Amir Reviews The Nintendo 3DS attachment that gives the system an extra analog slider. Its it too big for its own good, or is it a much-needed enhancement? Also in the video, KJ vents his displeasure with a new trend.

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Windsor, UK – February 21, 2012 – 2K Games announced today that Spec Ops: The Line will be available for purchase in North America on June 26, 2012 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. The game will be available internationally on June 29, 2012. In addition, fans who pre-order the title from participating retailers will receive rewarding in-game bonuses that enhance the multiplayer experience.

Developed by YAGER, Spec Ops: The Line’s single-player narrative unfolds within the destroyed opulence of Dubai. Once the playground for the world’s wealthiest elite, Dubai has fallen victim to a series of cataclysmic sandstorms. Playing as Captain Martin Walker, gamers will travel through beautiful and tragic environments in this gripping third-person shooter in the mids

t of unspeakable situations. Spec Ops: The Line will bring a riveting narrative to the military shooter genre, as players fight through Dubai to search for Colonel John Konrad and his missing battalion, The Damned 33^rd.“Spec Ops: The Line is 2K Games’ first foray into the military shooter genre,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “We’ve created a unique game that explores the dark realities of war and places players in difficult situations where the line between right and wrong becomes increasingly blurred as players fight to survive.”

In addition to the single-player campaign, Spec Ops: The Line features an expansive, class-based multiplayer experience

. The multiplayer mode features squad-based games that take place in the visually stunning environments of a sandstorm ravaged Dubai. As an added incentive, players who pre-order the game from participating retailers will receive the FUBAR pack, containing the following online multiplayer content:

·         Twice the amount of experience points will be awarded during the first week of play, enabling gamers to expedite character ranking;
·         The AK-47 weapon will unlock at rank one;
·         The “Officer Class” will unlock at rank one. This character class includes several team-based advantages, such as reducing damage to teammates and increasing the effectiveness of other classes;
·         Access to the “FUBAR Pack,” which contains exclusive accessories allowing players to customize their characters with unique and visually distinctive items.

Courtesy of 2k*

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By now you’ve seen the trailer for RE 6. Take a look at the newest screenshots fresh from Capcom. Chris and Leon are teaming up to take on the newest outbreak. In typical RE fashion, the graphics look sensational and it seems this title may rely more on its survival roots. This truly is the year to be an RE fan.

Click to view slideshow.

Resident evil 6 Arrives November, 20th 2012

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Vex and KJ (Mainly Vex) Have been hard at work designing characters on SCV. See the amazing choices. Most will surprise, others will rekindle your childhood. Link us your Designs as well. Lets see those talents. Soul Calibur V is in stores now!

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SSX arrives February 28, 2012 on PS3 and Xbox 360

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Real Talk By: KJ (Kris Jones)

For the most part Tekken Prime 3D Edition is a version of 6.  Not uncommon with handheld ports, some features are lost in the jump. That’s the main criticism of this title right out of the gate. Hybrid and now Prime joins the list of Tekken titles lacking content. More on that later.

The gameplay remains solid with 60 FPS action. The complete cast of characters from Tekken 6 are at your disposal. The character models are very nicely detailed. Some of the stages look great, while others seem rushed. Some levels have characters frozen in the background similar to Sf4 3D Edition. Far as modes go Prime has no Story, no Tekken themed mini game, and No Character endings. Victory clips from previous games rendered in 3D could have sufficed, but it’s not here either.

The Character Models look great on the small screen, and the audio fits (Minus the yodeling level). Quick battle pits the player in random fights against the CPU. After completion your met with ending credits, and that’s really it. Survival is a little more meaty depending on your skill level. As you progress more enemy challenges open. First a 5 man challenge, then 10, 20 and so on. I understand that limitations must be implemented to keep an experience solid on each system, which leads me to the online. Still, more development time with this title could have really been beneficial.

