61 Frames Per Second : the go team

LittleBigPre-Order Confusion

Derrick Sanskrit — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:00:00 GMT

It's almost hard to believe that after all we've seen of Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet in the past seventeen months, the game still isn't out yet. Sony saw fit to make these last two months of waiting even more difficult last week when they unveiled a number of incentive goodies for LBP pre-orders: a guide to the game's massive creation tools, a book of stickers from the game, a Sackboy burlap pouch to hold your game case (shown at right), and downloadable costumes to transform your Sackboy into either of Sony's favorite scantily clad barbarians, Nariko from Heavenly Sword and Kratos from God of War. The fan community's reaction was expectedly positive to the power of outrageous. What most didn't realize, however, was that each pre-order would only receive one of these gifts, and which one depends on where they place their order.

As explained on the official LBP blog this week, those who preorder from Amazon will receive the creation guide and those who preorder from Gamestop will receive the exclusive downloadable Kratos costume. Though many fans have requested a "special edition" of the game that includes all of the bonuses, reps from Media Molecule have said there are no such plans. Still no word on where one would need to pre-order to receive the sticker book, burlap pouch, or Nariko costume, nor if any of these will be made available seperately after the game's release, but producing this many store exclusives is bound to only upset fans, much like the recent Smashing Pumpkins album "Zeitgeist" (which featured a different bonus track for each Best Buy, Target, and iTunes and then another bonus track for the Best Buy reissue). Also like "Zeitgeist," this move reeks of desperation to attract buyers to a third-place console.

Worse still, recent reports have indicated that LBP will not support music or graphics from the PS3 hard drive, requiring instead that all user-generated graphics be captured with the PSEye peripheral. Though this is as yet unconfirmed by Media Molecule or Sony, such a decision would cripple the creative element of the game that seems to be its entire focus. Say goodbye to those gorgeous stickers of zombie Schwarzenegger you Photoshopped last night and your Pink Floyd collection, say hello to poorly lit webcam photos of your cat and the same Go! Team song over and over again. I'm still looking forward to this game, but I really hope this last part about user-generated content on the hard drive is wrong. I gots to have my zombie Ahnolds.

Related articles:
E3 Opinion: Because It's Cool To Complain...
Games Cost Money: Sony Cans The Getaway and Eight Days
SCEE Playstation Day 2K8 Roundup: Killzone 2, Home, LittleBigPlanet Dated
Alternate Soundtrack: The Go! Team vs. Super Street Fighter 2

Ready? Okay! Wii've Got Spirit, Yes Wii Do...

Derrick Sanskrit — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:00:00 GMT

There was one male cheerleader in my high school, and every time I saw him in routines at one of the mandatory pep rallies, all I could think was, "I could do that so much better than him!" I wasn't scared of being a cheerleader either, I just couldn't stand that being a cheerleader would require me to A) attend sporting events and B) display school spirit.

Well, Namco Bandai's We Cheer may just be the game to earn me my long overdue varsity letter. These three gameplay videos from E3 make the Wii cheerleader sim look a lot like a cross between Polly Pocket at Elite Beat Agents.

Much like in Elite Beat Agents (or its japanese source Ouendan), you seem to control the cheerleaders on screen by mimicking their movements, displayed on screen as a series of colored lines, only this time you're using the Wii Remote to move your arms around and actually create the cheer movements, unlike Elite Beat Agents' stylus-based touch screen control.

Honestly, I'm not even that bothered by the Hillary Duff and Hoku songs when I know that The Go! Team's "The Power Is On" is also playable, especially considering the fact that Elite Beat Agents got me to enjoy songs by Avril Lavigne and Sum 41 (though I still hate that Coheed and Cambria track in Rock Band). My only real concern is just how bright everything is visually. A little more separation between the background graphics and the HUD interface could go a long way to making this game much more user-friendly.

We Cheer is currently unrated (though it is sure to garner an E for Everyone) and is scheduled to be released on September 15th.

Related articles:
Alternate Soundtrack Redux: Super Street Fighter II vs. The Go! Team
Make The Music With Your Games, Kids!
Watcha Playing: Keeping the Beat, Drum Master Style
Watcha Playing: A Little Singin', A Little Dancin'

Alternate Soundtrack Redux: Super Street Fighter II vs. The Go! Team

Derrick Sanskrit — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:30:00 GMT

There's just way too much going on with E3 to complicate things even more by bringing up yet another classic game, so this week I've gone back and made a video to go along with the very first Alternate Soundtrack piece we ran, Super Street Fighter II vs. The Go! Team's "Proof of Youth". Especially fitting, since we're all super pumped for both Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Street Fighter IV, which are being played by crowds of excited gamers in Los Angeles as you read this.

So enjoy the video below, click here to read the original write-up, stay tuned for more of our E3 reactions, and let us know what your alternate soundtracks are in the comments!

Related articles:
Street Fighter HD Makes Me Freak Out
Street Fighter II HD Update - Hitbox-O-Rama
Trailer Review: Street Fighter IV
Screen Test - Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Introduces Akuma

Recent Alternate Soundtracks:
Streets of Rage 2 vs. Test Icicles
Kirby's Adventure vs. girlsareshort
Mega Man X vs. The Knife

Alternate Soundtrack: Super Street Fighter II vs. The Go! Team

John Constantine — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Written by Derrick Sanskrit

I've developed a nasty habit that I like to call "Alternate Soundtracking". I think it stems from my wanton desire to multi-task as much as possible. Most of my gaming these days is on handhelds while I ride the train and when I've got an iPod full of new and classic tunes vying for my attention, the games' soundtracks just become redundant.

This is a slightly different beast, though. Alternate soundtracking, for me, involves sitting down with a familiar game, turning down its volume, and queuing up my music library to find music that actually enhances the gaming experience.

For the first entry, I'm going to keep things simple. This one's all about the raw youthful energy. Super Street Fighter II is one of the most popular fighting games of all time, but its popularity isn't thanks to violence. There were plenty of louder, bloodier, more extreme fighters around when it released sixteen years back. Super Street Fighter II's claims to fame are its lightning-fast speed, precision controls, and its bright cartoony cast. More than any other fighting game franchise, the Street Fighter games are legendary for their charming characters and their respective special moves. And nothing aurally compliments SSFII quite like The Go! Team.

There's something inexplicably gratifying about pulling off Dee Jay's Double Rolling Sobat to "Doing It Right"'s handclaps and xylophone bridge. And the victory-dance horn section of "Titanic Vandalism" demands an endless barrage of Hurricane Kicks (or whatever the crap you kids are calling that flying kick move that Ryu and Ken do these days). "Grip Like A Vice"'s relentlessly sharp drums and female empowerment lyrics are practically an anthem for Cammy crushing every muscle-bound martial artist in her path! Public Enemy's Chuck D makes "Flashlight Fight" ideal for the final battles against Sagat and M. Bison. With horn blasts and Chuck D at your back, you'll feel like you are truly leading a revolution with your joypad.

Of course, that's just my experience, and we all know that games and music are both subjective art forms. Let me know what your alternate soundtracks are in the comments!