine is one of the most popular pinball machines of all time and I had played my share of games on it. I forgot however how crushingly unforgiving the game is compared to more modern pinball machines so it took me a few games to get a decent score up. Another favorite was the Twilight Zone table and I ended up scoring a major jackpot and racking up a good score on it as well. One of my absolute favorite tables however is the 94 World Cup pinball table. I remember distinctly playing the machine in the bowling alleys while my father was stationed in Korea. What's really cool about the table is the center target is a soccer goal with a goalie moving back and forth and flipping the ball past the goalie scored major points and unlocked missions and targets. It's also a very high scoring game and very popular because of the numerous targets on the playing board. When I finally was able to play the machine, nostalgia overtook me. Pressing that start button, watching that dot matrix video pop up, taking my position in front of the machine with my left hand along the button and the right grasping that plunger, pulling it back and letting it go and sending that ball into play brought a genuine and irresistible smile to my face.
I ended up playing pinball for nearly five hours straight. So long that my neck began to fatigue and sore from looking down on the playing table. By the time I walked out of the hotel, it had started snowing in Denver. The visibility was actually pretty bad all the way to Castle Rock but I didn't care. Being able to replay the pinball machines of my childhood, to place my hands along the side of the table, fingering the buttons along the side, resting my weight slightly forward on the table itself, and to take in the flashing lights, the buzzing, and silver ball bouncing back and forth and the slight rumble of the table with each score of a target brought back a lot of nostalgia for me. It was the first time in a while that I've been so happy, forgetting about everything else and just enjoying the simple joy of the game of pinball.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Fight Study: Boxing class
Boxing class got cut short for me tonight as I was dropped by the worst muscle cramp I've ever experienced. My calf just clinched up and I sat down and grabbed my toes and pulled them back to try and stretch out my gastrocnemius. I had worked out at the gym about an hour before boxing class and while I did drink some water at dinner about 30 minutes before, apparently it wasn't enough. I do sweat a lot and I do lose a lot of fluids quickly. I also have really tight calf muscles and a history of tendinitis in my right achiles. I really should know better.
Before I cramped up, I worked on some more fundamentals and details in my boxing.
Relax - Still need to relax, trying to hard to move around and still too tense. Remember to breathe.
Reach with the Hook - I like to think my hook is pretty good because I keep it tight and compact. I just need to reach out a little more because my opponent isn't always going to be in close.
Small steps - I try too hard to step around and cut corners when I move after a combination. I think I'm overemphasizing the footwork because I know how important it is. But going along with the idea of being relaxed, I don't need to make large arduous steps, just make small steps.
Before I cramped up, I worked on some more fundamentals and details in my boxing.
Relax - Still need to relax, trying to hard to move around and still too tense. Remember to breathe.
Reach with the Hook - I like to think my hook is pretty good because I keep it tight and compact. I just need to reach out a little more because my opponent isn't always going to be in close.
Small steps - I try too hard to step around and cut corners when I move after a combination. I think I'm overemphasizing the footwork because I know how important it is. But going along with the idea of being relaxed, I don't need to make large arduous steps, just make small steps.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Stick Art Part 2
*Note: I know my blog isn't quite big enough to handle the size of the templates so it cuts off a little of the image's right side. But you can see the full image by clicking on the image.
*Note: Also, ignore the red "Text Ecthing Sample Area" on the templates. That's just part of the template and won't actually show up on the art. I probably should have deleted those from these test examples but oh well.
So I went ahead and made a few arcade stick templates, just some rough drafts. Most of these were wallpaper arts before I touched them so they were simple stretch to fit the arcade stick template jobs. I blacked out the buttons on the template to get a better idea of how the buttons will affect the art (since I don't have clear semitsu buttons). The Sengoku Basara and the Fooly Cooly templates were really the only ones where I had to do any extensive Photoshopping but I'm surprised and actually somewhat proud of how they came out. Anyway, tell me what you think.
Final Fantasy Tactics - This one came out really well and this might be a shoe in. The characters fill up the left side nicely and the empty space to the right in the art is okay because the buttons take up most of the space anyway.
Fooly Cooly - This one was really popular from the few friends I asked, almost everyone liked the clean look of Naota with guitar. I knew the art wasn't big enough to stretch so I had to figure out a way to put it in the space to the left and figure out what I was going to put in the background. I found another FLCL wallpaper online, grayscaled it, and threw it in the back with some transparency so that it didn't steal the emphasis of the Naota image. I think it fits nicely. The only problem with this template is the lack of color but that's sort of the point?
Gundam Seed - The Strike Gundam is pretty cool looking and I love the shading style of this artwork. The only thing that worries me about this one is the quality of the image to begin with isn't high enough and so upon closer inspection the art looks grainy. As such I'm not sure how well it'd turn out if printed.
Sengoku Basara Face Off - This one turned out bette than I thought. I think the purple really adds a lot of color to the template. The art style is really pretty as well. The only thing is that because Mitsunari is in the foreground, it emphasizes him more than Ieyasu and yet Ieyasu is my favorite character in the game. I guess it's okay because the art is awesome and you can still see Ieyasu's upper body for the most part.
Sengoku Basara Ieyasu - This is the first of multiple Sengoku Basara templates I made based on Ieyasu. This is also the first of the few templates where I had to do some extensive Photoshopping. I've become the master of the magic/quick wand tool. The template is somewhat busy and colorful but it fits with the tone of the video game, which if you've never played it is a very over the top hyperbolic action packed representation of Japan's fuedal history. I've got Ieyasu's character art in the left space. I have his clan logo on both sides of the control panel. I really liked the art on the left side that features the four main characters so I placed in the back and created a sidebar of sorts out of it. I got the idea of using a screenshot from the game to fill up the space on the right. I felt like something was needed to help transition the two images so I have the word Basara scrolling down the middle between the stick and the buttons. I also have the Sengoku Basara logo on the bottom right.
Sengoku Basara Tokugawa - This is the second variation of the previous template. What's different about this one is I added another larger image of Ieyasu, this one of his back, behind the first image on the left side, creating this cool back to back overshadowing effect. I'm contemplating putting this second Ieyasu in the other template as well. The only problem with this is that it covers the background sidebar and you can no longer see Ieyasu or even really make out the image all that well. The screen shot on the right is also different. What I like about this one over the other one is that the colors seem to mesh better, with the yellow and orange and gold.
