Happy Zombie-Holidays!

Stay Tuned for Holidays! 

Borderlands! Come Out to Play!

Want more Borderlands 2? Well, Gearbox Software has officially announced the next add-on downloadable content: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt.

This new dlc is set to hit digital shelves on January 15 for PC and Xbox 360 and January 16 for the PS3.

Big Game Hunt follows the intrepid Vault-Hunters to the continent of Aegrus in search of dangerous predators.

Hit play on the video below to see the promises of "Danger! Excitement!" and, more importantly, "Mustaches!"

Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt will be free for players who've purchased the season pass. For the rest of you Borderlands folk, this dlc shall cost $10 on the PC and PlayStation Store or 800 MS points on the Xbox 360. 

Meanwhile, if your lust for loot is far from satiated, jump into Borderlands 2's previous dlc: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty and Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage. Also available for download is the Mechromancer class.

Stay Tuned for Subculture and EXPLOSIONS!

Steam's Winter Sale Begins.

Ladies, gentlemen, and the Subculture'd: Steam's winter sale has officially begun!

Daily deals, flash sales, community choice games, and publisher packs are sure to hit some very low prices between today, December 20, through January 5.

Visit Steam often as dozens of video games may be 50 to 75% off at any given time.

Today's deals include Gearbox Software's Borderlands 2 for $29.99, Hitman: Absolution for $24.99, Liohead Studios' Fable 3 for $12 or Batman: Arkham City - The Game of the Year Edition for an unbeatable eight dollars!

Not sure what kind of games to get your friends, family, or beloved during the winter sale? Steam shoppers may visit the official website and purchase gift cards or wallet codes for that special someone.

So, enough of news. Get out there and start downloading those games.

For more news and views, stay tuned for Subculture!

The Steam Autumn Sale

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! And yes, it is that time again to not only give thanks for your friends and family, but also for video games! Today marks the official start of the Steam Autumn Sale.

The autumn sale will run from November 21 through November 26.

Now is your chance to take advantage and finally save some money buying video games. Discounts for you PC gamers may run up from anywhere between 25% to a whopping 75%.
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Today's Steam deals include Prototype 2 for $20, the Hong Kong, action-thriller sandbox of Sleeping Dogs for 24.99 and Max Payne 3 for a very clean 14.99, which, people, I do have to say is one of the best deals for one of the best games to have been released in 2012!

Visit the Steam often and obsessively as flash deals occur every few hours and there are always new games discounts every single day.

For more turkey and pumpkin pie surprises, stay tuned for Subculture! 

You are not the only one, Dovahkiin....

Following Skyrim's Dawnguard and Hearthfire DLC, The Elder Scrolls lore expands as players will soon be graced by Dragonborn, which is set to come out early December.

Don't be an N'wah! 

Through this new expansion, players can travel to Solstheim, an ice-cold island near the now-volcanic laden Dunmer homeland of Morrowind, where they will discover the mystery and danger behind the original Dragonborn's lust for power.

The Elder Scrolls website states players will "Encounter new towns, dungeons, and quests as [they] traverse the ash wastes and glacial lands. . . . [Their] fate, and the fate of Solstheim, hangs in the balance as [they] face off agasint [their] deadliest enemy . . ."

Along with these new goodies, you can look forward to exploring a new Daedric realm, fighting new enemies, and discovering new thu'ums and armors.

You lookin' at me? 

Though little detail exists of this new system, the Dragonborn DLC looks to have...DRAGON MOUNTS!

Yup. It looks as if players will soon be able to ride a dragon. So, with any luck, you can throw away that  horse-powered horse and exchange it for a brand new shiny dragon.

Check out the trailer below at Bethesda's Dragonborn DLC. 

For more news and views, stay tuned for Subculture! 

A Machine for Pigs

Fricitonal Games on Wednesday released  a new trailer for the upcoming horror game Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.

Unlike the stifling, stone castle corridors of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, it looks from the trailer that fans of the original game can look forward to creeping through the dark, foreboding halls, streets, and lonely basement refineries of a Victorian-era London. (check out the scary for yourself in the trailer below)

The Machine for Pigs official website sets the year in 1899, sixty years after the first game. Players will take on the unfortunate role of "industrialist Oswald Mandus," who "has returned from a disastrous expedition from Mexico, which has ended in tragedy. Wrecked by fever, haunted by dreams of a dark machine, he recovers consciousness in his own bed, with no idea of how much time has passed since his last memory. As he struggles to his feet, somewhere beneath him, an engine splutters, coughs, roars into life..."

Looks like a fun time.

In a PC Gamer interview with The Chinese Room, the company in charge of developing Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, David Pinchbeck said, "It's fairly true to the spirit of the original game. There's a definite case of 'don't fix what isn't broken.' We're not going to be arming the player up at all - you're still going to to be hiding for most of it and running and peaking and not wanting to open doors and things like that."

The atmosphere definitely mirrors The Dark Descent. Just discovering this game, I am already both excited and scared for its release. I have not yet seen what exactly stalks Oswald Mandus through these horrific, ill-lit halls, so my anticipation of seeing these other-worldly monsters is through the roof.

