Sunday, October 19, 2008
Burning! Pocket Full of Yen
Let's talk about video games some more!
Seriously, outside of going to TGS and hanging around Harajuku, I spent a large portion of my weekend playing games. I brought my PS3 save files and my controllers for some massive multiplayer action at Richard's apartment, and on Sunday the two of us hit some local "game centers" (arcades to us American-types) for some coin-operated good times. Things may get a little geeky here, but I'll do my best to make the story accessible to gaming outsiders.
First up was a full playthrough of Street Fighter IV at a 50 Yen arcade. While this wasn't my first time playing, it was the first time I got a chance to play the game entirely without interruption from douchebags. It was also the first time I got a chance to play as Gouki (Akuma in America, but I'm not in American right now am I?). Gouki was not a playable character when I last got my hands on the game, and as evidenced in this picture I took, the arcade owners know that he's a fan favorite as they are advertising his addition to the roster.
As I've previously explained, SFIV plays just like the classic 2D versions of Street Fighter. The only differences are the new "Ultra Meter" which is apparently charged by taking damage from your opponent (get beat up, enable a powerful counter-attack) and the mysterious "focus attacks" which I still don't understand. But someone like me can easily rely on the old strategies and do quite well. Gouki is actually missing a lot of his Super moves, save for his distinct Shungokusatsu attack where he slides forward, grabs his opponent and beats the living hell out of him. His new Ultra Combo is just a stronger version of his Super, called the Shin-shungokusatsu ("Real" Shungokusatsu), which includes some text and a few angry words from Gouki before he beats the holy fucking hell out of his victim.
Using Gouki I managed to fight my way up to the final boss Seth, a silver "man" with a Yin-Yang or something in his abdomen. I won the first round but I suspect, like most classic fighting game bosses, he was just playing possum. He got a lot more aggressive in the following rounds. He has some kind of suction move where he draws opponents in and then pummels them, although his most powerful attack is his Ultra Combo. It seems to be unblockable and has a very long range, because both times he hit me with it I was on the opposite side of the screen. He created a black vortex that sucked me into his Yin-Yang (boy that sounds dirty) before firing me out at high speed for an incredible amount of damage. He always used it whenever I landed my Ultra Combo, so the moral of the story is don't hit Seth with any heavy artillery unless you're sure it'll win the match, because if he gets up he will smash your face against the inside of the game screen. Literally.
Next up in the 50 Yen arcade (despite costing 100 Yen!) was the Japan-exclusive arcade version of Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Survivor. I've spotted this game in arcades before, but I always avoided it because I've never played HL2 (I'm actually still procrastinating on the original) and the controls looked very complicated. The game includes two "control sticks" with multiple buttons along with two foot pedals. That's intimidating to a guy like me who's not so good at first-person shooters to begin with.
However, the game allows for co-op action and with Richard sitting next to me, we gave it a whirl. The controls turned out to be somewhat intuitive. The left stick controlled basic motion while the right stick was for looking/aiming. All the weapon functions were controlled with buttons on the right stick. So in the end the setup mirrored that of a PC, where your left hand moves on the keyboard and your right hand uses the mouse to look/shoot. Unfortunately, the left stick felt more like a mouse (it was flat and I rested my palm on it) and the right stick was more like a joystick in the traditional sense (it was upright), so in a tactile way the controls were actually backwards. The pedals controlled ducking and jumping which made things a little weirder.
How was the game itself? Well, if there was a story I didn't see it. The two of us were in a small area where some big Starship Trooper bug-looking things attacked us. All we did was maneuver around and pepper them with bullets, picking up the gems (??) they dropped. Guess they bleed diamonds? No idea. And after about five or six minutes, it was over. I'm still not sure what we accomplished, but we did it. I can't say I'd ever play the game alone, but I could definitely see it as a fun multi-player romp. Richard's arcade had four connected cabinets, and the Internets claim that up to EIGHT can be linked.
But let's get real for a second. HL2 may be a shooting game, but it's not the shooting game I've been itching to get my trigger finger hooked on. No, the game I wanted to find more than any other was the new RAMBO arcade game.
I couldn't have been more pleased by this game. As you can see, the actual shooting scenes are presented in-between clips from the second and third films. While we didn't finish the game, it a safe assumption they didn't cover the first movie, as I don't think an arcade game about Rambo fighting small-town sheriff's deputies would go over well. And while the fourth movie would make for great action, I presume it's just too new to make the cut. This is the story of Rambo in the 80's, back when Rambo was unquestionably the baddest, toughest, shirtless-est killing machine on Earth.
