Dear Lucasarts,
I had fond memories of playing your first Force Unleashed game. It was a decently challenging game that had pretty cool graphics, an awesome story, memorable characters and the most fully realized force powers in any game.....ever.
I got TFU again 2 weeks ago in prep for the release of TFU2. I played it through and enjoyed it more the 2nd time than the 1st.
From playing the demo on PSN I knew that the combat in TFU2 had been tweaked and that everything was faster. I was excited!
I got the game yesterday and I beat the game yesterday and I'm already matched for a trade on goozex. What a let down. You guys made a super short campaign that took all the strategy out of the 1st and replaced it with way too powerful attacks and a souless button mashing eye glossed over game.
I was most excited to see what happened next in the story since the 1st was so awesome. You didn't even resolve anything. It "ended" that section of story, but left huge unanswered questions. Am I a clone?! Thats why I bought the damn game! It felt like a big "F" you....buy the soon to be released overpriced DLC just like the 1st game.
It wasn't all bad though. The graphics were superb as well as the audio. The boss fight's actually felt like boss fights this time around and the final act of the fight with the Gorog is pants creamingly badass. Too bad that's the high point of the game.
Oh well....at least I'll get 1200 points on goozex instead of 1000 for trading it so soon after release. What a cheap cash-in.
Love,
A betrayed gamer
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Red Faction: Guerrilla
Has anyone else played this? I've had it for some time and have just been waiting to get around to it. I put a little over 2 hours into it this weekend and have had a lot of fun.
For those of you that don't know the game boasts the most realistic demolition/destruction engine in any game ever. If there's a building or structure in the game you can bet your bottom dollar that that sonofabitch will fall.
The game is nothing extraordinarily riveting. It's standard rebels vs mega corporation bad guy, but it's a lot of fun. My wife heard me giggling maniacally and literally asked, "What's going on?" I was having a ton of fun blowing crap up.
The whole game is one giant excuse/sand box to showcase their Geo Mod 2.0 destruction engine and I'm okay with that. Guns are tight and handle well, the explosives are explosivey and there's nothing that the sledgehammer of God can't take out.
Good game. Try it if you're up for knocking shit down and watching the amazing physics engine at work.
For those of you that don't know the game boasts the most realistic demolition/destruction engine in any game ever. If there's a building or structure in the game you can bet your bottom dollar that that sonofabitch will fall.
The game is nothing extraordinarily riveting. It's standard rebels vs mega corporation bad guy, but it's a lot of fun. My wife heard me giggling maniacally and literally asked, "What's going on?" I was having a ton of fun blowing crap up.
The whole game is one giant excuse/sand box to showcase their Geo Mod 2.0 destruction engine and I'm okay with that. Guns are tight and handle well, the explosives are explosivey and there's nothing that the sledgehammer of God can't take out.
Good game. Try it if you're up for knocking shit down and watching the amazing physics engine at work.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Fallout: New Vegas Review
I obviously haven't played the whole game since it just came out yesterday but after debating whether I should wait and get it on Goozex (and seeing that I was number 58 waiting for Gothica 4) and new the line would be long for NV, I decided to buy it. Took a half-day yesterday and put a good 6 1/2 to 7 hours into it. I would compare it to a really large expansion pack for Fallout 3, which is pretty much 99% good.
Likes
◘ Graphics - though a little dated now, they fit right into the atmosphere created in F3 and bring you right into the game, as if it's familiar and you know the world and the characters. There's no adjustment phase, like there is with a new game. The world has some more color to it too and I'm saying that without even having been to the strip yet. There are also a lot more faces for NPCs rather than the same couple recycled ones we saw in F3.
◘ Sound - music is great and really picks up the tempo when enemies approach. Haven't listened to the radio much yet but from what I've heard, it's very similar to F3. Guns sound pretty good too.
◘ Familiarity - other than a few differences in skills and then choosing 2 traits, there really isn't much difference in creating a character. Big guns has been taken out and now the Guns skill covers any weapon that uses conventional ammo so that was kind of cool. Perks are very familiar as well and I've already picked some that I used in F3 to expand my loot hording. I was also able to use my memory of an awesome character creation guide to create a character in NV that is going to have lots of maxed skills by the end of the game.
◘ Weapons - there are more weapons and they feel better and when you add in mods, they really did a good job expanding this section of the game. Oh, and there are different ammo types though I haven't messed with this too much.
◘ Item Creation - besides the regular workbench, there is a reloading station (where you can break down ammo to create other ammo types) as well as a campfire you can use ingredients to make different items. Think alchemy from Oblivion. Oh, and you can harvest items from plants in the world too those this seems toned down compared with Oblivion.
◘ Factions - this seems to be a cool feature where your reputation increases with one faction while it decreases with another. There can be trouble moving through the world if your are in an area that is controlled by a faction that hates you.
◘ Companions - I already got this cool sniper guy Boone following me around and he dishes out some major damage to enemies. He's usually killing them before I get off a shot. And the companion wheel definitely improves your ability to control your companion and their actions.
Dislikes
◘ Bugs - the game is still pretty glitchy, from major framerate drops to creatures getting stuck in rocks. Some of these could be PC issues because the game needs some tweaking on the PC for sure. With my system, I shouldn't be getting the framerate drops unless they did some HUGE improvements to the graphics that I am just not really noticing. With some decent patching, this issue should be taken care of. (I have had zero crashes so far while F3 crashed all the time, even after patching).
◘ Factions - this can get annoying when factions continue to attack you, especially right after you sleep and it seems the enemies are more aggressive. Also, if someone hates you, say the Powder Gangers, you can loot their bodies but you will lose karma for stealing from any of their buildings or crates or safes which is a really stupid idea. I'm playing a good character for my first playthrough so I don't want to lose the karma but at least in F3, I don't remember stealing from bad guys ever being an issue.
◘ World Size - it's supposed to be about the same size but it feels smaller and I'm not sure why. I feel like when I'm in one town, I can see the next town from where I'm at. We'll see how this plays out as I explore the whole world and this could be just the way I've handled the quests I've done.
◘ Bobbleheads - I don't think there are bobbleheads in this game and they've been replaced with snow globes. I found one snow globe and didn't know what it was and left it at this cemetary so I need to go back for it now that I think they replace the bobbleheads, haha. I just had to put this as a dislike cuz the bobbleheads were so awesome. :P
That's pretty much it. I posted this early because the game is sooooo similar to F3 in so many aspects. It really looks like they took that game and added a couple features, created a whole new area, and you have NV. I wish more game companies would do this, to be honest. Instead of waiting ages for Elder Scrolls V, they should have done with Oblivion what they've now done with Fallout.
Likes
◘ Graphics - though a little dated now, they fit right into the atmosphere created in F3 and bring you right into the game, as if it's familiar and you know the world and the characters. There's no adjustment phase, like there is with a new game. The world has some more color to it too and I'm saying that without even having been to the strip yet. There are also a lot more faces for NPCs rather than the same couple recycled ones we saw in F3.
◘ Sound - music is great and really picks up the tempo when enemies approach. Haven't listened to the radio much yet but from what I've heard, it's very similar to F3. Guns sound pretty good too.
