Finery

Though in modern English the term finery may mean showy, elaborate clothing, in modern Engrish it means it's about damn time.

Word from IGN is that Disgaea PSP is coming to America this August, reportedly with some nice bells and whistles. I played through the original, and when word of a port for Japanese consumers first surfaced, I was somewhat disappointed that the portable installment would not be based on DG2. Regardless, I didn't play the game to death like... some people I know.

And with the personal nature of handhelds, I won't have to worry about accidentally deleting Catarina's save. (Sorry, about that again, and for bringing it up.) I haven't dabbled in any of the SRPGs for the PSP as of yet, like the somewhat attractive Generations of Chaos, but there has never been a doubt in my mind that the genre would lend itself perfectly to the platform. The advantage of racing or fighting games on the PSP is the fact that you can enjoy them in short intervals without any detraction. And unlike the other two types of games just mentioned, you aren't at a disadvantage if you have to slip into sleep mode at a moment's notice. All in all, I'm very much looking forward to this game and it's new content. Let's all have a big w00t! for good ports.

The Grandest Intention

The highly anticipated trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV was released today after a big PR media blitz that included not only a web site countdown to March 29, but also a television countdown on FX from 2:00 to 2:30 AM, described on the GTA:IV Wikipedia page, that sounds more annoying than anything else. In case you haven't heard, countdowns are the new black.

I have a long and complicated history with the Grand Theft Auto franchise. I vaguely remember the original GTA, though I can't remember where I knew it from (Killa may have had it? Back in those dark days, we resided together in the domicile of Progenitrix XX); I don't recall ever actually playing it. The first one I actually played---or tried to play---was Vice City, and I had a bout with San Andreas also. The gameplay is so alluring, the cities so vast and infinitely explorable, the characters so conflicted, that I just couldn't resist giving the games a try, even after I turned out to be embarassingly bad at both of them.

The main problem is that I'm not good at stealing cars. As it happens, this is kind of requisite in a game series that is based on stealing cars. I just don't feel comfortable with it. I always run my guy up to a likely looking car and open the door, and then I hestitate a split second too long and the driver either punches my guy in the face or slams the car door shut and drives away; and then I end up walking to my destination.

Let me tell you, walking along the side of the highway from Las Venturas to Los Santos is not a fun way to spend an afternoon.

If I do manage to steal a vehicle, I then try to obey all traffic signals and speed limits and drive very carefully. After all, I don't want the cops to catch me in a stolen vehicle! I'm also very carefuly not to hit anyone with my car, not to drive on the sidewalks, etc. If I get a star on the Wanted Meter, I immediately freak out, ditch my vehicle, and hide out in a culvert until the star goes away. Grand Theft Auto games produce a lot of anxiety in me. And, yet, I want too badly to play them that I keep trying.

Killa once set out to help me learn how to be more assertive in Grand Theft Auto by tutoring me in the necessary gameplay techniques and controls. When he finally got me situated in a stolen vehicle and I began creeping down the street, he told me to press R3 to honk my car horn and scatter some pedestrians (after I refused to simply run them down), which is when I issued my now-famous proclamation, "There's an R3?!"

My idea for a spin off is a game called Grand Theft Idea. It takes place in a fictional university and your character is a ruthless plagiarist who goes around the campus downloading term papers from other people's computers, stealing large excerpts from journal articles in the library without citing the sources, and lifting lab notebooks from classmates' backpacks to copy the notes. All without being busted by the Academic Honesty Committee. I think that might be more my speed.

While you're waiting on news of the hotly anticipated Grand Theft Idea: I, here's the trailer for GTA:IV, courtesy of Gamevideos.com. I know it doesn't feature anything as exciting as plagiarism, but try not to be too disappointed.

Odds and Ends

Hope everyone likes the banner. I've had the actual logo done for some time, but retrofitting it into this template was trickier than I would have hoped. Sooner or later we'll give this space a new coat of hyper paint; until then, consider this the first step of our Spring cleaning.

My time with GGXX#Reload has been going well. I've found Sol to be very easy to pick up due in large part to the familiarity of his control scheme. Entranced by the unique character design of Dizzy, I have forced myself to learn to use her properly, though her mishmash of bizarre projectiles and furious ground combos took some time to absorb.

I pretty much have the idea of Bursting down, but Roman Cancelling is still alien to me. I've been studying the frame inputs in Training Mode, but I'm still nowhere near a point where I can use RCs or FRCs in the heat of battle. This game really makes me thirst for a console version of Slash or Accent Core sometime soon.

