Since I know there is an influx of cblogs thus far today touting the joys of free stuff, I thought I’d join in. While this has nothing to do with Trent Reznormaking noises or nature’s plush carpet, it’s still ridiculously cool.
I know hand camera versions of this made the rounds last week at some point, but this is the first I have been able to find downloadable high-res versions of the latest Dark Knight trailer. So, link.
Done now? Awesomeness.
If you haven’t seen it (or need a compelling reason to follow the link and watch it) the trailer includes a great look at the Joker’s real reasoning for terrorizing Gotham as well as a couple pretty candid shots of where Bruce is shacking up (presumably) while Wayne Manor is being rebuilt (it’s mentioned in the trailer by the Joker that Dark Knight takes place one year after the events in Batman Begins). From what can be discerned from the trailer, Bruce converts a portion of a high rise into a swank bachelor pad, equipped with all the accoutrements of the bat cave (he even takes a cue from Tony Stark and has his suit kept in the ground), which is actually a nice nod to the comics of yore wherein Bruce actually did live out of an apartment in downtown Gotham while the mansion was under construction years ago.
The trailer is also the premiere of Aaron Eckhart in character as Harvey Dent. He looks serviceable thus far from the few snippets he’s shown in here, but I could likely do without the whole Bruce/Rachel Dawes (now played by the adorable Maggie Gyllenhaal)/Harvey love triangle that is already brewing in this trailer. That is, unless the Joker actually kills off her character, which would end up being how Bruce realizes he’ll never be normal, then I’d be okay with it. Anything that pushes the Bats into overdrive is fine by me.
The most interesting (and certainly brief) snippet shown is something I haven’t heard much talk over quite yet. About ¾ of the way through the trailer there is a very brief shot of Harvey’s face being pressed against (what appears to be) the ground by someone (obviously against his will) and what looks to be a barrel of oil spilling out around him. This is obviously what scars the DA and pushes him over to the side of evil, but it’s interesting to see that it’s not straight acid (or at least definitely doesn’t appear to be) that will result in his scarring (as it has traditionally been in the comics) but will instead become a massive burn scar. This sorta plays into all the massive explosions, destruction, and chaos the Joker seems to reign on Gothem throughout the movie and I have no doubts Christopher Nolan will make it work for the betterment of the tale, but it’s an interesting change to note regardless.
Alright, well, I hope you all enjoyed the trailer as much as I did. I dunno, though, after the awesomeness that was Iron Man, it may actually prove difficult for the Dark Knight this summer. I have no doubts its overtly more dark and sinister tone will sit well with me, but I’m not sure about the comic book-loving movie-going masses. Only time will tell. Leave your thoughts below.
This is a repost of my blog from yesterday in which I raise some problems I have with the current belle of the gaming ball, GTAIV. I forgot the Monthly Musings theme, so here it is all titled properly and such.
I’ve been playing for a little over 16 hours since I got the game Tuesday afternoon and am roughly 34% through the title. Nothing to be overtly proud of, I certainly haven’t lost sleep over the title, but I have been taking my time enjoying the game and what is has to offer. Unfortunately, I’ve also had to experience the inherent flaws the game has.
Now, I don’t plan on sitting here and spewing hatred all over the place, I love the game. I think it’s the best represented city in any game ever made, but beyond that there are some glaring gameplay and mechanic faults that I believe should have been addressed prior to release. And, no. I don’t necessarily mean the driving. I think the physics engine is robust enough to warrant a more realistic experience than any of us were ready for and now we’re all pissed. I don’t have too much of a problem with the driving, so forget about me bitching about it. I have other points to make. Now go ahead and read them.
Melee
Since wardrox beat me to the punch (har har) on this one, I hafta give hime props. But either way, the melee combat is atrocious. When fighting with melee weapons or fisticuffs, the response time on the controls seem more sluggish than I’ve yet to see in the title. I appreciate them trying to expand on the one hit hand-to-hand combat from previous titles, I just feel the new system isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
I would have preferred a permanent melee button so that even when you had a gun out you could whack people with the butt of your rifle or pistol-whip them whenever you wanted. When you switched to fists it could then “expand” to a two button system (punches and kicks) and use a rhythm-based mechanic more akin to what Fable 2 is claiming to attempt. They can keep the dodge button, just make it quicker so it seems like you’re actually DODGING and not sorta just leaning when you feel like it.
GPS
Some have heralded the GPS system as a godsend. I hate the fucking thing. I know that Rockstar blatantly stole the idea from Saint’s Row, the first third-person open-world game to use such a mechanic last I knew, and I appreciate them recognizing the competition having a leg up in certain aspects of design, but honestly, I prefer SR’s over GTAIV’s every day of the week.
At least Rockstar's humor is back in full force.
Now, I know early on the system claims that it doesn’t always offer “the most direct route” to your destination, but god damn it. How often do I have to be lead on a wild goose chase to a point that happens to be completely underneath or above where the GPS system just sent me? I played multiplayer for a combined two hours or so thus far (see my last point) and the GPS system lead me to the wrong spot on the map three or four times already. At one point, it told me to go to the top of a fucking bridge when the drop off point I was supposed to be at was like five stories underneath me in a back alley (and for the record, I had a drug-filled SUV and was being chased by two opponents). Not the best time to get completely fucking lost/screwed by the GPS.
