Portal Kombat has begun!

Unboxing video for MK Tourney Edition is uploading to YouTube as we speak, and I have to say, I was impressed with what I got. Check the video to see more.

I could've done one for Portal 2 as well, but to be honest, it was just the game. And trust me, I plan on doing a vid review for that as soon as I've played it. I'm hearing it's not that long a game - roughly 5-6 hours each mode - but lord knows I'll play it more than once. Not only that, I still have Killzone 3 to log time on. So all in all, I'll be keeping busy.

One thing I will have to say is that both of the studios involved in these games - Netherrealm and Valve - both did a great job of catering to their fanbase just through the development process via Twitter and the ARG. I know I gave Valve a ration of shit for Portal 2's ARG kinda falling apart at the end, but it turns out, the prizes were pretty damn good for those involved. And I'm sure that they're taking notes about what to do better next time. Both games have been reviewing very well, though MK has gotten knocked a bit for Online play not being up to snuff. I hope that gets fixed, but I gotta wonder....why the hell is it that nobody seems to be getting into BlazBlue territory with quality netcode? I'm also seeing some trophies that are flat ass wrong. Finishing an arcade ladder on the highest difficulty without using a continue is a fucking bronze?!?!? Are you kidding me? And some are just insane. Mastering one character is a reasonable request; it takes 24 logged hours with that character, performing all of their fatalities and getting all their unlocks. However, there's also one that requires you to master all the characters. Hope you're free for the next goddamned year.

I really only got a taste of what's there tonight, and indeed, I haven't even played online yet. Tomorrow will be a much more in-depth sampling of what MK has to offer. But for now, there's one thing I can already tell Ed Boon and company: I forgive you for Armageddon. Now you just need to make up for hiring Bloodstorm's character design artist.

-Trakdown

Guns, Razors, Knives

Holy hell, I've neglected this. Oh, and PORTAL KOMBAT!!

Just goes to show you what can happen when you're taking a full load of classes, preparing for two consecutive looooooong trips and what not.

- Moon Diver. Good idea. Bad execution. Everybody wants to play multi-player Strider with RPG Elements. Nobody wants to play multi-player Strider with RPG elements if one of those elements is a slash limit. It's like if your attack button stopped working every 4th slash or so. Part of what made Strider so awesome was how seamless it was...you only stopped for cutscenes. Now, you also stop for special attacks, which have a fucking unnecessary animation where time stops on the screen. Even worse, if another character is trying to link an attack and you're trying to use a magic skill, it can prevent you from doing so and keep you standing there helpless. Again, good idea, needs improvement.

Also, the story makes no goddamn sense whatsoever. AND FUCK THE LASERS.

- Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 needs some work, STAT. Character cast is meh, balance is fucking gone, online needs an overhaul and options are inexcusably limited. Capcom's already talking about a "super" version, which is something I actually cheered the Vs. series for avoiding up until now.

And sadly, if Hiryu's in it....I'll be picking it up like the consumer whore that I am. Still, 'tis bullshit.

- Today was my first experience with Games for Windows Live, as it's part of Red Faction: Guerilla, a game I'm getting into fairly late d/t not having a big enough drive for all of my Steam games (I've since rectified this).

Let's just say the last time something that unholy and uncooperative appeared, the Ghostbusters had to defeat it by crossing the streams.

- Portal 2 is either out or coming out on Tuesday, depending on:
A)your ability/desire to pirate games

B)your local gaming shop deciding whether or not street dates mean anything.

It may also come out earlier than Tuesday but later than now, depending on the ARG they have going at ApSci's website. Though to be fair, they kinda fumbled the ball in the redzone on this one. Buying/playing a bunch of indie games is great exposure for the indie devs and their products, and it's nice of Valve to try to help them out, but this might have been a bridge too far after a long, drawn out ARG that already took a ton of effort to get any deciphering done. You can't go from "exciting scavenger hunt" to "okay, um....play these games", which most people have taken to be just leaving them open and idling. When you get within a 4 day window of things, it's kind of a moot point, especially when thousands upon thousands of people playing these things has generated a drop of exactly 1 hour early. This is further compounded by the problem that an early release would not be for any copy other than the one on Steam, meaning Console/PC hybrid guys like me are content to wait.

Still, the hidden song "The Device Has Been Modified" was a blast to hear on Audiosurf. I have no doubts that Portal 2 is still going to be awesome, so it's not a big deal that this kind of fell apart on them.

- Pirates and lucky pricks have also been enjoying the new MK early, and thankfully, most spoilers that I've read are fairly innocuous, the biggest one thus far being that Babalities are back. Apparently these each have their own animation, so it could be more welcome than it was before. It may also lead to the return of friendships, which would certainly brighten my day.

