Street Fighter 4 footage!

So, the word on the street (by street, I mean, Internet) is that is you want to be a real street fighter... ya gotta go the Korea.  And more specifically, you go to an arcade called the Jungin Arcade.  The have Street Fighter 4 running there all the time, and they even stream the battles live on the Internet.  These Koreans are crazy about their video games... just don't get them started on StarCraft...  Anyways.. this piece below is  from one of those streams.. and it gives you a cool view of the game in action... it looks awesome.  You can scope a cool video of game play footage at Capcom's official Street Fighter web page as well.  Also... Akuma is in the game.  So that brings the current character count up to 14.  The 8 original World Warriors (including the 4 original bosses), the 4 new characters (Abel, Rufus, Crimson Viper, and El Fuerte) and now Akuma and Sheng Long.  All we need now are the 4 characters from Super Street Fighter II: The New Challenger/Champion Edition (T. Hawk, DeeJay, Fei-Long, and Cammy) and we'll be set!  (still no word on those last four...)  Personally there are some other characters I wouldn't mind seeing included from the Alpha games...  maybe Sakura? Gen?  and Dan was always fun... There's also Street Fighter 3, which had interesting characters, like Ingrid, Ibuki, and Necro... there is a definite shortage of female characters (Crimson Viper is kinda lame)... so it seems like that would influence their decision some... but who knows what those Japanese are thinking.

In other non-4 related news... there is still no release date for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

it has been in development for ages...though Capcom has stated it will release in 2008. Lets hope that's true.

Street Fighter News

Welcome back to Karl's blog!  Your source for all relevant Street Fighter News!

Official Street Fighter 4 Box art has been revealed.. and yup.  Its my girl on the front :) As if there were any other important characters...  Ryu is on the cover of the European edition... guess those Euros don't like women...

In other news.. An articly posted at 1up.com today reveals a new character appearing in our beloved game...

Sheng Long Actually in Street Fighter 4

The April Fools' joke that wouldn't end finally comes true.

By Kevin Gifford, 09/24/2008

The oldest and most infamous April Fools' joke in video games is finally, honestly true. This week's issue ofWeekly Famitsu magazine reports that Sheng Long, the master of Ryu and Ken who's known as Gouken in Japan, is now available in the arcade version of Street Fighter IV as a playable character.

This marks the first time ever that Sheng Long, whose origins lie in a mistranslation way back in the original Street Fighter II, has been a playable character. Electronic Gaming Monthly published a hoax story in 1992 about how to fight against Ryu and Ken's sensei in the game, and the story's somehow remained in the minds of gamers ever since. Capcom's only too happy to make the hoax come true, though, it seems -- Sheng Long/Gouken was thought killed by Akuma long ago, but now he's back in SFIV, complete with a "forbidden" Shoryuken and a repertoire of dangerous assassin moves.

How's he play, then? You can find out at your local arcade right now -- assuming you're in Japan, anyway.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog

This is the greatest thing I have seen on TV in years... and it wasn't even on TV!  It was made exclusivley for the interent. (by TV phenom Joss Whedon) You can watch it at Hulu.com (or below in my blog) or download it from iTunes for about $5.  Its the story of a supervillain, Dr. Horrible, and his quest to join the Evil League of Evil (and its a musical, with very catchy tunes).  The best 43 minutes you will spend today...or tomorrow... (if you liked The Tick, this is the same kinda superhero vibe) You can also watch it in 3 parts at Hulu.com if you don't want to watch the whole thing at once.

Edit: Probably better to go right to Hulu.. can't get the embeded vidoe to fit in my blog's space...

Too Many Frakin' Games! Too Little Money!!

I decide to create a list of all the video games on the horizon (or ones that are already out that I haven't gotten around to yet) to see just how many awesome titles are releasing in the next few months.  What I realized is that there are far too many games coming out!  A lot of these I will have to pass on for a while until I can pick them up used or after a price drop...these are all for Xbox 360 or the XBox Live Arcade.  I am glad I only own one game console.. if I had to shop for a Wii or PS3 games too?  yeesh...

(blurbs are taken from 1up.com)

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So before I start with the games upcoming... lets start with a few I am currently playing.

Soul Calibur 4

Namco Bandai's fifth installment it its popular fantasy-based fighter, Soul Calibur 4 packs in over 30 characters (including a platform-specific Darth Vader and Yoda), multiple modes, tweaked character creation, and an all-new Critical Finish system.

