The new year is year and we’re still alive. While we’re at it, it’s time to look back at the games we view as our Games of the Year. On top of that, we also talk about our disappointing games of the year.
As you know it, time table of contents after the break.
On January 10, the official Cyberpunk 2077 trailer was revealed. Cyberpunk 2077 is a RPG based on Mike Pondsmith’s pen and paper role playing games Cyberpunk 2013/2020. Developed CD Projeckt Red, the same developer responsible for The Witcher and the sequel Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings, the trailer showcases a CG cutscene set in a dystopian, futuristic city. The Police, outfitted by high-end assault rifles and vehicles are seen firing at a cybernetically enhanced women who has seemingly massacred a group of people. The rounds break due to high durability of her “skin.” All of this is done in slo-mo as an officer behind her pulls a pistol trigger aimed at the back of her head. After the title screen the scene then changes to the inside of a vehicle where the same officer looks on as the apprehended cyborg is seen putting on a device of unknown function.
Given that this is a teaser trailer, there’s little to go on until more content is revealed. We get the basic premise of the game dealing with futuristic technology and cybernetic enhancements. The game has an atmosphere similar to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and the Police’s attire reminded me of Judge Dredd. The concept of enhanced humans is similar to that of the Deus Ex series, particularly Human Revolution. CD Projeckt Red says that the title won’t be released until 2015 at the earliest but more information will be revealed on February 5. Below is the teaser trailer for the game.
It looks like a poster for “The Lion King” Except with…you know, weapons…and Chinese people.
In the 70’s and 80’s, you couldn’t throw a javelin without hitting some Kung Fu “superteam”. Be it the “Little Fortunes” of the 80’s, featuring Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and friends. Or how about any number of the teams assembled by Chang Cheh in his time (seriously, pick one)? Regardless, it seems like almost every actor or director worth a damn had a stable of recurring people they worked with, for maximum synergy for the production and maximum enjoyment for the fans.
This is not a practice I am condemning. No, far from it. The more comfortable performers got with eachother, the smoother and more intense their fights. The more aware of the actors’ strengths and weaknesses a director became, the more effectively he could cast them. It was nothing but good. The reason for this lead in is that one of the most consistently good, and sadly shortest lived, of these teams was the duo of Sammo Hung and Lau Kar-wing.
Okay so maybe I actually do have a tip. In between writing the Moai Doo-Wop article and getting a Perfect in Rhythm Rally 2, I’ve been trying to formulate some kind of plan as how to perfect Rhythm Rally 2, one of the hardest, if not the hardest, songs in Rhythm Heaven. It was my last song to Perfect too. Look all over the internet and it’s stumped many players eager for a perfect medal in this game for years. Some may have perfected it finally. Some are probably getting this game now after play the Wii sequel, Rhythm Heaven Fever. This fast-paced, wrist flicking, beat-anal game has claimed many a victim, but I may have a solution. It’s not perfect by any means, but with some practice you’ll get closer to the end than you’ll normally would, and eventually finish with a Perfect Medal. So hit the jump to see the tips.
Hey guys (and gals). Before I begin the second countdown, I forgot to elaborate on a few things. First the new RAW theme. If you listen to it closely, it kind of sounds similar to the song, “Remember The Name” by Fort Minor (a Linkin Park spin-off group). And secondly, Brock Lesnar’s return ranking pretty high on the list. Aside from throwing around John Cena and Triple H, Brock kicks peoples’ asses for realsies. And where CM Punk and Daniel Bryan showed everyone there is still wrestling in a wrestling company, Lesnar added the extra edge from his time spent beating people up in UFC, and showed everyone that professional wrestling (and entertainment) can be pretty violent. Also I neglected to mention Daniel Bryan becoming more of a mainstay on WWE television (he’s doing a lot more on television since 2012, whereas he was just kind of there for most of 2011…even with his Money In The Bank briefcase).
