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2007 was the year of hype in gaming. Between Halo 3, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, Crysis, and Assassin's Creed, this year has seen the release of some of the most talked up games of all-time. While some of them fell far short of the hype, there were plenty of other far superior games that came out, but received little to no attention from mainstream gamers. So, continuing now and on every Wednesday (or Thursday) (or sometime) until the end of the year, I will be giving you a look at two games released this year that deserve your hard-earned cash and attention. At the end of this five-part series (ending the day after Christmas), I will list them in order of the most overlooked/underrated.
 If you followed the video game world at all this year, you'll likely know that Lair for the Playstation 3 was a massively hyped game that was often touted as one of saviors of Sony's big black monolith of a gaming console known as the Playstation 3, but that did not happen as Lair was a critical bomb. All the hype that was generated by the game blew up in Sony's face as the game got largely horrible reviews and become the butt of all video game related jokes. Did it deserve all the negative reviews? Is it really that bad of a game? The answer to that question is quite simply, no. Lair is perhaps one of the most underrated games of the year (not overlooked, mind you, underrated).
The game's story revolves around two kingdoms, Asilya and Mokai, former allies now torn apart due to their land being ravaged by volcanoes. Now the Mokai's land is depleted of resources, and the Mokai live on a resource rich land. As time goes on, the two become enemies due to religion coming in and teaching them that they are enemies and should not tolerate each other. So, the Mokai decide to launch a surprise attack against the Asylians, this is where you come in as Rohn, a member of the Asylian Sky Guard who fights off the invading Mokai using dragons. It's a good plot, especially for an action game involving dragons and burning things up and is definitely better than stuff like Eragon.
But on to the game itself. As stated, most of the game revolves around you flying around on a dragon burning things and defending your people from attack. The game's graphics are quite good and really capture a world in ruin quite well. The game does support 1080p high definition, however, I have only seen at 1080i and 720p. Both modes look incredible. The only problem is that there are some slowdowns at time, but nothing too distracting. Even more amazing than the graphics is the sound, which is among the best I've ever heard in a video game. Presented in UNCOMPRESSED 7.1 SOUND (!!!) with THX Certification, the game completely envelopes you in sound. Now, I've only played it in compressed Dolby Digital 5.1, but even in that situation, dragons swooping overhead, flames flying in all directions, and exploding ships all sounded awesome. However, what really shines in the game is the soundtrack composed John Debney, who also did the music for The Passion of the Christ and Sin City. The soundtrack is definitely the best of 2007 and rivals most film soundtracks. The music is so good that Sony is selling the whole soundtrack for the game on iTunes.
But enough about the technical side of the game, let's move onto what gets trashed the most, the gameplay. The team at Factor 5 decided to take advantage of what the PS3 offers them in graphical capability, sound, and capacity with the Blu-ray Disc, however, they also decided to take advantage of the PS3's new Sixaxis controller with motion sensing capability. This is what caused the most criticism over the game. The tilt controls were viewed as hard to use and unresponsive. To those people I say, "Pfft, spend some more time with it." Yes, it is kind of tough to get the hang of, but you must remember that you are controlling a gigantic dragon, and not an airplane which can turn on a dime. If you think of it in the sense that you are at the reins of a gigantic beast, then the controls might be a little easier to work, since it basically is like you're at the reins. Slap the reins down and you'll get a speed boost, pull them up quickly and the dragon will do a 180 and face the other way. Once you get used to the controls, you'll be burning those Mokai bastards quickly. Or, take a look at the instructional video included in the bonus material, it's a like a video version of the Lair Review Guide.
However, despite all this, I would only give the game a 7.5 at the maximum because it's slow at times, it's rather short, and the controls don't always work right. It is definitely worth checking out when it gets down to $15 or so.
 This might be an odd inclusion since it never had a retail release, but this is something that I'm sure none of you have heard of by a developer you've definitely heard of. Did you know that Harmonix, the same company behind Guitar Hero and Rock Band released an iPod game this year? No, really, AN iPOD GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The game is called Phase, and it's basically just like Amplitude or Guitar Hero, but on your iPod.
Basically, the game is played by clicking the left button, the center button, or the right button in time to your music. Sometimes there will also be a wave of dots that comes up, known as a flowing sweep. When one of these flowing sweeps come up, you have to scroll the click wheel left and right, following the pattern of the dots. The game has it's own small soundtrack of seven songs (Bang Camaro - Nightlife Commando, Dealership - Dots And Dashes, Freezepop - Pop Music Is Not A Crime (YES!!! FREEZEPOP!!!), Inter:sect - Midnight Gamma, Kodomo - Spira Mirabilis, Speck - The Theme Of The Awesome, Universal Hall Pass - Dragonfly Remix), but the big feature here is that you can import ANY song you have on your iPod into the game and it will make it into a level for you to play, with different difficulties. Want to play <![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/L_bJ8jqo9rI&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/L_bJ8jqo9rI&rel=0</a>]]> on insane (Video is on the default difficulty, by the way)? You can do that! Want to play along to Run DMC? Sure, you can do that too. Want to play along to the I Have A Dream Speech? Uh...yeah, you can do that too. Want to play along to static? No you don't. Of course you don't. But you technically could do that in Phase!
It's a $5 download from the iTunes store, and has been described by many as the only iPod game worth having. The game requires a third-generation iPod nano or better, iPod classic, or fifth-generation iPod or better.
Check back on Wednesday or Thursday when I actually deliver this feature on-time...(at least I hope).
 During the development of their GameCube gaming system, Nintendo partnered with Matsushita-owned Panasonic to manufacture the disc drive for their console. As part of this agreement, a license was issued to Panasonic to be able to utilize the base GameCube software technology for their own system, if they chose to do so. Needless to say, Panasonic decided to exercise this contract clause and released one of the most visually attractive hardware units of all time - the Panasonic Q. Debuting just three months after its parent in December, 2001, this system ultimately proved that the old adage "looks aren't everything" was true - especially if not priced correctly.
