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Dead Rising 2 Impressions [GO]
Sep 30th, 2010 by Dan

Dead Rising 2

He hasn't covered wars (you know), but he can do mean things with duct tape.

Dead Rising, how I’ve missed you. You first charmed my heart in Willamette, Colorado along with Frank West’s camera, your punishing save system, immense difficulty, and utter insanity. Within the first two minutes of actual gameplay, you can bet that I died. I fell in love right there.

Oh, Dead Rising. Now you’ve returned with Case Zero and Dead Rising 2. Both reminded me how much I hated the photography mechanic in Dead Rising and how sweet it was to duct tape shit together to make über weapons. Yes, I fell back in love the second I took a drill, combined it with a bucket, and created little helmets of death to put on the wandering undead.

Dead Rising 2 Screenshot 5

My iPhone makes me want to do this too sometimes.

The game is just as difficult as its always been, only now the survivors are less stupid. Be prepared to experience a game that is inherently Japanese, despite its Canadian origins. Keiji Inafune’s stamp is felt all over this game, and not just because Katey mentions playing Mega Man within the first 45 minutes. It’s the punishing systems in place, the madcap insanity of the characters, and the utter insanity behind the premise and presentation that make this game so great.

Dead Rising 2 for PS3

El Kabong!

Bullet points:

– The voice acting is subtly Canadian, eh. It’s not a problem, but it’s jarring at times. Fortune City is in Nevada, not Ontario. Voice talent may come cheaper in Canada, but we can tell here in the states.

– Dead Rising 1 felt like a Japanese interpretation of what an American shopping mall might be like, so a lot of the things seemed a bit off. DR2 does a much more realistic job of capturing this new version of Vegas. There’s still some stuff that feels slightly off, but it feels like there’s less of an East/West disconnect, at least in my mind. Maybe it’s psychological because I know the game was made by Canadians.

– Combo weapons are amazing. I used a 2×4 and a lawnmower to make a portable lawnmower to be used in maiming all kinds of zombies. It was brilliant. The “wolverine gloves” made with boxing gloves and a bowie knife also deserves grand mention. Super fun. I can’t wait to combine a car battery with a goblin head to make a Blanka mask that electrocutes zombies around it.

– I like some of the new characters, but others aren’t anywhere near as endearing. Sullivan seems a little too obviously like the bad guy. TK feels a little like a stereotype. Rebecca Chang is ok so far, but my favorites are Stacey and Chuck. Both of them have great chemistry with each other and Katey and they seem to be the most heart of the cast.

– Thank god answering the transceiver is instantaneous now. Seriously, thanks.

– The achievements seem easier this time around. There are still some toughies (rescuing all 50 survivors), but it’s nowhere near as bad as it could have been.

– I kind of like that shooting is so janky in this game, even if it’s frustrating when I needto shoot

– This game has perfect crunch to it. Hitting enemies with a sledgehammer feels appropriately brutal. Using a sword to slice through them feels exactly as smooth as it should. Most every bit of contact in this game feels perfect. The outlier: bullets. They lack oomph and are obnoxious.

Dead Rising 2! [ER/GO]
Sep 28th, 2010 by Dan

Enjoy Ryan Davis and Jeff Gerstmann’s Quick Look of Dead Rising 2!

TGS Catherine Trailer (May be NSFW) [Game Overview/ER]
Sep 24th, 2010 by Dan

It’s no secret that I love Atlus games, particularly the ones in the MegaTen mutliverse. The devs behind Persona 3 and 4 have been working on Catherine and it’s looking like a very interesting game.

Civ V Impressions [Game Overview]
Sep 24th, 2010 by Dan

So I’ve been playing Civ V this week. It’s pretty awesome. Here’s what I think so far:

– Unsurprisingly, I don’t miss religion in Civ. While it did legitimately affect the game in important ways that reflect how important religion is in real life, yadda yadda, it just dominated everything about a playthrough. I’m glad to be rid of it.

