Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Ongoing Mass Effect 2 thoughts....
The more I play this game the more I get sucked in, but I do have some nagging problems with it.
The stripping away of the larger RPG elements are really starting to get to me. You get no XP for kills at all, you can't outfit your teammates with better armor b/c it doesn't exist and the whole game feels slightly less grand in some ways.
Every new world you go to, even the open ones, seem small in comparison to the original. Omega 3 was decently sized, but once you've done a loop around the area you really don't have a reason to do it again. The maps are laid out almost too well leaving no exploration needed. It seems like all "major quest locations" have a spot where you land and then 2 hub points and that's about it. I think the world is deceptively smaller than they'd like to admit. In the original you explore and explore 1 large area and pick up quests and talk to people and get lost in the world. Here there's too much hand holding and point A to point B.
In this game you're tasked with assembling "the best and most deadly team ever," but every time I go to pick up a new teammate it feels more like a fetch quest. Go to said location, talk to person that knows something, kill a ton of people to find said person or find said person and kill a ton of people to get out....it's pretty much the same quest over and over and IMHO it shows. While you're on these quests the path through it is very linear and there's nothing to explore. Now they're all wanting special favors so that I can then earn their loyalty.
I LOVE THIS GAME, but to say it is w/o some large flaws is a huge misstep (is it fair to call it a flaw if they excluded something from the first game or made it more basic???). I guess the flaws boil down to making the game more accessible to the general gaming audience and I get that, but they didn't have to do it with my favorite game. I went back to The Citadel to talk to Captain Anderson and it's a neutered version of the old Citadel. Two levels to "explore" and one talky part. In the original The Citadel was a huge area with many levels and citizens and many side quests.
One of my favorite things of the original was building relationships with my squad and even that feels simplistic. In the original no matter how many times you talked to a squadmate they always had something to say and you could even TALK TO THEM DURING QUESTS and get their thoughts. Again...not here. You can talk to them on the ship, but after you've explored the dialogue tree after you recruit them it's pretty much done until they call you in for a favor mission....oh well. I feel almost no bond with any character...even my blessed Garrus.
This game deserves high praise and I'm having a super awesome time with it, but I'd be lying if I said my feelings weren't a little hurt. The game just feels like twice the game it was action wise and only half the game it was story and content wise. I wish gaming journalists were as honest and thorough as I am with their assessments of games like this....and HALO.
The stripping away of the larger RPG elements are really starting to get to me. You get no XP for kills at all, you can't outfit your teammates with better armor b/c it doesn't exist and the whole game feels slightly less grand in some ways.
Every new world you go to, even the open ones, seem small in comparison to the original. Omega 3 was decently sized, but once you've done a loop around the area you really don't have a reason to do it again. The maps are laid out almost too well leaving no exploration needed. It seems like all "major quest locations" have a spot where you land and then 2 hub points and that's about it. I think the world is deceptively smaller than they'd like to admit. In the original you explore and explore 1 large area and pick up quests and talk to people and get lost in the world. Here there's too much hand holding and point A to point B.
In this game you're tasked with assembling "the best and most deadly team ever," but every time I go to pick up a new teammate it feels more like a fetch quest. Go to said location, talk to person that knows something, kill a ton of people to find said person or find said person and kill a ton of people to get out....it's pretty much the same quest over and over and IMHO it shows. While you're on these quests the path through it is very linear and there's nothing to explore. Now they're all wanting special favors so that I can then earn their loyalty.
I LOVE THIS GAME, but to say it is w/o some large flaws is a huge misstep (is it fair to call it a flaw if they excluded something from the first game or made it more basic???). I guess the flaws boil down to making the game more accessible to the general gaming audience and I get that, but they didn't have to do it with my favorite game. I went back to The Citadel to talk to Captain Anderson and it's a neutered version of the old Citadel. Two levels to "explore" and one talky part. In the original The Citadel was a huge area with many levels and citizens and many side quests.
One of my favorite things of the original was building relationships with my squad and even that feels simplistic. In the original no matter how many times you talked to a squadmate they always had something to say and you could even TALK TO THEM DURING QUESTS and get their thoughts. Again...not here. You can talk to them on the ship, but after you've explored the dialogue tree after you recruit them it's pretty much done until they call you in for a favor mission....oh well. I feel almost no bond with any character...even my blessed Garrus.
This game deserves high praise and I'm having a super awesome time with it, but I'd be lying if I said my feelings weren't a little hurt. The game just feels like twice the game it was action wise and only half the game it was story and content wise. I wish gaming journalists were as honest and thorough as I am with their assessments of games like this....and HALO.
More info on the 3rd DLC for Borderlands...gonna be epic.
Seriously can't wait for this. No one on this blog has a good reason to not own this game. Replay value is some of the highest I've ever seen and YES it is more fun and better than Left 4 Dead hands down.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
BC2 Demo
The Demo is out today on XBOX Live. It's for Port Valdez. I gotta attempt to be productive at work today before I go home tonight and play the PC beta, haha...
http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/
http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Controversial move by Ubisoft to combat piracy.
Ubisoft is taking steps to combat piracy by requiring you to ALWAYS be online when playing their games. This goes back to some talk we've had in the past about PC pirating and I think that their points are valid. Piracy cuts into the profits of an arguably dying/slowing pc market and this would allow them to get more money they deserve to put back into more games.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
The Fathers and Mothers of Gaming
A bitchin' article about the people in gaming that made it what it is today and get ZERO recognition. I didn't recognize one name in this article besides Trip Hawkins. Awesome read.
Mass Effect 2 Impressions
I'm 4 hours in and loving this game. I can happily say that my excitement hasn't been let down with lackluster anything in this game. It's almost exactly what I was hoping it would be!
Good:
Gameplay has been tightened up significantly. Fighting feels MUCH more like Gears of War than anything else. Don't take that as a bad thing, but just an inevitable improvement from the first game that played more like GoW with an Army of Two cover system thrown in.
Graphics are improved as well, but most noticeably from the framerate side of things which allows the combat to be as fast as it is. Actually having a large background in the distance really helps with immersion. The first game did this, but not nearly as well.
Conversation wheel is still there and just as awesome!
Loading during elevator rides is gone as well, but I kinda preferred waiting on an elevator to going to a loading screen personally.
Menus have been completely revamped which is a good and bad thing. Good because it makes item management a thing of the past, but bad because you lose customization options.
It's a "mature" game that isn't mature because of swearing or nudity! It deals with adult themes and real emotions!
I love the characters in all Bioware games (HK-47 from KOTOR and Kang the Mad from Jade Empire are just 2 examples), but especially Mass Effect. I have yet to find a character in any medium that I love more than Wrex and Garrus. Is it weird that I talk to them during combat and rely on their powers and skills to back me up?
Bad:
It's evident that they wanted to make Mass Effect 2 more accessible to non RPG players, but they did hurt the overall RPG side of the game. For example, in the 1st you find new guns and armor/armor types everywhere. You're constantly looking for the next best thing by looting. This doesn't have that at all. You have standard armor and guns that you can upgrade, but that's it.
Going back to the armor in the 1st you could take your helmet on or off all you wanted. Just go to the menu and it was there. Here you either set it to on or off in you officers cabin and that's what it is. The LARGER annoyance is with the DLC armor (which is totally badass btw...esp the CE armor) and that you CAN'T EVER take off the helmet. I mainly prefer to play w/o it in the 1st game so that I can see my guys face during conversation, but all I have here is a bug helmet looking back at me.
Ammo....oh ammo. The 1st game had no reloading period. You could overheat your guns and that's it. The developers would say this game doesn't have ammo, but it really does. They call them "heat" cells or whatever, but basically you have to eject them every so many shots and put in a new one. At least the cells are universal and work for all guns except the heavy guns.
Lastly, I can't find a way to turn of my squad mates auto powers. I have them diminished, but not gone. I like to have complete control over my team.
Honestly, the 1st game is my all time fav which trades place every once in a while with Oblivion/Morrowind/Fallout 3, but Mass Effect 2 is already shaping up to be "THE GAME OF NATE." It's so important I even used my own real name.
Good:
Gameplay has been tightened up significantly. Fighting feels MUCH more like Gears of War than anything else. Don't take that as a bad thing, but just an inevitable improvement from the first game that played more like GoW with an Army of Two cover system thrown in.
