March 31, 2008

Grudge Match: Avatar vs. Dragonball

Welcome to Grudge Match, a new feature of mine! In Grudge Match, I basically pit two things against each other and one emerges victorious. Simple enough, right? Then, let's get started. In the first edition of Grudge Match, I'll be pitting Avatar against Dragonball. Only one animated program will reign supreme! Who will it be?

First, a little back story on the shows being compared:

Drgonball is a series of shows that ran from the late 80s to the mid 90s. I really don't have to go into detail about it because everyone and their uncle has heard of Dragonball. Of course, the most famous incarnation is Dragonball Z, which was know for its breakneck action Seriously, if you watch it too long you neck will snap!

Avatar: The last Airbender is the greatest animated show you've never heard of. That's probably because it airs on Nickelodeon. Yep, the greatest action cartoon of the the decade and, quite possibly, this generation is on a children's programing channel. Do not be deceived! Avatar is a great show. It is most certainly not just for kids! In fact, it does quite well out of its 6-11 year old demographic. Take my advice, check avatar out. The best animated show currently on TV is right under your nose, and you're missing it.















VS.











Lets start off by comparing the animation:

Both Avatar and Dragonball (all of them) are action heavy shows. Dragonball has amazing animation for being produced in the early 90s, especially considering it was all animated by hand. Dragonball is famously known for being one of (if not the best) the bes action cartoons ever created. EVER! It's hard to top that! If there's one show that can top it, however, it's Avatar. Using all the newfangled technology of today, the show is drawn up, then computerized and stuffimacated. The show is colored, special effects are added, and what we end up with is pure beauty. The action is perfect. Absolutely perfect. If Dragonball invented action, Avatar has refined it. However! I've got to give the edge to Dragonball here simply because what TOEI animation did back in the 90s was like what Avatar has done now. It was incredible for its time, and has withstood the test of time. Dragonball Z is pretty much the action show that all other action shows get compared to. Therefore, Dragonball wins.

Story:

Well, now here's where things get complicated. Dragonball and Avatar both have pretty good plots. I would have to leave it up to which plot is deeper and more thought out, and, boy, is that tough. I could go with Dragonball here again because it's a classic, but I won't. Don't get me wrong, I love Dragonball and it's story, but it just gets repetitive after a while. Then again, that the curse for having a show thats 300+ episodes in length. Avatar, on the other hand, is only 61 episodes total (about the length of Dragonball GT) and tells one story arch. That keeps things fresh throughout in my opinion. In Dragonball it's basically: fight villain, win, more powerful villain, power up, win, repeat ad infinitum. Avatar has one central villain, with one central story leading up to the final battle with said villain. That's not to say the plot is as simple as that, because it's not, but it's shorter and therefore doesn't get old. When Avatar ends, though, there is a high possibility of a spinoff in the same universe. In both shows, the character themselves all have their own backstories, but you find yourself caring for the characters of Avatar just a little bit more. For all these reasons, I'm going to have to give Avatar the edge in the story department.

Action:

This one kind of goes back to animation. The action in both shows is simply amazing. Rather than giving Dragonball the edge here again, I'm going to have to call this one a tie. The two shows have very different types of action sequences and the animation works well for each show in each situation. Dragonball is a classic, yes, but you simply can't ignore that Avatar's action is intense and awesome. They're equally different, yet equally awesome.

Compare yourself:





The fighting styles in Avatar are based off actual martial arts styles.

Characters:


Dragonball has some of the most recognizable characters in all of television. Then again, that's because it's had time to be recognized. I won't give Dragonball the edge for that reason, however. I will say this, though: Although you find yourself caring more for the characters of Avatar, the characters of Dragonball have had far more time to develop. You can't help but feel like you've been a part of Goku's whole life as you watch him grow from a kid to a middle-aged man. You can't help but shout "Yes!" when Vegeta has a change of heart. You can't help but laugh at how lame Krillin still is after all those years. It's just simply something you can't find as much in Avatar. The prime example of this is Zuko, who does undergo a change of heart, but you can really see it coming from a mile away. Fans who have watched Dragonball from the beginning know what I'm talking about. Those who watch Avatar from the beginning after watching DB will know what I mean.

Sound:

The acting in both shows is great. Personally, I love the Funimation voice cast of Dragonball, I think the old sound effects are great, and the music goes well. However, Avatar has it beat. This is one category that DB doesn't have an edge because it's a classic. The dubbing was done fairly recently and the voice actors are good, but in my opinion do not match the talent of Avatar. Everything about Avatar sound-wise is perfect. The voices perfectly match the characters, the sound effects perfectly match the action, and the music is just phenomenal. For those of you who always wanted to know, the music for Avatar is produced by The Track Team. Avatar has some of the best voice tallent, in my opinion, of any animated show ever (including the late Mako).

For those of you who really want to know:

Dragonball is the story of Goku, an humanoid being known as a Saiyan, who was sent to earth to destroy it only to have his memories erased in an accidental blow to the head. He later goes on a quest for the seven magic Dragonballs that, when gathered, will grant the finder any wish. Goku grows up to become Earth's defender against evil along with his buddies in the form of the Z Squad.

Avatar is the story of Aang an airbending monk who was frozen in an iceberg for 1000 years. He is discovered by Katara and Sokka of a northern waterbending village to be the avatar. Aang must master all four elements and stop the war between the fire nation and the other nations. Avatar takes place in a land with four nations each controlled by a different element: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Each nation has members with the special ability to manipulate their element called "benders". Only the Avatar, who is the master of all four elements, can bring peace to the world.

In Summary:
Animation: Drabonball wins because it's a classic.

Story: Avatar's story is deeper all around.

Action: Tie.

Characters: Dragonball's characters have more time to develop.

Sound: The sound of Avatar is just plain awesome in every way.

Scoreboard:

Avatar: 3

Dragonball: 3

The winner is....



Drabonball. Though the score ended up being a tie, Dragonball wins simply because it's a classic. Avatar will never be a replacement for Dragonball, but it has become for me the next Dragonball. I mean that in a sense that years from now we'll look back on Avatar as a classic in animation and we'll be talking about it as we're talking about Dragonball now. Maybe in 15 years when we're comparing Avatar to the next best thing, Avatar will win. But for now, Dragonball reigns supreme.

March 30, 2008

SSBB Character Analysis: Luigi


Special thanks to N-man for fixing all my Brawl character pictures.

Today's analysis is on the comedy relief character in Brawl: Luigi. Known as being funny and somewhat of a flamer, Luigi is one of the most balanced characters in Brawl which makes him useful against most character types.







Pros
:
-Very good recovery
-Fire punch extremely powerful
-Has projectiles
-Easy to combo with

Cons:
-Recovery can be unpredictable at times
-Up B can be fatal if used at the wrong time
-"Floaty"
- Projectiles lack range

Surprisingly for a balance character, Luigi has two incredibly strong non-standard moves. His first one is fire punch which can easily KO even heavy opponents at 40% or more. Luigi's second move is "Luigi missile" which when fully charged is a powerful attack with an useful recovery ability as well. To top it all off Luigi has a projectile and is one of the easiest characters to combo with. Luigi has an advantage over power characters and most balance characters as well.

