GameSpoon: The Escapist: Doomsday Arcade: Episode 2

"Face it man! They're taking over!" The rise of the video game characters has begun, the world faces complete annihilation as vengeful game characters cross-over into our plain of existence, with one purpose in mind - to wreak havoc and take out gamers!

It's "gamargeddon" and our heroes, Lund and Shanks, are back in this second episode of Doomsday Arcade. The question is, can they save us from...wait, what f*ck was that!? Knocking at my door...what the...IMPERIAL TROOPS!!! Holy shit, they just broke down my door! THEY'RE COMING AT ME...I CAN'T TYPE FAST ENOUGH TO SA.........

The Escapist: Doomsday Arcade: Episode One

While checking out some of the lastest Zero Punctuation videos, I stumbled across Doomsday Arcade: Episode One and just about pissed myself while watching.

If you aren't into video games - specifically Nintendo-based games - you may not fully understand the greatness that is this video; however, you just might get a laugh or two anyway.

This team of experts cooked up something that is fantastic and begs the question, "as a gamer, are you a mass murder...of video game characters?!" Well, according to my Fable 2 and Fallout 3 stats, I guess I know the answer to that - not to mention the decades of gaming I've done; I have no regrets.

Could this quite possibly be the greatest Escapist webisode ever? You'll just have to preview it yourself!

"Snake...snake...ssssnnnaaaaaaaakkkkkeee!?"

JapanSpoon - why Japanese gaming commercials are better

Seriously, if in America the advertisement agencies that worked with gaming companies, made commercials with gorgeous women - like this one - video game sales would be through the roof!

I'm a Xbox guy, but for some reason after watching this commercial, I felt compelled to go out and purchase a PS3 and Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Was it the beautiful girl (Leah Dizon) who is the star of the commerical or was it the fact that there was some dude dressed up as a ninja standing in line waiting to play?! Well, if the American beer commericals have ingrained any type of sub-conscious social expectation that certain products get you laid, it was definitely the former. Ninjas are cool and all, but girls are way more fun. . .and beer is good.

RandomSpoon - End of the World?

So CNN.com posted a story regarding the upcoming "end of an era," December 21st, 2012 - a date, that for some, marks the apocalypse.

Historically, seemingly every generation of people have had their own apocalyptic date; early Judeo-Christians called that situation the "second coming of Christ." Even the Apostles who knew Jesus, were convinced that the end was near, that Jesus would return during their life-time. Well, historically, every single generation has been wrong. The apocalyptic religious branches have always been wrong. So why does this particular date matter and scare the hell out of a lot of people? Because of the history of that date and the mysteriousness of the Mayan culture.

To the Mayan's, the end of this era is 12/21/2012; though some scholars believe the actual converted date to be 12/23/2012 (CNN.com). Regardless, there is something very peculiar about this verses the Christian-based apocalypic relgious sects. Unlike like a system founded in simple belief, the Mayans used their advanced knowledge of science, mathematics and their understanding of the universe to come up with this date. To the Mayan's, this date didn't seem to represent the end of all things, but a new beginning, a new era. Science may have led the Mayans to pick this date, but who can say forsure that the individuals involved with the creation of their calendar-system didn't get tired of mathematical equations? After all, isn't time infinite; can infinity theoretically end? Or is it possible that the Mayans knew something that we do not? There are many things the ancient civilazations had an understanding of, that we modern human beings have no knowledge of; perhaps this is one of those situations.

December 21, 2012 - is it the end of a 5,126 year "Mayan era" (CNN.com) or is it something more disasterous? All we know is a simple fact: our generation will experience this date and it will either pass without a change or something, whatever that may be, will happen. Regardless, it's beyond our control and time is ticking!

AmericaSpoon - President Obama vs. Lord Vader

President Obama Action Figure

um...AWESOME!

GameSpoon - Street Fighter 4 Video

GameTrailers.com posted a new Street Fighter 4 video that gives you the low-down of the storyline for the SF 4 characters. It's pretty cool, but it makes Vega (aka "Claw") creepy as hell, as he wants to taste your blood...Vampire Claw?

Check it out and get ready for Street Fighter 4!

AmericanSpoon - THANK YOU AMERICA!

We now have a new President and Vice President of the United States!!

President Obama and Vice President Biden, thank you.

