Aside from my gripes here, new ones have sprouted up about this game. First I'll say this, the only good thing I have to say about the game: If you play the game once and have fun doing it, that is the only enjoyment you'll get out of it.

This game screams, "I AM TEDIOUS AND DESPITE YOUR BEST EFFORTS YOU WILL NOT ENJOY THIS GAME AT ALL."

Seriously. Playing the game for the sake of playing it is the only time you'll enjoy it. Try going for any trophies/achievements. I DARE you. Most of them are just not fun, and aren't even worth it. The only exceptions, in my opinion, are the Zombie Fu trophy (once you hit level 50 you'll have all the cool hand-to-hand moves that actually make it fun to lay the smack down on the zombie menace), the Wrong Kind of Chopper trophy (only because of the different bike mods you can do), the Masquerade trophy (Servbot masks are FUNNY), and the Stick Em Up trophy looks fun (I haven't gone for it yet).

The rest of the trophy are just not fun, or even challenging to earn. They're just tedious, boring grind quests; compounding the tedium by the majority of them being only bronze trophies for so much work to put in. I did not have fun getting the "kill 5,000 zombies" trophy, even though the thing that's supposed to be FUN about this game (isn't this the sole reason for BUYING the game too? Just sayin'.) is the objective of the trophy. The other "kill X number of zombies" trophies are even more boring, but at least those are silver and gold. This isn't to say that I've had a blast earning every trophy in my collection. Some of them are really big pains to earn, but at least I didn't have to devote large portions of my life to them. And the hardest, or most tedious ones, are almost always higher than bronze. I'd say a solid 98% of my bronze trophies were easy AND fun to earn. 98% of Dead Rising 2's bronze trophies are tedious and time consuming.

As a single player this game has NO replay value, and I think that the ridiculous game trophy objectives in combination with the fact that you need to be at level 50 to even ENJOY the game makes it even less fun on your first playthrough. The multi-player "ranked" mini-games are stupid and frustrating, but at least they're a diversion from the mind-numbing boredom of single player.

The only fun thing about this game is the drop in co-op. However, I recommend headsets. I've done a co-op with a friend on PSN and trying to communicate via PSN message is frustrating. This is kind of a "No DUH, dude!" recommendation but I just thought I'd put it out there anyway.

Overall the gameplay is average for this game and once you've hit level 50 the pace of the game becomes horribly slow. Replay value, in my opinion, is only extant when doing co-op. I'd recommend waiting for the price to drop on this game or at least just renting it. Don't pay full price.

This game is just another one in the long line of the "WASTE VALUABLE DAYS OF YOUR REAL LIFE TO ACCOMPLISH TASKS THAT AREN'T FUN" genre. After a week (and one broken PS3 controller) of logging in some serious game time I only have 40% of the trophies.

A game should have replay value based on how fun it is, NOT because the game forces you to. Muramasa The Demon Blade, for example, is such a fun game with TONS of replay value. It's simple, fun, beautiful, and never boring. I unlocked everything in Muramasa and STILL love playing that game. Other games like No More Heroes and MadWorld are great too. But people (probably the same people who LOVE Dead Rising 2) would claim these games are "too repetitive". I can't be the only one who sees the irony in this criticism, right? Anyway, this "review" turned out to be more of a "rant" but whatever.

Nerd rage aside, Dead Rising 2 is an okay game. If it started you at with max stats. Which it doesn't. Well here's a quick list of annoyances from the game. Maybe I'll review the whole game after I beat it. Mind you, I have not played any other DR game, so let me know if these are things that needed to be fixed before:

-Terrible Item interface: Abandoning a traditional inventory system, this game uses a "quick-pick" type of interface. This would be okay if you didn't occasionally have to heal other people. I'll explain. As you level up you get new item slots (pretty much you can carry one more item than you could previously). Your fellow survivors, however, can only ever carry one item. So say Retard McSurvivordude needs to be healed because he was mobbed. You have to select a health item from your quick pick list, walk up to Retard McSurvivordude, (if he has a weapon) swap his weapon for your health item, wait for him to finish eating/drinking, then give him back his weapon if you so choose (I recommend it, since survivors you escort CAN be a big help taking down hordes).

-No Toggle System: This is one of my biggest problems with the game. To select ANYTHING you have to all up ons. For realz. Everything/everyone you can pick up/interact is context sensitive. Which I am cool with in other games. This game decides it's a good idea to put six (or more) context sensitive things next to each other with no ability to specifically select what it is that you want. In a game where staying in one spot for too long means having to waste your weapons on the undead instead of the boss fight you're trying to stock up for can be a real pain in the ass.

