Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, CONFIRMED AGAIN! : Game News

The not-so-secret rerelease of MvC2, is now confirmed and headed to the PS3 and 360. I think I'm still bummed by how it's priced at USD 15, but I'm still a littl bit psyched by how this old goodness of gaming that has probably aged almost a decade is still being fought competitively in tournaments and so on that it was just begging for a rerelease on home consoles. It'll come to you this summer while the PS3 guys will get their goodness in a demo Thursday this week.

So, Capcom, start talking to Activision and Marvel again. We need the 3rd one, now.

PS: Summer 2009... Wow, Capcom is going up against Blazblue and KOF XII. Interesting. I wonder who'll win this summer? :D

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Ever wondered how my sales figure are? :p

To poke fun at the NPD figures that was just released (And maybe actually contributing to some of it.:P), I decided to let you guys know my sales figure as of today. (21st April 2009)

Kyo's Mini Game Mart Sales Figures! (As at 21st April 2009)
1. MadWorld (Sega, Wii) - 6 Copies
2. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games, DS) - 4 copies
3. Guitar Hero: Metallica (Activision, PS3) - 2 Copies
4. Street Fighter 4 (Capcom, 360) - 2 copies
5. Guitar Hero: Metallica (Activision, Wii) - 1 Copy
6. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, PS3) - 1 Copy
7. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (Nintendo, DS) - 1 Copy

At the current moment, Sega's MadWorld is now ranked as the highest number of games sold for Kyo's Mini Game Mart, outcasting previous long running champion of Fallout 3 (Bethesda, PS3). There were no consoles sold in this month. :P

Hope you had fun reading that. :P

Friday, April 17, 2009

King Of Fighters XII: Arcade Overview

The 12th installation of the famous King of Fighters series has now been released worldwide. As SNK Playmore of Japan has released the English translation of the website, I think it's best I also help out by letting gamers know changes and new stuffs included to the system, while still retaining what is famous in the KOF Series.

The old:
- Buttons are now back to 4. Meaning, Light Punch, Light Kick, Hard Punch, Hard Kick.
- Dash and back step is still in place.
- Blow Back attack is back to C+D (Hard Punch and Hard Kick). But a new addition is available to it.
- Emergency Evasion (And backward) is still A+B (Light Punch and Light Kick).

The new and changed:
- Blow Back attack can now be charged for more damage. Charging can also be done while in mid air. Blow Back could also be be chained into a combo.
- Guard Attacks now does not take out any stocks to perform. Can be performed any time when guarding and pressing C+D. A little bit cheating if you ask me.
- Fall Breaker used to be A+B when touching the ground. Now any button is pressable.
- Throws are done with A+C. For a back throw, hold back and press simultaneously.
- The Max gauge is now back to one stock, and it charges really fast. Too bad no charging can be done manually.

Critical Counter
- When the Critical Counter bar is full, execute a counter attack using C or D. The animation begins with a focus zoom on the characters and then the player can continue by pressing a combination of buttons that he feels deserving.
- Filling the bar would take either time, getting hit, or by beating your opponent up. Sounds like an Ultra gauge. Hurm...
- At anytime, the Critical Counter moves can be any button pressed until a green glow is flashing on your character. that will signal the end of the Critical Counter barrage.
- Don't waste the opportunity, dish out a Super Special Move (We don't call it Desperation Moves anymore.) or continue the combo as you wish, just make it count!
- Critical Counter can also be paired with the Max gauge to bring out a more damaging Max move. At anytime during the Critical Counter hits, it is possible.

Deadlock (Sousai) System
- This is something similar to a Parry system introduced in Street Fighter 3. The difference is that you use moves to cancel out. Meaning, if a both of you press D for example, the deadlock motion will occur, giving only a small chip of damage.
- When a deadlock occurs, if both opponents does nothing, they will do a back step to give some room.
- A variety of commands can be inputted when a deadlock occurs. Any move from jumping to Super Special Move is possible.

That's the overview of the system implemented in KOF XII. The console versions are rumored to have K' and Mai Shiranui in them. Also, another rumor (with actual screenies) showcased Blue Mary to be an addition. Most weird to my own belief is how Shermie is back, considering the fact, that she should be after the events in KOF 97. We would know more in the coming months before July comes ringing. Til then, stay tuned!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Don't buy from this guy!

