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.

Capcom's Cross Assault impressions

I've been watching this for the past week almost all day and I must say some of it has been very entertaining, the drama, but the actual matches, most of them, were a pain to watch. I am not surprise because Capcom's angle or goal was to display to audience that semi skilled player or a not so skilled player can pick up their game and player decently well at it. This approach has by Capcom has caused some contention in the fighting game community because from their perspective, the viewers want to see the elite players selected for the show and not unknowns. I understand their argument, but I lean towards Capcom side because I am always advocate for lesser known players to shine, since they are countless of players out there with amazing skills but lack the finances to compete. However, the show does not have such players, unfortunately, but there are a couple strong players that may win the title from an elite player in the mix. Yes there is one elite player among them, I say elite because he's pretty decent and he's well known in the fighting game community and he's best friends with one of workers.

I have more to say about the show but I am little tired so I am going to post this as is and get back to it when I am fully rested, so to be continued...

I am somewhat fully rested and ready to recommence...Basically Capcom devised a show putting up 10 contestants competing for a grand prize of $25,000.00. Instead of competing in a few for all format, every man for himself, they are segmented into two teams - Team Street Fighter and Team Tekken - competing against each other. Due to the format of the show there is room for confrontation since only one can win the prize money and the person with the best skills cannot necessary win, thanks to the reality show like format of the show. The show is designed to create drama and stress between the players solely to boost ratings.

This basically sums up the format of the show. Now on to the meat of the story...just recently a player from the Team Tekken side, Miranda, forfeited her position to compete mainly due to her issues with her coach, Aris. She has expressed repeatedly about Aris's sexual harassment on the show, and made it clear via twitter feed that she's not enjoying herself and she wants to go home. Obviously, Capcom is aware of this and didn't lift a finder until it had escalated, although, in my opinion, Miranda's cry for sexual harassment wasn't as extreme as normal cases. My reason for this is because early on in the show, she was entertained by his sexual comments and antics and it was not a problem then. However, coupled with the show's random challenges which contributed to her stress along with Aris's antics, it got overbearing.

I think the community and the viewers took it to the extreme and others blow it out of proportion without understanding the underlying factors for her decision. Unanimously, members on the show are not having fun due to the extreme limitations place on them such as they are not allowed to leave the compound and they have to train for several hrs per day before the ending challenge, and the unconventional randomness of the challenges that mirrors a reality show than a tournament scene. However, the drama between Aris and Miranda has caused some traction and it has gotten people talking about the show regardless if it is bad publicity for the fighting game community.

The fighting game community is comprised of immature kids and adults so it is inevitable for this sort of thing to happen since Capcom hasn't set any ground rules in avoiding this from happening. To be honest, I think Capcom wanted this to happen because the audience and the media want drama. For example, known gaming websites are trying their hardest to get into touch with Miranda and even members of the community were trying to get in touch with her.

Anyway I have talked about this long enough but in conclusion there was simply a misunderstanding between Aris and Miranda that was blown out of proportion by viewers. In Aris's eyes, his behavior towards her is normal but he's aware of his limits and has not gone overboard. However, from Miranda's perspective, his antics were cute at first but later become annoying and overbearing. Miranda simply vented her experiences on the show and out of the entire cast, Aris was just a pest.

My hats off to Capcom for not picking the elite top players because the show would have been less predictable and random if the elites were in. Justin Wong is the best player in the U.S and if he was in the show then the outcome would have been inevitable. Maybe the show would have been more entertaining from a game session spectator's point of view but picking unknown candidates that are now being recognized by the community is a better approach. The key of the show, from what I read, is to select players that are decent in fighting games to compete on a even level - since none of them had prior experience with the game - and to be coached by top players. It would have been counterproductive if Justin Wong was selected being coached by a player he beats easily at tournaments, it just does not make sense to me. This current format is serviceable to the premise they have in mind.

Although the show is a couple days away from concluding, my bets are set on Renic. I think he is a solid player who has improved over the course of the show and being that he's unknown player, unlike his teammates, he has my support. I think he will win the $25,000.00.

Asura's Wrath!

