The lovely Trine has been pleasing PC gamers for a while now but alas no PS3 version has yet graced PSN. Frozenbyte CEO Lauri Hyvärinen was interviewed by GameSetWatch where he was questioned about such a conundrum. Much like Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, the game is currently sitting with those seemingly strict QA testers at Sony. But Hyvärinen feels no one’s to blame: “On PC, with digital distribution, it’s just like ‘okay, the game is done, let’s release it tomorrow’. On consoles it takes weeks, even months if the game gets stuck in the technical quality testing stuff. It’s not anybody’s fault really, and it guarantees a better end product, but the time it takes can be frustrating.” Yes. Yes it can. Despite being the games developer, even Frozenbyte have no idea as to when it’ll be released: “it’s going to be very exciting to see it available on PSN… the wait is killing me too!”. Come on Sony!

Link to review

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Beta

Arcade classic gets a revamping in time for new retail…

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix or SSFIITHDR for short…if you can call that short, has had Street Fighter fans wanting the game for a long time. Almost to the point that some haven’t realized a new next gen Street Fighter is also in the process. For now, the Beta of this is now available to those who bought Capcoms new WOTB: Commando 3 off the Xbox Live Arcade not long ago.

With the Beta obviously comes the opportunity to provide Capcom with suggestions and point out any glitches or bugs you may find on your playing session.

Sadly, the beta doesn’t really offer you much to explore with the game, as the only things available are the two characters Ryu and Ken only playable in multiplayer local, or online.

Visually, the game looks brighter than the original and the backgrounds look a little cleaner. Other than that, the visuals don’t seem to be improved on in much way other than a quick retouching. The most impressive part on graphics would have to be the main menu with some colorful 3d visuals to show off the HD side to things a little bit more.

The games ‘turbo’ effect allows change with the speed of the game and adds the ability for a more charged attack to finish your enemy with, this can be turned on and off before you start your matches.

The matches are highly customizable, with game speed, player handicaps and many others to hone the game to your preferred style and play. The matches available are ranked, player or a tournament style play, you can have from 2 to 6 in a lobby, with two playing at a time and the winner taking on the next player.

It would be too overly mean to say if Capcoms team were messing about with bringing this to the HD era, we’d probably have more too look forward to with the next gen Street Fighter and it would be here a bit sooner also. But I definitely feel if you want to play this HD version than it may be more suitable to wait for the game to come out on the arcade properly to spare you the extra 800. Or, get the older version which hit the Arcade Marketplace quite some time ago.

As this is a Beta and a very short beta at that, I cant really give it a rating, but I cannot see the success rate of this game being bigger than say the Mortal Kombat arcade title which came out years back. It only really appeals to the old fans, as new comers to Beat Em Ups will tend to wait for full Retail games to get fully in on the experience. Having said this though, I for one am looking forward to SF’s Next Gen appearance coming very soon.

Den här veckan kan man fynda Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix för 800 ms points istället för ordinariepriset 1200 ms points. Sweet! Fast å andra sidan har man väl Street Fighter 4 vid det här laget? Ser inte riktigt poängen, jag håller i mina slantar jag den här veckan.

A good way to start the week, especially if you haven’t played the classic Street Fighter 2 games  or if you are fans who simply weren’t able to get this game somehow. Xbox Live Marketplace is now offering  Super SF2 Turbo HD Remix at 800 MS points instead of the regular price of 1200 MS points. Get it today!

Una buena manera de comenzar la semana, más bien si no han jugado los juegos clásicos de Street Fighter 2 o si son aficionados que simplemente no lograron conseguir este juego por motivo alguno. Xbox Live Marketplace ya ofrece Super SF2 Turbo HD Remix a 800 puntos MS en vez del precio regular de 1200 puntos MS. ¡Consiganlo hoy!

Source/Fuente: Deal of the Week: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix [http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/06/22/deal-of-the-week-super-street-fighter-ii-turbo-hd-remix.aspx].

Aunque la declaración oficial fue hecha meses atrás, me perecio util ponerla en estos momentos como dato deimportancia (Aunque a nadie le importe) existeuna restricción del tamaño que pueden tener los juegos del Xbox Live Arcade, inicialmente eran 20 MB, luego subio a los 150 MB y en este momento encontramos titulos con los 350 MB. Ahora la consola, por especificaciones técnicas solo puede reproducir jegos Arcade de hasta 2 GB.

Ahora si rememoramos los juegos de mayor tamaño actualmente en el catalogo nos encontramos con Still Alive con 629 MB y lo secunda Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix con cerca de 370 MB, ahora el más grande según dicen que saldrá dentro de poco, con un peso completo que se rumorea entre los 800 y 900 MB, será el Shadow Complex de Epic Games.