Awesome, Rockstar. Just because you can’t program a working system into your game doesn’t mean I can forgive you for something that even Saint’s Row got right the first time. Either make it work, or don’t include it. Period.
Spawning
I'm sorry, but I thought that police cars falling out of the sky in front of my eyes as I turn a corner or speed on a straightaway as I avoid being chased by the cops was reserved for shitty ass PS2 games. Apparently I was wrong, 'cause it happens all the time in GTAIV.
I also thought that creating some sort of algorithm to determine which types of cars I see on the road WITHOUT taking the car I'm driving into account would be fixed, too. Somehow if I drive through a ghetto in a Porsche, though, every crackhead drives one, too, and if I'm not on a motorcycle I'll be god damned if I can find one anywhere. Sweet, Rockstar.
Following
One thing Saint's Row did extremely well was the implementation of follow missions where, if tailing someone, you had a meter/radius around the target that let you know how far away "too far" or "too close" was. Apparently the Rockstar devs missed how KEENLY FUCKING PERTINENT that information is to the player, 'cause the follow missions in GTAIV are still shitty as fuck and give the player no way to gauge how far away or how close they should be when tailing a target. Awesome.
Multiplayer
From what I’ve played, the multiplayer is great fun. However, I just sat for 20 minutes trying to play multiplayer and before I even got into a game I get a “Disconnected from game session. Returning to single player.” message. Over and over and over again.
I’m sorry. Did you not anticipate this game being the largest and fastest selling release of the year? Did you not think the millions of people around the world that bought your game may actually want to PLAY IT? WITH THEIR FRIENDS ONLINE, PERHAPS?
Is this what it's like to play GTA with friends? I wouldn't know anything about that...
I mean, fuck, Rockstar. Come on. Everyone going into this game’s release was anticipating sales of at least $400 billion or more. That’s millions and millions of titles. How did you not have server capacity at fucking maximum? Did you forget the game had multiplayer or something?
Beyond the terrible implementation of the cell phone (honestly, why does it take two button presses to get to the first worthwhile menu screen on the damned thing?) how the fuck do you expect me to enjoy half of what your game has to offer if I can’t even get online to play it? Since you (very intelligently) don’t offer any sort of lobby service/ability, you either have to land in a game or be shut out of multiplayer completely. Great idea. How about you put me in some sort of limbo lobby where I can wait and be told when there are matches available? That way I know when I can play the game I paid $60 for and I don’t have to sit and aimlessly try to access my cell phone and reconnect every 20 seconds to no avail.
And don’t tell me to play the single player. I’m tired of single player right now (not that it’s not great, which it is, just saying). I played it for 4 or 5 hours today. I wanna shoot other people in the face online with my buddies now. And no, that is NOT too much to ask.
This is the second portion of my Mass Effect review, because of size constraints. Please see my first part here: Pt. 1!
Graphics & Sound
I think the graphics in the game were gorgeous. The character designs were varied and interesting, the weapon and power effects were beautiful, but there were some problems I had with them. For one thing, the frame rate dropped far too often for my liking. Many times, in the midst of battle, the engine would chug, causing disorientation and confusion.
**Side Note: I loved the fact there was a gun folding animation when you switched weapons. It was a cool little touch that reminded me I was using futuristic weaponry.**
I thought the Geth were particularly breathtaking designs.
I also hated all of the load screens wherein similar frame rate dips would occur. Walking from one side of the Normandy to the other shouldn’t cause slowdown. It simply shouldn’t. I appreciated the small animatics used to mask some load times, such as when travelling amidst star systems, I just wish they were more varied. Watching that Mass Relay spin over and over got real boring real fast. The fact it was often used when entering buildings on planets didn’t make much sense to me, either. I kept wishing they were more unique to the specific planet, kind of like what the Ratchet & Clank titles have done. Since they didn’t technically cripple the experience, I guess not much else can be said.
What else can be said? Well, along with the odd load times, there were quite a few issues with texture loading and pop-in. Entering one of those damned elevators only to have all my party members’ suit textures disappear was simply odd. The fact the elevators were used far too often and took far too long also pissed me off.
One nice touch I liked was the visual filter used to make the game appear more “cinematic.” It was an interesting touch and while some argue it made the game appear more “muddied” I kind of liked it.
In terms of audio, I thought the voice acting was done pretty well. The only voice actor I recognized was Seth Green, who voices the Normandy’s pilot, Joker. The fact he voiced him doesn’t bother me, the fact I recognized him immediately and having to listen to him so often did. It just sort of drew me out of the world too much for my liking.
**Side Note: For all of the care that was taken to explain every little aspect of the game world I was REALLY upset why they never explained why every alien race in the known galaxy besides the mechanical Geth speak perfect English. No Babble Fish-esque explanation or anything. HUGE oversight, in my opinion.**
Asshole.
However, I thought everyone else was superbly done. The dialog, overall, was arguably the best and most convincing I’ve heard in a long while. The dialog wheel mechanic also worked nicely and allowed for smoother conversations with NPCs than I’ve ever encountered in a game. The only time it backfired was when I sometimes talked myself in loops by accident. Having a little more variety to responses or visually marking which options/questions I already asked would have been a nice way of making sure I didn’t talk myself in loops. Since it’s sort of my fault, I can’t take off too much for it, though.
I thought the ambient music when exploring or walking around was decent, too. It managed to kick into high gear when enemies were around and really drew me into the battles. It performed just like a well-made movie score did and for that I applaud it.
