Dragon Ballz Battle of the God thoughts...a

Sorry for unannounced long hiatus

...Shit I've been gone so long, but don't worry I am dedicated to keep my posts/blogs current and interesting as time goes on..I've just had a fucked up but interesting 2012 and I can't wait for it to over because it was just too much. Here is a summed up insight--I created this post while I was in NYC, I had some predicaments that undermined my regular blogging, and I've been out of my personal equipment for months. Good thing though, I should be back up and wired by early next year and I will keep this page engaging and more personal, promise.


Now on to DBZ Battle of the Gods movie. I am, for the record, I a huge DBZ fan for ages, shit I've been watching it since I was a kid and so has the rest of the world's population. It has an established brand...and if you're like me, you've been waiting for DBZ rebirth forever. Finally!! Fucking finally, we're having it and although I am a little psyched, I am also a little disappointed.

Here's what good...from the various sites I've visited, it seems that the movie is going to be more than 50 minutes long, which is good because the prior films where just too short, especially the good ones. Secondly, it seems if this movie does well, and I hope it does, we may have more DBZ content down the road--like movies and probably a new series like an animated version of DBZ SD which is doing good in the manga market. Thirdly, it's FUCKING DBZ on the silver screen, and I am alive to see it, once it hits the American shores though...but knowing me, my impulse will have the best of me and I might just torrent it but I will buy it once it becomes available.

OK, now on to my concerns...Back in the 1990s Japanese studios had more freedom and they are not as restricted as they are now. I am concerned of the new DBZ movie being edited for a wider audience...I don't think it will be as violent as DBZ films of the old, and that concerns me. Trust me, I am not a far of grotesque violence but I am a fan of insanely well done violence..DBZ movie 5 was a perfect example...and even some of the older DBZ sagas are great examples as well.

I am also concern of the current animation quality...it's not to the level of what I expected...as it is now, it looks rushed....I thought they will go all out with the animation quality for a Theatrical film, especially a series such as DBZ, but it is suffice nonetheless.

Look at it...it's OK but I expected more detail in the animation and more frames.



Anyway...it's too early to criticize but..they are still concerns and I hope they put some seriously thought into the plot and the fight choreography because it is DBZ and want them to make more!!

Um...well that it guys for DBZ now on to what I am going to do personally to get back to where I was at several months ago.

I currently live in South Florida in a new apartment that's in desperate need of furniture, which is ordered and should be dilivered in a few days, and some serious tech equipment. Gosh, just a little off topic here, the fucking internet in Florida in terms of speeds and plans are fucking disappointing. My only options, for now, are Comcast's Xfinity and Att's U-nverse...the speeds advertised are suspect and underwhelming...I had better speeds for lower prices in NYC, but I need internet!

I am also doing some research on cyberpowerpc.com for a new PC rig...Yes I know it is best to build my own but I just don't have the patience...I want to game now!! However, cyberpowerpc offers the option to customize and they do have premium parts available...yes it will cost more but at least it would be gaming ready once it is delivered.

Games I've been playing as of late? None...my PS3 died on me while I was in Orlando...the thunder storm fucked it up...I was sad because they don't make the classic 60 gig PS3s, which are backwards compatible with PSX and PS2 games anymore, and the current Super duper slim PS3 is fucking ass. I am going the original slim this month with a couple of games to keep me occupied over the holidays. So the games I am looking forward to play are Dishonnered, Borderlands 2, Uncharted 2 & 3(yes I fucking now.. ), GTA 5, Red Redemption (YES I KNOW...), and other games I can't think of right now...

Listen...I love games...but I love fighting games even more!! I watch the streams and soon I will be participating in tournaments one day...but due to my love for fighting games I just kind of missed out of all the great non-fightng games out there..And since my fighting gaming equipment and games are still in Orlando and it is going to be a while for me to get them back....there is no better time to catch up on those other games I meant to play and there are a lot of them...:) Anyway, take care guys, I will be back sooner..bye.

Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut Endings: Refusal Ending, Destroy Ending, Control Ending, Synthesis Ending - My thoughts and link to the ending.

This ending, a better ending in my regard, brings clarity but it doesn't bring closure despite making more sense. Additionally, we are given a fourth ending, Refusal Ending, a total new ending depicting what happens when the "child" is shot. However, the stocked/original ending, if it was indeed intended to be a mind-fuck/brainteaser, which the fans have hypothesized as the "indoctrinated theory" shed some light for many of the confused fans, and it could have been one of the best philosophical ingenious endings of all time. On other hand, Bioware shattered our hypothesis by stating that the original ending wasn't an indoctrinated brainteaser ending we hoped for but the true ending despite how vague and nonsensical it was--this was quite disappointing because I thought Bioware's writer-team was ingenius instead of brain dead lazy.

And that my friends, was the essential reason why there was so much of an uproar from the fans because the ending goes against everything the character, Shepard, was about and it just did not make sense.  It was poorly done and rushed and by far the worst conclusive narrative ending for a premier gaming franchise. Regardless of which spectrum of the argument one may choose, Mass Effect 3's original ending was extremely controversial, so much that the company felt compelled to give us a better a ending and here it is:

Here is a longer version, as I said before the revamped ending makes much more sense and we will have more Mass Effect games, anyway enjoy:

I may put in all the endings on the page but then again that would be redundant. Um, I like the endings, and just goes to show how lazy Bioware was in giving us a shitty vague ending but thanks to the many rants and complains of the fans we got this a polished ending with tons of clarity.  However, the questions is do we care? I personally don't since I had already been tainted by the original ending but if this player's first experience then they should not be an issue, but every gamer who is a fan of the series has been already tainted by the atrocious original ending anyways. And to those who don't have the luxury of having an internet connection or disconnected from web is royally screwed.

Note, there are four endings, originally there were three but there are four now, the "refusal ending" is the newly edition to the director's cut which I like but I prefer the "destroy all ending" sense it makes more sense to me.  Below is the "control ending" and think that is about it as far as the endings goes I hope you guys enjoy:

Disclaimer: I take no credit in providing these endings and I don't own the IP, credit is due to Bioware for providing this amazing series--and shitty endings--and to the users that edited and upload the revamped endings for fans to engage constructive dialogue and trolling..:)

All things considered, Bioware, I appreciate it as a gamer that you did your best in giving us closure with a revamped ending that is "free of charge." I would have had a different tune, however, if we it was a paid DLC instead of free. This is a substantial testament that we as "unified" gamers are more powerful than any greedy corporation and half-assed endings should not be published especially for story driven games like Mass Effect. Anyway, thanks Bioware, and we love you for your kind gesture.

Post E3 thoughts...and gaming in general

I've created this blog solely to vent and discuss about one of my favorite hobbies in the world, gaming. I've been a gamer since the NES days till today but as of late gaming has left a bad taste in my mouth. I considered the 16 bit and 32 bit ear--late 1980s to the 2000s, or before Xbox360--the golden age of gaming because of the sheer number of creative and innovative games came from developers of that time. Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo Entertainment System set the precedent for platform gaming; Double Dragon II, River City Ransom, and Street of Rage II showed us how to do side scroll beat em ups; Final Fantasy VII showed us that games are just games for kids anymore but novelties hit human emotional chords. FFVII was the first game that made grieved for a digital videogame character. I can go on and on about the many games of that time, and there were many, but with comparison today's gaming, it is just a sad joke.

I won't blame Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare because that was an excellent game, an innovative novelty at its time, the first shooter-based game to have a RPG like leveling up system in online multiplayer, and it was the game that turned me away from Halo 3 and trumped it in terms of sale figures. However, thanks to COD4, game developers saw how profitable shooters were and wanted to recaptured those massive Call of Duty sale numbers. American game developers have corrected what Japanese game developers did wrong and modernized the times while Japanese developers remain stagnant. Sadly, as a result,  Japanese are not  the key developers of this generation as they were of yesteryear.

There are other factors that ruined this generation of gaming for me--corrupted and shady business DLC practices,  buggy games, incomplete games, games that required online passes to play, and other bullshit--but what bothers me the most is lack of quality and creativity in today's games, they are just cheap superficial thrills that will be unplayable decades from now due to the game's architecture.

Despite things said, I heard that Indie games of E3 are amazing but it is unfortunate we didn't get a chance to see them since they are very reminiscent of yesterday's greatest games. It is really disheartening for a gamer, that only cares about games, who spent hundreds of dollars on a gaming platform just to be told that their console is a multimedia hub that connect mobile devices and other other electronic devices. We didn't tune in E3 for that shit, we tune in for games. However, from a business perspective, I understood why they took that route because E3 2012 conference was being broadcast over cable networks and they had to cater to the masses and potential casual games, and especially those non-gamers that plays games casually on their portable devices. Anyway, fuck them, because it is we that has sustained the gaming market during the dark years and sustaining it now.


