LIVE Rep (and the return of the 360!)

As the title says, mah 360 is back! WHOO! This pleases me greatly, as I can now get back to more Mass Effecting, practicing BlazBlue at home, some online Castlevania, Bayonetta on Hard. . . well, the list goes on and on. =)

For no particular reason I decided to check my rep on LIVE. Turns out that a whopping 24% of people I play online perfer to avoid me. =(

Now let's think for a minute on the games I've played on my 360 online. Like 3 matches of Halo 3, and the rest were all fighting games. (SF4, BB:CT, BB:CS, UMK3, SSF4) Now 50% of those 24% avoiding me, claimed it was from me quitting early. To comment on that, well, I've never quit early, because it makes me rage when others do. It's -possible- that when i see others DC, they're seeing the same thing for me and thinking I DC'd. I mean my DSL is pretty crappy. However 99% of the times someone has mysteriously DC'd, it was when I was stomping them fairly hard. =|

Conclusion? People who ragequit like to avoid their better competition by claiming said comp ragequits on them. =| An alternative explanation could be people raging hard about my choices in fighting mains (Robo smoke in UMK3, Nu in BBCT) and thus trying to give me bad rep because they're feeling a bit vicious. Regardless and in either case, Way to be mature kiddies. Way to give LIVE gamers a bad name. =\

The other 50% didn't have a listed reason, so i'm assuming it's complaints on player skill. Be it "too good" or "too bad" at the game. Some of these might be legitimate. I've occasionally fought someone who stomped me hard enough that it'd make sense to classify me as too easy of an opponent. I guess though there have been a few times (Most notably with Robo-smoke in UMK3 or Nu in BB:CT) where I've decimated someone and they probably wouldn't want to deal with me any more. =\

Anyway, just found it kind of sad that 24% of people i face don't like playing me. I'd like to think that I can be a fun or friendly guy, especially when in a voice chat room on fighters. I guess though it does make sense. Fighters are easily one of the most competitive genres of multiplayer gaming imo.

-Ed Kun Out-

E74 -.-

My 360 finally E74'd. For the past couple weeks it had been showing red snow on everything rendered (so any 3D had red snow, sprites were fine). This was annoying since I couldn't send it in for warranty until I got E74 itself. Well, at least I finally got it. (Of course when I was about to practice a little Continuum Shift for the local con tourney)

Anyway, Valentine's on her way to the xbox repair center.

It's just that I'm already bored out of my mind. My 360 really had become my primary console gaming wise, and I'm finding myself sitting here wanting badly to play a bunch of my games for it. (Moreso now that it's not an option. -.- ) I may reactivate my WoW account until I get her back, we'll see.

Con was pretty good fun, but I think that's more deserving of another post when I can be bothered to do it.

-Ed Kun Out-

A new era of Fighters?

2008 - 2009
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
Tatsunoko vs Capcom
King of Fighters XII
Street Fighter IV
SSF2THDR
KoF 98 UM, Garou: MotW (XBLA re-releases)
Marvel vs Capcom 2 HD

2010 - 2011
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
Super Street Fighter IV
Marvel vs Capcom 3
Mortal Kombat 9
King of Fighters XIII (Quite possibly)
Namco vs Capcom (and vice versa)
NeoGeo Battle Colisseum, KoF 2002UM (XBLA)
SF3 3S Online (maybe not 2011, but the near enough future)

My point with all this? It seems like in the recent few years, fighting games have been re-recognized by the gaming community and had a sudden boom of attention and popularity. Just goes to show that even if arcades are dead, the fighting genre is anything but dead in this day and age. Personally I couldn't be much happier gaming wise. :3

Zero: A Rockman Retrospective (Part I)

Gaming re-releases are truly a mixed bag. Often times you get a churned out re-release that to be honest, nobody asked and nobody cares about. (Duke Nukem Manhatten Project on XBLA definitely rings a bell here) Other times however, you'll see a second chance to grab a gem that you weren't able to grab before for one reason or another. (Say Symphony of the Night for PSN/PSP/XBLA, or Valkyrie Profile Lenneth on PSP) The Mega Man Zero Collection on DS definitely falls into the second category.