Ahora ya lo saben, por potencia solo se pueden crear juegos Arcade para la Xbox 36′0 de hasta 2 GB. Nada más.

Still Alive 629 MB

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix 368 MB

I recently wrote about the Wii Ware retro sequels that appeal to me but there are even more on Xbox Live. Unlike goddamn Wii Ware, Xbox Live has DEMOS so I’ve actually played all of the games on this list that have been released. This list ONLY contains games that I have determined to be good and possibly worthwhile. This means that Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will not be listed – it’s a good game but barely an update and probably worth $7, not $15. At the bottom of the list are some upcoming releases that interest me.

PRE-ARTICLE CLARIFICATION
On several, previous occasions I claimed that one must have a paid membership to Xbox Live to buy download games.  NOT TRUE.  A free account membership gives one access to both paid games AND demos.

RELEASED GAMES

Prince of Persia Classic
$10, Gameloft/Ubisoft

I bought the full game and it’s great.  It’s a remake (in the true sense) of the original PoP.  The story is the same, the levels are similar but everything’s been made from scratch, with very different control mechanics.  The graphics are full 3D and based on the designs from the 2003-2005 PoP games.  I really recommend this one and it’s definitely worth the $10.

Bionic Commando Rearmed
$10, GRIN/Capcom

Another one that I bought – it’s sort of a remake of the NES Bionic Commando, but the levels are (mostly) different, there are many new features, bonus areas, the bosses are really wild, and the dialogue is hilarious.  The price is nice!

Pac-Man Championship Edition
$10, Namco Bandai

This game kinda started the recent trend of taking an old-ass game, keeping the old, pixellated sprites and enveloping it in neon effects and techno music.  This game is highly recommended for fans of the old Pac-Man games.  It has the same gameplay but somewhat more complicated and with many different modes.  A worthy release but at $10 it’s definitely overpriced.

Mega Man 9
$10, Inti Creates/Capcom

Just like the Wii version (which I’ve been playing lately).  It’s just like the NES Mega Mans but with some new – but not drastic – elements.  At $10 it’s a bit overpriced but it is long and challenging.

1942 Joint Strike
$10, Backbone/Capcom

I’ve only played the demo, which is fairly long, but it seems to be pretty tight.  It has a lot more variety than the original 1942 and has great boss fight action and a chase sequence.  I might buy it someday.

Space Invaders Extreme
$10, Backbone/Taito

This is actually a conversion of a DS and PSP release from 2008.  The Xbox Live version has improved visuals that might give you a seizure.  This game shows how effectively a really old formula can become fresh.  The action is much more intense than in the original with waves appearing right after the other and crazy boss fights.  Compared to $30 for the DS version, $10 isn’t too bad.

Galaga Legions
$10, Namco Bandai

Every Galaga sequel has some twist to bring the old fans back in and this is no exception.  Now you have 2 auto turrets that you can position and reposition to your heart’s delight all over the play field.  The action is non-stop.  Another one I may get someday.

FORTHCOMING GAMES

The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition
LucasArts

Announced at E3, this game is a remake-from-scratch of the original Monkey Island.  It will have brand new graphics and full voiceover work with a complete overhaul of the command system.

Tales of Monkey Island
Telltale Games/LucasArts

On the heels of the Monkey Island remake comes a new episodic release developed by a team of former LucasArts adventure game folks.  It sounds interesting but I’m only tentatively excited mainly due to Telltale’s modus operandi: 1) they seem to be really hit or miss and 2) the game will be released in 5 installments, likely at $10 apiece.  God!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
Ubisoft

And now we have a 3D remake of the 1991 arcade hit, originally by Konami.  Not much is known but it seems interesting.

Metal Slug 7
SNK Playmore

Wow, I’m glad I didn’t waste $30 to buy this on DS last year!  It’ll probably only be $10 from Xbox Live.  Sweet.

Os melhores “lutadores” do mundo estarão reunidos em Las Vegas nos dias 17,18 e 19 Julho para decidir quem é o melhor nos jogos:

Street Fighter IV,
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix,
Soulcalibur IV,
Marvel vs. Capcom 2,
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core e
Street Fighter III: Third Strike

O torneio E.V.O é conhecido por batalhas épicas que viram lendas na Internet, Justin vs Daigo.

Maiores detalhes no site Oficial.

Hace unos semanas los usuarios de Xbox Live tuvieron la posibilidad de votar por los juegos de Xbox Live Arcade  que consideraban que eran los mejores del 2008, consiguiendo de esta manera tras sus votos que el ganador haya sido la gran obra de The Behemoth, Castle Crashers, habiendo sido proclamado como el mejor juego del 2008, además de llevarse otros dos premios más al ser considerado como el mejor juego cooperativo y el juego más original de todos. Otros títulos premiados han sido Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix en tres categorías diferentes, mientras que Portal, Braid y A Kingdom of Keflings se llevan tan solo un premio cada uno.