The other good news that I just now read about is that Klassic Kostumes are indeed available in the Krypt. Now, I'll be starting off with Ermac and Reptile (Amazon Touney Edition), but it's nice to know I can grab the others. Unfortunately, these are hidden somewhere in the damnable abomination - and I mean that with love - known as the Krypt, which is where you spend Koins on whatever the fuck happens to be in a coffin. Sometimes you get awesome stuff (Kharacters, stages, videos), sometimes you get fucking vapor. As in not-a-goddamned thing. And yet, it's an addicting experience. I guess I just like new stuff. Speaking of which...

- The rumors about "Project Cafe", aka Nintendo's next endeavor, aren't exactly making me giddy with anticipation. Again, Hardware has never been Ninty's problem so long as they weren't asking you to stare at a red screen. I'm intrigued to see what they got, but not expecting anything ground breaking.

- Next update...will be somewhere else.

You Don't Know Trak

Yeah, I'm still excited about it. Even without Gibberish Questions, which they were already kinda sick of doing by the time The Ride dropped, it's still an awesome package. I'm even considering double dipping for the PC version.

Recent news about the NGP - which, I'm wagering is just the codename for Sony's sequel to the PSP - has gotten some the usual launch hysteria. It's a hell of a nice looking device and feature packed to the brim, though it has decided to forgo the 3D route for now. Which is fine by me; 3D is a theater kind of thing. An extra inch or so of depth on a portable isn't exactly something I drool over, but an OLED screen? Awesome.

Of course, this being the internet, I couldn't help but eventually run into some incredibly fucking dumb criticism of this just-now-announced system. One source was from Penny Arcade. PENNY FUCKING ARCADE. Now granted, I don't always think Tycho's on the ball about this stuff. I don't understand how he can get into a furniture-chomping, pants-shitting unholy rage about PlayStation Home - a service which costs nothing and is optional - and merely harrumph about his console of choice having a hardware failure large enough to make it a doorstop. I thought he was down right ill in la cabeza when he decided to buy 2 copies of FFXIII- one for each platform - in some misguided and unnecessary attempt at using his purchase as a vote for multiplatform support.

But this takes the fucking cake.

I really hope they're just joking.

In the event that this is seriously what they thought, let's address the "If they could tell people the price without freaking them out, they would!" nonsense.

The Nintendo 3DS was officially announced as existing on June 15, 2010. The price and release dates were not announced until JANUARY OF THIS GODDAMN YEAR. For the mathematically challenged, that's 6 months plus. So unless Penny Arcade just decided they weren't going to be that hard on Nintendo because of reasons only they know, this is a stupid argument to make. It's a fanboy argument, to be frank.

And hey, I have my own gripes. PR people are not supposed to be responding with questions about price with "It will be affordable." For one, that's not their call, it's ours. For two, that's not all that comforting coming from a man in a dapper suit who makes more in a quarter than I do in a year. "Affordable" can mean a lot of things. College is apparently more affordable than ever, but you're still going to be taking out loans to cover it.

Look, I understand; the NGP is banging. It's loaded with awesome hardware. And for reasons beyond me, people seem to think adding a rear-touchpad is going to be a bank breaker. But could we try to give the hardware that was just announced 4 days ago a little time? There's nothing in those specs that is so space age that this thing has any reason to be all that expensive. And if it is? Don't buy the goddamn thing, and even better, don't even fucking talk about it.

2010 - Welcome, To DIE! (Year in review)

Year end quick notes, since I've got about 50 minutes till the year ends:

• Just finished Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. Decent series for being weird (this is Gainax, after all), kinda like Powerpuff Girls x Ren and Stimpy. I probably wouldn't give this a repeat viewing, though I will admit I haven't heard the word "fuck" used in Engrish so gratuitously since Air Gear. Short and sweet, awesome soundtrack too!
• Holy hell...I picked up my DJ Hero case, and they mean "case". Thing's heavy and heavy-duty. Look for the video review for this one...
• ...Which will be posted once I get my Sony Bloggie Touch a flexible tripod. I'll be doing a LOT of video this year, though I will still do a write up as well.
• Backlog is still huge, though I did just knock out two anime series in a month. Some day I'll finish AIR and Lucky Star. Game wise, I'll be here awhile.
• THEY NEED TO DO MORE AIR GEAR!!! The Air Gear OVA was awesome, and it made me realize how much I missed this series. It's a great concept with great writing, but for some reason, Ito Ogure can't seem to get this or Tenjou Tenge completed. I blame his studio.
• You Don't Know Jack. 2011. PS3. Eff yeah.
• Pre-ordered Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition. I've never had a legit fight stick before, though I'm looking forward to this one d/t the Happ parts (authentic arcade) and, well, because it'll be an awesome game.
• Looking forward to being able to play games again, got most of them loaded. Probably going to go through Front Mission Evolved.
• Best pickups:

Demon's Soul w/artbook + soundtrack, Resonance of Fate, Resident Evil: Gold Edition w/move support - $20 each.

Deus Ex 1+2, Fear 1 + 2 with ALL DLC - 12 bucks total on Steam.

