クリスマス//Gears of War 2

Well Christmas is by far come and gone now, and New Years is just on the horizon. I also have not made a post on here for a while. Sweet! I was actually planning a Top 5 Enjoyable SNES games, but decided to maybe, well, play more SNES games before doing that. Anyway, I hope everyone's Christmas went well, mine certainly did. I got a bunch of clothes, a External Drive, My Japanese Coach for DS and a bunch of money. I am ordering shit from the internet with that money. Like, for example...a Mikuru figure. As well as a special little something for my DS. Charge me $90 for a JP game will you, internet? Prepare to be thwarted!

I finally got a chance to rev up my 360 again with Gears of War 2. Solid, solid game. One of the best N.A franchises, for sure. I mean this purely in the Multiplayer sense. The campaign mode is tolerable for the most part, but has little appeal. It was way too long and became very tedious. There was always some really huge task the team had to perform. But before that, they had to do a huge task to make the first huge task possible. Then oh crap, you gotta do a major mission before you can do the huge task before the main huge task. The dialogue was funny at least. Not in the most complimentary way.

Dom: "Marcus! Maria! DAMMIT!" *cry* "...oh. This seems to be...a building."
Carmine: "Jeez! What was that?"
Marcus: "Whatever it is...it's not friendly."

In the end, the formula for dialogue was thus:

Dom: State obvious.
Baird: Say something arrogant and smartalicky.
Cole: Scream loudly and make a football metaphor (sorry, 'Thrashball" metaphor).
Carmine: You have a bad feeling about this.
Marcus: Give a short, empty answer. But say it gruffly to sound tough.

However, you can just curb stomp the campaign, and focus on multiplayer. All the games modes are fun, Horde being especially so. When you play online, though, make sure you have a good connection going. If you have slight delays and lag, you're in for a world of sorrow. If you're keeping up with everyone else, happy chainsawing. ;D

Remember me from the first one? I was fearsome, right? Yeah, well, I'm really quite disposable and easy to defeat.

On the DS I got Phoenix Wright/Gyakuten Saiban 3. It's quite enjoyable, I play before going to bed. Maya in a Maid outfit is pure gold. Godot is an alright guy, but I miss Edgeworth. I'm on Case 3 at the moment, and I must say... the French chef is the creepiest character to come out of this series, and this series has had some rather...unappealing characters before.

Anyway, that's it. No Official review (though a short unofficial one) or Top 5 tonight. Oyasumi!

Rockman ZX - Totally Not A Zero Clone

This is starting out as a total Rockman blog. Heh. It's purely coincidental that the game I played through and want to talk about is Rockman ZX. I beat it some time ago, but mentioned I would post about it. Other games I am currently working on are the insanely cheap-hard Maximum Carnage, a weird Spider-Man beat 'em up, and a Fearow Only Run of Pokemon LeafGreen. Sofa the Fearow is going strong.

Anywaaay...

Thanks, GameFront.

Rockman ZX is the next series part of the main storyline. Meaning, it takes place some 200 or so years after the Zero series. Reploids and humans live in peace. There are still Irregulars, however, as always. There's also these mystic devices called BioMetals, which are similar to Power Ranger belts in that they transform you in a super hero type thing. You get to pick either Vent who is a boy or Aile who is a girl, which is a first in the Rockman series. Their parents died in a Irregular raid, and now they work as a delivery boy/girl for a dude named Gino. One day there's an attack while they're delivering some BioMetal. So Vent/Aile fuse with Model X, which makes you resemble X the hunter. You decide to fight for justice with X along side some people, and eventually fuse with Model Z to be Rockman ZX. Your mission is to stop Serpent from doing terrible thing with Model V/W. Of course, you first gotta defeat the 8 "Falseroids" before you can confront him. I personally picked Aile for the game, because she's so darned cute.

IGN, everybody!

Despite being a completely new series, it plays alot like the Zero series. It'd be completely identical if not for the other BioMetals you fuse with (which actually resemble the Four Guardians from the Zero series...). You get a buster pistol which you can charge, and a saber you can charge. They could've revamped it a bit more than that, I think, but at the very least it's a gameplay style that worked. So it plays fine. You get to use different Models that give different powers and abilities, but personally I rarely used them. The trusty ZX model is all you will need, unless you're planning to hunt down some extra items. The difficulty of the game isn't too intense, but will have some gamers frustrated. As said previously, it's a lot like the Zero series, so expect some difficult bosses. If you can spare a death (or two) to get their patterns down, the bosses become quite easy. So with practice, the game becomes very passable.

"I'm going to be nothing like Zero! I'm serious, stop laughing!"

