VGA weekend, what are you playing

The Spike Video Game Awards 2011 is happening this weekend but what do you do while waiting for a show about video games? Play more video games! So, what are you playing?

Migoy: Did a bit of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 training. Finally looked at the move list of some characters as opposed to just trying every hadouken and shoryuken command with every character I try. Strangely enough I spent almost an hour playing Power Rangers: Samurai on the Wii. I got the game last week cause it was my nephew’s birthday and he loves Power Rangers. Good mindless fun and perfect for the kids. Did I mention that it has 2 player co-op? After that I played a bit of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Made my way to the forest temple which is probably the least intimidating forest temple from any 3D Zelda game but it’s ok. The motion controls are a absolute blast, flailing has never felt so good. Oh and I did spend some time playing a bunch of PS3 demos like Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition and WWE All-Stars.

Quash: Played a bit of DC Universe Online together with Battlefield 3. Why I re-downloaded DCUO again, I have no idea. Maybe because its free now? Anyway, since Back to Karkand is now out for the PS3, I've been trying the new maps out and their pretty fun to play on. A bit buggy still with invisible walls in some areas and some ledges where you can jump over. The four new maps feels a bit small compared to maps like Caspian Border but their a welcome addition to the lineup of maps. I finished Skyrim last week around tuesday and already started my second playthrough. Planning to continue playing when the 1.3 patch arrives so I can install the game for less loading time. It can take quite awhile when your midway into the game.

Check out the Ultimate FPS Simulator

A UK show called The Gadget Show just did something truely amazing. They actually built a First Person Shooter Game Simulator. A world first they say. The goal is to create a simulator to create that sense of realism, making you feel that your literally in the game. Game of choice? Battlefield 3.

It's pretty sick how they pulled this off. You walk, aim, crouch, and even get hurt if you actually get shot in the game. Thanks to some hacking on a Kinect device, performing an actual jump or a crouch will trigger those movements in-game. With Battlefield 3' s already realistic gun sounds and explosions,  I'm sure it helps their goal to make it as realistic as possible. Gaming companies should take some pointers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8Bh5iI2WY&feature=player_embedded

Now I think they did an awesome job creating a realistic game simulator, but imagine if they can pull off adding a way to use vehicles. Mind blown.

Migoy's gaming backlog (Dec. 2011)

The month of big name sequels has passed and our wallets have been emptied. With so many games and so little time, I'm sure some of us have quite the gaming backlog. Here's mine

Now my list doesn't only consist of games from the month of November, some of these games were released earlier and I just haven't had time to play enough of them. I'll divide them by console to avoid confusion as well as talk a little bit about each game starting off with the handhelds.

Nintendo DS:

Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The 4th game in the Professor Layton series from Level-5 is actually a prequel of the 1st game as this takes place in the time where Layton meets his young apprentice Luke. Usually when a new Layton or Phoenix Wright game comes out I'm it like a moth to a bright lamp. The Layton series is not something I can just bust out and play for a few minutes while waiting in line. I have to be in a place where no one can disturb me and I need to play it with headphones on so I can hear all the music, the sounds, and the voices as I like to get immersed in the adventure. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCPKuyf8up4[/youtube]

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors - I know little to nothing about this game aside from it having anime characters, it being an adventure game, and some convoluted plot that I've heard people say is interesting. All that and the mysterious title of the game was enough to attract me. Sadly though I've had this game for quite sometime, I have not popped it in once in my DS. I will get down to playing this game eventually. I hope. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfioFxOEHKA&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

