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One El’V’Er Gift.
Oh, heck, while we’re telling you about Valentines and comics, we might as well update One One Se7en. Today’s joke made me cry – but hey, you might have a different reaction. (Probably not, though.)(Louis Wu 13:04:53 UTC)
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Valhalla
Halo Action Figure Theater was also updated today – Episode 126 is up a little later than Elnea expected because she was creating RvB Valentines for you to use. (Warning: some of these are… well, not polite.) Funny Valentines and mystery watermelons… what MORE could you want?(Louis Wu 12:56:06 UTC)
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You don’t need feelings, use these instead!
Okay, I’m officially too frickin’ busy for life. AGAIN, I forgot to post yesterday’s Another Halo Comic Strip. You still have time to make use of it, though – ZZoMBiE13’s made you some AHCS Valentines; you can cut them out and customize them before tomorrow, no problem!(Louis Wu 12:17:35 UTC)
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RT: Drunk Tank Week 5
This week, we have the drunkest staff member of them all – Nico. He’s French. They have wine for blood — it’s like a law or something. Netflix announced that they are dropping the HD DVD format. [link] Burnie — They say when an artist dies,…
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RT: Invasion
So Nico has been in the office visiting for about a week. In true French form, he’s worn a beret the entire time, and has managed to smoke a cigarette about every 7 seconds. As today’s comic shows, his presence has not been wholly welcomed (he’s adorably…
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Ironically Cleansing Dirt
In case you were taking the whole auction for charity thing too seriously (hard not to, when the top bid is almost $1300 now), Luke has interviewed Frankie about his motivations and inspirations for the piece. You can shovel that stuff up and grow flowers with it. (Great imagery, though.) Thanks, Spartan Jag.(Louis Wu 19:41:54 UTC)
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Fumbling the easy stuff
Ars Technica has a story about a reader who signed up for the “Buy Xbox 360, Get Halo 3 Free” promotion (we mentioned this promotion back in November)… apparently, there are some issues with actually RECEIVING the free game. There’ve been some rumblings in our own forum about this (here’s one post, I remember others) – you’d think, with a promotion like this, supplying the free games would be a no-brainer. I mean, you’re only talking about a thousand people… getting them a free copy of a game that’s sold almost 10 million copies in the past 4 months should be simple, shouldn’t it? If it were MY company, after the RROD billion-dollar writeoff, and the LIVE connection woes over Christmas, I’d be positively chomping at the bit for easy positive-PR opportunities. I guess MS doesn’t think that way.(Louis Wu 19:02:14 UTC)
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This Transformer is Not a Natural Formation!
Heh – Hawty McBloggy noticed another Halo-related custom Transformer on eBay; this one changes from the Master Chief to a Warthog (sort of). I got a lot of flak the last time I posted a Transformer auction – folks were suggesting it was a total ripoff, all the guy had done was paint a transformer and add an MC head. That’s as may be – if you think it’s worthless, don’t buy it, don’t bid on it. The simple fact is, finding some of these figures at ALL is hard – and not everyone’s got the time to custom-paint one. If you’re the type of person who’d rather buy than make… check this out.(Louis Wu 18:38:36 UTC)
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Big Idea beats Small Budget
McCann Erickson, the ad agency that came up with the Jake Courage aspect of the Believe campaign that launched Halo 3, has put up a movie showing how they did it. Interesting stuff! (I had no idea all the pics got stolen…)(Louis Wu 18:25:48 UTC)
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Heart of Dorkness
Chitting and chatting with the artist himself about the Mister Chief we’re auctioning for charity.
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VES Awards, Revisited
We mentioned the awards Halo snagged at the Visual Effects Society yesterday – Bungie has posted a short interview with CJ Cowan, one of the winners, discussing what the awards are all about, and what they had to do to be considered. Pretty cool read!(Louis Wu 15:14:00 UTC)
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Writing dialogue with no reference
Heh – bizarreness. Narcogen also noticed an interview with Eric Trautmann over at Earth’s Greatest – he talked about writing a lot of the dialogue in Halo in a really short time… and under absurd conditions.So, we had three days to bang out some ridiculous amount of dialogue, but they wouldn’t actually let us LOOK at the game (which is why some of the dialogue doesn’t make total sense; I conservatively estimate we got it about 80-90% right, which I think is an accomplishment given how blind we were flying).
I’ll betcha a dollar that Cortana’s “this cave is not a natural formation!” line is explained by this situation. Pretty neat to see behind the scenes after the fact… sort of amazing it turned out as well as it did!(Louis Wu 15:08:00 UTC)
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More Musicality from R.net
Narcogen pointed out a free program that will let you read PrintMusic files (the format many of Rampancy.net’s Sheet Music Archive offerings are in), and export as MIDI. To show you how it’s useful, he’s added PDF and MIDI files to a bunch of existing sheet music entries. Now Halo music is easier than ever to hear (and play)!(Louis Wu 15:00:05 UTC)
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ThisIsSpartan117 Contest Results
A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned a contest over at ThisIsSpartan117.com – they were soliciting for a new screenshot to use as their background image. The winner was announced yesterday. Thanks, alacaboose.(Louis Wu 14:57:36 UTC)
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Hail to the Tyrant
MasterChief2829 dropped off a link last night from Next-Generation – Hardy Lebel (Lead Multiplayer Design for Halo, Additional Mission Design for Halo 2, as well as Lead Design for Oni) has teamed up with some friends to form Tyrant Studios. For Bungie watchers, these guys join Wideload Games, Giant Bite Games, Certain Affinity, and others as companies to keep an eye on!(Louis Wu 14:54:26 UTC)
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Halo Photography Gallery
Thanks, Snave wanted to point out that he’s got a Halo photography gallery set up, with a bunch of contributors. Swing by for some nice pics, from all three games! (Louis Wu 14:43:06 UTC)
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Your love is the only power-up I need.
