Flashback Fridays... Missed a week!

    Apologies for missing a week of posting a review, school was hectic and work gave me a ton of hours. And the Bengals were busy winning another game, so it was a busy week!

    This week's review is a review that I have gone back and  edited a couple of times throughout the years; my Dead or Alive 2 review for Dreamcast. It is a VERY polarising game, with many hailing it to be the best fighter on the DC, but when stacked up against Calibur for example, it just doesn't compare on any level, aside from graphics. Its the truth. As well, the counter system was really flawed, and even after my aptitude at playing the game improved toa  fairly high level, I still had trouble with the counter move; frustrating. Anyways!

"Overrated, Visually Stunning Game."

When people think of DOA, there are many words that come to mind. Fighting game, looks amazing, sound is pretty good, Women etc. This game is very popular with the masses, however that can be largely attributed to the incredibly good-looking women in this game. This little game was recommended to me by many people, and by a few of the reviews on this site, and I won't say that I am disappointed because I am not. My review will explain how I feel about this game. As always with the reviews by Truck, let us commence with game play.

Game play: 6/10

The game play in this game had a lot of potential, and could have made the game A LOT better in this department, however some flaws cut it short. Firstly is the counter move. This move could have had endless opportunities to improve the game, however it rarely works, and your timing has to be impeccable, otherwise you will miss, and you will leave yourself prone to attack. This counter is also not very noob-friendly, and takes a very long time to perfect, unlike the original Dead or Alive, where the counter system worked almost perfectly. The moves that are executed though look very nice, and are very cool. Another flaw is that the game is very jerky at times, and not very fluid. Soul Calibur is fluid, this game is not. Another great aspect of this game's game play is that you can pull of insane combos easily and effectively, which still makes for an enjoyable and fun time. The levels also have no boundaries, and if you are hit off the edge, you will land at a different part of the level, and the fighting continues. As far as game modes, this is by far the best part of this game's game play. It has story, vs, team, survival, tag (which is great and a lot of fun), and practice modes. The tag option is fantastic, and the main reason why I play this game. From so-so game play to so-so story.

Story: 5/10

The story mode in this game is very minuscule and very undeveloped. Each character has his or her own motives for winning the Dead or Alive tournament, and some of them are unclear, and some of them are just downright silly. Half-sisters Kasumi and Ayane have probably the best storyline in that they must defeat each other, and they must rescue their brother, who was mysteriously kidnapped. Silly ones, such as Leon's, are, "to win the tournament so that I can be the strongest man in the world to cherish the memory of my wife." On to Graphics, you are in for a real treat.

Graphics: 10/10

Wow. That is all I could say about the graphics. Just stunning, absolutely stunning. The Characters look fantastic, and very realistic. The women in the game are also very very good looking, and I mean very good looking (Tina is a good example, a VERY good example). The backgrounds also look perfect. They are large, sharp, crisp, and are also very beautiful. The transition when your character moves from level to level also runs flawlessly, with no slowdown. Whoa I'm getting shivers. On to sound.

Sound: 9/10

The sounds in this game are second to none for the fighting genre (well, second to Soul Calibur that is). The hits sound great, the screams/grunts/groans etc. are also very crisp and sound realistic. Like Soul Calibur, the voices are in Japanese with English subtitles. The music is also outstanding, however it does get a bit repetitive after a while. The opening theme is a very good and catchy tune. Next is replay ability, prepare to be disappointed.

Replay ability: 5/10

This game has little to no replay value. I play it all the time, however casual gamers will not find much to play after the game is beaten initially. There are no unlockables, the extra modes can be dubious (except for tag which I say is worth playing with 3 friends over and over), and the only real reason to replay the game is to see each fighter's story when you play them in story mode. As someone else said replay ability is DOA.

Buy or rent?

As with almost all Dreamcast games, you cannot rent this game. You must buy this game, or if you just want to play it, you can borrow it from a friend. Initially, you shouldn't be disappointed.

Well, another day, another tournament fighter. I like this game, and I always will like this game, however its few flaws will always put it second or third on the, "Dreamcast tournament fighter depth chart." This is still a good game though, and every person who has a Dreamcast should give it a try. "Everything...Is My...Delusion!"