◘ Familiarity - other than a few differences in skills and then choosing 2 traits, there really isn't much difference in creating a character. Big guns has been taken out and now the Guns skill covers any weapon that uses conventional ammo so that was kind of cool. Perks are very familiar as well and I've already picked some that I used in F3 to expand my loot hording. I was also able to use my memory of an awesome character creation guide to create a character in NV that is going to have lots of maxed skills by the end of the game.
◘ Weapons - there are more weapons and they feel better and when you add in mods, they really did a good job expanding this section of the game. Oh, and there are different ammo types though I haven't messed with this too much.
◘ Item Creation - besides the regular workbench, there is a reloading station (where you can break down ammo to create other ammo types) as well as a campfire you can use ingredients to make different items. Think alchemy from Oblivion. Oh, and you can harvest items from plants in the world too those this seems toned down compared with Oblivion.
◘ Factions - this seems to be a cool feature where your reputation increases with one faction while it decreases with another. There can be trouble moving through the world if your are in an area that is controlled by a faction that hates you.
◘ Companions - I already got this cool sniper guy Boone following me around and he dishes out some major damage to enemies. He's usually killing them before I get off a shot. And the companion wheel definitely improves your ability to control your companion and their actions.
Dislikes
◘ Bugs - the game is still pretty glitchy, from major framerate drops to creatures getting stuck in rocks. Some of these could be PC issues because the game needs some tweaking on the PC for sure. With my system, I shouldn't be getting the framerate drops unless they did some HUGE improvements to the graphics that I am just not really noticing. With some decent patching, this issue should be taken care of. (I have had zero crashes so far while F3 crashed all the time, even after patching).
◘ Factions - this can get annoying when factions continue to attack you, especially right after you sleep and it seems the enemies are more aggressive. Also, if someone hates you, say the Powder Gangers, you can loot their bodies but you will lose karma for stealing from any of their buildings or crates or safes which is a really stupid idea. I'm playing a good character for my first playthrough so I don't want to lose the karma but at least in F3, I don't remember stealing from bad guys ever being an issue.
◘ World Size - it's supposed to be about the same size but it feels smaller and I'm not sure why. I feel like when I'm in one town, I can see the next town from where I'm at. We'll see how this plays out as I explore the whole world and this could be just the way I've handled the quests I've done.
◘ Bobbleheads - I don't think there are bobbleheads in this game and they've been replaced with snow globes. I found one snow globe and didn't know what it was and left it at this cemetary so I need to go back for it now that I think they replace the bobbleheads, haha. I just had to put this as a dislike cuz the bobbleheads were so awesome. :P
That's pretty much it. I posted this early because the game is sooooo similar to F3 in so many aspects. It really looks like they took that game and added a couple features, created a whole new area, and you have NV. I wish more game companies would do this, to be honest. Instead of waiting ages for Elder Scrolls V, they should have done with Oblivion what they've now done with Fallout.
Best Halo Reach kill ever???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCoY9v38RXw&feature=player_embedded
I'm pretty sure it's a set up but never the less it's pretty awesome.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Eurogamer Expo 2010...finally
So been a couple of weeks since I returned from the Expo in London, the Expo itself was pretty big, much bigger set up than last years event and so many games to play, unfortunately it was very busy and the queues for some of the titles wasn't worth the wait. Here's some thoughts from the games I got my hands on.
Motorstorm : Apocalypse (3D)
Particularly enjoyed this game, having owned both MS1 & 2 on the PS3 this was one I had to try. The gameplay's pretty much identical to the previous games which is fine because its solid and fun, the real twist is in the dynamically altering tracks, think Spilt Second but even more over the top. Buildings coming down to creating alternate routes, floors collapsing as you drive over them, quite exciting. So while this is all going on the game was also running in full 3D, I wasnt sure wat to make of the 3D stuff before actually playing them, sure i'd seen 3D movies and they were pertty cool, but i had my reservations. It works well and does help immerse you into the game more but there's a significant downgrading it the gfx's, jaggy edges, low res textures etc. Its a tough call really, for motorstorm specifically i didn't feel the benefits of 3D outweighed the loss in gfx quality, saying that it's still very early in development so we'll see on that one. From a gameplay point of view tho, really enjoyed it, most likely pick this one up.
Killzone 3 (3D)
In short, it's Killzone 2 but with much tighter controls and levels that felt quite exciting instead of your typical fps get from point A to point B. There were 3 levels on offer. One of which was with your character equipped with a jetpack (which sh!t on halo reach's jet packs btw). Anyone that's played KZ2 will immediately recognise the game's look and feel. The gfx are on par with the best out there if not the best for an fps. As mentioned before the controls have been tightened up, not too much to make it a twitchy shooter like COD but enough to make it feel a little more responsive. Besides the jetpacks, there's wasn't alot new to the actual gameplay side of things, you can now preform some pretty sweet CQC kills, knife to the eye was my favourite...The game was running in 3D, however it didn't suffer from the same significant gfx downgrade as motorstorm did and I actually thought it looked pretty slick. I found myself totally immersed and not sure if it was because ppl were watching as you play or credit due to the game itself but I found it quite exhilarating. This will be a day one purchase for me and 3D gaming becomes that little bit more appealing for me.
Dead Space 2
To put it simply...loved it! The demo on show was the same one from E3 lasted about 15-20mins and gave a taste of the various elements, shooting, puzzle solving, boss battle and the all new awesome zero gravity movement mechanic. It's essentially Dead Space 1 in terms of gameplay and controls, make your way thru corridors etc, taking out enemies, pretty much same old but there's nothing wrong with that imo. One of the new enemies included those little baby type things which cling onto you and hunt in packs, quite a nice edition. New weapons include a type of spear gun, unless i'm mistaken and it was in DS1 too. The level ended in an awesome boss battle chase sequence and if that's anything to go by it's gonna be a quality game.
Crysis 2 - Mulitplayer
4 vs 4 mulitplayer demo. Tbh i didn't give this one enough time, picked up the pad, got killed a bunch of times by other players on the show floor and other beta test participants playing online who seemed to know exactly what to do. It played a solid enough game and looks like it copies the standard perk system that most games seem to inherent these days, the nano suit being the "perk" selector if you like. You could choose, sprint, extra health/damage the usual suspects really. I'm hoping to get into the beta test that's coming out on 360 soon so i'll reserve judgement on this one till i've given it a good run out.
Medal of Honour
24 player MP match was on. Pretty awesome seeing that many 40" screens lined up side by side along and entire wall. I didnt bother queuing for this one either as the game was coming out so shortly but purely from a spectacle point of view it was pretty cool. (attached pic)
Brink
This game looks very very promising, to me looks like a hybrid of Borderlands, Team Fortress and Battlefield. Unfortunately the queue was massive, 2 hr wait for a shot on a 16 player match but I watched a bit and have watched all the vids as most of us have and I've high hopes for this one. It's no surprise infact that it won game of the show.
