tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87806009502069552432024-03-12T17:50:43.460-07:00CSULB GamingKnow about our club? CSULB's Gaming club meets every Monday at 7pm at Liberal Arts 5, room 261. Come and join the fun!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-10539039868965562142011-09-08T16:14:00.001-07:002011-09-08T16:15:03.983-07:00A new return to 3rd Strike part 1: Picking a main<img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210865-3slogojpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />There are two people who play 3rd Strike Online: those who played
the game for years in arcades and those who didn’t. I fall into the
latter because there were never any cabinets near where I grew up.
However, during my first 3 years at Cal State Long Beach, there was a
cabinet of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike.
<br />
<br />But I could never get comfortable at the cabinet to pick a main. On
the arcade cabinet, I always felt pressured to play quickly because I
was playing on a quarter which was limited. 1 quarter will either carry
me to the end of arcade mode, 3 matches against the CPU, or 3 CPU fights
plus a human challenger. So I could never get comfortable with picking a
character to thoroughly learn and understand.
<br />
<br />Now I finally have the time to take my time and play an optimized
version of 3rd Strike (as opposed to the Xbox original Street Fighter
Anniversary Edition version which was plagued by framerate problems).
<br />So who did I pick? Place your bets now and skip to the end!
<br />
<br /><img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210865-Q3sportjpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />1. <strong>Q</strong> – I loved watching Kuroda’s Q. It was a
masterful display of parrying, mindgames, and footsies. While there’s
already been many discussions on tiers (and there’s also the phrase
“tires don exits” to live by), Q does lack some tools and have certain
qualities that make it hard for me to play him.
<br />
<br />Right away is that Q’s main special attack is a charge input. I’ve
never been particularly good with charge characters. My only experience
is SFIV’s Guile (who can zone all day) and Balrog (who is actually
good). But Q is neither a zoner nor particularly good. The biggest
problem to overcome as Q is that he only has one special cancellable
normal: close forward kick (MK for those big on arcade notation).
<br />
<br />This is kind of difficult to achieve as it is close MK. So anytime Q
is further away, you’ll get far MK, which is not special cancellable. Q
has a great character design and he’s extremely tough when you figure
out his strategy to taunt 3 times in order to bring up his stamina but
he’s too much for a newbie like me to pick up.
<br />
<br /><img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210865-Alex3sportjpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />2. <strong>Alex</strong> – The supposed main character, Alex is
popularly referred to as the other half of Hugo. He’s a faster grappler
than Hugo with more flexible specials and normals but his command grabs
suffer from fatally long startup animation. His SA1, Hyper Bomb, has an
abnormal number of startup frames for a super grab. Essentially, instead
of holding back to block when the super flash occurs, you only need to
hold up to jump and avoid the grab.
<br />
<br />After trying Alex, I couldn’t really get into him. SA1 (Hyper Bomb)
and SA3 (Stun Gun Headbutt) can both be avoided unless used to punish
mistakes. This all pretty much pigeon holes Alex into using SA2
(Boomerang Raid). Even then, Flash Chop can't be super cancelled but
Slash Elbow can, but it's a charge input. Alex feels kind of restricted
in terms of usable options.
<br />
<br /><img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210865-Akuma3sportjpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />3. <strong>Akuma</strong> – I've seen some pretty nifty stuff from
Akuma in recent days. As a shoto character, his moveset is easy to
understand if you've played any Street Fighter. He has a few interesting
resets that would be pretty cool if applied correctly and your opponent
sucks at parrying. There are still some hurdles though.
<br />
<br />Some of Akuma's combos are awfully technical. By itself, maybe it
doesn't sound all that daunting unless you remember we're of course
talking about 3rd Strike, which in of itself is already fairly
technical. Still, it's not like it's impossible. It's just that there
are some things that aren't immediately appealing. Low stamina, low
stun.
<br />
<br />I'll need to practice more with Akuma to get any real results and he
has too many tools that I can keep track of and many combos but for
now, he doesn't click with me. Certainly interesting if I keep at it but
I'm just not feeling compatible.
<br />
<br /><img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210865-Hugo3sportjpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />4. <strong>Hugo</strong> – LOL, maybe next time.
<br />
<br /><img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210865-Makotojpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />5. <strong>Makoto</strong> – In the past, with Street Fighter
Anniversary Edition, I've played Dudley and Yang but could never get
around to really meshing with their style. I decided to give Makoto a
shot, who often times may be spotted nearby the other two in terms of
rank and something just clicked for me about her.
<br />
<br />One of my favorite things about Makoto are her normals. Not only
does she have a lot of them which move her in different ways, but
they're also really good.
<br />
<br />Makoto also has access to an incredible dash. Combine that with some
of her faster normals (like cr. Jab) and mix in Makoto's signature
move, Karakusa, and you have some of the most fun I've had applying a
rush down mentality in a long time.
<br />
<br />Because of my weakness at technical ability, I was simply attracted
to the power and priority of Makoto's incredible normals like HP, cr.HP,
LK, cr.LP, and f.MP. Combined with the ability to trap your opponent
with quick Hayate dash punches, Karakusas, and the sheer power of SA1
and SA2, Makoto just meshes well with how I wanted to play. She is fun
for me to play and no amount of tier discussion has dissuaded me.
<br />
<br />I've even gotten profecient at pulling off Karakusa and Abare Tosanami combos. I'm moving on up! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-87299270999471014622011-08-28T01:33:00.000-07:002011-08-28T01:33:28.436-07:00Recounting my four years at CSULB's gaming clubFor a lot of people, having a social moment among friends with video
games was probably an event. A single day or several days on the
calendar that you probably looked forward to.
<br />
<br />
But for me, it was 4 whole years.
<br />
<br />
Enter college: 4 years where I was expected to earn a degree (in
journalism). But just earning a degree would be madness. I'm not some
machine that does nothing but work.
<br />
<br />
It all started very strangely as far as campus clubs go. Another
night of anime club and one of my friends told me he was starting a
gaming club. It sounded fun, so I said I wanted in.<br />
<a name='more'></a>
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210048-IMG72272jpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />
Thus, for the next 4 years, at 10pm on various nights depending on
the scheduling of the semester, I attended and eventually helped
maintain a small, ragtag club of misfits who's main description on our
fliers was to, “Meet, compete, and encourage different games of all
types.”
<br />
<br />
<b>The first year</b>
<br />
It started small in my first year. We had a dinky little room with
barely any practical space and only 1 table. It was mostly a lecture
room with 30 or so chairs (not desks) and a table at the front.
Something I went out of my way to correct in the future. The only thing
we could do in such a setting was playing random table-top games like
Zombies! But it was during these first few meetings that I was
introduced to Dungeons & Dragons, which was a major part of my
identity at college.
<br />
<br />
I was still a member at the time and I could count our total
membership on two hands (around 6). It was tough juggling interested
members who were only interested in aspects like D&D and who were
interested in aspects like video games. But I got to know the core
members and officers of gaming club at this point and we all became
comrades by the end of the first year.
<br />
<br />
<b>The second year</b>
<br />
With a new year came new chances to reinvent gaming club, and this
was the year we truly began playing video games. In fact, I was the only
one to really contribute video games during this year, packing up my
Xbox 360 in a traveling case so that we could hook it up to the ratty
looking classroom television so we could play games like <i>Halo 3</i> and <i>Call of Duty 4</i>.
<br />
<br />
Our membership grew modestly (totaling to 9 people!) and some of my
favorite moments of this year was having a friend spawn in midair during
a Falcon sequence of <i>Halo 3's</i> campaign and meeting my soon-to-be girlfriend for the first time.
<br />
<br />
<b>The third year</b>
<br />
Nick, the club's first president and founder decided to step down as
his workload as an art student has escalated this year. This left the
vice-president, Heidi, to become president. And I wanted to contribute
to club now and I became vice-president. But it didn't really matter.
Our membership was small enough that it didn't really feel like we were
officers. We were just the people who took the lead in bringing sources
of entertainment. It was during this year that we finally got a proper
classroom to support our interests: a lab style room with multiple
tables. We even had free reign on the projector system so we could game
on the big screen. And having many tables let different groups section
off into interests and I even managed to DM a rather successful campaign
of D&D during this year.
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210048-IMG72172jpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />
Our interest shifted a lot towards video games during this year as
just close friends came to get multiplayer sessions together but every
week was fun nonetheless. Brawl was probably at the height of its
popularity at this point while many fighting games grew to be all the
rage as well. One of my friends even had an impressive run of <i>I Want To Be The Guy</i> during one meeting.
<br />
<br />
It was during this time that as an officer I really wanted the club
to feel like a proper club. I tried organizing a handful of events to
unify our members from trips to different gaming destinations like the
famous Arcade Infinity and Howie's Game Shack to even casual tournaments
among ourselves. I managed to host two tournaments: the Super
Scrubtacular Showdown and Super Scrubtacular Showdown II: Hyper Fighting
Edition. Yes, we had a sequel and like Capcom, the sequel came quickly
but was much better than the original.
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210048-IMG72242jpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210048-IMG72282jpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />
<b>The fourth year</b>
<br />
Things start winding down during this year. It was never like
membership was huge in the first place but new members were few and far
between. It was mostly just me and my friends at this point. I'd soon
have to say goodbye to these weekly meetings of aimless fun with friends
on video game consoles and D&D sessions.
<br />
<br />
I soon made plans to hand off my position to a longtime member who
was arguably into the idea of making gaming club work just as much as
me. Meetings slowed down to just a few close friends playing games and I
took it easy on the extra events so I could concentrate on graduating
and how I'm going to look for a job (spoilers: nothing so far).
<br />
<br />
But for the better part of 4 years, I wanted to share my passion for
video games in a positive manner and I think I accomplished that. Me
and the club introduced a lot of different games to a lot of different
people, whether it was Dungeons & Dragons, <i>Super Street Fighter IV</i>, or <i>Halo 3</i>.
I'm not sure how it's doing now but the last time I checked in on it,
it had a surprising number of members and female membership tripled or
even quadrupled., which was very surprising.
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-210048-IMG72442jpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />
It was at club that I met truly like-minded people about gaming and
nerd culture. While I won't say they were all that dependable all the
time (I still get questions from Associated Students asking if my email
is still the club contact email. They have yet to change it), I spent a
lot of great nights in that Liberal Arts building with an Xbox 360
hooked up to a projector system and playing <i>Castle Crashers</i> with three other friends while everyone else would glance at the fun while they played the Firefly RPG or something like that.
<br />
<br />
Those were good times. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-79419584794674071482011-08-17T23:38:00.000-07:002011-08-17T23:38:15.536-07:00A discussion about Catherine with my girlfriend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY22nG6GzWh3QVS2un-8Rz09xeayrTkKfRCVl8VeGmBwYaLRN7qBo9syAF5dGI_jhqsTfhf5-97wFz1jjmjTWqJiSKtg7m3hv8Ewuwaw_C1xZUXK28mL_57yo2tPTHPFzQcbinKWXgxmYQ/s1600/vlcsnap-2011-08-17-23h08m34s71.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY22nG6GzWh3QVS2un-8Rz09xeayrTkKfRCVl8VeGmBwYaLRN7qBo9syAF5dGI_jhqsTfhf5-97wFz1jjmjTWqJiSKtg7m3hv8Ewuwaw_C1xZUXK28mL_57yo2tPTHPFzQcbinKWXgxmYQ/s320/vlcsnap-2011-08-17-23h08m34s71.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Duh! A discussion about Catherine? Some mild spoilers ahead!</i><br /><br />When I started playing Catherine, I wanted to go at it with answers I felt were honest to me personally. In other words, if I were presented these situations and questions in real life, I would answer the same way. So of course, in the context of Catherine, all my decisions were made with the goal of staying faithful to my current girlfriend.<br /><br />At first I found it hard to imagine seeing Catherine as anything other than a mysterious temptation. Particularly a temptation that challenges my values and morals. I thought my girlfriend would agree with me to stay with Katherine, Vincent's current girlfriend who wants him to settle down and grow up.<br /><br />But that's not actually the case. Proving to me that I'm a man and not a woman, she actually gives me an argument as to why I should like her, even from the perspective of a female.<br /><br />"She's so neutral in the whole message. She just lives life." my girlfriend said. "She's confident, she's carefree, she's forward, [and] she does what she wants without caring about the consequences. Like me"<br /><br />Certainly at the end of the game, it's made clear that the meter that governs Vincent's state of mind isn't a gauge for black and white morality but rather something more along the lines of Mass Effect's renegade/paragon split. There's nothing really good about choosing the blue side of law and there's nothing really bad about the pink side of chaos. In the end the meter simply represents freedom and order and whether the player prefers life slow and steady or fast and exciting.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7jGCf36PWLVmg-i_NV2ZsZd2DPEGxQcFOTYmJMwXFIEDpj20u2plRQwvfpkHUCchzA9KlyacI78dwKHfS6fZGY-bJ2TBg26pVU_bpYmwRElyqywZvtV0KPM4SZGPmhbGuOkBbZHLpuQ9/s1600/vlcsnap-2011-08-17-23h04m36s158.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7jGCf36PWLVmg-i_NV2ZsZd2DPEGxQcFOTYmJMwXFIEDpj20u2plRQwvfpkHUCchzA9KlyacI78dwKHfS6fZGY-bJ2TBg26pVU_bpYmwRElyqywZvtV0KPM4SZGPmhbGuOkBbZHLpuQ9/s320/vlcsnap-2011-08-17-23h04m36s158.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
As Midnight Venus says, "There's really no right way to climb the tower." And by the end of the game, it's more or less agreeable that the tower represents Vincent's maturation as an adult, leaving behind his comfort zone on the ground floor, forced to make tough decisions in order to reach the top, all while realizing the answer that will ultimately be the reason why Vincent strives so much for the top in the first place.<br /><br />Of course, it was still a plot that could have still very well killed our protagonist, but that's besides the point of this discussion.<br /><br />Without delving too deeply on the mystery of just who Catherine is, it's obvious that she is the epitome of a young woman who lives by her feelings and nobody else's. So where does that leave Katherine?<br /><br />Vincent's situation with Katherine was just a perfect storm of problems. She's feeling pressured by her circle of friends and family to settle down and marry someone which in turn puts the pressure on Vincent, all during a time when Catherine shows up to throw normal decision making out the window.<br /><br />However, even though we see a lot of Katherine's bossiness contrasting Catherine's free spirit, Katherine does demonstrate that she genuinely cares about Vincent despite how much of a schmuck the game portrays him in the early stages. She texts him letting him know that she worries, she knows how much sugar he likes in his coffee, and she brings him cake! I really saw Katherine as just the adult world Vincent was hesitant to join, but she also represents stability as well. Something Vincent could use after weathering the storm of adulthood.<br /><br />But my girlfriend doesn't really see it that way.<br /><br />"I couldn't really sympathize with Katherine. You can't force a guy to date you. I think the relationship was foisted upon him and being the pushover he is, he didn't say anything. And the thought of him losing her was to him a form of leaving his comfort zone."<br /><br />Of course, we both agree on the metaphor the wall represents, and despite our (well founded) criticism of Vincent as a character early on, we both acknowledge that he makes amazing progress as a person throughout his ordeal.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEV15LODBL1robsmd7cbTjRuXIm5sp2yQjDqQFppF_adBGsDSHz4JVjsHUsRk4ag6ua___pBAZHUe4SAdvBJQTHt8gPXGBKbg5jUUomxCBYh4kJnm871s8QRlwEuUU50bR0rAHdhDA10vw/s1600/vlcsnap-2011-08-17-23h07m48s147.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEV15LODBL1robsmd7cbTjRuXIm5sp2yQjDqQFppF_adBGsDSHz4JVjsHUsRk4ag6ua___pBAZHUe4SAdvBJQTHt8gPXGBKbg5jUUomxCBYh4kJnm871s8QRlwEuUU50bR0rAHdhDA10vw/s320/vlcsnap-2011-08-17-23h07m48s147.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Relationships!</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_302973134"></span><span id="goog_302973135"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEV15LODBL1robsmd7cbTjRuXIm5sp2yQjDqQFppF_adBGsDSHz4JVjsHUsRk4ag6ua___pBAZHUe4SAdvBJQTHt8gPXGBKbg5jUUomxCBYh4kJnm871s8QRlwEuUU50bR0rAHdhDA10vw/s1600/vlcsnap-2011-08-17-23h07m48s147.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />Between the two of us, it's obvious that the developers were successful in their portrayal of Vincent's possible choices towards adulthood. There really is no right choice towards growing up. It's simply a matter of facing these obstacles head on rather then putting it off or running away from them. And it won't be easy, just like the metaphor of climbing the Tower of Babel. You'll have to scramble over huge blocks, pull heavy stone, avoid a variety of traps, and make many decisions you'll have to live with for the rest of your life.<br />
<br />
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<br />Catherine really makes you think about how people grow into adults and it forces us to examine what it really means to be in a relationship. It's not as clear cut as being in a monogamous relationship with someone. And despite the zany premise of how it all works as a game, it really comes together to present you with a strong message at the end that few other games can commit to doing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-48868671709771864292011-08-06T21:27:00.000-07:002011-08-06T21:27:10.385-07:00Brink tricks me back with the Agents of Change DLC<img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-208147-agentsofchangejpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<br />When <em>Brink</em> first landed, I was initially excited. After enjoying the crap out of <em>Monday Night Combat</em>, <em>Brink</em> threatened to swallow up the player base with it's promise of rewarding teamwork with clever class-based combat.