This new title in the Amnesia franchise is not a direct sequel, but rather another tale in the same universe.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is set to release in early 2013. In the meantime, The Chinese Room developers want your fear! Yes, they want recorded screams, shrieks and whimpers of your terror and anguish. The recorded files, in formats of Wavs, Oggs, and MP3s, may be sent to piggies@thechineseroom.co.uk

For more information, visit www.aamfp.com.

Stick around, folks, and, as always, stay tuned for Subculture! 

Shit Outta Class. Hell's Worth of Fun.

Bulletstorm is crass, brawny and raw. Revenge, of course, is rehashed to drive the plot and character dynamics are nothing new. Save from a few key features, Bulletstorm is far from innovative. But, that's not the point of this article.

This dissection and analysis is not a review, but rather a discussion of how and why Bulletsorm is so much fucking fun. 

It's a murdering party! 

Bulletstorm's simplicity offers the breath of fresh air the video game culture needs. While series such as Metal Gear, The Elder Scrolls or Mass effect offer amazingly fun, immersive and vast worlds to explore, games such as these often harbor convoluted and hardcore elements. Bulletsorm is one of the more recent games to challenge that avant-garde direction of video game companies with its back-to-basic attitude. 

I'll admit it: this game may be classified in the genre of brainless-shooters. Epic Games gracefully embraces this idea. However, in doing so Bulletstorm, in regards to its shooting mechanics at least, avoids feeling dumbed-down and shallow. 

In fact, Bulletstorm offers a palate of gore for those that are experimental. In Minecraft, players gather and stack dozens of different environmental-blocks to achieve whatever they wish to build. Similarly in Bulletstorm, players use their environment, and of course their guns, as tools for dealing fountains of death in different ways. These are called skillshots.  

Time to paint the town red 

Need to put down a group of baddies? Activate the Sniper's secondary firing-mode and it shoots an explosive round into an enemy, which the player can then maneuver, with said enemy still attached to the bullet, into the rest of the group of bad guys and "Boom!" Instant ground beef! Or, assuming these baddies are indoors, use the Energy Leash's thumper ability to sweep all the bad guys off their feet and gravity-slam them to their chunky, rainy red demise on the low-ceiling.  

This crimson-colored, lego-blocks style of murder bolsters the adventures within Bulletstorm. Each new gun expands the arsenal of carnage and discovering new ways to annihilate all your foes only adds to the bloody fun. 

Like its action, this game's dialogue and characters are very base. The colloquialism divinely adheres from words such as "fuck," "shit" and "dick." Just check out the video below and see for yourself! 

Awesome, right? 

While many may find Grayson Hunt and his band of merry pirates immature, the language of Bulletstorm falls back to the concept of rawness. The brutality of skillshots and its shades of violence are meant to reverberate the basic shooter. The vulgarity of this title, on the same lines, reflects contemporary societal standards of vocabulary.

In an era past post-modernism, there are fewer and fewer original niches narratives can exploit. Simply put: audiences everywhere think they have already seen and heard everything. So, what is the consequence of including a shit-storm's worth of f-bombs and dick jokes? The answer is simply comedy. 

These jokes, like the violence, communicate through fundamentally basic human aspects. Comedy revolving around sex and bowel-movements can even be traced as far back to Aristophanes and the ancient Greeks. 

"Son of a dick"

The reason such comedy persists today is because of its universality. Everyone farts, burps, takes dumps and  urinates. And because the complexity of language allows it, these everyday, hilarious functions are labeled and survive through base language.  

This universality also equalizes all classes of people. Stripped of possessions, hierarchies and ideals, humankind is homogeneous. And through this basic ideal, Bulletstorm, at its core, reflects that essence of similarities.

Its simplicity mixed with its base-language and kill-creativity brings hours of entertainment. Nonetheless, it follows a basic system of call and response: you fire a gun and the enemies skulls shatter upon impact.

 Again, the cadence of language and the cacophony of battle stirs up the basest pleasures in a medium that sometimes attempts to complicate the concept of fun. 

Bulletstorm's facet of minimalism reflects older games such as Super Mario Brothers and even Pong. While it is far more technologically advanced than the latter titles, its entertainment-value feeds off the same nuances that make simplicity so good. This title didn't make promises to be something that it wasn't. Bulletstorm is simply a shooter basked in blood and fun. 

Stay tuned for Subculture! 

Podcast #3!

New podcast, for all your podcasting needs. This week: Zombies

Zombie-cast! No, the cast are not zombies, but we do talk about zombies. In this episode, we discuss The Walking Dead, find out that Frank has a weird taste in literature, and we figure out what would happen if the zombie apocalypse starts while we record the podcast.

We also have Production Value! And better quality audio! We are getting the hang of podcasting.
Give it a listen! and let us know what you think.

Disney Buys Lucasfilm Ltd. for 4 Billion

Tuesday, October 30: Star Wars is now owned by Disney.

Just like Pixar and Marvel, Lucasfilm has now joined the Disney entertainment family. What does this mean? Disney CEO Robert Iger says that they will expand on the franchise, aggressively. We can expect a new Star Wars film to be released every two or three years, starting with Star Wars Episode VII in 2015.

Yeah, thats right: Episode VII!

