Several hours ago I attended a showing of Tekken Blood Vengeance, the full length 3D CG movie that will be part of the Tekken Hybrid Blu-Ray being released this coming November. It was a one day "special event" running in theaters across the United States. I honestly didn't want to put my hopes too high for this, but as a fan of the series for well over a decade I couldn't help but at least hope for a good show.
Tekken Blood Vengeance's plot doesn't involve any of the King of Iron Fist tournaments at all, so you really don't see much of the extensive cast of characters that fans of the series have gotten used to seeing over the years. The story follows Ling Xiaoyu as she's sent to keep an eye on her mysterious former classmate, Shin Kamiya. She later finds herself paired up with Alisa Bosconovitch, who has an odd, yet hilarious fascination with Shin.
It's a fairly straightforward story with some twists thrown in along the way. A few other Tekken characters make their appearance(I'll list them at the end of this blog), but for the most part the cast of characters remains small throughout the film. As such, unless your favorite character is female, or a Mishima, you probably won't see them fight in this movie.
The CG is certainly top-notch, and 3D effects(although sparsely used) are generally well done. Most of the battles were entertaining most of the time but there were some scenes that I felt could have been done better. Some characters provide comic relief(particularly Lee Chaolan), though there are times when this is not intentional.
The story really wasn't that interesting, and seemed to drag at several points throughout the film(which is particularly bad for a 90 minute film that's dubbed in English). Dialogue came across as hokey and forced at times. Some things were painfully explained by the characters and just had me shaking my head. For example...
Ling: I can't make out part of this photograph.
Alisa: Perhaps if I scanned it I could find something useful. What do you think?
Ling: Yes!
Now I'm paraphrasing, but that's pretty much how the scene went down.
One reason for this could be that the film is, as mentioned before, dubbed in English. Not only is it dubbed, but many of the voice actors aren't that great, or flat out just don't fit the character. You take that and the dialogue("You're like my refrigerator!") and you have some laughably bad scenes. I honestly considered getting up and walking out at one point, and I went there wearing a Tekken 4 T-Shirt that I've had since that game hit the Playstation 2 back in 2002 (it's clean and it still fits, sue me).
But I can't sit here and say it was all bad. Panda was genuinely funny and involved in many of the cooler scenes. Lee Chaolan had the funniest lines in the film. The Nina vs. Anna battle at the beginning was nicely choreographed. While most of the fighting game cast doesn't make it into the film, some of them are still referenced, at least.
After the film ended, there was an interview with Katsuhiro Harada from Namco Bandai, and the director of the film, Yoichi Mori. The interview is in Japanese with English subtitles. Reading the subtitles and keeping an eye on the people on screen isn't anywhere near as easy as it is on a small screen, so in that regard I'm glad they dubbed the film.
The interview gives some insight into why the director made certain choices regarding the story and selection of the characters, which I won't delve into here because they'll ruin some of the plot. This will be on the upcoming Blu-ray for sure.
Overall, I can't say I enjoyed this film as much as I would have hoped, but I still appreciated seeing it on the big screen. If there's ever another CG Tekken film, I hope they go with less story and more action.
List of Characters:
Nina Williams, Anna Williams, Jin Kazama, Kazuya Mishima, Ling Xiaoyu, Panda, Ganryu, Shin Kamiya, Lee Chaolan, Alisa Bosconovitch, and one more.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Capcom full of shit? Who knew???
So if you're new here, this blog is meant to be an extension of my YouTube channel, which is RIGHT HERE. Click the link, watch and (hopefully) enjoy some of the videos I have up, subscribe because later this year when get myself a new computer, I'll be kicking that channel back into high gear like I've always wanted to.
Alright....so Capcom basically said the Tsunami Tragedy that happened months ago was the reason why they decided to make Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 a disc-only release.
Please don't take my word for it, read one of many articles on it right here.
As has been pointed out by many people since this interview started making its way around the net, wouldn't it be much cheaper to release the game specifically as DLC?
No packaging, no pressing discs, no shipping, a more limited in-store marketing campaign, for starters. Those would be the benefits of a DLC release. Benefits that could be passed on to the consumers, via a lower price point.
