Super Mario Galaxy 2 and ModNation Racers arrive fashionably late

While I'll be too busy this Memorial Day weekend to enjoy Super Mario Galaxy 2 and ModNation Racers, they've still managed to reach me right before the weekend began to rub their noses in my face. At least they'll be waiting for me when I return.

3D Dot Game Heroes editor easy to grasp, pleasant on the ears

There was no choice more obvious than Link to base my first custom pixel character on in 3D Dot Game Heroes. While the game was very enjoyable with its default blue-armor-clad character, it was still missing that je ne sais quoi.

But using any editor without the comfort of a mouse and keyboard made me a little hesitant at first. Sure, it's still pixel placement when you come right down to it, but there are so many things that could go wrong when implementing tools to operate in three dimensions. Fortunately, the tool set that was given was very simple to grasp. And the background music while you create is so upbeat and catchy, making time melt away - I could listen to that all day!

The cursor you work with is always relative to you and not on the camera angle. So, if you rotated your creation to the left and hit left, the cursor will go left relative to you. This makes navigating around a real breeze, making all the hard-to-reach areas much more manageable. Also with the left and right analog sticks acting as the zoom and rotate, respectively, observing your work at all angles is very smooth.

Their color palette is quite diverse, despite the lack of a real color wheel (like what ModNation Racers has). I really only had to change one color from the default palette they started me on to get all the colors I would need for Link. And you have all your typical "undo," "redo," and "erase all" commands at your disposal. But what I really enjoyed the most were the "resize" and "move" tools.

To resize, you just need to hold the X button and create how big you want your cursor to encapsulate, from all 3 dimensions. And, with their simple no-fuss navigation system, it's very easy to set up a huge block cursor with a change in camera angle. With a variable size, the now can be used to place larger areas of pixels, delete larger areas of pixels, and, most importantly, MOVE a large area of pixels. A lot of games can use a lot of the rules set that make this editor so hard to put down.

The approach I went to create Link was to first re-create the 2D sprite on the closest layer, and re-create the side angle sprite to one side of the area. From here, I eyeballed where all the pixels would meet up in the middle, and then worked my way out. After probably a good hour, I had the initial stand pose up and ready. Considering that artists never intended the pixels to coordinate and match from the front and side, there were a lot of liberties taken to make it all work.

From there, a simple command allowed me to copy over that same pose to other poses, and then I just chiseled Link to match his walking technique for one walk pose. Thanks to their "flip" command, I took the same walk pose and just flipped it for the second walk pose. Walking done!

Next up was the Hurray pose, which appeared when you grab an item, or just fall from a certain height. This probably took the longest time since I had to work on both arms at once. After this was done, the attack poses were a quick edit away before I was able to preview my creation in their test arena.

Overall, I think the final result is quite impressive for a first try.

Needless to say, this has now become my character of choice when playing the game.

And yes, I figured that some people have already tried their hand at making Link. Heck, From Software even gave promo disks with Link as a bonus additional character to use, made by those folks. But it feels good to make a character from the ground up, and it's something I'll likely try again in the near future. Something tells me, though, that it probably won't get posted up on their Hall of Heroes upload page.

I'll try to see if I can upload the character on this blog, but if you want a copy, feel free to email me.

Bit Trip Runner downloaded, reminds me of Master Higgens

The very first thing I thought when I started playing Bit Trip Runner (800 Wii points) was my speed run memories of Adventure Island. I don't think many people realized how well designed the levels were to a point where players can just run through the level non-stop and cleverly jump, dodge, and attack enemies in a precise and consistent pace.

Bit Trip Runner, on the other hand, has your character already constantly running, so all you have to do on your end is jump, duck, and kick your way through their very-addicting levels.

I've only played through the first world and boss, and halfway through the second world, and I'm quite addicted. However, I must the game credit for that addiction, seeing that they'll automatically start the next level after every level completion. In addition to the constant level barrage, your character gets reset back to the beginning of the level if you screw up, without missing a beat. There is no extra lives to hoard, no powerups to obtain - you either pass the level, or you don't. There's not even any real interface or tutorial in the game; you just simply play.

