Tag Archives: Games

Con 101

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Anime Central (ACen) is in just five (including today) days, and since this is my 6th con, I figured I should share my own personal tools of the trade when it comes to planning for something like a con for all you who will be attending your very first con. So, without further adieu, here’s some things I think you should do to prepare for (and while at) a con!

Before the Con:

SCHEDULE!!!

Make a schedule a week or two before the con.

There are going to be some of you who say, “I’ll just do what I feel like doing.” I did that my fourth year at Youmacon and regretted it. I felt so rushed and never really could decide what I wanted to do. Even if you’re not the type to plan out things, keeping a schedule will REALLY help you. Trust me. You’ll feel much better if you’ve got some idea of what you’ll be doing throughout the day.

If you’re a gamer, this is even more crucial, because if you want to go to a tournament you can’t be late. Con tournaments may be more casual, but they’re strict because they’re usually running on a super-tight schedule, and it’s disappointing when you miss out. You may also want to schedule time to just play, so keep that in mind.

You want to schedule time to go eat, too.

And if there’s a movie or show playing you wouldn’t want to miss that!

And you might want to schedule time to sleep (more on that later).

Don’t try to go to go to everything!

There’s a lot of panels and events that are held at cons: fan panels, quizzes, games, concerts, Q&A with guests. With so much to do, it’s hard to not feel overwhelmed when you want to see everything, so what I find really useful is to make a list and write down everything you want to see. Then, begin crossing off things that you feel you could do without. If you’re going with a group, try to coordinate with them if they’d like to go to the same panels.

My second and third year I went to a LOT of panels and felt exhausted afterwards since I didn’t have a lot of downtime. Right now, I’ve got 7 panels I’d like to go see. That’s it. Just 7.

With that said, let’s talk about one kind of panel that I’ve only been to once.

Fan Panels

I still remember my very first fan panel at Youmacon – my father and I walked in, sat down, and proceeded to waste away an hour as the panelists kind of circled around and didn’t really talk about anything interesting. Since it was a Naruto fan panel, topics like Sasuke or (Name of one ninja I will find later): who was hotter?, what’s going to happen in the current chapter of the manga (this is pre-Shippuden, and people were talking endings already), and then a half hour was dedicated to some fighting game that had characters from Naruto, One Piece, Dragonball Z, etc… and watching a trailer video and talking about it instead of Naruto.

I’ve never gone to a fan panel since.

Obviously, this is one example, and a personal one, so my advice is in no way right or definitive, but I just want to warn you that fan panels can be like that, and if that sounds like your cup of tea, then do go! I’m one for more serious discussion, so any fan panel that has deep discussion about plots, subplots, and character would be awesome, so that first experience was just awful for me, and I know that there are some that might be super-awesome, but I don’t want to take that risk when I can go to a panel about Japanese culture and learn something that, to me, might be interesting and cool.

So, just keep that in mind when you’re laying out your schedule.

Gaming

For all of you who love to game and are going to a con, this is REALLY important.

If you like anime and games, then making a schedule is really important so you can get to what you want to go to and have plenty of time to game (or enter a tournament!)

This year I’ll be spending a lot of time gaming because I’m holding a challenge in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so being there is important for me. Obviously, I won’t be there all the time, but I have planned out significant chunks of time to go and play and meet new Smashers.

If you’re going to a con just for gaming, this isn’t really a problem, but…don’t stay in the game room for long periods of time.

This is your warning. Do not plan on staying there for long periods of time.

For whatever reason, some kids think that one day without a shower isn’t bad. Now, if you’re sitting around all day at home, then yeah, missing a day isn’t too bad. But factor in all the other kids whom may or may not have showered, all walking, talking, and sweating while playing games in one room…

Yeah, don’t stay in there for too long. Go get some fresh air – take some time to walk around the con and just explore. Make sure to add that into your schedule.

You’ll thank me later.

Rides and Rooms

If this is your first year, I don’t recommend rooming with random kids. Just my personal preference, though.

I stayed in a room with my father my first con, stayed with my ex in her house the next two years, and then stayed by myself my fourth year when I went to Youmacon. Last year, at my first ACen, I stayed at a friend’s house.

This year, I’ll be staying in a hotel room with friends.

My point is, do think about whether you want to stay at the con or stay near it, especially if money is an issue.

Now, let’s move onto the actual con!

At the con:

Don’t get disappointed when things don’t go as planned

Sticking to your schedule is a good idea, but don’t get too disappointed if you miss something because you met someone awesome while walking around/at a photo shoot/playing games/etc… and you end up missing a panel or event. Trust me, meeting new people is really rewarding, and that should be one of the reasons you go to cons – to be around people who share your interests.