GameSpoon - Kotaku: How to throw a gamer party

This article is rad! Honestly, it really is. Kotaku's AJ Glasser, basically covers proper etiquette for hosting a (gamer) party. The suggestions/recommendations are rules to live by for those of us who like to have people over for gaming. It's a more formal approach to having a great time - covering prepartion, host duties and attendee-behavioral expectations.

The really fun gaming parties that I've attended, usually involve a fighter (Street Fighter), a FPS (Halo) and some wicked Rock Band. Two-player games are great, but anything that can incorporate at least four-players is better - the more gaming available for people, the better. After all, it's a gaming party, they should game! Sorry hosts, but the friends that you invited have "playing priority."

Read the full article here, at Kotaku.

GameSpoon - Fable 2: Knothole Island

Well folks, today's the day that Fable 2's DLC launched. Now, rumor has it that the size of the download file is quite small. Could it be possible that this small-size implies that this "new content" already exists on the game disc and that this DLC is doing nothing more than simply unlocking the content we already own?

Conspiracy aside, this DLC is available for a low-price of 800 MS points ($10.00)! If you liked Fable and *SPOILER* miss your dog *SPOILER*, then download that new content and enjoy!

GameSpoon - EGMs Final Cover Story

1UP.com has posted what would have been EGM's final cover story. Man, this is sad news. Please check out 1UP.com for the entire cover story, including a farewell letter written by SF4 producer Yoshinori Ono.

R.I.P. EGM, your magazine will be missed.

GameSpoon - Wii Games of 2009

Gamasutra has posted an article that briefly looks into some of the most anticipated Wii games for 2009. This list looks very promising and has a lot of potential to pull the hardcore gaming community back into Wii-mania. So, if your Wii is collecting dust as you rack up hours in Fallout 3 on your Xbox 360 or PS3, then grab a can of compressed air to clean out the dust and prep your machine for some major gaming action!

Here are some of the titles from Gamasutra's list:

Cave Story

Release Date: Early 2009
Developer: Studio Pixel, Nicalis
Publisher: Nicalis

The Conduit

Release Date: Spring
Developer: High Voltage Software
Publisher: Sega

Deadly Creatures

Release Date: February
Developer: Rainbow Studios
Publisher: THQ

Little King's Story

Release Date: February 19th
Developer: Cing, Town Factory
Publisher: Xseed Games

MadWorld

Release Date: March 10th
Developer: Platinum Games
Publisher: Sega

Monster Hunter 3

Release Date: No date announced
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

Punch-Out!!

Release Date: Spring
Developer: Next Level Games
Publisher: Nintendo

Tenchu: Shadow Assassins

Release Date: February
Developer: Acquire
Publisher: Ubisoft

Checkout Gamasutra for the full list!

FlickSpoon - Iron Man 2 Villains Cast

Jon Favreau has just cast Mickey Rourke (Sin City, The Wrestler) and Sam Rockwell (Choke, Frost/Nixon) as the dual enemies of Tony Stark in Iron Man 2. Rourke will play a Russian soldier that will become the Crimson Dynamo--basically an evil Iron Man. Rockwell will play Justin Hammer, billionaire and professional rival of Stark.

GameSpoon - 1UP has been bought!

This is actually some disappointing news, because it probably - for the most part - means change. It's business, these things happen, but 1UP.com and its subsequent sites (such as GameVideos.com) are important sites to the gaming community. It has officially been announced that UGO/Hearst have acquired 1UP/EGM.

This may sound like the "end of the world," but according to 1UP.com, the outlook is quite positive:

"Since we started UGO 11 years ago, we have served the gamer community and built a world-class online publishing platform," said J Moses, CEO of UGO Entertainment. "The acquisition of 1UP, with its authentic voice, tenured editorial personalities and bustling user community, allows us to expand our base of quality content and represents a major step forward in UGO's mission to become the leader in the games space."

"We are extremely excited to join the UGO team," said Sam Kennedy, editorial director and creator of 1UP. "Relying on UGO's publishing platform will allow us to focus on what we do best -- creating great content and 'owning the conversation' among gamers through our unique, authentic and definitive voice and community."

We can only hope that this change will be for the better in the long run for the online sites, but unfortunately, EGM is over. Sad, a good gaming magazine bites the dust after 20 years of greatness; EGM will be missed.

