Daily Contemplation: Marvel vs Capcom 3 Shadow Mode Announced

In a totally unremarkable move, Capcom has announced DLC for a game before it's even on the shelves. Far more notable is the fact that it looks as if it will be rather nifty and free to boot. 

Shadow Mode will essentially see you fighting against AI simulations based off of playing styles of notable fighters. Some of those already announced include the game's producer, Assistant Producer, a QA team leader, and other members of the staff. Notable community members seem like a no-brainer somewhere down the line.  

When I first read about this I was dismayed because I assumed Capcom would charge for it. Other fighting games, such as Virtua Fighter 5 and Tekken 6, have included similar features which I greatly enjoyed, only MvC'3s new mode will pit you against actual names instead of faked ones. Modes like these can potentially add a lot of life to a fighter and I'm glad to see MvC3 including one. I must admit that, though the recognizable names are nice, I hope the game will do the fake opponents thing too as I imagine the virtual personalities in this DLC are going to be way above my skill level.  

I also hope the rumors that this will be free are true because man would that be a nice change from the norm. Capcom's no stranger to charging stupid prices for virtual costumes and such, though they certainly aren't the worst DLC abuser in the genre (I'm looking at you, BlazBlue). They have released substantial online modes for free for both Street Fighter IV and its followup, if memory serves.

In less impressive MvC news, it will apparently feature an option that lets you simulate Internet lag to practice for less than ideal conditions. Yay?

Best of the Decade: Rock Band

Rock Band

Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Wii

Release Date: November 20, 2007 (360 and PS3)

Publisher: MTV Games, Electronic Arts

Developer: Harmonix

I still remember how stupid I felt walking through the mall back to my car with the gigantic box of plastic instruments tucked under my arm. For a brief moment, as the mall patrons stared at me with confused looks in their eyes, the thought occurred to me that perhaps spending a large wad of cash on peripherals with which to pretend I was playing music by following along to colored button prompts wasn’t exactly the coolest thing I could be doing with my money.

Once I got them all home and started playing around with them, I never looked back. 

Technically the only instrument the genre hadn’t seen was the drums, but putting all of the instruments together in one game was Rock Band’s real stroke of genius. Everything came together for one of the most brilliant multiplayer gaming concepts ever produced.

The Rock Band series is the culmination of Harmonix’s long quest to perfect the music game. They remain one of my favorite ways to relax and release stress. Even five years or so since the original Guitar Hero, it’s still just as fun to pick up a plastic guitar, fire up my imagination, and pretend I’m a rock star for a little while by jamming out to awesome music. There’s something primal and satisfying about the experience music games provide.

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Best of the Decade - Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Platform: Playstation 3

Release Date: October 27, 2009

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Insomniac Games

Ratchet and Clank clearly borrows from the Nintendo school of sequel design. It has a core foundation that lies largely unchanged while the peripheral elements are shifted around enough from game to game to remain interesting and fresh. 

I have fallen deeply in love with the Ratchet and Clank series since first playing it in 2002. It has risen to become one of my favorite series of all time, right there next to Zelda and Mario. In fact, I have beaten more games in this series than perhaps any other, eight in total. I’ve loved each and every one of them dearly. 

No other series has managed to match Ratchet and Clank’s mix of precise platforming, hectic gunplay with unusual weaponry, occasional puzzles, and consistent humor. It is a blend unlike any other and each new concoction raises the bar and renews my love.

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First Impressions - Fable III

Fable III

Developer: Lionhead Studios

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Release Date: October 26, 2010

Date of Play: November 4, 2010

Stated as politely as I can manage, Fable II was a game I came to rather dislike. Perhaps it was Peter Molyneux’s incessent promising of features he couldn’t deliver, perhaps it was a case of high expectations being soured by a good, not great, game, or perhaps it was simply bad timing. Fable II released a week before the magnificent Fallout 3, after all, giving me only a short time in Albion before being blown away by the openness, freedom, and expansive world to explore in Bethesda’s somewhat wonky masterpiece, leaving Molyneux's world feeling a bit lacking by comparison. 

I would call my time with Fable II enjoyable, to be clear, but I would classify it as good, not great. The ending was lousy. The game world felt small. And it had some issues mechanically that took me out of the experience, such as the absolutely stupid relationship system based on absurd repetitions of dumb animations, or the occasionally frustrating, simplistic combat. 

Still, I liked the idea and the humor of the world, and I hope that Fable III might deliver a better overall experience. I must admit to being highly skeptical of Molyneux’s ability to make this happen, but I’m going to try to keep an open mind. In an interesting twist of fate, the tables are turned from two years ago. Fallout: New Vegas released a week before Fable III and a negative first impression of Obsidian’s lazy sequel leaves the door open to a reversal of fortunes. Can Fable III take back the crown and impress a hardened skeptic who wrties off Fable II as a loss and never even played the original Fable?

Let’s find out.

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First Impressions - Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment

Release Date: October 19, 2010

Date of Play: October 19, 2010

When I first heard that Bethesda was making a sequel to Fallout 3 set in their take on Las Vegas, I was immensely excited. When I read that it was being developed by Obsidian, which happens to include some members of the team that made Fallout 1 and 2, I was even more excited. Fallout 3 was a tremendous game, surely one of my all-time favorites. I spent easily 100 hours in that world, and I was certain that a sequel could convince me to spend 100 more.

The more I read about the game, however, the mroe worried I became. It seemed as if Obsidian wasn’t bothering to raise the bar. It seemed as if New Vegas lacked ideas of its own, as if it were simply recreating Fallout 3 as-is in a new setting. This was not discouraging enough to prevent a purchase, and even if true I’m sure I’ll still squeeze plenty of fun out of it, but going in I have to hope that there’s something more to this experience. As good as Fallout 3 was, it wasn’t perfect and two years have now passed since its release. I want something more than just Fallout 3 again.

Can New Vegas deliver or am I in for a serious sense of deja vu and a lot of the same problems back to haunt me.

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