It looks like the Ultimate good guy just got a little more Ultimate!
My friend introduced me to Disney XD's new cartoon series for everyone's favourite webhead, and it's now one of the most entertaining shows I've seen this summer. It's a fun, zany show, chock full of fan service for even some of the biggest followers of the Marvel universe. While at times the show's humour may seem over the top and incredibly cheesy at times, at it's core it's an enoyable romp with Spiderman and younger versions of 4 heroes that have become all but forgotten in the storm of Hulks, Wolverines, and Iron Men.
Perhaps the drawn out humour also works for the shows benefit, with Spiderman often breaking the fourth wall as the narrator each episode, and cutting to some strange fantasy that he cooks up on the spot. It may seem jarring and unnecessary at first, but each cut provides humour through it's varied nature as well as it's shock factor (Nick Fury on the Price is Right? Awesome!). Sometimes if you're going to have a sense of humour, you may as well go all out.
This is also a great way for me to pass the time in between seasons of other shows too!
Tuesday 31 July 2012
Monday 30 July 2012
Hear VILE say "like" and "um" 500 times!
Now that my next batch of Project Dark videos are ready for uploading tomorrow morning, I can't help but still be caught in the habit of saying "like" and "um" after nearly every other sentence. In my walkthrough, the commentary I make is actually recorded live as I watch the playback. I believe that the main reason I tend to stutter and drone on and on is because of flaws in my current system. That's why, starting in my next batch, I've decided to change my method of commentating.
When I first started doing recordings, my form of commentary was done live as I was playing the actual game. However, the process was a bit difficult, as I was (and evidently still am) terrible at multitasking. But since Project Dark takes more concentration than your average game, I've opted for "post recording" commentary. And yet my dialogue still comes out as forced and disorganized, and is therefore not an enhancement to my videos.
And so here I am, searching for a new solution. 9 parts into the walkthrough, I've decided to try writing out my commentary after recording, and then reading off of it during my post record commentating. It sounds a bit lame right now, but this can definitely help bypass my occasional disorganized wording and will also give my brain a little more room to help me enunciate my words so that the commentary will be more enthusiastic. I believe that this will be a strong stepping stone on my way to improving the quality of my projects, and becoming a much more genuine sounding speaker.
When I first started doing recordings, my form of commentary was done live as I was playing the actual game. However, the process was a bit difficult, as I was (and evidently still am) terrible at multitasking. But since Project Dark takes more concentration than your average game, I've opted for "post recording" commentary. And yet my dialogue still comes out as forced and disorganized, and is therefore not an enhancement to my videos.
And so here I am, searching for a new solution. 9 parts into the walkthrough, I've decided to try writing out my commentary after recording, and then reading off of it during my post record commentating. It sounds a bit lame right now, but this can definitely help bypass my occasional disorganized wording and will also give my brain a little more room to help me enunciate my words so that the commentary will be more enthusiastic. I believe that this will be a strong stepping stone on my way to improving the quality of my projects, and becoming a much more genuine sounding speaker.
Sunday 29 July 2012
What am I REALLY looking forward to?
E3 was a couple of months ago, and I find myself speechless at my strange lack of feeling broke like as I usually feel after watching and reading about every press conference in previous years. Truth be told, I can't find anything to look forward to with only a few exceptions.
Why is that, then? Could it be that I'm content with everything that I have, or do I feel like gaming has become so stagnant that I feel that only a few titles are worth my attention? Or perhaps is it that I haven't heard enough info regarding any upcoming titles to get me stoked for the next big game? Maybe it's a bit of each reason, maybe it's something different entirely.
One game that I actually am looking forward to is Assassin's Creed 3. I've never been a huge fan of the franchise and it's gameplay, but the story has had me intrigued ever since I sat down to play AC2. And now that the upcoming title will take place in a completely new setting and that the story should (hopefully) be drawing to a close, I definitely will be putting some money aside for this.
The next games that I'm anticipating are constantly thrashed by their fanbases, with the sole reason being that they are "different". It's because young Dante's hair is black, and because Rising plays differently than Solid. In every scenario, change is just as likely to be detrimental as it is likely to be successful. With the Devil May Cry reboot and Metal Gear Rising in development, I'm looking forward to seeing some exciting action and bizarre atmosphere's for their games.