Graphics are improved as well, but most noticeably from the framerate side of things which allows the combat to be as fast as it is. Actually having a large background in the distance really helps with immersion. The first game did this, but not nearly as well.
Conversation wheel is still there and just as awesome!
Loading during elevator rides is gone as well, but I kinda preferred waiting on an elevator to going to a loading screen personally.
Menus have been completely revamped which is a good and bad thing. Good because it makes item management a thing of the past, but bad because you lose customization options.
It's a "mature" game that isn't mature because of swearing or nudity! It deals with adult themes and real emotions!
I love the characters in all Bioware games (HK-47 from KOTOR and Kang the Mad from Jade Empire are just 2 examples), but especially Mass Effect. I have yet to find a character in any medium that I love more than Wrex and Garrus. Is it weird that I talk to them during combat and rely on their powers and skills to back me up?
Bad:
It's evident that they wanted to make Mass Effect 2 more accessible to non RPG players, but they did hurt the overall RPG side of the game. For example, in the 1st you find new guns and armor/armor types everywhere. You're constantly looking for the next best thing by looting. This doesn't have that at all. You have standard armor and guns that you can upgrade, but that's it.
Going back to the armor in the 1st you could take your helmet on or off all you wanted. Just go to the menu and it was there. Here you either set it to on or off in you officers cabin and that's what it is. The LARGER annoyance is with the DLC armor (which is totally badass btw...esp the CE armor) and that you CAN'T EVER take off the helmet. I mainly prefer to play w/o it in the 1st game so that I can see my guys face during conversation, but all I have here is a bug helmet looking back at me.
Ammo....oh ammo. The 1st game had no reloading period. You could overheat your guns and that's it. The developers would say this game doesn't have ammo, but it really does. They call them "heat" cells or whatever, but basically you have to eject them every so many shots and put in a new one. At least the cells are universal and work for all guns except the heavy guns.
Lastly, I can't find a way to turn of my squad mates auto powers. I have them diminished, but not gone. I like to have complete control over my team.
Honestly, the 1st game is my all time fav which trades place every once in a while with Oblivion/Morrowind/Fallout 3, but Mass Effect 2 is already shaping up to be "THE GAME OF NATE." It's so important I even used my own real name.
Indie Games on 360
So funny that I just got you guys to play and buy this game last night and I was even saying that this kid is a genius and prob made 6 figures for this game, but the guy that created "I Made A Game With Zombies In It" made over 120k. Wow.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Good one....
Bungie is stating that HALO: Reach bends the 360 to it's limits. I find this hard to believe...really hard.
One game that consistently impresses me and makes me wonder how the hell it work is the Bad Company series using the Frostbite Engine. I know the 2nd has come out yet, but even the first blew me away graphically. Take that and add huge maps, destructible environments, seriously impressive audio, no lag and consider me blown away. Best of all there isn't a spot in the game that looks like it was made by the Unreal Engine.
Any other engines out there that really impress you guys? I can't remember the Assassin's Creed engine name, but that's a good one too.
One game that consistently impresses me and makes me wonder how the hell it work is the Bad Company series using the Frostbite Engine. I know the 2nd has come out yet, but even the first blew me away graphically. Take that and add huge maps, destructible environments, seriously impressive audio, no lag and consider me blown away. Best of all there isn't a spot in the game that looks like it was made by the Unreal Engine.
Any other engines out there that really impress you guys? I can't remember the Assassin's Creed engine name, but that's a good one too.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
I need some help.
I'm almost at the bottom (and by bottom I mean soon) of the list to trade out ODST on Goozex (prob the greatest website of all time) and it's worth 800 points/$40 bucks. I can't decide what "more pricey" game I want to put it towards.
Dragon Age: Origins
Darksiders
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Brutal Legend
I'm really leaning towards Dragon Age, but Darksiders would be a close 2nd. Army of Two and Brutal Legend will be the 2 games that price drops the quickest. Thoughts? Opinions?
Dragon Age: Origins
Darksiders
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Brutal Legend
I'm really leaning towards Dragon Age, but Darksiders would be a close 2nd. Army of Two and Brutal Legend will be the 2 games that price drops the quickest. Thoughts? Opinions?
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Time to complain!
With everyone complaining and hating on the Wii, I decided I wanted to complain too. Unfortunately, my position in retail forces me to complain about the technology in moderation. Ignorant Wii customers on the other hand... it's open season.
1. Blissfully Ignorant - These people don't have a clue, will never have a clue, and don't want a clue. They come into the store, cash in hand, ready to make a huge purchase that they have done no research on whatsoever. A lady actually told me once, "I don't know anything about the Wii, but I want one, and make sure I have everything I need to enjoy it." What the hell? That's like me walking into a car dealership and saying, "Hey, I don't know how to drive, but I heard that cars can be really fun, so get me the one that everyone else has, and make sure I've got all the attachments and gizmos I need to enjoy it." My customers are just lucky I have some integrity, otherwise they'd be buying one of everything... everything!
2. The Poor Family - This one breaks my heart a little bit, but it still kinda grinds away at me. Lower income families know how to live within their means - they don't go on big vacations, they don't buy fancy cars, and they don't spend a lot of money at one time on entertainment. The Wii, is deceitfully high though. From a simple functionality standpoint, sure, anyone can pick up a Wii for 200 bucks. But after the additional remote is thrown on, extra nunchuck, 2 games that aren't Wii sports, the classic controller, and a stupid ass tennis racket attachment so their idiot children don't have to use any part of their imagination ever again, we're looking at well over 500 dollars. If you ever want to play anything else again, it's an easy 30 dollars a month, if you spend moderately. (Point to mention, it's not the money not being there that bothers me on this, but that I'm the bearer of bad news when I ring up the final bill, making me the bad guy.)
3. "Wii Sports, Please" - I swear, is everyone in this country stupid? I can't even count how many Wii systems I've sold to customers who only want to play the Wii sports. Why? It's not even that good! Sure the controls are smooth for the most part, and the bowling is a great way to kill an afternoon at a boring party, but is it really worth owning? If a company other than Nintendo would have marketed an at home bowling simulator you could play on your TV, would it have moved 56 Million units world-wide?! No way, Jose...
4. Fuzzy Memories - "So like, I was at a friends house, and he had the Wii out. We were like throwing something at the boards, and then the points came. I think it was like a blue case or something... no that's not it, we have that, it sucks, no, this one was like way cool... God, I wish I could think of the name... Game Hunter, or something... I think it had... no wait! That is it, yeah, that's it, I'll have that."
5. Misinformed Gamer - I think the reason console debates happen, specifically one being better than the other, because for the most part, we only can afford to invest in one system. As we grow up and get more disposable income, this becomes less of a problem, but there still are a great number of people out there who are less interested in experiencing everything the industry has to offer, and hyper focused on making sure they invest in "the right one." Enter, the misinformed gamer. You probably know him. He believed the promises and lies, followed all the rumors surrounding this new thing Nintendo was working on. Integrating motion into the strong gaming tradition that made Nintendo the household name it is today, it was going to "Revolution"ize the industry, setting fire to all it's competitors in a fury of badass console exclusives. Mario, Link, and the rest were back with a vengeance, and this time, we would have the ultimate control....
Turns out this guy spent 250 bucks to play some crappy sports game, and Nintendo gave up on the hardcore life-long fans. Enjoy your bowling simulator you poor sap. I pitty this guy, because Nintendo still had a fairly decent track record. GameCube, had it's low points, but it never gave up on the hardcore fans - look at GOTY Resident Evil 4, baby! Cmon! This unfortunate soul ends up wandering the walls of retailers, slowly searching through all the shovelware titles, hoping that maybe he missed soemthing in gaming news. Maybe, just maybe, something awesome has come out, that doens't have the words 'group', 'party', or 'super-fun-awesome-bowling-time', on the box... It's a lost cause kid. (I bet he had a Dreamcast, too, the chump!)
I'm sure there's some more out there, but I've got to get a jump on my day here. If I think of any more, I'll be sure to add them in the comment section. Peace out gamers!