Considered by more than a few to be the greatest of the Mega Man series, the original release of Mega Man Zero flew under the radar for a few. Some were put off by the changes in system, (No additional weapons from bosses, slightly chibi character designs, and extreme difficulty among others) while others embraced the new Mega Man series. Regardless though, the Zero series became niche titles that were rare finds depending on where you look. Even in the few stores stocking GBA titles in this day and age, it would be unusual to find any of the Zero games (especially all 4x in one location), let alone for a reasonable price tag. (Zero 4 alone was $25 or $30 for me, iirc)

Here's the part where Capcom comes to the rescue. Even in the days of the HD craze, Capcom remembers (or realizes) that the Zero series is definitely one of the favoreds, and hard to come by for gamers late to the scene. Thus the Zero Collection on DS is (re)born! This wonderful DS collection allows us working versions of all 4 games on the DS for one low price, without having to pay ebay shops ridiculous price simply due to older copies of GBA games! This is an especially nice delivery to peeps who went straight into the ZX series, but didn't see the preceding storyline (and therefore how it ties into ZX).

But alas, this post isn't meant to be about the Zero Collection as a whole. (Though i can't reccomend this purchase enough to fellow gamers) I recently finished playing Mega Man Zero again, and thought it'd be fun to go over some of the key points in it. Both pros and cons to this 'new' (at the time. ;P ) series~ I'm going to try and keep these points limited to Zero 1, in the mindset of a gaming world without Mega Man games past this. The idea of this is posting more as I continue through other Zero games, to evaluate the progression of the series. Let's see if I have the attention span for that!

Pros!

• Portable, obviously. :P
• Actually advances the Megaman meta-plot!
  Whereas the original MM games and the X series both have rather dull stories (oh boy, Wily/Sigma again, another contrived plot to make the main characters think it's not Wily/Sigma!), Zero mixes things up by reintroducing you to characters in a strange new world. (X exterminating innocent reploids? How could this be?!?!)
• More focus on core combat.
  I like that combat is more about simply maneuvering and using your (ammo-less) core weapons (Z-saber, buster, triple rod, and shield boomerang) than seeing if you have the proper boss weapon for the job at a given time. Feels more like a test of player skill than having the right answer to rock-paper-scissors. (Though this one is entirely my opinion)
  
  Another thought on this is that unlike many prior MM / MMX bosses (who'd be locked in a pattern when hit with their weakness) MMZ bosses would rarely get locked in a pattern. This meant that while using their elemental weakness greatly helped, it usually didn't make the boss fight a complete joke. (There are of course exceptions, but few)
  
• Effing hard!
  I honestly consider the X series to be rather tame difficulty wise. The Zero series feels like the most punishing one, either as hard as or questionably harder than the original MM games. (Depending on who you talk to) You are much more easily damaged than predecessor games, and truly have to develop skill at maneuvering around to succeed at these games.
• Art Style
  I feel this one is big to me, though not so much to a lot of people. I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to looking at and analyzing different art styles. When the Zero series went in such a different direction than the X series before it, I was first skeptical. I've definitely come to love the character designs though, and find them some of the most refreshing and original in the Mega man meta-series.
• New Upgrade System
  Cyber Elves were an interesting take on the upgrade system. It was no longer enough to find an upgrade, but you also had to spend energy crystals to have it be usable. In addition, you would find lots and lots of minor elves that required no crystals, sort of like one use e-tanks or the like. Gave the user a little breathing room on difficulty, but otherwise gave a slight bit of fresh air to the old tried and true armor + heart tanks + e tanks upgrades system.
  

Cons!

• Effing Hard!
  I think the sheer steep learning curve turned a lot off to this new game. The game would throw enemies and traps at you with little warning, and the bosses taking off LOTS of life were little exception. Moreso than in other Mega Man games, you had to adapt rather quickly or die. Even after learning patterns, one must be quick (for the most part) at dodging. While a plus for me, I'm also labeling it a con since I'm sure it drove off more than a few gamers.
  