Editor's note: I had a direction in mind of where I want to take this but I got so sidetracked that I lost the thought I had in mind, so I am going to post this anyway just for content sake on my page. Basically in a nutshell, the big three console holders are trying to adapt because the market has changed in the way of how consumers consumed entertainment. For instance, thanks to smart phones with their wealth of PC-like features, compact cameras are basically obsolete and handheld gaming consoles basically walking the same path but there is still need for them since handset/cellphone gaming haven't truly taken over thanks to inferior software. My hats off for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo for moving in that direction but in the end where are the games? The games are what define this industry in that regard I am little bit wary because nothing worth noting, just rehashes of the typical shooter format and shallow experiences but their are a few gems, literally just a few amongst the millions of rubbish.

Dragon Ball SD, Dragon Ball Episode Bardock and more...

I am a huge DBZ fan and I once thought it was the best anime ever conceived by man but later on I realized I was being stupid and narrow minded because their were MANY great action anime out there and anime in general that put DBZ to shame. Anyway, I accidentally came across an anime on youtube entitled Dragon Ball Episode of Bardock. Initially, I thought it was some fan made bullshit but then I found out it was legit, here's the link the anime:

I am sure you guys can find it or watch it by other means if youtube takes it down due to copyright issues, but at least you guys know it exists. Anyway, the movie/episode was OK but not memorable because cuts were made to appeal to a mass audience, hence the action and the story weren't nothing to write about, and we have modern cable to thank for that.

Back in the day cable was more lenient to violence but today networks are strict, and sometimes by unreasonable means, so the violence had to be toned down, unfortunately. Look at Dragon Ball Kai, wasted project in my regard, I would have much prefer a redrawn remake instead of a cheaply produced edited show. Yes you read correctly, it was heavily edited for the worse, especially the violence. It is not the show we grew up watching as kids, and it sucks that they edited the violence and the process they took to bring it up to Hi-res format was just horrid.


I know changes were made to get DB Episode of Bardock to TV format because I did my research on the Manga which seems to be an alternative story or cannon to the original series/manga. I kind of liked it but then again the story has some issues, like how the hell did Bardock get warped back several 1000 years to the past. And if he is the legendary Super Saiyen--which is a cool concept by the way--it contradicts with the main story since they said first Legendary Super Saiyen was insane and power consumed himself and almost destroyed the Saiyen race to extinction own race...anyway it doesn't matter since this is a "what-if" story and not totally align with the main story.

I like it, it was cool, and it got me wishing for a Dragon Ball remake and I may get my prays answered thanks to Naho Ooishi. Naho Ooishi is the guy we should be thanking since he's the reason why we are getting updated versions of DBZ content in a modern setting, we may get a whole new TV series in the near future. He's currently doing alternative spinoffs and remarks on the Dragon Ball universe in manga form and we may get a whole new series called Dragon Ball SD in animated form since there is already manga version currently running. Personally, I don't like the SD form graphics but I will watch the series if it is better than the original with some twists, which it has, but improves upon the story and the battle. I am just happy Dragon Ball is being revamped for the newer generation because it is a legendary anime that deserves this level of attention and love.

Seth Killian leaves Capcom!!! I am not surprise by this...

Sampled post courtesy of Eventhubs.com:

I'm posting today to say that Friday, June 22nd will be my last day at Capcom.


Writing this is incredibly difficult. In no uncertain terms, Capcom has been a dream for me.


I have chosen a new path which will let me embrace a new dream, but to everyone that ever believed in this dream we shared together, let me say this final thanks. I will leave as I began — a Capcom fan for life, looking forward to all the great games still to come.


My brother Pete introduced me to Street Fighter II in 1991, and it was love at first sight. Even at the height of my early fan fever dreams, however, I could never have guessed that this game would take me around the world. From my first fumblings with the fireball, to battling for local arcade supremacy, and even on to competing in Japan, I still never let myself imagine I could someday meet, much less work alongside the people responsible for these games. To think back on the fact that it's been my real life for these years is hard for me to believe, even now.


Lured by news of a new project that would eventually become Street Fighter IV, I gave up a happy little life to join Capcom in 2006 with the naive hope of playing some part — any part — in waking up the world to remember something I have known in my blood since the SF2 era: fighting games are amazing. At the time I came on, fighters were few and far between, and Street Fighter had been asleep for a long time. Through the combination of some great games and an incredible community, I'm happy to think that we've hit that early target — fighting games are strong again — perhaps stronger than they've ever been before.


Based around the early success of SFIV, we were able to create a small model internally to show that the positive impact community can have on our games. From there, the insights and passion from fans across our franchises have made Capcom a far more open, engaged place than the company I knew growing up. Fan-facing events and conversations have become a top priority, and even our typically reserved producers have opened up to the joys and challenges of talking directly to their players. Even as you give us hell and ask us to do better, remember the progress we've made together and know that this company is full of great individuals who share your love for the games, and that they are always trying to chart the path to make games that are worthy of your dedication.


To everyone that's helped me along my path, I'm left only with words that seem hollow from overuse, but: Thank You.


Thank you to Ono-san, and to the now-passed Mark Beaumont, who trusted me with the game and believed in my passion from the very start.


To Niitsuma-san, who invited me on his journey to embrace the crazy heart beating inside the Versus series, and produced games that still thrill me even after thousands of hours.


To the many talented people throughout the fighting teams that gave me a literal schooling of the kind possible nowhere else in the world — I'm a proud graduate of "Capcom U" and have the scars to prove it :)


To everyone who has worked alongside me on our community teams, and to Christian Svensson who made it possible, through good times and bad, trying to fight the good fight and make sure our biggest fans had a voice at the decision-making table.


To my many other friends and colleagues at Capcom around the world, I'm proud to realize there are far too many of you to thank directly, so let me say simply "otsukare-sama desu," and I hope we will meet again.


And finally, to the FGC: In no uncertain terms, you have been my reason for everything. A game can be incredible, but it's the players and where they take it that elevate it into legend. Both as individuals and as a group, you have taught me more than I could have ever thought possible. Every hour on the road and every air mile towards my first million doesn't begin to repay the debt I feel to all of you. You are a family to me. Today, the community is strong, and growing stronger. We fight, we make mistakes, we argue, and we compete but in the end we have each other. To you, I can only say "thank you." You continue to electrify the world and show the power not just of a game, but of a living, breathing community. Strive to be your best selves, to share our magic with the next generation, and above all else, take care of each other. We are a family.


-Seth




I not the least surprise by this because only who knows Seth personally or follow him over the years knows he's very passionate about Capcom fighting games and the community in generally. Capcom, as of late, has been greedy and shady with their business especially of how they deal with their user-base so it must have been difficult for him trying to please the fans without undermining his job. I strongly believe Seth left capcom because he has having personal differences with the Company and can no longer put up with their crap. Good luck to you Seth, you're in good hands with tons of business opportunities at your wake, thanks for the memories.

Xbox 720 Specs!!!

Rumored Xbox720 Specs courtesy for www.the-magicbox.com:

RUMOR: Scribd revealed a "leaked" 56-page document from an internal Microsoft presentation, which shows some details of the next-gen Xbox console. The document was taken down due to copyright infringement, at the request of Microsoft's legal firm Covingtone & Burling LLP, which seems to make it sounds more like a legit internal document. Here are some highlights:
Xbox 720 will have 4 to 6 times better performance than Xbox 360
Xbox 720 will have 6-8 ARM/x86 CPU Cores at 2GHz each, and a 64ALU GPU at 1GHz
3 PPC CPU Cores for backward compatibility with Xbox 360
4GB DDR4 128-bit memory
Native 3D, Always-On, Next-Gen Sensor Glasses (SmartGlass)
Blu-ray and Kinect V2 will be included, Kinect V2 will have improved voice recogniton, dedicated processing and 4 player tracking
Launch date is 2013, for $299
Augmented Reality glasses "Fortaleza" will launch in 2014, which is similar to Google's Project Glass

Rumored or not, most likely the specs from this source coud be true, extremely true but me give my thoughts if it is. Basically, I am fucking loving it, especially the $300.00USD price tag because consoles SHOULDN'T BE unaffordable but affordable and accessible since the real sales lies with the software not the hardware. I am loving the direction MS is going with this especially prioritizing backwards compatibilities and sporting Blu-ray as their central source for gaming medium. 


