Season's Beatings Redemption: The Aftermath

Momochi & ChocoBlanka Say, "Hai" From Season's Beatings Redemption.

Before I give my take and list the results I have to get the thank you's in. I don't know how EVO or SBO works, but I have been to every Season's Beatings here in Columbus, Ohio and seeing the hardwork that Fugee and Ghaleon [Godlike Entertainment] put in beyond impressive. Huge thanks to Team Spooky for keeping up a quality stream. I thought I saw him grow six extra arms. Seeing the man edit and switch angles on the fly all while responding to the chat on the stream was dizzying. Props to the sponsors, MadCatz and Hori. The commentators: Skisonic, NerdJosh, James Chen and Chris Hu with a special rotating guest list.

Click to read more ...

Season's Beatings Redemption: Photos

Season's Beatings 2010: Team USA vs. The World

The event just ended. Literally minutes ago and I've been hard at work uploading photos. Expect a more formal wrap up tomorrow of the event [sorry, I'm incredibly exhausted]. What you should know is that Team USA beat Team 'The World' in an incredibly close match 13 to 12. Yipes beat Chris Schmidt in a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 exhibition as well as the official Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament. Daigo was eliminated earlier than expected in the Super Street Fighter IV by Andre. Gamerbee ended up winning in the grand finals against Momochi, so the Super Street Fighter IV character tier is kinda wide open. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Super Street Fighter II, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, Blaz Blue: TS and more -- were all played, I'll try to gather as many results as possible.

In the mean time. Be sure to check out the photos here! Season's Beatings Photos!

Super Street Fighter IV Review -- History Repeating?

Super Street Fighter IV has ushered in a new community of fighting game fans and continues to cater to us old schoolers. So why do I get the sneaking suspicion that we could be on the cusp of yet another fighting game flood?
Within the week of me writing this I’ve had the pleasure of: purchasing my first arcade joystick, arranging plans with friends to attend a fighting game tournament and review a long-time competitor in Tekken 6. Needless to say, I’m suffering from a frame counting overload. Imagine my surprise when I opened up a little envelop in my mailbox and out popped a shiny new copy of Super Street Fighter IV. Looking at my stack of growing games I rarely play, I noticed a dusty copy of the original Street Fighter IV which was released a year prior. My joy slowly waned as I questioned whether Capcom was repeating history and gouging its fans by flooding the fighting game market with sequels and spin-offs.

Click to read more ...

Video: The Only Two Games I'm Looking Forward To

Thanks to Gamefly and a little luck with friends of this site, I've been able to play a handful of games I've been looking forward too this year. Go ahead, click the games tab on the left of the site and peruse my let downs and my surprises. 

However, I typically like to keep games I want to be surprised by, out of my internet gaze until their release. The game above, Castlevania: Lord Of Shadows and the game after the jump, Enslaved are two games I've been interested in for two very different reasons.

Castlevania: LofS I've been interested in simply because I'm not a Castlevania fan [the only Castlevania game I liked was Symphony of the Night and I own most of the console released games]. The game looks powerfully Japanese [and how could it not? Its a Kojima joint] with the haircuts and gothic clothing, not to mention the overly expository 'talky' scenes, but it all works and looks appealing. Weird, considering, usually these are all things that turn me off and a contributing reason why I don't watch game trailers.

Enslaved is a game I've been keeping an eye on since Edge's interview of Ninja Theory earlier this year. That and I've recently caught myself up on the book the game is based on [Journey to the West]. Plus, I'm a fan of underdog games. Castlevania and Enslaved games aint gonna get the push a Gran Turismo 5 or Halo: Reach is going to get in the holiday season so, I figured a little post like this may bend the ear of a reader or two.

I'm going into these games knowing that they didn't have the money that a God of War or Devil May Cry may fetch. So seeing a couple reviews on 1up has me thinking that barring some minor annoyances, my want of these games could be justified.

After the jump, the Enslaved trailer

Click to read more ...

Red Dead Redemption -- Why Open World Narratives Fail

A game rich with architecture, dialog and distraction. Red Dead Redemption makes huge steps for open world games with narrative, but plays it safe with a bevy of sidequests and mulitplayer options that distracts more than it immerses.
Red Dead Redemption -- a very fortunate game with some unfortunate pieces. I feel like I’m destined to never complete an RPG or an open world game. I’m not sure if this should be seen as a review, because [by my standards] a true review comes from thoroughly exploring every aspect of a game. But times have changed. Red Dead Redemption and games of its massive budget-ilk are a fantastic example of how different games are in this generation in comparison to any preceding. A game rife with imagery and characters that bleed imagination and heavy influence from a time and genre the common gamer will not completely identify with. With as many inspiring answers as to what gaming is capable of today, I’m left asking more questions to the contrary. Why isn’t this an MMO? Do open-world games break a game’s narrative outline [no matter the quality]? And more importantly, why couldn’t I finish this incredible game?

