Skullgirls Review

Skullgirls Review

Platforms: Playstation Network, Xbox Live
Developer(s): Reverge Labs, WayForward Technologies
Publisher(s): Autumn Games, Konami
Genre(s): Fighting
Release: April 10 (PSN), April 11 (XBL)



Skullgirls is a downloadable 2-D fighter developed by Reverge Labs that features an all-female cast of characters, each with unique powers. The game’s story centers on an ancient artifact known as the Skull Heart which will grant the deepest desires of the woman who possesses it. As with many other fighters, each character has their own story and set of goals. Skullgirls is played differently than many other fighters. Players can choose the ratio of characters they want from one to three. Single player teams are powerful whilst two to three player teams are able to perform assist attacks.

PRO: Skullgirls features a unique combo system that puts an end to infinite combos, the main gripe about the VS. series. The fighting system gives players a chance to break looping combos in several ways, thus giving them a chance to fight back. No more putting down your controller and watching a combo exhibition.

At the selection screen, players can customize their characters. I was impressed with the character models. Each one is hand drawn and in the match looks a lot like a Saturday morning cartoon. The theme works for this game.

CON: The throw back to an eight-character list is nostalgic for those of us who remember Street Fighter II. However, new players who grew up during the era of larger character lists may not feel that there is enough variety. Unlike the aforementioned game, Skullgirls does not feature any sub-bosses before the final boss.

OVERALL: Skullgirls is a solid fighter with high replay value. The characters are beautifully drawn and backgrounds are visually impressive. And Michiru Yamane, best known as the composer for the Castlevania series, provides music that completes the feel of this animated fighter.


Skullgirls gets 4 out of 5.

See you on the next level,

Brian M.

The Reset Button: Haunts, Crackfiend, LPN, and N3SS in GamesRadar's Street Fighter x Tekken livestream!

Check out the two-part video as Haunts, Crackfiend, and LPN join N3SS (Marcos Sanchez) in GamesRadar's Street Fighter x Tekken livestream!


Characters shown in demo:

Sagat, Abel, 
Nina, Kazuya, 
Steve, Rolento, 
Hugo, Juri
, Balrog, Xiaoyu
, King, Lili
, Poison, Ibuki, 
Chun-Li, Guile, 
Cammy, Raven
, Asuka, Vega, 
Law, and Kuma.

Part 1


Part 2

The King of Fighters XIII (Console-version) Review

Platform(s): Playstation 3, X-Box 360

Developer(s): SNK Playmore

Publisher(s): Atlus

Genre(s): Fighting

Rating: T for Teen

So who remembers a little game released about 2 years ago titled The King of Fighters XII? If you do (or want to), then you can agree with me that the game was a complete disappointment to KOF fans worldwide. Why, you ask? Because, in comparison to all the previous games under that title, KOF XII was nothing more than an incomplete title that should have stayed in the development labs. But now, with the release of The King of Fighters XIII, will SNK Playmore’s legendary fighting game title get the revival that fans have been longing for or will it be the sad end of an otherwise illustrious legacy?

The Story:

The King of Fighters XIII takes place after KOF XI, and is the last game of the third story arc that started in The King of Fighters 2003. The fighter Ash Crimson has absorbed the powers from two of the descendants of the clans who sealed the Orochi away 1,800 years ago, Chizuru Kagura and Iori Yagami, while Kyo Kusanagi is to be his last victim. As his former comrade, Elisabeth Blanctorche, prepares to stop him, fighters receive an invitation to another King of Fighters tournament hosted by a person labeled as "R". The tournament is sponsored by Rose who is being controlled by "Those From The Past", the organization behind the two previous tournaments that has been trying to break Orochi's seal.

The Pros:

Okay. So the first major pro that I have to add on here is that this game is a major improvement from its previous version, KOF XII. There’s no more Critical Counter system (tapping Heavy Punch at the right time to make your own custom combo), Guard Attacks or anything of the sort. It’s all taken out, and replaced with better moves that are reminiscent of the older titles of the games.

My next pro is the roster. KOF XII had myself (and many other players) ticked when certain people weren’t included in the short roster. Once again, XIII has fixed that problem by bringing back the characters we wanted to see in the game. Yuri Sakazaki, Mai Shiranui, and K’ are just a few of the returning faces making it on the roster for the newest installment.

Next, the combat has to be a favored pro of mine. As I said earlier, they’ve taken out all the failed moves from KOF XII and added newer moves to keep the combat fresh. EX moves is one of the newer things added to the game, allowing the characters to not only perform an EX version of their special, but of their Desperation moves. Also, the Hyper Drive gauge is a new addition, where players can sacrifice half of this gauge meter to perform Drive cancels, or activate the once it’s full to have a short but unlimited use of Drive cancels.

