tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71515196915292309262024-03-13T15:38:55.122-07:00Memory Beats RealityWhere we discuss how the grass is not always greener on the other side and how, more often than not, the memory beats the reality.JakaalPlayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512690692002516697noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151519691529230926.post-58863514508799783702018-03-22T10:27:00.002-07:002018-03-22T10:27:56.521-07:00Far from solid but, not quite dead. Metal Gear Survive review (Warning: Spoilers) <br />
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Oh my god, where to
start with this? This review has taken longer to write than any other
review that I have done simply for the fact that there doesn’t seem
to be any way to review this title without addressing it’s
controversial nature. Having said that, let’s just get the BS outta
the way. Yes, you get charged for a second, third, or fourth save
slot. Yes, you have to pay for more expedition team slots. Yes, your
hunger and thirst gauges drain very quickly, almost ridiculously so.
This game has problems but, it’s actually not bad, a fact that may
even be it’s biggest problem. There, I said it, Metal Gear Survive
is actually a pretty good game….if you like survival games. Now, onto the review.</div>
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The game starts off
almost feeling like an interesting spin off of the beloved Metal Gear
Solid series, you get a beautiful cut scene recounting the end of the
MGSV prologue known as Ground Zeroes. It is from the end of that
“prologue” that the story of MG Survive begins, with your
custom-made protagonist being sucked through a wormhole into an
alternate dimension inhabited by zombie-like creatures called
wandersers. Story-wise, this game is just okay, it makes an attempt
at the weirdness which has defined the series for decades but falls a
bit short as it lacks that certain special something possessed by
long time series runner Hideo Kojima. It feels like a “what if”
scenario involving time travel and nano-machine zombies and even
nano-machine monsters (no joke). MGS hallmarks are of course present
with things such as codec style conversations between characters as
well as some stealth elements and even that lovely alert noise that
the series is so well known for. Sadly, the story feels like it is
wearing a Metal gear costume without possessing any of the soul the
drew players in in the first place. That wraps up my Critique of the
story, now on to the gameplay.<br />
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Happily, this game actually
plays pretty well, with solid survival mechanics, base management,
and co-op multiplayer to keep you busy after the game’s main story
ends. The gameplay is definitely Survive’s saving grace as it is
fun and engaging, if you like stealth based survival games. As
survival games go, this is pretty brutal; hunger and thirst deplete
quickly and status ailments such as bruises, bleeding, and sprains
can slow you down or stunt your health and stamina recovery. Yes, you
read right, you have a stamina bar; a common staple in most survival
games but, unheard of in the Metal Gear series and it can be odd as
stamina is used for things such as using melee attacks, running,
crouch walking, and even low crawling. The stamina bar is a strange
addition but, didn’t feel as bad some have made it sound. The
multiplayer is good too with pretty standard tower defense gameplay
that is reminiscent of Fortnite’s campaign mode. Overall the
multiplayer feels a bit more concentrated than other offerings which
is certainly not a bad thing but, it’s lightness of modes and maps
may wear quickly on some players who are used to more variety.
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So, let’s address
one Survive’s biggest issues; it’s microtransactions. Now, most
have grown to tolerate many conventions in the industry as far as
microtansactions are concerned but, this is just bizarre. Survive’s
microtransactions feel as if they were made deliberately for the
purpose of Konami being able to say “see, no loot boxes here, we’re
the good guys, yes?”. Sadly, nothing about charging for extra save
slots and expedition slots to help progress the game feels like
something the “good guys” would do. Oh sure, there is some
cosmetic stuff as well but, it really feels like the charging for
something as basic as save slots while charging only forty dollars
feels like Konami had little to no faith in this game and were just
trying to make a quick buck off of an exorbitant investment on a
previous project. </div>
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In closing I will
say that this game is fun but frustrating, I enjoyed the forty plus
hours that I have dumped into it and even like to pick it up for a
quick match every now and then. The problem with this game overall
though, is simply that it feels hollow and cheap. I could still
easily recommend this game to fans of survival games but, be warned
that it does not possess the strange intrigue of previous games in
the series and that resisting the urge to spend a little extra money
is difficult as “fun pain” is definitely a thing here, it’s not
major but it can pop up from time to time.
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I give this game
grade C: it is good and mechanically sound but, fans of the series
will most likely be put off as the production value is just not that
good and it is completely different from anything else in the series.
Furthermore, in this hostile climate regarding microtransactions
Konami really needed to keep them at a minimum as consumer trust in
their brands is at an all-time low.
