The Rumble Pack

If you’re a Capcom fan, you’ll want to put down your joystick and turn up the volume for this one! Jim Zubkavich, Project Manager at UDON Entertainment, visits the show this week, and he’s no wet noodle. He tells the guys about the recently released Tatsunoko vs. Capcom endings, creating stories for beloved Street Fighters, HD Remix sprite work, lush art books and much more. After the interview, stay tuned for a Mass Effect Hyper Combo Finish. If you’re a little fuzzy on Commander Shepard’s first adventure, Tom, Nick and Kaz will get you up to speed. Justin and Tony also provide some gravity-defying VVVVVV love. Plus, RPG taxonomy (oh boy!) and heaping bowls of breakfast cereal!

Relevant Links:

Zub Tales (Jim’s Blog)

Active Time Babble’s “What is an RPG?” Episode V

VVVVVV Kongregate Demo

 

 Episode 122: Tuesday Night Slam Chatter [95:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week on Nintendo’s download services, we have a new first-party board game, the sequel to Zombies Ate My Neighbors that was better left forgotten, two of the more ambitious 200 point titles released so far (even if they’re still a bit cruddy) and yet another UNO port from Gameloft. While I’ve played the XBLA version too darn much to justify picking up another version of the card game, this one is significant because it actually supports my dusty Wii Speak peripheral. It also allows multiplayer offline on one console. Does anyone know how that works?

Number Battle
DSiWare/Nintendo
500 Points

Again, I don’t know who is in charge of naming Nintendo’s DSiWare, but does anyone think that the kids will be clamoring for something called Number Battles? Weak title aside, if you’re the kind of gamer who spent hours with Brain Age Sudoku or Sunday’s crossword puzzle, this should be your next cerebral fix. Number Battle is essentially a contest for up to four players (human or computer) to see who can link up numerical sequences and loops the fastest. Like Chess, there are countless strategies for success, especially when you add items and random bonus zones to the board. For 500 points, the package is pretty robust, too - many single-player stages with A.I. that isn’t too unfair and Wi-Fi support just in case someone besides myself decides to buy it. Read more

Who: Everyone

When: 9 p.m. EST, January 27th

What: Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer (with maybe a little Special Ops on the side)

Where: Xbox Live

Why: Because some of us haven’t unlocked the tactical nuke yet.

RSVP here 

A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, BioWare, the legendary creators of Dragon Age and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, gave gamers their first epic, multi-pathed Xbox 360 RPG with Mass Effect. Released to much fan-fare, the heralded action-rpg hybrid allowed players to guide their own customized main character (Commander Shepard) and his recruitable, multi-species crew through a sci-fi journey of galactic proportions - literally. Fast forward to present-day Earth - while the masses are once again waiting to be affected by the sequel, a select few of us that missed out on the first portion of the story (or simply want our in-game decisions to carry over to the successor) have decided to go back and try to save the original galaxy again before the day of second impact. Fortunately, while some of the creaks and cracks of yesteryear have fissured into eye sores since its original release, the old girl has still largely “got it where it counts.”

Let’s start with the probably the best reason to play through the original game again: the highly shapeable story and the dialogue system on which it rests. Although BioWare fans will recognize this as the company’s MO, nearly every conversation and decision within  Mass Effect allows the player to select responses that lead to major and minor consequences. Depending on whether you react to a situation with a cool-headed and diplomatic “Paragon” response or a hot-headed and likely more risky “Renegade” option (or anything in between), NPCs will come to either respect you or hate your guts, open up to you or shut you out, or ultimately be allowed to live or suffer a gruesome death. Although not every detail of Commander Shepard’s adventures will be changed via this system - you’ll still fight the same bosses, still be able to access the same shops and still have the same amount of selectable missions - it’s these major choices that the player is forced to make that have become Mass Effect’s true legacy. I won’t sugarcoat the situation - some of the decisions can be quite difficult, but that only reinforces the success that BioWare has had in helping players establish meaningful connections to their in-game crew and support characters. Their fate is quite literally in your controller-greased hands.

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In a recent conversation with the other members of the Pack, I wondered why no other company has ever tried to produce as successful a mash-up of characters and properties as the Super Smash Brothers series.  (Astute readers are sure to identify the Japan-only PS2 game Dream Mix Fighters TV Megamix, which featured the likes of Optimus Prime, Master Higgins from Adventure Island and Solid Snake, all packed into a technicolor nightmare…to which I respond: it’s only a game if someone actually plays it.)

