Cult Classic JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Gets HD Treatment

Ora vs. Muda: the eternal struggle

What kind of bizarre (nyo ho!) world am I living in that I get to blabber about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure twice in the span of a week? Last week's announcement of All-Star Battle made my pants slightly tighter, and a few days later the deal has been sealed with the announcement of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. 

Let's be honest here, the "HD" is just a smoothing filter processed over the original pixels, but ask me if I give a fuck. Go ahead, ask. NOPE. I don't, I'm just ecstatic to be able to play this brilliant fighting game again with a slew of new features including:

• "HD" graphics with the option of playing in the original SD glory
• Online matchmaking: choose opponents based on location, skill, connection speed, etc.
• Battle Point and Player Point fueled leaderboards
• Eight player online lobby, spectator mode included
• Save and share match replays

If that's not enough to get you excited, then you clearly never played the game the first go 'round, which was way ahead of its time in just about all respects. And if you haven't, this is a great time to play a ground breaking classic. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. releases for XBLA and PSN on August 21 at the very Capcom price of $20. 

 

Dragon's Dogma: A Child to Raise and Call Your Own

Written by Jason McKoy

Just the other day I saw Skyrim sitting in a seedy bar, sipping on a flagon of mead and lamenting some of his past decisions. Then walked in the sexy mistress World of Warcraft, causing the old boy Skyrim to suddenly perk up. World of Warcraft may be longer in the tooth than some of the other patrons of this dive, but make no mistake, she is just as sexy if not sexier than the other floozies. And man, is she’s experienced. She doesn’t walk, she glides. She doesn’t sit at the bar, she hovers by it. She is the only thing thus far to raise Skyrim’s head, sunken in skooma and waning hype. He looks at her and whispers one word: "Wow." The night ends much like it usually does in fantasy scenarios: liquid courage, modern-primitive courting rituals, Skyrim finger-banging WoW in the bathroom, and the two shacking up together, blackout drunk. The next morning, the walk of shame.

Six months later WoW contacts Skyrim with some interesting news. She’s pregnant and he’s the father. Rather than chalk it up as a one night stand and deny his patriarchal role, Skyrim does the noble thing and fathers up, raising the kid as his own. Though one day, he begins to notice that this child doesn't look much like his supposed father. The two have very little in common aside from the mutual enjoyment of action and RPGs, the similarities end there. Skyrim begins to question whether or not this bastard is even his own. In spite of WoW’s protestations, Skyrim demands a paternity test. Knowing of only one surefire way of making absolutely certain that this child possesses his DNA, he does what so many men in this situation have done before him: he turns to the wise sage Maury Povich.

Skyrim discovers that the child he has been raising for all this time, who he trained in character classes, taught the ways of the Dragon, and travailed an arduous open world where danger lurks behind every blade of grass, is not his own. Skyrim discovers WoW has been seeing two other men, Resident Evil and Devil May Cry; wild dudes from Japan that are painfully successful in the East and tremendously popular in the states as well. With mother and father at ends, what does fate hold for the child? We will find out come May 22 when Dragon’s Dogma releases for 360 and PS3. Featuring stylized combat and visuals that only Capcom know how to forge, an exciting combat engine, and an intelligent spin on the typical dungeon crawling AI controlled party, Dragon’s Dogma looks like the child you have always wanted. It will take just as long to nurture and raise, given the tremendous open world and numerous NPCs, all with unique features and personalities. Be prepared to dedicate your (social) life to this baby until either it reaches maturity, or you grow old and it puts you in a home for the rest of your elder years, alone and neglected.

Editor's Note: I still uphold my boycott of Capcom titles until they get their business practices straight, however Jason makes a mean argument. -Ernie

Akuma Comes to Street Fighter X Tekken in a Big Way

It ain't hard to tell. I excel, then prevail. It also ain't hard to tell that I have fallen out of love with Capcom recently, mostly due to their business practices rather than the games they develop and publish. After having told myself I would swear off any purchases of new Capcom games in 2012 (used games are fair play), they had to go and release this Street Fighter X Tekken trailer - in which Akuma goes bat-shit. Also M. Bison, Ogre, etc, etc.

Seriously, this finishing move takes all of Akuma's prior super moves and drops a hot load on them. I liked Street Fighter X Tekken, but I didn't want to buy it new out of principle. But damn, this just done changed my mind. Good job Capcom. I will buy even though you'll release Hyper Super Street Fighter X Tekken Arcade Edition before 2013 rolls around.

Let's see Tokido pull this one off at the next EVO. 

Street Fighter x Tekken Gets Fresh out of TGS

Fresh for Tokyo Game Show '11, Capcom has pushed out a new trailer for Street Fighter x Tekken, revealing some new characters and gameplay nuances. Rolento? Fuck yes, I've been begging for this guy in a Street Fighter game, as he was one of my favorites in Street Fighter Alpha 2, also known as the greatest Street Fighter game ever made. Also confirmed are Heihachi, Zangief, Rufus, and some chick named Lili. Lili? Beats the hell out of me. Capcom has also taken the liberty of adding two more joke characters in the form of Toro and Kuro, stick figure cats with huge heads created by Sony Computer Entertainment (PS3 and Vita exclusive). If your game features a big brown bear that farts in a fighter's face - very mature - why not add a few fighting felines?

