Initial SF4 Gameplay Impressions

From Kotaku:

See Humans Play Street Fighter IV!!

My opinions:
The gameplay looks largely intact. There seems to be EX moves, the standard combos, a dash attack. Gameplay actually looks smooth. I'm sure the speed will be an issue with some. There seems to be a one-level super meter. C. Viper looks to have a reversal type of move.

The game itself looks beautiful. I truly can't wait to see more.

Street Fighter 4 - "New" Characters Revealed

From our fellow bloggers at Kotaku:

Street Fighter IV Welcomes Chun-Li's Thighs, Classic Fighters

The link has a few pics depicting some of the "new" fighters that are going to be in the game. Chun-Li, Dhalsim, Guile, E. Honda, Blanka, and Zangief. I guess the original eight were inevitable, but it's still a little disappointing. Apparently, Feburary 8th is supposed to be a date where we get a new character reveal. I'm looking forward to that.

As the way the game is turning out graphically - let's just say I was extremely skeptical at first. But as characters are being added, it's looking a lot better. I guess I would describe the style as gritty - something a fighter should be.

Mainstream media outlets (outside of gamer websites/magazines) are also starting to get wind of this game as well. Seems like the Street Fighter franchise was lost for a while, but definitely not forgotten as anticipation for this game seems to be really high.

Zune vs. iPod

I am one of possibly many who has both an iPod and a Zune. I picked a new iPod nano online, and had about two good months using that while I work out. The Zune I picked up from Woot.



Well, the new update from Zune came out yesterday, and boy, am I impressed. The Zune interface is a lot smoother, there is added wireless sync support, and the overall look and feel is a lot better. I honestly enjoy the zune better than the Ipod, since it also has a built-in RDS FM tuner (great for the gym).

I have no idea what's going on with the Ipod touch, but from what I hear it's a gimped version of the iPhone...

Street Fighter 4 is coming.

Yes, this post is a bit late. But I should post this, to show I still care somewhat.

I did make a post on SRK (but seems to be deleted) on how the some of the features online should work. There a lot of ideas out there by the community, so it's good to people still caring about a franchise long thought to be in limbo.

Tournament Traveling Tips

Again, Evo will be upon us in the next month. Here is an article that Tony Cannon and I co-wrote 6 years ago. This article was actually published in the now-defunct Tips & Tricks magazine! While it is dated, it still holds very true to those who travel to tournaments and conventions. Yes, there was going to be a part two, but it was never written. Maybe it's time to finish that...

Link: Tournament Traveling Tips

How to shave.

I received a shaving kit recently from my lovely wife for my birthday, and decided to browse for a bit on how to get an excellent shave.

So here are a few things I've learned:
1. Shaving gel/cream in a can is not the best.
2. The disposable razors/cartridges with 2 blades or more are not as good as you think.
3. Getting that excellent shave takes a bit of time.

Link: Mantic59's Shaving Blog

This guy also has some informative videos up on YouTube, be sure to check it out.

And no, this does not make you less of a man. This also probably doesn't apply to Derek, either.

So Virtua Fighter 5 is confirmed to be playable online...

Link: SEGA ANNOUNCES ONLINE MULTIPLAYER FUNCTIONALITY IN VIRTUA FIGHTER™ 5 FOR XBOX 360

So this IS good news. And I take back the bad, bad things I said about Sega. My nephew loves you, Sega for Sonic. And I love you Sega, for VF5 and online play.

One would think that Sega pretty much had to make this move due to the upcoming Capcom fighter, Tekken 5 being online soon, Soul Calibur 4 and Tekken 6 on the horizon. I can truly hear two camps at this moment of time: the one breathing a collective sigh of relief that the game will be online, and the other already whining about the inevitable lag issues that online play will bring.


Now how about that fighting stick...