Graphics & Sound Score: 7/10 – Art direction and style abounds in both departments, but graphic engine issues really pulled this down.
Overall Score: 8/10 – I think the game did what it had to pretty effectively. The story itself is worth devoting your time to it just to reap the rewards of one of the most enthralling stories I’ve encountered in a game in years. If some more time would have been taken tweaking the game’s engine and implementing more game mechanic explanations, the game would have been much better off in the long run. As it stands, it’s a somewhat hard to learn title, but one that offers a great experience to the player if they’re willing/able to get past the first few hours of learning everything on their own. I, for one, cannot wait for the inevitable sequel.
So as some of you may know, I’ve spent the last few weeks dedicating my game time to the completion of Mass Effect. I knew I’d want it out of the way before GTAIV released or else it’d be left in the dust. Luckily, I just finished it this afternoon and am ready to share my thoughts on it.
I’m going to look at all the portions of the game that stood out to me, of which there were many. Some good, some bad, all interesting. Please read on and see what I thought about this past Christmas’ massive sci-fi RPG.
Story
I can’t even hold in how much I loved Mass Effect’s story. Ever since I was a little boy the thrill of the unknown and what lies beyond our knowledge of our galaxy and the universe at large has fascinated me. I recall the first time my uncle gave me copies of the original Star Wars trilogy. I was in third grade and for three nights in a row I laid in front of the TV with wide eyes and my jaw on the floor. These were the most breathtaking films my young self had ever seen. Thus began my love of science fiction.
My love of Star Wars followed me through much of junior high and high school (the approximate time all the remakes and prequels were coming out), but since then my love of Star Wars specifically has dwindled. My love of science fiction has not, though. Playing through Mass Effect was sort of like watching the Star Wars films for the first time, only now I had a direct effect on the outcome of the entire story. That couldn’t have made me happier.
Peek-a-boo!
Without revealing any spoilers, I can earnestly say that Mass Effect has the most breathtaking and interesting storyline of any RPG I have ever played. The amount of information that was cram packed into the game to give the world(s) life is still astounding to think about. Above and beyond a quality story or believable characters, the premise of HOW everything happened (as it pertains to the time between now and the future, where the game takes place) is that it makes sense. In my mind, it’s completely plausible that the chain of events that occurred in the game’s past could potentially occur in our future.
**Side Note: Am I the only LOST fan that named their male character Jack Shepard? Anyone else? Anyone?**
Everything, and I mean everything, was thought through. Not only that, most of it was also explicitly collected and strewn about for you to find on your own accord. Not much is spoon fed to you, unless it comes from a core storyline conversation. Whether by immersing yourself in conversations with NPCs or wandering planets collecting loot and data, there is a wealth of knowledge to be had here and all of it is keenly presented and wonderfully thought out, but only if YOU want to find it. Genius.
**Side Note: My personal favorite explanation was the guns used, which never reload because blocks of metal are shorn off and accelerated using Mass Effect fields to create pseudo-bullets. Fascinating way of fitting the story around the gameplay, in my opinion.**
Story Score: 10/10 – If it weren’t for the release of GTAIV tomorrow I would literally have restarted the game again immediately after finishing it. As it stands, I’ll likely revisit it this summer during the inevitable game drought. It’s that fascinating to me.
Game Play
Overall, I had a ton of fun playing through this game. I can’t really say that about many RPGs with the exception of Jade Empire, and even that game got superbly tedious for me over the course of the game. Even Oblivion became too easy as I amassed a ton of powerful armor and simply destroyed everyone in a few hits. I liked the variety in weapons and powers in Mass Effect and although I came up with my core strategy fairly early on, each battle was always enjoyable if only for the fact I loved watching enemies melt away as I blasted them into oblivion.
There are a few gripes I have with the game play, though. The primary problem I had being the Mako sections, which were FAR too prevalent for my liking. The driving mechanics were simply not good enough to warrant so much driving. The little ATV/tank beast jumped and bounced like a damn frog the moment I hit any sort of bump. Also, the fact it could literally NEVER be flipped upside down due to the limited physics engine while driving meant that I was often drawn out of the realm of believability as I bound off a mountain side tumbling and hitting rocks only to have the Mako magically correct itself or simply never do anything but stay upright. Lame.
The fact the steering was a poor mix between Halo’s vehicle controls and a regular racing game mixed into a muddled mess. I don’t think actual accelerate and steering buttons would have been a bad idea. That or they should have the controls completely mirror Halo’s. Trying to steer the Mako was one of the most frustrating experiences in the entire game. The fact it never became any easier over the course of the game was even more frustrating. If you came to a stop or slowed too much it became almost impossible to make precise turns, and venturing across mountains meant that happened very often.
The other big issue I had was the complete lack of any tutorials whatsoever. It took me literally ¾ of the game to figure out that the Mako had a cannon on its turret. Being taught how to drive a vehicle your character HAS NEVER SEEN before right away would likely have fit perfectly within the context of the story. Why it was left out is beyond me. If it was meant to make me feel like I was “exploring” the world on my own, then BioWare can go fuck themselves, ‘cause all it did was piss me off.
