Happy Holidays from Otaku But Gangsta

Health, wealth, strength and good fortune to you and yours this holiday season and into the new year.

DJ CUT-MAN: Sounds From 20XX

I'm almost convinced that chiptunes will be the next big underground music craze. If you need a reason to why I say that, look no further than this mixtape by DJ CUT-MAN.  ChipTuneMusic Vol. 1: Sounds from 20XX takes some slamming chiptune and cuts it up with drum 'n bass, hip hop, pop, and rock to form a musical robot master badder than anything to ever come out of Dr. Wily's lair.

via Capcom-Unity

Dragon Age 2: Fast and Slow

This developer diary for Dragon Age 2 tries to make some dude look ominous by way of dramatic lighting. Nice try. However, it also details the different ways you can tackle battle; as a fast paced action RPG, as a slow and strategic point-and-click affair, or as a combination of the two.

A few things here. First, I'm most definitely playing as rogue Hawke. Second, the combat system looks like loads of fun, and my type of ordeal. Rush in and deal/recieve incredible damage in typical rogue fashion, then back out and strategize moments before dying prematurely. Hopefully there will be a way to pass the threat onto the much more deserving mage. Better you than me, squishy.

Retro City Rampage Has Good News and Bad News

So which do you want first, the good or the bad? Fuck it, you're getting the bad news first, so deal with it! Retro City Rampage has been delayed until summer 2011. Dammit! That's an awful long time to wait for what looks like the greatest 80's nostalgia orgy since The Expendables.

To make up for the delay, the game will see some additions, such as more missions and extra playable characters. The Xbox 360 version will also include dopeness such as widescreen support, character creation, video replay, and challenge modes. Wait, did I just say Xbox 360?! Yes, that's your good news, the game has been officially announced for Xbox Live Arcade. As if the nifty header image wasn't clue enough. 

Actually, I guess if you're a Wii fan you get double bad news. The Wiiware version of Retro City Rampage wont release until Fall 2011. Creator Brian Provinciano apologizes for the delay, but a dude's gotta eat, and apparently Wii exclusivity wont pay the bills. Sorry Wiitards!

via Destructoid

Be the Multipurpose Weapon in Crysis 2

I never played Crysis, mostly because I'm not much of a computer gamer. I just cant afford to be shelling out a couple hundred a year to assure that I'm always getting the most out of the games I play. No game illustrated this point better than Crysis, which was so cutting edge that it was necessary to have a super computer to play it.

Crysis 2 however, is a different story. Maybe it caught my eye because it'll be available for PS3 and Xbox 360, or maybe Crytek just made a better game than the first. Whatever it is, it's working, because the game looks sick. The latest trailer depicts the different ways you can handle a situation and the different powers your nanosuit gives you. Use your strength to attack enemies with the environment, or throw them off cliffs, your speed to parkour in and out of battle and power-slide under enemy fire, and your stealth to silenty handle the unsuspecting. Add a splash of color and a frantic pace and you have what could be a very, very good title.

Fez Challenges Your Perception of Reality

As the next big indie game, Fez has been on our minds for quite some time now. Each Friday, developers Polytron have posted a little teaser to those eagerly anticipating the perception bending platformer. This past friday, we got one of our biggest teases yet; the game's first two and a half minutes.

While the footage may not feature gripping action or jaw dropping cut scenes, it sets the stage for what to expect from Fez with two simple sentences; "reality is perception" and "perception is subjective". Mind = blown.

No release date yet, but with the next 'Fez Friday' falls on Christmas eve, so we may get a gift from Polytron then.

Rock Band 3 has Officially Killed the Music Game Genre

Over the past year or so, its been a growing realization that the once incredibly popular music game genre is dying. I had understood this and come to terms with the facts. Guitar Hero was never much of a game outside of trying to 5-Star Through the Fire and Flames, even after the terribly designed drum kit was introduced. Though playing plastic guitars may have been fun for a while, it was a novelty game, and like all novelties, it began to dull over time.

I was more of a Rock Band fan, because unlike Guitar Hero, since it's conception the Rock Band series was about playing in a band, emulating the lifestyle with three of your friends through it's cartoon-styled graphics and fairly deep customization. Though after playing the same songs over and over again, it too lost some of its appeal. Sure there's a near limitless supply of tracks readily downloadable on the Rock Band Network, but micro-transactions be damned, it would cost a lot of money to keep a steady flow of new tunes on your console. 