Bulletstorm
Great fun fps, totally over the top. Gameplay is super fast paced, there's a great melee system which can be used to set up kills by kicking and grappling enemies which create score kills which seems to be the point of the game. kill someone in the most creative manner and we'll reward you with points to unlock stuff and level up etc. The graphics very nice, expected from a game made with the Unreal 3 engine these days i guess. Controls were slick and arcadey. Essentially it was alot of fun and very popular at the show too. One to watch for sure...my money's on them bundling the game with a Gears 3 beta so boost sales, tho I dont think it's gonna need much help to sell.
Gears of War 3
Beast mode was available, which for those who dont know is like Horde mode but you play as the Locus. I played a few rounds, mainly as a wrech and ticker as the booth i sat at hadnt levelled up high enough yet to use the better characters. Was quite a bit of fun but near impossible to make much progress as the booths didnt seem to be linked so you were trying to co ordinate with the guy playing next to you but he was in a different server all together. Can see this mode being quite a bit of fun tho. Graphically the games taken a step up again, for me Gears is all about the Campaign and competitve MP which werent on show so hard to pass anymore judgement at this time.
Need for Speed : Hot Pursuit
4v4 MP chase mode...i think it was called.
Basically cops vs robbers, I chose to be a cop. Really enjoyed this, it plays an awful lot like Burnout which is no surprise considering it's coming from that team. Both the cops and robbers have ability type things to help get away or pursue one another cops for example had EMP bombs, helicopter support, spike tracks etc. It was fun tracking down each robber and trying to wreak their car before they got to the end. Graphically very good, controls easy enough. And having watched more vids on it since the show i can see this one being alot of fun with a party of friends. Definitely one to watch.
Kinect
Didnt get a chance on any of the booths, there was the dancing one which was very amusing to watch others and 3 other of the party game type ones. Really it's not for me...well the gaming side of things for Kinect, i'm quite interested in the navigational aspects of it tho, facial and voice recognition if works...could be quite a step up.
Playstation Move
Didnt bother with this as i've no real interest...yet, they had a closed off booth so didnt really get to see wat was on offer. KZ3 is going to implement the controls and by the sounds of things it plays very sweet with it so i'm keeping my tabs on that one. Personally tho i'm just not overly sold on motion controlled gaming yet. Hence my lack of enthusiasm to get into either the Kinect or Move booths.
Other worth mentioning
GT5 looks impressive as per, but whether its for me i'm not so sure, didnt bother trying it as i kinda know wat to expect already.
Assassins Creed - MP was on offer, having watched alot of vids on this one already i didnt feel the need to try it, it's a certain buy for me anyways just for the SP.
Fable 3 - looks interesting but it's not really my type of game.
Rapstar..watever it's called. Silly raping music type game that actually got quite a lot of interest, tho think it was just ppl standing around to watch others make tits of themselves trying to rap.
Check out http://expo.eurogamer.net/ for vids and pictures if interested. looking forward to next years again, you guys should all come across for it!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
GTA - The movie...kind of
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdRZyeSL4Mo
Very impressive fan made video, give it 14mins of your life, awesome stuff.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Dead Space 2 Collector's
Sorry for the triple post today, but I preordered this tonight.....it comes with a full scale Plasma Cutter from the game. This is even cooler than night vision goggles! Maybe....
David Jaffe...finally...someone sticks up for MoH.
David Jaffe has a newfound respect from me. For those of you that don't know he helped create Twisted Metal and God of War.
My problems with the reviews for MoH stem from the fact that people are ripping it a new one because it's not as instantly gratifying as CoD so therefore it sucks. You can't get a 35/2 kill death ratio in TDM and therefore it sucks. It's slower and more methodical in pacing and therefore it sucks. You have to work as a team so it sucks. There's not as much variety with perks and attachments so it sucks. I die too fast so it sucks.
The reviews and impressions I keep reading and hearing about aren't from people that play anything other than CoD and Halo....and therefore they suck. It's a great game that's a great balance between MW and Battlefield.
My problems with the reviews for MoH stem from the fact that people are ripping it a new one because it's not as instantly gratifying as CoD so therefore it sucks. You can't get a 35/2 kill death ratio in TDM and therefore it sucks. It's slower and more methodical in pacing and therefore it sucks. You have to work as a team so it sucks. There's not as much variety with perks and attachments so it sucks. I die too fast so it sucks.
The reviews and impressions I keep reading and hearing about aren't from people that play anything other than CoD and Halo....and therefore they suck. It's a great game that's a great balance between MW and Battlefield.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Review
I finally finished this game last night and I'm very excited to write this review. It's a game that's left a strong impression on me as a player in numerous ways.
First, some backstory. Enslaved is based on one of the four great classic novels written during the Ming Dynasty called "Journey to the West". It's about a Monkey king who is trapped/enslaved by a crown put in place by a monk named Tripitaka, who is going west. Tripitaka uses Monkey's strength and cunning to make a safe passage to his destination.
Enslaved starts off with the female lead, Trip, breaking out of a slaver ship and the male lead, Monkey, breaking out as well and following her to an escape pod. Monkey gets to the pod just as she's launching and he rides it down to the hard way. When he regains consciousness he realizes been fashioned with a "slave headband." He quickly figures out that Trip put it on him so when he moves to attack her immense pain shoots thru his head. Trip reveals that she needs to get 300 miles to the west, back to her dad, and that she can't do it alone. She promises that if Monkey gets her there she will set him free. Also, if she dies....so does Monkey.
Trip is the AI controlled partner that luckily never gets in the way. She's a tech junkie that helps you in numerous ways. You directly control Monkey as the player.
Now that the story is out of the way it's time for the likes and dislikes.
Like:
Story - It's written by Alex Garland. The guy that wrote 2 movies that are in my top 5 all time favorite movies! If my brief synopsis of the beginning of the game doesn't intrigue you or make you appreciate the concept and relationship that these two are going to have then please go kill yourself, robot. It's a very original story with amazing characters that are believable and incredibly likable. It never turns into a romance, but the love that these two form for each other is believable and a joy to watch. The end of the game is not a head scratcher where you're left wondering, "WTF just happened?" But more of a, "Wow....what would I have done? What happens next?!" I've been thinking about it all last night and this morning. No game has ever done that to me.
Performances - Andy Serkis does the cinematic directing and mo-cap for the game just as he did in Heavenly Sword and his talents really shine. His voice acting as Monkey is (it sounds so gay to say) both badass and sweet. Even when he's yelling there's a tenderness to the character of Monkey that you don't see with other tough guys in games. His worry for Trip starts as self preservation and slowly moves towards care for her. The subtlety in facial animation delivers even more emotions, unlike anything I've ever seen in any other game and most movies. Trip is voiced by Lindsey Shaw and I can't seem to find any good info on her, but she does an amazing job as well.
Character design - I keep saying it, but the eyes in this game blew me away over and over. No uncanny valley here! Also, whoever drew up Monkey is a genius. I played the demo before I knew about the whole "Journey to the West" relationship to the game and while I was playing I was shocked at not only his name, but just how much he does look, move and stand like a monkey. He even has a belt that hangs off of his pants and more than once looks like a tail. Shockingly well designed.