Despite my gripes with MS as a company, I am loving what they did with Xboxlive and their vision for social gaming in the future so I will be getting this console if it is solid and more reliable than its current console. Good shit MS, I will be getting this console if the price and the software is right. Although, one minor request, please do not call the final product Xbox720 because it sounds stupid and undermines the concept of Xbox360, which is player is aware of everything arounds him: social, gaming, entertaining, and Xbox720 just doesn't make sense. 

I finally bought...

King of Fighters XIII, I finally bought it after months and months of procrastinating, and to be fair if I was in Orlando months ago as previously planned, I would have bought it ages ago. Unfortunately, I am still in NYC and my half of my gaming equipment is in Orlando but in a couple of weeks I should be there giving this baby I try.

King of Fighters XIII in my opinion is the best fighting game this generation and even if you're not a fan of the series for whatever reason you should give it a try. The game is 40 bucks, packaged with tons of offline content that rival even Capcom's latest fighters which aren't shit in comparison when it comes to offline content. Furthermore, if you want to improve your execution in other games then this is the game for you just for honing that skill...I could say about about this game but I don't have the time right now, anyway, the next game on my list is Persona 4 Arena and definitely I will be buying Dead or Alive 5 when it comes out.

Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft E3 conferences full of a lot of shit.

If you're a gamer tuning in at E3 to see actual games, new IPs, and new tech for gaming then E3 2012 was probably not the place for you. The only saving graces of E3 were Watch Dogs, epic fucking game taking the open world genre to the next level with its visuals and premise, Naught Dog's The last of Us, another original IP from the creators of Uncharted that sure to give us something new but familiar,  and Halo 4.

Each company spent tremendous amount of time illustrating to the viewers that their gaming console is an absolute alternative as a home media hub for entertainment, web browsing, staying connected with your friends and media devices with a multitude of features that support current technology and communicates with social mediums like Facebook. For one, as a person who is against traditional cable, I think this is a fabulous idea, it shows that these companies are embracing the present and setting up themselves for the future as entertainment and social medium, especially Nintendo's Wii U.

I was quite disappointed with Nintendo's Wii U from a gamer's perspective because there was not any games to be shown--no new Metroid or Zelda that takes advantage of the hardware's capabilities but there was an unimpressive Mario game, New Super Mario Brothers U. On the other hand, Nintendo's new perspective on what social gaming should be like is extremely impressive thanks to their console and plans for a revamped social gaming network. Sadly, outside of that, the conference was a fucking bore and the typical casual game showings that catered to health/workout enthusiast and users that rarely play games.

Nintendo had it chance to blow us away but they fucking blew it. Nintendo 64 was the last console I owned and I was strongly considering of purchasing a Wii U due to the pre-E3 showing. Nintendo made a smart move in choosing that design for the Wii Pro controller because it makes the game developer's life so much easier in porting games and give the hardcore gamers a taste of what they were missing on other platforms. Their online agenda for social gaming on the platform hit a chord with so many gamers, game developers, and me. They had it in the bag but a console is not worth buying without the "games." The same issues I had with the Wii are echoing over to Nintendo's new console. I just do not care for children like games, and for that, you've lost a potential consumer.

Sony, like Microsoft and Nintendo, follow suit with similar conference but at least they had couple of notable games. For instance, Beyond two Souls is not my type of game, its from Quantic Dream the creators of Heavy Rain and that lavish tech demo we had a few months ago about an synthetic human, but I like its tone an premise. I am extremely tired of shooters and this generation has been tainted with the innumerable amount of shooters in the market. It is like taste of fresh air when a develop brings a game to the fold with strong narrative, "mature" tone, and a creative setting/premise that is not a shallow mindless shooter.

Then we have Ubisoft Montreal's multi-platform game, Watch Dogs, another new IP that is so fucking amazing that words can do justice only a visual presentation can so here it is:

Feels amazing doesn't it? Being excited of a game that is not Grand Theft Auto but a game of what Grand Theft auto should have of been in terms of graphical quality and scope. I am extremely excited for this game and it probably will be day one purchase for me on the PC platform instead of the console but I am also excited for other games as well.

I was apathetic towards Dead or Alive 5 because of the horrendous Ninja Gaiden 3 and their effort of making it more casual but the recent build of DOA5 has put all of my fears to ease. Tomb Raider is another promising one but it won't be out until 2013 so it is best to talk about the games that will be coming on this year, which is none other than couple of fighters I am interested in. I could care less about COD Black Ops II which has the most boring demo at E3, graphically the games looks like shit and boring as fuck...anyway, I am tired so I am ending this short. In conclusion, E3 was ass and nothing promising other than the couple games mentioned, at least Indie games have their moment to shine because their games are indicative of what games used to be and should have been, billion dollar publishers please take note. In my regard, Ubisoft stole the show with its impressive game, Watch Dogs, and since the big console manufacturers and developers had nothing impressive to show it deserves every single bit of recognition.

Microsoft E3 conference

I wasted about an hour or more of my life just tell you that Halo IV was awesome. They taking a fresh new twist with the series--a new threat, hence, newer enemies, narrative, and design--and the E3 demo plays and looks awesome. The rest of the games showed, that were actual games catered to core audience, were impressive, Splinter Cell and Tomb Raider, but the rest of the conference was shit. Come on MS, I am gamer, and I don't care about using my Xbox360 as an entertainment hub for other activities other than gaming, sadly, that was the whole theme of Microsoft's E3 conference. Microsoft basically used the venue to showcase its console as an entertainment hub with a multitude of non-game related entertainment features--sports, music, web browsing, and a whole lot of fuck I don't care about. Ugh...I can't wait to see what the rest big boys have to offer.


P.S. Call of Duty: Black Ops II E3 demo was one of the boring lackluster demos I have ever seen in E3 history, to think MS ended off with that demo. Ugh...

Wii U Pro Controller: Nintendo stole Microsoft's Xbox360 controller layout.

OK...I am not going to be an asshole and say Nintendo isn't innovative because they are and they are smart. I wholeheartedly agreeing with Nintendo by copying a controller layout that works and resonates with gaming community, especially the FPS gaming community. Nintendo, in the past and currently now, have been suffering from third party support due to the eccentric design of Nintendo's controller. Game designers love to take the easy route in porting games and not wasting time and money redesigning their games for a weird console with unorthodox controller, good job Nintendo. At least hardcore gamers, like myself, won't be too worried if a game is going to be ported or not.

Now, take a look at the Nintendo's Wii U Pro Controller:

Xbox360 fanboys or fan whiners, before you bitch and moan about Nintendo stealing Microsoft designed, I strong suggest for you morons to do your research. Companies been stealing ideas from each other for many years, ever since the beginning for the gaming industry. Microsoft is notorious for stealing ideas--ahem, Apple's OS--the original Xbox controller was heavily inspired by the ill-fated Sega Dreamcast controller, and they stole some of Nintendo's marketing concepts and business model in the past, even Sony's Little Big Planet theme was used for one of Microsoft's adverts. Sony is not a saint either since their original Playstation controller and Playstation Motion Controller were inspired by Nintendo's SNES controller and Wii, respectively. Ugh, besides, stealing is such a bad word to use because there is no such thing, "inspired" is much suited in this context. Frankly, this controller design has been the standard for many years, it works and Nintendo is smart enough to use it.

Here's a cool diagram I borrowed from the internets, it is pretty accurate and it should give you whiners a little insight:

As for Nintendo's GamePad/tablet controller, however, now that's innovation as far as gaming consoles goes. Personally, I was apathetic and I thought the controller was cumbersome, ugly, and poorly designed but the revamped model was a little less cumbersome and more ergonomic but still an ugly ass big controller in my opinion. What impresses me, however, was the many online functionalities it has, especially instant online video conference with friends within your network or Wii's Miiverse, coupled with stocked applications for file sharing, keeping connected with friends, and other goodies. I won't go into the details because it is almost fucking 2am in the morning in NYC but I will say Nintendo has taken social gaming medium to the next level with its premier Wii U controller. Last generation, online social gaming was nonexistent with Nintendo Wii U but this time around it may give Microsoft's Xbox Live a run for its money. 

Microsoft, I am curious to see what you have to offer as an evolution to Xbox Live this forthcoming E3 or the next. Sony, ugh, get your shit together and revamp your network because right now, once Wii U comes out and the network is up and running, you're ain't shit. STEP YOU GAME UP!

OK, the fighting game market is DEFINITELY OVER SATURATED!

Super Street Fighter IV AE, Street Fighter X Tekken, Tekken 6, Tekken Tag 2, Ulimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, King of Fighters 13, BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extended, Mortal Kombat 9, Persona 4 Arena, Virtual Fighter 5 Final Showdown, Dead of Alive 5, and other games I can't think of right off my head right now.

