Forever Delayed

Dead Rising for the Wii has been delayed so many times that i actually lost count, originally it was supposed to be out before the end of 2008 and then the first month of 2009. Now it's scheduled to be released on 24th of February, the week after Street Fighter IV ships and less than one month before Capcom's other zombie game, Resident Evil 5 hits the PS3 and Xbox 360. Pretty rough schedule for a relatively low-budget port but let's hope all this delay will ultimately result in a better game. Somehow i have a feeling this title will still sell regardless of what the reviews say, this is the Wii after all.

Those of you who follow my blog will know that i'm an avid supporter of Dead Rising appearing on the Nintendo Wii platform. I love the RE4 engine and even more so the Wii, this might just be one of those games that bridge the gap between the casual and hardcore gamers of the system and maybe even lead to great new things from Capcom later. The more Kotaku and other gaming media trashes this game, the more i feel a compelling need to go out to buy this game and prove them wrong. The only problem is there are a couple of other zombie games also coming out on February which i might pick up instead.

Blu Eye Boy

A couple of weeks ago, i didn't have any good reasons to even turn on my Playstation3. In the span of less than two weeks, i got two good reasons to keep my Playstation3 (i'm kidding of course) until Capcom releases Resident Evil 5, Siren: New Translation to play and Resident Evil: Degeneration Blu-ray to watch.

Resident Evil: Degeneration is my first real blu-ray movie and i know i tend to make a pretty big deal out of this but i assured you it's only because i intend to stay away from these things so that i don't get addicted to collecting them. Thanks to ash, i was able to order it online from amazon instead of paying inflated prices at the video store or buying it from a random stranger at the local forum. Not that i have anything against those but since this is Resident Evil, i decided the whole process of "acquiring" the movie should be extra special too. I may be a little late to the party seeing that it's about a month since the blu-ray debuted but sometimes it's the journey there that matters and not about getting there first.

In The Dark

My copy of Siren: New Translation arrived promptly on time and i got a chance to try it out a bit last night. The good news is Project Siren managed to address a lot of the shortcomings of the first Siren, making this remake more accessible to survival horror fans. Hints are provided throughout the first two levels but it never gets too easy as it merely points the player to the objective and how you go about achieving it is still up to the player. Some players may not welcome this addition but i for one thinks it's an improvement after having to find my way in the dark in original Playstation2 version.

Speaking of dark, this game is really dark i don't know if it's the settings on my TV or because i haven't play any horror games on my Playstation3 but i couldn't get used to moving in the dark initially and felt nausea towards the end of my play last night. Can't wait to really sink my teeth into this one once i get used to it...

When Leon Met Claire

Since my copy of Resident Evil: Degeneration has yet to arrive, i decided to go back and play when Leon first met Claire in Resident Evil 2. To be honest, i could never agree with all the praises and accolades bestowed onto RE2 when it first came out. Sure the story was great but the game felt too short on one go and too tiresome to finish four times to experience everything (LeonA/ClaireB and ClaireA/LeonB). I never really like the guns designed for RE2 and the modifications you could do made me loathe them even more as they were virtually too powerful to fire when upgraded.

I did however like the introduction of the lickers in RE2 and thought they were the best thing in the first Resident Evil movie. After facing them again in RE2, I quickly remember how vicious they can be because they certainly weren't anything as vicious in Umbrella Chronicles. In fact there was one sequence in the You Died screen on the RE2 demo included with Resident Evil: Director's Cut which i believed was left out of the final retail game where the licker would repeatedly beat leon head to the ground with its claws. Disturbing stuff indeed.

I wonder happened to the lickers in Umbrella Chronicles where all they can do is just lash out its tongue at you or take a cheap swipe. I remember even Resident Evil: Survivor did a better job of portraying just how vicious the lickers could be. I'm hoping to see the lickers again in Resident Evil 5 or even Degeneration as they are sorely missed.

Bloody Mess

While waiting for my copy of Siren: New Translation to arrive, i decided to sharp my demon-slaying skills by playing Devil May Cry 4 again. Upon unlocking the Bloody Palace on my last play, i never got around to even trying it one bit because I have heard you can literally play that mode for hours, working your way down each floor of the tower. Considering i only manage to make it to level 17 on my first try as Nero, I suspect i have a lot of grounds to cover if i even hope to finish it one day. Truth to be told, i never actually try the bloody palace in Devil May Cry 3 where it first made its debut. It can get tiring pretty fast with the hoards of enemies the game throws at you as you progress through the floors. The sheer number of demons on one floor can get pretty impressive and it got me thinking that the legendary dark knight mode included on the latter PC version could work on the console versions too.

I remember when the PC version first came out, i just finish the game for the first time on my Playstation 3. I enthusiastically posted on the official capcom forum whether that was any chance DMC4 could see a re-release on the PS3 with all the new PC additions similar to what they did with DMC3: Special Edition. Alas, my request was quickly shot down with the belief that the current consoles are not able to handle the legendary dark knight mode as it was made to harness the PC superior processing power. Somehow as a true-blue console gamer, i find it hard to accept that the definitive version of a game from my favourite video game developer residing on the PC platform.

Good Feeling

You know what feels better than buying a great game? Buying a great game and paying only half the original retail price. It seems my recent new approach of waiting out for new games to drop in price before picking them up is starting to pay off. Back when Silent Hill: Homecoming coming out, there was one other game that i was contemplating of in its place. That game was of course Siren : New Translation, a remake of sorts of the first underappreciated PS2 stealth horror game. I ended up not buying neither game as i realize i wasn't in a terrible rush to play either one of those games.

Now i find Play-asia having a weekly special for Siren: New Translation where you can pick up the game for less than half it's full retail price. Not a bad deal huh? Sure it's an asian version but seeing it was only available on Playstation Network except in Japan and Asia region, i guess i can make an exception for Siren: New Translation. It's been a while since i feel so great about a Play-asia purchase especially since havingto pre-order the rather pricey collector's edition of the upcoming Resident Evil 5.