Seasons Beatings 4: New Crack City - Daigo vs Justin, Oct. 16th - 18th

This weekend the fourth installment of the annual Season's Beatings, one of the largest fighting game tournaments in the U.S. takes place in my lovely city, Columbus, OH.  Hosted by Fugee La & Ghaleon, Season's Beatings is sure to make some worldwide noise in the fighting game community.  If you have not seen the 50-page thread dedicated to the event on Shoryuken.com, you should know you have until Tuesday to register and pay. Go to the Season's Beating IV website to register, pay and while you're there grab a shirt.

Headlining the event will be longtime rivals Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong who you may remember from a certain epic match years ago. They have had only a few encounters in tournaments since that match in other tournaments.  This will be the first time they will be put on center stage in a best of 10 in a little game called Street Fighter IV.

I'll be covering the latter half of the event on Saturday and Sunday, so be ready to be photographed [also you can NOT be photographed, just tell me...I'm not a jerk...well at least about this].  Here is a look at last year's photos. Keep an eye on the this site and Shoryuken for the photos and tournament results. If you are one of the fortunate many who are coming to Columbus for the event, have fun and I'll see you there!

Video: A Street Fighting Encore

In the spirit of this upcoming weekend's festivities, and the fact that everyone loves to watch a terribly animated & voice acted cartoon. Here's part 2 of the Street Fighter cartoon follies. My favorite is around 00:50 when Guile apparently has the knack for walking through people. BISON!!!!

Dirty Frank's Dogs: My Worst Restaurant Hot Dog Experience.

Earlier this year yet another Elizabeth Lessner restaurant opened around the CCAD area, here in Columbus. Much like Lessner's previously themed restaurant endeavors, Dirty Frank's Dogs has the vibe of a post-baseball game hang out.  If you are reading this, chances are you are a fan [much like I am] of Tip Top, Surly Girl, and Betty's.  The problem I had with my first visit to Dirty Frank's was their claim to fame...the hot dogs.  It was more dog than hot, but seeing as it was a couple days after the restaurant opened I gave it a pass. I recommended friends and my girlfriend's friends go to Dirty Frank's, I figured this is something a good local business supporter should do...even if they did not enjoy their first meal.

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Zombieland: How Did We Get Here?

The saying "history repeats itself," is quite fitting for cinema. We are living [and enduring] a number of fads right now. A large majority we will regret telling our offspring the magnitude in which we so voraciously supported such trends.  However, the zombie fad as of the past ten years have proven quite fruitful. Movies ranging from comedic homages, like Shaun of the Dead to hyper-realistic social commentaries of the 28 Days/28 Weeks caliber; all have added depth to the horror genre and our current zombie fad. The question is, where does Zombieland fit into all of this?

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WET [PS3]: All Style and No Control

WET's style of low-budget b-movie tongue and cheek cheesiness, unfortunately mimics its technical gameplay design. It's cool that Artificial Mind and Movement went back to the drawing boards after some development issues with Sierra and a luke-warm trailer reception in 2007. Personally, I have been in favor of publishers giving developers all the time they need to make the product they want to make [even though I know this is usually not the luxury most games suffer from].  After playing WET this weekend, I had a hard time believing, publisher Bethesda and developer Artificial Mind and Movement, were one hundred percent behind this game at the time of its release.  The voice acting, although star studded, is absolutely laughable. The setting is beautiful and visually appealing, but the 'cheap, Grindhouse-look' comes off as just plain cheap at times. I rented WET and I am debating if this game was worth the rental. The games challenges are not fun, much like the plot, you will fight with the poorly conceived controls only for the key events of the game to rely on quick time events.

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Super Street Fighter IV: Now With 10% More Ridculous Characters

This reaks of the Justice League late 80's mid-90's run. You know its bad enough Super Street Fighter II exists to torment my eyes with 'supposed' Native T. Hawk [short for Thunder...not Tommy]. Compounded with that shameless attempt of multi-culturalizing a clearly, culturally feeble-brained Japanese developed game...we get Dee Jay [who's fireball and double kick keep away game is sick], but really...did you have to make him play the maracas after ever damn match?! [Cue: Chappelle-esque joke about 'darkies loving to dance']. And we have Juri, who looks to have some sort of potential...for cosplay fodder.

I'm bitching and moaning. Honestly, I hope they balance out the characters more because Sagat is a smidge too beastly, but that usually doesn't happen when you add characters to a game [See: Tekken, Ultimate Mortal Kombat, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Marvel vs Capcom 3, and even Street Fighter III]. I actually am pretty siked for SSF IV, but man, if I see those maracas...expect a new level of pisstivity.

For no reason at all...Let's watch some terrible animation and voice over work from the Street Fighter cartoon

Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

That book that you keep staring at is not going to walk out of Barnes & Noble buy itself. Hopefully after reading this little review, you will have decided to pick up the post-mortem collaboration of Jane Austen with the very much living [for now] Seth Grahame-Smith.  Pride and Predjudice and Zombies has been out for almost a year now and is apart of an ongoing series by Quirk Books.  If you are apprehensive about reading a book directly based off of Austen's Pride & Prejudice, or are one of those people [like me] who find Austen's prose off putting, you are in luck.  Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has the perfect blend of literary wit from Jane Austen's original text, in combination with Seth Grahame-Smith's morbid zombie-fied humor.

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The Problem(s) I Have With Batman: Arkham Asylum

This Can Only End BadlyThis is not going to be one of those reviews which overly gushes praise for a game which is received it ten times over.  If you want that, I would suggest going to your local metacritic and having your score fetish satiated.  This review is more of a 'splitting of hairs' perspective. In case you did not know, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a great game.  If you are a fan of the comic and especially the animated series, then this piece of work made by Rocksteady, will more than likely exceed your expectations. However, for those reading this review months or years after Arkham Asylum's release, you are the consumer who may have slightly clearer vision.  Taking in the awesomeness of Batman: Arkham Asylum, let us discuss the issues in this well made, but slightly flawed masterpiece.

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TGS 2009: Fumito Ueda is The Closest Person To A Jedi

[Video via Joystiq]

Sadness washes over me that I'm not a this years Tokyo Game Show. Even more sadness that I didn't get to see this pretty awesome 'Making Of..' on a gigantic which I'm sure was projected on the back of 'just-as-huge' Hello Kitty head. 

Seriously, who isn't super duper jazzed for The Last Guardian? That creature that seems to be part mutt, part falcon and part rat looks to be the next creature that Ueda fans will no doubt grow fondly of whilst playing with only for some dramatic separation to occur [psychic spoiler]. Be that as it may, how awesome is the art and design for this game!?

Dream 12 Says Goodbye To Ring and Hello To Octagon?

Barring the mega-Satanic intro, I am pretty excited to see what could come of the Dream organization.  Its cool to see these Japanese promoters stick with promoting their fighters in a more respectible manner as oppose to the 'meat-neckery' the average American is use to seeing [as far as promotions go].  I am a little sad to see the ring go. I don't know why, but it was something so identifiable about Pride and now Dream and all major mixed martial arts events in Japan.