Even with all these advantage and being a balance character, Luigi has his weaknesses. Against speed characters and character with long reach he will have trouble, so be wary of Marth and Pit. While he does have a good recover, it can be unpredictable and launch Luigi right off the screen. His other recovery which is his up B can be fatal if used at the wrong time or leave him completely useless and open for attack. Luigi is a very "floaty" character which mean he will sort of just float around when he is sent flying making him more susceptible to aerial attacks and combos. Finally Luigi does have a projectile but it is the weakness and lowest range projectile in the game.

Summary: A well balanced funny character who has an array of powerful attacks. Will do well against any type of character but a speed character, especially one with long reach

Counter With: Marth, Pit, Ike, ZSS

Do not use against: Gannondorf, Yoshi, Mario

Final Review

Learning curve: 3- Luigi is a pretty simple character to pick up.

Power: 5.5- Luigi has average standard attack but some pretty strong non standard attacks

Speed: 5- Luigi has average speed

Recovery: 7.5- Luigi has a very good recovery

Throws: 5- Luigi has average throws

Overall: 7.5

Double Review: Horton Hears a Who and Blue Dragon

I finally saw Horton Hears a Who over the weekend and I must say it's just as good as I thought it would be- which is really good. The very first thing you'll notice is the CGI. It's incredible. That's one of the two things that really makes the movie for me. Not only is it great, but everything seems... right. Very Seussish. The movie really captures the atmosphere of Dr. Seuss' artwork. The second thing you'll notice is the acting. It's great. Some people will go to see the movie just because Steve Carell and Jim Carry are in it. Let me tell you, both of them do a phenomenal job. I did notice, however, it was kind of hard to recognize them even though they were speaking normally. Although, that's probably because they're voices were coming from an animated elephant and a... who (whatever the hell they are). The rest of the voice acting is great as well. Then, there's the story. I have absolutely no idea if the original book was anything like this movie, but I enjoyed it anyway! It's really a film that anyone can enjoy and that teaches a nice lesson. I'm not entirely sure what it is but I think it has something to do with having the power of God at your fingertips and that you may be killing millions of tiny people just by breathing. But then again, I could be wrong. In any case, the movie is really funny and awesome entertainment. Go watchy!

I also watched the premier of Blue Dragon. How was it? Well, it's pretty hard to tell if you'll like a show from the first episode, but it was good enough to keep my attention and keep me tuned for next week. The show is about the invasion of darkness, or some such nonsense, and the warriors of light that will defeat them. The main character, who is one of those anime kids that's supposed to be 10 years old but acts much older than their age, is named Shu. His village is attacked one day by some evil dudes and some good dudes come to stop them. They just happened to be in town looking for the power of the Blue Dragon, which Shu turns out to possess. The cool part about the show is that characters fight with their shadows which transform into giant beasts of doom. The strange thing is that Toriyama has a unique art style and I can't help but think of Shenron when I see the Blue Dragon. Oddly enough, all the other characters remind me of Dragon Quest (which he also did the art for). It's a pretty good show so far, and if your a DBZ fan I ask you again to check it out and support Toriyama!

UNRELATED NOTICE OF DEATH!

As you can tell (though probably nobody noticed), I've added another section to our sidebar of doom. Now, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can email us! Hooray! For those of you too lazy to scroll down, the address is installation4@hotmail.com. Also, it wouldn't kill you to leave comments, people! They can be anonymous!

On a slightly related note, if you enjoy this website, you might also enjoy this new magazine I found the other day. It's called PiQ and it's kind of like us. It's a magazine about stuff. Drop buy they're website to see what they're all about.

Finally, I'd like to thank Doegab for covering for me while I had school and he had vacation. Now, I shall do the same for him over the next week.

This is...AWSOME

A list of the top best counterfeit video games made by regular Joe's. Some of these games are down loadable and look great like Paper Bowser, a spin off of the paper Mario series that you can actually play!




Paper Bowser: A spin off Paper Mario found
here

SSBB Character Analysis: Falco

Hooray time for more character analysis, I mean i wanna try to get at least a few more in before N-man cuts me off >=(. Well in case you have no idea who the hell the blue bird in the picture is, today we are going to be looking at Falco, one of the three Starfox characters in Brawl. Falco is a prime example of a speed character, he may lack the pure power of characters like Bowser or Donkey Kong, but he doesn't really need it since he can rack up serious damage in a matter for seconds.

Pros:
-Fast
-Fast projectiles
-Has a lot of combo options
-Can unbalance foes easily
-Good side smashes for a speed character

Cons:
-Light
-Horrible recovery
-Very easy to edge guard
-Weak aerial game
-Very few "killing"moves besides side smashes

Falco is my second main in Brawl, only behind in preference to Wario. The blue Italian bird is one of the fastest attackers and dashers in the game, making him very hard to land smash attacks on. Falco's fast attacks can rack up immense damage within seconds and his side smashes are surprisingly strong for a speed character. One thing i really like about the space bird is that he has two attacks which can really unbalance his foes (Laser and Phantom dash), and in my opinion being able to unbalance you foes a very useful ability in Brawl. Finally, just like many of the Starfox characters, Falco is very easy to combo with.

Falco has his weaknesses however. To start off he is very light and can be hit of the stage easily. To make matters worse when he does get hit off the stage he has the worst recovery in the game, Fire Falco. Finally, because of his weak recovery Falco also becomes one of the easiest characters to edge guard in the game.

Falco will also struggle with killing other players. Yes he can rack up damage quickly, but he has no real killing moves besides his side smashes, which aren't the easiest to pull off. If you really want a good strategy to kill Falco, keep him in the air since his aerial game is extremely poor.

Falco will struggle a lot against faster characters with good recovery like Pit. He will also suffer against extremely heavy characters with far reach like King DeeDeeDee. In truth King DeeDeeDee is the bane of all the Starfox characters and I will explain why he is when I get into my nest analysis.

Counter with: Pit, King DeeDeeDee, Metaknight

Do not use against: Captain Falcon, Bowser, Marth

Final Review:

Learning Cure: 6- Falco is just above normal difficulty to master

Power: 4.5- Falco's attacks are fast but weak, with the exception of his side smashes

Speed: 9- one of the fastest characters in Brawl

Recovery: 1- Falco and Fox have the worst recoveries in the game

Throws: 4- Falco's throws tend to be on the weak side

Overall: 7.8

March 29, 2008

SPECIAL NOTICE OF DOOM

The Blue Dragon premier has been moved. It will now premier TONIGHT AT 10:00. And as an extra special treat, it looks like CN has brought back Samurai Jack which will air after Blue Dragon. Set your DVRs!

March 28, 2008

SSBB Character Analysis: Lucario

Today's review is on one of my personal favorite characters. Where going to be looking at Lucario, one of the new Pokemon from the Diamond and Pearl series. To sum it up Lucario, he is pretty much the definition of a balance character, "the jack of all tricks master of none."








Pros:
-Fairly strong
-Good recovery
-Has projectiles
-Has a counter move
-Becomes stronger as percent damage increases on him

Cons:
-Standard moves are sluggish
-Counter hard to pull off
-Extreme speed (recover move) does no damage
-Starts off with weaker attacks since he has no percent damage on him from start of the match.