If the title caught your attention, it means that you are looking for the guy who you're not supposed to buy from. But actually, this article is about how I realised that gamers are also looking for arbitrage opportunities when it comes to games too.

If you don't understand what arbitrage is, read on. Before I went back to KL and did my business back home, I noticed that there was a guy in the forum I frequent who is telling the world that they should not buy from this particular person (lets call him Aminor). The reason here was because Aminor buys from different people, and then sells back the games at a higher price, perhaps by RM10 or RM20. In other words, the guy was pissed off because of how he feels that Aminor is actually cheating the people of their money.

Aminor is not doing so.

Arbitraging, if you noticed, is the act of looking for a mispricing on a product. It would mean that if you believe this certain item is wrongly priced, you can profit from it by buying it, and then perhaps selling it back at something that is of equal value. So, did Aminor did anything wrong? Of course not. He saw the opportunity and reacted. Apparently, people who believe that such act is wrong, is only saying so because they are jealous that Aminor can sell at a higher price and get what should have been the original seller's profit.

Arbitraging happens all the time. its a shame that certain people find themselves mislead by how the world really works and blame others for their inequity of being aware to what value a game can provide. So to sum it up, to the people who "think" they've been cheated, wake up and learn rather than making people think others are evil. You have much to learn.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

A new Drunken Master: Movie Ideas

Just last year, we've been given a blessing in Martial Arts movies. Ip Man was released, and to raving reviews. Actually, as per title, I've been at this idea for a very long time. And I think it makes good sense that this idea comes back to us.

the last time I watched something recent on the Drunken Fist, is on The Forbidden Kingdom. And that was quite long already. Worst, that movie wasn't anywhere good except for Jet Li and Jackie Chan's fight scene. That's the only redeeming quality of the whole movie. So, why not bring in a new Drunken Fist martial movie while we're looking at it?

There are 2 ways I believe its possible, and there should be no interference from Hollywood. None whatsoever. To begin with, you can bring back something from the old days, and it is still possible. Audiences haven't gotten rusty from the old movie type genres, and Ip Man is a good example. So yeah, old props, old wine cups, Chinese clothings, all would still work.

Another way, is a new age version. In fact, there are many types of martial arts movies that can still be exploited and used for a new age setting. Perhaps a master stuck in a bar with no life attached to him and someone just eager to learn had just stumbled onto him. OK, bad way of screenplay over there, but there are many ways i believe this is possible. Movies such as Legendary Assassin can show that even at an old setting (I believe during the early 2000s) it is still possible to bring something new to this century.

So yes, there are various types and ways that new martial art movies can still be implemented, and there is a heaping supply of martial artists ready at disposable. So, movie industry, surprise us. Honestly. Bring something new while i daydream about the next Metal Musical featuring Jack Black again. Yes, I want a new one with Tenacious D in it. Thank you.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

A matter of mispricing, or damn good deal?

Recently, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was just released. And that was 2 weeks ago. With that launch, reviews have been touting this game as no less than what GTA 4 has presented. And it has worked wonders too in sales (my side also). But weirdly, something has been bugging me a lot, and that is actually the price. So, at retail, my price is RM120. Elsewhere, it is sold at RM140 or RM145. So here's the question, is there a mispricing, or Rockstar just decided that this was a damn good deal?

Perhaps, we should analyze a few factors. For starters, the copies I'm selling, are made only for sale in ASIA. It can be seen at the back of the cover. So if we compare being sold in Asia, and being sold in the states, I think that we are getting an opportunity of a lifetime with the cheapness. Besides, its a GTA game at a ridiculous price of RM120, even if it is for the DS. At the states, it is true that the game is being sold at USD 40 (140 sumthing2 in Ringgit). So, we got upper hand here.

Another thing to gawk at is competing rival Square Enix are also selling their games at similar USD. But when it comes here, the price would be RM160, 20 bucks premium. So, what the hell happened here?

I am actually hoping that there is a similar trend going on later for DS gamers. Heck, even Wii gamers too. My recent copy of Guitar Hero Metallica for the Wii is at a killer RM166. Honestly, that is much cheaper than the copies you're getting from Play-Asia. If this is very similar to how cheap it is between a PS3 R1 and R3 region of a game, then I am praying my very best that this does come true, and in the end hopes to fuel more sales from gamers passionate in buying original titles. Honestly, this is a deal you can't miss.