Just go with whatever happens if something doesn’t go as planned. Anything can happen, but you shouldn’t let any mishaps ruin the rest of your day!

Eating

Eat.

Don’t eat two meals.

Don’t snack.

Eat three meals.

Yeah, it may be hard, but it’s worth it.

A lot of kids eat HORRIBLY during the weekend of a con, and it does take a toll when you’re doing so much in one day. If you absolutely must bring snacks, don’t make them junk food. This may seem hard, but with a little bit of effort you’ll be feeling great all con.

A funny story that concerns money issues – I didn’t have money to spend on food at the con because of how expensive everything was. So, to make sure I wasn’t eating crap, I bought a jar of peanut butter, a jar of Smucker’s strawberry jam, and a loaf of bread, and ate nothing but PB&J all weekend for the measly price of $5. LOL. That’s right, an entire weekend’s worth of food for $5, and it was AWESOME. My friends and I still laugh at it because by the time Saturday rolled around, my loaf of bread turned into a flatted mush of bread.

If you don’t have money, bring your meals. You may not want to do PB&J all weekend, but that’s better than bringing candy, chips, and soda all weekend. I brought 5 bottles of water that year, and it was worth it.

This year, I’m still debating… but I am definitely going out a couple times since I have the money.

Sleeping

This may be the most important piece of advice I’m going to give you (besides the one about personal hygiene)

SLEEP!

FOR THE LOVE OF…um…ANYTHING: SLEEP!!

Don’t stay up too late – try to go to bed by at least 2AM. That way you’re getting at least 6 hours of sleep if you wake up at 8AM, and that should be enough to keep your body happy.

You may be thinking, “Yooo… I don’t need to sleep!” Oh yes, you do. I don’t even need to explain this one. Go ahead and get as little sleep as possible. Go ahead, stay up until 4AM.

I dare you.

Get a Program Guide

This is pretty self-explanatory, but some people don’t get a program guide and then get lost. Program guides are a great way to look over everything quickly while at the con, and it has a map for you to use, which is really important, because you may get lost while looking for a specific room.

And probably the MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF ADVICE…

Personal Hygiene

Shower Friday, shower Saturday, and shower Sunday. All three days, yo. You’re doing no one any favors by thinking that you can skip one day, because you’ll be doing a lot of moving around and being in crowds of people in just one day, and you’ll need to clean yourself. Hell, you don’t even need to shower – bathing works just as well! Just clean yourself.

I could go on, but I think you get it. Don’t even THINK of shirking off personal hygiene for even a day while at a con.

Conclusion

Cons are a great way to engage with people who share your interests and expand your horizons on anime and gaming. Just remember to keep a schedule and try and be as healthy as possible when it comes to eating and sleeping, and remember to clean yourself every day, and hopefully you’ll have a good time at any con you go to!

P.S. If you want to find me at ACen this weekend, I’ll be wearing an old-school Ash Hat (from the first generation of the Pokémon anime) with plaid. I’m always happy to meet new people!

Just sayin’.

REVIEW: Kid Icarus Uprising

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I remember two years ago, during the summer, I woke up, poured myself a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats, and watched Nintendo’s E3 press conference, where they unveiled something I’ve been excited for since it was announced – Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Now, weeks after its release, and I’ve finally gotten around to beating it. That means it’s time for a review!

Plot:

Let’s start with the plot. It’s been 25 years since Medusa took over Sky World and imprisoned Paulutena, the Goddess of Light. Now, she’s returned with a vengeance, and Pit must stop her once again! The actual plot is actually pretty awesome, especially once you hit Hades and Pyyhron. It’s not too serious, and the characters play off the plot really well. Actually, it’s awesome to see that the characters are what really drive the plot this time. The entire plot is set in motion through Hades, and it’s driven by Paulutena, Hades, and Viridi. It’s good, but it gets crazy and outlandish (space pirates? Really?), and while those outlandish parts can be pretty cool, it just didn’t really strike me as coherent to the world.

Characters:

This is where Uprising really shines. The characters are, in short, fantastic. They’re full of color and vibrance, both in appearance and in personalities. The way Paulutena and Pit joke around while you’re beating up enemies really gives a sense of how confident the two are. The way they grow serious during a few boss battles also gives way to show that they never mess around. It’s funny. Scratch that, it’s hilarious. Hades, Viridi, Pyyrhon (oh my god Pyyrhon), and even Medusa all make the game’s campaign so, so enjoyable. Don’t even get me started on some of the bosses!