In came Rock Band 3 with this revolutionary idea that playing the game will actually teach you to play your instrument of choice. Dual use midi instruments; 25-key keyboard, full six-string guitar, electronic drum kit, the music game is saved! Sure the instruments are expensive, but you're not required to use them. The casual gamer can still use his or her plastic axes, while those who want to learn a new art can drop the required entry fee to train at the gates of rock 'n roll stardom. It was genius. While Guitar Hero floundered, and others attempted, and failed, to get a piece of the scene, Rock Band was going to revolutionize this shit before our eyes and ears.

Like any industry though, it all comes down to making money. No matter what anyone tells you, the games industry is a business, and businesses want to get that paper, bottom line. It's understandable, as long as you're not coming off as a shameless cash grab, I'm cool with it. Rock Band 3 was supposed to be about saving the genre, giving kids the opportunity to learn by way of video games. Too bad MTV Games turned it into a cash grab. 

Out comes the news that the Squier Stratocaster, the six-string, $280 guitar for your console that can also be actually played with an amp, will retail exclusively at Best Buy. That means no competitive pricing, no using traded game credits at Gamestop, or preorder credits at Amazon. No ease of walking to the local mom-and-pop store in West Bumblefuck and picking it up from Sal the salesclerk. Best Buy only, and I'm sure they paid MTV Games a nice wad of cash for that exclusivity. Did I mention you also need a $40 dongle for the game to detect your 300 dollar Strat?

Add that to the fact that they midi keyboard is another $80 peripheral, and the game's keyboard accessibility is dreadfully underdeveloped. 20 something of Rock Band 3's stock 84 songs don't even have keyboard parts. And about half of those that do, have a cheap excuse for it. All the songs from Rock Band 1 and 2 you may have on your console haven't been updated to support keys, nor does it look like they will ever be. The only choice is to micro-transaction the fuck out of some Billy Joel or The Doors, and continue to pay to use what you just paid a whole lot for. 

This article isn't a review of Rock Band 3. I've done that before, and found the game to be warm at best. This is a eulogy for the music game, finally set to rest by Harmonix, MTV Games, and Rock Band 3. Like so many others of weak mind and will, you say the right things and hold the potential for such greatness, but in the end you have fallen victim to the almighty dollar.

Rest in payment. 

Explodemon! Bursts Forth, Gets Pushed Back

I can never get too excited about PSN exclusives, if only because I've never really gotten into the swing of using PSN. Maybe it's because I don't own a Bluetooth headset, and the system doesn't come with one. Leave me alone, I'm frugal, dammit! 

Regardless, Explodemon! is a PSN exclusive that I've been hot for since I first took a look at its earliest trailer. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem the title will make its scheduled winter 2010 due date, instead now aiming for a January 2011 release. Can't hate on that, it's just a months difference, and it looks like the wait will be well worth it. To tide those looking forward to the Mega Man X/Splosion Man hybrid, here's a new trailer that shows a lot of dope action, puzzles, wall sliding, and of course, explosions. 

via Destructoid

PlayStation 3 Gets some SNK Game Pad Love

In honor of PSN releasing a bevy of old school Neo-Geo games (updated with online play), SNK has decided to go all out and release its gamepad for the PS3. Neo-Geo CD collects dust on a bookshelf, but every time I look at it, I remember how awesome its gamepad was. Second only to an arcade stick, these babies even blow the well constructed Mad Catz SFIV FightPads out of the water. I dare you to play a fighting game with a Neo-Geo gamepad and not pull out all of your moves with staggering precision. It's almost impossible.

Currently it's a Japan only release, but you can have one imported for $45. If you're an old school gamer or a fighting game enthusiast, believe me, it's money well spent.

via engadget

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is all About the Crack

Crack is a highly addictive illegal substance that will make you do stupid things in order to get a steady intake of it's fix, often sold in vials. The term crack can also be applied with similar definition to non-illegal substances. The Capcom's Versus series is crack. Therefore it's only fitting that Marvel vs. Capcom 3's story trailer has the universe's combatants fighting over a vial of the good stuff. 

I know what you're thinking. Let me dispel your confusion by saying, no, you are not crazy. I did say Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and story in the same sentence. Renowned comic author Frank Tieri is penning the story, which is a good indication that all the fighting will have some sort of underlying meaning for once in a Versus game.