The only items you pick up are either gold or these plus-shaped icons that not only improve your score but give you a rainbow streak when you collect all 4. And when you collect all the gold in a level, you're treated to a bonus level done in the familiar style of Pitfall, from which they drew a lot of inspiration. The bonus game even had a grainy filter and familiar static hiss that's reminiscent of all classic Atari 2600 games.

Sound is a strong presence in the game, performing on cue with all your gameplay actions. I found myself almost immediately bobbing my head to the beat, making the already-challenging game that much harder to enjoy and rock out to at the same time. The rhythmic beats also serve as audio cues that accompany the gameplay very smoothly. I was slowly becoming more concerned about not disrupting the beat rather than trying to finish the level, as ironic as it sounds. There were a couple of moments when I considered not picking up all the gold, to just complete the level without getting scathed. But doing just that would defeat the game's audio purpose, and would just give me bland beats.

Finally, the inclusion of ANAMANAgUCHI to Bit Trip Runner is simply awesome (If you ever get a chance to check them out in concert, please do so!). My only disappointment was that it's only used in the intro and end credits and nowhere in the game itself. At least the songs they used (Blackout City as the intro, Mermaid in the credits) were appropriate choices.

Probably the only gripe I've had with this game so far is that on some levels the colors are so vibrant that it's sometimes hard to distinguish the objects you need to dodge. Other than that, Bit Trip Runner is a glorious time-sink that is worth your time and Wii points...I highly recommend it.

3D Dot Game Heroes arrives with pixel goodness

In a time when games get more and more realistic, it's a nice departure to return to a retro, 8-bit world. Well, a 3D 8-bit world, at least. Thanks to 3D Dot Game Heroes, this dream is a weird reality.

And yeah, sure, this game is EXTREMELY similar to another game that rhymes with the Megend of Relda, but I personally think imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I think without people who are fans of the classic game this is based on, this game would fall flat among the masses.

There's still yet the editor for me to play around with and create my own pixelated heroes.

Super Street Fighter IV...finished!

What did you expect? It's not like Super Street Fighter IV is anything new, and I've technically beaten it before. I just had to go through a once-over to sample the new mechanics, characters, and bonus stages for myself.

But this time I've exposed my (terrible) skill to the online community and secured my first win...after several losses.

Super Street Fighter IV is a week late...

...getting to my house. While everyone is enjoying playing online battles and tinkering with the new characters, I'm left in the dust, a week behind everyone else. Heck, a day earlier than when I get my hands on it will set the spread already.

No matter...Super Street Fighter IV is in my possession now, so it's time to dust off that joystick and get to practicing!!

New Super Mario Bros. Wii...finished!

I actually feel a little shameful that I didn't complete the New Super Mario Bros. Wii game sooner, being quite the Nintendo fanatic. But I guess the rounds of multiplayer-madness I had with this game detracted me from finishing the main game too many times.

But there's still more time I can sink into this game, what with acquiring the 3 big coins in each level to unlock the levels located in World 9 to conquer. But that will have to wait for another day.

Giving the PS3 more breathing room

It's been almost 2 years since I got my PS3, and the 80 gb hard drive served me well during that time. However, it's reaching its limit now, so a new hard drive is in order. What with all the large-sized demos coming out and the ridiculous downloading games to the hard drive for easier load times (I'm looking at you, Heavy Rain), I'm surprised I didn't upgrade sooner.

Hopefully this time I won't be filling this up fast anytime soon.

God of War III arrives, beheads minotaur along the way

There's something to behold when a company, going through a game twice over, decides to give the boxart for God of War III a full zoom of Kratos's angry eye. I mean, for a man who has seen the slaughtering of countless enemies, allies, and his own family, they is not a spec of red veins anywhere, no baggy eyes. What's his secret?

I guess if Kratos is killing you, the last thing you'd see are his eyes and face breathing down your own. Probably would be a bad time to comment on his long eye lashes.

"I think you need to man-scape your eyebro-AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Zero Punctuation review: Just Cause 2

This week's "Lazy Wednesday" has Yahtzee wandering around the sand(box) in Just Cause 2, a game where that guy from Bionic Commando and his grappling arm are the star, and magical parachutes come out of his ass. It also gives Yahtzee the excuse to say "just 'cause!"

