A dark beacon of cynicism in a world of epic fail…

Mongo Nation



Capcom Vs Tatsunoko: Ultimate All-Stars Review 0

Posted on January 25, 2010 by jeremyazevedo

image_1-61

Awesome, seizure inducing fighting action that’s EVEN MORE Japanese than you’re already used to!


By Jeremy Azevedo
Of all the games I’ve ever thought I’d see for sale exclusively on the Nintendo Wii, a hardcore Capcom fighting game, imported from Japan, featuring a roster of characters most people here have never heard of was not chief among them.

It was with great interest, then, that I followed the story of Capcom Vs Tatsunoko: Ultimate All Stars, a game that may turn out to be exactly what the Wii needs for a number of reasons. The Wii is a hard system to develop for because you have two totally different audiences, the casual and the hardcore. Capcom Vs Tatsunoko appeals equally to both, thanks to a remarkably flexible control scheme. Veterans and purists will want to opt for a traditional joystick, or maybe even a classic Gamecube controller. Newcomers, on the other had, can use the wand and nunchuck for an experience that is less “Street Fighter” and more “Super Smash Bros.”.

When playing with the standard Wii controller, all of you basic attacks are mapped to the A button button. Likewise, all of your special attacks are mapped the Z button. All you have to do is move the control stick in the direction of the move you want to perform and pull the trigger, i.e. up for a vertical attack, back for a feint attack and so on and so forth. The question that this raises is, can you really play a fighting game with dumbed-down controls like this? Apparently, yes, you can, and yes, it’s also super fun.

I myself am a longtime fan of the Capcom fighter, and while I initially balked at the simplified controls, I soon found that it opened up a whole new level of fast and frustration-free gameplay. No longer reliant on quarter circle turns, that occasionally don’t register, I was free to focus on my combos, as were my less-experienced opponents. Essentially, the barrier for entry has been lowered for n00bs, wile still allowing hardcore players to flex their skills the old-fashioned way. And the more I think about it, the more I feel like I’ve done all the shoryken motions that I ever need to, and am totally fine with being able to pull off special moves without getting blisters on my thumbs. I’m over it.

Moving on from the controls, the most important aspect of a “Capcom Vs” is always the character selection. In case you’re wondering what a “Tatsunoko” is, it’s a Japanese animation company responsible for such beloved classics as Speed Racer, Robotech, Samurai Pizza Cats and Neon Genesis Evangelion… None of which are represented in the game due to licensing rights, I’m assuming. Instead, we get a bunch of unknown characters from the 70s wearing skintight jumpsuits. Thankfully, what the Tatsunoko side lacks in distinguishing features, they more than make up for in wildly disparate fighting styles. Yatterman-1, for instance, looks like Vince Noir from “The Mighty Boosh” and bounces all over the screen kicking the shit out of you with a ball-in-a-cup. Meanwhile, Casshern plays defensive while his dog, “Friender”, eats your face.

Read the rest of this entry →

Hands on With Capcom Vs Tatsunoko: Ultimate All-Stars 0

Posted on January 13, 2010 by jeremyazevedo

image_1-6

We interview Capcom’s Seth Killian before whupping him at his own game!


By Jeremy Azevedo
If you’re a Wii owner, you probably feel just a little bit left out after watching SFIV, Super SFII Turbo HD Remix and Marvel Vs Capcom 2 all pass you by without so much as a wayward glance in your direction.

But clearly, Capcom hasn’t forgotten about you, as Capcom Vs Tatsunoko: Ultimate All-Stars is not only one of the freshest 2D fighters in ages, but is also exclusive to the Wii.

We talked to Capcom’s Community Manager Seth Killian about the decision to develop for the Wii, the challenges of importing the Tatsunoko licenses to the States and circumventing the infamous “friend code” to streamline online play. Check it out!

After chatting with Seth for a bit we set down to a few matches of Capcom Vs Tatsunoko against the man himself. At first glance, it appears as if there are a few too many Gatchamaen/Yattermen/Tekkamen/whatever for the game’s own good, but as it turns out, they all actually play incredibly different. Fans of Marvel Vs Capcom 2 will feel most at home with the speed and flashiness of the gameplay. Combos do billions of points of damage, super moves fill the entire screen and there are enough flashing lights to give a Pokémon a seizure. And yet, I didn’t notice a hint of slowdown or jagginess. Now I’m aware that the Wii isn’t necessarily designed for hardcore graphics rendering, but when it comes to top shelf 2D animation like this, it kills.

All of the characters were a lot of fun in their own way. Frank West in particular was a blast to play as, summoning hordes of hungry zombies to sick on my opponent (who I’m pretty sure was half letting me win/half getting his ass whupped by me fair and square). His timing is a little weird but his super combos are pretty rad. My favorite involves slamming a Servbot mask over your opponent’s head and exploding them ass-over-teakettle. The Street Fighter characters play as expected, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by Viewtiful Joe and Kaijin No Soki from Onimusha 4. They’re great new additions with really unique play styles.

On the Tatsunoko side, I’d have to go with Yatterman or Karas as my favorite. Yaterman is both agile and strong, with some really psychedelic super combos. One of them was like a giant robot dog that barfs up exploding lizards or something like that. It’s weird. Karas is just a straight badass, type character, sort of Tatsunoko’s “Akuma” if I had to compare him to someone. Maybe best of all, though, is the titanic Gold Lightan. He’s so big that you don’t get to have a partner when you use him, and it requires the entire stage to scale to his size. It almost seems unfair how big of a size and reach advantage he has, but somehow the balance remains pretty even, especially when you’ve got two other characters teaming up against him.

