5/30/2009 - Rap Chop (500th post)

Holy crap! I can't believe this is my 500th post! And what better way to celebrate than with one of the coolest videos on YouTube? One that takes one of my favorite infomercials and edits it into a music video! A software program called Auto-Tune was used to control the pitch of Vince's voice so that it appears he's actually harmonizing with the background tunes. I'm sure it's not as automatic as it sounds, but with a lot of editing, the end result really is a full music video:



I think that if this version of the infomercial hit the air, even more people would by the Slap Chop.

1/10/2008 - Cruel Summer (2 videos)

I've been complaining how MTV and VH1 doesn't show music videos anymore, but I think I have an explanation as to why they aren't. I think that musical artists now are reluctant to do music videos even as promotional material for their albums (which was the primary reason for them in the first place). Why are they so reluctant now? Well, just watch this video:



Oh man, that is so incredibly retro... and not in a good way. The 80's where definitely a goofy time and it shows in that music video. After seeing something like that, I can understand why some artists would not want to do music videos for fear of looking stupid in the future. I mean, "Cruel Summer" is a great song and it's one of my favorites, but that video is breathtakingly bad. Ace of Base did a remix of the song only 10 years ago and even their video seems dated:



Still, I would prefer watching these music videos over the crap they're showing on MTV nowadays.

11/30/2008 - I'm a YouTube Junkie

Here's a recommendation/request from a fellow YouTube addict who has put the whole obsession into song. Having it be in a country/blues motif may seem like an odd choice, but it works. Actually, my YouTube addiction has somewhat subsided as gaming has taken over my life once again, but I still cruise the Popular Videos section for videos for me to blog about. But I do take suggestions, too! So e-mail or message me through YouTube or this blog.

11/24/2008 - Gears of War 2 Executions Montage

After Mortal Kombat, I didn't think that video games could get more violent. Boy was I wrong. With high-definition graphics in all the new games, blood splatter would of course get a lot more realistic than the now cartoony gore found in the 2-D Mortal Kombat games. Perhaps no game is a better example of this than Gears of War and its sequel on the XBox 360. When you have a chainsaw attached to your gun, you know you're in for some alien blood letting -- and lots of it! There are videos of Mortal Kombat fatalities, so there has to be a video of a montage of executions from Gears of War 2:



Watch in high quality for the full effect!

11/20/2008 - Spittin' Narcissism

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is finally coming out next week and I couldn't be more excited. No, seriously, I have been looking forward to this for over a year now and it was my primary reason for getting a Playstation 3. To celebrate, we have a music video staring Street Fighter's most conceited fighter, Vega (or Balrog in Japan). The sprite animation in this video is simply amazing, and the music isn't half bad either. This should herald a new genre of music: Street Fighter Rap!

11/17/2008 - Take On Me: Literal Video Version

I think I've made my point before about MTV never showing any music videos so I won't belabor the point again (although they did recently cancel Total Request Live, just to add insult to injury). I'm not sure there is a point to having music videos anyway, except to showcase how telegenic the singer is (which SHOULDN'T matter in terms of musical quality). It's not like the lyrics of the song matches exactly with what is shown in the video. For example, here is the video for the popular 80's song "Take on Me". It sounds the same as the original, but the lyrics have been changed so that it actually tells what is happening in the video. Like I said, it is an exercise in silliness:

11/5/2008 - Spider-Man Web of Shadows-Launch Trailer

Have you ever watched an awesome movie trailer, only to be disappointed with the actual movie? I'm sure we all have. Apparently, the same phenomenon applies to videogame trailers as well. Check out this trailer for Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, for example:



It is really one of the best videogame trailers I have ever seen, and would definitely be my pick for Trailer of the Year. The Beethoven music really fits and gives it a whole new level of epicness. The premise of a Venom symbiote infected city seems really interesting, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw that as a future storyline in the comic book.

From all the reviews, however, it sounds like the game is on the mediocre side. Which is really a disappointment to me because I was looking forward to at least renting it.