Vagrant Strory - Finally there's the art work from VS. I really love this piece. Riot luckily fits right in between the location of the joystick and the buttons. Merlose however was not so fortunate but you can still see her face and legs and part of her torso so it's alright. I'm not sure if it's the image or the way it's drawn but it's a little grainy upon inspection so I'm a little worried how it'll print but I really really like this artwork.
So there you have it, those are the rough drafts of the templates I'm thinking of printing off for my joystick. All of them are pretty cool IMO. The only ones I'm not wild about is the Hajime no Ippo (surprisingly despite it being my favorite anime), KH2 (too empty looking) and the Gundam (a little too grainey). I love the FLCL one but it's a little monotone in color. Tactics looks great but the right side is a little empty looking but maybe that's fine. VS looks great but I'm a little worried about the graininess of the image. Magna Carta looks great. I also absolutely love the Sengoku Basara templates but I'm not sure which of the three I like the best. Chances are I'll probably end up printing off a few and swapping out the art from time to time on my stick. Top Three?
*Note: Also, ignore the red "Text Ecthing Sample Area" on the templates. That's just part of the template and won't actually show up on the art. I probably should have deleted those from these test examples but oh well.
So I went ahead and made a few arcade stick templates, just some rough drafts. Most of these were wallpaper arts before I touched them so they were simple stretch to fit the arcade stick template jobs. I blacked out the buttons on the template to get a better idea of how the buttons will affect the art (since I don't have clear semitsu buttons). The Sengoku Basara and the Fooly Cooly templates were really the only ones where I had to do any extensive Photoshopping but I'm surprised and actually somewhat proud of how they came out. Anyway, tell me what you think.
Fooly Cooly - This one was really popular from the few friends I asked, almost everyone liked the clean look of Naota with guitar. I knew the art wasn't big enough to stretch so I had to figure out a way to put it in the space to the left and figure out what I was going to put in the background. I found another FLCL wallpaper online, grayscaled it, and threw it in the back with some transparency so that it didn't steal the emphasis of the Naota image. I think it fits nicely. The only problem with this template is the lack of color but that's sort of the point?
Gundam Seed - The Strike Gundam is pretty cool looking and I love the shading style of this artwork. The only thing that worries me about this one is the quality of the image to begin with isn't high enough and so upon closer inspection the art looks grainy. As such I'm not sure how well it'd turn out if printed.
Hajime Ippo - For the most part I like how much space Ippo fills up on this template. His head is slightly obscured but I think it adds a little drama and emphasizes his eyes and stare. The dark brown in the background is a little boring as far as colors go, maybe if I feel like it I'll change the color.
Kingdom Hearts 2 - This one didn't turn out as great as I had hoped. I wanted to make it a minimal design, it's meant to be a white template design to emphasize the art but somehow it feels like it's missing something. Also I'm not happy with the blending of the orange sky to white. Maybe if I added a bit of transparency on the border?
Magna Carta - Despite the body of the artwork being covered up by the buttons, the image is large enough that it works imo. You can still clearly see the artwork. I think having their faces unobstructed is the key to it. The left space is a little awkward though because it's basically just her legs...not that I mind.
Sengoku Basara Ieyasu - This is the first of multiple Sengoku Basara templates I made based on Ieyasu. This is also the first of the few templates where I had to do some extensive Photoshopping. I've become the master of the magic/quick wand tool. The template is somewhat busy and colorful but it fits with the tone of the video game, which if you've never played it is a very over the top hyperbolic action packed representation of Japan's fuedal history. I've got Ieyasu's character art in the left space. I have his clan logo on both sides of the control panel. I really liked the art on the left side that features the four main characters so I placed in the back and created a sidebar of sorts out of it. I got the idea of using a screenshot from the game to fill up the space on the right. I felt like something was needed to help transition the two images so I have the word Basara scrolling down the middle between the stick and the buttons. I also have the Sengoku Basara logo on the bottom right.
Vagrant Strory - Finally there's the art work from VS. I really love this piece. Riot luckily fits right in between the location of the joystick and the buttons. Merlose however was not so fortunate but you can still see her face and legs and part of her torso so it's alright. I'm not sure if it's the image or the way it's drawn but it's a little grainy upon inspection so I'm a little worried how it'll print but I really really like this artwork.
So there you have it, those are the rough drafts of the templates I'm thinking of printing off for my joystick. All of them are pretty cool IMO. The only ones I'm not wild about is the Hajime no Ippo (surprisingly despite it being my favorite anime), KH2 (too empty looking) and the Gundam (a little too grainey). I love the FLCL one but it's a little monotone in color. Tactics looks great but the right side is a little empty looking but maybe that's fine. VS looks great but I'm a little worried about the graininess of the image. Magna Carta looks great. I also absolutely love the Sengoku Basara templates but I'm not sure which of the three I like the best. Chances are I'll probably end up printing off a few and swapping out the art from time to time on my stick. Top Three?
Friday, March 4, 2011
Stick Art
So I finally got my new fancy arcade stick and I'm looking to changing out the art work on it to my own custom art (which I've stolen from the internet for the most part haha). Help me decide which art to use, tell me which ones you like. I'll probably make a few templates in photoshop and then decide on a few that I want to finalize and print out.
Final Fantasy Tactics - One of my favorite games, I love to art style and the promotional art they produced for the PSP port they released a while back is one of my favorite pieces. I actually own a poster of the art.
Fooly Cooly - As crazy as the anime is, this particular scene is probably the most memorable despite how simple it is.
Personally, I'm thinking Sengoku Basara, Magna Carta, Ippo, Vagrant Story/FFT are my favorites so far.
Final Fantasy Tactics - One of my favorite games, I love to art style and the promotional art they produced for the PSP port they released a while back is one of my favorite pieces. I actually own a poster of the art.
Gundam Seed - Giant robots are just cool and this wallpaper in particular is really stylish.
Hajime no Ippo - One of my favorite animes I love Ippo and boxing.
Sengoku Basara 3 - I probably won't use this art in particular but I love the video game Sengoku Basara, the new main character Ieyasu Tokugawa (the guy in gold) is one of the coolest characters I've seen in a video game in a long time. I could definitely see my joystick sporting a Ieyasu themed artwork.
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep - BbS was awesome and Terra is another new favorite character design that I like.
Kingdom Hearts 2- This is another neat piece of artwork, it's very simple and clean (pun intended).
Captain America - One of my favorite marvel characters of all time. Perfect for Marvel vs Capcom 3.