**Side Note: Fuck collection quests. I don’t wanna investigate the galaxy for a god damn pile of rocks or a data disc or some shit, especially when there is no notation marking which planets I’ve been to, which ones I have scanned, or where I found the artifacts and shit I did collect. Give me some feedback so I can remember this shit, BioWare. Thanks.**
Color me retarded but it also took me roughly ¾ of the game to realize I could use all the weapons. I often bitched to my roommate (who would often sit and watch me play) that, as a Vanguard, I didn’t like that all the weapons appeared on my character’s model. I thought it’d be better if character types only had their specialized weapons on them so you could tactically discern which enemies were which types of warriors in combat.
Jim Sterling... in SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! Seriously, I never found a space monocle. Fuckers.
At the very beginning I picked Vanguard because of his offensive biotic capabilities and the fact he specialized in highly accurate pistols and shotguns (my favorite type of weapon in ANY game I play). The Vanguard’s description lead me to believe I could only use those weapons. When I opened the weapon wheel and rolled over an assault rifle (or sniper rifle) it claimed I was “untrained” in the use of that gun, so I never bothered equipping it. That was, until I saw Talia holding an assault rifle in the middle of a fight one time. How the fuck could my engineer be holding a gun they aren’t trained to use? So I tried and, sure enough, I could use an assault rifle, too. I could even use a sniper rifle, although I couldn’t zoom with it due to lack of training so it was pretty much worthless. Again, this lack of explanation/tutorial REALLY pissed me off. The whole game I had been giving all my best assault rifles to Garrus and Wrex because they could use them and I “couldn’t.” But I could, I just didn’t know it. Fuckin’ BioWare.
I also rarely used the “Squad Commands” because I could never remember which buttons did what. I just rushed into battles and let my two allies fend for themselves, rarely forcing them to use certain powers or take up shelter behind any specific structures. Since Shepard becomes a commanding officer for the first time in the beginning of the game, I think a squad command tutorial should have clearly been included.
In general, the game should have had more tutorials. I had read before I played it back when it came out about people getting pissed due to the learning curve, so I was somewhat prepared going into it. The fact I still came across game mechanics I had no idea existed ¾ of the way through the game really angered me, though. Again, I feel the tutorials easily could have been fit within the story’s context and wouldn’t have detracted from the experience whatsoever, in fact, I think the game would have greatly been improved because of it.
Game Play Score: 8/10 – This likely would have been a perfect ten if it weren’t for sorely lacking tutorials to explain the game mechanics to the player. A little explanation would have gone a long way.
Due to size limitations, please visit the second half here: Pt. 2!
Here, as promised, is the twenty first portion (including my review and bonus characters) of my in-depth Super Smash Bros. Brawl critique for Rorschach’s contest.
After writing this all out, I realized it is way too long for a single post. I’ll break it down into two characters at a time and release them over the course of the week so you can read who you like at your own leisure.
The following will detail my impressions and thoughts of every character in the final roster, two at a time. So, if you haven’t finished unlocking the entire roster, or have been living under a fucking rock for a couple months, don’t read any further. There may be a surprise or two mentioned herein. I’ll also offer up one or two suggestions for additional characters that I feel should have made the roster or deserve a spot in the next iteration. Enjoy.
Jigglypuff
No.
Jigglypuff = Epic Fail.
Lucas
Lucas is the Mother/Earthbound series’ new blood to the Smash series. Like Ness, I don’t really like Lucas at all. I find him annoying to play with and far too similar to Ness to be enjoyable (as Ness has always been one of my least favorite Smash combatants). But at least he is decidedly different.
Lucas may be as touchy in air and shitty for recovery as Ness, but I generally like his moves more so than Ness’. His neutral B is a freeze beam that can be controlled to an extent to freeze enemies. Good enough.
His Over+B move is a PK Fire, like Ness’, except Lucas’ moves completely horizontally and not at a downward sloping angle. It does explode at an angle, however. This can be good for catching opponents off guard who may jump to avoid it, only to have it explode toward them and make contact regardless.
His Down+B move is some form of “magnet,” which according to the Dojo can help heal you. In the heat of battle I never really used it and when I did I didn’t notice much of a healing factor. I guess if you use it often enough it could really change the tide of battle because your hit % would stay low, but I never managed to use it too effectively.
Lucas’ Up+B recovery move is like Ness’ wherein he launches a psychic attack that can be navigated with the control stick to hit Lucas and fire him back on the stage (in theory). The problem, like with Ness, is that you have to hit him at the correct angle. This may seem like a no brainer, but when enemies are flying around and you accidentally hit one in midair that jumped out toward you or fell with you, it becomes apparent how annoying of a move it is to pull off effectively. Missing by a slight portion of an angle and launching yourself sideways to miss be a foot or so sucks, too. Oh well.
Is that a pink snake in your pants or are you happy to see me?
Where Lucas really shines his wide array of psi-based standard A attacks. Many have extra PK-based power/reach to them that help him gain some good damage and KO potential. I like him just because he doesn’t use a bat, like Ness. Kid uses a stick, leaves and all. There’s nothing quite like scoring a KO with the hobo baton.
Lucas’ Final Smash is very much akin to Ness’, too. Instead of angled meteors crashing down on the stage, though, they come straight down, which I find makes them harder to avoid. I could often avoid the majority of Ness’ meteors, whereas Lucas’ are so close together because of their vertical orientation that I got hit by them far more often. Maybe it was just luck, though. Either way it’s a powerful screen-encompassing move that can score lots of damage and/or KOs.