World - The game takes place 150 years after some war. The game hardly ever talks about the war and there are little to no details as to what happened. All that the people know is that a long time ago there was a war and it wiped out just about everyone and there are mechs left over that still just want to kill humans. The world isn't a bombed out wasteland, but rather a fertile regrowth after humans are gone. New York city is an overgrown jungle and it's wonderful to look at. Nice to see a developer do post war with some color. Gets a little tiring looking at the grays of Gears of War and the browns of Fallout.
Combat - It's pretty simple and for all the over the top action games I've played it was nice to focus on playing the game over pulling off huge combos for "MAXIMUM DAMAGE." Not that it can't be too basic, but I thought that it fit the game very well.
Graphics - COLOR! Lots of it!
Platforming - There's a ton of jumping around and it's a lot of fun. Some very big set pieces to play around on. Sadly it's not overly difficult, but getting from Point A to B is more of a joy than a pain from poor timing.
Dislike:
Graphics - Looks like they could have used another month or two to work out some poor textures and a handful of jaggies....or it could be another fail of the Unreal Engine. I'm so damn tired of seeing the same shit shading on faces of characters in ANY game using the Unreal Engine. Ninja Theory made an awesome engine for Heavenly Sword that was not only 1st gen PS3, but in a lot of ways looked an animated better than Enslaved. Why they didn't use their own engine is beyond me. Not a jab at 360, but maybe it fell on that for some reason. Heavenly Sword was PS3 exclusive and it didn't have either of the problems listed above.
Cinematics - This isn't a fault of the game, but something I missed having just come off of Heavenly Sword. There weren't as many well crafted movie type moments where you get to watch some neat performances (mo-cap and voice acting). This probably has to do with the much more straghtforward plot and game design than anything else, but Andy Serkis didn't get to stretch his wings in Enslaved like he did in Heavenly Sword. 360 disc size limitations?
Platforming - This is something else that could have used another couple weeks to work the rest of the kinks out. I had on quite a few occasions problems jumping where it seemed like the game wasn't recognizing that I was, in fact, on a ledge trying to jump. The game won't let you fall to your death so you basically just sit at the edge of the ledge rolling rather than jumping.
Animations - They're well done, but seem to be missing the same "fluidity" of Heavenly Sword. Again, I don't know if this is from a different engine or what, but there's a noticeable difference in quality when compared to Heavenly Sword.
End of the Story - It's over?! I want to know what happens next!!!
This game was awesome. It slowed in the middle, but picked up huge at the end. It has one of my favorite stories in any game ever and definitely my favorite characters in any game ever. If you guys ever play the game I hope you find the same emotion and humanity in it as I did.
I do highly recommend this game, but I think a lot of people would not want to pay the full 60 dollar entry fee to play. For me and this game it was about supporting a developer that is attempting to move the entire video game genre to a new level of storytelling and immersion. They succeed in every way, but jumble the ball slightly in some of the platforming and graphics departments.
Here's hoping for a sequel and for the longevity of Ninja Theory! I'm a fan for life.
First, some backstory. Enslaved is based on one of the four great classic novels written during the Ming Dynasty called "Journey to the West". It's about a Monkey king who is trapped/enslaved by a crown put in place by a monk named Tripitaka, who is going west. Tripitaka uses Monkey's strength and cunning to make a safe passage to his destination.
Enslaved starts off with the female lead, Trip, breaking out of a slaver ship and the male lead, Monkey, breaking out as well and following her to an escape pod. Monkey gets to the pod just as she's launching and he rides it down to the hard way. When he regains consciousness he realizes been fashioned with a "slave headband." He quickly figures out that Trip put it on him so when he moves to attack her immense pain shoots thru his head. Trip reveals that she needs to get 300 miles to the west, back to her dad, and that she can't do it alone. She promises that if Monkey gets her there she will set him free. Also, if she dies....so does Monkey.
Trip is the AI controlled partner that luckily never gets in the way. She's a tech junkie that helps you in numerous ways. You directly control Monkey as the player.
Now that the story is out of the way it's time for the likes and dislikes.
Like:
Story - It's written by Alex Garland. The guy that wrote 2 movies that are in my top 5 all time favorite movies! If my brief synopsis of the beginning of the game doesn't intrigue you or make you appreciate the concept and relationship that these two are going to have then please go kill yourself, robot. It's a very original story with amazing characters that are believable and incredibly likable. It never turns into a romance, but the love that these two form for each other is believable and a joy to watch. The end of the game is not a head scratcher where you're left wondering, "WTF just happened?" But more of a, "Wow....what would I have done? What happens next?!" I've been thinking about it all last night and this morning. No game has ever done that to me.
Performances - Andy Serkis does the cinematic directing and mo-cap for the game just as he did in Heavenly Sword and his talents really shine. His voice acting as Monkey is (it sounds so gay to say) both badass and sweet. Even when he's yelling there's a tenderness to the character of Monkey that you don't see with other tough guys in games. His worry for Trip starts as self preservation and slowly moves towards care for her. The subtlety in facial animation delivers even more emotions, unlike anything I've ever seen in any other game and most movies. Trip is voiced by Lindsey Shaw and I can't seem to find any good info on her, but she does an amazing job as well.
Character design - I keep saying it, but the eyes in this game blew me away over and over. No uncanny valley here! Also, whoever drew up Monkey is a genius. I played the demo before I knew about the whole "Journey to the West" relationship to the game and while I was playing I was shocked at not only his name, but just how much he does look, move and stand like a monkey. He even has a belt that hangs off of his pants and more than once looks like a tail. Shockingly well designed.
World - The game takes place 150 years after some war. The game hardly ever talks about the war and there are little to no details as to what happened. All that the people know is that a long time ago there was a war and it wiped out just about everyone and there are mechs left over that still just want to kill humans. The world isn't a bombed out wasteland, but rather a fertile regrowth after humans are gone. New York city is an overgrown jungle and it's wonderful to look at. Nice to see a developer do post war with some color. Gets a little tiring looking at the grays of Gears of War and the browns of Fallout.
Combat - It's pretty simple and for all the over the top action games I've played it was nice to focus on playing the game over pulling off huge combos for "MAXIMUM DAMAGE." Not that it can't be too basic, but I thought that it fit the game very well.
Graphics - COLOR! Lots of it!
Platforming - There's a ton of jumping around and it's a lot of fun. Some very big set pieces to play around on. Sadly it's not overly difficult, but getting from Point A to B is more of a joy than a pain from poor timing.
Dislike:
Graphics - Looks like they could have used another month or two to work out some poor textures and a handful of jaggies....or it could be another fail of the Unreal Engine. I'm so damn tired of seeing the same shit shading on faces of characters in ANY game using the Unreal Engine. Ninja Theory made an awesome engine for Heavenly Sword that was not only 1st gen PS3, but in a lot of ways looked an animated better than Enslaved. Why they didn't use their own engine is beyond me. Not a jab at 360, but maybe it fell on that for some reason. Heavenly Sword was PS3 exclusive and it didn't have either of the problems listed above.