The dialogue is flawless. The way the characters play off of each other (especially Pit and Viridi) is incredibly well-done, and the writing is nothing short of fantastic. And the best part is, despite the comedic dialogue, the characters do grow and mature. To see Pit not rely on Paulutena, to see Dark Pit accept Paulutena, to see Viridi grow to help Pit instead of oppose him (despite her denying it) all really facilitate good plot and character development, and to be able to do all that with a comedy act is really impressive. If you’ve been looking for good dialogue and character in a game, stop reading this right now and go get Uprising. It’s shortcomings will not stop this game from pleasing you.

Atmosphere (Music/Graphics):

Uprising smashes this category into pieces. The music is great for every level and every boss battle. The graphics, from the Underworld to space, are incredibly done, and everything looks crisp in 3D. DId I mention how good the 3D is? It’s fantastic. Everything about the music and graphics are fantastic. Then only gripe I can see is that the menu looks almost exactly like Super Smash Bros. Brawl‘s menu, which actually makes sense given that both were made by the same team.

Gameplay:

This is Uprising’s weakest point, but even at its weakest point, it’s still good. There are a lot of plusses to Uprising, from the difficulty scale (for those who want to enjoy the story and those who want a real challenge) to weapon fusing. The difficulty scale affects items received and rewards given – the more hearts (money) you bet, the better the rewards.

Weapon Fusing allows you to fuse together two weapons to create a more powerful weapon with abilities gained from the two fused weapons. It’s an awesome feature, and while we’re at it, let’s talk about the amount of weapons: bows, blades, clubs, palms, claws, staffs, cannons, orbiters – there’s so many, and each with a different aesthetic look (including shots fired) and different individual stats that you can’t help but try to test them all out! I found myself liking the bows, clubs, orbiters, and palms the best.

And then there are abilities, which grant Pit status boosts and the ability to inflict status on others for a short amount of time. All of them are pretty useful, and they’re all fun to use.

But, there are some downfalls. Let’s talk about the controls, which by no means are bad. They’re actually pretty intuitive and make sense. Hold the L button to fire, joystick to move, and touch screen to aim. Pretty nice, yeah? Here’s the problem: holding your 3DS like that can get a bit…uncomfortable. You almost HAVE to use that stand, and even then it felt weird to me. Of course, I found a way that works for me (by setting it on my lap), but I never truly felt comfortable while playing Uprising, especially during ground battles.

And the Multiplayer…well, I haven’t really played it much because I didn’t get hooked when I played. It’s fun, but it wasn’t fun enough for me to want to continue playing it. I enjoyed the campaign much, much more.

All in all, Kid Icarus: Uprising is sure to please, I think. Whether you’re new to the series or familiar thanks to Super Smash Bros. Brawl or the original Kid Icarus, you’ll enjoy a lot of what Uprising has to offer. And unlike me, you may even find the Multiplayer more captivating the controls less uncomfortable.

I highly recommend!

Score:

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 10/10

Atmosphere: 10/10

Gameplay: 7/10

Overall: 9/10

Just sayin’.

The Mass Effect 3 Rageathon

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From what I remember, it all started with hype. Y’know that feeling that you get when a new game’s coming out or something truly incredible happens; yeah, that hype. It swept over them, causing songs of joy and excitement to be played and heard all across the world.

But, it was only a matter of time…

The hype eventually turned into disappointment. It wasn’t what they thought it would be. They thought it was going to be great, but it turned out subpar. They were promised an ending, but instead were given a bad ending. This disappointment planted its seeds, growing with each passing minute until they saw the ending and it sprouted into hatred. This hatred blossomed into rage, and here we are, now filing federal complaints because of the ending to Mass Effect 3.

I didn’t know about the apparent “rageathon” until earlier this week when I decided to peruse the Mass Effect 3 thread on ACen’s community forums. It was there that I saw the shadow of doubt and the seeds of disappointment being woven into the hearts and minds of those hyped people. I almost shed a tear, knowing what was going to happen next.

And yesterday, as I tried to decide what to write about, an article on Kotaku answered my plea for a subject – a user on Bioware‘s forums filed a federal case because of how disappointed he was. According to Kotaku, user “El_Spiko” went to the Federal Trade Commission‘s website and filed a complaint for false advertising because of how Electronic Arts and the Better Business Bureau advertised Mass Effect 3. According to him, they promised a stellar ending, so I dug into the Internet and wanted to see exactly what the fans were being told, and I actually did find a thread that has a rather comprehensive list of quotes from interviews about the ending and the game itself (complete with links to these interviews).

