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A Lone Gamer’s 10 Favorite iGames

Posted in Game-related Events, Gaming, iGaming, Mobile Games, My Stuff on February 25, 2009 by thelonegamer

Yeah, while games currently on the iPhone or iPod Touch aren’t exactly cutting-edge stuff that would put the PSP or DS on high alert, there are TONS of games on offer at the iTunes Store, and some of them are pretty fun. The best thing about a game on the iPlatform is that they should be easy to get into and play in little bursts. I’ve been buying and downloading a gaggle of games for my Touch, with quite a few of them I actually paid for and got the full version for without regretting it.

Wurdle. A fun little word search game, perfect for building your vocabulary as well as killing time. Pretty addictive and challenging. TOR is an actual word??

Space Deadbeef. A cool and fast-paced sidescrolling space shooter, on the iPhone! Control your spacecraft and use blasters or guided missiles to take down various enemy units. Great graphics, sound, music and gameplay. Oh… and it’s FREE. FREEEEE!

The Force Unleashed. Funny that the iPhone/iPod version is better in many ways than the console games. Has a nice control scheme that lets you use The Force with simple gestures and swipes.

Alienbreaker. Arkanoids or Breakthrough, on the iPhone. Nice sound effects and varied levels are on offer as you try to maneuver your paddle to save earth from invading aliens.

Puzzle Quest. Tetris meets Fantasy RPGs! Yeah, it can get hard fighting a CPU when they probably KNOW what pieces are gonna fall next, but what can you do? Anyway, this can sap away your battery like crazy, so get this on iPod Touch since your iPhone will be dead after a couple of hours of questing.

Time Crisis Strike. Time Crisis on the iPhone/Touch! The controls are simple but challenging, and there’s nothing like taking down Wild Dog with your gun-fingers. Awesome!

Fastlane. I don’t like racing games, I have to say. But when I played the demo version of this, I just got convinced to get the full game. The controls of this cool racer are spot on, easy and very smooth, making it a joy to play. Plus, it looks pretty slick.

Zombie. You’re the last man alive, facing off endless waves of undead. Limited ammo, touch controls, upgradeable weapons and screeching sound effects make this addictive undead-killing fun.

Crazy Tanks. Smooth, responsive steering controls, cool graphics and fast action are the selling points of this wacky-looking but deadly serious tank battle game.

iDracula. My latest acquisition, this run-and-shoot game has you controlling a fleet-footed Vampire Hunter as he tries to evade hordes of creatures bent on making him a meal. Controls are easy to use and fun as you control movement and aiming your weapon with separate onscreen wheels. Get weapon upgrades and work your way up against progressively faster and deadlier enemies. Great art direction, graphics, animation, sounds and gameplay make this a game I’d STAKE my reputation on. Heheh.

Most of these games are paid, with the most expensive (Force Unleashed) about 9 dollars (converted to pesos). Still, a lot of the good stuff are free, so just try before you buy, or just get the samplers. Games are getting better every week, and who knows… maybe Metal Gear Solid Touch will be awesome. I wonder, will there ever be iTekken?

Tekken 6 Character Countdown Part 8: Anna Williams

Posted in Fighting Games, Game-related Events, Gaming, My Stuff, PS3, Tekken, Tekken 6, Xbox360 on February 23, 2009 by thelonegamer

Life’s a bitch, and so is she.

As a way of counting down the time to the release of Tekken 6 for the PS3 and Xbox360, I’ve decided to begin this weekly series of lengthy, character-specific articles, each one featuring one of the 40 or so competing warriors in the latest and greatest King of Iron Fist Tournament. Hopefully, by the time we finish and reach character number 40, we’ll have the console version of Tekken in our hands already.

Part 8… we’re one fifth of the way to the end, gents! This installment brings us to a combatant who has been in the series since the very beginning, though she has been absent on occasion. A lady known for her distinct look and trademark fashion sense as well as her deadly skills as an assassin, this femme fatale lives beneath the shadow of her more well-known sibling. Is she sinner or saint? Bewitching or simply a witch? She’s Tekken’s high-heeled harlot… Anna Williams.

Anna Williams

Distinguishing Features: Trademark coiffed bowl-cut hairstyle. Long, red silk dress (cheongsam or quipao), stockings and high heeled shoes. Scent of perfume mixed with C4 explosives.