That's all, will be back next week!

Making Masculinities: Booty Call

    This week’s ramble has to do with how masculinities are depicted/accepted in the world today. Masculinities have been created and have changed as time as gone on. For example, a man in the late 1800s, early 1900s was considered a man when he turned 16; he worked to raise money for the family, he began to start a family of his own and he displayed “manly,” qualities (had little femininity, did hard, physical work without complaining about pain and basically did not complete tasks that a female traditionally completed).

    In the film Booty Call, (1997) we see a sort of changing of the role of masculinity for both the males and females in the film. To begin, Jamie Foxx’s character, Bunz, is very much concerned with his hair and goes out of his way to make his hairstyle unique. This is traditionally a female way of thinking, as well as the fact that men are not too concerned with their hair unless it is shaved or they would like a design; very few males in this day and age are concerned with long hairstyles. As well, when both Bunz and Roshawn are trying to sleep with the girls in the film, Lysterine (played by Vivica A. Fox) and Nikki (played by Tamala Jones), we see a gender role reversal; the men become subordinate to the women, agreeing to their terms and cooperating with what the women want, performing the tasks they want them to and travelling to the places they prefer to travel to: all qualities, actions and behaviours that traditionally women are thrust into. On another side of the coin, the guys (Bunz in particular) can be considered comfortable in their masculinity, as they can perform in this, “subordinate” role.

    The gender role reversal is not only seen in Booty Call; it is seen in a multitude of films, television shows and other forms of popular media. Take a drag queen (RuPaul) for example or even a transsexual pornstar (Kimber James); these people do not have gender questions at first glance, as they are perceived to be a specific gender, even though they are the opposite. If one were to simply take a quick look at a photo of either individual, they would both appear to the viewer as female, even though both are male.

    Masculinities have changed drastically from where they were one hundred years ago and they may continue to change as time goes on; humans are constantly changing. As time goes on as well however, we may see more transsexuals or drag queens, let alone Homosexuals, that will further skew the “male image,” or, “traditional male behaviour,” as well we will probably see more men comfortable in their masculinity that they will be comfortable with performing female tasks more often than normal. Masculinities should be in the eye of the beholder and NOT a societal-based construction.

Girls and Gaming

    This week on the Ramble, we’re going to take a look at females in the video game world; from gamers, to characters, to the women behind the games. A certain “hard-core gamer,” acted as a guest speaker and detailed her journey throughout school, with video games (her name is Kelly Bergstrom). Being a hard-core video gamer myself, I rather lapped up every word that she spoke about, with a generous portion of the presentation I found to be inaccurate, biased and/or dismissive.

    The speaker did highlight a certain daily blog site, known as “Fat, Ugly, Or Slutty,” in which crude and harmful comments are thrown at female gamers, and then posted on the blog. This is a somewhat eye-opening forum of debate in regards to attitudes towards female gamers, with each being a negative post (usually sexual in nature). While the blog is effective in portraying the inherent sexism in our online gaming communities, after the second page or, each post becomes redundant; there are only so many ways one can read text that merely says at its core, “I want you to perform sexual favours for me” (now I realise this is not a common statement, colloquialism or other, I simply wanted to point out what is said). This blog was also highlighted in an article by female gamer Elisa Melendez, who is an advocate for female gamers’ rights and is a member of the Frag Doll Cadettes, an all-female gamer group/clan (the article speaks about roughly the same concepts and problems that the speaker spoke about). The speaker is also an advocate for these same rights, though I am not sure if she is a member of this group as well. Regardless, her presentation I found, among others, to be lacking highly.

