Call Of Duty & GameFAQs...Two Of My Favorite Things

You know guys, I'm at home with my family.  I'm feeling pretty good right now.  Super Sprint online is coming along nicely though I still got a lot of work to do.  So I guess that's why I don't have a lot to say for now.

I want to make this brief about Sonic & Sega Racing 2.  It's good we got gobs of info on the game so quickly.  Nice to see the fanbase (albeit, a small one) hyped up about it.  I suggest, against all disdain I have against GameFAQs, to visit the Xbox 360 and PS3 boards and post, post, post.  EDIT: Actually, no, there's too many typical GFAQs trolls, just don't go there, it's radioactive.  Though most of the current hype is directed towards Skies of Arcadia hype which really isn't my forte so I'm gonna pass.  Though there's some beautiful course artwork worth checking out.

Also kind of miffed that every time I view Reddit Gaming EDIT: including Reddit Gamernews (I also love the rage comics), you see jack about anything Sega related...except for maybe Sonic.  They're obsessed with Half-Life 3, Skyrim, and Mass Effect (as is basically every other gamer I know IRL) so what else is new.  At least Kotaku & Joystiq will occasionally talk about Sega.  Man, if it weren't for hideouts like the OOA GameFAQs board or the Supermodel 3 forum to get my Sega fix, I think I'd snap and punch a baby.

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But heck, that's not the point right now.  About a day or two after Sonic & Sega Racing 2's announcement, guess what comes up...the announcement for Black Ops 2.  The dam exploded and thus the gaming world's next big thing is upon us.  If you really want to learn more about the game, check out the Giant Bomb article.  Basically, it's 2025 and it's human versus robots.  The game'll also have a branching single-player which sounds a heck of a lot better than Modern Warfare's crap campaigns.  And it'll have more multiplayer options, horses, slightly better graphics while maintaining 60 fps, yada yada yada.

Frankly, as far as I'm concerned, I barely acknowledge Modern Warfare 3's existence at this point.  I just jumped from Black Ops 1 to 2.  Modern Warfare 3 was lousy and unmemorable to me (IN MY OPINION GUYS) -- it's only purpose was to conclude the storyline with Soap & Captain Price as well as the new Survivor mode.

But about Black Ops 2.  I'm seeing so many ads and promos for this game which seems unprecedented in my lifetime.  So many ads for a game that's coming out in SIX MONTHS.  Clearly, Treyarch & Activision are looking to crack the 10 mil copies sold mark again, maybe 20 mil!  And this is where I get scared.  This isn't just a triple-A title--this is a quadruple-A title.  I'm terrified that that these big, bloated run-of-the-mill mass marketed games with hundreds, maybe thousands of employees will take over.  How many game designers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?  Well, thousands I guess, assuming it's a damn polished lightbulb that costs $25 mil to make.

EDIT: Was scanning through TV stations when I saw the Black Ops 2 trailer on E! News, a show about movies, TV, celebrities, music, etc.  You're kidding me, right?  The line between video games and movies is being blurred more and more each day.

And Call of Duty has basically divided the entire gaming culture--you either like it or despise it.  I think Call of Duty is good (but not great) fun but I can't take the massive amount of weight that boggs down on the game.  Despite my interest in Black Ops 1 (hell, I'm 15th prestige and it makes me ill), I can't see myself getting hyped for Black Ops 2 at all.  Maybe if it continues the zombie storyline but other than that, forget about it.  I'm starting to err in favor of smaller games that feels specifically tailored to me.  One can wish...

Seriously, I can't be arsed into commenting about Call of Duty anymore.  Everyone gets their own personal victory out of ripping it a new one even though it doesn't mean jack s*** in the big picture.  Game'll still sell billions of copies and permeate the culture.  Watch as Activision laughs their way to the bank.  If you don't want to play the game, just ignore it and live well since that is the best "revenge."  Oh well, tell me about Burnout, Split/Second, EA, GameFAQs...I can't help but to talk trash--it's in my DNA.

Meh, I still wish we'd get a TimeSplitters 4 although Crytek (wait, where's Free Radical???) has squashed all rumours that have been floating around in recent times.  I'm pissed.

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Now, about GameFAQs again.  This site sucks but on occasion, it does one or two things right.  There's one stellar Top 10 that's entitled "Top 10 Skeletons in Sega's Closet."  It mentions 10 games that Sega should've released with the #1 being a certain Yu Suzuki adventure game we all know too well.  Also takes pokes at Nintendo, hahaha.  But it's very comprehensive and deep so if you're curious, I highly recommend it.  Though I would've put Scud Race/Daytona USA 2 ports somewhere on that list cause I'm biased, lol.