Strengths: Mixing aikido and assassination techniques from a myriad of sources and styles, Anna has put together a potent arsenal of deceptive and deadly moves. The simple fact that she can actually run and do flip kicks in her high heels without breaking her ankle every time is testament to her incredible skill. It’s amazing what levels of expertise hate and jealousy can drive a woman to.

Weaknesses: Not the most physically strong of combatants in the tournament, which makes her mastery of under-handed tricks, deceptive strings and combos essential to victory. Is consigned to forever being known as Nina Williams’ sister. Has psychotic tendencies. Spends far too much on shoes.

Affiliation: Joined G-Corporation in order to get a chance to find and fight Nina.

Background: The other daughter of the notorious Richard Williams, Anna grew up with an intense rivalry of her older sister, Nina. While Nina was her father’s golden girl, she was the one shoved into the background, whether intentionally or not. Richard taught Nina the tricks of his trade, while Anna had to make do with just watching on from the shadows. As a result, she grew up hating Nina and going a separate yet parallel way to her infamous sister. When Nina became a notorious assassin, Anna mirrored her sibling as well, in many ways becoming an even more deadly and secretive operative than Nina. She has worked under and has been a part of the Mishima Zaibatsu’s special forces unit as well as other sinister organizations… her resume of mastermind’s moll, hatchetwoman, femme fatale and freelance assassin is probably longer than she is tall.

However, Anna’s true role in life seems inexorably tied to being the counterweight to her sister- when Nina was sent to assassinate Heihachi Mishima in the first Tekken, Anna was there to interfere. This continued in Tekken 2, as she protected Kazuya and caused Nina’s capture and subjection to Cold Sleep experimentation. Jealous and perhaps fearful that Nina would stay young while she’d grow old, Anna volunteered for the experiment as well, thus prolonging their rivalry two decades later.

During the crisis with Ogre, the Williams were awakened, though Nina was a blank slate stricken with amnesia and totally under Ogre’s influence. Anna worked to stop her sister, helping thwart her attempts to assassinate Jin Kazama. She succeeded and then attempted to revive her then-amnesiac sister’s memories. Eventually, Nina would indeed remember her sister, and their rivalry, thus causing their long-standing hatred to flare up once again.

Anna sat Tekken 4 out, going into seclusion and re-emerging just before the events in Tekken 5, when she was contacted by Nina. Upon their meeting, shots were immediately fired (it is not known which sister actually started the battle), and a fierce battle raged for days. Finally exhausted (and perhaps running out of ammunition), they decided to finish their ‘argument’ in the fifth King of Iron Fist tournament.

As the events with Jinpachi Mishima played out, the sisters fought their own personal war, finally ending with Nina victorious. Left defeated on the field, Anna swore revenge. Unfortunately, Nina disappeared soon after that, going deep underground. Anna would later find out that Nina had joined the Mishima Zaibatsu as Jin Kazama’s bodyguard.

Once again, Anna throws herself in the path that will take her into direct confrontation with her hated sister, as an operative of Kazuya Mishima’s G-Corporation.

Character Analysis: Anna has often gotten a bad rap in Tekken, as she has often been portrayed as a villain (She was Lee Chaolan’s hachetwoman in the Tekken anime movie). To be sure, she’s a natural fit as temptress and skank, reflected in her provocative attire and demeanor. She embraces the role with no reservations. However, not all can be dark in this harridan’s heart. One can usually see that in every Tekken ending, it’s Anna who is usually the one on the receiving end of crap thrown by her sibling. Anna is the one more often conciliatory and showing more than a bit of concern for Nina’s well-being, even if in later chapters it seems solely for the reason of keeping their rivalry alive.

Most probably Anna is a result of her tragic past- something she can no longer rectify with the death of the one man both women idolized and loved over all else- their father. Anna’s distinctive dress, her outrageous, provocative way of moving, speaking and acting, her choice of red as her favorite color- it’s all a way to try and call attention to herself; at heart, the daughter yearning in vain for her father’s attention.

That said, Nina is all the family that Anna has left, despite the apparent hatred that still burns between them. Anna’s relationship with her sister is truly a dangerous bond- a certain kinship between the two transcends the rivalry, no question. While both women can and will willingly beat the other to within an inch of their life, it seems pretty obvious that neither one is willing to finish the job. For Anna, perhaps it’s not simply just a deep-seated familial tie to her sibling, but perhaps her true reason for living.