Lucario is a really interesting characters. His moves are copied from other characters, but each move he has comes from a variety of characters, so he is not just another clone in Brawl *cough*Gannondorf*cough*. Like i said before, Lucario is the prime example of a balance character. e has projectiles, a good recovery, and even a counter move! These three things make him equally balanced in his ranged, recovery, and fighting areas. Another bonus to fighting as Lucario is that the more damage he takes, the more damage and knock back his attacks do. Lucario does really well against most characters, and there are few characters which actually have an advantage over him.

However, even the most balanced of fighters have their weaknesses. Marth can easily upset Lucario with his faster speed and longer reach. Also, fast balance characters with strong smashes like Captain Falcon or Lucas can hassle the legendary Pokemon. What really upsets me about Lucario is that even though he has a counter, it's the hardest counter in the game to which makes it not as seful as Marth's or Ike's counter. Another disappointing aspect of Lucario is that even though his recovery is pretty good, it does no damage at all. Also Lucario players will always start of with a disadvantage at the beginning of a match since their damage output will be lower than most characters (see Lucario's pros & cons for reason).

Summary:
I extremely balanced fighter whom as he battles becomes stronger instead of weaker. Has very few foes that are strong against him, but those whom are strong against him will make playing him difficult.

Counter with: Ness, Lucas, Captain Falcon, Marth

Do not use against: Pickachu, Kirby, Ike, Bowser

Final Review:

Learning curve: 7- Lucario can be a above average character to master especially with his counter

Power: 7- Lucario has fairly strong smashes

Speed: 4.5- Some say he is average speed but in my opinion Lucario falls just slightly under average speed

Recovery: 5: Would be higher if it actually did damage

Throws: 7- Lucario has some pretty powerful throws

Overall: 8.0

It's Sonic reinvented

In an effort to reinvent the Sonic brand, Sega is starting from scratch and creating Sonic Unleashed. This is the first Sonic game not to be developed by Sonic Team, but instead is being developed by Sega itself. The game is intended to go back to the series roots, and if the trailer is any indication, it looks like the Sonic game we've all been waiting for. Maybe this one won't actually suck.



Sonic Unleashed will release later this year on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

SSBB Character Analysis: Ike


Stupid N-man -.-. he cut off the rest of my character analysis posts and stole my 100th post recognition! Any way if you want to read up on my other character analysis just scroll down a bit bellow N-mans post.

Anyway today's character analysis will cover a new fan favorite of Brawl. Where going to take an in depth look at the legendary Fire Emblem Swordsman Ike. What makes Ike so great is that he is a hard hitting power character with average dashing and attacking speed.

Pros:
-Fairly Heavy
-Average speed power character
-Has a counter move
-Can move across the stage easily
-Non standard attacks are pretty fast
-Noob friendly

Cons:
-Poor recovery
-Slowest of all the swordsman characters
-Vulnerable to edge guarding
-Large target
-Vulnerable to projectiles

IMO, Ike is a really cool, great character. Out of all the heavy weight characters, Ike is definitely one of the fastest and strongest. On top of that, he is the heavy character with the most reach in the game. This gives him a clear advantage over most heavy characters, and really any character that is slower than him. Even some balanced characters that have a speed advantage over him will suffer against Ike, since all he really needs is a couple of well placed smashes to send them flying. In fair comparison, Ike is like a shotgun, he takes three cocks and then he blows! Well not really, its more like if he gets up close to you, you're pretty much screwed. Ike has a dash attack similar to Falco's and Fox's dash move except stronger, which helps this heavy guy move across the stage easily and catch his foes by surprise. Also similar to Marth, Ike has a counter move which can be really useful for frustrating opponents and catching them off guard. And even though Ike's standard attacks usually range from average to slow speed, his non standard special attacks are pretty dam fast.

So what exactly upsets this phenomenal heavy weight? Projectiles for one. Even though Ike has a counter which can help him against projectiles, he is not fast enough to counter multiple spammed projectiles. It doesn't help either that Ike is a pretty big character that can be hit from many different stage angles. His recovery doesn't help him much either, it's definitely one of the worst recoveries in the game. His poor recovery, coupled with the fact he is a heavy character makes him very vulnerable for edge guarding. The last disadvantage Ike has is against other swordsmen characters which are faster than him. In truth Ike will suffer against any character with a huge speed advantage.

***(I also noticed personally that Ike has a lot of trouble with Wario. Sometimes Ike's longer reach will give him an advantage, but most of the time Wario just runs circles around him. Also since Wario is a very heavy character, it will be harder for Ike to knock him off stage like faster lighter characters.)***

Summary: A powerful, fairly fast swordsmen who boast a variety of powerful attacks that can send opponents flying within seconds. Has trouble with extremely fast characters, but has a significant advantage over slow to average speed characters.

Counter with: Fox, Falco, Metaknight, Wario, Toon Link

Do not use against: Donkey Kong, Luigi, Pickachu, King DeeDeeDee


Final Review

Learning Curve
: 1- Ike is the easiest character to pick up and play with

Power: 9- One of the strongest power characters

Speed: 5- average speed

Recovery: 1.5- probably one of the worst recoveries in the game

Throws: 7- Ike has some pretty powerful throws

Overall: 8.5

March 27, 2008

Ouch I got trolled...sort of

***Originally I had thought that everyone on the site was a troll, however there where a few people on the site who where not trolls and really believed in Pokemon like Kirby man for example. The only trolls on the site where to admins and the mods, who I knew where trolls. However I still have to give them credit for trolling me b/c I thought regular posters like Snubella and Shadow Steelix where true believers. So in a sense my assumptions where right, and in a sense i still got trolled >.<.****

Troll= A poster or group of posters who make up fake stories and events in order to trick people and then rub it in their face.

Well see the pokeclipse post below, yea all a big troll effort, (with the exception of a few posters) . I knew that some of them where trolls, however I find it amazing that every single freakin person on those boards where trolls, it's unbelievable, they are the greatest trolls ever. You know how many people they convinced? They convinced like eight different forums with hundreds of people they where for real, along with some real believers on their site. I have to give them credit, there good. Here is the final post from the mastermind behind it(scrolls down a bit to see it)


Wow just amazing...

I feel really bad for the true believers left behind. Most of them thought they had found a place where they could talk about their beliefs openly. You know I do talk about the trolls well in how they where smart enough to fool everyone, but that doesn't change the fact that their still assholes. I feel especially bad for that kid poster with asp burgers syndrome, who was a real believer, and will be let down by these horrible trolls. The kid had no friends, and believed that he has new friends on that site. You know what in the end the trolls are geniuses, but there also fucking assholes. GG trolls picking on a bunch of little kids to make yourself feel better.

Anyway back to the smash character analysis soon, three more should be up by tomorrow

March 26, 2008

WOW......apparently pokemon are real

I'm gonna stop the analysis post for SSBB character for one sec just to show everyone this

http://z9.invisionfree.com/Pokeclipse/index.php?act=idx

what does that link lead to you ask? It's a website, where people talk about how pokemon really exist and how to get to the pokemon "universe". The sad part is this is no joke, most of the people on the site believe pokemon are real. The average age for people on the site is between 12-14, and however scary as it may seem, there are some older college student that are quite zealous about it as well. Did i mention how zealous they are about it? They are like religious or atheist fundamentalist when it comes to Pokemon. They are actually worse in away b/c they are defending something that doesn't even have valid proof of it's existence or fact backing it up.

Not everyone on the boards is a fanatic though. The ones that aren't fanatics are the moderators and the site creator who are pretty much using the website as a sick practical joke to fool little kids.