– Now that units don’t stack and cities have offensive and defensive capabilities of their own, I’m going to have to change my early game build order. Do I really need to defend my cities as hard right away anymore?

– I love the way that all world leaders speak in historically accurate languages. Gandhi has an Indian voice, Bismark speaks German, and Alexander the Great was taunting me in Greek.

– Foreign relations seem more obtuse now that the numbers behind them are more obtuse. Sure, it’s more realistic, but I wish I could tell how much they liked me a little better.

– City specialization remains a strong focus. The quickest way to bankrupt yourself is to build stuff that’s not meant to be in a particular city.

– I like not having to fiddle with tax percentages any more.

– Unit combat is much improved and a welcome change from the way it was handled in Civ IV.

– I like the new wonder reward screens. Better than the lifeless movies of Civ IV and the neat quotes are almost at Civ II levels of awesome.

– New advisers…I guess I like them, but their information seems to be a little less interesting and redundant. Can’t I click “Yes. I know,” and not see that advice again?

– I find information a little harder to find in the new Civilopedia, but that might just be me

– The new social policy system that replaces civics and governments from old games is way cool. I’ll have to fiddle more with the way that I distribute my policies instead of obsessively focusing on each branch until I finish in my next game.

– Puppet states are cool

– City states are a little game-y with the whole friend/ally system. I wish that the benefits lasted longer, but that’s just nitpicking.

– I still haven’t found where all the information lives in the UI, but I’m getting there.

– Great game. Buy it if you even kind of like Civ.

Hilarious Dead Rising 2 Trailers [ER/GO]
Sep 24th, 2010 by Dan

I haven’t figured out a way to embed these videos yet, but you have to go to Kotaku and check out these hilarious Dead Rising 2 commercials from Japan.dead-rising-2-in-japan

OK Go’s New Video: White Knuckles [ER/F]
Sep 21st, 2010 by Dan

These guys make fantastic videos over and over again.

(Your mileage may vary if you don’t particularly like dogs)

Bran Nue Dae Trailer [Embedded Reporter/FB]
Sep 20th, 2010 by Dan







BRAN NUE DAE IN THEATERS SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

Bran Nue Dae In Theaters September 10, 2010

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Gotta say, I really want to see this. Looks just ridiculous and awesome enough to be spectacular.

Mario Paint Thriller [ER/FB/GO]
Sep 16th, 2010 by Dan

I didn’t have Mario Paint as a kid, but even if I did I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to construct such a masterpiece as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.

Fall [Wednesday Morning Quarterback]
Sep 15th, 2010 by Dan

Home Run Celebration - Florida Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies 17 April 2010

It's not over yet, but we're getting close

It seems that fall is rapidly approaching, despite my fiendish plot to seize control of the planet’s weather with my mind. With the change in the climate comes a change in sports programming. Back for two weeks is college football while the NFL opener was played over the past few days as well. Baseball no longer holds the brunt of the spotlight, but I guess that’s not all bad.

MLB

Since I started this blog the Marlins have never been in serious contention for a playoff spot, but the Rays always have. This year is no different. Tampa Bay seems a lock for at least the ALDS while Florida is scrapping for third and to possibly play spoiler to Philadelphia or Atlanta.

The season isn’t over yet, so (hopefully) expect more coverage until the last out is made in the World Series.

NCAA Football

Despite winning both games, the Gators are among the weakest looking top ten BCS teams this year. It’s entirely possible that John Brantley will have a much better season than he’s had so far, but these are definitely not the Tebow years.

Will they defeat Tennessee this week? I’m not really sure…

NFL

For literally the first time in my entire life, I actually sat down to watch a Dolphins game this past weekend. I only got to half time before I had to start heading back home to MD, but I didn’t want to miss getting the chance to gloat about the victory in my Bills fan friend’s face. Will this start a trend? Maybe…

Auto-Tune the News #13 [Embedded Reporter]
Sep 13th, 2010 by Dan

Not my favorite one, but still relatively interesting.

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