About 90% of these games listed are already out and about out in a few months and the rest before this year ended. Oh yeah, I almost forget to add Never Realm's new fighting DC game for 2013, Injustice Gods among us. Yeah, there are a ton of fighting games out now and more forthcoming and so much can be streamed and supported by the community.

Now this article is based from a tournament perspective and not from a casual point of you. Currently, Capcom games have the limelight, especially UMVC3, and non-Capcom games are struggling to borrow the fire, especially here in America.

Personally, I think King Of Fighters 13 is the best legitimate 2D fighter currently in the market due to its wealth of depth, complexity, balanced roster, and system that is designed to reward the most skilled player. Super Street Fighter IV AE, however, though is a good game can't compare to KOF13, let alone its prior installments, most notably Street Fighter III 3rd Strike and Super Street Fighter II Turbo. 3rd strike, in particular, was Capcom's most peak as far as their fighters goes.

I am strong advocate of giving the new fighters a chance to shine since most of them are excellent games but it is sad that won't happen. The streamers are becoming more like a business and like any business they are going to stream the games that brings the most traffic on their main stream while other games are dressed aside. Elite tournament players are only going to play the ones with the most reward and not every company have deep pockets like Capcom to incentivize the streamers to stream their games. Furthermore, not every game, because they are so many out there and more to come, can be streamed.

The fighting game community has marketed itself as the best community and in only time well tell. I think this community should support all fighters, especially the competent ones, and eschewed fighters like Street Fighter X Tekken.  Instead of a three day weekend for tournaments maybe the tournaments should be straight, although hard likely, so the better approach is multiple streams that mix up the lesser games with the most viewed to get awareness. Elite players should support other games to bring in more traffic since most viewers tune in to follow their favorite player.


As for me, I am going to play the games that are fun to play and have a decent online following. I am pretty excited for Person 4 Arena because of the aesthetics and the system and I will support the forthcoming 3D fighters like VF5, DOA5, and TT2 but I will only play them casually. The market is indeed saturated and it is impossible for a player to be good in all of those games but if most of these games are supported we will see new generation of players because not everyone likes SF and UMVC3. Capcom games will get the most attention, but it is up to us to support the Non-Capcom fighters as well otherwise they will die.

The steps Sony needs to take with PS4 to win

I read similar article at Gamestop.com just a few moments ago and although it was entertaining I disagreed with some of the things said. Of course, this was tactic used to create discussion and traffic to their site but I decide to give my opinion on my own page to create traffic.

Pricing:

Sony dropped the ball with this one with the PS3. PS3 was priced $600.00USD at launch and this was for the absolute SKU; the modest version was priced $500.00USD with some of the features taken out. Sony, the retarded company at the time, took bad ideas from MS with multiple SKUs which didn't resonate well with user-base.

Sony, I think you're gained some commonsense over the years and you learned from your fuck ups so with the PS4, I am hoping it is price at a reasonably.


Revamping the Playstation Network and Console's operating system:

Xbox360 was first high-definition console I had owned and despite my personal issues with the crappy hardware, MS's console still has the best online ecosystem. Sony's, however, is one convoluted fuck. It's better now but the ecosystem doesn't exist. There is no cross-chatting; checking out friend's stats and what games their like doesn't exist or takes for ever for accounts to be synchronized; and other issues I won't get into. Sony knows whats wrong because the community has voiced their opinions innumerable amount of times, it just for Sony to take initiative.


Backwards compatibility:

I understand Sony's strategy of having the newer, and current models, of PS3 units lacking compatibility due to profit motives but stop it. I want to the PS4 to be compatible with previous generation content and all of the digital content I bought from the PSN store. If Sony doesn't do this and MS does or if both of them don't capitalize on this then I am going to be a core PC gamer. Furthermore, it should be easy to use prior hardware devices and peripherals with the PS4.


Games and easy to program:

If the games are not there then the console will fail, enough said. PS3 had a terrible lineup when it first launch and programming on the system had a steep learning curve which cost Sony time and money since games took forever to be ported.


Anyway I am sure more can be said on this topic but I having a headache here due to hunger. I won't even bother adding more content to this article because it is just my opinion and I could be wrong. It's my blog too so I can end it as abruptly as I want.

Diablo 3 sold 3.5 million copies on day one!

I talked my shit about Diablo 3 because I was upset...on the other hand, I wouldn't say I was talking shit, more like venting of the stupid route Blizzard taken to counter piracy. I am stil annoyed by it but in one way I understand now why the servers broke down but I am still not a fan of their DRM method. Good shit Blizzard and it is cool to see a non-shooter game gain some much sells, and hopefully they will be more games like Diablo or at least non-shooter games down the line.

Diablo III mess continues...

I got this source from eurogamer.com, here is the link: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-21-diablo-3-accounts-hacked-gold-and-items-stolen

Basically, someone's account has been hacked, gold and items were stolen--no shit, and why I am not surprise by this--and this game is barely a month old, oh sorry I made a mistake, the game is barely a week old.

Blizzard, the auction house is going to be hacked and manipulated once it becomes live and there is no such thing as definitive anti-piracy program to keep the hackers out, especially if there is real money involve. Get ready for a lot shit and bad publicity to come out from this game because Blizzard doesn't have the infrastructure to counter hackers.

Diablo III: Reviews--the 9s, 10s, and the high scores start coming..

The main reason I am not playing this game right now because of Blizzard's decision to implement a system that forces legitimate consumers to play a "single player" game with a constant online connection. Obviously, this is done to fight piracy and in a sense sustain the legitimacy of  Blizzard's monetize system, Diablo's auction house.  I honestly don't care about the bullshit the company used to cover up their true agenda; Blizzard realized a missed business opportunities with their prior games--WOW gold farming businesses, for example--they want to get in the cut.

Anyone that has been following this game and have been waiting for this game since day one knows the launch has been terrible. What I hate the most is the fucking game reviewers who we suppose to trust and give us honest reviews but yet let their fanboyism and gifts compromises the integrity of their review.

I think Diablo3 maybe a good game or one of the greatest game in its genre but the game as a product for consumption doesn't warrant it a high score. This page is under development and may not expand, it just depend on my mood but I am patiently waiting for all the reviews to surface and then I will complete my rank, for now, I don't agree giving a game of this design high scores because this game undermines our freedom as consumers. The way we play or wish to play is dictated by the company, and I hate any company that strangles our freedom as consumers.

Blizzard why you RUINED Diablo 3?

Something is bloody wrong when a gamer finishers a mega-RPG in less than 12hrs--a franchise that has set the frame work for many games like it. Diablo 3 is barely out for a day but yet gamers are complaining of the atrocious DRM system, must be "connected" at all times to play a single player game, Blizzard are you retarded or just plane fucking insane? Lack of campaign depth and story--not rumors but facts of gamers finishing the game in no less than 12hrs and even less in coop mode--this is fucking disgusting for a game that costs $60.00USD, a PC game at that, with tainted DRM sprinkled all over it to fight piracy but in reality fucks the legitimate paying consumers.

These developers/publishers are smoking some serious fucking dust. There business philosophy of countering piracy with a "constant online connection" is one of the most idiotic and discriminating move in the history of gaming. It is idiotic because there are so many factors that affect online connection; not everyone has a smooth connection, plus there are lag issues, server issues, and other technically that will inevitably disrupt smoothness of the gameplay. Shit there is even a game breaking bug that renders the players profile/account useless. Secondly, it is discriminating because not everyone has internet and to think that is insulting and limited thinking. Blizzard your market base or consumer base is not limited to the developed cities of the United States or other wired nations like it, ironically, not every state in the U.S has a proper bandwidth/internet infrastructure. Lastly, it doesn't matter if one has the most elite fibre connection or the most modest one, Blizzards flawed online architecture, affects everyone; and just a little side note, as this generation stands, there is no such thing as a perfect internet connection.

I am not buying this game unless they restructured the game via patch or print new discs with this mandatory always online bullshit out. I don't care about being connected to play with others or experience the wonders of Diablo III's auction house that gives the player the option to use real money for commerce--ugh, don't get me started on that bullshit--all I care about is playing the fucking game. Blizzard you're losing your commonsense as a company with your greed and idiotic business decisions, I can't wait to see the reviews because so far the gaming community consensus has been poorly received.

I had said this many times but I am going to say it again. These games that require an online pass, constant internet connection to play, and other nonsense, are going to be rendered unplayable 10 years from now after the servers have been shut down and companies have move on or no they longer exist. This practice doesn't stop piracy but promotes it and subsequently turn legitimate consumers into pirates. Our rights as consumers or the right of owning the product/game we purchased is diminishing with these practices.

