I know some people shit their pants when we link to other sites on this one, but this quick read on the appeal of Counter Strike is both funny and spot on.
Best quote: "Shooting that sniper’s prone corpse, I was basically cutting off his
dick so I could keep it in a jar of vinegar, along with all the others,
like that Assyrian king way back when."
Get this game and a keyboard and mouse. Let us play as men. Or at least as manly as guys pretending to play war can be.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
George Lucas hates you.
George Lucas has ruined Star Wars. This is sort of a common accept fact at this point. There are so many things that we could submit as evidence here. There are plenty of hilarious songs and honest (albeit, weird) commentaries that all illustrate the point well enough. Why are there so many kids in the prequel movies? Why did Lucas feel it necessary to have Greedo shoot first/at all?
I would like to talk about a very specific grievance - The Force.
As a kid who grew up on a healthy does of the original trilogy, the Force was always an interesting concept. I, like many of you, probably spent more than a healthy amount of time staring at a fixed object, concentrating on it, hoping to make it levitate. It wouldn't be as impressive as lifting an X-Wing from a swamp, but I believed that if I could focus hard enough, or understand the Force well enough, then maybe, just maybe I could do it.
The Force is a mystical power, something to be both understood and felt. Let me support this with some quotes.
"The Jedi are extinct, their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion."
"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."
"... I've never seen anything to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."
"The Force be with you, always."
For all practical purposes, the Force was like a god, or a spirit that was everywhere. It was something that couldn't be proven or seen, something that couldn't be quantified by any other standard... It was truly something special.
This all changed with the prequels. In Episode 1, we get to see a glimpse of a young boy who would someday rule the galaxy with a cruel fist - Anakin Skywalker. The force is so present in this small child that immediately the Jedi nearby can feel it's presence... So they decide to go and measure it.
Wait. What? They measure it? How is that possible? Midi-chlorians, you say? That's what the Force is made of? As I sat there in the theatre, I felt crushed and a little bit disappointed. How could something like the Force be explained as easily as a micro-organism in the blood stream? Yoda didn't really have anything special to be able to lift Luke's ship from the depths of Degobah... he just had really awesome blood stats!
Stepping outside of this, and giving myself more than a few years to be upset and confused, I finally began to see what and why this sort of happened. As crazy as it sounds, I think it has a lot to do with the secularization of our culture. Religion isn't as common in people's lives as it was 30 years ago, and apparently this has had an influence on Star Wars. I'm personally kinda sad about this. Star Wars was different from other things out there... the Force was something bigger than myself, something that I desperately wanted to be a part of. Knowing how the Force works makes it... accessible - I just wasn't born with the right blood. I mean, I could be a Jedi, but really, I'm not genetically fit to make it happen.
(Side note: to see this trend continue, look at the differences between the original Indiana Jones movies and the new one)
Lucas just keeps trying to cover all of his tracks on this too. It isn't just the quantification of the Force, but also how it works out. I'm thinking of a horrifying scene in Episode 2 where Count Dooku and Yoda are going at it with force lighting and energy balls... awesome stuff. Then...
"It is obvious that this contest cannot be decided by our knowledge of the Force... but by our skills with a lightsaber."
WHAT?! The skills with a lightsaber are more important than the knowledge of the Force!? You've gotta be kidding me. The whole original trilogy is about the Force, and the way it is the most powerful... well, force in the galaxy. Lightsabers were a weapon of the Jedi, but the Force is what gives a Jedi his power! (That's actually almost a direct Obi-wan quote, listed above!)
My only real question for George Lucas in this, is why? It's not like Star Wars wasn't popular or making money. I was halfway grown when I started watching them, and Return of the Jedi came out long before that. And it's not like releasing the originals, in their original formatting (dialogue, effects, sound, etc.) wouldn't make money - heck, it would make them billions. I'd even let them borrow my original VHS copies to enhance them off of, just so there wouldn't be any accidental additions.
Leave them alone, George... just leave them alone.
