AoA Clan Forums: Arrogance of Aggression Portal

It’s winter. It’s cold. We’re playing games. Who cares what’s happening outside.

Ben Hanson: This weekend I will continue my retro-RPG kick by playing even more Pokemon SoulSilver. I’m 25 hours in and loving every second of it. I will also continue playing Skies of Arcadia. I watched a friend play through the Dreamcast version back in the day and have been meaning to play the Gamecube port ever since. It holds up pretty well. I may also continue playing Final Fantasy XIII-2…maybe. Enjoy your weekend!

Mat Bertz: Slaying walleye on Lake of the Woods while drinking whiskey and playing Slayer Pinball on my iPad.

Jason Oestreicher: I'm finally in my new apartment, but still don't have all of my furniture from back home. I've got the essentials though...a TV, consoles, beanbag chair, and a freezer full of Hot Pockets. As for games, I've developed a strange, growing fondness for Sonic and SEGA All Star Racing so that'll likely get some playtime. That's all I know so far. Apparently, living like a teenager has affected my ability to plan for the future.

Phil Kollar: VIDEO GAAAAAAMES. I’m kicking off my first solid, non-work-devoted weekend in a while by wasting my time on the reportedly terrible Amy on Xbox Live Arcade. I was given a free download code, and my friend John Carson and I enjoy playing terrible games together, so there’s our Friday night. Beyond that, I finally started up the copy of Deus Ex: Human Revolution that I’ve had sitting on my table since Black Friday. I’m not far yet – just past the tutorial – so hopefully I can dig in a bit. I’m also hoping to finally jump back into Star Wars: The Old Republic and start work on Chapter two of my Imperial Agent storyline after a couple of weeks away.

Tim Turi: This weekend I’ll be seeking out the Triforce in The Legends of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Really hoping to finish up that game. Otherwise maybe I’ll dive into an old classic like Mega Man 2 or Resident Evil 2.

Kyle Hiliard: This weekend, previous weekends, and likely future weekends, have all been devoted to catching up on my 2011 backlog. I knocked out Rayman Origins this week, and after putting about an hour into Saint’s Row: The Third back in November, I am ready to dive back in and knock it out. I also downloaded Rochard, and would like to see that to the end as well. Otherwise it’s watching movies, cooking dinners, and making goofy faces at my baby daughter in an attempt to make her giggle.

Dan Ryckert: It’s gonna be a wrasslin’ kinda weekend. Tomorrow, I’m taking my girlfriend to her first independent wrestling event, which will be held at a VFW. The next day is one of my favorite days of the year, as the Royal Rumble will be taking place. Sounds like a bunch of us are going to Reiner’s to watch the PPV, and I’ve even talked Ben Hanson (and maybe Phil Kollar) into attending. Can’t wait!

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I’m what you’d call a casual racing fan. I really enjoy racing games, but I find it hard to devote my time to more than one or two every year, so I tend toward known quantities – Forza, Burnout, Need for Speed, etc. As such, I’ve always been intrigued by Codemasters’ popular Dirt series of rally racing games, but I have yet to take the leap into trying one out. The publisher hopes to pull in people like myself with its new spin-off game, Dirt Showdown, which I was able to go hands-on with last week.

According to Codemasters, the decision to create Dirt Showdown came from a recognition that by the third Dirt game, the series had expanded from its pure rally racing roots and into the realm of "action sports." Dirt 3 featured a major addition to the series called gymkhana, an obstacle and trick course for cars.

To help clarify the game’s focus and calm fans who might be annoyed by the dissonant modes, Codemasters decided to create a branching spin-off. In other words, Dirt Showdown is not Dirt 4. This is a separate, action sports-focused version of the Dirt series that will coexist alongside continued iterations of the regular Dirt games.

As an example of its action focus, this is the first Dirt game that will feature a boost mechanic. Like in the Burnout games, you’ll build the boost meter by drifting, passing, and generally driving successfully. Well-placed use of boost can get you into the lead or allow you to pull off a devastating crash into an opponent’s vehicle.

The first mode I checked out in Dirt Showdown is called 8 Ball. This race takes place in a looping track that crisscrosses in the middle (i.e. basically in the shape of an 8). Because the track is relatively short but has several laps, this middle area is certain to be home to some major accidents as players driving in different directions cross at the same time.

In addition to the boost mechanic, 8 Ball shows off another change to Dirt Showdown: health bars. In the demo, my health has been buffed up so that even after major accidents I have about three-fourths of my bar left, but in the final game players will be able to completely knock opponents out of the race by draining their health bars.

