WE’VE MOVED!

Ok, so this is no longer the home of “Professor Game.”

SORRY!

Now, the Blog is hosted at http://professorgame.blogspot.com
It’s way cooler!

Thursday Night Quick Hits!

Thursday Quick Hits! (TQH) Thursday is a boring day for me. No class, no work, no nothing! It’s a day before Friday and is always a slow day for me. So, to speed things up, I’m going to do some “Quick Hits”. Basically, its just a bunch of quick notes that hit on various topics. QUICK HITS!

• Finally got together with my associate, R (that’s what we’ll call him for now), and we’re going to do something WAY cool for Friday. Check tomorrow to see.
• Just figured out how to record stuff on my computer without using a camera to watch the monitor. AWESOME.
• My last post on “Super Smash Brothers Brawl” got 3 views and a comment! I know that’s not much, but hey, it’s something right?
• Watched South Park last night and realized how much of a nerd I really am. I knew all of the internet jokes they showed.
• JUST watched the videos of the new characters for Street Fighter IV here, Abel looks a lot better in action. Does he remind ANYONE of Alex from SFIII?
• Anyone here about the news in Northern Virginia (my current location) about the teacher who got arrested for Child Porn and kidnapping? It happened not far from where I live and I’m really creped out. (LINK)
• I played “Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core” today. Since I sold my little brother my PSP, I can’t really play it all too much. It’s ok, but I think that Square-Enix need to stop making FFVII games.
• On the other hand, Square-Enix should make more “Star Ocean” games. I just got done beating the very first one (Thank you DeJap, even though you faded away) and it was an amazing game. I might try to steal my PSP back for the new PSP remake of the first and second games.
• Beat the “15 Minute Brawl” in SSBB this morning. Pikachu FTW!
• I also played “Dynasty Warriors 6” for the 360 today. As usual, I refuse to read the reviews for this game and personally, I love it. I’m going to pick it up soon.
• Beat “Call of Duty 4” last night. Fun game, but lets face it, only an idiot would pick it up for the 1-player mode. While fun, multiplayer is where its at.
• And on that note, I plan on getting the new maps soon. CHINATOWN!
• Been listening to the new “Panic at the Disco” CD, Pretty. Odd. Gotta’ say, things are shaping up to be pretty odd. (Song Reference) Seriously, it’s a good, mellow CD with a lot of new stuff for PatD. Not like their first CD though.
• Realized that the PS2 is now cheaper then the Nintendo DS. Shocking.
• Samoa Girl Scout cookies are made with crack, I swear. I can’t stop eating them.
• Finally set up my classes for the summer. Thankfully, they’ll be over by the end of June. I’m taking a Speech and a history class over the summer, since I slacked off on taking classes during the last two semesters. I’m such a bum ^o^.
• Not really excited for any games coming out soon. I’ve been paying less and less attention to new video games, mostly due to my lack of money and my increase in homework. Rather sad really.

And that’s it for this week! Got any Quick Hits? Leave a comment then!

Opinons on: Super Smash Brothers Brawl

I bought “Super Smash Brothers Brawl” (Brawl) the day it came out and I’ve been playing it once a day, every day, since it came out.  Being a huge fan of both the Nintendo 64 version and it’s ‘prequel’, Melee, I had been anticipating this game since I got a Wii.

Maybe I should re-word that.  I have been anticipating this game, but a more acurate description would be that I drooled over this game since it was announced almost two years ago.  Yeah, I went fan-boy over this game.  My mother and my girlfriend actually made fun of me because I talked about it so much.  I visited the website EVERY DAY from September ‘07 to March ‘08 (now).  I went to every and any website to find out ANYTHING about the game.  I downloaded the opening trailer in Japanese the day after it came out in Japan.  I made such a fuss over this game that frankly, I’m ashamed of myself.

All of that aside, I do honestly enjoy Brawl.  The game is a lot like Melee.  In other words, Nintendo wasn’t stupid and figured that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.  I like to call this “Dynasty Warrior Syndrome”, considering that since Dynasty Warriors 2, the game has yet to truly change.  Why?  Because the game is about as perfect as one can want it to be.  So, Nintendo didn’t change the main fighting of the game.  HOWEVER, Nintendo did change a lot of other things.  There are SO many new items that I’ve yet to find a good use for all of them.  There are a plethora of stages, new, old, and otherwise.  There is even a bunch of new modes!

Which leads me to the biggest addition: THE SUBSPACE EMISSARY.  A side-scrolling, beat ‘em up style story mode, the SUBSPACE EMISSARY (SSE) is a brand new feature to Brawl that kicks ass.  The story isn’t that deep, but NO VOICES are used to tell the story.  It’s all done in CG cutscenes where all the story is told through actions.  I was amazed t how well it was told!  Added in with that, the game itself is both fun and long.  I spent a good 6 hours beating it and fun the whole way.  The end gets tedious, but it’s worth it in the long run.  My only real complaint is how they added Sonic into the SSE.  He sorta’ just…shows up at the very end.  You’ll see.