1. Blissfully Ignorant - These people don't have a clue, will never have a clue, and don't want a clue. They come into the store, cash in hand, ready to make a huge purchase that they have done no research on whatsoever. A lady actually told me once, "I don't know anything about the Wii, but I want one, and make sure I have everything I need to enjoy it." What the hell? That's like me walking into a car dealership and saying, "Hey, I don't know how to drive, but I heard that cars can be really fun, so get me the one that everyone else has, and make sure I've got all the attachments and gizmos I need to enjoy it." My customers are just lucky I have some integrity, otherwise they'd be buying one of everything... everything!
2. The Poor Family - This one breaks my heart a little bit, but it still kinda grinds away at me. Lower income families know how to live within their means - they don't go on big vacations, they don't buy fancy cars, and they don't spend a lot of money at one time on entertainment. The Wii, is deceitfully high though. From a simple functionality standpoint, sure, anyone can pick up a Wii for 200 bucks. But after the additional remote is thrown on, extra nunchuck, 2 games that aren't Wii sports, the classic controller, and a stupid ass tennis racket attachment so their idiot children don't have to use any part of their imagination ever again, we're looking at well over 500 dollars. If you ever want to play anything else again, it's an easy 30 dollars a month, if you spend moderately. (Point to mention, it's not the money not being there that bothers me on this, but that I'm the bearer of bad news when I ring up the final bill, making me the bad guy.)
3. "Wii Sports, Please" - I swear, is everyone in this country stupid? I can't even count how many Wii systems I've sold to customers who only want to play the Wii sports. Why? It's not even that good! Sure the controls are smooth for the most part, and the bowling is a great way to kill an afternoon at a boring party, but is it really worth owning? If a company other than Nintendo would have marketed an at home bowling simulator you could play on your TV, would it have moved 56 Million units world-wide?! No way, Jose...
4. Fuzzy Memories - "So like, I was at a friends house, and he had the Wii out. We were like throwing something at the boards, and then the points came. I think it was like a blue case or something... no that's not it, we have that, it sucks, no, this one was like way cool... God, I wish I could think of the name... Game Hunter, or something... I think it had... no wait! That is it, yeah, that's it, I'll have that."
(2 Weeks later)
"That wasn't it. What do you mean I can't return it?! Shit!"5. Misinformed Gamer - I think the reason console debates happen, specifically one being better than the other, because for the most part, we only can afford to invest in one system. As we grow up and get more disposable income, this becomes less of a problem, but there still are a great number of people out there who are less interested in experiencing everything the industry has to offer, and hyper focused on making sure they invest in "the right one." Enter, the misinformed gamer. You probably know him. He believed the promises and lies, followed all the rumors surrounding this new thing Nintendo was working on. Integrating motion into the strong gaming tradition that made Nintendo the household name it is today, it was going to "Revolution"ize the industry, setting fire to all it's competitors in a fury of badass console exclusives. Mario, Link, and the rest were back with a vengeance, and this time, we would have the ultimate control....
Turns out this guy spent 250 bucks to play some crappy sports game, and Nintendo gave up on the hardcore life-long fans. Enjoy your bowling simulator you poor sap. I pitty this guy, because Nintendo still had a fairly decent track record. GameCube, had it's low points, but it never gave up on the hardcore fans - look at GOTY Resident Evil 4, baby! Cmon! This unfortunate soul ends up wandering the walls of retailers, slowly searching through all the shovelware titles, hoping that maybe he missed soemthing in gaming news. Maybe, just maybe, something awesome has come out, that doens't have the words 'group', 'party', or 'super-fun-awesome-bowling-time', on the box... It's a lost cause kid. (I bet he had a Dreamcast, too, the chump!)
I'm sure there's some more out there, but I've got to get a jump on my day here. If I think of any more, I'll be sure to add them in the comment section. Peace out gamers!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
I FOUND ONE!
I actually found a professional gaming journalist that speaks negatively of Nintendo! I'm giddy! It's another editorial by an IGN staff member that speaks about the Wii, Nintendo's problem this generation and why we as gamers give them a pass on it.
I'm determined to beat the nostalgia loving Nintendo out of all of you. They don't like you anymore.
If you read nothing else. At least read the last 2 paragraphs.
I'm determined to beat the nostalgia loving Nintendo out of all of you. They don't like you anymore.
If you read nothing else. At least read the last 2 paragraphs.
Aliens vs. Predator=Extreme amounts of gore
Wow. This game clip is ridiculously gorey. From what I can tell this game has been a little under the radar so far, but all impressions I've read say it's surprisingly better than you'd think. I know it sounds bizarre, but when you can literally see the fear in a characters eyes...you've done your job well. I tip my hat to the animators.
Bayonetta Review
Any of you guys that know me well enough know that I hold Ninja Gaiden Black as the ultimate action game of all time...period. It's unparalleled in it's level design, difficulty and downright badassness. The game never cheats you. If you're getting rocked it's because you suck and not because the game is unfair. I found Ninja Gaiden 2 to be a good game, but ultimately a disappointment IMHO when compared to Ninja Gaiden/Black.
I just beat Bayonetta last night and holy crap...can it be?! A game that rivals my precious NGB?! I didn't feel like this at first so let me explain.
The creator of Bayonetta is the creator of such amazing games as the original Devil May Cry, Okami and even Viewtiful Joe. If you've ever played the Devil May Cry series you'll feel like you've played a part of Bayonetta. At first I was incredibly underwhelmed with the game. It was action for 5 minutes then 10 minutes of cutscenes then the level was over and then it's on to the next. Since the combat wasn't as heavy in these beginning parts it honestly felt eerily similar to DMC. It took a good hour and a half to get past this.
Another thing that I was not a fan of the whole way through Bayonetta was the way combat/levels are broken up. In NGB you're in a big world with locked off areas and can't reach places. You earned new abilities and keys to unlock doors, but you're basically always in one large area that you explore. That's not the case at all with Bayonetta. You beat a level and it takes you to an end level menu where it ranks how you did (NGB did the same), but then the game will transport you to some other location and it's business as usual. I found that this broke up my experience in the game and made combat feel more like a progession of arena combat than an open world where enemies are naturally at and I have to defeat.
On the other hand though the levels in Bayonetta are some of the most unique and jawdropping levels I have EVER seen in a game. Messing with gravity and the ability to walk on ceilings and walls varies combat a lot.
Speaking of combat I'm convinced that NO action game ever created controls nearly as well or flawlessly as Bayonetta. Fluidity of action is all that I kept thinking of. Every move in your arsenal is designed to keep you up and fighting. Not cowering in the corner holding the block button waiting for your chance to strike. Need to close the gap on some enemies? Pull the right trigger twice to morph into a panther instantly and run up to your opponent and attack and go back into combos in human form. Want to switch weapons? Set up your preferred weapons in the menu then instantly switch during combat by pulling the left trigger. My preferred weapons were a katana in my hands and shotguns on my feet...yes shotguns on my feet. My other setting was a giant bull whip and pistols on my feet. Block? Who blocks in modern action games nowadays? There is no blocking in Bayonetta. Instead you have the right trigger to do evades with. A proper timing of the evade button will activate "witch time" and slow down all enemies for a few seconds allowing you to really go to work on the big guys. It's a technique that takes some time getting use to, but is clearly where action games need to be heading as far as moving the genre forward.
Another thing I really liked about Bayonetta was the boss fights...they're...huge. Every new boss I was like "How the hell does a boss get bigger than this?" Then the next guy was. None of the bosses felt cheap and all had different styles to fighting them. You get to fight a guy on the ocean using a piece of metal as a make shift surfboard!
If I had to sum up all of Bayonetta in one sentence it would just be. "The game is over-the-top in every way imaginable." From the characters to the cutscenes, the bosses, the moves, the music, the cheesiness to Bayonetta herself everything is done to level 11. I think that the game designers are only able to do this because the main character is a hot witch whose clothes are actually are her hair that morphs into demons and eats angels. If that alone doesn't sound crazy I don't know what can.
Bottom line. If I had to choose to live with one action game for the rest of my life I honestly couldn't choose between Bayonetta or NGB. They're both masters of the genre, but in totally different ways.
I've been wanting to play God of War for some time, but honestly I don't feel as compelled to after this game. I'm very interested to see how GoW3 fairs in reviews now that we have Bayonetta and it's been almost universally hailed as the greatest action game ever.
Just started my 2nd playthrough last night. Going for all the extras I missed!