Sure you can point your finger at the many fighting games that follow this formula and declare me wrong - Capcom vs. SNK, Marvel vs. Capcom, even Namco X Capcom, etc.  But these are games where the characters clearly have something that unites them in the terms of game logic: Ryu vs. Wolverine seems a much likelier fight than Pac-Man vs. Dig-Dug, especially since the former pairing already has character sprites and moves for the purpose.  The adaptation of characters who have nothing to do with fighting games to the genre is one of the most exciting and creative aspects of Smash Bros

Mostly for the benefit of poking fun at the shitty companies and terrible games I fondly remember from my youth, I’ve compiled this thought experiment of a game.  Gentlemen, I present Sunsoft vs. Data East.

Mmm, what a gorgeous title screen!  Let’s see which characters from each beloved company made the cut. Read more

Holy third-person action gaming, Batman! Starting things off, Tom, Nick and Tony become entangled in the hairy splendor of Bayonetta. The most graceful action game star yet? Maybe. Resident gearhead Kaz takes Need for Speed: Shift for a spin, while the other guys do their best Slim Jim impressions in front of a Lost Planet 2 behemoth. After that, Nick and Tony take the show back to 2008 for Mass Effect and Fallout 3 respectively. Plus, Dark Void Zero retro joy, a questionable Final Fantasy XIII dubbing and HD Remixin’ fantasies.

Relevant Links:

Final Fantasy XIII International Trailer

Dark Void Zero Trailer

Level Up!

New York Times predicts live ESPN streaming

 

 Episode 121: Quack Attack [97:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I would never hold it against a Wii or Nintendo DSi owner for ignoring either platform’s weekly downloadable offerings. Whereas Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network are hotbeds for inspired game designs and retro chic throwbacks, Nintendo fans often have to sift through cruddy Flash games and endless Shanghai ports to get to the good stuff. But if you’ve listened to our podcast or frequent my blog, then you know that every so often, the stubborn online dinosaur likes to hide a few hidden prizes in its weekly piles. And starting this week, I’m going to be the guy to sift them out.

Expect future roundups to be posted on Monday nights after we record, unless we’re dealing with a surprisingly beefy week. Most game journalists - besides Kotaku, god bless ‘em - have also chosen to ignore DSiWare and WiiWare, so I’ll do my best to highlight the best games available. However, I do want to offer a one-time disclaimer. All of these games are purchased out-of-pocket, and I can’t afford to play everything. I tend to buy all of the first-party stuff that isn’t the Animal Crossing pocket protector, but I’ll try to go out on a limb a bit more often for the sake of this column. Also, these may not always be definitive reviews. I just want to let you know if these games are junk or not.

Alright, now that we’ve laid some ground rules, let’s get to the games… Read more

In light of recent events, I felt I should show my colors - go Team Conan! OK, time for business.

In the popular “Late Night” segment, Conan would make humorous predictions of what was going to happen in the years to come, even though 2000 had come and gone. In contrast, these are going to be very serious predictions on where Flash/browser-based gaming can/will go in the future - from the coming months to years down the line. Sure, you may end up laughing, but these are my predictions on where Flash can go and where it can falter…

• Flash games will not only be used as advertising, but will have direct effects on the stories of the games they’re linked to - This is an easy one because the trend has already started. While it’s a couple steps away, Dragon Age: Journeys is a fun flash game that can be tied to an EA account. Depending on how much of the game you complete, EA will reward you with in-game items for the full Dragon Age: Origins. If they can share enough information to make it so that your progress in a Flash game can equate to rewards in the retail release, it seems more than possible to have the same factors affect the development of the story. Perhaps not main plot elements, but wouldn’t it be cool if the actions of your Flash character prevented a city from being raided in the main game?

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Can Link do anything right these days? For all of the critical praise that the ongoing Legend of Zelda saga has received in recent years, the online backlash towards the past few entries has been harsh. While Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass introduced new wrinkles to the series, the dungeon-trekking foundation that’s been in place since the original - or at least Link to the Past - is starting to feel creaky. Spirit Tracks, the latest Zelda and Nintendo’s big handheld title from last fall, suggested that cartoony locomotives might be the solution, but unfortunately riding the rails is the worst part of an otherwise wonderful adventure.

