2009-05-07 21:54:45 Mode-7 - See the world scrolling by, Static clouds on a bitmap sky!

http://modeseven.blogspot.com
or
http://www.mode-7.com

I've already linked to some opinions on there now and then but today, may 7th, was always our intended *unveiling*, since that's when it launched back in 2002.

Anyway, it's certainly nothing fancy. It's a games blog run by me and my good friend Dominic (Domstercool), and we'll stick stuff on there to our fullest capacity and I'd love it if people checked it out now and then.

It's my first stab at a site - even if it's powered by blogspot - (Richard was the code wiz back in the day) so there's prolly gonna be a lot of oddities and if any such are encountered I'd appreciate if you let me know so I can tinker with it some more.

I'll probably mention it in this thread if any significant updates are added. We've got some big articles lined up for summer with a bit of a twist to their presentation!

There, this commercial message is over. :D

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-05-08 18:51:47

I helped design the site. I'd say most of it was my work, and it looks good.

By most I mean .001% my work

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Don't you know who I am? I'm the goddamned Banman.

2009-05-08 22:10:56

Yeah the final touches wouldn't have been quite so final or touching if it weren't for you. :D

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-05-26 20:44:25

Opinion: Bionic Commando

Since it's not been talked about much at all on the forum I thought I'd drum up some awareness of my little Opinion of it over at Mode-7.

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-06-10 02:06:32

After a bit of an unintentional break from updates, we're swooping back into action with some E3 thoughts in short.

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-06-13 05:38:44

Opinion: inFAMOUS

I hope someone says something if this plugging is considered.. like.. an act of terrorism and stuff. :O

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-06-13 11:09:13

It is appreciated :-) I do enjoy reading your article's!

As you were!

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"Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for I am the evilest motherf*cker in the valley"

"First come smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire"

2009-06-13 15:22:51

Oh, that's great! Thanks! :)

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-06-14 07:37:55

Yeah, I've read your Bionic Commando article and it was nice.
Sorry I didn't respond about it, I just didn't think I could add anything useful after reading that, especially considering I haven't played the game!

heh. Keep us updated though. I forget to check sites sometimes.
You're writing is superb

2009-06-14 08:35:05 In reply to PlumbDrumb (2009-06-14 07:37:55)

Classic!

And in response to Simon: I think what differentiates this from ya know, spam, is that you're a regular member of this community. We all know you and can appreciate that this isn't just some ploy to get page views. If you had just created an account and weren't actively participating in the forums here, it might be different.

2009-06-14 08:40:32

That and I helped design the site as previously stated.

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Don't you know who I am? I'm the goddamned Banman.

2009-06-14 08:57:55 In reply to GriftGFX (2009-06-14 08:35:05)

btw, who helped design the site, Simon.
I don't have a clue as to who helped design the site. If I did have a clue as to who designed the site, I would say "good job helping design the site! You sure did a great job helping design the site!"

2009-06-14 11:35:28 In reply to PlumbDrumb (2009-06-14 08:57:55)

I have no clue to whom or what helped designed the site... Beats me???

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"Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for I am the evilest motherf*cker in the valley"

"First come smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire"

2009-07-01 20:18:46

Oh I wasn't even aware people had replied to this topic. Thanks for the kind words and reassurance that it's okay to drop some hints as to what we're up to in here! :)

As for site design, Phae played a huge part in the beginning of helping me balance the site so it looks good at his crazy ass resolution aswell as my humble 1280 by 800 laptop res. The rest is my bumbling attempts to make web graphics which - along with logos and the like - I find incredibly difficult. It's a site in the making though, it's coming along and we keep adding to it.

Anyways, as for some recent content, Dommie has gone RPG crazy with Opinions of

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 and
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of The New World

Meanwhile, I've been putting my thoughts into words regarding

Bit.Trip Beat

Last but not least, blips on the CreamWatch radar for the month of july are:

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
Wii Sports Resort
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
King of Fighters XII
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled


Provided we don't melt from the summer heat, It looks like me and Dommie will be spending the majority of july beating eachother or other punks the hell up.

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-07-02 00:36:10

I need BlazBlue. The gaming budget is a little tight for the next month or so though, and with KOFXII right around the corner, I'm sorta inclined to hold off.

I still need it though.

2009-07-02 00:48:15

Yeah, I'm opting out of BlazBlue personally because I really don't like the whole Guilty Gear approach to..... anything really. KOF12 is mine for damned sure though. I'm kinda curious to see how Iori has changed.. apparently from what I hear they gave him something of a VF4 Jacky Bryant overhaul.

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-07-02 00:54:37

I briefly used Iori last weekend when I visited CTF in NYC. I am not really all that familiar with him though, so I couldn't really speak of the differences.

BlazBlue must be good, because hot damn was that cabinet crowded. Add to that IGN's fantastic review, and I'm really quite enticed. It doesn't hurt that I enjoyed GGXX as well.

KOFXII still holds a higher priority though.

