In part four of our Super Street Fighter 4 Profiles series, Capcom Special Advisor Seth Killian gives us the inside scoop on Cody. What does the Street Fighter expert like about the jailhouse scrapper, and what does he think are the warrior's big weaknesses?
Editor's note: Matthew examines the appeal of Super Mario Bros., and finds that even today's young whippersnappers find it irresistible. At least the ones with good taste. -Demian
An unfortunate lesson that you're quick to learn when you become a "responsible" adult is that your game-buying habits regress to when you were a kid: You basically have to scam, beg, borrow, or otherwise simply wait for a holiday or birthday. On top of my Christmas wish list this year is New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a game that, if reviews are to be believed, could very well be the second coming of video game Christ.
Since I have to be patient just like my kids, I thought I'd give myself a little refresher on all that is Mario by starting from the beginning: Super Mario Bros. Little did I know that what was supposed to be a time-wasting exercise to pass the days until the new hotness arrived would turn into a deep appreciation for what Nintendo accomplished, and that I can, in fact, fearlessly use the word classic when describing a video game without a hint of derision.
I didn't realize that, considering its status as a landmark in the gaming world, we all make subliminal comparisons to Super Mario Bros. when playing other titles because it was the first one to feel right. Even after 25 years, jumping our pudgy protagonist across bottomless pits gives a sense of euphoria nearly each and every time he clears one.
Read more >>Today, Capcom Special Advisor to Super Street Fighter 4 Seth Killian introduces us to Juri, one of the new faces in the World Warrior lineup. Unlike T. Hawk and DeeJay, she doesn't have a Super Street Fighter 2 background for players to look into. No problem, though -- Killian gives us the inside scoop on the versatile (and limber) fighter. Read on to see what the SF expert likes about the newest addition to the series and what her potential weaknesses are.
Yesterday, Capcom's Special Advisor to Super Street Fighter 4 Seth Killian broke down T. Hawk for us. Today, he opens up about the other series veteran returning for this spring 2010 release, DeeJay. Let's see what Killian likes about the revamped dancing Jamaican -- and what his new weaknesses might be.
Seth Killian knows his Street Fighter so well, some Japanese guys asked him to help develop their games. Killian, Capcom's manager of community, is now also the company's "Special Advisor to Street Fighter 4 and Super Street Fighter 4" -- yes, that's all part of his business-card-busting title -- because he can talk frames, discuss priorities, and shoryuken with the best of them.
Although he failed our 5HP quiz miserably, he's still more qualified to talk about SSF4 than we are. So this week, we're going to get his thoughts on the newly revealed cast so far (what he likes about them, what World Warriors they'll have trouble going up against, etc.), starting with a giant fighter we haven't seen in a while....
Sidewalk fighting? Pfft -- no one cares. How about house fighting? A domestic drag! But fighting on the street? Hot damn -- now that's just super. Capcom's Community Manager Seth Killian knows all about raising dukes on the public pavement. In fact, Mr. Killian has such an extensive knowledge of outside butt-kicking that we made our five random questions extra difficult this time.
So let's find out if he can weather our hurricane kicks....
Read more >>
My buddy Cesar Quintero over at Area 5 once told me a story about how he waited patiently for a wedding to start in Fallout 3 -- just so he could nuke everyone in attendance. He also told me about several other acts of horror that he'd committed in the open-world, do-anything-you-want-including-stuff-you-probably-shouldn't RPG, so that got me thinking:
People sure know how to act like a-holes when given the means.
(Hey, I'm not judging -- I did get the Achievement for planting a live grenade in someone's back pocket in the same game.)
So, for fun and curiosity's sake, we asked some of our game-industry friends what sort of sick, depraved, evil video-game deeds that they try to get away with when no one's looking (and sometimes, even when someone is), starting with the guys who made the wedding-slaughter simulator. And don't forget to share your own terrible tales in the comments below.