Still love this game...This is a fantastic fighting game... despite the "not as cool as you might hope" Star Wars characters, the core fighting game is unparralleled on the consoles at this moment.  I am still playing this a bunch, tyring to work my way up and down the tower... just wish I had better internet to play with friends online.

Lost Odyssey

An RPG from well-known Japanese creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Nobuo Uematsu and Takehito Inoue.

I have had this game for a while, but haven't finished it.  I really enjoy it, and its been awhile since I played a good JRPG... great graphics and cool story for this one.  I am looking forward to finishing it up.  I love reading the dreams.. even if it is just reading a story.. and it has great music. (no surprise considering its Nobuo Uematsu)

Star Wars: Force Unleashed

The saga continues in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a videogame developed by LucasArts, which casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice". The expansive story, created under direction from George Lucas, is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III and Episode IV. Force Unleashed also uses LucasArt's new Digital Molecular Matter graphics engine.

Just got this one earlier this week.  I really enjoy it.  Very cool story, some moments are a bit "huh?" but its pretty cool.  The action is fun, combat is often challenging and the Force powers are very cool.  So.. cool characters, nice graphics, good story, Star Wars = fun game.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rainslick Precipice of Darkness 

The first chapter of Penny Arcade's episodic, Lovecraftian adventure series for Windows, OS X, and next-gen consoles. With a script and art direction by the comic's creators, it should remain true to the source material.

I love Penny Arccade so this one was a no brainer.  A fun, hilarious, and surprisingly hard RPG on the XBox Live Arcade... can't wait for the second installment coming later :) You even get to continue using your same character!  Karleton is ready for some more adventure! (after I finish this one of course...)

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Alright... and then we have the games I don't own... that I want.  Lets start with the XBox Live Arcade titles... they are easier to take since they are cheap(er) :)

Portal:Still Alive (forth coming)

Portal: Still Alive is a "1.5" version of the popular Portal game with some extras for the XBLA from EA and Valve.

Expansion to one of the best games of 2007.  nuff said.. its more Portal!

Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (forth coming)

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, originally developed by Capcom for the arcade, makes its downloadable debut on the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

Revamped version of Street Fighter II Champion's Edition (Cammy, DeeJay, THawk, Bruce Lee), the graphics are being "drawn" by the people at Udon Comics... they look awesome.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (out now)

A curious hybrid puzzle/RPG game, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords includes four classes of character -- knight, warrior, wizard, and druid -- and over 100 quests.

Really great puzzle/RPG hybrid game.  I have been playing this for a while, and this is the expansion for it.. new character classes, quests, etc.. a solid upgrade to a solid game.

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (forth coming)

D3 Publisher brings the sequel to the popular Puzzle/RPG hybrid game, Puzzle Quest.

Sci-fi version of Puzzle Quest.  Yes please!

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 (out now)

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is the sequel to the popular XBLA shooter from Microsoft and Bizarre Creations.

I loved the first one to death (very addictive game) ... and this one looks great.  New game modes, multiplayer (local only) and of course... the same arcade style shooter action.  and lots of tiny shapes trying to kill you.

Castle Crashers (out now)

Beat 'em up game from The Behemoth.

A cool stylized hack-n-slasher.. with multiplayer!  Kind of a Gauntlet for the modern age.

Braid (out now)

Number None Inc. brings you Braid an action platformer game.

Mario Brothers on drugs.. awesome art style and really interesting story and gameplay.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed (out now)

A remake of Capcom's classic platformer, Bionic Commando: The Plot to Revive Master-D adds new features like two-player co-op, new hidden areas, and ties to the next-gen title.

A revisiting of a classic game.  Its very old school still, just with some graphical and gameplay tweeks... very cool.  I love when they re-do these old games...

Galaga Legions (out now)

Namco Bandai brings a new version of their arcade classic, Galaga with Galaga Legions for the XBox 360.

See above game... another classic re-done.

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Now onto the big boys... the $60 games you buy from your local retail store (or in my case, Amazon.com)  In no particular order...

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise (out now)

Tend to more pinata animals in this colorful gardening sequel.

I really enjoyed the first one, and this one fixes alot of the problems that plagued it.  I traded in my old copy, giving me all the more reason to pick up this one :)

Dead Space (October)

Dead Space, a new IP from EA's Redwood Shores Studio, puts gamers into a rich third-person sci-fi survival horror experience that delivers psychological thrills and a whole lot of gruesome action.

A sci-fi horror game... looks really cool and interesting.  And more good sci-fi in video games is a good thing...the AI on the enemies is looking to be very interesting...

