Well, I finally caved and did it.  I bought a fight stick.  I have officially bid farewell to the fightpad.  This is a major move.  Things are going to change forever.  Gulp.

A few observations thus far:

1.  That GameStop 50% extra trade-in sale realy isn’t too shabby.  The stick itself (the Marvel vs. Capcom tournament edition) was hugely expensive at $140, but if you’ve been wanting to make the plunge and you’ve got a pile of games sitting around, consider heading over to your local GameStop.  The bonus trade-in credit brings the values to almost bearable and you should be able to take a monster chunk out of the asking price.

2.  Er, it’s not easy making the jump from pad to stick.   I played virtually all of my Street Fighter back in the day on home consoles, so didn’t get much practice with the arcade sticks.   If that’s you and you’re looking ot upgrade your fighting game peripherals, know this: there’s a steep learing curve.  I’m a Zangief guy and while it’s a lot easier to piledrive someone, I get harassed by quicker characters because I’m still working out button location and stick reaction.  Hopefully in a few weeks or so I’ll have committed much of this stuff to muscle memory.  They key is, I suppose, not to get frustrated.   Which isn’t easy when some Cammy player won’t leave you alone.

3.  The stick really is cool.  The tournament edition I scored is huge and weighty and responds well to my inputs.    Any lack of winning is completely on the user end.   

4.  I can not wait for Super Street Fighter IV.  I was wavering a bit here because I felt I had maxed out what I could do on the fightpad, but the stick offers new opportunities to raise my game.  Hopefully.  Anyway, look it’s Dudley!

The Charge
Go to Hell.

Opening Statement
Hey, you might have heard that this game is a lot like God of War. And, well, it is. But is there more to Dante than timed button-presses and orb collection?

Facts of the Case
Yes, this is based on Dante’s Inferno the epic poem, but, let’s be serious: it serves merely as a narrative framework to get you, Dante, running around Hell beating the sulfur out of any underworld denizen you can find.

The motivation for this bloodletting is the recovery of the fair Beatrice, who got a bum rap and was tossed into the flames. Now, fresh off of a traumatic time in the Crusades, Dante pursues Beatrice—and Lucifer—into the bowels of the Inferno.
 

The Evidence
Let me just get this out of the way first: I hate the fanboy drivel of accusing games of being rip-offs or knock-offs or copyright-infringers or whatever. It ticked me off when people were talking about Saint’s Row and Crackdown that way and it is just as grating to endure all the God of War bitching with this game. Is the gameplay similar? Sure. But if we are to believe games like GTA and God of War are essentially genre creators (which I do), then of course you’re going to have similar subsequent offerings.

That being said, Dante’s Inferno is not as good as either God of War game and I predict God of War 3 will also eat its lunch, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun action diversion.

And that’s exactly what it is: fun.

At his disposal, Dante has a scythe and a cross, the first the up-close-and-deadly melee weapon, the second a primarily ranged attack that also sports some cool close-up moves. Both of these methods of death-dealing are fun to use, though not all the moves are winners. As a result, you probably won’t know which additional moves are worth upgrading until it’s too late, but that’s what a second playthrough or the new game+ mode is for.

In addition, Dante has a variety of magic (the best of which by far is the Holy Armor spell, which protects you and regenerates life when fully upgraded) and special relics that offer bonuses and special abilities. That’s a lot of upgradeable stuff, and the game is better for it; I, for one, can’t get enough ability unlocking. It’s a sickness I think.

Combat is fast, visceral, bloody and fun, but once you settle on the handful of solid movies, you’ll likely ignore the other stuff you just spent souls to unlock. For the larger foes you have the option to Punish or Absolve for a finishers, both of which are brutal, but yield experience for your Unholy (Scythe) or Holy (Cross) levels. Enemies can prove challenging (especially on the Hellish difficulty level, which I started on), but variation ebbs away towards the end of the game.

Which is the prevailing criticism and it’s valid: Dante’s Inferno runs out of steam in the home stretch. The combat, mythology and nifty design of Hell carry the day at first, but once you get into the bottom circles, the freshness is gone, replaced with repetitive characters and less-than-transfixing level design. The fact that the final circle of Hell is a series of challenge rooms doesn’t help things either.