Now, before you get your jimmies all rustled, lets think about what happened when Disney bought Marvel. Everyone was saying how bad it would be, they will make them more childish, its gonna suck, blablabla. Well that was not the case. In fact we got Avengers! How great was that huh.

Yes, Star Wars is one of those things that many of us hold dear to our hearts, and any change is met with resistance, but I say we sit back and see what happens. I for one am waiting for the screening of all Star Wars Movies leading up to the Premier of VII, 12+ of sitting in a theater watching awesome movies.

Here is the video announcement, hearing it from George Lucas himself might help you guys take in the news.




Sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/10/30/disney-star-wars-lucasfilm/1669739/
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDisneyPost

G4tv's Last Pinnacle of Video Games to Die Out

Long time running G4TVgaming-staples Attack of the Show and fan-favorite X-play are set to cease their reign of "nerdom" by the end of 2012. 

In an attempt to recapture the long-standing influence of these shows, G4TV plans to air rerun episodes of this years of AOTS and X-play, building up and showcasing "memorable moments"  until the final episodes.

The official G4TV Facebook stated,"Both long-running shows helped define, as well as expand, the pop culture and gaming TV experience for a generation."

Attack of the Show debuted in 2005, catering to news about tech, video games and pop-culture, while X-play broke the gaming scene in 2003 and successfully infused the offbeat, sometimes dry, sometimes surreal humor into video game news, previews, and reviews.

Through these shows, G4TV has spawned cultural personas within the gaming culture. This nuance is very important as video games are often thought of as a second-hand medium.

Ultimate co-hosts in crime Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb

Adam Sessler, who has time and again proved the relevance of games in art and narrative through Sessler's Soapbox, and Morgan Webb, a "gaming goddess" who destroys the male-dominated gaming-image of the industry, are two concrete personalities that establish video games as a possibility among mainstream climates.


Attack of the Show and X-play have over a thousand episodes each, according to the G4TV Facebook and  the company hopes "you've had as much fun watching them as we have had making them, and sincerely hope you join us in bidding a fond farewell to Attack of the Show and X-Play's as we look back over the next two months and head towards each series' finale."

Ladies and gentlemen, let us remember them.
For more culture, stay tuned for Subculture!

LBC&HC a Week Away

Xαίρετε! Yes, rejoice, Ladies, gentlemen, comic nerds, gaming geeks and the Subculture'd for the Long Beach Comic and Horror Con shall grace LB shores on November 3 and 4 with its convention presence.  

This year's convention list of artists, actors, and internet personalities span over 100 guests including Angus Oblong, creator of Adult Swim's dysfunctional mutant family The Oblongs, The Guild's Sandeep Parikh, and Barbara Randall Kesel, a comic writer who's worked on the infamous Watchmen comic. 

From a Battlestar Galactica Fan club to a Suicide Girls table to artist corners, the show floor features over 100 different booths. (Click here to see the entire list)

Mike Scigliano, who's in charge of the convention's floor management, logistics and guest relations, said, "We look to keep our guest list fresh from year to year as to have new guests and attendees to be excited about."

Costumers with Seth Green at LBCC 2011

"Some factors," Scigliano said, "we need to consider is the location of where a potential guest lives, what sort of travel needs they have . . . We also keep tabs on who the attendees are looking for. Each of these factors weigh in when building our guest list."

Guests and attendees may also look forward to panels and workshops galore. These activities range from topics such as graphic horror to podcasting 101 and from a workshop about comic and manga production to womanthology.

The programming schedule shows the many different workshops running from 11 a.m. through 5 a.m. on both November 3 and 4.

Cerritos tattoo artist Makoto Faller said, "Last years comic con was very enjoyable." The frantic chaos of the convention, the Long Beach Zombie Walk, the Wall Street protesters and, of course, the free comics, the hot chicks "and Felicia Day" proved a very fun scene for the Cerritos resident.

In regards to this year's Long Beach comic con, Faller said, "I'm not too hyped about it since I 'm too sidetracked on going to [the] San Diego Comic Con. He added, however, he would go to the 2012 LBC&HC if his friends were going.

The Guild's Vince Caso and Felicia Day at LBCC 2011

Fernando Shackeford, who attended the 2011 LBCC and is looking forward to next week, said, "The atmosphere was great. Everyone was so excited to be there [and] it just felt awesome."

With the Long Beach Comic and Horror Convention just a week away, Scigliano stated that he looks forward to seeing his many friends and convention fans who attend year after year.

Scigliano said, "For all of us, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing happy people leave the convention center each night. And who doesn't love Long Beach? It's gorgeous."

Tickets for next week's convention are still available for purchase at the official Long Beach Comic Con website. Future attendees may purchase Saturday and Sunday tickets for $25 and $20 respectively. Several weekend deluxe packages are also available. These deals come with specific goodies, such as signed comic prints from various authors and artists.

For more information on ticket sales, programming schedules, artists and other convention news feel free to visit and browse the LBCC website.

And for more culture, stay tuned for Subculture! Also, help us represent the underground rhythm of this blog by commenting, sharing and subscribing. The Subculture thanks you!

Podcast #2!

So here it is, the second subculture podcast!
Sorry for the lateness, but now you can stop your complaining and listen to your favorite podcast.


p.s. Sorry about the audio quality, we are looking into getting it fixed for later podcasts.