<br />
<br />Needless to say, there was <strong>lag</strong>, and <strong>a lot</strong> of it.
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />But yes, the Agents of Change DLC came out a little while ago, plus
it was free. So all I needed to do was head back to my local redbox and
put down another $2 per night to get back into it.
<br />
<br />I can safely say that I held onto the game just <strong>1 day longer</strong> then before. It was a new personal best!
<br />
<br />Ok, so the new DLC raised the level cap from 20 to 24, gave each
class a new ability to purchase along with a universal ability, 2 new
maps, and 2 new attachments for your weapons. Lots of chances for
redemption right?
<br />
<br />Well, let me say that the lag problem was pretty much cleared up. It
works smoothly for the most part, like any other game prone to latency,
and I'm putting that in the best possible way. <em>Black Ops</em> isn't immune to lag but nobody complains about it because it's under control most of the time.
<br />
<br />But what changed about the game? <strong>Pretty much nothing</strong>.
Bayonets and weapons shields aren't a big deal. I actually like the
bayonets and I think I'm in a minority. Melee combat is stupid to begin
with in <em>Brink</em>, but the bayonet actually makes it worthwhile but
melee in of itself is a rare opportunity unless you're like me and run
everywhere with a light body type. Gun shields on the other hands are
impossible to tell if they're doing any actual work or not. Not once did
I feel like, "I'm glad I had this thing equipped! I wouldn't have
survived without it!"
<br />
<br />And the maps? <em>Brink</em> has a lot of problems with chokepoints
and map design on their old maps (I frigg'in hate Resort and don't get
me started on Security Tower). The second half of Labs isn't so bad due
to a design which actually encourages free running but the first half is
practically the Alamo if the Mexican army was composed of lemmings and
the Texans had sentry guns.
<br />
<br />As for Founder's Tower, if you thought the previous map design was
flawed for not encouraging free running, you haven't seen Founder's
Tower. The latter half is nothing but a maze of construction
scaffolding. You better hope you don't go past the first stage, because
every turn afterwards looks the same as the last: red scaffolding and
blue tarp.
<br />
<br /><img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-208147-BrinkAgentsofChangeDLC1640x250jpg-620x.jpg" />
<br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>All my rage. All my hate.</strong>
</div>
<br />I did however get a chance to try two of the new abilities. There aren't enough levels in <em>Brink</em> to master all the classes' abilities, so I decide to respec and focus on Operative and Medic (everyone picks Engineer).
<br />
<br />The Operative's UAV is neat in a lot of ways and depressing in
others. In one way, doing recon with a flying bomb is a great cathartic
release when your team is composed of bots against a full party (which
will happen often). On the other hand, it handles like a wild hog is
piloting the Red Baron's airplane and you can't even control your
altitude. Your UAV is capable of floating over obstacles and stairs but
you need to wait for its incessant bobbing to go up so you can float
over things.
<br />
<br /><img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-208147-BrinkAgentsofChangeDLC627x247jpg-620x.jpg" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>"I am credit to team!"</strong>
</div>
<br />As for the Medic's field regen unit, it's a neat tool to plunk down
when you want to hold down a defensive position for the long term. I
actually like it more than the UAV personally and I sometimes wish I
would've bought that snazzy looking EMP grenade instead.
<br />
<br />Overall, the whole package is great as a free gift to those faithful enough to stick with <em>Brink</em>
and a fantastic way to sucker skeptics like me back. But if you pay for
it, I'd be even more hesitant than I am now. The maps will probably
frustrate you, the attachments aren't as meaningful as the current ones
(front grip, every gun, all day), and you can't try every ability unless
you're level 20 and even then you'll need to respec to try them all
(which delevels you by 1 by the way).
<br />
<br />I'd score the package as a 6 out of 10; the DLC has some satisfaction for you if you just want to keep playing <em>Brink</em>
but the game's launch was spectacularly bad and that decided who would
stick around and who would leave. The people who left who are curious of
Agents of Change won't be back for long.
<br />
<br />When I finally returned <em>Brink</em> to my local redbox, I simply
breathed a sigh of relief and thought of all the other games I could
finally play after returning a game that costs me $2 a night to keep. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-49083516694764153732011-07-27T23:26:00.000-07:002011-07-27T23:26:49.957-07:00Diary of a YouTube Gaming Channel, or Screw All These Call of Duty Videos!<br />
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<br />
<br />Never did I imagine that I'd learn and take an interest in
rudimentary video editing. But this tale recounts my initial stance on
YouTube, how I've seen channels like Machinima rise and games like Call
of Duty swell, and my amateur breakthrough as a YouTube gaming channel
and my growth in video editing.
<br />
<br />Perhaps 5 or 10 years ago, I was satisfied with just searching for
random videos off of YouTube's search bar. But sooner or later, you
register for an account in order to keep track of your favorite
channels. And thus was the first step to my strange journey through
YouTube: subscribing to xcalizors' channel.
<br />
<br />If you don't know xcal, he's most known for being particularly good
at Call of Duty and being pretty entertaining while he records his
gameplay. If you've ever played a CoD game, you would appreciate his
shenanigans as he poked fun at bad spawns, clusterfuck maps, and spouted
some catchy one-liners like, "Surprise bitch!" while mowing down noobs
and reacting to bullshit moments from players and lag.
<br />
<br />If I've piqued your interest on xcal, I recommend the video that got me onto his channel: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOS-G_CvmSc" target="_blank">I Hate My Team 4</a>
<br />
<br />My taste in subscriptions grew thanks to the boom of Call of Duty
videos and commentary, thanks in no part by Machinima.com. Machinima
exposed me to channels and directors like Blametruth, SeaNanners,
CaptainSparklez (formerly Pros Don't Talk Shit), Behrudy,
TheSandyRavage, and AllShamNoWow. Many of these names have posted Call
of Duty videos at some point. Lots of them went on to post a larger
variety of things to their channels. Many Minecrafters should probably
owe their discovery of 2010's indie darling to SeaNanners while Behrudy
regularly stays on top of fighting games on his channel.
<br />
<br />Sometime late in 2009, I wanted to get into the racket of posting
videos of gameplay online and earning some internet fame. But alas, I
lacked the equipment to do so. But I still started a channel thanks to
many fighting games that year showing off the ability to save replays of
your matches. My earliest uploads were off-screen recordings of replays
from Super Street Fighter IV and Blazblue: Calamity Trigger with my
MinoHD Flip camera, which was something I was inspired to buy after
going through a day of video editing in my online media class in
college. I also ocassionally uploaded junk food reviews to break the
monotony of off-screen fighting games. But eventually I stopped feeling
that the quality I was putting out was not worth the time it took to
upload on a traditional home DSL connection.
<br />
<br />During 2010, much of the regular videos I saw uploaded onto my
subscriptions slowly veered away CoD and into more diverse titles.
SeaNanners turned me onto Minecraft around this time while I also
discovered a plentiful number of channels devoted to competitive
fighting games like Frame Advantage Dot Com (cleverly shortened to FADC,
which was focus attack dash cancel for Street Fighter IV)
Option-Select, Level Up, and iPlaywinner. I also discovered many video
game media sites like RoosterTeeth, InecomCompany, and IGNentertainment.
I should probably also mentioned DTOID and I'd never forget
EpicMealTime.
<br />
<br />But with all this great content I'm consuming, I was getting antsy.
Writing is my passion but I need another outlet besides words. Words can
only get you so far when you want to be creative with your favorite
medium in the world. Fortunately, Christmas was closing in and my family
always honors Christmas wishes. So in December of 2010, I set my sights
on what is probably game recording easy mode: a PVR, or a personal
video recorder. And Hauppauge was pretty much the only way to go; a $150
piece of technology meant to make recording off a TV easy.
<br />
<br />So near the end of December, I took the plunge and decided to celebrate my re-entrance to YouTube with a fun little indie game, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY4FWrOzaN8" target="_blank">Tempura of the Dead</a>.
<br />
<br />And thus my journey into YouTube begins proper.
<br />
<br /><img height="209" src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/106803-207183-hauppagehdpvrjpg-620x.jpg" width="320" />
<br />
<br />By January and February, my videos are amateur works of just my voice layered over gameplay.
<br />
<br />By the beginning of April, I've made uploads a regular part of my
schedule and have at least one Let's Play and commentaries going up
every week. I also developed relationships with fellow YouTubers from
the Monday Night Combat community.
<br />
<br />And by May, I stepped up to actually edit my videos for a bit of
flair. Post-video select screens for YouTube annotations, sound effects,
watermarks, background music, montages, and vlogs along with the
occasional one off special called A Day With.
<br />
<br />So far, I have 130 subscribers. Definitely more then my original 22
back in the day but a drop in the bucket compared to channels that have a
partnership. In their first week, I'd be lucky to get 50 hits, but is
it all worth it? I feel that everything I've taught myself isn't just
for a comparatively small channel. All these videos are definitely worth
something on a resume on top of all the writing and experience I've
gathered.
<br />
<br />If I can get a partnership, it'd be the coolest thing in the world.
But that's not a sure thing. What is a sure thing is that the videos
I've uploaded definitely show that I have a love of gaming and that I'm
willing to work in order to create a quality piece of creative
expression.
