The Summer Fling series.
Part 1: Cool Summer
Part 2: Flipside
And while we're at it, here be a link to the official StuffMax channel, on le U-TOOB.
Clicky!
Keep an eye out for part three. It be on it's way.
Yep.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Le Parkour!
So, I finally got around to cranking out a few videos representing myself and my friends doing the fine art of le parkour. Freerunning. Jumping on stuff. Whatever it is that you want to call it! Check em out.
The Summer Fling series.
Part 1: Cool Summer
Part 2: Flipside
And while we're at it, here be a link to the official StuffMax channel, on le U-TOOB.
Clicky!
Keep an eye out for part three. It be on it's way.
Yep.
The Summer Fling series.
Part 1: Cool Summer
Part 2: Flipside
And while we're at it, here be a link to the official StuffMax channel, on le U-TOOB.
Clicky!
Keep an eye out for part three. It be on it's way.
Yep.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
DmC demo thoughts.
I am a long time, big time Devil May Cry fan. Played through and loved 1 and 4, could care less about 2, positively worship 3.
I've been primarily against this game from moment one, but as more was released, at the very least, I became open to seeing what was on the plate before spitting on it and sending it back.
Now I've tried the appetizer. A.K.A the demo, for those not following the analogy. Here's what I thought.
Looking at it from a gameplay perspective:
The game plays like a pretty solid action game, though the holding of the triggers to switch between styles is annoying, and the shoulder mounted roll buttons feel unnatural. The lack of dedicated lock on button is also sorely missed. Despite my annoyances, the combat is still strong enough to stand on it's own as an action title. The platforming is nice, though nothing to scream home about. The sections where the world tries to kill you have no sense of urgency, though. At no point did I feel I had to hurry to avoid dying. This held true in combat as well. Even on the harder difficulties, the demo holds little challenge, and enemies move like trained circus animals, making them ridiculously easy to avoid and toy with. The new Dante of DmC doesn't move as slowly as I thought he would, but still feels a bit slower than the games of old, which is slightly disappointing.
As a successor to the Devil May Cry franchise, however, the gameplay feels somewhat... lacking. Now, I understand that this is but a demo, so at some point I'll have to get hands on the full moveset before I let this be set in stone for me, but between the (currently) small movelist, slower paced combat, easier enemies and an overall feeling of a lack of gameplay fluidity, the game doesn't seem to be holding up. This goes double if your natural instinct is to try and play as if this was DMC (capital M for differentiation) and not this newer, but unfortunately not better edition. The playstyles simply don't mesh beyond triangle to slash and square to shoot.
And from an aesthetic/overall feel standpoint:
The game doesn't much remind me of a DMC game, but whatever feel the game is trying to achieve that isn't a DMC game, it's doing well. Everything about the in game world seems well thought out and planned to match the overall grungy, dirty feel of the game, which is good. The menus and little touches to the HUD and score meter portrayed as smudges and splashes are somewhat nice, alongside the sickly color scheme of the whole game. The game has moments of extremely minor slowdown during shifts in viewpoint during a cutscene, which, while not a huge issue, is somewhat marring.
New Dante himself feels like a cocky little snot, but he also seems somewhat insecure, as if he's trying hard to be this extra tough guy, since he doesn't know what the hell he is, which I imagine was the intention, if this is in fact an origin and coming of age story. It's not my favorite portrayal of that character type, and I definitely don't like it as a portrayal of Dante, but that's more due to enjoying Dante circa 3 and 4 so much. His old school unabashed cheesiness went over better with me than this new false confidence tough guy.
I sincerely dislike the way the demons are portrayed, however. Visually, they are a stunning, grotesque sight, which is totally cool. But they speak as if simple, crude humans. Now I don't mind the simple, or the crude. It's the human that I mind. I would assume there are demon language versions of the insults slung back and forth between the boss character and Dante, but instead, she resorts to simple human swearwords. I think that would have been much cooler if Ninja Theory had created a demon vernacular with demon swear words to be used in an equally crude fashion instead, separating the rock bottom demons from the top rank, cool as a cucumber demon lords.
I also really just don't like the battle music.