To be honest, there haven't been much sandbox games I've been diving into as of late, after Grand Theft Auto pretty much beaten the dead horse long ago. So maybe the arcade-style antics of a sandbox game like Just Cause 2 or Saints Row 2 would be a nice departure.

NSFW below, so enjoy!

Tatsunoko vs Capcom...finished!

Continuing the trend of actually finishing games, I throw in Tatsunoko vs Capcom into the "finished" category as well. While it's not as thoroughly "finished" as the other titles, like Street Fighter IV I deemed it complete when I see the final credits roll before my eyes.

Overall, the gameplay is as decent and as fast as any game from its VS series has been, and the gameplay is augmented with the fightstick. And the character roster is still impressive enough for me to play through the game again, especially for the game's final boss which was a pleasant surprise.

But it's great to know that the VS franchise is staying strong, what with the recent announcement that Marvel vs Capcom 3 is happening now.

God of War II...finished!

A little late to the party since God of War III has already been released, God of War II is now tucked nicely behind my "finished" belt, thanks to the God of War Collection. I had already finished the first iteration in the series, but that was before I started this blog. Now that I'm finally caught up with the main story (yeah, I forgot the PSP game, but meh), I'm ready for what God of War III will bring.

And after a taste of it last year at E3 (along with careful dodging of other videos and demos released later), I expect a wild ride the third time around!

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story...finished!

After about 25+ hrs of gameplay and an unexpectedly-long final level journey, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story can finally be laid to rest. The game was successful in keeping the humor level in par with the previous games in its RPG series, and the active gameplay made the game all the more satisfying to play. And while the plot of being stuck in your arch enemy's body seems a bit silly, Nintendo was still able to mesh it with a plausible background story and give Mario, Luigi, AND Bowser enough time in the spotlight to shine.

Now if only they include Princess Peach into the action instead of ALWAYS playing the damsel in distress, then that would rock! You got that, Nintendo? I want Princess Peach to be a playable character in the next installment!! MAKE IT SO!!

Zero Punctuation review: Red Steel 2

This week's "Lazy Friday" has Yahtzee doing another Wii game review, this time for Red Steel 2. Be prepared for a shocker, though, because I think Yahtzee actually liked this game! And he's certainly the stickler for the system's infamous "waggle" control. Thankfully, with the requirement of a Wii Motion Plus attachment, the controls behave more accurately in this sequel.

But of course, it wouldn't be a Zero Punctuation review without any criticism. So check out the NSFW video below and enjoy!

Zero Punctuation catch-up: God of War III

This week we're playing "Lazy Wednesday" catch-up, as I post up about 4 weeks of missed review posting. And finally, we come to God of War III.

I think by now, the whole game's plot is quite ambivalent. Kratos is pissed at the gods, and wants to kill them, the end. All I want to do is just slaughter hoards of enemies with my two chain blades stuck on my arms. That, and see how tiny I can be against the mondo-humongo boss battles I'll encounter the third time.

At this rate, I think Kratos is running out of ways to kill. Decapitate a head...yawn. Tear their bodies in two...meh. Chop off their limbs and beat them with it...been there, done that. Pretty soon, Kratos would have to jump into one of these monsters' homes and slaughter their yet-to-be-born mini-minions just to get us to say "that's fucked up, even for Kratos!"

Anyways, this marks the final catch-up before tomorrow's new Zero Punctuation. Hopefully I won't be quite as backlogged in the future as I was this week.

NSFW below, so enjoy!

(Anything but) Zero Punctuation: April Fools

This week we're playing "Lazy Wednesday" catch-up, as I post up about 4 weeks of missed review posting. This time it's April Fools!

Apparently this April Fools joke was tucked away in another video series at the Escapist called Game Dogs. It would've been much more logical to just use the direct link to the video reviews as the location of the joke, but whatever.

As for the joke itself, it's slow to pick up (get it?), but it gets its point across (not to mention commas, pauses, and ellipses).

SFW - you heard me, SWF - below, so enjoy!

Zero Punctuation catch-up: Final Fantasy XIII

This week we're playing "Lazy Wednesday" catch-up, as I post up about 4 weeks of missed review posting. And now...Final Fantasy XIII.

