Timezone Launches Guitar Hero Arcade

A few months ago, Guitar Hero Arcade made its debut in the Philippines at Timezone Glorietta 4. The game was a huge hit with local arcade players, which has prompted Timezone to make the game available to their other branches in the Philippines. Thirdworldgamer was invited to their event to try out their latest Guitar Hero Arcade units, and to talk about the current arcade gaming scene.

Here are a few pictures from Timezone's "Guitar Hero Night", held on July 10, 2009:

BlazBlue - Bang Shishigami!

If you execute Bang Shishigami's Distortion Drive...you get this epic transformation sequence which happens alongside this anime-styled theme music. Just awesome :D

Here's another vid of the song; if you click the video, you'll get a youtube page with the lyrics on it:

Watch the Dead Space Ending + Final Boss on Youtube

Gamers considering getting this game for an extreme experience of gaming terror, don't spoil yourself by watching this video. Buy the game today; it's going to be totally worth it.

For the rest of us wimps who couldn't finish the game, here's a video of the last boss and the game's ending.

Giving Up On Dead Space

I've had enough of Dead Space (Xbox 360). It's just too disturbing for me. With all the shocks and gratuitous gore in the game, I've had to lower the volume on my home theater to a sound setting of '8' just so I can keep on playing the game. Despite that, the ultra-violence is just too much for me to take.

Granted, everything about the game is EXCELLENT. The GUI? Amazing. They implemented this system where movie dialogue playing back between your character and others is shown as a floating screen in front of your character. Everything else uses this fantastic system as well. Browsing your inventory, looking at your map, objectives, etc....they use this same system where graphical interfaces float in front of you, and it makes the game extremely seamless and immersive, because you never leave the 'game' environment to do other things like check your inventory, health, etc.

The in-game puzzles? Very creative. I liked a lot of the little challenges they put in the game and I think they tried their best to not make them too 'game-y'; for instance, there's this asteroid that you're supposed to remove from the ship that you land on in the game, and to do it, you have to go from different areas in both zero-gravity and in deep space (where there's absolutely no air, so you'll have to rely on your RIG's (your spacesuit's) limited supply of oxygen while you're out there). The puzzles they put in there are interesting and believable, given the scenarios the characters in the game are put through. I don't recall any puzzle which seemed out of place (at least, throughout my playthrough of chapters 1 through 8). The in-game maps where your adventures take place are also well laid out, and I never found myself lost thanks to the built-in waypoint system that points out where you're supposed to go.

The action gameplay itself, if appreciated far removed from the extreme violence, provides quite a good challenge. Your character is controlled from the third-person, and because of this, you won't be able to pull off fast 180-degree turns facing from one direction to another (as you would in an FPS like Counter-strike or Doom). Your character moves slowly, but it's obvious they did this in the interest of realism, and to heighten the horror aspects of the game.

To be honest, practically everything about this game is nearly perfect. A gripping storyline. Solid gameplay which rivals established horror franchises like Doom 3 or Resident Evil 5. Interesting puzzles with a variety of ideas...this game has it all. It also helps that the graphics, music, and sound effects are all top notch as well. Had this game been released around the time of Bioshock or Call of Duty, it would probably had been in the running for Game of the Year.

Which takes me to, what I feel, is the flaw of the game. And this flaw only applies to me. Because I know that other gamers out there might have a stronger stomach for this type of genre.

Dead Space, despite the myriad of game-related aspects that it gets right....is just too violent and disturbing.

And I can't explain my position on this quite well either. I've played violent games. I cringed the first time I saw a locust getting chainsawed in half in Gears of War. I finished Doom 3 on the PC, with most of the bells and whistles for the graphical effects turned on.

I've had my share of horror games. This is one of those few that has me screeching to a halt in terms of attempting to even finish it.

Picture this. To kill the monsters you have to dismember them. Every time you encounter a monster, you have to tear it limb by limb in order to kill it. Shooting enemies at their bodies won't kill them; you have to painstakingly rip them apart with whatever weapon(s) you have on hand.

Doing this the first time is fine. Doing this for the next six hours or so....it definitely gets to you. Is it repetitive? Not really. Because you only have to break about two or three limbs on a monster to kill them. So you never break the same two or three limbs twice.

Can you imagine how ridiculously sick that is?

Sometimes when I'm playing the game, my wife can't stand watching it because it's the same violent sequence every time during an encounter with enemies. And if they get close enough, you're treated to a face-to-face battle with whichever monster manages to get a grip on you. It's brutal and painful (looking) when you fail; your character gets ripped apart. And even if you're winning, you can really see your character wincing in agony, trying to get away from whatever monstrosity is trying to destroy him.

The game trudges along at an extremely horrifying pace. One minute, the ship is completely devoid of life. And the next minute, a four limbed freak shows up, literally out of nowhere, right behind you....

