Clovercast Backlog Bonanza!

Alright, alright! A permanent solution has yet to be found for our audio posting needs, but I offer you something else in the meantime. I have compiled Clover's first 2 podcasts, when we were still calling ourselves MVC3, into a handy dandy rar file availble for download via mediafire. 

http://www.mediafire.com/?642r1w3notjqbn8

Enjoy our very dated ramblings from the oh so distant year of 2009.

MVC: MVC3 versus Chicago

by Paolo Cosejo

Author's Note:The event I'm writing occurred quite sometime ago. I am only finishing this weeks and weeks after I had actually started writing this damned thing as soon as I got home from said event. As I finish writing this, I am enjoying a cold Breckenridge Vanilla Porter in a chilled Lakefront Brewery glass. I suggest you do the same as you read this (not necessarily the same as Breckenridge Vanilla Porter isn't the easiest to come by, but I suggest you support small/local breweries).

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"Nothing amazing ever happens here. Everything is ordinary."

The huge tower that can be seen from our town, the Willis Tower, all the adults got pissed when the name changed. Like it was really a big thing. The skyline that can be seen from miles away, it looked to me like a maw that signified some kind of omen, a maw spreading out and covering everything.

Though I'm channeling Naota's feelings about his hometown of Mabase, I am referring to my hometown of Chicago. Nothing gaming ever happens here. Everything is ordinary. We are well away from E3 and PAX. We are well away from premiere events, meet-and-greets, and tourneys. We are slighted by the existence of PAX East. The Midwest at least had the consolation that the East coast was even further away from trade shows. Chicago is a void, caught in the middle of the gaming wasteland that is the Midwest. The arid lands of Texas are more relevant to gaming than the metropolis Chicago. The only notable games Chicago has to its name are a fighting franchise that prioritized violent flash over substance and the premiere Wii-exclusive first-person shooter that doesn't involve swordplay.

Capcom offered a glimmer of hope to Chicago. In a small warehouse on Hubbard, Capcom held Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds event. Since MVC3 was our outfit's original namesake, we at Clover naturally we had to go. Michelle, Nick, and Adil arrived early in order to get MVC3 swag, but the line devolved into a clusterfuck with people bum rushing the door. Bunch of savages in this town. Fortunately for me, I arrived later and didn't have to deal with the heartbreak of swag denied.

Our hopes left us and hunger took its place. We decided to go up the street to satiate our hunger, hoping the herd will have thinned out by the time we finished eating. We returned after filling our bellies at a taqueria down the street. I'd get into the deliciousness of the burritos, but this is a gaming blog and not Yelp. We returned and indeed the crowd did shrink. After a while more of waiting, we made our way in. The air was thick, wet, teeming with nerd sweat. The uncomfort to the skin and nose were a worthy exchange for the opportunity to play MVC3 before the unwashed masses. Capcom did Chicago right by offering free Ian's pizza inside. Unfortunately for us at Clover, the only Ian's left was the mess of empty boxes. Swag and pizza denied, but those were only trifles to the main prize: Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

There was one more barrier to the prize: the line. After scouting out all the machines, we settled on lines that seemed to be least cramped together. Michelle and I got in one line, Nick and Adil lined up for the machine next to ours. It was nice when people were only playing one match and leaving happily, but then some prick pair set the precedence of best out of three. That slowed the line down significantly, much to my chagrin as I was at the end of the line and I detest the E-Penis and the idea of having to try in a public setting. I wanted my one-and-done with MVC3, and these bastards were delaying my fun. The E-Penis matches weren't even fun to watch since the majority of them only used established characters from past Versus games.

Finally. Finally! The wait was over. Fortune smiled upon me, as I smiled as well. The line lead to a machine with sticks instead of controllers. Michelle wasn't too thrilled about the stick, but Adil and Nick were envious as the PS3 they lined up for used controllers with the button mapping being especially awkward. Dear reader, I hope you appreciate the form matching content. The minutia you sat through before actually getting to the gameplay is nothing compared to the hours that this evening took up.