2009-07-02 01:05:47

Oh I'm sure it's GOOD, I'm sure it's good in the same way GG was good and Alpha 3 was good and... the majority of VS games are good. But I just can't handle them personally. To me it just.. it's just too much cake. There's like everywhere combos and the characters are all designed to be ULTRA BELTBUCKLE AND HAIRDO ORGY, and the music has 200 riffs per minute.. and that stuff is popular and awesome but it's not for me. :)

I am stoked that it's a fighter in a barren land, fighting wise, but it's lined up almost right next to KoF12 which to me makes for a bit of a no brainer.

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-07-02 01:09:33

I am somewhat offended by this concept that fighting games are in serious decline. This generation hasn't seen as many releases as the original Xbox and PS2 did, but the lineup is actually much better in many ways. Quality reigns over quantity, and what-not. The fact is that these are still viable retail titles! Hell, Street Fighter 4 is even shipping on the damned PC in less than a week.

2009-07-02 01:13:10

Oh no, I reckon they're on the rise. But let's face it, on this current generation of consoles we've had fuck all to talk about apart from VF5 and DOA4 before SF4 seemingly signaled the return of them. At any rate, BlazBlue is a new IP and I can't even remember when we had a new fighting IP last.

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-07-02 01:15:22

Blah, that's nonsense! We had Soul Calibur 4 too, which despite what the nay-saying, is a fine, fine game.

Hell.. I still think it's one of the most genuinely enjoyable fighters to grace our home platforms so far this generation.

TvC is a new IP too!

2009-07-02 01:20:00

Fine, we talked a ton about Soul Calibur 4 aswell. A real buzzmaker that one. :P

And if we're counting japanese fighting IP then we've had far, far more stuff than TvC. I just don't really think those, nor TvC, are enough to consider fighting games a breathing genre for the last five years. If you're gonna use japanese examples then the dating sims and arcade shooters are still in, and so is the Dreamcast.

You'll have to be extremely open to counting the niche audience if you reckon fighters havent had an extremely dire time since early PS2 days.

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-07-02 02:06:25 In reply to SimonM7 (2009-07-02 01:20:00)

I'm not sure the sarcasm is really warranted here. Soul Calibur 4 both sold very well and was actually very well received by franchise fans and critics alike. I reckon most of the more vocal complaints came from the more casual fans of the series. Is it the most balanced Soul Calibur ever? Perhaps not, but it's a slight better than SC3 (which was also a good game, despite its criticism) and it's hard to roll back to SC1/2 for someone who has sharpened their skills with one of the more expanded members of the roster. Playing an old version of Sophitia or Cassandra is just not very satisfying anymore.

The irony being that despite its critical reception (and don't get me wrong, I think it's a wonderful franchise), Virtua Fighter 5 is far less popular than Soul Calibur 4. No one is playing either in the arcades though.. I suppose we have both Sega and Namco to thank for that.

PS. TVC is getting released in the USA, it's global now.

2009-07-02 03:10:38

Global because as I said, SF4 signaled that the genre can be widely successful. Prior to SF4 they had no plans, and apparently licensing issues made it even more unlikely.

I'll not try to discuss SC4 because I fear my disdain for that game will just seep through every attempt at building a good argument. By the looks, Tekken is recieving the same treatment though so there'll be even fewer franchises I dare think about within a year. :|

My point is though, SF4 has shown that the general public is fighter hungry in a way that they haven't been for a long long time, and we're seeing game companies everywhere rummaging through their catalogue of IPs for something to revive and ride this wave. You really can't compare what's happening right now to ANYTHING over the past five years, and certainly not the release of SC4 either.

Toshinden is coming back for god's sake! Check out the sheer amount of crazy stuff they send with the BlazBlue home release. I mean there are cool fighting times ahead and they're nothing like the respirator powered past years where tired Tekken and Soul Calibur releases were really the highest profile things we got.

And of course VF5 can't compete with Star Wars characters, tits, character creators and stats/buff powered online modes. I have a mate who plays SC4 all the time and when I visit him I almost throw up from all the "HOW ABOUT THIS!?? HOW DO YOU LIKE IT!??" his ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIC creation utters as he L and Rs himself to a new super move spammed victory.

Dammit, I wasn't gonna talk about SC4. :(

BUT YEAH, I think we'll be seeing a rise in fighters and a rise of respect in fighters now after SF4's success. Hopefully fighting games taken and enjoyed fully on their own merits. BlazBlue, even though as I said it's not really for me, really does seem to pull an audience for its straight up fighting game goodness. I loved Dream Factory's work on Tobal #1 so hopefully Toshinden can enjoy some of their sporadic goodness too.

Dommie pointed this out to me earlier. Pretty neat. :D

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http://modeseven.blogspot.com | Dominic and Simon - dyanamic games blog duo!

2009-07-02 05:43:41

Bah, whatever. <3 SC4. I even love the character editor.. which took me by surprise. Who knew virtual dress up could be so much fun.

But there's a proper way to play the game.. luckily the character editor is actually at its best when you're not trying to spend those silly power ups.

I still just think it's a fantastic game though. I think it strikes the absolute best balance between depth and accessibility that I've ever seen.. that goes for the franchise as a whole though.