What makes a house a home? Generally speaking I know it’s the people who inhabit it and the memories you make there, but what about your surroundings? We have been co-habitating for the sake of illness but soon hope that freedom awaits. Believe me, after owning my own home for almost ten years this has [...]
Game: Samurai Showdown SEN
Publisher/Developer: X-Seed
Platform: XBOX 360
Price: $49.99
Pros: Really no redeeming qualities in a game that should have been good, if not great.
Cons: Bad Graphics, Horrible Controls, Long load times.
Verdict: Wait for a huge sale unless you are a die-hard fan.
Acquired: Review Copy Provided
With the recent revitalization of the fighting genre, more and more people are picking up the newest titles, ready to dive into the button mashing experience. After getting a fight stick for Christmas and a copy of SFIV, I was ready to dive into this title with abandon. Unfortunately, not even a fight stick could help this horrible entry in the Samurai Showdown series.
Once praised for it’s options and added weaponry, it’s now clouded by shoddy graphics and horrible controls. I have very faded memories of playing a Samurai title on Neo Geo but am still an absolute newcomer to the series and SEN provided no tutorial or even an inkling of assistance in learning how to play at all. I really can’t think of a worse idea as it’s a given most fans of the series will eventually pick up this title but the added people that are just now getting into fighting games that have no background on your series? You just left a lot of people and money in the dust.
While the character selection is vast it doesn’t make up for the fact that they aren’t exciting to play with. Not one stood out as better or worse than another, they are all pretty average when it comes to the fighting genre and all of the nuances seen in most other fighters are right here too. It’s just done so poorly that playing this game felt like pulling teeth.
The control scheme is closest to Soul Caliber with similar combos and inputs. It doesn’t feel even half as good as that title though because it’s turned into a button masher, with whoever hits them fast enough winning the fight. This series is known for it’s unique style of gameplay so venturing far from that is a risk I wouldn’t have taken. The game has stiff controls and the most awkward mechanics I’ve ever experienced. AI opponents that take days of patience not practice to overcome, make it all the more frustrating. It only takes two good hits to down an opponent so strategy doesn’t even come into play here. That’s a sad state of affairs when there are so many other options on the table and that the series used to stand on it’s own unique platform.
Gamers are becoming more and more resentful against the atrocious loading times we have in games as of late, and this title is just as guilty. It’s understandable in a story heavy game but with SEN, it’s load after tedious load. You can literally be killed in five seconds and have to wait forty more for the game to load back up. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what we are waiting for. 3-D graphics that looked twenty times better on the PS2? I think I’ll pass.
Online mode was also a complete let down. I tried to use the multiplayer feature to fight a real person eight times. I waited for what seemed an eternity but not once did someone pop online to fight. This aspect is where I thought the game might be brought back to it’s roots a little bit, allowing me to fully use the controls like they were meant to be used. Unfortunately, the chance never presented itself.
I wish I could have found something redeeming within Samurai Showdown but I couldn’t. Everything reeks of being slopped together without regard to the fans or the series previous titles. What made the series special was overlooked so blatantly that it’s hard to believe it was allowed to be released. Old looking graphics, unplayable fighting styles, clunky controls, and long load times make this one of the worst games I’ve played since Superman 64.
With all of the other awesome fighting titles out, I’d leave this one alone. If you are a die-hard fan of the series, I’d still wait until it was on the clearance rack. I’m sure it won’t be a long wait.
Sharing: It’s Win/Win
HD screenshots of Wind Waker, Wii Play, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link’s Crossbow Training, Wii Sports, No More Heroes, Zack & Wiki through the Dolphin emulator.
DualShockers writes: "With Halo 2’s removal from Xbox LIVE upon us, I thought with this piece I would share some of the memories I had with the game. I sank an incredible amount of hours in the game, and I hope some of my memories jog some of yours."
I’ve never been one to identify with the “victim” mentality. I try to live my life in a way that what happened to me doesn’t define me. That being said, it’s been a really hard week for me. As someone who has been sexually assaulted, I try to steer clear of anything that would bring back memories of what happened. Since I live, breathe and sleep gaming that usually isn’t a problem. Then Tuesday morning comes and as I log into my Twitter account (@MetalGearBAE) to find it flooded with articles on a game called ‘Rapelay’ by Illusion.
And of course, people are outraged. The game was banned and pulled off shelves only to have it garner so much attention that it went viral. As I read the articles and watch the videos I am utterly disgusted. My stomach actually flips over. I sweat. My eyes well up. I can’t get it out of my mind.
As I sit here on Thursday afternoon I realize that instead of waking up early like normal, I’ve slept in until late in the day both days since this news story became so popular. I’ve just HAD to get outside, to see the sun and not feel trapped. And I want to get away. Far, far away from my life right now and I really have nothing to run from. Besides being disabled, (and I’ll save all that mess for another column) I love my life and everyone in it. I’m blessed to have a wonderful family and a great set of friends.
So what’s the problem?
I realize that I feel victimized all over again.
There is my outrage over this game.
For anyone- man or woman who has been assaulted, it is always there with you. The fear and anxiety is always lurking in the background even when you move on and I am amazed that someone would find it fun to rape women over and over in a video game. Or maybe I’m not amazed. The world seems to be turning into something I’m not proud of lately.
People are angry because they believe that someone will play this game and go on a raping spree.
To me, that’s the same as saying someone will play GTA4 and go on a crime spree.
I’m just not buying it. Sure, it happens but those people already had a screw loose. It could have been any trigger that set them off. A word, a movie, television or toast. Crazy is Crazy- you can blame it on what you want.
I’m thinking that ‘Rapelay’s’ developer has never had a mother, sister, wife or friend be assaulted. If they did, they would understand the enormity of what they have done. Maybe it won’t reach millions of women and no one will care. Maybe what they wanted was a massive amount of attention to be able to work on a REAL project. I don’t care about that.
What I care about is the anger that I have at them for thinking this is acceptable entertainment and for making me feel like crap all over again. I wonder about my other gaming friends and how this makes them feel. I wonder if I’m being over dramatic.
Most of all, I wonder what it would be like to see the people at Illusion face to face and how they would feel to see my tears. What would they think about my story?
I’m sure we will never know.
Sharing: It’s Win/Win
The sound of arcades might be long dead and gone, but the games will live on in our memories. Hydro Thunder was one game that consumed countless quarters, and made us late for countless meetings.
Thank goodness, someone else has lived this life and decided to bring back the boat racing game of yesteryear. Hydro Thunder Hurricane is the game so many of us cherished and loved, with a few spiffy extras. Extras that include 8 new environments, destructible objects, new time trials, and all the Boost you can handle. Hells to the yeah!!
Look for Hydro Thunder Hurricane to be gracing Xbox Live this summer.
Sharing: It’s Win/Win
Beta 4 out now: Goldeneye: Source is a total conversion modification of Half-Life 2. It is a fan made recreation, released for free, with only one goal in mind; to bring the memories and experiences from the original GoldenEye64 back to life using Source Technology.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories ‘wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the Wii‘.
G4TV writes: April 14 will mark the end of an era for Bungie. Halo 2, the game that launched the studio into triple-A status and made headlines worldwide, will no longer be playable online.
Bungie reacted as you might expected: they were bummed out but thankful for the fans.
Fans were much more vocal about their disappointment, however, taking to the official Halo 2 forums on Bungie’s website to swap memories about their time spent battling each other online.
"Damn, I wanna cry, Halo 2 is the reason I’m aiming to design game sin the future," said Sonic343.
