TGIF!!

Another quick blog to dish out my ( late ) RE5 Impressions...

RE4 was the first RE game I played and it blew me away. The graphics were great, the action was intense, and the story/atmosphere was creepy. Easily one of the best ( if not the best ) games last gen.

So RE5 was a "MUST BUY" for me even before it was ever announced. And then Capcom dropped thebomb on gamers: Co-op Centered Gameplay ! If you've read my blog before, then you probably know I'm a huge co-op fan(atic). Thus, you can my excitement level for RE5 going through the roof.

I've had RE5 for almost a month now, but I plan to play RE5 only in co-op and my co-op bud has been busy up until last week. So far, we've got mid-way through the 2nd chapter. And the only reason it's taken me this long to play RE5 is because I was trying ( and ultimately failing ) on clearing out THE BACKLOG.

RE5 IMPRESSIONS:

• Gameplay is very RE4, meaning there is no simultaneous moving & shooting. So you can either accept that and enjoy the game ( like I have ) or let it be a deal breaker for you.
• Co-op is sweet. Teamwork is crucial to surviving. Easily rivals Gears of War in co-op qualitygameplay.
• Graphics are the best I've seen yet this gen . The character modelsare detailed and the animations are fluid. The environments & enemies are detailed enough to freak me out. Simply a beautiful game.
• Audio deisgn is superb. Hearing all the enemies surround you iscreepy. The voice acting is solid...good enough to not be distracting.
• This game will kick your ass. We are playing on Normal Difficulty and while we haven't got stuck yet, RE5 is no cakewalk. Love it!

If you can't tell alreayd, I'm loving RE5. I hope to finish this game within a couple weeks or so.

Over the next couple of weeks, these will be the games I'll be playing:

• RE5 - X360
• SFIV - PS3
• Bioshock - X360
• KillZone2
• FNR4 - PS3

Hit me up if you want to game.

Thanks for reading my blog

Sup. Just a real quick blog to post my SFIV review. I've been playing a ton of this game on PS3 the past 2 weeks. I finally got in some online matches and now feel comfortable reviewing the game.

Here is what GameSpot had to say about SFIV, all of which I bascially agree with:

Onto my review:

STREET FIGHTER IV REVIEW

To many old SFII vets (like myself), the SF series (and the VS series)over the years had become too complex to enjoy. And in return, the SF franchise (and the fighting genre in general) lost a ton of popularity and mindshare among gamers.

Capcom wisely noticed this trend and did a reboot of the franchise with SFIV, returning it back to it's SFII roots. It's plainfully obvious that SFIV is geared more towards SFII vets than SFIII / SF Alpha / Marvel vs Capcom vets.

LOVED

SFII Roots / Gameplay: If you played SFII back in the 90s, then SFIV is going to immediately feel comfortable to you. All the characters you know & loved return and control basically the same. Once you adjust to the new engine, you'll find that nearly all of your SFII strategies still work.

Graphics: The fighters & stages are gorgeous and colorful 3D models. The animations are fluid. The effects for special abilities like fireballs & 100-hand slap are beatiful to watch. And even the fighters themselves are very expressive (like right before they're about to get hit with an Ultra Combo) throughout each match.

SFIV is just a great looking game. Easily one of the best looking games this gen.

Audio Design: It's kinda weird to think about a 2D fighting game having immersive audio, but SFIV nails it. On a surround sound system, you'll hear each attack, block, Super/Ultra combo and even stage background in crystal clear Dolby Digital glory.

Online Gaming: Of the 30 or so matches I've played over PSN thus far, only about 3 had some lag. Overall, a very seemless, lag-free experience.

Training: There's plenty of Single Player stuff to do in SFIV, all of which help you become a better fighter. There's nine unlockable characters and there's a Challenge Mode to hone your skills. Enough to keep you busy for a while before jumping online.

HATED

Soundtrack: Not only is SFIV's theme song downright irritating, but you also hear it far too often. Very J-Pop. ugh.....makes me really miss the X360's custom soundtrack feature.

Lack of Tourney Mode: How did this awesome and nearly essential feature (which by the way, was included in SFII HD Remix) get left out? How? Needs to be patched in ASAP

Cheap Boss: Yeah, this complaint is universal for every fighting game, but SFIV's boss (Seth) is incredibly cheap. Even on the easiest difficulty, Seth can make you very frustrated.

