The End

Yep, by 'The End' I mean that I'm calling it a day with this blog. It seems like I've been doing it for years when I've actually only made it to 130 posts (131 if you count this post) but still...the end of an era is here.

Basically, I had a realisation that I play games, talk about games on forums and also write about games (well, try to at least) on this blog...it's just a bit too much isn't it really? With my massive backlog of unplayed games combined with the observation that I'm possibly too 'involved' in them, I've chosen to end this blog as part of scaling down my time online. That'll leave me with more time to actually play the games I'm gassing about and less time wasted online but more importantly, more time to do other things that I have going on or want to have going on.

It's not all lost though as I'll still check in from time to time on the blogs I've been following myself as there's some great stuff going on that I enjoy reading. It's just that I'm done with attempting to contribute myself and if I'm brutally honest, my passion for updating Darkstalker90 has been slipping away for a long while now.

So I'd just like to say "thanks" to anybody who has followed this murky corner of the 'net, commented on any of my posts or even just read them - it was always appreciated. So...goodbye, sayonara, later etc. I'll sign off with a fitting image from my favourite game of all-time to sum up this devastating loss to the online world*

*In some people's opinion...possibly. I'm not one of those people.

Movie Review: The Amazing Spiderman (2012)

Version Watched: DVD
Cinema Release Year: 2012
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, Sally Field.
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DVD Extras: As is seemingly the norm these days, DVD owners get shafted with a paltry selection of 'goodies'. Deleted scenes, stunt rehearsals, commentary and a production art gallery is all there is. Such a shame when the previous trilogy all had double-disc editions with plenty of content for both fans of the movie and the comics.
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I can't have been the only one who - upon first hearing about a Spiderman reboot - was baffled and a little worried. I mean, Spiderman 3 was released in 2007 so a reboot of the franchise so soon just didn't seem right. Of course, I heard all kinds of reasons and justifications on why it was done or why it had to be done but the Marvel comics/Spiderman fan in me didn't listen; I was more focused on being annoyed at a reboot when I really enjoyed the original trilogy of movies. For all of Spiderman 3's faults (of which there were many), I still think that the Tobey Maguire era of Spiderman was faithful to the comics, very well realised and simply a great set of superhero films. So it was with much caution and an enforced open mind that I unwrapped The Amazing Spiderman and put the DVD on.

In short, I shouldn't have been so worried because The Amazing Spiderman was absolutely brilliant.

Andrew Garfield steps into Tobey Maguire's role.

Obviously, being a fan of the comics means that I want to see a faithful origin story that stays true to the source material and not a film that changes too much in the pursuit of box office sales. The Amazing Spiderman gets it all right in telling the tale of geeky Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and the accident that grants him spider-like powers. The 2002 Spiderman movie told a convincing origin story too and the latest is just as good, if not slightly better in that a fictional fantasy tale is brought across in a more realistic way (see also Batman Begins). Amazing also sticks closer to the comic books by choosing to kickstart Peter's love life with the beautiful Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) whereas the 2002 version skipped straight ahead to Mary-Jane. This definitely satisfies the Spiderman geek in me and also helps give Amazing some individuality as a move thanks to a different girl with a different personality.

The villain this time around is the Lizard, a lethal result of a science experiment gone wrong. Dr Curtis Conners (Rhys Ifans) is working at Oscorp to find a cure for a dying Norman Osborn (who doesn't actually appear in the movie) with cross-genetic research being the main focus. Peter's deceased parents were once friends with Conners and so due to their history with the research, Peter finds himself tracking down Conners and ultimately providing him with a solution to complete the research work. Conners conducts the experiment on himself with lizard DNA in an attempt to re-grow his amputated arm but the cross-genetic research is flawed and instead, he ends up transforming into the monstrous Lizard. Again, all of this is very close to the comic book origin of the Lizard aside from Peter's involvement in the research. The last point is crucial because he feels responsible for creating the Lizard and so it ties in with the "With great power must come great responsibility" philosophy that Spiderman as a character is largely based on.

Dr Curtis Conners in full-on Lizard mode.

The Lizard however is probably one of the weaker parts of this film since the character isn't really a top tier villain in the comics and the same impression translates here. He looks great and poses a dangerous threat to Spiderman but is ultimately a very limited character with a very weak and almost cliched ultimate plan for New York City. Don't get me wrong, it's great to see a different enemy get some time on the silver screen and there was nothing wrong at all with Rhys Ifan's performance as Conners but I can't help seeing the Lizard as a weak act following the Green Goblin and Dr Octopus from the previous trilogy.

Spiderman's battles with the Lizard more than make up for any shortcomings though and the same can be said for the overall action in this movie, especially Spiderman's acrobatics above the city and his powers in general. The Amazing Spiderman strikes a perfect balance between action and the human side of the drama and it's great to see that neither aspect gets under or over served.

Peter struggles to balance Gwen and his need to stand before danger.