It's also six times more annoying when you're trying to recruit survivors to escort to safety. Let's say Retard McSurvivordude is looking for his bonnie lass, Skanky McSurvivordude. Well you find Skanky, and Retard is overjoyed! Why wouldn't he be. afterall? He runs to her, they embrace, exchange pleasantries. It's magical. But she doesn't automatically join up with you and Retard. Oh no. You have to recruit her the same way you did Retard. But they are SO HAPPY TO SEE EACHOTHER. They won't leave eachother's side, and are now swing at zombies. So now you have a moving, context sensitive thing right next to another moving, context sensitive thing. You also have to select "TALK" as many as seven times before some people will join you, making yourself more vulnerable to a zombie attack.

-Not past level 20? FUCK YOU!- You need a certain amount of health and item slots to beat mini-bosses. You can get those levels if you don't beat mini-bosses, but you need certain things to beat the mini-bosses, but...you see where I'm going with this? I restarted my game (you get save plus before you beat the game. THANK goodness for this feature) 4 times so I could be adequately leveled up to take on certain missions, and I'm currently stuck on a boss fight that actually is necessary to progress the game. I can barely get the bosses down to half health. God only knows how hard it would have been if I made the attempt to just do it in one play through.


Well these were just a few quick gripes. Maybe I'll review it, like I said. Maybe not.

With all of the colors available for the BB CS cast I just wanted to post all of the color edits I recognized:

Bang: Galford (Samurai ShoDown), Strider Hiryu, Anji Mito, Hsien Ko
Hazama: Dick Tracy, The Joker, Lupin the Third
Ragna: Sol Badguy
Jin: Ky Kiske, Robo Ky, Ronald McDonald
Nu: Justice, Eva Unit 00
Hakumen: Baiken
Makoto: Order Sol
Tager: Potemkin
Mu: Dizzy
Carl: Detective Conan

How many did you spot?

Hilarious AND catchy!

I'm two levels away from beating this game, but I figured I don't actually need to finish the game to tell you all how much of a letdown it is. There are some spoilers, but really it's nothing you didn't already know.

This particular game hurt me the most because I was promised Carnage (FINALLY!). I was seriously hyped for this game, and the hype continued through the first "Act". A graphically amazing intro set up the story, with clever writing and NEIL PATRICK HARRIS REPRISING SPIDEY IN THE AMAZING UNIVERSE =D! I had taken down down Kraven the Hunter in the Amazing Universe, short circuited Electro in the Ultimate Universe, gave on old-fashioned beat down to Hammerhead in the Noir Universe, and wrecked Hobgoblin in the 2099 Universe. I was pleased with the variety offered in each world. The graphics in each level were spectacular (no pun intended...well maybe a little) and no one Spidey felt quite the same. My hopes were high. Then we moved on to the Second Act...

Instead of upping the ante in the next act Beenox called it a day, probably assuming people would be wowed enough with how the game opened and not really judge the game harshly. They seemed to have fooled most reviewers, because reviews I've read online praise the crap out of this game. My enthusiasm was still pretty high as I played through the second act. I immediately selected Ultimate Spidey in this act so I could take on Deadpool. For the most part I was not let down.

The skill tree kept combat fresh in these infant stages of my gaming journey, and unlocking new costumes and upgrades is super cool here (Scarlet Spider costume FTW). They also have challenges specific to each level on Madame Web's Web of Destiny. This kind of keeps you focused and goal-oriented instead of mindlessly slugging through your enemies until you reach the boss. It's a nice touch, and rewards you with experience points called "Spider Essence" that you use for character and combat upgrades. But back to the level review.

Deadpool delivers his usual nutty jabber, breaks in the fourth wall, and generally being amusing as hell. I was utterly satisfied with this level, not even letting a glitch that got me stuck in the wall during combat deter me. Then I came to a part of the level that is just inexcusably bad: the tidal wave section where you have to web swing to safety. Now I had messed around with web slinging in the Amazing Universe and even a little in the Noir Universe. It's perfect fine in these levels, but for whatever reason Ultimate Spiderman cannot sling web (or black suit tendril) to save his damn life. Literally! I bitched about this in my Wii Web of Shadows review. How are you going to make a Spiderman game where web slinging as Spiderman sucks? Well after five tries and a lot of profanity I finally beat this section (but did not get the challenge of beating it within the time limit because of how unresponsive the web slinging is). I eventually get to the final boss fight with Deadpool and it was great; almost making me forget about the displeasure I experienced earlier.