<br />
<br />If there's one thing I've always described about my relationship
towards my channel, it's that it is a 100% labor of love. And I hope to
play and record and share more in the future much in the same way I do
with my writing.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-39677993124858559002011-07-22T01:30:00.000-07:002011-07-22T01:30:34.879-07:00Monday Night Combat's Anniversary is Coming Up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
In about a month, I'll reach my one year anniversary with one of the most satisfying purchases I've ever made from the Xbox Live Arcade: Monday Night Combat.<br /><br />When Monday Night Combat first piqued my interest, it was probably 4 years ago, 3 years before the game even released. I remember seeing a colorful trailer with 6 different, colorful characters of varying designs, fighting against robots, turrets, and other characters like themselves. The setting was some sort of futuristic, sponsored death sport with colorful characters and maps.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />I was jaded by the Call of Duty franchise and military shooters as a whole. They just felt too homogenized as many players used the same perks, same guns, same killstreaks, same everything! When you've been killed by one ACR/AK-47/Famas, you've been killed by them all. But I couldn't play one of the best class-based shooters, Team Fortress 2, because my PC is old enough to be considered my older brother. To give you an idea of how old it is, its original hard drive, which is still installed on it, is 40GB big.<br /><br />But Monday Night Combat was different. I had never seen a game like this before. What do I mean by that? It looked like it offered the same general experience as a real AAA title, but from indie developer Uber Entertainment, and for only $15! Truly it was an oddity among its peers for quality.<br /><br />Everything about the game, despite being a $15 indie title, seemed to top everything I felt about other shooters like the ever ubiquitous CoD. The chemistry and match ups between the 6 classes was intriguing. The focus on objective gameplay and lessened focus on kill/death ratio made for a different multiplayer experience. And despite the (extremely) high barrier of skill, this high skill requirement allowed dedicated players to always been in control and know how they died. In games like CoD, death can come swiftly and oftentimes randomly.<br /><br />It wasn't fun to run into a room, meet a bogey, and see both your guns fire only to find yourself dead and respawning. What happened? Why did it happen? Did I deserve this death? What a load!<br /><br />But in Monday Night Combat, everything is much more controlled. If I enter an area suddenly and run into a class such as an Assault, the results are within the grasp of my control. For example, if I were a Tank, I would have the advantage and could kill the Assault. If the Assault knew he was at a disadvantage, he could also control his game and try running away. There are no random, instant deaths or uncontrollable circumstances in MNC.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYCq3TUgAF5Nhc_Wd8MQf9j2FEwO_iaykkip8966PABPd6Rm31PyJdmVYHFva_SXliL_Re38lkntOotns1OEx33DhTdUgf6zNykdtBEnS5R2Gwbb4-PwkrucFShcX8vQOTn0u4Qm9KiUX/s1600/Sniper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYCq3TUgAF5Nhc_Wd8MQf9j2FEwO_iaykkip8966PABPd6Rm31PyJdmVYHFva_SXliL_Re38lkntOotns1OEx33DhTdUgf6zNykdtBEnS5R2Gwbb4-PwkrucFShcX8vQOTn0u4Qm9KiUX/s1600/Sniper.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /><br />The game is also on Steam and is clearly balanced differently due to the inherent difference in control between a pad and a mouse and keyboard. And I have still stuck with the game even though the PC version continually tempts me with their slew of PC-easy updates. Microsoft's rigorous certification process is not very nice to my favorite game as it delayed the release of MNC's first DLC pack and has hung the status of the second DLC into a state of uncertain limbo.<br /><br />But that's how big a fan of the game I am. Even though the last update was in December, even though the PC version has received 8 updates since its own release in January, and even though support of the game seems doubtful at best at present, the game is still fun enough that I don't care how the game will be support in the future. Even if the game turns into another example of Team Fortress 2 on the console (which is very pitiful I believe), I'll continue to play the game for as long as I can find good lobbies.<br /><br />I can go on and on on the intricacies of the game. I'm a long time, registered member of the official Uber forums, so I've fully invested myself in knowing everything about the game. Half the videos on my YouTube channel is probably devoted to MNC gameplay and commentary, even though the game is such a niche title which will never get me many hits. This is the extent of my devotion to the little indie game that could against the giant, corporate names that dominate the market.<br />
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This was posted on <a href="http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Marcel+Hoang/downloadables-every-night-is-monday-night-combat--206731.phtml">Destructoid</a> for their weekly topic, <i>Downloadables</i>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-78439704346016332872011-07-20T22:50:00.000-07:002011-07-20T22:51:07.354-07:00The depression and hype of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When it comes to fighting games, I have put up with a lot from Capcom. Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter 3. When games like Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and Blazblue: Continuum Shift II came out, I held out hope that any updates to Marvel vs Capcom 3 would be via DLC.<br />
<br />
Then Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 was announced.<br />
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I have two conflicting sides to the existence of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. The side of the educated consumer who feels like he's being milked and cheated, and the side of the avid fan who will shell out any amount of money due to the hype.<br />
<br />
I am torn between two factors. First is that Ultimate is coming out less than a year after the original version. Even Street Fighter IV was nearly a year old before Super released. Why such a fast turnaround to Ultimate? Fan outcry may have been harsh but making the game obsolete before even a year seems worse than dealing with subjective views of balance.<br />
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On the other hand, Ultimate promises 12 new characters plus it's highly likely several mechanics will be rebalanced such as character strengths and X-Factor. As of lately, additional characters have been priced around the 4 or 5 dollar mark. If I use cold, calculating logic, these twelve characters would be worth $48 by themselves, but we're getting them plus a changed game for $39.99.<br />
<br />
But if Capcom stays the course, does that mean a third iteration is inevitable? Super Street Fighter IV: Yun Edition is already out as an example. What will happen when Ultimate releases? Will fans accept it? Will they attack it again? Will more rage only serve to create the third iteration in a shorter amount of time? I can only shell out so much money.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, Ultimate has already promised one thing every conscientious gamer criticized the game for: spectator mode. Nearly every other fighter offers those waiting in line something to watch while they wait their turn. Only in vanilla Marvel vs Capcom 3 do players waiting in line either have to stare at two cards shove into each other or make friends with other obnoxious online gamers.<br />
<br />
But who am I kidding, it all about the characters when it comes to Marvel and it's already promised so many characters that make me cry at the thought at once again surrendering my money to another one of Capcom's schemes, unwilling on the inside but all too drawn in by the hype. Not only are Frank West and Strider returning, Phoenix Wright is making his fan requested debut and a racoon by the name of Rocket Racoon will be fighting as well.<br />
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A FUCKING RACOON. Shut up and take my money Capcom.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-77908484331761364352011-07-14T22:55:00.000-07:002011-07-14T22:57:00.618-07:00My Irrational Indifference to Netflix's Price Hike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few days ago, Netflix dropped one helluva bomb on its customers which includes myself. The $9.99 package, which combines both unlimited web-streaming and one-at-a-time DVDs by mail, will be no more. Instead, both are separate $7.99 packages, which amounts to roughly $15 for both.<br />
<br />
There was a huge public outcry. All the major media outlets wrote about it and "Dear Netflix" was trending on twitter with angry reactions to the price hike. Reaction ran the gamut from angry comments, phone calls to Netflix, to even rage induced subscription cancellations.<br />
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As for me, I simply read the specifics (the changes take effect immediately for new customers while existing subscribers will see the price change in September), and made plans to remove the DVDs by mail option. Come September, I will only be streaming from Netflix and will no longer have to worry about receiving or mailing back DVDs.<br />
<br />
I read the angry reactions and understand where all the anger is coming from. I also understand all too well why the DVDs by mail option exists; because there is an infuriating amount of quality titles only available by DVD and not by streaming.<br />
<br />
But I'm not angry. In fact, I may not even be a part of a minority. I'm probably by myself.<br />
<br />
I simply don't watch DVDs anymore. I only ever use Netflix for the streaming onto my Xbox 360 or the Roku box when I watch downstairs in the den. The DVDs were only for my parents who wanted to watch new titles immediately. Even then, after I told them about the price hike, I only got a nonchalant, "Just take off the DVDs option."<br />
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I don't really understand this hate or the canceling of subscriptions, even if the new price of the same service is somewhere around a 60% increase. DVDs seem so antique now and I used them a lot not 5 years ago. But in that span of time, I've since moved onto to streaming and downloading. So if anything, I view this price hike as a sign that we may be moving on to a new medium now (if we ignore Blu-Ray anyways that is).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-9364204816334356372011-07-09T11:21:00.000-07:002011-07-09T11:21:38.381-07:00On Terraria and Minecraft<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few months ago, if you saw <a href="http://www.terraria.org/">Terraria</a> you might've thought it was a cash-in copy of Minecraft. But that's not really fair, nor is it accurate.<br />
<br />My friend also blogged about it on <a href="http://rondillo.tumblr.com/post/7286688002/terraria">Tumblr</a> and someone reblogged his post with a very adequate analogy. <b>Minecraft is a mining game with RPG elements. Meanwhile, Terraria is an RPG with mining elements.</b> <i>Sheer. Brilliance.</i> That is exactly how I feel about Terraria and it explains why it's so addictive. The RPG elements are much more pronounced in Terraria while mining is a secondary function that serves to enhance it.<br />
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For example, I don't craft everything I want like in Minecraft. Sometimes you'll find treasure chests with nice loot like a new boomerang or some useful bombs. And if the chest is gold, then you know the loot will be epic, like a spear or a quality accessory like the Cloud in a Bottle. You'll also find crystal hearts to increase your health and the more quality items you get and extra hearts you get, the stronger you'll be to plunder more dangerous environments like jungles, dungeons, or even corrupted landscapes.<br />
<br />
Something else that contributes to Terraria is the multiplayer. My friend's sister hosts games most of the time and I oftentimes arrive with 2 or 3 other friends for a grand old adventure. We may go spelunking deep into the Earth, draining reservoirs and penetrating to the deepest depths of the underworld. Other times we'll go off exploring for a dungeon for interesting loot and maybe even come across something else entirely, like a meteorite impact crater.<br />
<br />
One important thing to note about the multiplayer in Terraria is that it is a Steam game. So despite Minecraft having multiplayer in place, playing with friends in Terraria drew me in much faster because I would be notified that my friends were playing Terraria via Steam as well as chat with them over Steam before getting on their server.<br />
<br />
The progression in Minecraft is not quite as clear cut. You merely acquire better tools which further makes your exploration and crafting easier. In Terraria, you don't just acquire better tools but rare accessories and armor, which all help you explore more dangerous terrain which would normally kill you.<br />
<br />
So why should you play Minecraft now that Terraria is out? Minecraft gives you more creative freedom than Terraria. You can build entire cities, rollercoasters, mine shafts, and all sorts of different electronic structures with red stone. And this creative pleasure can be magnified with the company of several friends on a server. While building structures can be fun in Terraria, most things you can build are only buildings rather than the statues, docks, underwater palaces, or replicas you can build in Minecraft.<br />
<br />
Tonight, Ill probably persuade my friends to join my host so we can explore the underground jungle I've found. I'll try fighting off jungle hornets with the lightsaber I've crafted with meteorite ore and gemstones, and hope to find some epic loot like a diving helmet one of the treasure chests strewn across the underscape.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-7041216763665139672011-05-23T13:07:00.000-07:002011-05-23T13:07:41.876-07:00A simplified history of Pokémon's metagame part 4: Diamond and PearlSince part <a _cke_saved_href="http://bitmob.com/articles/the-pokemon-league-a-simplified-history-of-pokemons-metagame-part-1-rby" href="http://bitmob.com/articles/the-pokemon-league-a-simplified-history-of-pokemons-metagame-part-1-rby" target="_blank">1</a>, <a _cke_saved_href="http://bitmob.com/articles/a-simplified-history-of-pokemons-metgame-part-2-gold-and-silver" href="http://bitmob.com/articles/a-simplified-history-of-pokemons-metgame-part-2-gold-and-silver" target="_blank">2</a> and <a _cke_saved_href="http://bitmob.com/articles/a-simplified-history-of-pokemons-metgame-part-3-ruby-and-sapphire" href="http://bitmob.com/articles/a-simplified-history-of-pokemons-metgame-part-3-ruby-and-sapphire" target="_blank">3</a> of the history of Pokémon's metagame, there have been a lot of recurring themes and ideas. Every generation had at least one powerful and memorable change that easily makes it the reason why everyone remembers that generation. Also, the metagame at this point has been ancient history to many trainers.<br />
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But now we're in our 4th generation with the Diamond/Pearl generation, or DP generation. DP was the first Pokémon game on the DS and it’s still fresh in many trainers' minds. But in my opinion, the changes brought forth in DP were some of the biggest changes ever. Old contenders flailed about in the wake of these changes. Old ideas had to be reworked as long held mechanics were turned on their head. And much like SkarmBliss and Curselax before it, one thing so defined the generation that it would be forever remembered no matter how much the metagame may change in the future. Many readers are probably familiar enough with the DP generation to know many of the things I'll be talking about.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<strong>The 4th Generation: The Second Great Split and Getting Rocks Up</strong><br />
<br />
<img _cke_saved_src="http://i56.tinypic.com/2r2aqdk.png" alt="" src="http://i56.tinypic.com/2r2aqdk.png" style="float: left; height: 240px; margin-right: 6px; width: 260px;" />Up until now, one of the strongest special attackers in the game, Gengar, would never be caught dead actually using a ghost-type attack. That's because ghost-type attacks were calculated with the Pokémon's attack stat. So even if Gengar were to use a ghost-type attack for <strong>S</strong>ame <strong>T</strong>ype <strong>A</strong>dvantage <strong>B</strong>onus (STAB, which is a 50% increase in damage) it would be vastly inferior to something like Thunderbolt, as even without STAB, its special attack was much better.<br />
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Since the RBY generation, typed attacks which gave off an impression of having a physical presence used the attack stat while types with a vaguely magic-like impression used special attack. But this mechanic was changed in the DP generation. Many people call it the physical/special split.<br />
Now, individual attacks, regardless of type, would use attack or special attack because it was deemed physical or special. Now Gengar could use a STAB ghost attack, which used its superior special attack, like Shadow Ball. A much more physically inclined ghost-type like Dusknoir could use Shadow Punch, which is obviously physically based. Now every Pokémon could have a reliable STAB move and not have to worry about whether or not it had the power to back it up.<br />
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Old walls like the classic SkarmBliss combo would now have to rethink what kind of hits they will be taking. In the past, Skarmory would take a fighting attack no problem with its powerful defense. But despite being a fighting attack, Aura Sphere would hit Skarmory's much weaker special defense and it would take quite a bit of damage. Likewise, Blissey used to take special attacks like water-type moves all day. But now Waterfall is a physical water attack, which would simply blow holes in Blissey's health pool.<br />