And as any Spiderman fan will know, Spiderman is less about the powers and more about the people involved in Peter Parker's life and how his secret identity affects his relationships with them. This film explores these avenues just as much as it shows off Spiderman's powers or the Lizard fights. Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field) are just as perfectly cast this time as they were in 2002 and Peter's evolving relationship with them as his life suddenly changes is a big part of the movie. Playing a similarly big part is Peter's blooming romance with Gwen Stacy. The geek gets lucky but the shadow of Spiderman means that young love will never be plain sailing...The character of Gwen is played very well by Emma Stone but Gwen has been brought up to date a little from the original comic book version so here she has a job at Oscorp and is noticeably sassier than the sweet and more innocent girl from the comics while still retaining the personality traits that set her apart from Mary-Jane. Stan Lee even gets a customary (and amusing) cameo appearance!

But what about Spiderman/ Peter Parker himself I hear you cry? Well, Andrew Garfield is a perfect Peter Parker and spot-on nails the geeky outcast persona. There's perhaps a bit more 'about' this version of Peter with his skateboard and the way he shoots back at Flash Thompson despite the inevitable humiliations/fights but for the most part, he doesn't stray too far from who Peter Parker traditionally is. In the costume, Garfield is a more convincing Spiderman than Maguire who was significantly beefed-up for the sequels and consequently didn't look like the lithe figure that Spiderman is.

Overall - slight grumblings about the Lizard aside - I really don't have anything bad to say about The Amazing Spiderman. It's true to the comics despite updating a few areas, the various characters are all portrayed perfectly and there's plenty of action to remind the viewer that this is still a superhero movie.

More than that though, it's a realistic portrayal of the character that deserves to stand alongside the likes of The Dark Knight in this age of superhero flicks that are more grounded in reality while retaining the elements that made the brighter and often more fantastical comics such a hit. This is perhaps the biggest area that Amazing manages to elevate itself above the 2002-2007 trilogy and those films had already had an extremely successful stab at establishing such a mythos around the Spiderman character. Lastly - even though this is a reboot - the great thing I found is that it didn't devalue my previous experience with the 2002-2007 set of Spiderman films so while Amazing is excellent in its own right and certainly worth the dubious act of a swift series reboot, I think I could still watch Sam Raimi's efforts and appreciate both timelines/universes in their own way and I'm happy that that's the case.

So that's pretty much all I have to say. The Amazing Spiderman is a great superhero movie and a great Spiderman movie. Yes the reboot originally seemed unnecessary and while I would have liked to have seen a Sam Raimi-directed Spiderman 4, Amazing was definitely worth going back to the start for. I didn't want this film to end (a good sign) and I look forward to the inevitable sequel(s).

Overall Score: 4.8/5

New year updates

Well I hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Year to go with it. In keeping with the 'out with the old, in with the new' phrase, I thought I'd use the new year as an excuse to make a few changes to Darkstalker90, starting with my reviews. The newly-posted Soul Calibur IV review below this post will be the last review in that style as I have some new ideas for how to present reviews in a more interesting way. Let's face it: nobody wants to read the same old boring, formal-looking write-ups do they? That's how I've been seeing my reviews lately so starting with the next one, I'm going to try and make them relate more to personal experience rather than writing everything impartially and critically. There will also be an attempt to make them more concise and easier on the eye than massive paragraphs of text.

If you're going to waste global bandwidth then you might as well do it properly eh? I'll also have a crack at hand drawing a new banner when I get the right inspiration...and the motivation of course.

It's also been a long time since I posted any gaming-related purchases and that's because there hasn't been many thanks to my determination to buy less and clear the shameful backlog of unplayed games. I have picked up a few things however...

A big stack of PS2 games sourced from forum purchases and trades. Out of everything here, I'm most pleased to get my grubby mitts on Rez, Heartbeat Boxing and Lucifer's Call. Quite a few of these games are semi-obscure budget things and I'm a sucker for weird, unknown games so I couldn't resist these.

Mario Kart Wii was a trade from the Retro Gamer forums and Gunvalkyrie was around £4 from ebay. I've heard good things about Gunvalkyrie as well as bad things from people who couldn't get their head around the supposedly strange controls. It's been on my hit list for a while now anyway so I thought "why not?" and ordered it. Now to actually play it...

Both this Atari Flashback 3 plug 'n play console and Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS were gratefully-received Christmas gifts. The latter is a typically excellent game as I've come to expect from the Paper Mario series and the Atari console is a baptism of fire to somebody like myself who usually classes the 16-bit era as his retro 'limit'. I've played it quite a bit however and found several great games so expect some sort of report on it in the near future (I have a lot to say about it!).

Well I've nothing else to say for now so happy New Year and in the words of Arnie, I'll be back.

Review: Soul Calibur IV (PS3)

Year Released: 2008
Format Reviewed: Playstation 3
Also For: Xbox 360
Developer: Project Soul (Namco)
Publisher: Ubisoft (Europe)
Related Games: Soul Calibur (Arcade, Dreamcast, XBLA), Soul Calibur Broken Destiny (PSP), Soul Calibur V (PS3, Xbox 360).

It’s best to open by saying that Soul Calibur IV is more of a small refinement to the long-running series rather than the huge evolution that many were expecting from Namco’s weapons-based fighter. This will undoubtedly split fans down the middle since – depending on which camp you sit in – SCIV is either Namco being lazy and playing it safe or it’s a proven formula not being messed with unnecessarily.