• Farming Energy Crystals
  This one particularly struck true on this playthrough of Zero 1. On one runthrough, grabbing all the crystals I saw, raiding the factory twice (max you can do in one playthrough) for massive amounts of crystals, and grinding for an hour I had enough by the end of the game for the Life doubler elf alone. (3000 crystals) There are 2x other elves which cost 3-3.5k, along with numerous others that cost 1-2k. Essentially the game gives you one major upgrade or a couple lesser upgrades, and you need to spend hours and hours grinding if you want more than that. Not a good design choice imo.
• Art Style
  Like difficulty, adding it here due to art being subjective. I love the new art style, but I know quite a few Mega Man fans were put off by how the character designs looked. Probably because they (Capcom) went from rather serious looking characters in the X series to characters in Zero series that looked chibi, or a bit like children.

Overall, one could say that Mega Man Zero was a massive experiment on the tried and true formula by Capcom. (Which would make sense, since X5 was -supposed- to be the end of the X series and the Zero series would carry on from there) Also consider that many of the pros / cons come down to personal preference or opinion, whether you like that particular art style or increased difficulty.

In the end, Mega Man Zero is a pretty good game. It has some minor flaws (depending on who you ask) but in the end delivers a solid platforming experience to fans of the genre. It also does a fairly good job of making Zero stand out as a series from X, it's predecessor.

Next time, we'll discuss design changes from Zero to Zero 2! =O

-Ed Kun Out-

Some BlazBlue Thoughts

This blog of sorts was started in relation to G.Gear and my Robo-Ky progress, so I think it fitting to post some BlazBlue thoughts here. These thoughts have come up lately due to my achievement seeking and playing online. (52 ranked matches left, and 40-50 player matches left until I have 1000/1000 on BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger)

• The game is broke, but not as broke as you think.
  Everyone whines about the difference in tiers. I'll fully admit that some match-ups are pretty bad to play (Tager vs Rach/Nu/Arak, Haku vs Rach/Nu/Arak) BUT all things said and done, the majority of the game is fairly balanced. Even these 'terrible' match-ups have been found to be 65% or so in favor. Not nearly as ground-breaking as the internet would lead you to believe. Frustrating sure, but hardly impossible. Now to build off of that. . .
  
  
• Nu is NOT as easy mode as you think, kiddies.
  At first I thought this may just be a slight bias on my part due to being a Nu player, however lots of ranked and player matches have helped to reaffirm this. Thanks to the internet being full of ignorant fuckwads, everyone has the absolute knowledge (not belief. Concrete knowledge.) that you can D spam on Nu and instantly win. What this hilariously translates into is kiddies who either a.) pick Nu because I've beaten the majority of their other characters or b.) are counter-picking Nu because my DCard says Nu on it. (And therefore, there's no chance in hell their main could beat me! They better use Nu!)
  
  So how does this -always- work out in the end? The kiddy sits there and can do the first two swords (ie 2x D) and then doesn't know what else to do. They then proceed to get spanked. People have simply become so entrenched in the belief of all powerful Nu in Calamity Trigger that people seem to be so sure they can pick her up for the first time and instantly do better than they would with their main, without practicing or knowing combos.
  
  I mean sure, I guess I shouldn't complain. It's free wins on ranked or player matches. I just find it pathetic on the people's part that they're so bloody ignorant as to do this, and end up looking like a scrubby right ass. Anyway, I guess that as a Nu player who honestly has put some time into learning his character, it frustrates me that so many gamers still think she requires no effort and skill.
  
  
• I hate fighting Arakune
  I know i just spent a few paragraphs describing that the tiers aren't -that- bad and that higher tier characters such as Nu do require skill, but that doesn't change the fact that I effing loathe Arakune. I think this is due to the top strategy for Arak still looking like:
  
  1. Curse
  2. Play keep away in the air
  3. Whilst playing keep away, mash on your buttons to conjure bugs
  Frustrating as hell playing Haku, and even on Nu a pain in the ass when the Arak player knows how to play elusive.
  