Hawty McBloggy put up some nice eValentines for you over at her site – go celebrate, Halo-style.(Louis Wu 14:41:18 UTC)
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Assasszzzzzination.
Gah! I did it again – and I’m not even sure HOW this time. I forgot to post yesterday’s One One Se7en – so here it is. (Maybe I passed out when I read it?)(Louis Wu 14:15:19 UTC)
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Devil May Cry 4
Opening
Devil May Cry 4, the hotly anticipated sequel in the DMC franchise thrusts players back into the world of demons, action, metal music, and scantily-clad vixens that the series is known for. Unlike the previous games though, gamers this time around will play as new protagonist Nero (think Virgil from DMC 3 with a different haircut and wardrobe) as he fights the endless hordes of the demon world with a little help from series mainstay, Dante. Players control both characters throughout the game but the majority of the spotlight is taken by the newcomer in this outing.
Platform
PlayStation 3Publisher
CapcomVisuals Score
10Visuals
“Woah†is what most people will either think or say upon seeing DMC 4. The game is gorgeous, from the character and enemy models and their respective animations to the various, detailed environments all while maintaining a rock-steady framerate that only dips slightly during cutscenes.
The sole visual detriment most people will notice is some of the work done on environmental shadows. Character shadows are near flawless with minute detail such as realistic, self-shadowing hair but they contrast harshly with pixilated shadows being cast by some of the game’s environments. Even running in high def these pixilated shadows still look they belong to a previous generation game.
That the only graphical complaint is minor pixilated environmental shadows doesn’t undermine the fact that DMC 4 is without a doubt one of the best looking games this generation and a testament to the developers skill in presenting such a visual showcase without hindering the gameplay and framerate.

Product Link
Sound Score
6Sound
Capcom changed the routine a bit this time with quality voice over work for the characters. It won’t win any accolades but the voices fit the characters and emotions are conveyed competently.
What didn’t change however is the metal music. It’s back and like the previous games, the same song plays each and every time a battle ensues. While the music isn’t atrocious and both characters have their own song it is disappointing that the developers didn’t choose to add more variety to the music. The only change is an orchestral piece that’s played during a few cutscenes between Nero and love interest Kyrie.
Gameplay Score
10Gameplay & Controls
Fast and furious is what best describes the series gameplay and DMC 4 is no different. In fact both Nero and Dante seem to move a little faster than what was previously seen in the past. Add into the mix a “looser†feeling sensation to movements and combos and even people new to the series will be looking like a pro to any passerby while playing.
Like the Special Edition of DMC 3 which let gamers play as Vergil, this game features 2 different characters to play as. Unlike DMC 3: SE however, both players are available throughout the campaign with the game switching out the controllable character a little over half way through.
Another change is that instead simply looking different and having different weapons (the only real change between Virgil and Dante) Nero and Dante both have distinctly separate gameplay mechanics. Both do have similar combos and the gameplay doesn’t change drastically but it’s enough of a disparity and change of pace to keep gamers from getting bored with either.

Dante’s features are a slight evolution from the formula used in the previous game. He has multiple weapons and fighting styles which can be switched to on the fly, creating some mind-blowing combos. It is complicated and deep but not a necessity to get through the game.
Nero on the other hand utilizes a demonic arm that can pull distant enemies within reach for a combo or, using the arm, can perform a throw, slam, smash, etc. It’s also used in boss fights to inflict massive damage once the boss is dazed or in certain situations as a “grappler†to get through minor platforming segments.
Longevity Score
8Longevity & Drawbacks
For a single player only game DMC 4 offers a healthy amount of unlockables to lure players back to it with different difficulties that not only change enemy numbers and damage but also expands upon the enemies attack repertoire on the higher levels. Various minor nuggets like wallpapers, character art, and a survival-mode arena await those hardcore enough to unlock them not to mention completing both Dante and Nero’s combo/weapons lists which can take several playthroughs depending on the gamer’s skill as more “proud souls†(currency) are given to skilled players for use in purchasing the moves/weapons list.
At the same time DMC 4’s strict reliance on abundant backtracking and regurgitating previously beaten bosses puts a bit of a damper on replayability. Then again some, like me, won’t mind as fighting the same bosses with two different playing characters isn’t a hardship nor is running through the splendid looking environments a second time a chore either.
Overall Score
8.4Amazon link
Closing
While the core gameplay in DMC 4 mainly unchanged from previous installments, Capcom has addressed most of the series shortcomings while also offering up a few nice surprises with a more functional camera system, better balanced and more varied gameplay, and a refreshingly good story surrounding the full throttle action. Anyone who’s waited to take the plunge in to the DMC pool step up, the water’s just right.