The rest of the second act was adequate as well. You face off against Sandman in the Amazing Universe, a creepy take on Vulture in the Noir Universe, and a mutated Scorpion in 2099. I guess at this point I should explain a little bit about each level's gameplay, as this was about the time the generic formula become more apparent:

Amazing- Your typical Spiderman adventure. You're Spidey. You're slinging web and clobbering thugs. You face off against Marvel villains (including a throwback to old school Spidey, when Juggernaut wasn't just an X-Men villain). These levels are very well done for what they are, and are probably the most polished.

Ultimate- Even though Spidey didn't wear the black suit too long in Ultimate, I guess they gave him the black suit to justify not having two completely identical Spidey game experiences in one game. Personally, I would rather have Amazing Spidey in the black suit. It would have made more sense to me. ANYWAY, you have Spiderman whipping up on people with tendrils and brutal attacks, but are given the added option of Rage Mode. The wall crawler gives in to the suit's brutal intent, granting him stronger attacks and the ability to withstand hits from strong enemies while keeping on the offensive. It really comes in handy. This universe has some glitches and has the previously mentioned crappy web slinging.

Noir- This is a dumbed down Arkham Asylum. No fooling. Spidey has to stay in the shadows; avoiding the flashlights and spotlights to get the drop on thugs and perform silent take downs. If you're spotted, and alarm sounds and you have to hide away until the coast is clear. A few things would make these levels easy if it weren't for all the problems.

To me, while this is the most visually appealing level (sepia tones and 1930's depression aesthetic is always welcome here) it is the most annoying and glitchy. I found myself falling into nothingness and being stuck there until I restart, setting off the "shoot Spidey" alarm when in the shadows with no thugs around save the one I was webbing to a wall, and arm wrestling with the camera whenever I tried to wall crawl. The game also can't decide how aware the AI should be. Sometimes you can take someone down who is standing right next to another thug and they'll be none the wiser. Other times they're on you like stink on a monkey. Sometimes you actually have to fist fight the enemies, but most of the time you're just being a knock-off Batman. There's a whole lot of style in this level, but very little substance.

2099- My least favorite levels to play, believe it or not. I hate the Whitey McWhiteguy voice actors who are playing characters like MIGUEL O'HARA and the female Doc Oc' whose last name is Patel. The levels, for all of they're ZOMG FUTURE design are very bland once you get past the flashing lights and columns...so many fucking columns...

This Spidey, in my opinion, has the most weaksauce combat. He does a lot of flipping and spinning that doesn't really look like it does a whole lot. The main draw here is the freefall sections, in which you can use Accelerated Vision to slow things down and avoid obstacles. You can also use it during combat I guess. I usually don't. I feel like there were so many better options for a Spidey Universe than the 2099 Universe. Hell, I CAN'T be the only guy wanting to take down villains as SPIDERHAM, right? RIGHT!?

Now that I've given you a taste of the game itself (as best I can with my limited writing ability) and discussed why each level is "unique" I'd like to tell you why it's all the same generic game. Each level is linear and closed, the most free roaming you'll get is Deadpool's level. Each level follows roughly the same formula:

Opening cut scene, fight some bad guys, mini cut scene, save some civilians, fight some more bad guys, mid-boss fight, mo' thugs, final boss fight.

Other than maybe saving a few more civilians or fighting a few less thugs, this is what you'll be doing in every level. I think the fact that they tried so had to mask this truth with glitter makes it stand out even more. While I don't mind a formulaic game, I DO mind that there is no real distraction from it. I think that if they included some more Marvel fan service (like when Wild Pack and Silver Sable make an appearance in the Juggernaut level) the formula would have been fine. But instead I feel like I'm locked in a room with two toys: Spidey and the main villain. And that's all I have to play with. Forever. The thugs are just fodder placed there to kill time until you have the last fight.

The biggest let down of all is that this already short game feels rushed once you near the end. The dialogue between villain and hero becomes almost non-existent by the time you near the end of act 4. I felt it the most during the Ultimate Carnage level. Now I was hyped to have a game with my favorite Marvel villain in it, even if it wasn't Cletus Cassidy Carnage. But Beenox hurled a middle finger straight at me. They could have done so much with this vampiric/zombie-esque take on the symbiote. But no. It's just a bland level in which you fight zombified S.H.I.E.L.D. agents then you fight a bland Carnage. No human tongue has ever uttered a sound to convey my disappointment.

Somehow, through all the glitches and sometimes tedious game play, the final product is not bad. It's certainly not great, but it's worth playing at least once. The replay value is moderate, and it's not the WORST Spiderman game ever. At the least it can be considered a step in the right direction; a springboard to better games. Maybe the oncoming DLC for this game could even make the game more desirable. At the very least I think you should rent the game and give it one playthrough. I was not given what I expected at all, but that doesn't make it a bad game. As always thoughts expressed here are mine, and exchange of opinions are always welcome.