Vagrant Story - A spin off of Final Fantasy Tactics, the artwork is done by the same artist. This is definitely a favorite.
Magna Carta - Artwork is done by Hyung Tae-Kim, arguably my favorite artist. His artwork and character design is rather unique. Plus he's representing Korea.
Devil May Cry 3 - Another one of my favorite video games, I might not pick this particular DMC artwork but Dante's one cool character worthy of being placed on my stick.
Personally, I'm thinking Sengoku Basara, Magna Carta, Ippo, Vagrant Story/FFT are my favorites so far.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Sleeping is Hard
Even when trying to go to bed early. I hear that if you can't fall asleep within twenty minutes, you're doing yourself more harm than good by continuing to try and fall asleep. Instead you're supposed to go do something else to pass the time some and then try again. I decided to play some DJ Hero. Perhaps I'll try again at this sleep thing.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Fight Study: Plum - the Muay Thai Clinch
Man, brutal class today. Coach sure has a tendency to crack you when fixing your mistakes. Haha, alright onto the analysis.
Combination 1: Plum clinch, twist off guard, curve knee, curve knee, straight knee, straight knee, transition out, cross, hook, cross, left or right round kick
*On the knees, I need to keep my hips in. What I've been doing previously where I throw my hips back is way too drastic and telling. Only bring my hip back enough to create the distance to throw the knee. Emphasize keeping your posture and keeping your hips in.
*Twisting an opponent off balance doesn't need to be drastic either. Make it a small movement but keep my posture and lower body in position. I can't be off balance when I'm throwing him off balance otherwise it negates the purpose of the move.
*When transitioning out of the clinch, the outside arm goes over the opponent's head (but always touches, never detach), positions on the well of the neck, straighten the arm and have the other hand up in a guarding position. Also when you step out around the corner, square back up into your kicking stance.
Things I need to work on:
High guard: Need to keep my hands higher. I like keeping them lower just because I can slip a lot easier but I'll need to find a balance.
Posture: Especially in the clinch and against taller opponents. I try to drag their heads down to get leverage on them usually but this opens up space for them to throw counter knees.
My Thai clinch needs a lot of work.
Combination 1: Plum clinch, twist off guard, curve knee, curve knee, straight knee, straight knee, transition out, cross, hook, cross, left or right round kick
*On the knees, I need to keep my hips in. What I've been doing previously where I throw my hips back is way too drastic and telling. Only bring my hip back enough to create the distance to throw the knee. Emphasize keeping your posture and keeping your hips in.
*Twisting an opponent off balance doesn't need to be drastic either. Make it a small movement but keep my posture and lower body in position. I can't be off balance when I'm throwing him off balance otherwise it negates the purpose of the move.
*When transitioning out of the clinch, the outside arm goes over the opponent's head (but always touches, never detach), positions on the well of the neck, straighten the arm and have the other hand up in a guarding position. Also when you step out around the corner, square back up into your kicking stance.
Things I need to work on:
High guard: Need to keep my hands higher. I like keeping them lower just because I can slip a lot easier but I'll need to find a balance.
Posture: Especially in the clinch and against taller opponents. I try to drag their heads down to get leverage on them usually but this opens up space for them to throw counter knees.
My Thai clinch needs a lot of work.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Fight Study: Footwork and Boxing Combinations
Working with a strictly boxing coach is really helping my footwork a lot. Some simple but fundamental footwork and boxing combinations we worked on tonight.
Combination 1: Jab, slip step left, jab jab
Combination 2: Jab, cross, slip step right, cross
Combination 3: Jab, slip step left, jab, jab, slip step right, cross
Combination 4: Jab, cross, block body right, rear uppercut, pivot lead hook, cross, jab jab
Things to work on:
Guarded jab: When throwing the jab, I need to tuck the chin and raise my left shoulder up to guard my chin just in case of a counter.
Combination 1: Jab, slip step left, jab jab
Combination 2: Jab, cross, slip step right, cross
Combination 3: Jab, slip step left, jab, jab, slip step right, cross
Combination 4: Jab, cross, block body right, rear uppercut, pivot lead hook, cross, jab jab
Things to work on:
Guarded jab: When throwing the jab, I need to tuck the chin and raise my left shoulder up to guard my chin just in case of a counter.
Video game rock and roll is dead. Long live video game rock and roll!
Activision just announced that they have axed several video game franchises. They will no longer make Guitar Hero and DJ Hero games (as well as the video game True Crime Hong Kong). Now it's possible that the games might be revived later on in the future but for the time being, these games have been given the axe by Activision due to lack of profitability.
Factors leading to their demise
Expensive Peripherals: Peripheral based gaming has always been a niche market. The casual gamer is generally not willing to shell out an extra 40 to a 100 dollars more for a controller that they can only use for one game. As I look around my room at all the video game peripherals I've acquired over the years, a cobalt flux metal DDR pad, a Hori joystick for fighting games, a dj hero turn table, and rockband instruments (including the keyboard), I realize that I am not the casual gamer. I also love music games, been playing them since DDR back when I was in highschool. Unfortunately, what drives major sales (the sales Activision is looking for, because both DJ Hero and Guitar Hero were still making profit, just not as much profit when music games first got hot) is the ability to entice casual gamers to buy.
Over saturation of the market: While Rockband and Guitar Hero are competing games targeting the same audience of consumers, Activision deserves a lot of the blame of oversaturating the market with copious amounts of Guitar Hero games. It's the simple law of diminishing returns, consumers are going to find the games less entertaining when they're being inundated with sequels. Since Activision took over the GH series with 3, they have released: World Tour, Smash Hits, 5, Warriors of Rock, Aerosmith, Metallica, Van Halen, Band Hero, On Tour, On Tour Decades, and On Tour Modern Hits. Where Harmonix went right and where Activision went wrong, was to make Rockband a platform rather than just a video game with new tracks on it. The majority of Rockband's music from previous games can be converted to the most current game, as well as thousands of downloadable music that can be purchased for the game without having to purchase another standalone video game disc. This also means that income isn't a guarantee, since gamers can pick and choose what music they want to purchase, instead of paying a lump sum for another 60 songs or what not. While GH has similar functions, they aren't nearly as extensive as Rockband's. Activision sought the quick and guaranteed buck with the route they took and it has come back to bite them in the end.
