The Greatest 2D Sports Videogame Athletes: Vince Coleman Edition
If Michael Vick played baseball (and was approximately 20 years older), he would be Vince Coleman. An odd comparison, you say? Not really, Mr. Pass Judgment Too Early. They’re both swift-footed, they’ve both played for second-rate teams, and they’ve both had a penchant for very stupid actions. Although Vince wasn’t responsible for a pair of pit bulls gnawing one another to shreds, he did toss firecrackers at fans, and claimed that he didn’t “know nothing about no Jackie Robinson”, instances that got him into a whole world of media hurt. Luckily, he (like Vick) forever remains untarnished in the realm of videogamedom.
Review: King of Fighters XII (Xbox 360)
I don’t take well to change. When I was 12 years old, for example, the move from elementary school to junior high school, collapsed my world. I hated shuffling from class to class. I hated being separated from dear classmates that I had grown to love over the previous 6 years. I hated the new teachers. I did everything within my pre-teen power to avoid school, such as faking illnesses and, eventually, skipping class all together. Fortunately, Mama Wilson’s switch put an end to such non-sense and put me down the right road. Change can be good when blended well with the proper motivation.
When the King of Fighters series went 3D in the Maximum Impact line, fans revolted. After living with the aging Neo Geo sprites for over a decade, many felt that SNK Playmore’s visual overhaul should have been in the form of high-resolution 2D sprites instead of soulless polygons – - myself included. The SNK Playmore era, unfortunately, had become one associated with visual mediocrity.
Maxmium Impact was a wash, and the latest 2D King of Fighters entries (King of Fighters 2003 and King of Fighters XI), both featured bland backgrounds and some suspect sprite work that lacked the visual pop of old school SNK fighters, despite being engaging titles with a new tag mechanic. The King of Fighters series needed a change. The change that we, the fanbase, wanted.
King of Fighters XII represents SNK Playmore’s move into modern gaming with fresh, high-definition sprites and new gameplay. A title that has experienced such a huge revamp can’t be accurately judged within the confines of a single review. Over the course of the next several days, many game sites will quickly craft and post “in-depth” game reviews to grab that much sought after search engine traffic and link love. Not here.
As a fighting game fanatic I know that a game’s worth can’t be judged in a day or two. Glitches, broken characters, and flawed mechanics appear only after significant time with a fighter, which can greatly impact a game’s worth – - look at SNK vs. Capcom Chaos, which quickly fizzled after the initial hype of the crossover. So, 2D-X.com presents the first iteration of our King of Fighters XII review. As we dive deeper into the game in coming days we’ll make changes, should it be warranted, to accurately reflect the King of Fighters XII experience. Let’s get started.
Puzzle Rocks Now on iPhone and PC
It’s a puzzle game for the iPhone and PC. Looks kinda cool. Surely, the developer, Cinemax, can describe it in detail far better than I or a YouTube video. Right?
Question: How to keep your brain active during the holiday break?
Answer: Play Puzzle Rocks! Stop the falling stones!
Match colors and shapes in this turn-based stress-free casual game.
Take your time to find the best strategy, improve your moves and make as many matches as possible during a single to turn to raise your score.
Do you have what it takes to get through 27 various levels?
Christ.
Still, the game looks solid and is dirt cheap. Dirt cheap. If you purchase the game between now and August 31st, you can pick up the $3 iPhone version for just a buck, and the $15 PC version for only a Lincoln. Even better, the PC version of Puzzle Rocks is DRM-free because Cinemax loves you.
11-Year Old Hates Contra and All That Is Fun In Life
Filed under: Emulation, Homebrew, and Modding, Gaming Culture
Props to /gamer for unearthing one of the more intriguing gaming related YouTube clips that has ever graced the popular video repository. Kerry of Nerd Balloon has launched “Project D” a social experiment in which he sits down an 11-year old (raised on a steady diet of modern first-person shooters) in front of a computer emulator to play the games on which we were reared. Games like Contra.
Contra is known for three things: Twitch gaming, the Konami Code, and tough-as-nails difficulty. Oddly, I thought the latter was more hype than reality; a shared “games were harder back in the day” mentality used to elevate our skill levels to god-status (for those that finished it), or help construct a mythos of frustration (which explained why some were unable to finish it). I was wrong, it seems. Of Contra, the youngster says:
“It’s pretty hard. It’s not as easy as Halo 3 or Call of Duty World at War.”
That’s about as good as it gets, as junior proceeds to take a solid one all over Contra, as expected. The PlayStation may have very well have been his first console.
According to Kerry, the next game that kid will tackle is Battletoads. The kid’s toast.
DJ Jazzy Jeff Joins The DJ Hero Line-Up
DJ Jazzy Jeff may be best known for being tossed on his ass by Uncle Phil every week, but the part-time TV star is actually an accomplished, Grammy Award winning producer, and famous turntablist. As such, it’s only fitting that he’s joining the legendary Grandmaster Flash, DJ Shadow, DJ AM, and other wax-masters in Activision’s DJ Hero.