What does the future hold for Anna? Whether one or the other wins, I am almost certain neither will see fit to end Tekken’s version of Spy Vs Spy. It would be safe to say that Anna will continue to be what she is… Nina’s shadow. Her nemesis. Her eternal adversary. Or perhaps Nina’s one true soul mate, in a twisted way. Thus the never-ending catfight continues.

Next week we’ll delve into another fighter’s story. Stay tuned!

Tekken 6 is slated for release on PS3 and Xbox360 in Fall 2009.

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Streetfighter IV: A Lone Gamer’s Two Cents

Posted in Fighting Games, Game-related Events, Gaming, My Stuff, PS3, Street Fighter IV, Xbox360 on February 23, 2009 by thelonegamer

Wow, tons of Streetfighter IV gushing reviews out there. To be fair, the game is an achievement- it brought back a franchise that had steadily been fading due to absence in a genre that is as of late kept going only by the best of the best, where all the pretenders have given up or dropped off into obscurity. There are questionable elements that I do not necessarily agree with- the odd placement of this ‘sequel’ between the time SF2 and SF3, the ‘chunky’ art style and the shift to 3D graphics (something Capcom fighters have never been traditionally strong in). What resulted is a stylized title, easily a new favorite and instant classic for fighting game fans, and a return to form. It mixes in a lot (maybe too much) of the old with some new elements to create this energetic and fun next-gen title.

Streetfighter IV looks great- the characters in hi-res aren’t the most impressive… I’ve been spoiled by the far more detailed models in Virtua Fighter 5 and Tekken 6… however, the energetically-animated fighters have a charm all their own which i have grown to like. Yeah, it’s painful to watch Rufus, but man, the game makes up for it with hot babes so that passes ‘A’ in my book. The attacks are wonderfully frenetic and the facial animations show the punishment dished out evocatively.

Gameplay is, well, it’s Streetfighter. Despite being in 3D, it’s 2D fighting all the way. Which is great since you can basically just do your classic combos along with the new ‘Focus’ attacks and Ultras and Revenge stuff. Supposedly you can just jump in even with just the simple knowledge of doing a Hadoken fireball motion, or at least the rudimentary timing of Charge Moves, and you should be all right.

But NOPE. The game is not particularly friendly to casual noobs or people just jumping in, for at least two reasons. One, the training/challenge mode is bare bones and gives little to no help in actually telling you how to do the complex new combos or supers- you have to figure that out for yourself. And if you’re just a casual gamer (at least as casual like me), you won’t find the incentive to do this. There’s just no reward for it, other than the ability to kick ass more with your friends or online opponents. For casual gamers, that’s a deal breaker.

Second, in the Single Player Arcade Mode, unless you’re very competent to highly skilled, you will find total frustration when you come up against the BRICK WALL which is Seth, the End Boss. Easily the Cheapest, Most Broken BASTARD in the history of the franchise, Seth on at LEAST Easy setting is controller-shatteringly HARD. He ignores combos and grabs you out of your attacks, he teleports with no lag at will so you jump right into his dozen-hit Dragon Punches or his Ten-hit Super Kicks, or he’ll whittle you down with Triple Sonic Booms. Block a split-second too long, and he’ll throw you- with a freakin’ Spinning Piledriver every time. And THEN there’s his damn super that sucks you in and then spits you out like a ball of snot; you haven’t known frustration until he does this to you when you have about a millimeter of health. WHAT. A. BASTARD. Easily someone in Capcom EFFED UP on Seth’s difficulty. Someone EFFED UP BIGTIME.

Let me tell you this- I have been playing SF since the Super NES. I have never been this stumped with any fighting game boss. Seth creamed me again and again (fighting as Chun Li) until I just gave up. It’s made doubly frustrating that you have to fight two rounds- the first round where he just spams moves over and over and basically just PRETENDS to fight. Then the second round… Rub in your face salt in your wounds hard. I The only way I could win? Set the freakin’ game on Easiest. EASIEST.

Now, unless you’re incredibly lucky or highly skilled, you WILL get frustrated by this bastard, unless you set the A.I. level to MORONIC. This basically KILLS the single player game, as there’s no other way to play. Way to go, devs.

