The following is a teaser for the Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is set to come out next year.
Paul Dini, creator of the classic Batman: The Animated series is writing the story. Additionally B:TAS vets Kevin Conroy (Bruce Wayne/Batman) and Mark Hamil (The Joker) will reprise their roles for the game.
As both an avid comic book fan and a gamer, I think this could shape up to be a unique superhero gaming experience. The best we've had is the free roaming in Spider-Man's adventures, but there's such a breadth of material and experiences out there. We haven't even scratched the surface.
This may be DC's first great game. Although, with DC's track record, even a good game will look positively glowing in comparison.
I often suffer epileptic flashbacks of Superman 64. I have my good days and my bad days, but the medication helps.
These days, I like to imagine the execs over at Sony each have their own cavernous office where they sit and plot in a manner not unlike Montgomery Burns. After last week, it's probably not too difficult to hear the chorus of "Eeexcellent" around the Sony offices.
Why, you ask?
Microsoft unleashed their new dashboard upon the world last week. Among it's new bells and whistles is the ability to access Netflix and stream movies. Scores of gamers logged on only to discover some films wouldn't work. Turns out films such as Superbad and The Karate Kid have a little something in common: they're all Columbia Pictures films.
Columbia Pictures is owned by Sony.
I'm going to let that sink in for a moment.
When I first read of this, my jaw just dropped followed by my uttering of "Balls...awesome."I was on the phone with Bryant, who was talking to me about....something. I immediately shut him up to recite this news post at IGN, trying as best I could to hold in my laughter.
Of course, as "Tycho" from Penny Arcade states " You can use MediaMall's PlayOn to restore this functionality to your box, along with the other cool channels it has available. I don't know why people ever, ever try to stop nerds from doing things. It's really the most incredible waste of time."
While I do agree with this sentiment, as a Sony fan, the principal of the whole thing wins the day for me. Sony's blatant middle finger to Microsoft is perhaps one of the more magnificent public cockblocks in recent memory.
And the fact that Sony made no announcement beforehand makes it all the more sweeter. I imagine those execs in their offices poised with fingertips extended as they watched their screens and simply waited for the dashboard launch.
What balls.
Now, for fuck's sake, guys...give us Home already!
So the launch week of Shoryuken! went pretty smoothly. We still have a few ideas we're trying to work out, but we're very gracious towards anyone who's given us a read and participated so far.
We've been added to the blog roll of Sparkle City Blogs, a project by Steve Shanafelt that compiles local blogs in our native Spartanburg, SC. So if you're in the area, definitely give him a shout out and he'll include you. This particular club's all inclusive.
Since you're here, do our friends over at Classic Gamer Brain a solid and give them a look-see as well. These guys have been at this game for a bit longer than we have. They even have podcasts. Bastards.
Also, if you comment or have commented, it'd be a good idea to e-mail subscribe to the post. Part of entire mission here is to inspire conversation and promote community amongst gamers. While we appreciate your involvement, conversation is obviously more than saying one thing. We definitely intend to respond to you, and others may follow suit as well. So stay and chat for a while. Bryant bites, but I'll keep you safe.
That's it, really. Just wanted to thanks those who have helped make our launch promising. It's very encouraging.
Who knew? You guys really are good for something!
Over the weekend I had planned on using what little free time I had to play through Parasite Eve and Animal Crossing but last night there was a change in plans. When I met Seth last night at Wal-Mart I decided that I finally needed to pick up a classic controller. Before this I was using a Gamecube controller to play any of my Nintendo 64 games on the Virtual Console. But, after getting tired of having to sit so close to my television just for the cord to reach the top of my Wii, I finally dropped my $19.99 and went home happy.
Thankfully this game will be out December 19th, just in time for the holiday season.
To reiterate Bryant's point, Play is one of, if not the, best English language video game magazines out there. Most certainly the best offering from the States. Other noteworthy titles are Edge and Game (or is it Gamer? I always forget). Play is written by gamers for gamers. That is not a sales pitch. Unlike magazines like Game Informer (who is partnered with GameStop), Play's not trying to whore out anything or steer you to a certain video game retailer. These people know their stuff, and while they may not always break out exclusive news on Stateside releases, they have their fingers on the pulse of video game culture and delve more into the things gamers care about.
