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Guacamelee! Platinum!!!

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Borderlands, Games, High Scores / Accomplishments, Personal, Uncharted with tags on April 17, 2013 by slateman

guacamelee!
I grabbed Guacamelee! last week and thoroughly enjoyed playing through it on both my PS3 and PSVita. The game is classic in so many senses. The tight controls, fun combat and spectacular visuals all made this a joy to work through. The fact that it was a Metroidvania game only helped.

Being on vacation, I was able to grab the game and play whenever I had a free moment and the Vita’s suspend option made it perfect. After beating it and 100%ing it, I went on to hard mode. Some of the arenas and bosses were tough (and cheap) but it all felt like small victories. It reminded me of getting my first platinum on Uncharted. While some areas were really tough, all you had to do was beat that one section. Games save after everything nowadays. Though I don’t want to remember that blue water room in UC. Nightmare.

guacamelee-platinum

Anyways, Guacamelee! was a game I had on the horizon for a bit, and after getting another $10 free from PSN (that’s the third time they’ve given me free cash!!!) and a $3 PS+ discount (the best deal in gaming evah!) it was a no-brainer. Cross play only helped. I was uploading my save, playing on the PS3, uploading then playing back on the Vita. Brilliant. Well worth the cash and my seventh platinum!!!!

Speaking of: My other platinums: Uncharted 1-3, Borderlands, The Walking Dead and Resident Evil 5. All were worthy of my time.

And reflection time: We’re at the end of this cycle aren’t we? PS4/720 coming out in a few months. Looking back with a friend recently, this generation has had some *Great* games. I started writing an article on the best games of this generation. Never quite finished though. :)

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Mini-Reviews: Soilwork / October Tide – Unimpressed…

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Music, Reviews on April 17, 2013 by slateman

OT-TunnelI really wanted to like both of these albums but I just can’t get into them. Moving backwards in time, the newest October Tide was highly anticipated as I’m a huge fan of the original records as well as the newest incarnation of the band. Those first two albums were awesome, filling the gap left by Katatonia’s departure from doom metal. The rebirth was heavy as shit and catchy. This new one is…well, it’s heavy. Track 2 has a super catchy portion in the middle. I generally can’t recall anything else from any other track. It’s true and unfortunate. It’s so mediocre I don’t know what else to write. Is it bad? No. It’s…just…boring.

The Living InfiniteOh Soilwork. This isn’t too different from October Tide, really. We’ll just substitute those albums in the middle (anything after Predator’s) for OT’s absence. Then, we had The Panic Broadcast which I thought was incredible. Their new, double-disc effort sounds awesome. It is HEAVY, the mix, the drums, guitars, vocals all sound great. The problem is that I can’t listen to it. Some songs are good. The first track starts out great. However, it all falls into the formulaic problem that plagued everything after A Predator’s Portrait. I remember that album coming out and knowing right then and there that the band was done. You could tell the next album would be all about the hook. The catchy riff that led to the obligatory clean vocal chorus. Here we are again, and some of these chorus parts are unlistenable. They’re cheesy. I can’t do it.

As for the double disc portion, that I can handle. I realize that lots of times a double album means filler. It might not be the case here, but I have a hard time getting through even a few songs. It would be great to enjoy this record, but it suffers from what plagued all those ‘middle’ albums. The planned riff-chorus formula. Meh.

New Cube Order Placed! 3x4x5 Cuboid!

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing on April 17, 2013 by slateman

3x4x5 CuboidI haven’t posted anything in a bit…feeling a bit uninspired to do a lot of stuff, sadly. However, it’s been a while since my last cube order (OK, just 2 months) and I opted to pick up a 3x4x5 cuboid. It’s a different puzzle but looks like it should be pretty cool. I’m excited about it and will now be checking the mailbox daily for a rather impressive addition to the puzzle collection. I’m psyched!!! The shape-shifting element is one of the biggest draws. Can’t wait!!!

New Bone Fire MP3: Thirteen II

Posted in Blog, Downloads, MP3s, Music on March 31, 2013 by slateman

Don’t even think of asking me how I managed to record two songs in one day, when I’ve only recorded two songs in the last two years. Once again, this is just an excuse to write/record but I don’t care. It’s fun. Here’s the newest addition…in all its glory. Enjoy!!!

New Bone Fire MP3: Thirteen I

Posted in Blog, Downloads, MP3s, Music on March 31, 2013 by slateman

It’s been yet another year since I’ve been able to record anything and so today I did! Part of this was just to make sure my audio hardware was all set up properly. So, as usual, it started with a very basic riff (on bass this time), a pair of stereo guitars, a mono solo-type doodle, drums/snare, hi-hats and finally cymbals. It’s quick, dirty, sloppy and just good enough to post. \m/

Vampire Resurrection DLC: You’re Kidding…Right?