Speaking about the characters, while there are more in Brawl, I think I just miss some of the old characters.  Pichu and Dr. Mario were loads of fun, but it seems like everyone else got ‘replaced’.  Lucario – Mewtwo, Ike – Roy, etc.  To add to this, there are now THREE ‘Star Fox Characters’, Fox, Falco, and Wolf.  It’s ridiculous!  Still, Sonic and Snake are loads of fun, as are some of the other additions.

I could go on for hours about how much I like Brawl, but honestly, what more can I tell you?  If you liked Melee or want THE BEST multiplayer game on the market right now (yes, I’d wager a bet that it’s more fun then Call of Duty 4…and I LOVE Call of Duty 4), then go out and get Brawl.  You won’t be dissapointed.

History of: Double Dragon

Double Dragon, the essential and most well known beat ‘em up of the NES age.  With the exception of a few others, “Double Dragon” is probably, if not definetly, the best beat ‘em up of all time.  Personally, I’m more of a “River City Ransom” kind of guy, but RCR didn’t reach the kind of popularity of Double Dragon.  However, after “Double Dragon II: The Revenge” on the NES, we we’re ‘treated’ to what is known as “Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone”.  I feel that the Angry Video Game Nerd describes it better then anyone else (link).

So, what happened to Double Dragon?  I mean, did Double Dragon III suck so bad that they never made another one?  The answer is obviously no.

“Super Double Dragon” came out for the, you guessed it, Super Nintendo in October of 1992.  While the American version had a crappy “Super” plugged in fron of it, the Japanese got a more acurate title, “Return of Double Dragon”.  This game, while not being a total let down, as in Double Dragon III, was still pretty bad.  The game HAD a story, but the story was actually CUT OUT of the final game.  I don’t know about you, but I hate it when developers decide that they don’t need a story.  Now, the gameplay wasn’t awful, it added some new things to the series that were in other Beat ‘em ups, but the lack of a story really hurt this game.  However, most fans of the orginal and a group of others remember “Super Double Dragon”.

So when did we forget about Double Dragon?  Well, probably when the developers got all switched around and when Double Dragon became a TV Series.

Now, before I begin, I’m not going to lie to you: I have never SEEN the Double Dragon TV series.  I promise to watch a few episodes so I can acurately describe the show and its effects on the franchise.  However, I know it ran for 2 seasons, was animated, and made in the mid 90s.  Generally, this means one thing – it wasn’t very good.  But, I’ve never seen, so who am I to judge.

 HOWEVER, I have played “Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls” and I do know it sucks.  HARD. Released in 1994, this game was developed by Leland Interactive Media, a subsidiry of Tradewest, who produced Double Dragon (not Technos).  The game plays like Street Fighter meets Samurai Showdown meets a pile of crap.  Bad controls, boring characters, awful music.  It was a travesty to the series.

So, what was Technos doing?  They were making a different Double Dragon game titled “Double Dragon”.  Yes, they made ANOTHER game titled “Double Dragon”.  In order to prevent confusion, most people call it “Double Dragon Neo-Geo” as it was designed for the Neo-Geo, SNK’s often misunderstood system.  So, was this the great game 90% of us missed?  Well, not really.  Much like Double Dragon V, this game was a 1v1 fighter.  However, rather then being a pile of crap, this game was just ok.  Playing like the “Art of Fighting” series, this game wasn’t garbage, but it certaintly wasn’t the game fans (or anyone, really) we’re looking for.

Unfortunetly, that was the last real Double Dragon game.  Technos of Japan folded in the mid 90s and faded outof existance.  Other games were made with Double Dragon in the title or with Double Dragon characters, but only two really matter.

The first one is “Battletoads & Double Dragon”, a crossover game between the two.  It was made by Rare in 1993 and is only Double Dragon in title.  It plays more like Battletoads, which I am a much, much bigger fan of and as such, doesn’t really act as a true Double Dragon title.  However, sales of this game were pretty darn high, seing how both franchises were still popular at the time.

The other title was made for the Neo-Geo in 2002.  Created by Evoga and Noise Factory, “Rage of the Dragons” was originally planned to be a sequel to Technos last game.  However, they couldn’t obtain the rights to the Double Dragon franchise and were forced to make a game that was a “spiritual sucessor”.  RotD is a fantastic fighting game, featuring tag-team action, and is one of my personal favorite fighters on the Neo-Geo.

So, there you have it.  The history of Double Dragon is long and illustrious.  It is definetly one of the definitive beat ‘em ups and managed to last for a long time.  Only time will tell if another Double Dragon will be made.