Unfortunately, the available build wasn't what Capcom had at Tokyo Game Show 2010 and didn't allow me to use my "Girls Kick Ass" dream team of X-23, Trish, and Amaterasu. But that's just me being a spoiled brat. Devil May Cry 3 Dante was metrosexual and badass enough to be a stand-in for X-23. The game played like butter. It was smooth, it felt right. It keeps up the legacy of the Versus series. It's easy to pick up and have fun with, but it also has the depth if you choose to explore it. It's certainly a nice change of pace from the methodical Super Street Fighter IV, which half of Clover absolutely loves and the other half not giving two shits (me being in the latter).

With Devil May Cry being one of my favorite franchises and Okami being one of my favorite games, the effort that Capcom put into translating Dante's and Amaterasu's moves into a fighting game astounded me. Every weapon in Dante's arsenal from DMC3, which boasted the largest collection of Devil Arms and guns, have been translated into a special. Amaterasu's specials too are ripped straight from Okami. For her basic attacks, Amaterasu is even able to change between the three different weapon types from Okami. The hardest to figure out from my team was Trish. I love playing as trap characters like Testament from Guilty Gear and Rachel from BlazBlue, but they take time to figure out the nuances and one match certainly isn't enough time for that.

Unfortunately, my time with the game was brief as I was playing Michelle and I trounced her with little effort. I was hoping to have more time to check out my team's moves. I would've loved to dick around with Thor, Dormammu, and Super Skrull, but that one round satiated me enough and I couldn't wait to get home and off my feet after this long, yet rewarding, ordeal.

The 3DS's Post Launch Line-Up

The Nintendo 3DS has wowed everybody with its tech, but it's line-up is populated with nothing but remakes and sequels. With "3" in the platforms title, the floodgates are now open for series to continue with a third entry on the 3DS.  These games are bound to happen on the 3DS. God have mercy on us all.
►Okami 3DS
►3DShadowman
►Nightmare Creatures 3DS
►Mass Effect 3DS
►Red Dead 3DSalvation
►Army of ThreeDS
►Assassin's Creed 3DS
►Capcom vs. SNK 3DS
►Rival 3DSchools
►Viewtiful Joe 3DShocking Pink Explosion
►Shenmu3DS
►System Shock 3DSHODAN Returns!
►Zone of the Enders 3DS (I will kill Kojima if this happens.)
►Pikmin 3DS (This stupid title gimmick was probably what Nintendo was waiting for.)
The list of series hanging on 2 is endless. What's next? Megaman Legends 3DS? Wait a minute... oy vey.
Metal Gear Solid 3DS will only be the first in a slew of remakes involving the third entry in a franchise.
►Devil May Cry 3DSSStylish!!!
►Street Fighter 3DStrike
►Castlevania IIIDracula'S Curse
►Disgaea 3DemonSchool

There's hardly been a new IP announced for the 3DS's line-up... until now!
►American McGee's 3DS Piggies
►American McGee's 3DS Blind Mice
►The ThreeDS Musketeers

Surprises for next the next trade show: 
►Half-Life 2: Episode 3DS
►Diablo 3DS.
The reason both games are taking so long is because the publishers decided to switch platforms. With Nintendo's large market share, Diablo 3DS and Episode 3DS would have more sales potential on the 3DS than on PC.