In addition to new characters, the beans have been spilled on more of the game's mechanics. Most notable is Pandora, a colorful space cube that has the world warriors all purple and bothered. Is this Street Fighter x Tekken's attempt at story? Aw, how cute. In the vein of Marvel vs. Capcom 3's X-Factor, Pandora appears to gives its user a huge boost in power, in exchange for sacrificing their partner's entire life. It sounds like an even trade, but I'm sure it ain't. Ten bucks says Pandora starts way overpowered, with a post-release patch necessary to tune it down. Typical Capcom. 

Some other neat additions are 4-player tag battles, where each player controls one character. This practice should be the norm in tag battle games now, so I'm glad Capcom is adopting the idea. Also, the absolutely insane 4-player simultaneous battle, which is what it sounds like. Fun but head-spinningly confusing. You can practice your tag combos in online training mode, with a buddy across the country, and configure to automatically join an online battle against two others with your partner in tow.

Street Fighter x Tekken is going to be a solid game, there's no doubt about it. The real question is, will Super Street Fighter x Tekken cost $60 when it releases in early 2013?

Update: Joystiq has corraled some info from Capcom's Seth "S-kill" Killian, and it turns out Pandora has stipulations. It can only be activated when one of your characters has less than 25% health, and immediately kills that character. The surviving tag partner will have an unlimited EX meter for 8 seconds, after which that character will also die. Now that's a last stand.

Deciphering Dragon's Dogma: Less Demon's Souls Than Expected!

Dragon's Dogma is a game I've written off as a Demon's/Dark Souls clone, and hence have had little interest in, despite the healthy buzz it has created for itself. Though after playing the demo, I'm singing a bit of a different tune, as the game played surprisingly well.

The demo was playable as two distinctly different characters, a fighter (warrior) class and a strider (ranger) class. I observed my associate trek through a dimly lit cavern to tackle a chimera bookended by a mess of goblins and harpies. The battle was rough and tumble, but enthralling to watch. The chimera's physical appearance slowly whittle away with his health as the fighter and his crew of computer-controlled compatriots punctured the beast in all possible ways, except for that one, pervert. The assistant AI was surprisingly efficient, doing everything from healing the party to imbuing elemental weapon enchantments, and at appropriate times to boot. This is good, as the inability to issue direct commands to your party was a spot of worry for me. Between the intelligent AI and the very very very loose command system, there will be a minimal amount of worry when it comes to your teammates actions.

The strider segment was, in stark contrast to the fighter's, bright and open, transpiring in a grassy field under the blue sky. The strider and squad were tasked to taking down what I believe was a Griffon. There are a lot of buttons to figure out and not much time to do it, so I jumped into the fray and got busy. It seemed the strider's scenario was much more complex than that of the fighter's. Bow shots and dagger swipes are your meat and potatoes, with enchanted special attacks to help distribute damage. I don't know if there is an enemy lock-on function, but I had a hell of a time trying to track the griffon as he soared above my party from all directions. When it landed, I would pump him full of arrows, and when he took off, it was back to trying to locate him quickly enough to fire a bolt or two. At some points, my tank would call for me to use her as a catapult and launch myself onto the griffon. When successful, the experience became a Shadow of the Colossus style climb and stab affair, which was quite fun until I misstepped and fell back to the ground with the rest of my party. I died shortly after.

The moral of the story is that I suck as a strider, but Dragon's Dogma has some promise. Playing the demo really opened my eyes to this bad boy. 

Crossing Up with Street Fighter X Tekken

Street Fighter x Tekken has had playable builds floating around, which I've never been able to get my hands on. I finally changed that, and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with the game thus far. The art style, while reminiscent of Street Fighter 4, is done differently enough to look fresh. The character models are beautiful, as are their every last animation.

Tagging mid-combo and juggling are a very strong focus of the gameplay, akin to Mortal Kombat's tag system more than Marvel vs. Capcom's. From what I was able to deduce, pressing one of the right shoulder buttons (I played on a PS3 build) during a combo would immediately launch your enemy into the air and switch out to your second character, where you're able to put a nice bit of punishment on your airborne adversary. In the vein of the numbered Street Fighter games, Street Fighter x Tekken felt to be more about controlling pace, timing, and execution, especially in comparison to it's Versus series brethren.

The Tekken characters felt a little awkward in the Street Fighter universe, as it takes some time to readjust to universal hadokens and shoryukens as opposed to long strings of attacks. My Tekken tactic of mashing the kicks did little to give an advantage as Hwoarang. Regardless, it was great fun latching on and distributing flawlessly rendered ass-whoopings with my favorite characters from both worlds.