I would like to talk about a very specific grievance - The Force.
As a kid who grew up on a healthy does of the original trilogy, the Force was always an interesting concept. I, like many of you, probably spent more than a healthy amount of time staring at a fixed object, concentrating on it, hoping to make it levitate. It wouldn't be as impressive as lifting an X-Wing from a swamp, but I believed that if I could focus hard enough, or understand the Force well enough, then maybe, just maybe I could do it.
The Force is a mystical power, something to be both understood and felt. Let me support this with some quotes.
"The Jedi are extinct, their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion."
"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."
"... I've never seen anything to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."
"The Force be with you, always."
For all practical purposes, the Force was like a god, or a spirit that was everywhere. It was something that couldn't be proven or seen, something that couldn't be quantified by any other standard... It was truly something special.
This all changed with the prequels. In Episode 1, we get to see a glimpse of a young boy who would someday rule the galaxy with a cruel fist - Anakin Skywalker. The force is so present in this small child that immediately the Jedi nearby can feel it's presence... So they decide to go and measure it.
Wait. What? They measure it? How is that possible? Midi-chlorians, you say? That's what the Force is made of? As I sat there in the theatre, I felt crushed and a little bit disappointed. How could something like the Force be explained as easily as a micro-organism in the blood stream? Yoda didn't really have anything special to be able to lift Luke's ship from the depths of Degobah... he just had really awesome blood stats!
Stepping outside of this, and giving myself more than a few years to be upset and confused, I finally began to see what and why this sort of happened. As crazy as it sounds, I think it has a lot to do with the secularization of our culture. Religion isn't as common in people's lives as it was 30 years ago, and apparently this has had an influence on Star Wars. I'm personally kinda sad about this. Star Wars was different from other things out there... the Force was something bigger than myself, something that I desperately wanted to be a part of. Knowing how the Force works makes it... accessible - I just wasn't born with the right blood. I mean, I could be a Jedi, but really, I'm not genetically fit to make it happen.
(Side note: to see this trend continue, look at the differences between the original Indiana Jones movies and the new one)
Lucas just keeps trying to cover all of his tracks on this too. It isn't just the quantification of the Force, but also how it works out. I'm thinking of a horrifying scene in Episode 2 where Count Dooku and Yoda are going at it with force lighting and energy balls... awesome stuff. Then...
"It is obvious that this contest cannot be decided by our knowledge of the Force... but by our skills with a lightsaber."
WHAT?! The skills with a lightsaber are more important than the knowledge of the Force!? You've gotta be kidding me. The whole original trilogy is about the Force, and the way it is the most powerful... well, force in the galaxy. Lightsabers were a weapon of the Jedi, but the Force is what gives a Jedi his power! (That's actually almost a direct Obi-wan quote, listed above!)
 |
| It just makes me so... like this. |
My only real question for George Lucas in this, is why? It's not like Star Wars wasn't popular or making money. I was halfway grown when I started watching them, and Return of the Jedi came out long before that. And it's not like releasing the originals, in their original formatting (dialogue, effects, sound, etc.) wouldn't make money - heck, it would make them billions. I'd even let them borrow my original VHS copies to enhance them off of, just so there wouldn't be any accidental additions.
Leave them alone, George... just leave them alone.
(Credit for this blog post title to 3N3MY's classy comic-con t-shirt)
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Counter Strike: Global Offensive
Counter Strike is a game I've always been very interested in really sinking my teeth into. It's a game that's long been held as the greatest competitive FPS of all time. Right up there with the ranks of Quake 3 and Unreal 2004.
With a minimalistic approach in regards to map count, game modes, weapons and loadouts it puts all the emphasis on practice and patience.
I got Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS) for the PS3 this past Tuesday when it released. I got it because, as stated, I've always wanted to get into CS, but also, on the PS3, you can play with a mouse and keyboard. Something else I've always wanted to do with a competitive shooter.
