Gearbox Software has been developing high quality games for a decade now. They successfully ported Half Life to other consoles, created expansions to Half Life. They continued to create quality games like Counter-Strike, and most famously, Half-Life 2. In 2009, Gearbox Software released their new Intellectual Property called Borderlands, and has gone to become one of the best selling First Person Shooters that year. Borderlands is a cell-shaded FPS game that has some role playing game elements. These elements ranges from weapons drop are actually random drops, therefore, making Borderlands a loot-a-lot type of game. Borderlands also allowed you to gain experience points for each kill or action or mission or critical point in the game.
Borderlands takes place in a sci-fi world, where you are on an alien planet called “Pandora.” In this particular planet has aliens, creatures, maniac humans with futuristic weapons, armor, gear, clothes, and masks. The planet also has large amount of alien technology, which these bandits scavenge them for a profit. Each terrain feature settlements, which means each area of the game has a mayor, a boss, if you will.
Borderlands 2 takes place 5 years after the events of the first game. Handsome Jack, the series’ villian took over control of the planet’s main corporation, and wants the company to take over as the sole owner of that very planet. He wants to industrialize the planet.
Without further ado, Borderlands 2!
Borderlands 2 arrives on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this September. Ah, Fall is looking like an action-packed season now.
Activision released Modern Warfare 3 and went on to break records at retail. By the weeks’ end, Modern Warfare 3 made 775 million dollars. There are millions of gamers online every day on Modern Warfare 3, and Activision planned months and years ahead of MW3 launch to make sure that Modern Warfare fans stay on the Call of Duty brand. Well, last month Activision released the first Content Drop for Xbox Live members it was called Liberation. This month, Activision unveiled Overwatch, a new map arriving to Xbox Live first.
Here’s a sneak peak of Overwatch in action:
The Second Content Drop heads to Xbox Live next week on February 21st. PC and PS3 owners are going to have to wait for this content drop until next month. Not everything about this drop is all bad news! PC and PS3 owners get the first Content Drop on February 28th. Get ready!
I attended Capcom’s Fight Club event on Feb 2nd, and I got to play two versions of Street Fighter x Tekken; the Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 versions. A playStation Vita version is forthcoming after the launch of SFxTekken on consoles. SFxTekken for PSVita is going to be released in the fall. PC players are going to have to wait until May for their port of SFxTekken.
Most of the kiosks that were at the event were all situated on the Gem System. The mode has been featured throughout Capcom’s Fight Club on Feb 2nd, to help promote the game’s mode. Some players were better than others at it.
What is this Gem System?
The gem system in a nutshell a battle system that allows SF x Tekken players to receive a ‘boost’ of sorts. These 5 gems are selectable at the character select screen. The gems correspond to the abilities that you are able to execute in-game. There are many types of gems available, here are a few: An attack gem is red, to get speed you need a green gem, for defense you need a yellow gem, to have the c. gauge you need a blue gem, and to have an assist ability, you need a purple gem. You can mix all of these gems together to form a combination of boosts. The gems is connected to the super/EX meter at the bottom of the screen.
Want to see just how deep the Gem System is? Check out the video:
Okay, so how does the game play?
I’m a casual fighting game player, I have played Street Fighter before, I have played Tekken before. The last game I played were Street Fighter 3, and Tekken 6.
Street Fighter x Tekken is a 3D fighter graphically, but the game is played on a 2D plane. So, accordingly, the controls of Tekken characters are going to be stuck on the Street Fighter 4 engine. And it shows. Street Fighter x Tekken retains Tekken’s 4-button fighting scheme. I think Tekken characters play pretty well on Street Fighter 4’s engine. You can execute moves a little better with SF4’s control scheme. Street Fighter characters play similar to their Street Fighter 4 fighting schemes.
I played Street Fighter x Tekken on the official SF x Tekken arcade stick for Xbox 360. I think the arcade sticks are really nicely designed. But I do notice that there are a few hitches here and there. SF x Tekken isn’t as responsive on a stick than a controller. Having played the PlayStation 3 version of Street Fighter x Tekken, I strongly believe there’s a slight delay in response. I can execute moves on PS3 than I would on an arcade stick.
Street Fighter x Tekken Graphics
One of the first things I noticed right off the bat when I saw Street Fighter x Tekken in gameplay trailers, was that the graphics seem to be ugly for the most part. When I attended Capcom’s Fight Club, that first impression of SF x Tekken disappeared. The images, the gameplay videos posted on various websites do not do the game justice. The special effects has an effect of it’s own, so those ugly black effects you see in videos – those aren’t even noticeable once you play the game. Second thing I notice with graphics is that the environments seem rough. Having played the game, that impression disappeared, because the environments look really, really colorful. Capcom really captured the Street Fighter feel with the stages – especially the trailers stage. Which I assume is Balrog’s stage. With SF4, I felt like something was missing. That missing component was evident in SF x Tekken. Somehow I feel like this should have been SF4, and not SF x Tekken.