Hands On with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Exciting and Frustrating

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The mere mention of this game can split a room in half and have a bunch of rabid geeks at each other's throats. First off, as you must all know by now, Mega Man does not make an appearance in any form, leading many to speculate that the Mega Man franchise is officially dead. But that is a different discussion for a different time. I just wanted to throw that in there because no discussion of this game can take place without a Mega Man mention. Anyway, let me tell you how some of the new characters play!

The build at SDCC featured Strider, Firebrand, Ghost Rider, and Hawkeye. Of the bunch, I enjoyed Firebrand for his balanced move set and unorthodox style and Hawkeye for his quiver of tricks and the zoning he's capable of. Firebrand was a good balance between quick and powerful, and had many things to keep his enemy off-kilter. Multi-directional fireballs, the ability to fly, a strong beam super, and a super which increases his strength and speed. Firebrand has the makes of a natural born killer.

Hawkeye is just my type of character, full of tricks and unexpected surprises. His arrow shots garner different effects; a shot of three bolts, a binding shot of chains, a freeze shot, a poison shot, you name it. In addition, he also has a move which springs him in a different direction, ending in a particular type of shot. Hawkeye's moves are all ranged, but he has enough variation to keep his opponents guessing. Also, Ant Man. No brainer! 

Strider is more of the same if you're familiar with him from Marvel vs. Capcom 2. I'm sure his inclusion has silenced many a fanboy, however he was never my favorite character so I'm indifferent. Ghost Rider is a nice addition, slashing away at opponents from range with assortment of chain whip moves. And of course, it's nice that he works the bike into his super move.

I had a grand old time playing Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but then reality set in. I hated this announcement when it was a rumor, I hated it when it was revealed, and I still kind of hate it after playing the damn game. Will the additional characters be worth an extra $40? Probably, but that doesn't change the fact that my Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds disc becomes utterly useless.

Anger! Scream! QTE! Hands on with Asura's Wrath

I've covered Asura's Wrath quite a bit, but really couldn't back up all the noise I've been making because I haven't played it. I finally got to work with the demo that has been in-and-out of game journalist's hands, and I enjoyed what I played.

Though there were plenty of quick-time events, there was never any period where I wished the game would pick up in pace or wondered when it would stop being a bore. Asura's Wrath is a flurry of punches, fireballs, over-the-top cut scenes, and non-stop action. In other words, exactly what one would expect from this title. Galactic Buddha Finger was in full effect, leading to my unadulterated happiness upon execution. It seems that, when fully controlled fighting occurs, there's a lack of a deep and sexy combo system. Maybe I just didn't have enough of a chance to tackle the grunts and flex the multi-hit muscle, as the demo was mostly one gigantic boss battle. The above gameplay video shows a few unique combos, but not enough to satiate my craving from a stylish action game. We'll know what to expect very soon, I'm sure.

After completing the demo, I stepped off into a rage booth, where you scream at the top of your lungs for a chance to win things. I scored 94.1, high enough to win a funky wig. 100 was the goal, which I failed to reach. 

I don't expect Asura's Wrath to get 10 Blasters, but it was enough fun that my desire hasn't cooled. Before you get overly excited though, know what you're going to get: a cross between God Hand and Ninja Blade, two games I really enjoyed.

This is my O-face

Waiting in Line for Online: Street Fighter III: Third Strike Hands On

Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition is pegged for an August 23 release, and as such the build on display seemed almost final. Of course, much of the retail release's allure lies in some of it's secondary attributes such as GGPO-enabled (see: no lag) online battles, replay sharing, and countless adjustable options, which I wasn't able to play with. I just got to fight, and it was good.

It was just like the old days where I sucked at parrying and couldn't remember any non-Shoto moves. Aw yeah, memories! I got to play a few matches in full HD and a few with the original sprites, complete in 4:3 display mode. Of note was the Trial Mode side bars which took up some of the unused screen real estate, and tallied numbers for both myself and my opponent. Things like particular attacks used, parries, combos completed and so on. Not sure what all these numbers will net at the end - probably points to spend in the game's shop - but I can confirm their existence!

Do you foresee yourself dropping the required $15 entry fee for a throwback to yesteryear? 

Asura's Wrath is on Full Display, Even Without Arms

Until recently, Asura's Wrath has been nothing but a very long chain of ridiculous action sequences. The game I've lovingly nicknamed God Hand of War - for obvious reasons - is shaping up to be all I've ever wanted in an action brawler. The E3 trailer gives us a look at some of Asura's story, a complete departure from the frenetic scenes such as GALACTIC BUDDHA FINGER. 

After watching an armless Asura be humbled by a God twice as cool-tempered as the fiery one, watch the clip below, which is more of what I expect from this title. With a surprising lack of quick-time events, no less! The initial thinking was that the gameplay of Asura's Wrath would be heavily comprised of QTEs, but whispers from E3 are starting to debunk that theory. Success! Deep, meaty gameplay with lovely stylized action is always welcome. If the story has enough to be the glue that holds together the amount of insanity concentrated in Asura's Wrath, then this game will be a success. And if not, I will take a melee-centric Vanquish any day of the week. Or maybe a better parallel would be a Dragron Ball Z action title? Either way, do want!