Back to the subject at hand. With every Top (insert x-amount of positives here) list, people always want to see the contrast, and see what they disliked. I’ve always fancied myself as a bit of a nitpicker when it comes to wrestling, and find myself complaining about it more than I do praising it. Seriously, my WTFs outline for this is at least TWICE as long as my FTWs one. Now you may be asking, “Jon, if you complain about it so much, why do you keep watching?!” The answer is at the end of the day, I’m still a wrestling fan. I enjoy professional wrestling on an intellectual level. I like reading dirt sheets on what goes on behind the scenes, as well as off camera. Remember, these wrestlers/superstars play a character, and it’s always interesting to see how they act in real life. I’m a fan of independent wrestling and their wrestlers. Guys who are either just breaking into the business, have been in the independent scene for a while and are still waiting for a break, and the occasional former big timer either there as a way of putting butts in seats, or offering advice to the up-and-comers. I’m a fan of companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Chikara where even though it’s wrestling, it’s still extremely entertaining. To me, WWE just seems to water down the product (immensely) with the inane amounts of promos, using body builders and fitness models as their featured “talent” (wrestling ability not available in all), pushing guys who don’t really deserve it, and wrestling seeming to come last on a program that is supposed to be about wrestling. In the past year (more so every year since 2005), WWE has left this smark (a smart mark) scratching his head in confusion. Here it is, I bring to you, My Top Ten WTF Moments in WWE 2012!
Happy new year everyone! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. With 2012 firmly in the rear view mirror, we often look back on the memories that have occurred over the past year…some good, and some bad. I reflected on the past year in WWE, and what they accomplished and what they left us to scratch our heads at. For the past couple of years, I’ve done a ranking system similar to “cheers” and “jeers”, but titled FTW (For The Win) and WTF (What The F**k) moments for the wrestling group I’m a part of, and I figured since I have a means of distributing my diatribes to an audience outside of Facebook, and the year just ended, why not do one of each for WWE in the past year. Today, I present you with my personal list of FTW Moments in the WWE for 2012!
I Stand On My Soapbox is a series of editorials that cover more specific topics in the games industry and community. These articles are a little more extreme than normal editorials published here, and could just degenerate to outright ranting. Have fun and enjoy the show!Ever since this generation started, seeing games costing $60 was a tough pill to swallow. I’ve never seen prices this high since the days of the N64. In those days though, the Playstation was still around and new games were only $40. PS2/Xbox/Gamecube games evened out with $50. It was a sort of pricing sweet spot that had some opposition but was pretty much uncontested. PS2 games were $10 dollars more than PS1 games, but Gamecube games were $10 cheaper than N64 games. Xbox would begin its life with games at $50. So in comes the PS3/360/Wii era, and we see the Wii in the same position the PS1 was with its games being $50 while the other two consoles charging $60. While both of these pricepoints were still high, I much preferred paying just $50 instead of $60. But now that the Wii U is out, and all the players in this game are now charging $60.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had it with this price point and it’s sad that we as gamers (I included) let this happen.
This past Christmas I got Rhythm Heaven Fever as a gift, and once again I was thrust into the rhythmic world of monkeys, ninjas, and surprisingly hot chicks. I had to take a much needed break from Rhythm Heaven on the DS after I nearly went insane getting a perfect on every rhythm mini game. But my craving for more Rhythm Heaven was kicking, and I needed my fix. So off I went playing Rhythm Heaven Fever, playing through all the minigames once, then getting Superb ratings on the ones that didn’t so that a Perfect Chance would pop up all the time. In my path to perfection, I had to take short break here too after almost losing it again with some of these songs (screw you Love Rap 2). And so while watching Chicago Fire on TV, I decided to pop in Rhythm Heaven on the DS, for old time’s sake.
