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Capcom Searching for Participants for Street Fighter X Tekken Reality Show

January 26, 2012

THE BUZZ: Capcom has announced they are looking for participants in an internet reality show dubbed “Cross Assault” that will center around a Street Fighter X Tekken tournament with the winner receiving $25,000.

EGM’S TAKE: Announced over at Capcom-Unity.com, Capcom’s official forums for everything about their brand, this internet reality show is looking for 10 participants, five to represent Tekken and five to represent Street Fighter. The participants will compete over the course of a week in late February with the finalists fighting it out on stage at fighting game tournament Final Round 15 in Atlanta in mid-March.

The show will require contestants to participate in various team and individual challenges on the way to eliminating the competition. Along with this, they will likely be a part of the reality show staple “confessionals” as well as have many of their team practice sessions taped for the sake of the show.

In order to enter, you need to create a video blog and submit it to Capcom by February 5th, and let them know why you deserve to be a part of one of the respective teams. It is highly recommended for fighting game veterans only as the competition for both the show and tournament looks to be fierce. For all the details and to sign up, here’s a direct link to the “Cross Assault” page. http://www.capcom-unity.com/go/crossassault/signup

With all the hype that e-sports and video game tournaments like those held at EVO have been getting in recent years, it is always great to hear about more and more events like this as video games continue to work hard on being accepted by the main stream. I think this is also a great move by Capcom as they are sure to know that Street Fighter X Tekken will likely be featured in many of those fighting tournaments in the years to come. Building your fan base early is also always a smart business move, although with Street Fighter and Tekken already having pretty established fan bases, this may just be stirring the pot before the March 6^th launch date. And, of course, $25,000 isn’t exactly chump change for a couple of weeks worth of work if you win.

What do you folks think? Is this something you’d be interested enough in to post a vlog on YouTube, gushing about your love of Street Fighter or Tekken? Are you anticipating Street Fighter X Tekken’s March 6th release? Is this a show you might actually watch? Let us know your thoughts with comments below!

Tags: capcom, news, ray carsillo, reality show, street fighter, Street Fighter X Tekken, Tekken, tournament, video games

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EGM Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D Review

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

July 7, 2011

Originally Published: June 28, 2011, on EGMNOW.COM

More mindless than the zombies you’ll be shooting

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Platforms: 3DS

Release: 06.28.11

Players: Singe Player, 2-player Co-op

ESRB Rating: M – Mature

The Good: Beautiful graphics
The Bad: We’ve seen this all before in Resident Evil 4 and 5
The Ugly: Time is your greatest threat, not your enemies

Every fan of the Resident Evil franchise has been waiting with baited breath to see if it could make a successful transition to portable gaming with a pair of titles coming to the 3DS. The first of those titles, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D may have the diehards worrying a little.

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is the attempted expansion and combination of the Mercenaries mini-games found in Resident Evil 4 and 5. Although the graphics for the game are crisp, the character models look nearly as good as they did on a console, and the use of the bottom screen for your inventory and map are nice touches, there is little beyond these features to make the game worthwhile.

The point of Mercenaries is to play as one of eight different characters from the series that are randomly inserted into various familiar locations from the Resident Evil 4 and 5 games. Whether in Europe taking on cultists or in Africa taking on the Majini, the object of the game revolves around an arcade style time-trial where you try to get the highest score possible in the time allotted while also building up combos by quickly dispatching several foes in a row.

Unfortunately, even with 30 possible missions, RPG-like powering up of your favorite Resident Evil characters, and some stellar graphics, the game gets repetitive and boring quickly. There is an overall lack of enemy variety with nothing you haven’t already seen in previous Resident Evil games and because of limited enemy A.I. and the powering up feature, where any character can equip up to three upgrades once they’re unlocked, your greatest threat against getting a high score does not come from the infected but from the clock on the top of the screen.

A nice feature to try to add some replayability to the game is that Mercenaries does feature a co-op mode for a friend with a 3DS, but then you’ll have two people getting bored after a handful of missions instead of just yourself. Add in poor controls that will take a lot of time to get used to as the most often used actions for this game, shooting and reloading, require not one, but two buttons to be pressed or held at a time and overall, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D just lacks the substance necessary to make it a worthwhile purchase.

Score: 4.0/10

By: Ray Carsillo

Tags: 3D, 3ds, albert wesker, capcom, chris redfield, egm, jill valentine, mercenaries, ray carsillo, resident evil, review, video games, zombies

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Chew on this Galactus!

Filed under: Written — Leave a comment

February 27, 2011

Originally Published: February 27, 2011, on my StrongProtector account on GiantBomb.com

In high school and even later in college, my friends and I back in Jersey would head over to the mall arcade maybe once a week and feed a ton of quarters into our favorite machines. A couple guys would settle into the chair of a racer like Initial-D, but I would always head over to the Marvel vs Capcom 2 cabinet. This went on until I graduated college and the arcade, like many others in Jersey, closed down.