Not that there’s much to SFIV’s Arcade mode anyway, aside from unlocking the various hidden fighters (once you do that, no reason to go back, I guess). The Anime openings and endings much touted earlier on are, in a word, laughable, and not in a good way. Nope, they’re crappy low budget stuff that isn’t worth at all the effort enduring Seth.

There’s not much in terms of customization either- the concept is alien to Capcom, even though Sega and Namco have been doing it and thriving for the past couple of years. Nope, aside from the hidden returning faces, you’ll work to unlock extra colors and taunts. Looking for Alternate Outfits? Well, they exist- online. You have to BUY them. I guess there wasn’t room enough on the discs for Chun Li’s extra skin exposure in her sexy dress, or Ryu’s extra muscle showing in his ‘ripped gi’.

So what are you left with? You have a 3D SF2, which is fine for hardcore SF fans who just can’t get enough Hadokens, or have Shoryuken motions hardwired to their nerve endings. It’s much better if you regularly have friends over or a fast internet connection since that is how SFIV needs to be played- with Human Opponents. As a competitive one-on-one fighter, this is pretty much tops right now. The online (I haven’t tried) is supposedly excellent, and I’ll try it sometime.

However, for those who are mainly single players, or have already played and gotten tired of SF2… There’s nothing much here to excite you. If you’re waiting for Tekken 6 or VF5R or used to SCIV and expecting voluminous rosters and tons of story mode stuff and extras and customizations… you won’t find a good substitute with SFIV. Chances are, like me, you’ll play a bit, get stumped by Seth, and chuck the disc off to the side as you go on Youtube to check the latest Tekken 6BR uploads and continue pining for Namco-Bandai’s uber-fighter for fall. Capcom polished the game mechanics, but at the last minute scrimped on the trimmings, which is disappointing. If you’re okay with the bare essentials, then good for you- enjoy.

I’m happy that SFIV is a success, for the franchise’s sake. I hope that the series continues, and next time going forward instead of regurgitating storylines and characters we’ve digested and redigested over and over for the past decade. I just know that SFIV came and while it’s admirable, the flaws are there and hopefully will be addressed. More work on customization and a solid single-player experience will go a long way to making a future SFIV really accessible to more players, and not just lip service to make the hardcore players and fanboys feel they’re doing everyone a service. And freakin’ GET RID OF SETH.

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Musing About Tekken 6: Console Wish List

Posted in Fighting Games, Game-related Events, Gaming, My Stuff, PS3, Tekken, Tekken 6, Xbox360 on February 19, 2009 by thelonegamer

We all know that the console version of Tekken 6 is gonna be awesome, and it’s gonna come with tons of stuff out of the box. But just thinking up a list of what all those home-only goodies could or should be is great fun, so… why don’t we?

Awesome Intro. This is pretty much guaranteed. While other fighters have have their ups or downs in intro coolness (Soulcalibur IV is a recent big-name fighter with a blah intro), Tekken has a long tradition of progressively more awesome and lavish opening movies that are indicative of the current level of graphical awesomeness. Tekken 6’s intro will most probably be pre-rendered CG. On top of what we’ve already seen in the arcade versions- the intros of T6.0’s four new fighters, Jin and the Tekken Force, Jin vs Kazuya- there’s gonna be tons of all-new, never-before-seen stuff. We’ve seen a bit like that snippet of Asuka and Lili… that’s just the tip of the intro iceberg.
I’m expecting the whole thing to be leaked to us fans a month or even earlier before release.

Meaty Story Mode. I have to say that the storyline and what happens to our Tekken heroes and villains is what drives my obsession for the home versions. This is unique to the consoles, and it’s gonna be what makes most of us play the game at least 40 times. The safe bet is that Tekken 6’s Story Mode will follow that from the previous game- Prologue, in-game cutscenes with a rival and then with the Bonus Boss Nancy, Sub-Boss Jin and then finally, Azazel the Big Bad Itself. Our reward for our labors, a cool CG ending.
I’d actually prefer a real-time in-game ending though, for the opportunity to see my customized fighter take the win in his/her pink wardrobe, but this will probably just be used for the interludes and cutscenes. Some endings will be cool. Some will be so-so. Some will be silly. Some may make us cry. Some will probably be WTF Did-I-Just-See-That-Crazy-Awesome. It’ll be a treat seeing each one though- I’m still enjoying Tekken 5’s endings today!