That means that if you catch the opponent in a combo and activate the Hyper Drive gauge, you can create your own devastating combo. It’s not an easy task, seeing that combos in this game require near surgical precision to execute a lot of moves, but once you get it down, it’ll be a problem for opponents.

Finally, the extra modes that are included in this game are a personal pro. For the beginners and newcomers to the game, they have a solid tutorial mode that really teaches you the mechanics of the game. A Mission Mode is added for players to get the character-specific combos down (which goes from simple to ridiculous sometimes). However, the Time Attack and Survival modes are the two that’ll keep the fighting game fans who aren’t big on playing online busy for a while. And personally, the last 2 modes should be a staple for any fighting game.

The Cons:

What can I say that’s bad about this game? I can mention a few things, to be honest. First of all, I’ll mention the one thing that every fighting game fan knows about a SNK game. Yes, the SNK Boss Syndrome is heavy in this installment, folks. For those who don’t know what that is, the SNK Boss Syndrome is the term associated to the bosses in a SNK fighting game, who are nowhere near easy to beat due to their cheapness, sheer strength, and ridiculous difficulty. So if you thought that Seth (Street Fighter IV), v-13 (BlazBlue), and Shao Kahn (Mortal Kombat 9) was bad, fight against Saiki and Shadow Ash. It’s guaranteed that you’ll hate every moment of that fight.

My second con falls in the story mode. Now…the story mode is done well, considering that it tells the story from different teams’ perspective and everything. However, the one thing they could have added in there was some voice-overs. As much as I like the story mode for KOF XIII (which is a first for the series, I believe), they could have added that in as well.

My final con isn’t really a con at all, but I think that it should be noted. Now, I love the fact that there are new moves added to here to improve the game. But on the other hand, it seems that they are taking a few pages away from their rival’s books. What do I mean? EX moves and NEO MAX moves…you can easily see the resemblance to Capcom’s famed EX Moves and Level 3 Supers. Overall, it’s not a bad thing, considering that the NEO MAX moves look and are more devastating than the Level 3’s, however it seems a bit monotonous in a way.

Overall:

It’s safe to say that The King Of Fighters XIII is an exceptional improvement over its predecessor. However, I can say that the 13th installment of KOF is possibly one of the best fighting games this year. From the roster to the solid, technical game play and even the extra modes, this is probably the one game that most hardcore fighting game fans will keep with them for a while.

Final Score: 5 out of 5

Retro Review: X-Men vs. Street Fighter

Developer(s): Capcom

Publisher(s): Capcom

Platforms: Arcade, Sega Saturn (Japan-only), Playstation

Genre: Fighting

Rating: Teen

With the release of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and the upcoming Street Fighter X Tekken, I'd thought it would nice to take at look back at how the cross-over genre began by reviewing the game that started it all--"X-Men vs Street Fighter."

During the haydays of arcade gaming, Capcom released the coin operated console game that pitted their own against the X-Men. The Street Fighter characters retained their appearance from Street Fighter Alpha 2 while the Marvel character remained largely unchanged from Capcom's two previous Marvel releases, "X-Men: Children of the Atom" and "Marvel Super Heroes." Gameplay for X-Men vs. Street Fighter is similar to the style of Marvel Super Heroes, and adds a tag team feature. Unlike the forementioned title, this game's matches consists of two-on-two battles as opposed to a best two-out-of-three match. Players controlled one character while their partner waits off screen. You can switch parnters on the fly and the match lasted until a team is defeated.

PRO: X-Men vs. Street Fighter's two-on-two matches provided much more variety than in other fighting games at the time. You can begin your assault with one character and finish with the other. No best-out-of-three matches here. It's one match; winner take all. The character models were smooth and fluid, and cartoony, much like in the first two Marvel based games and in Street Fighter Alpha which made intergrading Ryu and friends with the X-Men a seemless fit. The action is very fast paced, pulling off insane combos to devastate your opponent. Hyper Combos add flare to your attacks. These are enhanced versions of a characters super combo.

CON: By today's standards, X-Men vs. Street Fighter would be considered a turtle plodding along in the sand. It's limited roster of 12 fighters and graphics have nothing on current titles Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Street Fighter 4. But in it's hayday, X-Men vs. Street Fighter was the game to play.