Surprise, surprise, Yahtzee doesn't like the JRPG that is Final Fantasy XIII. But before you take your ridiculously-huge cosplay sword and take a swing at his head, consider this: it IS a Final Fantasy game. You've only played, oh, the same game 12 other times at least, just in slightly different flavors. Is it any surprise that people would criticize this franchise?

But for the first time, I believe that I may be able to finally finish a Final Fantasy game with Final Fantasy XIII, which is both a good and bad thing. Good obviously being the fact that I'll finish one of these lenghty ordeals, but bad being that it's a Final Fantasy game. You see, these games were built on the foundation of nerds that have endlessly grinded their time away just to inch their levels up just to make battles shorter and easier; Final Fantasy does not. Which bodes well for me, seeing that I don't have the luxury of time nor youth to spend mindlessly playing through the same dungeon over and over again just to gain +2 points attack after a level up.

Whatever the case, if you're a fan of the series, you won't mind the XIII iteration. If you're NOT a fan - or you're Yahtzee - then stay away from it and go play something else.

NSFW below, so enjoy!

Zero Punctuation catch-up: Battlefield: Bad Company 2

This week we're playing "Lazy Wednesday" catch-up, as I post up about 4 weeks of missed review posting. Next up...Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

I don't know how much more realistic Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is suppose to be. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the first like a first-person war shooter but with some personality thrown in with more memorable characters instead of general NPCs that you know will eventually die? Or maybe the term "realism" is more to the fact that nothing is arcade-y and all the action is still dirty-and-dusty brown colored.

If there was any war game I would play, it would've been Battlefield: Bad Company...which I haven't. That probably says something right there. More something about me than anything, really.

NSFW below, enjoy!

Zero Punctuation catch-up: Heavy Rain

This week we're playing "Lazy Wednesday" catch-up, as I post up about 4 weeks of missed review posting. First one at bat...Heavy Rain!

First off, if you haven't played any Heavy Rain yet, this review is spoiler-city, so if you truly want to remain "pure" for the game, watch the review afterwards. If you don't care, continue anyways. Spoiler-alert...Yahtzee hates it.

Yahtzee makes some valid points though - not triggering the right action to progress the story is a common thing a player will do, but that's only the thorough nature in all gamers looking to wring out EVERY SINGLE OUNCE of value from a game. Often times the only reward in fiddling with every accessible area is just to turn on and off something. I don't hear any player scrutinizing another for not turning on the radio before going into the next scene. And unless there's some minor trophy rewarding you for interacting with the entire fucking world, I'd spend less time playing "nightclub" with the light switch.

The biggest point Yahtzee makes is that the game is not a game but a movie. If you play Heavy Rain like a game, you will not enjoy it; if you play it like a movie with you in the driver's seat, then it's another sensation altogether. The game goes by its own clock at times, so your decisions bear real consequences - unless you hit the reset button and replay those scenes over again, but then you're playing it like a game all over again.

I've already put my two cents about the game, but I'll stand by Yahtzee and agree with his views - Heavy Rain is not to be enjoyed as a game, but if you like a good movie, then give it a whirl.

NSFW below, enjoy!

Metal Slug XX...finished!

A game that's good for a quick plow-through at a moment's notice is any Metal Slug game, provided that infinite continues are at your disposal. If you don't like the thought of "infinite" continues, you can just imagine the idea of stuffing an arcade machine full of your laundry money. As long as my game binge is not disrupted, infinite continues are welcomed in my house.

After 44 continues (some of those levels are just RIDICULOUS hard), I completed Metal Slug XX with Fio in one sitting. And yes, I found out too late that the PSP game is just a fancier version of the Nintendo DS game I got earlier for the cheap. So sue me.

As a Metal Slug game, it satisfied the run-and-gun urge I had at that time. As for replay, there may be times when I'll try to see if I can best myself, perhaps taking less continues to finish. At one time, I was able to complete the entire first mission without dying - that would've made me do a fist-pumping "hells yeah" in an actual arcade...followed by awkward stares. There's also the side missions where you just play through a mission trying for the most kills, saving the most prisoners, or just surviving.

Bottom line, if you're a fan of the series, you know what you're gonna get: lots of guns, hoards of enemies, and bullets galore.