You play the game in a giant world, free to explore and go through for your missions. It would've been all right, if not for the horrendous map you're given. The Areas are listed from A to X, with variations like A-1, A-2, etc. Getting from, say, Area A-2 to Area J-1 shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? Just check your map! Well, check again, it's mostly useless! All the map is is a web that shows which Areas are linked to each other. A line will be between area A-1 and A-2, for example. That wouldn't be so rough, but it doesn't tell you where the door or access points are! You'll be standing in Area A-1, see that there's line to Area B-3 on the left, and spend a while trying to find the door to Area B-3. Sorry mac, the door is on the right side of Area-1! On the side of a building! Beside other doors! In the end, it becomes a hassle using the map, since you're left to find the way to the places yourself anyways. This makes side missions more of a hassle, but it doesn't matter, because side missions are mostly pointless anyway. If you want a couple upgrades, go for it, but it's completely unnecessary since the life saving upgrade you get from naturally progressing through the game (the Charge Speed-up). Speaking of missions, they can get rather annoying as well. You can take a mission from any save point on the giant map, and you're told which Area to go to. If you end up getting a continue, you can kiss your effort goodbye, as you must start from the beginning of the mission. Essentially making your time a waste, as it's not like all the missions are that short. Basically, having a continue at the beginning of the Boss' Area would be much appreciated rather than starting in the middle of wherever-you-last-were.

"Roar, I feel so disposable!"

Don't let those negatives completely discourage you. Since it's based off the Zero formula, you're guaranteed a pretty good Rockman experience. Better yet, you get to look at some awesome backgrounds. The graphics of the game are splendid, with amazing backgrounds to all the areas. Some of the Falseroids suffer from being run-of-the-mill bosses, but some stick out as being fun and unique (the lure fish boss is great). The music, however, is a little boring. Nothing particularly catchy, but there are a couple gems in the mix (as I recall the Zero series is sort of similar). We get treated to a few cutscenes in the game, with Japanese voice-acting, since they were too lazy to dub it. Not that I'm complaining, since I'd actually prefer the original voices over whatever blandos they get to dub it, but it creates inconsistency since they refer "Rockman", when the N.A name is "Megaman". Oopsie!

Identity crisis sucks.

If you're a fan of the Rockman games, I suggest snagging this one. It's a new series, and plays rather well despite a terrible map, and you get to play similarly to old Zero villains. Fun! For the average Joe/Jane, I'd still suggest you pick it up, because it's a pretty solid side-scroller. However, whether or not you will get into it is unknown. Some will like it, others will let the terrible map ruin their day. All in all...



Seven Pharoahmans out of Ten. I hear the sequel is vastly improved, though, so I will be definitely picking that up. Here's hopin'!



This post brought to you by...TurboGrafx16

Super Fighting Robot Rockman

Here's that Top 5 I promised. I didn't want that First Post to last very long, anyway. So what better way to get rid of it than a Game Top 5! It's about my favorite series, Rockman, too! Won't be too long, I promise. Speaking of Rockman, I'm almost done ZX. I may give my impressions on it later. Anywho...



Iku ze!

#5. Rockman 9

Oh, the good ol' days of an ugly middle aged Blue Bomber...
Hilarious parody of the old N.A Box Art right there. Rockman 9 was released not too long ago, and through a dastardly marketing scheme, is still getting things released for it up for download. This game was made by Inticreates, of Rockman Zero fame. There would be no crackpot new designs to Rockman, however. The aim with this game was to revive the retro style of the classic series. It accomplished this near perfectly, and even surpassed many of the previous games in terms of quality. The gameplay is old-style Rockman. Quite old, actually, as there is no slide or charge shot. Coupled with those missing abilities was an already high difficulty level. For the average gamer it was death. For the Rockman fans it was bliss.


Dude, back off!

The music was awesome. The soundtrack was downloaded instantly. A nice touch by the designers that was implemented was old-style audio. When there would be sound effects on screen, parts of the music wouldn't play, adding heaps more to the retro feel. After all these years, they didn't flunk on the Robot Masters either, which was nice. They were all noteworthy Robot Masters (save for maybe Concrete Man aka Stone Man MKII). With Rockman 9, you get the classic feel and play of the earliest Rockman, minus pesky glitches. The only fault with Rockman 9 is that you don't get everything with first download. You have to purchase extra modes and difficulties. Lame!

#4. Battle Network Rockman EXE/Megaman Battle Network

Netto, out of the way, you're blocking Rockman.

Ah yes, the dreaded Battle Network series, which has helped tarnish Rockman's good name. Even though this is not completely false, the first game of the series cannot be faulted as it was a very good game. You star as Netto (Lan) Hikari, an elementary student in a world where the internet is accessed through NetNavis. I won't get into the whole deal about what the world is like, but Netto's netnavi is Rockman. An organization called the WWW show up and start stirring shit up in the internet under the leadership of Dr. Wily. The gameplay of the game is immensely fun. It's a real-time action RPG, where battle are played on a grid. Rockman is free to move around the grid, to avoid attacks and to line up attacks against enemies. What adds another level of gameplay are the chips you use to attack. Every turn you're given a random selection of five chips from your folder, which you use to attack. You collect all sorts of types of chips throughout the game. The addition of the battle chips adds more stategy similar to a card game.

"This isn't nearly as painful as what they're going to do to my name in the anime!"