Guncon 2 Black (Japanese) - $20.

Little Big Planet GOTY edition - 11 bucks.

Big thanks to CheapyD and everyone at cheapassgamer.com for the help in finding some of these deals!

• Gaming fails of the year:

The ending to Snatcher. SUM UP!!!!

Replacing my hard drive on my PS3. Worth it, but man, it was a literal pain.

Strider Hiryu not in MvC3 because "He doesn't fit what we're trying to do with this game. She-Hulk, MODOK and Tron Bonne apparently fit juuuuuuuust fine, but not the most badass futuristic ninja EVER. He had BETTER be DLC.

Retailer-specific fatalities for MK. Granted, it's only a few legacy fatalities, and they'll most likely be available in a bundle later for much cheaper than reserving 3 copies. Still, don't like where this is headed.

DmC. Dante the heroin freak still isn't getting me interested.

Rock Band 3. Don't get me wrong, it's a great game, but buggy as fuck. Sucks to have

a game crash just because you selected a certain song.

• Gaming wins of the year:

The return of the 90s: New MvC, New Mortal Kombat, New Tekken, New Street Fighter, New You Don't Know Jack? Awesome. Now if only NBA Jam wasn't ass.

Kratos in MK. Talk about a natural.

PS Move. Motion control that actually works with core gaming and vice versa.

Kinect. Not for what MS has it doing, but for the other applications that users have been

using it for. Some seriously awesome stuff coming out!

PS2 HD revivals. Great idea, especially looking forward to the Team ICO stuff!

• You know what? I've said too much already. Things are going to pick up steam realllllllllly quickly. Stay tuned for more. 2011 is going to rock!

-Trakdown

Review: Victory Gundam

Well, I'm at a loss here.

I'm not even sure of what to make of Victory Gundam. This won't be a long review, because I'm still processing it.

Indeed it is, Jackie. Indeed it is.

There's really not much in this series that is get-up-out-of-your-seat exciting. There's a few good episodes, but nothing spectacular. It's not ZZ Gundam horrible by any means, but I just kind of feel like Yoshiyuki Tomino turned in an incomplete paper. If it's possible for a 51 episode anime to feel rushed, this would be it. In fact, this kind of feels like a 2nd attempt at F91.

This leads to a lot of things just *happening*. People start getting certain powers for no reason. People lose their goddamned minds with little-to-no reason why. Fuala Griffon starts out as a reasonable, Haman Kahn type commander and returns later as a psychotic version of Chara Soon with an even dumber gimmick: sleigh bells. I'm dead fucking serious.

Speaking of which, part of the reason the series is just so stilted is the amount of 20+ year old women talking to 13-year-old Usso Evin in very sexually suggestive ways. Seriously, this is the least subtle Shotacon anime I've ever seen, and I've watched Mahoromatic. For Christ's sakes, Usso even ends up naked in the bathtub with a female soldier. And to top it off, one of the weapons employed against him near the end?

Scantily clad women.

Yeah, not exactly the satellite cannon duel from Gundam X, is it?

By now, you've noticed that I've not talked about plot much. That's because I can't fucking tell you what it is. I know that the federation has fallen apart, they've fallen victim to the Zanscare Empire, the League Militaire (think AEUG from Zeta) is fighting them and Usso's really good at fighting. Beyond that, details get fuzzy because very little in this anime ever gets an explanation. Katejina Loos, in particular, is completely puzzling as a villain. Best I can figure is that she is stone cold fucking nuts.

Wouldn't be the first time.

So yeah, there's mecha battles, nudity, crazy women and some bizzare shit going on that doesn't explain itself well enough for anyone to really concern themselves with.

Verdict: For completionists only. Like I said, it's not ZZ Gundam bad, but considering that this story really doesn't go anywhere (and is 51 episodes long), I can't really recommend it. I only watched it because I'm a completionist and I wanted to be done with the UC timeline (well, except for Unicorn). While the mech battles are fairly well done, the designs aren't all that hot - the Victory Mk II being an exception- and aren't worth the time investment. The ending is remarkably unsatisfactory as well.

Hard Drive is updated.

Now if only I was awake enough to play. :(

2nd round KO: Trakdown wins, hard drive loses.

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!

Ya miserable fucking cunt piece of shit! >:O

*flings hard drive, smashes window*

I warned ya, PS3. I ain't nobody to fuck wit'. Especially not when I'm packing a $10 set of screw extractors, a pistol grip power drill with high-torque chuck and a high from finishing my classes for the semester.

The item I'm holding in that picture is indeed the PS3's OEM hard drive: An 80gb Seagate Momentus. The hard drive in my hand from the earlier blog is still in the anti-static bag, but once I get the other two screws out (groan) and get replacements that aren't made of Play-doh, I'll be rollin'.

Stay tuned- the saga continues, though not for long.

UPDATE: Other two screws came along quietly. Good for them. Tomorrow I should be back up and running! :D

-Trakdown