As for Capcom...is hurt by the overwhelming negativity and is trying to be more transparent with their disc-locked-content practices, for instance they disclosed that their new game, Dragon's Dogma or whatever the fuck it is called, has content locked on the disc--another game I am avoiding--and they trying their hardest to make changes to the core system of SFXT. To be honest, I don't like the game and I may sound like an idiot for saying it because I never actually play the game but the game is not for me. The game smells beta all over it and maybe when Capcom releases a true sequel to the game addressing all issues I may consider it.

OK, to be fair, and practical here is the reason(s) why I don't like the game. The gem system was designed to nickel and dime the fuck out of consumers instead of being a practical gaming mechanic. They could have tailored it to something like the groove system in Capcom VS SNK 2 instead of that cluster fuck they have now. Secondly, I am not a fan of easy inputs, short cuts, and dumb down inputs, and that game has an even easier input system than Super Street Fighter IV, which I am not a fan of. Thirdly, Capcom is notorious for releasing beta like titles and this game is no different; I learned my lesson and I won't be buying this one, I may look at its forthcoming successor or maybe not since this game is rubbish compare to KOF13.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,Sony's Smash Brothers rip off and other random nonsensical stuff!

I am currently reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo because after watching the 2011 film version I felt compelled to read the entire trilogy to keep me over until the remakes come out. I know there is a Swedish version readily available for my viewing pleasure but I am spoiled I want to see the shinier one with the ever so talented Ms Rooney Mara--she deserves an oscar Hollywood--and oh yes there is Daniel Craig. Additionally, a close friend of mine who have already watched the Swedish versions said that the 2011 version is several times better. I've also read, from random posts, that recent film iteration of the characters  are more inlined with novel than the Swedish version. In conclusion, I probably won't ever be watching the Swedish versions so in the mean time I am gong to be entertaining myself with the novels.

As for the movie...um, I enjoyed it despite not being a fan of those type of movies and the plot wasn't much to talk about since it has been done in other films but that wasn't draw at all. It's the amazing characters, especially, Lisbeth Salander that took the movie to new heights for me. Such a peculiar but interesting character with many layers in her flawed but mysterious personality. I am not much of a movie critique but I know a excellent movie when I see one and this one is no exception, it is one of the better movies of last year.

Anyway back to familiar territory, fighting games, and as for fighting games, Sony what the hell are you doing are looking to be sued out of your ass from Nintendo for shamelessly ripping off Smash Brothers? The game looks and plays almost exactly like Nintendo's fighter without the Nintendo iconic characters with Sony, lesser known, characters instead. However, I must admit it looks bloody fun and I don't mind playing it if I were given the opportunity to.  Outside of this, I have nothing really to report or talk about since the gaming scene, as of new games to be announced and played, has been rather lackluster. I wished I was in FL in my new home playing some games with my new roommates instead of being trapped in NY. Ugh, I am dying for my obligations to be over so I can get back to my gaming life.

So many fighting games coming out! Ugh, I don't know which one I want to play...

Let's talk about SFXT for a while here since Capcom loves shooting themselves in the foot lately. OK, the news is out and we all know of Capcom's notorious move of locking finished content on the disc and then disgustingly calling it DLC, like we're idiots. Speaking of idiots, they were many Capcom loyalists ignorantly defending Capcom--yeah it is sad but these people do exists in legion form. I am a huge Capcom whore myself but I am not a mindless idiot that accepts nonsensical business practices.

If Capcom really wanted this to die over they would have done the moral thing by letting the content be free or partial portion it to mitigate the situation. However, they are blinded by greed and they just do not care and they are moving forward with the original plan as if not has happened. Capcom you're a bloody fool and I hope you get your act together because right now I don't love as much anymore.

Obviously this game is toxic right with all of the massive controversy it has stirred up and it is only apparent that it will reflect in bad sale figures. As a Capcom fighter the game has done extremely poorly and that is all thanks to Capcom. Prior to this, we had an update in the same calendar year as the original, which was unprecedented of any Capcom fighter to date. It's comical booting up Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 and then booting up the original to see the same release date. Capcom promised us digital update to the orignal but yet they gave us a lame excuse of why needed another disc-based upgrade, which wasn't needed. Furthermore, fans been crying their asses for specific characters, most notably, Megaman X but yet they basically ridiculed their fans by giving us a skinned version of the character for Zero.

It is only bloody obvious that the game will sell poorly because we were expecting a sequel within the next few months like they did with the previous titles. Capcom is over saturating the market with fighting games, they are even cannibalizing their own games. Capcom needs to step back and take their time and give us a game with all the modes and functions we been crying for, and especially, a DECENT BLOODY NET CODE FOR ONCE. The best fighting game net code of this generation is BlazBlue and then comes Soul Caliber V but the former takes the bloody crown.

Capcom I am tired of your laziness of giving us recycled music, limited stages, locking away content on the disc that should have been free, and half ass attempt in balancing the game and improving the net code. Your competitors have done it better and are way more modernized that you're, so why the premier fighting game company of this generation is giving us half ass dumb down games? You said that you're catering to the casual market then why your tutorial are still pathetic and confusing?

The list goes on and on but in conclusion the declining sales is not that we are getting tired of genre or Capcom fighters, but it is sadistic and greedy psychology of Capcom's business practices.

Outside of Capcom, they are so many games coming out this year, we have Dead or Alive 5, Skull Girls, Persona 4 fighting game, Virtual Fighter 5 Final Showdown, Tekken Tag 2, a Sega fighting game which name I don't know of, and a Sony fighting game--another game I don't know of. I didn't even add the games that are currently on the market, but yet they are tons of fighters to choose from.

It is obvious that Capcom fighters are the most popular but thanks to venue supporters and sponsors, games like King of Fighter's XIII is getting some traction. I like glad non-Capcom games are finally getting some love, not because of my current issues with the company, but games like KOFXIII are better games.

My sound advice is not every fighter that is out not or will be out plays the same, some cater to a specific taste and others have a stronger following than others. Fighting games requires a lot of time to get good and it is almost impossible to be extremely good with them all because not everyone can do it. Fortunately, they are casual games like DOA5 that caters to the casual gamer, but my biggest advice is to play the game you enjoy playing because regardless of which game you choose it will have a following.

Personally, as for technical serious fighters, I will be playing Street Fighter III 3rd Strike online, probably Street Fighter IV AE, Virtual Fighter V Final Showdown once that comes out, and probably a little Tekken Tag 2. However, for a bullshit crazy insane fighter I will play for fun then that will be Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3--I just love the fuck out this game because it is only game I laugh to when I lose to some crazy bullshit.

Just a little side note, my first real fighting game outside of Double Dragon versus mode for the NES and Dragon Dragon II's 2 player B option, is Street Fighter II for the Super Nintendo. I became hooked and stuck with Capcom fighters ever since but I always had an open mind. If I were closed minded and ignorant I would have never played such classics as TMNT Tournament Fighters, Killer Instinct, Bushido Blade, and of course more recognizable classics like Samurai Showdown II, Soul Blade or Soul Edge, just to name a few.

The whole point of this is give non-Capcom fighters a try and you might find something Capcom games doesn't have. For instance, I enjoy SNK fighters, especially King of Fighters XIII because it caters to my 2D hand drawn sprite needs because I was one of the many that hoped Street Fighter IV would have actual 2D high resolution sprites, an evolution to 3rd strike, but we got shit instead. I honestly don't like Street Fighter IV's presentation, I think the shotos and the character models in general look bloody  ugly in comparison to 3rd strike's. Sadly, these kids today won't take a fighter seriously or game seriously if it isn't in 3D/polygons, anyway they are retarded with their limited mindset. I strongly believe that there is more 2D sprites since that technology hasn't been fully exhausted and thanks to the upcoming INDIE games where are finally going to see those type games evolve. Case in point, just google or youtube Dust: An Elysian Tail or better yet here's an embedded video from youtube:

If you're not captivated by this game's masterfully well down 2D sprites then you have no soul. Anyway, back to fighting games, so yeah that is why I am drawn to a game like KOF XIII because it is a beautifully crafted 2D fighter that rewards the skilled player. Street Fighter IV, on the other hand, really left a bad taste in my mouth with easy inputs, short cuts, limited super options, and other bullshit designs they employed to make it more accessible. I never consider SF games of the past to be complex games because they were characters, like Chun Li, with low barriers of entry or didn't require precise execution. A matter of fact, all of Capcom's fighters, especially their SF franchise, carried "the easy to pick up but hard to master" philosophy so I don't quite agree with their logic of dumbing down the system. On one hand, I understood why but at least give us the option to take easy-inputs off because in actually it is ruining our execution instead of helping. That is why many new gamers are finding KOFXIII difficult or execution heavy because with most of them SFIV was their first fighting game.

