But, all things aside I finished in the top 20 (tied 17th) which is not bad at all. My other two highest finishes were when I placed 4th at NJIT, and 3rd at an admittedly low-turnout King of the Couch in Morristown. I can confidently say that my play has improved from last year. I don’t wake up unsafely as much I used to. I still have my issues with defense (I get grabbed easily and my blocking isn’t fully solid yet) however I have gotten better at avoiding some situations. On the other side of the coin, my offense has experienced the same growth. I am trying to make the transition from being a brawler to a more refined fighter. Yes, it’s a slow one with no real metric in which to measure your success, but I’ve noticed I have been winning a bit more in ranked matches online.

I finally made a return to Next Level for the big Two tournament series. I get there, I’m excited to play, but then, just my luck, I get to play a Spam ‘Rog and his cheap El Fuerte on stream . Overall, I didn’t do too bad, but I see that the potential here. I looked way better here than I did at Apex, but I’m still too inconsistent. I missed a few key punishes but I reacted well in some situations. If you’re wondering how I did in the overall tournament, I was blown up I haven’t gone 0-2 in a while so it was refreshing to be put down for once. That means I still have work to do, but just where do I get started?

Fortunately for me, Shoryuken has many posts on how to level up your game. I have been following them when I am in the lab, however I’ve just been playing online more to see what people are doing and get a feel of what I should be doing with my character. I just don’t feel that I have enough experience versus some characters or situations. Top players have been in some fight situations over and over again, and they just know what to do without wasting time to think about it. Me? I have to think. I’m also not able to accurately manage my meters without looking constantly. I still find myself peeking when I’m mid fight. I feel that if I can get better, more intuitive with my H.U.D. management then I can do things like make better reads on my opponent by looking at his life bar, super meter or even time with ease. I’ll also be able to mentally access my situations a bit better. I think the only cure for that is experience, so I have resolved to try and make it out to more local tournaments.

I think with more practice, I’ll build up the muscle memory required to not drop combos too often. I’ve made some progress, I just need to work out the kinks. I do not easily spook under pressure, it doesn’t affect me much, so I know that isn’t the problem. I however need to be able to take my comfortable, casual state of high-level play to tournaments. The transition seems to be giving me a hard time and I think that leads to my erratic play sometimes. I’ll keep working at it!

In any case, like always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on getting better. Tweet to me guys!

Role Optional Alerts and the Team Buff

Two of the exciting features we’re rolling out for Game Update 9 are Role Optional Alerts and the Team Buff. We have metrics that show us who is queuing for what, how long they’re waiting, and a number of other really useful things. As I’m sure you know when you queue for a Duo, you tend to get in and are able to start playing right away. Alerts are a different story, especially for those of you queuing for the damage role.

It has nothing to do with Duos only requiring two people. It’s that they require any two people. As is common in a lot of MMOs, there is a population disparity between the different roles. There are as many players queuing for Damage as there are all the other roles combined. Healers are the least common, followed by Tanks, and finally Controllers. So the end result is Healers don’t wait long at all, but Damage tends to wait much longer.

All Alerts are now role optional. Generally it shouldn’t take much more than a few minutes for an Alert queue to pop regardless of your role, assuming there are enough people willing to play that Alert. When the matchmaking system tries to form a group out of the pool of queued players it tries to form a balanced group first. As minutes pass, the system becomes increasingly less picky about finding a specific role for a given group slot.

The Role Optional Alert feature is made possible by the Team Buff. Any time three or more players are grouped together, within range, and in line of sight of one another, they gain a bonus to compensate for roles missing from their group.

If your group is missing a Tank, every group member gains additional damage mitigation.
If you’re missing a Healer, group members gain a small amount of Health regeneration when they begin to take damage and gain a further health regeneration boost while holding the block button when health is at critical levels.
If your group is missing a Controller you will gain a small amount of additional power regeneration when your power begins dipping low.

The buffs are by no means a replacement for having the actual role in your group. But with some self reliance, it will provide you with enough of a boost to allow you to complete the Alert successfully. The Team Buff is not applied in PvP arenas, during Legends matches, nor will it function during Duels.

The end result of this is that wait times to get into an Alert should be dramatically decreased. Provided players are queued, you should be able to get into an instance in a matter of minutes, no matter your role.