Bloody Tears of Joy

By Paolo Cosejo

I live with my older brother who no longer plays games. In our adolescence, he picked up the guitar while i held onto the controller. I was telling my brother about Carlyle-vania (a.k.a. Picard-vania or Lords of Shadow) and he asked me if it played like Symphony of the Night. He was disappointed by my answer and ambivalent as he had stopped gaming by the time God of War came out. I never got around to playing Symphony of the Night in the late 90's. The gothic setting and occult whatnot scared me for some reason. Playing the game for the first time over a decade after its release, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night does not disappoint.I'm not one for nostalgia. I am staunchly against it in fact. The game being held in such high regard, making practically every top 100 game list, was working against the game in my regard. In the past few years or so, I've started a Castlevania or two. The Belmont's dominant genetic traits for bulky, lumbering frames and the typical side-scrolling action Dracula's castle offered never interested me enough to actually follow through. I've also gone through a Super Metroid play through and played Zero Mission and Fusion independently. Like Castlevania, I only played the Metroids in recent years and have no nostalgia for them and I naturally dislike like them for their high regard in gaming. I enjoyed the Metroids for what they were but there was an overwhelming sense of "been there, done that" while playing Zero Mission and Fusion after Super. Like the Castlevania series, every Metroid game is almost exactly the same. They were sequels without evolution, which is exactly what I'm against in the making of a sequel. There is a turn that came with both series though. The Metroid series changed with Prime. The parallel turn in Castlevania occurred in Symphony of the Night, when Castlevania turned into Metroid.

In Metroid, you know you're going to get bombs and roll around like a jackass trying to find a hole. You know you're going to find the wave beam and high jump and all the other things you know you're going to find. In a Metroid game, you know what you're going to find and you know what you need to do to find what it is you need to find. Samus is played out. For a series about exploration, there is nothing left to explore.

Symphony of the Night, for a first time player of a Metroidvania style Castlevania, was truly a new exploration and adventure. Dracula's castle was no longer a series of platforms in front of a scrolling background with the occasional set of stairs that the Belmonts handled like geriatrics with bad hips. The different wings of the gothic castle offered more visual variety from the different colored rocky settings of the Metroids. Alucard himself was a mystery, something to be explored. I knew I would need to get new abilities to find new areas, but I had no idea what those abilities would be or when/where I'd be getting them. Finding a double jump is a given. It's a platforming standard. Alucard's transformations caught me off guard. They are infinitely more interesting than the ability to turn into a ball and shit out bombs. The RPG elements of equipment/drops and leveling (to a lesser extent) made the experience of playing Sympthony of the Night more worth while. It's always satisfying to decide the means by which you get to kill evil minions. The multiple endings offer more incentive to keep exploring as well. For a while I was stuck with killing Richter Belmont until I discovered the catacombs. Symphony of the Night rewards the player's exploration by opening up the castle further giving the player access to new monsters, equipment, and the ultimate face off against Dracula.

As I'm gripped by Castlevania fever, I've borrowed a few of the Game Boy Advance titles from a friend. The "been there, done that" feeling that bores me about Metroid is starting to sink in, but the card system of customizing the whip in Circle of the Moon is keeping things interesting enough, as is the curiosity of how a non-half-vampire will manage to navigate the castle. However, I can't see myself still being entertained by this familiar bag of tricks after the next GBA Castlevania. But alas, the flames of Alucard's fireballs melted my icy, cynical heart and I shall hold a torch for Symphony of the Night forever.

The Unceremonious Bloom of Clover

The first video Clovercast is finally here!

Summercast 2010: Clover discusses their summer gaming, what was hot (other than the weather) and what blew (besides the Summer winds.)



We originally had a 3-part episode:
Part 1 - Chris discusses the big release of Summer 2010, Starcraft 2.
Part 2 - Adil and Chris discuss the other games they played this summer including Sega Saturn gems and trashing the nostalgia of Golden Sun and the disappointing Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
Part 3 - Clover's Game of the Summer: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Due to technical problems, an update improperly installing, the footage has been lost and only Part 2 exists in an uncompleted form. Ideally we would've added (and might still add) footage of the games we we're talking about. Hopefully you still find this engaging.

Clover Lives!!!

The spirit of Clover Studio continues to live on through Platinum Games.

"God Hard" is the hardest difficulty in Shinji Mikami's Vanquish, a title we here at Clover(cast) are very excited about. If you share our enthusiasm, check out the Vanquish blog at Platinum's website. 

As for Clover's webcasts, they will come. Until we find a new place to post our backlog of audiocasts, we will be posting a series of short videocasts via youtube. As to when they will come, that is shady due to scheduling conflicts caused by someone's summer research job.

Henshin-a-go-go, baby!

Since Capcom is finally gracing us with Marvel Versus Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, we at MVC3 have decided to give ourselves a new moniker in a similar vein as the wishful thinking of our original title.