Fortunately for me, shortly after that, Capcom would give us Marvel vs Capcom junkies a downloadable version for current generation consoles. Instead of placating us though, all this ended up doing was feed the fires for myself and others like me who wanted another sequel to this beloved brawler. And now, after a decade of waiting, its finally here. But with so much hype and anticipation surrounding it, could Marvel vs Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds live up to the lofty expectations of addicts like me?

The basic plot of the game is that Doctor Doom has tampered with his dark magic a bit too much and has discovered a parallel Earth populated by the characters of our favorite Capcom games (and a future Earth with Zero). Tempted with the thought of conquering multiple worlds, Doom teams up with not only the greatest threats of his Earth like Dormammu and M.O.D.O.K., but also with the greatest of the Capcom universe, Albert Wesker. Unfortunately, this wormhole into other dimensions has also stoked the hunger of the greatest nemesis anyone, hero or villain, has ever faced, the cosmic being Galactus. With a smorgasbord of planets to possibly quell his insatiable hunger, Galactus has begun his approach and now heroes and villains will have to unite to save all universes threatened by his cosmic power.

Right off the bat, this is probably the best plot of the series as it has more of traditional Marvel comics feel and you can credit veteran comic writer Frank Tieri for that. On top of the plot being heavily influenced by comics, the entire art direction of the game seems to be ripped from comics as well. Bright, stylized, cel-shaded graphics with beautifully drawn paneled cut scenes, much like a comic book page, has the game seem more like a fan service for loyal Marvelites out there. All you need is Stan Lee to yell “Excelsior!” before every match. Even the character select screen sees the chosen characters placed onto a graphic novel style tablet as you choose their assists before a battle.

The audio is also very strong as instead of each level having a set theme, now each character has their own theme and you’ll hear the theme of whomever you may be facing. From a more patriotic ballad for Captain America to the classic Bionic Commando and Street Fighter themes for when Spencer or Ryu jump on screen, the music is tremendous. It’s not the only part of the audio that shines though as the voice acting is also well done. With each character having specific taunts both in battle and after every victory depending on whom they’re facing, like Captain America yelling at Iron Man “That was for the Civil War!”, the audio is simply top notch all around for Marvel vs Capcom 3.

Marvel vs Capcom 3 isn’t perfect though. The standards of the series return such as three member tag-teams and huge hyper combos that can be done singly or with your team if you have enough power bars. But other diehards of the series might be a little put-off by the fact that the combat system has been simplified in many ways. Instead of having the standard six attack buttons like the old arcade cabinets (high punch, med punch, low punch, high kick, med kick, low kick), now there are only four comprised of a low, medium, high, and special attack that can be used to launch foes into the air. This offered me a lot of confusion when I first started playing the game and was trying to perform a low kick with Iron Man.

To help remedy this, there is a new missions mode reminiscent of some of the later Mortal Kombat games which serves as a chance for you to learn some basic combos and special moves to get the feel of the game if you wish. Each character has 10 missions and so this lets you either become well-rounded with many characters, or really specialize in two or three.

One positive to the new button layout is that it is much easier to switch characters in and out, call for assists, or perform your hyper combos as now each one of those maneuvers has been assigned their own button on the controllers. This does allow for more rookie fighters to jump right into it and level the playing field with more veterans, but there are plenty of new maneuvers that have been added to help separate the rookies from the veterans as well like the brand new team air combos and new reversal systems.

Another new aspect added is the “X-Factor” where by smashing the four attack buttons at the same time, you can increase the attack power and heal your active character. This new feature does give an interesting strategic twist, but again diehards of previous titles in the series probably won’t even remember to use it as it just feels so gimmicky and foreign to this series.

The biggest disappointment probably for the game is the lack of characters though, both old and new. There are only 36 characters total at launch, with more coming in DLC to sap you of more money. Sure new characters like Deadpool, Super-Skrull, Viewtiful Joe, and Amaterasu are great original additions to the series, but others are just rip-offs of characters who were removed or are still in the game. Haggar is just a Zangief rip-off with a steel pipe, X-23 replaces the “bone claw” version of Wolverine, and Zero is Mega Man with a sword.

I understand that Capcom wanted to streamline the 56 characters that were in Marvel vs Capcom 2, but to cut out 20 characters including a lot of fan favorites? Just to re-package them as DLC later? Of course fans will still buy it, but I think I speak for a lot of people when I say how disappointing that is. Cutting out half the roster when making a fighting game sequel is not usually the way to go because by pure definition that is not bigger nor better.