Lame marketing campaigns: Parodying Risky Business was kind of funny at first...then it became redundant. More importantly, it relied on star power without showing off what makes GH and Rockband fun, essentially a karaoke party with your friends. DJ Hero 2's ad attempted to do this but they went overboard and made it seem like the game was too much of a party that it was laughable. The majority of the ad is dedicated to people dancing and making out. DJ Hero's a fun game but it isn't that fun.
Unfortunate bystanders
While I haven't enjoyed a GH since 3 and have always held by the conviction that Rockband is the better game with better music, the death of GH is still a blow to music video games in general, that includes Rockband. Hopefully GH fans will convert to Rockband and boost Rockband's sales (as the game deserves) but more likely than not, those GH gamers are either over music games or feel burned by Activision's decision to stop supporting the series. Think about it, you've been spending lots of money on plastic instruments for a game as well as downloaded music, only to hear that they've been rendered useless? The initial reaction isn't going to be to go spend more money on more instruments for another game (Yes, I am aware that Rockband supports a lot of GH's controllers, however does the casual gamer know that?).
What is also unfortunate is that DJ Hero and True Crime have gotten the axe as well. While I never played True Crime, the trailer for it's most recent game looked incredible. As a big fan of hong kong crime cinema, a video game that lets you experience that world really intrigued me. DJ Hero is the most disheartening of the news for me however. Say what you will about the lack of quality in the GH games but DJ Hero is amazing. The turntable peripheral is sturdy and solid. The gameplay really feels like you're affecting the music, unlike Bemani's own turntable game Beatmania, where the focus is more on pressing buttons instead of mixing music and scratching like in DJ Hero. Also the music is phenomenal, featuring hip hop and dance grooves in unique mash ups.
My memories of GH
To be honest, most of my fondest memories of GH came during the first two games, when Harmonix (the makers of Rockband) still had control of the series. I remember when my friend David lent the first game to me and I drove my roommate Corey nuts because I must have played the game religiously for that first few weeks that I had it. I played so much I was beating Expert songs by the 3rd day of playing. I remember trying to find a copy of GH2 before it's release date, almost succeeding at a best buy until the guy at the counter told me I wasn't able to purchase it before its street date. I remember playing GH2 so much that I 5 starred all the main songs (not the bonus extra songs) on expert. I had a sticker decal made just for my GH controller. When Activision took over the series with GH3, I admit I played it a lot but it wasn't nearly as fun as 2. The gameplay wasn't as tight and the new graphic direction was ugly. Boss battles were annoying rather than fun. The only reason I kept playing was the music and who can forget Dragonforce's Through the Fire and the Flames? Which I beat on expert by the way. Then Harmonix released Rockband and that was the end of GH for me. Despite not having played it in years and having long since moved onto Rockband, I still think fondly on the original games. Video game rock and roll is dead. Long live video game rock and roll.
Factors leading to their demise
Expensive Peripherals: Peripheral based gaming has always been a niche market. The casual gamer is generally not willing to shell out an extra 40 to a 100 dollars more for a controller that they can only use for one game. As I look around my room at all the video game peripherals I've acquired over the years, a cobalt flux metal DDR pad, a Hori joystick for fighting games, a dj hero turn table, and rockband instruments (including the keyboard), I realize that I am not the casual gamer. I also love music games, been playing them since DDR back when I was in highschool. Unfortunately, what drives major sales (the sales Activision is looking for, because both DJ Hero and Guitar Hero were still making profit, just not as much profit when music games first got hot) is the ability to entice casual gamers to buy.
Over saturation of the market: While Rockband and Guitar Hero are competing games targeting the same audience of consumers, Activision deserves a lot of the blame of oversaturating the market with copious amounts of Guitar Hero games. It's the simple law of diminishing returns, consumers are going to find the games less entertaining when they're being inundated with sequels. Since Activision took over the GH series with 3, they have released: World Tour, Smash Hits, 5, Warriors of Rock, Aerosmith, Metallica, Van Halen, Band Hero, On Tour, On Tour Decades, and On Tour Modern Hits. Where Harmonix went right and where Activision went wrong, was to make Rockband a platform rather than just a video game with new tracks on it. The majority of Rockband's music from previous games can be converted to the most current game, as well as thousands of downloadable music that can be purchased for the game without having to purchase another standalone video game disc. This also means that income isn't a guarantee, since gamers can pick and choose what music they want to purchase, instead of paying a lump sum for another 60 songs or what not. While GH has similar functions, they aren't nearly as extensive as Rockband's. Activision sought the quick and guaranteed buck with the route they took and it has come back to bite them in the end.
Lame marketing campaigns: Parodying Risky Business was kind of funny at first...then it became redundant. More importantly, it relied on star power without showing off what makes GH and Rockband fun, essentially a karaoke party with your friends. DJ Hero 2's ad attempted to do this but they went overboard and made it seem like the game was too much of a party that it was laughable. The majority of the ad is dedicated to people dancing and making out. DJ Hero's a fun game but it isn't that fun.
Unfortunate bystanders
While I haven't enjoyed a GH since 3 and have always held by the conviction that Rockband is the better game with better music, the death of GH is still a blow to music video games in general, that includes Rockband. Hopefully GH fans will convert to Rockband and boost Rockband's sales (as the game deserves) but more likely than not, those GH gamers are either over music games or feel burned by Activision's decision to stop supporting the series. Think about it, you've been spending lots of money on plastic instruments for a game as well as downloaded music, only to hear that they've been rendered useless? The initial reaction isn't going to be to go spend more money on more instruments for another game (Yes, I am aware that Rockband supports a lot of GH's controllers, however does the casual gamer know that?).
What is also unfortunate is that DJ Hero and True Crime have gotten the axe as well. While I never played True Crime, the trailer for it's most recent game looked incredible. As a big fan of hong kong crime cinema, a video game that lets you experience that world really intrigued me. DJ Hero is the most disheartening of the news for me however. Say what you will about the lack of quality in the GH games but DJ Hero is amazing. The turntable peripheral is sturdy and solid. The gameplay really feels like you're affecting the music, unlike Bemani's own turntable game Beatmania, where the focus is more on pressing buttons instead of mixing music and scratching like in DJ Hero. Also the music is phenomenal, featuring hip hop and dance grooves in unique mash ups.