Novice Raids

In an effort to let more players experience more of the game, we’re launching Novice Raid modes for Game Update 9. Novice Raids are far less demanding than the Expert Raids. They are intended to allow more casual players and random pickup groups a chance to experience some of our best content they might not otherwise be able to experience.

The combat rating requirement is just a little bit lower for Novice Raids so you can hit them a little sooner than you can the Expert version. The content, play flow, and boss fights are identical but the fights themselves are much more forgiving. That’s not to say they will be a complete cake walk! You’ll still need to learn and execute properly on the mechanics of the boss fights if you want to succeed. Some may find Novice Raids are a great way to get some practice in while they are gearing up for the Expert versions.

Novice Raids do drop loot, however the loot will be of a lower item level. They also award the same badges, but you earn fewer of them. Novice Raids share the same lockout timer as Expert Raids, so you can’t earn loot and badges in both during the same week.

Some existing feats can be completed in either the Novice or Expert version of a Raid. However others such as the speed feats can only be completed in Expert mode. Finally we’ve also added new feats for completing the Expert version of a raid.

New Soder Colas plans available!

Plans for Soder Cola Prime and Soder Cola Max are now available for purchase from Research and Development vendors. These recover more Health and Power than a Soder Cola Extreme but provide no additional buff effect and require no Exobytes to make.

“The Bandwagon Effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with “the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have already done so”.As more people come to believe in something, others also “hop on the bandwagon” regardless of the underlying evidence. The tendency to follow the actions or beliefs of others can occur because individuals directly prefer to conform, or because individuals derive information from others. Both explanations have been used for evidence of conformity in psychological experiments. For example, social pressure has been used to explain Asch’s conformity experiments, and information has been used to explain Sherif’s autokinetic experiment.

When individuals make rational choices based on the information they receive from others, economists have proposed that information cascades can quickly form in which people decide to ignore their personal information signals and follow the behavior of others. Cascades explain why behavior is fragile—people understand that they are based on very limited information. As a result, fads form easily but are also easily dislodged. Such informational effects have been used to explain political bandwagons.”

Thanks Wikipedia <3

Note the first sign.

We’ve all seen this in action so many times before. When a team catches a hot streak at the right time everyone suddenly a fan of said team. Stadiums are full and once cheap tickets are now super expensive. If you want to see it in everyday life look at all the ‘new’ Yankees or Giants fans (sorry, I’ve never been a big football guy, but I did like the Chargers in the Junior Seau days) that pop up whenever the team is competing for the c’hip (or championship). For the purposes of this article, I’ll use three really good examples: The Miami Heat once they signed Chris Bosh and Lebron, The L.A. Clippers once they got Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups and the Golden State Warriors when they made that incredible play off run that produced highlights such as this.

After that dunk, Warriors tickets became the new thing for everyone. The Clippers are currently going through the same thing. This phenomenon is not just limited to sports, or politics, it also extends into the gaming world. Allow me to give you some background before I rage the hell out.

In fighting games picking a character is a much like picking a tool box. There are different tools in each of them for different situations, but they all serve the purpose of winning the match for your character. In most competitive games (especially fighters) people tend to pick their characters, teams, weapons, etc in usually one of three ways.

The first type of player picks by character loyalty. This means they simply like the character design so much that they play as that fighter/race/whatever for that reason alone. These people will usually use the same character over the course of multiple installments of a game. It’s like those die hard sports fans who like their team even if they’re horrible or someone who likes a band that everyone thinks is terrible. The second type of people pick their character based on whether the character-in-question’s play style fits in with their current skill level. For example, in my early Street Fighter IV days, starting off with a complex character like C.Viper wasn’t a good idea because at the time I didn’t have the execution required to play her effectively. This skill-based approach to choosing also leads them to experiment with other characters after they get to a certain level of proficiency with their main character. The third and final type are the people who pick characters because they are easier to win with, or ‘high tier’ ones, meaning they have attributes that outrank a considerable number of characters in the roster. While this may seem shameless, it is in fact a valid strategy. In the end, the game is about winning, so you pick whoever gives you the best chance of winning.

Teaching them early, huh pal?