Still, if being lazy results in games that look this good then the Project Soul team can go ahead and be as idle as they like because SCIV is a beautiful game that utlises current hardware to really bring Soul Calibur’s characters and stages to life in ways that older technology couldn’t. It would of course be rude to say that Soul Calibur II and III were ugly games (they still look great today) but the series is as much about turning heads as it is about delivering a brilliant fighting game experience and Soul Calibur IV is certainly the younger, sexier model on the catwalk. From the translucency of Nightmare’s sword to the way light reflects off of characters and even the refined roundness of Ivy’s outlandish assets, nobody can deny that this is a fabulous game to gawk at. 

It’s a shame that the soundtrack can’t quite treat the ears in the same way that the eyes are served. It’s not a bad set of BGM tunes by any means – the usual rousing orchestral scores and fittingly epic themes are correct and present – but the music in SCIV doesn’t linger on in memory in the same way that past arrangements managed. It’s perhaps a case of a solid soundtrack being unfairly overshadowed by the sheer quality of what has come before so criticism here is arguably a moot point. 

The strangest fighting game guest character yet?

The animation on the other hand is as equally captivating as the looks. Small touches such as the way in which hair blows in the breeze or the manner in which characters move, twist their bodies and launch attacks are a testament to the detail in SCIV. Yes, yes this reviewer just needs to get a room with the game at this point but it needs to be firmly stated that Namco have produced one of the best-looking fighting games ever made.

Thankfully the all-important gameplay matches SCIV’s looks even if it perhaps doesn’t stray far enough from a proven template to be fresh or revolutionary. That said, it does mean that everything feels comfortably familiar for veterans of the previous few games so it’s easy to jump in and get back into the swing of things. The only real differences are that combat flows faster and slicker than ever before - with attacks packing more of a painful punch – and the new addition of the ‘Soul Gauge’. The Soul Gauge begins a blue colour before degrading to red as attacks are blocked and once it starts flashing, breaking that character’s guard opens them up for a ‘Critical Edge’ move. Critical Edge’s are essentially instant-death super moves with their own character-specific mini cinematic. Alongside the game’s refusal to stray too far from tried-and-tested gameplay, the Soul Gauge/Critical Edge feature will be a very divisive new element to the battles. On one hand it punishes players for guarding too much – known as ‘turtling’ in fighting game speak – which can slow matches to a crawl but it also punishes players who have taken the time to practice effective guarding, especially when up against opponents who like to spam powerful moves in order to quickly destroy a Soul Gauge and activate the Critical Edge. 

Check out that lighting on ol' Sieggy's armour.

In practice however, it doesn’t seem to damage Soul Calibur’s game too much since an experienced player should be able to easily deal with anybody trying to batter through a guard via sheer force. Anybody thinking otherwise should remember that the Guard Impact function (a well-established risk/reward parrying technique in the series) is still very much there and capable of separating the masters from the novices. Besides, some of the Critical Edge moves are worth seeing. One amusing example is seeing Cassandra smash an opponent’s head against the floor with her bum – a humiliating way to lose for sure.

In addition to the deteriorating Soul Gauge, characters also now have destructible armour coming in three sections (head, body, legs) which shatter under prolonged damage to a respective section (similar to the system seen in Sega’s Fighting Vipers). Non-breakable items of clothing such as tights, dresses etc. will also tear and become shabby as damage is dealt. It’s a nice touch that works hand-in-hand with the excellent graphics to establish a greater sense of detail and realism. Or perhaps it’s just a way to see the ladies fighting in their undies – we’ll leave that one open to debate. 

Beneath all the aesthetic prowess and flashiness however, the actual content does admittedly take a step backwards from Soul Calibur IV’s predecessor. SCIII wasn’t loved by everyone for various reasons but it was packed with lots of single-player modes to work through and a massive selection of warriors choose from while IV often feels like a slight regression in these respects. This isn’t to say that Soul Calibur IV feels half-baked but it’s clear that the online lobbies are where Namco expect the majority of players to be hanging out. Solo players can expect a rather shallow story mode, the traditional arcade mode and the character creation tool which still has the worrying ability to suck away hours of your life by itself.

Good old girl-on-girl action...

The meatiest solo experience is the new ‘Tower of Lost Souls’ mode which tasks the player with ascending or descending a series of floors whilst coming up against increasingly testing opponents and special conditions. Descending the tower is basically akin to the classic ‘Survival’ mode in which you try to get as far as possible before snuffing it. This time you can use two characters tag-team style with the reserve character slowly regaining their energy over time which adds a slither of strategy to the action since looking after those energy bars is the only way to make a deep descent.

Ascending the tower is where the player will really be tested however. Tagging is still in play but depending on the mission requirements, you may only be allowed to fight with a single character or you might even be able to head in with three. Each group of floors has its own trait such as a timer that runs out quicker than usual or enemies skilled in guarding – to name just two examples - so learning the intricacies of Soul Calibur’s combat is essential. Button-mashers won’t get very far in this tower so the likes of Guard Impacts, evasive manoeuvres and juggling are essential to progress. The Tower becomes an incentive to progress beyond spamming Kilik or Maxi’s cheap attacks and encourages the player to start using the in-depth aspects of the fighting system that are so easily ignored. 