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As foreshadowed in the previous installments, the metagame has slowly been picking up speed since the stall and defensive teams of GSC. But it's now come to a head in DP as trainers began favoring effective damage output over minimizing oncoming damage.<br />
<br />
<img _cke_saved_src="http://i56.tinypic.com/5o9zep.png" alt="" src="http://i56.tinypic.com/5o9zep.png" style="float: left; height: 88px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-right: 6px; width: 90px;" />Look over the overused tiers of many websites and you'll see a recurring attribute in many Pokémon in the OU: speed. While defensive Pokémon are certainly not hard to find at all, many of the most threatening Pokémon are either naturally fast or have access to Agility. Adding more to the offensive theme of DP was the introduction of two new Choice hold items. While held, one of the user's stats is instantly boosted by 50% at the cost of locking them into a move for as long as they remain on the field. Choice Band, which has been around since RSE, boosted attack. Choice Specs on the other hand, boosted special attack while Choice Scarf boosted speed. These Choice items meant that in return for becoming predictable, a Pokémon could attack right away without spending a turn to set up with a boosting move like Swords Dance or Agility.<br />
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But believe it or not, the faster pace of DP is not the main thing to take away from DP. One move alone transformed the metagame to the same degree as Alakazam in RBY, Curselax in GSC, and Sand Stream Tyranitar in RSE. And we're not talking about a Pokémon here! That move was Stealth Rocks.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img _cke_saved_src="http://i55.tinypic.com/suvz47.gif" alt="" src="http://i55.tinypic.com/suvz47.gif" style="height: 192px; width: 256px;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>"Oh boy..."</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Stealth Rocks is an entry hazard like Spikes. Every time a Pokémon arrives on the field, it receives damage immeditely due to the presence of entry hazards. However, unlike Spikes, which does a percent of damage based on the number of layers of Spikes in play, Stealth Rocks did a percent of damage based type resistance to rock-type attacks. Stealth Rocks only needs to be used once, but if you sent out a flying-type Pokémon while Stealth Rocks were on your playing field, it would instantly lose 25% of its health. God forbid you send out something like Ninjask, which was part bug and part flying. That's 50% of its health gone just from arriving on the field!<br />
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The metagame was shaped like clay with the existence of Stealth Rocks. When Pokémon were analyzed for competitive power in DP, the first thing that was examined was its resistance to Stealth Rock. You could expect Stealth Rock to be present in many matches because many Pokémon in the lead position are put on the front just because they were fast and could immediately use get rocks up. Though Spikes has existed for a while before Stealth Rocks, the convenience of only needing one turn to set it up and the return in potentially crippling some Pokémon while getting residual damage on most other Pokémon made Stealth Rocks so prevalent that many positions were either designated for Stealth Rocks or became more wide spread because of it.<br />
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Leads would get rocks up, anti-leads would attempt to use Taunt and prevent rocks from being set up, Spinners would use the move Rapid Spin to remove entry hazards, and Spin Blockers were defensive ghost-types who would block the use of Rapid Spin and keep entry hazards on the field. To put it simply, get used to Stealth Rocks because you'll see it a lot in competitive battling.<br />
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And now for the threats: I've already mentioned Gengar. It was blessed by the physical/special split and could now begin using STAB special attacks like Shadow Ball. Starmie also continued to be important in OU but was now in as high demand as ever since it was one of the few Pokémon that learned Rapid Spin to get rid of those pesky rocks. Aerodactyl actually gets a mention here now as it discovered a niche as a suicide lead. Despite its low defenses and predictable move pool, trainers used Aerodactyl's speed to guarantee Stealth Rocks while it also had access to Taunt, which prevents all moves that didn't directly attack. That means you could prevent enemy Stealth Rocks then get your own rocks up. But probably the biggest threat, much in the same way as Curselax and Alakazam before it, was Scizor. With its new ability, Technician, which multiplies the base power of attacks that are 60 or less by 1.5, Scizor also gained a new attack which gelled perfectly with Technician: Bullet Punch. With a base power of 40, STAB, Technician, and first move priority all working together with a Choice Band, nothing really wants to take one of these bad boys. Scizor is the reason why Magnezone rose in popularity with its natural resistance to anything Scizor could throw plus its Magnet Pull ability to trap Scizor!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a _cke_saved_href="http://www.smogon.com" href="http://www.smogon.com/" target="_blank"><img _cke_saved_src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2mn1ypu.png" alt="" src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2mn1ypu.png" style="height: 236px; width: 200px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>What do you see? If you're facing it, you see a problem.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><img _cke_saved_src="http://i52.tinypic.com/29eko5.png" alt="" src="http://i52.tinypic.com/29eko5.png" style="float: left; height: 63px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-right: 6px; width: 63px;" />Many of the Pokémon who fell from grace during this generation fell because of the introduction of the Choice items. While Snorlax is still powerful, Pokémon using Choice Band could immediately hurt it before Snorlax would set up with Curse. Alakazam finally fell from the borderline tier to underused since Choice Scarf allowed many threatening Pokémon to outspeed it. Rhyperior, the evolution to Rhydon, simply fell to UU because of the new competition it is facing from things like the faster attacking Agility-Metagross and the new Gliscor, which could recover health with Roost.<br />
<br />
<img _cke_saved_src="http://i56.tinypic.com/263iy9w.png" alt="" src="http://i56.tinypic.com/263iy9w.png" style="float: left; height: 43px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-right: 6px; width: 77px;" />Many new threats are only pseudo-new, as many new powerful Pokémon were new evolutions of older Pokémon. Weavile is another textbook example of high speed, high attack but uniquely as an ice-type, which is in high demand to combat dragons. Togekiss became notorious for the paraflinch strategy, paralyzing with Thunder Wave then flinching endlessly with Air Slash boosted by Serene Grace. With paralysis and Serene Grace flinching together, the opponent statistically only has a 30% of actually doing anything. Infernape gained fame for being an extremely fast, mixed, glass cannon. Walls have a tough time against Infernape because chances are, Infernape is carrying both physical and special attacks to break through any wall unless it was also mixed in terms of defense.<br />
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With the expanding size of choices in Pokémon in its fourth iteration and the increasing strength of sweepers, the pool of questionable Pokémon was growing. Do not mistaken Pokémon regulated to the neverused tier as being bad though. Creative and persistent trainers can certainly design teams to support the shortcomings of certain Pokémon like Gardevoire, Luxray, or Ninetails. Typhlosion is deemed an NU Pokémon but I certainly liked using it on my Sunny Day teams, spraying powerful Flamethrowers and Solarbeams. But trainers must remember that with Stealth Rocks and many powerful Pokémon being popular, tiers in Pokémon's metagame simply exist as a guide for you. No one's saying you can't be successful with Charizard. Just remember that it faces stiff competition from things like Infernape or even Arcanine. And unlike the previous two, Charizard will lose a lot of health from Stealth Rocks.<br />
<hr /><em>Next time on the history of Pokémon’s metagame, we tackle Black and White, the current generation! We’ll explore not just unexplored territory but probably history in the making as well. More new abilities define incredibly powerful threats and old champions return with some of their former glory! But all is not well as some people suspect that the metagame in the 5th generation may be somewhat broken and overpowered!</em><br />
<h5><em>When I'm not busy job searching or writing stories to satisfy myself and my parole officer, I can be found on<span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span><em><a _cke_saved_href="http://twitter.com/#!/StriderHoang" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/StriderHoang" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a _cke_saved_href="http://toomuchexplosions.tumblr.com/" href="http://toomuchexplosions.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">tumblr</a>, or <a _cke_saved_href="http://www.youtube.com/user/StriderHoang" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/StriderHoang" target="_blank">Youtube</a>.</em> Image and research credit to <a _cke_saved_href="http://www.smogon.com" href="http://www.smogon.com/" target="_blank">Smogon</a>.</em></h5>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-50384285218277286112011-05-15T00:41:00.000-07:002011-05-15T00:41:55.966-07:00A simplified history of Pokemon's metagame part 3: Ruby and Sapphire<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Ah, the RSE generation. Personally my favorite generation even though the game itself is probably the guiltiest in terms of padding game design as over half the routes were waterways meant to be traversed via Surf or Dive. This of course meant endless random encounters and trainer battles. While the game touted new additions such as abilities and double battles, my favorite thing about the RSE generation was the addition of weather changing moves that changed the battlefield.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><img _cke_saved_src="http://i51.tinypic.com/67tff6.png" alt="" src="http://i51.tinypic.com/67tff6.png" style="height: 238px; width: 400px;" /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>I hope you like Surf, because you're going to do a lot of it!</i></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>The Third Generation: Rain or Shine, Snow or Sleet</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><img _cke_saved_src="http://i54.tinypic.com/91i6oo.jpg" alt="" src="http://i54.tinypic.com/91i6oo.jpg" style="float: left; height: 146px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 8px; width: 200px;" />In the early stages, Game Freak tried to shake things up by introducing double battles. Trainers could choose to fight in 2-on-2 battles. The mechanics changed a bit by having Pokémon choose their targets along with other moves changing in use in doubles such as Earthquake, which would hit every active Pokémon on the field regardless of team. Doubles became a niche choice but continued to draw interest because of one other important addition Game Freak brought to RSE that made doubles interesting: abilities.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Abilities did many different things but most are a constant factor to how a Pokemon battle. Some Pokémon were supplemented by their abilities like Gyarados with Intimidate. Gyarados' defenses were somewhat ample, but Intimidate automatically lowered the opponent's attack by one stage, giving Gyarados a buffer of physical bulkiness to switch in. Other Pokémon however, we defined by their ability. Tyranitar was the sole recipient of the ability Sand Stream, which automatically summons a permanent sandstorm when Tyanitar arrived on the battlefield. Sometimes, great sounding abilities were even on unfortunate Pokémon. Sharpedo had Rough Skin, which caused damage to attackers who made physical contact with it. Unfortunately, Sharpedo was much too frail to punish physical attackers very much with its unique ability. Every so often, there would also be Pokémon that are incredible on paper but are purposely held back by their ability. Slaking is overwhelmingly powerful but Truant only allows it to move every other turn. Perhaps it's balanced by Truant?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Speaking of abilities, RSE's mascot legendaries had abilities which also cemented another important facet of RSE's metagame: weather. Kyogre, the Sea Basin Pokémon, expanded the sea with its trademark ability, Drizzle, which summoned permanent rain onto the battlefield. Its nemesis, Groudon, the Continent Pokémon, evaporated water and raised land masses with its ability, Drought, which summoned permanent strong sunlight onto the battlefield. These two abilities could also be recreated to a lesser extent with their respective attacks, Rain Dance and Sunny Day, summoning their respective weather effects for 5 turns (or 8 while holding a special item).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><img _cke_saved_src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2wduf13.jpg" alt="" src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2wduf13.jpg" style="height: 300px; width: 400px;" /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>Epic</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Rain and sun did special things that enhances team play. Water-type attacks became strong during rain while weakening fire attacks while sunlight did the opposite. More importantly, many abilities worked with special weather effects that encouraged team construction. Many rain specific teams outside of using Kyogre in the ubers tier had leads that could guarantee rain being set up on the first turn. The rest of the team would then be configured with Pokémon with the ability Swift Swim, which doubled the user's speed in rain. Good team construction dictates that the other Pokémon on the team would be enhanced by rain but would not be dependent on it. With the introduction of weather and abilities, team construction could become more diverse to function with a theme or ability rather then overall balance or tactics.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That's not to say all changes were as obvious as causing rain to suddenly come pouring down. One last big change was the addition of Pokémon natures. If you first started playing Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald, you may be pleasantly surprised to find out the Mudkip you were given had a Sassy personality. Well asides from assuming your Mudkip had a good sense of humor, it also meant your Mudkip excels a bit in special defense at the expense of speed. People who loved min/maxing their strategies could now catch and breed Pokémon with a specific nature to tailor them to their needs on the team. For example, you'd prefer a Zangoose that was Jolly because it sacrificed special attack, which it never uses, to increase speed so that it can get the drop on slower Pokémon. Natures are probably the biggest thing that defines whether or not a person is serious about battling other trainers as the difference in power can be quite obvious.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><img _cke_saved_src="http://i53.tinypic.com/jj2tky.jpg" alt="" src="http://i53.tinypic.com/jj2tky.jpg" style="height: 280px; width: 350px;" /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>Obligatory</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">With the advent of strategies such as Swift Swim with rain and its opposite in Chlorophyll with sunlight, plus a much wider distribution of moves like Agility and Dragon Dance, the metagame progressed from the stall tactics from GSC and started on the rise of super offensive tactics the current generation is now known for.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As we're now over 300 Pokémon, it's become harder to point out all the big threats. Let's work our way down from returning contenders to the ones that have lost a bit of their edge, then about choices who received important abilities, and end with new threats.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Snorlax, Starmie, Blissey, and Gengar have all held firm to their position while Rhydon clings to the borderline tier while its brother in rocks Golem has since gone the way of the underused tier. Exeggutor used to see lots of usage in the previous generation but despite receiving Chlorophyll now, it's just not bulky enough to justify it's poor speed without getting sun set up. That and the existence of Blissey walling it, though to be fair, lots of Pokémon probably hate Blissey.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><img _cke_saved_src="http://i52.tinypic.com/r9imti.png" alt="" src="http://i52.tinypic.com/r9imti.png" style="float: left; height: 64px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-right: 6px; width: 64px;" />Tyranitar saw a huge jump in popularity when it received Sand Stream. Just as there are sun and rain teams, there exist sandstorm teams but unlike the former two weather conditions, sandstorm damages anything that's not part rock, ground, or steel-type. Dugtrio, the classic ground-type from the original RBY generation saw a resurgance when it received Arena Trap, letting it revenge kill very effectively. If your water-type got KO'ed by an electric-type, Dugtrio can come in, prevent it from switching thanks to Arena Trap, and revenge kill it with a good Earthquake. And Heracross, the plucky fighting/bug-type from Gold and Silver, also defined the strategy of absorbing status affliction moves when it received Guts this generation. Many walls like to employ the burn status to not only hurt Pokémon every turn but also neuter the attacking power of physical sweepers. But with Heracross on your team, it can take the burn and throw out extremely powerful Mega Horns thanks to Guts boosting attack by 1.5 when suffering.