I just beat Bayonetta last night and holy crap...can it be?! A game that rivals my precious NGB?! I didn't feel like this at first so let me explain.
The creator of Bayonetta is the creator of such amazing games as the original Devil May Cry, Okami and even Viewtiful Joe. If you've ever played the Devil May Cry series you'll feel like you've played a part of Bayonetta. At first I was incredibly underwhelmed with the game. It was action for 5 minutes then 10 minutes of cutscenes then the level was over and then it's on to the next. Since the combat wasn't as heavy in these beginning parts it honestly felt eerily similar to DMC. It took a good hour and a half to get past this.
Another thing that I was not a fan of the whole way through Bayonetta was the way combat/levels are broken up. In NGB you're in a big world with locked off areas and can't reach places. You earned new abilities and keys to unlock doors, but you're basically always in one large area that you explore. That's not the case at all with Bayonetta. You beat a level and it takes you to an end level menu where it ranks how you did (NGB did the same), but then the game will transport you to some other location and it's business as usual. I found that this broke up my experience in the game and made combat feel more like a progession of arena combat than an open world where enemies are naturally at and I have to defeat.
On the other hand though the levels in Bayonetta are some of the most unique and jawdropping levels I have EVER seen in a game. Messing with gravity and the ability to walk on ceilings and walls varies combat a lot.
Speaking of combat I'm convinced that NO action game ever created controls nearly as well or flawlessly as Bayonetta. Fluidity of action is all that I kept thinking of. Every move in your arsenal is designed to keep you up and fighting. Not cowering in the corner holding the block button waiting for your chance to strike. Need to close the gap on some enemies? Pull the right trigger twice to morph into a panther instantly and run up to your opponent and attack and go back into combos in human form. Want to switch weapons? Set up your preferred weapons in the menu then instantly switch during combat by pulling the left trigger. My preferred weapons were a katana in my hands and shotguns on my feet...yes shotguns on my feet. My other setting was a giant bull whip and pistols on my feet. Block? Who blocks in modern action games nowadays? There is no blocking in Bayonetta. Instead you have the right trigger to do evades with. A proper timing of the evade button will activate "witch time" and slow down all enemies for a few seconds allowing you to really go to work on the big guys. It's a technique that takes some time getting use to, but is clearly where action games need to be heading as far as moving the genre forward.
Another thing I really liked about Bayonetta was the boss fights...they're...huge. Every new boss I was like "How the hell does a boss get bigger than this?" Then the next guy was. None of the bosses felt cheap and all had different styles to fighting them. You get to fight a guy on the ocean using a piece of metal as a make shift surfboard!
If I had to sum up all of Bayonetta in one sentence it would just be. "The game is over-the-top in every way imaginable." From the characters to the cutscenes, the bosses, the moves, the music, the cheesiness to Bayonetta herself everything is done to level 11. I think that the game designers are only able to do this because the main character is a hot witch whose clothes are actually are her hair that morphs into demons and eats angels. If that alone doesn't sound crazy I don't know what can.
Bottom line. If I had to choose to live with one action game for the rest of my life I honestly couldn't choose between Bayonetta or NGB. They're both masters of the genre, but in totally different ways.
I've been wanting to play God of War for some time, but honestly I don't feel as compelled to after this game. I'm very interested to see how GoW3 fairs in reviews now that we have Bayonetta and it's been almost universally hailed as the greatest action game ever.
Just started my 2nd playthrough last night. Going for all the extras I missed!
Monday, January 18, 2010
FFXIII International Trailer
I didn't post this up cuz I figured someone else would... awesome trailer...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJPbozRomX4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJPbozRomX4
Saturday, January 16, 2010
By far one of the most creative trailers ever made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5wR4WdsaOc
Not only is approch to this trailer very unique but the game looks sweeeeet
Not only is approch to this trailer very unique but the game looks sweeeeet
Friday, January 15, 2010
My last pre Mass Effect 2 launch Mass Effect 2 post.
A sweet video showing some of the big name voice actors talking about their characters in the game. Please pay close attention to the voice actor voicing and lending her face to the character Miranda. It's absolutely shocking how well they nailed her face in a video game. Unlike ODST where Nathan Fillion and that other chick look like they're faces were carved out of play-doh with a spoon.
Is that Nathan Fillion? No, it's Mel Gibson in "The Man Without a Face."
Is that Nathan Fillion? No, it's Mel Gibson in "The Man Without a Face."
Nintendo still downplays no HD support.
This article just has quotes of Nintendo of America president saying that they don't need it. I agree with what he's saying because the Wii still sells like hotcakes, but his denial also shows his cockiness.
Nintendo also use to say that they don't need online games and the old Nintendo president said that RPG players are all fat kids that need lives and play games in the dark. This only strengthens my resolve to hate Nintendo even more. Flippin chodes.
Nintendo also use to say that they don't need online games and the old Nintendo president said that RPG players are all fat kids that need lives and play games in the dark. This only strengthens my resolve to hate Nintendo even more. Flippin chodes.
Spider-Man no more.
I know we're supposed to talk about games and whatnot, but this is big news in the film industry, so I wanted some thoughts.
A few days ago, it was announced that Sam Raimi would not return for Spider-Man 4, even though they had a release date and Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst were set to return. He left because he was not happy with any of the scripts being turned in, and hence would never have the movie ready by the pre-set release date.
I, for one, am glad that he chose not to "give in" to what Sony wanted just for the sake of spitting something out just to meet a deadline, regardless of what that "something" ended up being. I mean, didn't he give in on Spider-Man 3 and go ahead with the Venom-included script (which he never wanted, because he doesn't like Venom)? And what we got was not up to the standard set by Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man 3 was maligned mostly by critics, but by the casual viewer, too. However, it did have (at the time) the biggest opening weekend box-office ever in the U.S., and ended up grossing $336,530,303 in the U.S. (thanks, IMDB).
Since Raimi jumped ship, Sony is now planning a "reboot" of the series that will feature Peter Parker in high school. I am NOT a fan of this idea. We already got to see him in high school in the 2002 Spider-Man. Why not just get a new cast and crew and pick it up where we left off? Or just leave it alone? Oh yeah, because the first three films made a combined $1,113,614,571 in the U.S.
A few days ago, it was announced that Sam Raimi would not return for Spider-Man 4, even though they had a release date and Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst were set to return. He left because he was not happy with any of the scripts being turned in, and hence would never have the movie ready by the pre-set release date.
I, for one, am glad that he chose not to "give in" to what Sony wanted just for the sake of spitting something out just to meet a deadline, regardless of what that "something" ended up being. I mean, didn't he give in on Spider-Man 3 and go ahead with the Venom-included script (which he never wanted, because he doesn't like Venom)? And what we got was not up to the standard set by Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man 3 was maligned mostly by critics, but by the casual viewer, too. However, it did have (at the time) the biggest opening weekend box-office ever in the U.S., and ended up grossing $336,530,303 in the U.S. (thanks, IMDB).
Since Raimi jumped ship, Sony is now planning a "reboot" of the series that will feature Peter Parker in high school. I am NOT a fan of this idea. We already got to see him in high school in the 2002 Spider-Man. Why not just get a new cast and crew and pick it up where we left off? Or just leave it alone? Oh yeah, because the first three films made a combined $1,113,614,571 in the U.S.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
EA's head boss is gonna be a punching bag.
EA has had a big turn around in the last year by making new IPs and striving for quality over quantity and I truly salute them for it. Mainly it's been headed up by John Riccitiello and his push to encourage new ideas and creativity and that in turn will lead to greater sales, stock prices and a better industry. The fact that EA didn't crush BioWare when they were bought up was enough evidence for me that he had good intentions.
Some of my favorite games of the last several years have been published or financed in some way by EA like Dead Space, The Orange Box and Mirror's Edge. It seems that stock prices have only been going down since he's taken over and in the end John could lose his job. It's frustrating as a gamer when a large company wants to help the industry (and themselves in the meantime) by correcting past mistakes and creating good games, unlike Activision, and gets dumped on in the end. Oh well...I guess we as gamers are to blame for buying worthless cookie cutter games over and over again.
Maybe if EA was on Rock Band 12 already they wouldn't be in as bad of shape.