My memories of GH
To be honest, most of my fondest memories of GH came during the first two games, when Harmonix (the makers of Rockband) still had control of the series. I remember when my friend David lent the first game to me and I drove my roommate Corey nuts because I must have played the game religiously for that first few weeks that I had it. I played so much I was beating Expert songs by the 3rd day of playing. I remember trying to find a copy of GH2 before it's release date, almost succeeding at a best buy until the guy at the counter told me I wasn't able to purchase it before its street date. I remember playing GH2 so much that I 5 starred all the main songs (not the bonus extra songs) on expert. I had a sticker decal made just for my GH controller. When Activision took over the series with GH3, I admit I played it a lot but it wasn't nearly as fun as 2. The gameplay wasn't as tight and the new graphic direction was ugly. Boss battles were annoying rather than fun. The only reason I kept playing was the music and who can forget Dragonforce's Through the Fire and the Flames? Which I beat on expert by the way. Then Harmonix released Rockband and that was the end of GH for me. Despite not having played it in years and having long since moved onto Rockband, I still think fondly on the original games. Video game rock and roll is dead. Long live video game rock and roll.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Fight Study: Lead Leg Kickboxing Combinations
Combination 1: Lead leg round kick, cross, lead hook/uppercut, cross, rear leg round kick, rear leg round kick
Combination 2: Lead leg round kick, lead leg round kick, cross, lead hook/uppercut, cross, rear leg round kick
Combination 3: Lead leg teep, lead leg round kick, cross, lead hook/uppercut, cross, rear leg round kick
Combination 4: Lead leg teep, lead leg round kick, cross, lead hook/uppercut, cross, rear leg round, thai clinch*, skip knee, skip knee, skip knee, push off exit clinch
* remember when initiating the clinch to swim one hand at a time, not both at the same time.
Things I need to work on:
Lean Back: I'm still leaning back when I throw my kicks, it's taking power away from my kicks and makes me easier to push over. I've also noticed that I'm leaning to the side when I throw my lead uppercut or hook, I'm trying to load up on it too much and it's slowing me down, takes power away from my punch and opens me up. It's all about body mechanics.
Cardio and Conditioning: Oh man, Coach Cross really knows how to push us. My back is already on fire and my hips were cramping up after class. I will need to do some stretching tonight. Piriformis stretches go!
Combination 2: Lead leg round kick, lead leg round kick, cross, lead hook/uppercut, cross, rear leg round kick
Combination 3: Lead leg teep, lead leg round kick, cross, lead hook/uppercut, cross, rear leg round kick
Combination 4: Lead leg teep, lead leg round kick, cross, lead hook/uppercut, cross, rear leg round, thai clinch*, skip knee, skip knee, skip knee, push off exit clinch
* remember when initiating the clinch to swim one hand at a time, not both at the same time.
Things I need to work on:
Lean Back: I'm still leaning back when I throw my kicks, it's taking power away from my kicks and makes me easier to push over. I've also noticed that I'm leaning to the side when I throw my lead uppercut or hook, I'm trying to load up on it too much and it's slowing me down, takes power away from my punch and opens me up. It's all about body mechanics.
Cardio and Conditioning: Oh man, Coach Cross really knows how to push us. My back is already on fire and my hips were cramping up after class. I will need to do some stretching tonight. Piriformis stretches go!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Fight Study: Heavy Hands
Boxing tonight. My punches are too light. There's no weight behind them. Coach told me I need to control my feet more. I settled down and sat down with my punches and could feel the difference.
The secret to punching power and boxing isn't in the muscles of the back, or the forearms and wrists. It all starts from the ground up. You use your lower body's kinectic chain, meaning your gastrocnemius (calf muscles), the hamstring and quadricep muscles, all the way up to the hips generate a force against the floor downward and backwards, propelling the body's momentum forward. That forward momentum is then transferred to the upper body kinectic chain and converted into momentum generated at the fist.
What I worry about it is being too heavy on my feet. I have a tendency of getting stuck and flat footed in boxing, which is why I try to utilize a more lighter footwork. Unfortunately it's affect my punching so I need to start over and concentrate on the fundamentals before I get fancy with my footwork.
The secret to punching power and boxing isn't in the muscles of the back, or the forearms and wrists. It all starts from the ground up. You use your lower body's kinectic chain, meaning your gastrocnemius (calf muscles), the hamstring and quadricep muscles, all the way up to the hips generate a force against the floor downward and backwards, propelling the body's momentum forward. That forward momentum is then transferred to the upper body kinectic chain and converted into momentum generated at the fist.
What I worry about it is being too heavy on my feet. I have a tendency of getting stuck and flat footed in boxing, which is why I try to utilize a more lighter footwork. Unfortunately it's affect my punching so I need to start over and concentrate on the fundamentals before I get fancy with my footwork.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Fight Study: The Front Kick Seen All Across the World (Anderson Silv v Belfort)
Anderson Silva has received a lot of criticism over the last few fights. He's been criticized for his arrogance and his reluctance to finish fights and for that, the fans love to hate Silva. And yet, despite all the criticism, Silva has dominated each and every contender put in front of him. A near loss against Chael Sonnen however made Silva actually look vulnerable. Belfort was hyped as the fighter built to defeat Anderson Silva, with deadlier striking and wrestling ability than the champion.
And with one swift and forceful front kick to the jaw in the first round ended all that.
I love the front kick to the face. I've used it in my own kickboxing arsenal for a while now. What makes the front kick so effective is it's deceptive range and start up.
The Chambered Leg
Taekwondo and Karate fighters have been aware of this for quite some time but all their kicks come from a basic chambered position. Every kick in their arsenal starts from the chambered position, the leg bent and raised in the air. This allows the fighter to throw a side kick or a round house kick or a front kick all from the same chambered position. An incredibly important defensive ability is to read the minute details and movements of the body to determine what an opponent will attack with, so a fighter will watch their opponents shoulders which can telegraph a punch and a fighters hips can telegraph a kick. So if the initial motion and position of a kick is the same for every kick, it's difficult to read what kick is coming and where that kick will be aimed. at. In Muay Thai, you don't see the chambered leg in most of their kicks. Thai boxing generally doesn't utilize side kicks and their round house isn't chambered like Taekwondo round houses are. The teep or front kick is however thrown from a chambered position similar to its Karate and Taekwondo counter parts.
Rare Target
In Muay Thai, front kicks are generally thrown to the body. There's a few reasons for this. The front kick is usually used as a defensive tool to push your opponent back. If you want to forcibly move a person's back, you need to attack their center of mass. Usually if you front kick a guy in the head, it'll just snap their head back, not move them backwards. There is also another reason you rarely see front kicks to the face in Muay Thai. Traditionally in Thailand, to kick someone in the face is an act of disrespect. It's saying to your opponent, that they don't belong in the same ring with you and that they are outclassed. It has to do with the fact that the bottom of your feet that which you walk on become dirty and to place your dirty feet on your opponents face. Though generally most aren't aware of the historical connotations outside of Thailand.
