Wii | Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars Updated Hands-On

We find out what happens when Joe the Condor and Maverick Hunter Zero mix it up with the other fighters in Capcom…s upcoming Wii brawler.

It…s no secret that we…re looking forward to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars for the Wii. The game is one of the few fighters coming to the platform, and, more importantly, it…s an evolution of the old …vs.… games of which we were big fans. While we…ve been playing the import since last December when it was released in Japan, we…ve been anxious to see how the US version has come together. The Tokyo Game Show gave us a glimpse of some of the roster tweaks, namely the addition of Dead Rising…s Frank West and Tekkaman Blade, but we…ve been itching to get our hands on the other new folks on the roster. We recently had the chance to play the latest work-in-progress version of the game and do just that with new additions Joe the Condor from Gatchaman and Zero from the Mega Man series. Fans will be pleased to hear that the characters are most certainly not quick-and-dirty palette swaps of existing characters.

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Our first stop was Joe, the third character from Gatchaman, who is probably our second favorite of the new roster additions (the first being Frank West, of course). Joe has five special moves that are a good mix of close and ranged attacks tailor-made for some combo action. The wild lasso is a sonic boom-style charge shot that lets you fire a line at opponents, rope them in, jerk them toward you, and shoot them in the face with Joe…s pistol. The range and direction of the line varies based on the attack button you use. The savage shot is an angled shot from Joe…s pistol that can be done in the air. The angle of the blast varies based on whether or not you perform it on the ground or during a jump. Shuriken feathers is a charged projectile attack that varies based on the attack button you hold down. The cactus bunker--a counter move--is probably our favorite in the game. Joe will turn his back to his opponents, and if they…re dumb enough to punch or kick him, he'll counter an incoming attack with a dramatic bullet to the face on a striking red background. Finally, the battering ram is a powerful thrust kick made for being dropped into combos.

Joe…s super and ultra attacks are wickedly effective if they hit an opponent. The condor magnum tosses feather projectiles at Joe…s target and ends with a painful flying punch. The bird missile strike is arguably the sneakiest super in the game, courtesy of a delayed component to the attack. The attack starts with Joe calling in the Gatchaman airship--the Phoenix--which swoops by and lays down suppressing fire. If you focus on dodging the incoming fire, you may miss the attack…s second component: a fat missile that gets launched on the flyby. After the Phoenix finishes its pass, the screen returns to normal and you get back into the match. Unfortunately, a few seconds later, the big missile comes slamming down onto the screen in a massive explosion that damages anyone--even Joe--standing on the ground at the time. Finally, Joe…s ultra combo, dubbed the science ninpo: tornado fighter, has him calling Ken the Eagle (or Jun the Swan depending on the team you…re using) to create a massive tornado that fills the screen and does megadamage. Overall, we probably like Joe the most out of the three Gatchaman characters, thanks to his balanced move set.

Time for Frank West to drop the camera and put up some punches.

Next up was Zero, Mega Man X's moody friend, who turns out to be a combo-friendly fighter. Zero…s special moves currently border a bit on the overpowered side. Ryuenjjin is basically a fiery dragon punch that uses Zero's plasma sword. Hadangeki is a plasma wave that flies across the length of the screen. Hienkyaku is an evasive dash that lets Zero quickly change positions onscreen. The hyper Zero blaster is a charged attack triggered by holding down one of the attack buttons. When released, the attack releases a projectile that differs based on which button was used to trigger it. The powerful attack can be done in the air, which is sure to annoy fighters. Finally, Zero…s sentsuizan is an angled diving attack you can only do in the air but dovetails nicely into some devastating combos. Zero…s super and ultras follow the …overpowered and almost cheap… theme. The rekkoha knocks Zero…s opponents back and slams them with a rainbow of colorful energy beams. The sougenmu calls a shadow dupe of Zero that mimics all his attacks, a la the old-school custom combos from the Street Fighter Alpha series, which essentially doubles his damage. Finally dark hold, Zero…s ultra combo, traps his opponents in a bubble just long enough for Zero to whip out his plasma sword and slash them some serious pain.

Overall, we liked the additions--especially Joe--although Frank West is still our fighter of choice, thanks to his winning combination of zombie and mall item-powered moves. Sadly, the version of the game we played didn…t have online play enabled yet and wouldn…t let us have a peek at any extras, such as minigames. From the look of things, the addition of Joe the Condor and Zero, along with Frank West and Tekkaman Blade, just add to Tatsunoko…s appeal. At this point, the big questions for us are how the online play is going to work and how the minigames and assorted extras we saw in the Japanese version of the game are going to shape up in the US incarnation. As it stands now, Wii owners hungry for some fighting action have plenty of reasons to look forward to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. Look for more on the game in the months to come. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is slated to ship late January 2010 exclusively for the Wii.