Nuclear Negotiations Denied by White House

The White House officially denied the New York Times article that reported one-on-one negotiations with Iran, revolving around their nuclear program, is true, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei courtesy of NYTimes.com

Both the U.S. and Iranian governments, according to a New York Times article posted earlier today, agreed to negotiations. It was also reported that Iranian officials insisted these meetings would only take place after the November presidential election.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Tommy Vietor, the National Security Council spokesman, said in a statement, "It's not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meetings after the American elections. We continue to work with the P5+1 on a diplomatic solution and have said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally."

The P5+1, according to the Arms Control Association, is a group, comprised of several major world powers, including France, Russia, China and the United States, on a diplomatic mission to deal with Iran and its nuclear program.

"Despite unprecedented global penalties," as reported by the the Wall Street Journal, "Iran's nuclear program  is advancing. Western nations fear the Islamic republic is determined to develop nuclear weapons and fundamentally reshape the balance of power in the Middle East."

The WSJ also reports Iran stating its nuclear program was designed for "peaceful energy" and to further progress their research.

For more information on anything, stay tuned for Subculture!

The Collector's Corner: Bioshock Infinite

"[These Bioshock Infinite collector's editions] aren't worth towing it with no Big Daddy!"

That is a reference from the first game....yeah. Okay, so there are two available collector's editions for the long-awaited Bioshock Infinite. 

Oh, yeah! 

The Premium Edition, going for pre-order at $79.99, comes with a copy of Bioshock Infinite, duh, a 64-
page art book published by Dark Horse Books, a Handyman figurine, a digital version of the game's soundtrack, a Bioshock Infinite propaganda lithograph, three exclusive in-game power-ups, and a really cool-looking Murder of the Crows vigor bottle keychain!

He looks excited for the Collector's Edition! 

For the Ultimate Songbird Edition, coming in at a whopping $149.99, collectors can look forward to getting everything mentioned above plus a 9.75" statute of Columbia's lonely antagonist, Songbird.

Platform specific digital content also grace both editions. "Xbox 360 players," according to the Bioshock Infinite website, "receive Booker and Elizabeth costumes, Playstation 3 and PC players get Bioshock Infinite Themes."

A recent article from the game's website states, "Both Collector's Editions will be available in limited quantities, so yadda yadda yadda, sign your life away right now!"

Pre-orders may also be made through other retail stores such as Gamestop, Best Buy and Amazon.com.

I have to say, I am excited about this reveal. There are plenty of goodies in both editions, but none beat the cool-factor of the ten inch Songbird statue! I bet it'd look great next to that Alduin bust that shipped with Skyrim's collector's edition.

Stay tuned for Subculture!

Subculture Times Podcast # 1 (The Miscellaneous Edition)

Stay tuned for Subculture! 

Retro Review: Future, Soul and Sound. JSRF!

The Soul of the streets can only be seen by the few...

Given the re-emergence of Sega's Jet Set Radio on Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Store, I felt it extremely important that someone somewhere follows up with its ever so highly stylized, vibrant soundtrack'd sequel: Jet Set Radio Future (JSRF).

Neon streets, bus terminals, shanty-river towns and looping, skyscraper-suspended amusement parks are the impossible-homes of the aggressive-inliners called Rudies: the rollerblade gangs hellbent in covering Future Tokyo through the soul of graffiti.

Originally released in 2002, Jet Set Radio Future grinds players into the turbo-infused blades of various members of the GG's and take the streets, fighting for turf with other gangs and eventually crossing ideals against the oppressive, corporate shadow of the Rokakku Group.

The one and only Shibuya Terminal! 

Jet Set Radio Future, even today, holds standards high for videogames.

Controlling your GG's member is seamless because of the basic 5-button control layout: grinding automatically occurs when you jump on a rail, tricks, both grinds and air tricks, are performed with either the X or Y buttons, the B-button initiates the boost and tagging is performed by hitting the right trigger when your character passes buy a graffiti marker.

Because the simplicity results in fluidity, JSRF can settle dozens of awe-inspiring, death-defying moments of stylized bliss.

In a few seconds, you may find yourself starting a grind on a normal rail, only to jump and grind onto a brightly lighted decorative dragon, from tail to head mind you, which also ascends several stories high and wraps around a building. And just when you think you finished the grind, your character shoots from the dragon's neon flamethroer onto a telephone wire. Oh, yeah!

Levels are structured to cater arcade-y moments like these. Grinding on a street lights or wall-riding from billboard to billboard, among the endless skyscrapers, are just normal moments in an extraordinary game.

Of course, extraordinary games demand extraordinary ambiance. Two major games of this generation that define ambiance are easily Bioshock and Skyrim. Even though this game is a decade-old Xbox original, I can absolutely say Jet Set Radio Future is a king amongst men in regards to ambiance and a strong contender even against the latter two video games.

Soul.

Much of JSRF's tunes are original songs composed specifically to represent the feel of the Tokyo streets. And by doing so, Sega has created one hell of a powerful, vibrant and memorable soundtrack. The sounds of Jet Set Radio Future are so amazing, I've purchased the soundtrack and continue to listen to the music even today.