CONCLUSION

SFIV is the game I dreamt aboutwhen I was a kid playing SFII in Arcades and on my SNES. Everything about SFIV from the precise controls to gorgeous graphics to the fluid animation prove that this game is a work of love by Capcom. They have brought SF franchise back to the forefront of gaming, let alone the fighting genre.

The only real issue I have with SFIV is the lack of tournament mode. Online matches, otherwise, are flawless. Hopefully, it gets patched in soon.

I can honestly see myself playing SFIV for the rest of this generation (or until SF5 comes out).

Not to be missed by any fighting genre fan.

SCORE: 9.5 / 10.0

Time Played: About 20hrs

Trophy Detail: I don't know ...maybe 12 trophies so far and counting

That's it for now. I'll be playing SFIV for the rest of the week.

If you have SFIV for PS3, then let's game.

I normally don't do the "New Years Resolution" thing because, well, it doesnt' work (or at least, hasn't worked for me). Life gets in the way. But for some odd reason, I decided to do a couple of New Year's Resolutions this year.

GAMING RESOLUTION: STATUS = FAIL

My first resolution for 2009 was to finish all my games before buying any new games. Admirable cause, right? Something most gamers can relate to, right?

I was doing damn good on this resolution until my friend & I agreed to split the cost of a PS3 ( his only console ) game. I mean, I was down to 3 games ( Bioshock, Mario Galaxy, and Dead Space ) in THE BACKLOG until this weekend. So damn close.....

But on Saturday I went in GameStop to buy the game we agreed upon and I was told they had a couple weekend-only specials running:

• Buy 2 Used Games, Get 1 Free
• Extra $10 trade-in value for every 3 games you trade-in

Good deals, huh? Since I was already going to buy a used ( PS3 ) game, I could get 2 more (used) games for the price of one game. And because I had been clearing out THE BACKLOG , I had about 9 games I could trade in.

In the end, after all the trade-ins and deals, I got these 3 games below for $22 total !! Other than failing on my resolution to clear THE BACKLOG, I was damn happy about this deal.

Uncharted was a game I played back in 2007 over Christmas vacation at my brother's house. Great game with awesome graphics, but I kinda rushed through the game so I could finish it in the3 days I was visiting.

I'd been wanting to re-play Uncharted for a while now. So I was happy my friend agreed to split the game's cost with me. I'm going to let my friend play Uncharted first....which means I'll probably get to re-play the game right before Uncharted2 launches.

RE5 was one of those games where I knew I was going to buy it before it was ever announced because of how awesome RE4 was last gen. The fact that RE5 is meant to be played co-op only served to make the game even more of a "MUST BUY" for me.

I convinced another friend of mine ( who only owns an X360 ) to pick up this game since we had a great time with the RE5 demo. I can't wait to play this game. Co-Op + Survival Horror = EPIC WIN (in my book)

SF IV seemed like godsend to old school SFII junkies ( like myself ) when it launch earlier this year. Capcom wisely went back to what made Street Fighter so incredibly popular back in the 1990s. SFIV is meant to appeal to SFII vets rather than SFIII and/or Marvel vs Capcom vets.

Here are my SFIV Impressions so far:

• Controls / Gameplay feel just like SFII, with some new stuff of course
• Graphics are great.....just how I dreamt SF would look like when I was a kid
• CPU is difficult
• DualShock3 holds up well for the game
• Very annoying theme song

On a side note; SFIV is the first multiplatform game I've bought for the PS3 instead ofX360 solely because of the controller. Being that it was a used game, I have a week to return it for another game. So I'm using this week to decide if I like SFIV on PS3 enough to keep it, or if I'm going to return it for the X360 version. The GameStop I bought the game at has an X360 SFIV Blanka GamePad. So I'd buy it if I got the X360 version.

So my question to you SFIV X360 owners is how do you like the game? Is there a lot of people playing the game online? Would you have bought the PS3 version instead?

WORK-OUT RESOLUTION: STATUS = FAIL

My other resolution for 2009 was to lose 20 lbs before heading up to New York with my family for a week in June. I've only lost 6 lbs so far, so I failed

I'm still working-out and playing racquetball on a regular basis, but damn, it's difficult to work-out like I want to when I have a 9mo old baby and a house & yard to take care of. I guess I just need to start running in the mornings again.....ugh...

Well, that's it for now. I'm going to be playing a ton of SFIV this week. If you have the game on PS3, then let's game.

Thanks for reading my blog