This happens a lot. And it never gets any easier, considering you're almost always nearly out of ammunition....and when you're out of ammo, you don't have that many viable options left to fight back.

It's exciting the first time you get in a monster encounter, sure.... But at some point, the way the game 'shocks' you with enemies from every nook and cranny becomes stressful, and the stress got to me. I can't believe it, to be honest...a game that's just too scary for me to even bother finishing it.

I'm sure there are gamers out there who are looking for the next level of horror games. This is definitely it. Dead Space does a lot of things right in every other aspect. Players looking for a terror-filled ride will get their fill. Dead Space is very intense, and it never lets up; it never gives you a break. You'll think you're used to the darkness of the maps or how the monsters attack you, but it will constantly surprise you with different scenarios or situations.

In that sense, it's actually a great game. At the same time, it just does too good of a job in scaring me away.

More Incredible Screenshots for Forza Motorsport 3

Click to see full size versions.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson 1958-2009

Rest in peace, Michael Jackson....the King of Pop! The man is truly a legend and he'll never be forgotten.

While I think at some point late in his career, his life took a turn for the strange, there's no denying his contributions to the music world. Since the day of his passing I've been reading up about this man, and it really seems he was a good person at heart. Unfortunately the media focused a lot on his court battles over allegations of child molestation. The thing is, and I didn't know about this beforehand----nothing was ever proven by the ones who were accusing him. They did not have any real, solid evidence. I will admit that I'm one of the people who thought Michael Jackson was guilty, initially. But then, I only thought that because that's what the newsmen on TV were making me think.

Well, now, we've got access to the Internet, and more information is out there about what really happened. It's just unfortunate that information about this is only more interesting now that he's gone. Based on everything that I've read about Michael Jackson, it seems he really was a good person....it may be that he is just very eccentric because, in his words, he never had a childhood like everyone else, and this made him do things which are easily misinterpreted by the media or by people who don't really know him.

Right now he's in a better place. I'll always remember Michael Jackson as a legendary artist, and I'm glad to have been around during the time that he was alive.

Here's a post I found, ironically on Neogaf, which talks about what happened to Michael Jackson and his legal troubles towards the latter half of his life:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=16448184&postcount=1

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=16448241&postcount=5

And here's a video with even more information:

Wuffy's thoughts:

When I first heard that Michael Jackson had passed away, I just woke up and I had trouble processing the news. I'm a fan of Michael Jackson, I'm not a crazed fan but I love his work. Ever since I was a small kid, every All Saint's Day all the radio stations would play 'Thriller' and my and my cousins would dance to it in the cemetery when we were bored. Every morning, one of the TV networks will always play 'We are the world' on TV and it came before Seasame Street so I saw it practically everyday.

I'm not someone who knew the lyrics of Michael Jackson's songs to heart. I knew the music. I knew that it was good. I knew that he was really good. I remember tuning in when one of the TV networks aired one of Michael Jackson's exclusive MTVs for the first time. There was no cable back then and every single person in my family was waiting for the MTV to be played.

I was one of those people who deep down believed Michael Jackson was innocent. A lot of people I know thought he was guilty, but me and my friends stood by him. We could never prove his innocence, it was just our gut telling us so despite everything that the media has said. Perhaps the real reason why I believed in his innocence was the song, 'Childhood'. The first time I heard that song, I had tears running down my eyes. I kept on playing that song over and over...I liked it even more than 'Black or White' and all the other songs in that album.




Just listen to that song.... Listen to the soul and sincerity that Michael Jackson has put in singing that song! Yes. Michael Jackson may be considered weird because he was an adult who thought like a child. But in some ways, I can relate. We all have our moments where we are childish and immature. But none of us can really relate with Michael Jackson who lost his childhood unintentionally in his quest for stardom.

And now Michael Jackson is gone.

It's hard to believe that our children won't grow up to see this man perform live (even on TV). I was unfortunate not to have seen him during his one day concert in Manila in 1996. For the next few days, I'll be hunting for a Michael Jackson memorabilia that we can keep. I can't believe that the mainstream media, such as Fox News continue to demonize Michael Jackson even in his death. I was so disgusted with the reporting that I turned off the TV. But history will regard Michael Jackson kindly because in the end what will last is his spellbinding talent.

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson. I pray that today you are with the Lord dancing together with Him in heaven.

Dead Space - First Impressions

Just got Dead Space...yes, it's not really a new game, but I've heard a lot of good things about it, so I thought it was worth a try. Impressions:

- Excellent production values - I like the way the GUI is set up as these floating graphics/screens. It's the most unique GUI I've ever encountered for a third-person shooter in a long time, and it makes the game feel very futuristic.

- The graphics are also very consistent, no frame drops and a lot of well-used special effects that add to the atmosphere of the game.