See, if mail carriers were ALL this adorable, it would solve so many problems…
When the time comes for you to die, what will your last thought be? As the darkness closes in around us, as we shut our eyes for the final time, a veritable cavalcade of thoughts will sweep over us. “Is this really the end?”, or “What happens to me now?”, or “Was it really wise to choose Pop Tarts over pancakes this morning, because I gotta say, even as a lover of Pop Tarts one should never lightheartedly pass off pancakes, I mean, they’ve been the premier breakfast food for years for a reason and-“
…Anyway, back on topic. But most of all, we will think of those who we’re leaving behind. And by extension, of any last words we would want to say to them. Perhaps words of encouragement or of regret. Or rage, or of love. Or even simply some truth we couldn’t bear to say in life. It is this concept that lies at the heart of “Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed“, a little gem from a few years back that uses the concept of one’s final wishes as a fulcrum through which to show how we relate to each other in both life AND death…
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
Oh Christmas music. How it always seems to almost never change, with the exception of the occasional new edition to the genre (which nowadays is like what, maybe one or two every couple of years?). It seems like the genre is inundated with covers and rehashes of older songs. I’ve spend a fair amount of time each season for as long as I can remember (I’m a very old man) listening to Christmas music. From listening to it while riding in the car with my mother, to hearing it at every shopping center beginning in what seems late October, and even hearing it on my morning commute to work, I’ve listened to A LOT of Christmas songs. And after a while, I realized I started to analyze the lyrics to different Christmas songs. So anyways, here’s what I’ve learned from Christmas music!
This might haunt your nightmares for a while.
2012 was a rather interesting year for TNA. The introduction to a biker gang stable, the rebirth of a fallen hero after a lengthy battle with substance abuse, and taking a chance on a guy who worked his ass of in the independents and put the world championship on him along with a bunch of other “new” material presented to wrestling fans.
One would figure that you would want to end the year on a high note. Did TNA close 2012 with a bang? Let’s find out with the review of Final Resolution!
The launch of the Wii U is almost upon us. Since its reveal, the latest Nintendo console has garnered the most skepticism since the reveal of the original Xbox. Almost every facet of this console has been monitored by both press and fans alike. “What’s the CPU?” “What’s the tablet gonna be like?” “Are the games gonna suck again?” Now, it’s our turn. What do we hope Nintendo does with the Wii U? What games, features and tablet controls do we want to see? Hit the jump to see what we speaketh.
So I went to my first midnight launch of a video game tonight. I’ve been wanting to go for a midnight release for a while, so I pre-ordered three games this year knowing one will have a guaranteed launch event, and relatively high hopes the others would have one as well. Out of he three games of Resident Evil 6, Assassin’s Creed III, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II, my local Best Buy only did a release event for one…and ironically, it was for a game whose series I’ve logged a grand total of about 90 minutes playing. I guess the other two didn’t get enough pre-orders to merit themselves a midnight launch at that store.
Last week while Hurricane Sandy forced me to go offli–wait I said that last time. Er, last week the sci-fi world was abuzz with news that Disney had acquired LucasFilm and LucasArts from George Lucas, and with it all the IPs associated with both branches, including Indiana Jones, Monkey Island, and Star Wars. But it looks like Disney wasn’t done. Rumors are now surfacing that Disney is seeking to acquire toy giant Hasbro. The company currently has the rights to Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Littlelest Pet Shop, and TV network The Hub. According to MTV Geek, the talks are still in the discussion phase, but are “serious enough that something could be announced at any time and create ripples throughout the entertainment industry.” As MTV Geek points out, Hasbro has collaborated with Disney when it came to the Marvel properties with some table-top games among other things.
Personally, this could really mean a straight up acquisition, OR it could be a another collaboration between Disney and Hasbro for a toyline with Marvel or their new playmate Star Wars. This seems a little too major for it to be taken seriously though, so take this with a grain of salt. As long as they don’t don’t fuck up the ponies…
RUMOR: Disney Buying Hasbro? [MTV Geek, via ComicBookMovie and Equestria Daily]
The Wired Fish Network 