I do, however, hope they expand significantly on the back story, or at the very least, the story is paced far better than it is in the demo. Because the whole thing seems like an aimless mess that's attempting to be a sharp and gritty analogy for the world we live in. And failing in most senses, coming across more as snooty and overbearing. Anvilicious, even.
And that's pretty unfortunate, considering the overall idea of the reboot is to try and establish it as a serious work of art as opposed to a cheesy fun video game.
The most unfortunate part of the whole thing is that it's attempting to carry the Devil May Cry name without any of the Devil May Cry soul. That really brings the whole shebang down for me.
All in all, I doubt very highly I'll be purchasing this alternate Devil may Cry. If someone were to pick it up for me, I'd probably give it a go, but I don't believe it's worth my money.
(That was the most unbiased version of this demo review I could give. My inner fanboy screams with tightly bridled hatred and longing for vengeance against the fiends who have ruined my beloved series... But that's not important at the moment.)
Yep.
I've been primarily against this game from moment one, but as more was released, at the very least, I became open to seeing what was on the plate before spitting on it and sending it back.
Now I've tried the appetizer. A.K.A the demo, for those not following the analogy. Here's what I thought.
Looking at it from a gameplay perspective:
The game plays like a pretty solid action game, though the holding of the triggers to switch between styles is annoying, and the shoulder mounted roll buttons feel unnatural. The lack of dedicated lock on button is also sorely missed. Despite my annoyances, the combat is still strong enough to stand on it's own as an action title. The platforming is nice, though nothing to scream home about. The sections where the world tries to kill you have no sense of urgency, though. At no point did I feel I had to hurry to avoid dying. This held true in combat as well. Even on the harder difficulties, the demo holds little challenge, and enemies move like trained circus animals, making them ridiculously easy to avoid and toy with. The new Dante of DmC doesn't move as slowly as I thought he would, but still feels a bit slower than the games of old, which is slightly disappointing.
As a successor to the Devil May Cry franchise, however, the gameplay feels somewhat... lacking. Now, I understand that this is but a demo, so at some point I'll have to get hands on the full moveset before I let this be set in stone for me, but between the (currently) small movelist, slower paced combat, easier enemies and an overall feeling of a lack of gameplay fluidity, the game doesn't seem to be holding up. This goes double if your natural instinct is to try and play as if this was DMC (capital M for differentiation) and not this newer, but unfortunately not better edition. The playstyles simply don't mesh beyond triangle to slash and square to shoot.
And from an aesthetic/overall feel standpoint:
The game doesn't much remind me of a DMC game, but whatever feel the game is trying to achieve that isn't a DMC game, it's doing well. Everything about the in game world seems well thought out and planned to match the overall grungy, dirty feel of the game, which is good. The menus and little touches to the HUD and score meter portrayed as smudges and splashes are somewhat nice, alongside the sickly color scheme of the whole game. The game has moments of extremely minor slowdown during shifts in viewpoint during a cutscene, which, while not a huge issue, is somewhat marring.
New Dante himself feels like a cocky little snot, but he also seems somewhat insecure, as if he's trying hard to be this extra tough guy, since he doesn't know what the hell he is, which I imagine was the intention, if this is in fact an origin and coming of age story. It's not my favorite portrayal of that character type, and I definitely don't like it as a portrayal of Dante, but that's more due to enjoying Dante circa 3 and 4 so much. His old school unabashed cheesiness went over better with me than this new false confidence tough guy.
I sincerely dislike the way the demons are portrayed, however. Visually, they are a stunning, grotesque sight, which is totally cool. But they speak as if simple, crude humans. Now I don't mind the simple, or the crude. It's the human that I mind. I would assume there are demon language versions of the insults slung back and forth between the boss character and Dante, but instead, she resorts to simple human swearwords. I think that would have been much cooler if Ninja Theory had created a demon vernacular with demon swear words to be used in an equally crude fashion instead, separating the rock bottom demons from the top rank, cool as a cucumber demon lords.
I also really just don't like the battle music.
I do, however, hope they expand significantly on the back story, or at the very least, the story is paced far better than it is in the demo. Because the whole thing seems like an aimless mess that's attempting to be a sharp and gritty analogy for the world we live in. And failing in most senses, coming across more as snooty and overbearing. Anvilicious, even.
And that's pretty unfortunate, considering the overall idea of the reboot is to try and establish it as a serious work of art as opposed to a cheesy fun video game.
