Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

When Sony entered the market as a console manufacturer, they began a whole new era of gaming, and much of it was due to the rise of disc-based gaming. Disc based systems at the time were becoming more commonplace due to CDs being easier and cheaper to manufacture. Since they could hold more information than floppy disks and cartridges, it was easy to see why they were becoming increasingly attractive to developers. Even before the Sony, there were already several disc-based systems on the market, although few of them fully utilized the potential of the added storage space and horse power of the medium. The Sega CD for instance, was merely an add-on to the Sega Genesis. Most of its line up either consisted of amped-up versions of Sega Genesis titles, arcade ports, and interactive movies. such as the controversial Night Trap. The Super CD, an add on for the Turbographix-16, had a slightly more impressive lineup (including the highly sought after Dracula X), but it never made it beyond the borders of Japan. The 3DO, which was a standalone system, carried many of the interactive movies that graced the Sega CD, and it also boasted arcade-perfect ports of games such as Samurai Showdown and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. However, its high price tag prevented it from making a huge impact in the marketplace. The Phillips CD-I, just plain sucked.

Around the early 90s, Nintendo wanted to jump into the CD gaming market. Originally, it was Sony who would help them develop the technology that would power the new system. Sony was of course no stranger to gaming. Under the name Sony Imagesoft, they developed and published several games for their soon-to-be competitors (in fact, you may have even seen a couple of them as Lost Classics). However, the deal would fall through due to lawsuits on both sides, and Nintendo opted to go with Phillips instead. That deal would also fall apart, and Nintendo would eventually abandon the concept of a CD based gaming system altogether in favor of cartridge-based the Nintendo 64. It’s because of this reason that many suspect that the Playstation is what Nintendo’s CD system would have been. Regardless of weather or not that rumor was true, it was ironic that Sony, the people slated to work with Nintendo on their new hardware, instead usurped their place as top dog console manufacturer.
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So, it seems that not only are BottleRocket and Namco not working together on the newest Splatterhouse game set for release this year, but now the former bed-buddies are getting nasty with one another over the issue.
Last month, Namco cut ties with BottleRocket, the original developer of the new Splatterhouse game, abruptly and out of the blue. No reason was given for why Namco packed up and left so suddenly, though each side has their own story to tell. Now BottleRocket is shooting back at Namco.

“Splatterhouse had been in development for over eighteen months and up to having the title taken away from us we had not missed any contractually defined milestones. So either there were no performance issues during that timeframe or Namco’s management of the title was inept.”

BottleRocket doesn’t seem to be pushing the issue past mere words, though, as they admit to fearing the larger development corporation could easily crush their smaller one if slander starts affecting their image.

The new Splatterhouse game is due out April 28th.

Man, Square sure diversified after leaving Nintendo….oh wait, I said that last week didn’t I? Anyway, this fighting game (and collaboration with Namco and Dreamfactory) was as far away from the company’s RPG roots as it gets. It was also a departure from other fighting games around the time as well. Characters are allowed full 3-d movement, and don’t even have to face each other, not unlike Capcom’s Power Stone. The arenas contained interactive elements such as destructible crates that can be used as weapons. However the arenas are a bit on the small side, and the camera doesn’t track as well as it should sometimes. Even so, it’s still a fresh and fast-paced approach to the fighting game genre. The story (as with a good majority of other fighters) is that some mysterious conglomerate is holding a fighting tournament, and fighters from all around the world arrive to compete. Okay, so the story isn’t that original, but the characters are. On the surface, they look like your usual Tekken/Virtua Fighter archetypes, but their physical features and backstories make them something else. For instance, Ken ‘Godhand’ Mishima may look like your average fighting game main character, but he was a former assassin whose arm was replaced with a canon. Lee Shuwen may look like your typical old man kung-fu master, but he is suffering from a reverse aging disease. Not only do you get to play as these guys, several characters from a little known game called Final Fantasy 7 are also among the cast! Why would you want to play as any of the original yahoos, when you can play as Sephiroth?

Beside the main game, there are several minigames that can be played as well. There is a racing game and a board game, but the one you will be spending the most time with is the dungeon mode. Here, you take control of an archelogist as they explore a seemingly endless dungeon. Not unlike Diablo 2, you go through the dungeon building stats and gaining items and weapons to help you on your journey. The dungeons are even randomly generated, making the experience different each time.