OVERALL: Today's fighting games and even some action games have to thank the fighting games of yesteryear. X-Men vs Street Fighter not only brought variety to what was once a straight forward genre (beat your opponent and that's it), but it has also inspired gameplay for titles such as God of War series, current Mortal Kombat release, and Devil May Cry series. X-Men vs Street Fighter set the standard for cross-over fighting games as well as games that succeeded it. It was a fun and entertaining game enjoyed by many an arcade attendee and still is to this day. And will continue to inspire future tag-team crossover fighting games.

Final Score: X-Men vs. Street Fighter gets 5 out of 5.

See you on the next level,

Brian M.

25 Days of Begging: Part One

25 Days of Begging: Part One

So, 2011 has gone by and you have been woefully behind in your gaming. Maybe you have been out with the in-laws in Amish Country, maybe you have been dodging cholera and dysentery encamped outside your nearby city hall (you dirty hippies, you), or maybe you have been trapped beneath a rock and you haven’t quite managed to free yourself in the last twelve months with your dull pocket knife. Good luck with that. For all of you, this article will detail the 25 games you need to beg for the hardest, shiny new hardware to meticulously wipe fingerprints off of, and a whole slew of honorable mentions that are good 26^th choice games in case they won’t buy you what you really want. This is also something like J1Studios game of the year awards as well, so pay attention kid, you might learn something.  After all, you don’t want to get stuck with this.

25.

            I love Bastion, and I fought hard to get it on this list in a year full of better than average gaming. Between the low price, replayability, solid action-rpg gameplay, and overall polish, the main fundamentals of the game are good. But what really knocks it out of the park with this game is the narration that cues off of actions taken during the game. Its sort of like that post apocalyptic Family Guy episode, but completely not annoying. One might be tempted to compare this mere downloadable game to full disc RPGs like FFXIII or a throwback like Eternal Sonata. That same person should also conclude that it’s better than most of the RPGs that have come out in the last few years. A lot better.

24

      The sort of people who like and play Dark Souls are the sort of people whose leisure activities involve safety words. If you like punishing difficulty in which anything can kill you at any time, in many ways, congratulations, this game is for you. Mind you, there’s more to this game than insane difficulty, but its tough to enjoy its amazing graphics, sound design, story, and dungeon architecture, when that angry monster keeps insisting on gnawing on your skull like he’s trying to open an extra difficult bakugan. “Fun”, right? To its credit, if your self-esteem somehow manages to survive getting killed again and again, and you make it through the dungeon and kill the dragon, the sense of accomplishment is like almost nothing else in gaming. Go treat yourself to an ice cream cone, you earned it.

23

            This may well be the last KOF ever. Since the last editions have not had the commercial impact that they needed to, despite the recent renaissance of the fighting game, SNK has brought us this swan song to bid farewell to Kyo and company, possibly forever. But, if this is the last game they make, then it’s a darn good one to go out on. As is consistent with the newer editions of KOF, the fighting system has gotten a major revamp that the advanced players can use to make even more stylish combo mayhem onscreen. The new cancel system allows you to combo someone with a series of normals, then a special, then a super, then an upgraded SDM (bigger than the leader SDMs from KOF 2003), if you get my meaning. Also added was a Street Fighterish ex system, except you can ex a super as well (like the old SDM). It looks and plays just as ridiculous as it sounds: every character has the capability to play like Dante with the Devil Trigger and X Factor. Get ready for some YouTube combo exploits.

22

            I love Tekken. With the exception of Tekken 4 (hot trash), Namco hasn’t let me down yet. The latest release Tekken Hybrid, is a sort of a combo pack of Tekken awesomeness. Namco, more than many of the other studios, really understand value for their fighting games: Tekken has had bowling games, beach ball fighting, side scrolling 3d beat-‘em-ups, space combat, secret characters, four games on a disc, 3^rd person action games, and much more. So what are they giving us this time?

            Tekken Hybrid comes with Tekken Tag HD, Tekken Tag 2 Prologue, and Tekken: Blood Vengence movie for only $40. It’s a great price for a great game: just hope your friends aren’t cheap and use True Ogre all the time.

21

            There’s a talking gun that shoots glowing octopi onto people’s faces who then get hypnotized, becoming friendlies. Until their heads blow up like a pound of c4. Dildos are a legitimate means of killing someone. Every weapon has individual balltap animation. Do I really have to explain to you how bonkers this game is? Prepare for nonstop insane slapstick humor, punctuated by occasional outbreaks of good gaming.

Honorable Mentions for this week:

DC Universe Online

Since this console and PC based MMO went free to play, it got a whole lot more attractive. Definitely worth a look.

Little Big Planet 2

I honestly don’t know how this didn’t make the list. I might flame myself.

