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Mark of the Ninja Review

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(Originally posted on splitkick.com. Thank you to the Splitkick team for the edits!)

Perched atop a lamppost, I spot my targets. Directly below me are three gun-toting foes who have no idea what’s coming to them. I could simply grapple to the adjacent rooftop to continue my mission, but my bloodlust is running high. I ask myself, “Do I want to cloud their vision with a smoke bomb, then stab each of them in the back? Or can I come up with something more clever?” Scanning my inventory, I find just the thing to liven up this party. In an instant, a swarm of ravenous insects showers down on one of my enemies. As the insects make quick work of his flesh, his partners freak out, and accidentally shoot each other in the commotion. Recognizing that my work was done, I slip off into the darkness to continue my quest.

Though it’s a stretch to classify Mark of the Ninja as a simulation, this 2D stealth platformer makes me feel more like a real ninja than any other video game I’ve played before. Marrying concepts from the NES Ninja Gaiden games with the Arkham series of Batman titles, it’s also one of the coolest games I’ve played in 2012.

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Rise of the Tomb Raider Review

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Languishing in mediocrity for years after her groundbreaking debut, Lara Croft came back with a vengeance in the Tomb Raider reboot. Mixing in elements of exploration with a heavy dose of Uncharted-style cinematic events, that game was one of my favourites from the last generation of consoles. With her new origin story in the books, Rise of the Tomb Raider takes Lara on an all-new adventure. What does she have in store for her next act?

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Ways in Which Street Fighter IV Succeeded

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Street Fighter IV was the biggest thing since Street Fighter II. In an era where the fighting games had laid dormant for about a decade, the success of IV rejuvenated the entire genre. It also has proven to be an amazing game that has stood as the premiere fighter for almost a decade now.

Previously, I wrote a post about this legendary game’s failings. Now it’s time to go the other way and celebrate all of the great things it did do. With the release of Street Fighter V looming, let’s look back one more time at what made Street Fighter IV so special.

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10 Ways in Which Street Fighter IV Failed

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Street Fighter IV, without a doubt, is my favourite game of all-time. Having literally dedicated thousands of hours to playing it, deconstructing it and building myself up to be the greatest world warrior I could be over the last six years, the race for #1 game in my heart wasn’t even close. Even if the game is eventually surpassed by something else, I’ll never shake the profound effect its had on my life.

It may reign as my favourite game, but it’s certainly not a perfect one. In the wake of the Street Fighter V beta, the flaws of its predecessor glare brighter than ever. Before we let it retire with its rightfully-deserved legendary status, let’s lovingly pick the game apart for its flaws with this list of 10 ways in which Street Fighter IV failed.

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My Latest Street Fighter IV Project: Balrog

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In the early days of Street Fighter IV, I saw Balrog as one of the coolest characters in the game. He was also one of the most popular, as pro-players like Gootecks and PR Balrog proved that the character was viable in tournament play. As the game evolved and new characters were added though, his popularity fell off a cliff.

Despite that, I’ve always toyed with the idea of playing Balrog seriously. I always loved the idea of smashing people with the headbutt and finishing them off with the Violent Buffalo Ultra Combo before they hit the ground. After completing my work with Evil Ryu, it felt like a good time to move onto something new.
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Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Team Deconstruction

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Imagine playing a game of Street Fighter where in the middle of the match, you break Ryu’s wrist and he can no longer throw fireballs. This would instantly change the dynamic of the match, as Ryu can no longer keep you at a distance with projectiles. While I’m not actively campaigning for breaking bones to be a feature in the next Street Fighter game, the concept of losing abilities as a fight is happening is a fascinating one. You can already experience this concept in action by playing Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

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Ultra Street Fighter IV jettFTW (Rose) vs. Smug (Dudley)

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Widely recognized as the best Dudley player in the world and one of the best overall in Ultra Street Fighter IV, I have my hands full against Smug. Clearly I’m in over my head in this set of four matches, but do I have enough to not completely get embarrassed?


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My Latest Street Fighter IV Project: Evil Ryu

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When I made the switch to PlayStation 4, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to try something new with Ultra Street Fighter IV. Rose continues to be my main, but I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with others. This time, I decided to embrace the Satsui No Hado with Evil Ryu.

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My 5 Favourite Rock Band Songs to Play

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Being a great song doesn’t automatically make it a great Rock Band song. To be a great song for the game, it has to be fun to play for everyone in the band. For example, I love “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys, but that’s song is mostly a repetitive drone of notes for the guitar and bass players, while rapping isn’t nearly as fulfilling as singing in the Rock Band engine. The soundtrack for Beatles: Rock Band is comprised of some of the greatest songs of all-time, but most of that stuff is easy to the point of being almost boring to play. Conversely, songs that really push the limits of each player may not be inherently great songs that you’d want to listen to.

Inspired by the upcoming release of Rock Band 4, I decided to create a list of songs that are some of my favourites to play. This list is highly subjective, as it’s based on my personal preferences and the difficulty I play on (for reference, I play everything on expert). Narrowing it down to 5 was really difficult, so I’m sure I left out a few gems. However, it also makes for a great conversation starter, as I’m sure that you’re favourite songs to play and your rationale behind that choice will differ. Without further ado, in no particular order, here are my 10 favourite songs to play in Rock Band!

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The Walking Dead Season 2 Review

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Telltale’s first season of The Walking Dead is a hard act to follow. It was an evolution of the Heavy Rain style of game, a revolution in terms of episodic content, and a game so emotionally charged that it routinely caused me to gasp, yell at my television and shed tears. It was by no means perfect, but it’s a game that shook me to the core in a way that I’ll cherish forever.

With The Walking Dead: Season 2, Telltale Games cleans up a number of design and technical issues that plagued the first game to deliver an ultimately smoother experience from a gameplay standpoint. But the real question is, can this new season deliver the feels like its predecessor?

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