Still, I enjoyed this game quite a bit. (Full disclosure: I also enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Conan quite a bit, too.) A pro-tip, to end on: I consider myself adept at action games, but starting fresh on the Hellish level kicked me in the groin more than a few times, especially the final bout with Lucifer, a monstrously difficult showdown that took me the better part of two hours to finally get through.

Closing Statement
It’s a good time and I’m already playing through it again. Incoming DLC, a survival/arena mode (which every brawler should have as far as I’m concerned) and the resurrection/replay mode extend the life of the Inferno. At least rent it, action enthusiasts.

The Verdict
Absolved.

Platform: Xbox 360/PS3 (360 version reviewed)
Developer: Visceral Games
Publisher: EA
Release Date: February 9, 2010
Rated: M (17+) for Mature.

Konami has picked up the North American publishing rights to the hack-and-slash sequel and, frankly, I’m overjoyed.  I really enjoyed the first game, nonsense story and painful voice acting and all.  Typically, the Dynasty Warriors formula isn’t my bag, but for some reason I really latched onto the mayhem of Ninety-Nights.  Something about wiping out 100s of dudes with a single movie is really appealing.

The game, an Xbox 360 exclusive, is bound for this summer.  Gameplay video after the jump.

The Charge
Assemble your team.

Opening Statement
The first Mass Effect blasted onto the Xbox scene and revolutionized many elements of the action/RPG experience, from its brilliantly-realized new IP, the revolutionary dialogue wheel and the pants-drenchingly fantastic graphics. Bioware’s anticipated follow-up is here and it is so, so much better.

Facts of the Case
Mass Effect 2 brings back Commander John Shepard: Space Bad-Ass, whose recent misadventures with the diabolical, genocidal Reapers led to big explosions and traumatic bodily harm. Cerberus, the radical pro-human group, led by the enigmatic Illusive Man (voiced splendidly by Martin Sheen), brought Shepard in to face off with the newest foes: the Collectors, a bug-like species that’s been wiping out colonies across the galaxy and kidnapping humans for Lord knows what malevolent purpose.

But before he leaps in the jaws of surefire pain and horror, Shepard must put together his squad, an eclectic group of aliens and humans from all corners of space who will offer him much-needed skills and talents or, at the very least, give the bad guys another target to shoot at.

The Evidence
There are games. And then there is Mass Effect 2.

Bioware’s sequel is stunning on every level, and represents both a significant improvement over its predecessor and a new standard for what kind of interaction and storytelling is capable in a video game. Yes, I know this sounds like your typical message board fanboy hype/drivel, but I have to say, this game absolutely put me in the fetal position with its awesomeness.

I had almost completed the first Mass Effect, but drifted away in part because of the touchy combat mechanics and the godforsaken driving sequences. Both of these annoyances have been cleared up. The combat is much sharper and is actually fun as a full-fledged, cover-based third person shooter. When the firefights came, I welcomed them, especially the culminating battles, which were aided by an increase in difficulty, some great music and added emotional weight to the outcomes.

Shepard as multiple weapons at his disposal, from a handgun to a mini-nuke (and other assorted heavy weapons). These are upgradable and the selection is expandable and ammo is never an issue. So blast away, and if you get bored with shredding Blue Sun mercs with inferno ammo (note: you won’t), you can always slap them around with your biotic, Force-like powers. In typical RPG fashion you can improve powers and skills (both passive and active) with gains in experience and mission completion. The refreshing aspect to this character progression is you won’t feel like you’re grinding to upgrade.

Missions are fun and interesting. It’s rare that a RPG holds my attention enough to see me gallivanting around the game world doing side quests, but I was fully into it here. I knew there was going to be some bodacious shooting action to be had, a slice of cool dialogue to partake in and perhaps a tech or weapon upgrade lurking in a wall safe somewhere.

The main story is the bread and butter of Mass Effect 2 and, thankfully, it delivers. The Collectors are imposing villains, the mysterious Harbinger—who’s connected to the Reapers—turns up during firefights with the Collectors and talks enough trash to get you amped about killing him and his minions, and the shiftiness of Cerberus and the Illusive Man are pervasive question marks.