Despite all this, Marvel vs Capcom 3 is still a very good fighting game. Technically it is very sound and it is easy to pick up but hard to master with a great storyline that will make any and every Marvel fan squeal in delight. If you are a fan of the franchise, Marvel, Capcom, or just fighters in general, then this is a game you should add to your collection even if you’ll walk away feeling it is a bit more generic than you’d initially expect.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 10.0: The visuals for MvC3 are absolutely tremendous done in a stylized cel-shading that really stresses the comic book feel that is persistent throughout the game as you are bombarded by bright and vibrant colors all day long.

Audio: 10.0: Redone classic video game themes for all the Capcom characters and fitting original themes for the Marvel characters is one of the great highlights of this game. Coupled with great voice acting from all those involved and the audio is as perfect as can be.

Plot/Plot Development: 4.0: Most fighting games truly lack a compelling plot, and MvC3 may have the most piss poor of them all. Never even properly explained, all you have to go on is a stylized opening sequence and a solid boss battle with Galactus to put together that Wesker and Doom have partnered together. Solid comic book plot, but it needed to be explained a lot better than it was.

Gameplay: 7.0: Many diehards will be irritated with the button changes and new features added, but at the end of the day, they work and will appeal to a mass audience. Too bad for this review, I’m representing the diehards.

Replay Value: 6.5: Like any good fighting game nowadays, the replay value really comes in the online play, especially since you can blow through the single player offline mode in a weekend if need be. Unfortunately, it may take you 20 minutes to find an opponent to play online and therefore make the online play moot because who wants to play three matches in an hour? So if you don’t have some friends to form a lobby with, then you might think twice about the worth of MvC3.

Overall (not an average): 8.0: MvC3 is a very solid fighter on a technical level, but fans of the series will be put off by the gimmicks added and the arcade style of play that is the true staple of this series. More bells and whistles are all well and good, but it felt like Capcom sold the soul of this game. So even with it being technically perfect, this game falls just short of being put into elite status in my mind.

Tags: albert wesker, capcom, chris redfield, comics, doom, magneto, marvel, marvel vs capcom 3, mega man, ray carsillo, resident evil, review, steve blum, storm, video games, wolverine, x-men, zero

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Rearmed and Dangerous

Filed under: Written — Leave a comment

Originally Published: February 27, 2011, on my StrongProtector profile on GiantBomb.com

While growing up, I passed on playing the original Bionic Commando for the NES. Money was tight, there wasn’t as much media covering video games to help us make informed decisions, and I was only three years old. But I had always heard later on just how awesome it was to use a grappling hook to get around and shoot pseudo-Nazis and felt I missed out.

Of course, 20 years later I would get my chance when the original Bionic Commando would be remade as a 2.5 D port named Bionic Commando Rearmed. Then, Capcom published a 3D action-platformer Bionic Commando that was supposed to take place 10 years after Nathan “Rad” Spencer’s original adventure and saw the story take a drastic turn into a post-apocalyptic conspiracy theory driven world with very little explanation, but had some sweet new elements, like grenade launchers and the ability to actually jump.

Finally, Capcom and developer Fatshark, who took over for developer GRIN who had started the work on this game before folding in 2009, decided that they needed to fill in the chronological gap between those two titles and see what they could do if they combined the most popular elements from both games. And so I present to you Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 and let me tell you, it brings a lot more to the table than just a sweet porno mustache for Rad.

The plot is similar to the original Bionic Commando, but instead of going after pseudo-Nazis and Generalissimo Killt, you are going after a Fidel Castro type named General Sabio who is threatening to bomb the FSA from his just off-shore island nation of Papagaya. The FSA sends in decorated war veteran (and Ed Harris look-alike) Colonel Buebaker, but he quickly disappears and so a team of bionics, spear-headed by Spencer, is sent in to retrieve the Colonel and defuse the missile crisis.

General Sabio is far more brilliant than Killt ever was though and aside from just employing some tanks and goons in jumpsuits, Sabio also has a variety of flying drones, tanks that can climb up walls, and some special jungle themed robots that will cause havoc for Spencer and his crew.

And speaking of jungle themes, the look of Rearmed 2 is much brighter than in the original. The first Rearmed was limited in its level design and color palette because it was taking so much from the original Bionic Commando. With Rearmed 2 being its own special adventure, I’m sure the idea to drop Spencer onto a tropical island wasn’t a mistake. From the dull, bland colors of prisons and robot factories, to dank mines, lush jungles, and snow covered peaks, I started having flashbacks to my SNES days and the original Donkey Kong Country because of the great variety of landscapes you have to traverse and how much they just seem to jump off the screen.

If familiar with the Bionic Commando series then the audio won’t surprise you as much as the graphics. Many of the themes from Rearmed and the 2009 3D Bionic Commando return with a few tweaks and keeping with the tradition of its Rearmed predecessor, there are almost no voiceovers whatsoever besides a few exclamations from fallen foes.