MVC3 from here on out is now Clover. Here's hoping Capcom doesn't shut us down.

The Wish Bitch List

The Wish Bitch List
-Paolo Cosejo

The Bitch List '10:
► Front Mission Evolved
► Okamiden
► Valkyria Chronicles 2

SRPGs being one of my favorite genres with the first Valkyria Chronicles and Front Mission 5 being in my Top 5 for the genre, it should be no surprise that Valkyria Chronicles 2 and Front Mission Evolved making this pull list. Also with Okami being one of my Top 5 games of all time, damn right I'm interested in the sequel. Now you might be thinking, "Why is this 'the Bitch List?' You should be excited for sequels to your favorite games!" It's because I'm a bitch for putting aside cash for these expected disappointments.

Front Mission Evolved:
I'm a mecha whore and a snob. Unless it's quirky and ridiculous, the concept of god through mecha, or mecha as glorified tank, I might as well choke on a Gundam model. The Wanzers in Front Mission are essentially glorified armor units. I also love moving customized units through square spaces, so Front Mission is an automatic gem in my book and it only makes sense for me to be interested in Front Mission Evolved.
The largest complaint I've heard against Front Mission Evolved is it's a third-person action game. This change in genre happens to be something I look forward to. If this game bombs and they make a "proper" Front Mission 6, I'm on board for that too. Producers for Front Mission have discussed the combination of real-time elements into the franchise. Third-person action was the natural progression for the series, hence Square made Front Mission Online which was a third-person, multiplayer action game, which worked well no less.
A reason Front Mission Online worked is because it realized the franchise’s emphasis on working in a coordinated effort with other units hence the online aspect. Front Mission conveyed the realism and necessity of teamwork and coordination in combat. Being a third-person action game, it seems the squad/party aspect will be down played although still present. Though I hate Final Fantasy XII, the gambit system would work with an action title, especially a Front Mission action title. If I can have at least two wingmen and set their combat routines as well as their Wanzer setups, I will be a ridiculously happy camper. I'd rather have that type of SRPG-like customization for my wingmen rather than play with some idiot online.
Another worrisome change in Front Mission Evolved is the return of on-foot gameplay. Whoever decided to bring it back, I want to hit that person over the head with a copy of Front Mission 3. It was an interesting idea and it was a nice novelty that made sense in the context of those situations, but I did not miss it in the following installments. I love the idea of taking down a Wanzer as a guy with anti-armor shells. It can be really cool as long as they make it work and those segments are brief and logical in a context. But I am a man of little faith and I've only heard bad things about the on-foot portions.
My main problem is that Square outsourced the work to Double-Helix. Outsourcing is a part of business, I get that. It can work too, look at the success and acclaim of Metroid Prime. Front Mission 5 had the best customization of the series, which I will be sorely disappointed if it’s not carried over, and Front Mission Online is a perfect template to build upon for Evolved. Being a Western developer, there’s a good chance Double Helix didn’t play either game since they never left Japan, which this fan finds troubling. Most troubling is Double Helix’s history. Double Helix's track record of Silent Hill: Homecoming and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra has me in low, low spirits and I'm looking for a sweet chariot coming for to carry me home.

Valkyria Chronicles 2:Valkyria Chronicles is my favorite game of this generation. It is one of the principle reasons I ended up buying a PS3 over the 360. When rumors of a Valkyria Chronicles sequel first appeared I was excited. Let me say this though. The only way I would’ve been happy with Valkyria Chronicles 2 is if it involved in the North Africa campaign of the Second Europan War fighting an anime Rommel and had absolutely nothing to do with Gallia or the characters of the first game since all their stories came to a neat, tidy conclusion. Now that I’ve been up front about my disappointment in Valkyria Chronicles’ producers not having a psychic link with me and pandering to my whims, I can get into my other complaints about the sequel.