Like the soundtrack, the art of the JSRF reverberate street culture. Developers collaborated with graffiti artists, such as Eric Haze, and successfully transform this fictional world into a living beast of rebellion.

Understand the Concept of Love!

The cel-shaded graphics are a marvel to behold, especially in juxtaposition to the upbeat, neo-electronic, DJ, hip-hop and funk soundtrack that perfectly constitute the youth culture vibe of a lightning fast Tokyo.

For those who have never followed the series, JSRF rehashes the story of youth culture in an adult world. That archetype, however, is not what makes this game fantastic. The element of what little story this game carries, enhances the already amazing music, the beautiful, cel-shaded graphics, the fluid controls and innovative gameplay.

Jet Set Radio Future gets a Retro Review score of a 4/5

I'll see you on the neon streets, so stay tuned for Subculture!

Bouncing Beauties and Dead or Alive 5

Dead or Alive 5 is back with even more brawn, brass and bounce....well, actually the bounce has been toned down, but there's still plenty of it.

This isn't your grandma's fighter!

First thing players may notice  are the overhauled graphics. Dead or Alive 5 drops the cartoony, anime-style character designs of past games and introduces a rougher, realistic look to DOA 5's colorful cast.

Character faces are sharper and no longer doll-like. Environments look dazzling and very crisp. Fighters also suffer the wear and tear of combat and, like Mortal Kombat, players are able to finally see that grime within the fight. Patches of dirt collect and spread as characters are beaten down on dingy streets and rough dirt, blotches of snow stick to clothes for ground fighters and characters even sweat ( sweat equaling a total plus considering one of Hitomi's costumes consist of jeans and a thin tank top!)

Yup...

Among the new content, several new faces high-kick  their way into Dead or Alive 5. This contemporary cast of 24 characters include Akira, Pai Chan, and Sarah Bryant, all three guest-starring from the Virtua Fighter series, and two new characters exclusive to the DOA franchise.

The first new DOA character is Rig, the foreman on an offshore DOATEC oil-rig whose fighting style harnesses raw elements of Taekwondo. He favors strong kicks that seamlessly stream from one combo to another. While the second new face, and my personal favorite and main character now, is Mila, a mixed martial artist whose moves transcend the kick and punch game into grabs that bring her opponents to the mat and delivers a flurry of knee strikes and holds. And even though Rig and Sarah Bryant essentially share the same fighting style as one another, just like Akira and Kokoro do, these new additions to the DOA roster are welcomed. They add a greater variety of character selection and help expand the DOA universe.  

Mila! Mila! 

Though new characters are introduced and graphics were upgraded, the triangle-system combat basically remains the same. This "triangle" form of combat is broken down into strikes, holds/counters, and grabs. Like rock, paper, scissors, DOA 5 follows a similar guessing game style. Strikes beat grabs, grabs beat holds, and holds beat strikes. It's a very simple system. Of course, this is a good thing because DOA 5 remains a methodical, albeit a slower-paced, fighter that can cater to casual, button-mashing players, but still have enough depth for the hardcore audience.

As always, and like the lovey ladies of this series, the environments are as beautiful and as destructive. DOA relishes in the infamy of its stages and their exploits. An endless, white arctic mountain, a New York rooftop adjacent to runaway trains and an unfinished skyscraper are just some of the dangerous playgrounds fighters can punch, throw or crash each other into. These moments are not just action sequences tacked on, as any DOA veteran knows, but the control of environment is pivotal for strategy as it can be the source of a comeback for the losing player or the pitfall for the winning fighter. (Check  out the mayhem and destruction for yourself in the video below beginning around 1:25)

The biggest difference in combat this time around revolves around the addition of critical bursts and power blows. Each character has at least one critical burst and one power blow. A critical burst is essentially a charge move, used after a combo, that will stun an opponent, rendering them completely defenseless and open to a second combo. A power blow, like the name implies, is a power attack that can only be executed when a player's health bar has been diminished in half. What separates this move from any other strike is the attacker who lands a power blow delivers a cinematic onslaught. (Think super moves in the Marvel vs. Capcom and the Street Fighter games)

Dead or Alive 5 is packed with content. Players have the laughable story-mode, that amazingly clocks in around two or three hours, survival mode, arcade mode, time attack mode, offline versus mode and, the caveat of any fighting games in this generation, online mode. Unfortunately, the latter is where DOA is marred as "could have been" fighting game. Players who can connect to others using decent internet will find no fault in its online aspects, save for the frustration of losing battles you know you could have won. However, that is not the case. 

Hadouken!

Lag seems very frequent in Dead or Alive 5. I have had many matches where bouts ran as smooth as butter on a marble floor, but if you are unlucky enough to run into another player with lag, matches can jitter so slowy, a ninety-second round may last as long two or even three minutes because the game fails to catch up. During these moments, DOA 5 feels completely unplayable. The controls during lag are unresponsive, jagged, and outright frustrating.

Nonetheless, I still have to give my hats off to Dead or Alive 5. It's a fun fighter with deep mechanics that's still as accessible as the previous entries.Team Ninja delivers a solid game with its fifth rendition of the fighting series. But however strong Dead or Alive 5 may come across as a fighter, the lag issues of online play leave a blemish nastier than the perverts who play this game only to ogle digital women.