Phantom Hourglass was unusual in that it followed the events of 2003’s The Wind Waker, instead of just hitting the traditional Hyrule reset button. If you’ve seen any cel-shaded Spirit Tracks screens, then you’ve probably realized that this game is another direct sequel. Unlike PH, this game takes place 100 years after Tetra, the King of Red Lions and all of that time-consuming sailing. It’s clear that this is the same world though, with plenty of references to the old toon games sprinkled throughout. Read more

A man tears apart slaves, sews a cross into his chest and dives head-first into hell – not exactly what you might think of if I were to say “inspired by classical literature.” But although it’s the newest IP developed by EA’s Visceral Games studio (creators of Dead Space and The Godfather) it’s a bit misleading to call Dante’s Inferno ”original.” Both in concept and execution, it’s difficult to describe the title to gamers and non-gamers alike without immediately calling to mind the game’s 14th-century inspiration or other titles with near-identical gameplay. And while I’ve enjoyed the majority of fresh releases that EA has put forth over the past two years, I’m left with very mixed feelings after completing the Dante’s Inferno demo, which is now available on the PS3 and Xbox 360. In a rare stroke of irony, although several games last year seemed to have suffered from a great-concept, poor-execution syndrome, EA’s first 2010 effort seems be exhibiting exactly the opposite problem - great execution, awful premise.

 Look into my eyes…

The premise, for the uninitiated, is equal parts familiar and confusing.  Based loosely on Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy”, the original poem detailed the journey of main character Dante being led by the Roman poet Virgil through a walking tour of the medieval concept of Hell. Symbolism abound, it’s an incredibly lyrical and fascinating piece that’s had a very long-lasting impact on religion and society in general. EA’s Inferno, on the other hand, finds a relentless crusader Dante slashing his way through the nine circles of hell (with Death’s scythe, no less) to free the soul of his late wife whom Satan seems to have claimed. It’s a classic “rescue the girl” plot - albeit a very graphic one - that has more in common with God of War than it does with Mario or classical literature.

And by “more in common”, I mean to say that Dante’s Inferno could easily be mistaken for a God of War spin off - and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The game plays like a very well-constructed third person action title - Dante darts back and forth between waves of enemies, effortlessly swinging his gargantuan scythe and ripping apart legions of demons with simple yet upgradeable combos, all to a silky-smooth 60 frames per second. “Light” and “Strong” attack buttons are mapped to the square and triangle buttons respectively, while x allows for a jump, and circle shoots forth a white “cross” projectile, handy for defeating winged baddies or for dousing flamed-enemies that wouldn’t normally be touchable. Add to the concoction a handful of magic-infused attacks, a few quick-time event bosses, and the ability to either “absolve” or “punish” enemies for their sins (the former of which grants you more experience points for upgrades but leaves you helpless for a few seconds), and you have the closest cousin to Kratos to ever fight outside of Greece. The controls are responsive, each hit has a nice sense of impact and combat mechanics genuinely feel good.

But if there’s one thing to set Dante’s Inferno apart from other action titles arriving early this year, it’s undoubtedly the eerie, disturbing and unabashedly Christian symbol-infused environments. Each of the nine stages is said to contain landscapes and enemies that represent one particular circle of hell, and from what I’ve witnessed thus far, there’s very little being held back in favor of not pushing the envelope. (If you haven’t heard of the demon-hatching breasts from the boss of the lust stage, well, that’s just the beginning.) And although I can imagine it would be quite difficult to create a game centered on the concept of hell without Christian imagery, I was still shocked at the amount of religious symbols flashing across the screen throughout the course of the fifteen minute demo. To say it felt a little awkward would be an understatement - am I rooting for God if I kick the devil’s ass?

A thinking man’s game…

Indeed, from what I’ve been able to experience thus far, although Dante’s Inferno looks and feels quite good, my concerns lie more with its underlying concept than anything else it tries to achieve. It’s not very often that a piece of classic literature becomes the basis for a video game, and while Dante’s seems to be shaping up to be a fine third-person action title, the idea of taking the rich, symbolic commentary presented in the original poem and shoehorning it into a hack’n’slash just seems to be missing the mark. Hopefully the full release will offer either a few thought-provoking moments or bits of self-referential humor – for a title that will surely involve ridiculous settings, enemies and attacks, taking itself too seriously could prove to be a major obstacle to creating something special. Alternatively, the game could offer environments so unique and haunting that I would be able to recommend it to my literature-major friends as a fresh take on the classic inspiration and not as a shallow, violent depiction of the original work.

It remains to be seen whether the game will find success upon release amidst the likes of other action juggernauts like God of War III, but if the final release is nearly as bold and brazen as the demo I’ve played, I’m sure it will leave its mark among one crowd or another. Although they’ve proven themselves as being capable of creating great atmospheres in prior titles, we’ll just have to wait and see if Visceral and EA are able to craft an experience with Dante’s Inferno that more than absolves it of its sinfully unoriginal nature. Here’s praying.