  
• Don't counterpick. You just end up looking like an ass.
  A few times now I've had peeps counterpick for one reason or another. This is either a.) in ranked matches where they seem to try counterpicking based off of my D-Card saying Nu) or b.) in player matches where I pick first and then they pick someone based off of that. (Can I prove it? Not quite, but it's fishy when they sit on Jin or Noel or another main, then suddenly move to Nu/Arak/Rachel when they see me pick Hakumen. =| )
  
  This one annoys me for two reasons. The first is that it's once again going back to typical user ignorance. The internet says Arakune or Nu is auto-win versus someone. As such you're showing that rather than use a character you're probably familiar with (oh D-Cards, how I love thee) you're placing your faith in rumor and internet whining without actually having the experience to tell you otherwise.
  
  Reason number two is that I consider fighting games a test of skill. Sure there are match-ups leaning one way or another, but when you drop your main of sorts to try and counterpick you're blatantly showing off that you lack any skill (or at least confidence in your skill) to play who you know best. You're depending on supposed hard coded advantages or disadvantages, and are essentially requiring the use of an 'unfair advantage' of sorts to win. Really tells a lot about a person's character to require such an advantage before they feel they can win a contest of skill.
  
  Now, i realize that this can go a few different ways. One can then question players who main a "higher tier" character anyway, saying they're just learning a good character to have this advantage. Different argument for a different time, though I would agree that's the case more often than not. No, the above few paragraphs are pertaining to peeps specifically picking characters they wouldn't normally play in hopes of said advantages. How would I know this? Glad you asked.
  
  
• I love D-Cards
  Standing for Drive-card, anyone who has played BlazBlue online knows that the D-Card shows off a player's main character, alt character, and win ratios for both ranked / player matches. Now there are a couple evils that this allows, but at the same time it allows me to see the (in theory) skill of a fellow player (their win %), as well as for curiosity's sake who they prefer playing. I like seeing a peep's main since I often hold a lot more respect for someone who goes out of their way to play a character they enjoy, not one who is cookie cutter or "good". Call me generalizing but it allows me to get a first impression of my opponent.
  
  The two downsides come from counterpicking (mentioned above) and flat out refusal to play. Currently I play Hakumen, however I have not played enough matches to make up for the amount of Nu I have played before Haku. On multiple occasions, the pre-fight screen will come up. As soon as somebody sees I have Nu as my main they back out of the match. I'm sorry, are you (once again) so insecure in your ability that you're not even going to bother playing? Are you only wanting to play when things perfectly suit your terms? Why bother going online to play others in a fighting game if you're going to cancel out every time things don't happen to be how you want them? (Though I guess this can apply to ragequitters as well, and we know how they're loved.) Anyway, last for this list. . .
  
  
• Online play does have its fair share of issues for such a fighting game
  At risk of sounding like i'm making excuses, I'm going to bitch about lag. I honestly think if I didn't play Haku I'd have a lot less reason to bitch, but I currently do, so I currently will. While BlazBlue has unusually great netcode, I still find enough times where there's some degree of input (or general) lag that delays my reactions to the game. Such times truly cropping up are typically throw breaks, but far moreso Hakumen's ability to counter. When you take away for the player to make a split second decision such as countering, it means that an entirely major aspect of that character is negated. Normally I'd be able to react and counter an icecar (Vroom vroom) thus punishing the Jin player for it. However with this wonderful concept of lag, by the time I see the icecar it's too late to press the button and actually get an effect. Yes I realize that at this point I should try and anticipate, but I shouldn't be punished in such a fashion when I would normally in person (ie how the game was meant to be played) be able to react and use it accordingly.
  