So I got the game and I'll admit it takes some getting used to. What team does what objective and how the maps work as well as what weapons to purchase as well as what gear to focus on. It's a bit of a steep learning curve at first and in my first 3 matches of playing online I was struggling. I could tell that there's a really good game in here, but needed to work to get good at it. It's obviously not a hop and and rock the shit out of it type game. It's very old school.
I went to Target and bought the cheapest mouse and keyboard I could. I plugged them into my 2 usb ports on my PS3 and was astounded at how instantly and well they worked. I can manipulate all in game menus with the mouse and keyboard. It literally feels just like a pc game.
I spent the next couple hours playing with bots to familiarize myself with the game modes and maps as well as get back into the mouse and keyboard groove.
TJ and I played for a good 2 hours online last night and I must say that the game is simply awesome.
It's 5v5 with only 5 or 6 maps and 4 game modes. I can honestly say that out of all the maps there's not one I don't like. It's pretty interesting and a testament to the games staying power with how well the maps work. They truly appear to be perfectly balanced. How many shooters nowadays ship with 10-15 maps and you end up hating half of them? I know I do. In this game....they just....work.
In this game you earn money to purchase guns and equipment to use in the next rounds. If you die in the following round you're dead until the following round. If you live through the round you start the next round with all your equipment intact. If you die....you have to purchase everything over if you have enough money. It's a really neat mechanic that makes your choices matter and really makes you want to play well because when you die you lose more than just a man. Also, there's no auto aim or aim assist. If you miss it's your fault.
My only real gripe with this game is that headshots are super king in it. And I mean super king. Many times you'll be unloading into a guy and your aim is spot on and then you'll get dropped in an instant. Even when crouching and firing and small bursts it can still seem hit or miss. I don't think it's a fault of the game, but just another way that it really makes you work for your kills. There do seem to be "stand out" guys in most games so it's not like the game is broke. It just truly rewards skill.
This hasn't really been a review, but more of an urging for you guys to consider getting this on PS3 and possibly get the mouse and keyboard. The game plays really well with a dualshock, but it just feels in a whole other league with a mouse.
It's a game TJ and I area already putting a lot of time into.
P.S. This was written very rushed so forgive if it's disjointed and not organized coherently.
With a minimalistic approach in regards to map count, game modes, weapons and loadouts it puts all the emphasis on practice and patience.
I got Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS) for the PS3 this past Tuesday when it released. I got it because, as stated, I've always wanted to get into CS, but also, on the PS3, you can play with a mouse and keyboard. Something else I've always wanted to do with a competitive shooter.
So I got the game and I'll admit it takes some getting used to. What team does what objective and how the maps work as well as what weapons to purchase as well as what gear to focus on. It's a bit of a steep learning curve at first and in my first 3 matches of playing online I was struggling. I could tell that there's a really good game in here, but needed to work to get good at it. It's obviously not a hop and and rock the shit out of it type game. It's very old school.
I went to Target and bought the cheapest mouse and keyboard I could. I plugged them into my 2 usb ports on my PS3 and was astounded at how instantly and well they worked. I can manipulate all in game menus with the mouse and keyboard. It literally feels just like a pc game.
I spent the next couple hours playing with bots to familiarize myself with the game modes and maps as well as get back into the mouse and keyboard groove.
TJ and I played for a good 2 hours online last night and I must say that the game is simply awesome.
It's 5v5 with only 5 or 6 maps and 4 game modes. I can honestly say that out of all the maps there's not one I don't like. It's pretty interesting and a testament to the games staying power with how well the maps work. They truly appear to be perfectly balanced. How many shooters nowadays ship with 10-15 maps and you end up hating half of them? I know I do. In this game....they just....work.
In this game you earn money to purchase guns and equipment to use in the next rounds. If you die in the following round you're dead until the following round. If you live through the round you start the next round with all your equipment intact. If you die....you have to purchase everything over if you have enough money. It's a really neat mechanic that makes your choices matter and really makes you want to play well because when you die you lose more than just a man. Also, there's no auto aim or aim assist. If you miss it's your fault.