Dead or Alive 5 gets 3.5/5!

Stay tuned for Subculture!

Cluck You!

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead  is so bad, it's fantastic.

"Sorry, we are closed."

The amateur acting, brain-dead plot, eccentric sexual-oriented gore and ethnically offensive stereotypes are chemically infused into one weird movie.

Arbie, the movie's awkward, geeky protagonist, returns to find the indian burial ground that he and his only sweetheart "occupied" a year earlier was paved over to make room for the corporate fast-food chain, American Chicken Bunker. He discovers a giant mob of protesters outside the restaurant. Unfortunately, Arbie also discovers his old girlfriend, Wendy, and she's become a college-level lesbian hellbent on politically destroying the fast-food chain through protest. Heartbroken, Arbie takes a job at the American Chicken Bunker, thinking he can financially persuade and eventually support the girl of his dreams. The spirits of the disturbed graveyard soon possess their way into the chicken formula, its customers and raise hell for the small fast-food community.

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

Fans of extreme gore, blood, simulated bowel movements, sodomy and other weird things may rejoice for Poultrygeist. Like the entire movie, the violence is over-the-top. Limbs and heads are easily torn off by the chicken-zombies and fountains and fountains of blood spurt from wounds like diarrhea from a hippo with a stomach ache. And the reason I bring up diarrhea is because this film has a particular scene that I find extremely hilarious. I think if it's difficult to like this type of humour, then this movie is definitely not for you (watch at own risk, boyos):

Since that scene shall be forever ingrained within the neurons of your brain, let's continue. As with any horror/shocker movies, the humour is very slapstick. However, some of Poultrygeist's laughs stems from its extremely liberal use of stereotypes. From the homosexual Mexican to the religious terrorist and to white racist, this B-movie is a chicken-stuffed turkey of stereotypes. Actually, the jokes are extremely racist. But because the audience is expected to lean away from the conservative thought-process, especially with this type of movie, Poultrygeist is easily forgivable and is freakin' hilarious.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead accomplishes what B-movies strive for. If you're looking for a no-nonsense, bloody stump of a comedy, then look no further. Not to mention, it's accessible for through your local Netflix provider!

Poultrygeist gets a solid 4/5!

Stay tuned for Subculture!

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Square Enix's Sleeping Dogs

Ladies and Gentlemen: Are you prepared for yet another Grand Theft Auto clone? Well regardless whether you've enthusiastically answered "yes" or a slow sigh of "no," Sleeping Dogs takes the open-world formula and wraps it in some spicy Cantonese flavor.

Yes, this game takes place in the gritty, neon streets of a fictional Hong Kong. The city itself boils of clashing triads and a less-than effective police force. Well, that is until the Hong Kong Police Department receives its newest undercover agent.

Explosions. Guns. Kung Fu. 

Players take the role of Wei Shen, a Hong Kong born badass whose police work in the United States has brought him back to his native city. He's tasked by his superiors to infiltrate the Sun On Yee, one of the dangerous triad groups hellbent on city-control. Wei starts off as a foot soldier, first set out for simpler tasks such as extorting local market-owners. Before long, Wei climbs the gang-hierarchy and treads the fine line between  his duties as undercover cop and a ruthless triad of the Sun On Yee.

Sleeping Dog's plot doesn't do anything new. Players are given their good guys, their bad guys, some betrayals, motives for revenge and anything else you'd find in a typical action adventure. The beauty of Sleeping Dogs, however, revolves around the immersion felt from Hong Kong and its inhabitants.

You don't mess with Mrs. Chu

Sleeping Dogs manages to depict Hong Kong as a vibrant mesh of tradition and modernity. While some areas are spacious and luxurious with cloud-breaking skyscrapers, other neighborhoods feature cramped apartments and humble markets and food stands. The streets are also littered with Chinese-accented npcs.

The voice-acting for this open-world game is top notch. The mix of Cantonese and English create a superb layer of immersion for the fictional city. Market vendors shout out for passerby's to try their wares and npcs often have conversations with one another. However, I was disappointed that many of the major characters spoke strictly in English. While English is actually a major language in Hong Kong, it would have been nice to have more characters like the hot-headed Mrs. Chu who conversed only in Cantonese. (Check out the video to see the real Hong Kong's influence on the Sleeping Dogs)

In regards to gameplay, the focus of Sleeping Dogs stems from its driving, free-running, and strong combat. The driving mechanic is handled as well as other open world games, but it's the arcade feel that makes driving so much fun. In the drivers seat, players are able to use a sort of sideways slam on enemy vehicles that damages them and eventually puts the receiving  vehicle out of commission. This arcade-P.I.T. maneuver  adds to the intensity of driving sequences. Dodging oncoming traffic while taking out droves of motorcycle-riding baddies with just your car produces plenty of "Oh, hell yeah!" moments.

Free-running is a quirky addition that's fun to use and sometimes a spectacle to behold, especially when running through the neon-streets and falling through thin glass. Free-running is typically used for chase sequences. A bad guy may have stolen some cash from you and it is your duty to quickly follow him and eventually take him down. The parkour system, unfortunately, is not perfect. There were times I was hellbent on chasing down a baddie only to have an ankle-high structure impede the flow of running and slow me down or sometimes even bring me to a complete stop. These hiccups aside, Sleeping Dogs' parkour is versatile enough for a lot of fun sequences.

