Better Late [Killa Blog GOTY]

What's Killa Blog's Game of the Year? (Pretty obv, when you look back.)

(Please keep in mind these are games I've played and were released in calendar '09. Bioshock and Resistance 2, for example, are not eligible.)

GAME OF THE YEAR: Street Fighter IV

Huge game especially for fighting fans, really rejuvenating the tournament scene in a big way. I personally spent hundreds of hours playing, and am eagerly awaiting the Super update this spring. Why so popular? People love a good Street Fighter, and Capcom went the right direction, bringing in everything great from Super Turbo, learning from the mistakes of III, all while combining graphics and an art style that updated the franchise.

Compared to MGS4, the game that ultimately trumped Fallout 3 for 2008 KB GOTY, '09 proved to be more of a competitive year. Fighters dominated my playing time, and therefore, Killa Blog.


BEST NEW CHARCTER DESIGN: Luna Himeki (VanPri)

Vanguard Princess's provocative, futuristic gunslinger takes the cake. Stiff competition from the likes of SFIV's Rufus, BlazBlue's Ragna the Bloodedge, Tekken 6's Alisa and L4D2's Coach, but a true gem shines through. Terminal Emission Libery Art FTW.


BEST NEW ENEMY: Freakin' Chainsaw Guy (RE5)

Ah, the Freakin' Chainsaw Guy from Resident Evil 5 got a lot of chatter on KB earlier this year. I don't think any enemy presented such a monument to mechanized equipment and close-quarters terror.


BEST NEW LEVEL: Dead Center - Atrium (L4D2)

Oooh yeah. The opening campaign of Left 4 Dead 2, while primarily indoor, is a great contrast from the original L4D that showcases the more colorful and open environments, the clever use of vertical space, and the realistic, often humorous attention to detail.

The final stage is the Scavenge segment, tasking players with collecting gas cans to fuel a stock car on display in order to make an exciting escape. The Atrium is so well designed that it plays great after dozens of rounds and is eagerly anticipated by survivors and special infected players alike. Total classic.


BEST NEW GAMEPLAY MECHANIC: Saving Attack (SFIV)

AKA the Focus Attack in North America, pressing medium punch and kick simultaneously will execute this technique that significantly consolidated the landscape of Street Fighter. Why 'consolidated'? The Alpha series' Alpha Counters, SFIII's parries, Guilty Gear's Roman Cancels, and Namco's unblockables all rolled into one. Yes, the Focus Attack is a revelation.

Street Fighter IV is so playable because of its take on its own fighter heritage. Eliminating air blocking could have returned the SF world to a jump-punishing dark age, but the Focus system accomodates more modern styles of ground fighting, particularly zoning and poking, allowing walking speed and backdash attributes to flourish as character strengths.



Sorry for the late arrival. Figured now or never. Thoughts?

Welcome to Africa [RE5 Impressions]

Nothing like seeing three black men dragging a helpless screaming white woman into a filthy, primitive shack with the intention of brutally forcing something down her throat.

Predictably, upon entering the shack, the white woman staggers towards you and attacks. A few headshots later, the forcibly inserted parasite bursts forth from her neck. Ah, Resident Evil.

So yeah, RE5 is teh shiznitto-bomb-snip-snap-zap.

I've been playing through Cooperatively with Lego's Sheva backing up my Chris. Just last night my game caught up to the progress of his single player venture, wrapping up Chapter 3-2, apparently finishing the Marshlands segment. Have to say the tribal Majinis were very cool. Not much use in knocking down ladders when muh fuckas can leap ten feet in the air...

Lego, of course, has known what's coming and for the most part has had to bite his tongue. A Quick Time Event involving dodging crocodiles was especially funny, as he had to sit and wait for Redfield to be devoured. On some other occasions, though, he has made the decision to alert me to upcoming dangers so we can plan ahead if a Freakin' Chainsaw Guy is on the horizon.

Love the melee, by the way. I think it would have been amusing if Capcom had borrowed the "Shoryuken!" sound effect from Street Fighter for Chris' Uppercut, but that's just wishful thinking.

I'm used to the inventory system now, and though I did really like the old briefcase interface of RE4, this seems much more well-suited for cooperative, as it doesn't stop the action. The TMP was my favorite sidearm in 4, and this time around I'm focusing on upgrading the VZ61 Scorpion, a videogame mainstay (btw best fucking weapon ever in MGS:PO Online). I've relegated the Magnum to Lego out of the kindness of my heart, and the fact that he's a little thriftier with ammo.

Anyways, so far, so good. Definitely some creepy moments to be had, but we're clearly still in the early parts of the game, and have enjoyed some varied segments, including a rail-shooter fight against an El Gigante (or whatever the Swahili equivalent is) on the back of a jeep, an airboat jaunt, and most recently escaping the docks on a speedboat. Probably close to getting into the usual nitty-gritty, close quarters high tension bread-and-butter of the series.

Will keep you updated. And anyone else playing the game, please feel free to comment or correspond. *cough*G Double*cough*

Freakin' Chainsaw Guy

From: gg
Sent: Fri 2/06/09 3:26 PM
To: Killa

I finally beat shanty town. Freakin chainsaw guy.


From: Killa
Sent: Fri 2/06/09 4:47 PM
To: gg

Do you have to actually beat him? Or can you just wait it out?


From: gg
Sent: Fri 2/06/09 5:00 PM
To: Killa

Yeah, he has a key for the gate to get out of that area. It's all about keeping on the move.

Demolicious

So, OMG, the RE5 demo is motherfucking tizzight.

Played a little solo and then with Keif to get the hang of it, and then attacked in earnest with Lego later on. He and I managed to beat the Public Assembly portion (once we realized that we didn't have the capacity of defeating Astaroth). Yeah, FYI you can't kill the gianormous hooded executioner, AFAIK, so just clear out a lot of guys and then run around in the area opened up after the fence gets smashed. Eventually your air support will trigger a cutscene ending the segment.

We then fell prey to the chainsaw-toting sack-headed enemy in the Shanty Town level, just as I had when playing alone. Boo-urns.

As I have been most recently playing Resistance 2, the stop-and-pop gameplay (as opposed to run-and-gun) was a bit of a system shock. I also need to get the hang of the realtime inventory system, but so far I really like the feel of RE5. The battles are appropriately stressful and risky, and you really have to rely on your partner to get out of bad situations. The graphics are great; pay special attention to the relative lighting effects when you cause an explosion.

Cannot wait for the full version... And, strangely, Capcom's stock (9697.T) keeps trickling downward; ¥1,598 at the moment. Hmmm... I know software sales are only a portion of their business, but this is going to be a megahit.

Unrelated Capcom Note: Won a best three out of five with Lego in SFA3 last night. Won with Blanka A-ism over Sakura (or was it Legs?), lost to Ryu, won then lost with Charlie V-ism vs. Ryu, and won the final with Birdie A-ism over Ryu in the last match. W00t.