So, I read through a lot of them, and as an outsider (I’ve never played the series. I’ve never really been interested), they looked like really big claims. From what I gathered from reading some of the comments in the thread, I’m guessing that the ending is roughly the same for everyone, no matter what choices you make, and Bioware specifically promised them that each ending would be unique based on how you played.

Now, a lot of comments are saying that the guy is going overboard, that this lawsuit is frivolous. I don’t think the lawsuit was a wise decision; in fact, I think it’s hilarious that this guy is really getting this worked up over an ending, but hey, if the guy’s pissed about being lied to, then there’s nothing actually wrong with him filing the complaint. Bioware did promise a lot, and from what I’m looking at, it seems like they didn’t keep a lot of those promises, and that is false advertising, so El_Spiko is not in the wrong.

If anything progresses from this, you just have to hope that El_Spiko knows what he’s doing.

Just sayin’

LINK TO THREAD:

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10056886

Be Kappy LoL

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Once upon a time, there was a boy named Kappy. A rather peculiar soul, he seemed to influence a certain kind of hellish laughter upon many by ending all of his sentences with the acronym ‘LOL’. LOL. After years of of LOL’ing amongst his friends and acquaintances, a certain air for trolling and being-well, bad, to put it bluntly-began to swirl and hover about his person. OK, so this isn’t really about Kappy. It’s about what he thought about a certain LoL-that is, League of Legends. You see, boys and girls, Kappy thought LoL was a bad game. He hadn’t really played the game, but he had seen it being played and thought it was ridiculous that so many in the Smash community hopped on as time went by and played it competitively.

OK, it’s not really about him thinking it was bad. It’s about him being convinced to download it last fall when school started and not touching it until two weeks later and finding out that it’s actually pretty damn fun. That’s right, after months of bashing League of Legends, I picked it up a couple weeks ago, and now that I’ve gotten to play it a little more, I’m starting to really enjoy it.

It’s not even that I enjoy it as a game. I think the teamwork aspect and playing amongst my friends is really what’s fun to me. I had heard so much about the horrible community it had, and since I’m not really a fan of elitist pricks (which is what I heard many were), so even after downloading the game, I didn’t touch it.

Finally, I spent a night talking to two of my friends and they helped me explain the game, and I said, “Hell, why not?” I had already finished my work for the day, so I made an account quick-like, sat down, and began playing.

Honestly, it’s fun. Really fun. But it’s definitely NOT fun unless I’m playing with my friends, and I think that’s important to note. A lot of my feedback came from people playing pick-me-up style games with random teammates. There was no synergy, and if you didn’t follow someone’s specific style you weren’t received warmly by them.

But when I started playing against real people with my friends, there was an air of knowing what was going on. Lots of talking back and forth without a lot of silence, like a real team would during a match of Halo at MLG. I’m not saying the games stack up competitively, but I think the similarity of constant talking is what’s important, here. Most newcomers (like myself) look at a game like LoL and think, “how can this be fun? It’s long, it looks boring, and it looks really confusing.”

I remember specifically myself watching a game and asking, “what are you doing?” My friend said he was farming for gold, and I replied with, “farming? How can you enjoy this game? Why don’t you go kill someone?”

He told me that people farmed before they went and attacked, and that that can take around 10 minutes. Really? Talk about slow-paced.

Then I played a real game, and I died within the first minute. Yes, I was stomped on and my friends LOL’d at me, and I asked, “isn’t there an unwritten rule for farming?” They explained that it depends on the characters and what lane you’re in, and I began to really understand how the game worked on a social level. THere’s a lot that goes into when you should push or fall back.

As I got better (which isn’t that much, by the way LOL), I got to the point where I did farm, and here’s where I became hooked. If you’re with a teammate you’re constantly talking to them (and your other teammates) about what’s going on. Who needs help, when you’re going back and buying an item, what items to buy, when you get your ult and have it; really, there’s a lot to talk about, and I think that’s why I find this game so attractive. There’s a real sense of team that I never saw until I had a chance to play it myself.

There’s a little lesson to be learned here. While word of mouth and watching can be two excellent methods of computing content within a game and deciding whether or not you, personally, want to play it, it’s a good idea to get a little hands-on with it in different ways, especially if it’s multiplayer.

I’ll always advise offline multiplayer first over online (unless it’s a fighting game, but that’s for another blog entry) because playing with your friends is generally a better experience (unless you’re playing with a friend online LOL).