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"Wii | Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars Updated Hands-On" was posted by Ricardo Torres on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:10:42 -0700

Xbox 360 | MX vs. ATV Reflex Updated Hands-On

We head to Vegas to check out the multiplayer in Rainbow's upcoming off-road racing game.

It's easy to get lost in the details of the upcoming MX vs. ATV Reflex from THQ and developer Rainbow--things like the great-looking bikes and ATVs; the impressive vistas and scenic variety in locales as varied as Spain, Oregon, and many points in between; and even the motion-captured "30-second girls" who precede the dropping of the gate at a motocross event. And while those details all add to the racing experience, the heart of Reflex is still beating with gritty grimy dirt, mud, sand, and snow.

It's those different surface types that make Reflex such a challenging experience, as we found out during a recent THQ press event in Las Vegas showing off the latest build of the game, due in December. First there's the look of those different surfaces you'll be driving on. You can tear deep grooves in the dirt with your tires; do a doughnut in place for a while and you'll dig a crater for yourself to drive out of. Every bump and undulation in the track surface is permanent for as long as you run on that level--even when running in the huge open-area free-ride areas that can span many miles of drivable territory.

Whether going it alone or racing online, Reflex gives you plenty of ways to get dirty.

Art director Ian Wood told us that the new system powering those mounds of virtual dirt allows 10 times the resolution when compared to the polygon-based system in previous games. Undeniably, the dirt looks better than before, but the feel of the ground is just as impressive. Dirt and mud have a completely different feel to them when compared to snow, where even keeping your vehicle moving in a straight line can be a chore.

Rolling with the changes in the terrain will be one of your most valuable skills when racing in Reflex, because sometimes there are rather abrupt changes in surface types--hard-packed dirt changing nearly instantaneously to snow as you move up a mountainside, for example. Couple that with the game's already quick pace and Reflex will keep you on your toes.

The focus of the press event in Vegas was Reflex's multiplayer modes. There aren't any real surprises here--you can play practically any mode from the single-player game with up to seven other people online. These modes include traditional race types like supercross, free ride, and waypoint races, as well as more specialized events like Championship Sports Track and Omnicross, the latter of which lets you race practically any type of vehicle in the game through long, winding courses, full of huge elevation changes and tricky sections requiring serious stick skills.

In addition to the standard multiplayer race modes, we got a chance to check out two online-only modes--snake and tag. Think of snake as a dirt-filled version of the Tron lightcycle racing game. As you race, you'll be trailed by a colored barrier, as will all the rest of the competitors. Any player who hits a barrier is immediately eliminated, and the fun racks up as the environment increasingly fills with each rider's barriers. Tag is a bit more straightforward--the mode starts off with all riders looking for a big ball located somewhere on the map (indicated by an icon on your radar at the top of the screen). The first player to touch the ball is "it," with the goal being to be in possession of the ball for a total of 60 seconds. Any time another rider hits the "it" ball, that rider becomes it. In the end, the game seems to devolve into a bunch of riders jousting it out in whatever open area they can find, but the first few minutes of trying to race to the ball are good fun.

In a way, Reflex might subvert what you know about off-road racing games. For one thing, the ATVs in the game--which traditionally are more stable when compared to two-wheel motocross bikes in other games--are squirrely and incredibly powerful. Reflex might be the first off-road game we've ever played where we actually preferred riding on MX bikes, in fact. The bigger class of vehicles--including buggies, super trucks, and the odd, boxy, and supremely bouncy UTVs--have their appeal too, but Reflex seems to be at its best with the smaller rides.

One day, many years from now, she will regret the tattoo.

A big part of the fun with the MX bikes and ATV quads is the revamped controls--you use the left stick to steer your ride and the right stick to throw your rider's body weight around. At a basic level, you can use this technique to help you negotiate tight turns with great speed; once you acclimate yourself to the system, you'll find yourself using your rider reflex controls to alter the angle of your bike or ATV in midair, perhaps squeezing a few extra feet out of a jump or angling your bike's wheels just over the lip of a jump you'd otherwise crash into. If you're in danger of falling off your bike, a quick flick of the right stick in the direction indicated by a green arrow onscreen will often save you from a vicious crash.

While Reflex seems to be doing a lot of things right, it's not perfect. The quick surface changes mentioned above often feel too abrupt (both visually and from a driving standpoint). Also, crashes are prevalent and rider-to-rider contact can easily spoil the fun--especially at the beginning of a race. It's also easy to get stuck in tricky spots on certain maps that are tough to navigate without crashing, even at slow speeds. MX vs. ATV Reflex is due for release in December.

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"Xbox 360 | MX vs. ATV Reflex Updated Hands-On" was posted by Brian Ekberg on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:42:26 -0700