A continuación podéis ver la lista completa de todos los premiados pulsando en “leer más”.

· Mejor juego del año: Castle Crashers

· Mejor juego con modo Versus: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

· Mejor juego individual: Portal: Still Alive

· Mejor remake: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

· Mejor juego original: Castle Crashers

· Mejor innovación: Braid

· Mejores gráficos: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

· Mejor juego familiar: A Kingdom of Keflings

· Mejor juego cooperativo: Castle Crashers

From/De: Xbox Press – Gamerscore News

The Xbox LIVE Community Has Spoken! The Winners of The Second Annual Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards Are…

Xbox LIVE Arcade is proud to announce the best games of 2008 thanks to the Xbox LIVE community’s votes in the 2nd Annual Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards!

Crowd favorite “Castle Crashers,” developed by The Behemoth, remains number one in fans’ hearts and wins the top honor of Best Game of the Year along with awards for Best Original Game and Best Co-op Mode.

Some classics never die. “Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix,” published by Capcom, also takes home the top brass in three categories: Best Versus Mode, Best Remake, and Best Graphics.

Adding to its trophy cabinet, “Braid” designed by Jonathan Blow, receives notable praise for creativity winning Best Innovation; everyone’s favorite artificial intelligence GLaDOS proves she’s not going anywhere as “Portal: Still Alive” developed by Valve wins Best Single Player; and “A Kingdom for Keflings” developed by Ninja Bee, shows that people love to play as their Avatar, taking home “Best Family Game.”

All winners were determined by the Xbox LIVE community’s popular vote, who turned out in impressive numbers.185,000 members casted their votes for the biggest and best games of 2008.

And the Xbox LIVE Arcade Award goes to…

Game of the Year:

Castle Crashers

Best Versus Mode:

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Best Single Player Game:

Portal: Still Alive

Best Remake:

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Best Original Game:

Castle Crashers

Best Innovation:

Braid

Best Graphics:

Super Street Fight II Turbo HD Remix

Best Family Game:

A Kingdom for Keflings

Best Co-op Mode:

Castle Crashers

Capcom ha rilasciato in giornata odierna la prima patch per Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

Il nuovo aggiornamento è disponibile una volta avviato il gioco sia su Xbox 360 sia su PlayStation 3 ed ha un peso di circa 300 mb. Questa patch, a detta degli sviluppatori, dovrebbe risolvere i vari problemi riscontrati da numerosi utenti durante le partite online (disconnessioni, cali di frame-rate e quant’altro).

Fonte: Clicca quì

O site VideoGamer trouxe uma ótima notícia para os fãs de jogos de luta. A Capcom está muito satisfeita com as vendas de Street Fighter Turbo HD Remix e já pensa no próximo jogo a ganhar uma versão HD.

Em entrevista ao site, Christian Svensson, vice presidente de “business development and strategic planning” (!) disse que nem todos os jogos precisam de uma versão HD mas a empresa (Capcom) planeja fazer uma versão HD Remix para outros jogos de luta de seu catalogo – leia Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

“… o próximo que fizermos, será ainda melhor, com base naquilo que temos aprendido.”

Fonte e entrevista completa: VideoGamer

It’s been about a year since I bought my Xbox 360. So was it worth it?! Was it a mistake?! Maybe. On the one hand I haven’t bought very many retail games for it. The problem is I was never going to go out and buy a bunch of $60 games to play on it so everything I have is either used or a cheaper Greatest Hits re-release. Here are the retail games I’ve purchased:

Perfect Dark Zero (about $7 used): It sucked. I barely played it at all before selling it. Thanks for nothing, Rare.

Kameo – Elements of Power (about $6 used): I played it longer than Perfect Dark but it was just boring so ditched it. Thanks for nothing, Rare.

NCAA Football 2007 ($5 used): I just bought it to have a semi-recent football game. Really not that different from PS2 football games except for improved graphics. Still, for $5 it was worth it. I played a season or two, no big deal.

Gears of War ($25 or $30 used): I guess this was my attempt at playing one of the monster hits for 360.  I probably should have just waited until it was even cheaper because one of the big draws with this game is online multiplayer, which I’m unlikely to use.  The single player story portion of the game IS VERY GOOD but could have been longer.  The gameplay is like Resident Evil 4 but with a fuck you up Contra sensibility.

then I went many months without buying anything new for the 360 until . . .

BioShock ($30 new – greatest hits type price): I played the demo for this one and rushed out to buy a copy.  Oops.  I still haven’t actually played the game.

