Author Archives: Kappy

MegaUpload’z Demize

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WHAT?! MegaUpload, taken down?

Yes, that’s what the e-mail told me. Anyone whose been on the up and up about SOPA and PIPA probably signed up for various e-mail newsletters to help protest. I was one of those people who signed up, and today I got an e-mail about how 4 employees of MegaUpload were locked away in New Zealand and that MegaUpload had been taken down.

A little confused (and excited to see a cool story), I rushed through my Twitter feed and found an article on Gizmodo about it. After perusing its contents, I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of the timing. Who takes down a site less than 24 hours after the Internet pretty much shut down some of its most prominent hubs for the day? What kind of point are they trying to make with that?

Now, some of the charges pressed seem a little more legitimate than just copyright infringement, and I guess as a result 7 employees were arrested! And the aforementioned 4 were locked away.

I found out that rap producer Swizz Beatz (LOL!) is its CEO. I’m not big on the rap music industry because I’m not a fan of rap, but come on, how can you not trust a name like that?! MegaUpload is totally innocent, there!

The best part is the updates section at the bottom of the article.

“UPDATE 2:…Mr. Beatz does not seem to give a shit about anything.” Hilarious!!

And the kicker is that this was all done without SOPA. I may have to stop typing for a moment because that statement was more funny than it should have been.

Yes, it’s horrible that MegaUpload was taken down, but if (and I stress this if) those charges are legitimate and not about copyright infringement, then I’m not really surprised. I’m a little that the website was taken down, but if the CEO’s (or just Mr. Beatz) were at all involved, then hey, they were doing something illegal. If it means MegaUpload goes down, so be it.

My SOPA post is done. I told myself I wasn’t going to do a SOPA post but this was just too good to pass up.

Juzt zayin’.

Loop Knight

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My apologies for missing Thursday’s entry, but I wanted to write about Brawl once more and there was simply no better time than to after attending my local scene’s tournament series, Don’t Blink ~After Story~, which occurred last Saturday.

Overall, I’m a little disappointed in my performance, so I’ll be putting in a lot more work from now on to get myself back to where I was before.

But enough about me, let’s talk about a character that was recently banned (and is being hotly debated about whether he should be unbanned already), Meta Knight.

In my previous entry I said I was for the MK ban only because of his staggering over centralization. My stance still stands, but there is one move I think is truly broken that is a part of Meta Knight’s arsenal of fantastic moves.

Shuttle Loop.

Yes, Shuttle Loop (or, for those who don’t know where the name comes from, Meta Knight’s Up+B Special (recovery) move). I think this move is leaps and bounds above all other moves, and while his Mach Tornado shuts down a slew of the cast, Shuttle Loop shuts down all of the cast’s recovery moves, gives Meta Knight insane mobility, and works as a dragon punch (a dragon punch is defined as a move that is invincible on startup but is (usually) easily punishable when blocked).

I firmly believe that, without Shuttle Loop, Meta Knight wouldn’t be nearly as good as he is right now.

Shuttle Loop is the reason many characters can be gimped at 50% or lower. I’ve seen someone killed at 45% because of a mistake DI’ing. It’s disgusting for a game where the earliest kill percentage is around 80%. Anytime someone hits MK’s shield he can use Shuttle Loop to counter it. He can use it, and even if he messes up it’s relatively safe. Why? because he can cancel it into a lagless landing and use a defensive maneuver. It puts him in a glide state so he can glide over his opponent if he so chooses, and if he touches ground (say, a platform), while at the peak of his move he lands laglessly.

Just watch Nairo vs Otori from Apex 2012 and you’ll get a good sense of what I’m talking about.

MK is relatively slow in the air, and while his moves are fast, certain characters can shut him down when playing properly. But when your perfectly spaced aerial or tilt is interrupted by a 100% safe Shuttle Loop, you come to realize that nothing can stop the move except for baits, and that’s dipping into player territory (where MK’s Shuttle Loop isn’t as powerful, but still ridiculous.)

Obviously, a lot falls to the player, but on paper, where we’re talking strictly moves, Shuttle Loop is dominating.

What do you think? Is Shuttle Loop MK’s only truly broken move? Or do you think his entire arsenal is a little too good for your liking? Let me know!

It’s funny because, even without Shuttle Loop, his recovery is stellar.

Just sayin’.

LINK TO NAIRO VS OTORI:

Apex 2012: Meta Knight’s Last Hurrah

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I would have posted this entry yesterday, but my head decided to transform into an anvil for a cold to strike down upon. I was sick three days before Christmas, and now, 17 days later from yesterday, I’m sick once again.

The other reason was the bracket for Apex  2012 had yet to be completely updated, which is what I’ll be writing about today. In the world of competitive fighting games, Super Smash Bros. has never really received a lot of attention (at least from I’ve seen. I could be wrong here). That ended last weekend when Over 1,300 entrants for both Brawl and Melee came (around 50 of those being international players) to attend Apex 2012, Smash’s biggest tournament in history.

While I wasn’t in attendance (I compete in Brawl), watching the stream was a lot of fun. I watched both Melee and Brawl, with a little bit of SFIV: 2012 and UMvC3 (two of the more traditional fighters that were also being played at Apex 2012). The highlight for me was Nairo vs Otori (Apex 2012’s Brawl champion). I usually don’t enjoy MK dittos due to most players not being too aggressive, but these two put on a show of skill souped up with flash, and it was very, very exciting.

If you’d like to see most of the videos from Apex 2012 (including Brawl, Melee, SFIV: 2012, and UMvC3), the links to those channels will be below!

Now, let’s get into one of the more interesting topics that I felt Apex 2012 really brought to the table: America‘s ban on MK.

