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Monday Gaming Diary: Mortal Kombat X Comics

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Mortal Kombat X comicsLast Friday was my birthday, and a dear friend of mine gave me a gift certificate to Comixology with the recommendation for the Mortal Kombat X comics.

Wait.

Wait.

Stop.

There are Mortal Kombat X comics? Are they as awful as the Injustice: Gods Among Us comics? How is the art? How is the writing?

About this time my friend told me to shut up and read the first comic for myself. It’s a weekly comic series, which I think Injustice was as well, and it moves incredibly fast. Since there are so many characters in the game, the story arcs jump around a lot, but they’re able to get away with it and keep it cohesive because it is a weekly subscription.

Long story short, I ended up buying all 30 comics available in the store, and I didn’t play any games over the weekend because I stayed up super late every night reading the comics. I haven’t gotten through the entire series yet, but suffice to say, I’m hooked. In fact, it’s taking a lot of willpower to stay in my office today and work instead of reading the rest of the comics.

Once I do finish reading them, I want to replay the story mode of MKX. The comics really fill in the gaps that the story mode mentions of past events, and they help fill in missing pieces for people like me who haven’t been MK faithful in many, many years. The stories do get a little dark and deep, the art is absolutely gorgeous, and it pokes fun at the franchise in all the right places. I even texted Chris late on Saturday night to order him to look into the MKX comics.

And I recommend the same for every other MKX fan, even if you aren’t that into comics. Grrrr, it’s going to be really hard to finish working today when I know those comics are just a tablet away…ready to read…

Monday Gaming Diary: Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi Memories

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287490-dbztI watched A LOT of EVO 2015 this weekend. I streamed the Ultra Street Fighter IV and Super Smash Bros. Melee pools most of my work day on Friday and then watched Mortal Kombat X pools Saturday as well as the MKX semifinals that night. Right after church on Sunday, I got prepped for the MKX finals, and I was blown away watching someone from the losers bracket come back and win it all in the grand finals. Watching these guys master juggling opponents is a beautiful sight to behold, and I saw more Brutalities than I know I’ll ever see in my own gameplay days.

Granted, these guys practice and train with their preferred characters about as many hours as I work during the day, so yes, they have worked hard to get where they are. Watching them, though, reminded me of how many hours I put in back in the day when I was hardcore into Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi, the original one on the PS2.

Even if there were professional gaming tournaments for DBZBT back then, I wasn’t good enough to get very far in any competition. However, I did put in the hours in that game to master two characters (Vegeta and Trunks) and learn all of their secret moves–a/k/a the ones that weren’t in the instruction manual–and no one would play that game against me. I would even offer to play as a character I normally didn’t fight with, but still no one would play against me. I don’t know if this game supported online play, but the PS2 wasn’t that great for online anything back then. Some games utilized it, but not many, and it wasn’t great enough to warrant even bothering running CATV to the PS2.

I loved DBZBT so much that I purchased the sequel, and even though I loved the cel-shaded visuals ten times more than the 3D graphics of the original, I never put in half the hours into DBZBT2 as I did the first one. By the time the third game came out, I was over DBZ as an anime and had gotten into the world of RPGs. My fighting game days were pretty much over.

If I could put in that many hours into MKX again, meaning that I play nothing else but MKX and what I’m reviewing for work (which also means no more Platinum Trophy hunts or replaying RPGs or even starting Final Fantasy XIV), then perhaps I could have a brave enough face to show up at an open tournament. Although, I have a feeling that I’m past my prime with fighting game tournaments anyway, just with age and hand-eye coordination falling as sub-par compared to a 20-year-old.

Even if I was 20, though, I still wouldn’t focus that much on one game. I like playing so many different games, and I like my stupid Platinum Trophies. But I really like watching these guys, and I really like how they motivate me to play the game more to try out different combos, attempt Brutalities, and try to master a character as much as I personally can. It makes me wanna go DBZBT all over again.

Monday Gaming Diary: SDCC Style

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I attended the madness known as San Diego Comic Con last week, and despite having a rough start on Thursday, I ended up having a great show.

I did haul my PS4 all the way to California for nothing, as I was too tired every night when I crawled back to the hotel room to even crack open my GAEMS case. I did, however, download and play a lot of LEGO Jurassic World for the Vita so I could use the strategy guide for that as well. The guide covers both versions of the game, and well, I felt the need to be able to review the strategy guide completely. That and I wanted to see if the handheld versions of the LEGO games were as awful as they have been lately. I am happy to say that they have reverted back to their original formula for the handheld LEGO games. There aren’t any game over states due to death, so none of the chases or crazy dodging puzzles are overly complicated and stressful anymore. TT has still kept the weird challenges as a way to earn gold bricks, red bricks, and minikits, but they aren’t the beating they have been in the past. The game reminds me a lot of LEGO Batman 2 for the handheld, which is a very, very good thing.