The Orange Box ($25 used): The game that someone or other called ‘the geatest value in video game history’.  It contains a port of the PC hit Half Life 2, plus the expansions Half Life 2 Episode 1 and Half Life 2 Episode 2 and a shooter/puzzle game called Portal AND a crazy team-based fps called Team Fortress 2.  I loaded Team Fortress 2 and saw that it was online multiplayer only and I got pissed.  So haven’t played any of the games yet.  Oops.

Grand Theft Auto IV ($30 used – Christmas present): Great game.  Wrote about it elsewhere.

Xbox Live Arcade Games – 360 has a lot of games that you can download.  I actually think this is an awesome service, as it allows smaller companies to make simple, old-fashioned or even super innovatively risky games that sell for cheap.  And contrary to what I may have written in the blog earlier, you do NOT have to have a paid Xbox Live account to buy download games.

Prince of Persia Classic ($10): A great game.  It’s a remake of the original PoP but with 3D graphics and a look inspired by the reboot series from 2003.  Glad I bought it.

Pac-Man Championship Edition ($10): Another great game.  It could have been conceived in the early 1980s but it wasn’t so there!  It’s a lot deeper than the classic Pac-Man but really just as simple and intuitive to play.  Six different modes, all of them quality.

Bionic Commando Rearmed ($15): Billed as a remake of the NES Bionic Commando, it’s more of a reimagining.  Many of the levels are different, the bosses are different, etc.  It’s a great game.  GLAD I BOUGHT IT.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix ($15): This has been a huge hit on XBLive Arcade but I haven’t gotten into it yet.  For one thing, the 360 controller sucks for this game.  Another issue is the ‘upgrades’.  Basically, all the sprites and backgrounds have been redrawn but not for the better.  Yes, they’re clearer but the new art was provided by the losers at Udon comics, an American company that makes Street Fighter comics.  The animation isn’t improved at all.  If someone in the background only has 2 frames in their movement in the original, they only have 2 here.  Lame.

Demos

It may seem like my 360 purchase was ill-advised and it probably was.  However, in spite of the small number of games I’ve actually bought and played through for the system, I’ve played a lot of demos.  The great thing about XBox Live is that huge amount of demos available.  I remember when I was a kid there were so many NES games I just wanted to try, whether they were good or bad.  Well, you can do that sort of thing now with Live.  Some of the demos are pretty long and probably give you as much of the game as you actually want to play.  For instance, the Dead Rising demo appears to be untimed and allows you to run around brawling with zombies to your heart’s content until you’re either killed or wander into a restricted area.  Last night I played the demo for Watchmen game.  It was no great shakes but now I know for sure.  It even let me play for over 20 minutes before I triggered some cutscene that ended it.  Soon I will check out the Resident Evil 5 demo.  Lots of demos!  Is cool.

There have been rumours that Microsoft were going to release a special Red RE5 edition of the xBox360. Some said it was “another fake” others said “Red! Don’t be ridiculous!” but they are real and are coming to town! Behold the new Special Red xBox 360 Elite RE5 Edition. Comes with, Resident Evil 5, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and a 120GB Hard drive (it is the Elite!). On Sale in Germany now for 299 Euros (£260)

Just wanted to let everyone know that my first ever review of a game has been posted over at Game and Player! Go check it out, and let me know what you think!

Just noticed these over at Major Nelsons’ blog. Some interesting stuff. Stats based on Xbox LIVE connectivity and unique users.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles

1 – Halo 3
2 – Call of Duty 4
3 – GTA IV
4 – Gears of War 2
5 – Gears of War
6 – CoD: World at War
7 – Guitar Hero III
8 – Battlefield: Bad Company Demo
9 – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo
10 – Rock Band
11 – Fable II
12 – Mirror’s Edge Demo
13 – Madden NFL 09
14 – BF: Bad Company
15 – Rainbow Six Vegas 2
16 – UNO
17 – Castle Crashers
18 – COD: World at War Multiplayer Beta
19 – Forza Motorsport 2
20 – Too Human – Demo

No major surprises there apart from perhaps the Call of Duty: World at War position, at 6th its pretty high up there considering its mid November release date, the beta also makes it in on its own at 18th. Also interesting to see 2 Arcade titles, and 4 demos making the top 20.