I played the demo ages ago and although it was fun and crazy to "look" at it wasn't much of a game to warrant a purchase. Note this was my initial opinion after playing the demo because I thought at least the final game would had more meat instead of massive amount of cut scenes and I won't ever consider quick-time-events as game play because that cheap gimmick is, technically, an interactive cut scene.

Here's my issue with the gaming industry. I do not mind a game like Asura's Wrath exists but I do mind the price, $60.00 USD coupled with taxes so if you live in a state like New York City, then the game will cost almost $66.00, so the $59.99 is always bloody misleading.

From what I read, the game's length is roughly between 6 to 7 hours but in terms of game play it is barely 2 hours. This is bloody ridiculous. A game like this should be priced 30 bucks because the length doesn't warrant the price. Many would defend this game and put the whole movie thick analogy into play, but in my opinion, that analogy is a terrible example. A game is an active experience where as a movie, however, is a passive experience, so that analogy doesn't work.

It is a shame a game like Aursa's Wrath may not do so well because it is a new IP and most players don't see need to pay 60 bucks for a interactive movie, maybe if it were 30 bucks. Capcom once again just shot themselves in the foot with this one because I love the premise of Aursa's Wrath and I love the anime inspired chaotic craziness, but the lack of game play is going to hurt it. At least it will do splendidly in the rental department.

Um this is my unprofessional but yet authentic Dark Souls review.

Several months ago I went out to my local Gamestop store and bought Demon Souls used for 20 bucks plus "tax."  Yes you read it correctly, I was taxed for buying a used game at Gamestop store, a game that was traded in from a gamer at an unfair bargain which only wins in Gamestop's favor but yet it was sold to me with additional hidden cost, tax. I always hated Gamestop but now I hate it even more and that was the last straw and I will never buy a second hand game from that store ever again. Thanks to that robbed experience, I  haven't since there are many  attractive online alternatives like Amazon.com to chose from, but I just hate the wait.

In respects of Demon Souls, I enjoyed it immensely because it was an RPG, a real RPG, that delivered on the many aspects that defines an RPG that were desperately lacking current RPGs - games like Fallout, FFXIII, Dragon Age II, and other current RPGs felt like RPG lite or RPGs for dummies. I had fun with Demon Souls and it wasn't as challenging as many said it to be but it requires a strategic approach with a lot of leveling in mind. In other words, you have to work to get the best experience of it otherwise you're going to die often, very often since grinding, level and enemy placement memorization is the key to surviving.  On the other hand, what made that game to me was the cool and innovative online system - a system where players are seen as shadows, that don't really have a direct impact on your world but it gives you a sense that you're not alone. Furthermore, players can leave messages - some helpful and others are just there to fuck with you - and activate a player's recorded demise by touching blood stains that are scattered across the map.  There are other mechanics haven't mentioned but Demon Souls was awesome game, a game that compelled me to buy Dark Souls, its sequel.

Dark Souls is more or less very similar to Demon Souls with significant changes to the world's structure, instead of the world being divided, condensedly, into a level like structure. Dark Souls, however, is world is seamlessly  connected as a open world where the player is free to go wherever he/she chooses. Secondly, instead of mana points, spells and miracles have a certain amount of casting points and there is a cool save system where one can level up, repair and upgrade equipment, and so on.

I won't bother go in detail with the mechanics of the game but I will say this the mechanics in Dark Souls is a convenient system that moves the series forward. However, the game is still difficult and that's due to the vagueness of the game. The game does a poor job...then again I can't say it is a negative but actually a positive attribute of the game. Not knowing what lies beyond that door is a frightening cool aspect of the game. I had one gaming session where I was playing 3am in the morning at a level of complete darkness with no sound other than the enemies footsteps and occasional moans. I was freaked out and I was literally scared and I wanted the level to end because my nerves were affecting my level of concentration. I literally couldn't play anymore, so I turned off the system and went to bed.

For a game, a videogame that isn't categorized as a horror game it did deliver some scares and that would not been accomplished if it weren't for the excellent atmospheric level design. Dark Souls is a beautiful game - a game of awe and wonder with such a hunting and cynical world that's fits perfectly in the game's fiction or mythology. The game deserves all of the praised it has gotten because it is truly nothing like it out there. Games today are tripped away of their challenging qualities - when I speak of challenge, I speak of the fun of figuring out how to defeat a boss or a common enemy, and figuring out a puzzle with vague clues that makes sense.