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><img _cke_saved_src="http://i51.tinypic.com/imv769.png" alt="" src="http://i51.tinypic.com/imv769.png" style="float: left; height: 56px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-right: 6px; width: 64px;" />Like every generation, the newcomers tend to make a splash as new threats but that also makes singling them out easier. Salamence, the new dragon-type of this generation, easily became one of the most powerful Pokémon and it just isn't still used today but it's still feared. With a diverse physical movepool, access to Dragon Dance, and Intimidate to weaken whatever it switches into, Salamence is even feared by its counters since it can take chunks out of them and once they're down, nothing else really stands much of a chance. Metagross also became popular for the obvious fact that it's part steel, which makes switching this physical brawler in a breeze. And despite stall tactics falling off in this generation, RSE also introduced Dusclops, one of Pokemon's premier stall ghost Pokémon. Not only was it tough to kill but its ability, Pressure, cause enemies to use two PP for every attack instead of one.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It goes without saying that Kyogre, Groudon, and the third legendary Rayquaza (who appropriately has an ability which negates all weather effects) were all in ubers, but it may surprise you to know that Wobbuffet was in ubers as well for its ability, Shadow Tag. Shadow Tag acts like Arena Trap except it also works on flying-types and Levitate users. It was banned to ubers because of its access to Encore, letting it trap and Encore whatever it wants, and allowing the trainer to switch in something that will appreciate the free set up time. Also, Wobbuffet vs. Wobbuffet was bemoaned because during this generation, Shadow Tag made no exception, not even to other Shadow Tag users. So if this situation occurred, it effectively became a stalemate. It has since been update to not work against other Shadow Tag users.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><img _cke_saved_src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2d40n7.jpg" alt="" src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2d40n7.jpg" style="height: 197px; width: 250px;" /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>Can you believe this goofball is accepted by pros to be banned to ubers?</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Weather teams were definitely powerful, but they were actually quite niche compared to other strategies. However, rain and sun did establish themselves as a powerful strategy in the lower tiers, though sandstorm is always prevalent since Tyranitar is prevalent. Like a torch bearer, Tyranitar's strength being boosted by its ability also hinted at what could happen if more Pokemon received interesting abilities, which is something we'll see in future generations. The minor addition of the hold item known as a choice band, which boosts attack by 1.5 at the cost of locking you into one move, would also act as a hint at what to expect in future generations. With Salamence and Tyranitar using Dragon Dance to boost speed and attack, the metagame is slowly snowballed into something dictated by immediate attacks and immediate results.</div><hr /><i>Next time, Pokémon</i><i> finally enters the DS age! Another great split is looming in the distance and the introduction of abilities is only the beginning of what's possible! Also, like Snorlax, the introduction of one move will singlehandedly shape the metagame by itself!</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-59711333905254760152011-05-06T11:44:00.000-07:002011-05-06T11:44:35.972-07:00A simpliefied history of Pokemon's metagame part 2: Gold and Silver<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Of all the things that stick out in the metagame of Pokémon's first generation, the lack of a hard counter to psychic-type was most glaring. Alakazam was top dog and nothing could stand up to its dominance. So when Gold and Silver (and eventually Crystal) came out, the metagame was shook to the core as the world seemingly changed around Alakazam. Thus Gold and Silver signaled the beginning of the end for Alakazam's glory days.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Second Generation: The First Great Split</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So many changes in GSC were subtle yet important changes that helped shape how our current metagame is today. New types were introduced, new moves were introduced, old moves were retooled to be useful, and certain items could be carried for strategic use.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One thing new trainers take for granted are the two stats of special attack and special defense. A separate stat for special attacks and another for defense of those special attacks? But for Gold and Silver, this change alone caused legends to crumble and let new ones take their place.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Suddenly, Alakazam wasn't as defensive as it used to be as its special defense was mediocre at best. Likewise, Snorlax, who typically lived in Alakazam's shadow, got boosted by an incredible special defense.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/4tszns.png" style="height: 226px; width: 300px;" /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>"Yeah, I knew a guy named Snorlax. I hear he's running my turf now."</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">But the special split isn't the biggest reason why Alakazam tumbled out of grace. In an attempt to introduce a predator to something that didn't have any natural predators, Game Freak added two new types, both which resisted psychic: steel and dark-types.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Steel-types immediately became known as the premier defensive type. With natural resistances to 11 out of the 17 types before accounting for a secondary type, steel-types were seen as a very capable choice to switch into when you needed to stall for time.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dark-types on the other hand, were introduced as a true hard counter to psychic-types. Not only were dark attacks strong against psychic-types, dark Pokemon were completely immune to psychic attacks!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Not only did the introduction of these two types hinted at the downfall of psychics, it also increased the usage of fighting-types as both steel and dark coincidentally were weak to fighting.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/nbt89y.png" style="height: 240px; width: 260px;" /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>Hope you like fighting-types, because more are on the way!</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One of the most important new moves introduced this generation was Curse, which boosted attack and defense one stage and decreased speed by one stage. Nearly every bulky attacker carried this baby and it defined the general pace of competitive battling. Fights took longer as major threats like Snorlax, Tyranitar, and Steelix abused their bulkiness to sponge hits even better, then attack with the force of a truck with the help of Curse. Snorlax alone gave birth to a moveset forever dubbed as Curselax. With it's high special defense and mediocre defense being boosted by Curse, Snorlax became nigh unkillable and unstoppable after a few turns of Curse.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Curse changed the simple back and forth game of type matching and slowed it way down. Defense and stall tactics were born as many Pokemon this generation were blessed with powerful defenses. Curse isn't the only example of the slowed pace though. Sleep Talk was introduced which picked a move at random when your Pokemon was asleep. This led to the Rest/Sleep Talk combo, allowing Pokemon to recover health and continue attacking. Roar was also given a new function in forcing trainers to switch, thereby losing any boosts they've gathered (sometimes the only way to stave off the threat of a Snorlax attempting to sweep). The metagame became focused on taking hits and returning the damage with interest. Case in point, another infamous name: SkarmBliss.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2en55cn.jpg" style="float: left; height: 250px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 2px; width: 212px;" />Skarmory was the bird king of physical defense. As a steel-type, it already had great resistances. And even though steel was weak to fighting, it's secondary flying type negated its fighting weakness. It also made it immune to everyone's favorite catch all physical attack, Earthquake.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So you decide to throw in Starmie in an attempt to Thunderbolt Skarmory? Meet the other end of SkarmBliss: Blissey. The newly introduced evolution of the already specially defensive Chansey, Blissey has been and still is the best special wall in the game. Trainers go to great lengths to make sure Blissey gets taken out to make their life much easier. Nicknames for Blissey have ranged from fat, pink blob to asshole.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Lastly was the introduction of held items. Certain, simple items could be used by Pokemon during battle. Pokémon couldn't hold and use something man-made like a potion, but they could hold a berry which they could eat mid-battle for a burst of health. This also furthered the prevailing strategy of defense with another thing that would stay relevant for years: Leftovers. When held, it allows the Pokemon to recover a fraction of their health after every turn. So once Snorlax used Curse enough times, not only did the damage being done to it become negligible, but the fractional healing of Leftovers could overtake any damage you did to it. Almost every Pokemon has a moveset that plans for the use of Leftovers. It's still a popular item today and it's probably why the item clause was created for competitive battling.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">All of the things listed above led to much, much longer lasting games. The battles of yesteryear, which could have been decided within 5 or 10 minutes, now became 30 or 60 minute wars of attrition.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Alakazam took a hit in power but held on while Snorlax became everyone's favorite. Starmie, Gengar, and Rhydon held firm to their positions. As mentioned before, Chansey remained though in the new form of Blissey, while Skarmory became a new threat as a physical wall opposite of Blissey.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The new threats introduced were a testament to the new types. Steel-types like Steelix and Forrestress became popular for being general purpose defense. Forretress was also one of the few Pokemon to learn a new move which created the idea for entry hazards: Spikes. Set down Spikes and watch as your opponent is helpless to damage on the switch. Once Forretress got all his Spikes down, it's just a matter of using Explode and sending in your next big threat.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dark-types like Tyranitar and Houndoom were not only threatening to psychic-types but also carried a powerful dark-type move. Pursuit allows the attacker to hit Pokémon who are being switched out before they completely retreat, creating trap situations. If something like Alakazam stays in against Tyranitar, Pursuit will be enough to kill it. However, switching out will still get it killed as Pursuit will hit on its way out.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The metagame in GSC slowed to a crawl with the advent of things like Rest/Sleep Talk, Toxic, Curse, and Leftovers in tandem with the newly introduced steel-type. While still enjoyable, it was probably for the best how the metagame changed and slowly became more and more fast paced in future generations.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-43686801008411746442011-04-26T16:08:00.000-07:002011-04-26T18:03:14.530-07:00The Pokemon League: A simplified history of Pokemon's metagame part 1: RBY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__CGCS-3fB73TCFXL9NMd58dgBaT56TWS-m07jUC5GuZU5leFBTWd6H1QT0VfgU2d3Bfb_RliNWPPUtZeaoIb64ZN7OnbEHoIv_Aa087b64sz9WMquTKSU9H5ClnHO0UWQcwHSgo272uZ/s1600/Alakazam%2528RB%2529Sprite.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__CGCS-3fB73TCFXL9NMd58dgBaT56TWS-m07jUC5GuZU5leFBTWd6H1QT0VfgU2d3Bfb_RliNWPPUtZeaoIb64ZN7OnbEHoIv_Aa087b64sz9WMquTKSU9H5ClnHO0UWQcwHSgo272uZ/s200/Alakazam%2528RB%2529Sprite.png" width="200" /></a></div>At its most basic, Pokemon hasn't changed a whole lot. You and your opponent send out little monsters, you tell them how to fight and the last one standing is the winner.<br />
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But how they battle and who was most powerful has changed a great deal since the days of Red, Blue, and Yellow. Fighting types are all the rage now but remember a time when they were a joke? Remember a time when Quick Attack was the only guaranteed, priority move-first attack in the game? Remember when the Gengar family was the only ghost types in existence?<br />
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Let's take a quick stroll down memory and reminisce about where we've really come in terms of progression of such a long lasting franchise that has changed subtly over the years so much.<br />
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<b>First Generation: The Magic Words: Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam!</b><br />
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Think back to the old type chart from RBY and you'd think it all worked correctly. Fire beats grass, grass beats water, and water beats fire. Dragons were only weak to ice and resisted these basic elements.<br />
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But any person lucky enough to catch an Abra knows otherwise about balance. These little guys were annoying to catch since they only knew one move: Teleport. Thus, when you encountered one, their only choice was to run away. But if you did catch one, you just caught yourself a champion.<br />
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Alakazam dominated teams for two glaring reasons. First, it had an incredible special stat. For you newer Pokemon trainers out there, Pokemon only had 5 ruling attributes: HP, attack, defense, special, and speed. So even though attack and defense were differentiated, having a high special attribute meant your Pokemon could not only dish out special attacks but take special attacks as well. Not only that but attacks of a certain type like rock or bug counted against defense and others like water and psychic for special. Water attacks, like Water Gun for example, used the special stat and hit the opponent's special stat to calculate damage.<br />
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Most Pokemon with a special stat high enough to survive a Psychic from Alakzam would usually struggle to deal damage back due to how special worked back then. Most Pokemon that would try targeting Alakazam's weak defense usually had low special, and thus would get KO'd because of Alakazam's high speed and special.<br />
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As if this wasn't enough, the system for determining critical hits was based on the speed stat. The faster the Pokemon, the higher the chance for a critical hit to occur, giving fast Pokemon like Jolteon a hidden advantage against slower Pokemon who's value may have been in defense rather then speed.<br />
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So you have a powerful psychic-type Pokemon everyone wanted. What was the hard check to this overwhelmingly powerful Pokemon? Ghost-types and bug-types?<br />
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Nothing really. Yes it had low defense so anything capable of surviving its signature Psychic attack could probably kill it but that's practically a ritualistic sacrifice. In what can only be described as a glaring oversight, the only ghost Pokemon in the game were also dual typed as poison, meaning they'd be weak to psychic attacks. And most bug-types also shared this dual typing logic for some reason.<br />
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As if that weren't enough, there existed no actual effective bug or ghost-type attacks. In fact, if you tried to use the only functioning ghost-type attack (Lick) on Alakazam, I'm pretty sure you'd get a “It doesn't effect it...” message. As for bug Pokemon, well, take your pick: Twineedle or Pin Missile?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiatIYWpZ9h1LkqvQbQZmdBRcR3wf-mWucc88IERFjdUVI61fZJ1EzAB1pQ1xXu07TN2nWu67GASromWRfORRTMouZqbvlXfqKKVv4xWtYhLlGvwNay2SPLRFKW1w2p_PFgEzInIDI9gyx/s1600/123.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiatIYWpZ9h1LkqvQbQZmdBRcR3wf-mWucc88IERFjdUVI61fZJ1EzAB1pQ1xXu07TN2nWu67GASromWRfORRTMouZqbvlXfqKKVv4xWtYhLlGvwNay2SPLRFKW1w2p_PFgEzInIDI9gyx/s200/123.png" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Well, Bullet Punch-Scizor had to start somewhere, right? And it started in the Underused tier of RBY.</span></div><br />
This area of the metagame is what really stands out when you revisit its history. For some reason, Gamefreak created psychic-types, which were strong against fighting and poison-types and weak to ghost and bug-types. And yet no actual effective ghost or bug-type attacks existed and too many Pokemon carried a secondary poison-type. Nearly every grass Pokemon was part poison for some reason. What? Was poison ivy prevalent in the Kanto region of something?<br />
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Looking back on the tiers for first generation, I see things that are practically impossible now in fifth generation. Tauros sweeping late game with Hyper Beam? Madness! Golem being in the Overused tier? Incredible! Victreebel being mentioned at all? How can I be sure this wasn't a different era but actually a different <b>dimension</b>?<br />