Deceptive Range
The front kick is a very fast and deceptive kick. The hips drive the kick forward, propelling them. This also means that one can further extend the length of the kick by pushing their hip forward. This is why the kick's range is very deceptive. The natural reaction to a fast moving object coming towards your face is to flinch and pull your head back to try and avoid the kick. However, the head can only rear back so far, in most cases the foot will catch up with it and tonight, that's exactly what Silva's foot did to Belfort's face.
It's a shame the front kick to the face isn't used more often in MMA. Hell, it's a shame the front kick isn't used more in MMA period. But wow, what a stunning victory for Anderson Silva tonight.
And with one swift and forceful front kick to the jaw in the first round ended all that.
I love the front kick to the face. I've used it in my own kickboxing arsenal for a while now. What makes the front kick so effective is it's deceptive range and start up.
The Chambered Leg
Taekwondo and Karate fighters have been aware of this for quite some time but all their kicks come from a basic chambered position. Every kick in their arsenal starts from the chambered position, the leg bent and raised in the air. This allows the fighter to throw a side kick or a round house kick or a front kick all from the same chambered position. An incredibly important defensive ability is to read the minute details and movements of the body to determine what an opponent will attack with, so a fighter will watch their opponents shoulders which can telegraph a punch and a fighters hips can telegraph a kick. So if the initial motion and position of a kick is the same for every kick, it's difficult to read what kick is coming and where that kick will be aimed. at. In Muay Thai, you don't see the chambered leg in most of their kicks. Thai boxing generally doesn't utilize side kicks and their round house isn't chambered like Taekwondo round houses are. The teep or front kick is however thrown from a chambered position similar to its Karate and Taekwondo counter parts.
Rare Target
In Muay Thai, front kicks are generally thrown to the body. There's a few reasons for this. The front kick is usually used as a defensive tool to push your opponent back. If you want to forcibly move a person's back, you need to attack their center of mass. Usually if you front kick a guy in the head, it'll just snap their head back, not move them backwards. There is also another reason you rarely see front kicks to the face in Muay Thai. Traditionally in Thailand, to kick someone in the face is an act of disrespect. It's saying to your opponent, that they don't belong in the same ring with you and that they are outclassed. It has to do with the fact that the bottom of your feet that which you walk on become dirty and to place your dirty feet on your opponents face. Though generally most aren't aware of the historical connotations outside of Thailand.
Deceptive Range
The front kick is a very fast and deceptive kick. The hips drive the kick forward, propelling them. This also means that one can further extend the length of the kick by pushing their hip forward. This is why the kick's range is very deceptive. The natural reaction to a fast moving object coming towards your face is to flinch and pull your head back to try and avoid the kick. However, the head can only rear back so far, in most cases the foot will catch up with it and tonight, that's exactly what Silva's foot did to Belfort's face.
It's a shame the front kick to the face isn't used more often in MMA. Hell, it's a shame the front kick isn't used more in MMA period. But wow, what a stunning victory for Anderson Silva tonight.
Wake Up Alan (Alan Wake for Xbox 360)
For about a week I've got access to an Xbox 360. Since I don't own an Xbox360 I haven't been able to play a bunch of Xbox games. To be honest there aren't really a lot of games I even want to play on the 360, I bought a PS3 for a reason (better suited my preference of video games). Anyway long story short, my buddy Nate suggested I play the game Alan Wake. Wake is a critically acclaimed psychological survival horror thriller. You play Alan Wake, a writer with a man crush on Stephen King, who gets tricked into staying at a haunted log cabin in the middle of a Twin Peak-esque town. An evil dark presence kidnaps your wife and holds her ransom, forcing you to write a new horror novel. Apparently this evil log cabin has the special ability to turn creative works of art into reality and the evil is seeking a novelist to write her an entrance to the real world. Along the way you encounter possessed town members engulfed in darkness and with your trusty flash light and revolver, you dispatch them as you head towards your goal of being reunited with your wife and preventing the evil from coming to reality.
The game was good and I do recommend playing it if you ever get the chance. It's a rather short game so it's a perfect rental. If you're looking for a video game with a great story, pick it up.
What the game does right is atmosphere. You spend a majority of the game wandering through a dark foggy forest in the middle of the night with only your flash light to light the way, in search of any lights in the distance to indicate your next destination.You also pick up collectible manuscripts to the novel Alan Wake wrote. It's interesting because in the game, the events of the manuscript are coming to reality. So you'll pick up a manuscript page about encountering a mad man with a chainsaw and you're anxiety shoots up in anticipation of whatever bad guy might be ready to ambush you around the corner with a chainsaw. There are also tvs and radios that you can encounter that flesh out the story and further enhance the atmosphere of the world. The tvs you encounter will show a short tv program called Night Springs, a neat parody/homage to the Twilight Zone. There are many allusions to Stephen King novels and themes and as I previously mentioned the town is a nod to the show Twin Peaks (as well as other little allusions). The game separates chapters in the game as Episodes, ending every episode with a Twin Peak-esque musical selection and at the start of every new episode you get a "Previously on Alan Wake" giving the game a very television drama feel like Lost or Twin Peaks. You can tell that the developers have an affection for the genre of suspenseful thrillers.
The storyline is also well written. Alan narrates the game through out, giving his insights and making the character a lot more personable. Barry's voice actor is somewhat irksome but he has a few genuinely funny moments. Because the game jumps ahead a week after the first act, you spend your time trying to figure out what happened to that missing week and the missing manuscript that you apparently finished writing. The game's story takes advantage of the interesting plot element of a fictional story becoming nonfiction in front of your eyes. For anyone who's played the game, I especially enjoyed the final scene of the Clicker episode, it's a very cool twist and the most memorable story element in the game for me.