I read Play like I was taught to read poetry. The first read is the "lost read." I skim the magazine in its entirety, only stopping to study something if something captures my complete attention. Over the course of the following weeks between issues, my exploration of Play deepens. The dense, well researched articles are a welcome pleasure to the vapid skeletal reportings often riddled with generally unfunny snark to hide the fact that the writers really don't have much to say (EGM, Game Informer). Another welcome feature is the lack of numerical ratings. Play dropped those like a bad habit in the print version (new, original website to be launched soon). You get the fleshed out review that speaks for itself instead of a judgmental numeric score that rarely reflects on the game itself. For those wishing to quickly see the writer's thoughts before choosing to delve into the review, Play writers offer a "Parting Shot" to the larger reviews.
But the most important difference between Play and nearly every other gaming publication/site is that every writer answers the most important gaming question in their review: Is this game fun?
Sure, you may able to to dart across a beautifully rendered open world and shimmy down a pole to deliver a killing blow to an unsuspecting target or watch Kat Williams on TV (WTF?) , but is it worth it? Do/Should you give a rat's ass?
The crew at Play take this heavily into consideration. For example, the resurrection of arcade and Sega Genesis classic Golden Axe for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 was universally met with rolled eyes. But Play kind of threw their hands up and said "Fuck it, this is fun."
Actually, the exact words were: "If you know who Frank Frzetta, Simon Bisley or Tarna are, or read Heavy Metal magazine, you don't need a parting shot; you need $59.99 plus tax and a car. For everybody else, if you like unsullied action games, beautiful heroines, large pissed-off beasts, or laying waste to evil undead hordes and the earth-plundering demons they work for, you will love Golden Axe: Beast Rider."
Sounds like a great time to me.
Play has everything I want in a gaming magazine: excellent, well-thought out opinions by good humored writers, people who investigate games coming (or not coming) from the game mecca of Japan, discuss gaming culture, good interviews with game developers, updates on cool swag, tech talk and just about anything I could think of outside Kristen Stewart (she has absolutely nothing to do with video games but I sort of throw her into any "Things I Want" list).
If you love video games and are looking for the right magazine or would like a snapshot of gaming culture at a particular month, I urge you: Read Play.
*Drool*
Just a quick heads up that the December 2008 issue of Play is out. Cover story on Persona 4 and balls awesome review section. Just in case anyone is unfamiliar with Play, you're really missing out. It's less camp that EGM, better written than Game Informer and often times the polar opposite of IGN. All the writers seem to have a genuine passion for what they write about and it seems to show. I'm sure that Myles and I will sing their praises more in future posts.
Just to let everyone know, I just picked up Animal Crossing: City Folk this Monday. I'll try to do a few updates when cool events happen or whatever else I deem worthy of showing off.
Shoryuken! is a blog about video games.
There goes about 75% of you right now.
The remaining 25% of you, I'm sure, are eager to read the latest in video game news, rumors, and gossip. Yeah. About that. You won't really find that here.
...and there goes another 24%.
Why, hello there 1%! I'm Myles. My cohorts and I will be delivering articles involving video games and the culture surrounding it. If you've read this far, then you likely have a similar curiosity or passion for video games...or you're really fucking bored (Yes, we swear. A lot. Deal.). Forgive the aesthetics, we're still working that out.
Now, come closer. I speak of video games...and I have beer.
Shoryuken! is a reprieve from the detrimental environment of most message boards. A place for video game conversation that's made up of a little bit more than deemings that something "sux" or "ownz." Anyone can offer a one-word review or pontificate over a zinger to tear down a game, but it's more often than not an attempt to look good in front of internet peers (or to agitate them).
We at Shoryuken! hope to spark a little life into video game conversation. There are dozens of news and rumor sites, but very few that really encourage thought about gaming. More often than not, people attempt impress their opinion upon you with their reviews.
We will too, don't you worry!
But most importantly, we want those who take the time to read what we have to say to respond. To engage themselves in conversation with those who love video games as much as you do.
Right now, the blog format suits our needs best. The future may hold a more legitamate website, or even our own *gulp* message board.
Until then, Shoryuken! as it is works for us just fine. Welcome to Shoryuken!
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