Weekend, what are you playing?

It's the last weekend of June and for most of you, summer has begun. Summer equals free time equals hours and hours spent gaming. What are you playing?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KWNCNfY-hs&w=560&h=349]

Migoy: Digging through some old PS2 games I got from my friend in hopes of finding something random to play. Aside from that I've started Final Fantasy XII on the PS2. Being a Final Fantasy: Tactics fan, I love the world of Ivalice and giggle everytime I spot a familiar name or term.The MMO style of combat still feels a bit strange but the gambit system is pretty fun to mess with. I've been having a Mega Man craze recently with this huge urge to purchase the D-Arts Rockman X figure. While I'm currently short on funds at the moment, I popped back in Mega Man Marverick Hunter X on the PSP and beat Normal mode for X in like less than 3 hours (I know where everything is). Started with X again but this time on Hard mode and now it feels more like a Mega Man game, with the heightened damage etc.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-ZeISfJ7Vc&w=560&h=349]

Arlie: While it's summertime in the US, it's the typhoon season here in the Philippines. It's been raining here for almost the whole week. Flooded streets and heavy traffic everywhere, not to mention that fucking tornado. It's fucked up because we don't usually have tornadoes here. But enough about that, it's game time!

I've been "playing" Gran Turismo 5 mainly for the week. I am trying to complete Endurance Series for B-spec. I just finished Indy500 (200 laps) yesterday and had 2 of my B-spec drivers reach Class 30. Suzuka 1000km (172 laps) is currently on going right now. I placed the quotes because I wasn't really playing. With a really fast car(mine's Formula GT) and tuning setup I could just leave my trained B-spec drivers unattended and win the race easily with the expense of leaving my PS3 running for straight hours while I do other stuff like play other games or watch educational art films. Since saving in the middle of a race is not yet possible I can't be sure if I'm ready for the 24-hour events because of the random power outages caused by this weather we're having here in the third world.

I finally had the chance to play Alice: Madness Returns the other day. I am really attracted to this game, imagine the movie Sucker Punch turned into a video game, only that instead of Baby Doll you have a knife wielding, pepper grinder spewing, emo-looking chick collecting lost memories of her past. What I like in this game is it's gameplay and design, love the physics of how Alice's emo hair move with the wind in Wonderland(her hair suck balls in the real world).

I also played F.3.A.R yesterday, I wasn't able to finish F.E.A.R. 2 so I really didn't know what happened. And just like in previous F.E.A.R. games, I shoot everything that moves and hope that the little bitch doesn't appear. Finding those freaky Alma dolls hidden in every stage is not fun.

Quash: Yesterday i was at the Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition and  Mortal Kombat Tournament called Last Chance. It lasted pretty much the whole day and left me exhausted. For my second fighting game tournament, I actually did fairly well. I won my first 2 matches bringing me to the winners bracket to met the best Guile player I've ever seen. A player that uses Guile aggressively which is not Guile's playstyle at all, but he make it work leaving players stunned and shaking their heads.

When i lost to him i was brought down to the losers bracket and i needed to beat my own friend to reach top 8. That really sucked since we both wanted to meet somewhere in the finals. I lost again with him playing his over-powered Yun knocking me out of the tournament. Regardless, I'm pleased on how I did. I was worried about getting knocked out at the start but thankfully i was able to pull it off. In the end, we were treated with an intense Grand Finals with an Akuma player named Den against Ben, the aggressive Guile player that took me out of Winners. Den beat Ben taking him out of Winners, so Ben was actually coming from losers during the Grand Finals and had to win 2 sets of best to 3 matches while Akuma only needed to win 1. It was crazy, and Ben eventually got used to the fight and won the match. Congrats to him!

Mortal Kombat? well i joined that for kicks and i actually won my first match for some reason. I was using Kitana and with no practice whatsoever and with only one combo in my belt(which is why i picked Kitana in the first place), i quickly lost my next two matches against crazy MK players. It was fun though and i'm still laughing that i grabbed a win at the start.

Since all of that is over, I think ill go and play some Team Fortress 2 and forget about Street Fighter for a bit....until the next tournament. Thanks again for Pinoy2Dfighters for another successful tourney.

Last Chance - Mortal Kombat Grand Finals - Chronocaster(Kabal) vs Marcus(Kung Lao)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuwqT6FFgb8]

2nd Super Robot Wars OG

I've been a fan of the Super Robot Wars franchise during the time when they barely had animation. It got better and better over the years with a bigger roster of robots and insane 'over the top' attacks.

This SRW OG is for the PlayStation 3,, and it still looks like a Super Robot Wars games. I;m more of a gameplay over graphics dude but seeing an all-sprite game on the PS3 is still a little underwhelming.

Still, if I had the chance, I'd gladly play the freak outta this game.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPCHtZv15dM&w=560&h=349]

Happy Birthday Sonic!

Sonic the Hedgehog turns 20 today and SEGA is celebrating by releasing a demo for Sonic Generations on Xbox Live and PSN. The demo will include the 2 acts of Greenhill Zone. Act 1 will be using Classic Sonic and Act 2 will be for Modern Sonic.

It's the same demo that was playable at this year's E3 show floor so for those of you lucky enough to have been there, this is the same game. The demo will only be available until July 12 so grab it while you can.

Also announced for PSN is a 20th Anniversary Bundle. The bundle Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, Sonic Adventure and a Sonic 4 Dynamic Theme. The bundle costs $19.99.

Ico / Shadow of the Colossus Collection HD Comparison

Finally, we get a trailer showing off the differences between the PS2 Ico and Shadow of the Colossus compared to the PS3 HD up-res.

Aside from the widescreen and hi-resolution graphics, the infamous framerate of Shadow of the Colossus will be resolved in the HD collection. If it was already a spectacular sight on the PS2, just imagine.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wveUV9O_bg8&w=560&h=349]

Looks like the Boy Wonder will be making an appearance in Arkham City after all

A new playable character in the upcoming game sequel Batman: Arkham City has been revealed. It's none other than the Dark Knight's faithful sidekick, the boy wonder, Robin.  

Which Robin you say? You'll know soon after the jump.

Tim Drake as Robin in Arkham City (click for High-Res)

If you pre-order the game at BestBuy in the US, you'll get two Challenge Maps that will let you play as Robin.

Like Batman and Catwoman, Robin will have his own unique moves and gadgets. He will be able to use all Challenge Maps, as well as the two additional challenge maps that are included with the pre-order bonus pack: Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape. There's still no confirmation if Robin will take part in the game's story mode and we will update you on that if there's any news.

BestBuy listing reads:

While supplies last, pre-order the game for an exclusive downloadable Robin character. Robin is a fully playable character in the new and improved challenge mode in Batman: Arkham City. The Tim Drake Robin pack is available exclusively to fans who pre-order the game from Best Buy on Xbox 360, PC and PS3. Robin comes complete with his own unique gadgets and special moves, and will be playable in all challenge maps in the game, as well as two additional challenge maps that are included with the pack: Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape. The pack will also contain a bonus Red Robin character skin

It has also been revealed that Tim Drake Robin pre-order bonus pack is also available in Europe and elsewhere, though it is still to be announced by the retailers.

"Joker's Carnival Challenge Map" pre-order bonus from Gamestop

So far there are already two retailers that announced their pre-order exclusives. Bestbuy have the Tim Drake Robin bonus pack mentioned above, while Gamestop offers the "Joker Carnival Challenge Map" combo pack. Other major retailers like Amazon.com and Wal-Mart still have no related pre-order incentives at this time.

Batman: Arkham City is due for release worldwide on October 21 for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. TBA 2012 for the Nintendo Wii U version.