It’s been a while since my last update to Street Fighter Galleries, my third-oldest site (10 yrs old)! However, since the release of Marvel Vs. Capcom Origins, I felt new inspiration and re-captured an old X-Men Vs. Street Fighter gallery. I did captures for both outfits (not the additional two on home ports) and think the mouseover effect is quite nice. Enjoy this…hopefully there’s more to come!
Archive for the Games Category
SFGalleries Update!
Posted in Blog, Game Art, Games, Street Fighter, Web Design on October 2, 2012 by slatemanResident Evil 6: Demo Impressions
Posted in Games, Resident Evil with tags Resident Evil 6 on September 21, 2012 by slateman
I’m psyched about RE6. OK, there, I admitted the obvious. Now, the other day I talked about its expectations and what it needed to do to beat RE5. After a day with the demo, I fear it will not accomplish that.
As for what’s done right…the game looks friggin’ beautiful. Visually, it’s right where it needs to be, with great textures, plenty of detail in the background and huge scope. The new menu system is great, as it keeps you in the game while you manage inventory or options. The game keeps the power of punches and headshots and will not falter on those accounts.
However, having gone through all three demo campaigns, I felt worried. The Leon scenario was classic, with spooky hallways and zombies hidden throughout. Now, we’ve lost that really scary feeling as with a partner, you can’t retain that truly classic intensity while having a friend with you. However, I liked running through the shadowed hallways and positioning headshots on slow-moving zombies. So satisfying.
The newcomer’s scenario was just OK. I got lost a few times and, without any background, didn’t know why I should care. I’ll hold out on making any observations on this one just yet.
Finally was Chris’ campaign and I don’t know what to say. By leaving survival horror, you have to pursue that path with excellence lest you feel like a copycat…but I did not feel thrilled with much about this (Well, the boss was pretty friggin’ cool!) I am not officially nervous about this scenario. Finishing it did not leave me with the desire to play it again….precisely what you need for this to be a success IMO.
BUT, I shouldn’t be hasty. October 2nd is just around the corner. This won’t disappoint…right?
Borderlands 2: Joy Puking My Face Off
Posted in Borderlands, Games with tags Resident Evil 6 on September 20, 2012 by slateman
I got the damn game the day it came out but waited an entire day to play the thing. Today…I played. And I liked.
It rocks. It’s everything I wanted it to be…namely, MORE BORDERLANDS. Last night, I ended up skipping over this much-anticipated title AND the Resident Evil 6 demo to play Zuma Revenge with my wife. It was fun. But it wasn’t Borderlands. While I read previews and reviews here and there, I never can really get a feel until I play the thing. I am a very visual learner. So, getting my hands deep on in that shit means I got to level up a bit, start spreading the points, badass tokens, sold weapons, etc. It felt so familiar just better, slicker, newer. I didn’t get a long session this evening, I was so tired (2am Zuma does that to you!) but I endeavor to do so soon. This game is great, and I’m not going to divulge why. It is b/c it’s Borderlands. So damn good! Joy Puking My Face Off!
Resident Evil 6 Expectations: How To Surpass RE5
Posted in Blog, Games, Resident Evil with tags Resident Evil 6 on September 19, 2012 by slateman
The Resident Evil 6 demo is live and I’m crazy psyched to give it a full run. My buddy and I tinkered with it for 5 minutes but wanted to save the whole thing for when we had a little free time. As the game is coming out in just a few weeks, I thought I’d talk about how this game will compare to Resident Evil 5.
Now, I’ve professed my love for RE5 before. The game, released in March three years ago, has really set the standard for action games and the layout for them. Now, I won’t even give forum to anyone complaining about survival horror. This is an action game and I would have it no other way. I love Resident Evil and sincerely hope RE6 can live up to the excellence of the last installment.
So, what does RE6 need to do to match/trump its predecessor. Here is my opinion.