Aliens Infestation - The side scrolling, squad based, Metroidvania game with Xenomorphs in it. Nuff said. A lot of good things have been said about this game even before it's release just from people trying it out at tradeshows and what not. Only spent 5 mins in game just to try things out and I gotta say it terrifies me. The slightest noise or a cat falling out of a vent made me jump. Graphics are a bit outdated even for DS standards but the atmosphere just nails it. I hear that combat is quite the challenge in this game and that scares me too. For games like Metroid and Castlevania, combat was just there and you were never really afraid of anything as either you are just not equipped to face such enemy types or your level isn't high enough. My cousin got to play more of Aliens Infestation and he told me that when he just recklessly charged into the game he lost 3 of his team members in an instant. Usually when I play squad based single player games I get all OCD and do my best to keep everyone alive the whole time which gets a little bit tiring for my psyche in game.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTcfICWSugU[/youtube]

Kirby: Mass Attack - I could probably breeze through this game a lot faster but my OCD kicks in making me replay a level until I get all the gold stars before I proceed to the next one. Now just beating the level is enough to unlock the next but that nagging feeling of "GET ALL THE GOLD STARS" just won't stop. As Kirby games go, getting all the gold stars probably unlocks something. I don't even know what that is or if I really want it but seeing a blank star at the end of a level just makes me want to rip my hair out and keep playing the same level till it's complete.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_kBt0-lkso[/youtube]

Sony PSP:

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Impact - CyberConnect2 finally brought the gameplay style of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm into the portable realm which is what I have been hoping for since it came out for the PS3. The story mode just feels like mindless Dynasty Warriors action which I will just have to power through but from what I've seen, the actual VS. combat of Ninja Storm really is in this portable version. I would really like to play more of this but my problem is that my analog nub tends to stick and forces my characters to run down the whole time. It's probably just a loose connection or spring but remember that I got my PSP-3000 second hand so there might be a chance that there is something actually wrong with the device. Since I got it, it's made a clicking noise when I rotate it and input registration for it is a little weird even before it sticks so I might just go to a shop and have the analog nub replaced. Problem is I haven't put away any money for it as I was busy with other things and the analog nub on the fat PSP was horrible to being with so I'm not playing it on Phats.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAdMQ54fBmY[/youtube]

Nintendo Wii:

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - An obvious candidate on my list. This game is amazing but I really have to spend more time on this. To be honest, since that one weekend where I just hit the game head-on, I haven't booted it up since. Just like with Layton, Zelda isn't a game for quickie fixes. It's a game where you have to spend AT LEAST an hour on playing straight, and even then it isn't enough. With my current setup at home, I don't get to do a lot of late night gaming like I used to do back in highschool and college. The main reason is the room where my consoles are in is shared with other people and since everyone is busy doing stuff during the day, once they get home sleep is the 1st option so even if I would like to do some late night gaming I simply can't due to the fact that people are asleep in the room. Wiimote flailing makes a lot of noise too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zm1tLH1Oks[/youtube]

Kamen Rider Climax Heroes: Fourze - I still enjoy watching costumed super heroes fight bad guys and defeating them in a formulaic manner. So when you have a cross-over fighting game that features most of the heroes from a certain tokusatsu series duking it out? Good clean shallow fun.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mofNTPuWUYM[/youtube]

Sony PlayStation 2:

Odin's Sphere - Aside from my unfinished Final Fantasy XII and Devil May Cry  I have added another one to the list. Odin's Sphere is a game done by Vanillaware Ltd., the same guys who did Muramasa: The Demon Blade on the Wii. This game has a very similar art style and gameplay as Muramasa and since I loved Muramasa, this was something I had to get.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI-V3Uw1b3U[/youtube]

Sony PlayStation 3:

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 - This might not really count as a backlog since this is the game that is getting the most attention from me lately. Although I still haven't gotten all the character endings yet and have only done 5 of Wesker's missions so I still have a ways to go with this game.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3gRwvQnHe0[/youtube]

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - So aside from UMvC3, I don't own any other disc game for the PS3. A friend of mine was nice enough to lend me a few of his games, one of which was the Game of the Year Edition of Uncharted 1. I turned it down to easy because I found the shooting tedious but I will finish this game and go on to borrow Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4fahAdNHpM[/youtube]

