PixlBit

We're doing an All Japan episode next week, and I think Matt M. is going to be on that one. But I want to do an all FF show, so I'll keep that in mind!

Nick, knowing your stance on QTEs, I think you're going to hate it. But it's definitely a game that doesn't fit well into your typical action molds.

I own Splatterhouse. It's not awful, it's just middle of the road, which is what I expect Asura's Wrath to be. I like it's style and character designs, which is enough to get me interested. As I've said, I predict that most people will hate AW, but it combines enough elements that could make it something special for me.

Let's be honest: this game is going to sell around 200,000 units between PS3 and 360. The only reason I estimate that high a number is because it's a Capcom game, and the graphics are amazing. It'll come out, I'll applaud it for trying to be different, and no one will care.

I already answered what I like in my previous comment.

When I say it's a bad demo, what I mean is that it's cut poorly. I've seen footage of the first part of the Episode 5 battle. You get to fight a bunch of grunts, as well as the boss in a more human size. Starting a demo off with QTEs isn't a great way to start off, even if the QTEs are handled well, and I think they are here.

If you're saying that the AW developers are going for the God of War fans, sure. I agree with you on that. But that's not what I've been saying. You assure me that they're going for a God of War style? How? Did you read that in an interview? I'm not saying that I know what they are going for-I'm basing my opinion on my experience with the game. The fact that Asura's Wrath has not one, but two buttons for projectiles, and one button for melee (on the B button, no less) leads me to believe that they are going for a different style of game. There's no upgrade mechanic shown or even hinted at in the demo, which again leads me to the arcade game comparison. I'll agree with you that the melee moves lack impact compared to those bigger action games, but sluggish? My biggest complaint in that second section was that Asura moved too fast.

I'm not even that passionate about this game. I had fun with it, and I want to play the finished product. But you act like it's the worst action game you've ever played. Put this game up against Splatterhouse (another arcadey action game, but more like God of War than this), and Asura's Wrath comes out looking pretty good. Plus, it's different, and that goes a long way with me.

Seriously, sometimes Blizzard needs to know when enough is enough. Diablo III is incredibly fun and polished, and has been since the beta began. It is time to call this one done.

Oh, man, I used to play paper wars with my friends in school all the time. We made our games really elaborate, with troop carriers, tanks, and nukes (read: really big pencil dots). I've often thought that a video game version could be a lot of fun, but this game doesn't seem to execute on the idea properly.

I like the variety of the gameplay, based on what was in the demo (which I have admitted is not a good demo). Instead of just melee, you're doing shooting, dodging, and yes, QTEs. You can't discount them as gameplay because you don't like them: you're still inputting commands to make your character do something. The melee feels good but shallow, again, more like an arcade game and less like a character action game.

I played the demo for the third time last night to see if my feelings had changed, and they haven't. In fact, the second episode was even more fun, because I had a better handle on the controls. Dashing out of the way of attacks, punching the hell out of Augus, firing up my Burst Mode for a brutal attack. It all plays for me. Did you know that Asura has a super mode with LT? I didn't, but I used it last night and it was really cool.Now, the controls aren't as tight as games like God of War, but again, I don't think that's what they're going for. With the heavy anime emphasis, the game feels more like the DBZ and Naruto fighting games, which traded tight, deep mechanics for spectacle. And as a hardcore fighting game fan I realize that those games aren't great, but they are still fun.

Could the game end up sucking? Sure. If 100% of the game is like the demo, I'm going to be disappointed. But I liked what I played in the demo, so I'll still enjoy it. I see Asura's Wrath as something that I buy, finish in a week, and put on the shelf, only bringing it back down to show friends how insane it is.

The A button is used to jump out of the way of certain attacks (like the fireballs in the first episode), to initiate certain QTEs, and to tech out of certain attacks (in the Augus fight). I'll give you that the game doesn't tell you the controls in game, but it does tell you what you need to know before the episodes load, as well as in the pause menu. But I also read instruction booklets, so I'm probably an odd duck when it comes to that. I'm sure the final game has a lengthy, hand holding tutorial.

I know that we played a different game, based on your comments on episode 49. Dragon Ball Z, absolutely. I'm a big fan, and Asura's Wrath feels like the Tenkaichi Budokai games (which, again, are shallow but fun games). Bad emo music? Since when is classical music emo? The soundtrack during the moon battle is epic in the way that classic anime was, and recalls the fight scene from Evangelion episode 9 (Dance Like You Want to Win!).

I really don't think that this is a character action game like the ones I mentioned. I could be wrong, but the emphasis on the cinematic battles and the lock-on style shooting makes it feel different than those. They may be going for that market, but that's a different argument. The game doesn't feel as tight as those games, and I don't think it's intended to. It's very much style over substance, but I'm cool with that.

I find it interesting that I can totally understand why you don't like it, but you don't seem to understand why I like it.

Oh, and you evade with RB. Says so right on the screen.

I remember the first game that I played with an in-game tutorial was Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver on PSX. I was in awe at the elegant way the game taught me the controls in the context of the story. That was fine in 1999, but things have changed since then.

I think what I want is more control in the options. Going off of my idea in the podcast, when you fire up a game, it should ask you "How comfortable are you with games?". Then you'd select from options like "I don't play many games", "I play games, but I'm not an expert", "I'm an avid gamer that plays a lot", etc. After picking this, you would pick your difficulty level like normal.

Once in the game, the tutorials and tool tips would pop up dynamically based on your selections. If you pick "avid gamer", you would be given control and told to go wild. The only time control hints would pop up would be when you learn a new ability/get a new weapon, or if the game sees that you've been stuck in a room where a specific move needs to be used.

The popular thing for developers to do these days is adjust the difficulty of games on the backend. If you're struggling on an encounter, things get a little easier. I hate that. I don't want to be coddled. A great example of how this can be done poorly is Mortal Kombat. When you get to Shao Khan, he's as cheap and annoying as he was back in the day. But lose to him enough times and he becomes dirt stupid, doing nothing but taunts. So instead of me learning his tricks and rising to the occasion, I beat up on a taunting target dummy. It was not satisfying at all, and left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

I didn't sully the good name of Sega, they have done a wonderful job of that on their own. But I don't understand your statement. My point was that Asura's Wrath doesn't seem to be going after the same prize as a God of War, Bayonetta, or Devil May Cry. It feels more like an arcade game: shallow, simple, and fun. Like I said in the podcast, there's a bit of Virtual On, a little Panzer Dragoon, some Dynamite Cop, and elements of Capcom's own Power Stone. You can gush about all of those games (and I do), but if you claim that they are deep experiences you have a screw loose.

On-disc manuals are an okay comprimise, but I'd much rather have a full-color, meaningful book. But since I'm one of the only people that ever read those things, I understand the reason for scrapping them. MGS HD Collection has the original booklets in digital form, but you can't refer back to them once you launch the game, defeating the purpose of it.

On the green subject, let's all be real for a second. None of the video game publishers scaled down their instruction booklets out of some concern for the environment. They did so to save money, plain and simple. Same thing with eco boxes. You pay the same price for a game, even though the printing cost to the publisher is way less. They make more money and come off looking like they are helping the planet, and the consumer gets shafted.