Before I close up this post let me leave you with some famous quotes from this amazing site.

The following post come from forum poster talking about Christianity and how
"real Pokemon" relates to it.

1) Forum poster Snubella- "I go to church, and I really think Jesus is a Pokemon"

2)Forum poster NyXem, same topic-
"Hard to say, I'm an atheist. I only believe in realistic things with good proof (like pokemon !)"

From a post called "Will you marry your pokemon?" (freakin sickos)

3) Poster The Kamikaze-
"I may marry my Pokemon if it's a female Gastly, That way we can stay and love together forever."

4) Poster Snubella, again- Other poster asks "Why just not get a human wife", Snubella replies:
"They can't love you like pokemon can ;_;"

Seriously wtf is wrong with these kids

Their promotional video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8B61nyectk


March 24, 2008

Brawl: Afterthoughts

*EDIT* ALTERNATE 100th POST! It's odd, Blogger lists this as the 100th post, yet it listed 99 posts a while back. Really, the Capt. Falcon post should have been 100. Anyway, I'm making this the alternate just in case.


Well, I played Brawl. Then I played it some more. And more. And more. And more. And I've been thinking. I've thought some things and come to some conclusions. I've come to what you'd call "afterthoughts". There are things to be said about characters, stages, and options. Here we go.

Characters

Brawl has plenty of new fighters. A lot of them are pretty good. After playing the game for three weeks straight, I've come to some conclusions about new and altered fighters. I can't speak for everyone because I don't use everyone, but I will discuss those characters that I have played to death.

Scale:
Good- Great fighter, one of my favorites.
Average- Not my favorite, but I'll use them.
Difficult- Hard to use. Don't like them.

Diddy Kong: Average
Diddy is an average character for me. I can use him, but he's not my first choice. He's quick on his feet and has decent attacks. The peanut popgun is a pretty good long range attack that can be charged. Make sure it doesn't blow up in your face though. If the peanuts break they'll drop health items. The monkey flip is also good at long range because Diddy jumps onto opponents. Use this at long range so your opponent won't see it coming. It's also useful if your in a bind as a quick escape. The rocketbarrel is an ok recovery. It's something you really have to get used to. It does damage to opponents as well, but must be charged to be a useful recovery. Keep in mind that when you're charging it in midair Diddy does not freeze and will continue to fall. His banana peel throw is not an attack per se but is useful for tripping up foes. You can have two banana peels out at a time. Make sure that you try and have them out at all times. His smash attacks are of decent strength and cartwheel is very useful at long range. If an enemy is close try using Diddy's tail whip combo attack to rack up damage.

Ganondorf: Average to Difficult
Ganondorf is not easy to use in Brawl. He is one of the strongest characters in the game, but also the slowest. Yes, he's even slower now if you can imagine that. The warlock punch has a different animation but with the same effect. It deals massive damage, but is extremely slow to execute. Use only with the right timing or if the opponent is stunned. The flame choke is Gannon's most useful attack. He lunges forward similar to his uppercut in the last game, grabs the foe by the head and explodes them with dark energy. It's one of Gannon's weaker attacks, but is also one of his fastest. Use it to rack up damage. It's also a good horizontal recovery. It should be noted that Ganondorf no longer stumbles if the attack doesn't connect, making it useful to quickly dash around stages. The dark dive acts similarly to the last game, but Gannon will follow up with a punch if the attack follows through completely. If you don't quite grab your opponent, Gannon will blast him with dark energy from afar. His wizard's foot kick attack works exactly the same, but with a different animation. Gannon's smash attacks are deadly, but very slow to pull off. use similar strategy with his punch to execute these. Rely on his dark dive, flame choke, and wizard's foot attacks in the heat of battle, as they are quick to pull off.

Ike: Good
Ike is strong, yet surprisingly quick. For a power character, Ike is not that slow. He runs at a decent speed and has an average jump. Overall, Ike is probably one of my very favorite characters. Eruption deals a massive amount of damage and is effective even when not fully charged. It can also be charged in the air, so use this when your above enemies to deal plenty of damage when you land. Quick draw is extremely useful for attacking, recovery, and quickly dashing across stage. The longer quick draw is charged, the further Ike will sprint and the more damage he'll deal. Use it when far from opponents to confuse them. Don't worry about falling over the edge. Ike will automatically stop at the edge of whatever platform he is on. Aether is a decent recovery move and attack. It's not that strong, but like all of Ike's attacks, it can hit multiple opponents. Be careful not to fall off the stage when using it. Ike's counter is slightly slower than Marth's but is slightly stronger. Get used to countering often. Ike is unique in that you can dominate using only his standard attacks. Most of them are strong enough on their own that you can easily take care of enemies by using them. His smash attacks have a quicker execution time then Gannon and they're plenty strong.

King Dedede: Difficult
Kink Dedede is usable, but just barely. He's only slightly faster than Gannondorf, and his attacks aren't that strong. His inhale simply spits foes out while dealing minimal damage. Waddle Dee throw is also a weak attack. You can have two of the guys out at one time. After they're thrown, they simply waddle around the stage. Occasionally, a waddle doo will appear and will walk around and shock people from time to time. Your lucky if he throws a gordo which will deal more damage. Do not rely on the super jump as a recovery move! It is not one. Dedede will jump and pound the ground causing damage to both sides of him. It's one of his better attacks but make sure you don't accidentally kill yourself. The jet hammer is almost totally useless. Dedede won't attack with it if it's not charged, though you can walk while it's charging. It's slow and barely ever connects. Easily avoidable. Don't try it. His standard attacks are alright. They're a little slow to execute, but deal a good amount of damage. His only real plus is that he's a heavy character that can float like Kirby. His jump works just like Kirby's and is very useful.

Link: Average
Something is just not right about Link this time around. His bow, and bombs work the same, but his boomerang can now pull in enemies and items and his spin attack can be charged. What I think is wrong has something to do with standard attacks, but I can't quite put my finger on it. His quick stab attack is noticeably absent, though.

Lucario: Average
To me, Lucario plays like a not quite as awesome Mewtwo. The Aura Sphere works like Mewtwo's shadow ball. Force palm is kind of like force push. It can be used from afar as a blast attack, or from up close as a physical attack. Extremespeed deals no damage but is a good recovery, though not at all like Mewtwo's teleport and not quite as useful. Double team is an extremely powerful counter attack, but it's slow and hard to pull off. His standard and smash attacks are pretty good, especially the smash attacks. He uses aura power for his smash attack which is actually really powerful. Overall, I'd say that Lucario is a really decent character, at least for me, and about average as you can get. The cool thing about Lucario is that the more damage he takes, the more damage he deals. Basically, his attacks become stronger, the more damage he takes.

Lucas: Average- Good
Lucas is a much better, easier to use version of Ness. His PK Freeze attack is very useful and freezes opponents. Try to use it when your foe is trying to recover to send them falling to their doom. His PK fire is different than Ness' because it does not remain stationary. It moves forward and burns opponents at a 20 degree angle. His PK Thunder is slower and easier to navigate than Ness'. It also does not stop when it hits and opponent. It passes through them allowing you to hit multiple targets which is extremely useful. Hitting yourself with the attack will cause you to spiral forward at the angle of impact is is actually an effective attack in addition to a recovery. His PSI magnet absorbs energy attacks in front of him and restores his health. This is a great tactic to use against an opponent with a gun. Unlike Ness, the attack also deals damage at close range. Lucas' strength really lies within his excellent smash attacks. His up and down smashes unleash might blasts of energy, while his side smash bashes opponents with a stick. He also has excellent aerial attacks that revolve around his use of energy blasts. Some of them take longer to pull off, but they're all pretty deadly.