DJ Hero is much like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, except that you look far less dorkier playing alone. By scratching, blending, sampling, and cross fading, you get to drop fat beats as colored rhythm icons make their way across the screen. So what does the DJ Jazzy Jeff bring to the table (get it?) besides his image? Two exclusive mixes that he handcrafted himself: Tears for Fears “Shout” vs. Eric B. & Rakim “Eric B. Is President” and LL Cool J “Rock the Bells” vs. The Aranbee Pop Symphony Orchestra “Bittersweet Symphony.” Pretty righteous.
So how much will it cost to use Jazz in DJ Hero? Pre-orders for the October release is currently set at $120 from the major outlets. Ouch. I know that the cost of creating the game/turntable has to be recouped, and royalties paid for the music licenses, but $120 seems a tad steep. You can cop a Stanton for that kind of chedda.
Games of Summer: Street Fighter II
Games of Summer is a recurring seasonal retrospective highlighting those magical titles that evoke wondrous thoughts of warm weather, carefree days, and discovery. Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll reflect on said titles and analyze why they meant so much to us then – – and just as much now.
When you live in the northeastern portion of the United States, you’re subject to brutally cold, snow covered winters that leave you hungry for the warmth of summer. That’s what I loved about being born in May; when my birthday rolled around, it was the official start of good times. Blooming flowers, beach weather, springtime crushes, and dwindling school days were all elements of the immediate future. So was the likelihood of getting punched in the face.
Every summer, as warm weather settles over New York City, a newscast reports that violence and crime escalate as the mercury rises. One doctor would state that the high heat indexes are the direct cause of unruliness; another equally qualified physician would contradict that by explaining that people are simply outdoors longer in the summer, thus upping the chance of a confrontation. Regardless, if you were in an arcade between 1992 and 1997, you either witnessed, dished out, or received an asskicking. As a frequent visitor of virtually every arcade in New York City during those years, I’ve experienced all three aspects of the phenomena. Street Fighter II was very often the cause almost every single time.
Bits and Bytes: 7/26/2009
Bits and Bytes is a weekly round up of some of the more interesting gaming news items that happened to slip through the cracks during our normal posting schedule. They’re presented here in easily-digestible bite-size chunks.
8-bit Hash Pipe
Like chiptunes? Like Weezer? Pterodactyl Squad mixed chocolate with peanut butter to create Weezer – The 8-bit Album, a 14-track record covering the band’s hits with an old school computer sound.
The Legend Lives On
Konami announced that it’s partnered with Universal Music Enterprises to bring the sounds of The Jackson 5 to the multi-platform Karoake Revolution. Wannabe crooners can belt out classics such as “I’ll Be There” and “ABC.” R.I.P., Mike.
Zombies Invade Xbox Live Arcade
Popcap Games’ monster tower defense game, Plants vs. Zombies, has been confirmed as being ported to XBLA. No word yet on extras/achievements. [Hat tip: Videogamepreview]
I’m in Your PS3, Crashin’ Yo Castlez
Castle Crashers, the Xbox Live Arcade surprise hit is a-comin’ to the PlayStation 3, with the possibility of new features. [Hat tip: Offworld]
King of Fighters XII Gets A New Video and a Performance-Enhancing Patch
King of Fighters XII’s July 28th release date is just mere days away, but Ignition Entertainment is still cranking out the vids. This time out, a full match.
Also, we’ve received an e-mail stating that a patch will be available on launch day for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game that will help stabilize the online experience. Apparently, some players have been experiencing “minor performance issues.” Hmmm.
The Castle Crashers Crew Reveals “Game 3″
The Behemoth, the team behind Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers, revealed their third game!
Dubbed “Game 3″ (no title yet), it’s described as a “competitive platformer” in the vein of Super Smash Bros., Bubble Bobble, and Bomber Man. Details are scant, but from the looks of it, multiplayer is a given (if those scores up top are any indication) and Dan Paladin’s cartoony art style returns. A single player mode is also guaranteed.
Given how long it took Castle Crashers to arrive, we’ll have to wait and see if the Summer 2010 release window stays accurate. Check out Gamespot for an in-depth preview (with video!).
[Hat tip Kotaku]
The Greatest 2D Sports Videogame Athletes: Riki Choshu Edition
I know that it’s painful, but for just a moment, hold back the tears and soul-wrenching insecurities that still live in the back of your mind, and think back to your junior high school years. There yet? Ah, excellent.
Now, picture Butch in your mind. Oh, you know Butch – - every classroom had one. That one gargantuan kid that didn’t quite fit in with the rest, be it due to a hyperactive thyroid or his taking a third jaunt through the 7th grade. That’s Butch. Normal kids’ heads barely reached his mid-teen pecs and he ruled the playground not for anything that he actually did or said, but because he looked as if he could take his hand and push it straight into your chest like Shin did to Ken in Hokuto no Ken.
Such a freak is Riki Choshu of Fire Pro Wrestling D.
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