Posts Filed Under: video games

We’ve been hard at work on the next line of Meat Bun goods for some time and we’re almost ready to show them in the flesh. But first we want to offer a brief preview of the inspiration behind the line, “The Year 20XX,” which will be arriving at the online store soon.

After going a little medieval with Wizards ‘n’ Warriors last year, we decided to look to the future. For that is where you and I will spend the rest of our lives… So what futuristic games do we love? And which sci-fi classics inspire us?

One of my personal favorites is Capcom’s Forgotten Worlds, released in arcades in 1988. This side-scrolling shoot ‘em up felt like nothing else at the time, sporting a unique control scheme featuring a big rotating button and two memorable, but unnamed protagonists: P1 and P2. We’ve talked about doing something with the game’s War God since the inception of Meat Bun, but we finally found the right artist for the job.

Another great character, Space Channel 5′s Ulala. Maybe unwavering love for the Dreamcast made us fall in love with the future’s hippest space reporter, but United Game Artists gorgeous design for Ulala was probably the thing that won us over. We really dig the swinging ’60s characteristics of Ulala and have always wanted to do something Space Channel inspired.

F-Zero was one of the first Super Nintendo games I ever owned, one that I spent hours upon hours with, whittling down my lap times on Death Wind. I’ve always been a fan of non-traditional racing games, whether they’re the futuristic hover cars of WipEout and F-Zero or the speedboats of Hydro Thunder. And Meat Bun loves classic racing imagery. So maybe you can see where this is going…

One last-minute addition to the line is Star Fox inspired. Or maybe it’s Super FX Chip-inspired. Old-school polygonal graphics, the kind of stuff seen in games like S.T.U.N. Runner, Steel Talons and Star Fox, brings back great memories, just like pixelated 8-bit sprites do.

Of course, we have more planned for The Year 20XX than just stuff inspired by the above. Keep an eye peeled for more news soon.

If there’s one thing we love at Meat Bun HQ, it’s the shoot ‘em up talent at Treasure. Enough to spend ludicrous amounts on an imported version of an Ikaruga model kit? When it looks this good, the answer is YES! Maybe we should reprint our Shooting For Vengeance tee…

Speaking of good looking, Portal 2′s Chell looks pretty damn foxy for being a few hundred years old.

Maybe not so appealing is the Dragon Quest cafe’s Pink Sanguine Tiramisu. But if given the chance to visit Luida’s Bar in Japan, we’d probably order just about anything. Hopefully we’ll be there when they’re making Slime jello shots.

On the video front, you’ve seen Remi Kart 2, I take it? Another hilarious Mario Kart meets the real world stunt, in which Remi Gaillard is finally accosted by The Man. He needs to take it to the next level for Remi Kart 3, rainbow painting those Parisian roads.

Oh, can someone please explain this Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 commercial from Japan?

Finally, keep an eye peeled for a little Meat Bun cameo in this College Humor clip.

This week’s Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Fight Club was, well, pretty huge. Our friends at iam8bit captured the whole thing on beautiful time-lapse footage, showing what 1,500 fighting game fans crammed into a club looks like. Dudes started lining at 1 AM the night before–and not on downtown LA’s cleanest alley, mind you–to get in, but the Fight Club offered a first glimpse at Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition and plenty of hands-on time with MVC3.

This looks like it might be the last Fight Club for a long, long time… at least until Street Fighter X Tekken comes closer to release. So savor it!

Culled from the long list of things we’ve been talking ’bout on Facebook/Twitter this week? Pure 120% burning excitement for the Demon’s Souls sequel-of-sorts, Dark Souls. FromSoftware’s next dank dungeon crawler looks exactly like what we’ve been wanting at Meat Bun HQ — more beasts to slay, sweet armor sets to collect, a few hundred deaths. Tons of new artwork and screen shots right here.

Not so dark is Dorkly Bits‘ take on the battle between the Belmonts and Dracula. If you’re really looking for Castlevania S&M, though, playing Castlevania Judgment sometime. Pure pain!

Another game we’re excited about, Skyrim, we’re not this excited about.

One of my favorite videos of the week, Dark Souls trailer notwithstanding, is this Street Fighter IV Ultra Combos in real life montage.

Finally, if you find yourself in Japan any time soon and you happen to be a big Ace Attorney fan, make it to Sega Joypolis for the Ace Attorney Investigations interactive game. What will they think of next? Musicals?!

Come play Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds early with us this Thursday, February 3 at the latest Fight Club event thrown by the fine folks at Capcom USA. I Am 8-Bit is hosting the latest beat ‘em up get-together at Club 740 in downtown LA, where prize packs and early access to MVC3 can be had. Starts at 8 p.m., ends at 11 p.m.

No RSVP, just show up. But show up early if you want goodies and want to get in at a reasonable hour. Here’s where!

MVC Fight Club
Club 740
740 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014

We’ll see you there?

What are we talking about in 140 characters or less this week? Our love of Hsien-ko (aka Lei Lei) from Darkstalkers, the latest confirmed addition to Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Did we mention we did a really swell tee for Capcom for MVC3? Yes, we sure did.

Speaking of Capcom, I wonder if they consider Blanka’s day job to be canon. As a meter maid of this caliber, he’d fit right in in Metro City.

On the arcade front, get familiar with the latest Elevator Action… Death Parade!

And have you seen the new Silent Hill? Like all games in this series after Silent Hill 3, we’re taking a wait and see approach. But Vatra Games is definitely making Silent Hill pretty. Dat fog!

As we look for every little morsel on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Game Informer comes through with details on the combat system. Is there some Demon’s Souls influence in here?

Finally, how cute are these antique Japanese postcards?