The next two titles represent the transformation of survival horror becoming perhaps a little too action oriented. Fans may cry that Dead Space 3 and Resident Evil 6 have completely abandoned their horror roots, but they do so at the risk of being unable to appreciate the excitement of encountering some awesome monster designs and a story grounded in a battle between rogue agents and corporations. And really, sometimes that's all I need to enjoy a game, and I know I'm gonna play the hell out of each of them because I loved the previous installments of their respective series.
And finally, the upcoming downloadable content for Dark Souls. Really, so long as I have more excuses to play 2011's rpg epic, I'm sold. With new areas, bosses, and equipment, I'm looking forward to dying over and over again in the face of the game's new challenges.
Why is that, then? Could it be that I'm content with everything that I have, or do I feel like gaming has become so stagnant that I feel that only a few titles are worth my attention? Or perhaps is it that I haven't heard enough info regarding any upcoming titles to get me stoked for the next big game? Maybe it's a bit of each reason, maybe it's something different entirely.
One game that I actually am looking forward to is Assassin's Creed 3. I've never been a huge fan of the franchise and it's gameplay, but the story has had me intrigued ever since I sat down to play AC2. And now that the upcoming title will take place in a completely new setting and that the story should (hopefully) be drawing to a close, I definitely will be putting some money aside for this.
The next games that I'm anticipating are constantly thrashed by their fanbases, with the sole reason being that they are "different". It's because young Dante's hair is black, and because Rising plays differently than Solid. In every scenario, change is just as likely to be detrimental as it is likely to be successful. With the Devil May Cry reboot and Metal Gear Rising in development, I'm looking forward to seeing some exciting action and bizarre atmosphere's for their games.
The next two titles represent the transformation of survival horror becoming perhaps a little too action oriented. Fans may cry that Dead Space 3 and Resident Evil 6 have completely abandoned their horror roots, but they do so at the risk of being unable to appreciate the excitement of encountering some awesome monster designs and a story grounded in a battle between rogue agents and corporations. And really, sometimes that's all I need to enjoy a game, and I know I'm gonna play the hell out of each of them because I loved the previous installments of their respective series.
And finally, the upcoming downloadable content for Dark Souls. Really, so long as I have more excuses to play 2011's rpg epic, I'm sold. With new areas, bosses, and equipment, I'm looking forward to dying over and over again in the face of the game's new challenges.
Friday 27 July 2012
Update as of JULY 27 2012
Yesterday I've continued doing some recordings of Project Dark, although I've made several mistakes against one of the bosses and two of the mini bosses. It's not all bad news though, I've changed the brightness setting and hopefully that'll make things much clearer. I'm going to continue work on the project this weekend.
Been playing a lot of UMvC3 lately. Currently working on a character that is particularly execution heavy. My head and thumbs hurt just thinking about it...
Speaking of games that I've been playing a lot of, Mass Effect 3's multiplayer is back and more addictive than ever with the new Earth DLC. I've been going crazy trying to find one of the new N7 characters, but so far I've only found two characters from the Rebellion Update. Still, the new Operation will be starting in about 3 hours from the time of writing, and the allied reward includes at least one N7 character. I hope I get that sick looking N7 Slayer Vanguard...
I really wanted to go see The Dark Knight Rises today and visit the place where the FGC meets up in my town, but I was called to pick up an extra shift. It's a little sad, but on the bright side it'll give me money to do some fun stuff next week when summer school is over for everyone else.
Been playing a lot of UMvC3 lately. Currently working on a character that is particularly execution heavy. My head and thumbs hurt just thinking about it...
Speaking of games that I've been playing a lot of, Mass Effect 3's multiplayer is back and more addictive than ever with the new Earth DLC. I've been going crazy trying to find one of the new N7 characters, but so far I've only found two characters from the Rebellion Update. Still, the new Operation will be starting in about 3 hours from the time of writing, and the allied reward includes at least one N7 character. I hope I get that sick looking N7 Slayer Vanguard...
I really wanted to go see The Dark Knight Rises today and visit the place where the FGC meets up in my town, but I was called to pick up an extra shift. It's a little sad, but on the bright side it'll give me money to do some fun stuff next week when summer school is over for everyone else.