Cinematics - This isn't a fault of the game, but something I missed having just come off of Heavenly Sword. There weren't as many well crafted movie type moments where you get to watch some neat performances (mo-cap and voice acting). This probably has to do with the much more straghtforward plot and game design than anything else, but Andy Serkis didn't get to stretch his wings in Enslaved like he did in Heavenly Sword. 360 disc size limitations?
Platforming - This is something else that could have used another couple weeks to work the rest of the kinks out. I had on quite a few occasions problems jumping where it seemed like the game wasn't recognizing that I was, in fact, on a ledge trying to jump. The game won't let you fall to your death so you basically just sit at the edge of the ledge rolling rather than jumping.
Animations - They're well done, but seem to be missing the same "fluidity" of Heavenly Sword. Again, I don't know if this is from a different engine or what, but there's a noticeable difference in quality when compared to Heavenly Sword.
End of the Story - It's over?! I want to know what happens next!!!
This game was awesome. It slowed in the middle, but picked up huge at the end. It has one of my favorite stories in any game ever and definitely my favorite characters in any game ever. If you guys ever play the game I hope you find the same emotion and humanity in it as I did.
I do highly recommend this game, but I think a lot of people would not want to pay the full 60 dollar entry fee to play. For me and this game it was about supporting a developer that is attempting to move the entire video game genre to a new level of storytelling and immersion. They succeed in every way, but jumble the ball slightly in some of the platforming and graphics departments.
Here's hoping for a sequel and for the longevity of Ninja Theory! I'm a fan for life.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow review
Ever since I saw a preview for this game roughly a year and a half ago, I had been extremely excited to see the Castlevania franchise make a proper leap into the 3D realm on the newest generation of consoles. Sure, there were the N64 games and the PS2 games, but none of them were overwhelmingly praised. I've noticed that this game has also received mixed reviews, ranging from some mediocre to "one of the best games of the year." Without question, I fall into the latter category, as I had a blast with this game. It was well worth the wait.
The game has been aptly described as a mix of different popular genres. There is God of War style combat, Tomb Raider/Uncharted platforming, and Shadow of the Colossus type boss battles. While it does borrow from these games, developer MercurySteam has added enough to make the game seem like its own thing and I think that it all flows together really well. I should be able to incorporate everything else into the Like and Dislike sections, so here it goes....
LIKE
-The story. Apparently, this game is a complete reboot and has nothing to do with the timeline and events from past Castlevania games. However, you do play as Gabriel Belmont, member of the Brotherhood of Light and possibly the ancestor of the other vampire hunters in the series (Simon Belmont, Trevor Belmont, and Richter Belmont). Gabriel's wife has been mysteriously murdered, he hears about a magical device that can bring her back from the dead, so he sets out to find it and bring her back. There's a lot more going on and it's pretty engaging, but I'll just keep it at that to avoid spoilers.
-The game structure. You see a world map with 12 different chapters on it. Each chapter is divided into anywhere from 1-8 stages. After you complete each stage, it unlocks a "trial" for that stage that you can go back and play immediately for bonus XP and ultimately achievements, if you so choose. I really like this, as it adds a level of challenge and replayability to the game. Also, there are three different color gems to collect, which extend your Life bar, Light magic bar, and Shadow magic bar. There are also Brotherhood arks to find, which supply you with weapon upgrades. Sometimes you can't collect everything on your first playthrough because you won't have the skills to reach a certain point, which I why I really like the fact that you can go back to any level at any time.
-The movement. Analog controls. Slightly tip the control stick to walk, full tilt to run. Take note, Rockstar.
-The combat. What seems to be pretty standard button mashing at first soon becomes a combat system unlike anything I've played before. You can roll (and it's a much smoother roll than the God of War roll, thank goodness), block, counter, direct attacks (strong) and area attacks (weak). Then they add in the Light and Shadow magic. Activate light magic and every hit you land on an enemy will refill part of your life meter and drain your Light magic meter. This is extremely important due to the fact that this is the only way you can refill life other than finding a VERY rare healing fountain. Conversely, activate shadow magic and it boosts your attack as well as adding a few more combo choices for more damage, while draining your Shadow magic meter. You can refill your Magic meters at Orb fountains (much more common than healing fountains) or by absorbing out of the air after killing enemies. There's one final meter (the Focus meter) that fills up as long as you're landing hits on enemies and not taking any hits. When you fill the Focus meter, every hit you land puts out a TON of neutral orbs. What this all means is that you have to manage your focus meter and magic meters wisely instead of just button mashing or else you will be in a world of hurt and frustration. Got all that? It's quite deep and challenging and takes some getting used to, but very satisfying and I think it really sets the game apart from others in the genre.
-The weapons. Instead of a plain old whip, you have a Combat Cross. It's basically a stake shaped like a cross with an extending whip. You get multiple upgrades which let you stab enemies and rappel from walls. You can buy different combinations for more devastating attacks, but you honestly rarely get to use the huge combos, because you'll get hit before you can complete it. Secondary weapons include silver daggers (great for werewolves and flying enemies), holy water (for vampires), fairies (which hold enemies still so you can really pummel them good) and crystals that summon some weird-looking dragon lady that does uber damage to everyone on screen.
-Game length and difficulty. The game is quite long. I don't know exactly but I would put it at 20 hours, which is HUGE (almost unheard of) for a game like this (12.7 GB and 2 discs on the 360). It's also quite difficult in the combat. Guys gang up on you and it can be tough sometimes. You just have to make good use of your secondary weapons and magic, though, to succeed.
-The voice acting. Patrick Stewart does most of the talking through narration and he does well. He starts to ham it up towards the end, but I didn't mind. Robert Carlyle voices Gabriel and he doesn't have too many lines, but I really enjoyed him. Also, the bellows that come from Gabriel in combat are very cool.
-The graphics and multitude of settings. Holy insanely gorgeous game, Batman. You traverse all kinds of terrain in this game, from a rain-soaked village, to Pan's forest hideout, to a mucky swamp, mountain passageways, abandoned castles, not-so-abandoned castles, Frankenstein's lab, a clocktower (of course), and a desert wasteland. At one point, you even get shrunk and run around inside a music box. And everything looks astounding. At certain points, the camera will zoom out (the camera is 100% controlled by the game) to show you just how epic it all is.
-Platforming. I really enjoyed rappeling all over stuff and jumping around on the sides of mountains, fortresses, etc. The game makes it easy to figure out where to go by highlighting ledges you can climb on. Rappel points also glimmer a bright blue. I also liked the fact that instead of having to hold the control stick away from an opposite wall, the game would have you lean back automatically to let you know that there's actually something you can grab onto instead of just jumping to your death. I enjoyed these sections because they break up the combat and puzzle sections.
-Enemies and bosses. Enemies are quite varied and you never have to fight any one type for too long. Each time you enter a new area, you'll get a new set of baddies to deal with. Sometimes you'll have to ride on bigger enemies like spiders or trolls to smash obstacles, too. I really appreciate the fact that this game doesn't do that thing that many games like this do when they have a boss, and then in the next stage start throwing that boss character at you as a normal bad guy. Bosses are bosses. I love how they also refrained from having those really annoying boss fights where you have to fight 20 smaller guys at the same time as the boss. There are a few bosses where this does happen, but they don't make the smaller guys annoyingly difficult. I really like the end-boss cutscenes. They are appropriately gory and satisfying (but especially the Vampire lord death). There are some Titan battles, too, and these are sweet. Climb up on them and hit certain parts of their body to topple them. Hold the right trigger to keep from getting knocked off. Lots of fun, especially for me since I've never played Shadow of the Colossus. The third Titan battle is ESPECIALLY awesome.