Layout
First off, it needs to match the fifth game in its spectacular layout. By this, I mean the save-game system must remain as it did. Though I had to cancel my GameFly subscription, I have played a lot of games over the past few years and I haven’t found one with such an impeccable layout. Your save game keeps track of each level on each difficulty, time, collectibles and itinerary. This makes it easy to jump into and out of, and I never lost data because my game wasn’t saved properly. I love it and this must return.
Scope
Having played RE5 so many times, I kind of forgot how massive it was. From the humble city-streets beginning to the grandiose finale, Chris and Sheva went through a huge world of diverse excitement. While I know RE6 will have three story arcs taking place in different places (though crossing), I hope it keeps that feel of an enormous journey rather than a jumpy collection of short stories.
Replay Value
To say this again…I beat part 5 on the PS3, then went back and did it on Veteran mode. I played through it on the easy setting and got the infinite rocket launcher. Later, I played the game with a friend on Professional…which was brutal. In order to get the platinum trophy, I went through everything again.
A different friend never played it, so we trudged through the game on the Xbox360. I couldn’t help myself, so I beat it on Veteran myself and did most of it all again just to collect stuff.
I lost my save game on the PS3, then went through AGAIN…to say I loved this game would be an understatement and I desire to have that feeling again. I loved redoing it all to get the treasures, to save up for the guns, to power them up. Very few games really give me such a rewarding feeling and I certainly hope we have plenty of unlockables (infinite rocket launchers were awesome!) as well as great Mercenaries/Versus modes again.
Power
Being surrounded by enemies in the first jungle area was an overwhelming feeling. Those giants would wreck me and all those smaller guys around me were killing me. I grabbed that magnum and, in the midst of the madness, shot a round at a masked foe. It felt HUGE. The guns really felt like they scaled as the game progressed. Handguns were OK but shotguns were brutal! So, when I unlocked the infinite rocket launcher, I was in heaven. This was just a progression from Resident Evil 4, so I expect this to return in full force. Having played the demo, head shots are just as rewarding as they ever were. So good!
Thrills
To reiterate, RE is no longer about crawling through hallways with a horrible, yet intense control scheme. It’s a Hollywood movie with all the excitement and thrills of any summer blockbuster. Nothing displays this more potently than Uncharted 2. It was so outrageous and I ate up every minute of it. What will RE6 be all about? I can’t say I care. I want it to be a huge production, with twists, good voice acting, enormous explosions and much, much more.
Honestly, if the gameplay can improve on RE5’s and make it look super slick, I’ll be sold. That may sound like I’m selling it all short, but I guess that’s a testament to how much I love the series. This game should be intense, huge in scope, powerful and thrilling with a great layout and tons of replay value. I am so psyched for it to come out. Tonight…to put down Borderlands 2 for a little bit and play the demo. Rock and roll!!!
Borderlands 2: TODAY! Waiting…
Posted in Blog, Borderlands, Games on September 18, 2012 by slateman
It’s out. It’s on its way. I friggin’ loved Borderlands and I’m outrageously psyched about part 2. The game should arrive today, though my wife has off and I may not get any time to play it. Definitely going to play as the commando, definitely going solo for a while and cannot envision me disliking this game at all. So psyched! OK…more waiting. Bah!!!
Borderlands 2: Four Days!
Posted in Blog, Borderlands, Game Art, Games on September 14, 2012 by slateman
Four Days!!!
Planet Tony Hawk: Closed…Done…Forever
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Personal, Reflection, Tony Hawk Series on September 13, 2012 by slateman
Back in 1999 I started what would become the largest Tony Hawk-related gaming site in the world. I would peak at over a million hits a week. I created no fewer than 400 pages of articles, previews, reviews, guides, tutorials, images, videos and editorials about Tony Hawk, his line of games, his skating, and everything in between. It was my baby (along with Crumbling Flesh). It opened doors for me to go to California several times a year, meet new friends, make connections, grow personally and professionally and to meet Hawk multiple times. I had a good run. I had a damn good run.
So, when Skate came out after seven years of annual Hawk games, something was ready to give. Another entry got some good scores but that was the beginning of the decline. We saw Activision scramble to make a pair of peripheral-required games, a motion game on the NDS, numerous mobile titles and a new download-only game. The heyday is over. It has been for a while, but today was my eye opener.