Some of my favorite games of the last several years have been published or financed in some way by EA like Dead Space, The Orange Box and Mirror's Edge. It seems that stock prices have only been going down since he's taken over and in the end John could lose his job. It's frustrating as a gamer when a large company wants to help the industry (and themselves in the meantime) by correcting past mistakes and creating good games, unlike Activision, and gets dumped on in the end. Oh well...I guess we as gamers are to blame for buying worthless cookie cutter games over and over again.
Maybe if EA was on Rock Band 12 already they wouldn't be in as bad of shape.
It's good... it's going to be good.
So I started Grand Theft Auto 4. I've started it once before (I know because I have a handful of achievements), but must have deleted it entirely since I had no save file at all. I've been... enjoying it, but I feel like I need some advice from the community on this one.
I've never really played a GTA game before. I watched one once, when it was cool to enter the cheat codes and shoot everything that moves. (Side note: isn't it interesting how one of the most controversial aspects at one time in the recent past ends up becoming a standard?) But I've never tried one myself.
Something that I'm having trouble with so far, is the line between crime I make and the crime I'm supposed to make/participate in. I'm assuming that eventually it will be part of the story, because the Mature content on this disc definitely isn't because of the bowling, but so far I'm not seeing it. Does the game expect me to make my own havoc on top of what it's asking me to do? (i.e. running over people on my way to a coffee date?) It almost seems like if I want the true GTA experience, I need to already be a homicidal maniac, but I think I'm probably the most law abiding citizen in New Yor... I mean, Liberty City. I stop at the stop lights, which I know seems like overkill, but the last time I ran a red, I murdered a dude walking his dog and slammed into a police car, and all I was trying to do was get back to my apartment to watch some TV.
Am I playing it wrong? Should I be crazier, or will the game bestow (from what I've read) amazing story on me as I go through it? Will Roman ever stop comparing the quality of his life in terms of how many big American titties he has surrounding him?
Signed,
Confused and Law Abiding.
I've never really played a GTA game before. I watched one once, when it was cool to enter the cheat codes and shoot everything that moves. (Side note: isn't it interesting how one of the most controversial aspects at one time in the recent past ends up becoming a standard?) But I've never tried one myself.
Something that I'm having trouble with so far, is the line between crime I make and the crime I'm supposed to make/participate in. I'm assuming that eventually it will be part of the story, because the Mature content on this disc definitely isn't because of the bowling, but so far I'm not seeing it. Does the game expect me to make my own havoc on top of what it's asking me to do? (i.e. running over people on my way to a coffee date?) It almost seems like if I want the true GTA experience, I need to already be a homicidal maniac, but I think I'm probably the most law abiding citizen in New Yor... I mean, Liberty City. I stop at the stop lights, which I know seems like overkill, but the last time I ran a red, I murdered a dude walking his dog and slammed into a police car, and all I was trying to do was get back to my apartment to watch some TV.
Am I playing it wrong? Should I be crazier, or will the game bestow (from what I've read) amazing story on me as I go through it? Will Roman ever stop comparing the quality of his life in terms of how many big American titties he has surrounding him?
Signed,
Confused and Law Abiding.
Top 10 Most Overrated Game Characters...
Voted on by the readers of IGN. Master Chief is #1, but yet somehow people still go gaga over this guy....
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Will we ever see the end of HALO....
I came up with this post as a reaction to, of all things, the Mass Effect 2 review in this months issue of Official XBox Magazine. The review was good and some of the things they said were a little disappointing, but I'll get to that at a later date.
The review of arguably the biggest game of 2010 was given 5 full pages of magazine press (which is of more than enough length/that's what she said) and a flipping countdown to the next HALO game and all other things HALO was given 8! What the hell?! It's a countdown and speculation article!
I love the HALO games out of nastalgia more than anything. The original HALO was a pivital game for a few of us and that's why I keep coming back to the series. The books are a lot of fun to read, but honestly the SP of each game is always somewhat lacking and I dare you to argue otherwise. Multi has been dead for me for sometime now. It's a dated and bad formula that you constantly feel cheated on. MW1 and 2 both crush HALO is SP and MP hands down. Not even talking about the other great multi games that exist. HALO isn't the end all be all game that it always is made to be! ODST shouldn't ever have been considered by any gaming site or mag to be GOTY....but I found it again and again in the "nominated" category. Kill me.
I guess I'm just feeling oversaturated with HALO and now with M$ starting up "343 Industries" for all things HALO and the new and useless "HALO Waypoint" we've got another Mario on our hands. *sigh*
The review of arguably the biggest game of 2010 was given 5 full pages of magazine press (which is of more than enough length/that's what she said) and a flipping countdown to the next HALO game and all other things HALO was given 8! What the hell?! It's a countdown and speculation article!
I love the HALO games out of nastalgia more than anything. The original HALO was a pivital game for a few of us and that's why I keep coming back to the series. The books are a lot of fun to read, but honestly the SP of each game is always somewhat lacking and I dare you to argue otherwise. Multi has been dead for me for sometime now. It's a dated and bad formula that you constantly feel cheated on. MW1 and 2 both crush HALO is SP and MP hands down. Not even talking about the other great multi games that exist. HALO isn't the end all be all game that it always is made to be! ODST shouldn't ever have been considered by any gaming site or mag to be GOTY....but I found it again and again in the "nominated" category. Kill me.
I guess I'm just feeling oversaturated with HALO and now with M$ starting up "343 Industries" for all things HALO and the new and useless "HALO Waypoint" we've got another Mario on our hands. *sigh*
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
BC2 Footage
Here is a full match from the PS3 beta...
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hknjC-gMcQY&feature=player_embedded
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvwURT5rNco&feature=player_embedded
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX463PgnuSM&feature=player_embedded
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkGzMOCOqlU&feature=player_embedded
...and some other misc. stuff...
Weapons and Gadgets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYp4Gt8kdxQ&feature=player_embedded
Written List
http://www.teamwarfare.com/forums/showthread.asp?forumid=677&threadid=450729
Direct Feed beta walkthrough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3jtuLx_-Ww&feature=player_embedded
Panama Canal Gameplay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9fTM-bC9Y&feature=player_embedded
Squad Deathmatch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6uFU8utiaA&feature=player_embedded
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hknjC-gMcQY&feature=player_embedded
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvwURT5rNco&feature=player_embedded
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX463PgnuSM&feature=player_embedded
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkGzMOCOqlU&feature=player_embedded
...and some other misc. stuff...
Weapons and Gadgets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYp4Gt8kdxQ&feature=player_embedded
Written List
http://www.teamwarfare.com/forums/showthread.asp?forumid=677&threadid=450729
Direct Feed beta walkthrough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3jtuLx_-Ww&feature=player_embedded
Panama Canal Gameplay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9fTM-bC9Y&feature=player_embedded
Squad Deathmatch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6uFU8utiaA&feature=player_embedded
Emulator Shmemulator
So I've been strongly considering replaying the Prince of Persia games for XBOX (just like the Splinter Cells I've been working through). The only one of the trilogy I played was Sands of Time. The other 2, which are awesome from all I've heard and read, are Warrior Within and Two Thrones. Well only Sands of Time is backwards compatible! WTF?! How can this be?
I feel like MS just did a majority of the games to shut up everyone about every game not working and then they just stopped after the PS3 gave up the ability to do it as well. It's more fuel to the fire of the fact that I STILL CAN'T play Unreal Championship on 360 either. I WANT TO PLAY BOMBING RUN AGAIN DAMNIT (it's basically football, but with guns and dodge jumping madness)! As Amateria constantly points out if you put Unreal Championship in the drive of your 360 it will actually read and put onscreen "Play Unreal Championship," but it doesn't work.
What a cock tease.
I feel like MS just did a majority of the games to shut up everyone about every game not working and then they just stopped after the PS3 gave up the ability to do it as well. It's more fuel to the fire of the fact that I STILL CAN'T play Unreal Championship on 360 either. I WANT TO PLAY BOMBING RUN AGAIN DAMNIT (it's basically football, but with guns and dodge jumping madness)! As Amateria constantly points out if you put Unreal Championship in the drive of your 360 it will actually read and put onscreen "Play Unreal Championship," but it doesn't work.
What a cock tease.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Gear of War 2/You're the assholes.
This is an old article I shared with Amateria a long time ago and refound on accident. Hilarity for making the good guys the bad guys.