Lucas = (Meh) Win. While I wholly despise playing him, I can see how he can be used effectively, to a degree. I personally think they could have completely done away with Ness and left Lucas to take the role of Mother/Earthbound rep alone. That would likely get too many people’s panties in a twist, however. Oh well.
Thanks for sticking through to the end! Stay tuned for my last secret bonus character that should have made the roster AND my finale/wrap-up article early next week as I reflect on the series as a whole and offer some final insights!
I’m not sure if anyone else experienced this yet today, but I just went downstairs to play some 360 and when I turned it on I got a required system update message. I of course updated it and whatnot, but this was a big surprise to me.
In the past few weeks I have heard no word on a looming system update. Did I miss something?
I don’t know what it did quite yet as I literally just updated, so I was wondering what everyone else has heard. Anyone else know something I don’t? We get any new functionality or something? Is this the spring update or a random security update of sorts? Anything?
Here, as promised, is the twentieth portion (including my review and bonus characters) of my in-depth Super Smash Bros. Brawl critique for Rorschach’s contest.
After writing this all out, I realized it is way too long for a single post. I’ll break it down into two characters at a time and release them over the course of the week so you can read who you like at your own leisure.
The following will detail my impressions and thoughts of every character in the final roster, two at a time. So, if you haven’t finished unlocking the entire roster, or have been living under a fucking rock for a couple months, don’t read any further. There may be a surprise or two mentioned herein. I’ll also offer up one or two suggestions for additional characters that I feel should have made the roster or deserve a spot in the next iteration. Enjoy.
Olimar
Olimar is the biggest mystery to me in Brawl. I’m sure that sentiment is felt by many, so at least we’re likely in the same boat. After spending a bunch of time with Olimar I still am left with a resounding “WTF?” when it comes to the majority of his moves and how he handles. Maybe I just don’t “get” him. Let’s delve deeper to find out.
For one thing, I commend Nintendo for even attempting to translate a character like Olimar into the Smash series. Pikmin isn’t exactly the most normal of concepts to place inside a fighting game. The mini space dude commands plant creatures. He doesn’t have laser beams or explosive rockets or uppercuts or anything of the sort from his series to translate over. It’s almost a miracle they managed to place him in at all, let alone have him be half decent.
Olimar, as I stated, is a little space man that basically uses mind control to force his little plant people to do his bidding. In Brawl, that hasn’t changed much. His neutral B move grabs a randomly chosen Pikmin from the ground, which clearly means it can’t be done in the air (note: there are five varieties of Pikmin with slightly different attack properties). These come in handy as general attacks using his Over+B toss move, wherein he grabs the Pikmin next in line and throws them like any item. Only, if the Pikmin survives it will run back to Olimar, or at least try to. Should they get lost or confused you can use Down+B to recall all Pikmin to your side.
The different Pikmin themselves mean very little to me in combat. First off, I can never tell which is next in line because I’m always running around or switching directions and what have you. That means tossing them is a crapshoot for me. I can’t plan strategically if I have no fucking clue which is next in line, ya know?
I also get annoyed because I can rarely tell when one dies and one survives. I know there’s a little ghost image that shows them “passing on” but in the middle of a truly hectic battle I can’t watch all portions of the stage and my opponents and be able to pick out a faint little ghost-like image amongst the chaos. This means much of my match is spent hitting the ground and spamming neutral B just to double check my Pikmin numbers and get them back to capacity.
See how annoying this can potentially get?
Olimar’s Up+B recovery is one of the very few useful recovery moves I use as an actual attack on a common basis. He whips out his chain of Pikmin and opponents get dealt whatever type of damage the Pikmin does in full as they get hit by the whip. This means they can be dealt some pretty serious damage if you hit them with the entire whip from close range. It’s really his only powerful special move.
When the match first starts he will have three Pikmin with him to begin. From there you can pluck three more out to have six total. This is important for some of his special moves (such as Up+B recovery) because the more he has, the larger the range on certain attacks. It is to be equally noted that from every respawn thereafter he begins with no default Pikmin. You must pluck them out ASAP if you want to utilize your full arsenal. That annoys me.
Olimars standard A attacks are truly a mixed bag for me. Save for his Up Smash+A and aerial Over Smash+A attacks I couldn’t discern a single stand out move that did good damage. I tried, I really did. His moves have such a generally small amount of knockback, though, that it’s extremely difficult to tell when he’s doing lots of damage and when he’s not. One could argue this is a strategic decision so your enemies don’t know they’re being ravaged, and you can pick them off later, but it just annoyed the shit out of me. It makes playing with Olimar seem unrewarding. He seems weak because there’s no feedback as to doing a good job and really hitting someone hard. I often did a ton of damage with him but could rarely remember ever getting a “good” hit on anyone during the battle. That was just odd to me.
Olimar’s Final Smash is pretty decent (and wholly annoying). He flies up above the stage in his rocket as night falls on the stage below. As he’s in the sky the big plant monster things come and chomp on your opponents (who must still somehow manage to stay on the stage AND avoid each other’s attacks). General damage is pretty high, although I find KO’s coming more from people falling off then actually being knocked off the stage. It’s still pretty damn effective, though.
Olimar = Win. He’s a quirky dude. He somehow deals tons of damage. I just wish that fact was communicated more clearly to the player(s). Again, maybe it’s all a part of his strategy. I just think it’s annoying. I’m more proud to see him represented than anything else, weird ass moveset or not.