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I enjoyed my time with 8 Ball mode, but couldn’t help noticing a surprising similarity to the feeling I get from racing in Mario Kart games. There may not be any blue shells here, but each time I tried it out, I entered the final lap in third place with a healthy lead...and ended the race in second, third, or fourth. Because of the over-the-top nature of the event, spots change suddenly and painfully, even if you’re playing well. This makes for a fun party game, but I could see regular racing fans getting annoyed at the uncertainty.

The much more interesting mode, in my opinion, is Destruction Derby. As the name implies, these events drop you into arenas and focus completely on taking out other cars. In addition to crazy rule sets, Destruction Derby events have more room for crazy locales. For example, the one I played was set in an enclosed space with San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge in the background.

I played the Rampage variant of Destruction Derby, in which players are given points for hitting other cars as well as destroying them completely. I had infinite respawns and was able to continue building my score until the timer ran out. The game ranks the power of each crash in order to determine how many points you get, and you even get double points in the final 30 seconds.

The few rounds of Rampage I played were an absolute blast. There’s something undeniably fun about an arena full of eight cars just smashing into each other recklessly, and as I got a better feel for how the scoring system worked, I really began enjoying myself. The visible health bars on opponents strongly encouraged me to hunt down foes who were the closest to death, but I knew they would do the same to me.

Despite the chaos, there was a satisfying loop of strategic decisions to make. Can I make it to that near-dead car across the room and take him out if I boost? Or should I focus on the guy with half health to the left of me? It’s a mode that seems like it will be fantastic online with a group of friends.

Beyond Rampage, there are a couple other Destruction Derby modes that I wasn’t able to check out. King of the Ring has all of the vehicles starting in a raised platform that they must knock each other off of. Hard Target is a survival mode where only one car is marked as the target, and every other car must chase after it. Players only get points for taking out the target or taking out other vehicles as the target.

The regular racing in Dirt Showdown didn’t blow me away, even with the new boost and health bar to worry about, but Destruction Derby seems like a wonderful, fun way to set this spin-off apart from the Dirt series. I’m still not convinced that this will be one of the only racing games I spend my time on this year, but I’m eager to set up some chaotic online matches with friends soon. I shouldn’t have to wait too long, as Codemasters is currently planning to release Dirt Showdown in May.

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Soccer isn't just about taking dives. Check out some of the sick moves in the game with this trailer.

FIFA Street is all about show-off moves and jaw-dropping ball skills, as this latest video for the title proves. The game takes players around the globe and also exposes them to all kinds of different styles of its players.

FIFA Street comes out for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 13. The Vita version (not shown) launches with the handheld on February 21.

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I weep for the death of space combat games. If this is the kind of attempt at resurrection the once-proud genre is going to receive, though, I’d rather it be left to rest in peace. Sol: Exodus isn’t terrible or broken so much as it is enthusiastically uninspired and criminally limited, but that’s still not a combination I’d recommend to much of anyone.

The handful of scenarios that make up Sol: Exodus’ campaign (the lone game mode present) are a series of escort missions set against a backdrop of forgettable former-military resistance characters fighting moustache-twirling religious zealots for the right to lead humanity from the dying Earth to a new home in the stars. I’m not opposed to a forgettable story taking a back seat in an action-focused game, but unfortunately the combat here is just as bland as the narrative.

The ship you fly through the whole game is your standard sci-fi one-man fighter. Unlike player-piloted craft in similar games, though, your ship here has no meaningful momentum or a binding maximum turning rate. While that may sound good in theory, the practical effect of the way your ship moves is that it removes most of the interesting bits from dogfighting. Because you can simply point your guns wherever you like with very few limitations, there’s no real reason to have to circle around and come at enemies from behind, or use objects to break line of sight, or use any real tactics at all beyond point-and-shoot. I had no idea that it was possible to make mechanics this flatly uninteresting in an action game.

Most of the campaign follows a simple formula: From the cockpit of your fighter craft, the safety of your immense capital ship (and often a slew of civilian vessels) is in your hands. You’ll gun down enemy fighters by the dozen, intercept missiles in flight, hack into enemy computer systems, and dump loads of ammunition into heavily armored gunboats and elite fighters, while the titanic capital fights enemies its own size. Sounds good on paper, right?