10/12/2008 - Video Game Typos, Misspellings, and Bad Grammar

A lot of the older video games in the 8-bit generation were originally developed in Japan, and inevitably when they were translated to American audiences, just like the Bill Murray movie, stuff got lost in translation. Either they did not pay the translators enough, or they didn't care. Well, even if they did care, they probably didn't know better, otherwise they wouldn't have hired translators in the first place. To be honest, most gamers probably didn't care about grammatical and spelling errors and worried more about bugs in the game. But for those interested, here is a compilation of some of the more egregious ones:

9/21/2008 - Street Fighter 4 Classic Voiceover

If you wanted a good example of how important sound and music plays a part in video games, check out this video of the upcoming Street Fighter 4. It is played repeatedly but with different Street Fighter sound and music samples from the original Street Fighter to Capcom vs. SNK 2. The Street Fighter samples sound downright primitive, but the Street Fighter Alpha 2 dub is almost seamless. What's impressive about the dubbing of this video though is how well the sound effects match every action that goes on. Every "hadouken" is perfectly timed and well as all the other punches, kicks, and even whiffs. And you gotta love that Ryu theme...

9/17/2008 - Superman (It's Not Easy)

I couldn't tell you exactly why my favorite DC superhero turned out to be Superman when I was a kid. I can say for sure that he remains my favorite superhero for a completely different reason than whatever it was back then. As he is depicted now, Superman is a hero whose motives are completely pure... and that's a rare thing in this era of anti-heroes like Batman and Wolverine. Superman is an alien whose powers make him one of the most powerful beings on Earth, and he could have used those powers for purely selfish reasons, even for evil if he wanted to. Yet, it was his upbringing by his adoptive human parents that led him to become a hero and protector for the rest of mankind. It's such a powerful statement if you think about it. Being a hero, of course, is not without its burdens either. You'll have enemies that you must protect the world from... enemies that you constantly fear could target your loved ones. Even though Superman has super-speed, there will be times that he cannot be at two places at once, and those situations make for some tough decision making. The 5 for Fighting song about him pretty much sums it up:



Indeed, it's not easy being Superman, but the world would be better if we could all be like Superman.

9/10/2008 - Ikaruga - 1 Player - 2 Player game (2 videos)

The videogame Ikaruga was recently put on a Top 10 list of the most difficult videogames of all time. Ikaruga is one of those 2-D shooters that tests your skills in dodging onscreen bullets. Not just a small number of bullets like Neo dodged in the Matrix... no, you have to dodge hundreds if not thousands of bullets to get through the level. Playing as one player in the game is hard enough, but can you imagine if you had to play as two players by yourself? You'd almost need a split personality to independently control two joysticks at a time. I thought that the perfect round of "Through the Fire and Flames" of Guitar Hero was the most impressive feat of gaming I've seen. I was wrong:

9/5/2008 - Lame Video Game Endings

When you complete a video game, especially a hard one, you expect to be rewarded with a decent ending. You want a kind of ending that makes you say to yourself that it was all worth it -- the bottomless pits, the cheap deaths, the game-overs and the continues. Sometimes countless hours of playing result in nothing more than frustration. If you are able to overcome those obstacles only to get some congratulatory text that has misprints, then it makes you feel like your time has been wasted. Not all great games have great endings, however. Super Mario Bros. had a pretty lame ending compared to today's standards, but you forgive it because the game itself is so great and you understand the limits of the programming back then. Now with full-motion video CGI cutscenes and loads of disc space, there is no excuse. I wouldn't go overboard like the Metal Gear Solid games, but something around 10 minutes would probably be enough. And it has to be epic!

It's sort of gamble to get a game and not know whether or not it has a good ending. No video game magazine would publish game endings, after all. So it's a great public service that this series of videos feature notoriously lame video game endings. The fact that some of these games are very bad only makes you more glad you've already seen their endings first, instead of torturing yourself by playing through the games only to be disappointed.

