Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Top Five Reasons to Hate Capcom

For those who frequent SuperPhillip Central, you know that I loathe hatred in the gaming community. It's a cheap way to get hits, and there's already so much of it that I think people get tired of it and yearn for something more positive. Well, Capcom, one of my former favorite third-parties, has forced my hand with crappy move after crappy move, and I've compiled a list of five reasons to despise Capcom. Maybe you'll agree with some of them, hm?

5) Ultimate Marvel VS. Capcom 3 being unveiled less than a year after the vanilla release

It was but this February of this year that gamers forked over sixty dollars American to play this beyond-hyped-to-Hell-and-back game only to realize their money was worthless. Less than a year later a newer edition would be announced with more fighters, stages, and balance. What was the purpose of paying sixty bucks in the first place-- to play the beta? To play test an incomplete game? As if Marvel VS. Capcom 3 wasn't already enough of a barebones fighter to begin with, and many other fighters in the genre are far more capable. SuperPhillip will not be attending this fight.

4) Charging twenty bucks for up-rezzed ports of Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica

Masters of rereleasing games, Capcom is rereleasing Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica. The difference this time? HD. That's all. Who cares if you can play a superior version of Resident Evil 4 on the Wii with subjectively better and more fun controls for half the price, own a physical copy of the game, and not be bothered by DRM (more on that later)? Capcom certainly doesn't. Then again this is the company that wants you to repurchase Dead Rising 2: Frank West Version this fall. This is a slap to the face of many-a Resident Evil fan, and I cannot help but imagine that fans will eat this crap up and smile. Way to show Capcom, guys!

3) The DRM dilemma


DRM became a standard practice on the PlayStation 3 thanks to Capcom. DRM is a process where the digital game you paid for with your hard-earned money is tied to PSN, so if PSN goes down or gets hacked again (worst-case scenario), you cannot play it. This trend, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong, folks), began with Bionic Commando: Rearmed, and it will continue with the duo of Resident Evil ports. The excuse for this practice is to prevent game-sharing, but all it does is cause headaches.

2) Killing in the name of...

Breath of Fire, how we hardly knew ye... Darkstalkers... you, too, were a good friend. Let's not forget Power Stone, either. I fear we'll have to add Mega Man to the list as well. What do these franchises have in common? I'll be sad to divulge that information. They're properties that Capcom has put down to pasture over the past decade. Why focus on these when you can milk the same four or five franchises, farm out games to Western devs for cheap, and break big at the bank? The legacies of these games continue to be crapped on, and it irritates me that these properties are wasted when they could be greatly expanded upon.

1) Mega Man Legends 3's abrupt cancellation and Capcom's F.U. to the project's fans

When Mega Man Legends 3 was announced for the Nintendo 3DS, Mega Man fans from all over cheered in unison. Finally poor Mega Man Volnutt would get off that moon! Soon a development website came about asking for fan participation. Fans voted on Mega Man's suit, enemies to be included in the game, the look of the game's new heroine who would be called Aero, and much more. Then suddenly, out of the blue, the project was cancelled and dreams were shattered. All the input from fans was for naught. Capcom didn't even give a reason until a snobby Euro Capcom worker tweeted that it was the fans' fault for not giving enough to the project. Way to soften the blow. So not only is Mega Man Legends 3 dead, but it's not Capcom's fault but the fans. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

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Capcom has done a lot this generation to anger fans. You thought you saw bad temper tantrums when Nintendo of America said "no" to localizing Xenoblade? That's nothing compared to what I saw when Mega Man Legends 3 was cancelled. With their continuing downward spiral, it's really a shame to see Capcom go from Capgod to Crapcom in such a short duration of time. You can bet that this blogger will be purchasing all Capcom games used from now on.

Monday, July 25, 2011

SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - Wii Party Edition

Time for an all-Wii edition of my favorite VGMs! Each and every of these five VGMs is a game from the Wii's lineup. Some call the Wii the worst console ever made. These people are loser manchildren who need coddling 24/7. If you can hear these VGMs over their constant crying, then maybe you'll have something to enjoy for the start of your hectic week. This week we'll be listening to music from Super Mario Galaxy 2, Kirby's Epic Yarn, and Wario Land: Shake It!

v751. Wario Land: Shake It! - Mt. Lava Lava

Mt. Lava Lava in the underrated Wario Land: Shake It! for Nintendo Wii was a place full of rolling boulders, flowing lava, and promiscuously-placed enemies. The song itself has a funk beat to it which makes you want to get up and dance. Go ahead. No one's looking. Act like my main man, Wario, and shake your butt in the air like you're directing traffic. Aw, yeah...