Let me catch those who don’t know up. MK is the best character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. As such, a lot of players use him, and a lot feel that he is too good a character. Ever since I joined the Smash community a year and a half ago the debate for MK has been strong, and it had only continued to escalate in the past couple of months. After pages upon pages of debate, a consensus was reached: after Apex 2012, MK would be banned from all URC-run (Unity Ruleset Committee) tournaments.

Now, at Apex 2012 we had two Japanese players in Grand Finals for Brawl: Nietono, an Olimar player, and Otori, a MK player. While Otori plays MK, Nietono ran through many of America’s top MK players. I realize that Nietono is only one player, but this still brings a big question to the front lines of the ban debate – is the ban really the best choice?

I think it is, but not because of how good MK is. I’ll admit, I hate playing against MK, and all around me I saw players put in the work and beat him while I continued to lose to him. Apex 2012 gave me some new insight into how much work you need to put in to be the best of the best, and so I withdrew my stance that MK should be banned because of how good he is. Clearly, he can be beaten. You just need to put in the work. The Japanese have proven that.

However, I still support the ban because of how over centralizing he is. That’s simply it. A lot of players use MK. I believe over half of the players in America either main MK or use him as a secondary. And I believe that’s poisonous to a meta game in itself. I like variety, so I’m hoping there’ll be a lot more variety of characters now. I’m crossing my fingers that everyone doesn’t pick up Olimar.

What are your thoughts on Apex 2012? On the MK ban? Let me know!

Oh, and I think double MK is actually too good in doubles. One MK per team would be brilliant.

Just sayin’.

Link to apextournament:

http://www.youtube.com/user/apextournament?feature=g-u

Link to Jaxelrod:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Jaxelrod?feature=g-u

Left 4 Silent Hill

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School is back in session at DePaul University, and thus I find myself walking the cold streets of Chicago when the wind decides it would like to gust around 25mph and freeze my face.

At least I’m not walking through empty streets that randomly become overrun with over-aggressive zombies!

I’ve come to realize that custom maps in Left 4 Dead/2 enjoy a certain kind of homicidal pleasure as they throw a legion of zombies and 3-4 special infected at you at once. But nothing comes close to the level that I most recently experienced while playing through an almost faithful revamp of the game Silent Hill through 11 maps. Yes, you saw that typed correctly. It’s long, it’s hard, but most of all, it’s damn fun.

Before I explain why, let me point out that Left 4 Dead/2 is a different zombie game. Instead of it being creepy and full of situations where you find yourself at least a little scared due to the atmosphere (or at least something that jumps out at you), Left 4 Dead/2 throws that out the window and instead scares you not with the quality of the zombies, but the quantity. And let’s not forget the all-powerful Spitter, Charger, and Tank (easily the most deadly of the special infected amongst my group of friends whom I play with).

Now, Left 4 Dead/2 is fun. And so are zombie games that are a little scarier (Resident Evil), but this Silent Hill map did both. It combined the creepy sounds and atmosphere with zombies. We were in a rusting, dark hospital and out of nowhere, through the light created by 4 small flashlights, came an army of zombies, two consecutive spitters, and a hunter. In almost complete darkness. Couple that with authentic sounds from Silent Hill and you have yourself a map where exploration is creepy, and the invasion of zombies is terrifying.

There’s also multiple endings (just like in the game, which is very cool), so the replay value is insane for a Left 4 Dead 2 custom map.

My friends and I got the UFO Ending, and it is incredible. I won’t spoil anything because words can’t describe its insanity. You just have to download the map (link will be provided at the bottom) and experience it for yourself!

Speaking of maps I suggest you download, Questionable Ethics is by far at the top of the list. If you’re looking for some platforming, a few scores of waves of zombies, and falling cars, Questionable Ethics will be right up your alley! It’s got an interesting pick-and-choose system of obtaining weapons and support items, so playing with friends is definitely the best way to go here (although playing with friends is always better, just sayin’).

My favorite part was the finale, when we were being chased by a tank and a car fell on top of me and killed me. It gets crazy! Just like the Silent Hill map, the link for Questionable Ethics will be provided for you below!

So, there’s two custom maps for you Left 4 Dead/2 fans to try out! If you’ve tried them out already, got any good stories of your experiences in the Silent Hill or Questionable Ethics maps? Got any suggestions for maps I should try out? Let me know!

By the way, I’ve never actually played Silent Hill, but I heard the map is pretty accurate from my friends.

Just sayin’.

 

DOWNLOAD LINKS:

Silent Hill: (this is for Left 4 Dead, but it can be played on Left 4 Dead 2)

http://www.l4dmaps.com/details.php?file=865

Questionable Ethics: (for Left 4 Dead 2)

http://www.l4dmaps.com/details.php?file=9773

A New Year’s Resolution Entry (Blog Entry #1)

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Here we go, first blog entry ever!

Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Ryan (known as Klappy or Kappy), and I’m currently studying Computer Games Development at DePaul University as a junior.

I’ve been meaning to make a blog for a couple years, now, but I never got around to it due to school and my nervousness about starting a real blog. Not today, though! Today, I’m putting my New Year’s Resolution of starting and maintaining a blog into action, and I intend to keep it!

So, what’ll I be writing about? Anything that interests me; movies, cartoons, games (especially games), books, etc… I’m not one to keep on one topic for an extended period of time, so expect a lot of variety!

I’ll be updating my blog twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, so look forward to the next one on Thursday! And have a happy new year!

Also, this blog will be featured on both WordPress and Tumblr, in light of me getting a Tumblr yesterday.

Just sayin’.