Captain Falcon
I really have no clue why certain characters like Captain Falcon and Luigi (and Ness and Jigglypuff) are STILL considered hidden characters. They’ve been in the series since game one, damn it. We know they’re gonna show up (some against my liking). Just give them a normal roster spot. Shit.
Ahoy.
Anyway, Captain Falcon is back and his moveset isn’t changed all that much. He still has his neutral B Falcon Punch, his Down+B Falcon Kick, as well as his Up+B recovery move that explodes on contact with enemies. He’s also still one of the most annoying players in the game because he insists on yelling the name of whatever move he’s pulling off upon execution. Sigh. Overall, he plays pretty much the exact same manner he always has. This will make some people hate him and some people love him. It makes me hate him, but not ‘cause of the moveset itself.
I noticed two differences to Captain Falcon when I played with him in Brawl. The first was that his Over+B move was a rushing uppercut move. It’s a decent move and helps him close the gap on enemies a little too far out of reach. I don’t recall this move in either of the other games but maybe I’m wrong. I never played much with him to begin with and I haven’t played those games in years.
The second thing I noticed is that Captain Falcon has a disproportionate amount of moves that can be cancelled mid-move by an enemy attack. In general, the Captain is a pretty lithe fighter. His standard A attacks are quick and can often be spammed to good effect. His special B moves, though, often take time to charge a little bit, or at least for the animation to play out. During this charge/animation time his moves can be interrupted by pretty much anything. This makes pulling off a move effectively a wholly unique accomplishment. His moves are so finicky that it’s no fun to play with him. The time it takes to kick some ass is spent getting pissed off because someone else interrupted you. Fuckers. Maybe it’s just because his moves take longer, or maybe it truly is because more can be interrupted than other players, I don’t know. I do know it sucks to never land a solid hit with him, though.
Road rage at its finest.
Captain Falcon’s Final Smash is pretty damn epic. It’s technically a single hit move wherein his F-Zero ship, the Blue Falcon, dashes across the screen. Anyone who gets hit by it lands on an F-Zero race track and gets run down by the Captain himself, manning the ship with an evil grimace on his face. Getting hit is almost always an instant KO, unless your opponent had a very low hit %. Either way it has tons of knockback and can send opponents flying high, ready to be juggled and aerial smashed regardless. Overall it’s one the best and flashiest single hit FSs in the game.
Captain Falcon = Fail. Despite the fact he’s a true veteran and has an awesome Final Smash, the fact the rest of his moveset is so damn hard to pull off it makes him no fun to play as. If they give him some invulnerability during more moves so that he can actually execute them (timing be damned, enemies could get out of the fucking way, ya know) then maybe he’d be fun to play as again. As he stands, he’s one of the most nerfed characters in the game and wholly terrible because of it. Claiming the timing is part of the strategy and that hitting with a quality Falcon Punch is exhilarating may be true, but it doesn’t make me like him more when there are other characters I could fight with more easily and more effectively with than him AND have fun while doing so. They really missed the boat with the Captain this time around.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for my critique of Jigglypuff and Lucas!
Here, as promised, is the nineteenth portion (including my review and bonus characters) of my in-depth Super Smash Bros. Brawl critique for Rorschach’s contest.
After writing this all out, I realized it is way too long for a single post. I’ll break it down into two characters at a time and release them over the course of the week so you can read who you like at your own leisure.
The following will detail my impressions and thoughts of every character in the final roster, two at a time. So, if you haven’t finished unlocking the entire roster, or have been living under a fucking rock for a couple months, don’t read any further. There may be a surprise or two mentioned herein. I’ll also offer up one or two suggestions for additional characters that I feel should have made the roster or deserve a spot in the next iteration. Enjoy.
Toon Link
There’s not much that can be said about Toon Link that can’t be understood from playing regular Link. Although his art style is much more distinct, he pretty much plays the exact same way, with a few okay tweaks thrown in to make him feel quasi-fresh.
All I’ve really noticed is that he’s suitably more agile than regular Link. TL is a little lighter in the air and bit speedier. This carries over to his moveset, too, with his regular A and Smash attacks executing somewhat quicker than Link’s. Obviously this means he’s a little less powerful for balancing reasons, which makes sense. I actually appreciate this change. I felt Link kinda moved like he was walking in two feet of mud, so having Toon Link manages to give me another lithe sword fighter to enjoy, despite the fact he’s less powerful.
Does he ever use that little wand thing in Smash? Didn't think so. He should.
He retains all the same special moves that Link has, including a bow and arrow for distance (neutral B, chargeable), a bomb grab (Down+B) which according to the Dojo has a larger radius than Link’s but I couldn’t tell too much of a difference in the heat of battle, a spinning recovery attack (Up+B), and the move that is actually noticeably different, the Over+B boomerang move. Adult Link’s boomerang throws out a little tornado when it returns to you, which apparently flips enemies around and confuses them. I think it’s pretty lame. Toon Link loses the tornado aspect and simply has a boomerang that can be aimed much more easily. I was actually able to send this thing flying up and at angles, which is something I could never seem to manage with Adult Link.
TL’s Final Smash is the same as Adult Link’s. He does a series of sword slashes thanks to the powers of the Triforce. Personally I thought it was lame when Adult Link used it and I think it’s even more lame for Toon Link to have. I feel as though they could have come up with something truly unique from the Wind Waker game. I never played WW, but there has to be SOMETHING cooler than a sword slash somewhere in that game. Just look at TL’s stage. Gimme something, devs, come on.