Meta Knight- Average
I don't like Meta Knight. He's a decent character, I just don't like him. Thus, I have raked him as average. On a whole, MK's attacks deal minimal damage, but are so fast that large amounts of damage can easily be racked up. His standard attack consist of a flurry of sword swipes. If you hold the attack, MK is nearly invulnerable from all sides. His tornado attack actually sucks in opponents and deals a moderate damage. It can be used to lift MK into the air as well if the attack button is tapped consecutively. MK's drill attack is a rather useful horizontal recovery and can be steered up and down mid-flight. Try drilling opponents down and off stage. The shuttle loop sends MK up into the air before he glides back down. This is a good recovery both horizontally and physically as it will propel you upward and you can steer the glide afterward. Finally, the dimensional cape can be used as yet another useful recovery because MK will teleport in any direction. It can also be used to evade attacks or to counterattack.

Olimar- Good
Olimar is a good character for me, but may not be for everyone. He's got a unique and strategic play style unlike anyone else. The only other character that might come close is Snake. The majority of Olimar's attacks revolve around his pikmin. You start with three and can pluck up to six from the ground. Olimar's six pikmin will follow him where ever he goes and can be called back at any time. Once you have plucked your six pikmin from the earth (any solid platform), you can throw them at opponents. The pikmin are deceptively powerful and can do up to 48% damage each but can be destroyed rather easily. Make sure to always have at least one pikmin with Olimar at all times to defend yourself. Olimar is not completely defenseless without his pikmin however. He can still hold his own with a beam sword or a baseball bat and his up areal is especially useful. His recovery move is completely tether based and its effectiveness depends on how many pikmin you have with you. He'll throw his pikmin out as a chain and grab on to ledges. It can also be used as an attack. The pikmin order will also change the order of the pikmin if you want to throw a particular on first. The pikmin all have different effects with damage enemies when thrown or used in a smash attack.
- Red pikmin
  • High attack power.
  • Attacks imbued with incendiary properties.
  • Immune to fire.
  • Has the most damaging aerial attacks.
- Blue pikmin
  • Extremely strong when used in throws.
  • Slightly more durable than average.
  • Immune to water.
- Yellow pikmin
  • Range of attack slightly larger than usual; easy to hit enemies with.
  • Travel in slight arcs when thrown.
  • Attacks imbued with electrical properties.
  • Immune to electricity.
  • When used to throw enemies, enemies fly in an arc as well.
- White pikmin
  • Flies very far when thrown.
  • Quick and light.
  • Low health.
  • Normal attacks do little damage and knockback.
  • When latched onto opponent, poison does additional damage.
- Purple pikmin
  • Doesn’t fly far when thrown.
  • Slow.
  • High attack power.
  • Slams into enemies instead of latching on when thrown. This can be used to knock an enemy off the ledge if they are grabbing it at the time.
The pikmin you pluck depends on the terrain, though I don't actually know which pikmin appear on what type of flooring. The pikmin are basically used for smash attacks, recoveries, and grabs. Olimar is very dependent on them, which will turn most players off. Those of you looking for a different, strategic character, Olimar is your man.

Pit- Good
Pit is pretty awesome. I won't go in depth because I've already done that. If you'd like to know more about him, see the swordsman post below.

Zero Suit Samus- Avearge
ZSS is actually unique because she has a whip. Most of her attacks consist of her whipping people and almost all of them can be used as a tether recovery. Her up special will also grab areal opponents and pull them down to earth or slam them down if they're on the ground. When whipping foes, keep in mind that the tip of the whip delivers the most damage and will stun opponents. ZSS' one non-whip attack is the paralyzer- a chargeable gun shot that will stun opponents the longer it's charged. Other than that, ZSS is much faster and nimbler than Samus is. Use this speed to catch opponents off guard and use he down special, the flip jump, to get her out of sticky situations while dealing moderate damage.

Toon Link- Average
Toon Link is like link only much, much faster. I actually like him better than both Link and Young Link from Melee. While his attacks are faster, they also deal less damage. Oddly enough, I noticed that his projectile attacks (the boomerang and the bow) are actually slower than Links. This means that they are slower and deal less damage. Do not rely on these unless you have to. The bombs are the most useful attack from long range and the spin attack is good for close range. Charge the spin attack whenever possible to deal more damage. Unlike Link's spin move, Toon Link's has a faster recharge time and will not knock opponents back, but pull them in. His smash attacks are also weaker and slightly different. Overall, Toon Link is a Faster, weaker Link with shorter range. His extra speed, however, will give you the edge in battle.

Snake- Good
Snake is one of my favorites. He has a unique plays tyle that relies on his heavy use of explosives and projectiles. Not surprisingly, he has the best variety projectiles in the game. He also has one of the best recoveries because it lifts Snake up, can be steered left or right and Snake can drop off at any time. Snake's standard attack is the hand grenade that can come in handy when thrown into a crowd. The grenade will not explode right away, but can be thrown lightly, normally, or hard. Scan your surroundings to determine which strength to throw the grenade. The remote controlled missile is very useful for knocking out recovering foes or, once again in a crowd. Snake is completely vulnerable when using it, however, so make sure he's isolated. If you find yourself under attack, simply hit the shield button to take control of Snake. His missile will then drop and explode where it stopped. The C4 is a great weapon because it can be remote detonated when your opponents least expect it. If Snake is close enough, he can place the C4 directly on his foe. His smash attacks also rely on explosives. With his down smash, Snake plants a trip mine in the ground. Have one of these out at all times to catch foes off guard. His side smash is good at close range, and his up smash is one of my all time favorites. Snake will lob a rocket into the air. It's very effective if the opponent is above or even directly next to you, in which case it'll hit multiple times. Surprisingly, his standard attacks are quite strong and can KO an opponent at high damage. His down grab is also useful for stunning an opponent briefly so you can follow up with a smash attack or a C4.

Sonic- Good
Sonic is a pretty straightforward character. Most of his attacks consist of spinning around at blazing speed. He's the fastest character in the game, yet easier to control than I thought he would be. His spin dash can be charged and combined with combos, while the spin charge is faster, and does more damage but cannot be chained with other attacks. While using either attack, as long as Sonic is spinning along the ground, his spindash will reflect projectiles and weaker physical attacks. The homing attack is slow and often inaccurate, but it's a decent attack. Besides spinning around, Sonic can use his spring for recovery, which shoots him straight up in the air. If done on a platform, the spring can be used by others. If done in the air, the spring can fall and inflict minimal damage. Sonic's smash attacks consist of him spinning in the air and on the ground. His down smash in particular has very good range and can hit on both sides to damage multiple opponents. His charged punch side smash is also deceptively strong. Using these attacks, plus his aerials and grabs combined with his speed is the key to using Sonic effectively. His down grab and down aerial are especially effective.