-Gabriel's expressions. Every so often, you'll be in the middle of a fight and Gabriel will notice something about the environment or enemy and it will show his face with an expression like, "I know something you don't know." The best was during a boss fight where you have your whip wrapped around a guy's sword. You're having a tug of war for a few seconds, then you see that look on the hero's face as he lets go of the whip, which causes the other dude to stab himself in the face with his own sword. Sweet.
-QTEs. Unlike other games, instead of having you hit one of the 4 face buttons randomly for QTEs, this game handles them by having a big white circle shrinking into a smaller white circle. As soon as the bigger circle shrinks into the smaller circle, hit any button to nail that QTE. I much prefer this as it just cuts down on frustration. The big circle also shrinks at different speeds, so it's not a complete breeze.
-and finally.....the ENDING! After being highly disappointed with God of War III's story and ending, and Bayonetta's nonsense plot, this was a breath of fresh air. I was genuinely surprised by a few things at the end, specifically the post-credits sequence which sets up future games in the series (it's confirmed: MercurySteam is already working on a sequel, YES!). I'm having trouble interpreting what I saw but I've read a few and there is one explanation that I would really like. I'm very curious to see where they go with this. This surprise ending is the one part of the game where I felt Hideo Kojima's presence. Let's just hope they have a RATIONAL explanation for this ending instead of making things all insane and nonsensical like Metal Gear.
DISLIKE
-Honestly, I've thought about it and there wasn't really anything I disliked, but I was let down by a couple things, so here they are.
-The music is not quite as great as I had hoped. That's not to say it's bad AT ALL (it's really quite well done), but previous Castlevania games have some of the best music in the industry in my opinion and there was nothing here that REALLY blew me away.
-The clocktower stage was a little short and easy. Typically the clocktower is brutally difficult.
-The puzzles. Again, I didn't dislike them, but they were just kinda so-so. A necessary part of the game to break up the platforming and combat, though.
-The camera can cause you to run in the wrong direction occasionally. What I mean is that when the camera changes angles, you'll often have to let off the stick completely and pick a new direction instead of just shifting your direction. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I don't know how else to explain.
-During the Titans, the framerate drops slightly, but other than that, I never noticed any problem in this department.
CONCLUSION
Obviously, I really dig this game. Very satisfying from start to finish. I would probably give this my Game of the Year award at this point. It was well worth the wait and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes AWESOME SAUCE!!!!
The game has been aptly described as a mix of different popular genres. There is God of War style combat, Tomb Raider/Uncharted platforming, and Shadow of the Colossus type boss battles. While it does borrow from these games, developer MercurySteam has added enough to make the game seem like its own thing and I think that it all flows together really well. I should be able to incorporate everything else into the Like and Dislike sections, so here it goes....
LIKE
-The story. Apparently, this game is a complete reboot and has nothing to do with the timeline and events from past Castlevania games. However, you do play as Gabriel Belmont, member of the Brotherhood of Light and possibly the ancestor of the other vampire hunters in the series (Simon Belmont, Trevor Belmont, and Richter Belmont). Gabriel's wife has been mysteriously murdered, he hears about a magical device that can bring her back from the dead, so he sets out to find it and bring her back. There's a lot more going on and it's pretty engaging, but I'll just keep it at that to avoid spoilers.
-The game structure. You see a world map with 12 different chapters on it. Each chapter is divided into anywhere from 1-8 stages. After you complete each stage, it unlocks a "trial" for that stage that you can go back and play immediately for bonus XP and ultimately achievements, if you so choose. I really like this, as it adds a level of challenge and replayability to the game. Also, there are three different color gems to collect, which extend your Life bar, Light magic bar, and Shadow magic bar. There are also Brotherhood arks to find, which supply you with weapon upgrades. Sometimes you can't collect everything on your first playthrough because you won't have the skills to reach a certain point, which I why I really like the fact that you can go back to any level at any time.
-The movement. Analog controls. Slightly tip the control stick to walk, full tilt to run. Take note, Rockstar.
-The combat. What seems to be pretty standard button mashing at first soon becomes a combat system unlike anything I've played before. You can roll (and it's a much smoother roll than the God of War roll, thank goodness), block, counter, direct attacks (strong) and area attacks (weak). Then they add in the Light and Shadow magic. Activate light magic and every hit you land on an enemy will refill part of your life meter and drain your Light magic meter. This is extremely important due to the fact that this is the only way you can refill life other than finding a VERY rare healing fountain. Conversely, activate shadow magic and it boosts your attack as well as adding a few more combo choices for more damage, while draining your Shadow magic meter. You can refill your Magic meters at Orb fountains (much more common than healing fountains) or by absorbing out of the air after killing enemies. There's one final meter (the Focus meter) that fills up as long as you're landing hits on enemies and not taking any hits. When you fill the Focus meter, every hit you land puts out a TON of neutral orbs. What this all means is that you have to manage your focus meter and magic meters wisely instead of just button mashing or else you will be in a world of hurt and frustration. Got all that? It's quite deep and challenging and takes some getting used to, but very satisfying and I think it really sets the game apart from others in the genre.
-The weapons. Instead of a plain old whip, you have a Combat Cross. It's basically a stake shaped like a cross with an extending whip. You get multiple upgrades which let you stab enemies and rappel from walls. You can buy different combinations for more devastating attacks, but you honestly rarely get to use the huge combos, because you'll get hit before you can complete it. Secondary weapons include silver daggers (great for werewolves and flying enemies), holy water (for vampires), fairies (which hold enemies still so you can really pummel them good) and crystals that summon some weird-looking dragon lady that does uber damage to everyone on screen.
-Game length and difficulty. The game is quite long. I don't know exactly but I would put it at 20 hours, which is HUGE (almost unheard of) for a game like this (12.7 GB and 2 discs on the 360). It's also quite difficult in the combat. Guys gang up on you and it can be tough sometimes. You just have to make good use of your secondary weapons and magic, though, to succeed.
-The voice acting. Patrick Stewart does most of the talking through narration and he does well. He starts to ham it up towards the end, but I didn't mind. Robert Carlyle voices Gabriel and he doesn't have too many lines, but I really enjoyed him. Also, the bellows that come from Gabriel in combat are very cool.
-The graphics and multitude of settings. Holy insanely gorgeous game, Batman. You traverse all kinds of terrain in this game, from a rain-soaked village, to Pan's forest hideout, to a mucky swamp, mountain passageways, abandoned castles, not-so-abandoned castles, Frankenstein's lab, a clocktower (of course), and a desert wasteland. At one point, you even get shrunk and run around inside a music box. And everything looks astounding. At certain points, the camera will zoom out (the camera is 100% controlled by the game) to show you just how epic it all is.