Some of the bonus characters - such as Shura here - are actually pretty cool.

Technique alone is still not enough however because character ‘skills’ also come into play in the Tower of Lost Souls mode. These are various perks that can be assigned to your custom-made warriors (or customised regular characters) in the character creation mode to give them special abilities such as auto Guard Impacts, immunity to ring outs or increased strength when battling the opposite gender to name just three examples. Skills are broken down into different categories and require varying amounts of points from each category to successfully set. The number of points possessed by a character is dictated by the equipment and weapon they are equipped with since everything has its own value. This means that there’s some strategy involved in mixing and matching equipment to get the most available points as opposed to simply ‘creating’ female characters that run around in knickers and overloaded brassieres. 

For those less interested in punishing trials however, you can ignore all this business to do with skills and simply indulge yourself in the aforementioned, comprehensive character creator. There’s plenty of armour, face types, voices, weapons etc. to choose from and everything can be re-coloured to suit your tastes so if you want a pink knight or a baby blue ninja then go ahead. In addition to all of these features which were already in SCIII, you can also now adjust your character’s physique and muscularity to your pleasing which inevitably means scores of female characters with titanic boobs in the online mode. Tsk, tsk indeed. You can also edit regular characters too (colour edit on the 1P outfits and complete customisation on the 2P costumes) if you fancy overriding the decisions of Namco’s character designers. 

The artwork is again of a typically high standard.

On the subject of characters, Soul Calibur IV naturally unleashes a fresh batch of warriors onto the stage of history. Firstly – following the conclusion of SCIII’s story – Siegfried is now free from being the evil Nightmare and appears as a separate character. Expect similar heavy-hitting moves and damaging combos to those of Nightmare but with different properties. Siegfried also has plenty of unique moves to his name so he shouldn’t be written off as a clone of Nightmare. Also returning after a long hiatus is man-mountain Rock, the mace-wielding giant identifiable by his Rhinoceros helmet. Rock shares a lot in common with Astaroth and isn’t too much of an exciting addition to the roster as a result. The irony of this is that Astaroth was the character who borrowed from Rock when he took his place in the series so choosing between the two will likely be a personal preference (whisper…pick Rock). The first completely-new character is Hilde, a female knight who brings a dual-wielding style to the series with her short sword/spear combination. Hilde fills a gap in the roster by using a ‘charge’ style of fighting with the duration of the charges affecting the damage, reach and properties of her attacks. If ever there was a technical character for pros to get their hands on then Hilde will surely take on that role for SCIV.

The boss this time round is Algol, an ancient warrior who wields manifestations of both the Soul Calibur and Soul Edge swords. Algol boasts a ferocious and unique fighting style that encompasses damaging combos, a commanding reach and sometimes unpredictable movement. If that wasn’t enough, Algol can also teleport, use projectiles and counter sidesteps so he’s a boss character through and through. Crucially – despite his impressive arsenal of abilities – Algol isn’t necessary a cheap boss at all; difficult to beat at first maybe but not cheap. 

There are also five ‘bonus’ characters; Angol Fear, Ashlotte, Kamikirimusi, Scheherazade and Shura. These five have their own unique appearances but imitate the fighting styles of Seong Mina, Astaroth, Nightmare, Amy and Cervantes respectively with some slight differences regarding attack range and properties. These characters aren’t as memorable as the regulars but they’re a welcome addition nonetheless. Much more divisive will be this game’s ‘guest’ characters because for Soul Calibur IV, the big news is the bizarre inclusion of Star Wars characters. The PS3 version gets Darth Vader while Yoda features in the Xbox 360 edition (though your ‘missing’ exclusive can be downloaded via paid DLC). Both versions also feature ‘The Apprentice’ from the Force Unleashed games as well as themed stages and music from Star Wars. Seeing Siegfried battling Yoda in a Star Destroyer loading bay - while the main Star Wars theme plays in the background - is possibly the most surreal event in all of fighting games and it’s hard to say whether this is a good thing or something that should never have happened. 

Um...yeah. Ahem.

Whether Star Wars characters in an SC game make your blood boil or not, there are still enough returning characters alongside the new blood to satisfy any series fan. The likes of Cervantes, Raphael, the Alexandra sisters, Voldo, Taki and many others are all back with shiny makeovers and tweaked move sets to get stuck into.

Soul Calibur IV is an excellent addition to the series and also one of the finest examples of 3D fighting games thanks to its fantastic visuals, brilliant animation and refined combat. The only drawbacks to an otherwise tasty package are the limited number of solo player modes compared with Soul Calibur III and the simple fact that not a great deal of evolution has taken place. Stubbornly sticking to what works while making small tweaks and bolting on a few new features isn’t necessarily something to complain about however so if you’re a series fan then SCIV is a must-play sequel. Casual players should also be able to enjoy what is a solid fighting game capable of providing plenty of multiplayer thrills no matter the level of skill involved. Heck, even Star Wars fans have something to like and that isn’t how a Soul Calibur review usually ends. 