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)

1 – Castle Crashers
2 – Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
3 – Braid
4 – A Kingdom for Keflings
5 – UNO
6 – Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
7 – Fable II Pub Games
8 – Duke Nukem 3D
9 – Bionic Commando: Rearmed
10 – Worms
11 – SOULCALIBUR
12 – Portal: Still Alive
13 – DOOM
14 – 1942: Joint Strike
15 – Bomberman Live
16 – MEGA MAN 9
17 – N+
18 – Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
19 – Marble Blast Ultra
20 – Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Still need to pick up Castle Crashers, but have far to much stuff to play at the moment… Good to see N+ in there

Original Xbox Top Live Titles

1 – Halo 2
2 – Fable
3 – Star Wars: Battlefront 2
4 – Counter-Strike
5 – Fable: Lost Chapters
6 – Doom 3
7 – Conker: Live Reloaded
8 – Splinter Cell Chaos
9 – Star Wars: KOTOR
10 – SW: Republic Commando
11 – Star Wars: Battlefront
12 – Burnout 3
13 – Guilty Gear XX #Reload
14 – Gauntlet Seven Sorrows
15 -Call of Duty 3
16 – Ninja Gaiden Black
17 – Crimson Skies
18 – MechAssault 2
19 – Call of Duty 2
20 – Rainbow Six 3

I didn’t even realise that Fable: Lost Chapters was available as well as the original release.

Top 10 games of 08

1. NHL 09: This game has easily stolen more hours away from me than any other game this year. The improved hitting, additions of Be a Pro and EASHL, and above average online community made this the best sports game I’ve ever come across. NHL 09 is for Hockey fans what The Bible is for Christians.

2. Fallout 3: Just when Fable (and every other RPG from this year) had let me down, Fallout 3 was released, and changed everything. When was the last time you could explore such a vast world, customize your character to no end, and play a game that was different every time you loaded it up? Some would say Oblivion (made by the same developers, Bethesda), and that’s all good and well, but then I’m forced to ask… Where’s the Cannibalism? GNS has run a good amount of articles on the enjoyments of Fallout 3, so if you’re still not sure if it rules, read up.

3. Gears of War 2: Take what worked in Gears of War, add the best multiplayer game mode of the year (Horde), step the campaign up to epic proportions, add online photo capabilities, and you get an improvement on one of Microsoft’s best exclusives. The online versus modes are still a little awkward for my tastes, but the Horde and Co-op modes are flawless. Chainsaw duels were another fun addition, as were tons of different executions. Few games roll over this much greatness, and still bring this many improvements to the table, but Epic Games pulled it off.

4. Grand Theft Auto IV: Rockstar took their series from campy, b-movie ground, and stepped it up to an Oscar contender as far as story/atmosphere/voice acting all goes. Niko’s story is the deepest, and most intriguing in the series. The new engine surpasses anything the last gen of GTA’s did, with a lack of load times between islands, the best physics of any sandbox game to date, and the addition of a cover system make this a must play title.

5. PIXELJUNK Monsters: Co-op Tower Defense on a console for less than fifteen bucks? Yes, please. This game takes the RTS genre for consoles, and turns it on its head. The music is catchy, the gameplay is straightforward, and the addiction is hard to kick. Few strategy games have more replay value than Monsters, and any PS3 fan with an internet connection, is doing themselves a disservice if they don’t have this on their HD.

6. Left 4 Dead: An FPS that is more focused on running than it is on gunning, and that’s the perfect arcade format for a zombie shooter. You may have heard “what’s the button to aim down the sight,” many times whilst taking on zombies with L4D noobs, but rarely did the complaint linger long enough to annoy. This is another in a list of great co-op games released this year, which is a giant upgrade from previous years, and I’m hoping to see some extra content released for this down the road. Don’t let us down Valve!

7. Devil May Cry 4: Perhaps the forgotten game of 2008, Devil May Cry 4 started 08 off with a bang. Capcom brought the best horror/action franchise back for a next-gen iteration, and the results were above average. At first, players may have been a little thrown off by starting as Nero, but after seeing his vast array of attacks, grew to enjoy the character. The first place I ever saw two gun-fighting characters shoot each other’s bullets away like a sword fight, and here (unlike in the film Wanted) it actually fit the action. Devil May Cry 4 brought the boss battles, post-game unlockables, and and non-stop monster slaying, that fans of the series come to expect.

8. Braid: I’ve yet to play all the way through this game, but it’s been on my mind more as of late, than any XBox Live Arcade game I’ve ever played. I’m sure half of my interest came with the hype train that caused me to download the game, but the puzzle solving is too much fun not to want more after each session. The gameplay isn’t as deep as some of the games on the list, but the story can hang with any game on this list, when it comes to quality. The same can be said for the Music and Art direction.

9. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix: It’s been a long while since a fighting game (especially 2D) held my interest, but since downloading SSFIITHDR, I’ve found nothing few things more enjoyable than a quick one on one session in Street Fighter. The art has been stepped up from the arcade version, and so have a lot of the characters it seems. I can’t recall a fighting game with as many enjoyable characters to play as, but in SSFIITHDR it’s harder for me to find a player I don’t enjoy. If you’re looking for a game to fit in between other games, or you own an arcade stick that needs to get some use, download this game right away.

