Tech-Gaming Technology, Gaming, and Culture
Whether gamers are slaying orcs, directing buxom brawlers, or shaving seconds off their gymkhana laptimes, a variety of new releases await gamers. Of course, ‘new’ is relative term when discussing the reissue of Naughty Bear– the teddy-bear killing simulation which now comes padded with downloadable content.
360
Dirt 3
Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale (XBLA)
Kung Fu Panda 2
Naughty Bear: Gold Edition
PS3
Dirt 3
Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale (PSN)
Kung Fu Panda 2
Naughty Bear: Gold Edition
Wii
Kung Fu Panda 2
Nascar 2011 The Game
3DS
Dead or Alive Dimensions
DS
Cake Mania: Main Street
Kung Fu Panda 2
Murder in Venice
Paws & Claws Pampered Pets 2
PSP
No Releases
PC
Dirt 3
Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale
Faxion Online
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Game
DesertEagle’s Pick: Back in 1999, I picked up Colin McRae Rally on a whim. Seven games and one rebranding later, the series still manages to keep my attention. While recent entries in the franchise have ‘drifted’ away from pure rally, I’m confident that Dirt 3 will appease my yearning for adrenaline-fueled off-road racing.
SeanNOLA’s Pick: Dungeon’s & Dragons has had a storied past, as far as video games are concerned. From Baldur’s Gate to Tower of Doom, some of my favorite games have come out of that franchise. From what little I’ve seen, Daggerdale has my interest piqued. I’m always up for a good online action-adventure title!
Samurage’s Pick: Honestly, I’m still playing and loving Witcher 2, which is probably more exciting that any of the new releases this week. Sorry industry 
Heard the site was geting a revamp on the CAGCast. Looking amazing guys, great work!
I picked DOA: Dimensions up yesterday. It kept me up past 4:30 this morning. I\’m pretty happy with it. Though, to be perfectly honest, I\’m not nearly as satisfied as I was with DOA: Ultimate on the original Xbox when that came out. There are a few design decisions that Team NINJA has made in DOA: Dimensions that were not to the benefit of the overall product.
The changes that they made to the Tag Mode have practically ruined it. Tag Mode/Tag Challenge is now 1P + CPU for a team instead of 1P controlling both fighters like in previous DOA games. The CPU will randomly tag itself in after about 5 seconds or so of your fighter being in and interrupts your chance at getting into a groove. On top of that, the opponents have much larger health bars and inflict far more damage than your fighters do in Tag Mode. It simply isn\’t a fun mode to play anymore.
Another thing that TN did was that they gave several fighters(Hayabusa, for example) the \”Torn Sky Blast\” projectile attack. I played about 30 matches online and almost every Hayabusa I fought spammed this move for the entire fight. Not only does the \”Torn Sky Blast\” take off a fair chunk of your health bar, it also knocks your fighter backwards, making it difficult to advance close enough to get some offense in and stop the TSB from being used effectively. It is the DOA: Dimensions equivalent of SSFIV:3DE\’s Lite Mode Guile. At one point, I got frustrated enough to say \”That\’s it! I\’m done!\” and went back to playing offline.
Another, thankfully smaller, gripe I have is that there just aren\’t a lot of costumes. The majority of fighters have only three costumes(one being unlockable). Ayane has the most of any fighter in the game with a total of five costumes(three unlockable), while Kasumi, Lei Fang, Helena, and one more(I believe) have four. There will be 34 DLC costumes made available for free, but even with those, DOA: Dimensions still pales in-comparison to DOA: Ultimate when it comes to costumes.
One other compliant I have is that the Photo/Showcase Mode\’s camera has painfully imprecise controls. You tilt and turn the 3DS to adjust the angle you want to take the picture at. The problem is that I\’ve found the motion sensor to be overly sensitive, making it much harder to take good pictures than it really should be.
Even with those issues, DOA: Dimensions is well worth picking up. The gameplay is almost exactly spot-on with the previous DOA console games. As impressive as Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition\’s port of SSFIV\’s gameplay from the home consoles was, DOA: Dimensions\’ port of the DOA console games\’ gameplay is far more impressive thanks, in no small part, to the fact that the game doesn\’t resort to using static backgrounds like SSFIV:3DE did. Water flows, trees sway, and the fan-favorite \”Danger Zone\” elevator stage continuously sinks lower into the Earth as the fight progresses.
Simply put, if you\’ve ever liked a DOA fighting game, I doubt Dimensions will disappoint you too much.
Online is one area where SSFIV:3DE is the clear winner at. Dimensions plays just fine most of the time(from my experience), but I did notice slowdown, stutters, and input delay in some fights.
The online interface itself is much better in SSFIV:3DE. You don’t have the option to rematch with the random player you just fought in Dimensions. If you encounter the same player again, it’s either pure luck or a sign that not many people are playing online. I haven’t played with any friends online yet, so I’m not sure how the Friends Lobby has turned out yet.
Also of note is that an opponent can decline a fight if they feel intimidated at your W/L stats, which are displayed before you/they accept the fight.
The ranking system isn’t the best in the world. You lose almost exactly the amount of points in a loss as you gain in a win. That means if you aren’t on and maintain a winning streak, your ranking probably won’t get far beyond an “F”. I had several hundred points(about 500-600) before dropping back down to almost zero in a matter of a few lost fights.
There’s been a negative tone to my feedback for the game. I want to clarify that even with the complaints I’ve had, DOA: Dimensions is a good game and I don’t regret buying it.