I ran into this recap of MGS2 in haiku form on the PA G&T forums awhile back. Thought I'd share it with you, and likewise post it in a more accessible location for my own viewing. Many thanks to aett, and his mad summation skills.

Turn off the console

I need scissors! 61!

We have Rosemary "

Now that we've delved pretty deeply into FFXII, and have gained a working understanding of the gambit system, it makes me think about how many menu choices I've made over the years in Final Fantasies, and RPGs in general. FFX-2 alone could be near a million... C'est la vie.

Bad Press

Working in the publishing industry, I've seen my fair share of endorsements---some good, some not so good. Suffice to say I know a crappy endorsement when I see one.

This afternoon we headed over to Best Buy to pick up Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, formerly a 360 exclusive, which has just ported to the PS3 and was released this past Tuesday. Gracing the back of the box is the following endorsement:

"If any game is worth the price of the PS3, Oblivion is it." --Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

Considering that you can play Oblivion on the 360 for less money, that's a pretty damning quote---especially coming from PSM. I also like how they say "if"---they're not willing to say outright that any game is worth buying a PS3! Ouch!

Fallen by the Wii-Side

It's been a long time since I made a pun on the name of the Wii. Too long.

My poor Wii has been sitting unplayed and unloved in my entertainment center for the last few weeks. Ever since finishing up Twilight Princess in February I've been focused on Dragon Quest VIII and FFXII (both on PS2). There's still a bit of a PS2 backlog to work through, including Rogue Galaxy, Okami, and ICO, among others; and my GCN backlog is growing by leaps and bounds.

I've been snapping up "classic" used GameCube titles from Gamespot.com to catch up on some of the franchises I missed out on while my GameCube was broken (for a good bit of the last generation). I remember I was playing Animal Crossing, and after that everything is a blur. . . . It is entirely possible that I failed to pull up a weed in my flowerbed, or neglected to say hello to the mailman, or missed a performance by K. K. Slider, or something, and the cute animal denizens of my town may have revolted, sabotaging my 'Cube from the inside.

That seems like the most likely explanation.

Anyway, my point is that I've been neglecting my Wii ever since finishing Twilight Princess. We played some WarioWare here and there, but that isn't the type of game I would sit down and play by myself for any extended period of time. There haven't been any great new titles lately that have really caught my interest, but there are some interesting titles coming down the pipe in the next few months that I'm looking forward to; chief among them is Super Paper Mario.

Due out on April 9, Super Paper Mario is both a member of the Mario RPG series and a classic platformer with a twist. While maneuvering through the gameworld from left to right per the old-school Super Mario Brothers games, Mario will sometimes encounter impassible obstacles such as gaping chasms, steep mountains, or high pipes. Not to worry---with a special move (in this case, a spacial move?) Mario can turn the whole game world on its axis, revealing a three-dimensional environment. Take, for example, a pipe that is too high to jump over. By turning the world sideways for a three-dimensional perspective, Mario can easily run around the front or back of the pipe; when the world returns to its flat perspective, he will be on the other side. See the composite to the right (which I made from two screenshots borrowed from IGN.com), which shows two different views of the same screen---one in standard, side-scrolling mode (top) and one in 3D view (bottom).

I'm looking forward to this title in a big way. It's not Super Mario Galaxy, but it will tide us over for awhile.

Is Nothing Sacred?

A wretched, blasphemous rumor has emerged from the depths of the Tubes. Could part of the Final Fantasy XIII cadre be heading to the 360? While this gossip has been met with doubt by some, other speculators are piecing together the likelihood of, perchance, a Live Arcade title akin to FFXIII Agito, the mobile component of the Fabula Nova Crystallis. Is there no loyalty anymore? What's next? Mario Galaxy for the next-gen N-Gage? *shudder*

The Moves

After an insightful, well thought out entry by Catarina, or two, or six, I feel somewhat compelled to answer back with an update of my own. Of course, after I post my reprisal, I tend to feel guilty for pushing her oft superior post lower down the hypertext totem pole. But alas, such is the nature of the tubes.

Whereas Big Sis Prinny has been covering the cutting edge, I have been haunted by the ghost of fighting games past. Guilty Gear X2: The Midnight Carnival #Reload, to be specific. I remember SRK calling it the best two dimensional fighting game I wasn't playing. They were, of course, correct on both counts.