I'd always been a pad player and I only recently converted to the stick and I thought my execution was on point but when I booted up an old copy of 3rd strike I struggled to get out a super art and shoryuken from a crouching position. However, when switched controllers from an arcade stick to a PS3 controller my execution was flawless but my stick execution skills were still poor courtesy of Capcom's easy-input design in SSFIV.  So it comes to improving my execution I always boot up 3rd Strike or SSFII Turbo HD remix and practice up on my execution.

I am also not a fan of the "come back factor" mechanic that is in many Capcom fighters and I guess that is another reason why I shying away from games like SSFIV, but I do enjoy X-factor in Marvel. Anyway, I getting off of track here with my bullshit rambling about 2D sprites and why I don't like SSFIV anymore but at least it gives you guys an insight of how I view fighting games. And yeah there are a lot of great fighters out there and before you prematurely write off, I strongly suggest you give them a try.

Chrono Trigger: A Timeless Classic

One of my first RPGs that I've completed was Chrono Trigger back when it came out in 1995 and it was the first games I'd played multiple times without getting bored. Decades later, I still load up its music via youtube and comment constantly on how much I love the game and why it is one of the best games, no sorry, it is the best RPG of all time and one of the best games of all time. This game is older than most of the average gamers and it is a timeless classic with a battle system that rivals any current RPG battle system to date and one that hasn't not been replicated, which is strange to me because I consider the system as a perfect template for RPGs.

On the subject of battle systems, no two Final Fantasy games play the same, at least with the recent ones, since they always make drastic changes to the battle system with each installment. Personally, I think FFVII has the best classical turn-based battle system and FFX is the best evolution of that system but when it comes to modern battle systems that rectifies the common gripes gamers have with RPGs, and where the user can control the entire party instead of one then Chrono Trigger takes the crown for having the best system. Why game developers don't follow Chrono Trigger's battle system format is beyond me because it works--even Xenogears battle system is an exciting alternative. To me, the most the important thing of an RPG is its battle system since majority of gamer's time is spent leveling up or grinding and that should to be fun instead of a boring chore.

FFXIII, however, though good and exciting to watch, it is pretty bloody pathetic since most of the time the player is in autopilot and we don't have "complete" control of the entire party in battle which is a common trend with today's modern RPGs--and oh boy you can't imagine how much I hate that trend. I think these systems are designed to cater to the retarded or the slow minded who doesn't like to "think" and strategize but just want to breeze through it casually. Ugh, the casual market, though are the masses, are ruining gaming!

Chrono Trigger's music is so awe inspiring and enchantingly timeless even I can't get enough of it. I've been listening to the music for years, I have the mp3 versions, original soundtrack, and I also have it favorited and saved in my music section on youtube and other online media platforms. If an RPG doesn't have many tunes/music that captivates you many years after your initial play through then it is not a game worth mentioning at all.

I know there is a lot of characteristics that defines an RPG as a timeless classic but I think Chrono Trigger is the only game that truly achieved that. It has great pacing, fun addictive combat system, memorable characters, beautiful art design and aesthetics, tons of re-playability,  and it has one of the best soundtracks of all time. I am sure there is more that could be said but do your research and you'll see the gaming community consensus agrees with me.

Chrono Trigger is a testament of how RPGs used to be...they were novelties that break the boundaries of gaming and touch us on some many philosophical, emotional, conceptional levels with their lore and artistic execution of conveying a story that resonates with our emotions. I mean, I could go on and on of why Chrono Trigger is such a game, but it saddens me that there is much games like Chrono Trigger regardless of genre. Games today are cheap superficial consumptions that barely plays well due to how buggy they are and lack the emotional impact of yesterday games.

If you haven't play Chrono Trigger please by all means pick up a copy or play it through one of the many emulators they have circulating around the web. It is a great game and it is a piece of history of how Square-Enix used to be.

Xenoblade Chronicles and random shit..

Yes it has been a while and I am sorry to the fan-less viewers for the disappointment but I am back in semi-force willing to give my thoughts on a game I never played but my thoughts are mostly based on others opinions and reviews that I read on the internet. I know it doesn't make sense and it is credible but please bear with me here for the fun of it.

Anyway onto Xenoblade, shit I wish I had a Nintendo Wii to play this one because from what I read it seems to be a gem and probably one of the best RPGs of this generation, especially one that is a Japanese RPG I may add. OK, it has been ages since I've played an excellent RPG like Chrono Trigger and Xenogears, and interestingly enough, the creators of Xenoblade are former employees of Square-enix and have worked on those classics, plus those were the guys that brought us the Xenosaga series which I enjoyed.

If you don't know now then now you will know how much I hate the current Square-enix. They are not the same as they used to be. The Final Fantasy franchise hasn't been the same since FFX and their other projects outside that have been even worse--actually, more like shit and not even worth noting. Role playing games as a whole from the Japanese side in particular hasn't been up to par and in most cases down right embarrassing and dated in terms of design, game play mechanics, and the story telling has matured since 1990s--the just same generic tired bullshit.  The only JRPGs worth noting that haven't fall in that pathetic category are the Demon Soul series and the Persona games, however, I only had the pleasure of playing former and not latter but I will be getting my hands Persona games one day since I read and heard nothing but praises for them.

I do appreciate the fun and craziness of blowing out an enemy's digital brains out with a sawed off shotgun but shit man I am tired shooters; the gaming market is over saturated with fucking shooters. This generation of gaming has been predominantly shooters and nothing but shooters and I am sick and tired of it. However, I cannot blame them because shooters are easy sellers and the other genres, especially RPGs, haven't been as good as used to be. The FF series is a perfect example; there was a time where Final Fantasy games were an instant buy and they sold in the millions. Now, however, FF games are nothing but dog shit in terms of content but they still do have exceptionally over the top presentation value. Anyway...so far this blog post isn't up to par to my previous posts--funny, how I am ranting about poor RPGs where my writing and this post in generl is just as poor as the recent RPGs--and that is because I am feeling little drowsy due to a full stomach. Too much information? Yeah, I know but I am trying to blend a little personality in my blogs and I am trying to add more content as well since I really don't have much to say and I am running out of ideas.

Anyway, um, where was I...oh yes, Xenoblade, I am glad this RPG exists and I am going to do everything I can in my limited power to play this game because this RPG gem needs to be supported. Unfortunately, however, it is exclusively tied to the Nintendo console and it may not ever be available to other platforms since Nintendo owns the right to the company that made the game and the intellectual property. In that context, I may have to buy a Nintendo Wii and its successor since I want to play Monolith Soft games in the future. *Sigh*

To my non-existing viewers that are reading this terrible post and that do have a Wii or access to one, please by all means play this game. I don't care if you buy it, rent it, or get it by other means, just play this game and show lots support to beautifully made games such as this one. A game that is complete, bug free, and have all the content on the disc that isn't locked away and can only be unlocked through real world money. It is a complete lengthy RPG that is well made and from what I saw, it looks stunning, despite running on dated hardware. This game is a testament of why we shouldn't be rushing on PS4 or a next generation Xbox360 since the current consoles have more power left in them. Besides game developers should be focusing on achieving "rewarding and fun gameplay" instead of insufficient tech demo like games that are boring and nothing more than show pieces.

Now speaking of terrible RPGs or want-to-be RPGs, let's talk about our friends at Bioware, the creators of the now infamous Mass Effect 3, courtesy of its controversial ending that ranks it as one of the most messed up games ever.

I have some depressing news. It seems that ingenious indoctrination theory, the theory that the fans came up with, probably doesn't apply to the ending and the ending may actually be the real ending after all--shit, who would have thought. OK, well If this is true, and I hope for Bioware's sake it isn't, then Bioware is one of the most ridiculous, idiotic, greedy, pathetic, gaming company in the history of gaming and they deserve all of the hate they are getting from their fans because they have officially ruined the Mass Effect series. It is too early to tell and we all have to wait and see how the "the extended DLC director's cut ending" pans out but if it isn't the indoctrination theory--which makes perfect sense and aligns perfectly with the game's mythology--then I am going to be laughing ass off of how much of a dumb fucks Bioware's writers are and I will most definitely be boycotting the game if it is true as well.

