The Gamer's Utopia Preview: Super Smash Brothers Brawl!

Posted by:Maxx
Ah...Midterms are done and I can get back to the gaming community, hope you guys didn't miss me. Well this time I'm reporting on a game that I'm having a major nerdgasm just waiting for the release! Yep, reporting on Super Smash Bros. Brawl!!! If ya haven't heard some of the new additions this time around, I'll gladly inform ya! And if you didn't hear of the series before, I have one thing to say... What the hell is wrong with you?! GO and get a Gamecube or N64 NOW and buy Super Smash Bros. or SSB Melee!

Ok I'm good now... Anyways there are a lot of new things this time around! New characters, items, stages, and game mechanics! Nintendo certainly aren't pulling the punches in this game! (No pun intended). Well let's stop screwing around and go straight to the good stuff!

Characters...ah the new characters.... Well from what I’ve heard, all of the characters present in Melee are in it except for a few, like Mewtwo and such. But they replaced those with much better characters. Some that are coming into the fray are Meta Knight, King DeeDeeDee, Pok'emon Trainer, Diddy Kong, Wario, Ike, and Pit. However, here's the cool thing. There are also third party characters! Only two have been released right now and they are Solid Snake from the Metal Gear series (whom uses CQC fighting and explosives) and (the one I'm squealing like a fangirl about) SONIC!! Yep the speed demon is in the upcoming game and now all the people who lived through the first console war finally get to pit Sonic and Mario against one another! There are also arenas for each character! Awesome things happen in them too, like Gears popping out of a base or the stage crumbling apart!

And some of the new stuff they have! Nerdgasm right there! Well let see, there are new items, like Assist Trophies (I think pok'eballs but with characters from different series like the hammer throwing Koopa and Ninja from MGS). There's a new pesky hammer which is stronger, faster, and lets the user run off the stage without dying! Then there is the big item, the thing everyone will fight for! This is known as the Smash Ball! Basically it's this orb floating randomly around the stage and the players try and break it open: once they do, they can unleash a super attack, known as Final Smash, and cause massive damage, if not a k.o.! Some of the Final Smash actually transform characters!!

If you’re not excited about this game, then damn boy, you're not a gamer! This game is one everyone's list if they own a Wii! It's coming out in March so keep an eye out! Till next time folks, ciao!

Links to Music From SSBB!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Main Theme

Fire Emblem: Fire Emblem Theme

Kirby: Meta Knight’s Revenge

Sonic The Hedgehog: Angel Island Zone

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Medley

Kirby! Break it down now! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, do do dodo do do

Posted by:Maxx
It's funny when you find a classic on the interweb! And I found this awesome video for Super Smash and Kirby fans alike! Enjoy!

The Gamer's Utopia Review: .hack//GU

Posted by:Maxx
Yeah this is my first post on this blog (I'm a new person around here besides Kal, if ya didn't know). So I figured why not break the ice with my review of my current addiction/obsession, .hack//GU. And just to let you know, my review for it is different than the ones in magazines and websites.

.Hack is a rather popular hit, in games, anime and manga. The basic back story is about this HUGE MMORPG called "The World" (And when I say huge, I mean it's like every kid and their dad playing). "The World" did have its problems; problems that are by far worse than a crashed server. For you see, data anomalies infected the monsters, making them un-killable. And that's not the worse part, for you see if you get killed by an infected monster, you become comatose.

In the first series of games, a player named Kite joined "The World" after persuasion from his friend, Orca (who was a legend in "The World"). After a dungeon, which taught Kite how to play the game, Orca is attacked by a rare monster named Skeith, and Kite gains an item called "The Bracelet of Twilight." The next day, Kite finds out that Orca went comatose, and goes on a long journey to cure Orca, meeting other players in the same situation along the way. This group is known as the dothackers and they fight the waves of "Morgana" (The god of "The World") and in the end bring the comatose back from their comatose condition.

Well in GU (Yeah that explanation wasn't GU.), the game creators decided to make a new "World" (because of the Morgana incident); this world was called "The World R.2." This world becomes a playground for PKs (or player killers) who prey on the weak and helpless. This is where our hero, Haseo, comes into play. He is a high leveled PKK (Player Killer Killer) and has a strong hatred of PKs, for he was PKed (Player Killed) the first moment he signed on the game. Not only was he PKed the moment he signed on the game, but also his lover, Shino, was PKed by a player named Tri-Edge. Well after an encounter with Tri-Edge (Whom looks extremely similar to Kite), poor level 130 Haseo is reduced to level 1.

Over time Haseo learns that his character in the game is VERY unique, his is an Epitaph user. These users can summon forth an avatar to fight data bugs, known as AIDA. Each Epitaph (avatar) is a "Wave of Morgana", Haseo's being Skeith. With this power and the other six users, Haseo goes on a long journey to save Shino and rid "The World" Of AIDA, a journey that spans the course of three games (which is still a game shorter than the previous series).

This game gives a great feeling of playing an MMO. When you’re not playing "The World", you'll be on the desktop reading emails from your party members, reading forums and downloading pictures, or even changing the desk top's background and music. And when you're playing the artificial MMO, the MMO feeling, is still present. You can talk and trade with other players/party members, run a guild store, get quests, and participate in tournaments. The only thing that would make it feel more like an MMO is having an actual online part.

This is one of the last games for the PS2 and is very anime influenced. It has good graphics (You'll notice some collisions problems and a little pixely), some GREAT songs, awesome voice actors and better game play then the first series. This series got a lot of bad marks in the game magazines and sites, but if you’re a fan of unique stories, anime, or the first series, seriously check this sequel out. It's addicting! Though some of the bosses are evil.