With that said, you’d think things would be pretty cut and dry, right? No, they aren’t. In fact, there is a fourth shadow group no one wants to admit they are a part of. The assholes are called the bandwagoners. These are the people who I despise the most. “But Phire”, you ask, “Why all the hate towards the bandwagon?” Simply put, for the fact that these are the same people who, to use a fighter as an example, will talk about how bad your character is, how weak/low-tier they are and how you need to switch them. However, if something changes or new tech is found, they’ll jump on that character too and talk about how good they are with everyone else. Of course, if you confront them, they will deny they ever said anything negative about them and claim that they had “played them before”. Come on. It’s like they just saw the ugly girl from High School hit her stride, become hot and they’re the first in line, claiming they always had a crush on her.

No one was there for these days in Vanilla 4 or Super Turbo.

Why am I bringing this up now? Well since I started playing the SFIV series I’ve watched my Cammy develop from an ’0-2 and out’ champion to something actually kind of dangerous. With the new 2012 patch, Cammy is no longer nerfed to hell. I remember in the original Arcade Edition when they took her dive kick I was about to commit seppuku and find a new main (had my mind set on Yun at the time) but I decided to stick it out with her, and my patience paid off becuase now, I like the way she plays. But now I’m seeing Cammy players popping up EVERYWHERE claiming to have a good one, which 90% of the time they really don’t. They lose to characters that they should be beating, and when fighting against Cammy they lose horribly. Playing online, I tend to win the mirror matches because 80% of the time I know what I’m looking for, what to watch out for, I’m not doing anything stupid, because I know how she works. This is the main problem with bandwagoners, because they really don’t understand the character they’re choosing. They will see videos, or watch some matches and say “Oh man that’s so cheap, I want to do that too!”. So they practice that set of moves, go out to try, then lose to high level players who know their bandwagon character is fraudulent or they lose via being counter-picked because they have NO match up experience.

Even he wasn't safe from Bandwagon fans after death.

Having beaten several ‘Cammy’ players far worse than I should have, in situations that wouldn’t have happened (like misjudging her drill distance) if these people actually knew her well enough to call their play style ‘unique’(which most bandwagoners do by default) we wouldn’t have this problem. I personally feel that people should just pick either what they like, or what they are most comfortable with and just play the game. I think it would make for a better game overall because we’d have more diversity rather than cookie cutter clones of a particular character and play style. Newsflash: This ultimately serves you and the community no purpose, because you aren’t choosing a character you’re invested in, you’re just trending. However, this may be part of a larger problem as a whole with players who aren’t willing to do any work to win popping up in large numbers. I’ll examine that next time.

In January of 2012 I found a game on Steam called Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon by Vicious Cycle Software. One of my friends previously owned the game on console and was raving about it nonstop, so I thought I would give it a try. Well, after trying it out for myself, let me say that I am both surprised and disappointed. What surprised me the most was how good the combat actually was. Honestly, I was really expecting nothing more than another rehashed modern day arcade shooter. Instead, what I received was a 3rd-person shooter that allowed me the unexpected freedom to navigate and shoot in a limited open-world environment. Another great thing about the game is the way the story was presented. In terms of atmosphere, one of the best things about this game was the fact that It made me feel like I was in the middle of a Science Fiction B-movie from the 60′s.

Another thing I definitely I liked about the game was the fact that it wasn’t a hallway shooter filled with 5 minutes of game play broken up by cutscenes after each objective. Each level in EDF:IA is huge, fully destructible, and open ended enough that I was able to change and go through different routes to accomplish the same goal. These three factors add more to the game in terms of tactics than any other modern shooter, making this game more than just a ‘simple’ arcade shooter.Customization with each of the classes was another thing I enjoyed. There are 4 classes to choose from: Jet Armor, Tactical Armor, Trooper Armor, and Battle Armor. Each class has their own upgrade system and weapons that can be used, with a ton of weapons for each that you can unlock by two methods: Playing the game and leveling up, or by earning credits that can be spent to unlock more weapons. Like any game with classes, each has pros and cons, so choosing the right weapon for the job is not only crucial, but the differences between them adds replay value. That plus the endless amount of color pallets and weapon combinations add so much variety that each time you play through the game, you can without looking the same way twice.

But, for each good thing the game does, there are a few equally bad things that take away from it.