My only real gripe with this game is that headshots are super king in it. And I mean super king. Many times you'll be unloading into a guy and your aim is spot on and then you'll get dropped in an instant. Even when crouching and firing and small bursts it can still seem hit or miss. I don't think it's a fault of the game, but just another way that it really makes you work for your kills. There do seem to be "stand out" guys in most games so it's not like the game is broke. It just truly rewards skill.
This hasn't really been a review, but more of an urging for you guys to consider getting this on PS3 and possibly get the mouse and keyboard. The game plays really well with a dualshock, but it just feels in a whole other league with a mouse.
It's a game TJ and I area already putting a lot of time into.
P.S. This was written very rushed so forgive if it's disjointed and not organized coherently.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Shadow of the Colossus Review
Retro review? Does a game from the previous generation of consoles count?
I have really mixed feelings on this one.
Short review: cool bosses, great music, terrible story, awful controls, busted camera, a boring world, and a sucky hero. I'll just take these one at a time to flesh this thing out.
-There are sixteen colossi to defeat in this game. They vary in size, shape and difficulty. They have different weak spots all over their bodies. You must climb all over them hitting the spots, all while being swatted and holding on for dear life. There's a nice variation. Some have clubs, some fly, some are heavily armored, some require you to use your horse just to keep up, some require you to get creative with the environment. Each colossi almost seems like a gigantic, moving puzzle that you must defeat to move on. Bringing down one of the bosses is extremely gratifying once you accomplish it. Sometimes these battles will last as long as thirty minutes as you try to figure exactly what to do next........or frustratingly get thrown off and plummet back to the ground.
-The world is oddly silent until you come across one of the colossi. The music stirs to life along with each creature, ramping up significantly when you finally manage to climb onto the beast. The tunes vary from one boss to the next, but each theme is very heroic and fitting, considering the task at hand.
-Story? What story? You ride your horse into a massive temple, set your dead girlfriend on an altar and speak to a disembodied voice. You plead with it to bring your woman's soul back from the dead. In order for this to happen, you must roam the land, find and defeat sixteen colossi.
-This is a big one. The controls in this game are monumentally awful. I had to make various adjustments in the menu before I could even begin to play. I had to change look sensitivity, invert the x AND y axis. You run extremely slowly, almost like you have a broken ankle. You seem to have no agility, which is a huge detriment considering you have to climb all over these hulking, squirming colossi to succeed. The jump is really floaty yet difficult to control. Jumping away from a platform while hanging onto it proves to be quite a chore. Also, it took an average of three attempts to simply just get onto the horse. "Jump" and "get on horse" are both the same button, so I would typically set myself up in the proper position, hit the button and instead of getting on the horse....I would jump past it like an A-hole. I didn't discover until about three-quarters of the way into the game that I could hold R1 ("Grab") to assist in getting onto the horse. A little in-game tip might have been useful there. And while I'm talking about the horse, IT has awful controls also. The "steering" on it is terrible and good luck if the camera forces you into a corner (more on that later). While it's certainly faster than going on foot, I never got the sensation of traveling really fast. It's more like a contented trot than a purposeful gallop.
-I HATE the camera on this game. In the thick of combat, it insists on staying right on you. It rarely pulls back to give you a great perspective. It will also "wander" on its own, which proved to be the most frustrating for the flying colossi in the desert. I'm riding the horse trying to fight with the camera so I can actually SEE the beast on the right side of the horse, instead of rotating around to look at NOTHING on the left. Also, when you're riding through the barren land, the camera is always positioned almost at ground level, making it very difficult to see where you're going. This means that you cannot see if a cliff or any sort of drop in terrain is upcoming. Really, really annoying and frustrating.