+ Fantastic visuals and animation.
+ The same accessible yet deep gameplay.
+ Character creator is even more detailed this time around.
- Limited single-player content.
- Some may feel that not enough has changed.

Overall Score: 4.8/5

Darkstalker90 Says: “I absolutely loved this game and rate it as one of the best fighters of the current generation. Soul Calibur III is still my personal favourite but I have no complaints about SCIV save for a slight lack of modes. I wasted hours upon hours once again in the character creation mode and as somebody who dabbles in art/character creation, I highly approve of this part of the game. The characters are easy to return to with some new tricks to master and I have to say that my favourite character, Sophitia, has never looked better than she does here!”.

Castlevania 2004 calendar

It's that time of year again where we buy ourselves new calendars so that the next year doesn't become an unorganised chaos...or something like that. Unfortunately (in terms of excitment, anticipaction etc.), I'm no different from most of the male population in that having twelve different pictures of a pretty lady on the wall for the year seems like a perfect way to brighten up a dingy games den/dungeon/pit (delete as applicable). This year -like the last 3 or 4 years actually - I've gone for this lovely lady:

Looking forward to 2013 already.

Anyway, as you can tell from the post title, this is about an altogether different calendar and one that I've gone back in time to bring to everybody's attention: a 2004 Castlevania calendar. Those who have been stopping by this fairly insignificant corner of the internet for while may remember my photos of the Japanese Castlevania: Lament of Innocence PS2 special edition. Sadly, the time has come to let this set go but I've decided to scan in all of the calendar cards before then since a) I promised to do this 'at some point' in that original post and b) the artwork on them is absolutely amazing. Ayami Kojima has worked on several Castlevania games when it comes to the artwork and I think that her Lament of Innocence art is some of her best. If this was available in an A3 2012 calendar form then you can bet that Avril would have serious competition for the spot on my wall. Perhaps.

Without further ado, here's the goods:

So which one is your favourite? I'm quite partial to May, October and November myself but that's just me.

P.S. I can only apologise for any crap scanning or related faults that anybody picks up on. I'm not a pro at this sort of thing nor do I have the up-to-date equipment to even try!

A Year of Games: 2012 Edition

So another year draws to a close and I'm sitting here hoping that we don't get wiped out by a Mayan-predicted disaster on the 21st of December. To take my mind off such concerns, I thought it was time to look back at the games I've played this year and make a list of the best of the best. To qualify for this list, the games have to be a) games I've played for the first time this year (otherwise the list would be filled with old favourites that got replays in 2012) and b) games that I really enjoyed/or am still enjoying. In no particular order then, here is my 'best of' 2012...

WARNING! Massive post incoming!

1. The Last Story (Wii)

Did I review it? No but I did a short piece on my thoughts upon finishing the game here and took a look at the lovely limited edition here.

Before this, I hadn't played an RPG in a long time thanks to my time outside of gaming being eaten up more than ever but The Last Story was a nice re-entry point thanks to its lenient difficulty and relatively short lifespan. Nevertheless, it packed a typically outstanding Nobuo Uematsu soundtrack, an immersive game world and characters you couldn't help but love. The story was certainly highlight and The Last Story quickly became one of my favourite RPG's ever as a result.

2. Robotron 2084 (Arcade - played via Midway Arcade Treasures Vol.1)

Did I review it? No, but watch this space...

Shamefully I hadn't played this legendary arcade game at all prior to this year (I know, I know...) but that all changed after I read a nice piece on the game in Retro Gamer magazine. The article kicked my behind into gear and I dug out Midway Arcade Treasures Vol.1 for the PS2 which thankfully had this game included. What a game it is too. Simple, crushingly-hard and wildly addictive, Robotron quickly showed me just why so many gamers still love it and the awesome twin-stick shooting action which it pioneered.

3. Lollipop Chainsaw (PS3)

Did I review it? You bet baby. A full review can be found here as well as some first impressions here and finally, a look at the Japanese strategy guide/art book here.

Lollipop Chainsaw was such a revelation. Short, linear and bringing nothing new to action games perhaps but the style, humour, OTT madness and crazy characters made this an experience like no other. Games with zombies in them were already getting stale and predictable but not many games let you mow down zombies in a combine harvester to Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round or use a hybrid chainsaw/motorbike/gun/telephone weapon. Truly one of a kind, Lollipop Chainsaw was Suda51 nuttiness at its best and a reminder of why we are gamers in a medium chock full of yearly sequels and cynical franchises. As an added bonus, the game got more girls dressing up as the sexy heroine Juliet Starling with Jessica Nigri's effort rightly being the most famous.

4. Goalstorm (PS1)

Did I review it? Coming soon!

I don't like football as a sport but I do enjoy the spectacle of fantastic goals so enjoyable, arcade-like football games are definitely the type I'm interested in. Goalstorm is the seed that spawned the ISS and Pro Evolution Soccer franchises for Konami so you might think it's all serious and boring but it isn't! Whether the hilarious commentary and humorous moments were intentional or just a by-product of the series' infancy is up for dispute but Goalstorm is all the better for it. The game actually plays pretty well with slick passing and amazing-looking goals so it's well worth checking out. The PAL version is quite difficult to locate so I ended up shelling out £14 for a complete copy but it was worth every penny.