I honestly think game companies have lost their integrity and commonsense these days. They are just bleeding out the life out the loyalty out of there fan base and practically cheating us with incomplete buggy games, unlock codes internet codes to fight privacy but undermine their fans at the same time and other bullshit....the videogames and the gaming industry isn't the same as it used to be. It just getting worse year after year and for those of you who have their old consoles, please keep them and don't ever trade or sell your old games because games of today can't be played, properly, tomorrow. Games today requires wired consoles to be unlocked so the user can play them, and wired consoles to fix their bugs and unlock the complete package. However, imagine a decade from now where game companies move on and those servers are no longer active, what will happen to those games? Yeah, they are practically unplayable and requires one to hack them to play. Gaming companies are ruining our games and only way for them to listen is for us to not buy those games. They only understand money and we have to hit them hard with our wallets...anyway on that note I am going to end this, later.

Mass Effect 3 controversial endings: Oh OK, I see where you're coming from...genius!

I couldn't resist, I had to watch Mass Effect 3's endings to see what the was fuss about and at first I was confused but after watching hypothesis videos from the fans I am left impressed. It was ingenious of Bioware to conjure such a masterful mind fuck ending and only those who'd paid attention to the series' narrative would truly appreciate it.

Basically, the Reapers--main protagonist in the game and the entire series--have the ability to coerce minds through "indoctrination" or brainwash.  Through out the series key characters were brainwashed or indoctrinated by the Reapers, most notably Saren--one of the main villains in Mass Effect--he thought he was in control of his actions but he was coerced by a Reaper.

If I had played through Mass Effect 3 I probably would have figure this out because the game gave many cues, through the last segments of the game, that you're the process of being indoctrinated.  The ending of Mass Effect 3, although not much of an ending by traditional standards, is Shepard's struggles of overcoming indoctrination. However, what is confusing is no matter which path you chose--although there is a correct path, because with that path Shepard lives to the end--everyone dies. In the Mass Effect universe, the Mass Relays--a method of space travel used to travel between galaxies and solar systems within the speed of light--plays a vital role game's story. Once the Mass Relays are destroyed countless of planets and races with inevitably be doomed. Destroying the Mass Relays to stop the Reapers is not an option but a counterproductive tactic that makes your efforts of saving all walks of life pointless. You would be a savior to all races but a catalyst to their demise.

Many were offended by the game's endings and I understood why but here is the ingenious hook by the masterminds of Bioware. Everything that happened in that segment--sequences of choice building up towards the ending, everything--was all a hallucination. Fucking Brilliant!

Bioware my hats off to you, sir, but fuck you at the same time.  Bioware has created an overwhelmingly demand by the community for an improved ending, to be more precise, a real ending to the Mass Effect story. If this was premeditated then they are some smart fuckers. From a business perspective, they are geniuses for manipulating the market to create demand. On the other hand, many are confused and have yet to figure out that everything that was a mere hallucination, and when the complete closure finally because available only then they will appreciate the narrative.

On the other hand, once again companies like Bioware are fucking with their fan base by milking the franchise. I don't know if the ending will be an all out sequel and an epilogue DLC expansion but if is DLC then why should we pay a premium to get a complete experience, it is disgusting. I don't think there is going to be a Mass Effect 4 because there is not much weight in the story to carry over but there is enough story left for DLC.

I am against these practices of cutting out major segments of the game and I am against this. Not everyone has access to the internet or a wired gaming platform, so those people will miss out. Mass Effect could have been one of the greatest games of all time if the real ending was included in the game.  The current ending is not much of an ending but an "intricate" cliffhanger where only the few will decipher.

Update: This is a fascinated analysis thesis written by the community and it does make tons of sense, please read: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QT4IUepvrU1pfv_B95oQj0H84DlCTUmzQ_uQh1voTUs/preview?pli=1&sle=true

Mass Effect 3, Disc Locked Content, and random nonsense..

The consensuses of the Mass Effect community and the gaming community are angered with companies shady business practices. I think I talked about this earlier with Street X Tekken in respects of the content being locked on the disc but with Mass Effect 3 it seems the "true ending" of the game will be downloadable content in the near future. I don't think its is locked on the disc because if it was it would have been out hacked and issued to the world already. It is comical and sad that my predictions are coming true. I once wrote and said that if we don't stop this practice now by expressing our concerns by not buying the game then one day special moves and real endings are going to be locked away from the game and we have pay a premium for the content experience.  I wish I was wrong but my projections have finally come true with Mass Effect 3. Note, although this is an allegation made by myself and fans of the series, it may be probable due the alluded remakes made by the game's producer, Casey Hudson. Additionally, the fans are demanding an alternative ending and they even have a donation drive going with the petition, so far they have raised over $50,000.

This is utterly ridiculous. I tried my best not to spoil the ending for me but so far it seems that the ending was quite ambiguous without any clear conclusion. In other words, it left many room for DLC than probably room for another sequel, hence this explains why there is a chance we might have to pay extra for the real ending.

Anyway, if this is companies attempt to fight piracy and secondhand market by fucking up the fan base with this DLC nonsense approach then the gaming industry is going down a dark hole. This practice is basically undermining the legitimately paying consumers whilst illegitimate users, users that get the game through illegitimate means, are consuming the complete experience for free minus the payment model hurdles imposed by companies such as Bioware and Capcom.

Personally, I haven't bought Mass Effect 3 and I don't know if I will ever because I don't won't that ill ending taint my enjoyment of the series. However, knowing the existence of such an ending, have me curious so I may play the game out of sheer curiosity.

Just a little off topic, several weeks or months ago I had reached out to a small editorial gaming site for a job, which is nonpaying but submitting content in a medium I am passionate about is better than money. I love gaming. I've been gaming since I was 7 or 8 years old. My father gave me my first gaming console which was a Nintendo Entertainment system. My first game and gaming experience was Super Mario and Duck Hunt for the NES. However, I may be wrong since my first gaming experience was Pac-Man for the Atari console over at my mother's friend house.  Anyway, I always loved gaming and the gaming industry and one of my biggest fantasies was to work for a gaming company. Sadly, all of the big major gaming companies, venues, conventions, and jobs are mostly in the state of California. Trying to get in, especially the concurrent state of the economy and the fact that I don't live there, is not as easy as I thought. I don't want to make games per se as a programmer but I would like to be a Community Manager or a Public Relations Representative; basically I want to be involved with the business side of game/product development.

I saw an opportunity with a small gaming website--sadly I can't remember its name to give my story more weight--and I had email conversations with the founder/CEO/editor-in-chief  and he promised to get back with me once he discusses it with his peers, but he hasn't. Sadly, I guess window, at least for that particular company, has been closed or never open to begin with. He's from New York so I can't blame him...:)

My dreams of being more active in the gaming industry have not been broken. The fighting game community scene is growing rapidly and since Florida is going to be more new home and it is a venue for a major tournament that happens every year. I may go to it for the kicks and the experience and I may partake in local tournaments once I have disposable income. Basically, once disposable income is more common in my life then I would partake in more ventures that cater to my passion.

At least I have an active personal blog of my own where I can write about anything to keep my writing skills sharp and maybe one day I would be commissioned for it.

Anyway before I end this Capcom has finally released the official pricing scheme for their "disc locked content." The prices are as follows: individual alternative costumes cost $1.00 or buy the whole package for either Street Fighter or Tekken for $13.00, and the 12 extra characters DLC will cost $20.00. I had bought the game I would have been only concern with the extra characters so the game would cost me $80.00 plus to get the complete roster, I said "plus" because where I live there is something called tax.

Yeah...um, Capcom can kiss my ass with their nickel-and-dime bullshit because I remembered buying a game called Virtual Fighter 4 and another game called Tekken 5. Those games have tons of content on the disc with  color edit modes, tons of costumes and items to customize your character, and other miscellaneous content for free on a disc for a $50.00 game. Sadly, those days are withering away and shady companies like Capcom are feeding ignorant consumers with disingenuous nonsense to justify their actions.

Elder Scroll's Oblivion IV did it right; they released DLC several months after the game's release with a 30 dollar expansion of the game with tons of content with new narrative, location, armor, weapons, and the works. It wasn't locked on the disc. It wasn't content that was stripped away from the core story of the game and labelled as DLC. It was original content that expanded the experience of the game without undermining legitimate consumers with online passes and other bullshit.

I am hoping one day this will all change but for now this is the shady period of the gaming industry and if we don't vent and rant about it then these shady practices will be the norm.

It ain't about playing no more it is about the paper!!!