So what's it gonna be?
EDIT: You can only BUY one.
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Bad Company 2
Final Fantasy XIII
You can only choose 1.
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Bad Company 2
Final Fantasy XIII
You can only choose 1.
Most played 360 games of 2009
Major Nelson just posted this (I'm sure brjahu has already read it), but it's the most played 360 games of 2009. No real surprises here, but it is interested to see how much momentum MW2 had with just the last month and a half of the year.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Why a 360 gamer bought a PS3
An interesting editorial from IGN on why a devoted 360 gamer finally purchased a PS3. I really have to agree with what he says about MS taking over the market and not giving us a choice in some ways. Thought you guys would enjoy it.
Connection Issues
I was just curious how the connections have been for MW2 on the 360. They've really gone downhill on the PC. One of my clan members said the game is played on a master server and he thinks there are more people playing than it's capable of handling. When the game first game out, it was running pretty smooth with minimal lag and if it did have lag, it would switch hosts. Now, about 90% of the matches are lagging bad, even when everybody has decent pings. Anybody experiencing this on the 360?
Matchmaking wasn't as bad as expected but at least for us PC folks, it still falls short of dedicated servers. There is more work initially as you find some decent servers but say, for me, finding some Chicago servers were my ping is 10 to 20 is amazing and the gameplay that results is incredible. Our clan found several Dallas servers that we could all play on, since we are all spread out across the country.
Do you guys prefer clicking a button and being thrown in with a bunch of guys? Or would you like to be able to choose a server with low-ping, decent map rotation *cough* no rust *cough*, and say a rule like NO NOOB TUBES?
Thoughts...
Matchmaking wasn't as bad as expected but at least for us PC folks, it still falls short of dedicated servers. There is more work initially as you find some decent servers but say, for me, finding some Chicago servers were my ping is 10 to 20 is amazing and the gameplay that results is incredible. Our clan found several Dallas servers that we could all play on, since we are all spread out across the country.
Do you guys prefer clicking a button and being thrown in with a bunch of guys? Or would you like to be able to choose a server with low-ping, decent map rotation *cough* no rust *cough*, and say a rule like NO NOOB TUBES?
Thoughts...
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Maybe Banjo isn't dead...
Lead Salad sent me a game in the mail to play because he couldn't get into it. That game is Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. It sat on my shelf for over a month till I found the time to give it a shot. After spending over an hour with the game I decided that it was good, but I'm not going to be hooked and it's been on the shelf for another month now.
Maybe I was wrong. I guess I'll be starting over in the next couple months after I finish the other 78 games on my "Games to Finish Before the Baby is Born" List.
Maybe I was wrong. I guess I'll be starting over in the next couple months after I finish the other 78 games on my "Games to Finish Before the Baby is Born" List.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Assassin's Creed 2 Review (or more appropriately, A Love Letter from 3N3MY)
It's been no secret to any of you that I have a very deep love for the original Assassin's Creed (AC). I love the open world, I love that the buildings aren't there as just eye candy, but rather are all climbable and have a purpose. I love the freedom to play it however I want and I even love the story (which has been met with fierce debate between Amateria and myself).
I just finished Assassin's Creed 2 (AC2) last night and consider me blown away. The game at it's core is relatively unchanged, but is much more fleshed out. A great way to summarize this is from something Lead Salad just said to me a few days ago about the first, which he is currently playing through, "It feels like a 2 hour game that's been stretched out over 12 hours." While initially I wanted to defend the game I had to agree that the game boils down to around 10 assassinations and that's it. Everything else you CHOOSE to do could be considered as fluff. I however did everything in the 1st and loved every minute of it.
The best way to describe the vast improvements to AC2's campaign is it's much more organic. It actually feels like a complex story. It's not go to this town, talk to the head assassin guy from that town, kill the target, come back. It’s about building relationships with others in the city, scouting out your kill locations and people, learn new skills, upgrade your weapons etc. When you get to a town feel free to explore it all and find everything and take your time, but when you want to get back to the campaign just go to the location on your map that's marked "Memory Start."
As far as the story goes, for those that don’t know, you’re Desmond Miles and you’re being forced to relive your subconscious memories of your ancestors that were old assassins. The company Abstergo, which is ultimately run by The Templars, is trying to find Pieces of Eden for some grand plan of world domination, but they say it’s ultimately to save the world. Reliving these memories through the Animus (the device that allows you to do this) will reveal to them where these Pieces of Eden are. The end of the first game was a bit of a cliffhanger that left you trapped in Abstergo with the Animus. There were a lot of unanswered questions with strange writing on the walls of your room.
The story in AC2 picks up exactly where the 1st ended and answers all questions of the 1st while giving you many more new ones (not going into spoiler territory). I was thrilled with the sheer amount of info in this game. Because of the Animus you have multiple stories going on at once and the amount of conspiracy in the game is staggering at times, but never pointlessly mysterious like LOST or Heroes. The game developers are truly unmatched when it comes to taking real history from across all recorded time and building a fascinating story of conspiracy about The Garden of Eden and the apple using historical text and paintings.
If you look hard enough in the game world you’ll find “glyphs” left behind by another Abstergo lab rat named “Subject 16.” Finding the glyphs unlocks puzzles and after you find all 20 and solve the riddles you’re treated to one hell of a sweet video that I don’t want to ruin for anyone by even talking about the subject. Needless to say there’s a ton of meat here and the ending….oh….the ending….it very truly creeped me the hell out. Of course I can’t say what it is, but rest assured your questions are answered and you get all new ones once again.
It was interesting to me that whenever I was pulled out of the Animus I couldn’t wait to get back in and Desmond seemed to feel the same as well. I felt like Jake Sully from Avatar. For me this was one of the more interesting and well thought out stories in a video game I’ve ever played and clocked in around 20 hours to finish it and that's doing virtually no side quests.
Other enhancements to the game are interactions with people and especially guards. In AC the guards would attack you for walking too fast which got very old, but in AC2 there is a notoriety meter and as long as it’s empty and you don’t do something stupid in front of them they’ll leave you alone.
Combat has been improved and is much more challenging while fighting some of the more difficult guards. Most of it comes down to timing, but who doesn’t like ripping a spear out of an opponents hands and running them through with it?
This review has gone on too long, but I can’t praise this game enough. It’s climbed comfortably into my top 10 all time favs list and shouldn’t be missed by any gamer period.
P.S. You have an uncle in the game named Mario and the first time you meet him he literally yells, “You don’t know who I am?! It’s a me! Mario!” I love this game.
I just finished Assassin's Creed 2 (AC2) last night and consider me blown away. The game at it's core is relatively unchanged, but is much more fleshed out. A great way to summarize this is from something Lead Salad just said to me a few days ago about the first, which he is currently playing through, "It feels like a 2 hour game that's been stretched out over 12 hours." While initially I wanted to defend the game I had to agree that the game boils down to around 10 assassinations and that's it. Everything else you CHOOSE to do could be considered as fluff. I however did everything in the 1st and loved every minute of it.
The best way to describe the vast improvements to AC2's campaign is it's much more organic. It actually feels like a complex story. It's not go to this town, talk to the head assassin guy from that town, kill the target, come back. It’s about building relationships with others in the city, scouting out your kill locations and people, learn new skills, upgrade your weapons etc. When you get to a town feel free to explore it all and find everything and take your time, but when you want to get back to the campaign just go to the location on your map that's marked "Memory Start."
As far as the story goes, for those that don’t know, you’re Desmond Miles and you’re being forced to relive your subconscious memories of your ancestors that were old assassins. The company Abstergo, which is ultimately run by The Templars, is trying to find Pieces of Eden for some grand plan of world domination, but they say it’s ultimately to save the world. Reliving these memories through the Animus (the device that allows you to do this) will reveal to them where these Pieces of Eden are. The end of the first game was a bit of a cliffhanger that left you trapped in Abstergo with the Animus. There were a lot of unanswered questions with strange writing on the walls of your room.
The story in AC2 picks up exactly where the 1st ended and answers all questions of the 1st while giving you many more new ones (not going into spoiler territory). I was thrilled with the sheer amount of info in this game. Because of the Animus you have multiple stories going on at once and the amount of conspiracy in the game is staggering at times, but never pointlessly mysterious like LOST or Heroes. The game developers are truly unmatched when it comes to taking real history from across all recorded time and building a fascinating story of conspiracy about The Garden of Eden and the apple using historical text and paintings.
