Mega Man 9 Boss Sequence

Sorry about the terrible graphic, just rushed through it. (Get it? Rush?)

I suppose a graphic is better than (a) text anyways.

For starters, I took out Splash Woman first with the Mega Buster. I would recommend starting with Hornet Man or Galaxy Man, though, since they are so easy to avoid.

Oh yeah, FYI, use Black Hole Bomb on the Magma Stage dragon miniboss and the boss of the third Fortress stage. It has a few other uses, but those two are paramount.

Fwd: This place used to be the Vault.

And, now, OMG it smells like PEPPA!!!!!!!!1111111

Wow... 36.2mpg on the last tank in the Rolla... Vvti ftw.

OMFG... Those fucking eskimos and their goddamn chain throw...

I came to PAX with modest expectations for myself. But Goddamn those Inuits.

Fwd: Gutta fight a a pitch betfor u get a snstincy

Zomg. Another MGO patch?

The Psycho Crusher/ and Cervy's Geo da Ray/ Suspiciously like

Beat arc w dv. Apprentice got.

Devil Blinga

I can't knock X-Play's 3/5 score for DMC4. Seeing as I liked DMC3 a hell of a lot, I would skew slightly higher, but I concede the criticism that this iteration is merely a new coat of paint and some incremental gameplay developments. The exception being, perhaps, Nero's demonic appendage, the so called Devil Bringer.

Before I delve further into these observations, I must confess I have only completed through Mission 8. I have not yet taken control of Dante, so I cannot comment on changes to his gameplay (though the prospect of switching styles on the fly is quite enticing.)

Whilst I enjoyed switching blades mid-combo in Dante's Awakening, I found myself rarely swapping firearms in the heat of battle for any practical purpose. None of the options really compared to the twin pistols, and the decelerating effect their fire had on descent was a crucial component of my evasion and regrouping. This said, predictably I am not opposed to being equipped with the Red Queen (sword) and Blue Rose (revolver) for the entirety of Nero's play time. The Queen's Rev Guage adds a lot of depth here, allowing for modified versions of Nero's special sword commands, known as Exceed Attacks.

I really have to say here, though, the Exceed System is not very original. Order Sol (from GGXX/ and GGXX^C) and his Charge ability functions almost exactly the same way in both its three tiered enhancement of special moves and the methods by which one can build up charge. But, c'est la vie.

But this gun and sword dichotomy, immediately familiar from the last game, is fundamentally altered by the addition of the Devil Bringer, which is implemented for Snatching enemies from a distance to begin or continue combos, or to deal damage with an enemy-specific throw. This throw, called the Buster, can also be enhanced by the Devil Trigger transformation, and this combination can inflict even more punishment and has its own unique animations for each enemy (including bosses).

And so far, yes, DMC4 has been a bit of a Bossathon, keeping with Capcom's penchant for boss fights. So far I've liked these encounters, and found the design and implementation to be superior to the last iteration. Barring any shortcomings in the rest of the campaign, I should be poised to review this game quite favorably in the near future.

Odds and Ends - Refresh Edition

Finally got Melee back in the house after an ill-concieved lending on Lego's part. Had a few stand out rounds with Doc. Typical... Doc's the only one of my mains not returning for Brawl. Other than that I'm pretty happy with the final roster. (Really, though, Falco, but no Dr. Mario? Are you serious?)

Some nice TF2 last night. Defending the third Dustbowl stage, I registered 43 kills and 9 deaths. (Assist, destruction, and defense totals escape me.) Lego is totally right, though; Skill levels skyrocket after midnight.

Speaking of which, can anybody recommend a good PS3 mic? My Samsung WEP200 is not really meant for this purpose.

Obligatory T5DR notes: I keep seeing high rank Drag ghosts using a punch parry that I don't know. I've heard rumblings in the forums about this hidden move. I really need to look into it. Those same ghosts just love Pinpoint Fracture (qcf+4). (Why don't I?) Thirdly, for some reason, I'll use the Choke and Roll (f,f+2) nigh constantly when I'm screwing around with Hwoarang, but I never use Sergei's (f,f+1+2). (Blizzard Rush, or whatever it's called.) I've got a lot of work to do before T6.

Sidenote: When the fuck is T6 coming out? I've always heard Namco likes to keep SC and Tekken releases as far apart as possible. With SC4 slated for June, formulaically, T6 should drop now, or early Q4.

In other news, Final Fantasy XII By Committee is closing in on the last Esper, the notorious Zodiark. Deep within the lair of the uber-bats, also known as the Henne Mines, we battled our way to the thirteenth summon, only to be rebuffed. (Game over.) Down, but not out, we took a breather to fell the Shadowseer at Ridorana after FAQ'ing the arbitrary black orb puzzle. We then commenced Henne Bat Genocide '08 to bring the stragglers up to Level 60 and recessed for the week. Hopefully some research should yield success next time. Next on the agenda is the loot-swapping Biggoron's Sword Tournesol process and the last few Elite Marks. I'm not sure if we've settled on taming all the Rare Games are not, but we are nearing the end of XII. Just in time for XIII!