As I received Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD a few weeks ago, I was psyched to get back to the site. I wrote a new FAQ, started making updates to my awesome Hawk History article and got ready to do some catch up. The problem was, I couldn’t log in. My email stopped working. No one would reply to my requests. I had that inspiration and it was burning bright. It felt like it did back in the old days. Gap lists for THPS. Stat icon locations in THPS3. My empassioned slagging of THAW. Even when it was bad, it was oh-so-good. I poured my heart into this site and I was tremendously excited to continue that devoted dedication.
Today I received an email saying that all Planet sites were archived and no updates would ever be made to them again. Wait…What? Yep. Archived. Closed. Done.
Wait…WHAT?!?! Apparently someone dropped the ball because I never got an email. Even in the midst of all the crap mail I get, I never came across a message saying, “Hey, your site, you know, the one you have worked on for 13 years of your life…yeah, that one. Well, it’s going to be closing.” I never got the opportunity to say, “Goodbye.” Just one day, it was inaccessible. Two weeks of emails and waiting yielded the news. “Gone. Closed. Forever.”
First of many meetings – NYC 2001
I interrupted the writing of this article to put my kids to bed. I held my son and rocked him to sleep, feeling his hands clench and relax on my shoulder as he dozed. Is this a big deal? Listen, my four kids have their health. I have a job. It is just a game and it really wasn’t my baby; my baby boy is my baby. This post is not to whine about how I’ve been wronged but rather to rue the loss of control over something special.
It is a premature and unexpected ending of a massive 13-year journey. It is painful to know I had no say in its fate. The money ran dry years ago but that excitement of updating something you’re so proud of remained…until I realized I could no longer share that passion.
Planet Tony Hawk was the source of great happiness and pride. It allowed me to do so much, see so many things and go so many places. I enjoyed almost every minute of it. It’s been a great ride. For anyone who took part in that adventure, you know what I’m talking about. And today, I’m done with that journey forever.
Games I’ve Beaten – 2012 Edition
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Borderlands, Games, Lists, Portal, Resident Evil, Skyrim, Street Fighter, Uncharted with tags Resident Evil 6 on September 4, 2012 by slatemanAfter a few rough weeks, I’m glad to be back posting stuff here, even if no one reads this blog. I was thinking about the games I’ve completed this year and thought I’d write a few notes about them. How many have I finished? Well, these should be broken down into retail games and PSN games. Don’t think I got anything new on the 360, so that’s PSN and not XBL.
GameFly tells me I’ve rented the following this year:
- Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (later purchased)
- F.E.A.R. 3
- Street Fighter X Tekken
- Portal 2
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss
- SSX
- Sniper Elite V2
- Rayman Origins
- Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
- Binary Domain
Not a bad list and it really justifies the GameFly fee, seeing as how I’d not have purchased most of those. Of the 10 titles GF sent me over the course of 8 months, I only completed 4. But that’s not really bad seeing as how SFxT can’t truly be finished and my PS3 died before I could complete the fun Sniper Elite.
In addition, my friend and I love coop games, but both Ghost Recon and Binary Domain aren’t what we’re looking for (gotta pay for one, no campaign coop in the other), so I wouldn’t count either of those.
This leaves F.E.A.R. 3 which, by all measures, was pretty much crap. SSX just was absurd and I didn’t play that long before shipping that one back. It lost all the charm the old games had. Now, Skyrim is a big one, and I quite enjoyed what I played but I have yet to complete the campaign despite dumping scores of hours into it.
The games that I count are Rayman Origins which was a pleasurable platformer replete with collectibles and tons of replay value. Had I not been on vacation in the middle of nowhere (which is why I got the game to begin with, really), I would’ve written more about it. The handheld Uncharted was largely a success. In fact, it’s the best-looking handheld game I’ve ever played and it felt like Uncharted, itself a success!