In reality, the battles have you plodding through a list of targets before a fail condition is met. A single AI wingman is usually the only friendly on your side, and he never once accomplished anything useful in my entire time with the game. Your capital ship tends to hang out in one spot and get shot at by enemy missiles, which it is hilariously defenseless against. Enemy fighters barely target you, and even more rarely hit you. The only way you can manage to get blown up is to either face-check a capital-bound missile or literally sit motionless next to an enemy capital and its turrets. Letting your current protection target go down is another matter entirely.

Because the missions are scripted all the way through, avoiding the loss of a transport, after an enemy bomber spawns in with no warning, is a matter of having played the mission before so you know what’s going to happen – especially since that transport may well have spawned only a few seconds earlier while you were busy dogfighting a dozen fighters on the other side of a space station. Threats to your capital ship appear with a similar lack of warning, so the harder missions are in many cases decided by the blind luck of being in the right (or wrong) place at the right time.

By far the dumbest part of Sol: Exodus, though, is the hacking minigame. You don’t defeat enemy capital ships by shooting missiles at them; instead, you wait for the game to spawn a hacking node for you to target. Then you get to wait for a sequence of numbers and letters to appear on your UI, which you then have to select from a list of similar strings. The timing is tight enough that you can’t really fight while you’re watching the hacking interface, and failing a hack is often enough to lose a mission since you have to fend off swarms of enemies from your escort targets for another minute or more while waiting for a new hacking node to spawn. Staring at randomly generated letters and numbers isn’t exactly what I’m looking out of my heroic space combat fantasy.

Should you fail a mission, you can restart it. With no way to skip the interminable dialogue and no checkpoints, though, reloading often result in 10 to 20 minutes of even more intense boredom as you work back to wherever you lost.

A few of the later missions make slight improvements from the poor baseline the game establishes early on, but even Sol: Exodus’ best scenarios never overcome the limitations of its mind-numbing mechanics. There's some amusement inherent in making bad guys go boom, but this $10 title never moves beyond that basic level of competency. I didn’t expect this little indie game to replace Starlancer or TIE Fighter in my heart, but I’m disappointed that it struggled to strike a single chord with my cherished memories of those classics.

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Note: I’ve added the above show notes to the ID3 Lyrics data field. Check your device if this is supported.

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With only 27 days until the launch of PlayStation Vita, we are excited to announce two PS Vita 3G/WiFi bundles. If you were one of the lucky consumers to pre order the PS Vita First Edition Bundle, in addition to the PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi hardware, a limited edition case, a 4GB PS Vita Memory Card and Little Deviants game, we will now be including an AT&T DataConnect Pass good for one free 250MB session, and a PlayStation Network game – both provided upon 3G activation. And the best part, you still get it a week before the official launch date.

We are happy to announce today that we will be creating an extremely limited edition PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi bundle designed to reward those who brave the cold to stand in line on February 22nd (or even those who come in the few days that follow). In addition to the PS Vita hardware, we will be including an 8GB PS Vita Memory Card, an AT&T DataConnect Pass and a PlayStation Network game all for the usual MSRP of $299. This SKU is part of a promotional offer and will sell out immediately so we strongly recommend that you purchase your PS Vita early to make sure you get the extra value!

While the system is a fantastic option, the addition of 3G-network access is perfect for the gamer that wants convenience, community and connection – basically the ability to immediately socialize with your gaming community. 3G also allows you to engage in multi-player gaming, utilize GPS location-based digital gifting, stay up to date with continuous LiveArea scores and game ranking news feeds, compete for in-game achievements, engage in PS Vita to PS3 cross-platform game play, cross-game message with Party, and have access to software updates, all while on the go. You’ll also be able to login to the PS Store and download new content and add-ons for some of your favorite titles.

There are lots of exciting updates still to come as we get closer to launch, and we will be sure to keep you posted. Our goal here at PlayStation is to transform every aspect of life into an entertainment experience. We know when you get your hands on Vita you may really never stop playing!

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The AoA logo gets a trip through C4D. Still learning, but I don't think it looks half bad.

Apparently he's been giving his cousin money for internet and his cousin hasn't been paying it. So he will be offline till early feb. here's a MSG from him to my phone:
So would you let AoA know why I'm not online until Feb 6-8ish incase people be wondering where I am.

As part of its fiscal third quarter results, Nintendo announced plans to release a side-scrolling Super Mario title for 3DS in its next fiscal year.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata offered no other details about the game during his presentation, which can be viewed on the company's website. Iwata did say it would be "totally new," however. Nintendo's next fiscal year begins April 1, 2012 and ends March 31, 2013.