Just sayin’ LOL

REVIEW: House of the Dead: OVERKILL

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“If there’s one thing I hate more than mutants, it’s redneck mutants!” – Detective Isaac Washington.

I love House of the Dead. I fondly remember the days where I’d go to my local arcade, feed that hungry machine some quarters, and shoot zombies for however long it took me to die (usually around a half hour). So when my friend mentioned to me that we should play House of the Dead: Overkill, I said sure. I thought this was going to be somewhat classic House of the Dead.

And then I saw the opening video. A stripper pole-dancing. I actually didn’t know it was the opening video until my friends told me it was the opening video.

Um… what?!

For those of you who don’t know, this game was made in the style of an exploitation film, which is pretty much a low-budget movie that promotes any kind of racy content (sex, drugs, violence, etc…). So instead of the classic, somewhat medieval feel of House of the Dead (and subsequent technology advancements in the sequels), this was an exploitation film-style House of the Dead, and damn is it good.

How, might you ask? Because besides the gameplay (which I already enjoyed as a House of the Dead fan. If you’re a fan, you’ll enjoy that, too), but the characters and story are what really caught me. The first thing you see in the game is Isaac Washington punch Agent G (who looks like Keanu Reeves for the badass factor) in the face and say, “Wassup, muthafucka?”

And that’s when the tale began. A tale of one badass rookie secret agent, one badass who doesn’t know how NOT to use explicatives, and one seriously twisted story (and the WEIRDEST ending in history. I’ve never been so disturbed in my life).

And in this tale, you begin to realize that you’re not playing House of the Dead: Overkill anymore. No, you’re playing What’s Isaac Washington going to say next?. Because that’s exactly how it felt. You’d shoot a couple zombies and hear Washington utter, “Shit! Bitch almost had me!” and you can’t help but wonder, through the absolutely awful voice acting, corny one-liners, catchy music, and gore – how is this so funny?

I think that’s why the game can be considered a success, because it takes something like zombies (my bad, they’re MUTANTS, apparently) and throws in an exploitation film plot and characters, and it’s funny. That’s my favorite part of the game. Through every level, you’re almost waiting to hear dialogue between Washington and G. It sounds ridiculous, but it works. It really works!

The visual style itself isn’t high-class, but that just adds to the atmosphere of the game. It’s not supposed to look fantastic because low-budget exploitation films didn’t look fantastic. The gore is surprisingly good, so those who love those gory graphics won’t be disappointed. And I don’t know if exploitation films usually had catchy music, but damn was the music catchy!

Oh, and playing with a friend is fantastic. That’s how I played it, and I think I would opt for co-op over solo on this one. The game is really short for solo play. My friend and I beat it in what was surely less than 5 hours, so playing by yourself can be a good way to kill 5-6 hours, but it’s definitely something I’d try to run through in one glorious night with a friend!

If you’re looking for a game to really give your head a little spin, old-fashioned House of the Dead gameplay, and some good laughs from your new best friend Detective Washington, I highly recommend House of the Dead: Overkill!

———-

Presentation: 7/10

From the opening video to the level select screen, this game screams exploitation. It’s all very… sub-par, but understanding it’s supposed to be that way really improves the way it presents itself.

Gameplay: 7/10

Classic House of the Dead feel, and the controls worked flawlessly with the Wiimote (I wish we had the Wii Zapper). The boss fights were a little cumbersome, but nothing ridiculous.

Sound: 8/10

Some very catchy tunes, especially during the levels. Nothing entirely memorable, but definitely good while playing. What IS memorable is the voice acting, which is so bad that I’d say it crosses the line over to being incredibly funny.

Visuals: 7/10

So, the graphics themselves aren’t exactly amazing, but… BUT… I think that’s the point of their concept, so it works wonderfully. Plus, the gore doesn’t look bad at all!

Narrative: 7/10

While there is some (READ: very little) substance to the plot, it’s still enjoyable, and while I’m usually one big for narrative, this one didn’t bother me. Although that ending… really, you need to see the ENDING.

Replay Value: 6/10

It’s really something you can pick up again and again, enjoy some of the humor and style of the game, and then put it away for next time. Plus, for hardcore fans there’s a slew of bonus content such as harder difficulties and fan art! The golden brains in the game help facilitate the drive to collect everything for those who want to.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Exploitation film meets House of the Dead. It works.

———-

Oh, and there are mini-games you can unlock that up to four people can play. I think they were shoe-horned in, so I wouldn’t rush to play them.

Just sayin’.

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: