All I can say is this: Chun-FREAKIN'-Li

So I was looking over at Kotaku.com, and came across a post about a new  DJ Hero game by Activision and FreeStyleGames.

The article talks mostly about the Turntable controller peripheral that is going to be used with the game, but also mentions that the game will also be compatible with guitar controllers, which makes sense.

The most exciting thing, to ME at least, is that it seems that developers are finally getting that there are people who like Hip-Hop AND Videogames, so making a Hip-Hop themed music game is something I've been waiting for for a LONG time. (I Even Blogged about it right here on Giantbomb.)  Here's hoping that: (1) the track-list is good, and (2) the gameplay is great as well. Also, hopefully they don't fill they game with a bunch of stereotypical rap guys with Afros. "Because guess with Afros and chains have style and funk right? Right?" (sigh).

So what do you all think about a Hip-Hop Themed Music Game? (Hopefully you are excited like me!)

So I was looking over a few "Sessler Soapbox" video posts on G4 (I'm new to these posts) and came across THIS one.

So I came across a series of youtube videos by/titled Zero Originality (Check them out HERE) It talks about the on going problem of Game Stop as a corporation. It's a good watch/listen, and guaranteed to get you thinking, and provide some interesting information that you've probably never heard before...

This is Awesome!!!

You see what I did there, with the blog title and the website...nevermind.

Anyway, I have always heard of people saying the Destructoid website was pretty good, so after reading Jeff's story on the GiantBomb Pax Panel, I decided to check it out...

Meh...it's ok....

I have one pet peeve about websites....usability issues!!!

When a website is difficult to use, then it immediately turns me off. Yeah the left side of the Destructoid site hosts the standard links to basic pages....but, I dont know, something about the way that site is put together makes it difficult to find what you are looking for, or to filter things. maybe it's just me. Then again, 1up.com has this problem too (and IGN.com, when it comes to editor blogs).

Also, I'm tired of people using "after the jump" or something like that when refering to  clicking a link to continue a story...

Granted, I only spent maybe a few minutes on the site, I checked out a few stories, reviews, and a video or two, but nothing about the site made me want to stay, or even sign up for an account.  I'm sure there are many people who love the site...

The idea of the site is that everyone's input is supposed to be made public (I'm guessing, again, I only spent a few minutes on the site). The problem with the site (and many "community focused" sites) is that the only information/posts that garner the attention are what are considered to be "popular" items, and this leaves many of the more interesting items and stories un-read and un-commented-on...  I'm not saying it's a bad thing, if people like something and don't like something else, hey, that's how it is...I've just been thinking about that for a while that's all, even in regards to this site.

In either case, I bookmarked the site, you know just incase, but I wasn't really feeling it that much... you can check it out here though if you want...

IGN's Jessica Chobot just posted a blog that I found really interesting, you can check it out here.

So basically, she compares how a  a woman being beaten at the democratic national convention (video here) to a Half-Life 2 trailer.  Jess makes a very good point.

It's a shame things like this happen, it's just a shame....  Things need to get better....

Here are my initial Castle Crasher impressions:

Gameplay: Actually pretty good. It is VERY EASY to get a beat-em-up style game wrong, especially with basically only two attack buttons (three if you count magic/arrows). But Castle Crashers gives you JUST enough variety with combos and throws and etc to keep things interesting. The RPG-light elements are the real star though.

Graphics: Very nice, not much else to say, but they are the good kind of stylish (though the border on the bad, stoner kind too, but just barely).

Sound: The music in this game far surpassed my expectations. Definitely great. It's the type of music that makes you want to play the game just to hear it (much like Bionic Commando: Rearmed). The sound effects are good in that the aren't annoying, which is always a plus when you are going to hear the same sounds the entire game.

Online: Yeah, it's pretty much broken. If you are luck you will get into a game every 3rd or 4th try and everything will be fine. Most of the time you will be stuck seeing the "Game is no longer available" message much too often. Behemoth needs to fix this A.S.A.P. if they have hope of this game continuing to sell well.

So there it is basically. I wasn't going to purchase this game at all, but after trying the trial version it won me over. But then I found out the online was busted, so in one sense I regret the purchase, but on the other, the music is SO GODO (I love good original soundtracks in games). So like Ryan/Jeff said, I'm torn on this game.

If this game was a set of teeth, it would be shining brightly, but with a big chipped tooth right in the front.

The game works in a basic sense, but it definitely has a problem, and sooner or later (probably sooner) it's going to become troublesome unless something is done to fix it.

So yeah, I'm loving what Ive played of the game (surprisingly), but I would love it even more if it got fixed.

Just check THIS out and tell me something isn't right...

Take-Two said it was an oversight, and the lady giving the interview goes with the great "Uhh..I wasn't there when it happened" excuse, but still...

I know that people get tired of me being a constant advocate for racial equality in video games, but still, if someone doesn't bring these issues to light, then people will continue to think its ok, much like a group of people probably thought it was at Take-Two to release this game without different races available for play.

Am I being nit-picky? Maybe a little, but if I'm not nit-picky, noone else will be. This is why I always believed N'gai Croal with his accusations of the employment at Capcom when "THAT trailer" for Resident Evil 5 came out.

What do you all think? Is the fact that there is no option to select skin color in a family friendly game a problem? Or should everyone just look the same, even if the family who purchased the game looks nothing like them?  Or am I just a nit-picky black guy? (that's a trick question for those who  really thought about picking that one!)