But that's all the good I've seen thus far--now onto the bad.  First of all, these GameFAQs Private Message Board contests are getting way out of hand.  First, the barrier of entry was to make a good YouTube movie or picture and hope it gets chosen by some secret cabal (I ranted about this before).  Now it's simply "post on Twitter and a random person will be picked."  They're like t-shirts shot out of the cannon at sporting events--they mean nothing anymore.

Also, another thing, and this has to do with another fun contest that GameFAQs puts on.  GFAQs will do these "Name That Tune" contests in which a bunch of vidya game songs are posted and users have to submit a list of games that these songs are from.  Get the most answers right and win some free karma.  Who cares.

But anyway, May's list happens to be game over tunes (I'm not even gonna bother embedding this).  What, you couldn't include Sega Rally or Daytona USA?  Come on man, those are classic.  The list includes throwaway answers like Mario, Zelda, and Sonic so why leave it out?  Throw me the Sega diehards a bone for once.  The rest of the list surely includes a bunch of Square, Capcom, and Sony games so big shocker there.  I know this is a petty complaint but I can't miss the chance to know GameFAQs down a peg and feel that certain self-gratification that means nothing to everyone else.

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Anyway, this is one of the few posts in a long, long time in which I haven't used pictures or embedded YT vids.  This streak must outlast Dale Jr's losing streak so here's a picture of angry Glaceon which sums up my opinion on everything:

zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba man that was hard

Get Stoked For Sonic All-Stars Racing 2

This is the game.  You're able to drive a car, a boat, and a plane and that's...not a bad idea.  Sort of.  It depends on how Sumo Digital executes but assuming they improve what they did with Sonic All-Stars Racing 1, I have much faith in the idea.

I'm not going to rehash all the details of the game since that would be stupid.  The first thing that comes to mind is comparisons between this and Mario Kart 7.  Yes, Mario Kart 7 has water/air racing too.  But look at it this way.  Mario Kart has gliders, Sonic All-Stars Racing as planes.  Mario Kart has underwater driving (as in you don't drive on the surface, you drive on the ocean floor), Sonic All-Stars Racing has boats.  Big difference.  It would be better to compare this with Diddy Kong Racing which was a pretty good game.  If they add Banjo-Kazooie to this game too, it would put an exclamation point on that analogy.

Even if Sonic All-Stars Racing 2 is considered a ripoff, think about it this way.  Mario Kart is a mainstay racing game.  It's basically sterile in that you're getting the same damn thing every iteration.  And if Sega/Sumo Digital is gonna step in, then they ought to differentiate themselves from Mario Kart.  If they combine Daytona/OutRun speed & handling with lavish scenery & fun characters, it'll whip Mario Kart's ass--I believe it.

Sorry Miyamoto, you're about to get pwned.  Pic attribution.

Anyway, so SEGAbits linked to a EuroGamer article which is quite intriguing.  Here we have ex-Bizarre Creation employees working with Sumo Digital on this game. Gee whiz, it's about time Bizarre gets the picture!!! Anyway, some choice quotes:


Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed Preview: The Saviour of Arcade Racers

Can PGR talent and Sega's mascot breathe life into a fading genre?

Damn straight, I've been hollering like a lunatic that the arcade racing genre has flatlined for friggin years. And now someone gets it. Thank you EuroGamer, I guess you gotta go across the pond to get ACTUAL GOOD RACING GAME INFO these days.


The designer, a veteran of the Project Gotham Racing series, was talking up his next game Blur, telling me how Bizarre wanted to escape the simulation niche and make racing games mass-market again. "I think we should be going back to the reason people play racing games," he said.

Yes, about time for this too!!! I think most want those colorful, fast-paced games but they've been forced down this narrow path of gritty, wreck-em, pseudo-sim racers cause that's all racing devs have been making these days. About time someone else steps up to the plate.


It did what Blur couldn't, what so few in this genre have managed to do in the last couple of years: it sold.

Thank you Lord Jesus that the arcade racing genre still has untapped potential! Common sense dictates that if you're going to develop a game, try to avoid competition from the "600 pound gorillas" in the room like Call of Duty, Halo, Starcraft, etc. since you will lose. Don't try making FPSes or RTSes.  EDIT: Like this:

Look guys, I made a new vidya game.

On the other hand, there's a glaring hole in racing games. Aside from Mario Kart, there aren't any "Sega racer" type of games out there. So Sega can slingshot the competition and take the lead. This I believe. It just takes SOMEBODY with balls to actually make the game and that's what Sumo is doing so mega props to them.