As much as I enjoyed it, one thing I found disappointing was the overall length of the game. At 3 chapters long, I was done with the entire game in 5 hours and it left me wanting more, especially since the game is a bit light on the story. To the average player, 5 hours might not seem long enough, but one play through of a level takes about 10-20 minutes depending on how good you are at the game and the difficulty chosen. These missions have no checkpoints to speak of and rely on your lives, so as long as at least one partner is alive you can revive each other endlessly. If all team members are dead, that is Game Over and you have to start from the beginning of the mission. On top of that, reload times tend to take a bit longer (even with the fast reload option) so if a weapon you are using has only 5 shots, then you need to make sure you can find some cover or dodge long enough to reload and start firing again.

Some people may consider the AI of the enemies to be too easy, but it’s the sheer amount of them (numbering in hundreds) that makes them a daunting enemy. Another disappointment from the game is the online play, and while you can read what ExpertPenguin thought about the console version, I am not sure how populated it is at this moment. I do know that right now, it is difficult to find a game online, and with some games having cross platform play, it makes you wonder why the creators didn’t consider it an option. Starting a co-op game from scratch, I was able to make it through the entire first chapter without running into anyone else. Perhaps having the option to search for other players on the 360/PS3 can make its way into the sequel?

All in all, Earth Defense Force : Insect Armageddon is a fun fast paced 3rd person shooter that brings a bunch of new ideas to the table in the shooter genre. It has a ton of action, high replay value, and is one of those games you can play with several friends in local or online multiplayer, as long as you have a spare pad laying around, or were lucky enough to bump into a few soldiers online. Happy gaming!

Rating: 7.0

I played the first EDF and I lamented at how weak the mulitplayer was in that version. It supported no online play of any kind, but as a local split-screen game, it was just the type of simple, arcade fun that you would need between days of grinding out combos in Street Fighter, or just from dealing with any other similarly complex titles. My first look at this game was during PAX East and I was instantly excited for its release. I instantly fell in love with the new Heavy armor class, as large machine guns and explosives are a fast way to win my undying love, and the new online multiplayer, supporting not just two, but up to four players at the same time Most of the details about the game have been covered in the previous review, so with no further ado we’ll jump right into my thoughts on the multiplayer experience!

Seeing how I received this game pretty late in its cycle, a couple of my CL teammates already had the game and were up for blasting some bugs with me. This is great, as the game seems to come alive when you’re not dealing with some AI drones. When you can instead coordinate attacks and focus your combined firepower on the same target things become a million times easier. The only thing I don’t like is having multiple players use the same suit in battle. I feel having two battle suits walking around detracts a little bit from the overall experience because the armors share a similar control scheme, but have different play styles that can be useful on their own. It creates a situation where you’ll have two players playing the same way, with the same weapons, and with no real new techniques being shown off. The weapon balance is spread between the classes like this on purpose to encourage variety, and sharing the same weaknesses makes some stages a bit harder to complete than others. If there’s any problem I really had with this system, it’s like Geekboi mentioned earlier, that the checkpointing system is a bit unforgiving. Most of these levels take 20-30 minutes to finish, and if all players are dead, it requires a start to the very beginning of the stage. If anyone on your team is ill equipped, it can make the levels feel tedious at best and an endless grind at worst.

The net code seems solid for the job as well. As my team and I ran through the campaign, we weren’t thrown off by any slow down, and there were no hiccups to speak of. Survival mode is where we started to encounter problems though, and with 3 players in the room, things became a little bit dicey as the screen filled with enemies. we experienced some slowdown as things got hectic, but other than that? They hammered themselves out just fine.I also experienced a strange bug regarding how the game saves itself. I have backed out to the loadout screen from the pause menu more than only to have all my progress lost. It happened even when I quit to the main menu as well. I don’t know if this was a glitch they’re planning to patch or what, but going solo through 5 levels in this game tough enough. To lose it and start all over again is needlessly frustrating.

Overall, I give this game an 8 out of 10. The save hiccups were annoying and there were some slowdown issues, but it wasn’t enough to make the game unplayable, or any less fun. This is definitely worth a playthrough.