"FINISH HIM!" 

Okay, one of the biggest driving forces of Sleeping Dogs is its combat. Borrowing heavily from Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, the fighting mechanics works on a similar system of strikes and counters. So, the combat is extremely enjoyable. Wei Shen doesn't flow as well as the caped crusader, but his kung fu efforts produce a hefty and brutal barrage that's fun to use and fun to watch. Combat is also further stylized through automatic slow motion moments that emphasize strong finishing attacks.

Sleeping Dogs also introduces environmental kills. Outnumbered and weaponless? No problem. Players can grapple enemies, drag them to dumpsters, hooks, car trunks or even swordfish snouts, and dispose of them accordingly. Environmental kills help players even the odds and just plainly make you feel like a total badass. Through a simple-rpg level system, players may upgrade Wei's arsenal, making him more resistant to damage, stacking more "oomph" behind a roundhouse kick, or overall expanding his kung fu repertoire.

Though a rarity within the Sleeping Dogs realm, this open-world beat 'em up game does feature gun-play. It's not the most polished shooting system. The guns are powerful, but rarely precise. And with a press of one button, Wei may take cover. From here, he can fire blindly, pop out to take pot shots, or even vault over objects for a cinematic, slow-motion moment. Shooting is rather the clunkiest feature compared to the other aspects of Sleeping Dogs, but these rare gun-toting moments are filled enough action to satisfy until the next gun fight.

The gritty aura of Hong Kong's criminal underworld make exploring Square Enix's fictional Cantonese city worth while. Though Sleeping Dogs doesn't add anything new to the open-world genre, it does provide a fun romp with its parkour mechanics, arcade style of driving, and Batman-like combat. Not to mention, the excellent voice-acting further immerses this gangster-driven tale of revenge and justice. Overall, Sleeping Dogs is a great game.

Sleeping Dogs gets a 4/5.

So, buy it, rent it, or even borrow it. Stay tuned for Subculture!

The Collector's Preview: DOA 5

Fans of fighting games and scantily clad digital-women rejoice for the September 25 release of Team Ninja's Dead or Alive 5 collector's edition.

The DOA 5 collector's edition, at least as of right now, is only available for pre-order through Gamestop for a cool $79.99.

Now, what could possibly justify purchasing the collector's edition in this economic maelstrom?

 Bikini costumes for all the female characters!

No, this isn't that volleyball game, it's actually DOA 5...

Collector's looking to pick up this enhanced addition will be able to access "Premium Swimsuit costumes for the full cast of playable female characters."

And as a pre-order bonus, players will be treated to 3 exclusive bunny/angel swimsuits.

Yes, apparently the DOA 5 community is still riddled with fourteen-year-old boys longing for that digital-loving that will never arrive.

Essential gameplay mechanics?

While I do appreciate the ... "aesthetics" of the DOA 5's female cast, I can't help but feel this addition of swimsuits as tacked for a quick and easy thrill.

Luckily, bikinis are not the only nuance of  the collector's edition. Those looking forward to this upgraded version will receive the game along with a hardcover art book, the soundtrack for DOA 5, and a poster.

Goodies! 

Not to mention, all these goodies are snug within a premium steel casing.

For more information on Dead or Alive 5 and its new features, visit the official Team Ninja website.

Also, feel free to check out below IGN's first episode covering the development process of DOA 5!

Stay tuned for Subculture!

SWTOR for FREE

 Star Wars: The Old Republic (or SWTOR) will soon be free for the entire PC galaxy. 


An updated cover photo from the official Old Republic Facebook read, "New Free-to-Play Option Coming This Fall." 


The official SWTOR FAQ states:

With the Free-to-Play option, no subscription will be required! You will be able to download and play Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ all the way up to level 50 for free, with gameplay restrictions that limit access to advanced features and group content. However, we will be offering the option to purchase services, items, and content to customize the gameplay experience. These purchases will be made available via the new Cartel Market and will allow you to choose the way that you want to enjoy the game.

Dark side vs. Light side

The shift to the Free-to-play (f2p) model will incorporate rewards and bonuses for current subscribers in the form of Cartel Coins. These coins, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, will be used to purchase in-game content. The extent of purchasable content, however, is still very limited. 

Past subscribers will be rewarded with 150 Cartel Coins for each month of subscription. Current subscribers, and along with those who buy the game beginning August 7 for $14.99 will be rewarded 200 cartel coins from now until the f2p model is adapted.

Continuing to pay for a subscription will allow players full access to SWTOR's game content.  While the story content allows full access for non-subscribers, those who choose the free-to-play model will have limited access to content such as character creations choices, warzones, flashpoints, and space missions according to this Bioware chart.


Those interested in furthering their intel on Star Wars: The Old Republic's f2p transition may visit its official website.

Stay tuned for Subculture!

Back in Blacklist

Hell, Yeah! Sam Fisher is back for his sixth appearance in Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Set for release in the Spring of 2013, Fisher will sleuth through digital battlefields on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. 