Fable 2 (October)

The sequel to Peter Molyneux's rulebreaking RPG, Fable 2 is set 500 years after the events of the original. Offering even more choices and features to the game, all while building on the core gameplay of the original, your character will now truly be defined by their actions.

The first one was really great, albeit a bit too short and too easy.  This one has certainly fixed that.. can not wait for this one!

Halo Wars (January)

Take control of human UNSC armies in Halo Wars, the latest addition to Microsoft and Bungie Studios' best-selling Halo Universe. A real-time strategy game produced exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Ensemble Studios, creators of the Age of Empires series, Halo Wars moves the fight back in time to the first encounters with the deadly Covenant. From initial skirmishes to all-out war, this dark and cinematic Halo prequel is built from the ground up to take advantage of all the best aspects of RTS games.

The Halo universe done RTS style... Ensemble Studios makes good RTS games, so there are good omens for this game.  I like RTS games.. I like the Halo universe.

Mirror's Edge (November)

EA's Dice studio -- the folks behind Battlefield -- create an original first-person action adventure title for next-gen systems and the PC.

A new take on the FPS.. just take out the S.. a first person action game.. looks really cool.  It is nice to see an original idea instead of yet another sequel.  Running along rooftops, dodging enemies, more of a running game than a fighting game... hard to describe, look up the trailer and check it out.

Left 4 Dead (November)

A co-operative multi-player action game developed by Turtle Rock, creators of Counter-Strike. Left 4 Dead is built atop the most advanced version of the Source Engine and introduces version 2 of Turtle Rock's artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology.

This game looks sweet.. 4 survivor's struggling to escpae a city full of zombies..4 player co-op for the win!  And if you don't want to play a sa survivor you can jump in and play as a zombie to take out others!  mmm. brains... ( and Valve is partially behind this game...so you know it'll be high quality)

Fall Out 3 (October)

The third game in the cult role playing game set in the near future after a devastating nuclear war. Developed and published by Bethesda for PC, 360, and PS3.

Post-apocaluptic role-playing/shooter.  Huge world, lots of cool ideas and gameplay... an impeccable history of quality with the franchise... this game is gonna rock.

Gears of War 2 (November)

The sequel to the smash hit by Epic Games and Microsoft.

The first was good, and had amazing graphics.   This one looks just as good. Though considering how many games are coming out... I may pass on this one.

Street Fighter 4 (February)

Street Fighter 4, the long-awaited fourth (true) installment in Capcom's ground-breaking fighting series.

This one is still a ways out... but holy crap... a new Street Fighter!

The four new characters (Crimson Viper, Abel, Rufus, and the Mexican guy..) all look kinda lame.. but the original Hyper Fighting characters are all present.. and there might be a few others added (Cammy and DeeJay have been hinted at).. can't wait for some more Lighting Kicking, Spinning Bird Kickin' and Kokosho-ing action with my girl Chun-Li!  

"You're spikey wrists, your bogus hips, your rapid kick, I'm lovin' it!"

 - Man factory

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Honorable Mentions

These ones I most certainly will not be able to afford(though some are old, and therefor cheap atm)... but I would still like to play them some time:

Too Human

Lost Planet: Colonies Edition

Tales of Vesperia

Infinite Undiscovery

Last Remnant

Burn Out Paradise

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So... can anyone lend me some cash?  Thats about $1200 worth of games...   :)

Yarr!

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!  Avast me harties!  and shoven offen the mizmast!  Ahoy! or.. something.. yarr...

Yeah, thats enough of that...

But keepng in theme...  This company makes awesome miniatures.. Freebooter Miniatures.

I am going to be buying a bunch of their models to use in a new Warmachne army I am assembling.. (yes, its a pirate army) Using Fiona the Black as the warcaster from the Pirates of the Broken Coast expansion.  I am using different brands of models (some form Freebooter, Black Scorpion, and maybe some Reaper and Dark Sword minis) because its going to be an all female army.. with lots of interesting charatcers... and there are not enough females in Privateer's own mini line.  It will be a fun project... one I am looking forward to painting.   If I can procure a digital camera, I plan on documentig the assembly and painting progress of the whole army right here on this blog... maybe I can just borrow a camera every other weekend or so from someone.  Anyways, I have the army list planned out, its just a matter of procuring all the models (and shelling out the cash for them is the hard part), but it should be a really slick looking (and hopefully fun to play) army when its all said and done...an all female, evil, estrogen-laden, army of pirates! Put that in yer Crow's Nest and smoke it!  Me matey! Yarr! Walk the plizen plank! YoHo!

awww.. aren't they cute?