Rating:8.0

Racing

Twisted Metal (PS3)

Release date – February 14, 2012

Alright, so I know this game isn’t exactly part of the typical racer genre but this is my list, I do what I want and I doubt anyone is going to argue anyway. Besides lets face it, what other category can you really put it in? In actuality the beauty and lore of Twisted Metal lies within the fact that you aren’t just simply racing from point A to B in tricked out vehicles! Your participating in a survival race for your life in crazy cars,buses, motorcycles and even ice cream trucks armed to the teeth with some of the nastiest weaponry known to man. Include that with some highly unique and rather insane characters as the drivers, let them do battle across the globe and you have a recipe for timeless fun.

It’s been years since Calypso and the Twisted Metal participants last wrecked our living rooms with heavy napalms and guided missiles. The same idea still applies, fight to the death for the grant of any wish you could possibly imagine. Hopefully our contestants have learned to choose their words a lot more carefully than numerous prior blunders which have resulted in non canon deaths and misfortune. Although the roster is taking a sizable cut in the eighth title, players will have the choice of now playing under 1 of the 4 factions lead by a respective leader which include The Preachers (Preacher), The Dolls (Dollface), The Clowns (Sweet Tooth) and The Skulls (Mr.Grimm).

With a heavy focus on the multiplayer component, Twisted Metal PS3 looks to not only make a powerful return from it’s past success but to also make said impact to last with staying power. 16 players will battle online in various modes including the classic death match, all new Nuke Mode and more. With destructible environments, modern day high def visuals, over the top weaponry and power ups in which include the ability to transform your vehicle into robotic killing machines, Twisted Metal is definitely the most fun your going to have behind the wheel in 2012.

RPG (Role Playing Game)

Mass Effect 3 (PC,XBOX360,PS3)

Release Date – March 6, 2012

Each year there are a handful of RPG’s that seek out to captivate the role playing audience with new game play elements enriched with a powerful storyline which feature unforgettable characters that pull us into their worlds each time we pick up the controller. But really only one game ever emerges in every console generation that truly succeeds in doing so in unique fashion.

The Mass Effect series is not only that stand out RPG of the current generation but unlike many other role playing series, it manages to raise the bar through each sequel rather than struggling to maintain the lore of it’s previous installments. Mass Effect 3 shows no signs of breaking the trend of improvements, promising extended long hours of game play, further depth in dialogue which made the series so popular, an insanely impressive cast of characters you can’t help but invest yourself in and further expansion on a fully interactive and massive world which plays sandbox to it all.

The conclusion to the battle with the Reapers will be nothing short of epic and will of course lead to multiple endings which all will be determined by all player actions leading up from the first game up until the final moments of the third. An all new 4 player co-op mode which enables players to assist others in their own campaign to prep for the final battle makes Mass Effect 3 the first and only RPG experience of it’s time to really bring it’s community together for what promises to be it’s most memorable moments.

Shooter

Bioshock: Infinite (PC,XB360,PS3)

Release Date: TBA

The shooters genre has become the victim of inflation over the last couple of years. Yearly releases and multiple clone competitors have made the shooter experience to feel like a mainstream cash cow that comes a dime a dozen. Bioshock Infinite is seemingly the only shooter in development with those stigmas in mind. Breaking free of the typical run and gun experience because another section of the world is in conflict yet again, actual adventure awaits players here in Infinite. Former private detective Booker DeWitt is on a mission in the fictional floating city of Columbia to find a young woman named Elizabeth. Problem is, the city is rumored to have vanished into the clouds with no trace but tales of an unruly and deranged population.

Telekinetic combat in combination with traditional gun play return with all new powers and elemental abilities that require players to use more brain than brawn against the many enemy types in the Bioshock world which hold unique strengths and weaknesses. Visuals are treated with a much more colorful and vivid breathing world in comparison to the underwater based previous games and more stylish cinematics to better push the action along this thrilling ride. No doubt, given this formula looks to not only be one of the most anticipated games of 2012 but also an easy candidate for Game of The Year, provided it delivers in the manner expected.

Fighting

Street Fighter X Tekken (PC, XB360,PS3)

Release Date: March 6, 2012

There is only one name that goes almost instantly synonymous with the fighting game genre and that is the Street Fighter series hands down. While there are seemingly tons of fighters up on the horizon during the recent boom of the genre over the last couple of years, along with the success of Marvel Vs Capcom 3, it comes to no surprise the that Capcom flagship cast of Street Fighter would see another cross series of their own. The most well known fighters of both brands will join the melee in Street Fighters traditional 2d plane, as well as a handful of iconic characters from past generations making their return.