Street Fighter Fun Factor
For the most part, SF x Tekken is fun, but I really don’t like the ‘rules’ for the game because most of the 2 vs 2 games, those tag team games usually allow you to deplete both characters or beat both characters. Street Fighter x Tekken goes against the grain, between your player and the other CPU player, you have one life. That’s it. Once the person with the lowest life is dead, the match stops. This is true with your co-op player, even though that both of you can play at the same time. So, if your partner dies, you lose.
Tekken Tag Tournament fans will notice that the rules in the game is similar to what they’re used to. However, I feel that this rule of the first person that reduces their health to zero loses the match. That means if your opponent defeats one of your characters, they win, mixed with the Gem System and the Pandora mode is a bad combination. Why? Because this would mean that Street Fighter x Tekken is all about power moves. The only reason why Tekken Tag Tournament got away with this rule is because of the balancing. Some of TAG’s moves are deemed as “power moves” but only in some circumstances. Tekken Tag Tournament has always been about combos, Street Fighter x Tekken does not encourage dial-a-combo like TAG does. Then again, it feels like SF x Tekken is a marketing stunt on Capcom’s part to help push sales of Tekken Tag Tournament 2, which is slated to be released quite soon for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. An arcade version of the game is already out.
Wait, there’s a co-op mode?
Yeap, go back to the video above and see for yourself. You and your co-op buddy can fight against the other side together. But as implied, there’s a risk that come with it; once one of you dies, it’s game over.
Street Fighter x Tekken sound
Since Fight Club was packed with people, you couldn’t really hear the sounds very well. From what I hear, the game is loud, full of sound effects. You can even hear some small details as you play.
Anything else worth mentioning?
I really like the attention to detail in Street Fighter x Tekken. Like Guile, his pose was so funny that I laughed out loud. In one of the stages, Zangief is seen trying to break the window. The character select screen has animated characters, and then when the game proceeds to the “Vs” screen, all of the characters are still animated.
The Verdict
Capcom really has gone all out with Street Fighter x Tekken. Capcom really captured the Street Fighter feel with SFxTekken. The game’s fun, but the fun can be ruined during play. The rules of the game may confuse some people, and it can infuriate some people – I have seen it first hand. Half the time, you can play the game, but on the other half you got to keep the gem system in mind while playing. In my play time with SF x Tekken, I didn’t really pay attention to the Gem System, and I got my @$$ kicked. I think that Street Fighter x Tekken is more geared towards the hardcore fighting fans. Casual fighting fans will either like it or not. I’m going with the latter. Not a lot of people will like it, it’s a little complicated for casuals.
Capcom recently posted a video to unveil a huge announcement: PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita are getting exclusive characters solely for the PlayStation brand. The first reveal is Capcom’s own mascot, Mega Man. Now, this comes to Mega Man fans as trolling for attention because Capcom pissed them off a lot last year by canceling Mega Man Universe and Mega Man Legends 3. The exclusive Mega Man is going to use the original box-art Mega Man.
Quite frankly, I’m having a hard time getting over the “fat” Mega Man idea. Mega Man looks fat… What the hell, Capcom? Is that what you think of Mega Man?
Next up we have Namco’s very own mascot, the legend himself, Pac-Man! Sony joined the foray when they announced that Cole would be a playable and exclusive Street Fighter x Tekken character back at E32011. Sony also threw Kuro & Toro into the SF x Tekken exclusive roster.
Looks like Capcom has been very excited about these additions!
Last month, Capcom revealed a bunch of new characters to the SF x Tekken roster. Capcom released a video revealing these characters. It starts off with Zangief, and Rufus taking the stage, Rufus goes crazy with his moves. Lili and Asuka take the floor and rips it up, Asuka has a beat attitude. Vega and Balrog smashes heads afterwards. Law and Paul punches into the scene with their crazy moves. Juri and Xiaoyu kicks into action.
Once again, Capcom teases that a PlayStation Vita version is in the works. Some gameplay is shown, with this weird little teddy bear, and Cole fighting.
Girls usually don’t have a strong presence in fighting games. But Street Fighter x Tekken is different. It introduces a lot of ladies in battle. Capcom has never discriminated against ladies in gaming, SF x Tekken is no different since Namco has the same philosophy in an industry where the majority shun ladies in gaming.
Capcom released a really shining example of ladies in a trailer:
It introduces Asuka to the Street Fighter x Tekken roster. Lili, Cammy, and Chun-Li join the battle for supremacy in SF x Tekken.
The ladies of Street Fighter x Tekken aren’t afraid of a fight, in fact, they relish it.