It also bears mentioning that we were playing on an official-looking arcade style joystick, which worked wonderfully. I’m quite a bit more used to standard controllers by now (as are most people), but there’s something to be said for a joystick setup when it comes to fighting games. When you pick up a copy of Capcom Vs Tatsunoko: Ultimate All-Stars next year (as you very well should), you should probably also consider getting a joystick to go along with it. You’ll be glad you did. Fewer blisters.

Capcom Vs Tatsunoko: Ultimate All-Stars will be available for the Wii on January 26th, 2010.

Exclusive Interview with the Stars of Machinima 0

Posted on January 13, 2010 by jeremyazevedo

image_1-4

We talk to The Dead Pixel, Matt and Mr. Sark at the Inside Gaming Awards.

Inisde Gaming” is one of the most popular online video game shows, despite not employing a single hot chick with huge knocks that pretends to like video games so that dorks at home can have something to fap to. We were at their first annual award show earlier this month, where we talked to some of Machinima’s most popular stars, Adam Kovic (The Dead Pixel), Matt Dannevik and Scott Robinson (Mr. Sark). Check out the video, where we discuss some of the games that won awards, those that didn’t, what games to look forward to next year and why The Dead Pixel has to wear a mask in public!

Modern Warfare 2 Wins Big at the Inside Gaming Awards 0

Posted on January 13, 2010 by jeremyazevedo

image_1

All the results from Machinima’s first annual award show!


By Jeremy Azevedo
Last week, we attended Machinima’s “Inside Gaming Awards” in Santa Monica, which proved to be a fun alternative to the incongruous celebrity photo-op that is known as the Spike VGAs.

We didn’t get to interview Busta Rhymes’ Watch, or talk to Audrina Patridge about that one time she played Super Mario Bros. with her brother for ten minutes when she was seven, but we did get to drink (too many) vodka Red Bulls with some of our favorite game designers and of course, the lovely people at Machinima.

Teh Call of Duty is SRS BIZNS!

To no one’s surprise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 executed a serious killstreak on the competition, taking home no fewer than six awards. Here are the results from each category:

Game of the Year
Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Trailer
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft, Bungie)

Best Multiplayer

Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Narrative
Brutal Legend (EA, Double Fine)

Best Art Direction
Batman Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros., Rocksteady Studios)

Best Animation
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros., Rocksteady Studios)

Best Game Cinematography
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony, Naughty Dog)

Best Replayability
Modern Warefare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Indie Game
I MAED A GAM3 W1TH ZOMBIES 1N IT!!!1 (Ska Studios)

Most Compelling Character
The Joker – Batman Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros., Rocksteady Studios)

Best DLC (best content pack/expansion content)
Fallout 3 – Expansions (Bethesda Game Studios)

Best Downloadable Game (games only available digitally for purchase or free download)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)

Most Original Game
Scribblenauts (Warner Bros, 5th Cell)

Best Control
Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Game Innovation
1 vs. 100 - Massively Multiplayer Online game show with real prizes (Microsoft)

Best Original Score
Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Weapon
AC - 130 - Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Sound Design
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony, Naughty Dog)

(For a full list of nominees, click here and watch the embedded video!)

Official event coverage from Machinima’s “Inside Gaming”. Video clicks through to individual categories.

I was a bit shocked that Shadow Complex didn’t win in the “Downloadable Game” category, and that there was virtually no RPG love to be found in any of the categories. (No Dragon Age? WTF?). Not even Borderlands could put a stop to the Juggernaut that is Modern Warfare 2. I was, however, quite happy to see Fallout 3, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Brutal Legend and Scribblenauts each take a prize. What do you think? Do you agree with the results? Disagree? Join the discussion on our Facebook page and let us know!

Header image by Gavin Holt

Machinima’s “Inside Gaming” Awards 0

Posted on December 17, 2009 by jeremyazevedo

insidegaming22

Finally, a proper award show for the nerds that actually play the games being awarded!

For those of you that are interested in video game awards, but find the “Spike TV Video Game Awards” to be a bit too much of a glorified commercial (though not in an awesome way, like “The Wizard”), there is an alternative.

Our friends at Machinima are scooping Spike TV the night before their award show with an award show of their own, to be hosted on their insanely popular YouTube channel. The “Inside Gaming Awards” will air the first of two special episodes on Black Friday (Nov. 27th) in which Inside Gaming host The Dead Pixel will announce over 90 nominations across 18 categories including Game of the Year, Best DLC, Best Art Direction and best dick joke in a teen-rated game.

Actually, I may have made that last one up. Not that I’d be surprised to see this category included. For an example as to why, check out their latest episode:

On December 11th, right before Spike TV televises their award show, “Inside Gaming” will host an offline awards ceremony in Santa Monica, CA, and announce their own winners. On August 11th of the following year, Machinima will not be invited to Spike TV’s birthday party for cock blocking them several months prior.

Anyway, the moral of this story is that you should watch the first “Inside Gaming Awards” special on Machinima, this Friday, while your dumb family members get trampled to death at 6am sales for shit they could’ve bought for less on eBay any other time of the year but don’t know how to operate a computer. And don’t forget to watch the results show on December 15th, in which Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will undoubtedly have swept every award despite being nearly identical to the previous games in the series. (Although, I’m personally pulling for Borderlands, FTW!)



↑ Top