Okay, I can see that the D-pad has more utility than I realized. What about its actual design? A few of you have said that the current D-pad (at least, the one on the 360) needs to be addressed regarding it's current structure. All else being equal, do you guys like the PS3 pad or the 360's? Exhibit A: Exhibit B: Perhaps a compromise? What about setups such as that of the Wii Thrustmaster? All sex jokes aside, does (a) swapping positions of the d-pad with the left analog stick or (b) its d-pad's shape appeal to you guys at all? For what it's worth, if I could apply the first clause to the modified 360 controller above, and put a couple of remappable buttons underneath, similar to the Mad Catz Combat Controller (below), it'd be damn near perfect for me.
You know, not to stir the pot or anything, but I did a google of "PC controllers" and there are more PS3 clones than Xbox 360 clones. Hey even the Wii controllers copy the PS3 controller. And there is even a Logitech controller for 360, but with the analog and d-pad switched. Just saying. The thing about the PS3s raised D-Pad is because you can feel everything in your fingers. What would be a great change would be to round the edges of the dpad. So the thumb could move over it with less resistance and not hurt after a half hour of half circle moves. And if you're looking at the move inputs in games, they are less and less showing half circles and more showing the step by step arrows. It is also a good thing that in most fighting games, only one or two characters have a move that requires a 360 movement.
Maybe Ive just to used to the PS3 controller but I fucking love it and hate playing games on 360 controllers. The size and angle of the prongs is fucking perfect and the best Xbox controller I ever played with was a 3rd party one that had similar prongs*. I always hear the "triggers" on the 360 feel more like triggers when playing FPS, which to me doesn't add any more to the feeling to the game at all, not to mention I grew up my entire life shooting real guns and pressing a controller button does not translate or compare in any way. I did however miss the force feed back of the first Duel Shock for PS3. I have yet to pick up a DS3, damn bitches are expensive and I already have two controllers. I will say for the times I play games that require the D-pad the raised buttons are way to stiff and can blister my finger if it is too intense. I wouldnt mind if they had a more 360 disk like D-pad. *I rarely use 3rd party controllers because I went through like 4 madcatz controllers when I had a PS1 and swore off 3rd party garbage.
First review of MK9 is up. I think the first two paragraphs of the review are what I think about when someone doesn't like "mini-games" in the middle of fights. Getting this asap.
Amazon's gold box is all video games again today. Nothing of interest for me yet, but I'll be watching.
SPOILER! Here's the end song (until it is taken down): Spoiler http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=Ot5mSVheGtA
MORTAL KOMBAT! So in gayness news...I've always been a Scorpion kind of guy, and I was excited to hear they had original outfits and fatalities for some of the original characters. I was excited to get the Scorpion original outfit. Nope, GameStop exclusive. I refuse to buy the game from there, fuck that. So I get the original Sub-Zero shit. Okay then. Who else got it and is playing? I know Lahey has it.
Speaking of Mortal Kombat, the web series "Mortal Kombat: Legacy" has the first two episode (really one two-part episode) online. I'd imagine they timed it well to coincide with the release of the game. They're not bad, and I see what they're doing. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes. I know they're going for the stereotypical "gritty reboot" of the series, but the trailer they'd done earlier looked really good, and what they're doing with character origins is pretty decent so far. Plus it has Michael Jai White, so I'll watch.
And you're OKAY with this??? Dude, that's like a Red Sox fan putting on pinstripes or a Jew eating bacon. Shame on you.
HAHA. That actually would have been quite funny as a joke. It doesn't really have anything to do with video games (although we don't yet have a thread for "web series"), but the first episode was so fucking awful, it actually motivated me enough to write a review on IMDB; "I enjoyed the "Mortal Kombat: Rebirth" short that came out late last year. Sure, there were a lot of silly clichéd lines, and the "story" was non-existent, but I liked the originality of the fights. They had hired legitimate martial arts actors, practically unheard of in Hollywood these days, and done some neat choreography rarely seen outside of Hong Kong. And since the short was centered around a single fight, it ended up being worthwhile. Sadly, based on the first episode of the web series, the stupidity of the work is ratcheted up to Michael Bay proportions, and the cool fighting we saw in the original is nowhere to be found. Every single character and scene in the series is the most cardboard cut-out cliché imaginable, and they boggle the mind with their stupidity. For instance, Sonya Blade relays a message back to Jax and headquarters informing them that Kano is smuggling weapons at a warehouse. The lead guy then tells us that they need to follow "protocol" to "make sure" of this fact, to which Jax Briggs, showing off what a loose cannon badass he is, responds "FUCK PROTOCOL!". Hey idiots, if a FIELD AGENT who you have sent in on a covert mission relays intelligence to you, what further confirmation do you possibly need? The scene's only purpose is to establish the Jax's character, but it's done in such a pathetic, lame manner that it's childish and engaging. And then, when Sonya gets captured and Kano talks to her, we're presented with another