Two ladies duke it out, but is interrupting Jin and Colonel M. Bison, in which Jin starts to show his true colors in traditional Tekken fashion.
The Gem System in SF x Tekken is a mode where you can mix a total of 4 or 5 gems to create a combination of abilities. These abilities correspond to the gems that are in your disposal. For example, the speed gems allow you to speed up the flow of the fight, only on your part, however. Take For example, the following video:
Do you see the difference? You see how Zangief was able to grapple Kazuya in a speedy manner, while a normal player won’t be able to grapple you the same way. The speed difference is evident.
In another example, the beginner Gem player won’t even notice the Gem system is in play, rather, he uses his moves to his advantage. In the next video, a novice player will attempt to use his gems in order to win a match, this is the result:
The expert player, the Intermediate player will use every ounce of the Gem system to overthrow his opponent. See for yourself:
You see? The player controlling Ryu knows exactly what the Gems do, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to use his combos as if it were under his control. He switched characters to help his fighting style along.
The Gem System includes parts of the Pandora system. What it does is that it allows you to power up, but with a risk; your life. See for yourself:
As you can see, the power up is risky, but also powerful. It turns you into an evil version of the character, it makes Akuma look pale in comparison. These power-ups make combos even more deadlier than normal combos. Interested?
In the last article, there were little teasers for SFxTekken. A few months ago, at the New York Comic Con, Capcom showed off some Street Fighter x Tekken videos. The first video is below:
It starts out with Ken and Ryu at each others’ throats, again. Kazuya joins the fight along with Nina. Cammy and King duke it out in an exchange of blows. Ryu and Guile throws fireballs in several draws until they stop. Those battles will never bore a fighter.
Bob and Sagat wrestle for supremacy. Hwoarang shows off his slick power kicks. Chun Li shows her thousand kicks to Kazuya. Yoshimitsu shows off his legendary spinning, sword-swiping techniques to Poison, but Raven joins the fight on Yoshimitsu’s behalf as well. Julia joins some fights and struts her stuff. Julia tags Lili to close out the video.
The next video shows off the various moves, and how to do them. The Gem mode is a massive learning curve for deeper fighting fans. And trust me, it does have a learning curve…
There’s a PlayStation Vita version of the game on the way. To learn more about how PlayStation Vita feels and play, check out my article about the system here.
PlayStation Vita is the successor to the PlayStation Portable and PSP Go. Sony tested the market with PSP Go, it fumbled, it flopped so hard they had to discontinue it within 2 years of being on the market. With PlayStation Vita, Sony is doing better, and going hard. Sony is holding a soft launch on February 15th, followed by a worldwide launch on February 22th. It had been launched in Japan since December and has been met with joyous consumers.
I attended Capcom’s Fight Club event yesterday, and I tried out Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 for PlayStation Vita. Never mind that UMVC3 came out in november for Xbox 360, and PS3… We’re at this point because this is about PlayStation Vita!
Enter PlayStation Vita
Unlike the PSP, PlayStation Vita fits into your hands and thumbs like a glove, mostly because the backside has 2 u shaped textures to help you take a better grip of the hardware than PSP. They’re not deep, but they’re actually V shaped like a broken V. One of the first things I noticed about the hardware is the design: The whole thing looks like it fits together like a puzzle. The best part isn’t the face, it’s instead the buttons/analog sticks. Why? Because unlike PSP, your schema of the layout makes you think that the thumbs belong there. With PSP, I didn’t know where the buttons were. It’s like trying to get accustomed to iPhone on the first try. Like, the first time you use it. PSP failed because of the interface, not just because of the launch titles, or even the library, there isn’t really a “plus one” with PSP, it seemed like a typical obscure product. This has been fixed with Vita because of the design.
PSVita teaches and trains you to keep your fingers in a specific area, and that’s what the design of the circular pads do. I find myself pressing the directional pad, and the buttons as if it was a PS3 controller, and that’s where PSP and Vita differs; it encourages you to keep your fingers in one place, rather than slipping your fingers off.
With the screen, you can Vista the Vita
First thing off the bat! OLED on handhelds are awesome! Now I want to buy a OLED TV rather than LCD or any other technology HDTV’s offer. Why? Because with Vita, on it’s small, beautiful screen.. It’s #@^&ing gorgeous! The OLED screen makes MVC3 look a lot sharper than a movie on regular LCD HDTV. Let me put it in another way, if you put a game like Batman: Arkham City, or Call of Duty: MW3 on that beautiful screen, it’s killer. It’s more like the selling point of the hardware isn’t what’s under the hood, it’s the fact that the screen looks gorgeous!