  Slightly on that topic, I understand now why Jin is the choice character of new players (and general scrubs) ala Ken in SF4. Jin's strategies typically focus on the ability to hit your opponent quickly with a freezing attack, and then make use of that time. In a local setting this isn't an issue, since an opponent can wiggle out of freezing and react accordingly. However it seems like thanks to lag, it's damn near impossible to waggle out before the ice would wear off anyway. If you want to interpret this as whining, then test it out for yourself. Try waggling out of ice online and off, and you'll notice quite a hell of a difference. This difference seems like all it takes for a mediocre or beginner player to get off combos that really wouldn't be working otherwise. I have a hunch that this is partially why Jin's ice got the shit nerfed out of it in Continuum Shift. (Ice automatically breaks as if you were waggling out as fast as possible) It won't be remotely as good / easy to use, and I have a feeling a lot of the former Jin players will be moving onto other easy mode characters since they won't find themselves nearly as 'good' with Jin as they once were.

Overall, BlazBlue online has provided quite an interesting experience. (Though I'm still a ways from done with Calamity Trigger, as seen at the top of this post) While I definitely prefer playing in person (by far), online play has allowed me to look at the attitudes and playstyles of many different BlazBlue players I wouldn't have seen otherwise. It's also done a good job to help illustrate that Continuum Shift will be a very welcome change, fixing many of the questionable issues with the first game.

When that day comes, I will be there to greet you. Both as the White Void, and as Rambda.

Till we meet again in Kagutsuchi.
-Ed Kun Out

2010 Ho

Heyas 2010. What's happening?

i have to admit, you're already looking a lot more eventful than 2009 was. (Be said events for better or for worse) You started off slapping carlo with numerous computer issues, causing me to hate life during the process for building my wireless 360 stick. At the same time though you've reaffirmed that my current relationship was a good decision, in that it's making both of us happy and really doesn't seem to have any roadblocks or issues in sight.

On that note, I'm actually feeling happy for once. Not feeling mopey, "emo", or whathaveyou. Sure I'm transparent and apparently always need a femme for happiness, but even that aside I have little I can complain about for once. Honestly a lack of a steady job (and thus still living at home) is the only thing that really gnaws at me at the moment, but even then I at least have enough money from tax returns and my last SalKeiz paycheck to keep me well off until I can be employed again. Life is good.

Oh, right. There is afterall a second problem. Dizzy is unable to charge properly. When I plug the AC Adapter in, it immediately acts like there's no connection (ie no power coming through). Wiggle the power cable after a while and she gets one, but it's a pain in the ass to get stable power coming in. Here's to hoping my Circuit City (. . . yeah. no comment) extended warranty is still usable in some format, so that I can at least get her sent in for repairs. If not, apparently Jones has some black magic for fixing this. Either way, as long as I can get my laptop to charging just fine again, life is pretty damn good.

I'm not entirely sure what compells me to write like this at night time. If i recall correctly, the last time i wrote a general statement on thoughts and life was at night time (morning time, whatev) like this. It's kinda weird and has me wondering, but i don't find it anything i'll lose sleep over. If anything, we all know i tend to get a little goofy in the late hours. Maybe this is my goofyness and excess energy finding a creative outlet, or something. or rambling on and on and on and on. Probably the second, but i can't keep focused or care enough to find one particular cause.

On the topic of creativity, my muse is somewhat back, at least for a little bit. Ever since the recent relationship start, I've found myself going back to my usual past time of drawing overly cute sketches of couples. In particular, our avatars (Speaking of, absolutely loved Avatar. Day 1 DVD purchase right there) anyway. it's nice to know i haven't completely lost my talent. (For the record, after trying earlier today i still suck ass at drawing werewolves. need to practice this lots, as this is a terrible thing to suck ass at) Assuming i can get back to drawing all sorts of things with fine motivation, that'll be yet another aspect of life to be happy about. Speaking of, one of these days I may get off my arse and upload more drawings to edkun-sketchings. (Most likely said couple sketches) Probably depends on how well i can get dizzy to act when her power supply is in flux.

so there you have it. Life is actually good, even great for once, even with some issues here and there. Despite a rocky start, 2010 is off towards a good strong showing. Here's to hoping it continues.

Oh, and Continuum Shift is awesome.

-Ed Kun Out-