The network battle mode has 1 on 1 fights. Apparently the system doesn’t mesh with tekken. Certain stages cannot be used online, and the game turns the 3D off  to prevent lag and such. Super Street Fighter 4 3D edition didn’t seem to have that problem, but then again gameplay wasn’t flowing constantly at 60 FPS. This was the weirdest thing to happen on the Wifi mode. All online matches shared the same issue. Lag, no lag, then lag. Non stop. Hopefully namco has a patch in store for its fanbase. Playing with your friends will get you the most mileage from multiplayer, and the game in general.

Far as the movie goes. As mentioned in the Hybrid article, Blood Vengeance is mediocre at best. Spoiler: It’s still worth viewing the Mishima family fight that takes place during the last 30 minutes.

We cannot stand when movies are finally made about our favorite video games, then the flick isn’t even centered around its stars. The 3D effect is pretty good throughout the game. The movie’s 3D power, isn’t even on the same level. It’s still cool that a film came in the same cartridge though, the live action Tekken would have been a better choice for TLR.

There’s just enough here for Tekken diehards, but it’s not acceptable at this point. Namco’s franchise carries a great reputation for providing its fans with mountains of content in the past (Tekken Force, Bowl, etc). More recent releases are beginning to contradict the statement. Remember, The movie was lacking before, and nothings changed. Not really a welcomed add-on. Enjoy competing with your friends, and looking at the nice character models. The Nintendo 3DS has a hefty amount of fighting games so there’s plenty of other choices. Namco could have tried harder and they know it.

Tekken Prime 3D Edition Gets MF MF MF out of five

What’s Legit?

+Character models and gameplay translate well on the system

+Online is present

What’s Perpetrating?

-Online goes from perfect to poo nonstop. Patch please.

-No frills ( Tekken Checkers, Badminton, anything Namco).

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Soon you’ll be able to take the Best Fighting Game of 2011 with you. Check out the special Vita additions, including a little AR action. Mortal Kombat arrives April 2, 2012.

Mortal Kombat for PlayStation Vita system provides an on-the-go fighting game experience with brand new gameplay features and tons of new content developed exclusively for the revolutionary handheld system.  Mortal Kombat delivers an all-new Challenge Tower mode with 150 brand new missions, including Touchscreen Fatalities, X-Ray moves, plus much more.

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Real Talk By: KJ (Kris Jones)

Klei’s Sequel to the best downloadable of 2010 is back for another round. Shank 2 sees the protagonist fighting in a resistance against an evil dictator known as Magnus. Of course, before you can face him, the user will have to cut through his countless goons. The enemies are varied, each with their own strategies of attacking. Some will pop shots from long distances, others will attack equipped with heavy shields. Most will just use pure brute strength. There’s several challenging boss battles, especially playing on Hard difficulty. This game is all action from beginning to end. The whole game is like the last 40 minutes of The Expendables, but on a constant loop. Fire, Carnage and Mayhem. Explosions, Bullets flying, Heads rolling, and Blood flowing.

The first game was 15 dollars the sequel is only 10. Understand that this version of shank, is the supreme one. The game demands multiple play-throughs just figuring out all the unique ways you can take a life. There’s several counterattacks to almost every class of villain. Shank Takes a Baseball bat from an enemy, and shoves it through their throat. I wont even break down the Gun counters, please see for yourself. Other new weapons include Molotov cocktails, Landmines, and the incredibly useful Sledgehammer. All of these weapons can be used in combos. Some of the real fun in shank does come from its multiplier system. Linking hits together is even more of a challenge this time, but using Shank’s famous pouncing attack can help extend the life of a combo. While the AI has been “Amp’ed up”, Klei gives the player a fighting chance due to S2′s impeccable combat system.

The story also allows you to play as female lead Corina, who is also in the resistance. She is one tough lady. Equipped with Uzis, Revolvers, and a scythe, she’s a lot more than just a costume swap. Speaking of, the player can still unlock unique costumes for shank, and now Corina. Each costume isn’t simply for cosmetic reasons. Some skins will alter attributes. This makes it fun to pick especially during multiplayer sessions. For example, Shank’s diseased mentor Cesar is a possible skin. Selecting his skin provides the player with 20% Extra light attack damage, 20% more Heavy weapon damage, and 15% Ranged weapon damage. Keeping the game balanced though, the player will have 30%  less Health.