The in-game graphics aren't the best - Rambo in particular looks to be covered in melted butter because every angle on his body glistens - and I am a little dismayed that the weapon you use to play is an Uzi. Who associated Rambo with Uzis? He was always about the biggest automatic weapon possible, occasionally tossing them aside for more masculine, primitive tools like his infamous knife or an explosive-tipped arrow. My guess is that Sega simply remodeled some left-over House of the Dead 4 machines with a fiery Rambo exterior.
Given the odd choice of plastic weapon, the in-game action is actually quite varied. When you're not mowing down the forces of evil, there are a number of quick scenes and special sections where things aren't so easy. When Rambo attacks a village compound with his arrows, a series of precise single-shots were needed to destroy key buildings. When Rambo fought a bulked-up Russian, the action unfolded as we tried to "shoot" certain areas of the enemy's body which prompted Rambo to punch them, kick them, or just strangle the bastard. And just before we left, Richard played through a stealth section where too much shooting triggered an alarm. He even had to try and press the start button to send Rambo sneaking past the camp guards.
That was all the games I played in the game centers on Sunday. After that, we just walked around some local shops before meeting more friends for an evening karaoke session. I ended up performing an all-80's set, although I fear some of the impact was lost because Richard and his peers are a bit younger than myself. They were actually born during the 80's, and they don't know what they missed. I can only hope my vocal stylings gave them a small taste.
Seriously, outside of going to TGS and hanging around Harajuku, I spent a large portion of my weekend playing games. I brought my PS3 save files and my controllers for some massive multiplayer action at Richard's apartment, and on Sunday the two of us hit some local "game centers" (arcades to us American-types) for some coin-operated good times. Things may get a little geeky here, but I'll do my best to make the story accessible to gaming outsiders.
First up was a full playthrough of Street Fighter IV at a 50 Yen arcade. While this wasn't my first time playing, it was the first time I got a chance to play the game entirely without interruption from douchebags. It was also the first time I got a chance to play as Gouki (Akuma in America, but I'm not in American right now am I?). Gouki was not a playable character when I last got my hands on the game, and as evidenced in this picture I took, the arcade owners know that he's a fan favorite as they are advertising his addition to the roster.
As I've previously explained, SFIV plays just like the classic 2D versions of Street Fighter. The only differences are the new "Ultra Meter" which is apparently charged by taking damage from your opponent (get beat up, enable a powerful counter-attack) and the mysterious "focus attacks" which I still don't understand. But someone like me can easily rely on the old strategies and do quite well. Gouki is actually missing a lot of his Super moves, save for his distinct Shungokusatsu attack where he slides forward, grabs his opponent and beats the living hell out of him. His new Ultra Combo is just a stronger version of his Super, called the Shin-shungokusatsu ("Real" Shungokusatsu), which includes some text and a few angry words from Gouki before he beats the holy fucking hell out of his victim.
Using Gouki I managed to fight my way up to the final boss Seth, a silver "man" with a Yin-Yang or something in his abdomen. I won the first round but I suspect, like most classic fighting game bosses, he was just playing possum. He got a lot more aggressive in the following rounds. He has some kind of suction move where he draws opponents in and then pummels them, although his most powerful attack is his Ultra Combo. It seems to be unblockable and has a very long range, because both times he hit me with it I was on the opposite side of the screen. He created a black vortex that sucked me into his Yin-Yang (boy that sounds dirty) before firing me out at high speed for an incredible amount of damage. He always used it whenever I landed my Ultra Combo, so the moral of the story is don't hit Seth with any heavy artillery unless you're sure it'll win the match, because if he gets up he will smash your face against the inside of the game screen. Literally.
Next up in the 50 Yen arcade (despite costing 100 Yen!) was the Japan-exclusive arcade version of Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Survivor. I've spotted this game in arcades before, but I always avoided it because I've never played HL2 (I'm actually still procrastinating on the original) and the controls looked very complicated. The game includes two "control sticks" with multiple buttons along with two foot pedals. That's intimidating to a guy like me who's not so good at first-person shooters to begin with.
However, the game allows for co-op action and with Richard sitting next to me, we gave it a whirl. The controls turned out to be somewhat intuitive. The left stick controlled basic motion while the right stick was for looking/aiming. All the weapon functions were controlled with buttons on the right stick. So in the end the setup mirrored that of a PC, where your left hand moves on the keyboard and your right hand uses the mouse to look/shoot. Unfortunately, the left stick felt more like a mouse (it was flat and I rested my palm on it) and the right stick was more like a joystick in the traditional sense (it was upright), so in a tactile way the controls were actually backwards. The pedals controlled ducking and jumping which made things a little weirder.
