BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Makoto DLC Review

Cute squirrel-girl Makoto presents something of a conundrum to fighting game fans, and I’m not just referring to the fact that she’s both dressed like a slut and, you know, half-squirrel. To be aroused or not to be aroused, that is the question every non-furry must ask himself.

The more important issue is what she represents. Makoto is the first character to be added to a fighting game post-release via downloadable content. As such, she represents an important milestone for the genre and she brings to light some of the unique issues of DLC in a fighting game. 

The problems begin with the fact that you can’t test out downloadable content before you buy. There are no DLC demos. Were Street Fighter IV to begin selling us new characters this might be less of a problem because not only does Street Fighter have a longer history including many characters and fighting styles that some players might already be familiar with, but its more accessible nature also means that, for the most part, it’s relatively easy to hop back and forth between multiple characters. 

BlazBlue, however, is almost completely the opposite. Continuum Shift is only the second game in the series and every entrant in its small roster of characters plays totally differently. This is part of the appeal of the game, of course, as the variety of play styles in BlazBlue is nearly unmatched even considering its small cast, but this makes a downloadable character an interesting quandary. At $7 (or $8 for some reason if you’re on a PS3), it’s a relatively expensive gamble as to whether the character will be a fit for you or not. 

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First Impressions: Monday Night Combat

Online multiplayer games typically don’t tend to be a big draw for me. I like them in principle, but I lack the dedication to practice enough to become good at them, so my experiences tend to consist of hopping online, getting stomped a few times, muttering to myself that I wish I were better at the game, and then never playing again.

But sometimes a game comes along that can convince even me to hop on its bandwagon. Monday Night Combat is just such a game. 

Monday Night Combat is a brilliant mix of well-worn elements that combine to form a captivating whole. Take a large dose of Team Fortress’s class-based team shooter gameplay, mix in a couple of portions of tower defense, and top it off with a pleasingly thick layer of icing in the form of an appealing grandiose sports game presentation. What you end up with is an addictive shooter with high replayability, plenty of depth, and quite a bit of strategy to boot. 

Monday Night Combat doesn’t overwhelm you with modes or options. One could cynically say that it feels like a $15 downloadable title rather than a full retail release, but I prefer to think that it simply pared down the experience to only the most necessary elements and then polished them to a fine sheen. What you’re left with is perhaps lacking in quantity, but of a quality that will stand up to just about any full retail shooter you compare it to. 

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Heavy Rain Review - Potential Squandered by Sloppy Story

Heavy Rain, as it turns out, is a difficult game to pin down. As I sit here trying to summarize my feelings, I find it hard to form the usual nice, tidy narrative explaining why the game was either spectacular or a load of crap.

At the center of the turmoil is one concrete statement that I feel certain of. Heavy Rain is a thrilling, unique title that tries to bring something new to the table and almost manages to succeed, but that ultimately has too many problems to recommend without reservations. 

Its strengths will be enough to make a certain type of gamer fall madly in love with it, and rightfully so. It makes a valiant attempt to push gaming forward by introducing stronger characters and narrative influence into the typically juvenile gaming landscape. 

Unfortunately, having a noble concept is not enough to qualify you as a success. Execution is key, and here Heavy Rain stumbles. Most will find a litany of problems that mar what could otherwise have been a terrific experience.

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ModNation Racers - Annoyingly Close to Perfection

One question lingers above the head of ModNation Racers, casting its ugly shadow on the game’s cute facade and refusing to budge until a satisfactory answer is provided once and for all.

Is ModNation Racers better than Mario Kart?

After all, Sony’s newest kart racer is clearly lusting after the throne. They have set out to infuse the user-created madness of LittleBigPlanet with the core kart racing gameplay of the king of the genre, Mario Kart.

Have they done it? Has the king been dethroned?

Sadly, in a plot twist straight out of a bad sports movie, ModNation Racers came within ten feet of being the king of the hill and then tripped over its own feet and rolled all the way back down to the bottom.

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Sherlock Holmes - Out with the Old, in with the New

Sherlock Holmes is clearly a case of Hollywood getting its grubby mitts on a classic franchise, having its way with it, and turning it into something far more palatable for today’s, shall we say, less sophisticated audiences. It’s got all the classic hallmarks: explosions, action sequences carried out by characters who should barely know how to throw a punch correctly, and plenty of witticisms to keep the property well away from the dangerous territory of the serious.

What’s amazing is that this rather predictable Hollywood remake, this dumbing down of a classic figure of literature, actually manages to be thoroughly entertaining. Well, so long as you set your expectations correctly.

It would be fair to say that I know next to nothing about Sherlock Holmes save useless generalities. Even so, I know enough to say with a great deal of confidence that little effort at all was made in this adaptation to create a version of Sherlock Holmes that resembled the original even in the slightest. 

This movie features a remarkably smart British man who has a penchant for solving mysteries. If that’s all you need to believe a character is Sherlock Holmes then you should be right at home. For most it’s going to be a bit of a hard sell. His sarcastic wit, inexplicably superb fighting skill, and handsomely young appearance that one could politely say didn’t quite fit my initial expectation for the character make for a Sherlock Holmes that fits conveniently well into the ridiculous story he’s plopped into.

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