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>JakaalPlayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512690692002516697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151519691529230926.post-14188022740989194732018-02-28T11:21:00.000-08:002018-02-28T11:21:11.452-08:00On Metal Gear Survive and toxic fandom.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Hey
there memory buffs, it your old pal: Ein Jakaal, welcome back to
memory beats reality the place where I </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">examine
the old and how it holds up </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">to
reality</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Obviously I do other
things here too and today we have a tasty op ed by yours truly. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> So,
as you may know, Metal Gear Survive came out about a week ago and
most people won’t give it a chance after the messy break-up between
creator Hideo Kojima and his former employer Konami. This is not to
say that some people out there (myself included) aren’t going to
give it a try out of curiosity if nothing else and, I have to say
(after about 20 or so hours) that it’s actually kind of fun. This
experience of mine is kind of where the op ed begins. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> My
piece here begins with the lecture I received from a long time friend
who was more than a little miffed at my decision to spend MY money on
a game </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">that he obviously didn’t
like</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
listened for about twenty five minutes as he explained, in great
detail, the reason that the game should not exist and how it was
absolutely deplorable that Konami would dare to try and continue this
amazing series without the man that had contributed so much to it. He
ultimately asserted that anyone who dared to buy </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">this
game</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> was somehow selling out
and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">supporting the most evil
company in existence, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">that
seemed</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">a</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
little melodramati</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">c.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">his
is </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">a</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
trend that I see in the gaming community that drives me absolutely
insane </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">though</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">s</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">omething
that has been around for a decade or more changes and suddenly people
are coming out of the woodwork proclaiming the change to be evil and
to be a blight upon the industry as a whole. Yes, these changes are
not always for the best but, they can also be innovative. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Keep
in mind</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> that Metal Gear Survive
is </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">not</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
a great argument for innovation or even the success of these changes,
early sales figures are not looking good </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and,</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
In the very least, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">some</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
critics are saying that </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Survive
is</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">decent</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
survival game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Now
I understand that some of you may ask why the reaction of one friend
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is enough to spur this piece.
Short answer, it’s not, it is the ongoing vitriol I see in comment
sections and forums aimed at people who have stated that they thought
the game was interesting or anger aimed at reviewers who gave it so
much as a mediocre review. It is t</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">he
ongoing problem of people shouting down or berating others for the
simple act of a purchase </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">or
even interest</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is
the issue here</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Keep in mind,
that there is nothing wrong with sa</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ying that you do not like or do
not wish to buy a product but, your dislike for a product does not
entitle you to the agreement of others. Yes you are </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">valid
in feeling no need to buy something but, the choice of others to make
the purchases that you wouldn’t does not make you better or worse
than them, it is literally a matter of personal choice. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> I
know that game companies do not always make the best decisions and
that many of those decisions deserve the ire of consumers but, leave
your fellow consumers alone. Your fellow gamers whether they be
casual, hardcore, or somewhere in between are allowed to buy to
whatever they damn well please and your toxic ass behavior is what
makes mainstreamers hate us so much in the first place. Yes, I get
it, your favorite series took a nose dive after mommy and daddy broke
up and now anybody who takes the side that you didn’t is the enemy
and they must be stopped! You must save the world and tell everybody
how terrible they are for not agreeing with you. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It
is this type of social media echo-chambering that makes us look like
a bunch of douche bags who need to be blocked and regulated. And, I
really am sorry if I am coming off as self righteous but, dammit, I
have been a gamer for almost 3 decades and I have grown so sick or
people acting like this whenever something changes or becomes stale.
We are human, we are always changing and yet we hate change in all
its forms, why? Why do we do this? Is it fear of death? Probably, to
an extent, we fear the death of something that we love, we fear the
loss of it not going on forever. WE DON’T GO ON FOREVER!!!! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And
no amount of shutting others down or declaring something finished so
that the memories of your childhood can remain pristine is going to
change that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> In
closing,</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> I do understand how
many feel about the Metal Gear franchise and Kojima’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">former</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
direction of it, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I understand
being a long time fan of something only to have it tank or stop
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">completely.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
The whole ordeal of losing a great franchise to mediocrity or
cancellation can be devastating to us as gamers since a lot of these
long running franchises have been a very large part of our
existences. Some of us grew up with them, some of us found solace in
them, and others found inspiration. That is not to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">say</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
that you have to celebrate something that you do not want to but, you
should probably accept that people are not required to see things
your way. They may not love something the way that you do, they may
not </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">have the passion that you
do, and they may even be put off by your feelings as they relate to
certain things. You see, sometimes we all need to step back from
ourselves and realize that our memor</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ies</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
may not be the realit</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ies</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
of other</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">s</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.