GameSpoon - King of Fighters XII

This game is going to knock your teeth out! SNK's KOF series just got a lot cooler with the rebirth of their 2D fighting roots. So what makes this 2D fighting game so cool, other than the fact that it's King of Fighters? Because it was completely hand-drawn. Think about that, soak it up for a bit. Yes, this was hand drawn.

The game will be launching in Japanese Game Centers in April of 2009. It will continue to use the 3-on-3 team fighting system, with 5 round fights - should make for a pleasant experience. You will be able to perform Desparation Moves (DM) after you fill a guage, but there will not be any type of indicator that will tip off your opponent to the fact that you are about to unleash a beating on them; awesome.

King of Fighters XII will feature 20 characters to choose from - which is significantly less than its predecessor King of Fighters XI. Maybe this game will find itself overseas at some point? We can only hope.

FlickSpoon - Producers Guild Nominations

Pay attention because these are important. 99% of the time, the movies that are chosen by the Producers Guild wind up as Best Picture nominees. The winner--statistically--will win Best Picture.

1. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button - Voters love the whole 'Extraordinary man, extraordinary life' bit.



2. The Dark Knight - It's hard to find someone who didn't love The Dark Knight but it makes you wonder if the voting academy can get past the fact that it's a Batman movie.



3. Milk - Although Milk was only as good as Sean Penn's performance, the subject matter is socially relevent and important.



4. Frost/Nixon - Two powerful performances; if I were a betting man I'd bet on Frank Langella for Best Actor this year.



5. Slumdog Millionaire - Another Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) masterpiece about the never-ending quest for true love. This flick is genuine and guaranteed to make you smile.




There are two definite wild cards out there...

1. DOUBT - Loaded (somesay overloaded) with strong performances, Doubt has landed a ton of Golden Globe nominations including Actor, Actress, Director, and Picture. Add all of this to the fact that the Academy loves (repeat LOVES) Meryl Streep and will nominate her for anything, and you've got a Best Picture Nomination.



2. WALL-E - Arguably the best Pixar movie--some would argue it's the best Disney movie since their Little Mermaid rebirth in 1989. This has already been picked by Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago Critics Associations as their Best Movie Of The Year. It's a shoe-in for Best Animated Feature, but with any luck it'll slip in for Best Picture.

FlickSpoon - 'Ninja Assassin' training video.

What we have here is over five minutes of training and stunt choreography for the new Wachowski Bros (The Matrix) movie 'Ninja Assassin'. Only The Wachowski's would make a movie named 'Ninja Assassin'...and that's why it's awesome.

So apparently this is how you train to be a ninja...

GameSpoon - SF4 Character Videos

1UP.com has posted some exclusive Street Fighter 4 (console version) character videos.

SF 4 is a highly anticipated title that has a lot of potential at being one of the best fighting games around - especially for SF fans. The gamplay videos look promising, check them out and make up your own opinion; however, until you actually play the game, who knows what you'll think!

GEN vs ROSE

Street Fighter 4 Exclusive 'Gen vs. Rose' gameplay HD

DAN vs DAN

Street Fighter 4 Exclusive 'Dan vs. Dan' gameplay HD

FEI LONG vs CAMMY

Street Fighter 4 Exclusive 'Fei Long vs. Cammy' gameplay HD

GameSpoon - Gears of War 2

Gears of War 2, I love it!

So I came to the party a little late for Gears 2; you can't blame me, I was obsessed with Fable 2 at the time of launch. When Gears 2 came out, I knew I'd play the game, but I didn't really have a drive to go out and get purchase the game. I was wrapped up in my Fable 2 world, engulfed by that storyline. Upon completing Fable 2 with one character, I quickly started another. It didn't take a long time before I felt a little burnt out on RPGs and with Fallout 3 in my sights, I knew I needed to take a break before engaging myself into another massive RPG world. Gears 2 was the fix I needed and I knew it.

I remember the launch of Gears 2 well, to me, it seemed to have launched very "quietly." This surprised me, to be truthful, perception might be one thing, but facts are another - Gears 2 sold over 2 million copies in it's opening weekend! Well deserved numbers for an outstanding game.

Gears 2 is a fantastic game with epic battles and an intriguing storyline that captivates your attention and at times, is creepy as hell. I often found myself quite reluctant to put the controller down while playing through the game; hours would pass like minutes.

