Since I am a big fan of fighting games I decided early on that I needed a title that was fighting game related. After spending an hour staring at a wall and coming up empty I decided to take an Alpha 3 break. I figured that vegetating for a few minutes might help. As soon as I landed my first combo I realized that I had stumbled upon the perfect name - negative edge. What is a negative edge? Negative edge is what fighting game fans call a certain technique that allows a player to execute two separate moves with the press of the button. It is explained in greater detail at Wikipedia -
Negative Edge was a technique created by Capcom to help players launch special moves in their 2D fighting games. The term was introduced to the world by the first iteration of Street Fighter II and has appeared in numerous, if not all, fighters made by Capcom since then. The Guilty Gear fighting game series is also known to have this feature. When you perform a special move, normally you just do the motion with the joystick/directional pad and then press the appropriate button(s). Negative Edge allows you to hold the desired button(s), perform the motion swiftly, then release the button to launch the attack. It's become a prominent term for any 2D fighting game enthusiast to know and utilize to win (or to try and avoid having it mess up their combos).
If only all of life's questions could be answered by playing video games.
The news as I see it
I actually had a lot of older news that I was going to add but most of it has already been covered in both Joshua Richey's and Vincent Chiucchi's news reports. Check them out to see what's been going on over the past week. I'll try to take a different approach for next week's column.
The Kiwis Are Coming!
New Zealand Story Revolution is currently being developed by Rising Star for the Nintendo DS.
Martin Defries, Rising Star's bossman, said of the title "With New Zealand Story Revolution, we're not going to be taking away anything that made the original such a charming classic. Its delicate balance will be carefully recreated and with the new features we've included, New Zealand Story Revolution will be an even more manic platform adventure than the original."
credit: SPOnG
Finally! I love Taito's classic arcade games. This one is probably my favorite. It's nice to know that they won't stray too far away from what made the original so fun. Well... That's what they say. We'll find out if they can deliver later this year. With Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands having already been announced, all I need is confirmation of a Parasol Stars update and I can die a happy person.
Guild Wars Expands Its Reach
ArenaNet has just announced the title of the next game in the Guild Wars series - Guild Wars Nightfall. The developer also announced that players will be able to participate in the Guild Wars Nightfal PVP (player-versus-player) event taking place which starts on Friday, July 28 at 12:01 am PDT and ends on Sunday, July 20 at 11:59 pm PST.
During the PVP Preview Event, both Guild Wars and Guild Wars Factions players will get a first look at Guild Wars Nightfall, and will be able to try out the two new professions being introduced in the game; the Dervish, a scythe-wielding holy warrior, and the Paragon, guardian angel of the Elonian people. In addition to testing out the new professions and arenas, players will also be able to compete for items that will be exchangeable for a variety of rewards throughout the weekend event.
I enjoyed both Guild Wars Prophecies and Guild Wars Factions but I couldn't help but feel a little let down by Factions. The new characters looked cool but were fairly weak. In addition, many of their attacks were recycled from other professions. Sometimes the only difference was the name. Despite the flaws in Factions, I am still looking forward to the next installment in this series.
US Flavored Lumines
The track list for Lumines II for the PSP has just been released. The list includes the following -
Beck--"Black Tambourine"
Black Eyed Peas--"Pump It"
Chemical Brothers--"Star Guitar"
Fatboy Slim--"Gangster Trippin'"
The Go! Team--"Bottle Rocket"
Gwen Stefani--"Hollaback Girl"
Hoobastank--"Born to Lead"
Junior Senior--"Take My Time"
Missy Elliott--"Lose Control"
New Order--TBD
Junkie XL--"Breezer"
Stigmato Inc--"Reality Check"
credit: GameSpot, 1UP
While having contemporary artists might help to sell the game when it first launches, I feel that having them severely dates the product. Take a look at the first Spider-Man movie. After you hear Macy Gray during the parade scene or Nickelback during the ending credits, you automatically think - "oh, these singers were popular around 2002 or so. Damn this movie is so old." Whereas, if you watch something like Superman Returns in five or ten yours you won't feel its age as its music isn't tied to any era by "flavor of the month" artists.
I Choose YOU!
According to IGN, Pokemon for the Nintendo DS is set to be released in Japan on September 28, 2006. As usual, two versions will come out at the same time - Diamond and Pearl. The games will be wifi enabled allowing players to battle, trade, and chat. A US release has not been announced yet.
I actually can't wait for these titles to be released just so that I can see how their release affects overall software and hardware sales in Japan.
Stalk Your Live Friends From Anywhere Once Again
Major Nelson has announced that the ability to check your friends on Xbox Live through Messenger has been reinstated.
After a 14–month hiatus, it's back! You can now check your Xbox Live friends list from MSN Windows Live Messenger*. Don't have Messenger yet? Download it here. If you already have messenger, click on the Xbox tab and you'll see your friends list. Plus, you can even click a friend to go to their profile page. Nope…no word on when/if we'll combine the Messenger and Xbox Live friends lists, but at least we've got this back.
I don't have either of the Xboxes right now so I can't check this out. I should include reader participation in this column. Does someone feel like filling me in on his or her experiences with this service?