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<br /> I am Ein Jakaal and thank you for reading. </span>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>JakaalPlayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512690692002516697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151519691529230926.post-24142245358560173362017-04-05T12:15:00.001-07:002017-04-05T16:18:24.785-07:00"Affecting the Effect" Mass Effect: Andromeda review. Unless you've been living in isolation for the last few weeks, you more than likely know that Mass Effect: Andromeda recently made it's way to PC and consoles. The game has been more than a little divisive with critics and gamers alike ripping on it's abundance of bugs and facial animation issues. YouTube compilations and social media rage posts seem to gravitate toward this game but, is it as bad as many are making it out to be? Well, I have taken upon myself to ascertain the reality of these claims. Ok, were we go........<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">78 hours later.....</span></div>
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Ok, um, wow.....that felt a wee bit unpolished.</div>
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Let me start by saying this game has so much potential and the combat is very fun but, there are definitely some glaring issues here. Yes, the bugs exist although they are not as bad after the day one patch (a patch which was claimed wasn't gonna happen but did anyway) this still does not erase the fact that throughout my 78 hours of gameplay with 90% completion that I witnessed way too many bugs than are acceptable in a finished AAA title. We are talking poor hit detection from time to time, non-moving or missing characters during cut scenes, getting stuck in the walls and other parts of the world, and constant popping in and out of textures this greatly detracted from my overall enjoyment of the game. </div>
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Technical bugs aside, it also feels like some corners were cut while making this game, particularly in the form of the Asari. Now, I know that the Asari are essentially made to fill plot tropes about sexy alien women but, should we really act like all of them, except for party member PeeBee, look exactly the same? It really seems like every other Asari in this game is some variance of your ship's Doctor Lexi, not sure what is going on there since the Asari seemed more varied in the previous trilogy but, it raises a few questions. Also, this game has a very wonky menu interface, there are submenus to submenus of main menus. The once simple task of looking up mission objectives has now become a guessing game of which submenu has the mission that you would like to highlight and complete, this became a little easier with time but, it really could've been a lot more user friendly.</div>
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Another glaring design issue is the fact that some missions require you to check emails to follow up on the mission's status, problem is that while most of the missions take place on the planet that you've landed on you often find yourself having to return your ship to check said emails which wouldn't be much of a problem if not for the fact that returning to your ship means sitting through a take off cut scene of your leaving the planet. Yes, you have to leave the mission planet, go into orbit, check your email, and then return to the planet. Keep in mind that both leaving and landing on a planet requires that you sit through a cut scene every time, not game breaking but definitely annoying. Lastly, my other gripes include my missing the radial menu for using powers and techniques as well as commanding your team and wishing that the paragon/renegade system were still present. Now that the negative is out of the way, let us get to the good stuff.</div>
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For starters, this game has some damned pretty environments, a lot of love obviously went into making these worlds. The exploration gameplay and controls feel very fluid and using your jetpack is fun and intuitive. I mentioned the combat earlier and it is great, the mobility gained from utilizing your jetpack make for a much more fast paced and immediate experience which lends itself well to the very fun multiplayer aspect. The story is pretty standard Mass Effect fair; you are Ryder, a man given the title of Pathfinder and the responsibility of helping thousands find a new home in a new galaxy.</div>
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As this is a BioWare game, you can be assured that it is littered with characters, character development, and character relationships. Thankfully most of the main characters are well written and the friendship/romance missions really do help you feel connected to them as if they were actual living, breathing people. It should also be mentioned that there is actual nudity in some of the romance scenes which isn't terribly important unless, of course, you've ever wondered if the Asari have nipples.....they do, now you know. By the end of the campaign I did feel very satisfied overall, there were a lot of ups and downs but, I felt that it was a worthwhile experience. </div>
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Overall, this is a fun game with a lot of potential for another beloved trilogy but, technical bugs combined with some questionable design choices sully the experience which means that some will be put off by it's sixty dollar price tag as they may feel that what amounts to a steam greenlight release isn't worth that much. So, sadly this game gets the grade of C+ as it just isn't quite finished yet.</div>
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Thank you for reading and be sure and follow me on twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/Jakaal84">twitter.com/Jakaal84</a> for announcements and updates about this page. Until next time.</div>
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JakaalPlayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512690692002516697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151519691529230926.post-89273743672910850162012-06-27T02:09:00.001-07:002017-03-26T13:02:20.674-07:00The most important part is the ending......right?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This one is for all of you Mass Effect fans out there because if you're like me, then the day that you've awaited for three months finally arrived yesterday. Yes, I'm talking about the release of the long awaited and highly debated Mass Effect 3: Extended cut.<br />