The most unfortunate part of the whole thing is that it's attempting to carry the Devil May Cry name without any of the Devil May Cry soul. That really brings the whole shebang down for me.
All in all, I doubt very highly I'll be purchasing this alternate Devil may Cry. If someone were to pick it up for me, I'd probably give it a go, but I don't believe it's worth my money.
(That was the most unbiased version of this demo review I could give. My inner fanboy screams with tightly bridled hatred and longing for vengeance against the fiends who have ruined my beloved series... But that's not important at the moment.)
Yep.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Mission... Complete!
And so Stuffimus Maximus presents it's first Anime/Animated Music Video!
Finally!
A 20th Anniversary Tribute to the Blue Blur. Pretty damn late, but better late than never.
Enjoy.
(In case you missed it, the "Finally!" was the link. Just "saiyan".)
Finally!
A 20th Anniversary Tribute to the Blue Blur. Pretty damn late, but better late than never.
Enjoy.
(In case you missed it, the "Finally!" was the link. Just "saiyan".)
Finally! (Tribulation's End)
And so, as of 2 days ago, I have finally defeated the wall of evil stopping my attempt to complete this damn AMV. I am pleased beyond belief. Soon enough, it shall be on the U-TOOB, and I will be able to end this thing once and for all.
Update to come once the upload is complete.
Update to come once the upload is complete.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
...Hate. (The continued Trials and Tribulations of the AMV)
For quite some time now, I've been diligently hoping that at some point, the AMV I've been working on would be recovered from the hard drive of evil that threatened it's very existence. Apparently, I was hoping for too much. Apparently, rather than attempting to recover the hard drive, the poor thing was, I shit you not, shot to pieces like a skeet disc.
The sorrow is infinite.
That may well have been my single greatest AMV work of all time, and now it is lost forever. Even if I were to remake it, which I eventually will, I sincerely doubt I can catch the same intense spirit I caught before. I am saddened beyond belief by the idea of this.
FUCK.
That aside, to hell with Midtown Comics. There's a sale for 25% off of apparel, and the two shirts I want most at the moment, they only have in 2XL. I don't fit a fucking 2XL. Every other fucking shirt, they want to have in my size (a large, for those curious) but I can't get a damn Spider-Man shirt?!
I traveled to 3 different Midtown Comics locations, and not a single damn one of them has it unless it's 2XL?!
Kingdom Come Superman logo shirt, I can understand being hard to find, but Spider-Man?! Are you serious?!?
Fuck you, Midtown Comics.
The sorrow is infinite.
That may well have been my single greatest AMV work of all time, and now it is lost forever. Even if I were to remake it, which I eventually will, I sincerely doubt I can catch the same intense spirit I caught before. I am saddened beyond belief by the idea of this.
FUCK.
That aside, to hell with Midtown Comics. There's a sale for 25% off of apparel, and the two shirts I want most at the moment, they only have in 2XL. I don't fit a fucking 2XL. Every other fucking shirt, they want to have in my size (a large, for those curious) but I can't get a damn Spider-Man shirt?!
I traveled to 3 different Midtown Comics locations, and not a single damn one of them has it unless it's 2XL?!
Kingdom Come Superman logo shirt, I can understand being hard to find, but Spider-Man?! Are you serious?!?
Fuck you, Midtown Comics.
Review Shi!
As in Shi, the japanese number four. I think I'm going to count my reviews in a different language for as long as I can. Or until I get bored...
Anywho!
Today's review iiiiiiis:
Street Fighter X Tekken seems to boast a watercolor/lava/blood influenced art style, which, combined with it's music pacing, serves to present a pulse pounding, exciting experience once the game gets going. When you first turn on the game, the opening cinematic you're treated with is a combination of all of the CG trailers, but cut together very well to mesh with the music. At times, however, the shading style gets to be something of an eyesore.
The game's story is presented via text assisted pictures, much like the prologues and epilogues in the Tekken series. While this is great for keeping things short and sweet, there aren't enough bits and pieces of exposition in other aspects of the game to really provide any depth.
When fighting, flashing lights and zoom in camera angles keep fights intense, and the music picks up in speed as rounds progress, really helping the immersion and hype in the fight.