Home Modes All Present and Accounted For. Along with Story mode, we’re expecting robust VS, Practice, Team Battle, Time Attack and Survival modes filling up the disc with options aplenty. No-brainer, you’d think, but many games make the mistake of just leaving stuff out.

Battle Record or Screengrabbing. Replays and record modes would be appreciated, so we can study frame by frame our best fights to find out the best combo possibilities ~~or even just the freakin’ color of Lili’s panties~~ and share it all on Youtube. Hey, whatever floats your boat. This could be part of the Practice mode (kinda like in SCIV) or a separate mode all by itself, like Battle Theater in SCIII or DOA Ultimate.

Even MORE Customizations. What can I say? Customization ROCKS HARD- it’s the hottest trend in fighting games today, and you’d have to be stupid ~~or a SFIV producer~~ to not see that. There’s nothing as awesome as being able to take stock game characters and make him/her your own. More than a few players value how their main fighter looks more than their win/loss records or rankings. We’re expecting all the cool customs from the arcade versions to make it into the consoles, along with some cool, ‘too-hot-for-public’ stuff. I’ll leave it to your imaginations what kind of stuff those can be…

Playable Bosses. Okay, I’ll throw this in. Past home ports have usually allowed us to take control of the overpowered, obnoxious Big Bads, and most probably Tekken 6 won’t be an exception… even if playing as the oversized Azazel or Nancy probably won’t be too much fun. But why not? And it would be utterly crazy and awesome if they actually had their own Story mode endings…

Minigames. Over and aside from the ‘major new console mode’ we’ve already talked about, how about some little diversions for some laughs? We’ve already seen Tekken Ball and Tekken Bowl… how about Tekken Tennis? You can already dress up Lili like Jennifer Capriati anyway. Or the secretly-desired Tekken Xtreme Beach Volleyball?

Easter Eggs. Well, we want ’em… it’s just a matter of finding them. Is that Forrest Law in the truck at Rustic Asia? Done that. Who’s that sneaking in the background of the underground garage stage? What’s that yellow thingie on the floor in the Hidden Retreat? Wouldn’t it be awesome to discover some of these little secrets, as you pour over every screen in the comfort of your room? You’ll be the envy of all your friends! NO, really!

Odds and Ends. Hopefully there will be little details as well that make the game all that much more enjoyable… they’re not necessary or that important, but they’re nice. Like a freakin’ Clean Pause. Or a sound and music test. ~~Or a Big Head Mode.~~

Additional Characters. This may piss off some, make others cheer. Additional characters may be supposedly long-gone fighters returned in some way- Kunimitsu? Jun Kazama? Aeris Gainsborough? Even if they’re just customs or skins, their fans would probably shed happy tears if they actually returned.
Another possibility is the inclusion of characters from other universes or galaxies far, far away. NOPE, NO Star Wars characters will be making it into Tekken 6, but who knows who can? The thing is, exclusive Guest Characters mean money, and it’s all about money. Man, talking about Guest Characters can take up it’s own topic, so let’s leave this at this… it can happen. Though I personally hope it doesn’t.

So many things, so many possibilities! I could go on and on, but I’ll stop for now. Suffice to say, it’s still quite some time before we lay our sweaty hands on the console versions, so let’s use this time to let the Tekken Team know what we want. ‘Cause you know they’re watching… right, Harada-san? Right…? Bikinis, please?

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Tekken 6 Console Release Set For…

Posted in Fighting Games, Gaming, My Stuff, PS3, Tekken, Tekken 6, Xbox360 on February 18, 2009 by thelonegamer

…October? Well, this is the date attached to the new entries for the game at online game stores like EBGames, Gamestop and Play-Asia. To be more specific, EBG and GS have set the shipping of their preorders by October 27, 2009. Well, I guess this dashes any hope for now that we’ll be seeing an early 3rd quarter release- looks like the wait is gonna stretch quite a bit into 4th quarter 2009. I’m pining for a slightly earlier landing for this most hallowed of fighters, but whatever it takes to give us a better-than-arcade-perfect version of Tekken 6 to play in the comfort of our own homes. Keep at it, Project Tekken. Just keep those updates and trailers coming…

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Tekken 6 Console Release Set For…

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