Toon Link = Win. Surprisingly I like Toon Link. Although it may seem as though I talked trash on him, I feel he’s the quick swordsman that Adult Link deserved to be. I wholeheartedly prefer playing as TL before Link. While he may lack the power Link has, he makes up for it by being able to more easily connect and retreat for some quality hit and run tactics.
R.O.B.
There was a lot of “WTF?”s circulating the internet when it was revealed the old NES consoles add-on, R.O.B., was going to make an appearance as a playable fighter in Brawl. Well, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only person out there who uttered that same phrase when I played with him, not because I couldn’t believe why Nintendo put him in, but because of how surprisingly adept a fighter he proved to be. Props to Nintendo for not making R.O.B. as lame as he could have been (and likely should have been).
New school.
R.O.B. has a seriously well-rounded moveset at his disposable. He has a laser beam that shoots from his eyes (neutral B) that can end up being short or long range when utilized. I personally find using the beam more often makes it execute at short range more often, so I save it and use it more sparingly and get long range blasts with more frequency. Whether or not this has anything to do with it is unknown to me.
He also has a great crowd-damaging spin move (Over+B) where he whips his arms around and can do some pretty decent damage. Unfortunately, this can be spammed repeatedly. I try to mix it up personally, but be on the lookout for spammers of this move. It’s similar to Pit’s sword spin and similarly annoying, except R.O.B.’s can also attack behind him, so be extra careful.
His Down+B move whips out a chargeable disc from his NES days that he can throw sorta like a little spinning top. It can be picked up and thrown around by opponents, so make sure to know who has their hands on it.
Where R.O.B. really impressed me was his Up+B recovery move, wherein he activates jet motors on his base and can fly pretty damn effectively. I wouldn't go so far as to say it’s as effective as Kirby or Jigglypuff’s recoveries, mainly because R.O.B. can grow tired and the jets become less powerful after repeated use, but it’s way more effective than I ever imagined it would be. He has some serious skills when it comes to staying on the stage. Go you R.O.B.
Old school.
For regular A and Smash attacks R.O.B. has an okay arsenal. Where he really shines is in air where most of his smashes utilize his base jets, causing a good amount of KO potential with every attack. Most noticeable are his Over aerial Smash and his Down aerial Smash. Also impressive is his Up Smash+A while grounded, wherein he uses those same jets in a handstand position and blasts enemies skyward. He has some other okay smashes, but these are the best I encountered.
R.O.B.’s Final Smash is a mixed bag. It’s essentially a super version of his laser beam, only it’s perpetually short range, yet consistent. Sometimes long distance beams shoot out, but they aren’t consistent enough to use in a strategy for the move, hits with these are more luck than anything else. It’s best to get in someone’s face (or in a crowd) and just be unrelenting. Overall, it’s okay. Not the best, but what the fuck were they actually gonna do for a damned system accessory?
R.O.B. = Win. I was very surprised at how capable R.O.B. is. He has a good arsenal of moves and enough hand-to-hand potential to prove a menace in regular fights. His jet-fueled smashes should be avoided at all costs as they are real powerful and therefore should be utilized often. R.O.B. was a big question mark for me when he was announced, but he certainly has earned his spot on the roster. Good for him, here’s to hoping we see a repeat appearance next iteration.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for my critique of Olimar and Captian Falcon!
Here, as promised, is the eighteenth portion (including my review and bonus characters) of my in-depth Super Smash Bros. Brawl critique for Rorschach’s contest.
After writing this all out, I realized it is way too long for a single post. I’ll break it down into two characters at a time and release them over the course of the week so you can read who you like at your own leisure.
The following will detail my impressions and thoughts of every character in the final roster, two at a time. So, if you haven’t finished unlocking the entire roster, or have been living under a fucking rock for a couple months, don’t read any further. There may be a surprise or two mentioned herein. I’ll also offer up one or two suggestions for additional characters that I feel should have made the roster or deserve a spot in the next iteration. Enjoy.
Bowser
Bowser is a mixed bag for me. Those who have followed my little series here know I generally enjoy heavy characters. I like the power and the KOs and don’t really care for speed as much as some. I’ve always expected Bowser to simply be better. I feel as though, while he certainly has size, he lacks… oomph.
I think King Koopa needs a crown for an alternate color scheme.
As far as I can remember, Bowser’s moveset hasn’t been changed all that much since his inclusion in Melee. I don’t recognize anything overtly new to his arsenal and while that’s not a bad thing, I like him significantly less than I feel I should. He’s a huge beefy character but the guy just doesn’t have the power I expect him to have. I have legit trouble getting KOs with him. That’s not right.
Overall, Bowser has a pretty decent arsenal. He’s got his fire breath (neutral B), an additional grab (Over+B) which while useful, I feel is redundant. They coulda just made this a regular grab move and added another move, in my opinion. Maybe some kind of goomba summon/toss like Dedede? Give him a little distance attack that, while doing very minimal damage, could act as a single use spring board if you jumped on the goomba’s head? That’d be sweet. Throw in some random koopa summoning and you’ve got me sold.
I like his Down+B butt smash move enough, it’s decent at clearing tight-knit areas, I just don’t use it all that often.