NBA 2k 12

One of the best sports games ever. Take that, EA.

Dead Space 2

Who would have thought that Dead Space 2 would be more of a survival horror game then the newest Resident Evil?

Must Have Hardware:  3DS

Portable glasses free 3d sounds like something from a Sci-fi show, but Nintendo has worked its magic on its newest handheld. Better yet, now that there’s actually some games out for it, and a nice price drop, look forward to your nearest Gamestop being sold out for the next few months. Even more new games, as opposed to retreads and remakes, should be on their way soon.

Suggested games:

Zelda: Orcania of Time 3D

Super Mario 3d Land

Super Street Fighter 4 3D

By Chris Alexander

PSN: Imnotonfacebook

XBLA: Mastergief

Mastergief@gmail.com

R.I.P. Gamepro

King of Fighters-i (iPhone edition review)

King of Fighters-i

Developer: SNK PLAYMORE

Publisher: SNK PLAYMORE

Genre: Fighting game

Platform: iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

Release date: July 07, 2011

Price: $7.99

Buy it Here!

Various fighters from around the world come together in 3 on 3 teams to find out who is the true King of Fighters!

FEATURES:

In King of Fighters (also known as KOF-i) you can choose from the following 4 game modes when playing in ARCADE MODE:

“TEAM BATTLE” for classic KOF 3-on-3 battles,

“SINGLE BATTLE” for 1-on-1 gameplay,

“ENDLESS” to defeat as many opponents as possible with just one character (life).

“TRAINING” to get accustomed to the Virtual Pad-based controls and practice your combos.

"BLUETOOTH" is for local versus matches as well as trading cards in the Trading Card mini-game.

"TRADING CARD" you can buy with Battle points various cards and sometimes you might get more than one so you can go to the KOF shop (in the game menu) and sell your extra cards to get more points to buy other cards.

PROS:

I say that these are some of the best graphics I've seen for a fighting game on the iOS platform to date. They captured the exact look and feel of the upcoming King of Fighters XIII, and I do mean captured! Unlike the visually stunning but disappointing KOF12 (console version) this brings the classic "good fighting game" KOF engine right into the palm of your hands. I love that you can do not only all of the specials and supers but you can do all the combos that they show you online for the upcoming KOF13! The gameplay and sound feels just like I'm playing the arcade version of the game. You can hear the vocals clearly and everything! This game lets me know how awesome KOF13 will be when it comes to console. The controls are solid, you just have to get used to touchscreen pad controls. Once you do that it'll feel completely natural.

CONS:

No endings. Understandably it is a mobile phone game. You can't expect to have EVERYTHING that's in a arcade or console to be in an iPhone game. There is the fact that it doesn't allow you to play opponents online, but after seeing how well that works (or doesn't) in other games, I'm not sure if that fits as a con.

OVERALL:

With hours of replay value especially just to see what each individual fighter says to one another, and free character DLC in October, I couldn't understand why this wouldn't be in your list of apps.

4 out of 5

Street Fighter IV Volt: Battle Protocol review

Street Fighter IV Volt: Battle Protocol

Developer: CAPCOM

Publisher: CAPCOM

Genre: Fighting game

Platform: iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

Release date: June 30, 2011

Price: $6.99

Buy it Here!

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In 2010, CAPCOM put out Street Fighter IV for the iPhone which to my surprise was actually quite good. The game has the ability to provide a feel (even though it's limited) as close to the PS3 and Xbox360 console version as possible. The things that make the game work on the iPhone is that there are less characters then the console versions. Combos that you do in the home versions are still doable in this mobile addition. I could go on about Street Fighter IV iPhone addition but the focus is Street Fighter IV Volt, so let's get to it!

GOOD:

I love that this version (unlike the 1st iPhone version) has ONLINE MULTIPLAYER!! That's right folks you can play other people who enjoy SF4V all across the globe! Phones have come a long way baby! With Street Fighter IV iPhone edition having only 14 characters in the game total, the addition of 4 new characters (Cody, Vega, Balrog and ????) is welcome. The "????" is a hidden character that you can later unlock (I'll explain on our Facebook fan page). to give it that newer/update feel they made the interface like the Character Select screen and Stage Select screen follow the look of the updated Street Fighter IV game, SUPER Street Fighter IV. This also gives me the thought that via iTunes you MIGHT be able to buy or download for free, more characters. Here's hoping! With the Online play you build up stats just like you would on the home versions (kinda cool). Your avatar that you customize to represent you ONLINE can actually "battle" other avatars that you played via online matches. That builds up stats but they are separate from your actual fighting stats. Think of it as a silly mini-game. You can even post your stats and achievements via Twitter. Graphically I think it looks pretty amazing especially for an iPhone game, and the sound quality is top-notch!