Monday 16 July 2012
Why I LOVE fighting games pt.1
I wasn't all that into fighting games until last year. Truth be told, the closest I've ever been to dedicating myself to a fighting game was back when I played a lot of Melee and Brawl. Of course, those games are more like intensified party games than actual fighting games in my opinion, but only now I realized that the reason I was hooked on those games was the prospect of improving my skills and beating whatever challengers came my way.
It was last year when a friend of mine got a copy of Mortal Kombat 9 for his 360. Of course, the MK series had been infamous for it's over the top violence for a long time now so of course I was already familiar with the series although I never really played the games myself. And so I played my friend and got my ass handed to me every single time. I didn't care though, I was fascinated by all of the characters and wanted to play as them all. Eventually I bought the game for my Ps3 and that was the only game I played for that entire summer. I learned a few combos, but my win rate for the online mode was dismal at best. I scoured Youtube for videos that would give me stronger combos that I couldn't have been able to think of myself and spent hours finding them and practicing them.
Yet no matter how strong my combos were, I was still routinely beaten after every few wins. Eventually I happened upon Test Your Might, and searched every thread for ways to improve my skills. And so new terms were added to my vocabulary: mind games, punishes, whiffs, unsafe on block, active frames, match ups etc. I learned ways to improve and what mistakes I should avoid. And after every loss, I'd always ask myself "what did I do wrong and what should I do to win next time?"
The feeling was, engrossing. I loved the sense of accomplishment that came with overcoming obstacles in terms of my defence and the thrill of taking down dreaded opponents. And whenever there was a new technique hitting the scene, I was always sure to learn about it and adding whatever knowledge I had to my arsenal.
To this day, Mortal Kombat 9 remains the most played game in my library.
It was last year when a friend of mine got a copy of Mortal Kombat 9 for his 360. Of course, the MK series had been infamous for it's over the top violence for a long time now so of course I was already familiar with the series although I never really played the games myself. And so I played my friend and got my ass handed to me every single time. I didn't care though, I was fascinated by all of the characters and wanted to play as them all. Eventually I bought the game for my Ps3 and that was the only game I played for that entire summer. I learned a few combos, but my win rate for the online mode was dismal at best. I scoured Youtube for videos that would give me stronger combos that I couldn't have been able to think of myself and spent hours finding them and practicing them.
Yet no matter how strong my combos were, I was still routinely beaten after every few wins. Eventually I happened upon Test Your Might, and searched every thread for ways to improve my skills. And so new terms were added to my vocabulary: mind games, punishes, whiffs, unsafe on block, active frames, match ups etc. I learned ways to improve and what mistakes I should avoid. And after every loss, I'd always ask myself "what did I do wrong and what should I do to win next time?"
The feeling was, engrossing. I loved the sense of accomplishment that came with overcoming obstacles in terms of my defence and the thrill of taking down dreaded opponents. And whenever there was a new technique hitting the scene, I was always sure to learn about it and adding whatever knowledge I had to my arsenal.
To this day, Mortal Kombat 9 remains the most played game in my library.
Friday 13 July 2012
Quick update as of FRIDAY THE 13TH
Picked up the Metal Gear Solid HD collection as well as MGS4 for my Ps3 the other day. I finished the remainder of Guns of the Patriots' campaign from when I borrowed it from my friend last year in one sitting, although I'll admit I skipped a large chunk of all the cutscenes (I know, shameful).
I'm looking forward to getting started on the HD collection, although I'm already knee deep in video games as it is now that I'm working on "Project Dark" as well as still being addicted to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Not to mention that I still have the overpowering desire to challenge the fighting game community inside of my town as well, so as you can see, I'm swamped and I'm loving every minute of it.
My sister recently bought Epic Mickey for the Wii. I was interested in the game when it was announced back in 2010, but my attention was turned to other things by the time the final product was released. Now that I'm seeing the game in action, I'm looking forward to getting a chance at playing it.
One of the biggest critiques for the title was that the camera would be insufferable at times. However, instead of apologizing the developers defended the quirky camera by claiming "the players weren't playing it right". In my view, this is a lame excuse. I'm reminded of every other platformer game I've ever played, and there was no such thing as "playing it wrong". In Super Mario Sunshine, there was no wrong way to reach a shine, there were only variations of ways. When you're a little kid like I was when I played that game, I played however I wanted and had fun when I did. Developers need to remember to keep their games accessible, especially if said game was geared towards a younger audience.