5. Burnout Dominator (PS2)

Did I review it? No but I talked about it in part 1 of my 'Game Challenge' which can be read here.

Burnout was another series that I hadn't given any attention to prior to 2012. Okay, I did spend some time messing about with the superb Crash Junctions in Burnout 2 once upon a time but that hardly counts. Dominator is the fifth main game in the series so it seems like I came in at a good point despite most fans preferring some of the earlier titles in the series. In any case, I found Dominator to be a wildly-fast game with brilliant visuals, a great licensed soundtrack and fantastic gameplay. There are a lot of challenges to get gold medals in and it can feel hard at times but this is one of those games where if you fail, you can't really blame the game. My PS2 is currently out of order but I'm itching to get back to this underrated racer.

6. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)

Did I review it? No.

For a stupid reason I can't quite explain, I mistakenly lumped this game in with the New Super Mario Bros. series (a sub-series that I don't really enjoy) and ignored it when it was released but having it bought as a gift meant that I had to play it at last! How wrong I was. 3D Land is a pleasant fusion between the aforementioned NSMB series and the outstanding Galaxy games, taking elements of both and becoming an experience all of its own. Graphically it is excellent and typically of Mario's games (bar Sunshine on the GC), failure always felt like my fault and not a fault of the game itself so it could be tricky later on but constantly fair. The 3D was also impressive with some of the game's absolutely massive plummeting jumps almost sucking me into the screen.

7. Resident Evil 5 (PS3)

Did I review it? No. However, you can see my initial impressions here as well as a quick look at a brilliant piece of DLC for the game here.

Like many other gamers, I loathed this game when I first started it and even put it in a pile of games that were headed to evilbay to make me a few pennies. Fortunately, I gave it a second chance and ended up completing it three times in a row, replacing my original copy with the 'Gold' edition (all DLC inclusive on the disc) and buying the collector's edition strategy guide. Quite a change of opinion eh? Turns out it took a lot of getting used to the partner AI of Sheva when all I wanted was to run in guns-a-blazing, RE4 style. I didn't think it was better than RE4 and I still prefer the original style of games (RE3: Nemesis being my favourite) but RE5 was a very enjoyable action game.

8. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (Wii)

Did I review it? No.

Momentarily sticking with Resident Evil, I also completed this one around three times this year too. Yes, I battered the Gamecube original a crazy nine times in a row but I hadn't even tested the disc on this version until finally digging it out this year to see how such a masterpiece of a game fared on the Wii. The controls were spot-on and made an already stunning game even more stunning. Yes, the Wii remote did probably make the game too easy but I didn't care. It was also nice to have access to the extra content from the PS2/PC editions which I hadn't played before.

9. F-Zero X (N64 - played via Virtual Console)

Did I review it? No

This year I made a better effort to download a few things from the Wii's Virtual Console service and F-Zero X was one of those games. I raved about GX on the Gamecube but being adamant that I was never again going to want an N64 in my collection, I decided to bite the bullet and download this highly-regarded racer (picking up some heavily discounted points cards in the supermarket may also have been a contributing factor!). In short, I still prefer GX but there's no denying the quality of its predecessor. I was particularly impressed by how good the game looked and how silky smooth the frame rate was given that this is an N64 game. The console was known for foggy draw distance and vaseline-smeared visuals but F-Zero X is proof that it wasn't always that way. A great racer that I'll certainly be returning to again.

10. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3)

Did I review it? Coming soon!

It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of fighting games and the Tekken series is easily one of my favourites. Tekken Tag 2 revived the tag team mechanic last seen in the original Tekken Tag Tournament game and brought everything up to speed with the latest in Tekken gameplay. Better still, the game revived many characters that hadn't been seen for years such as Angel, Kunimitsu, the Ogres, Unknown, P.Jack etc. to create the biggest and most comprehensive Tekken roster of all-time. A few pedantic selections not withstanding, practically every Tekken character across every installment is here. Further stoking the fires of the series' fans, Namco made the soundtracks from all previous games downloadable (TTT2's music can then be fully customised) and put out a lot of free DLC including bikini outfits. I personally hated Tekken 6 but this is a huge return to form, one of my favourite Tekken games of the lot and one of my favourite fighters ever. It's gonna take a hell of a lot to top this.

11. Dead or Alive 5 (PS3)

Did I review it? Not yet...it's gonna happen though. I showed the collectors' edition set here though.

2012 saw several fighting games get a release and Tecmo saw fit to bring Dead or Alive back for it's first home console outing since the 360-exclusive DOA4 which launched with the console. More sensibility was promised this time but predictably (as you can see from the 'carefully' selected image on the left here) this all went out of the window in no time at all. In fairness to Team Ninja, the graphics in DOA5 are pretty damn beautiful so it would be a bit of a waste not to continue the series' vice for skimpily-clothed, massively boobed girls duking it out. The series staple chest physics returned, backed-up by DLC bikini packs just in case anybody had taken that earlier sensibility promise seriously (the fools). There's also an emphasis on showing realistic sweat/perspiration this time around if anybody finds that attractive. Getting back on track, the fluid animation of the characters, tightened-up gameplay and interactive stages made returning to DOA worth the wait. It's not my favourite series but I am very much enjoying DOA5 for what it is.