"With the fulfillment of software, we are confident that we will be able to make the Nintendo 3DS active for the full year as the mainstream platform in the video game market," he said.

[Source: Nintendo]

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Resident Evil: Gaiden, released for the Game Boy Color back in 2002, featured characters from the series fighting zombies on a cruise ship as they searched for the origins of a new viral threat. It was terrible. Considering that the setting for Resident Evil: Revelations is nearly identical and it’s also on a handheld device, any hesitation on your part is understandable. I’m here to ensure you that Resident Evil: Revelations is one of the finest entries in the franchise to date. The game packs improvements to the series’ reliable gameplay, impressive visuals, and a story that puts the last two main series entries to shame. Revelations is enough to please both diehard fans and 3DS owners looking for the next system-defining title.

The story picks up between the events of Resident Evil 4 and 5. Jill, Chris, and their new partners seek to uncover the truth about the destruction of a city called Terrorgrigia and combat a brand new virus. We also learn more about the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance), the previously enigmatic organization Chris and Sheva work for in Resident Evil 5. Shedding light on this organization, the FBC (Federal Biohazard Commission), and the leaders behind them brings new weight to the series’ sagging story. The narrative is delivered in digestible, TV episode-like chunks, complete with helpful recaps between chapters. This structure allows Revelations to incorporate intriguing flashbacks, parallel storylines, and some unexpected twists and turns.

The episodic structure isn’t just great for storytelling; it also makes for perfect pacing. Your time is divided between methodically exploring the cruise ship as Jill and playing through action-packed flashbacks or diversions as other characters. You spend most of your time tackling Jill’s harrowing mission on the ship, and it’s a fantastic shift back towards the series’ traditional survival horror roots. Unlike RE 4 and 5, ammo is scarce, reviving the satisfaction of each recovered bullet. Resourceful survivors can use the nifty Genesis scanner to search the environment for hidden items, adding to the thrilling feeling that you’re a scavenger trying to make it out alive. While I would’ve have been happy just playing through Jill’s ordeal, Revelations has the habit of leaving her quest at a cliffhanger while putting you in the boots of another character. Whether you’re playing as Chris in a snowy mountain pass or reliving the Terrorgrigia incident as a FBC member, these higher tempo sections are almost always focused on action instead of survival. Blasting through hordes of hunters, infected wolves, and other monsters is as fun as ever.

Resident Evil fans have already had the chance to experience the series’ satisfying gunplay on the 3DS with Mercenaries 3D, but Revelations boasts multiple improvements while retaining the first-person aiming. The choppy enemy animations from Mercenaries are gone, replaced with appropriately creepy enemy movements. The d-pad is used to switch between all your items, a simple but useful function when cornered by a pack of zombies. My favorite addition is the dodge ability. One well-timed flick of the circle pad lets you evade enemy attacks. Out-maneuvering monsters is priceless in a game where choosing your battles is both crucial and fun. Revelations also incorporates deep weapon customization in the vein of Call of Duty. Want a shotgun with augmented power, a wider spread, and gigantic clip size? No problem. Considering how precious ammo can be, tailoring weapons to your specific playstyle is a dream come true for survival horror fans. You can customize weapons in both single-player and co-op. While the cooperative Raid Mode doesn’t allow you to play through the entire campaign with a pal, you’ll get addicted to earning new weapons and upgrades by playing through a host of bite-sized missions.

Revelations is a savior for the 3DS, but it comes with a few flaws. BSAA agents Quint and Keith (codenamed Jackass and Grinder) are easily the worst characters in the series’ history. Between their grating voices, Quint’s eye roll-inducing, stereotypical computer geekery, and Keith always saying something “blows,” you’ll be tempted to puncture your eardrums with the stylus. Many of their jokes land flat due to a larger problem of inconsistent translation. Several lines of dialogue, upgrade descriptions, and story-expanding files read poorly due to rough localization. Additionally, enemy variety is a bit lacking compared to previous entries. Thankfully, the sour tastes these missteps leave in your mouth are washed away rather quickly thanks to the game’s overall quality.

Resident Evil: Revelations is just what fans of the series and bored 3DS owners needed. The story is interesting with the added bonus of actually being coherent for once, the gameplay feels perfect on the 3DS, and it’s one of the greatest-looking portable games I’ve ever seen, especially with the 3D cranked up. The campaign sports the heft and depth of one of the main series entries, a deal made even sweeter by an empowering New Game Plus and worthwhile co-op experience. Stop twiddling your thumbs waiting for Resident Evil 6 and get them on a 3DS.

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