Ehrgeiz may not have been be Street Fighter, but it introduced several unique concepts that were further refined in other games. The original disc has gone out of print, and was never re-released as part of SOny’s ‘Greatest Hits’ line. Thankfully, Japanese PS3 owners can purchase it at the PSN store, so hopefully this game will be available in the US PSN store as well. Gamers deserve a second chance to experience this classic, if for no other reason than the fact that gamers can control Sephiroth and his planet-destroying awesomeness.

Soulcalibur 4 is coming out this week, so to commemorate the return of our favorite weapon-based fighting series, we’re gonna take a look at one of the franchise’s earlier entries. Soulcalibur 2 is actually the 3rd game in Namco’s soul series, as the first game went by the name Soul Edge. The Soulcalibur games are known for adding in a boatload of special features, hidden characters, and unlockables that go beyond the standard arcade/versus modes. Soul Edge featured the ‘Edge Master’ mode, which took players on a series of character-specific quests while gaining special weapons. Soulcalibur featured a mission mode, in which players earned points to unlock hidden features. Soulcalibur 3 featured the Create-a-Soul, which gave fans the ability to craft new characters and use them in the game’s various playing modes. Soulcalibur II featured the ‘Weapon Master Mode’, which took players around the world while earning new weapons, similar to the Edge Master mode in Soul Edge. It also included an extra special touch, in which the home versions of the game received console-exclusive characters. The Xbox version got Spawn, the PS2 version of the game got Heihachi Mishima, and Gamecube owners got none other than Nintendo’s Link. The home versions of SCII also gained Necrid, who was a new character designed by Todd McFarlane. Of course most of the cast from Soulcalibur returned, along with a few new additions. Along with fan favorites such as Taki, Kilik, Nightmare, and Ivy, new characters such as Raphael, Cassandra, and Talim join the cast. Each of these characters bought their own unique styles to the game and make worthy additions to the Soulcalibur series.

By now hardcore Soulcalibur fans have played both this game and its sequel to death, and are ready to take on Yoda and Darth Vader in SCIV. However, new and longtime fans alike will want to brush up on their skills before stepping back into the ring, and there are fewer better places to do it than here. Anyone who plays this game will have very good cause to be excited over the forthcoming entry in the series.

The latest in my series for TheDailyPage/Isthmus Newspapers profiling Madison, WI’s gaming scene.
This entry focuses on Jimmy Choi’s efforts to keep Soul Calibur and the spirit of the arcade alive.

Read on: Reclaiming Madison gaming camaraderie with Soul Calibur tournaments

See also: CaliburForum and Madison SC Community

It was revealed earlier today by Namco Bandai that a third Star Wars character will be making an appearance in the upcoming Soul Calibur IV game, due out in July, in the form of Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice from the game Star Wars: Force Unleashed.

“The Secret Apprentice is a great fit for Soulcalibur, a franchise known for its over-the-top characters and frenzied fighting action,” said Haden Blackman, project lead for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed at LucasArts. “We’re extremely proud to give fighting fans a sneak peek at one of the most intriguing new Star Wars videogame characters in a long time.”

Along with Darth Vader himself, exclusive to the Playstation 3 version of the game, and Yoda, exclusive to the 360 version, the “Starkiller” will be available for both versions. For those of you who are out of the loop, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a next-gen Star Wars video game that takes place between the films Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books due out in September of 2008.

OK, it still has some talking and obvious cut scene stuff, but its mostly slashing.
New character Hilde is shown to some extent in this trailer, but with 30 total playable characters confirmed, this isn’t nearly enough to satisfy all. Soul Calibur IV will be available July 29 in North America.

Something that made my heart flutter happened to be smack dab on the cover of June’s EGM issue – it would appear that Namco’s cult-classic horror game Splatterhouse will be getting a well-deserved updating and makeover. Given that there have been a recent string of “retro-revivals” lately, including a new Golden Axe game (squee!!), this is a welcome addition to that list.

Splatterhouse should be name that pops up in the minds of survival-horror fans, as it was the progenitor of the genre itself. Released in 1988 for the TurboGrafx-16, the original game was quite gorey and violent for something coming out before the likes of Resident Evil and Mortal Kombat, which are well known for both, and was the first game ever to receive the parental advisory disclaimer. Just to exemplify, the American version of the game had to be censored due to depictions of an inverted cross with severed heads as a boss, less blood and gruesome sound FX coming from enemies when they’re smashed against walls, and less graphic death scenes of bosses. The game came out for the Virtual Console in 2007, but unfortunately featured the toned-down western version. Check out The West Mansion for more information on the series and games.