If you look hard enough in the game world you’ll find “glyphs” left behind by another Abstergo lab rat named “Subject 16.” Finding the glyphs unlocks puzzles and after you find all 20 and solve the riddles you’re treated to one hell of a sweet video that I don’t want to ruin for anyone by even talking about the subject. Needless to say there’s a ton of meat here and the ending….oh….the ending….it very truly creeped me the hell out. Of course I can’t say what it is, but rest assured your questions are answered and you get all new ones once again.
It was interesting to me that whenever I was pulled out of the Animus I couldn’t wait to get back in and Desmond seemed to feel the same as well. I felt like Jake Sully from Avatar. For me this was one of the more interesting and well thought out stories in a video game I’ve ever played and clocked in around 20 hours to finish it and that's doing virtually no side quests.
Other enhancements to the game are interactions with people and especially guards. In AC the guards would attack you for walking too fast which got very old, but in AC2 there is a notoriety meter and as long as it’s empty and you don’t do something stupid in front of them they’ll leave you alone.
Combat has been improved and is much more challenging while fighting some of the more difficult guards. Most of it comes down to timing, but who doesn’t like ripping a spear out of an opponents hands and running them through with it?
This review has gone on too long, but I can’t praise this game enough. It’s climbed comfortably into my top 10 all time favs list and shouldn’t be missed by any gamer period.
P.S. You have an uncle in the game named Mario and the first time you meet him he literally yells, “You don’t know who I am?! It’s a me! Mario!” I love this game.
Games as Art: Comparisons
As I read the answers to the previous question I posed, along with my own personal thoughts, I think it's important to discuss the easy comparisons that games have to other art forms. I'm inwardly torn on the subject - sometimes the comparison of games to other art forms create it's strongest case for games as art, and sometimes the similarities create huge stumbling blocks for game designers to work through as they push their medium forward.
Games are a unique beast, indeed, as they pull in elements of design from just about every other art form, classical or not. Painting (backgrounds), sculpture (3D modeling), film (animated sequences and character movement), and writing (narrative and story) all have elements that are essentially necessary to create a game in the first place, long before it qualifies as a valid art form. The question at hand is if the presence of these elements defines it's qualification as art, or is there a deeper standard that we are overlooking as we make a judgment.
These elements create an unfair standard (in two ways!) as we attempt to dissect games as an art form. The presence of these elements can cause us to jump to too quick a conclusion, much in the same way we wouldn't question a sculptor's work for the sheer fact that we "know" sculpture is an art form. It can also work negatively, causing a similar assumption that if a game doesn't contain a majority of these elements, it can't be an art form. I've found that most modern art criticism's are similar to this train of thought... "That?! That's art?! My kid could make that", and so forth. Film is probably the closest artistic relative to games, if indeed they are related at all. Games move like film, they tell stories like film, they roll credits like film, they have directors/producers/etc. like film. Games are made that are based off of movies, and movies can be made based off of games. Games are often described using words like 'cinematic'. Yet, we know the difference between a game and a movie when we see them. Games are not film and films are not games.
From my perspective, games share more in common (as art, that is) with theatre than film. Theatre and games both require something that a film does not need - an audience. Without this, there is no art work in place. The theatre performer needs an audience to view the work, for without an audience there is no show. (I suppose the same could be argued for a film or painting, but those things would still exist if no one saw them this very instant, unlike theatre which exists only live and in the now) Games work very similarly, not in the sense that they need the player to exist, but they need the player to continue. Mario will never rescue the princess unless the player successfully guides him through the story. Master Chief will never defeat the flood unless the player informs his movements and shooting. Drake will never find his fortune unless the player helps. Dom will never find Maria's rotting corpse unless the player guides Marcus through the graves. In short, games need the player.
This may not seem groundbreaking, but if this is true, it changes the way that we look at every other element of gameplay. If the player is responsible for their fair share of the work, then how could a story be told differently? How should the lighting or the coloring of this in-game moment be approached if we are going to give the player freedom of exploration with their character? How many cut-scenes should happen if we still want the player to feel responsible and in charge of the action?
(I know this sort of post would be better fit in some sort of research paper, so I apologize if it feels disjointed and out of place. It would probably be better with a proper thesis and formal outline. Also, if anyone is interested in a more in-depth breakdown of some of the thought processes that have fed me over the years, a decent overview can be found here, as wikipedia summarizes human aesthetics. There is a section there that breaks down six broad standards for art, and I find it pleasing that games fit every one of those bullets. Great stuff.)
Games are a unique beast, indeed, as they pull in elements of design from just about every other art form, classical or not. Painting (backgrounds), sculpture (3D modeling), film (animated sequences and character movement), and writing (narrative and story) all have elements that are essentially necessary to create a game in the first place, long before it qualifies as a valid art form. The question at hand is if the presence of these elements defines it's qualification as art, or is there a deeper standard that we are overlooking as we make a judgment.
These elements create an unfair standard (in two ways!) as we attempt to dissect games as an art form. The presence of these elements can cause us to jump to too quick a conclusion, much in the same way we wouldn't question a sculptor's work for the sheer fact that we "know" sculpture is an art form. It can also work negatively, causing a similar assumption that if a game doesn't contain a majority of these elements, it can't be an art form. I've found that most modern art criticism's are similar to this train of thought... "That?! That's art?! My kid could make that", and so forth. Film is probably the closest artistic relative to games, if indeed they are related at all. Games move like film, they tell stories like film, they roll credits like film, they have directors/producers/etc. like film. Games are made that are based off of movies, and movies can be made based off of games. Games are often described using words like 'cinematic'. Yet, we know the difference between a game and a movie when we see them. Games are not film and films are not games.
From my perspective, games share more in common (as art, that is) with theatre than film. Theatre and games both require something that a film does not need - an audience. Without this, there is no art work in place. The theatre performer needs an audience to view the work, for without an audience there is no show. (I suppose the same could be argued for a film or painting, but those things would still exist if no one saw them this very instant, unlike theatre which exists only live and in the now) Games work very similarly, not in the sense that they need the player to exist, but they need the player to continue. Mario will never rescue the princess unless the player successfully guides him through the story. Master Chief will never defeat the flood unless the player informs his movements and shooting. Drake will never find his fortune unless the player helps.
This may not seem groundbreaking, but if this is true, it changes the way that we look at every other element of gameplay. If the player is responsible for their fair share of the work, then how could a story be told differently? How should the lighting or the coloring of this in-game moment be approached if we are going to give the player freedom of exploration with their character? How many cut-scenes should happen if we still want the player to feel responsible and in charge of the action?
I'm curious about your thoughts. Do any of these thoughts hit home? Are there trends between the "artsy" games you've played that create any reasoning for (or against) games as art? Should games even be looked at by this standard?
(I know this sort of post would be better fit in some sort of research paper, so I apologize if it feels disjointed and out of place. It would probably be better with a proper thesis and formal outline. Also, if anyone is interested in a more in-depth breakdown of some of the thought processes that have fed me over the years, a decent overview can be found here, as wikipedia summarizes human aesthetics. There is a section there that breaks down six broad standards for art, and I find it pleasing that games fit every one of those bullets. Great stuff.)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
God of War Review
One of the main reasons I bought a PS3 was to play the God of War Collection (the other reasons being God of War III and Uncharted and Uncharted 2). I had always wanted to play the first 2 games in the series, and when I heard that this remastered collection was going to be released on 1 disc and for only $40, I jumped all over it. I got the game about a week after it was released (November 17, I think) and chipped away at the first game until finally finishing it last week at some point. For the most part, it was a ton of fun.