Finally we have Portal 2. I’ve said it before and won’t hesitate to repeat it – Portal 2 is one of the most brilliant achievements in gaming history. Ingenious and clever and…well, no reason to do this again.
Now to PSN games. It looks like I’ve played the following this year:
- Outland
- Journey
- The Mysteries Of Little Riddle
- The Walking Dead (Episodes 1-3)
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD
I figured I must’ve beaten more than that…but I guess not. I’ve already professed my love for that game. As for Journey, I wasn’t entirely sure what I thought of it. The Little Riddle game was something fun to play with my wife, and The Walking Dead games…well, just read below. Playing through the three episodes was one of the of the most enticing gaming experiences ever.
I played, but haven’t finished:
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Just Cause 2 (PS3 died, lost save game)
- Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (same)
- Lara Croft & The Guardian Of Light (same)
- Rochard
I’d like to get back to Rochard. Batman…I didn’t love that as much as everyone suggested I would.
Verdict: So…let’s face it…the reason for this article was to figure out what the best game was that I completed. Well, first off, Borderlands 2 comes out in two weeks and Resident Evil 6 in four. Those could very well be high up on my list, but from what I’ve done so far, Uncharted, The Walking Dead were the highlights. Rayman and Outland were fun, visually-impressive titles, but Portal 2 was the best.
Let’s see how BL2 and RE6 fare against such a juggernaut!
The Walking Dead: Episode 3…
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Reviews, The Walking Dead on September 3, 2012 by slateman
I simply couldn’t wait, so tonight I finished episode 3. This was the weakest episode in terms of exciting events. On the other hand, it was the single most powerful moment in gaming history.
OK, that may sound a bit dramatic, but (Spoiler-rific), when I heard the gun shot and ran into the woods…OMG. When I did what had to be done. OMFG. I don’t care that I knew it was coming. I FELT IT. That was painful.
I don’t quite know what to expect moving forward. It’s like my humanity is disappearing and if it weren’t for Clem, I’d be done. I think that’s why the TV show (comics?) have Rick’s family there. Without them, it would be so easy to lose what kept you together.
Anyways, the episode was a bit slow once you got to the train, but it was not without action and drama. I still can’t believe what just went down and I maintain its power was unmatched in gaming history. (And yes, I played Final Fantasy VII back in Sept of ’97 – 15 yrs ago this month…urgh!)
The Walking Dead: Episode 2…
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Reviews, The Walking Dead on September 2, 2012 by slateman
I’m having a tough time with this. Man, I love watching zombie movies. Action, suspense, RUN! It’s exciting, enticing and exotic. But rarely do these films truly touch upon the emotional portion of it all. Sure, you’ll lose a loved one. Of course difficult decisions will be made. But in The Walking Dead: The Game I find myself torn.
First off, I’m so glad this isn’t an action game, a FPS or anything of the like. The way this has been crafted is utterly perfect. It contains the exciting, enticing and exotic nature of zombie films and games before it, but only a few times in gaming history have I really cared so much for the protagonist. Few times have I felt so tied to my main character. In Metal Gear Solid 4 I remember tapping the triangle button as if my life depended on it (because for Snake, it did). John Marston’s suffering was my own in Red Dead Redemption.
I find myself having a tough time deciding when to be sympathetic and when to be stern. I want to protect Clementine but I don’t want to tiptoe to do so. I have to be strong to make the tough decisions, but I also want to try to keep peace. Things don’t work this way. The reviews I’ve read say the same…this is hard shit! I want to be loyal to Kenny…we are brothers here! But as each hour passes, these decisions become more and more difficult.
The first two episodes were free for PS+ subscribers and I didn’t even finish episode 2 before plunking down my $5 for episode 3. I must know how this pans out. Lee is the man, confident, yet reasonable. Was he a killer before? It doesn’t matter, he’s my hero now, saving those around him. This is as human a tale as I’ve ever encountered, truly only rivaled by John Marston’s. I simply cannot believe a cel-shaded point-and-click adventure based on zombies could be so deep, rewarding, intense and emotional.