10. Rock Band 2: I don’t usually like to support games that just port over last year’s version, but Rock Band 2 stepped it up in the places it matters most, song selection, and instrumentation. Improved equipment is a big plus, but being able to grab all the songs of the Rock Band 1 disc is pretty revolutionary. If more sequels found a way to integrate the original’s content (Gears 2 did this also), there’d be less gamers screaming rape any time a new sequel was announced a year after the original.

There’s my 10 favorite of the year. Mostly games for both systems, with some downloadable games thrown in there. I’m glad to see the year brought tons of co-op experiences, which I think are usually my favorite gaming experiences. Be back before New Year with my most anticipated of 09… MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Capcom reveals that Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is well on its way to becoming the highest grossing digital title of all time, with 250,000 units purchased since the game’s release.

In a post over at the Capcom Unity Blog, the company reveals that the redone version of everyone’s favorite 2D fighter broke both day-one and week-one sales records, and could very well break 30-day sales records as well. They then go on to thank everyone who worked on the game, looked at the game, bought the game, and thought about the game in passing which waiting in line for a latte at their local coffee shop.

Not bad for a title that was nearly cancelled.

Boy, Street Fighter II HD was a long time coming, wasn’t it? There were times we thought it had been canned. No wonder, then, because it turns out Capcom nearly did can it.

Speaking with Videogamer, developer David Sirlin has told of how – faced with the prospect of throwing away nearly all of the game’s art because it wasn’t “good enough” – the team at Backbone were expecting the worst.

Yeah [cancelling the game] was a possibility. It felt the most possible during that first phase during the art that we had to throw away. It was unspoken but everyone just knew it that if that art wasn’t going to work out then maybe they were going to cancel the whole thing. And turns out they didn’t. I wonder if there was just so much pressure from the outside that kept them going, I mean from the world of gaming. Everyone knew about the project by then.

For more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Street_Fighter_II_Turbo_HD_Remix

Army of Two (played on: Xbox 360): A decent co-op game at first, but as the game went along, and nothing new happened, it became redundant.

Call of Duty: World at War (played on: Xbox 360): Just can’t get back into the WWII scene. Been there, done that, Pacific or otherwise. Bring on Call of Duty: Nam already.

Castle Crashers (played on: Xbox 360): A great Xbox Live experience the first bunch of times through, but a complete version of this game, with tons of maps to battle through, would have been much more ideal to anyone looking to level their characters up.

The Club (played on: Xbox 360): The least common denominator of shooters. “Let’s go kill a bunch of people in a warehouse for no reason whatsoever!” No thanks.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot (played on: Xbox 360): A first person game that asks for more than shooting, and while the puzzle portions are a bit of fun, and the atmosphere is creepy, the replayability and combat are lacking too much to warrant a purchase.

Devil May Cry 4 (played on: Xbox 360): A great installment into one of the great on-going action series. Dante returns halfway through the game, but the real star is Nero (Virgil’s son/clone?). Non-stop monster battling fun in this great next-gen sequel.

Fable 2 (played on: Xbox 360): If you like a game holding your hand through everything, and only having to tap the A button anytime your character is supposed to be doing something different, then this game is for you!

Facebreaker (played on: Xbox 360): What didn’t everyone learn from Ready 2 Rumble boxing? Boxing games built towards the arcade and not simulation equals fail… Unless it’s Punchout!

Fallout 3 (played on: Xbox 360): Experiencing Fallout 3 for the first time this year was a lot like experiencing No Country For Old Men in theaters for the first time last year. Few experiences in my life standout as more enjoyable. Fallout 3 is everything I could want in a post apocalyptic shooter/rpg.

Far Cry 2 (played on: Xbox 360): Cliche’, Cliche’, unbalanced gunfight, take medicine, drive forever. Rinse. Repeat.

FIFA Street 3 (played on: Xbox 360): Street games just don’t have the longevity of regular sports games because of the lack of players in the games, and no franchise features. FIFA Street 3 has gameplay at a pretty fun level, now to load up on the roster and features.

Jman and Friends debate the existence of Gold Flamethrowers

Gears of War 2 (played on: Xbox 360): An upgraded campaign, an online mode that doesn’t involve playing against a team of cry babies, but a weakened online versus. It’s hard to call Gears of War 2 a downgrade on the first Gears, but the ridiculousness in EPIC removing the stun on people holding their chainsaw in an attacking position, has made online versus broken at best. Still a fun game, but hardly the GOTY candidate I was hoping for.

Geometry Wars: Retro evoled 2 (played on: Xbox 360): The sequel to possibly the most addictive game on the XBLA. Sorely lacking in Online multiplayer, and hard to warrant a purchase for anyone who already owns the original. The added game modes are merely just dressed up training missions for the real game (Evolved).