Released exclusively in Japan, the Panasonic Q was developed to address the fact that the GameCube's main competitors, the Sony Playstation 2 and shortly after the Microsoft Xbox, supported DVD movie playback out of the box while Nintendo did not incorporate this feature into its machine. Hoping to capitalize on this supposed oversight, the Panasonic Q was born. This was Nintendo's second attempt at licensing game hardware technology to a third party manufacturer, the first being the Sharp Twin Famicom. The initial venture did not prove to be successful for neither Nintendo nor Sharp. History would once again repeat itself with this new partnership with Matsushita.
 As stated earlier, the Panasonic Q is one of the most striking consoles ever released. Sporting a mirrored front facing with a scratch-protective coating, the overall design is extremely advanced and crisp. Soft-touch buttons line the respective left and right sides and give quick access to sound, game and other options. The subtle but tasteful use of the Panasonic label is centered at the top of the main interface, with a smooth front loading DVDGC hybrid player residing just below. Four controller ports, accented with neon ice-blue lighting around their circumference, are featured across the front of the unit with two standard GameCube memory card slots lying in unison just below. All button, port labeling and compatibility logos (DVD, CD, DTS, GameCube, and Dolby), are detailed in pure white and are surprising easy to read against the reflective background. Standard DVD buttons and controls are located on the top of the unit, along with the most stunning feature of the Panasonic Q - the backlit LCD display. This message center has a futuristic look and provides relevant data (mostly on DVD play). The 'Hello' and 'Goodbye' sequence that is displayed when powering onoff the system is also a nice touch that further exemplifies the extra care that was put into it's design.
Technically, the gaming hardware in the Panasonic Q is identical to the Nintendo GameCube. There are literally no variations - please see the overview of the Nintendo GameCube for these details. That being said, owners of the Panasonic Q will enjoy the following audio enhancements over their GameCube brethren: Dialog Enhancer, Cinema, Surround and Bass Plus. All of these audio modes modify or boost a respective frequency to produce subtle if not unremarkable effects during game and DVD play. These options do not have level adjustment or customizable settings that can be modified. This is unfortunate but really not that important considering that most televisions at the time incorporated these features anyway.
 Matsushita's marketing plan was to develop a DVD player with gaming capabilities, rather than just producing a video game console. The Panasonic Q hit the mark in this area with a DVD player that exceeded the industry standards of the time. While lacking the bells and whistles of some of the higher-end players available, DVD playback is extremely detailed, displayed in bold and vibrant colors. The included DVD remote is easy to use (though all text is in Japanese) and contains the basic playback controls. At the time, the DVD player performance of the Sony Playstation 2 and Microsoft Xbox paled in comparison. There is another bonus feature in this area - region free game and movie support. The first model only supported NTSC Region 2 disks and Japanese-released GameCube software. After a very short period of time, a second model was made available that fully supported NTSC Regions 1 through 6 as well as USA game disks. Unfortunately, there was no official PAL released unit and VCD playback is also not supported.
 While the advantages of owning the Panasonic Q over the Nintendo GameCube are significant, the decision to purchase one was not an easy task in 2001. The first release debuted at $439 USD (equivalent to $545 USD in 2007) and the multi-region version could be yours for $499 ($635 USD in 2007). This price point severely limited the potential buying market, especially since the GameCube and a separate DVD player could be purchased for less.
With excellent DVD playback, multi-region media support, audio enhancements and its stylish look, the Panasonic Q is a definite upgrade to its Nintendo GameCube parent. Since the system was released in limited quantities, be prepared to spend a good amount to acquire one. A CIB (complete in box) unit will cost you around $200 to $300 dependant upon condition. Compare this to being to get a comparable GameCube system for around $20. If you are just looking for a video game console, the advantages of the Panasonic Q really can not be justified. For the collector, this system will definitely stand out on your gaming shelves.
 Since I was busy having a social life last night, I was unable to do my regularly scheduled underrated/overlooked feature on time, however I found a somewhat (Sony biased to a certain degree) related feature on GamesRadar looking at the biggest games of the year that we all seemed to forget about. Kind of an intersting take on some of the top games of the year, but an important one nonetheless. Anyways, here's what they came up with (in the order they were presented):
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP): Whoa wait what?! There was an MGS on PSP this year? I had no idea. Dang, add that to the reasons for me to get a PSP...
Heavenly Sword (PS3): YES! That is a great game, but very short though, which is why people probably forgot about it. What's more shocking about this is that the article said it's been outsold by freaking Lair, and isn't even in the top 20 selling PS3 games list this week. Amazing.
God of War 2 (PS2): I was tempted to include this on my overlooked games of the year list, because really, have you heard much about the game since it came out last February. I sure haven't. Probably because it was released on a last-gen system early on in the year and got overshadowed by all the other next-gen games that came out later in the year. Make sure you do not forget this game as it is one of the 10 best PS2 games ever made.
Motorstorm (PS3): This was actually a very very good game that for some reason isn't mentioned very much any more...outside of the monthly downloadable content additions to the game on the Playstation Store.
SSX Blur (Wii): I admit, I've never played SSX Blur, but I've heard nothing but good comments about it. It seems odd that an SSX game is forgotten about so quickly though.
Stranglehold (360, PS3): I've only played the demo, but I don't know that Stranglehold exactly qualifies as one of the best of the year. It's certainly a very fun game with many imaginative features that really make you feel like your in a big hollywood action movie, but the thing is that the game is not extraordinary. I would pay $20 for it, but not the next-gen price of $60.
Crysis (PC): I think the only reason this game is on the list is because 90% of gamers don't have a PC good enough to run it, thus forgot about the game. However, when I get a computer that can actually run the game decently (in 8 years or so knowing me), I'll definitely give it a shot. But the game was published by EA, so chances are there will be a port for 360 and PS3 (that is if EA can get their head out of their asses when it comes to programming for that system)
Project Gotham Racing 4 (360): Now, I recall this one coming out and doing fairly well, but I haven't heard much about it after the amazing fall season the 360 had. It's a shame because PGR has been a great series.
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3): Yes. Yes. FREAKING YES! Now, it's well known to PS3 owners but who else cares about it? No one really, especially Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, who's never heard of it.
So, RFGen, what are some of your favorite huge games of the year that you just don't hear mentioned any more?
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So, you're a PS3 owner and you happen to own both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band. Harmonix said that the Guitar Hero III Controller would work with Rock Band. Almost a month after release though, it still does not work. Blame Harmonix? Don't be so quick to blame, as this release by Harmonix explains:
Hi Everyone,
As we have said in the past, Harmonix and MTV Games believe in an open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility. We think that there should be interoperability between music instrument controllers across all music games. This is clearly in the best interest of consumers, game developers and console manufacturers and will only help to grow the music game genre as well as inspire innovation and creativity.
Two weeks ago, Harmonix created a software patch for the Sony PLAYSTATION 3 version of Rock Band that allowed for guitar compatibility and support for third party peripherals, including enabling use of Activision's Guitar Hero III controller with Rock Band. The compatibility patch was submitted, approved and had been scheduled for release by Sony on Tuesday, December 4. Unfortunately, Activision objected to the compatibility patch's release. The patch remains with Sony, but we have been told that it will unfortunately not be released due to Activision's continued objection.
As is the case with the Microsoft Xbox360, we believe that Sony PLAYSTATION 3 users should be able to use the peripheral of their choice with Rock Band. We sincerely hope that Activision will reverse its decision and allow release of the compatibility patch and further, that Activision will allow Guitar Hero III to support Rock Band guitar controllers as well. We welcome all third party developers who wish to support our controllers and will provide any required support in order for them to do so.
We believe that when consumers have choice, everyone wins. Harmonix and MTV Games hope that Activision and others will also adopt this philosophy.
Sincerely,
The Harmonix Team
Well, ain't that a crock of shit. If I was impacted by this situation, I'd be pretty ticked off right now. Seriously, how can a PS3 Rock Band have a bassist right now? Certainly, they can not. This is a pretty douchy move on Activision's part, and I hope they realize that they are angering a lot of people who have previously been buyers of Guitar Hero. I guess they don't care about future sales of GHIV. With the Wii Mono situation, the exorbitant price of DLC and this dilemma, GHIII owners have some things to be ticked about.
More as this story develops.
Rock Band Forum Thread.
A big round of Congratulations goes out to two of our staff members. Starting today, Ben Wilkinson (Oatbob) is now the permanent hardware editor. Ben has shown enthusiasm and determination that makes him more than worthy of being the new hardware editor. Previously, Ben has been working as the hardware editor on an interim basis. We are certainly very excited about Ben's promotion, and we can't wait to see what great things are in store for the future of the hardware database. It should be an excellent time.
In addition to Ben's promotion, we have another promotion to celebrate. Keith Brown (Tan) has shown time in and time out what it means to be an RFG staff member and editor. Currently, he sits on top of the submission roost, and has been instrumental in getting some of our policies and guidelines to a published form. Certainly, Keith is a model staff member and we couldn't be happier to have him on staff. Recently, it has determined that a fourth director of the site would be beneficial for our growth. This new director would be primarily responsible for maintaining standards and policies in addition to other, mundane tasks that the directorship partakes in. I am pleased to announce that as of tonight Keith is now the Standards Director. Keith brings a skill set and desire to this position that makes us wholly confident in our promotion.
A big round of congrats goes out to both Ben and Keith. With their help and vision, there will always be something new when you keep it tuned to channel three.
Well, due to my huge amount of freedom and crazy sleeping pattern as well as my unusual awesomeness at Contra 4 even though I suck at every other Contra, I wrote a Boss Faq. Uhh, probably no one will read it but I figure I may as well post it here.
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Contra 4 Boss FAQ
v.1.0
(C) Pasiderva (Notyou) 2007
All Rights Reserved
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Contra 4 Boss FAQ
v.1.0
(C) Pasiderva (Notyou) 2007
All Rights Reserved
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Table of Contents
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I. Introduction
II. Layout of the Faq
III. Boss Faq
1.A Tram Car
1.B Wall
2.A Snipers
2.B Alien
3.A Holograph
4.A Ship
4.B Mr. Punchy or Sir Puncho
5.A Battle Cruiser
5.B Fish
6.A Skeleton
7.A Tank
7.B Metal Spider
7.C Running Bug
8.A Red Falcon's Heart
9.A Black Viper
9.B Black Viper True Form
IV. Acknowledgements
V. Legal Stuff
I. Introduction
Contra 4 has been called by many the hardest Contra game next to
Hard Corps. Yeah, this game is hard, there's no two ways around it.
The bosses in this game pose a great deal of challenge to players,
thus causing many deaths. For some reason I never really had too
much trouble with the bosses in this game, or the game for that
matter. Everything in the game has a pattern that can be learned and
manipulated. Utilizing this Faq you will hopefully be able to kill all the
bosses without losing a life. Hope this helps.
*To quickly search for a boss hit control f then input the number dot
and letter next to the boss in the table of contents.
II. Layout of the Faq
The layout of the boss Faq is fairly straightforward. First comes the
section number, who the boss is, the name of the boss (which ispretty
much always unofficial), then the recommended weapon. After that
there is the actual writeup section where a detailed analysis on how to
beat the boss is provided. After that, depending on whether or not the
fight drastically differs depending on what weapon you use, there may
be a 'without recommended weapon' section in which there is a
detailed analysis on how to beat the boss without the recommended
weapon.
III. Boss Faq
1.A
Stage 1 Miniboss
Tram Car
Recommended Weapon- Spreader
This boss is fairly easy. As you approach the boss, walk very slowly
down the slight hill. As you are walking the Tram Car will wizz into
view. Since you approached extremely slowly no enemies will come
at you from the left. Simply aim up and unleash as many bullets as
possible into the thing. The Tram Car moves pretty eratically
however, before it fires it always stops. As soon as it stops make
sure you move out of the way. Other than the actually Tram Car's
attacks, enemies will come from the right. Simply shoot them as they
appear. Furthermore, make sure you do not move onto the break
away ground. Other than that fire up and prepare to dodge the car's
attacks.
1.B
Stage 1 Boss
Wall
Recommended Weapon- Spreader/Crash Shot
Another relatively easy boss. As soon as you walk into the boss'
range fire diagnolly up right. You should take out the sniper
behind he manages to fire a shot. If you have the crash shot simply
stay on the ground and fire at the base door on the bottom.
Doing this will take out the base door before it manages to fire a shot.
The wall will begin to rise. Run to the far left of the screen and hold R.
Fire diagnolly up right. You will take out all four snipers before they
manage to fire any shots. Switch to the crash shot and fire to the right
at the bottom door. Once again you should be able to take it out
before it fires a shot. Don't worry about the turrets, as long as you stay
to the left of the screen they can't reach you. Now that the bottom
door is taken out it's time to go after the top core. Wait for the top
core to fire. After it is done firing grapple onto the helicoptor. Fire at the
core with the crash shot and it will go down without firing another shot.
Without Recommended Weapons-
As soon as you walk into the boss' range fire diagnolly up right taking
out the sniper. Jump onto the platform and stay left. The turrets will not
be abe to reach you so simply shoot them and take them out. Wait for
the base door to fire then jump down and fire at the door. Keep firing
until you hear the door make a beep type noise. Jump back up to the
platform to avoid the shot. After the shot jump back down and repeat.
Once the door is gone the wall will begin to rise. As soon as the
helicoptor appears grappe onto it and take out as many snipers as
possible. Drop down onto the platform, not the ground, if a bullet is
headed towards you or the core begins to fire (once again listen for
the beep). When you are on the platform take out the turrets while
waiting for the oportune moment to grapple back onto the helicoptor.
Once the snipers are gone, simply take out the core and
the door with the aformentioned techniques.
2.A
Snipers at the top of the waterfall
Recommended Weapon- Spreader/Crash Shot (fully upgraded)
As soon as you get to the top of the waterfall move to the right of the
base door and fire left. You will kill every single enemy that
comes out the door. As soon as the door closes begin firing up with
the spreader. You should take out the first wave of snipers
with ease. As soon as they are gone switch to the crash shot. Platforms
will rise with grenade throwers. Stay under the right platform
and spam the shoot button up. You should take out the right grenade
thrower before he manages to attack. After the right guy is
gone simply move to the left one and take him out. The platforms will
begin to fall. Move to where the right platform was and spam
directly up with the spreader. Black snipers will appear and you will
take out the second sniper from the right before they manage
to fire. After he is taken out immediately run right to avoid the shots.
Jump left over the bullets while firing left then upon landing spam
fire at the far right sniper. You will take him out. Now the bullets are
easy to avoid. Spam fire left at the sniper that you initially spam
fired left at and take him out. The last sniper alive will automatically be
impaled.
Without Recommended Weapons-
As soon as you get to the top of the waterfall move to the right of the
base door and fire left. You will kill every single enemy that
comes out the door. As soon as the door closes run right and left while
firing diagnolly up right while running right and diagnolly up
left while running left. You should take out the snipers before they fire
a shot. Platforms will begin to rise. Move under the right
platform and spam fire up hitting the right grenade thrower. Both the
grenade throwers will throw an arced grenade that is easy to
dodge by simply moving right or left as they close in. After the grenades
explode go back to shooting the grenade thrower. Wash,
rinse, and repeat until the grenade throwers die. Now run to where
the right platform is and spam fire up. You will hit the second right
sniper. As soon as they begin to fire run right then jump left over the
bullets while firing at the left snipers. Move back under the
second right sniper and continue this tactic until he is dead. Now go
to the second left sniper and use the same technique except
substitute right for left and vice versa. Once that sniper is dead, take
out whichever sniper you choose with ease. The last sniper will
be impaled.
2.B
Waterfall Alien
Recommended Weapon- Crash Shot
Extremely easy boss right here. As soon as the battle starts he will
move right and bring down both of his claws. Stay in between the
claws. He will bring up the claws and move them left and slam them
down quickly. Do not try to stay under the claws this time,
instead move right. Now he will come back right with the claws.
Simply stay under the thing's head from here on out. All the while fire
directly up with the crash shot and he will die before even beginning
to do his tail attack. Once his first form is dead he will break the
bridge. Simply stand in the center of the bridge and fire straight up
with the crash shot. The thing will die for good before coming close to
hitting you.
Without Recommended Weapon-
Follow the above strategy up until the enemy doesn't make any effort
to slam down it's claws. Run to the far right of the screen to avoid
it's tail attack. Run back to the center of the screen and spam fire up
at the head. He will begin to fire fireballs from his mouth from the
left side of the screen to the right. As they approach you, quickly
move left under them and continue firing up. The alien will raise the
bridge and fire the fireballs from right to left. Move far left and fire
diagnolly up right at the head. You should manage to kill the first form
before he drops the bridge again. He will then chase you down the
waterfall as the bridge is falling. Fire straight up at the head. He will
continue firing from left to right then right to left as the bridge is moving
up and down. Do not attempt to run under the fire balls unless the
bridge is moving down. Continue firing and it will die.
3.A
Holograph
Recommended Weapon- Crash Shot
Quick battle. The holograph can only be attacked when it is in
one piece. Simply fire at the holograph with the crash shot. Barrels will
come towards you. Duck down and shoot the barrel in front of
you. Proceed to shoot the holograph while it is in one piece. If it
manages to make an orb appear shoot the orb before it can do
it's sweep attack. The holograph will go down before any enemies
appear.
Without Recommended Weapon-
At the beginning of the battle shoot the holograph until the
barrels start to come. Duck down and shoot the barrels in front of you.
Continue firing at the holograph. Once it begins firing the orbs
make sure you focus your attack on the orbs. Never have two orbs
on screen at once. Orbs will inevitably sweep down towards you.