Grand Theft Auto IV - Another game that my friend lent me. Truth be told, I have not finished any GTA game story wise. I've always either just loaded another person's completed game and ran around the city or started a new game, do the first part and then use weapon cheats once I was allowed to free roam.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOZ8bRAO7YQ[/youtube]

PC:

Limbo - I've had this game on PC for quite some time now but I'm having trouble setting up a stream of it. I want it on the PS3 but I am very tight on cash at the moment. If I get a decent broadcast setup done for this version then I will play it on PC.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1vexQzA9Vk[/youtube]

That's pretty much it for my main backlog. I have around 3 times the amount of games that aren't included here but these are the main ones that I want to spend time with right now. I haven't written a lengthy post in a while but I hope you guys enjoyed the list and maybe I'll write one again in the near future. Thanks and happy gaming.

Don't Pirate Serious Sam 3: BFE, unless you want to face an immortal pink scorpion

Yup, an immortal pink scorpion that will chase after you forever! but of course this will only happen if you chose to pirate Serious Sam 3. This is the developers way at getting back at you if you choose to pirate their new game. Some might not like the idea, I think its genius.

Pure genius, I wouldn't mind if this becomes a trend for future game releases to hurt piracy. Of course they will find a fix to work around it but its still a pain regardless. I'm actually curious on pirating it to try it out, but damn that scorpion is fast. Serious Sam 3: BFE  is now available in Steam, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

[Source: GameInformer]

New Xbox 360 2011 dashboard update is now live!

The new Xbox 360 dashboard is now live! I personally like the dashboard of the 360 more than the Playstation 3 but its hard to navigate to find what you really need. This dashboard update fixes seems to fix that and added features that will make any Xbox 360 owner happy.

My Xbox 360 is already updated so I've tried the new dashboard myself. Off the bat, it's definitely easier to navigate compared to the old one. I remember taking awhile finding a specific content in the games marketplace because of how cluttered the content was. Now, everything feels simplified and compact. The overall layout of the dashboard design was definitely made for people with Kinect though, but the reason why I think this dashboard will work overall is because this layout is still friendly to users navigating with a controller.

If you don't like the new layout maybe the new feature will make you appreciate the latest update. The first one is my favorite.

Cloud Save

Yes! This is a great addition. A place to put your save files as either backup or if you'd like to play your save in a friend's house. This feature gives each Xbox Live gold member 500+MB of storage space to put your player profile and game files. The files saved on your cloud save will be accessible in any Xbox 360 console when you log into your account. While I don't see myself going to a friend's house to play with my save file, at least I won't be in a complete lose if something happened to my Hard Disk. I just love the fact that you have an option to place game files on Xbox Live for back-up. Back up is so important.

Beacons and Activity

I really like this idea. So usually you join a group or send a message asking if they want to play  some Call of Duty or any type of game. With Beacons and Activity, it makes it easier for people to find who's up to play a specific game in your friends list or Facebook account. Adding a beacon lets you state that your up for a specific game. When you set the beacon up, your friends will be notified that your up for that type of game, even though your seen playing Skyrim for 10 hours straight. You also have the option to sync your Facebook account and say that you want to play this game with friends. Beacons and Activity also records you and your friends currently gaming activity. It pretty much records what you've played recently and for how long.

Bing Search engine

Like I said, easier to navigate through Xbox Live. Bing is Microsoft's search engine and gives you yet another way to navigate through all of Xbox Live's content with ease. Put something like Fable in the search, and the search result will organize all content related to fable. Its pretty darn fast when searching too. I also appreciate that its first in the line of categories so I can go straight to what I need to see.

Xbox Live is really growing on me. I appreciate how easy it now is to navigate and the fact that it feels smooth and fast during its release day. So far no issue. This is not the end of what I'd like to call 360 Dashboard 2011. They say that they will be integrating youtube, the promised UFC application, and more before 2011 ends.