Also speaking of differentiators--this game'll have boats in it. Think about any water-racing games you've played recently...Hydro Thunder, Wave Race, Grand Theft Auto (that's right, hijack those boats & hoes), ...??? More undeveloped territory for Sega to invest in.


But Sega's had a taste of success in this area now, and it's deadly serious when it gives Transformed the much-abused "triple-A" label.

Success in quality racing games, definitely.


A rep tells me that it's being treated as "this year's big Sonic title", and Wilson confirms that Sumo's not knocking this one out on the cheap.

Not only is Sega reviving racing games, they're also reviving Sonic. You're very welcome, Sonic fans.


"This is a massive, massive budget title," he says, citing the expense of modelling three separate vehicles for each of 27 characters, as well as the transformations between them.

There were 20 characters in the Sonic All-Stars Racing 1, but 27 in Sonic All-Stars Racing 2. We now know that Gilius (Golden Axe) and Vyse (Skies of Arcadia) are added to the game. Also NiGHTS cause it would be asinine not to include him as a playable character this time around. Buy TWENTY-SEVEN IS BIG and it's nice to know that FOR ONCE IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND a Sega racer is actually getting a big budget. So damn sick and tired of publishers like EA and Activision pumping millions of dollars into this misguided dreck that completely misses the point we're trying to get at here.

I have one concern about the changing characters and that is how are some characters going to derive boats/planes out of their asses? Like Ryo Hazuki on the motorbike--how does that that work out?  Get cracking, Sumo publishers.  We need more documents on what to do.


Sega's investment also encompasses new rendering and physics engines (created "with future platforms in mind," says Wilson - but no, he can't confirm or deny a Wii U release) and has allowed Sumo to take in some of the development talent from Bizarre and Black Rock, which similarly found itself shut down after the release of Split/Second.

Yes, we have beloved Split/Second people working on this game. Dammit, but good cause we've converted them to our side! Now they see the light of HAPPY, FUN RACING GAMES.


The demo looked lovely but suffered from a chugging frame-rate. Sumo's aiming for a solid 30 frames per second in the final game (the water physics rule out 60fps).

Damn, that really sucks. I'd kill for 60 fps but with the water, I can understand where they're coming from. If they make it 30 fps for no logical reason whatsoever then I'd be super pissed.


The budget's also visible in the lavishly mounted dynamic tracks that, just like the vehicles, transform from lap to lap. 

OMG you can change the race track via powerplays--is that right, Black Rock??? The article spends a lot of time talking about the Super Monkey Ball & Skies of Arcadia tracks so w/e, you get the idea.


Transformed's speed classes, which will range from easy C to testing All-Star, aren't in the game yet, but the demo is pitched around A-class and at this level it's already a thrill to link together the OutRun-style endless drifts.

Yes, YES! Heh.


But the great thing about Sonic & All-Stars Racing is that you don't really need to justify its existence alongside Mario Kart. The difference between them is as easy to grasp as the difference between Mario and Sonic themselves - one cute, slapstick and inventive, the other with a harder, brasher, more spectacular arcade edge.

That's the differentiator I'm looking for there! Thank you Sumo Digital for actually giving me faith in the future of games.


So it's fitting and welcome that Wilson and other refugees from the great arcade racing slump have found themselves working on Transformed. Here, they can subtly slip their race-tuned sensibilities into a game with good commercial prospects and genuine crossover appeal. And if it works out as it should, everyone wins - from kids, to Sega fanboys, to the dispossessed brotherhood of the drift.

Oh yes, the dispossed brotherhood...all it takes is a few good racing games and people will actually get back into racing games again and Sonic All-Stars Racing 2 is definitely a good start.


So SEGAbits wrote their own experiences/opinions on the gameplay demo and it's standard reading. I say check it out if you want. But there's this:

Just off the 101 freeway in good ‘ol San Fran is a Go-Kart tracing track which for one Tuesday afternoon, was taken over by Sega.

Yeah, I'd love to take over a go-kart track too. A subtle poke at Mario Kart nonetheless.

Now, I do have three concerns about the game and here they go:

1. I like the cars/boats/planes idea but the way the tracks are designed, all three may be mandatory at some point in a race.  Now I'm a big fan of cars so more often that most, I may just want to drive cars and that's it. Or if I do feel like driving a boat or plane, I want to do it for the whole race.  Mixing it up each race is a good idea but it can get annoying after a while.  We'll see.