I'm calling bullshit on this, as I'm sure many of you are too.
This has been Capcom's M.O. for years now. They should have just left the Tsunami out of it. Using a disaster like that as a smokescreen is disgusting.
Alright....so Capcom basically said the Tsunami Tragedy that happened months ago was the reason why they decided to make Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 a disc-only release.
Please don't take my word for it, read one of many articles on it right here.
As has been pointed out by many people since this interview started making its way around the net, wouldn't it be much cheaper to release the game specifically as DLC?
No packaging, no pressing discs, no shipping, a more limited in-store marketing campaign, for starters. Those would be the benefits of a DLC release. Benefits that could be passed on to the consumers, via a lower price point.
I'm calling bullshit on this, as I'm sure many of you are too.
This has been Capcom's M.O. for years now. They should have just left the Tsunami out of it. Using a disaster like that as a smokescreen is disgusting.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Freddy Krueger in Mortal Kombat
The funny thing is, this popped up as a rumor before the game dropped several months ago. I remember reading it on the official website forums and laughing my ass off.
Now that it's a reality and I've seen the Freddy Krueger Trailer, I'm both excited and somewhat let down at the same time.
It's Freddy, but they went with the 2010 version instead of the legendary Robert Englund from the original, 1984 version. So, at least if the trailer is any indication, he's the more serious version.
One of the things that made Freddy unique in the original series of films was his twisted sense of humor and memorable quotes. The humor's there, but he really doesn't say much in the trailer. I really hope they've done a lot more with the character than we've seen.
Freddy's moveset really doesn't look all that exciting. His X-Ray attack is very generic, much like Mileena's was before NetherRealm Studios tweaked it months prior to release.
His fatalities(at least the two seen in the trailer) are well-done nods to the film series. I kind of wish NRS had not spoiled them, but we still have his ending to look forward to.
A 'Freddy vs. Jason' dream match could always happen down the line, that'd be fun.
What do you think? Are you happy with Freddy as DLC, or were you hoping for someone from the MK universe like Tanya?
Now that it's a reality and I've seen the Freddy Krueger Trailer, I'm both excited and somewhat let down at the same time.
It's Freddy, but they went with the 2010 version instead of the legendary Robert Englund from the original, 1984 version. So, at least if the trailer is any indication, he's the more serious version.
One of the things that made Freddy unique in the original series of films was his twisted sense of humor and memorable quotes. The humor's there, but he really doesn't say much in the trailer. I really hope they've done a lot more with the character than we've seen.
Freddy's moveset really doesn't look all that exciting. His X-Ray attack is very generic, much like Mileena's was before NetherRealm Studios tweaked it months prior to release.
His fatalities(at least the two seen in the trailer) are well-done nods to the film series. I kind of wish NRS had not spoiled them, but we still have his ending to look forward to.
A 'Freddy vs. Jason' dream match could always happen down the line, that'd be fun.
What do you think? Are you happy with Freddy as DLC, or were you hoping for someone from the MK universe like Tanya?
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Uncharted 3 Beta First Match Follow-Up
Figured I would expand a bit on my commentary here...
I'm really enjoying the beta so far. It's definitely different from Uncharted 2, but still retains much of the same feel. This is something that many developers strive to do with their games, but they tend to overshoot the mark. A good example of this is Saints Row 2. Instead of building upon the strengths of the original surprise hit, developer Volition scrapped part of what worked and introduced all new multiplayer modes that many fans of the first games didn't like.
So far in the beta it feels as though Naughty Dog has a better handle on this concept.
Fan favorite(and a staple of most online shooters) Team Deathmatch is back, though with some new elements. Power plays, which grant the losing team an advantage for 1 minute of play, are a first time addition for the series. Kickbacks, very similar to streak bonuses in games like Call of Duty(though not quite), are also new. Lastly, some stages will be dynamic. On the "Airstrip", you'll start off either inside of a plane that's taking off, or outside on a truck fighting to get aboard. It's actually done pretty well, and should only be better when the game launches on November 1st.