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For those of you who are not familiar with the Mass Effect series here's a quick recap. Mass Effect is a series of third person shooter/RPG hybrid games that first saw release in 2007. The release was met with critical acclaim, commercial success, and even a little controversy (courtesy of Fox News). The first game was an xbox360 console exclusive but it's sequel's saw release on the PS3 as well after BioWare was bought by EA. The games followed the adventures of Commander Shepard and his mixed crew of aliens and humans as they take to the galaxy fighting evil...or committing it, if you so chose. Along these adventures you could form friendships and alliances, make enemies, or even fall in love. These games were very ambitious and entertaining as well as a little bit epic.<br />
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One of the trademarks of the series was the ability to carry your actions, and their consequences, over to the next game in the series for a completely unique experience tailored to your behavior. The game saw 2 sequels and all seemed well...well, that was until players came to the final outcome of Mass Effect 3. Before I go any further I want to point out that EA claimed that Mass Effect 3's ending would, as with previous titles, would be dictated by the actions of the player in the 2 previous titles. Ultimately this proved a bane to both EA and BioWare.<br />
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Mass Effect 3 was released in March of 2012 and grossed over $200 million worldwide, all seemed well until players made their way to the final stretch of the game. Upon finishing the game players were treated three very similar endings that were seemingly unaffected by their previous actions. The outrage was felt almost everywhere from online forums to the letters section of several gaming publications. The players had spoken and they were not happy. For weeks the debates raged on and some gamers even rallied and demanded a better ending for Mass Effect 3, one that delivered on EA's promise of an ending affected by players actions. EA first defended the actions of BioWare by preaching artistic integrity but soon caved to the demands of hundreds of thousands of angry fans and said "okay, we'll fix it."<br />
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So, lets get down to it shall we? Yesterday I received an email letting me know that the Extended cut had arrived, immediately I turned on the 360 and began the download. After waiting a few mins (the download was actually over a gig and a half) I fired up Mass Effect 3 and loaded the first Shepard I had ever played. I played for a few mins and finally came to the ending. The 3 main decisions were still there so I went with the synthesis ending which I had previously chosen the first time around. The short scenes that followed caused a stir in me that I hadn't felt since playing Mass Effect for the first time, I felt that I this story had finally come to a satisfying close. Yes, Shepard still died and yes, the light was green but that is where the similarities ended. I was treated to several shots and cinematic clips and even a narrator that showed me and explained to me how what I had done had affected the universe and I now feel that I actually have some closure. It should be noted that I fired up a second Shepard that I had previously played to check out the other 2 endings and while they were similar, my actions were still reflected. So, yes we finally got what EA promised.<br />
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Now, in closing, EA.....was it so hard to actually keep your promise? Granted it took alot of angry fans to make you follow through but at least you made good in the end. Okay, finally got that outta my system, now onto another matter. While I understand that EA is not the most popular company at the moment, they still pump out some very fine games and if you think I'm wrong then leave a comment. Also, I know this is still not enough for some of you out there because NO YOU STILL CAN'T SAVE SHEPARD AND BE THE SHINING GALACTIC ANUS THAT YOU LONG TO BE OUT OF SOME NEED TO BE LOVED BY ALL!!!! So, in closing, yes those that didn't like EA being lazy and half assing their ending just to meet a deadline (yes I believe this is the case, otherwise I wouldn't write it) congrats on telling them that you weren't gonna take it.<br />
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Until next time......JakaalPlayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512690692002516697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151519691529230926.post-10959901997278762402012-06-20T20:25:00.000-07:002012-06-20T20:25:19.126-07:00A memory in HD<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to Memory beats Reality, the blog where we examine and discuss those old school gaming memories that some of us hold so dear.<span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
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In the last year or so I've noticed the rising trend of HD remakes for some of our beloved last gen titles and one recently announced at E3 has caught my attention. That, being the upcoming HD remake of Jet Set Radio (formerly released as Jet Grind Radio). Now this game was, by far, one of my all time favs on the Sega Dreamcast and I recently came by a copy of it on ebay so I decided to fire it up and see if it was still as good as I remember it.</div>
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For those of you who don't remember, Jet Set Radio chronicles the adventures of a gang of "rudies" known as the GG's who are graffiti artists and in line skaters battling other gangs for supremacy in the districts of Tokyo-to. Also the title "Jet Set Radio" seems to refer to a pirate radio station of the same name ran by DJ Professor K who periodically gives you updates on the GG's. I should mention that this last part strikes me as a reference to the D.J. from the 1979 film The Warriors.</div>
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Overall, this game still holds up very well. The controls are tight and the gameplay is still very addictive. The color scheme of this game is also very bright and cartoony which gives the whole game a very manga esque appearance. (F.Y.I. This game is also credited as being a pioneer in the use of cartoon-like cel shaded graphics). But above all one of the biggest draws of this game is it's ultra wacky soundtrack. The tracks being a mixture of several genres including j-pop, funk, rock, and even a little metal. In closing, this game is a blast and when it is re released on PSN and Xbox Live I highly recommend downloading it. Especially if you never played the first time around.</div>JakaalPlayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512690692002516697noreply@blogger.com1