The game however wasn't perfect in my opinion and while it's not necessarily a gripe, the actual gameplay is nothing impressive and functional at best. This is a problem because the majority of the game is gameplay, you traveling from one cutscene to the next to progress the great story. The biggest problem is the game's use of slow motion and bullet time. Seeing how the developers are the same as those who created the original Max Payne games, the first games that I'm aware of to incorporate bullet time in a video game, it doesn't surprise me that the effect exists in Alan Wake. The problem is it's misplaced and over used in Alan Wake. When a monster shows up on screen, the game will slow motion and pan to reveal the monster creeping up on you. So instead of monsters popping up behind you and scaring you, the game shows their location and gives you ample time to turn around and dispatch him, killing any and all possible anxiety and fear of having to watch your back as you travel in the dark. The game also slow motions when you kill the last enemy in a batch of enemies, signaling that you've killed all the enemies in the vicinity and you no longer have anything to worry about. Again, it kills the possibility of fear and the necessity of caution and any anxiety that may arise from not knowing what's around the next corner. The other time the game uses bullet time is when you dodge an enemy attack. What makes Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space scary despite being very action oriented survival horror games is the anxiety and panic that arises when enemies start to swarm you. In those games there is no easy dodge maneuver, if you get cornered you will be mauled by monsters and zombies very quickly, thus causing the fear of getting cornered or surrounded. There is also no slow motion so you have to think quickly while deadly monsters charge at you with promises of a gruesome death. In Alan Wake, the majority of encounters occur in the wide open spaces of the out doors, giving you plenty of room to back up and run away from your slow moving assailants. And even if you get surrounded, enemies telegraph their attacks so you can easily dodge them, initiate slow motion to slow down the action and give you another second to think, all while creating more space for you to reload and stun your enemies with your flash light. The game gets in its own way and kills any anxiety or fear or sense of panic that you experience in other survival horror games with it's bullet time. My friend disputes that the game isn't meant to a horror game but I disagree, there are certainly moments and events in the game that attempt to scare the gamer. If enemies were more threatening, the game might have succeeded.
There's also the fact that there is very little variety in the enemies themselves. There's a brute who will charge at you with a shovel or axe or chainsaw, a dual wielding hand axe carrier who will throw their axes at you, annoying poltergeist furniture and evil birds that will fling themselves at you and a fast moving brute that spazzes around you and waits for an opening. All can be dispatched of by shining your flash light on them and plugging them with ammunition. Speaking of which, there's also very little variation in weapons in the game. While it is more realistic that Alan isn't going to find an assault rifle in an isolated little north western town, every gun essentially functions the same with the only differences being ammo and stopping power. There's also no differentiation in where you shoot an enemy. There is no limb damage so there's no need to invest any skill in aiming. Again, you can argue that a writer who's never fired a gun before the events of the game isn't going to have the accuracy to fire off head shots, but that doesn't mean the gamer's skill should be ignored.
There's nothing broken about Alan Wakes gameplay, I just wasn't impressed by it and to be fair the gameplay isn't the selling point of the game, it's its thrilling storyline and for that I recommend playing the game. I just wished the gameplay was a little more enjoyable as I found my becoming bored with the mechanical like monotony of dispatching the "Taken" that I experienced as I hoped for the next checkpoint to yield a cut scene to further the plot.
The game was good and I do recommend playing it if you ever get the chance. It's a rather short game so it's a perfect rental. If you're looking for a video game with a great story, pick it up.
What the game does right is atmosphere. You spend a majority of the game wandering through a dark foggy forest in the middle of the night with only your flash light to light the way, in search of any lights in the distance to indicate your next destination.You also pick up collectible manuscripts to the novel Alan Wake wrote. It's interesting because in the game, the events of the manuscript are coming to reality. So you'll pick up a manuscript page about encountering a mad man with a chainsaw and you're anxiety shoots up in anticipation of whatever bad guy might be ready to ambush you around the corner with a chainsaw. There are also tvs and radios that you can encounter that flesh out the story and further enhance the atmosphere of the world. The tvs you encounter will show a short tv program called Night Springs, a neat parody/homage to the Twilight Zone. There are many allusions to Stephen King novels and themes and as I previously mentioned the town is a nod to the show Twin Peaks (as well as other little allusions). The game separates chapters in the game as Episodes, ending every episode with a Twin Peak-esque musical selection and at the start of every new episode you get a "Previously on Alan Wake" giving the game a very television drama feel like Lost or Twin Peaks. You can tell that the developers have an affection for the genre of suspenseful thrillers.
The storyline is also well written. Alan narrates the game through out, giving his insights and making the character a lot more personable. Barry's voice actor is somewhat irksome but he has a few genuinely funny moments. Because the game jumps ahead a week after the first act, you spend your time trying to figure out what happened to that missing week and the missing manuscript that you apparently finished writing. The game's story takes advantage of the interesting plot element of a fictional story becoming nonfiction in front of your eyes. For anyone who's played the game, I especially enjoyed the final scene of the Clicker episode, it's a very cool twist and the most memorable story element in the game for me.
The game however wasn't perfect in my opinion and while it's not necessarily a gripe, the actual gameplay is nothing impressive and functional at best. This is a problem because the majority of the game is gameplay, you traveling from one cutscene to the next to progress the great story. The biggest problem is the game's use of slow motion and bullet time. Seeing how the developers are the same as those who created the original Max Payne games, the first games that I'm aware of to incorporate bullet time in a video game, it doesn't surprise me that the effect exists in Alan Wake. The problem is it's misplaced and over used in Alan Wake. When a monster shows up on screen, the game will slow motion and pan to reveal the monster creeping up on you. So instead of monsters popping up behind you and scaring you, the game shows their location and gives you ample time to turn around and dispatch him, killing any and all possible anxiety and fear of having to watch your back as you travel in the dark. The game also slow motions when you kill the last enemy in a batch of enemies, signaling that you've killed all the enemies in the vicinity and you no longer have anything to worry about. Again, it kills the possibility of fear and the necessity of caution and any anxiety that may arise from not knowing what's around the next corner. The other time the game uses bullet time is when you dodge an enemy attack. What makes Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space scary despite being very action oriented survival horror games is the anxiety and panic that arises when enemies start to swarm you. In those games there is no easy dodge maneuver, if you get cornered you will be mauled by monsters and zombies very quickly, thus causing the fear of getting cornered or surrounded. There is also no slow motion so you have to think quickly while deadly monsters charge at you with promises of a gruesome death. In Alan Wake, the majority of encounters occur in the wide open spaces of the out doors, giving you plenty of room to back up and run away from your slow moving assailants. And even if you get surrounded, enemies telegraph their attacks so you can easily dodge them, initiate slow motion to slow down the action and give you another second to think, all while creating more space for you to reload and stun your enemies with your flash light. The game gets in its own way and kills any anxiety or fear or sense of panic that you experience in other survival horror games with it's bullet time. My friend disputes that the game isn't meant to a horror game but I disagree, there are certainly moments and events in the game that attempt to scare the gamer. If enemies were more threatening, the game might have succeeded.