What I really love about the character is how fucking hard it is for people to knock him off. His Up+B recovery, while doing decent damage upon connection, also can cover some serious horizontal and vertical space. I sat playing with my roommate in the room and I consistently had over 200% damage before being KO’d. He can attest. The fucker has mad skills when it comes to staying on. While this is an admirable attribute to have in Smash, I just don’t think he has enough of the other factor that counts, KO potential.
All his special moves are okay. They do more explosive damage when your opponent is at a higher percentage, which makes sense. The problem is that his most effective special move for KOs (his Over+B grab/slam) can be interrupted midair by other fighters. This is ANNOYING AS FUCK. When you have two other fighters harassing you mid-move you can rarely seal the deal. That’s full of fail, in my book.
His general A attacks aren’t really all that powerful either. While they’re good as fully charged Smash attacks, very few of them have the reach and/or general power to be effective enough for my liking. This is a lost opportunity in my eyes. I think they changed this from Melee, but don’t quote me. I get the feeling they’ve nerfed him because I remember him being WAY more powerful in Melee. Whatever.
SPOILER ALERT! Giga Bowser is Cloverfield!
Bowser’s Final Smash is okay I just again don’t think it is effective enough. He transforms into Giga Bowser, which means he’s bigger and more badass. The problem is that he ends up fighting as normal i.e. he retains his sluggish speed and lack of KO potential. This means while slightly more powerful, his moves still don’t get the job done and all that’s added is some of Ganondorf’s purple magical haze to extend the reach. While it sounds good on paper, in practice it doesn’t make him play too differently in Giga form.
**Side Note: When did Bowser ever look this fugly when he grew to Giga form? I played a super huge Bowser in Super Mario Galaxy (albeit I only played half that game) but the dude never turned this evil looking. Did I miss a game where Mario was super serious and life-like or something?**
Bowser = Fail. Give him some more KO-inducing attacks and I’ll be happy. As he stands, the only thing he’s got going for him is his sick ability to stay on the stage (for a heavy). Unfortunately, that’s not enough when there are all around more effective heavies to choose from.
Wario
I remember someone was interested in knowing what I felt about Wario a while back. Well, your answer has come. I really like him. Way more than I anticipated I would.
He looks way too touchy feely for my liking. Brings back bad memories...
Wario started off his career as an evil anti-hero. He’s grown into one quirky mother fucker since then. His WarioWare titles really threw the character for a loop and I think he’s more lovable because of it. His play style in Brawl reflects that and I’m a big fan.
Wario easily has the most whacked out moveset in all of Brawl. The dude’s just off the wall. First, he can bite you (neutral B) which can also be used to digest items. He can also fart (Down+B) on you, and if you save up the move ‘til later in a match he can practically cause a nuke to go off in his pants! He can also whip out a big yellow chopper motorcycle and make you roadkill (Over+B). Oh, and he has a pretty spinner twirl recovery move (Up+B). Yeah. If “WTF?” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you hear that breakdown then you have gotten a hold of much better drugs than I have.
The best part is that every one of those special attacks is decently useful. His chomp can be quasi-spammed for repeated bites (although it can’t be continually used). His fart can clear areas if it’s charged enough AND provide a good laugh for the players. His bike can sweep people off the stage or deal a good amount of damage by hitting people (and the cycle can be destroyed and the pieces used as projectiles). And his recovery spin does okay damage if your opponent is hit with the whole move (from bottom of the spin to the top). He simply has a well rounded arsenal.
Plus, unlike Bowser, Wario’s general A and Smash attacks are pretty powerful. He’s got a great shoulder check with Over Smash+A (possibly while running, I couldn’t tell in my playing with him when it did and did not shoulder check) along with some good smash punches. He’s just a better KO producer than certain other characters, which is key.
BRILLIANT!
**Side Note: His WarioWare stage is BRILLIANT. Whoever decided to include that stage in that manner should get a promotion. As a huge fan of the original title, I was SO excited to see the series represented in such a manner. The best is the “Don’t Move!” where the whole fight comes to a stop. Great stuff.**
Wario’s FS transformation into Super Wario is also pretty damn effective. He dons a cape and mask and moves quicker while also gaining more powerful moves. Considering he was already pretty damn effective at knocking people out, becoming more agile AND more powerful can’t be considered a bad thing by any means whatsoever. Arguably the best “transformation” FS in the roster.
Wario = Win. The dude simply has it goin’ on. He may be a fat bastard, but he’ll knock you the fuck out if you remind him. He’s got a good variety of useful moves AND can smack opponents off the stage with ease. Add to this the fact he’s the only character with two separate sets of duds and you can tell the devs love him as much as everyone else deserves to. He’s a great addition.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for my critique of Toon Link and R.O.B.!
My name is Brad. My DToid name and GT are both derived from my nickname, B-rad. Not Radicate the Pokemon. Shame on you.
I'm a student at PSU and I love playing all sorts of games in my spare time. I prefer action games and shooters but get in the mood for a sweeping narrative or RPG, too.
I currently own a Wii and 360 (along with a PS2 and Xbox) and am waiting for the PS3 to become worthwhile before I purchase one. In a nutshell, I don't know how hardcore I am. If I had to sum it up in one instance for people to get an idea... uhm... I love Rez and hate Halo. Does that make me hardcore enough for this site? The (inter)world may never know.
My all-time favorite games are as follows (in no particular order):
REZ, GTA: Vice City, Shadow of the Colossus, Galaga, Perfect Dark