Been playing a lot of online lately so I can get all the related trophies. I only need the level 50 trophy and I'll be done with online. However, for my sanity, I'm going to rant here about which characters I can't STAND fighting in this game and why:

Tsubaki - She's like a more spammy, annoying Noel. She's not too hard to beat (I think I've only ever lost once to a Tsubaki), but it always comes down to the wire because of her stupid shenanigans. It's just really frustrating to play against someone who jumps, floats in the air, then charges down constantly when you're using a character with any good anti-airs. She's also one of those characters who covers the whole screen in about five seconds, between air dashing and her specials. It's a pain in the ass.

Hazama - Pretty much for the same reasons as Tsubaki. The only difference is that I have a hard time beating Hazama at all. I fucking HATE this guy.

Jin - Probably the most hated out of any of the characters listed. I'm so sick of Jin players. I'm really just sick of Jin. Fuck him, fuck every god damned move he has that freezes you, fuck his ice car, fuck his mashing 5C tactic, and ESPECIALLY fuck his anti-ait with 6 billion frames of invincibility and grab invulnerability built into the shit THAT ALSO FREEZES YOU. This character needs to go.

Tager - Tager is like the Zangief of this game. Scratch that. ZANGIEF wishes he could be like Tager. Tager's magnetism is WAY overpowered this time around, and if you're magnetized and up-close (which is inevitable if you want to avoid the negative penalty you get for being away from the opponent for even 3 god damned seconds in this game) then you're fucked. If you're up-close you'll most like get grabbed. If you jump, you'll most likely get grabbed. Tager is a big bad bitch in this game, with more buffs than he needed from CT.

Ragna - I could actually stand playing against Ragna if I weren't fighting him ever other match. Him, Tsubaki, and Hazama are all overplayed. Aside from the fact that Ragna has a lot of S tier bullshit this time around, he's pretty tolerable because of his predictability. I just can't stand fighting him all day.

I've faced off against a couple of Litchi players but it seems like most people tend to keep away from her, so I can stand taking a beating from a good Litchi every now and again. I'm just sick of the trends online in this game. It seems like whenever I log on I'm always fighting the people I can't stand.

How about you guys out there? Who are your most hated match-ups?

After hearing about all of the re-balancing CS was supposed to do to the roster I decided to go ahead and purchas the game. I own, beat, and platinum trophied Calamity Trigger. My main was, and still is, Bang (he's actually the guy I used to beat Score Attack). So when I heard that he was moved from F tier I was ecstatic. I'm by no means a pro Bang player, and I've seen pro Bang players in action in CT. So I was excited to see what changes would be made to him in CS.

Well fast forward to buying the game. All they did was shift power. The shenanigans you can pull in both games have no real differences from what I've seen so far, and the single player modes have just become more retarded. I remember beating Hell difficulty in CT and thinking that, while hard, it wasn't too bad. It's ridiculous now.

In my opinion it just seems like they didn't make any significant changes. Even the supposed nerfing of Rachel doesn't seem too evident. Yeah, they toned her damage down, but just last night I played a really good Rachel and I got wrecked.

Maybe at a pro level these apparently subtle (to me) changes make a huge difference. However I'm a casual player.

So my question to you all, preferrably the casual players out there (or at least people who aren't total ArcSys fanwanks), is: Do you REALLY think the re-balancing made any impact at all, or is it still just the same old broken bull crap?

I'm genuinely interested in setting up a successful arcade in the Baltimore, Maryland area. It doesn't seem like arcades can thrive in our state, and I want to do it the way I think it would work. I'm tired of Dave and Busters being the only place people think of when they here the word "arcade". If California, New York, Reno, Vegas, etc can have flourishing arcades, why not Baltimore? I want to have a place where you can play arcade cabinets like SSFIV and BlazBlue.

Here's where you come in!

I don't have money to start an arcade right away. However, I am saving for an arcade machine. Right now I have over 400 put away and I'm still saving. I need the input of gamers like you guys. What kind of cabinet would you want to play at a local business or school? Right now I'm either going to get a F Zero machine or something more recognizable like DDR. Any input or advice would be appreciated.

Keep in mind these will be things I'm leasing out to other businesses. So give me an idea of what arcade games you'd actually like to see.

Friday - Cthulhu will make a reprise, with some modifications from last year.

Saturday - Moonlight Knight

Sunday - Big Trouble in Little China group cosplay. I'll be Lo Pan. Our group is going out for lunch after the con. So if anyone wants to have lunch with us (in costume) you're more than welcome. Obviously you'll be paying for your own lunch though.