Uber Mondays! Kaori Nishidake: Pirouette Air Grind

This weeks Uber Monday highlights Kaori's Uber The Piouette Air Grind.
Am I the only one who thinks Kaori looks terrible? C'mon girl cut back on the eye liner, who are you trying to look like, Zoe?

Ryu: A study on Design and Inspiration by Arttronik

Of all the video games I've played since my childhood the one franchise I've consistently enjoyed is Street Fighter, I can remember playing the original Street Fighter in the arcades back in 1989. My addiction to the franchise really took hold in 1992 when Street Fighter II came to arcades. Aside from enjoyment of playing the game, Street Fighter has a fascinating and diverse cast of characters that have a rich story of how they came to fruition and where the inspiration was derived from.
Today I read a blog article regarding the origins of the design for Ryu and the inspirations that helped create one of the most iconic and recognizable video game characters in history.
Even if you're not a fan of Street Fighter or fighting games this is a worthwhile read I highly recomend!

Ryu a study on design and inspiration by Arttronik

Mass Effect 2 Review

Released a year prior for the Xbox 360, ME2 finally reached the PS3 January 26,2011, I got my copy on February 12th and soon after my PS3 was taken hostage by my wife! So I was very late to the party....but thankfully I finally got there and what a fraggin party it was!
Being that I don't own an Xbox360 I had to rely on the interactive comic Mass Effect: Genesis to give me the background on the events that lead to ME2's prelude...basically a ME1 choose your own adventure minus the gameplay.
The character creation module allowed me to create Shepard in (as close) my own likeness which helped escalate the experience.
The controls took a little getting used to but by the time I recruited   Garrus I had a good working idea of the Power wheel and Weapon wheel, and when I watched the advanced combat training vids it all clicked. Once your familiar with assigning "macros" for your squadmates combat becomes alot more enjoyable!
The game's story is incredible and between recruiting members across this richly developed galaxy to side quests and loyalty missions you never feel like the story has come to a screeching halt to do something slightly off the beaten path. Everything you do in the game breathes life and depth to the galaxy you're in. For the shadow brokers out there who crave every iota of info a game has to offer Bioware does not disappoint, every planet in every system has detailed info, every race has detailed info, every individual, organisation, item, weapon and location has info to be read via codex.
ME2 has Shepard jumping across the galaxy kicking collector ass and recruiting some of the biggest bad asses the galaxy has ever known, like Garrus the wise ass Turian Sniper, Miranda Lawson a Cerberus operative with a genetically created ass that would have Sir Mix-a-lot writting home to momma, Jacob Taylor the token black Cerberus agent who is really good with guns (I'm just sellin' it like I bought it), Grunt the tank (breed) Krogan, Mordin Solis the Salarian version of Spock, Thane Krios imagine Aquaman as an intergalactic assassin, Jack the human biotic...Kat von D with force powers, Kasumi Goto a master theif that rocks thermoptic camo Jedi robes, and Intergalactic bounty hunter Zaeed Massani and all around grumpy pants. Ooops almost forgot Legion the Geth Infiltrator who joins Shepard Commander to stop the ancients.
It's been a long time since I've played an RPG with such distinctive and well developed (ahem Miranda's ass) characters where you truly care about each and every one of them. As shepard Commander it's your choice to care enough to help all of the members of the SR2 Normandy and be a Paragon of the people or a renegade dick who doesn't give a shit weather you live or die. I'm proud to say I saved my entire crew on my first run....my Insanity run will not yield the same results.
ME2 benefits from possibly the most well written script and impressive voice acting I've yet to experience in my years of playing video games. See if you recognize The Illusive Man and Joker's voice actors...
The game play for ME2 takes a little getting used to, the weapon and power wheels, issuing squad commands etc. but once you get familiar with the advanced combat techniques the battles are so enjoyable, although ME2 is a RPG the battle system takes heavy que's from notable TPS's like SOCOM... commanding your squad to move to certain locations, which enemy to target, what biotic or tech to use and comboing those powers!
I am one of those RPG players who must collect every upgrade, every weapon, every item, max out every character before facing the final boss of the game....I think I picked up that habit from FFVII (had to have KotR summon to shove up Safer Sepheroth's ass ) so when I finally opened the Omega 4 relay I was rolling with the most loyal, most hooked up team of galactic bad asses this side of LV 426!
Mass Effect 2 is a phenomenal game, Story, Characters, Game play, Graphics, Audio all come together to create a gaming experience you will remember years from now! It's so good it made me want to play the first Mass Effect...Still hoping they find a way to bring it to the PlayStation somehow.
10/10

SSX X-Games TV spot

OMG a PS3 exclusive!? I thought only XBox got exclusive content....(that's sarcasm kids) Mt Fuji for the PS3 (for now) NICE!
I really liked the pacing of the video and the editing with the multiple windows all going on at once...it kinda reminded me of the GTA box art but in motion.
I'm really looking forward to this game I hope it does well in sales!

Uber Mondays! Eddie Wachowski: The Worm

Gamestops pre order bonus character Eddie shows off his signature Uber; The Worm, on this weeks Uber Monday!

SSX: Online features producer video pt 1

Todd Batty discusses one aspect of the SSX online component, explore where players can compete with their friends on their own schedule via Ridernet which alerts you to a friends best ride or if they tried and failed to beat your best time on a drop. This is a great way to enjoy the competitive nature of racing on your own time!

Resident Evil 6 Debut Trailer!

Ooops looks like Capcom's Zombie Franchise infected the interwebs a bit sooner than expected....DAM YOU MACAFEE!!!
I'm telling you the folks at Capcom know how to make awesome trailers!
Leon you said it! This does look like Racoon City all over again....and that is a great thing! This game looks great!
Will Chris and Leon unite in this game to stop those darn zombies? We'll find out this November!

Top 3 Favorite Video Game Cut Scenes of All Time

There are many nay sayers out there that think video games are childs play....looks at my wife. I was recently asked what my all time favorite video game cutscene was....I couldn't give one I gave 3 plus an honorable mention. Here are my top 3 favorite video game cutscenes! There are so many scenes from Final Fantasy X to choose from I choose this one because it literally floored me with it's sheer beauty but I could've easily choosen the final cutscene as that scene really was so full of emotion that it rivaled many Hollywood movies. My second choice is for the same reason, Valkyria Chronicals art style was so unique and so beautiful, it's a shame this title flew under most gamers radar, VC is another emotionally charged game like FFX. My #3 choice is one of the final scenes from Snake Eater, the best game in the MGS series in my opinion, it's scenes like the three I've chosen that make me a believer that the video game industry has the potential to surpass MOST of the crap that is coming from Hollywood these days.
So those are mine what are your's?

#1

#2

#3

Honorable Mention:

Street Fighter X Tekken New Cinematic Trailer & Game play Trailer

I was starting to wonder where all the media had gone for SXT and along comes Jin, Bison, Juri, Xiaoyu, and Paul Pheonix!
I'm psyched about SXT but a little voice in my head is saying wait....wait till Super Street Fighter X Tekken.....

Uber Mondays! Zoe Payne Pommel Me

The second week of Uber Mondays EA gives us Zoe's signature Uber The Pommel Me!