The game modes are fairly standard for a current gen fighter, with arcade, versus, trial and online. I miss the days of survival mode and time attack, and whatever extra modes there were, but they are a thing of the past. However, the game does kick things up with two four player options; regular tag mode with four players, and Scramble mode, which allows four players to get in on the action at the same time in team against team all out brawl. While not the best competitive option, the mode provides hours of fun as the most intense matches break out.
Personally, I'm most impressed by how well the Tekken characters translate to the Street Fighter art style, fighting right in side by side with the Street Fighter cast while still maintaining the distinct and diverse Tekken flair.
In all, the package comes together quite nicely.
8.0/10: The game's presentation has a few flaws, but as a whole, it's quite bueno, doing an excellent job of wanting to keep you fighting.
Graphically, the game is very fluid, with strikes, blasts and super attacks all accompanied by various spark and trail effects, making all of the fights as visually exciting as they are fun. Characters are expressive, and move in a very distinctive style, one cultivated over various iterations of Street Fighter IV. That in mind, however, if you've played any of the games in that series, then understand that the graphics aren't much more impressive than that. It's sort of like they took a new coat of paint to those older graphics.
7.0/10: On it's own merits, the graphics for the game are very nice, with rarely a stutter or drop in framerate. But the graphics have not progressed significantly since Street Fighter IV, and for anyone looking, it shows.
All of the hits, thuds and slams come across in true Capcom form in this game, with yells of "Hadouken" and "Shoryuken" ringing out clear as a bell. The voice work is pretty damn good, and the ability to individually choose each character's vocal language is a nice bonus, though one quickly becoming a Capcom standard.
The music in this game, however, is nothing particularly notable; there are only a few standout tracks, and while they're nice to hear and helpful for the game's atmosphere, I've heard much better work from Capcom, and the lack of memorable music as something of a disappointment.
6.5/10: The game's sound effects are top notch as is expected, but the musical selection is sincerely wanting.
Street Fighter x Tekken plays with a basic 6 button configuration; three punch buttons, three kick buttons, with a light, medium and heavy variant for each. The game primarily runs on the concept of "Cross Gameplay", or the art of abusing switching and using your teammate. Characters are capable of switching on the fly, or by use of a "Launcher" attack, that sends your opponent into the air, and tags in the teammate.
There are also techniques for switching in your teammate in the middle of using an attack to extend your combo. Huge damage is dealt when you use the "Cross Assault", which sics both teammates on an opponent at once in real time, or the "Cross Art", which is the SFxT variant of a Super or Ultra combo, a cinematic where both teammates thrash on the opponent for a bit using some of their strongest attacks.
Throw in some cool new string techniques such as one button quick combos, and the dial-a-combo Cross Rush (performed by stringing low, medium and high attacks together, then hitting high one more time to link into a Launcher), and you have a pretty solid and fun experience.
The game plays solidly and smoothly, with buttons reading accurately, and translating to the screen smoothly. Good stuff.
10/10: Honestly, there really isn't any issue with the controls. The game controls smoothly and intuitively, and between the tutorial and trial modes, the game provides a pretty easy transitional opening to the more advanced techniques of the game.
And so it comes down to it, the part which stands most important. The whole reason the game is played. the fun factor.
Street Fighter x Tekken is great fun, especially if you have a good group of friends to play with, or a hankering for some online beatdowns. Unfortunately, the game can get stale pretty fast if you're not hard into fighting games, but if you're a throwdown aficionado, then this game can definitely entertain you for hours on end.
7.5/10: A great romp for anyone into fighting games, but can get stale fast, especially if you played Street Fighter IV FAR too often...
And now... To the score! Wait... First, I direct you to the top of the post just in case you need to review the Fighting Game Guidelines just one last time. NOW THE SCORE!
A solidly enjoyable slugfest thoroughly being hindered and railed on by bad press for Capcom (entirely deserved on their part. Fuck Capcom.) due to their DLC practices, I would recommend this game in a heartbeat. Just because Capcom as a whole is one collective asshole doesn't mean thatg the game sucks. It should be judged on it's own merit. But don't expect me to listen to these reasonable words when DmC: Devil may Cry comes out. Fuck that game, Fuck Ninja Theory, and Fuck Capcom.