Grand Theft Auto IV (played on: Xbox 360): This game stepped the GTA free roaming up with no loading different areas of the map, rag doll physics, and cab services. The lack of weapons, different kinds of vehicles, and doing the same missions over and over keeps this game from being perfect, but it’s still leaps and bounds ahead of games like Saints Row 2 (which after viewing at length, I avoided a playthru of).

Guitar Hero: World Tour (played on: Xbox 360): Activision further robs Harmonix of all the greatness it creates. There are a good number of bands on here that I enjoy, that Rock Band doesn’t have (The Mars Volta!), but the presentation here is too dull to keep me coming back.

Left 4 Dead (played on: Xbox 360): Zombies everywhere! I can’t think of a shooter that lived up to the hype better than Valve’s Left 4 Dead. It brought everything it promised (Director A.I., Online multiplayer fun, tons of zombies to kill), which is more than I can say for pretty much any other game this year. If you like a quick pace with your shooting, look no further.

Lego Batman (played on: Xbox 360): A fine installment in the LEGO series, but still not a great game. These games are as face value as they come, and while I love the Batman license more than most any other, this game still didn’t do it for me. A lot of characters in this one to play as, but since they all feel pretty much the same, they’re more like re-skins. Play if you enjoy the Lego series, avoid otherwise.

MLB 08: The Show (played on: PS3): The best baseball game to come out in ages. Next step is getting the Road to the Show mode online. If they did that, MLB 09: The Show could be a system seller for Sony.

Madden NFL 09 (played on: Xbox 360): See: Last decade of Madden games…

Mario Kart WII (played on: Wii): Mario Kart proves to be one of the greatest video gaming series of all time again by re-inventing the wheel, so to speak. Possibly the only game on the Wii that I truly enjoy besides Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii is an upgrade in the franchise. The implementation of the Wheel controller is perfect for the system and series.

Mirror’s Edge (played on: Xbox 360): Free running the game. If that interests you, that’s cool, but I found nothing redeemable about it. The action stinks, there aren’t enough colors I feel like a lot of the time, and don’t even try getting into the story.

Jman checks on Salcido’s victim

NHL 09 (played on: Xbox 360): NHL 08 + Be a Pro Mode + Stick lifting + way “crunchier” checking animations + EASHL = The best sports game ever released… By far.

Ninja Gaiden 2 (played on: Xbox 360): Some of the least fun you’ll ever have partaking in Boss battles. Ninja Gaiden brings a good bit of fun through the platforming and fighting off other ninja, but when it comes down to the Boss Fights, instead of being fun like DMC 4, they’re quite tedious. Not a better game than Ninja Gaiden for the original Xbox.

PixelJunk Monsters (played on: PS3): The sleeper of 08. Released in late January, this game is the only reason I could ever understand for owning a PS3. If you enjoy a good game of Tower Defense, this game is just for you. The only console TD game I’ve ever played (still haven’t tried Lock’s Quest on DS), and I hope this leads to more releases in the genre.

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (played on: Xbox 360): Rainbow Six: Vegas with a sprint button, and a sweet leveling system. An upgrade for sure, but nothing worth an extra 60 dollars.

Rock Band 2 (played on: Xbox 360): Practically the exact same game as far as in song play goes. The new music store option is pretty sweet, and makes purchasing DLC a lot clearer (no more sitting in the XBL Marketplace waiting for the sidebar to scroll up so you can see the name of the band whose song you’re looking at). The ability to port over the majority of Rock Band’s songs makes this game a pretty perfect sequel.

Soul Caliber IV (played on: Xbox 360): I’ve never enjoyed games about character wielding dull swords, axes, and the like, and Soul Caliber IV is no different. If I’m going to play a sword fighting game it’ll start with Bushido and end with Blade.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (played on: Xbox 360): This has the same problem as Soul Caliber IV to me, a dull Lightsaber is not a Lightsaber at all, and taking more than one strike to down an enemy goon makes these some dull ass Lightsabers. The story is kind of cool if you are still down with ignoring George Lucas-sized plot holes, and wielding to force to smash TIE Fighters into each other rules, but that’s about it.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (played on: Xbox 360): I eagerly awaited this one, and was not let down by the results. I was mad that you can only play the demo with another person, but a demo isn’t really needed when it comes to this classic series. The gameplay is great, but the XBOX 360 remote still blows when it comes to fighting games, so getting lucky and finding an arcade stick would greatly improve gameplay.

Too Human (played on: Xbox 360): Silicon Knights can sue Epic Games all they want, and blame the Unreal Engine for this game’s failures, but none of it takes away from the fact that this game isn’t good. Some people can look past Too Human’s flaws like those who enjoyed Two Worlds last year, but like that, it’s a lost cause. Fallout 3 came along and showed everyone how Action/RPG’s are to be done, but this game probably stole sixty bucks from a lot of people.