Blacklist picks up after the events of Conviction. With Third Echelon in shambles, the U.S. president tasks Fisher as the head of a new government agency, according to August edition of Game Informer. Sam, along with a new crew of specialists, including everyone's favorite behind-the-scenes tactical voice, Anna Grimsdottir, is in charge of keeping America just a bit safer through the new, improved and aptly-named Fourth Echelon.


The GI article notes that the members of Fourth Echelon will serve a bigger purpose than simply being the receiving end of Sam's headset. Given different circumstances, players can call in a nuance of favors from the Fourth Echelon team. Those gamers who wish to leave a trail of bloodied bodies may call in an air-strike, while stealth-players may take the quieter route and ask the team to hack a system of electrical grids.

Fourth Echelon. 

Like Splinter Cell: Conviction, Blacklist will expand on the mobility and lethality of Sam Fisher. The top-tier U.S agent can now seamlessly flow through combat and movement with the greatest ease. Ubisoft's Creative Director Maxime Béland called Sam's deadly talent "killing in motion" at the Blacklist E3 demo showcase. "After mastering Sam's abilities, you can move efficiently through the environment while taking out targets, quickly and fluidly" Béland added.


Here's a delicious demo of what we can expect next year (instant action begins around the two-minute mark):

According to the article, there are promises of multiplayer. Specifically, "Spies versus Mercs is returning." Detail about this mode and other multiplayer modes, however, are scarce. Ubisoft, like Sam's shift to a more versatile, and mobile individual, also plans to streamline the main menu.

Back in Blacklist

The SMI, or Strategic Mission Interface, will "tie together all the elements of the game. 'We have this concept of the SMI and blurring the lines between co-op and adversarial . . . We're not making three games that are separate.'"

Following the nuances of the series' progressions since the very first Splinter Cell, I am, as always with a new release from this particular franchise, excitied. However, even at the top of my excitement, I am saddened to say Michael Ironside will not reprise his role as Sam Fisher. The gruff, sardonic yet sarcastic tone Ironside has establish will be replaced by Eric Johnson, which according to imdb.com he played Steve Gordon of the 2007 Flash Gordon T.V. series. I think it's too early to tell whether we see an entirely new Sam Fisher or a re-imagining of the character, but I still feel Splinter Cell has damaged some of its aesthetics.

If your mug isn't filled with enough Splinter Cell, feel free to visit the official Splinter cell: Blacklist website.

Stay tuned for Subculture!

Ain't no Rest for the Wicked Weekend

From now until 1 p.m. on Sunday, gamers can taste the mayhem-infused, cel-shaded, action-RPG of Borderlands for free courtesy of Steam.

Left out of the loop? This slice of game follows four scavengers on a trail for the biggest dump of treasure on Pandora. That's it...


The fun isn't to be found in the story, however. It's in the guns and the 4-player co-op. In regards to gameplay, Borderlands is a shooter with rpg elements. Think components of  Halo and Diablo thrown into a blender with that one game no one played, Cel-Damage, and a pint of vodka. 

Ya shoot bandits, complete quests, upgrade your character and collect mounds and mounds of dangerous, gun powdered-infested LOOT!

Luckily for those who enjoyed, or will enjoy 'cause of this free-pass weekend, Borderlands is on a Steam sale until July 30 for $4.99. And the game of the year edition is only $7.99 for those feeling really adventurous.


Also, players who already own Borderlands can get a 10% discount, this weekend only, on a pre-purchase for the upcoming sequel Borderlands 2. 

So, try it. Buy it. And stay tuned for Subculture! 

Skyrim's 1.7 update is on Steam-beta mode

Steam users, according to a Bethesda Blog post today, can download the 1.7 beta update for Skyrim.  
No date has been given yet for an official release, so PS3 owners and Xbox players will have to wait  through the beta-phase. 

"Someone stole your sweetroll?" 

Unlike some previous updates, which deliciously included several new finishing animations, this brand new patch fixes general bugs and some crashing issues. Also, mounted combat will finally be available for PS3 Skyrim players once the 1.7 patch is finally released.

The fixes are intended for all systems except otherwise specified:

• General memory and stability optimizations
• Fixed crash related to new water shaders
• Fixed rare crash related to dragon landings
• Fixed logic error with loading screens from add-ons (Xbox 360)
• Using vampiric grip and swimming no longer prevents swimming animation from playing afterwards
• Improved recognition with Kinect voice commands (Xbox 360)
• Kinect-enabled dragon language shouts for French, German, Italian and Spanish work properly (Xbox 360)
• Fixed issue with Dawnguard Kinect-enabled dragon shouts for French, German, Italian and Spanish (Xbox 360)

• Fixed issue with Dawnguard Kinect-enabled dragon shouts for French, German, Italian and Spanish (Xbox 360)

Bethesda offers a word of warning for those who choose to participate in the beta: If you opt into the Beta, be sure to back up your saved games or simply be careful not to overwrite your existing saves. If you decide to opt out of the beta program, your old saves will still work with the current release of Skyrim on Steam (v 1.6).

For more information on all things Bethesda, readers may glance, creep or comb the pages of Bethesda's unofficial blog.

Stay tuned for Subculture!