2. The name just plain sucks right now.  "Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed"???  First of all, "Sonic and All-Stars Racing" sounds dumb.  The "all-stars" can mean just about anyone.  It's a given that it's Sega's all-stars but of the words that should be stripped from the title, I'd kill "All-Stars" and replace it with "Sega."  Also, "Transformed" is a weird word to put in a title--I'd stay away from verbs in a game title IMO.  I'd prefer something like "Deluxe" or even "Extravaganza" over "Transformed."  But that's just me.

EDIT: 3. Can this game at least run a consistent 30 fps?  I would love 60 fps but that's likely out of the picture.  But if this game runs at 30 fps and gets choppy at points, it would be a huge dent in the game. EDIT AGAIN: This is an early build of the game so please hold out on the early reports on lag.  Give it some time.

...that's about it.  I think Tails' car looks tight--like a F1 car/buggy hybrid.  TBQH, I'd prefer a new Daytona/OutRun to this but hell, right now Sega's arcade racing hopes hinge on this game so let us pray this game is a huge success.  Even if you don't like racers, Sega needs any boost it can get right about now.  The game'll be out in 2012 so I'm super stoked that we'll get to play it soon. We should learn more at E3.  Laters.

More Super Sprint Pimpage (Promotional Trailer Video Movie)

Made this using Fraps and Adobe Premiere.  This trailer is AWESOME, YOU MUST WATCH IT.

We're shifting gears back into Super Sprint again.  I can't wait.

As always, YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO DOWNLOAD THIS GAME.  Link's on the right side of the page if you're curious anyway.

Ridge Racer Is OVER THE LINE

Okay, so Ridge Racer: Unbounded has been out for some time and it's yet another entry in the conga line of "wreck-em-ups" that receive positive scores from the press--Burnout, Flatout, Split/Second, Need for Speed, now RR: Unbounded.

A novel twist on the racing genre!

I could pick this game apart but it's no use.  I don't have the energy for it, God's honest truth.  But really, at this stage in the game, can anyone tell me what makes these dingy, urban racers that great???  What exactly do these games do differently that makes them worthwhile?  Oh, a generic track editor.  Oh, the ability to drop obstacles in front of other peoples' cars.  Oh, the ability to drive through concrete walls.  That's outstanding.  It really makes a world of difference.

The racing genre only consists of three players: the sims (Forza, GT), the wreck-em-ups (Burnout, this), and Mario Kart.  Insert rage quotes here.

BTW, I checked out GameSpot's review score for Ridge Racer: Unbounded and it's nonetheless flattering.  A solid 8.0.  Okay, I'm sorry, GameSpot, but you went over the line there.  I can't stand your site anymore.  You mark Ridge Racer an 8, you're in a world of pain.  Has the whole world gone crazy???  Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about racing games??? (yes, I swore)

MARK IT ZERO!!!

The Big Lebowski.  And to make it worse, the "normal" Ridge Racer for PS Vita is even worse.  Abysmal scores and a small amount of rehashed content.  3.0 on GameSpot.  It's like no one's tries to make decent racing games anymore unless it falls in one of the three categories above.  I guarantee Namco will put more effort into putting Reiko Nagase in the new PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale than they will making a quality Ridge Racer.  Who cares, Namco is hardly a friend to Sega--stealing all their ideas and stuff.  Good riddance, Namco.

Oh, and one more thing.  What's with Kotaku's post on Sega's Rise of Nightmares PR document?  Basically, the game is terrible (I can't agree or disagree there), therefore Sega planned to deceive everyone with this sub-par product as described in this concealed document discovered via WikiLeaks or some laid off Sega employee's USB drive.  There's nothing conspiratorial about this at all, Kotaku, these are written all the time in the business.  Does the document say "make the game suck and rip everyone off"???  You're a general gaming blog, Kotaku, so stop with the cheap shots at Sega, it's getting old (I can though cause I'm awesome and you know I'm right).

Bad Things Suck But Probably Not That Much

Sup guys.  I haven't posted as much as I've wanted to recently.  But it's good because I'm nearly done with the Spring Semester here at game school.  On Saturday, I'm flying home to Louisiana to be with my family for two weeks.  And I can finally put this arduous semester to rest.  Spring semester was touted as the hardest and it sure was!  Summer should be much easier and we have more time to work on what we want.  That is good news.