BAD:

I know that this is a mobile game but I still wish there were endings for the characters. You do get a 5 sec cinematic, which is better than nothing (SS4 iPhone), but the biggest complaint is the LAG in the online play. Yes I know this is a first for CAPCOM when it comes to phones, so I expect a game update that will fix the problem. Still when it works, it works!

OVERALL:

Overall, I have to say that I really enjoy Street Fighter IV Volt. It is a great on the go game and a great time waster especially for the price of $6.99. I mean come on, I was doing my crossover combos on my iPhone!! I have to say that this deserves a 3.5 out of 5. GET IT NOW!

E3 2011 info for those who don't know!

So E3 is over and where has it left us? Well, the major games and hardware were in attendance, Candace Bailey looks good playing Kinect games in a skirt (or a dress), and we all were treated to some of the industries best eye candy that we will hold onto until the next E3 comes along. We here at J1 believe that while we can deliver news to our fans, often its our opinions andour imaginations that you really care about most. So, lets take a look at the big stories, and little stories, of E3 and what we think of them with a little J1 flava on top.

First the biggies: Halo 4, Halo HD, the “real” launch titles for the 3DS, Street Fighter x Tekken, the Wii U, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Rage, Zelda: Skyward Sword, the Vita, Batman: Arkham City, Overstrike, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Uncharted 3, Skyhawk, Gears of War 3, Bioshock Infinite, Prey 2, Journey, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim...really too many to write out here. But as far as I'm concerned there are only a few that are really making me lean forward in my seat as the trailers play.

Of all of E3, the following are on my must buy list: Street Fighterx Tekken, the Vita, Batman: Arkham City, Bioshock 3, Mass Effect 3, Overstrike, Deus Ex Human Revolution, and perhaps Hawken.

I wouldn't be a fighting game fan if I didn't get Street Fighter x Tekken and it already looks awesome. Let's just hope 'Gief and King get to wrestle (go King!). The Tekken players will supposedly have moves that will allow safe passage through the waves of fireballs that will be thrown at them, and will excel at close ranged combat. There is some bit of that that makes me uncomfortable. Zangief, Abel, T. Hawk, and others already have fireball safe moves and they still struggle to close the distance with the best of the keep away artists (Guile, Dee Jay, Akuma, Gouken). The neat thing will be seeing how they balance out the complete lack of fireballs on the Tekken half with the serious juggling and mixup advantage that they should also have.

Arkham City and Deus Ex are need-to-buys because the games in their respective series before them were great and there would need a Devil May Cry 2 style meltdown to come out as anything less than stellar. Since I have seen enough of both to be assured that won't be happening, I'll definitely be getting them, probably at launch (see you at midnight, South Street store). I feel bad for the people that are going to have to judge for the Game of the Year category for the next two years, if these two titles are representative of the quality of work going into the AAA titles they will have their work cut out for them.

Overstrike and Hawken are two completely new games: one made by David and the other by Goliath. EA's Overstrike probably had a small army working on that trailer for at least half a year for ten hour days; Hawken is made by less than 10 people, some of which are interns. And Hawken showed up with actual gameplay! Nevertheless, we look forward to both entries, and lets pray that Overstrike plays at least something like its trailer.

Mass Effect 3. Bioshock Infinite. Two games that have game of the year written all over them. If I didn't get both of these, I might as well sell my PS3 and 360. These two games will be so awesome that they will no doubt take up more of my life than several of the other games on this list combined. You have to love how they moved Bioshock from the ocean to the clouds, and the apparent graphical bump they've given it. Lets hope for a little more enemy variation to make the game perfect. And I love how Mass Effect carries decisions we made years ago all the way through to the end. Can't wait to kick some reaver butt. Seriously, I can't stress it enough, these two are too innovative, too pretty, too amazing to pass up; if you get nothing else (besides Street Fighter x Tekken) get these two..

I've never been a big fan about Battlefield but the graphics on this game look amazing. You have to remember, the trailers you see on tv or even online are a lot like uncooked re-chewed food: the game isn't done and its been re-rendered through the camera/computer so the quality of the sound and the video will not be the same as when you plug it in and play. The fact that Battlefield made me drool (graphically speaking) from a demo means that they are doing well enough production-wise to polish their work to the sort of quality expected from a complete game. I seriously might buy the game just so I can watch my gun fly apart into a hundred little customizable pieces.