I've already uploaded the first 6 parts of "Project Dark", although they're not without their own fair share of issues. You see, the game is very dark and I didn't make any adjustments to the ingame brightness setting because I was fine with the way it was. The footage still looked perfectly clear on my computer, it's just that when I uploaded them to Youtube, things became super dark. I've already used Youtube's option to brighten the video, but it only does so much. The best I can do is advise the viewers to view the first 6 videos in full screen mode, that way the game environments will look much clearer.
The continuation of "Project Dark" will be happening next week, hopefully.
I'm looking forward to getting started on the HD collection, although I'm already knee deep in video games as it is now that I'm working on "Project Dark" as well as still being addicted to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Not to mention that I still have the overpowering desire to challenge the fighting game community inside of my town as well, so as you can see, I'm swamped and I'm loving every minute of it.
My sister recently bought Epic Mickey for the Wii. I was interested in the game when it was announced back in 2010, but my attention was turned to other things by the time the final product was released. Now that I'm seeing the game in action, I'm looking forward to getting a chance at playing it.
One of the biggest critiques for the title was that the camera would be insufferable at times. However, instead of apologizing the developers defended the quirky camera by claiming "the players weren't playing it right". In my view, this is a lame excuse. I'm reminded of every other platformer game I've ever played, and there was no such thing as "playing it wrong". In Super Mario Sunshine, there was no wrong way to reach a shine, there were only variations of ways. When you're a little kid like I was when I played that game, I played however I wanted and had fun when I did. Developers need to remember to keep their games accessible, especially if said game was geared towards a younger audience.
I've already uploaded the first 6 parts of "Project Dark", although they're not without their own fair share of issues. You see, the game is very dark and I didn't make any adjustments to the ingame brightness setting because I was fine with the way it was. The footage still looked perfectly clear on my computer, it's just that when I uploaded them to Youtube, things became super dark. I've already used Youtube's option to brighten the video, but it only does so much. The best I can do is advise the viewers to view the first 6 videos in full screen mode, that way the game environments will look much clearer.
The continuation of "Project Dark" will be happening next week, hopefully.
Wednesday 11 July 2012
Project Dark is going live!
It's been a long time coming, but I've finally committed to starting my first video walkthrough with my new Gamecapture HD!
Dark Souls is one of the most exciting and rewarding games I've ever played. It's also one of the most challenging, with every dungeon or area acting as a sort of thrown gauntlet from the developers at From Software. Whether it's being faced with overwhelming odds against a horde of undead knights, or living in the fear of falling into some sadistic trap, the challenges are as varied as they are clever. Incorporating the very best elements of your standard role playing game, the nuanced combat system is wrapped in a moody and dreadful atmosphere. Dark Souls is a game a serious RPG fan should never miss.
Of course, being the dark game that it is has presented a few problems. The first 2 hours of gameplay had been recorded with no adjustments to the ingame brightness level. The footage looked just fine when I was editing them on my computer, but as soon as I uploaded them to Youtube the darkness became apparent. I've done what I can at the moment, using the option Youtube has given me to increase the brightness of the video, but for now the most the viewers can do is view the video in fullscreen mode to get a clearer picture. This issue is more obvious in the cavernous areas.
The first batch of video is currently being uploaded, and I have plans of recording more footage tomorrow.
Dark Souls is one of the most exciting and rewarding games I've ever played. It's also one of the most challenging, with every dungeon or area acting as a sort of thrown gauntlet from the developers at From Software. Whether it's being faced with overwhelming odds against a horde of undead knights, or living in the fear of falling into some sadistic trap, the challenges are as varied as they are clever. Incorporating the very best elements of your standard role playing game, the nuanced combat system is wrapped in a moody and dreadful atmosphere. Dark Souls is a game a serious RPG fan should never miss.
Of course, being the dark game that it is has presented a few problems. The first 2 hours of gameplay had been recorded with no adjustments to the ingame brightness level. The footage looked just fine when I was editing them on my computer, but as soon as I uploaded them to Youtube the darkness became apparent. I've done what I can at the moment, using the option Youtube has given me to increase the brightness of the video, but for now the most the viewers can do is view the video in fullscreen mode to get a clearer picture. This issue is more obvious in the cavernous areas.
The first batch of video is currently being uploaded, and I have plans of recording more footage tomorrow.
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