The popularity of Tekken and it’s diverse roster makes so much sense for the sake of a current generation rivalry. Art style, game mechanics and engine will favor the Street Fighter play style with slight nods towards Tekken such as the ability to juggle combos and their famed tag system. A new element in the guise of ‘Gems’ have been incorporated which grant each character unique fighting abilities towards their offense, defense or supportive arsenal and all require a certain criteria to be met in game to be activated.

Action Adventure

Tomb Raider

Release Date: QT3

The upcoming Tomb Raider is an original take on the origins of the ever famed Laura Croft and lets face it, we’re already sold. The backdrop is a much more dark, gritty and mature setting than we’ve ever seen in the entire series with the youngest character model of Laura in history. While details aren’t currently anything to sink our teeth to deep into, released screenshots and videos have gamers across the world already questioning if this title might just be the next coming of Uncharted. The story promises to be a well fleshed telling of how Ms. Croft matured from a rather innocent and thimble young woman to a hardened survivalist expert.

The Internet will be buzzing with every leaked drop of info about this major well into it’s release and no doubt, well all be clinging on to each and every minor detail!

Darksiders II sets aim at putting the Action Adventure genre in a rather refreshing light. However, no matter what the intentions, no adventure feels quite as awesome unless there is a stand out character for the player to enjoy and care about during the ride. The idea is to lost yourself within an immersive world and take on the persona of the avatar on screen. Looking at this teaser, it is clear that Darksiders 2, if nothing else, surely possesses that unique character that players would love to be!

Death, fellow Horseman and brother of Horseman War from the first game, will be the main character in Darksiders 2. Should this teaser be any indication as to what that exactly means for the player as well as his enemies, both sides are in for a rather brutal treat to say the least.  In addition to the reveal of the main character, massive improvements have also been noted in terms of the world Death will combat in. These additions include but are not limited to a much larger and expansive levels, some even doubling that of the first and cities which will act as hubs between various dungeons for the player to progress in the story, level up and find numerous collectables scattered in the game. Cities will also contain a lively population of NPC’s among the town, in classic RPG fashion, complete with dialogue to be exchanged as well as offering the player the option to participate in side missions for rewards justifying said mission.

“Death Lives”, knowing the play style and mechanics of Darksiders, is not simply just a catchy themed phrase but an ominous omen which could heavily indicate what we can expect in terms of all out action, combat and rapid beat em up style game play the game has done a pretty good job of executing thus far. More than likely Death will feature an unlockable combat arsenal themed around “death” in some pretty creative ways that hopefully encourage gamers to wonder what else can be done when comboing special moves together with his attack strings.

Here we have a look at Death (saying things like that will never get old to me) and some of his over the top weaponry along with some scenery and backdrops during some intense staredowns.

In the coming weeks we will delve deeper into the further game play details of Darksiders 2 which is set for release in June of 2012. (ps3,xbox360,wiiU)

The thought of a game turned movie is one that is rarely not followed by a warning and cautionary tales or given a positive reception. Gamers, ranging from hardcore to casual, have all at one time or another seen at least one of their beloved franchises enter the realm of the Hollywoods big screen. However that initial feeling of excitement and unique appreciation are soon, if not immediately, overshot by fear and the painful reminder that what usually emerges is a film so stomach turning, one would wish that he/she was the only person to ever play said title in efforts to keep their little ‘gem’ away from the desecration of mainstream media.

As Chocolate Lemon’s Official Silent Hill Resident (feel free to challenge), I felt it was only right to bring a couple of things to attention with the little time we have left before the release of Silent Hill Revelation 3D later this year. First and for the record, I enjoyed the first Silent Hill film in 2006.

*NOTE* Despite the reviews, mainstream movie go-ers and what film critics said, let’s keep in mind that just like any other video game movie, THIS IS NOT FOR YOU! I cannot count how many clowns gave the movie a low score for the “Derp, I don’t get it!?!?” factor . If you can’t pinpoint when the song ‘Letter From Lost Days’ was played during the film, you are too far out the circle to ride this ride! I will respect a low score from someone who actually knows the game and background over the clown audience who still to this day struggles with the concept of the film Inception.

The problem with games of a cult following is the Catch 22 heavy demand we place of wanting progression without change and not understanding that one cannot exist without the other (look at Modern Warfare 2 & 3 …Hangover 1 & 2).  Aww, you mad?

Director and long time fan of the Silent Hill game series, Christoph Gans did an amazing job of not only realizing this but also incorporating it into the film along side writer Roger Avery. The initial idea was to make it as pinpoint accurate to the actual story, feel and lore of the SH franchise as possible without stripping it of its identity like most Hollywood films tend to do when they say “we want film rights to your product”. However this goal can quickly take an “arrow to the knee” in as early of a development stage as its cast selection. For example let’s take Radha Mitchell who played as main character Rose Da Silva and mother of Sharon. Now we, for the most part I hope, know that the first Silent Hill was a story of a father in search of his lost daughter in a creepy foggy town after a random car accident, so why the gender change? Why not keep everything the same as it was meant to be right?

Gans took a chance as well as some liberties while being smart enough to understand that as a player, your in game control over the character can create that connection of a father in search of his lost daughter much faster than simply viewing a movie and being on the outside looking in, holding the same question any movie viewer holds towards the cast “Why should I care about these characters ?”. Well, a talented female lead naturally has a much more effective way of visually translating the emotions of confusion, fear, despair etc. long before it’s too late to gain our attention in comparison to a majority of the male counterpart.

It’s subtle decisions like these that were highly appreciated among the target audience and made the film enjoyable. The decision to have both mother and father hold a physical presence in the film also served as a great way to contrast the two in the sense mentioned above and further supports his decision in the gender change. Silent Hill’s strongest roles have always been dominated by females, a trend also kept in tact in the movie by amazing supporting roles (just to name a few stand outs) such as Laurie Holden (Cybil), Deborah Kara Unger (Dhalia) and the amazing Jodelle Ferland who played a better Sharon(Cheryl)/Alessa than could have ever been hoped for.

"It's just a phase your going through sweetie"

*Fun Fact* I actually got pissed when Jodelle Ferland was killed off towards the end of Twilight: Breaking Dawn 1 just because she stole my heart as Sharon/Alessa in Silent Hill.

This great cast in conjunction with faithful artistic direction heavily faithful to the games are what made the film an overall success in the transition from game to film and landing it a spot among Hollywoods top 10 video game adaptation list (these are facts). Gans and Avery did of course take liberties with certain aspects of the film such as the visual of Grey Child and people of The Order to name a few but for the most part, they all went off well executed.

There is great deal of excitement towards the next film, Revelation 3D, for these reasons and an array others. At the same time these reasons also create a fear that any movie is subject to which is the sequel completely falling off course and killing whatever was established in the first. Some things have already raised my brow towards where the direction of the movie might be headed, such as Gans and Avery no longer being a part of the movie due to a stupid case of vehicular manslaughter by Avery 2008. Michael J. Bassett will talk the helm of both writer and director this turn around. My concern is what exactly does this mean if he doesn’t possess the same passion and respect for the Silent Hill universe as Gans did and how will this translate into the film?

Heather, Silent Hill Revelations

Revelations follows the Silent Hill storyline canon of 1 and 3′s connection, picking up with the now eighteen year old Heather. While Silent Hill 3 is only slightly less popular to 2, due to 2 being most fans entry into the series, SH3 holds what I believe to be the strongest fan base of them all. That said, Bassett is due for a sure fire miss should he go into this project without thorough and proper knowledge of the game similar to that of Gans and Avery. Although there is currently little evidence which heavily proves or disproves his alliance, there are some small concrete details that put a little ease to the mind in the trailer. Also, in casting Heather, Bassett did post online that he held no reservations against the communities opinion on who should play the role, only under the stipulation that the person had to have experience prior to suggestion. Chosen for the role, young actress Adelaide Clemens seems to pull the Heather look off pretty well and mention of locales like Lakeside Amusement Park indicates that there is some conscience level of care being put into the film.

If nothing else we can take comfort in knowing that regardless of some bumps, they have decided to go on with finishing the film and that says A LOT in the entertainment industry. Hopefully it’s due to a large backing of the game and the original film because there are plenty of titles which have the actually hold strong support from it’s community and yet still never see the light of day. Need an example? Go ahead and google “Megaman Legends 3″…. I’ll wait………..(YEAH, sad isn’t it?)

The rest of our answers lye within the film itself until release which is still TBA. And I will be first in line to give you an accurate analysis, spoiler free of course.

With Darksiders II almost here there’s some pretty impressive swag being released. SOTA Toys has released a Samuel statue which is pretty bad ass.

While I am a fan of collectables this bad boy given away during a Twitter contest takes the cake.

I would wear that out on dates.

Playing In EVO 2k11

Sexy photo of me talking

This was pretty awesome because I got to hang out with the super big wigs of the Fighting Game Community (FGC), talk shit and press some buttons. As for how I did? I did okay and want to do better next year. It was amazing to have so many people who are passionate about the same sort of things in one area, and as a competitor I really enjoyed putting my skills against them. In the end, it was bitter sweet because when I got back to the city, I lost my best friend and long time companion Sheena (Greatest Dog Ever). Luckily I had some really amazing people around me during this time and I got to make it through.

Playing In Japan

Apprujack

What a difference a year makes! I didn’t go to japan In 2010 and instead spent the year working and grinding out stuff stateside. So when I finally traveled to Japan and had a chance to take my Cammy to the arcades I was super excited. Surprisingly, I fared way better than I ever thought I would and the experience gave me more confidence going into EVO. As the late Josh “SK” Colon put it when viewing my skills, I built some momentum and I should try to sustain that. After all, I still have my arcade card and I’m ready to hit 10k BP in Japan with Cammy. Overall, It was a great experience to be in another part of Japan, and Osaka is a great city to visit.

PAX East

Took the team up to Boston! This was earlier in the year so my skills weren’t really up to snuff, but looking back at it, I realize I grew a lot as player in a short amount of time. The matches I lost, I probably would have won if the Phire I am now were sent back in time to play. Also, I was able to meet everyone from the industry that I know and it was a pretty awesome experience seeing them again and then some. Not to mention, it was a birthday gift for Sol Lekz as well so he was excited the whole weekend. This is probably my favorite trade show of the year, mainly because it doesn’t feel like a trade show.

Eric the Intern’s Beard

It is so soft and conditioned. It is probably the best beard we will ever have on staff. As it currently stands it is the only beard we have that’s on staff. I’m trying to convince Eric to grow it out more and put action figures in it like baby birds hiding in a nest or some sort of death mountain playset. Will he ever do it? Who knows?

2012 patch in Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition

Cammy players are usually in this position when it comes to the nerf hammer

This has been the first version of the the Street Fighter IV series where Cammy didn’t lose anything but actually got something back. I was so sad when she lost her instant dive kick from Super to Arcade Edition that I think I’ve called the waambulence a few times but ultimately, I ended up sticking it out and I’m happy with the results. I may pick up an alternate characterin the future, but right now I’m happy.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 being better and more polished than the vanilla version

Not only do I actually like the game a bit more now, but I am making an honest effort to learn how to play it too. The 12 new characters were a welcome refresher from what originally was offered up and they fixed some game systems I felt really needed work in the original. Some stuff still needs to be patched yes but for the most part it’s a better experience.

Actually getting two episodes done!

We were trying to get 4 out but life happens so we’ll try out best to get the 3rd out before the end of the world. But I definetly see that we can improve and our starting point isn’t too shabby

You.

Yes you reading this. None of this is possible without you reading, watching and generally not ignoring our existence. Yeah we’re not perfect, but we’re pretty damn cool nonetheless ;P . But seriously, sometimes it feels like no one is reading but when I check the site stats, I find you guys are. Thank you and I appreciate each and everyone of you

That’s been my 2011..So how was yours? tweet me yo!

Beside the usual show, the GeekFist crew created and celebrated their very own holiday called Troll-Mas. The idea was to give other members of the crew something related to their interests but totally unexpected. OmegaZed took on the challenge by delivering Ninjago figures to the crew, but Krismas countered with Redakai, trolling with it not once but twice in the same episode! Needless to be said, the special events will continue and Troll-imania has been born! Details on that will be coming soon.

So for your listening pleasure ladies and gentlemen and mutants, here is the download link for the full episode! Click it and be sure to like us on our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter!

The episode is available here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/geekfist/Geekfist_2011_Award_Show.mp3
We’ll post a full listing of the awards given out soon!