PROS

• Right off the bat, upon loading up the game for the first time and noticing in the menus that I had already unlocked characters because of my achievements in the original Gears of War, blew me away! I love the fact that you are rewarded for playing the original. It's great to know that those of us who have stood by the series, benefit in some way. Sure, it might be a business method to make people purchase the original, but not in my eyes. To me, it says, "thank you for being loyal."


• The challenge and intensity of the game. You can't go wrong with the epic tale of humanity's survival against all odds. This game does that well and brings Marcus Fenix and the rest of the Delta crew through one hell of an adventure.

CONS

• I think the controls for Gears 1 and 2 are very good, very thought-out and react perfectly; however, I continued to experience the same issues in Gear 2, that I did in Gears 1 - "attaching myself to cover." On more than one occasion, I found myself being shot to shreds as I "ducked and rolled" instead of "grabbing cover." I'll give Epic the benefit of the doubt and place the blame on myself, I can imagine that the physics that went into building that element of gameplay is quite complex. However, it resulted in the downfall of Marcus Fenix; can you put a price on Fenix's life?


• Delta team, the dealers of death. They are reliable, fierce and sometimes, just sometimes, they are in the way and blocking my shot! Ha, I love it though, they'll tear the Locust to shreds, even if they are preventing me from helping.

SCORE - on a scale of one to super-fudge, I'd give this game a 9.5! Hands down, best Xbox 360 game I've played to date. Cliff "dude huge" Bleszinski (as Kotaku calls him) and his team did a great job with this game. Thank you everyone.

BUY, PLAY AND RE-PLAY THIS GAME!

GameSpoon - Maj. Nelson's Top 20 Xbox Games of 2008

Major Nelson has posted the top Xbox Live games for 2008 for a few categories: Xbox 360, Xbox Arcade and Original Xbox games. It's a pretty good list and who doesn't like a good list?

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)
1 Halo 3
2 Call of Duty 4
3 GTA IV
4 Gears of War 2
5 Gears of War
6 CoD: World at War
7 Guitar Hero III
8 Battlefield: Bad Company Demo
9 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo
10 Rock Band
11 Fable II
12 Mirror's Edge Demo
13 Madden NFL 09
14 BF: Bad Company
15 Rainbow Six Vegas 2
16 UNO
17 Castle Crashers
18 COD: World at War Multiplayer Beta
19 Forza Motorsport 2
20 Too Human - Demo

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)
1 Castle Crashers
2 Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
3 Braid
4 A Kingdom for Keflings
5 UNO
6 Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
7 Fable II Pub Games
8 Duke Nukem 3D
9 Bionic Commando: Rearmed
10 Worms
11 SOULCALIBUR
12 Portal: Still Alive
13 DOOM
14 1942: Joint Strike
15 Bomberman Live
16 MEGA MAN 9
17 N+
18 Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
19 Marble Blast Ultra
20 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.

Original Xbox Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)
1 Halo 2
2 Fable
3 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
4 Counter-Strike
5 Fable: Lost Chapters
6 Doom 3
7 Conker: Live Reloaded
8 Splinter Cell Chaos
9 SW: KOTOR
10 SW: Republic Commando
11 Star Wars: Battlefront
12 Burnout 3
13 Guilty Gear XX #Reload
14 Gauntlet Seven Sorrows
15 Call of Duty 3
16 Ninja Gaiden Black
17 Crimson Skies
18 MechAssault 2
19 Call of Duty 2
20 Rainbow Six 3

GameSpoon - Daigo Umehara vs Justin Wong

SpoonPops and I were talking about SF over the weekend and he brough up the legendary EVO match between Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong. So I thought I'd post a couple of vids of this historic SF event.

THE PARRY/ENDING


THE FULL MATCH

GameSpoon - Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

I spent some time playing SSF2HDR this weekend and I started thinking, "wow, I need to improve my skills." It's been a long time since I've played SF on a regular basis and I don't think I ever really put the time in to fully grasping the concept of string combos together to maximize the damage you could inflict with the characters. So, I started searching the web for some combo ideas. I found a great site that gives some insight into character strategies and tactics - Event Hubs.com.

This site embedded a video of Ryu combos, which then led me to videos regarding Ken, Sagat, T.Hawk and Zangief combos! The following are these videos, make sure to check out Event Hubs.com too!

RYU


KEN


SAGAT


T.HAWK


ZANGIEF