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And this sort of bizarro metagame could only exist with the strange differentiation between attack/defense and special. When you think about it, Pokemon like Golem work hard to have both powerful attack and defense. Meanwhile, Alakazam, despite having low defense, it blessed with a high special attribute that allows it to both attack and defend well with designated special attacks like Psychic.<br />
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Notable threats in this generation included Alakazam, Starmie, Chansey, Snorlax, and Rhydon. This generation gave birth to several Pokemon who remain relevant to the metagame to this day: Starmie, Blissey (which evolves from Chansey), Gengar, and Gyrados. Normal attacks were more common place as well, as Hyper Beam back then used the attack stat; the attack was still a physical attack before the physical/special split in the 3rd generation occurred. Body Slam also showed up on several movesets for its combination of power and paralysis, which was the best way to cripple sweepers and still is. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWFn_OczLJ1xLBS_P9cvHwXXEkKQ7joDGi8wZvP3DXjwkfu2qMAg6VYbiBAiB-ZE5S4lWbjxRlOiGJCy-24eQjeXsX5rDdl-UMcMbYBsiWg07Lp6mzZKK4nWJ2ZptomrltGUyRBHtxQ09/s1600/113.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWFn_OczLJ1xLBS_P9cvHwXXEkKQ7joDGi8wZvP3DXjwkfu2qMAg6VYbiBAiB-ZE5S4lWbjxRlOiGJCy-24eQjeXsX5rDdl-UMcMbYBsiWg07Lp6mzZKK4nWJ2ZptomrltGUyRBHtxQ09/s200/113.png" width="195" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Look at this smug jerk! She's been smug since 1996!</span></div><br />
Meanwhile, this would be the peak for others, as they'd slowly fade into mediocrity as the years passed by. Snorlax, Alakazam, Tauros, and Moltres would all be weakened in some way or another in the coming generations. But that's for another story.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">Next time, we move into the 2nd and 3rd generations with Gold/Silver and Ruby/Sapphire. We'll see the special stat become split, the introduction of two new types, and the weather surrounding the metagame changes, literally!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Research and credit goes towards the archives of <a href="http://www.smogon.com/rb/">Smogon</a>.</span></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-37323636887941622412011-04-07T20:31:00.000-07:002011-04-07T20:50:51.846-07:00The Pokemon League: A brief analysis of the Eeveelutions from the Dream World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_hEVYA-O4z7K0myVKiuWCggs0Z14nO-KMldDAmG9pJpdnstCy2WGClVNYUJ6jemqgYrlUAp5J6ba7tzKns9n8mmK2CgAwznQ-xfcmj7XgkrS_0LVCDp_QcLfWIKgXxH7DGVhlyQM8bsG/s1600/701px-Pok%25C3%25A9mon_Dream_World_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_hEVYA-O4z7K0myVKiuWCggs0Z14nO-KMldDAmG9pJpdnstCy2WGClVNYUJ6jemqgYrlUAp5J6ba7tzKns9n8mmK2CgAwznQ-xfcmj7XgkrS_0LVCDp_QcLfWIKgXxH7DGVhlyQM8bsG/s320/701px-Pok%25C3%25A9mon_Dream_World_logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>So you think you have a team ready to battle your friends and they're Pokemon? If you think you've got all your options figured out it's time to clear the wax out of your ears! The Dream World is coming and the official Pokemon website has started the launch process for Dream World.<br />
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While Dream World's official launch is still on hiatus due to Japan's earthquake, the official website has launched a flash game called “Befriend a Pokemon” which is basically Breakout. Collect color coded spheres during the game and beat all 5 levels and you'll be rewarded with a specific evolved formed of Eevee based on the items you've collected. Catch lots of red orbs and you get fire-typed Flareon. Catch lots of yellow orbs and get Jolteon.<br />
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But you can only pick one and there's no going back once you decide to take what you earn. So which forms should you consider and which are forms you're better off getting in the standard game?<br />
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<b>Vaporeon – Dream World ability: Hydration –</b> Vaporeon has always been known as a great special wall that can also hit hard with Surf and support team mates with Wish and Baton Pass. Vaporeon's base ability, Water Absorb, definitely gives you free switch ins with some moderate prediction.<br />
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<b>With Hydration</b>, Vaporeon gains more solidarity. If you can get rain up with another Pokemon, using Rest while it's raining allows makes it very difficult to kill Vaporeon, let alone cripple with poison or paralysis.<br />
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Catch value: Catch it! Hydration seriously rivals Water Absorb in terms of usefulness.<br />
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<b>Jolteon – DW ability: Quick Feet –</b> Jolteon's niche has always been speed, speed, and more speed. Unfortunately, lots of other electric Pokemon have an easier time hitting harder than Jolteon with just enough speed. Jolteon's has always found success utilizing its speed to get boosts Baton Passed around through Charge Beam and Agility as well as getting revenge kills. Its ability, Volt Absorb, also lets it switch in on electric attacks.<br />
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<b>Quick Feet</b> boosts speed when suffering from a status ailment. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense on Jolteon. Unlike the four other attributes, you're either faster or you're not and the effects of Quick Feet can't be BP'ed. What's the use of outspeeding everything when you already outspeed everything?<br />
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Catch value: Leave it! Unless you're afraid of attacks like Stun Spore or Glare, Volt Absorb is better. It even absorbs Thunder Wave, the most common method of inflicting paralysis.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Flareon – DW ability: Guts –</b> Ah Flareon. Forever the weakest of the Eeveelutions. So long as Flareon will never get Flare Blitz for Same Type Attack Bonus, it'll always be outclasses by every other fire Pokemon on the market. Fire Fang just doesn't cut it. Even with its ability, Flash Fire, allowing Flareon to switch in on fire attacks, Fire Fang once again isn't terribly threatening.<br />
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<b>Guts</b> boosts the user's Attack attribute by 50% when suffering from a status ailment. This is just begging for Flare Blitz but once again, Flareon just can't get any good mileage out of it, though Guts is functionally better than Flash Fire.<br />
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Catch value: Think on it! Guts is a good ability but Flareon can't use it well. If you absolutely love Flareon, go for Guts and see how far you can go!<br />
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<b>Espeon – DW ability: Magic Bounce – </b>Espeon has been overshadowed by Alakazam for years. They're both similar in many ways but Alakazam boasts a more diverse movepool. Synchronize was also more of a revenge ability then something you can plan on using. But Espeon may see more use this generation as it gains a new DW ability and an egg move Alakazam can't get: Stored Power. This makes Espeon a gimmicky but powerful ender to your BP chains as it's base power increases for every boost the user has.<br />
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Espeon is the sole user of <b>Magic Bounce</b> with usable stats distribution. The only other two users of Magic Bounce are Natu and Xatu, who have terribly stats. Magic Bounce reflects all non-damaging, target moves like Thunder Wave, Toxic, and even Stealth Rocks and Spikes! With Magic Bounce on Espeon, it can function as an anti-lead to reflect hazards and as switch in when you predict something like a ghost Pokemon using Will-o-wisp.<br />
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Catch value: Catch it! Espeon pretty much has a monopoly on a great ability!<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Umbreon – DW ability: Inner Focus –</b> As the generations passed, the metagame put more and more focus on offense and it made Umbreon's job as a wall harder. It has incredible bulk and can easily wall lots of things but many Pokemon these days carry effective fighting moves like Close Combat or Superpower.<br />
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<b>Inner Focus</b> is kind of funny but situational ability. On one hand, its ability to prevent flinch stops annoying problems like a Serene Grace boosted Air Slash obsolete. On the other hand, people who use moves that cause flinch are extremely rare.<br />
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Catch value: Leave it! Flinch isn't very common. Certainly not as common as status afflicting moves like Thunder Wave which Umbreon can Synchronize.<br />
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<b>Glaceon – DW ability: Ice Body –</b> Ice has always been a strange type to me. It's weak to a lot of attack many Pokemon carry and is strong against very uncommon types. However, Ice is the one reliable type to counter dragon types, the type that's home to some of the most powerful Pokemon in the metagame. Glaceon is really only as good as your team. If you build a team that revolves around ice Pokemon and the hail weather condition, you'll have a powerful team. Put Glaceon anywhere else though and it'll flounder. Snow Cloak gives Glaceon an annoying boost in evasion but that's of course relying on luck.<br />
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<b>Ice Body</b> on the other hand is much more reliable. Glaceon also has very tough physical defense, so couple Ice Body in hail with Leftovers and 100% accurate Blizzard and you have something your opponent may genuinely fear.<br />
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Catch value: Think on it! Ice is a very situational type to use but if you have team mates to support Glaceon, it can be worth it!<br />
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<b>Leafeon – DW ability: Chlorophyll –</b> Leafeon has powerful attack attribute in common with Flareon. Unlike Flareon however, Leafeon gets Leaf Blade as a reliable STAB. Plus it learns Swords Dance to make it hit harder. These are things Flareon would kill for. Leafeon's ability, Leaf Guard, can be nice in preventing status afflictions, but it doesn't work like Hydration, healing self-induced sleep from Rest. It prevents status ailments. It does not heal them!<br />
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Leafeon is a simple Pokemon and <b>Chlorophyll</b> is a simple ability. In strong sun, the user's speed doubles. It's as simple as getting sun up, using Swords Dance, and spamming Leaf Blade or X-scissor for type coverage. It's not flashy but Leafeon isn't flashy. It gets the job done and that's what it wants.<br />
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Catch value: Catch it! Lots of grass types have Chlorophyll but Leafon definitely has the bulk to survive a stray hit and the speed to truly outspeed most threats.<br />
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So there you have it. All the Eeveelutions and their Dream World abilities spelled out for you and given context for competitive battle. For you Pokemon trainers out there, has this changed your mind on which you'll pick? Will this change any teams you've already constructed? And are you excited by the prospect of the Dream World shaking up the metagame a bit with new abilities that haven't been legally introduced yet?<br />
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Personally, I've already chosen Vaporeon. It'll easily fit into my Rain Dance team as Hydration requires very little alteration on my team to get it to work well.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-61382970736766712032011-04-05T20:07:00.000-07:002011-04-05T20:07:43.526-07:00Ignoring Marvel 3 Like the Stepchild It IsSorry about the lack of posts but you know how it is. A personal blog about gaming so the writer must be gaming a lot. Also he has no job and worries to himself about it. Privately. While eating chocolate. Right, actually it's toffee.<br />
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So what have I been playing?<br />
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<ul><li>Pokemon White: Self-explanatory</li>
<li>Vanquish: Japanese style 3rd-person shooter. Emphasis on the Japanese part. Everything you can do can be done in bullet time. Even simply vaulting over cover can be done in bullet time. <b>With your jet thrusters on</b>.</li>
<li>Way of the Samurai 3: <b>Whoa</b>. Random choice. Well, I don't hate Japanese games as much as your normal, red-blooded, brainless, American CoD player. So shoot me if I like a JRPG kind of game. Is it so wrong for me to meet a tough-as-nails female samurai and want to befriend her so that she thinks of something other than revenge? You will shoot me? Well it was only an allegory.</li>
</ul>Just finished my first playthrough of WOTS3. In case you don't know how games of this nature work, the overall story is relatively short. The longest playthrough may be no longer than 5 hours. But the story can branch any number of ways and you simply reload your finished game to restart with your progress intact, ready to make all sorts of different decisions.<br />
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If you've played Dead Rising, the mood will be set. You may feel relatively weak at first until you die a couple times and restart the game with all your stats carried over. Hell, I died 3 times before my first ending.<br />
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It's definitely Japanese in other ways. Combat isn't explained in depth unless you actively seek out the dojo. It's amazing how I've taken in game tutorials for granted!<br />
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I'll probably spend a few more days on WOTS3 and even upload some Let's Plays. I've already tried rendering live comm of Deadliest Warrior but unfortunately have to start over because my audio track was muted during the render. But I promise it's a funny looking game with some stupid mechanics!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-37516642606350959402011-03-20T12:48:00.000-07:002011-03-20T12:48:40.465-07:00GODDAMN AMAZON, TOO MANY CHOICESI cannot decide what to use my $50 Amazon birthday credit on. If you have any ideas, I'm open to them. Here are some ideas I've been kicking around. Also, I found out that on March 22, the Gold Box will be nothing but video games.<br />
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Nintendo DS<br />
<ul><li>Okami-den</li>
<li>Ghost Trick</li>
<li>Plants Vs. Zombies</li>
<li>Super Scribblenauts</li>
<li>9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors</li>
<li>Sonic Classic Collection</li>
<li>Golden Sun: Dark Dawn</li>
<li>Professor Layton</li>
<li>Kirby Super Star</li>
</ul>Xbox 360<br />
<ul><li> Homefront (prefer to rent beforehand)</li>
<li>L.A. Noire</li>
<li>Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit</li>
<li>Vanquish</li>
<li>GTA IV - Either the complete series or the Episodes From Liberty City disc. I've never played either of the two DLC stories.</li>
</ul>Misc<br />
<ul><li> Some kind of exotic snack or chocolate</li>
<li>Some kind of graphic tee or hoodie</li>
<li>Some kind of computer accessory</li>