We enjoyed the Coop Campaign from Shank 1 more than other reviewers, and would have loved to see another go at it. Especially with online capabilities, oh what could have been. Coop story has been completely pulled for a tower defense style two player mode, known as survival. There’s three supply cases in the levels you and a buddy must protect. Guard the supplies, and kill everything. Wash, rinse, repeat. This mode is fun, but it should not have been a replacement to a traditional story. As an extra add-on though, this works. The maps are well designed but there is only 3 available as of this writing.

This has to be one of the best beat-em-ups around. As a man who grew up playing nothing but the genre, take this comment seriously. While the campaign will take the average player 4 hours to complete (6 on Hard), we’ve played full retail games that lasted the same amount of time with no replay value. Shank 2 as a complete package is incredibly affordable at 10 dollars. If you call yourself an action fan, or have a pulse in general, do the right thing. Download.

Shank 2 gets MF MF MF MF M out of five

What’s Legit?

+ Top Notch 2D animations

+Fluid combat system

+Single player campaign demands several play-throughs

+Well worth 10 bucks

What’s Perpetrating?

-Removal of Campaign Coop hurts the score

-Survival Mode runs out of steam

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Hopefully this will help ease the pain a bit. Pictures show Ogre as a playable character and of course, The legendary Akuma doing his usual work. Street Fighter X Tekken drops March 6, 2012

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Real Talk By: Ms. Throwback (Heather Kiley)

According to Wikipedia.com, Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS has sold 5 million units total so far with an overall average review score of 90% by top websites. I gave this review only three MF’s out of five essentially dropping the overall score of this game to between a 60-69% and some people seem to be asking themselves, “where is the other 30% Ms. Throwback, your reviews aren’t legit. I must be on the wrong website.” Oh no my friend you’re here, that’s the right score, and we are keeping this totally legit. Let’s find out why.

First I might need to give you a little history on myself and the approximately 180 million other people who over the course of 27 years have purchased Mario titles for their consoles. I’m in my mid-twenties which means that since I’ve been alive, Mario has been jumping on enemies, saving the princess, creating memorable music, pushing the boundaries of level design, stunning audiences with visuals beyond compare, and redefining the entire gaming industry. Many people look at Mario as a kids title but it is a hardcore gamers force to be reckoned with, and the majority successful developers and game designers at some point in their career find inspiration in Mario. He was the beginning of a lot of things and will continue to be. That is the expectation, and while it is a high one to hold, it is the highest honor for Nintendo. When we hear about a new Mario title coming out we set the bar of excitement and expectation at the highest level. It is an excitement from our childhood, and an excitement for Nintendo to continue its success, not only for the good of its own company but for the onward evolution of the entire gaming industry.

What have we seen out of Mario that is so great? The list is obvious and endless but we may need a refresher to remind us of what a game rated in the 90th percentile consists of:

Super Mario Bros. NES – best-selling video game for over 20 years until Wii sports and continues to be the second best-selling game of all time.  This title also single-handedly ended a two-year slump of console gaming sales in 1983 and has some of the most recognizable theme songs to date.

Super Mario Bros. 3 NES – Created the overworld map where a choice could be made for the player in what level to complete (this alone was an industry changer.  It seems small but where would we be without amazing world map creation like this?)

Super Mario World SNES – introduced Yoshi as a separate playable character element (something that was mostly unheard of at the time.)

Super Mario 64 N64 – Camera Camera CAMERA! This was the invention of the dynamic camera, an absolutely essential part of the newly established three-dimensional environments. This invention led to the automatic adjustment of cameras in video games as we know them today.

These are just four Mario titles that are worldwide gaming industry changers, not just for the moment in which they were created, but for the moment that we are in now. Overworld maps, separate playable characters that interact as a unit, camera angles, and the entire video game industry itself that was all but failing in 1983, owes thanks to one character, Mario. Keep in mind that I could write this article for the next two years if I listed all the things that Mario has done but I’m pulling what I feel to be the most important examples of the power of a Mario game.  Mario is the best-selling franchise of all time point-blank, by an insane margin of 56 million copies compared to the number two spot. Which brings us to Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS.