At the show itself, I got my hands on only a couple of games, as SDCC didn’t have much that I did not already see at E3. I did play more of Transformers Devastation after interviewing voice acting legend Gregg Berger, however. I can’t get enough of that game. This time, Activision had a timed demo on it, so no one had to kick me off the booth.

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But my big surprises were Street Fighter V and The Division. I went in to both expecting to be rather meh about them all, and I really enjoyed what I played. I haven’t touched a Street Fighter game in years, so I was expecting a rather steep learning curve with the fighting system, similar to the one in Mortal Kombat X. But at least with MKX, I had some frame of reference for the fighting techniques, whereas with SFV, I have nothing. I played on a friend’s NES or SNES back in the early 90s. That’s my only experience. However, Capcom has reworked their entire combat system, so newcomers to the series can step in and learn along with the pros. The fighting system is fun, and the game is absolutely gorgeous to boot. I can’t believe I’m seriously entertaining picking up yet another fighting game.

We all know I’m a newbie when it comes to MMORPGs. I have FFXIV, but have I found time to play? Oh hell no. I have a serious problem when it comes to this stuff. So I got my hands on The Division fully expecting me to suck at it and have an awful time. I wasn’t great at the game, but I wasn’t terrible either. I had a ton of fun, and I’m considering picking it up if I can find two others who will be willing to do the same. You play in teams of three, and I really don’t want to find new friends online. That has never appealed to me, despite the fact I have met a lot of my good friends online via Twitter. Don’t ask why I’m so weird.

Moral of story? Don’t hate anything until you play it first. I encourage educated hate, people. Be educated about what you dislike.

Monday Gaming Diary: San Diego Comic Con or Bust

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My first trip to SDCC was three years ago, and I swore I would never go back. The con is fun, but there are too many people, too many lines, and I don’t have the desire or will to sit in a panel room for six hours to see the one panel I really want to.  When I went in 2012, I remember the line for the Futurama panel that was at noon the following day closing at 3 a.m. the night/morning before. 3 a.m.! People are nuts, yo.

I do have some decent appointments for games that I didn’t see at E3, so I’m very pleased about that and I have a few fangirl opportunities to interview voice actors that I have loved for many, many years. I just need to sit down and write out my interview questions so I don’t sound like a complete idiot. I’m going to sound like an idiot, that’s a guarantee.

I am going to make this a bit more of a vacation than E3, though. I’m not going to have wall-to-wall appointments, for starters. I will see some panels that I want to see. I will wait in line for games if I have to. I’ll bring books, comics, and my 3DS. I want plenty of vegging out time. If there’s a pool at the hotel, I’m going to take advantage of it. And I’m bringing my PS4 so I can get in lots of LEGO Jurassic World in so I can review that guide. It’s still a work trip, but I will have more fun this time than I did at E3, a/k/a more down time.

Chris is also going to be on vacation, so SGR may be a little barren this week. But I’ll post anything new and exciting if I hear more guide news at the show!

Monday Gaming Diary: Bravely Dafuq?

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Bravely DefaultI have a mutant power when it comes to video games. I have the ability to avoid all spoilers of any game. It doesn’t matter if I plan on playing it or not; I can somehow blank out all discussion of any potential spoilers. I played the original BioShock several years post release and was still surprised by the ending. Even though Blake for a year kept saying, “Would you kindly” during podcasts, I never picked up on it. It’s a goddamn gift.

Thus, I’ve managed to avoid something that several people have complained about with Bravely Default over the last couple of years. This is one of those times that a gift can be a curse.

As I mentioned over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to play Bravely Default instead of tablet or phone games. I’ve been pretty successful, but on Sunday, during naptime, I hit something I didn’t expect: having to replay virtually the entire game. I’ve logged in over 35 hours of the game thus far in my party’s attempt to reawaken all of the crystals (Square and their damn crystals), and after reawakening the last one, I’ve gone back in time and I have to reawaken them all over again. I snarked on Twitter over it, and a friend replied that I’d have to do it more than twice. I looked it up on GameFAQs, and sure enough, I have to awaken the crystals a grand total of four times.

You have GOT to be kidding me.

I can handle some padding in games, but this is ridiculous. I’m annoyed about waking them again. I have zero interest about doing it two more times after that. How little story is there to force this? If it is necessary for the story and plenty is revealed during these tedious and repetitive boss battles, then I have to wonder how awful the story is. I’m honestly debating quitting and reading an online wiki, because I am curious about the life of one character. But is that one character’s tale worth repeating this plot device? Ugh, I have trouble caring.

This is lazy, even for Square Enix standards. Next thing I’ll hear is that you can only see a “good” ending if you complete the game to 100% or something like that. Please don’t tell me if that is the case. I don’t need my world shattered any further.

Maybe I should just go back to Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance or Final Fantasy X; Square Enix games that don’t entirely Square Enix themselves.

I need help.

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