How was the game itself? Well, if there was a story I didn't see it. The two of us were in a small area where some big Starship Trooper bug-looking things attacked us. All we did was maneuver around and pepper them with bullets, picking up the gems (??) they dropped. Guess they bleed diamonds? No idea. And after about five or six minutes, it was over. I'm still not sure what we accomplished, but we did it. I can't say I'd ever play the game alone, but I could definitely see it as a fun multi-player romp. Richard's arcade had four connected cabinets, and the Internets claim that up to EIGHT can be linked.
But let's get real for a second. HL2 may be a shooting game, but it's not the shooting game I've been itching to get my trigger finger hooked on. No, the game I wanted to find more than any other was the new RAMBO arcade game.
I couldn't have been more pleased by this game. As you can see, the actual shooting scenes are presented in-between clips from the second and third films. While we didn't finish the game, it a safe assumption they didn't cover the first movie, as I don't think an arcade game about Rambo fighting small-town sheriff's deputies would go over well. And while the fourth movie would make for great action, I presume it's just too new to make the cut. This is the story of Rambo in the 80's, back when Rambo was unquestionably the baddest, toughest, shirtless-est killing machine on Earth.
The in-game graphics aren't the best - Rambo in particular looks to be covered in melted butter because every angle on his body glistens - and I am a little dismayed that the weapon you use to play is an Uzi. Who associated Rambo with Uzis? He was always about the biggest automatic weapon possible, occasionally tossing them aside for more masculine, primitive tools like his infamous knife or an explosive-tipped arrow. My guess is that Sega simply remodeled some left-over House of the Dead 4 machines with a fiery Rambo exterior.
Given the odd choice of plastic weapon, the in-game action is actually quite varied. When you're not mowing down the forces of evil, there are a number of quick scenes and special sections where things aren't so easy. When Rambo attacks a village compound with his arrows, a series of precise single-shots were needed to destroy key buildings. When Rambo fought a bulked-up Russian, the action unfolded as we tried to "shoot" certain areas of the enemy's body which prompted Rambo to punch them, kick them, or just strangle the bastard. And just before we left, Richard played through a stealth section where too much shooting triggered an alarm. He even had to try and press the start button to send Rambo sneaking past the camp guards.
That was all the games I played in the game centers on Sunday. After that, we just walked around some local shops before meeting more friends for an evening karaoke session. I ended up performing an all-80's set, although I fear some of the impact was lost because Richard and his peers are a bit younger than myself. They were actually born during the 80's, and they don't know what they missed. I can only hope my vocal stylings gave them a small taste.
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I am so unhappy I can't play that half life 2 arcade game... and is the SDM version of the shungokusatsu still light punch light punch forward heavy punch light kick, or does it add anything?
# posted by 
: 19 October, 2008 13:19
: 19 October, 2008 13:19
Cod: If you check the photo, you'll see that both combos are explained on the "Gouki is here" poster. The Ultra Combo is BACK rather than FORWARD, so it's simple to pull off.
And if you really want to play HL2 Survivor, COME TO JAPAN already. Bring your brother, or Dave, or both. We'll hang out and hit all the game centers we can find.
And if you really want to play HL2 Survivor, COME TO JAPAN already. Bring your brother, or Dave, or both. We'll hang out and hit all the game centers we can find.
I should remind you that I am one of the few people you know who can't read japanese (though I can tell it from chinese when spoken) so it wasn't apparent to me that that actually was the command for a move on that poster. And my want to go is becoming more and more overwhelming. I WILL go eventually, the only question being WHEN.
# posted by : 20 October, 2008 11:44
: 20 October, 2008 11:44
Hey Dano,
I can see how you love that Rambo game. What a blast. Hey man, you didn't really go into any positives about KOF 12. Did it look as hot as we hoped? How are the sound effects? I mean, barring sharks who beat people unmerciful, did it FEEL bad ass? How bout that selection screen...etc. I just gotta know, from a man who ACTUALLY played it. MY GOD!!!
コメントがあるちゃう？ Type something, please. It's less work for me.I can see how you love that Rambo game. What a blast. Hey man, you didn't really go into any positives about KOF 12. Did it look as hot as we hoped? How are the sound effects? I mean, barring sharks who beat people unmerciful, did it FEEL bad ass? How bout that selection screen...etc. I just gotta know, from a man who ACTUALLY played it. MY GOD!!!
# posted by : 21 October, 2008 06:46
: 21 October, 2008 06:46When leaving comments, please don't remain Anonymous. Click on "Other" and pick a name!
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