Wolf- Good
Wolf plays completely different than both Fox and Falco. He's slightly slower, and has slightly stronger attacks. His blaster is the perfect example of this. Wolf's dash attack is a good horizontal recovery and attack. It propels Wolf forward at a 20 degree angle. Wolf becomes unable to move when the attack finished however, so be very careful not to fall of a ledge or you won't be able to recover. If you connect with the very end of the attack it will do more damage and stun opponents. The dash is also a great escape tactic. His recovery does not charge, but sends Wolf hurdling up into the air. It will carry opponents with him and knock them back, making it more useful than Fox's and Falco's up specials. His reflector looks different, but works like Fox's. It surrounds his body and reflects projectiles. Wolf's real strength lies in his standard combos and his smash attacks. His side smash is especially useful because it causes Wolf to dash forward unexpectedly and will catch opponents off guard. His aerial kicks and up smash are also useful for sending opponents flying into the sky and his down smash will attack in both directions (like Sonic and Olimar's). Finally, Wolf's down aerial is a great meteor smash and can be used to effectively send opponents spirling to their doom if no platform is underneath them. In all, Wolf is a fairly quick and powerful character with good smash attacks. His dash can be his downfall, however if you're not careful.

I may do more characters next time. Either that or stages. Stay tuned.

March 23, 2008

SSBB Character Analysis: Bowser

Hey look everyone it's our favorite lovable giant dinosaur/reptile thingy. No its not Barney, it's Bowser! Hooray Bowser!!! Please don't kill us.....

Alright then, this giant not so purple and not so lovable dinosaur is the "tank" of SSBB. Second heaviest character in the entire game (King DeeDeeDee is the first) and one of the strongest of the power characters, Bowser is an intimidating foe who takes advantage of his large weight and awesome strength to pummel his opponents to death.





Pros:
-Very heavy
-Fairly fast for a power character
-Powerful smash attacks
-Works very well in team battles
-Does well against many balance characters

Cons:
-Big target
-Bad recovery
-Vulnerable to projectiles
-Has a hard time fighting anyone faster than him
-Very vulnerable to edge guarding

I really like Bowser in Brawl. In melee he was among one of the worst characters, to slow to be useful and not as strong as the other power characters. Now in Brawl he is much faster and stronger with a lot more combo options.

In case you can't tell, Bowser is a very big and powerful character. One well placed smash can sending you flying across the screen into oblivion. Bowser does well in team battles by acting as a meat shield while his ally does monster amounts of damage to the opponents, Bowser himself is also useful because of his size. His attack can usually hit two people at once, even if they are on different platforms. And as far as power characters go, this guy is has pretty average speed when attacking, but not so much when dashing. I would say Bowser has his biggest advantage over the average to slower speed balance characters like Luigi and Jigglypuff.

Being big is useful, but it is also a weakness. Bowser can be hit from anywhere on the stage because of his size. His size also makes him vulnerable to edge guarding where his opponents can easily hop down and smack him into oblivion. The last thing that Bowser size puts him at a disadvantage is that he is very vulnerable to projectiles, especially on flat stages where he really can't do anything but try to shield himself and dodge. The fat fire breathing turtle really struggles with anyone faster than him, he can't land smashes against faster characters easily which takes away his power advantage. The most frustrating part about playing Bowser is that he can take a lot of damage, but when he finally gets hit of the stage he has a horrible recovery! In the end bowser is a better character than he was in melee. This doesn't mean he is a top tier character however, he has simply moved up from the horrible character level, to a decent playable character level.

Summary: A giant, powerful, turtle monster who can easily destroy lighter slower foes but struggles against faster ones. His size is his greatest advantage and weakness.

Counter with: Wolf, Fox, Olimar, Captain Falcon

Not recommend to use against: Jigglypuff, Mario, Lugi, Peach

Final Review:

Learning Curve: 2- Bowser is one of the easiest characters to master

Power: 9.5- the only one stronger than him is Gannondorf, I still prefer Bowser over him though

Speed: 2- Pretty slow dasher, but an average speed attacker.

Recovery
: 1.5- Absolutely horrible

Throws: 4- They are actually really weak for a power character

Overall: 6.5





SSBB Character Analysis: Captain Falcon

WOOOOOO 100TH POST HOORAY
FALCOOOON PUNCH!!!!

Time for our next character analysis Captain Falcon! Before I get into the analysis let me start off by talking about how awesome this guy is. First off his name is Captain Falcon, yea there are a lot of captains but they all have their name in their title like "Captain Olimar". Not Captain Falcon, he is so badass he decided to name himself after a bird, seriously a fucking bird! Secondly, look at how jacked he is! Seriously he looks like he is about to break through his suit because of his freakin muscles. His nipples are so jacked in fact he needs gold button nipple stabilizers in order to prevent them from bursting out! Thirdly he has a gun which he never uses because he doesn't even need it, it's just there for looks, what a stud. And last but not least he can blow up the entire galaxy with a falcon punch if he wanted to but he holds back his power just so that he can fight with the other brawl character. Don't believe me? Here is a video with proof! http://youtube.com/watch?v=FFtw7qW7Vcw&feature=related

That's enough praise for him now, maybe I'll say some more later on. The other types of characters in the analysis you have seen so far where either power or speed characters (I don't even know what to call Olimar though he might be balanced, maybe speed, definitely not power, or maybe he is just in his own category). Captain Falcon is neither, he falls into the small percentage of balanced type characters. Why is Capt. Falcon a balanced character? It is because he excels in neither the speed or power areas of fighting but does both of these things well. He is an extremely versatile character that can take on any situation and any character.

Pros:
-Fairly Fast
-Fairly Heavy
-Second fastest dashing speed
-Strong smashes
-Strong throws
-Above average recovery
-Versatile

Cons:
-Can be hard to control
-Vulnerable to projectiles
-Will struggle against faster characters
-Falcon Punch, though powerful, to slow to be really be useful
- Not many combo options

Captain Falcon was my main in the original Super Smash Brothers as well as one of my three mains in SSBM. I am i little bit disappointed of how he turned out in Brawl, however I will explain that later for now lets concentrate on his pros.

Captain Falcon is extremely quick, second fastest in dashing speed only behind Sonic. His speed is especially useful to get right in an opponents face and them pummel them with Falcon's fast punches and powerful throws. One big difference in Brawl is that Captain Falcon is a much faster attacker than he was in melee giving him a huge advantage over heavy characters who will find it difficult to KO him because of his speed and above average weight. He also works wonders on very light balance characters like Jigglypuff, Olimar, Toon link. Captain Falcon also has powerful smashes and a good recovery. Combine all these things together and Captain F. becomes one of the most versatile characters in Brawl.

But even balanced characters have their flaws. To start off, Capt. Falcon is hard to control, much harder than Sonic and this is because of his play style. A lot of time I'll roll behind someone only to find that I'm punching them in the wrong direction. The blue nipple thrusting racer also has trouble fighting opponents who use projectiles, especially fast opponents like Fox. The projectiles stall Captain Falcon's dashing and gets rid of any advantage he has over the faster characters. Also his signature move Falcon Punch is powerful but to slow to really use. In order to really use it well you have to get creative with it and find ways to trick your opponents into jumping into it.