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games with tags , on March 22, 2013 by slateman

vr-dlcI’ve supported Capcom since day 1. When the jokes about Super Street Fighter Zero Alpha Turbo II X kept coming, I would correct everyone about the Zero series, the differences between incremental updates, etc. And when Super Street Fighter IV came out for a mere $40, I bought that shit quick. Even the on-disc DLC from SFxT was fine by me (I didn’t buy it). And while I will not be buying the new Vampire Resurrection DLC, its entire existence is just a joke. For a mere $1 you can buy one of two cabinets or $2 for game rooms. That’s $6 of useless crap. Again, you can’t complain…just don’t buy it. But the fact that this even exists is pathetic. Whatever.

New Average-Of-5 Record: 36.32!

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing, Cubing Records on March 21, 2013 by slateman

3x3-average-of-5-record33.39, huh? That’s a pretty good time. What would’ve been an incredible record just a few months ago is merely a ‘pretty good time’ now. Well, I have a few minutes to spare, why not another run or two? 38, 37, 34, 37 seconds…WOW. That was five runs in a row of not only under 40, but well under 40! My average-of-five record stood at 39.31. It’s now three seconds better! Wow!

Pretty psyched. That was fun.

New Cubing Record: 3×3 – 31.50!

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing, Cubing Records on March 19, 2013 by slateman

3x3-record-31.5

The scramble left me with a very fortuitous cross and so I had the bottom layer done in less than 10 seconds. The rest of the run was good enough to break my record but I have to admit that in my head, I was hoping for a sub-30. It didn’t happen, but a quarter of a second faster than my fastest ever is still reason to be psyched. I had done a run on my stickerless Zhanchi but returned to the good ol’ black cube for the victory. I love the stickerless, but maybe it needs some tensioning. Who cares! New Record!!!

New Cubing Record: 4×4 – 2:40.67

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing, Cubing Records on March 19, 2013 by slateman

4x4-record-2.40.67I still time myself doing 3×3 solves here and there but I’ve mostly abandoned speed cubing other cubes. After breaking both my 2×2 and 3×3 records recently, in the same day, I took a peek at the larger cubes. Until I get a new 6×6 I’m not even going to try and my 5×5 attempts were far from my record (I solved in 6:11, record is just over 5:00). The 4×4 sat there, the spectacular ShengShou cube, and so I tried it. Centers were solved quickly, maybe 30 seconds. It’s that middle edge matching that kills me! Well, ultimately I finished the cube in 2:40.67, less than a second faster than my prior record. While that’s not really a huge deal, breaking my 2×2, 3×3 and 4×4 personal bests all within the same month is pretty cool.

Mini-Review: Darkstalkers: Resurrection – Missing Something

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Reviews with tags , on March 19, 2013 by slateman

VAMPIRE RESURRECTION POSTCARDI spent an awful lot of time a few months back working on an exhaustive Vampire Savior FAQ and I now will have to update it with Darkstalkers/Vampire Resurrection information. After a little while of testing things out, I have to say…it’s OK. My main concern was the port of Darkstalkers 3 – a game that never truly existed. Sadly, they didn’t take the ‘best of’ idea and include Vampire Savior 2 and Vampire Hunter 2 tweaks. This game appears to play just like the arcade version of VS without the Dark Force changes or the additional three characters. Why this is eludes me. The gameplay is spot-on, of course and all the usual perks are included. You gain points for completing challenges. You use this currency for the Vault – artwork and movies. Fortunately there is some new artwork included here not present in every other version. Unfortunately there is no sound test; this is a pity considering how the soundtracks to these two games may very well be the best Capcom has ever produced. The Japanese game was released in disc format and the first copies came with a bonus soundtrack CD. Sure I already have the soundtrack for VS but it’s just that good! AND, the game definitely features at least one new track – again, a sound test would have rocked.

And then I start doing tutorials/challenges. Now, can someone tell me why back in 1997 Arika was able to do the trial thing right and why now, 16 years later, we’re left with this? First off, there are only five for each character for each game. That still is a lot of challenges, I suppose. Street Fighter EX+A had…was it 15? 20? 25? And, since I’m not a fantastic player, I can’t perform half of them. Morrigan has the same trial for both VH and VS (screw this American naming convention). The same trial? Well, I can’t manage to chain a c.Short->c.Fierce->Darkness Illusion…so that means there are 2 of Morrigan’s 10 challenges. Great.

Now, the entire presentation is amazing. The HD makeover looks phenomenal (the game still looks like it always did) and when you switch from VH to VS, you remain in the last menu. I.e. if you’re about to start a ranked match and you change games, the menu places you in the ranked match area again. Small things like that are great. There’s also an info box giving you details about all the fighters. Developers, if you’re going to do this, please have at least 100 different quotes. I played for 10 minutes and felt like it was repeating already.

VR Soundtrack

Online play was superb, zero problems and GGPO has treated me well with all recent fighters. I suck, so it’s no fun at all getting trounced by Gallon (Talbain) constantly. But, that’s my problem.

There’s a spot for the Playstation Store – so I don’t know what they’re planning on trying to sell us. $15 for this package is indeed good, but I’d be pissed if they asked me to shell out more for anything. Unless it’s the soundtrack – it’s just that good. Then again, I now have this game for the PS1, PS2, PS3, SS, PSP and arcade ROMS – just missing the DC game. I’m not paying anything more for Vampire/Darkstalkers until part four comes out. :)

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