Simply jump over them. Enemies will come from the right and left of
the screen. When they do focus your shots on them. If they shoot
at you duck. Proceed to fire at the holograph. Once it takes enough
damage it will move back and forth eratically. Continue shooting at
the holograph, and as before, when the orbs appear focus your
attacks on them. After a while the holograph will go down.
4.A
Ship
Recommended Weapon- Spreader
Stay on the top platfrom. Move far right, hold R and fire diagnol
down left. As the ship moves further right switch to firing straight
down.You should have taken out a good amount of the cannons.
Now the ship will fire it's lasers. Run right while firing diagnolly
down left at the lasers. As they close in hold the right button to
avoid being hit. The ship will stop completely and on the left side
of the ship a turret will open and begin firing up randomly. Dodge
the bullets and move directly above the turret. Do not move
whatsoever, the turret can not hit you. Fire straight down at the
turret until it blows up. Now the ship will fire it's lasers. Move
directly above the furthest left laser and fire straight down. After
it begins blinking run as far left as possible while firing diagnolly
down right until the lasers close in. Hold the left button until the lasers
stop firing. If there is anything still alive on the ship besides
the lasers now is the time to take them out with ease. The ship will
begin to fire the lasers again but this time from left to right. Use
the same technique to take out the lasers and the ship will go down.
4. B
Mr. Punchy or Sir Puncho (don't question me)
Recommended Weapon- Crash Shot
This is a really weird battle. It can either be unbelievably simply
or hard (talking about hard mode here). At the start of the battle,
stay to the left of the screen. With luck, the enemy will punch
directly down with it's right fist (about 75% of the time). When it
does, move to the left of the fist and fire diagnolly up right at
the arm. It will pull back up the arm and attack again. Now if it is a
punch straight down with the right hand, do the same technique;
however, the enemy may punch with it's right hand which is off
the screen. If this happens the hand will come in at a 45 degree
angle or so. Try to time your jump so that you manage to jump left
over the edge of the fist just missing getting hit. Once out of harms
way fire at the arm. After a while the left arm should blow up.
Now move to the right side of the screen. The enemy will punch
down and simply use the same technique. Once that hand is blown
up he will move back and forth across the screen firing easy to
dodge missiles. Simply shoot at the enemy's head until it dies.
*During the entire battle the enemy will be firing easy to dodge
missiles. With the spread shot you can just shoot them down.
5.A
Battle Cruiser
Recommended Weapon- Any
When the battleship first arives, flying enemies will come out of it.
They will fire homing bullets. While attacking the enemies make
sure you shoot down the homing bullets. A bit into the battle an
automatic screen clear thing will fly across the screen. Shoot it and
get it. Continue killing the bad guys. Once they are all gone the
screen will shift and enemies will come out of the bottom of the ship.
They will fire up at you in a sweeping motion from right to left.
Stay in between the two far right enemies and fire straight down while
gradually moving left. After the first wave dissappears move right
a bit because another wave will come. Continue this technique until
the enemies are gone. Now a black enemy will be on the left end
of the ship while the flying enemies come out again. It's essentially
the same thing as before but now you have to kill the black
enemy in order to progress. Pretty easy.
5.B
Fish
Recommended Weapon- Spreader/Homing Missiles
The fish will swim across the screen. Follow it to the edge of the
screen. It will reappear and fire a laser that sweeps all the way
across the screen besides directly above it's eye. When it is done
firing the laser continue following above the eye. About halfway
across the screen jump and fire straight down at the eye. After
getting hit the fish will shoot some scales into the air that come out
of the water while swimming quickly off screen. Follow to the
edge of the screen while shooting at and avoiding the scale's shots.
Repeat the technique until the fish dies.
6.A
Skeleton
Recommended Weapon- Crash Shot, Machine Gun
Fun battle. During the first form the enemy will fire a row of fire
that sweeps across the screen. First it will sweep right, then left,
then right. Then it repeats. Simply time your jump over the fire.
That's the only attack the enemy has, so just unload on the thing as
you are jumping. After a while the enemy will get pissed and
chase you backwards. Now it will do the exact same attack pattern,
however it is invincible. There are two switches that can be shot,
one to the right of the door and one to the left. When the enemy
finishes it's third fire sweep it will pause. Fire at the switch on the
left as fast as you can (use your machine gun if you haveit), since
the last fire sweep is left to right. The door will close decapitating
the skeleton. If you can't seem to fire fast enough, there is a trick
involving a spoon. Take a spoon and rub it quickly across the fire
button. Weird but it makes you fire faster than you otherwise
could.
7.A
Tank
Recommended Weapon- Any powerful weapon
Before the fight make sure you take out the black sniper on top of
the building. Once that is done proceed to the fighting area. The
tank will come from the righ side of the screen. It can only be hurt
while firing standing up unless you have the spreader. Knowing this,
stay to the left of the screen and fire directly at the tank. It has two
attacks, a turret shot or grenade shot. The turret shot is quick.
Either duck (recommended) or jump over it. The grenade shot is
slow, jump over it. In between dodges keep firing at the tank. After
a while it will close in on you. Duck to avoid the barrel of the tank.
Once it pulls back continue firing at it. Continue the technique until
the tank goes down.
7.B
Metal Spider
Recommended Weapon- Homing Missiles
During the entire fight, fire up at it's head. The spider will crawl back
and forth between the two buildings firing bullets straight down.
Dodge the bullets while continue firing straight up. After a while the
spider will shoot fire at one of the two buildings and move to
the opposite side of the screen. It will then shoot a sweeping laser
toward the building. The fire on the building will fall down. As the
laser approaches the building jump over the last wave of fire onto
the building and climb up to the top of the screen narrowly
avoiding the laser. Once the laser stops firing immediately jump
to the center of the stage and continue attacking the enemy. Repeat
this technique until the spider dies.