But what really grabbed me was the building of my team. On the surface, it might seem that planet-hopping to recruit characters could become a tiresome experience, but it was the exact opposite. Each squad member had a cool, action-packed story to fight through, as well as an equally interesting “loyalty” mission. As I was plowing through these missions I actually began to care about these fake polygons. Legion the Geth synthetic, Thane the assassin, Grunt the tank, Jack the insane biotic—I was genuinely concerned about these guys, and Bioware knew that I would, so that when the shiznit hit the fan and my teammates were put in danger as a direct result of my decision-making, bother, that stung!

I don’t recall another game that got me as emotionally invested in its story and characters as this one, and, for me, that is Mass Effect 2’s greatest achievement. Set aside its graphics (stunning, by the way), voice-acting (perfect), sound (is the soundtrack for sale somewhere?) and gameplay, all of which are top-shelf, just the fact that I legitimately cared about what happened to the characters represents a profound evolutionary step in the landscape of video games.

Closing Statement
Here’s all I have to say: I spent hours strip-mining planets so I could gain enough space minerals to upgrade the medical bay in my ship so I can have surgery on my aface that would eliminate the scarring that comes along with making “Renegade” decisions.   Is it too early to decree a Game of the Year?

The Verdict

Platform: Xbox 360/PC (360 version reviewed)
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: EA
Release Date: January 26, 2010
Rated: M (17+) for Mature.

In this week’s episode, Erich joins the ranks of disgruntled Xbox 360 owners, Tim contemplates a return to Halo, Adam rekindles his love affair with the PSP, and Symposium Ad Nauseum takes a vacation so the boys can pay tribute to a very special console.

Share your favorite Dreamcast memories, and sound off on Tim’s Xbox dilemma, in the comments below, over in the DVD Verdict Jury Room forums, or by emailing feedback@pixelverdict.com.

You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.

Wow this is awesome.  Still not terribly hyped for the game, but if Bungie manages to capture this kind of spirit I may indeed have to scope it out.

It’s great to hear about the price drops on the 360, but what’s with the downgrade in cables?  A regular old A/V connection?  Really?  Granted HDMI cables are ludicrously cheap these days, but at least make an effort Microsoft.

And ‘Soft spokesdude Chris Lewis coughs up this lame excuse for the disappearance of high-def cables:

Removing the HMDI cable gives the flexibility to consumers who can then decide which type of cable they want for their specific gaming and TV screen set-up.

Blecch.

This is going to hurt come morning.

The Charge
One war, two epic sagas.

Opening Statement
A History Chanel fan’s electronic wet dream, Eidos Interactive’s Battlestations: Pacific, the sequel to Battlestations: Midway continues the tradition laid out by the previous installment of offering a unique twist on WWII-themed shooters, downplaying the “action” segments of WWII games and emphasizing the “strategic” and “simulation” aspects. Fancy yourself a general of the five-star variety? Think you can command a fleet of planes, boats and submarines to victory n the South Pacific?

Facts of the Case:
Pearl Harbor, 1941. The Japanese have attacked American soil, and the US now finds itself embattled into a conflict spanning the entire Pacific against a feisty and daring foe. Battlestations: Pacific puts you in command of entire fleets of naval vessels and airplanes as you march (uh, swim and fly) your way to victory. Experience one war from two perspectives—the American and the Japanese—and possibly even change the outcome of history. Well, for the Japanese at least.

The Evidence:
WWII games are a dime a dozen, literally. Go into any used game store, and with the exception of last year’s sports games, no other title will pocket the walls in such large quantities. Battlestations: Pacific, following the tradition of Battlestations: Midway chooses to rise from the pack by offering a more strategic and real-time-strategy twist on the franchise. There’s still plenty of action to be had, but now you have to micromanage! Hooray! The individual game elements struggle to assert themselves, but when taken all as a whole, Battlestations: Pacific is a unique and challenging game experience, rewarding those with patience and devilish ability to plot strategy.