On the other hand, the game's vagueness is also a deterring factor because it doesn't explain how the online multiplayer works and there isn't a proper visual cue to indicate to the player that the enemy is too hard. If it weren't for the online guides and the community message boards I would have been more frustrated with the game, but not to the point of stop playing. The game is challenging but it is fair and becomes extremely easy once your character reaches a certain level. The game's last boss was extremely easy and I wasn't even maxed out - 713 is the maxed level - I was only at level 112.

Dark Souls is a great game but it is not for everyone and I understand why Skyrim is a better game. It is a better game because it is more accessible and the player always know what to do and where to go.  Although, one could never get lost in Dark Souls but not the game's vagueness can deter the average player.

Well, that's my review of Dark Souls...I had fun playing it due to experience of exploring the world, leveling up to see the cool spells and equipment, and the fun in defeating a boss that was once difficult. However, the game was not fun because it was more of a chore than entertainment and game's should be fun. I had spent most of time leveling up through Dark Souls and I won't consider grinding to be fun aspect of gaming because grinding is like work and work is never fun.

I should buy Soul Caliber 5 NOW!

My first experience with this series, fortunately, was with Soul Edge for the Playstation 1 over by my friend's house back in the mid 1990s. Tekken II never grab me with its visuals or its combat but Soul Edge did with its impressive visuals and cool weapon based system that has underlying gaming mechanic that gives the character individual weapons some attributes. For instance, once completed the mission mode and unlocking the various weapon abilities for said character one can take those abilities in versus mode. A character can have a phantom ability to their sword which renders it invisible or an ability to regenerate health over time. I don't remember if there were in adverse affects to these abilities and yeah by today standards it may seem cheap but it was fun. I had fun playing Soul Edge and it was just impressive to look it with its effects.

I couple years later and there was Soul Caliber, the sequel to Soul Edge but many still think Soul Caliber was the first in the series. Soul Caliber was just the most impressive game of that time - it was even more graphically impressive than its arcade brother which was unprecedented. In that era of gaming, arcade ports to consoles rarely or hard likely achieve perfect arcade ports, and even the thought a console surpassing arcade graphics was crazy talk. Fortunately, Dreamcast was the first console to do it and it was indication that the end of the arcade era was imminent. You guys have to remember, if one wanted the true arcade experience in terms of graphical presentation the arcades were the way to go but having a "home" console port of an arcade game that made the arcade port look dated in comparison was the selling point for many and also constituted to the many positive reviews.

Soul Caliber was an impressive game - and it is still is today - and it was a great fighting game, a game that managed to distract me from Street Fighter and influenced me to buy a dreamcast console just to play that game and many other great fighting games. If you were a fighter enthusiast or love fighting games then the Dreamcast was the console to have since it was blessed with an impressive library of fighters that were arcade perfect due to the console's unprecedented graphical power.    

Unfortunately, though Soul Caliber II was good game it didn't have the same effect as Soul Caliber was. The PS2 ran it well but it was not a perfect port due slow down when things get chaotic on the screen and the introduction of guest characters didn't do it for me - Tekken's Hihachi for the PS2 version and Spawn for the comics on the Xbox.  It was a port but not to the level like Soul Caliber was for the Dreamcast but it was fun nonetheless.

The game just got less appealing for me with each iteration but that fire rekindled with Soul Caliber IV for the PS3 due it being one of the first legitimate fighting game that has online functionality. I played it to death and I loved it but once SFIV was announced I knew I would stop playing it once the game comes out.

Sadly, I don't feel compel to buy Soul Caliber 5 and I probably won't ever buy it because it is not that game anymore. Once again it has guest characters and presentation, though good, doesn't have that vibrant pop out feel like Street Fighter or King of Fighters, or Naruto.

I hope the game does well because so far the reviews haven't been stellar and to most idiots that buy these games do care about that. I don't understand why story is a factor in reviewing fighting games; a fighting game's game play, presentation, control, and online functionality should be considered for critiquing not story. Anyway, sorry SCV but you are not my type of fighter, and the next big fighting game I am going to buy is King of Fighter's XIII once I through with Dark Souls.