Valkyria Chronicles 2 is suffering from what I call “Pander Phantasy VIII syndrome.” If you want to something to sell in a Japanese market, make the characters teenagers and set it in high school. Final Fantasy VIII made the same step after VII and now Valkyria Chronicles 2 is following suit, possibly due to the success of the Persona franchise. The producers seem desperate to turn this into a bankable franchise for Sega which explains the move to the PSP, which is cheaper to develop for and it’s the only system that consistently goes head-to-head with Nintendo in the Japanese market. The producers are also trying to bank off the success of the anime, which is a huge problem for me.
The anime adaptation of Valkyria Chronicles is complete and utter shit. And that’s me being as polite as possible. The anime took the rounded, human characters of the game based on existing anime archetypes and turned them into extremes of those archetypes, most obvious in the case of Alicia. Valkyria Chronicles seems to be adopting the overall style of the anime in order to appeal to anime’s larger audience. The character designs in Valkyria Chronicles 2 reflects this attitude the most. The characters in Valkyria Chronicles, the game and not the anime, were believable not only from their characterizations but from a design perspective as well. The characters in the sequel, however, are clearly the anime archetypes of optimistic, laid-back, but competent slacker that grows into a leader; clumsy, air-headed moe girl; and the fastidious and uptight straight man who eventually opens up. The overall problem of the Valkyria Chronicles anime was that it took something simple and then bogged it down by adding too much, notably the unwarranted Faldio/Welkin/Alicia love triangle. From a preliminary perspective, the same thing seems to be happening to the sequel.
Listening to fan demand isn’t always right, especially with Valkyria Chronicles 2. Multiplayer versus in a TURN-BASED strategy game is down right STUPID! Considering missions can be won in a single turn, whoever goes first wins. No question. The multiplayer co-op seems more like a novelty than anything else. The battles in the first game offered a fair challenge. Never once did I think “Gee whiz, it would be handy if I could have a buddy control another unit,” while I was playing.
The producers claim there are 35 classes in Valkyria Chronicles 2. They aren’t really unique, but rather they branch from the preexisting classes in the first game. The first game worked excellently with the original five classes. Also worthy of note, the revealed designs for the upgraded classes look lamer than FDR’s legs. Along with increased infantry customization, there’ll be added vehicle customization. All these additions have me seriously worrying about the balance of the game. Combining all the additions along with the preexisting systems in Valkyria Chronicles 2 may cause the game to be unnecessarily obtuse.
What I loved about Valkyria Chronicles was its simplicity. The simplicity of customization makes sense in the military context of the game and also led to really balanced combat in the BLiTZ system. The potentials and the diverse personalities of Squad 7 was enough for me and made sense in the context of the game.
It was the overall presentation, how all aspects of the game came together so naturally, that had me investing so much of my self into Valkyria Chronicles. Valkyria Chronicles 2 works against the overall presentation that was established in the first game. Rather than going through a book, you go through semesters in the Royal Academy. That’s fine, I love Persona. The sequel also touts having more missions than the first game, adding in a plethora of generic missions that the player knocks out from a list. Part of what made the missions great in Valkyria Chronicles was the gravity of each mission. Each chapter had bearing on Squad 7. With the sequel, I might as well be talking to a guild master and running through some generic quest.
With all the changes being added, Valkyria Chronicles 2 is shitting on the overall presentation, the charm, the simplicity, of the first game. I’m not looking forward to the diversion from the simplicity. If I want the sort of unit customization in an SRPG that Valkyria Chronicles 2 is touting to have, I’m going to play… wait for it… Front Mission. At least Front Mission won’t have a generic shonen art style. If I want an RPG in a school setting, I’ll play Persona. Valkyria Chronicles 2 is representative of my Dixiecrat position on gaming; I like that they’re trying new things and bringing change, but I really dislike what they’re changing it into. With my stance on Valkyria Chronicles 2, I’m caught between a rock and a hard place and I can’t take cover because it’s not a sandbag. Come what may, I’ll always have the first Valkyria Chronicles to fall back on and enjoy.