12. Paper Mario (N64 - played via Virtual Console)

Did I review it? No.

Another bargain from the Virtual Console, Paper Mario is a game I'd been wanting to play for a long time now but as any Nintendo or N64 fan will know, PAL copies of this game are uncommon and command a fair few pounds. I'm a big fan of the Gamecube sequel and Super Paper Mario for the Wii so I was glad to be able to download the original for a snippet of the price that a boxed N64 copy would sell for. Like its sequels, Paper Mario is bursting with charm and is definitely one of the best-looking N64 games I've ever laid eyes upon. I've yet to complete this one but I've made a lot of progress so far and have nothing bad to say about it at all.

13. Daytona USA (PSN version)

Did I review it? Yes, find the review here.

Daytona USA is one of my favourite arcade games and I also enjoyed the Sega Saturn conversion but I downloaded the PSN version this year just so I could play it again whenever I wanted to since the Saturn isn't set up. At around £6 for a HDified, arcade-perfect (at last!) download, the value was irresistible. There's not much more to say about this one; brilliant game, brilliant conversion, 'nuff said.

14. Project Rub (DS)

Did I review it? Yep, here it is.

I'd had this sitting around for ages before finally playing it this year (seems to be a recurring theme with my games) and I should have played it sooner because Project Rub is a crazy mini-game experience that uses the DS' unique inputs for some creative (and frustrating) games. The almost abstract art style, catchy music and signature Sega charm all had me hooked and even though I didn't keep hold of my copy (I didn't think I'd play it through again unfortunately), it was certainly a handheld highlight this year.

15. Pac-Pix (DS)

Did I review it? I did indeed and here it is.

I'm not afraid to admit that I don't really like Pac Man. I can appreciate why and how the arcade game was so important but I just don't enjoy it. Pac-Pix on the other hand is a great little gem for the DS that sees the player having to draw Pac Men with the stylus then draw lines to change their direction and keep them on the screen, gobbling ghosts. Naturally there are lots more elements that come into play and the game gets surpisingly hard in its latter stages when there is a lot to draw, a lot of enemies to clear, a lot of obstacles in the way and of course, a dreaded timer. Like Project Rub, I didn't keep my copy of this game once I'd completed it (as part of my super-strict collection audit) but it reminded me of how creative DS games can be.

16. Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition (PS3)

Did I review it? No.

As much as I love fighting games, Mortal Kombat had never captured my imagination in the same way as other games in the genre. I missed the big hype around the first few games in the early 90's and the one game I did play - MK Armageddon for the PS2 - was a clunky 3D misery that put me off the series for good. However, I'd heard good things about the modern re-boot and this year I snagged a copy of the 'Komplete Edition' with all the DLC on-disc (something I like to have) to try out. Amazingly, I was instantly Konverted (get it? Oy...I'll get my coat...) and happy to see the series back to a 2D plane with tighter gameplay and awesome combos. The gore was back and bigger than ever with horrific 'X-Ray moves' and gallons of the red stuff being splattered everywhere but this time, the gameplay itself was good enough to balance the gimmicks. Kudos to the devs for including a decent single-player experience too.

17. Street Fighter X Tekken (PS3)

Did I review it? No.

Many spat bile at this crossover and Capcom's outrageous DLC stunt (holding back loads of characters as pricy post-launch DLC) did the game no favours. From a fighting game stance, SFxT is incredibly broken with unbalanced characters, an easily ignored 'gem' system and the mostly useless Pandora mechanic. In other areas, the single player modes are very lacking and the overall presentation is a bit cheap/rushed in feel. However, I still really enjoyed this game for what it was. It's true that many of the above criticisms also resonated with me but the core gameplay, clever integration of Tekken characters into the SFIV play style and music won me over. Heavily flawed but very playable.

18. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (PS3)

Did I review it? Not yet...possibly soon.

This is the most recent entry in this list on the basis that it was the last game I bought. As kart racers go, I personally think this blows Mario Kart away in the same way that Crash Team Racing did on the PS1. The Sega fan service is rich with this one (even though the roster could be a little more exciting) and it's nice to see characters/stages from Panzer Dragoon, Skies of Arcadia, Shinobi, Burning Rangers and Afterburner get a look in amongst the usual suspects. Sumo Digital continue to impress with the careful handling of Sega's treasured IP as well as some more fantastic gameplay. Hardcore gamers will also have their skills tested playing the World Tour events on 'Expert' difficulty in order to collect all of the stars. I know I'm being tested that's for sure! A final positive point is that the game seems to have launched at a low price point in the region of £20-£25 with a Limited Editon version available for the same sort of price. The LE includes a download code for an Outrun-themed track and Metal Sonic as a playable character so it's well worth plumping for.

Well I'll be impressed if anybody read through all of that and are still awake! I tried to play a healthy mix of retro and modern games this year but retro has been a bit of a sticking point due to just not having the chance to get some of the older machines set up and invest some quality time in them. Hopefully I can turn this around next year as there are plenty of retro titles that I want to experience over newer games. What were your highlights of 2012?