Also the COD: MW3 demo looked sick with the NYC backdrop, the sight customization, and the smart grenade launcher (which will hopefully be even better than MGS 4's). I love how the game alternates between making you feel like the grim reaper (the first game had that famous AC-130 section) and being a completely helpless punk (Black Ops' endless army of doom comes to mind). We can all look forward to calling down surgical strikes on whole buildings worth of baddies, helicopter crashes, tense sniper infiltration missions, and generally blowing crap up.

Halo HD and Halo 4 are interesting because they're both games made by Microsoft (not Bungie) specifically in the pursuit of wringing every last dollar from a super successful franchise. Sometimes that works out all right (Fallout: New Vegas) but more often than not the new studio makes a game of decent quality that looks similar, and sounds similar, but just doesn't feel the same. Especially when you consider that they are going to try to make three games! They are going to have a tough job: to make a game that is familiar to players of the original trilogy, and yet making something that's innovative enough that's its not just a retread. The fans will be looking at every atom of detail put into the game to make sure that it stays true to their extremely high game play and story expectations. Tough job. Can't wait to see how that's going to come out.

I want to come out and say that while I plan to buy Rage and play it to death, I am somewhat confuzzled at how they are going to start

announcing and planning a sequel when they haven't released the first game yet. Rage could sell two copies for all they know! It kinda feels dirty, like a company making a game and then coming out with paid DLC in less than a week later. Well, at least the game looks as good as advertised, I was worried that it was going to look like the offspring of Doom and Borderlands.

In my pocket on some days I could have a Geimei A330 (look it up), a personal media player of some type, an android smart phone, and occasionally I have a bag with my laptop/tablet in it. And I still want a Vita. Why? Cause I do. Because it finally has dual sticks. Because it has graphics on par with the PS3. Because its black and shiny. Because it it the complete spiritual opposite of the 3DS. That alone it good enough for me.

Now for the stuff that's not so cool. Though the Kinect and Move did have a solid showings this year, there really just isn't anything that has me desperate for them yet. Does anyone remember the Playstation Eye? Though the tech has come a long way, I just feel like if I'm going to get up and move around, I'm going to hit pads in the dojo for real, or throw a frisbee, or play peek-a-boo with a crackhead in a garbage can. I like how people are willing to sweat for their games now, but don't we really like games because they're completely unrealistic? I mean, doesn't Chuck Liddel holding pads for you as you kick for real seem like one of those gimmicky arcade games we used to play when we were kids? Or dancing in front of your television? When they come out with something I can play by myself or others that doesn't make me feel foolish I'll be all over it, till then, no thanks.

The puzzlement extends to the newly revealed Wii U; seriously, that's the best name that the marketing team could come up with? I don't get the controller, which looks like a tablet with buttons. I don't get how the “hardcore” games are going to play on a system so aggressively marketed to casual players. And I also ponder what kind of price this strange arrangement might cost. One of the things that helped the Wii was that it was so cheap, but how are they going to manage to make the Wii U cheap? The tablet controller itself should retail for at least the cost of what a Wii today would cost. I would actually find it interesting if they allow you to load games on the tablet thingie and take it along with you portable style. I'd probably try to root it and install Honeycomb, just an idea.

What do you guys think? Is there something that you saw at E3 that tickled your fancy? Disagree with me? Didn't get all of the E3 info you wanted and want to get filled in? Hit me up on the forum and let me know!

~ Chris A.

Mortal Kombat review

Mortal Kombat

Developer: NetherRealms Studios

Publisher: Waner Bros. Interactive

Genre: Fighting game

Platform: Playstation, Xbox360

Release date: April 19, 2011 (North America) April 21, 2011 (Europe)

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Mortal Kombat (or Mortal Kombat 9 to fans) is a return to the basics. All the things that made you fall in love with the MK series is back and in true form!

“The story begins after the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, where almost all the fighters are dead, leaving only Raiden and Shao Kahn. Defeated and about to be dealt the final blow, Raiden uses his last attempt to cast a spell on his amulet, now shattered, to contact his past self and quote "He Must Win!" before he is killed.

During the events of the first game's tournament, hosted by Shang Tsung, the Raiden from that era possesses visions of the events from the future; he notices his amulet has cracked, signaling troubling times ahead.”

STORY MODE! What an amazing way to explain the plot in a fighting game! You have to play as different characters throughout a five-hour story that unveils the new and I’m guessing true story of Mortal Kombat. I don’t want to give away anything but I guarantee that what you remember of the MK storylines gets changed in some “HOLY CRAP” moments. This is a clever way to reboot the series and giving it a fresh (and solid) plotline.