My top ### list
I don't feel like pigeonholing myself into having a specific number of items in a list. Lets see how long that lasts.
This week I decided to go through Gamestop's upcoming-games release lists in order to compile a list of games that I will pick up... Eventually. I wonder how many of these will actually be released on the date specified.
DS
Harvest Moon DS 8/15
Mega Man ZX 9/12
Final Fantasy III 10/3
Pokemon Ranger 10/30
Children of Mana 10/30
SNK vs Capcom Card Fighters 11/1 <--- will pick up on release day
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin 11/21 <--- will pick up on release day
Yoshi's Island 2 12/1
GBA
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 8/8
Super Robot Taisen 2 10/17
Final Fantasy V 12/1
Final Fantasy VI 12/1 <--- will pick up on release day
PC
Phantasy Star Universe 10/24 <--- will pick up on release day
Damn it! Why are most of these portable games? I hate playing games on portable systems!
Ten years after the initial release of this movie in the US, Manga Video is set to unleash a complete and uncut version of what many consider to be the finest example of how a movie-based-on-a-game should be made. Though it is animated, this movie is much closer to its source material than even Mortal Kombat was. It is without a doubt closer than Van Damme's effort. Buyers can expect longer and more violent fight scenes, better music, and nudity. Yay! The English audio track still makes use of the horrendous rock music that put a lot of people off in the past so there is still room for yet another version in the future. That probably won't happen for another ten years so feel free to buy without worries. Make sure that you get the one with the crappy cover you see to the left. Its the only way to make sure that you are getting the newest version. Just remember that it's what is on the inside that counts.
Weekly Side Quest
I was putting this column together when I got an email from PayPal telling me that someone initiated a chargeback on a payment that had been made two months ago. What followed was a six hour ordeal which left me angry, vengeful, and $1,200 poorer. It also caused me to forget what I had originally planned for this section. In addition, I had to severely cut back on a few other sections that I had intended to introduce in the debut of this column due to the time I lost. Fuck PayPal! Expect a write-up in a week or two in which I talk about the bullshit that PayPal is putting me through. I'm going to make sure that none of my readers experiences what I went through.
Deal of the Week
Toys"R"Us recently slashed the prices of a number of items in their video games section. The only game that I found worthy of mention is Puyo Pop Fever for the DS. Right now you can pick this title up for a measly $9.98. If you can get past the Diabetes inducing sweetness of the game's presentation, you will find yourself a great on-the-go puzzler.
Thinking about going Hi-Def so that you can enjoy your current and next-gen systems in wide-screen glory? Before you take the plunge, make sure you are aware of the lag problems some HDTVs experience. The first two links offer the same information in their first posts. I added both because they both contain different responses by others which may be useful for those that are gathering information. The third link goes to a recent article at IGN. I found fubarduck's article to be more informative but you can decide that on your own. Be happy that I am giving you a choice.
The ridiculousness of this video has to be seen to be believed. Check out the face of the bouncer 55 seconds in. The amount of pure will necessary for him to keep a straight face was probably what caused him to lose his hair. Also, the seriousness with which the performer sings this song is pure gold. The song basically talks about how he met someone on IRC that he believes is a bot. Weird? Yes. But it does sound good while going down the highway at 65 MPH.
The Analyst's Corner
This is where I will use my awesome experiences in the video game industry to predict the future. I already had most of my first article written out but unfortunately, the company that I was corresponding with has not responded to the questions that I sent in. I will post it next week if they ever decide to respond. Disappointed? Me too.
Feedback
Since this is my first post I have not received any responses from anyone yet. Do I rule? Do I suck? Tell me! Maybe I'll post what you say here. Use the link at the bottom of this page to give me a piece of your mind.
About me
I started to jot down an introduction about myself – how I started gaming, which systems I've owned, and what games I played for those systems – and I found that there was way too much to include. My hand was starting to hurt because of all the writing I was doing (I haven't had to use a pen this much for years) so I couldn't continue even if I wanted to. I'm not famous enough for what I write to matter to too many people so I just decided to take a simpler route for the time being. Below is a breakdown of the systems I've owned in the order that I owned them as well as a few tidbits of information after. I'll save the long-winded explanation for a later date.
Apple ][ Plus
IBM PC with monochrome monitor
NES
Super Nintendo
Sega Saturn
Sega Dreamcast
Playstation 2
GameCube
Xbox
Gameboy Advance SP
Nintendo DS
My favorite system is the NES. I am mostly into 2D side-scrollers and fighting games. My favorite side-scrollers off the top of my head include Mega Man 2, Blaster Master, Bionic Commando, and Ninja Gaiden 2. My favorite fighters include Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and The King of Fighters '98. Games that I am currently messing around with include Space Channel 5 2, Guild Wars, Battlefield 2, Shadow Hearts 2, Red Alert 2, and The King of Fighters XI. I tend to buy games after they have been around for a little while. One of the only upcoming games that I would buy on its release date is Phantasy Star Universe. The first one took my soul away and I expect that the next incarnation will do the same.
Alright. Time for some rest and relaxation. I'll be back next week.