-Platforming. I really enjoyed rappeling all over stuff and jumping around on the sides of mountains, fortresses, etc. The game makes it easy to figure out where to go by highlighting ledges you can climb on. Rappel points also glimmer a bright blue. I also liked the fact that instead of having to hold the control stick away from an opposite wall, the game would have you lean back automatically to let you know that there's actually something you can grab onto instead of just jumping to your death. I enjoyed these sections because they break up the combat and puzzle sections.
-Enemies and bosses. Enemies are quite varied and you never have to fight any one type for too long. Each time you enter a new area, you'll get a new set of baddies to deal with. Sometimes you'll have to ride on bigger enemies like spiders or trolls to smash obstacles, too. I really appreciate the fact that this game doesn't do that thing that many games like this do when they have a boss, and then in the next stage start throwing that boss character at you as a normal bad guy. Bosses are bosses. I love how they also refrained from having those really annoying boss fights where you have to fight 20 smaller guys at the same time as the boss. There are a few bosses where this does happen, but they don't make the smaller guys annoyingly difficult. I really like the end-boss cutscenes. They are appropriately gory and satisfying (but especially the Vampire lord death). There are some Titan battles, too, and these are sweet. Climb up on them and hit certain parts of their body to topple them. Hold the right trigger to keep from getting knocked off. Lots of fun, especially for me since I've never played Shadow of the Colossus. The third Titan battle is ESPECIALLY awesome.
-Gabriel's expressions. Every so often, you'll be in the middle of a fight and Gabriel will notice something about the environment or enemy and it will show his face with an expression like, "I know something you don't know." The best was during a boss fight where you have your whip wrapped around a guy's sword. You're having a tug of war for a few seconds, then you see that look on the hero's face as he lets go of the whip, which causes the other dude to stab himself in the face with his own sword. Sweet.
-QTEs. Unlike other games, instead of having you hit one of the 4 face buttons randomly for QTEs, this game handles them by having a big white circle shrinking into a smaller white circle. As soon as the bigger circle shrinks into the smaller circle, hit any button to nail that QTE. I much prefer this as it just cuts down on frustration. The big circle also shrinks at different speeds, so it's not a complete breeze.
-and finally.....the ENDING! After being highly disappointed with God of War III's story and ending, and Bayonetta's nonsense plot, this was a breath of fresh air. I was genuinely surprised by a few things at the end, specifically the post-credits sequence which sets up future games in the series (it's confirmed: MercurySteam is already working on a sequel, YES!). I'm having trouble interpreting what I saw but I've read a few and there is one explanation that I would really like. I'm very curious to see where they go with this. This surprise ending is the one part of the game where I felt Hideo Kojima's presence. Let's just hope they have a RATIONAL explanation for this ending instead of making things all insane and nonsensical like Metal Gear.
DISLIKE
-Honestly, I've thought about it and there wasn't really anything I disliked, but I was let down by a couple things, so here they are.
-The music is not quite as great as I had hoped. That's not to say it's bad AT ALL (it's really quite well done), but previous Castlevania games have some of the best music in the industry in my opinion and there was nothing here that REALLY blew me away.
-The clocktower stage was a little short and easy. Typically the clocktower is brutally difficult.
-The puzzles. Again, I didn't dislike them, but they were just kinda so-so. A necessary part of the game to break up the platforming and combat, though.
-The camera can cause you to run in the wrong direction occasionally. What I mean is that when the camera changes angles, you'll often have to let off the stick completely and pick a new direction instead of just shifting your direction. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I don't know how else to explain.
-During the Titans, the framerate drops slightly, but other than that, I never noticed any problem in this department.
CONCLUSION
Obviously, I really dig this game. Very satisfying from start to finish. I would probably give this my Game of the Year award at this point. It was well worth the wait and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes AWESOME SAUCE!!!!
Medal of Honor Early Impressions and the fail in the Power A
I preordered Medal of Honor a couple days ago and since I was up late playing the awesome "Enslaved: Odyssey to the West" anyways, I decided to go to the midnight release.
One cool sidenote of the PS3 version over the 360 version is the inclusion of "MoH: Frontlines" HD remake. It's 4.4gb that installs to your drive. I'm guessing the 360 didn't get it because of the disc space limitations.
After an update and then the obligatory PS3 install I got it up and running. I get to the MP side and go to the controller settings to make sure that the triggers are set how I like....with the actual triggers being triggers. Stupidly retardedly it can't be done. R1 and L1 are primary first and aim down sights. Instant frustration for me.
So I hop in to a TDM game and am using my Power A controller. For a while now I've had a sneaking suspicion that there's a decent sized "dead zone" in the sticks and MoH showed them to me instantly. Aiming would go from almost no movement to full in a VERY small space of movement. I was even more let down. I stuck it out for a few rounds and actually played quite well.
Out of curiosity I tried my old Afterglow controller and that was even worse than the Power A. After that...I did the unthinkable and for most of us on this blog...the unforgiveable. I blew the dust off of the DS, put my Grip Itz on and proceeded to play. I tore it up. For the next 2 hours I played with the DS with no cramps and surprising comfort. Since I've been using the Power A so much the "loosey goosey" sticks weren't a problem so it was all natural.
Anyways, the gameplay is basically what you've heard. Bad Company gameplay in a MW type package. The maps are far larger and more interesting that what you'll find in any CoD game because it's 12 vs 12 and not 6 vs 6 or 8 vs 8. Due to the larger player limit I was shocked at how more "warlike" the game felt. There was always something going on.
I really like the game a lot and it's very obvious that it's much less adrenaline kill everything I'm a one man army that's gonna call in a nuke type of military shooter and more a paced thoughtful shooter. Death does come easily and unfortunately the snipers are everywhere and their guns are overpowered.
I'm really looking forward to trying the other game types and giving the SP a spin. I'm sure I'll post a review in a week or so.
One cool sidenote of the PS3 version over the 360 version is the inclusion of "MoH: Frontlines" HD remake. It's 4.4gb that installs to your drive. I'm guessing the 360 didn't get it because of the disc space limitations.
After an update and then the obligatory PS3 install I got it up and running. I get to the MP side and go to the controller settings to make sure that the triggers are set how I like....with the actual triggers being triggers. Stupidly retardedly it can't be done. R1 and L1 are primary first and aim down sights. Instant frustration for me.
So I hop in to a TDM game and am using my Power A controller. For a while now I've had a sneaking suspicion that there's a decent sized "dead zone" in the sticks and MoH showed them to me instantly. Aiming would go from almost no movement to full in a VERY small space of movement. I was even more let down. I stuck it out for a few rounds and actually played quite well.
Out of curiosity I tried my old Afterglow controller and that was even worse than the Power A. After that...I did the unthinkable and for most of us on this blog...the unforgiveable. I blew the dust off of the DS, put my Grip Itz on and proceeded to play. I tore it up. For the next 2 hours I played with the DS with no cramps and surprising comfort. Since I've been using the Power A so much the "loosey goosey" sticks weren't a problem so it was all natural.