-The world in this game is a "forbidden land." It definitely creates a sense of isolation, but also a sense of boredom. There is NOTHING to do in this huge world except fight the colossi. I discovered later that there are some collectibles in the game, which actually kinda frustrated me. There are tiny lizards you can shoot to upgrade your "Grip" meter (how long you can hold onto the colossi) and fruit to extend your health bar. I had no idea these even existed. I don't like when games hold your hand for everything, but maybe a little tip to just let me know these things existed would have been pretty nice.
-This game gives me no reason to care about what this character is going through. We see none of his history with this woman. Why should I even care what he's trying to do? Why do I want to bring this person back? I feel like I'm just going through the motions here. Going through the motions with terrible controls. This brings up kind of a sticky point, though. How often do we really even care about what we're doing in games? I mean, this plot is quite similar to every "Mario" game in existence (save the Princess!) but....but....I like playing Mario games! I didn't like playing this, and I hate to boil it down to something so simple, but it really comes down to the controls. I like playing games with great controls. I can forgive sloppy storytelling or butthole characters or boring worlds if I get clean, fun gameplay, and Shadow of the Colossus just doesn't have it.
This game is.....colossally overrated. Zing!
I have really mixed feelings on this one.
Short review: cool bosses, great music, terrible story, awful controls, busted camera, a boring world, and a sucky hero. I'll just take these one at a time to flesh this thing out.
-There are sixteen colossi to defeat in this game. They vary in size, shape and difficulty. They have different weak spots all over their bodies. You must climb all over them hitting the spots, all while being swatted and holding on for dear life. There's a nice variation. Some have clubs, some fly, some are heavily armored, some require you to use your horse just to keep up, some require you to get creative with the environment. Each colossi almost seems like a gigantic, moving puzzle that you must defeat to move on. Bringing down one of the bosses is extremely gratifying once you accomplish it. Sometimes these battles will last as long as thirty minutes as you try to figure exactly what to do next........or frustratingly get thrown off and plummet back to the ground.
-The world is oddly silent until you come across one of the colossi. The music stirs to life along with each creature, ramping up significantly when you finally manage to climb onto the beast. The tunes vary from one boss to the next, but each theme is very heroic and fitting, considering the task at hand.
-Story? What story? You ride your horse into a massive temple, set your dead girlfriend on an altar and speak to a disembodied voice. You plead with it to bring your woman's soul back from the dead. In order for this to happen, you must roam the land, find and defeat sixteen colossi.
-This is a big one. The controls in this game are monumentally awful. I had to make various adjustments in the menu before I could even begin to play. I had to change look sensitivity, invert the x AND y axis. You run extremely slowly, almost like you have a broken ankle. You seem to have no agility, which is a huge detriment considering you have to climb all over these hulking, squirming colossi to succeed. The jump is really floaty yet difficult to control. Jumping away from a platform while hanging onto it proves to be quite a chore. Also, it took an average of three attempts to simply just get onto the horse. "Jump" and "get on horse" are both the same button, so I would typically set myself up in the proper position, hit the button and instead of getting on the horse....I would jump past it like an A-hole. I didn't discover until about three-quarters of the way into the game that I could hold R1 ("Grab") to assist in getting onto the horse. A little in-game tip might have been useful there. And while I'm talking about the horse, IT has awful controls also. The "steering" on it is terrible and good luck if the camera forces you into a corner (more on that later). While it's certainly faster than going on foot, I never got the sensation of traveling really fast. It's more like a contented trot than a purposeful gallop.
-I HATE the camera on this game. In the thick of combat, it insists on staying right on you. It rarely pulls back to give you a great perspective. It will also "wander" on its own, which proved to be the most frustrating for the flying colossi in the desert. I'm riding the horse trying to fight with the camera so I can actually SEE the beast on the right side of the horse, instead of rotating around to look at NOTHING on the left. Also, when you're riding through the barren land, the camera is always positioned almost at ground level, making it very difficult to see where you're going. This means that you cannot see if a cliff or any sort of drop in terrain is upcoming. Really, really annoying and frustrating.