scene witnessed a million times in low-budget, B action films. Namely, with the female tied up, the bad guy proceeds to taunt her (why not just kill her, since that's what you said you were going to do?), she spits on him, he hits her back, threatens her, and then...reveals all his future Bad Guy plans for some unknown reason. Later, when Jax and his crew arrive, one of their men gets easily killed by a sniper. So, rather, than continuing this sniping, especially with the entire special forces unit sprawled out and stunned, what do Kano's men do? They walk out into the open, talk a little, and engage Jax's men face-to-face. Lovely. Also, apparently, a woman screaming in a secluded room during a gunfight between over a dozen men is not only audible, but tells Jax exactly where she is. Oh, and Jax tosses away his gun to fight barehanded against Kano...who has a tiny knife. I could go on and on. Look, absurd plot holes and clichés in action works are okay as long as two things are true; it doesn't take itself seriously, and the action scenes are good. Sadly, Mortal Kombat: Legacy takes itself as seriously as terminal illness, and completely fails with its action scenes. The originality of the MMA-influenced fight between Johnny Cage and Baraka is now replaced with ultra slow motion shots, horrible-looking CGI blood, and the standard undercranked (shooting a scene at 18 fps and playing it through at 24 fps), boring American martial arts style choreography. No originality or excitement whatsoever. Yuck. Mortal Kombat fans, myself included, don't ask for much, but this garbage still manages to disappoint. "
Just finished the single player portion (took about 8 hours) and I have to agree. Great game from start to finish. The ending is brilliant.
Any Infamous fans on the board? I've got a brand spanking new beta code for some lucky person to test out the User Generated Missions and if your creativity is good enough, possibly see your mission end up on the final retail copy of Infamous 2. I would do it, but Socom 4 dropped yesterday and I'm trying to learn all the damn maps and clan strategies.
So after busting Lahey's ass in some MK, I have to say, this game is fucking great. They brought in every great thing from Mortal Kombats of yore and made them all work. The online code is as smooth as a babies ass (of course this is connection based) and even with some lag, you can scale back the strategy, play smart and win. The king of the kill mode is fun as hell, get a ton of people into a theatre and all can watch the two people fighting while being represented as cute MK avatars. They can cheer, boo, and applaud. The fighters can play with the theatre mode and see the avatars react or full screen it like normal. Still need to test this out but there might be an issue with region, I might not be able to rip out Pato's innards and I'm scared. Who else on PS3 is getting this?
I picked up Mortal Kombat for the PS3, too. I'm not great at fighting games, so I'll probably get my ass kicked pretty regularly when playing online, but I'd play a few games.
I played MK9 a fair amount yesterday, finishing story mode, and getting some online play in on a friend's account. It's definitely better than the previous iteration MK vs. DC, and only time will tell if it's a competitive fighter. However, aside from the uninformative fanboyism above, I though it would help to list the actual pros and cons of the game. On the bright side, the story/campaign mode is a lot of fun. In fact, it might be the best one I have played since Street Fighter Alpha 3 in 1997. Granted, it's not what I typically look for and want in a fighter, but it is a big deal for a lot of casual players, and in that sense, MK9 is excellent. Lots of 1 vs 2 battles and a fair number of bosses also keep it from getting too stale or easy. Also, they have finally improved the shit-tastic jump mechanics; they're far more smooth and fluid. The X-Ray meter they used and its mechanics are good, and it seems like they have added some safeguards to avoid infinites, like increased downwards acceleration on juggles. However, there are still some major issues with hitboxes. Sometimes, your character will throw out a punch or kick that will go right through the fucking opponent. While perhaps not a problem with the game per se, online play in MK9 is as notoriously miserable and awful as any previous title in the franchise. The netcode itself is fucking garbage; I have no idea why game after game, the producers fail so badly in this regard. The level of lag is vastly worse than any Street Fighter title. Anyways, typically crappy MK online experience aside, this is the best title in the franchise we have seen in a while. That being said, how does it compare to other fighting games? At the present moment, I don't know, but I can't tell you with a straight face that it's better than SSF4, MvC3, Tekken 6, VF 5, Blazblue 2, or any other recent fighting game on the market. Still, if you're a fighting game junkie like myself, it's worth getting.
Hah, awesome. I had to make that same decision yesterday. Now I wish I'd taken Portal 2 though, because the Playstation Network decided to be offline all day. In other news, Shao Kahn is so fucking cheap, it's unbelievable. He gets 4-5 times more health than a regular enemy, spammable attacks that take away almost 20% of your health bar (the X-ray does 50% damage, are you fucking kidding me) and to top it off, when you get hit by one of these attacks, you get stunned for just enough time to let that asshole wannabe wrestler get another cheap shot off. Took me forever. Spoiler Why the fuck did Liu Kang have to die? I get it, his voice is annoying, but to have Raiden do it? Pretty forced, if you ask me. The fatalities are pretty sweet, haven't seen a brutality though.. Anyone here have those button combos?