Character Select: Cammy (Street Fighter series)

When it comes to the sex appeal of the Street Fighter series, there will always be people (such as this intrepid reporter himself) who favour wrestler Rainbow Mika or those with a fetish for Japanese schoolgirls who champion Sakura but for majority, it’s a toss-up between Chun-Li’s thighs and Cammy’s largely exposed rear end. Yes, Chun-Li was (and still is) the iconic woman in fighting games but that title was put under threat when Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers launched, bringing with it four new characters one of whom was Cammy in her skimpy, skintight green leotard.

The cynical may say that Cammy was conceived purely to bring another sexy female to the series but lets not forget that Cammy was easily one of the most playable of the ‘New Challengers’ alongside Fei Long (T-Hawk being quite dull and cheap while Dee Jay performed the role of the token black guy) thanks to her well-rounded move set and ‘Hooligan Combo’ throws. Cammy also has the speed/agility factor usually associated with women in fighting games but also reasonable attack power in an era of fast-but-weak female fighting game characters. Her second Ultra combo in Super Street Fighter IV is a particularly powerful and brutal-looking move that finishes with a neck-breaker so this is certainly no girl to mess about with. 

Cammy's England stage...and Zangief getting a bit too personal.

Cammy is also far from being a throwaway blonde bimbo contrary to her design and has a pretty prominent storyline in the SF series. In the SFII prequel series, Street Fighter Alpha (known as Street Fighter Zero in Japan), Cammy pops up as a hidden character in the training and Vs modes of Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold but receives a fully-fledged role in Street Fighter Alpha 3 where it is revealed that M.Bison created her as a clone for his next body when his current form is inevitably consumed by the Psycho Power. She breaks free of Bison’s control but loses her memories in the process. Cammy then joins the British government’s paramilitary group ‘Delta Red’, utilizing the fighting skills learnt during her time in Bison’s organization, Shadaloo to help the team combat dangerous world threats. When the second World Warrior tournament opens (as chronicled in Street Fighter II), Cammy enters and defeats Bison only to be reminded of the terrible truth behind her origins but her Delta Red teammates convince her to let the past go and live her new life of freedom. 

Shadaloo/Killer Bee Cammy.

Cammy was omitted from the Street Fighter III sub-series (along with most of the SFII cast) and also missed the arcade version of Street Fighter IV. For the home version of SFIV, Capcom held a poll whereby the top characters voted for by the fans would be re-instated. Unsurprisingly, Cammy topped the poll with Fei-Long, Dan, Rose, Sakura and Gen following in her wake. The Street Fighter IV series sees Cammy fighting alongside Delta Red and coming up against new adversaries such as Crimson Viper and Juri. Super Street Fighter IV in particular goes into greater depth with Cammy’s involvement in the storyline and her ending shows her begin to help another former Shadaloo puppet, Juni (previously playable in Alpha 3), recover from her own amnesia.

Outside of the main Street Fighter series, Cammy proved herself popular enough to appear in several other Capcom fighters including Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Capcom Vs SNK, Capcom Vs SNK 2 and Street Fighter X Tekken. Her first playable appearances outside of the Street Fighter II series was in X-Men Vs Street Fighter where she wears her Shadaloo outfit (a pale blue leotard with a turtleneck design and shoulder pads) also seen in the Alpha/Zero sub-series of SF games where she is still under Bison’s control. In the Street Fighter IV series’ as well as Street Fighter X Tekken, Cammy appears in her classic Delta Red outfit (green thong leotard and red beret) as originally seen in Super Street Fighter II. 

Some amazing Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival artwork for Cammy.

Like several other Capcom characters, Cammy has also broken out of fighting games and made appearances in other Capcom games, most notably Cannon Spike for the Dreamcast; a 3D multi-directional shooter named after Cammy’s signature anti-air attack of the same name in the SF games. Cammy also appears as a boss character in Final Fight Streetwise plus puts in an appearance for the PS2 cross-over RPG Namco X Capcom.

Special mention must go to the legendarily bad 1994 live-action Street Fighter movie in which Cammy is played by none other than Kylie Minogue who at least gets the hair style right if nothing else. Sparing any more of the global bandwidth discussing this abortion of a movie is a sin however so if anybody wants to see some proper Cammy action on the big screen then the superb Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie is the best option by far. 

Cammy's super-useful 'Cannon Spike' move.

Cammy’s design obviously made her a prime candidate for numerous figurines, statues and the usual questionable online fan art. Cosplayers like to get in on the action too with some particularly fetching results if done well (easy now…). Overall though, Cammy ticks all the boxes thanks to being a sexy female character but also a character with a strong personality and great move set that elevates her above being a token babe for the male audience’s benefit.

Darkstalker90 Says: “Cammy has always been one of my favourite Street Fighter characters next to Akuma. Obviously her design is…appealing but I also really enjoy playing as her because her moves and combos are just great to pull off. She’s always one of my first choices in any Street Fighter or Vs game and I used her a lot during my time with Street Fighter X Tekken”.