-The world in this game is a "forbidden land." It definitely creates a sense of isolation, but also a sense of boredom. There is NOTHING to do in this huge world except fight the colossi. I discovered later that there are some collectibles in the game, which actually kinda frustrated me. There are tiny lizards you can shoot to upgrade your "Grip" meter (how long you can hold onto the colossi) and fruit to extend your health bar. I had no idea these even existed. I don't like when games hold your hand for everything, but maybe a little tip to just let me know these things existed would have been pretty nice.
-This game gives me no reason to care about what this character is going through. We see none of his history with this woman. Why should I even care what he's trying to do? Why do I want to bring this person back? I feel like I'm just going through the motions here. Going through the motions with terrible controls. This brings up kind of a sticky point, though. How often do we really even care about what we're doing in games? I mean, this plot is quite similar to every "Mario" game in existence (save the Princess!) but....but....I like playing Mario games! I didn't like playing this, and I hate to boil it down to something so simple, but it really comes down to the controls. I like playing games with great controls. I can forgive sloppy storytelling or butthole characters or boring worlds if I get clean, fun gameplay, and Shadow of the Colossus just doesn't have it.
This game is.....colossally overrated. Zing!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Music in Games: Revisited
The topic of video game music has been covered many times on this blog however after a recent Comic Con trip when I was introduced to the score to Dues Ex, I started to really think about what soundtracks and themes really stand out. I wrote 3N3MY a couple of days later telling him that until now, I had never wanted to play a game solely because of the music. Dues Ex: Human Revolution changed that. The song Icarus (as I have it) blew me away and really drew me into a game that I knew nothing about, let alone even seen! This got me thinking about some of my favorite games and how a large percentage of them have phenomenal music scores, much like my favorite movies. A good game has good game-play and and a good story. A great game as both of these, great sound effects and a musical score that act as the glue that bring it all together. They make a game feel complete. A couple of games that really jump out when thinking about this are The Elder Scrolls games and Mirror's Edge. Yes, a game like Mirror's Edge with a score written by some composer unbeknownst to me is grouped in with Jeremy Soule (he has done more games than most of you know).
And why not, lets throw in a list of a few of my favorite songs/themes found in games. For the sake of this, I'm leaving out classics like the Zelda theme and keeping it short.
In no particular order...
Solar Fields - Introduction (Mirror's Edge)
Martin O'Donnell - Never Forget (Halo 3)
Jeremy Soule - Sons of Skyrim
Lorne Balfe - Assassins Creed Theme (Revelations)
Greg Edmonson - Nate's Theme (Uncharted)
Honorable Mention: BogusRed - Into Golden Sunset (fan remake from A Link to the Past)
And for the heck of it, some of my favorite Movie/TV scores...
John Murphy - Adagio in D Minor
Ramin Djawadi - Main Title (Game of Thrones)
John Williams - Theme from Schindler's List (reprise)
Michael Kamen - Main Theme (Band of Brothers)
Hanz Zimmer - Honor (The Pacific)
Jeremy Goldsmith - Main Title/Locutus (Star Trek: First Contact)
And why not, lets throw in a list of a few of my favorite songs/themes found in games. For the sake of this, I'm leaving out classics like the Zelda theme and keeping it short.
In no particular order...
Solar Fields - Introduction (Mirror's Edge)
Martin O'Donnell - Never Forget (Halo 3)
Jeremy Soule - Sons of Skyrim
Lorne Balfe - Assassins Creed Theme (Revelations)
Greg Edmonson - Nate's Theme (Uncharted)
Honorable Mention: BogusRed - Into Golden Sunset (fan remake from A Link to the Past)
And for the heck of it, some of my favorite Movie/TV scores...
John Murphy - Adagio in D Minor
Ramin Djawadi - Main Title (Game of Thrones)
John Williams - Theme from Schindler's List (reprise)
Michael Kamen - Main Theme (Band of Brothers)
Hanz Zimmer - Honor (The Pacific)
Jeremy Goldsmith - Main Title/Locutus (Star Trek: First Contact)
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Coins, Coins, Coins...