I really appreciate a simple story (especially in video games), and this game has got one. ***Story spoilers follow*** It's basically a revenge tale. Kratos is a Spartan super-soldier (kind of like the guys in 300, I suppose). He gets overwhelmed in a certain battle and as he is about to die, cries out to the gods to save him. Ares comes to his aid, sparing his life, but forcing Kratos into servitude for eternity (I think). Eventually, Ares tricks Kratos into killing his own family, which would naturally piss off anyone. Kratos then vows to find Ares and kill him for what he did. This is also the reason that Kratos has that strange white skin: it's the ashes of his wife and son that become plastered onto his body. Pretty cool. So, basically, the game is a quest to find Ares and kill him. ***
The game is a decent length. It's not so lengthy that it gets boring, and not so short that it leaves you wanting more. You have the goal from the beginning of finding Pandora's Box, which one needs to kill a god. You run around Athens for a couple hours until you find an Oracle, who tells you where the box is, which leads to my favorite (and longest) section of the game: Pandora's Temple. This temple is strapped to the back of a Titan that roams the desert aimlessly. I just thought this was awesome and kept thinking about that from time to time whenever I was inside (or sometimes climbing around outside) the temple. This place is HUGE, and takes up about 60% of the game, which is an interesting change and a big contrast to games like Zelda, where one usually has to go through 5 or 6 temples. I admit that it is broken up a little bit into smaller sections that look slightly different, but you're in the same place the whole time and I just really liked that. Don't mistake my comments here as Zelda-bashing, because I love all those games, too, but this was just a nice change. After you retrieve the Box, you get sent into Hades, have to fight your way out, then finally get a shot at Ares. I'd say the whole game took about 10 hours total. It's just a guess, but probably a good one. And it's fine with me. I've heard the second one is longer.
I'd give props to the level designer of this game. There were multiple times when I was going through an area and saw something and wondered if I could get there or interact with something and sure enough, the levels are designed so that often you'll circle back to an area without really knowing that you're doing so, so you'll have a chance to get everything. On the same note, the camera is different than I'm used to. I guess what I'm "used to" is Ninja Gaiden, where you click the right trigger to get the camera to center right behind you. In this game, though, you have NO control over the camera. You can't even go into first-person view if you felt so inclined. It's strange and takes some getting used to, but the game is designed so that you don't really need to control the camera. It follows you and pretty much keeps you in the center of the screen the whole time. For the most part it works, but sometimes it got a little bit frustrating while trying to jump around on platforms. Every so often, the view will change when you're in the middle of a jump, so you have to pay attention and rotate the stick a little bit to adjust your aim so you'll land on a platform and not jump off of the Temple that's on top of a Titan.
Combat is fast and fun. For the most part, I found a few combos that work and stuck with them. Once you upgrade the Blades to level 5, there's one move that I did CONSTANTLY because it was super powerful and also knocked guys off their feet and sometimes off of cliffs. I stuck to the Blades of Chaos (the default weapon) and never used the Blade of Artemis (big broadsword type weapon).
Quick time events play a part in this game, but I find them to be far less annoying here than in other games like Resident Evil. I guess because here if you fail a QTE, you just get knocked to the ground and you can try again. In RE games, you'll die if you fail a QTE. And in this game, except for bosses, you don't even have to use those QTE finishing moves. Often times you'll want to, though, just because of the satisfying gore factor and some enemies will give you different stuff depending on how you kill them (for instance, killing a Gorgon regularly will just net you red orbs (money), but executing them with a QTE will give blue orbs (magic)).
Speaking of magic, they're pretty awesome and varied also, tho I didn't use them too much. There are 4....the lightning attack that hits everyone on the screen within a certain proximity to you, the Medusa glare that turns guys to stone, the thunderbolts which you can throw, and summoning Hades' Army to come destroy everything on the screen (by far the best one, haha).
I can't really think of anything else right now, but I'm hungry so maybe I'll amend this later on after I eat. The verdict right now is that it was a blast and I'm looking forward to playing the second one pretty soon.
I really appreciate a simple story (especially in video games), and this game has got one. ***Story spoilers follow*** It's basically a revenge tale. Kratos is a Spartan super-soldier (kind of like the guys in 300, I suppose). He gets overwhelmed in a certain battle and as he is about to die, cries out to the gods to save him. Ares comes to his aid, sparing his life, but forcing Kratos into servitude for eternity (I think). Eventually, Ares tricks Kratos into killing his own family, which would naturally piss off anyone. Kratos then vows to find Ares and kill him for what he did. This is also the reason that Kratos has that strange white skin: it's the ashes of his wife and son that become plastered onto his body. Pretty cool. So, basically, the game is a quest to find Ares and kill him. ***
The game is a decent length. It's not so lengthy that it gets boring, and not so short that it leaves you wanting more. You have the goal from the beginning of finding Pandora's Box, which one needs to kill a god. You run around Athens for a couple hours until you find an Oracle, who tells you where the box is, which leads to my favorite (and longest) section of the game: Pandora's Temple. This temple is strapped to the back of a Titan that roams the desert aimlessly. I just thought this was awesome and kept thinking about that from time to time whenever I was inside (or sometimes climbing around outside) the temple. This place is HUGE, and takes up about 60% of the game, which is an interesting change and a big contrast to games like Zelda, where one usually has to go through 5 or 6 temples. I admit that it is broken up a little bit into smaller sections that look slightly different, but you're in the same place the whole time and I just really liked that. Don't mistake my comments here as Zelda-bashing, because I love all those games, too, but this was just a nice change. After you retrieve the Box, you get sent into Hades, have to fight your way out, then finally get a shot at Ares. I'd say the whole game took about 10 hours total. It's just a guess, but probably a good one. And it's fine with me. I've heard the second one is longer.
I'd give props to the level designer of this game. There were multiple times when I was going through an area and saw something and wondered if I could get there or interact with something and sure enough, the levels are designed so that often you'll circle back to an area without really knowing that you're doing so, so you'll have a chance to get everything. On the same note, the camera is different than I'm used to. I guess what I'm "used to" is Ninja Gaiden, where you click the right trigger to get the camera to center right behind you. In this game, though, you have NO control over the camera. You can't even go into first-person view if you felt so inclined. It's strange and takes some getting used to, but the game is designed so that you don't really need to control the camera. It follows you and pretty much keeps you in the center of the screen the whole time. For the most part it works, but sometimes it got a little bit frustrating while trying to jump around on platforms. Every so often, the view will change when you're in the middle of a jump, so you have to pay attention and rotate the stick a little bit to adjust your aim so you'll land on a platform and not jump off of the Temple that's on top of a Titan.
Combat is fast and fun. For the most part, I found a few combos that work and stuck with them. Once you upgrade the Blades to level 5, there's one move that I did CONSTANTLY because it was super powerful and also knocked guys off their feet and sometimes off of cliffs. I stuck to the Blades of Chaos (the default weapon) and never used the Blade of Artemis (big broadsword type weapon).
Quick time events play a part in this game, but I find them to be far less annoying here than in other games like Resident Evil. I guess because here if you fail a QTE, you just get knocked to the ground and you can try again. In RE games, you'll die if you fail a QTE. And in this game, except for bosses, you don't even have to use those QTE finishing moves. Often times you'll want to, though, just because of the satisfying gore factor and some enemies will give you different stuff depending on how you kill them (for instance, killing a Gorgon regularly will just net you red orbs (money), but executing them with a QTE will give blue orbs (magic)).
Speaking of magic, they're pretty awesome and varied also, tho I didn't use them too much. There are 4....the lightning attack that hits everyone on the screen within a certain proximity to you, the Medusa glare that turns guys to stone, the thunderbolts which you can throw, and summoning Hades' Army to come destroy everything on the screen (by far the best one, haha).
I can't really think of anything else right now, but I'm hungry so maybe I'll amend this later on after I eat. The verdict right now is that it was a blast and I'm looking forward to playing the second one pretty soon.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Fun Lists...
With the ending of the first decade of the 21st Century it's only reasonable to have a good games list send off for what was an amazing 10 years for video games!
25 Best New Characters of the Decade
Decades Most Memorable Moments
10 Most Shocking Game Moments of the Decade The House of the Dead one is amazingly bad btw
20 Most Important Games of the Decade video
7 Most Disappointing Games of the Decade
25 Best New Characters of the Decade
Decades Most Memorable Moments
10 Most Shocking Game Moments of the Decade The House of the Dead one is amazingly bad btw
20 Most Important Games of the Decade video
7 Most Disappointing Games of the Decade
Saturday, January 2, 2010
YES!
I said I'd buy it the second it came out (not thinking it actually would) and here it actually is! The Dead Space rig suit for 360 avatar! I'm all kinds of mushy mush for that game. Basically it represents what SHOULD HAVE been the evolution of the Resident Evil series....but in space.
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