Gameplay is so freakin’ awesome! Solidly balanced and loads of fun, with modes galore!

They added a cool new aspect to the game which is the X-ray bar, or Super bar. As you attack and get attacked your Super bar increases. With every level it goes up you can perform enhanced versions of your regular special moves by pressing the block button simultaneously with the last button input you use to perform the move in the first place. If you decide to hold off and not do that you can also use it as a counter move (or a Breaker as they call it in the game). When you seem to be getting the beating of a lifetime you can interrupt the melee with a move that knocks the opponent away from you giving you time to think things through. The final piece to the Super bar puzzle is the X-ray move. This move (if you let the meter fill up completely) will allow you to pull off a mid game fatality-like series of hits that actually shows an X-ray of your opponent’s body showing damage.

In single player mode you are given Story Mode (which you already know about), Arcade Ladder, Tag Team Ladder and Challenge Tower. Arcade Ladder mode is the arcade mode that when you beat the game with a character you get a personal “what if” ending. Tag Team Ladder is the same as Arcade Ladder except you get to use two characters in a swap out at any time style combat. Challenge Tower is a series of various tasks that you pull off to gain coins. These coins can be earned in just about every mode in the game. This leads to the Krypt where you use the coins and unlock art, costumes, and new fatalities.

The graphics and sound in this game is stunning especially since they seemed to have taken the Unreal Technology graphics they used for Mortal Kombat vs DC and added more detail. With the sound you can hear every single crack and crunch especially when you perform the X-ray specials! Lots of awesome in one fighting game!

A really impressive feature they added was the training and tutorials. You can practice the gameplay with the computer walking you through the basic moves carefully, all the way up to fatality practice so that you can learn how to really embarrass your friends.

In the multiplayer modes you are given the Arcade Ladder and the Tag Team Ladder whether you want to do a local two-player match or if you want to take it online. The online also has very little to almost no online lagging/slowdown in the game.

This game is everything that you would want in a Mortal Kombat game by taking all the great parts of Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 3 while putting it in great 3D graphics and new interesting gimmicks with 2D gameplay.

My only gripe with the game is Shao Khan in Story mode. I promise you that you will want to throw your controller out of frustration after a few tries. Trust me. With that I can say I give this game a 5 out of 5, no matter how cheap Shao Khan is. If you don’t have it yet, and you call yourself a MK fan; do yourself a huge favor and get this game!!

-Jason R

Release Date for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition!!

The BBFC (UK's ESRB rating system) lists a release date for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition: 24th June 2011.

The British Board of Film Classification has confirmed the launch of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition in the UK.

The BBFC's listing mentions anime animator Jiro Kanai as director, suggesting the Arcade Edition includes new intro and outro movies.

Predictably, the game was passed with no cuts made.

Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono has teased the launch of the Arcade Edition, which includes four new playable characters, for months now.

Speaking to Eurogamer ahead of the launch of Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition last Thursday, Ono said: "Well, if you think I'm a tease, I ought to have something to show if I'm teasing. But that's all I can say because of political issues."

The AE (Arcade Edition) adds Yun and Yang from Street Fighter III as playable characters, as well as Evil Ryu and new character Oni (an even more evil Akuma) as secret bosses.

Gameplay balance changes are also implemented, some of which have sparked intense debate within the fighting game community.

We'll see if it is a download or a disc. Which format would you prefer?

Source: Eurogamer

Marvel VS Capcom 3 Achievement/Trophy Guide

Earn the Achievement/Trophies For Marvel VS Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds

1. Passed the Field Test – Clear 160 missions in Mission mode.

2. A New Avenger – Clear 320 missions in Mission mode. — Each of the 36 characters in the retail game has 10 missions to complete. There are 36 characters in total, so you will need to complete almost 9 out of 10 missions for each.

3. Welcome to the Avengers Academy – Clear 80 missions in Mission mode.

4. Leading the Charge – Surpass the rank of Fighter.

5. Combat Specialist – In Ranked Match, surpass the “1st” class rank, or fight someone who has.

6. Comic Collector – Unlock all items in the Gallery.

7. Back at’Cha! – Perform 10 successful Crossover Counters. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

8. Excelsior! – Perform 10 Team Aerial Combos. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

9. Be Gone! – Perform 10 Snap Backs. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only) — A Snap Back is when you use quarter circle forward and the support/assist character button to force the opponent to tag in a different character.