Other changes are a bit more subtle. Melee range has been toned down. The finishing animations for melee battles have been worked into multiplayer. Jumping and rolling look and feel a bit different than they did in Uncharted 2, or Uncharted 1 for that matter.
Run speed, probably due to the addition of a sprint button(more on this later), has been slowed down a bit. Sound effects for the weapons pack more of a punch. You'll see hit markers when your shots connect now.
All these changes make the game feel a bit different at first. The physics are also slightly reworked, giving your character a more realistic, weighty feel to go with all the finely crafted animations this series is known for.
Hardcore Uncharted 2 players might be turned off a bit at first, but if they stick with it for a few matches the vast majority of them will really enjoy the game.
Two really big changes are the aforementioned sprint button, and the return to 1.04 damage levels.
The sprint button was honestly something myself and a large part of the Uncharted 2 community who stuck with the game after 1.05 were against. It's a pretty significant change, which to many can, at first, seem to take a bit away from Uncharted's unique appeal and put it more in line with the Call of Duty franchise. I have to admit that it still felt alien to me after six or seven games, but I was getting used to it. While you're sprinting, you're wide open for being shot
as you sacrifice turn speed and the camera zooms in a bit. I think it's a fair trade.
The return to 1.04 damage levels let us all play this game the way it was meant to be played again.
Running for cover, just barely escaping as you leap up a wall, or chasing down an enemy who's doing those things, that's when Uncharted shines. It's very exciting, very fun to play, and I'm glad to see the game head in that direction again.
As the beta goes on Naughty Dog will be letting us test out additional modes and features. I can't wait to try them all.
I'm really enjoying the beta so far. It's definitely different from Uncharted 2, but still retains much of the same feel. This is something that many developers strive to do with their games, but they tend to overshoot the mark. A good example of this is Saints Row 2. Instead of building upon the strengths of the original surprise hit, developer Volition scrapped part of what worked and introduced all new multiplayer modes that many fans of the first games didn't like.
So far in the beta it feels as though Naughty Dog has a better handle on this concept.
Fan favorite(and a staple of most online shooters) Team Deathmatch is back, though with some new elements. Power plays, which grant the losing team an advantage for 1 minute of play, are a first time addition for the series. Kickbacks, very similar to streak bonuses in games like Call of Duty(though not quite), are also new. Lastly, some stages will be dynamic. On the "Airstrip", you'll start off either inside of a plane that's taking off, or outside on a truck fighting to get aboard. It's actually done pretty well, and should only be better when the game launches on November 1st.
Other changes are a bit more subtle. Melee range has been toned down. The finishing animations for melee battles have been worked into multiplayer. Jumping and rolling look and feel a bit different than they did in Uncharted 2, or Uncharted 1 for that matter.
Run speed, probably due to the addition of a sprint button(more on this later), has been slowed down a bit. Sound effects for the weapons pack more of a punch. You'll see hit markers when your shots connect now.
All these changes make the game feel a bit different at first. The physics are also slightly reworked, giving your character a more realistic, weighty feel to go with all the finely crafted animations this series is known for.
Hardcore Uncharted 2 players might be turned off a bit at first, but if they stick with it for a few matches the vast majority of them will really enjoy the game.
Two really big changes are the aforementioned sprint button, and the return to 1.04 damage levels.
The sprint button was honestly something myself and a large part of the Uncharted 2 community who stuck with the game after 1.05 were against. It's a pretty significant change, which to many can, at first, seem to take a bit away from Uncharted's unique appeal and put it more in line with the Call of Duty franchise. I have to admit that it still felt alien to me after six or seven games, but I was getting used to it. While you're sprinting, you're wide open for being shot
as you sacrifice turn speed and the camera zooms in a bit. I think it's a fair trade.
The return to 1.04 damage levels let us all play this game the way it was meant to be played again.
Running for cover, just barely escaping as you leap up a wall, or chasing down an enemy who's doing those things, that's when Uncharted shines. It's very exciting, very fun to play, and I'm glad to see the game head in that direction again.
As the beta goes on Naughty Dog will be letting us test out additional modes and features. I can't wait to try them all.
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