I am stumbling into the game way late, natch. XX Slash and XX ^Core have made much of what I am learning obsolete. I managed to beat Boss I-No on Maniac level difficulty, yet I still have zero skill with Roman Cancels (false or otherwise) and Bursts. I can't even nail down Sol Badguy's infamous Dust Loop. I wanted to perhaps focus on this Dust Loop trap, or perhaps the Immoral Flame's Dragon Install. Unfortunately I don't have the background in the series to share with you the quintessential technique; the one move that could sum up the hyperactive anime-heavy metal amalgam so rife with delicate balance and rich intricacy that hangs like a succulent forbidden fruit before a starved fighting gamer's eyes.

But, hell, let's look at the signature techniques of a few competitive fighting series. Maybe we'll learn something.

The Shoryuken

A lot of moves come to mind in the extensive Street Fighter universe. Chun Li's Hyakuretsu Kyaku is one of the most recognizable, along with Zangief's Spinning Piledriver, Blanka's Electricity, and Vega's Psycho Crusher. But what is the signature move of Street Fighter? The Hadouken comes in a close second, but hardcore fans know the answer: The Shoryuken.

Yes, the Hadouken (Surge Fist) is a very popular choice, but I'm afraid in the competitive world of Street Fighter, the Shoryuken (Rising Dragon Fist, or Dragon Uppercut) is the Jupiter of special moves. When to execute and when not to execute the Shoryuken is the hallmark of an Ansatsuken expert. In its initial animation frames it is invincible (or nigh invincible in later incarnations) yet if missed it leaves the player completely vulnerable as they slowly descend. It was the very first anti-air move, predating the far slower, and lower priority Flash Kick. And we all know how integral jump-in attacks were in an environment before dashes.

(Sidenote: In recent SF2 matches against Legoman, I often find myself trying to dash in on him, to no avail.)

Even the command input, forward, down, down-forward plus punch, is simply known as the Dragon Punch, or "DP" in popular notation for all fighting games.

Flight

I originally was writing this as Cable's Air Hyper Viper Beam, but after reviewing the competitive criteria of the Shoryuken vs. Hadouken decision, I'd have to say the most important special move from the Marvel Vs. games is Flight. Why? Three reasons: Magneto, Storm, and Sentinel. These three are featured so prominently in high level play because of their ability to control the screen while staying out of harm's way. The typical championship team consists of two out of the three and someone with a particularly effective Anti-Air Assist, like Cyke or Cammy. Hell, seeing just those three isn't uncommon either.

I know Flight wasn't really the essence of the entire series, but with the constantly shifting rosters of the Vs. series, few moves showed up every time, except for Wolvie's Berserker Barrage or the beam-style Shinku Hadouken. (Again with the Hadouken! Christ, Killa, give it a rest...) Without a doubt, Flight is an invaluable part of the expert's arsenal. If I had to go with an offensive move, it may still have to be Sentinel's Rocket Punch over Cable's AHVB, due to Cable's absence from most high tier teams.

The Mishima Crouch Dash

"Another non-attack?" I know. But the Mishimas and the Crouch Dash are so crucial to Tekken that it could not be avoided. I should say that the Crouch Dash (1) has the same input as the Shoryuken motion, except for Kazuya's abbreviated version; (2) ducks under high attacks; (3) parries low attacks in some instances; (4) can be linked with more Crouch Dashes for a Wavedash; (5) precedes the Hellsweep; (6) precedes the Wind God Fist, and the Electric Wind Godfist; (6) precedes the Hell's Gate.

A lot of those points are Mishima specific, although other characters have the maneuver. Armor King, for instance, can Crouch Dash into his Double Upper (his own version of the Wind God Fist) or his unique Dashing Clothesline. It is hard to argue that the King of Iron Fist tournament does not center around the Mishimas, and the fact that Heihachi, Kazuya, Jin, and, later, Devil Jin's high level play neccesitates mastery of the Crouch Dash and its inherent variability makes the choice pretty easy. But again, like Flight, it is an evasive maneuver first. For an attack, the Electric Wind God Fist seems like a solid choice.

I'm sorry; I know I've glossed over two decades of fighting games. No Soul Caliber Guard Impacts, no Fatal Fury Deadly Raves, no Smash Brothers Meteor Smashes. No Mortal Kombat nothing... To compensate I'll leave you with a fortune cookie from Master Tzu that should help you digest the significance of my selections.

"Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack."

-- Sun Tzu, /The Art of War/