8/26/2008 - Soul Calibur 4 - The Incredible HULK Character

A few weeks ago, I didn't think I'd say this, but I'm really tempted to get the game Soul Calibur 4. I've never really played the other games, but I figure it has to be halfway decent to garner 3 sequels. In truth, I've been itching to get a fighting game, especially one where you can challenge others online. The thing is, I'm desperate for Capcom to release either Street Fighter II HD Remix or Street Fighter IV, but they haven't even given out a release date yet!

In the meantime, I'm looking at these very beautiful screens and amazing videos of Soul Calibur 4 and I have to admit that playing as Darth Vader on the PS3 would be pretty cool. What really intrigues me though is the ability to create your own custom character for use in the game. I've seen all sorts of characters that people have created... mostly based on other video game characters and even comic book characters. Any regular reader of my blog would probably figure out who I would create, but it looks like I have been beaten to the punch:



Hmmm... I don't think I'd have the Hulk's pants as destructible armor, though...

7/22/2008 - Street Fighter IV anime clip

It's funny... I'm so anticipating the release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (let's call it Street Fighter II HD from now on), is Street Fighter IV itself. The thing is, even though IV will be so much more technically advanced than II, having 3D graphics and all, I'm still looking forward to SF2HD more because it's a game I'm so familiar with having played it for years. And now with the ability of playing others online to see if my old school skills are still up to snuff makes me want to develop my thumb callous all over again before the game's release.

I mean it's GREAT that SF4 will still have somewhat of a nostalgia feel in that the gameplay will still be in 2D and the inclusion of the original 12 World Warriors helps too. See, Capcom is definitely catering to us old school gamers with the Street Fighter and Mega Man franchises. I mean, the fact that they would make a Mega Man 9 with 8-bit graphics is basically a love letter to me... and I'm ready with the roses and champagne.

Even though I'm looking forward to SF2HD more, Capcom released something a few weeks ago that brought SF4 back to my attention. It's a little anime cutscene that will be included in the home versions of the game. It depicts a fight between Akuma and Ryu, and of course it is epic. It's not something totally different than the excellent Street Fighter II Movie (anime), but the inclusion of Ryu's stage music made me drool... literally:



You know what's sad, though? Given the recent news that there will be no Ryu or Ken in the next Street Fighter live-action movie, this little anime clip is guaranteed to be better than the upcoming movie. It's also light years ahead of the 1994 Van Damme embarrassment of a movie.

7/16/2008 - Frying an Egg on a GeForce 9800 GX2 Graphics Card

I don't understand the need for a dedicated gaming PC in today's gaming environment. Back when gaming consoles could only do 2-D graphics and no online connectivity, I could understand the lure of gaming on a PC that could get online and could do 3-D. But ever since the Dreamcast, all that has changed. Video game consoles now can push polygons just about as well as the latest gaming PCs. It's amazing to me how many people complained about the launch price of the Playstation 3 being $600, and yet nobody decries the cost of Alienware hardware that run into the thousands of dollars. I guess if you had an unlimited income source and wanted the absolute "best", there's something for you out there.

I have to say, though, that it never ceases to amaze me how hot the processors of these machines can get. The only thing that is generating the heat is the resistance of electrical impulses. So the faster the processor, the greater the number of electrical impulses per second, and thus the hotter the processor. How hot can the latest processors get these days? "Hot enough to fry an egg" is always a good phrase to test:

6/30/2008 - Mega Man 2 Megamix

I apologize if I'm repetitive about my professed love for the Mega Man 2 soundtrack, my absolute favorite video game soundtrack of all time. The Street Fighter II soundtrack is fantastic too, but it's because I just don't like the Dhalsim and Sagat stage music that puts it a close second. If you don't count Dr. Wily Stage 3 and 4 as having music (it's not music by my stretch of the imagination anyway), then EVERY stage of Mega Man 2 has good if not great music. I can easily say that Dr. Wily Stage 1 and 2 is my favorite video game music track of all time, and not just that, it's one of my favorite pieces of music in general. I play the soundtrack on a loop at work and if someone comes in my office and wonders what that music is, I just say that it's pure 8-bit goodness. I recently found one of the best remixes of the soundtrack on YouTube and it's a shame that the creator disabled embedding on the video... here's the link, though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-k4XZZjrM8