    To begin, she was sure to define a “casual,” and “hard-core,” gamer, in order for the attendees to further grasp her terminology and ideology. While this was correct in a general sense, her description and example of a hard-core versus casual GAMES were incorrect; she stated first person shooters to be hard-core games, even though the majority of them (especially the popular ones) are indeed casual games, such as the Call of Duty series. Her justification was that hard-core games are “inherently difficult,” and that, “they require a lot of time to master and perfect.” Is that so? Well then I guess then that myself being able to complete Golden Axe on the Sega Genesis when I was five years old, which requires just three buttons, and uses only two for 99% of the time, makes it a casual game? Absolutely not. The definition given is not apt, as many pick-up-and-play games are indeed hard-core, and they do not require years of mastering. Furthermore, while many of her assertions and points were indeed apt, they were all stated with a MAJOR slant on post the sixth generation, and from a dual-platform perspective.

    The speaker completely dismissed console and games of the past, as well the examples she gave were only conducive to the Nintendo Wii, and the Microsoft Xbox 360; Sega, arguably the second biggest console hardware manufacturer ever, wasn’t even hinted at, let alone mentioned. While that is more a pet peeve from my perspective due to being a Sega-centric gamer, I still find it unacceptable to dismiss any of Sony’s consoles or brands. While the session was not inherently bad, there were many flaws and inconsistencies that could have been corrected. Still, it was good to hear a female’s perspective on video games, as we males are dominant in the medium from all aspects.

Flashback Fridays... on a Sunday :(

Apologies for the lateness, however this week's version of Flashback Fridays was delayed due to me not being around a computer. This week, I'm featuring one of the many Mortal Kombat reviews I wrote initially, as it used to be my favourite game franchise.

"The Best, "Fourth Generation Console," Version of MK."

Part 4: The Best, "Second Generation Console," Version of MK.


I completed my Genesis MK collection last year with this fascinating game. I expected it to be very plain, and bland (unlike the other games) because it was basically a combination of the previous 3. Boy was I wrong. This is the best version of MK for the SNES/Genesis days by far. While being very similar in many ways to the third installment, it is different in its own right. As always, on to Game play.

Game play: 9/10

As with the other Mortal Kombats, the game play is a 9. The controls are identical to MK3, and there are new combos and moves for the fighters that are not in MK3. The, "Choose your Destiny!" "towers," are the same as in MK3, only the game is much much more difficult (can't figure out why...). Ah well, its still outstanding. One thing was added though that makes the game a bit more fun: The Brutality. Pretty much it is a combo just repeated until your opponent blows up. Very cool On to story.

Story: N/A

The story in this game is identical to MK3, and I will not repeat it here. Therefore, let us venture into graphics.

Graphics: 9/10

Even though as a whole the graphics are the same as MK3, the characters that were not in MK3 look a lot better than their MK2 versions (if they were in MK2). Also the animations of the moves were bettered just slightly, and the brutalities look great (as do the animalities). On to sound.

Sound: 9/10

The sounds are still fantastic in this game, like they are in every MK. There are also new sounds for certain things (such as Scorpion's spear), and they sound great. My one beef is that certain sounds (such as Shao Khan's naming of the fighter, and the round number) are taken away, but it does not affect the game at all. The music is the same in MK3, which means its good. On to replay ability, oh boy you are in for a treat.

Replay ability: 10/10

I wish I could give replay ability an unlimited, because there is just so much that you can do. Aside from the 3 different one player modes you can do, there is the one on one versus your friend or someone you want to schillack. There are 2 added modes though; The 2 on 2, and the 8 bracket tournament. The 2 on 2 is great, and is good for playing with 1 or 2 friends, but the 8 bracket tournament is fantastic. Up to 8 different fighters can fight, and what's best is the winner can pick from a variety of endings. You can see the Brutality/Friendship/Fatality/Babality demonstrations, the full demonstration (which has all of those aforementioned demonstrations), an extra fight, a fight against Smoke etc. Its quite-fun.

Buy or Rent?

Again like I always say, if you can find this game to rent, tell me, because the chances of that are slim to nil. But buy this game anyways, it is a timeless classic, contrary to what others may say.

This is my favourite MK (and always will be), and for good reason. It is THE best second generation MK, no matter what. The MK series is one that is fantastic, and I will never stop playing the games, ever.

I still believe that the game is a 10/10, though the amount of praise I have for it now is not what it was back in 2006.

Still my favourite 16-bit MK game :)