Protect your puppies, dear listeners!* We’re delving into some complex Shadow Complex issues. Just where exactly are your gaming dollars going? After that, Nick revisits the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance to see if he’s ready for the hero-packed sequel, Kaz dishes out info on the latest Team Fortress 2 update, and Justin bemoans Valve’s weak console support.
*You’ll see…
The slower DSi launch (compared to its predecessor) makes sense. The Art Style games are mini-masterpieces and Mario vs. Donkey Kong is decent, but DSi owners have gone through many Mondays without that system-defining application, something that would show early adopters that the extra camera lenses and better internet integration were more than bullet points. Well, for most of you, I doubt Flipbook Studio fits that description. But if you’ve got a creative spark and the ability to draw stick figures, maybe you’ll fall in love with this little animation program as quickly as I did.
Then again, Nintendo doesn’t seem to have much confidence in poor Flipbook. Rather than giving it the typical Monday fanfare – yeah, a stretch – the DSiStore decision makers decided to dump it online in the middle of last week. The only reason I even knew it existed was because I caught a Nintendo advertisement hiding in my spam box. Plus, the game was free. This, coming from the company that slapped a $2 price tag on an Animal Crossing clock – not exactly an auspicious sign.
But when I sat down and began tinkering with it, I was shocked to discover how many options it offered. The basic design itself is pretty smart; every time you flip to the next frame, you can see a faded outline of the previous one. You can copy frames or crop them to move individual elements, or you can resize images to achieve a functional “zoom” effect. Better yet, Flipnote Studio uses the camera and microphone too, so if you want to create clips of stick figures crawling out of your buddy’s nose – complete with a soundtrack – go right ahead.
This week, the crew returns to Little Big Planet to scope out the latest user-generated content, but are gamers really looking for their 15 minutes? Justin, Tony, and Tom carry a Fat Princess discussion, while Kaz suggests ways to keep the oft-mentioned Battlefield 1943 fresh. Plus, Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 crankiness, No More Heroes, and a wallet-draining Final Fantasy Dissidia dare. Hold onto your receipts for this one, folks.
Laughter abound in this week’s episode. All of the crew is present and accounted for our 100th Episode, which was delayed to allow us to set some goals for our humble podcast’s next 100.
A huge thanks goes out to anyone who has listened or supported us these past couple years. We promise to keep the jokes and nerdiness coming.
This week: King of Fighters XII, TMNT: Turtles in Time, ‘Splosion Man, RE5, Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This?, and more.
P.S. Starting counting up the “Yo! Noids!”
As a very passionate fan of Neo-Geo and SNK fighting game franchises, what more can I say to get my point across except that the King of Fighters XII, the super-hyped, HD-gilded entry of SNK’s legendary fighting series, is very, very disappointing.
From the moment eyes were granted glimpses of KOF XII, expectations have been high. For the first time in the series history, The King of Fighters was going high definition — super-detailed sprites and gorgeously animated backgrounds had both die-hard series fans and newcomers alike salivating at each new screenshot released. It comes with utter shock then, that in this resurgence of quality fighting games, what could have been (what should have been) the shot in the arm that KOF needed to regain a bit of the fighting-game spotlight, has turned out to be not only the most bare-bones 2D fighting game entry in recent years (across any console), but has managed to defy almost every fan-adored convention that the series has ever known at the same time.
At its heart, KOF has always been a team-based, 3-on-3 fighter with plenty of unique characters, a plethora of special moves, and an endless amount of variety. The amalgamation of characters from other Neo-Geo franchises as well as the fresh new fighters found in every new yearly installment have combined to create what can be argued as the most competitive runner-up that the Street Fighter series has ever known. If you’ve ever even heard of KOF before, you’d understand why XII has left me scratching my head: there’s the smallest character roster in franchise history, a shortened special move list for every fighter, and nothing resembling any kind of teams.
KOF 2002 Ultimate Match Roster
KOF XII Roster. Nowhere close.
The 100th episode is a major milestone for any podcast, and we want to make sure we do ours right. Yeah, we know the two week hiatus is rough, but be aware that we’ve got some fun stuff “planned” for y’all.
-The Management
This week: The Secret of Monkey Island, the Otakon Report, a trip down memory lane with Super Mario Galaxy, Battlefield 1943, SMT: Devil Survivor, Prototype, and The Beatles Rock Band track list discussion.
(originally published at Smile Politely, 7/16)
If Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4 is any indication, there is no such thing as a casual fan of first-person shooters. If you don’t know every map and every weapon, you’ll quickly find yourself buried in grenades. I learned a long time ago that if you don’t invest enough time on the battle ground du jour, there’s little hope of catching up. That’s why Battlefield 1943 on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 is such a refreshing departure from the norm. With only three maps and three classes, skeptics may wonder if they’re getting a good deal, but the lean package is actually one of 1943‘s greatest assets.
Of course, if you’re an Xbox 360 owner, the much-publicized server problems may be the greater deterrent. For whatever reason, Electronic Arts was overwhelmed by the demand from gamers following 1943‘s launch last week. Even as of this Tuesday morning, the “Quick Match” option is still anything but. This isn’t the first time that an online-only shooter has been bogged down by network problems; the PS3’s SOCOM: Confrontation was almost unplayable when it was released last year. However, EA seems to have a much better handle on the situation, and the upside is that there is already a large community of gamers ready to hit the beaches running.