I might as well say this...it makes me look rather buffoonish, but the "misfortunes" I've ran into in the past weren't so bad.  At the very least, there is some good out of it.  You usually notice it in the future when it becomes apparent by hindsight--you get a bigger view of the whole picture.  Some event which led you down an unexpected road but you gained a couple of things out of it.  Well, what do I mean?  Here's my two things:

First glaring example is the Daytona USA 2 GameFAQs board nukeage about two years ago.  Essentially I had been posting blog-like posts on that board for years.  Like Knuckles watching over the Master Emerald, I watched over that board for years, making sure it didn't grow all old and dusty.  Maybe got a few other posts too.

Then wham--some jackass GameFAQs mod takes down my main topic and any subsequent threads thereafter because they were off-topic.  It made no sense at the time seeing there are so many off-topic boards all over GameFAQs thus proving how hypocritical they are--taking down arbitrary threads while leaving up more egregious ones.  My very first blog post talks about this sad ordeal.

So I went into panic mode, you know, damn the torpedoes, hit the red button, etc. until I said "f*** it, let's give this blog thing a try."  And here we are living it up all nice and cozy on Blogspot.  So I was able to make my own website, rack up a lot of Google hits, and reach a larger audience.  So thanks stupid GameFAQs mods, your vain attempts to crush Sega racers has led to me becoming that much more powerful.  Now go play your Square RPGs and blow it out your ass.

Then the second thing would be the FIEA capstone gaming pitch--the "Avant-Garde Racing" game (look up the damn meaning yourselves).  It would span about 6 months long and would have some 15-20 people working on it.  EDIT: There were about 30 pitches, 10 would make it to the second round, 5 would actually get made, and (usually) 3 survive to the end of the semester.  This great, GREAT pitch according to everyone else was poorly voted on by the cohort.  The reason this was so traumatic was because:

A. I wanted to make a racing game.
B. I wanted to have some say in what game to make so I don't appear to be another insipid programmer who is perfectly okay to be bossed around by the insightful, awe-inspiring producers (okayface.jpg).
C. I was duped into believing the professor's vote (which rated me as one of the best) was one of the main reasons for choosing which games got through.  However, his rating was dropped at the last second while the artists' votes (most of whom don't want to model/animate cars) ravaged the whole thing

Yadayadayada, if you don't fully know what I'm talking about, read this.

In the end, though, and I don't say this to badmouth the game I'm working on (Battle Fortress Tortoise), but I think everyone involved in the pitches had these grandiose schemes of making big-ass cutting-edge video games.  How everyone overscoped their ideas like this was going to be the next Spike VGA award winner with hundreds of hours of gameplay but no--they were cut way, way short.  Instead, what we're going for is a very small, compact experience--only about 5 minutes worth of gameplay.  Yeah, some game, huh?  A small, well-polished game looks better on resumes than does a large, not-so-polished game (you can't sit through a long game in presentations).  And the fact this capstone consumes so much of your time and goes through so much scrutiny, I don't think I could've handled BOTH a precious racing game AND tons of homework at the same time.

If anything, though, despite my abysmal failure to make it out the first round, it got people talking about racing games again.  Which is damn good in the face of all these hack-and-slash/beat-em-ups, you know what I'm saying?  Oh, and by the way, because my time was freed, I also got to work on this game:

No really, if I had made it past the first round of cuts, I'd have to spend all my free time planning a bigger presentation in front of a larger audience and undergo even more stress!  Or we can just work on Super Sprint--a game that I didn't have to worry about a handful of gamers getting their greasy fingers all over it!  So Super Sprint it is.

And speaking of bad things, Sega may be sucking right now but I expect that in some way, completely unbeknownst to most/all of us, new opportunities arise for us, for Sega, for blue skies.  So THANK GOD for all the great Sega fans out there who have shown massive support when the chips are down--that is encouraging to every one of us.  You just have to look around for things like this.

BTW, I saw this a long time ago after the 2011 AFC Championship Game.  It's Ray Lewis.  Now I don't really like the Ravens and Ray may have a history of violence but he tells it like it is here.  This is after losing to the Patriots with that male bimbo Gronkowski ("mimbo") dancing shirtless all the time.  God doesn't make mistakes.  Skip to :25 past the lousy Ruth's Chris Steak House commercial.



Saints and Ravens Superbowl, BOOK IT.  Two teams with the biggest chips on their shoulders.  And exiled Saints coach Sean Peyton is coaching his son's football team so he has time to bond with his family!  Really though, I could unload on this whole media bias against the Saints yet again but I can't do it so let's focus on the positives.

BTW, if I go out tomorrow and something unfortunate happens to me, then expect me to lose my cool again cause I'm on edge like that all the time.  I'll probably have to take a prescription medication for that sometime.