Two campaign modes are immediately accessible, allowing gamers to take command of either the American or the Japanese fleet. The Japanese campaign is first up from a menu selection point of view, starting with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and here is where things get a bit funny. Historical accuracy, having had a few too many, goes to lay down for a few, and the campaign quickly diverts from the actual historical course of events in short order, no doubt to balance the amount of missions the Japanese have compared to the Americans. Purists may sneer, but hey, it’s a video game. What good WWII game doesn’t re-write history these days?

Um... did you feel something?

The game comes at you immediate with what appears to be an insurmountable learning curve of control schemes, unit management and placement of over 100 unique craft, strategic commands and various strategic mumbo-jumbo, when all you want to do is get in a plane and bomb Pearl Harbor. Early campaigns are simple “find the flashing object on your radar and blow ‘er up”, letting users get comfortable with the mechanics and controls of planes, boats and submarines before combining all three into a gigantic tour-de-force of military confusion and disorientation. It gets easier the more you play it, but the free-wheeling and all-encompassing style of Battlestations: Pacific can be disorientating to those not quite used this level of oversight.

Depending on your style, “micromanagement” might get you excited, but it also might be a word that gives you hives. Battlestations: Pacific splits the difference, allowing players to spend as little or as much time as they’d like supervising their charges, switching between units in the battle. It certainly leads to more successful campaigns, jumping into the cockpit of a strategically-placed fighter, as the computer AI is just good enough not to hurl itself upside-down into the ocean, but not quite skilled enough to actually sink an enemy ship for you. The downside of the system is that for optimal success and mission perfection, a lot of babysitting is required. How fun you find this kind of supervision is entirely personal.

At its most thrilling and frenetic, gamers control rounds of Battlestations: Pacific like an orchestral conductor—a swish of the hand here to dispatch a few more fighter planes, a press of the finger there to launch some torpedoes, a quick refuel and re-supply . It can be quite entertaining and open-ended, giving you the freedom to develop your own strategies of success and failure—for me, usually failure. I admit here that this kind of military strategy simulation is not my gaming bailiwick, but there are some truly epic moments of combat where you feel quite pleased with yourself at sending so many virtual men to their watery graves.

Improvements over the previous title in the series include a noticeable graphics upgrade, larger maps and environments, much more empasis on land-based objectives—capturing islands and re-purposing their resources for your own war efforts, etc. The addition of a cockpit-view adds an addition touch of realism (though no particular gaming advantage) to the flight segments, allowing you a first-eye perspective of that freighter you are about to kamikaze pilot right into. Oh yes, there are kamikaze units—actual units, not just lousy flying your plane into an enemy base—but only on the Japanese side of course.

Speaking of multiplayer, this area is well-realized and fun, if you can find somebody to play against that won’t embarrass and demoralize your invasion efforts. Five game modes are included: island capture, a points-based spending system where gamers purchase resource and send them into battle to capture control of an island. Duel is essentially a free-for-all mode, last one standing wins. Siege is a defense-based mode where one team holds and defends an island against invasion from the other team, who must capture it within a time limit to win. Escort is the same idea, but the key unit to protect is on the move. Finally, good old Competitive mode, which places all human players on the same time and battle to out-score each other with enemy kills. The few battles we participated in were gigantic debacles worthy of the history books in how quickly we got our @#$ handed to us—fun, but distressingly brief.

OH CRAP IS THAT A SMOKE MONSTER

Between the two campaigns and the multiplayer modes, there’s a reasonable amount of variety and replay value here, especially as the DLC packs continue to roll in, but even after a few harrowing and exciting rounds of Battlestations: Pacific, the innate repetitive nature of the format may turn off some people. The campaign missions really just recycle the same three game modes in different combinations, and unless you’re riveted by the historical placements of the troop movements across the Pacific, one round is often indistinguishable from the next. Multiplayer maps are often just wide tracks of endless ocean with a few islands tucked here and there—historically accurate no doubt, but not exactly awe-inspiring in its variety.

