Rapture Special: Pro-Tips from Video Games on How to Survive the May 21, 2011 Apocalypse

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If you’re reading this, then the supposed Rapture scheduled for May 21, 2011, has not ended the world as we know it. That, or it’s happening as you read this and you really should be doing something other than reading this post, like trying to live or accepting your fate.

The apocalypse has been subject matter in video games for about as long as video games has existed as a medium. I bet you can’t count the number of times you’ve saved the world, tried to save the world, or tried to survive in a world that has already been ravaged by the apocalypse. Let’s take a look at some of those games and see if these games can prepare us for the real-life Rapture…if it isn’t already too late.

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In Third Person Quick Hits: May 17 2011 Edition

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Hello, friends!

There’s a lot of gaming-related stuff I want to talk about, but not enough time to write it all down into well thought-out and extended posts. Instead of falling behind the times, I thought I’d try and tackle the stuff I wanted to talk about in small, concise chunks.

If this format works out and is something you’d like to see more of, I’ll try it again. Hope you enjoy!

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Hands-On: Hori Real Arcade Pro V3-SA

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One of the coolest aspects about the office culture at my work is that we’re really big into fighting games. We have an XBOX 360 in the lunch room, where many of us play Street Fighter IV and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 during lunch breaks. On special days, we even do double-elimination tournaments, where I’ll bring in my PS3 (office platform of choice) and everyone will bring in their own controllers and fightsticks so that we can battle it out.

At our most recent tournament, one of my coworkers brought in his Hori Real Arcade Pro V3-SA, which I’ve been anxious to get my hands on. Though my Hori experiences have been mixed at best, I have yet to try any of their high-end models. Having spent about 45 minutes putting it through its paces in Super Street Fighter IV matches and training mode, I thought it’d be worth sharing my experiences with anyone who is considering picking this particular fightstick up.

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Eyes and Ears-On: Video Games Live 2011

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My first experience with Video Games Live was magical. At the time, the concert series had just started its first tour, and the idea of having an orchestra perform video game music was quite new. I’ll never forget all of the awesome moments from that first show, from the amazing renditions of video game music I grew up with, to the energy of the fully-engaged crowd, to the fun my brother and I had playing Mario Kart DS with dozens of audience members during the intermission. I told myself that I would always come back for more when the show was in town.

Though I’ve missed at least one show in my area since, I made sure to carve out time in my calendar for Video Games Live this year, which was just a few days ago. There to enjoy it with me were my brother, who was anxious to experience Video Games Live again, and my girlfriend Steff, who had never been to a Video Games Live show before. Was Video Games Live 2011 able to replicate (or improve on) the magic that brought all of us there on this particular evening?

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Girlfriend Gaming – We Play Deadliest Warrior: The Game

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Two of the biggest disparities between between Steff and I’s personal interests are television and fighting games. She’s a pretty big television fan, and she has a number of shows she regularly watches every week. As for myself, I’ve been actively avoiding watching television for over a decade now, due to a combination of my interest in the internet and my disinterest in television programming. Meanwhile, I play fighting games almost daily, but she’s reluctant to join me for Street Fighter or Marvel, because she doesn’t like the concept of having to study how to play a game before you can even have a chance of winning. I don’t hold that against her, as this is the most common reason why people do not play games in this genre.

Deadliest Warrior: The Game, on paper, sounds like the ultimate middle ground for us. It’s a fighting game about a show we like to watch together, and from what I heard initially heard, a fighting game engine she could enjoy without her feeling like she needed a Ph. D in the game in order to get anything out of it. This game has been out for a few months now (with a sequel on the way), and so I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already formed your own opinions about this game by now. However, if you’d like to hear if Deadliest Warrior: The Game brought us closer together or further apart, check out the rest of this post!

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Top 5 In Third Person Posts – April 2011 Edition

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April 2011 was quite the month for hot gaming topics. On the news front, Sony and Nintendo dominated discussion around the Internet, as PSN was shut down for over a week due to hackers and Nintendo officially revealed their plans for a new home console in 2012. As for the games, any month featuring Portal 2 and the new Mortal Kombat is a good month in my books.

In spite of April’s hot topics, none of my posts regarding those topics made this month’s top 5 In Third Person posts. If those didn’t garner the most traffic, then what did?

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The Greatest Bits is Back With a Donkey Kong Country Remix Album

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Friend of In Third Person, The Greatest Bits, is back! In my interview with him, he mentioned that he was working on a Donkey Kong Country remix album. Just a few months later, it’s out!

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Let’s Talk About the PlayStation Network Security Breach

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Most PlayStation 3 owners by now have experienced the unfortunate PlayStation Network outage, which has been in effect for a week now. It sucks. It also sucks that it won’t be available again for at least another week. What sucks most though, is the fact that every PSN account was compromised by hackers. Whoever committed the crime likely has enough of our personal and financial information to ruin a number of people’s days.

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Eyes-On: Portal 2

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Last week, my brother picked up a copy of Portal 2. He loved the original and picked up a copy of the sequel on day one. I however, am not afraid to admit that I don’t get Portal. Not that I don’t understand why it’s cool, but I simply don’t have the mental fortitude to play this game. My handful of attempts to play this game left me bewildered, as I never could grasp the gameplay systems strongly enough to actually understand what I’m doing. To be honest, I even have a hard time just watching my brother play the game, because I can’t come to grips with the logic behind his actions.

Having just finished watching my brother play Portal 2, I don’t think my confusion is going to change anytime soon.

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How To Beat Phoenix in Marvel vs. Capcom 3

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In a post-Sentinel patch world, there aren’t any characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 that induce more anger in the community than Phoenix. Having been specifically designed to be the ultimate glass cannon, she completely changes the dynamics of the game in ways that a lot of people do not like. Once her team has 5 hyper bars stored up, you are in for a world of hurt.

As much as I hate Phoenix with a passion and feel that she deserves some sort of nerf, she’s beatable. Phoenix teams have to make a number of concessions to make her work, and there are ways to exploit those concessions and weaknesses. To me, there’s nothing more satisfying in the game than beating someone who is running a Phoenix team, as Phoenix players always seem to think they’re invincible with Jean Grey on their side. Even if you are not an expert player, the tactics and strategies I’ve listed below are sure to help you in your quest to control Phoenix and her Dark Phoenix mutation!

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