Read more >>
Editor's note: The state of Japanese game development is an interesting subject. It's weird that, right now, I'm enjoying two very different RPG experiences -- one from Japan (Demon's Souls), and one from American (Dragon Age). And I'm really digging the Japanese game. Are you troubled by the state of Japanese development? -Jason
The 2009 Tokyo Game Show's over and done with, and very little big news came out of the event. Sadly, instead of returning to the U.S. excited about what's on the horizon from the country that used to be the de-facto leader of the gaming world, the press slunk back, seemingly dismayed at the state of development in Japan.
Even with huge titles like Final Fantasy 13 and The Last Guardian on the way, a pall hovers above the Japanese horizon because their leadership in the games realm seems to be coming to an end.
In a September 28 post, Brian Crecente of Kotaku.com said that this year's TGS revealed "an industry scrambling to stay relevant in an increasingly Westernized gaming world."
Crecente's story went on to say that "Capcom's famed developer Keiji Inafune, the man behind such hits as Mega Man, Onimusha, and Dead Rising, warned that Japanese game development has one foot in the grave."
Read more >>
Sometimes, it can take a good decade to get a decent interview.
It's OK -- we're patient people.
In 1999, Bernie Stolar's Japanese bosses let him go as President and COO of Sega of America -- right before the launch of a system he helped create.
Now, 10 years later, he talks to Bitmob about his ouster, how Sega dropped the ball on the Dreamcast after he left, EA's attempted bullying of Visual Concepts, what he thinks about today's Sega (it's not good), and a huge corporate prank he pulled on Sony -- one of the greatest the industry's ever seen.
Bitmob: If we could send you back in time, with the benefit of hindsight, what would you do to make the Dreamcast survive and thrive?
Read more >>
Editor's note: How much of an effect does Metacritic's aggregate scores have on games? I've always wondered about this, but I've never analyzed the data. Luckily, Rob has, and he's sharing his examination of Metacritic scores and sales for May 2009 with us. -Jason
The September 2009 issue of Game Informer published a feature discussing the merits of review aggregator Metacritic through the lens of Glen Schofield, former general manager for Visceral Games, which developed and released Dead Space late last year.
Central to Schofield’s complaint is a lone score of 65 that caused the Xbox 360 version of Dead Space’s aggregate Metacritic score to drop one point from 90 to 89. Schofield states that “the difference between an 89 and a 90 is a big-ass deal.”
Games journalist Mitch Krpata criticized the article, claiming that Game Informer was calling for reviewers to inflate scores in order to keep the Metacritic aggregate high. Whether or not Game Informer actually implied such is irrelevant to the observation that review score inflation would be at the detriment of the gaming public.
However, we all know that publishers use Metacritic scores to pressure developers by tying those scores to monetary compensation. Are publishers justified in using Metacritic in such a way? I decided to investigate the issue by tracking game sales and their accompanying Metacritic scores to find out the relationship between the two.
Read more >>
Editor's note: Rob makes some interesting points about the things video game designers can learn from board games. A lot of developers do play board games -- they're gamers all around by nature. Wonder if they ever take any clues from them like Rob would like them to? -Shoe
It’s official -- the board game Space Hulk is being re-released to the public.
I’ve previously written about my affection for one video game adaptation, Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels, but this revelation got me thinking about what makes a board game so compelling and what their digital counterparts can learn from them.
Read more >>
Editor's Note: Get confused whenever you get ready to fire up one of your favorite multiplayer games or when you're trying to figure out if you have enough Xbox Live Points to buy the latest downloadable treat? Andrew Hiscock shares some of the things he feels are most confusing about games today. -Jason
Videogame players have a remarkable ability to decipher complicated phenomena. Take your average videogame website. If you can navigate IGN.com, you deserve an honorary degree in geography. These skills are developed in dealing with our chosen hobby. User interfaces, hardware connectivity, and even the very games we play have developed a new tier of problem solving for humanity.
Should the world at large ever take these skills seriously, they would find a readily available segment of the population ready to be air-traffic controllers, IT consultants, and mediators for Middle East peace talks. If you can figure out any of the phenomena listed below, you'll be able to impress any old professor of quantum mechanics.
Read more >>
Home