7.C
Running Bug
Recommended Weapon- Crash Shot
This is my personal favorite boss fight. As soon as you walk into the
area the ground begins to shake. Stand still. Out of the ground
rises a huge bug with you on top of it. Immediately shoot down at
one of the four red circles on the bug. Those are your main
targets for now. As the bug is running it will not attack you, nor
can it hurt you. The only way you can be hurt is by the motorcycle
bad guys at the bottom of the screen. The blue one's fire bullets
at you while the red ones throw grenades. Now, continue blowing
up the four red circles while avoiding the bullets from the motorcycle
guys. If necessary, feel free to take them out as you see fit.
Anyway, once all four of the red circles are blown up (you don't
need to destroy all four, but it helps), kill every single motorcycle
bad guy. Jump down to the lower section of the bug then jump
onto a motorcycle. Ride right to the head of the bug and unload on
it's head by firing diagnolly up right at the head. Motorcycle enemies
will come past you from the right side of the screen. As they
do, immediately let go of R and fire backwards at them taking them
out before they can fire. The blue guys will go down quickly
but the red guys may throw a grenade. If they do, stop firing and
focus on dodging the grenade. Once the grenade is dodged
kill the grenade thrower. Once the enemies are dead go back to
shooting the head of the bug until it is dead.
8.A
Red Falcon's Heart
Recommended Weapon- Crash Shot
Stand in the center of the screen and fire straight forward with
the crash shot. The blast radius will destroy any of the enemy's
that appear. Continue firing until the heart is dead. If you don't
have the crash shot, fire at the heart. Turret type things will
come out of the ground every now and then. When they fire
just jump over the shot. Continue shooting the heart until it is
dead.
9.A
Black Viper
Recommended Weapon- Crash Shot
Before the fight begins move to the far right of the screen. Spam
fire left. If you have the upgraded crash shot or the laser
he dies before having a chance to attack you. Once the thing
turns gigantic fire straight up at it's anus or whatever until it dies.
9.B
Black Viper True Form
Recommended Weapon- Crash Shot/Spreader
Destroy the eyes. Don't go out of your way to destroy them
but if you can it gives you an extra life. Now stand under either
of the snake holes (where the long tentacle type snakes come
out). And wait for the snakes to come out. There are four
patterns they follow;
1. The right snake will come down to above the to
bottom screen and go left while the left snake goes
all the way to the ground and goes right. If this happes head
to the right side of the screen and fire left at the snake.
2. The opposite
3. The snakes will come down then make an inward
motion then twist out. Looks a bit like this )(. If that
happens stay in the middle and fire at either snake.
4. The snakes will both go straight down to the second
screen then curve up in the middle of the bottom
screen. When this happens a grapple point appears on the chin of
Black Viper. Grapple it and fire straight down at the
snakes.
Memorize those patterns and be prepared to move. Once one
of the snakes dies a grapple point will appear at the snake
hole. Grapple onto it and fire at the brain of Black Viper until the
grapple point disappears. Now stand directly in the
center of the screen and fire straight up. The brain has 3 attack
patterns;
1. The brain will come down from the center of the
screen and unleash some orbs that move very slowly then
fly in at you real fast. Avoid the brain while firing the spreader at
both the brain and the orbs. After enough hits the brain will
disappear.
2. The brain will come down from the center screen
and unleash four mini brains at a time which will fly across
the screen either horizontally or vertically. Move to the left of
the screen avoiding the brain while firing at it and jump over
and mini brains that fly past you. After enough hits the brain
will disappear.
3.The brain will swoop in from the top left while
spewing four mini brains at you. As soon as you notic it is doing
this run to the far right, hold R and fire your spreader diagnolly
up left. You should kill two mini brains right away. The other
two can be taken down with ease.
Black Viper will reappear and follow the same attack patterns.
Use the same techniques and after a while Black Viper will die.
Congrats, you beat Contra 4!
IV. Acknowledgements
Thanks to Konami and Wayforward for making this game, the
Super Metroid board on gamefaqs for keeping my interest in
gamefaqs (otherwise I wouldn't care to write this faq), uhh me
for beating the game, the Contra 4 board on gamefaqs for
being full of a bunch of awesome people, MEGAMUR for his
amazing Contra record which made me strive to be
better than him in Contra 4 (he doesn't know this or know
who I am), gamefaqs for hosting this, SailorBacon for running
gamefaqs, CjayC for startying gamefaqs, and anyone or
anything I may be forgetting.
If I seem to be missing something from the faq or you have
something to add email me at notyou2188@gmail.com.
V. Legal Stuff
This Faq is copyright me, Pasiderva. Don't copy, steal this,
change this, claim it as your own or any other illegal crap that
you may be tempted to do.
'Tis the Holiday season for many faiths and people, and here at RF Generation we celebrate the time! Kudos goes out to den68 for our festive top design, it's really awesome! Den is our graphic designer for the site, and the majority of site images you see are his design. We are truly grateful for all the excellent work he provides. Thank you, Den.
We'd like to wish everyone a happy holidays to all. It's a festive time to be had, and I hope everyone makes the best of this time of year. Anything exciting planned? Let us know! I know personally I relish the fact that I have a month off from school. It's nice.
I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who donated money to keep the site rolling. Without their donations, the site directors would have had to find the money to keep the site going, and when two of the three of us are in college, it creates a bind. As such, we are very appreciative for everyone who has donated, and I'd like to thank all who did:
- AndyC
- Cobra
- Fighter17
- Funk_Buddy
- Ghost_Soldier
- James
- Marriott_guy
- NES_Rules
Thank all of you for donating! Your donations keep this site going, and we are truly thankful for your generosity. As promised, if you donated $20 or more you qualify for a free gift. Please contact me with an address so I can get that out to you. I am fairly certain that I can get these gifts sent overseas as well, so please contact me regarding receiving your gift.
Lastly, need a gift idea? Why not check out our store? Perhaps you find something cool there.
From all of us here at RF Generation, enjoy the Holiday season. May it be a safe and wonderful time.
Edit: NES_Rules just made a lovely donation. Thanks!