- The audio is also very well-done; it really establishes a sense of fear and dread.

- Playing this, you can't help but compare it with Resident Evil 5. Having played RE5 before this, it's even more apparent to me. This game is much scarier than RE5, definitely. (RE5's focus was more on action) I think Capcom can learn a lot by playing this. Come to think of it, they probably already have; I remember reading somewhere that RE6 isn't due for a couple of years and they plan on rebooting the series. Probably because they played this!

Overall, so far so good. If you haven't played Dead Space, it's the type of game that will probably surprise you with it's overall polish. It feels like one of those games that get nominated for GOTY, like Bioshock.

Prototype - Halfway Through Game...Just EPIC!

Just went through a boss fight that lasted over an hour and thirty minutes. I took so long because I used hit-and-run tactics to take down that boss. Eventually I found a 'way' to do it and it was extremely satisfying once it ended.

It was Capcom-esque in that you need to really work your way to winning that fight and it really isn't easy, unless there's something I completely missed and there's a technique to beating that boss quicker. (I'm sure there is; I'm just proud of beating that boss my way....hehe) I have no complaints!

The other day I read the review of Destructoid for Prototype. While they were relatively more positive for the game than they were for Infamous, I have to say that I did end up questioning the skill level of the reviewers there. They were complaining about mundane things, like figuring out how to beat certain classes of enemies, whining about the targeting system and the controls, etc. I just found it strange considering that I didn't really have any trouble with the more technical aspects of the game.

Maybe most reviewers for game websites are just casual gamers at heart. I've seen it before with big sites like IGN screwing up boss fights and then just complaining about it in their reviews. It just goes to show you that game reviews are not always reliable when it comes to opinions on games. It's better to combine their opinions with gamers' opinions from feedback pages or forums. The truth about a game is usually somewhere in the middle; reader feedback is normally more positive, while reviewers tend to focus a lot on everything negative about a game. Also, remember that game reviewers play on a deadline, and that usually makes them much, much more easily frustrated with a particularly difficult boss or enemy. So when they're whining about a hard boss fight or two, they're probably just inept at playing the game, or just don't have the time to spend to learn everything there is to learn about a game.

I think I'm nearing the end of Prototype; regarding game length, it's probably just as long as most games released for this generation of consoles, if you don't do any of the side-missions/mini-games.

Prototype - Sandbox Carnage

A few weeks ago I played Infamous on the PS3. The game's premise was that there's this character who wants to figure out why he has certain superhuman abilities. At the same time, supposedly his actions in the world determine how his powers develop, and also steer the course of the storyline.

Within nearly the same release period as Infamous, Activision's Prototype gets released for multiple platforms. This sparked a lot of debate on the Internet because both Infamous and Prototype have practically the same premise. Much like Infamous, Prototype has you starting out as a superhuman character who is hell-bent on finding out how exactly he became the way he is. In both games, both characters start out losing their memory [a staple theme in most video games to give the storyline something to talk about....], and completing missions in the game lets you find out more about your past and how you obtained your powers.

I suppose one major difference between Infamous and Prototype is that there is no 'moral compass' in Prototype. As you go through the game you realize that your character is literally a monster, in every sense of the word, and everywhere you go there is guaranteed to be a lot of carnage and destruction left in your wake. That's because the military is after you, and this military group has marching orders to take you down, with whatever means necessary. If it takes blowing up civilian vehicles or buildings to kill you, they'll do it. The military in the game seems to be portrayed as some kind of amoral PMC (private military corporation) tasked to clean up any mess the current government may have been involved in.

With this in mind, it's very hard (no, actually impossible) to avoid civilian casualties in any mission or free-roam situation that you get into. There's a lot going on in practically every action packed moment of the game. As Alex Mercer, you just can't help but get a lot of collateral damage when you strike back at the enemy. Alex's powers are incredible. Alex Mercer makes Cole seem like a Marvel Superhero from way back when the 'Comics Code Authority' was still in vogue. Most of Alex's attacks leave a wave of utter chaos and destruction; he can disembowel any human within range of his attacks. He wields all sorts of 'weapons' which morph from his flesh: claws, blades, whips, hammers.....you name it, he has it. And the game doesn't shy away from brutal violence, with bloody gore and decapitation happening in practically every battle scenario you may get yourself into.

Infamous's Cole, even with the moral compass aspect of the gameplay, still exercises some degree of restraint with the violence. With Alex Mercer, there is no limit to what he'll do to find out the truth behind what has happened to him.

I haven't finished Prototype yet so I wonder how exactly this game will end. Infamous's storyline left me completely disappointed, with....

