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Nintendo E3 2009 Bingo!

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Street Fighter and me, part III: PC

While doing some research to write this series of posts, I found this site: Scary Crayon. It has a great article on SFIBM, which turned out to be the version of Street Fighter I used to play on PC with my friends. This version features new moves like Chun-Li's shooting star and Blanka's electrifying bird. Check the link for more details.

What I find the most interesting about his version is that the hackers were able to predict some of the moves that were added to the game in later editions.

Street Fighter and me, part II: famicom

My experience with Street Fighter hacks did not stop with the first time I played the series. During the mid-nineties back in Argentina, my home country, famicom knock-offs and pirate copies of cartridges were super popular.

I never owned one, but renting a "family" was as common as Home Alone on VHS. SF2 for famicom looked something like this:

I guess back in the day, the industry was still in its infancy and there was no concept of piracy in videogames.  Even mainstream game magazines were covering these games as if they were normal releases:

Street Fighter and me, part I: The Beginning

The street fighter hype has been rising in the last 6 to 9 months with the upcoming Street Fighter IV for consoles and the release of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix. I love fighting games (even thought I'm not that good at them) and I owe it all to this game. Without Street Fighter 2, the genre might have never existed.
I clearly remember the first time I played SF2 at the arcades, which was not even a normal version of the game. It was a hack and I got my ass kicked. I remember choosing Zangief (not sure if my subconscious was playing any homo-erotic games in my head) and playing against Ryu. The match was obviously not fair, myself as a n00b vs. a overpowered, multi-hadoken computer character. If you are not sure what am I talking about, look at this video

And in spite of that traumatic first experience, I kept playing street fighter. On part II: more hacks.

Best of 2008 - #1 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)

It is so hard to write about a game that has been talked about for so long and about a series as legendary as Metal Gear Solid. It is even harder to explain how MGS4 is an experience that goes beyond any other game I've ever played. There's nothing out there that even compares to this game, the graphics and cutscenes are phenomenal, the soundtrack is an instant clasic (I still have the "old snake theme" carved in my brain), the voice acting is amazing and the story is... well... typical MGS. Kojima has also been able to give Snake's story an ending. Whether you are happy or not, it is over and he managed to tied many loose ends in this game.
If you have a ps3 and haven't tried MGS4, you owe it to yourself. It will be hard for a game to top what this one has accomplished.

Best of 2008 - #2 Burnout Paradise (PS3)

I had always been curious about Burnout before playing Paradise. Ironically this rendition of the franchise is quite different to "traditional" Burnout.
Paradise city is an open world where you need to go around and find the challenges in road intersection. Previously you'd just select them from a menu, which would also allow you to automatically re-try the levels, thing you can't do in Paradise and got harsh criticism for it. The fact that you can fail a mission and that you have to travel back to the original intersection can be annoying, but Paradise is such an awesome game that this little annoyance can be ignored.
The other major accomplishment for the game is the seamless online integration: you press right o the d-pad and you are online. No lobbies, no configuration... just plain simple.
I've put 40+ hours on the game and its expansion packs (which were all free) and can't wait for the next ones. I've never expected to enjoy this game so much, but it does things so well that is no surprise why it gets so much praise.

Best of 2008 - #4 Little Big Planet (PS3)

This is my "public apology to Little Big Planet": some time after the game was released I got stuck in "The Mines" and I just couldn't complete the level. Believe me I kept trying and trying and trying. From that frustration I made some comments about how a platformer can't have such imprecise controls, that it was basically broken.
Now I publicly take all that back: Little Big Planet is awesome and every PS3 owner should give it a try. The fact that I'm a dumbass gamer and can't use some of the game's mechanics, is no excuse to ignore the game accomplishments.

I still think the controls are a bit floaty, but you get used to it and learn to use it to your advantage. I think people like me that have the Mario walk/run/jump mechanic so carved in the brain will have the same learning curve.

The game does so many things well: tons of free downloadable content, user created content, online multiplayer, great content creation tools, fantastic presentation, awesome soundtrack, unique and fun levels, quirky humor and the list would go on and on.

Sony took a huge gamble on this and I hope they can build on the platform. I think the franchise has a bright future ahead and can't wait to see more of it.

Best of 2008 - #4 Professor Layton and the Curious Village (NDS)

I have already praised this game on this blog post, which leaves very little to add. I just beg Nintendo to confirm that the other 2 games are being localized.

EGM shuts down, 1UP loses 40 staff

It all started with a tweet from John Davison, founder of What They Play, pointing to a news story in paidcontent.org. Pretty soon it was confirmed by other sources and 1up.com themselves, one of the longest running videogame magazines is now gone. January 2009 was their last issue, so if you happen to find a copy you might want to grab a piece of sad history.
To makes things worse, 1UP.com has been sold to Hearst (owners of UGO.com) and 40 staff are now out of a job. Among the people leaving are Ryan O'Donnell (1UP Show co-creator) and the outspoken Shane Bettenhausen. 1UP yours, 1UP FM, the show and the rest of the podcasts have been cancelled, silencing one of the most professional, hard working and passionate teams in the industry.
With much left to say, everybody wishes all the 1UP crew (those leaving and those staying) the best and let's hope you guys find new ways to confirm weekends.