Graphically, the game hits the mark. Aerial sequences over endless stretches of shining, undulating sea, sunlight glistening are handsome, while pillars of smoke fly off your nautical vessels as you get pummeled by enemy artillery. Colors are vibrant and lush, and I do quite enjoy the little touches of chronological simulated authenticity, like aging film reel effects applied to news clip-style cut sequences, to really bring audiences into the historical action. Model designs are reasonably detailed and well-represented, but I noticed some screen tearing during some, uh, deliberate crazy flying when I lost control of my plane and drove it into the ocean. Yeah, deliberate!

Audio fares well with the constant cacophonic barrage of gunfire, explosions and radio chatter filling your environmental space. It gets challenging to decipher the constant dialogue sputtering from your radio, as some information is genuinely useful, but that’s part of the fun. An orchestral score brings gravitas and drama to an already packed presentation. Unfortunately, the dialogue is particularly tongue-gnashing; the Japanese voice actors sound straight out of a bad drive-in ninja movie, while the American actors sound even cornier. Bass response is satisfying—when you drop that torpedo into the water and hear it tear into an enemy submarine, your subwoofer will roar with approval.

How Battlestations: Pacific stacks up in your eyes will depend entirely on your level of appreciation for the genre and its numerous elements. You can almost break the simulatior into its “mini-game” elements, and when examined solely on their own merits, they all feel unimpressive. The flight potion is average at best; the control scheme is atypical and the physics feel sticky and sluggish. I’m sure someone will argue the “realism” of flying 1940s-era aircraft designs, but if you ask me, this argument is moot when you control a plane with dual analog sticks on a 360 controller. There is nothing realistic about that, full stop. Naval segments are slower-paced and often frustrating; maneuvering gigantic vessels that turn like cows to haplessly hurl artillery shots at distant specs in the horizon, which seem to be guided on a system of random chance. As for submarines? Forget about it. I’ve never been more bored in a video game in all my life. For people looking for a quick burst of action, this might not be the game for them.

Where Battlestations: Pacific succeeds is incorporating all of these lone, limited elements together, assembling them into a gigantic, living, breathing battle of Herculean proportion. On their own, the game elements are questionable and frustrating, but when you look at how all the elements incorporate into a fluid package, of players switching between them as the situation develops moving ships and planes and resources into key strategic positions? This is where Battlestations: Pacific earns its stripes. Think of the individual game modes like chess pieces; they are of little value in of themselves, but critical in the grand scheme of the battle.

Closing Comments:
If you can immerse yourself into the game and truly embrace all the nuances and high-level elements of controlling your armada, Battlestations: Pacific is a rewarding experience.

The Verdict:

Platform: Microsoft Xbox360 / Windows PC (Xbox360 version reviewed)
Developer: Eidos
Publisher: Eidos
Release Date: May 12, 2009
Rated: T for Teen

Erich, Dave, and Adam unpack all of the excitement, disappointment, big (and not-so-big) reveals, guest stars, and sci-fi future tech of Microsoft’s E3 2009 press conference. Will Project Natal redefine gaming, or fall flat on its motion-sensing face? What does Hideo Kojima unveiling Metal Gear Solid Rising at a Microsoft conference mean for fanboy flame wars? And do we really care about Facebook on the Xbox 360? All this, and last-minute speculation about the Sony and Nintendo press conferences. Join in the discussion in the comments below, in the Jury Room forums, or by emailing us at feedback@pixelverdict.com.

You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.

The Softies just wrapped their jumbo press conference and there’s plenty to chew through.  Did you get what you were expecting?  Was there laughable corporate wanna-be cool FAIL strewn about?  And how many Halo games exactly are in development?  Two?  Twelve?  A jillion kabillion?

Join us as we apply our underdeveloped analytical minds and sift through the post-megaton (or mega-kilogram) announcement fest.

Dave:  The biggish news out of this is the oft-rumored motion-control camera.  It appears to be the Minority Report tech geeks have been yearning for for years with maybe some Neverending Story tossed in as well.  Me, I’m not a big motion-control guy, seeking instead for my video games to offer a passive button-mashing experience, but I can see the value in what Microsoft is trying to do and that Milo thing was absolutely bananas.