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&amp;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:af0e0dcd-5cff-43a2-bd32-4841fe6a89d1&amp;showPlaylist=true&amp;from=shared" target="_new" title="Avatars in the new Xbox experience">Video: Avatars in the new Xbox experience</a>

some music...

Haven't put a music post up in a while... so here goes.

Lately my music tatses have been pretty geeky and somewhat "retro" sounding... I have been really into music that reflects my gaming roots...  that being said I would suggest checking out the following bands.

Dealership.  I love this band... and Jane is a really great blogger and also has been a guest on one of my favorite podcasts (1up Yours) (I think I have a serious internet crush on her)   

Here are two videos of their songs.  Forest is an homage to Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  The other song, All the Kids,  is just cool.

Forest

All the Kids

Jonathan Coulton.  His stuff is great... some times really funny, other times, sad.  He wrote a great some about the dog the Russians sent up into space long ago (the dog died btw), and a great song about Ikea.  He also wrote the Portal Song (Still Alive). There are a bunch of free songs available on his website.  His song Big Bad World One is my personal theme song.

Other recent discoveries..  

Man Factory:  They have an awesome album entirely about Street Fighter II!   Its awesome. And you can listen/download the entire thing for free off their MySpace page...

have i seen that man before

he's got the body of a matador

he reminds me of someone i once met in spain

Vega my conquistador

i am afraid, i'm afraid

why did you have to move all the way to spain?

i am afraid, i'm afraid

i'm all alone, all alone

i need you here at home

well i was waiting patiently

waiting just outside

when i heard a scream

coming from inside

daddy said "chun li, goodbye"

bison got away on a boat t'ward thailand

the captain of the boat had a scar and an eyepatch

yeah bison got away now his old life's erased

he never had to pay for murdering my dad

start the engine right away

pack my bags get on a plane

look out bison here i come

on a seven-fourty-seven 'til your day is done

And theres The Protomen.  An odd group that performs rock operas about Mega Man.. very high concept stuff.. their website is pretty awesome.

Other non-geeky relatd stuff.. I am currently listening to alot of Hem, I am Robot and Proud, The Ditty Bops, and Hera.   All good stuff, check them out.

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Unrealted to music...

Are you Following my Blog?  If not, click on the thingy over there to Follow... please. (under my gamertag) -->

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Labor Day

well... I am smack dab in the middle of Labor Day weekend, and so far, it has been pretty shitty. I had thought maybe I'd be able to go home and see my family... but I had to work Saturday, and driving home for only 2 days, when most of those would be driving back and forth, and the cost of gas.. have kept me here. All of my friends are away doing things with family, other friends have left the country, and I feel kinda lonely, kinda bored, and just in a bad mood. The fact that it is a long weekend.. just makes it worse.. I almost wish I could go to work just to get my mind occupied on something. Additionally, this weekend comes at the end of a general crappy week. Work has been tedious and slow... plenty of work to do, however; the work is composed of long boring projects that just make me tired... and this house I live in continues to be inconvenient and annoying. I still, after living here for 2 months, do not have reliable internet access or cable.. and soon I shall start complaining in earnest until it gets hooked up. I shall become the angry tenant. Add that to this boring weekend... and you end up with a lame holiday. (not that Labor Day is much of a holiday anyways..) I thought of going to the movies, and seeing Clone Wars again.. but that would mean going by myself, a thought I am not interested in. I am going to try and get some painting done.. I still have alot of miniatures to finish.. and maybe listen to some new audio books while I'm at it. That should take up most of one day... I'd like to play some new games on my Xbox 360.. lots of cool Arcade games have come out recently (GeoWars 2, Braid, Bionic Commando, Castle Crashers) but without reliable internet, downloading/buying them may not be possible. I can't even chat online with anyone...or catch up on my online comics because the internet will more than likely not stay connected...
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You know.. sometimes you need a dose of reality.. something to get your mind clear and focused.. well, I got one. And it was kind of painful.. it did clear my mind.. And now I must spend the rest of weekend mulling it over. I guess I should be less of a dreamer and more of a realist... but I don't like the sound of that...
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I am going away this coming weekend to State College (central PA), to spend some time with some of my friends... do some gaming... and hopefully get my mind off of all of this... but that's not gonna be until Friday... so its gonna be a long week...
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This was written earlier in the weekend (a little Saturday night and a little Sunday morning) but crappy internet keeps it from being posted until now... stupid Comcast...