</ul><ul></ul>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-75496331372903897212011-03-05T20:58:00.001-08:002011-03-05T20:59:11.320-08:00Build-A-Team For Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Team Mix Ups!<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Wesker/Zero/Amaterasu</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Building a team in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 is extremely important. Two wrong ways to build a team if you want to seriously win is to pick characters you like based on their series and to pick characters you're good with on point or as an active character.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">While being good with your point character is certainly important, the characters you choose must be able to compliment each other in terms of move sets, playstyle, and of course assist selection. Many good teams have a central idea or playstyle the team as a whole emphasizes to bring themselves victory. The following is the first team I constructed: Team Mix Ups.<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I like to say this team is oriented around its anchor, that is, its last character. As the name suggests, this team is focused on creating confusing mix ups and cross ups in order to open up even the best defenders.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Also, not only does the team revolve around its anchor (Amaterasu), but the other two team mates have very important roles to play as well.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Focus and goal</b> – The focus of this team is rushdown and cross ups. The first two characters have very good movement options but they never exercise their incredible mobility without some cover fire from the anchor. Nevertheless, it's impossible to play keepaway against this team and with their astounding mobility, they can easily create powerful and confusing pressure that makes even blocking in the correct direction an incredible task!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2z3qvra.jpg" style="float: left; height: 50px; margin-right: 6px; width: 50px;" />Point and battery</b> – Wesker acts as the vanguard, being the first fighter on the field when you start with only 1 bar of hyper meter. He's capable of doing very serious damage without spending meter and his teleports allow him to quickly get and pick apart holes in defense very quickly. With Amaterasu giving cover at midrange, Wesker can pick a spot to teleport to and quickly get to work.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">His high damage output without relying on meter allows him to pass along any meter he generates to Zero!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/2znrfbs.jpg" style="float: left; height: 50px; margin-right: 6px; width: 50px;" />Reserve and punisher</b> – While Zero can be flexible with zoning and rushdown, his <i>Hien Kyaku</i> (QCB + any attack button) command dash gives him unparalleled pressure and mix up options. However, he needs meter to do any reliable damage, but as long as he has Wesker to take the brunt of damage and build meter for him, he'll always have it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The most important facet to Zero is saving meter for his level 3 hyper, Gunma Zero (QCF + any 2 attack buttons). This extremely fast, full screen projectile is invulnerable all the way through its animation and allows Zero to punish nearly any mistake from full screen with an incredibly damaging attack. If your enemy knows Zero has 3 bars of hyper meter, they'll need to think twice about throwing out random projectiles or hyper combos!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/2e5l6xi.jpg" style="float: left; height: 50px; margin-right: 6px; width: 50px;" />Anchor</b> – Amaterasu as anchor is a risky proposition. With Zero already having a low stamina rating, having a second low stamina character is extremely risky since X-Factor will most likely play a role when Ammy comes onto the field. Iron Man previously played this role with great effect as his Unibeam assist was a powerful, full screen beam projectile that allows Wesker and Zero to apply their cross up, movement options from greater ranges with Unibeam covering the entire screen horizontally.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">However, Iron Man has a difficult learning curve as he's relatively clunky and requires a different chain combo to go into his launcher. So if you can't get the hang of Iron Man, Ammy is your riskier anchor option.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That being said, Amaterasu make a great anchor so long as Wesker and Zero work to protect her. Her Cold Star assist does not go full screen but instead shoots from an angle from the air. But even though it doesn't go full screen, Ammy's Cold Star is capable of denying the enemy an entire area due to how long she continues shooting.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Being an anchor, fighting against another character with level 3 X-Factor is very likely. A big advantage Ammy has in this situation is using her Value of Mist hyper (QCB + any 2 attack buttons). By using this hyper, her enemy is immediately slowed down for 5 seconds. This not only gives Ammy a big advantage, but it also runs down the time to your opponent's deadly level 3 X-Factor, easing the tension of what may be a close match.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Overall</b> – This team carries several risks in favor of a heavy emphasis on rushdown and mix up. While offense is strong, the team lacks assists that help on defense and two out of three team mates have low life, making defense even more of a problem in many cases.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Still, if keep away irritates you in this game, this team can be very rewarding as it quickly shuts down most attempts at zoning with your speed and pressure. A little risk can go a long way!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-4114369815901069392011-02-20T16:21:00.001-08:002011-02-20T16:21:58.906-08:00Did Capcom Pull the Wool OVer Our Eyes on Marvel Vs. Capcom 3For nearly one year, Capcom spoon fed us information about Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, from new characters, their movesets, and fighting mechanics. From classic Ghosts and Goblins hero Arthur to the 4th wall breaking Deadpool, the game looked to please everyone with fond memories of the shenanigans in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.<br />
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Then the game released.<br />
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When press outlets and gamers finally got their hands on the retail game, it was as if the only things we could enjoy were only the things Capcom specifically talked about.<br />
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There are no extra modes like survival or time trial. It teaches you few combos in its own mission mode and even then the combos it teaches you in mission mode are limited in utility in real matches. And online gameplay is like playing a fighting game online in 2009. Amazing that 2009 was only 2 years ago and yet fighters from that year can feel like antiques now.<br />
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Online gameplay is either limited to best match results on ranked or player fights unless you want to find a lobby, for which there is no spectator mode while you wait. It's incredibly baffling what happened to MvC3's online modes. The netcode is even flabberghasting, as even 5 bar connections can give you difficult, second long input latency.<br />
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Just 2 years ago, I played Street Fighter IV and struggled with its system of playing one random opponent at a time. Then when Super Street Fighter IV came out, it gave me the opportunity to choose an opponent based on connection quality rather then just the game's best guess at who I wanted to fight. It gave me lobbies I could play with friends in so that we'd all be involved in the game whether we were actively fighting or spectating the game.<br />
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I suppose you could argue that both games were developed con-currently, so they never implemented such features we take for granted now in modern fighters. MvC3 started life in 2008 which by then, the original Street Fighter IV was barely out. And yet Super Street Fighter IV, which gave us such modern features like replays and spectating, came out roughly 10 months ago. Was 10 months not enough time to observe the results of Super Street Fighter IV, an upgrade from a previous iteration, and implement them?<br />
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These are all just problems that baffle me to no end for their oversight in the final retail version of the game. I haven't even talked about the thing that bothers me the most: Sentinel. But that's for another day.<br />
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At the end of the day, playing MvC3 online is a lesson in not taking everything we have now in modern fighting games for granted. Everything we've heard about the game pre-released was based on building hype for the tournament scene of the game and even that community is facing the ugly realities of how the game is balanced right now. But as for the commercial factors of the game, MvC3 is lacking for some odd reason.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-61035229754796105582011-01-22T22:40:00.000-08:002011-01-22T22:43:19.252-08:00The Assassin's Manifesto to Monday Night CombatI once read a player class' manifesto somewhere on a Team Fortress 2 forum. I distinctly remember a more popular one than the one I <a href="http://www.teamfortress2fort.com/forums/t/TheScoutsManifesto-8139.aspx?p=1">googled</a>. But nevertheless, I think there's a need for assassins everywhere on America's most popular death sport of the future that does not exist yet except in game form, to understand key principles and ideologies in order to truly be considered an assassin.<br />
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I present to you the <b>assassin's manifesto</b>.<br />
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I am the assassin. I am invisible like the wind and also run like it.<br />
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I am not a machine of death. Victory does not demand blood but effort.<br />
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If I am to strike out at my target, it will be from beyond the gaze of his eyes.<br />
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I understand my cloak is not perfect. It is not a crutch for my stealth. It requires me as much as I require it.<br />
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I shall remember that my cloak allows me to be unseen but not unheard. It must be used to help me flank and nothing more than that. <br />
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My foes will never know of my presence until it's too late.<br />
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Honor is no concern for me. Strike when it's unfair and run when outmatched.<br />
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The front door may be guarded but no one watches the back except for me.<br />
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My foes know of my blade but do not expect my shurikens.<br />
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The tank is a mighty foe. Never approach him unless he has been weakened or outnumbered.<br />
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If the enemy builds defenses, I will dismantle them. So long as I am on the field, no base shall have walls.<br />
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I will always know where to escape and when to use it. I will never give my enemy any satisfaction.<br />
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When outright victory is not certain, I will confuse, confound, and frustrate my foes. An angry enemy is an inefficient enemy.<br />
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I go where I am not allowed and appear when I'm not wanted. My presence instills fear, anxiety, and anger.<br />
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Above all, I am the assassin. Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-89795035643260283452011-01-19T01:17:00.000-08:002011-01-19T01:17:44.590-08:00Diary of a Video Noob Part Two: Recording, Editing, and Doing it LiveAfter about two days I was feeling pretty good about myself. I was one of those new-fangled HD channels uploading some quality content. I had all sorts of ideas I wanted to try so I could get noticed but of course it would not happen all at once.<br />
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First thing's first: what is everybody watching right now when it comes to game play and commentary? I believed the answer was <a _cke_saved_href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxx2rTSvpKA" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxx2rTSvpKA">Call of Duty: Black Ops</a>, so I got to recording that. Things were pretty straight forward for a while. Theater mode made it a breeze to pick and choose relatively good game play. I even had some fun playing around with Theater mode's built in montage editor which I then added text while editing the actual montage on Sony Vegas.<br />
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But of course, more ambitious project required more investment of time. So I decided to try my hand at my first big project: A live commentary session on something big. A multiplayer game sounded too much for my experience. Not only did it entail random games but my bandwidth was being tied up by my parents on their own laptops and watching Netflix at the moment. So I made do with playing <a _cke_saved_href="http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=02732DE630F5D8A2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8780600950206955243&postID=8979503564326028345" target="_blank">Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas</a>. A game everyone remembers fondly, had a wide open world, and plenty of funny shenanigans to engage in and entertain viewers.<br />
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I didn't realize one important thing about the project though. For a suitable live commentary session, I'd play more than your typical YouTube length video. My game play clocked in at 40 minutes and the hours needed to render and upload this beast felt like it was triple that. I gained a newfound respect for my favorite YouTube directors, dedicating so much time just to render their videos and upload them. While rendering I have to pass the time with something that doesn't need my laptop. And during uploads I have to pass the time with something that doesn't need any bandwidth. And both meant I couldn't record new footage.<br />
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During my work on the series I came across countless problems that forced me to learn video editing on the fly. There were instances of the recorded audio desyncing due to hiccups on my laptop's performance such as screensavers kicking in or TV screens dimming. So in addition to syncing my live voice over to key cues I had to resync sound when it was obvious that it no longer made sense. My motorcycle would crash visually but the sound of the crash would happen a second later, all while making sure my reaction to it all still made sense. It was maddening!<br />
<br />
My Mass Effect 2: <a _cke_saved_href="http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=A7B8BDFE0316D9FD" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8780600950206955243&postID=8979503564326028345" target="_blank">Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC</a> play through also forced me to really learn what my laptop and HDTV could really handle. Several videos are a result of me experimenting on the bitrates, video protocols, and resolutions. It was a terrible blow to find out my TV was running 60 frames per second while my college bargain laptop could only do 30 FPS. This meant I couldn't watch any raw, recorded footage smoothly because of the difference in FPS. Entire renders would come out wrong because I couldn't preview my work. Hours were lost in learning how to manage my raws and there was no way to salvage that time. I had to start over.<br />
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It drove me crazy. And it drove me crazier to feel like my channel wasn't growing at all despite watching videos posted by commentators giving tips on how to grow. I actually forgot YouTube was a video sharing <b>community</b>! I rated more videos, favorited more videos, commented on more videos (intelligently I might add), and responded to every comment I received and accepted every friend request in an effort expand and was overjoyed at even a single email telling me someone subscribed to my channel.<br />
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Ultimately, what keeps me going through this funk is showing my girlfriend these videos and knowing at least one person for sure enjoyed the video and told me what they thought it.<br />
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Just when I thought I wasn't growing at all, I find out that the people at <a _cke_saved_href="http://www.funinfused.com/Hypership/" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8780600950206955243&postID=8979503564326028345" target="_blank">Fun Infused</a>, the makers of Hypership Out of Control, had retweeted me. They saw my twitter feed of when I uploaded a live session with their game since my twitter account was linked to my YouTube. Even more, they seemed receptive of my video and my tweets thanking them. Was I getting anywhere? Well, Hypership <i>is</i> an indie game, so probably not a whole lot. But it was progress and it was certainly a cool moment.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_MBZYhgt1t4/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_MBZYhgt1t4?f=videos&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_MBZYhgt1t4?f=videos&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><br />
It's still a long way to go before being some <a _cke_saved_href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BlameTruth" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8780600950206955243&postID=8979503564326028345" target="_blank">Blame Truth</a> or being picked up by Machinima, but I suppose it's a start.<br />
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<i>Next time, the final chapter: figuring out a routine, perfecting my editing, and finding an audience.</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-21669697216100902892011-01-13T00:53:00.000-08:002011-01-13T00:53:18.456-08:00Diary of a Video Noob Part One: Opening the Box and Settling InAfter months of watching some great YouTube directors upload great video game plays and commentaries, I finally have my chance to try my hand at breaking into the video game play commentary racket thanks to the miracle of Christmas.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQ7Rg_l62zruDdDRsKVJpdCAWoj5FxXCy8nLLKxg4RTX6lsW1qRBKLCTLZvC5rPfMKGld6sIGTjEQe4n2-gp6iTTFBd3HuUeSQhvoqPpKMmHzQZqpxMsBnniR_Gz-qG9rL_FIWGdZJCTg/s1600/DSC01109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQ7Rg_l62zruDdDRsKVJpdCAWoj5FxXCy8nLLKxg4RTX6lsW1qRBKLCTLZvC5rPfMKGld6sIGTjEQe4n2-gp6iTTFBd3HuUeSQhvoqPpKMmHzQZqpxMsBnniR_Gz-qG9rL_FIWGdZJCTg/s320/DSC01109.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Terrific. Terrific.<br />
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A capture card was out of the question. My desktop PC was practically a younger brother to me in terms of age. It hasn't been upgraded since the day I bought it and its measly 40 gigabyte hard drive was already cringing under the weight of somehow fitting Team Fortress 2 on it. And it runs on a custom script that has it run on the absolute lowest settings.<br />
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Connecting my TV to a camcorder? I know a lot of electronics are expensive but I'm not some nouveau-riche entrepreneur. Plus the whole process is a bit roundabout. Cameras are meant to record what's in front of them, not what inputs are connected to them.<br />