Click to read more ...

Season's Beatings: Redemption, Oct. 15th - 18th

Its that time of year again. I’m sure anyone reading this is well prepared for the Midwest’s premiere fighting game tournament, but in case you are a new comer I would suggest venturing over to the Shoryuken boards and introducing yourself to some of the best and brightest minds when it comes to this amazing tournament. Now because of last year’s incredible turnout there I would suggest getting your money and skills in order. There will be a $30 dollar flat rate to enter the venue, so why not save up a couple extra shillings and enter a tournament or two.

As per the usual, I will be there with my camera documenting the event -- heck, I may even try my hand at a tourney or two. Rest assured, this is a tournament you do not want to miss. Daigo, Gamerbee, Choco and Momochi have already confirmed to be in attendance and if that doesn’t get you hype, then you may want to reconsider calling yourself a fighting game fan.

Stay tuned for further updates on SBV: Redemption.

After the jump are the details and official press release about the event thus far.

Click to read more ...

Games Of 2010 Owe Thanks To Modern Warfare 2

Because Modern Warfare 2's highly advertised release in 2009, game publishers pushed several titles to be released in 2010. Could this single act be responsible for changing how & when we consume games?

If ex-Infinity Ward employees troubled relationship with Activision bore any positive fruits, it would be the late 2009 gaming industry shake-up of Modern Warfare 2’s release. Regardless of how one feels about the quality of the product, Modern Warfare 2 may have had the largest impact on 2010’s gaming release schedule than was initially anticipated. Whether this actually helped or hurt the industry financially is a task I’ll leave to the number crunchers who produce the monthly NPDs. What I have noticed [and I’m sure you’ll correct me if I’m wrong] is that as a result of Modern Warfare 2’s release, this essentially front-loaded this year with game releases. In a way, because of one major game release, the industry was forced to realize how important the rest of the year is in regards to the gaming culture. Though this rising tide doesn’t lift all boats, could this be the start of larger game titles being spread evenly throughout a given year?

Click to read more ...

Gaming Averse

One of three games I played for almost ten years. Street Fighter III: Third Strike, kept my interest in gaming, even when I never wanted to play games outside of this specific sect.
Not even five years ago I was the owner of a PSone and Dreamcast wandering will I ever play a new game again. I  wondered if there will ever be a need, I should say. I have always played games since pooping in pampers, I mean haven’t you read my blog [nerd chortle]? Once I entering college in 2000, I played three games: Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, and NBA Showtime. I wish I could explain my NBA Showtime love to you all, but I feel it could fall on many deaf ears, I digress. This form of gaming hermitism could have been attributed to being the typical broke college student, but in reality I didn’t see the good in gaming. I was perfectly fine playing a select few and being in my own little world in that regard.

Click to read more ...

The Death Of Local Co-Op.

The Current Wrangling Of Varmints And Four-Player Now Comes With Internet Varification.

I had a friend over who wanted to sit down and play through the Transformers: War For Cybertron’s Co-op campaign. We were surprised to see that the local cooperative mode was unavailable. We started talking about a simpler time when men were men and games new their place. It should be noted that while writing this I wore a cowboy hat and slim-fitting jeans. Its to remind me of a time where pressing start wasn’t just for one anti-social gamer on a couch, but sometimes two-to-four. Today we have three and four hundred dollar gaming consoles that, in away, promote solitary gaming. That’s right my little cowboys and cowgirls. Even the current multiplayer games encourage players to hide behind the veil of avatars and screen names within the isolation of the internet. Excuse the obvious pun, but has the gaming culture evolved to a point where gamers are just playing by themselves?

Click to read more ...

Alpha Protocol Review -- As A Date.

Alpha Protocol Is One Of The Worst Games I've Played This Year. But You May Like It. Why? Because Some People Like Eating Their Own Poop.
You know that feeling of a date gone awry? Nothing really that interesting being exchanged between the two parties. “Oh look, your meatball is getting cold.” Making idle chit-chat while trying to figure out why your friends set you up with someone so incompatible. Looks aren’t important to you, but being entertained is. The night started with so much promise and now you’d kill to see the waiter’s leg catch fire and hopefully engulf the entrance-way to this mid-tier dining establishment. Alpha Protocol was my date for the past week-and-a-half and came recommended by friends I use to trust. I’m currently staring across the table wondering how such a promising piece of work has me humoring sticking a fork in my eye.

Click to read more ...