Okamiden:
It's official, Okamiden: Chisaki Taiyou is a DS sequel to Okami and it’s looking to be a sheep in wolves’ clothing. My heart broke a little, and not because of my usual anti-Nintendo agenda. The DS stylus interface for the Celestial Brush trumps both the analog stick and the wiimote for drawing. It can't be argued that the stylus makes the most sense for a drawing mechanic. I would be much happier if the Okami sequel happened on the PS3, but I much prefer Okamiden being on the DS than on the PSP or Wii. With the added fluidity to gameplay the DS offers, I'm willing to over look that Capcom said themselves that they want to reach as broad an audience as possible. And nothing has a broader audience than the DS.
With what little praise I have for the sequel out of the way, I can start unloading my grief. I don't want to play the same game that I played in 2006. What I want out of an Okami sequel, any sequel for that matter, is an improvement on the first game. A sequel is a chance for the developers to accomplish several things: utilize potential unrealized in the first game, fix problems and address player complaints about the original, explore and expand on ideas in the first game.
A large concern is that it's not Platinum, essentially what used to be Clover Studio, handling Okamiden but a Clover-less Capcom, a company notorious for pumping out lackluster sequels. Without the Clover boys, the development team lacks the personal motivation to try and one up themselves with the sequel. A prime example of this mentality in sequels is Hideo Kojima. By being so entrenched in his franchise, he realizes the natural progression in gameplay that the next Metal Gear would take, as well as polishing elements from the previous games while adding new elements.
With Chibiterasu, a “new” character, the lazy, fat bastard that is Capcom has an excuse to make you learn the same abilities you learned in the first game and go through the same damn puzzles and platforming that those who played Okami have already done before. With a mechanic/gimmick like the Celestial Brush, the new abilities that could stem from that could be limitless. Capcom should take a hint from Banjo-Tooie and follow Amaterasu into the Celestial planes and stack new abilities on top of the abilities already learned in the first game.
Unfortunately, Okamiden is set in Nippon again. The Celestial land would offer new landscapes that, with being placed in a more magical land, would offer developers to stretch their legs and be really creative with the environment. It would also offer up something even more vibrant for the fans of the first game rather than retreading old stomping grounds. The initial trailer revealed the cracked walls from the first one that you used bombs on, further confirming the likelihood of learning the exact same abilities to solve the exact same puzzles from Okami. How interesting is the hook shot after you've used it for 50 damn games?!
In order to succeed, Okamiden needs to capture the magic of the first game and show newcomers what’s great about Okami while offering something new to the fans of the first. Quite frankly, if the partner mechanic is the only new thing Okamiden has to offer fans of the first, that's not going to cut it. Hardly ever do partner mechanics work out. Even in games I enjoy, such as Ico, the partner mechanic worked beautifully from a presentation standpoint but was also the most annoying part from a gameplay standpoint. And the less said about Sheva, the better. From the looks of it, the partner mechanic works just like the celestial brush interface. Why not translate that into new abilities instead? For now, the partner mechanic seems like a poor substitute for new abilities.
However, I am not without hope. All my negativity stems from very initial impressions. Okamiden may end up impressing me by the time it comes out. The sequel captures the look of the first game very well for being moved to a portable. It could still be fresh granted Capcom takes the time to develop new god abilities rather than cut and paste them from the first game, although that is an unlikely wish. Although in a TGS video, I thought saw what looked like a penguin god that I don’t remember being in the first game which might mean new abilities. Maybe, just maybe, Okamiden could still work out and be the game that finally has me permanently "borrow" my ex-girlfriend's DS.

Now I'm not an idiot. We live in a free market and if I don't like what has been done to a franchise, I shouldn't support said franchise with my money. I may not be an idiot, but I am a huge bitch. I could easily pirate Valkyria Chorincles 2 and Okamiden, and I definitely will before the game officially comes out. But I'm a sucker for the whole package and the dying routine, with the rise of DLC and the fact that there are few interesting IP’s on the market, of going into a shop and buying a game and holding something tangible. And with the good chance of a pre-order artbook or some other crap coming with at least one of these games, Gamestop might as well have my $140 plus for all three games right now. Hence, I am a bitchy bitch bitching about my Bitch List.