*spoiler warning for Infamous*





Time Travel






*spoiler warning for Infamous*

...being brought up for no apparent reason other than to hint at a sequel and your 'possible' superpowers in a future version of the game. With Prototype, I hope there's no nasty twist like that that can ruin an otherwise straightforward and dark storyline. Originally I thought Infamous was already a pretty dark tale, but Prototype is a whole lot darker, and a whole lot edgier. Granted, Infamous had some sense of humor about it in some moments. Prototype doesn't have any of that at all. The game takes itself really seriously. That may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you like your games.

In terms of sheer action and carnage, Prototype delivers.

Now for a discussion of its more techincal aspects:

Graphics-wise, in Prototype it seems they used less detailed textures compared to Infamous. When you're in a situation where there isn't much going on, the low detail textures really stand out. At the same time, everything that's going on around you (even if you're not in a fight yet) is pretty amazing. Cars going through traffic, a lot of civilians walking about....the world 'feels' very alive to some degree. Most things in the world are interactive, and with your superpowers you can easily take down trees, fences, and some structures when you're traveling around.

While the game engine in Prototype may not be spectacular when it's standing still, it does show off its mettle when the action starts. Once a fight breaks out between Alex, the military, or 'the infected', this is when the game engine starts to show its best form. There is NO slowdown even with all that stuff onscreen at once. Civilans start running all over the place, cars start getting into vehicular mishaps, tanks start rolling on top of hundreds of cars piled up in crowded intersections, all this while Alex is throwing around his super-powered abilities. The military throws practically everything they've got at you, with mortar shells, missiles, machine gun fire, rocket-propelled grenades....everything short of a nuclear warhead is hurled at Alex Mercer to stop his rampage through the city. And while Alex is not invincible [in fact, he can die quite easily if you aren't careful], his superhuman abilities can get him out of a lot of situations even with all kinds of opposition bearing down on him.

Because of all the chaos and carnage that takes place in every scenario of Prototype, civilian casualties mount at an incredible rate in this game, and at some point you're going to see streets literally littered with destroyed cars and dead bodies. And, it seems those dead bodies don't magically 'disappear' after ten seconds. They just sit there, making the environment of the game feel really macabre and ominous. The soundtrack compliments this theme very effectively; obviously inspired by the musical themes in most horror films. There's never a dull moment thanks to the audio, which seems to dynamically adjust to what's taking place onscreen. When Alex gets detected by the military, a more upbeat 'chase' theme plays back, and this really adds to the intensity. When you're on the verge of dying, it seems the music also adjusts and this really adds to the sense of urgency in the game.

Control-wise, Alex can move and adjust to any situation very quickly. The developers seem to have made a conscious decision to slow down the action when you have to switch between abilities or when you're targeting enemies. At the rate all the action is going onscreen, their decision to put that in is very welcome....there's just so much coming at you that you do need that bit of 'bullet-time' to make split-second decisions on what to do. I like how they implemented action slow-down in the game to actually help the player and lessen the frustration when a really difficult situation arises.

Alex can also travel around the city at an incredible rate, thanks to his ability to run on building walls (instead of jumping over and over, like in other superhero games like Crackdown and Infamous). He can also upgrade his running speed so he never needs to hijack a car. He can also glide through the air, which is useful after jumping from a particularly tall building.

Alex can also fight the military by using their own weapons against them. He can get their guns, rocket launchers or vehicles and fight back with relative ease. The controls for this aspect of the game were well thought out and quite intuitive. Combined with the ability to fight on the ground with his numerous biological powers, Alex can be quite unstoppable if he is controlled right by the player.

Much like many discussions in forums online, I can't help but compare this to Infamous. They've got the same premise; they're in the same genre (sandbox). So which is the better game? From a technical standpoint, I'd say Prototype beats out Infamous because it manages to keep a consistent framerate even while all that stuff is going on on-screen. Storyline-wise, I'll have to withhold judgment until I finish the game. Their stories are really so close in terms of overall themes and ideas. Prototype is much, much darker, and leans more towards making it feel like you're a 'monster' in the game.

In terms of overall enjoyment, the framerate drops in Infamous really deterred the experience for me, and the excessive use of blur effect on distant objects made me question if I was experiencing loss of eyesight. This problem never occurs for me with Prototype. The draw distance is quite far in this game, and while there is a small degree of pop-in, it never deters from its immersiveness. Prototype also has much less aliasing issues compared to Infamous, where the jaggies where just everywhere. I'm not sure if this is a benefit of the fact that I'm playing this on the Xbox 360, given that I haven't tried the PS3 version. [Most 360 versions of multiplatform games have always had the benefit of better anti-aliasing]. Graphics matter to me as much as other aspects of a game, so to some degree I'm enjoying Prototype a lot more than Infamous right now.

I guess it all depends on how the game ends...whether or not this will be the 'best' sandbox game I've played so far, or just on par with Infamous. I'll post impressions again once I've finished the game.