'Till next time!
Anywho!
Today's review iiiiiiis:
 |
| The clash of the decade! Well... One of 'em anyway... |
Street Fighter X Tekken!
Yes indeed, a long awaited clash of fighting game titans, Street Fighter X Tekken is a multiplatform fighting game. It's one of a pair; this one is helmed by Capcom, while the opposing game, Tekken X Street Fighter, will be brought about by Namco. Much like the last game I reviewed, this game is a monstrous collaborative effort. But, the question is, does this fighter pack any punch? Let's find out.
Now. Before I go on to this review, I feel I must point towards the Fighting Game Guidelines! Because there are, in fact, some changes to the review style for games of this genre, and I just want to be sure anyone reading is up to date, and isn't wondering "What the hell? Where's the rest of the review?!"
It's all good.
Reviews, away!
Presentation
 |
| A fight I never thought I would see happen... |
The game's story is presented via text assisted pictures, much like the prologues and epilogues in the Tekken series. While this is great for keeping things short and sweet, there aren't enough bits and pieces of exposition in other aspects of the game to really provide any depth.
When fighting, flashing lights and zoom in camera angles keep fights intense, and the music picks up in speed as rounds progress, really helping the immersion and hype in the fight.
Personally, I'm most impressed by how well the Tekken characters translate to the Street Fighter art style, fighting right in side by side with the Street Fighter cast while still maintaining the distinct and diverse Tekken flair.
In all, the package comes together quite nicely.
8.0/10: The game's presentation has a few flaws, but as a whole, it's quite bueno, doing an excellent job of wanting to keep you fighting.
Graphics
 |
| Definitely in yo' face. |
7.0/10: On it's own merits, the graphics for the game are very nice, with rarely a stutter or drop in framerate. But the graphics have not progressed significantly since Street Fighter IV, and for anyone looking, it shows.
Sound
 |
| Thst's gonna sting! |
The music in this game, however, is nothing particularly notable; there are only a few standout tracks, and while they're nice to hear and helpful for the game's atmosphere, I've heard much better work from Capcom, and the lack of memorable music as something of a disappointment.
6.5/10: The game's sound effects are top notch as is expected, but the musical selection is sincerely wanting.
Controls
 |
| Light Punch! |
Street Fighter x Tekken plays with a basic 6 button configuration; three punch buttons, three kick buttons, with a light, medium and heavy variant for each. The game primarily runs on the concept of "Cross Gameplay", or the art of abusing switching and using your teammate. Characters are capable of switching on the fly, or by use of a "Launcher" attack, that sends your opponent into the air, and tags in the teammate.
There are also techniques for switching in your teammate in the middle of using an attack to extend your combo. Huge damage is dealt when you use the "Cross Assault", which sics both teammates on an opponent at once in real time, or the "Cross Art", which is the SFxT variant of a Super or Ultra combo, a cinematic where both teammates thrash on the opponent for a bit using some of their strongest attacks.
The game plays solidly and smoothly, with buttons reading accurately, and translating to the screen smoothly. Good stuff.
10/10: Honestly, there really isn't any issue with the controls. The game controls smoothly and intuitively, and between the tutorial and trial modes, the game provides a pretty easy transitional opening to the more advanced techniques of the game.
Fun Factor
And so it comes down to it, the part which stands most important. The whole reason the game is played. the fun factor.
 |
| Shoryuken! |
 |
| And I re-iterate. |
And now... To the score! Wait... First, I direct you to the top of the post just in case you need to review the Fighting Game Guidelines just one last time. NOW THE SCORE!
THE VERDICT!
Street Fighter X Tekken scores a
39.0
A HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHTER!
Applauso.
A solidly enjoyable slugfest thoroughly being hindered and railed on by bad press for Capcom (entirely deserved on their part. Fuck Capcom.) due to their DLC practices, I would recommend this game in a heartbeat. Just because Capcom as a whole is one collective asshole doesn't mean thatg the game sucks. It should be judged on it's own merit. But don't expect me to listen to these reasonable words when DmC: Devil may Cry comes out. Fuck that game, Fuck Ninja Theory, and Fuck Capcom.
 |
| But not Ryu and Ken. They're cool. At all times. |
'Till next time!
Friday, August 3, 2012
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