All the enemy NetNavis in the game are re-creations of past Robot Masters. Each one has gotten a great makeover (especially Blues/Protoman). As for the music, I enjoyed it. I'm not sure what the general consensus is for the music, but it delivers. Rockman rarely fails in that area, anyway. Rockman EXE was a succesful shift for Rockman, while still retaining some classic aspects (like Wily). It's just too bad that this series got more sequels than it needed (typical).

#3. Rockman X

Why is it so hard to find the original Japanese covers on the internet?

Rockman X, the one that started the Loved and Hated X series. Rockman X was Rockman's first venture onto the SNES. The designers needed a way to revive Rockman's popularity. The answer: Make him hardcore. Rockman X is a beefed up version of the original Rockman, with the ability to dash, and wall climb. All new characters and areas were introduced, marking this as a completely different series. The game was definitely no flop. It was a very fun game. Gameplay was fast and smooth, and the levels were great. Riding on down a mine, fighting on top of a ship, and beating things down with a Ride Armor all helped make Rockman X a new and fun experience. A cute touch was how winning in one level affected another. Beating Icy Penguigo froze over the factory. Launcher Octopuld's defeat meant water in jungle, etc. The game was rather easy, but it's forgiveable considering how awesome it is.

A bee? Really?

At this point, we can expect that the music was good. Rockman X had great music. One of the best in the series, actually. Each track was catchy and memorable. The character designs were very cool. They managed to recreate Rockman to seem more mature and edgy. Zero was a pretty rad character before he turned ridiculous. Sigma was a strong alternative to Dr. Wily, and Vava/Vile is one of the most awesome characters I've ever seen. How good were the days of early Rockman X. Before X5 began the lame train.

#2. Rockman DASH/Megaman Legends

Yeah, I owned the 64 version.

Rockman DASH. Aah, yes. One of my all-time favorite games. It's a spin-off title of Rockman, meaning it's not part of the main storyline/universe. It's a totally different kind of Rockman. It's an Adventure Game, sort of like say, Legend of Zelda. However, instead of Hearts you have a Health Bar, instead of a sword you have a Buster, and instead of being Link you're Rockman. You and your girlfriend Roll (how wrong that would be in the Classic series) are diggers, as in they collect these crystals to power machines. After seizing yet another crystal, you crash land on an island. The island takes you in, and things are friendly enough until Pirates show up and ruin everything. So essentially, your role is to fight off the pirates, get your ship repaired, and search the ruins and dungeons of the island for more bigass crystals. It all plays very well, and is quite enjoyable. Fighting as Rockman in a 3D was proven to work, and I enjoyed exploring the island and going to new places. The boss fights especially are a blast.

See ya later, bitch!

The music was again pretty good. Some catchy tunes, and the style of it was an interesting change (more...trumpets and ambience). Main Gate, especially, had a very good "it's time to rock" feel to it. Characters design and execution were nice. Each of them are either interesting or funny in their own way (to varying degrees of course), especially the Bonnes and their adorable ServBots. Some of the voice acting is funny-bad, but for the most part it's not too bad, even if sometimes it sounds like they're using a low quality recording device. I shall stop it here, otherwise I'd ramble on about my favorite parts from this. Just know that Rockman DASH is a very fun and underrated game.

#1. Rockman 2

There's some original art!

Not a very big surprise. Rockman 2 is everything classic Rockman is about: Good, light-hearted, super awesome fun. It was perfect. Nice levels, good bosses, solid difficulty, everything worked out amazing.

You're not so Quick.

The music was splendid. Dr. Wily Stage is one of the most recognizable and popular video game songs ever. I really don't have much to say about Rockman 2. It's a simple game. It's also just really really fun.


There we go, that's it. Expect more polished lists and posts once I get used to some of the silliness. Now I'm off to play ZX. You shall perish, Model W!


This post brought to you by...Sony.

And so it begins.

Curse my sheep mentality! But moreover, curse The Backloggery! All those blogs made me rethink my stance on whether or not to get one. Silly me, of course they don't need to be used for whining and droning about just life. I can just throw shit out about games or what have you. The actual content of this isn't very clear, but posts will probably be either about a games or games, an episode or series of anime, a movie, or random shit. If I feel like it, I'll do a Top 5 Whatever type of thing, too. Isn't that original!

To fill space, a little about how life is-a going (keepin' it short). Okay. Always okay. It's cold as shit here, and I have a weird sore in my ear due to it. School is silly, I'm doing super awesome in History, but lame at best in Math (and Math is one of my better subjects). I cannot fail one course, or else I won't muthafuckin' graduate! What a raw deal, getting only 2 classes this term. At first I was pumped about it, but it's going to make me paranoid.

Gamewise, you can check out my Backloggery for the gist of what I am playing. Mayhap I will go into more detail about those later, when I feel less like crap, perchance.

Hmm, I think I already got a Top 5 in mind to start. Short and easy, and about my favorite game series. Expect it next time, folks!



This post was brought to by...Square Enix.