I think this is the big selling point of Vita, and it’s evident through the enormous amount of developer support. Never mind the touch technology, the screen is the biggest selling point of PSVita, period. Once Sony starts the advertising for Vita, the 3DS is good as dead on arrival. In my small time hanging around the PlayStation Vita booth at Fight Club, I realized a few girls has been taking some interest in PSVita than the guys.
The best part is that, the OLED screen, and the PlayStation Vita hardware can handle 60 frames per second, that makes for a silky smooth fighting experience. See for yourself:
I must stress, that this video is half of what PlayStation Vita looks like in action. The screen is more powerful than advertised. That’s how good this hardware is. Keep in mind, this is a launch title. I shudder to think what PSVita is capable of!
The interface of Vita
While PSVita doesn’t really have an in-game XMB menu, as in the way that PS3 does it. A game can be stopped in the middle of a game, and not really interrupt gameplay. Once you press the PS button, the whole game pauses. It takes you to another screen, instead, so that would be your XMB screen, if you press the PS button again, it will take you straight to the Vita menu. And I must say it’s intuitive when you’re taken there. You can load your game right from the Vita menu. Which is a very nice addition. You can go back to the game at any time as the game is running in the background, however, it’s not recommended because your PSVita is still running and still is using battery life. This can be rectified by the invisible solar powered battery technology on the back of the Vita. You can’t see it, but it’s there. You can’t feel it, but it’s there.
Vita has a lot of developer support
And it will be evident in the year or years to come. It’s got UMVC3 at launch, it’s got Uncharted at launch, it’s got WipeOut at launch, and it’s got Twisted Metal at launch! It’s going to get Ninja Gaiden, it’s going to get Street Fighter x Tekken, it’s going to get Mortal Kombat. I mean, all the big companies are supporting Vita.
Here’s Mortal Kombat in action:
As you can see, there are some touch technology being used. And so…
How’s the touch technology, Carlos!?
Depends on how you look at it. When you’re using the PSVita menu, you can intuitively use it, but during a match, it’s a little… intrusive. However, it’s purfect for super moves, or as you can see, fatailities in Mortal Kombat. The touch technology works in some instances, but all in all, it’s not really perfect.
What’s your verdict?
Once again, depends on how you look at it. PlayStation Vita at it’s core is aimed at casuals. It’s aiming it’s crosshairs squarely at 3DS’ general audience. Sony says that the hardware isn’t competing against Nintendo 3DS current dominance, however, they want the same kind of market 3DS is currently attaining. And it shows.
Activision released Modern Warfare 3 and went on to break records at retail. By the weeks’ end, Modern Warfare 3 made 775 million dollars. There are millions of gamers online every day on Modern Warfare 3, and Activision planned months and years ahead of MW3 launch to make sure that Modern Warfare fans stay on the Call of Duty brand. Activision created Beachhead Studios to create Call of Duty Elite, a digital distribution service aimed at Call of Duty fans, starting with MW3. Activision, and Beachhead Studios spent the majority of time between November 8th, 2011 to present to make sure that DLC launches go smoothly. There were some hitches at launch that delayed the founders’ earning of their titles.
To hype up the kick-off of the Content Season for MW3, on January 10th, Activision released a teaser video for the MW3 DLC:
Earlier today, Activision released a press release to celebrate the release of the MW3 DLC:
Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), has lit the fuse on the highly-anticipated Modern Warfare 3 Content Season for Call of Duty Elite, with the release of two all-new multiplayer maps, the opening salvo of nine consecutive months of downloadable content for Call of Duty Elite’s premium members on the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.
Call of Duty Elite Drop 1: Liberation, a militarized Central Park in the heart of NYC, featuring a vast landscape ripe for long-range sniper and LMG kills. Mounted turrets on opposing ends of the map offer overwhelming firepower to anyone brave enough to man them. Elite Drop 2: Piazza, set in an idyllic seaside village, Italian getaway gone rogue, where blind corners and a complex network of branching pathways pose danger at every turn. Visceral close-quarters combat dominates in Piazza, and attacks from above and below are an ever-constant threat.
To celebrate the launch of the new content drops on Xbox LIVE, Call of Duty Elite will run specialized community screen shot events highlighting the new maps through the end of the month, with real-world prizes on tap for winners.
Published by Activision and co-developed by three powerhouse studios — Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software — the Modern Warfare 3 Content Season will include an unprecedented breadth and variety of new content. Liberation and Piazza are the first two of twenty new Content Drops for Call of Duty Elite premium members, rolling out once a month throughout the nine-month DLC season. The Content Drops will be available for purchase by the entire Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 player community on Xbox LIVE in March, as part of the first Modern Warfare 3 Content Collection. The Content Drops will be available on additional platforms at a later time.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is rated “M” (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Strong Language. For more information on the Call of Duty: MW3 content drops, season of content, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty Elite visit www.callofduty.com/mw3 and www.callofduty.com/elite.