Handled well, there really are a lot of potentially cool applications and it could be the gaming watershed the PR dudes have been calling it (motion-control Pit-Fighter!  It’s like I’m actually riding the forklift!)  Handled poorly?  Then it will just come across as a gimmicky knock-off of Nintendo’s gimmick.  We shall see but from what I gathered, this Natal thing is leagues beyond waggle and sixaxis.

I was a tad disappointed in the lack of brand new IPs or new game announcements.  Crackdown 2 is a welcome addition, though that had existed in the ether for some time.  That being said, the exclusives that were shown look top-notch: Forza 3 (HD video uploads are a great idea), Splinter Cell Conviction, Halo ODST, Left 4 Dead 2 , Halo Reach and the resurgence of Alan Wake!  No new games from Rare or Lionhead was a bummer, though.

I dug the additions to the Live service.  It’s nice to see them not resting on their online laurels and really adding content.  I think that Facebook application can be huge.  The last.fm might be dark horse as well, considering its free and if the video service continues to evolve with increased content, then that will be a big step towards making the 360 the entertainment hub the suits want it to be.  I like the social interactivity they’re pushing.

Finally, the geek moment was definitely Kojima personally announcing the next Metal Gear game coming to the 360.  I’ve never played these games, but I know the importance of them to the gaming world so this is a mammoth get for Microsoft.

Overall, I thought it was a, er, solid conference, lacking new IP I desperately wanted to see, but compensating with some tight looking games, the improved Xbox Live functionality and a potential game-changer in Natal.

Erich: Looks like we’ll have plenty to discuss in our “E3: Part One” podcast (look for it tomorrow!), so I’ll save some of my reactions, but I was pretty darn impressed by Microsoft’s showing. Any worries that this E3 was going to be anything less than a dollar-hemorrhaging blingathon are officially gone. Paul! Ringo! Spielberg! Hawk! Kojima! Molyneux! That really really excitable Microsoft VP! Even though they held off on any brand new IPs, we finally got a good look and firm-ish release for Alan Wake, which looks awesome, plus a host of sweet-looking sequels (with Left 4 Dead 2 at the top of my personal wish list). Oh, and don’t be too quick to disparage sequels, Mr. Johnson. If you think back to your favorite 360 games from this past year, I’m going to be a lot of them were series follow-ups (Fable II, Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5, Gears of War 2).

The biggest news of the conference, though, had to be Project Natal. I’m most amazed by everyone knowing it would be there, but it still completely blowing me away. There’s every chance the sizzle trailer they showed is pie in the sky compared to the reality of controller-free motion control, but dang if it didn’t look like some slice of sci-fi heaven! And if it works the way they claim it will, Microsoft might just be able to claim a chunk of Nintendo’s never-played-a-game-before audience. It certainly makes the Wiimote look outdated.

Steve: Well, all i can say is that it was about what i expected. Good news for Crackdown fans (i hated the first game, so pardon me if i don’t get too excited) and the Left 4 Dead people get a pretty quick sequel (didn’t see that coming!) Metal Gear Solid coming to 360 is awesome stuff (though word has already hit that it will also be coming to PS3 and PC – and as a long time fan of the series, hearing “Raiden is back!” gave me the chills… in a very bad *shudder* *gag* sort of way) and it’s nice to finally see some Alan Wake footage, but it just doesn’t look that hot to me – like maybe it’s been in the oven too long. Overall i’m most excited about Forza 3 and Halo: Reach (mainly because it isn’t a numbered sequel or add on, and that teaser was everything i LOVE about Halo as a setting). Biggest dissapointment was probably Splinter Cell: Conviction – which went from sounding like an incredibly cool concept (using social stealth – described like a modern day Assassin’s Creed) to a Bourne Conspiracy looking run of the mill actioner. What the EFF was up with facebook and twitter on xbox? And a music store? Really? I also wish this motion control bullshit would die a slow and painful death – preferably something involving hyenas and napalm. What was good, was pretty good, but the negatives outweigh the positives for me – Microsoft still just seems to be spinning its wheels and blowing smoke up our asses with celebrity guests and the same lack of focus they had last year. Rather than focusing on what’s made them what they are, they’re chasing after the competition. The plummet into “casual hell” continues unabated.