That’s it as far as I can tell. I missed out on some big games due to not owning a Wii, PS3, PSP, or PS2. Hopefully next year I can double the amount of this list, but we’ll see. Maybe I’ll get Gamefly or something like that. Be back with GNS’s, the Gaming Never Sleeps 08 awards, within the week.

Bem, deixa explicar com calma. A Microsoft está lançando em Dezembro o programa “Friendship is Free”. Isso significa que todos que tem uma conta Silver na Live poderão jogar online 8 games da live arcade. para quem é Gold, esse programa não muda nada, já que nós já podemos jogar a vontade qualquer coisa online.

Porém é bacana, pois há muitos jogadores silvers, que poderão experimentar um pouco do multiplayer online do Xbox 360. Isso também significa mais gamers online jogando, mais salas e mais diversão.

Os games liberados pelo programa são: A Kingdom for Keflings, Aegis Wing, Bomberman Live, Hardwood Hearts, Hardwood Spades, UNO, Small Arms e Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Os que estão em negrito são uma recomendação pessoal minha ao pessoal silver.

É isso, boa diversão para todos! \o/

It doesn’t bother me when I hear people talking about Street Fighter II in reverential tones, calling it a shining beacon of quality from its era.

It doesn’t baffle me when I hear people say it’s one of their favorite games of all time.

I’m not fazed when I hear people saying they still play it regularly to this very day.

What I will wholeheartedly disagree with, however, is anyone who makes the claim that Street Fighter II has stood the test of time and holds its own against modern fighting games.

Quite simply, that is not true.

Anyone who says that has obviously spent too much time playing Street Fighter II and neglected to play any fighter made within the last decade or so.

I think it’s a case of the happy, gaseous clouds of nostalgia muddying people’s judgment and making them forget what it’s like to be a newcomer to the game.  It’s easy to say that a game is simple or that it isn’t difficult to learn when you’ve been playing it for well over a decade.  Such experience does not make for a particularly objective position from which to judge the game.

As a relative newcomer to the series, I can say with some certainty that this is not a casual game.  It is not an easy game to get into or an easy game to learn.

Sure you can press buttons and do stuff within minutes.  Sure you can look up the special moves and throw fireballs without too much hassle.  But doing these basic mechanical functions is deceptively simple compared to the skill it takes to be even close to acceptable in an actual fighting situation.

When it comes to this, Street Fighter II’s learning curve is a brick wall.  The easiest of settings will laugh at the pathetic attempts of people who have never played the game before and there is absolutely no way within the game itself to learn better technique or improve, short of dying over and over and over again.

Frankly, it’s infuriating.

Despite the many hours I have now put into it in my attempt to learn the revered ways of the Street Fighter, it remains one of the hardest, most frustrating fighting games I have yet played.  That’s quite a statement coming from someone who has tested the waters of Virtua Fighter and thrown controllers with remarkable speed after playing too much Dead or Alive.

I’m not knocking the basic mechanics of the game, really.  Though they are certainly dated and lack some of the depth and variety expected of a modern fighter, there is definitely still some fun to be had with them.

Even as the computer ceaselessly whalloped me into the ground on the easiest available difficulty setting, I still enjoyed kicking people in the face with Chun-Li, bouncing around the stage with Cammy, and setting people on fire with Dhalsim.  Classic stuff.

For a game of its age it really has held up amazingly well.  That doesn’t mean it stands up perfectly against more modern games, however.  I guess my main complaint is that, for a game that is lauded for being simple and easy to pick up in comparison with other fighting games, I didn’t really find that to be the case at all in my own experience.  At least not with regard to anything deeper than surface level play.

Truthfully, I suppose my primary complaint is difficulty.  I was really hoping that my purchase of the shiny, new, stupidly-titled Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix would allow me a pretty, slightly modernized way to finally get into the vastly influential game that I missed out on playing as a child.

While most of the elements are there for this to occur, the difficulty is the one glaring issue that keeps me from actually having fun with it.  The game desperately needs a difficulty designed for newcomers like me that would allow players to feel better about themselves while stomping on low-level computer players and learning the ropes of the game at the same time so as to later step up to a harder difficulty or, gasp, other human players.

As the easiest available difficulty setting is clearly only meant for people who already know what they’re doing, sadly it seems I will once again miss out on the Street Fighter phenomenon as it just doesn’t seem worth it to me to continue to slog through such an overly intimidating experience.

Street Figher IV looks to be aiming to create an experience that is more or less Street Fighter II with 3D graphics, which I consider a promising sign.  I’m hoping that, since the stated purpose of the game is to draw players back in that may have strayed from the franchise or even attract new people to the series, the designers will actually take these less experienced players into account and give them an experience they can enjoy as well, and not just series veterans.