 Well, the holidays are nearly upon us. Family will be coming in to town, the eggnog will be flowing, and there will hopefully be some games under the tree for all of us. With all the stress of the holidays, what better way to unwind (or take out your frustrations) than will a few fighting games!
Our featured game this week is a newer title (for the US at least) on the Nintendo DS, Bleach: The Blades of Fate. Our reviewer, Shimra, had pretty much nothing but praises for this game. It sounds like a title that you can easily get some life out of. No matter if you're a fan of the cartoon series, this will be a great game to play. Give it a shot!
The featured image is for Guilty Gear X2 on the Sony Playstation 2. Not many fighting games are as fast paced, well executed, and downright fun as this one. Although a fairly pricey title in the recent months, it still sells for less than when it was originally released. If you can, pick up a copy of this game.
What better way to play fighting games than with a great arcade stick?! Our featured hardware is the Hori Fighting Stick SS for the Sega Saturn. I used to own one of these, and let me tell you, their claim of using "GENUINE ARCADE PARTS" is exactly what they mean. From the odd color of the buttons to the feel of each button and the joystick, this is as close as you will get with a fighting stick to the arcade.
The featured collection belongs to Moriya Hanzo. The first thing that appealed to me was the Sony Playstation RPG collection he has. Then I say his other PS1 image. Look at all those great fighting games! Some of the biggest fighting games in history are in his collection! I bet he could strike up a great coversation with you about fighting games.
Well, that's it folks. Another week, another few days closer to the holidays. I do want to wish all of you out there a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, and a Happy New Year. Please be safe this season and game on! Oh...and keep it tuned to RFG on channel 3!
 Third party accessory developer Nyko has announced a Wii accessory that is actually very useful, unlike the multitudes of attachments, wireless sensor bars and controller gloves. This accessory being a wireless nunchuk. Finally, Nyko has freed us from the chains of wires on the Wii, and protected us from strangling each other with that one foot long nunchuk cord.
The wireless nunchuk works by attaching a little receiver to the bottom of the Wii remote which takes the signals from the nunchuk and delivers it to the Wii remote. Pretty clever, but it would have been nicer if it linked to the console directly, but I don't know if that is possible given that the Wii is set up only to work with Wii remotes for Bluetooth input (at least to my knowledge).
However, all may not be well in Wiiland. This wireless nunchuk could end up using yet another set of batteries. Or they could end up going the route of drawing power from the Wiimote itself. No details have been announced about how exactly it will be powered, but no matter what they do, it will end up costing you more batteries. Unless Nyko has the smarts to make it rechargable. Too bad Nintendo wasn't smart enough to actually make the Wiimote itself rechargable using USB or something of that sort. Oh well, it's in the past, nothing we can do about it now...other than bitch and moan to Nintendo to do it.
And of course, what wireless Wii accessory wouldn't be complete without its very own tacky wrist strap? Well, the nunchuk is definitely not one of those, as it does have its own wrist strap in order to protect you from yourself. No word on when the wireless nunchuk condom will be coming out.
However, the major downside of this is that the nunchuck is technically not a nunchuk, as it is not connected to something else. Sorry all you wannabe ninjas out there, you'll have to go find some other nunchuk to fool around with instead of being cheap and using your Wiimote/nunchuk between games of Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution.
(Image from IGN)
Few retail establishments invoke such ire as the establishment known as CompUSA. Perhaps you do not have a CompUSA in your area, be happy, be very happy. CompUSA has been a crooked operation since its inception. Overcharging? Sure! Huge markups? Hell Yes! No honoring sales or price match guarantees? Certainly! As you can tell, I do not have anything nice to say about CompUSA, and good riddance I say. Apparently, other people have similar opinions. So, I imagine that there won't be many tears shed in this closing.
So yeah, if you live near a CompUSA, they'll be having a sale soon. Perhaps you'll find a good deal. Chances though are that you won't. I'm not being evil, I just know that CompUSA is a heartless ass of a corporation. For that reason, I officially say get the hell of my lawn to CompUSA. Let some other, profitable, not crooked store enter the market. Sayonara!
via [CNN]
So, yeah, it is now winter break. I haven't had a winter break in three years, and this will be my last winter break. Feels nice. Really nice. No school for a month. A whole month to do what I want to do. Sleep, relax, game, all things are on the table.
I can't wait to see how my exams and grades turn out. Some classes were harder than others, and the exam I took yesterday was more of a crap shoot than something meaningful. But, who the hell cares, it is over, and until the hell that will be next quarter, it is time for some R&R.
Oh yeah, I expect to add some new things during this month off to the site... stay tuned for that.
Well with a lot of people jumping off of Gamespot I guess I'll keep a blog here instead.
So has your gaming collection ever grown a bit too quickly and you haven't got a chance to play some of them? Thats what I'm dealing with today. I've just beaten Tales of Phantasia and I'm almost done with Soul Calibur Legends. Im half way done with Tales of Destiny but I can only play that when my Fiance' is over. (she wants to keep up with the story and she controls Rutee) So now I have to choose between: Arc the Lad, Secret of Mana, Lunar, and Robotrek.
I'll sleep on it for now, it was a long night at work and I need a few Z's.
My next blog will be better I promise! P.S: If anyone reads this and can suggest a game I'll be very grateful!
2007 was the year of hype in gaming. Between Halo 3, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, Crysis, and Assassin's Creed, this year has seen the release of some of the most talked up games of all-time. While some of them fell far short of the hype, there were plenty of other far superior games that came out, but received little to no attention from mainstream gamers. So, continuing now and on every Wednesday (or Thursday) until the end of the year, I will be giving you a look at two games released this year that deserve your hard-earned cash and attention. At the end of this five-part series (ending the day after Christmas), I will list them in order of the most overlooked/underrated.