First lets talk about what made this a game changer for the Mario franchise. I think it’s relatively obvious. The 3D technology of the system itself creates a dynamic interface for level design. It’s not just an option with this game, the 3D feature is essential during some parts of game play to pull out certain interactive aspects of the level. It’s wonderfully done and along with the incredible graphical design, and fun-loving Mario environment, any Mario player would feel right at home smashing up enemies through these beautiful worlds. This is the evolution of the industry I’ve been talking about and meets the expectation we have for Mario, but what went wrong?

With such a leap forward through the visuals and interactive environment of the game the rest of it took a back seat. How can I put a game in even the 80th percentile when it took me a single day to beat it and I ended the game with 100 lives. I’ve never done that with a Mario game before. Yes I ended Mario Galaxy with over 100 lives but I didn’t beat it in a day. Yes I can beat Super Mario Bros. NES in a day, but not with 100 lives. It was unacceptably easy and on top of that they offend me with a new item that literally makes me totally invincible unless I fall in a hole. That item alone could have deducted 10% bringing it down into the 80th percentile. Essentially no matter where you are in the game you can kill yourself several times and the “golden raccoon tail” item will appear letting you race through the whole level.

Honestly this is a throwback moment and since that’s my name let me point out that in 1992 a game called Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in Japan. It was not the same Super Mario Bros. 2 that was released in America. The one released in Japan was considered “too difficult for Americans” and was not released until 1993 as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost levels in the bundle of games known as Super Mario All Stars. This game was intense and in my opinion remains the most difficult Mario levels I have ever played. These levels represent the extreme and they were frustrating, but even when I was young and I had finally beaten the game after many frustrating weeks, I realized what Mario is all about, the challenge. Part of the fun of any Mario title isn’t the gameplay dynamic or the music or the colorful backdrop. It is by far level design. The feeling of overcoming insane obstacles with a simple platformer is about as good as it gets.

When it comes to the level design of Super Mario 3D Land it’s not just about comparing it to the most extreme form of Mario but any other Mario within memory. Super Mario 64, New Super Mario Bros. DS, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers. Half the fun of these games is the technical and challenging level design. Mario 3D Land just doesn’t have it. There are very few levels that present a challenge even if you didn’t have to deal with the absolutely bogus “golden raccoon tail” item. There is the innovation of the 3D aspect of the handheld that makes level design different than the norm, however, it still isn’t challenging and so an unfortunate waste in my mind. level design is defiantly a 15% mark off, and difficulty setting is a 10% mark off. If you’re keeping track we are now at a game rated at 65%.

So with less than stellar level design, a low difficulty setting, and an item that ruins the entire game, for a Mario title this is a reasonable disappointment.  That’s three huge strikes, creating a game that I hate to say, I only believe, is worth three MF’s out of five. Maybe this isn’t something that would be a big deal for another game franchise but this is Mario. Our expectation should be pitting this title against other Mario games not just every other over-saturated platformer on the market. When I look back on the history of Mario This title isn’t even going to hit my top ten Mario’s. It’s forgettable and it’s not ground breaking and if it’s not those things then it isn’t the mario we know. If your looking for a repeat Mario game with the stunning visuals, beautiful music, and mushroom kingdom environment, it has all that. There aren’t glitches, the controls are nice, everything is tightly knit including the new arrival of the 3D visuals, but why wouldn’t it be. What would I give a Mario game that didn’t have stunning visuals, the answer is probably below the 60th percentile. What about if it had glitches, completely unacceptable. Why is that? because that isn’t Mario. Mario doesn’t come with glitches, bad music, or bad visuals. Our default notion when we even begin to play a Mario is that we are getting a quality title but Mario raises the bar over and over again and it has to continue doing so or it will become the next Crash Bandicoot. The kind of game that was once a 9/10 becomes a forgettable franchise. None of us will forget the beautiful experiences that Mario has brought us, but we cannot give a title an unforgettable score when it is not unforgettable.

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