v752. Wii Sports - Tennis Results

Tennis was but one of the five sports available in the phenomenal, ground-breaking Nintendo Wii launch pack-in title, Wii Sports. The other sports included bowling, golf, boxing, and baseball. Tennis featured your Mii automatically running while all the player needed to do was swing the Wii remote. It was a fun and accessible way to allow non-gamers into the fold. The results theme for tennis is very relaxing and quite soothing, don't you think?



v753. Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Puzzle Plank Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy 2 was SuperPhillip Central's Game of the Year of last year, and it faced some stiff competition. Never before did I play a game with such a smile on my face. From the colorful visual style to the whimsical nature of the game to the phenomenal level design to the excellently-composed music, Super Mario Galaxy 2 proves that gameplay outshines all.



v754. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz - Sinking Swamp


Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, for better or for worse, introduced a jump mechanic into the series. This made levels more complex and tricky to navigate. There were ten worlds in Banana Blitz, and the ninth and tenth were unlocked by completing worlds 1-8 without using a continue. Sinking Swamp was the ninth world, a world I never got to experience as my Monkey-fu wasn't up to snuff.



v755. Kirby's Epic Yarn - Mole Hole

Mole Hole in Kirby's Epic Yarn for Nintendo Wii was a vertical stage where Kirby transformed into a mole to burrow his cute little way from top to bottom, discovering treasures and gathering beads along the way. Kirby's Epic Yarn was originally a game completely separate from Kirby. The character was inserted in to increase the appeal of the game. While this trick worked, would you have liked to have seen a new IP from Nintendo? Not to say they haven't come up with any this generation! Don't get me wrong!



Wii've reached the conclusion of another wiik here at SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs. Enough Wii puns though. Those kill angels! Until next week, we put the VGMs on cruise control. If you're interested in hearing past and future VGMs along with a smorgasbord of other sounds, check out my Youtube channel. See ya'!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Batman: Arkham City (PS3, 360) New Trailer

This new Batman: Arkham City trailer shows off The Penguin for the first time with cockney accent as well as Solomon Grundy. Batman lays the smackdown to a bunch of Penguin's goons in the rest of this trailer.



Wednesday, July 20, 2011

June 2011 NPD Results

It's a week or two late, but there's still some discussion to be had over the latest numbers (or lack thereof) from the fine folks at the NPD group.

5-week tracking month; Reporting Period 5/29/11 through 7/2/11

Software (New physical retail only, across all platforms including PC)
01. L.A. Noire (360, PS3) Take 2 Interactive - 419,000
02. Duke Nukem Forever (360, PS3, PC) Take 2 Interactive - 376,300
03. Infamous 2 (PS3) Sony - 369,200
04. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) Disney Interactive Studios
05. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) Nintendo - 283,200
06. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC) Activision Blizzard
07. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC) Take 2 Interactive
08. Mortal Kombat 2011 (PS3, 360) Warner Bros. Interactive
09. Cars 2 (NDS, Wii, 360, PS3, PC) Disney Interactive Studios
10. Just Dance 2 (Wii) Ubisoft

Hardware
Xbox 360 - 507,000
Wii - 273,000
PS3 - ~276,000 (extrapolated)
3DS - 143,000
DS - 386,000

It's important to note that Microsoft needed to tie-in a deal for buying a laptop and getting a free 360 as a deal to get sales. This pattern will continue throughout the summer. Kinect does not seem to be making an impact as no games are in the top ten. Pretty lame if you ask this blogger. Then again, Microsoft turned their back on the core gamer, so I'm a bit bitter. Regardless, the Wii continues its downward slide. It's natural for a console in this stage in its life. It's unnatural for a console in the 360's age to be selling so well. You can't short change Microsoft there, no matter how badly I want to try.

The DS continues to pull in big numbers while the 3DS continues to struggle. It's obviously doomed, Nintendo should cancel all games and focus on the Wii. It's as simple as that. Vita wins.

On the software-side of things, InFAMOUS 2 takes top reigns as best-selling single SKU game followed by the remake of the Ocarina of Time 3D. L.A. Noire impresses as does Mortal Kombat which stays on the charts to my surprise. Sadly, and all "hardcore" gamers should feel bad about is that stinking pile of crap, Duke Nukem Forever, taking the number two spot. Do you guys love buying bad games or what? Ugh. This gen is depressing. No wonder I'm rooting for a collapse.

Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP) New Trailer

It's the dawn of a new day, and an all-new trailer for the hotly-anticipated Final Fantasy Type-0 for Sony's handheld-that-could has come forth. It's quite lengthy running at over five minutes. In addition to this good news, a Japanese release date has been revealed, October 13th. No word when/if this title will hit North American shores as of yet. SuperPhillip Central will keep you updated regardless.