 First up this week is the Halo 3 Beta Crackdown by RealTime Worlds and published by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 (I know, Ctrl-Alt-Del sucks, B^U, etc etc, but this one isn't half bad.). Before I talk about it, I want to confess that I have never actually played the game, but I'm just going based off of what Tynstar has said about the game on our forums and what I have heard from elsewhere on the web. Crackdown is an example of when something with not much anticipation rides the coattails of another more popular thing (like The Decemberists riding Stephen Colbert's coattails). Some previous examples of this in gaming include Zone of the Enders (Came with the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo) and Dragon Quest 8 (came with the Final Fantasy 12 demo). In Crackdown's case, RealTime Worlds' corporate overlords (in the publishing sense) at Microsoft thought, "Hey, why don't we give people who buy Crackdown access to a time-limited beta version of Halo 3! It will increase sales for us because Halo fans will buy anything related to the game..." Okay, maybe they didn't say that exactly, but that seems to be the logic. Include a demo for the most anticipated game of all-time with a game that wouldn't sell very well on its own in order to boost sales. Makes sense. Well, the plan worked, as Crackdown went on to sell 1.35 million copies. Now why, would I include such a successful game on this list? Simple. It only sold that many for the Halo 3 beta. Just go to any used game store and you'll see a boatload of copies of Crackdown available for sale. It's a damned shame too because it's actually a great game and got very good reviews and response from those who actually played it. In the game, you play as a genetically enhanced cop with superhuman, comic book esque abilities. The game revolves around you taking down three gangs that control the city. The game has been described by many people (including our very own Tynstar) as very addictive, and definitely worth picking up. So, those of you with a 360, definitely look into getting this game.
 Next game I'd like to feature is one of my favorite games of the year, Picross DS by Jupiter and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. Now, as many of you on this site have discovered, Picross DS is a very addictive DS puzzler which is controlled entirely by the stylus (or the dpad if you please) and is a followup of sorts to Mario's Picross released here in the US 10 years ago on the original Game Boy. Now, many Picross games came out in Japan after Mario's Picross, but they never were released here because Mario's Picross was a commercial failure here, but 12 years later, Nintendo has tried out Picross in the US and Europe again. However, the DS iteration did not do extraordinarily well over here as well. But, for $20 it's a damn good value that will have you hooked for months. Picross DS is kind of like Sudoku, but with pictures. The numbers across the top of the puzzle tell you how many squares to fill in going down (and how many in a row there are), and the numbers going down the side of the puzzle do the same thing, but for going across. It's kind of hard to explain, but if you try out a few puzzles online, you'll understand it. Check out Wikipedia article about Nonograms in order to learn how to play them. You can also try your hand at a few nonogram puzzles by going here. Back to Picross DS, the game includes over 135 puzzles, a Daily Picross feature with five different unlockable minigames to test your puzzle solving skills, a puzzle creator, and online play. The coolest feature about this game are the free downloadable puzzle packs Nintendo has been releasing biweekly. Right now, you can download over 120 additional puzzles to your Picross DS cart (which can hold up to 100 puzzles). The puzzles are mostly from Mario's Picross on the Game Boy, but Nintendo has been having contests to make puzzles and some of those will be posted in a pack. Another online feature the game has is that you can send puzzles you created to your friends and have them solve them. All that for only $20. You really can't go wrong with Picross DS.
Check back next week when we look at something I haven't decided yet. Oddly enough I have no clue what I want to feature the next two times, but I know what the final part of the series will be. Oh well, check back and we'll see what I do. 
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Posted on Dec 7th 2007 at 04:49:45 AM by ( hXd) Posted under site news |
So this morning a got a txt from my lady stating that we "needed to talk". As most guys know, nothing good ever comes out of those words. My stomach was in knots the entire day and my heart hurt.
So after a mere month and a half of dating, my (former) lady broke up with me tonight over the phone. It was a bullcrap reason, too- she said there wasn't a connection between us. Well then, why did you drag it out this long?
She also used the "It's not you, it's me" line, which really got me. Lamest line ever.
It isn't fair, because I put 100% of my heart into this and she basically lied to me for a month and a half. And the sad part is that I still have feelings for her, when she clearly doesn't reciprocate.
I'll never understand women.
 Black and White... what are they? Their contrasting nature tends to give them different associations. Beneficence and malevolence, Ying and Yang, ebony and ivory, light vs. dark, Good vs. Evil, Spy vs. Spy?! I suppose they're black and white too. Some would say Black and White aren't even colors, just the absence or presence of light. Religions associate light and darkness with virtues and sins, with some even being particular to the color of light. In video games, if you're seeing in black and white, you're well overdue for a color television.
Kicking off this week's features is a fantastic piece of hardware that comes in only one color. The Game Boy Player comes only in black, which likely means it won't match your purple lunch pail. Despite its poorly coordinated chromatic aesthetic, this device (accompanied by a disc) lets you play your backlog of Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges on a full-sized television screen. Spiffy.
The featured image fits the theme dead on, as it comes from a PC game titled Black & White. Packaging for this game finished the one-two punch of the monochrome cover by packaging it all in two different box designs. The game itself can be considered a "god simulation" strategy game. The premise of the game is to build a following of tribesmen on a remote island. As you gain strength, you can compete against other gods and even claim some of their followers.
Patrick is the proud owner of this week's featured collection. This chap enjoys collecting for the Mega Drive and Master System, and even owns this week's featured game.
Mickey Mania was originally intended to be a landmark project for Mickey Mouse's 65th birthday, but the original project timeline was canned to accomodate bigger ideas. The end result proves to be a greater tribute to the Mickey Mouse legacy. So the story goes... Mickey gets zapped back to the past, but instead of reliving history, he gets to reenact his own cartoons. The first level is first starring role in the black-and-white animated short, Steamboat Willy. As Mickey progresses through the game, he travels to subsequently later cartoons in his animated career. For being targeted at a younger audience, this game proved to be quite difficult. Now we are all a few years more experienced as gamers, maybe we can rise meet the challenge.
Until next time, stay tuned to channel 3...
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We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy our entries, rantings, and completely unrelated series of thoughts. We write for you to read, so we certainly hope that you enjoy our material.
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