The biggest difference between Rearmed 1 and Rearmed 2 though comes in the gameplay. The basic mechanics are still there like using your grappling hook to get around and you have a variety of guns to take down your foes. But now included is a feature from the 3D Bionic Commando and that is the ability to jump.

Now, many diehards of the original game took up arms when they heard of this development for this new side-scroller in the series, and it does make it feel a bit more like a traditional platformer, but it really is a plus because it allowed for a larger variety of puzzles and scenarios to put Nathan into that may have been limited otherwise. And the diehard purists out there need not fear. If after playing through the game once you are still not convinced a jump ability is for the best, you can unlock a “no jump” mode that allows Nathan to move through the game in his old-school swing only style.

Aside from this, to go along with old school collectibles like Yashichis, Nathan also sees new upgrades to his arm like a grenade launcher that fits into his shoulder or ammo regeneration that, much like the 3D Bionic Commando, he can collect either initially or by revisiting levels later on. There is also the inclusion of his “Death from Above” maneuver that is great for breaking through weak floors or wiping out several foes at once.

There is also a completely new ability called Bio Vision that acts much like Samus’s scanners from Metroid Prime where you can pause the game and scan the world around you to find out information like what weapons barriers are weak against and clues on how to take down bosses.

My biggest complaint with Rearmed 2 is that they took away a lot of the staple elements from the original game like the overhead map where you could choose what path you take and instead have laid out a linear path where beating one level leads right into the next one. Also, the ceiling view mini-levels that would start when you bumped into an enemy truck have been removed completely. Although not the most memorable aspects of the original Bionic Commando, the ceiling-view mini-levels were a nice break from the meat and potatoes side-scrolling levels and were a solid attempt at mixing up the gameplay.

When all is said and done, Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 takes elements from its predecessors, but is really its own game more than just a carbon copy of either one. The physics with the grappling hook are very tight and the puzzles, bosses, and level design hark back to a simpler, yet more difficult time in platform gaming. The jump feature will irritate purists, but overall was a necessary evolution for this franchise and although the gameplay is now very linear, there are twice as many levels as in Rearmed 1 making the single player campaign nearly a 10 hour experience. Add in local co-op multiplayer, the return and expansion of the challenge rooms, and online leaderboards for speed runs for each level and Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 is well worth its $15 price tag.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 9.0: Continuing with the same style as the first Rearmed, the 2.5D world that Nathan finds himself in is far more colorful and diverse compared to the world based off the original Bionic Commando. This vibrant style is a pleasure for the eyes and only loses a point due to the simple picture inserts used instead of cut scenes.

Sound: 7.0: Although some brilliant new songs flesh out the soundtrack that features a revamped version of the original Bionic Commando themes, a lack of voice acting and repetitive screams of pain from dying foes is definitely a downpoint.

Plot/Plot Development: 8.5: Paying homage to the original Bionic Commando which was modeled after Nazi Germany, Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2 did a brilliant job modeling itself after Fidel Castro’s Cuba. This also made the villains somewhat predictable though in just what they would try to do unfortunately. At least the game did a great job of bridging the gap between the original Bionic Commando and the 2009 3D platformer release.

Gameplay: 7.5: Although there are some great additions to the series like finally being able to jump (even if purists out there were grinding their teeth about it) and some new weapons was something to help keep this from being a straight rip off of the first Rearmed. Unfortunately, some of the swinging glitches and some brand new ones caused by the jumping tend to crop up and makes the platforming even more difficult than it needs to be. Throw in the linearity implemented in this new game’s level selection and the gameplay isn’t as strong as most would like.

Replay Value: 8.0: A lack of a versus mode is unfortunate, but with dozens of collectibles scattered around each world, co-op available in the story mode, the return of the challenge modes, and a variety of difficulty levels makes this have some very solid replay value for a downloadable title.

Overall (not an average): 8.0: For the amount of content you get for the price tag on Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2, this is a great game, but it does lack the polish you would like from a completed game and that keeps this from reaching elite status. If you are a fan of the Bionic Commando series though, this is an easy purchase.

Tags: bionic commando, bionic commando rearmed 2, capcom, grappling, nathan spencer, platforming, rad, ray carsillo, shooting, swinging, video games, xbox 360, xbox live

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Dead Rising 2: Case West DLC Review for the Xbox 360

Filed under: CGR Undertow — Leave a comment

January 7, 2011

Originally Published: January 6, 2011, on Youtube.com/CGRUndertow and NationalLampoon.com

As a part of CGR Undertow, I reviewed the exclusive Xbox 360 Dead Rising 2: Case West DLC from Capcom. And no, I did not get the A ending on Dead Rising 2, I got the S and did not give TK the Zombrex.