Kusoru:

"Being in a foreign country was scary and I don't think I'll do it again, but the team aspect with the other FRB guys was a blast.
If I travel abroad again, I know that everyone will look at me with murderous intent. All I want is to have fun playing the game.
My favorite player was Mihe because I could tell he has fun playing and doesn't take it to seriously. But I guess we won't become pros with that mentality.
I was also told something like "thanks for giving a wake up call to the USA and making us better" but I definitely won't ever be going back, so I hope other Japanese players will be able to do that from now on."

This is very controversial...or maybe not since many are leading towards Kusoru's defense since the FGC's top players are rather getting out of hand  or more or less their true colors are about to shine. Excellent example, Filipino Champ, a notorious top tournament player, has his own stream and although it could be entertaining at times, the constant harassing to viewers for donations is disgusting.  There was this one situation, where he had juicy info about the verbal confrontation between Justin Wong and Wolfkrone, blatantly he refuses to talk unless they donated. Fools as they were, they donated, and Champ disclosed to the viewing public that the reason for the confrontation was because WolfKrone almost did not honor his word of splitting the prize money between him and Justin Wong. Wolfkrone wanted to change his mind because he felt it would taint his honor of winning a tournament, then why make such shady deals to begin with idiot. After constant heckling Wolfkrone reluctantly succumb to Justin Wong and split the proceeds evenly, however this has left a bad taste in Justin Wong's mouth.

The Final Round Tournament was one of the best tournaments I have ever seen since EVO. Wolfkrone finally win a massive major, convincingly defeating Justin Wong with ease. Justin Wong was powerless, and he looked like a novice playing against Wolfkrone. Post tournament and streaming event, the players gathered for their prizes, and according to Filipino Champ, he used his antics to get both competitors talking and his surprised he was amazed of much Justin Wong hated Wolfkrone due to the prior events. Justin Wong obviously is jealous of Wolfkrone's skill and he never seen him as a friend but a treat. Presumably, he only befriended Wolfkrone because he was a stronger appointment and he thought they could of engage in more shady business like splitting the prize money and forfeiting loses, but in J.Wong's favor.

Justin Wong, although a strong player in his local communities, he is not America's best player as the media proclaims him to be. As the tournament sector is becoming more mainstream with bigger prizes and more sponsors, players from across the globe are competing and on that level of competition, J.Wong is average. J. Wong is desperate and he's doing whatever he can to maintain his image.

Practically, I don't care and I find all of this drama to be entertaining. However, in respect of Kusoru decision of not returning to the U.S because of his bad experience, I can't blame him. American competitors, at least the popularized ones, lost the scope of playing for fun of the competition. They are tainted by greed and the quest of becoming famous. They blatantly expressed their jealously towards other non-fighting game tournaments, such as Star Craft II because in that scene competitor walk away with massive amount of money, sometimes clocking in the six digit figures. They hate when foreign players, mostly the Japanese, come to their soil, and I quote," they taking away our money" well it was not their money to begin with but champion of that competition. The champion could be of any ethnicity, culture, creed, or country and it doesn't matter because the prize is entitled to the champion.

Kusoru matches were entertaining because you he loves playing the game regardless of his wins or lose. It is comical to see him having fun while his opposition is annoyed of his opponent taking the game likely by making jokes and posing happily to the viewers at home. Kusoru obviously had fun, but they didn't and I can only manage the constant money match harassment he gotten from the indignant players that lost to him.

Although I respect their skills, I am disgusted by the top players behavior towards foreigners and their profiteering mindset towards the competition of the game. Major League Gaming's premiere fighting game tournament is conflicting with North Cal Regional's traditional yearly tournament. I won't be surprised when NCR's top players' attendance is on the short side because as of this documenting J.Wong tweeted to MLG's representative if it was OK to register to multiple tournaments. Representative said it was OK. J.Wong is training rigorously at home to increase his chances of winning the $16,000 plus prize money for each of the three fighting games listed.

It ain't about the playing no more, it is about the PAAAPER!!

Street Fighter X Tekken : Capcom don't be shady with that DLC!

I am not surprise, why should be surprised when I saw a leaked video illustrating all of the DLC characters for Street Fighter X Tekken, in which Capcom falsely said the content was incomplete and would be available at a later date.

Days before the game's official release, players already hacked the console version of the game showing to the world all of the content - 12 extra characters, all alternative costumes, and other miscellaneous - on the disc. Capcom and companies with similar shady business practices are just blatantly disgusting with their fraudulent public relations marketing.

Back in the day, goodwill outweighed greed. Companies used to over extra content for free to sustain the game's popularity and build customer loyalty and growth. Today that concept is basically nonexistent. Games are sold incomplete, even worse, buggy with numerous of game breaking issues that have adverse effects on the console's lifespan, extra content is locked.

Today's generation of users are OK with it because they never had the privilege of living the golden age of gaming. There was a time where hidden content could be unlocked for free by finishing the game by certain conditions or extra content was given for free. Tangible content such as posters, miniature/figurines toys, and other merchandise were free just by buying the game. Sadly today everything we had taken granted back then is tripped and only available for premium paying customers.

Personally, I don't care for STXT because it is not a game for me. I see it as Street Fighter IV light with Tekken characters with minor mechanics implemented to appeal to mass market with simpler controls and a system that promotes aggressive play styles. Many, mostly from the elite players of the fighting game community, said this is the greatest SF game of all time. I, on the other hand, will hold my reservations until several months from now.

I really want to pick up KOFXIII because I want to test my execution skills since that game requires good execution to perform the game's flashier combos, but I am in a little predicament so to speak. Anyway, I won't disclose what predicament that is but hopefully before this year ends I will have a blog catered just for that game, but for now stay free Capcom.

Update: is a copy of my post from SRK debating about the issue:

Here is a perfect analogy...Remember when Street Fighter IV came out back 2008 for the arcades and then they announced extra console exclusive characters. Imagine if we had bought the game and found out instead of playing the game and beating the arcade to unlock the extra characters that are on disc, we have to pay a premium to unlock them. If Capcom had use that shady practice back when SFIV first came out then would have done poorly and probably bombarded with poor reviews. 

The point of the story is we were deceived! We thought the 12 extra characters were incomplete and were post game content, but that was far from the truth. We are outraged, but not shocked, when we found out those characters are available and ready to play on the disc.
For those of you who are foolishly defending Capcom and supporting this practice, you are the reason why we being cheated with half arsed games and shady practices. 

There was a time fighting games such as Virtual Fighter IV, Tekken 4, and Soul Caliber 3, for example, have massive amounts of content on the disc for "free" - extra costumes, free character customization shading tools and other miscellaneous - at retail price. The games were complete and content was locked from the consumer and only accessible for extra price. I am ashamed of you all and you should call yourself educated consumers, but brainless tools that doesn't know the difference between good business practices and shady ones. Stay free ignorant FGC, stay free.

Sadly many fans are blindly defending Capcom's business decision but by the end of the day it is not called downloadable content anymore since there is no content to be downloaded, but "disc locked content" is the right terminology for DLC.

Cross Assault's last episode...

It was bloody pathetic of how it turned out in the end. Obviously Nerd Josh is going to win the cash in the end unless the last three contestants rest up and revamped their strategies, but that's hard likely since Nerd Josh is a veteran tournament player.

Overall I am quite disappointed with the show despite having some of the key members of the fighting game community collective contributions in devising the show's format. First of all, I think Team Tekken has been wrongly put together, mainly due to the team's captain, Aris. Aris does good a job in what he does best, causing mischief and producing a few good laughs, but he is incompetent in teaching a game that is practically foreign to him. Ryan Hart would have been a better choice since he's a rounded SF player and he has a strong history in the fighting game community due to exceptional skills in various fighting games, including Tekken. Obviously Aris was chosen solely to invoke drama between the cast but at the cost of Team Tekken's proper training.

Secondly, having a live stream that didn't focus on the teams but mainly the lackluster and boring training sessions was a huge mistake. The majority of the segments leading up to the challenge of the day was practically boring and it could have been better if they had engaging segments to keep the viewers engaged. The stream should have been more dynamic by focusing on the player's personalities and the masterminds behind the show instead cameras fixated on monitors. The prerecorded approach is the best choice for this type of program format instead of a live stream.

Lastly, my biggest grip is Capcom and how they had dealt with the issues that gave the fight game community negative publicity. They should have taken care of the matter in a hasty fashion instead of having it escalated to promote there show. Capcom, marketed this towards the casual market with many gaming mechanics to bridge the gap between the casual player and the intermediate player. However, the show failed to portray that theory since by the end of the day Street Fighter players grasped the game quicker than Tekken players - players with no Street Fighter experience.

Whoever came up with 30 minute endurance challenge should be shot because that was the worst segment of the entire show...according to the FGC, stay free Capcom.