10. Mega Buster – Use 1,000 Hyper Combo Gauge bars. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

11. Ultimate Nullifier – Perform 30 successful Advancing Guards. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

12. Playtime Is Over – Surpass the rank of Amateur.

13. Herculean Task – Beat Arcade mode on the hardest difficulty.

Set the game to the Very Hard difficulty, 30 second time limit, and damage on highest. Select Taskmaster with Aim Master Assist, Chris Redfield with Gunshot Assist, and Dr. Doom with Plasma Beam Assist. Keep using the projectiles from the corner to win every match. When you reach Galactus, activate X-Factor, and perform a Hyper Crossover Combo to take away a decent amount of health. He will hit you before you are done. Then, fight him as you normally would.

14. Saving My Quarters – Beat Arcade mode without using any continues.

15. Waiting For the Trade – View all endings in Arcade mode.

16. Master of Fate – Unlock all achievements.

17. I Buy the Issues – View one ending in Arcade mode.

18. World Warrior – Earn 5,000 Player Points (PP).

19. Brusin’ Bruce – Land an Incredible Combo. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

20. Charles In Charge – Land an Uncanny Combo. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

21. Average Joe - Land a Viewtiful Combo. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only) — Do a 30+ hits combo with Viewtiful Joe. Henshin A Go Go Baby!

Make a team with Iron Man, Deadpool, and M.O.D.O.K. Once you have three Hyper Combo bars,make all three characters do their Hyper Combos at once. Make sure the oppenent has almost a full bar of health so they do not die while doing it. You should get a 95-hit combo and get the "Average Joe", "Brusin' Bruce", and "Charles In Charge" achievements.

22. Champion Edition Hero – Earn 30,000 Player Points (PP).

23. Super Turbo Brawler – Earn 100,000 Player Points (PP).

24. Big Bang Theory – Perform 30 Hyper Combo Finishes. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

25. Brave New World – Participate in any mode on ONLINE only.

26. Steel Battalion – Block 100 times. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

27. Fate of the Satsui no Hadou – Decide who is the true master of the fist in an ONLINE only match. — Finish a fight between Akuma and Ryu.

28. Copy This! – Put an end to this game of spider and fly in an ONLINE match. — Finish a fight between Spider-Man and Taskmaster.

29. Raccoon City Incident – Settle things between former S.T.A.R.S. members in an ONLINE match. — Finish a fight between Chris Redfield and Wesker.

30. Passport to Beatdown Country – Fight in all of the stages.

31. Need A Healing Factor – Win a match without blocking. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

32. School for the Gifted – Get a 5 game win streak in Ranked ONLINE Match.

33. A Hero Stands Alone – Win a match without calling your partners or switching out. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

34. Full Roster – Battle against all characters in an ONLINE match.

35. Who Will Answer the Call? – Participate in an 8 player Lobby ONLINE .

36. Duty and Deus Ex Machina – Make a match ONLINE between a national hero and a killing machine a reality. — Finish a fight between Captain America and M.O.D.O.K. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing).

37. One Step Ahead – Land 50 First Attacks in a match. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

38. Avengers Assemble! – Make a team composed of the Big 3 and win a match. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only) — The team is Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor.

39. Turn the Tables – Land a Team Aerial Counter in a match. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

40. Galactic Smasher – Perform 30 Crossover Combination Finishes. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only)

41. Wreak “Havok” – Use X-Factor in a match. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only) — When you lose one or two of your teammates, you can press the two assist buttons to trigger this damage boost. It cancels out your opponents moves, even hypers, allowing you a one-time comeback.

42. Badds to the Bone – Make a team of three who have altered their bodies, and win a match. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only) — The team is M.O.D.O.K., Iron Man, and Spencer.

43. Whose Side Are You On? – Bring about an end to the Civil War in an ONLINE match. — Finish a fight between Captain America and Iron Man. I’m not sure, but you might also want to try including Spider-Man & Wolverine against She-Hulk & Deadpool.

44. Fate of Two Worlds – Make a match ONLINE between the marquee characters for this game a reality. — Finish a fight between a team of any 3 Marvel universe and a team of any 3 Capcom universe characters.

45. Female Flyers – Make a team composed of women who can fly, and win a match. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only) — The team is Storm, Phoenix, and Morrigan.

46. Darkstalkers – Make a team composed of those who dwell in the darkness, and win a match. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only) — The team is Morrigan, Felicia, and Hsien-Ko.

47. Weapon X – Make a team composed of Weapon-X test subjects, and win a match. (OFFLINE/ONLINE only) — The team is X-23, Wolverine, and Deadpool.

Courtesy of gamingbolt.com, videogamesblogger.com, and cheatcc.com