There's also the fact that there is very little variety in the enemies themselves. There's a brute who will charge at you with a shovel or axe or chainsaw, a dual wielding hand axe carrier who will throw their axes at you, annoying poltergeist furniture and evil birds that will fling themselves at you and a fast moving brute that spazzes around you and waits for an opening. All can be dispatched of by shining your flash light on them and plugging them with ammunition. Speaking of which, there's also very little variation in weapons in the game. While it is more realistic that Alan isn't going to find an assault rifle in an isolated little north western town, every gun essentially functions the same with the only differences being ammo and stopping power. There's also no differentiation in where you shoot an enemy. There is no limb damage so there's no need to invest any skill in aiming. Again, you can argue that a writer who's never fired a gun before the events of the game isn't going to have the accuracy to fire off head shots, but that doesn't mean the gamer's skill should be ignored.
There's nothing broken about Alan Wakes gameplay, I just wasn't impressed by it and to be fair the gameplay isn't the selling point of the game, it's its thrilling storyline and for that I recommend playing the game. I just wished the gameplay was a little more enjoyable as I found my becoming bored with the mechanical like monotony of dispatching the "Taken" that I experienced as I hoped for the next checkpoint to yield a cut scene to further the plot.
Fight Study: Is Anderson Silva MMA's Muhammed Ali
Is Anderson Silva MMA's Muhammed Ali? Now here me out before you call me blasphemous. I'm not saying Silva rivals Ali's social impact or even his long term impact on the sport. I'm looking at mostly personality and fighting styles. Some points to consider?
-Both fighters are tall and lanky with long limbs.
-Both fighters are known for their evasive footwork.
-Both fighters utilize their speed yet have knockout power in their hands.
-Both fighters are incredibly unorthodox, they don't seem to sit on their punches and yet can still deliver a knockout punch from an unusual angle that doesn't seem like it would generate a lot of force bio-mechanically.
-Expanding further on the unorthodox style of fighting, they both have fighting habits that are generally considered incorrect. Both Ali and Silva lean back to avoid punches and both fighters keep their hands low.
-Both fighters showboat in the ring, Ali with his famous Ali Shuffle and Silva's clowning around against Maia.
In terms of charisma and personality:
-Both fighters have been known to talk to their opponents during the fight. Ali would goad his opponents, yelling at Liston in their rematch to "get up bum!" as well as whispering in Foreman's ear "Is that all you got?." I don't think I need to remind everyone of Silva's in fight chatter against Maia.
-Both fighters gladly accept the role of heel. Ali admits that he imitated the professional wrestler Gorgeous George, who would anger the audience with his arrogance and cockiness. Ali also believed in theatrics. He once rented a tour bus with insults written across the side of the bus onto Sonny Liston's front yard just to get under Liston's skin so that he could get a title shot. Silva walks into a weigh ins with a mask.
-People also seem to love to hate and doubt both fighters chances at victory. Ali was never the favorite against Liston. A lot of people thought it was a dive on Liston's part. A lot of people thought Ali was going to be murdered in the ring by Foreman. When Ali converted to Islam, sports writers criticized Ali's boxing abilities, everything they had praised about him before became a negative attribute. Instead of being tactical in the ring, he was described as sneaky. Instead of being surgical and methodical, he was now boring and slow. His evasive footwork was no longer admired but instead scorned because now he was seen as running away. Sound familiar with Silva?
Now sure there are definitely differences, simply because of the differences between the two sports they inhabit. Silva's long term impact on the sport is also hard to judge at the current moment. I also doubt Silva will ever have a social impact like Ali did, but Ali never was aware of his social impact at the time and never set out to be a philanthropist and a spokesperson on social inequality.
*shrugs* I've been watching a lot of Ali documentaries lately and I always seem to notice the hate Silva receives. I think he's a great fighter and I always enjoy watching him fight. I noticed these similarities and thought I'd bring it up for thought.
-Both fighters are tall and lanky with long limbs.
-Both fighters are known for their evasive footwork.
-Both fighters utilize their speed yet have knockout power in their hands.
-Both fighters are incredibly unorthodox, they don't seem to sit on their punches and yet can still deliver a knockout punch from an unusual angle that doesn't seem like it would generate a lot of force bio-mechanically.
-Expanding further on the unorthodox style of fighting, they both have fighting habits that are generally considered incorrect. Both Ali and Silva lean back to avoid punches and both fighters keep their hands low.
-Both fighters showboat in the ring, Ali with his famous Ali Shuffle and Silva's clowning around against Maia.
In terms of charisma and personality:
-Both fighters have been known to talk to their opponents during the fight. Ali would goad his opponents, yelling at Liston in their rematch to "get up bum!" as well as whispering in Foreman's ear "Is that all you got?." I don't think I need to remind everyone of Silva's in fight chatter against Maia.
-Both fighters gladly accept the role of heel. Ali admits that he imitated the professional wrestler Gorgeous George, who would anger the audience with his arrogance and cockiness. Ali also believed in theatrics. He once rented a tour bus with insults written across the side of the bus onto Sonny Liston's front yard just to get under Liston's skin so that he could get a title shot. Silva walks into a weigh ins with a mask.
-People also seem to love to hate and doubt both fighters chances at victory. Ali was never the favorite against Liston. A lot of people thought it was a dive on Liston's part. A lot of people thought Ali was going to be murdered in the ring by Foreman. When Ali converted to Islam, sports writers criticized Ali's boxing abilities, everything they had praised about him before became a negative attribute. Instead of being tactical in the ring, he was described as sneaky. Instead of being surgical and methodical, he was now boring and slow. His evasive footwork was no longer admired but instead scorned because now he was seen as running away. Sound familiar with Silva?
Now sure there are definitely differences, simply because of the differences between the two sports they inhabit. Silva's long term impact on the sport is also hard to judge at the current moment. I also doubt Silva will ever have a social impact like Ali did, but Ali never was aware of his social impact at the time and never set out to be a philanthropist and a spokesperson on social inequality.
*shrugs* I've been watching a lot of Ali documentaries lately and I always seem to notice the hate Silva receives. I think he's a great fighter and I always enjoy watching him fight. I noticed these similarities and thought I'd bring it up for thought.
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