One of the reasons why I was upset about Capt Falcon in Brawl was the fact that he is a lot harder to combo with. Raptor boost has no combo options now, Falcon kick is faster but only useful for disrupting fast opponents or hitting edge guarders occasionally. His aerial game is completely gone along with his knee smash, which was nerfed to hell. Yes Captain Falcon did undergo some improvements but he also suffered a lot of nerfs as well. Overall he is still a great character.

Summary: A fast, fairly heavy, versatile character that will do wonders against heavier character but will struggle with faster ones.

Counter with: Starfox team, Sonic, Snake, ZSS

Not recommend to use against: Very light slower characters (Jigglypuff, Captain Olimar), Very heavy characters (King Deedeedee, Donkey Kong, Wario).

Final Review;

Learning Curve: 7- Ever since he got the nerf bat he has been harder to combo with, in melee he was probably a 5 maybe a 6 but now he has moved up.

Power: 7- Very strong for a balance character.

Speed: 9- second fastest dashing speed, but faster attacker than sonic

Recovery: 6- above average recovery

Throws: 7.5- good throws

Overall: 8.5

SSBB Character Analysis: Sonic


For today's character analysis we will be looking at one of the most famous icons of video gaming. That's right where going to observe the famous Sega mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. This guy is incredibly fast and can frustrate even veteran Brawl players. Sonic for the most part plays an evasive game using his great speed to out maneuver his foes and keep them off balance.




Pros:
-Fastest dashing speed in the game
-Strong recovery
-Fast, accurate attacks
-Very evasive
-Easily frustrates opponents
-Easy to combo with
-Does well against other speed characters
Cons:
-Light character
-Weak standard attacks
-Predictable
-Struggles against faster moving heavy hitters
-Enemies can use his recovery as well.
-Predictable

Sonic is a speed demon. He has the fastest dashing speed in the game, although his actual standard attacks are not the fastest out of all the brawl characters. Sonic excels against Super power house characters like Bowser and Gannondorf, he can literally run circles around them all day. He also does well against speed characters like Fox and Metaknight whom he can outmaneuver easily. Sonic plays a frustrating evasive game, many people playing against Sonic will accuse their opponents of being cheap and trying to avoid them. In reality it's not that they are trying to avoid them, it's just how Sonic plays as a character. To frustrate opponents even more Sonic has a phenomenal recovery ability and an accurate homing attack that rarely misses.

Even the king of speed however has his weaknesses however. To start off sonic is a light character, and even though he has fast accurate attacks they tend to be on the weak side. Sonic will struggle a lot against faster heavy hitters like Wario and especially Ike. Both of them have attacks that can disrupt and unbalance the little blue fur ball. Once Sonic loses his speed advantage he's in trouble and can be easily pummeled until he flies off the stage. It doesn't help either that enemies can use Sonic's own recovery abilities for themselves, that small fault in Sonic's recovery ability could mean the difference between victory or defeat. The last fault on the list matter of personal opinion. I myself think Sonic is to predictable and that his moves lack variety. Other players will argue that his lack of variety in moves is not an actual weakness but a strength for Sonic since he will be able to correlate his attacks better. Like i stated before, it's all a matter of personal opinion.

Summary: A extremely fast, evasive character who uses his great speed to keep his foes off balance. Will struggle against faster heavy hitters, especially those with long reach.

Counter with: Ike, Wario

Not recomened to use against: Heavier slow characters (Bowser, Donkey Kong, Gannondorf), The Starfox crew might also have trouble with him.


Final Review

Learning Curve:
2- Sonic is one of the easiest characters to pick up and start playing with.

Power: 4- He is slightly below average when is comes to standard attacks and smashes.

Speed: 9- fastest dashing speed, but not fastest attack speed, this is why I gave him a 9 instead of a 10.

Recovery: 8- useful but enemies can use his springboard as well.

Throws: 3- Sonic has weak throws

Overall: 8.0

SSBB Character Analysis: Captain Olimar


Now on to my second analysis on SSBB character. The little man with elf shaped ears is called Captain Olimar, and no, those little things following him aren't multi-colored midgets, they're Pikmin.

Now the general reaction to when people see Captain Olimar for the first time is usually "LOL WTF BBQSAUCE WAT A FAG LOLOLOL". Well not really but its something along those lines. Many people discredit Olimar and see him as one of the weakest characters in SSBB. Well I can assure you ask any Pro player of brawl and he will tell you otherwise. Captain Olimar is deadly, and has the potential to be one of the strongest characters in Brawl.


Pros:
-Pikmen are the strongest projectile in the game
-Fairly fast
-Incredible throws
-Can have one of the best recoveries in the game
-Pikmen= meat shield, take damage for you
-Good aerials
-Good versus big slow characters


Cons:
-Very light
-Can have one of the worst recoveries in the game
-Very dependable on ranged game
-Weak standard attacks
-No Pikmin = dead Olimar
-Big learning curve
-Struggles against fast character especially ones with reflectors and projectiles (Pit, Starfox characters)

Olimar has a lot of potential. Pikmin are insanely powerful each of them can do up to 50% damage. Against big characters like Bowser and King DeeDeeDee, Olimar has a huge advantage with his Pikmin and nimble speed. And surprising for his size, Olimar has excellent throws that work well with his aerial game. Combine that with his long reaching recovery and Olimar is nearly unstoppable.

Notice how I said nearly. Olimar will struggle against anyone who is faster than him, and especially with characters that have reflectors and their own projectiles who will destroy his ranged game. Olimar is one of the lightest characters in the game and will get demolished by one well placed smash attack. The one big problem with Olimar's recovery is that while it is long reaching, its also entirely dependent on the number of Pikmin he has.

***( Important: Olimar is the hardest character to fully master in brawl. He has a unique play style that is very difficult to learn, if you are not patient I suggest choosing another character with an easier learning curve)***

Summary: Speedy character with excellent throws, has the strongest projectiles in the game. Like Wario excels against bigger slower characters and struggles against faster ones. Very light and has a hard learning curve.

Counter with: Fox,Wolf, Pit, Falco can work as well but he is slower than the last three.

Not recommended to use against: Big slow characters (Gannondorf, Bowser, Charizard)

Final Review

Learning Curve: 10- the hardest character to fully master

Power: 3- He has fast attacks, but they are weak and not fast enough or strong enough to compete with other fast attackers like Fox or Metaknight.

Speed: 7- he is pretty fast compared to most Brawl characters.

Recovery: 5- has great potential for success, as well as failure, too dependent on Pikmin.

Throws: 8.5- Excellent, Olimar has some great throwing ability

Overall: 8.0

March 22, 2008

SSBB Character Analysis: Wario


Well I finally got a chance to play SSBB and really try out all the characters. To start of the game is amazing, definitely one of the best games of all time. I could go into further detail about the game but this isn't a game review,its a character analysis. If you want more detail about the game itself scroll down a bit to see N-man's review.

Well as you can clearly see by the slightly disturbing side picture, this analysis is on Wario, my personal favorite character in Brawl. To be honest I usually don't play with powerhouse characters like Wario. The difference between him however and other power characters is that Wario does not only rely on his strength. He uses an assortment of odd moves to trick and keep his opponents off guard.