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So I decided on the most elegant answer for someone of my particular tastes. A personal video recorder, or PVR. Many popular YouTube directors who stake their claim in video games use them and they're pretty simple. Just record and go assuming everything's connected correctly.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FMnX2izhSTtydkJQNt5_dhoE8-DYhWFXXPiNu5sXyBjRzWrk4u3r9H_xKl_puSDjypxmVJDvbMS58-MVqwc5XczHFoaK_p78wpOt0M7jSPsWmuypEmQBOH28CEjrgRJPMFfauaazAJTe/s1600/DSC01105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FMnX2izhSTtydkJQNt5_dhoE8-DYhWFXXPiNu5sXyBjRzWrk4u3r9H_xKl_puSDjypxmVJDvbMS58-MVqwc5XczHFoaK_p78wpOt0M7jSPsWmuypEmQBOH28CEjrgRJPMFfauaazAJTe/s320/DSC01105.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Of course finding a PVR is something different entirely. How many people do you think walk into an electronics retail store and ask for a PVR? Every store associate pointed me to the DVR section and suggested services like Tivo and so forth. Have you guys really not heard of this thing? Surely you understand what I mean? I want to record video game play off my TV to my laptop as video!<br />
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Finally, as I made a detour to look for a laptop as a Christmas gift for my father, I see a PVR stowed away in the back along with other devices like the Slingbox and Mac TV. Leave it to computer shopping to solve all my problems.<br />
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Of course, I'm starting from scratch. Even with an HD-PVR recording my native 720p, a microphone, a heart full of dreams and a suitcase full of aspirations, I still need to learn how to work even the barest of video editing software. Thanks to some experience in college, I wasn't going in cold but it was still experimentation all the way through.<br />
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Even then, just starting up was a nightmare. Upon unboxing my shiny new device and connecting all the self-explanatory cords, surprise! It didn't work! How could it not work? I connected the cables that even the most technologically illiterate person (my dad) can work. They're color coded for God's sakes! I'm not apart of that rather large 8% of color blind men. I know for a fact I'm typing in black and the background of this web site is green.<br />
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It never even occurred to me that the problem was a hardware failure. Yes, after hours of Googling for similar troubleshooting cases across the Internet, it occurred to me that it wasn't me but the machine's fault. The component cables my PVR shipped with were faulty and it's not hard to see why. The cables were extremely long and bulky and despite that they were stuffed into a box that needed them coiled five times just to fit. The stress of being so tightly coiled probably damaged the important wires inside the insulation, thereby denying me any signal and justice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWd6LQNvWU7P4k_SAAyag69kdzlqZBEgUDnja7EoBd2MkYAIzoLSXg186-jQP9NLmZ5LycBP2PkvsRFusQw84qrXIeV65SN5a-QZgaBlQWh8xNeg2lOA0hLLFa1Vin65cFUJsYl53M01Fd/s1600/DSC01108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWd6LQNvWU7P4k_SAAyag69kdzlqZBEgUDnja7EoBd2MkYAIzoLSXg186-jQP9NLmZ5LycBP2PkvsRFusQw84qrXIeV65SN5a-QZgaBlQWh8xNeg2lOA0hLLFa1Vin65cFUJsYl53M01Fd/s320/DSC01108.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This piece of crap...</div><span id="goog_1810452494"></span><span id="goog_1810452495"></span><br />
<span id="goog_447920196"></span><span id="goog_447920197"></span><br />
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Luckily, I had spare component cables which were actually better suited to the task, being shorter and smaller. Thank you <a href="http://www.roku.com/">Roku</a> for sending my everything I needed to make your box work despite already owning my own HDMI cable for it. I'll now be putting your components to good use.<br />
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And like everything else I've done in life, I jumped right into it without thinking too hard on a plan. I simply booted up the game I was playing most, this being Tempura of the Dead, and started recording just to get a feel for the video rendering and uploads. I got my hands on some video editing software (Sony Vegas) and sent it off to YouTube like a proud father.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kY4FWrOzaN8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
It was a rather smooth and painless process. Of course, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The video itself was only 5 minutes and 44 seconds long. Recording had actually gone smoothly (something that wouldn't happen all the time in the future), and I didn't even have to worry about adding a voice track. It was just render and upload, bada bing, bada boom.<br />
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So closes the first few days of being in charge of a video. It's quite an exhilarating experience putting so much effort into a video that's now public for all the Internet to watch and judge. Little did I know that all the ideas I had floating in my mind weren't going to be as simple as pushing the record button and uploading it to YouTube.<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Next time, recording commentaries, the magic of doing it live, and the nightmare of long videos.</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-89881212213509176692010-12-29T00:35:00.000-08:002010-12-29T00:54:03.883-08:00Arcade Infinity Closing Its Doors: The End of an Era<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MUz6RdSkUtM39KFLdMTjBnb3zOOIgtE0kyAUQu1f0H2PwIV0kR7hz8Gd5jqA6Cgs9DQXhBcJDoLasLjQ0VfX7aF5PmIQpx8Ulf_rZxXCuEI_FKZMjbb_3rVbp0K7VaZSkOg5XipckTmU/s1600/HNI_0075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MUz6RdSkUtM39KFLdMTjBnb3zOOIgtE0kyAUQu1f0H2PwIV0kR7hz8Gd5jqA6Cgs9DQXhBcJDoLasLjQ0VfX7aF5PmIQpx8Ulf_rZxXCuEI_FKZMjbb_3rVbp0K7VaZSkOg5XipckTmU/s320/HNI_0075.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I've probably been to Arcade Infinity five times in my entire life. Once was with my girlfriend, the next was with a close friend of mine and her friend, then I went there with an <a href="http://bitmob.com/articles/two-men-one-tournament-and-a-pile-driver">idea for a feature story</a>, then I was with a group of friends who were all into the culture of the fighting game scene, and lastly I went by myself just to take in the sights and sounds.<br />
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AI is a good 45 minute drive away from my home. This is the main reason I don't go too often. But come this <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/event.php?eid=134465213280491">January 15</a>, I will go for my sixth and final time. AI has had it's fair share of skilled players, celebrities, and crowds walk through its doors, but after the 15th those doors will close forever. A long history of rent hikes and waning business has finally driven AI's health bar down to zero and it was down to its last round.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_uIFr0qsKfF4z7f8_kamtlc42yxaQ6fiz32hfC1GHszxruxZFC7maRS-9Cf_x4KtB_9k3gD1aJayjTguGjBNT5BLDJSf5e8KuI2nbX1NuEXIfkMLf0u2_wMU27xHsnMEbF7I-0o6N1Dy/s1600/Blazblue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_uIFr0qsKfF4z7f8_kamtlc42yxaQ6fiz32hfC1GHszxruxZFC7maRS-9Cf_x4KtB_9k3gD1aJayjTguGjBNT5BLDJSf5e8KuI2nbX1NuEXIfkMLf0u2_wMU27xHsnMEbF7I-0o6N1Dy/s320/Blazblue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Nearly every game in AI has someone playing on it at some time and often two people are on it because of AI's reputation as a fighting game community. AI was one of the first places in the US to get Street Fighter IV as well as Blazblue: Calamity Trigger and King of Fighters XII and games like these brought in all manner of people to test their skills against others. From students, to businessmen, to musicians, all varying in degrees of how involved they were with the game from the fair weather fan to the hardcore player to the competitor bound for EVO. To me, there was no other place like AI, and it was a miracle such a place existed. Like a zombie it continued to shuffle around where all its brethren had long decayed.<br />
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Many gamers from before 2000 may remember a time when arcades were a widespread fad. I remember when I would look forward to driving to Redondo Beach for a day of fun at the beach and to visit the Redondo Fun Center and try my hand at The Simpsons arcade game. But nowadays arcades are a relic of the past. Is history just catching up with AI? Arcades are certainly an expensive venture to run and consoles make things easier.<br />
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Of course people are bitter about it. To them, arcades are something more than passion to them. Perhaps a lifeblood. One particularly vocal person from <a href="http://iplaywinner.com/news/2010/12/27/arcade-infinity-to-close-its-doors-january-15th.html">iPlaywinner</a> caught my eye. Not only is he bitter that such an acclaimed arcade is dying, he blames so called SoCal scrubs for the lack of support for arcades in the area.<br />
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<blockquote>"<i>A whole generation of scrubs that wont leave their god damn living room let AI die. Everyone claims they love the arcade culture and what not but their full of shit. SoCal has so many fighting game players and are you telling me you couldn't go down to your local AMAZING Japanese style arcade once a fuckin week so it could stay around.</i>"</blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uF70BwpvFatnJxhUGTZcL_olSlnFVPv_xGSNtkSF6g3CThotbGUANqUmGHqX4jUGBOzVn6Iy_GOXvVDHTJq4X6KJwIA7Sgdw6ebfXSlkpZAyzq1J6QwUoOlSR1Hmi3BqTqj7E7BB2VuM/s1600/SFIV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uF70BwpvFatnJxhUGTZcL_olSlnFVPv_xGSNtkSF6g3CThotbGUANqUmGHqX4jUGBOzVn6Iy_GOXvVDHTJq4X6KJwIA7Sgdw6ebfXSlkpZAyzq1J6QwUoOlSR1Hmi3BqTqj7E7BB2VuM/s320/SFIV.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If AI is closing, it could mean other long running arcades are in danger. Or maybe the general profile for a Southern Californian gamer really is lazy when it comes to supporting something so special.<br />
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Whatever it means, one thing is for certain: it was an amazing run. Whenever someone would talk about the death of arcades, I'd always think about Arcade Infinity personally. Regardless of the support it received, the service it gave, and the acclaim it earned, Arcade Infinity will always be one of my fondest memories.<br />
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Regardless of whether or not arcades are still relevant in an age of online gaming and instant connection, the arcade is like a grandfather to consoles much like the much beloved Atari 2600 or the NES. Is it really the fault of the local community for letting such an iconic place disappear? After all, no matter how good business could be, news has mentioned that the rent for the area has increased and there's been a history of problems with the city.<br />
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I personally think a reaction like the one from above is just the voice of a particularly bitter purist. One who blames the new and refuses change. Blaming Street Fighter IV on the console seems a bit much. After all, Street Fighter Iv coming to the console was singlehandedly responsible for breeding new interest in the long stagnant fighting game genre. The argument seems a bit shortsighted in taking into account how important progress to the video game industry really is.<br />
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How do you feel about this news? And where do you stand on this issue of supporting a long extinct breed of gaming?<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">This was cross-posted onto <a href="http://bitmob.com/articles/arcade-infinity-closing-its-doors-the-end-of-an-era">Bitmob</a>. </span></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-30397559756711539602010-12-27T01:06:00.000-08:002010-12-27T01:06:57.220-08:00A New PVR, A New Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kY4FWrOzaN8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Finally, after hours of troubleshooting my new HD-PVR (how was I supposed to know the cables were defunct?) I finally made a test run with my new PVR with one of my favorite indie games, Tempura of the Dead.<br />
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Apologies in advance for my speech style. It was at night and I didn't want to wake up anyone in my house so it was rather quiet and passive. Tomorrow I'll be more active and spontaneous, especially since the next recording is going to be a live commentary.<br />
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I still need to learn how to make sure my commentary track syncs up nicely with the video. Probably why many commentators don't talk about the video but discuss something else entirely. No need to worry about syncing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-72175740422922469812010-12-08T22:27:00.000-08:002010-12-08T22:27:38.755-08:00Black Ops War Journal: No, Ghost Doesn't Beat Motion SensorSo it's been awhile since I last checked in on my blog. I need to come back more often I guess, so I'll come back with more casual updates such as what I'm playing recent games, and maybe an experiment in Indie Gaming Tonight!<br />
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Oh yeah, speaking of Indie Gaming Tonight! Christmas is coming up and I'm very interesting in investing in a HD PVR for myself. Then I can really make my YouTube account shine! Like real good commentaries, a revisit of my Street Fighter IV stuff but in HD and maybe commentaries as well. And to really make something special and regular, the concept of Indie Gaming Tonight! is to download a different indie game demo every week and go through the demo blind for as long as I can. Thinking about the set up, it'd probably benefit from a live commentary format.<br />
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Well, now that that little update is done, let's talk about Black Ops, more specifically, Ghost. I don't understand why people would even bother calling this perk OP (overpowered). All it does is take you off the radar during spy planes. It doesn't mean they're completely invisible after all. Case in point, objective defense.<br />
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So last night I got in a game of Demolition on Black Ops on the map Array and the game was pretty close. Both rounds the team on offense won so on round three, my team was on defense to break the tie. The A point went down pretty fast considering how wide open it is and how difficult planting or defusing the bomb is since there are so many sight lines on it. Unfortunately, they planted and they kept us from defusing, so it was down to B.<br />
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B however, is somewhat easier. The most direct path for offense is very predictable and literally an uphill battle. Flanking around takes longer because Array is so big, especially the main satellite station dominating the center of the map. My team blocked off the main route pretty well, but through out the entire game, someone with Ghost kept trying to flank.<br />
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Unfortunately, Ghost only blocks spy planes. They light up as clear as day on motion sensors.<br />
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You see, in trying to get Flak Jacket Pro (throw back five enemy grenades), my Flak Jacket class was made for defense. Flak Jacket/Hardened Pro/Marathon Pro with the M60 light machine gun with grip plus a motion sensor. Marathon helps offset the mobility penalty LMGs have while Hardened helps deal with enemies who play smart and fire from behind low cover (why bother shooting their small head when you can shoot where you know where their body is with Hardened letting you blow through that cover).<br />
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Throughout the entire game, me and my team had an easy time keeping them off the main route while my motion sensor let me know if anyone was trying to flank. I decided to troll this flanker by waiting until they got close to the corner and knifing their face off. For some reason they crouch walked the entire way so I could take my time reading the motion sensor for their position.<br />
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Killstreak set up was Spy Plane/Napalm Strike/Sentry Gun. My luck with killstreaks is really bad so most of my killstreaks are set this low. But on defense it was the best day ever. Napalm is pretty self-explanatory but sentry guns are so much fun. Everyone basically gets mowed down and I get to relive my days playing engie on Team Fortress 2. Then once again, the Ghost user, now revealing that her has Ghost Pro, tries to slink up to my precious toy to destroy it. Well, my entire team is here, so you won't be touching it.<br />
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There were a lot of highlights I want to get onto an HD PVR if I get one. How I defused a bomb <b>just</b> as it hit zero seconds, the sentry gun denying an entire zone to the enemy, the multiple times I literally snapped around the corner to knife the Ghost's face off. Man, it was a good game. And hopefully I can get more if I get an HD PVR.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780600950206955243.post-19003770619855797052010-11-15T22:25:00.000-08:002010-11-15T22:26:25.940-08:00Not Gonna Use That Ammo Box? I'll Take It.<object height="295" style="background-image: url("http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/aqygJbU4vxU/hqdefault.jpg");" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aqygJbU4vxU?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aqygJbU4vxU?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br />
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If you're playing Black Ops as much as me, you've probably used the perk, Hardline. Hardline reduces the kill requirement for your killstreak reward by one. However, complete three perk specific challenges and you can use you CoD points to purchase the pro version, which adds the benefit of giving you the option to shuffle care package contents once.<br />
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Needless to say, it's always hilarious for me when I turn a mediocre spy plane or ammo box into an attack chopper, rolling thunder, or sometimes as you can see, the hefty 11 killstreak gunship.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02045349302756878899noreply@blogger.com0