Try not to judge too much on this one, but I picked up New Super Mario Brothers 2. At this point, they really should just drop the numerical pretenses and just go with something like "The Next One You Know You're Gonna Buy", but I suppose with all the money Mario has made over the years, Nintendo isn't going to go about changing what works. Unsurprisingly, not much has changed here. As with other Mario games, the classic run and jump man sticks to what is tried and true.
Surprisingly though, Nintendo has revitalized one of the most ignored and antiquated game design elements that, I thought, had gone by the wayside - points. Yes, points matter, or at the very least, are supposed to matter. The first Mario game on the NES had a point system, but it wasn't paid attention to very highly. The high score would always reset whenever the console was turned off, and frankly, the only reason they were there in the first place was a shadow of the "high score" mentality from the arcade days. Arcade games used points as a means to drive competition/sales. It's my theory that when home consoles hit the market, the consumer stopped caring about points, because, well... who's there to beat? Your family? Your friends who come over? Having your initials immortalized in a public arcade box was one thing, but on your own tv? Not nearly as impressive.
Coins are a huge element in this game, but it's hard to explain why... Coins have always been a means of rewarding free lives (which I'll talk about later) but collecting them was always a consequence of the level completion, not the game's main focus for the player. Each individual level has a high score of coins collected, which contribute to a cumulative total for total play time. In an afternoon of owning this game, I've collected approximately 14,000 coins. There is something... primal about gaming for the sake of seeing numbers rise. It's almost the same sort of "addictive" quality about prestiging in the COD games... something of a bragging right, even if no one around you truly cares.
Something that creates the drive to make that number rise, is how your personal cumulative total contributes to a global/regional total. Players from around the world are collecting coins with you, creating a pool that Scrooge McDuck would love to dive headfirst into. Nintendo has been somewhat quiet about the overall purpose of collecting all these coins... maybe free DLC? Unlockables for all involved... who knows. I do know that it puts a slight sense of purpose behind playing this game. It sure isn't the narrative structure that keeps bringing me back to Mario, and it's kinda cool to see Nintendo acknowledge that.
The big N hasn't only changed it's focus, but it's almost gotten sort of post-modern about itself. Everyone knows that sometime around Super Mario World, lives / 1ups in a Mario games have felt sort of unnecessary. Most players know multiple tricks to make the number of lives they have so high, the number itself becomes meaningless. Similarly to the coins, lives work the same way. I think I have 86 lives at the point of writing this, but the counter has spots for three digits... giving Nintendo the benefit of the doubt, that means they are anticipating me to wrack up lives somewhere in the hundreds.
Talk about sending a message... "Oh what's that? Our lives are meaningless? I guess we'll roll with that... here's 30 free ones on us." It's almost like they are deliberately making fun of themselves. Or they are finally catching on to what people need. I don't mean need as far as in the difficulty of the game, but need as in desire of gameplay. We like to see big numbers, and be impressed with ourselves. Does it make the game easier? Of course! But that's part of the charm, the allure, the... Mario-ness.
It's a fun game, but you all new that. It's rare these days that Mario gets a game all about him that doesn't fit the bill. I don't anticipate anyone here playing this one (I'm almost certain I'm the only one with a 3DS), but I found this new twist intriguing. I thought the coins would be distracting, and frivolous, but instead I found that it supports a design strategy that Nintendo has been using for a while, it just ups the ante a little, and a new sort of attention to one of the most tried and true Mario elements - getting them coins.
Surprisingly though, Nintendo has revitalized one of the most ignored and antiquated game design elements that, I thought, had gone by the wayside - points. Yes, points matter, or at the very least, are supposed to matter. The first Mario game on the NES had a point system, but it wasn't paid attention to very highly. The high score would always reset whenever the console was turned off, and frankly, the only reason they were there in the first place was a shadow of the "high score" mentality from the arcade days. Arcade games used points as a means to drive competition/sales. It's my theory that when home consoles hit the market, the consumer stopped caring about points, because, well... who's there to beat? Your family? Your friends who come over? Having your initials immortalized in a public arcade box was one thing, but on your own tv? Not nearly as impressive.