Anyways, the gameplay is basically what you've heard. Bad Company gameplay in a MW type package. The maps are far larger and more interesting that what you'll find in any CoD game because it's 12 vs 12 and not 6 vs 6 or 8 vs 8. Due to the larger player limit I was shocked at how more "warlike" the game felt. There was always something going on.
I really like the game a lot and it's very obvious that it's much less adrenaline kill everything I'm a one man army that's gonna call in a nuke type of military shooter and more a paced thoughtful shooter. Death does come easily and unfortunately the snipers are everywhere and their guns are overpowered.
I'm really looking forward to trying the other game types and giving the SP a spin. I'm sure I'll post a review in a week or so.
Monday, October 11, 2010
At least it isn't "Madden 2011: the film"...
I try not to post things directly like this, but I think it's worth it. News and rumors of the upcoming Myst film gets me excited. The Penny Arcade guys have it right, both in opinion and humor. Myst has some of the simplest, but also engaging stories around it, even if it gets lost in some of the gameplay.
Myst is one of those games that changed how I not only look at games, but storytelling in general. At the end of the day Myst was just the next new point and click puzzler, but it's lasting effects are still being seen in development as the title set new standards for immersion. The unique environments, stunning lighting, musical composition,
and character acting created an incredible world that was easy to get lost in. It was one of the first games that I really wished that I could go explore in real life. Needing a fix, I inadvertently deepened my desire by reading the three novels that not only flush out the story in the game(s), but also go on to define the cultural context, and it's pride-filled rapid decline, that laid the foundation of the small isolated island that became my world.
The concept of creating worlds and and exploring other creations had me hooked, and I wasn't the only one. Uru, the fourth game in the Myst line-up, was an attempt to bring player interaction with each other into the puzzle solving. Received with mixed reviews, Uru was eventually shut down, but it's cult following and (eventual) open-source nature, kept it alive. Fans were able to still interact, and have crafted their own stories and tales that revolve around the core Myst universe, even with some support from the developers after they realized what an amazing thing they had on their hands. Hardly the sort of thing that the new Myst player should even consider getting into, but I appreciate it on that abstract level. It seems amazing to me - a game whose story is about created worlds and the issues that surround those creations has spawned a fan base that's passionate about creating stories that rest on the foundations laid by the game. I don't know many developers out there that hold any high regard for fan-fiction. I've read a few fan-fiction writings out there, and it always seems like it bastardizes the original work. I don't get that vibe with Uru though, and it seems the developers agree. What other reason would they have to support it?
Full article and comic link here.
Myst is one of those games that changed how I not only look at games, but storytelling in general. At the end of the day Myst was just the next new point and click puzzler, but it's lasting effects are still being seen in development as the title set new standards for immersion. The unique environments, stunning lighting, musical composition,
and character acting created an incredible world that was easy to get lost in. It was one of the first games that I really wished that I could go explore in real life. Needing a fix, I inadvertently deepened my desire by reading the three novels that not only flush out the story in the game(s), but also go on to define the cultural context, and it's pride-filled rapid decline, that laid the foundation of the small isolated island that became my world.
The concept of creating worlds and and exploring other creations had me hooked, and I wasn't the only one. Uru, the fourth game in the Myst line-up, was an attempt to bring player interaction with each other into the puzzle solving. Received with mixed reviews, Uru was eventually shut down, but it's cult following and (eventual) open-source nature, kept it alive. Fans were able to still interact, and have crafted their own stories and tales that revolve around the core Myst universe, even with some support from the developers after they realized what an amazing thing they had on their hands. Hardly the sort of thing that the new Myst player should even consider getting into, but I appreciate it on that abstract level. It seems amazing to me - a game whose story is about created worlds and the issues that surround those creations has spawned a fan base that's passionate about creating stories that rest on the foundations laid by the game. I don't know many developers out there that hold any high regard for fan-fiction. I've read a few fan-fiction writings out there, and it always seems like it bastardizes the original work. I don't get that vibe with Uru though, and it seems the developers agree. What other reason would they have to support it?
Full article and comic link here.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Oblivion
There is a dual meaning to the title as that is where my PC now resides since it took it's last breath last night and now won't even move past the intial loading screen... I can't even enter the BIOS to fiddle with stuff soooooo... I'll be playing Oblivion on the 360. It was that or Dragon Age and having just finished ME2, I didn't feel like playing another story-heavy game. I can't handle two in a row.
Anyways, I'm a poor social worker so we'll see when I can fix the PC or buy a new one... I do find it amazing that a game that's several years hold can still hold my interest so much and I can't wait to go home and play some more.
Elder Scrolls FTW!
Anyways, I'm a poor social worker so we'll see when I can fix the PC or buy a new one... I do find it amazing that a game that's several years hold can still hold my interest so much and I can't wait to go home and play some more.
Elder Scrolls FTW!
Monday, October 4, 2010
ME2, New Vegas, Fable III, Black Ops
Just finished ME2 and it was pretty darn good. 3N3MY's review was spot on. Great game but the toned-down-for-noobs RPG elements were a little annoying. I guess they were marketing for a wide market of gamers. The characters you pick up along the way are all pretty cool and really feel like the dangerous people they're supposed to be. And the game really rewards you for playing through the first one, from an achievement at the end to feeling even more attached. I played as female since I always play male in games. Just for the heck of it...
Is anybody going to be able to put Reach down to play some other great titles coming out. Since I've been attempting to budget my money better, I can't decide which games to buy new and which ones to impatiently wait until I can receive them on Goozex.
New Vegas, Fable 3, Black Ops... crap! They are all must plays for me. Fallout 3 in the desert? Heck yes... Rule the world as a king in Fable 3? Heck yes... and with a confirmed zombie mode, co-op vs. bots, designated servers, customization, contracts, no commando, no infinite sprint, ability to ban players... way to redeem IW's mistakes, Treyarch. It'll hold me over until Battlefield 3 comes out...
New Vegas or Fable 3 as a day one 360 buy? Comment below and I'll buy whatever gets the most votes...
PS - Now if only I can get my PC running smooth... :'(
Is anybody going to be able to put Reach down to play some other great titles coming out. Since I've been attempting to budget my money better, I can't decide which games to buy new and which ones to impatiently wait until I can receive them on Goozex.
New Vegas, Fable 3, Black Ops... crap! They are all must plays for me. Fallout 3 in the desert? Heck yes... Rule the world as a king in Fable 3? Heck yes... and with a confirmed zombie mode, co-op vs. bots, designated servers, customization, contracts, no commando, no infinite sprint, ability to ban players... way to redeem IW's mistakes, Treyarch. It'll hold me over until Battlefield 3 comes out...
New Vegas or Fable 3 as a day one 360 buy? Comment below and I'll buy whatever gets the most votes...
PS - Now if only I can get my PC running smooth... :'(
BRINK
Been keeping an eye on this game and this trailer is selling me on it. I love team-based games (Battlefield) over straight up shooters (CoD, Halo) any day. Just more options since my play style can really depend on my mood. Some days I want to run and gun, others I like to lay back and defend (aka camp).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSXr_85Ctm8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSXr_85Ctm8
Saturday, October 2, 2010
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