Pros:
-Heavy character
-Strong Smashes
-Surprisingly good aerials
-Has an advantage over other heavy characters (explained later)
-Good recovery
-Powerful assortment of moves
-Faster than most power characters
-Unpredictable

Cons:
-Big target
-Still slow compared to most characters
-Struggles against characters with long reach
-Vulnerable to projectiles
-Recovery can be sabotaged easily

Wario is a great character in my opinion. He has the advantage over most power characters in the speed department and can easily hold his ground against other power characters. Wario is truly the most unpredictable character in brawl. This is all due to his odd assortment of moves he has. Seriously, one second you think your about to smash the fatass into oblivion and then he bites you racking up huge damage! Or you are charging towards him and he runs you over with a motorcycle. It honestly never gets old seeing the expression on you friends faces when they think they have a easy KO on Wario in the air and out of nowhere he farts on them sending them flying of the stage. Even though Wario is a big guy, he has some of the best aerials in the game especially his up B attack that can rack up a ton of damage quickly. When used properly, Wario's motorcycle jump plus his up B attack can give him one of the games best recoveries.

Wario does have his disadvantages though. I found it difficult to fight against any swordsmen with Wario due to their long reach. Ike isn't so much of a problem since he is slow and Wario can move around him easier. However other swordsmen such as Marth, Metaknight, and especially Pit can be extremely tough. A good Pit player can easily beat Wario using projectiles and speed combos to keep the giant mustached titan off balance. Also, I mentioned before that Wario has amazining recovery abilities, however if an opponent knocks him off his motorcycle and stands around it to make sure that Wario cannot reach it will cripple his ability to recover.

Summary: A strong, unpredictable character , with powerful aerials. Struggles against faster characters with better reach, but does excellent against slower, bigger characters.

Counter with: Pit, Metaknight, Marth,

Not recommend to use against: Unless it's Ike, no heavy characters (Bowser, Ganandorf, ect).

Final Review:

Scale: 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest

Learning curve: 4
- Wario is a pretty straight forward character the hardest part is learning how to use his motorcycle recovery and timing his fart attack.

Power: 8.5- Definitely top five in power

Speed: 5- faster than most big characters, but slower still the most characters

Recovery:8- motorcycle+up B= win

Throws: 4- his throws aren't that great and they are weaker than most power character throws.

Overall: 7.5 (I would give him a 10 but that would just be biased on my part)

March 20, 2008

Blue Dragon premier

While I hate to support Toonami these days (I won't go into it. I'll save that for a future rant.), I would like to point out that Blue Dragon will be premiering on Toonami April 5 at 10:30. Yes, it is based on the video game!

For those of you who don't know, Blue Dragon (the anime and the game) was co-designed by Akira Toriyama and also used his artwork. Akira Toriyama is the mastermind behind Dragonball. He stated that this may very well be his final anime, so Dragonball fans should support him by tuning in. As a special treat, Toriyama himself has provided the voice for one of the characters in the American version of the show.

March 17, 2008

More crazy animal pictures (or something like that)

This first picture needs no introduction:

















He in yer sink.














The famous lime hat cat.








This cat is stumped.












BEHOLD THE JELLY MONSTER!
















Busted!














Happy pooch.













Leap sheep!
















This is just kinda disturbing...

March 14, 2008

Review: Super Smash Brothers Brawl


Nintendo's finest hour.

Well, It's finally here. The next installment in the megahit Smash series and equal to my favorite game ever is finally here after only six and a half years. Yes, it has been that long since Melee hit the Gamecube. Hard to believe isn't it? Now, finally, after six and a half years and two delays Brawl is finally here. And it lives up to the hype.

Every so often a game comes along that's a console seller. A game so amazing that people would buy the system just to play that one game. Microsoft did it with Halo for the Xbox, now Nintendo has done it with Brawl for the Wii. If you were to go out right now and buy a Wii and a copy of Brawl for $300, you will have made a sound purchase. If anyone actually takes that advice, let it be known that if Brawl was the only Wii game you owned, the amount of time spent playing the game and having fun with your pals would more than make up for the $300 price. That being said, I think I'll actually review the game now.

Where to start? Well... Brawl is... full. That's the only way to describe it. I'm still dumbfounded at the sheer amount of stuff they were able to fit into this game. 35 unique characters with 100s of sound effects and animations each, 41 unique stages with 100s or sound effect and animations, 314 audio tracks, thousands of dialog snippets, stage builder, five different single player modes, and even more for multilayer online and off, literally thousands of collectible trophies and stickers that provide background on your favorite characters, demos of classic Nintendo games, and probably more things that I can't think of right now. Rest assured, you'll get your monies worth!

I suppose I'll start with the new single player adventure mode known as the Subspace Emissary. Oddly enough, the vibe I get when I play it reminds me of Kingdom Hearts. I guess it's because it's pitted a crapload of famous gaming icons against a dark force that actually kind of resemble the heartless. The gameplay itself reminds me of Kirby. Really, it plays like a classic side-scroller so when you're playing with DK it feels like DK Country, as Samus it feels like Metroid, etc. Overall, though, it feels closest to Kirby for me. You beat up a variety of enemies as you progress to the door that leads you to the next section. The boss battles are especially nostalgic of old Nintendo games and some of the are really epic. It's also fairly long. There's a pretty large number of stages (over 20, I believe) and five difficulty levels. It took me around 10 hours to complete on Normal difficulty. Even on Normal, the game gets brutally hard in places. Intense, the hardest difficulty, is next to impossible. I've tried it. Believe me. If you want to avoid a torrent of pain and misery, then avoid Intense at all costs!

Classic mode and Allstar mode are pretty much the same as the last game. There is, however, a brand new Boss Mode which is like Allstar but you fight every boss from the SSE (Subspace Emissary) in order. It's pretty fun and another challange to add to the long list of game modes. The event matches this time around are a little different. You can play any of the 41 solo event matches or 21 co-op event matches on three difficulty levels. Of course, no matter what mode your playing, you'll get a bigger reward for beating it on a harder difficulty.

Where Brawl shines, of course, is in the multiplayer. It's just like you remembered only even more extreme. With all the new content and options in the mix, it'll feel like a whole new game. Every character plays slightly different as well to give it a fresh feel. You can customize the game rules to a greater extent now than you could before and they've added a new mode which uses HP instead of the damage percentage. If your HP runs out, you loose a life rather than having to be knocked out of the arena. There's also a rotate option if your playing with five or more people. In addition to the co-op event matches, you can also play the SSE or Allstar in co-op mode. Smash is the ultimate party game and really made to play with friends.

The sound in Brawl is amazing. The music is wonderful, which is a good thing considering there's lots of it! The sound effects are also very well done. The graphics are pretty good as well. Brawl looks just as good as many games out there in action, but it's the cut-scenes that really blew me away. If the game ran in HD, it might just rival Final Fantasy. I was really surprised how beautiful the movies were considering that's not something Nintendo usually does at all. Finally, the game controls exactly the same as Melee if you wish it to. You can use the remote on its side, the remote/nun chuck combo, the classic controller, or the Gamecube controller. Each of these can be customized to your liking.

There's just so much I could talk about with this game, but the review would go on forever. Just know that it's as good as you thought it would be, if not better. Get it now if you have a Wii, or get a Wii if you don't have one. Seriously, you'll thank me later.

If you guys have any specific questions about the game, drop it in the comment box and I'll answer them in a special segment in the future.

Breakdown:
Visuals: 9
Controls: 10
Gameplay: 10
Sound: 10
Replay Value: literally forever (10)

Overall: 10/10

A worthy sequel to my favorite game of all time.