Looking Back at: E.V.O. Search for Eden

Being an avid player of games, I often find myself traveling ‘back in time’ to play games that I remembered (or wish I had at least heard of) back on the systems of old.  Since I can remember, I’ve always had games around me, be it board games, video games, or just ones that I played with other kids.  However, being a military brat, I tended to play a lot of video games.  I also tended to collect and play as many games as possible, ranging from games that I hated, to games that I loved, to games that I, to this day, still can’t figure out.

So, today, I decided to look back on a game that I remembered from long ago: E.V.O Search for Eden (EVO from here on).

EVO was made by Enix in 1992 (1993 in America), during a peak time in the SNES’s life.  Not really heard of by many, mostly due to the fact that the name “Enix” didn’t translate to “good” in American gamer’s heads.  Unfortunately, the game was overlooked by many for higher name titles.  However, the game is a rock solid game that, to this day, still grabs my attention.
The story line is a little different, but nothing that really shocks and amazes you.  Essentially, all the beings on Earth are fighting for the right to live in the garden of Eden and you’re supposed to win.  The game has five ‘worlds’, each one based off of an evolutionary time period: Fish, Amphibians, Dinosaurs, Mammals, and “Eden” (humans).  When you start each world, you suck.  You are the lowest of the low and you have to, literally, eat your way to the top.  You start off by biting every little creature in your path and eating the meat that falls off of them to gain enough experience to ‘evolve’ your creature and become a badass little…well, whatever you are.  The cool thing about this game is not just the fact that you eat anything and everything in your path, but that you have to actually manage how you level up.  For instance, one pair of jaws may be faster then another, but another pair may deal three times as much damage.  Another example is how making your body bigger may cause you to not be able to use other parts.  The leveling up system is deep, fun, and engaging.
                                                                                 

I really recommend that anyone who hasn’t played this gem of a SNES game to really go out and try it.  It’s the perfect mix between platforming and RPGs, something that I still feel is a great idea.  So, go out, give it a try somehow, and tell me what you think!

Opinons on: Final Fatasy VII Remake

Ok, this has been on my list of things to do for a long time: my opinons on a FFVII remake.  To begin things, lets start with some commonly known facts:

1. Final Fantasy VII (refered to as FFVII from here on out) has some of the most loyal and dedicated fans.  They LOVE FFVII.  Period
2. FFVII sold the most copies out of ALL of the Final Fantasy games. (More than 9.5 MILLION to be exact)
3. FFVII is the most popular Final Fantasy
4. Square-Enix made a video showing what FFVII would look like on the PS3
5. Square-Enix has remade Final Fantasy I-VI on GBA/DS/PSP/PS1/etc.

So, how do I feel about a FFVII remake?  I think it’s a bad idea honestly.  From a marketing stand-point, it’s not a bad idea.  Think about the fan-demonium that would surround it.  It would easily propel any system that it would be on to ‘1st Place’ in the console wars.  It would sell millions.  But would it be worth it?  FFVII is an old game (Over 10 Years), with an old RPG system.  There would have to be changes, mostly in the graphics department.  With the exception of FFIII for the DS, none of the other games got a real graphical overhaul.  As I stated, the game uses a turn-based system (Players must wait their ‘turn’ to attack), a system that is being slowly removed from gaming.  Many gamers today don’t want to wait.  they want their action now!  I doubt that Square-Enix, or anyone, would put in this kind of effort on a re-make.  Their Japanese, not stupid.  Further fueling my argument, FFVII’s story is not as engaging anymore.  Cloud isn’t nearly as deep when compared to characters of this day and age.  Look at Tidus from FFX.  Not only does he look, feel, and act more human, he has more personality then Cloud.  The story of VII isn’t nearly as deep as X’s.  Where FFX has a deep, engrossing, and fullfilling story, FFVII’s follows a former mercenary and his life without memories.

One final note: if Square-Enix does make a remake, it’ll most likely be on the PSP.  The PS3 isn’t selling enough and a remake would be to costly/time-consuming on any other system.

Who is ‘Professor Game’?

Hey everyone, I’m ‘Professor Game,’ the self-proclaimed, ‘Professor of Gaming’.  In actuality, I’m just a student studying to become a teacher with an obsession for games.  Not just video games, all games.  I’m very opinionated about games as it is one of my three passions.  The other two are teaching and…well, the third one is a secret b(-o^).  I get really mad when I hear about ‘hard-core gamers’ spouting off their uninformed opinions on ‘the industry’ and ‘what’s hot’ and crap like that.  90% of all ‘hard-core gamers’ are simply nerds who have dedicated TOO much time to gaming.  Because of this, they feel the need to inform other gamers on how they feel about everything, right down to whether or not a game is good and why.  To any of you out there who suffer from this, please, stay posted and prove me wrong.  I like to know when people disagree with me.  I feel that the labels of ‘casual’ and ‘hard-core’ have separated what gaming (and games in general) is truly about: Having Fun.  So, in hopes that this blog can entertain and educate people on the world of games, I am proud to say, “Hello World!”