Today is the day people. Are your thumbs ready? Did you do your exercises? Were you able to decide between the path of the Jedi or the Dark Side? I hope you have, because today is July 29th which means that Soul Calibur IV has hit the shelves.

To say that I am excited for the release of this game would be an understatement of gigantic proportions. I have missed playing a fighter worth the rental fee for over two years now. The last new release fighting title that I would even dare to put into the "good" category was DOA:4 which is now nearly 4 years old. Four years is way too long of a drought to suffer through, but I take solace in the fact that I am not alone in my misery.

Now before the naysayers and fanboys get up in arms, I know that there have been many versus games based on the Dragonball series, and they have not all sucked. In earnest, the Budokai series has some great gameplay going on in the game itself. That said, the Dragonball titles to me have never really felt like a fighter game title. They are a franchise that appeal to only an existing anime fan base that potentially game as well. The Budokai games have not been able to bridge the game and draw the casual gamer in to join their "legion of the loyal." In many cases, the exact opposite happened; people that would normal pick up every and every fighter title initially shied away from the title. So because DBZ:Budokai focuses on such a small piece of the market of the fighting genre I do not believe it fair to use it as a representation of the whole genre. If you don't like it, you can suck it.

You may say, "...Ninja? Didn't NamcoBandai release an SC title for the Wii? Wasn't that good?" My reply would be "Yes! And it sucked more wind than a brand new Dyson." [And the commercials for that thing say it never loses suction.] SC:Legends was a waste of time and money, and I'm sure NamcoBandai felt that way as well which is why it looks like they worked so hard in order to redeem the title's reputation. NamcoBandai press releases promise that,

"Soulcalibur IV has been retooled from the ground up to provide a true next generation experience."

And then go on to say,

"...the wages of battle are shown as protective armor can be broken off and visible lacerations of clothing can be seen with the inclusion of the equipment destruction feature. Adding depth to the unrivalled combat system, players can unleash Critical Finish moves to defeat opponents in one stunning blow."

The game sports an "improved" character creation mode that allows you to customize the hell out of an existing fighter or even create an original warrior. Oh yeah, it has online versus play as well.

Get thee to thou localist GameStoppery and pick this game up. SCIV is available on the PS3 [Dark Side, Vader style] and XBox 360 [Path of the Jedi].

You know the gamertag, let's star playing.

Finish What You Start...

Get ready to use your wiimote to shoot down and hack through some zombie mallrats folks, Capcom today announced that Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop is in development for the Wii.

The new title will be based on the previous Dead Rising videogame, but not be a port of that title.

Capcom promises that Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop will

"delivers a more immersive, intuitive and interactive experience as players use the Wii Remote to shoot, slash and bludgeon their way through a zombie infested shopping mall, fighting for survival.

In the game, you are Frank West, an overly zealous freelance journalist on a hunt for the scoop of a lifetime. While tracking a juicy lead, he makes his way to the small suburban town of Willamette only to find that it has become overrun by zombies. Frank escapes to the local shopping mall, thinking it will be a bastion of safety but it turns out to be anything but. It will be a true struggle to survive the endless stream of enemies, but players will have full reign of a realistic shopping centre and its varied stores offering an endless supply of real and makeshift weapons to fight off the flesh-hungry mob. If Frank is running low on health he can pay a visit to one of the many restaurants or cafes for a meal in order to restore his energy and continue the fight.

The game is split into a series of individual cases, all of which Frank must complete in order to gain mission critical info that will allow him to figure out what the hell is going on with all the zombie bastards.

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop’s infectious humor delivers some welcome relief from the incessant tide of zombies with players able to dress Frank up in a variety of comedic costumes and take on the undead hordes with a selection of improvised and sometimes highly ineffective weapons such as a toy sword or a football.

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop is scheduled to hit store shelves this Winter.

Finish What You Start...

2K Sports announced that Don King Presents: Prizefighter, the first documentary-style boxing extravaganza, has officially gone gold and is ready for production on the XB360.

Brainchild of Venom Games [a 2K studio] Don King Presents: Prizefighter is said to try to find and focus on the balance between sports simulation and mystique inside and outside the boxing ring.

Don King Presents: Prizefighter puts the player in the role of an unknown boxer fighting his way out of obscurity and into the international spotlight while attempting to claim the world championship title. Players will have rigorous training regimens and have to fight the temptations of wealth and stardom. [My personal advice is to not end up like Mike Tyson]

The game sports a

"...live-action sports documentary style that features real-life legends and current stars from the world of boxing including Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, Andrew Golota, Joe Calzaghe and many others."

And for the dudes that like pixel vixens, both the Penthouse Pet of the Year Heather Vandeven and video vixen Bria Myles also star in the documentary and will try to distract you.

I ain't sayin' she a gold digger, but Don King Presents: Prizefighter

Prizefighter hits your local game-a-torium on June 10 for Xbox 360, and this fall for Wii.

Finish What You Start...

Ok, here is a quick teaser of something I've been working on in prep for the release of the new Soul Calibur IV game this summer.

Like the image? Can't really see it? Well then click on the image and it will open up the full-size version in a new window that you can download. The best part? The large version is wallpaper size. You likey?

More to come. Stay tuned.

Finish What You Start...

SquEnix has announced that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King is now available via WiiWare, Nintendo’s new downloadable games service.

In MLAAKyour mission is to rebuild a deserted kingdom and discover what it takes to rule a nation. MLAAK is a new sim game from SquEnix complete with a storyline that includes varying difficulty levels, 17 building types and a total of 38 dungeons. MLAAK allows players to raise "adventurers" [people] of the Clavat race, customizing them with the four available jobs, and build an inn to encourage other tribes (Lilty, Selkie, Yuke) to visit their kingdom.

The game will set you back a cool 1,500 Wii Points but has a lot of add-on content that will be available for download later on. Expand your kingdom with extra dungeons, house bundle packs and new outfits to customize characters. Click the image on right to see the add-on breakdown.

Rebuild a nation by building houses and shops, carefully considering the best interests of the citizens. If you do it right your nation regains its former glory and the "secrets of the land..." may be revealed. Enlist adventurers with varying levels, jobs and abilities to carry out dangerous missions in return for rewards. Be mindful of the passage of time, and plan each day accordingly in order to efficiently carry out construction efforts. If it's done right, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King may be just as addictive as Animal Crossing!

Finish What You Start...

Nintendo has upped the ante, and added one of my favorite games to their Wii Online marketing place.

But why am I so excited, what could they have possibly added to twist my panties into a knot? Wave Race that's what. Yeah, you heard me, I said Wave Race, it's available today for a mere 1,000 pts.

Three titles went up today, but I'm only really concerned with Wave Race being on the Wii Shop Channel. The games went live at 9am PDT.

From the release:

Wave Race® 64 (Nintendo® 64, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Take to the waves on your own personal watercraft and experience some of the best water effects in video game history. Choose one of four characters, each with his/her own unique abilities and style, and master the game's excellent controls. Make your way through nine courses, each with its own challenges. If the ramps, mines and hairpin turns aren't enough, you'll also have to deal with varying weather conditions that can make the water choppy or cover the course with fog. And if you ever feel like taking a break from racing, then try out Stunt Mode to polish your skills by pulling off handstands, rolls and more. Get good enough and you might even be able to ride a dolphin-just don't get seasick.

If you aren't as excited as I am about being able to revisit Wave Race through the virtual console to relive the game that I swear the jet ski mini game in DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball wishes it could be when it grows up, then I'll be killing you shortly because you sir are no gamer, you're a freakin' pretender to the throne... and it would be my honor to stealth kill you.

Finish What You Start...