6/29/2008 - 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Trailer

Here's one of those "so bad it's good" videos... or maybe it's one of those "what were they thinking?" videos. I guess you can say it's both. Apparently, they're trying to make a video game based on the rapper 50 Cent. Is it a rhythm-based game like Guitar Hero Aerosmith? No. That would make too much sense. Instead, make way for 50 Cent, "soldier of one" in the war on terror! Or is it a war against a fellow rapper in the Middle East? Who the hell knows? If anyone can make heads or tails out of this game trailer, please e-mail me:



As far as games using a likeness-based license, this looks even more ridiculous than Shaq-Fu... and I didn't think that would be possible.

5/27/2008 - Star Wars: No Easy Way Out

Last month, the James Rolfe (AKA the Angry Video Game Nerd) paid tribute to one of his favorite movie series, Rocky and its sequels. In addition to his great documentary about the locales featured in the movies, he gave quick reviews of the movies. I was very curious as to how he would review Rocky IV. I always thought Rocky III, IV, and V were less about the story and the Rocky "legend" and were made just as moneymakers. There was, however, something about Rocky IV that appeals to me as a child of the 80's. Looking at it now, it is quite the period piece with its heavy use of montages set to music, it's almost like a feature-length music video from the 80's. Like James says, "It's all about the montages."

Take the "Driving" montage for example. Here is Rocky, contemplating over the loss of Apollo (sorry if I spoiled the movie for you), and the prospect of going up against the beast Ivan Drago. Not only did this montage contain clips from the previous Rocky movies, but flashback video of something that just happened 15 minutes ago in the movie! Now that's a hardcore montage! It's all set to the song "No Easy Way Out" by Robert Tepper and is frequently parodied on YouTube.

Perhaps the best parody is the one with Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, where Darth Vader is witnessing his son's torture at the hands of the Emperor. Who knows what is going on in his head at that moment... after all, his face is completely covered in that mask. I guess it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that he's thinking about the past... and hey, that's the perfect occasion for a flashback montage!



I like to think of this as "What if Sylvester Stallone directed Star Wars?".

5/21/2008 - Megaman 3 with vocal audio

While I think Mega Man 2 had the best soundtrack of the series (and perhaps the best videogame soundtrack in general), Mega Man 3 has a pretty awesome soundtrack as well. As with many great videogame soundtracks, you often find yourself humming a particular theme or two... maybe in the shower or while driving. Well, what if you could replace the music in a videogame with vocal humming and vocal sound effects? You get something that's kind of weird, but totally awesome:



I appreciate the fact that they used my favorite track from Mega Man 3, the Snake Man stage.

Update to yesterday's post: The Angry Video Game Nerd has been reinstated to YouTube! Hooray! Now if they can just get PlayItBogart and Armake21 back.

4/6/2008 - Brawl: Through the Fire and Flames

So I played through most of the Subspace Emissary portion of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and if there's one word to describe it, I would have to say it is "epic". Sure, the story may be a bit nonsensical, and having no dialog hurts it, but having all the Smash Bros. characters band together for one adventure is something that must be experienced for sure. The one grating aspect of the whole thing was the overuse of the Brawl theme song that is supposed to be some kind of Latin operatic. It would be fine, I guess, if the music was great and catchy, but it really is not in my opinion. And when I'm playing a fighting game, opera is the last thing on my mind. The Subspace Emissary campaign would have been far better served with say, Dragonforce's "Through the Fire and Flames" as this video demonstrates:



Now that's more like it... and kudos to the editor of this video which is one of the most impressive syncing jobs I've seen for a music video.