Coins are a huge element in this game, but it's hard to explain why... Coins have always been a means of rewarding free lives (which I'll talk about later) but collecting them was always a consequence of the level completion, not the game's main focus for the player. Each individual level has a high score of coins collected, which contribute to a cumulative total for total play time. In an afternoon of owning this game, I've collected approximately 14,000 coins. There is something... primal about gaming for the sake of seeing numbers rise. It's almost the same sort of "addictive" quality about prestiging in the COD games... something of a bragging right, even if no one around you truly cares.
 |
| "This actually happens in the game... I wish I was lying to you." |
Something that creates the drive to make that number rise, is how your personal cumulative total contributes to a global/regional total. Players from around the world are collecting coins with you, creating a pool that Scrooge McDuck would love to dive headfirst into. Nintendo has been somewhat quiet about the overall purpose of collecting all these coins... maybe free DLC? Unlockables for all involved... who knows. I do know that it puts a slight sense of purpose behind playing this game. It sure isn't the narrative structure that keeps bringing me back to Mario, and it's kinda cool to see Nintendo acknowledge that.
The big N hasn't only changed it's focus, but it's almost gotten sort of post-modern about itself. Everyone knows that sometime around Super Mario World, lives / 1ups in a Mario games have felt sort of unnecessary. Most players know multiple tricks to make the number of lives they have so high, the number itself becomes meaningless. Similarly to the coins, lives work the same way. I think I have 86 lives at the point of writing this, but the counter has spots for three digits... giving Nintendo the benefit of the doubt, that means they are anticipating me to wrack up lives somewhere in the hundreds.
Talk about sending a message... "Oh what's that? Our lives are meaningless? I guess we'll roll with that... here's 30 free ones on us." It's almost like they are deliberately making fun of themselves. Or they are finally catching on to what people need. I don't mean need as far as in the difficulty of the game, but need as in desire of gameplay. We like to see big numbers, and be impressed with ourselves. Does it make the game easier? Of course! But that's part of the charm, the allure, the... Mario-ness.
It's a fun game, but you all new that. It's rare these days that Mario gets a game all about him that doesn't fit the bill. I don't anticipate anyone here playing this one (I'm almost certain I'm the only one with a 3DS), but I found this new twist intriguing. I thought the coins would be distracting, and frivolous, but instead I found that it supports a design strategy that Nintendo has been using for a while, it just ups the ante a little, and a new sort of attention to one of the most tried and true Mario elements - getting them coins.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Old News
I'm sure this is old news for a lot of people by now, but man, am I sick of Call of Duty. At one time it was a surface level frustration, similar to being sick of eating pizza everyday for lunch - eventually you're gonna come back and eat pizza again. This is deeper though... it gets at me in a deep spot, a place that I feel abused and controlled.
I even enjoy playing it (most of the time). I can easily say that the only reason I still actively play it is because of who I'm playing with. The group of guys I play online with (who I do know in real life) are amazing company, but this is the only game they play. Some play other single player games now and then, some at one time play other first-person shooters, but really, COD is it.
Here is the tricky thing about it all... no one I play with can really articulate anymore, what makes COD better or different than other FPS out there. I remember when COD4:Modern Warfare came out... it was so easy to see what set Duty apart from the rest of the pack. Incredibly smooth gameplay, customizable weapons, fast instant multiplayer action. What FPS doesn't have that stuff now? It's become so routine that no one really remembers what set COD above the competition in the first place... it's just always been that way. It's Call of Duty, that's why...
I think what makes me so mad at this whole thing is how unashamed Activision is in changed almost nothing on a game by game basis. I would love to be corrected on this, but aren't all of the current COD games using the exact same gameplay engine that COD4:MW did? That came out in 2007 - That's 5 years of using the same tech, same gameplay design, same texturing... How lazy. Could we add something new please?! If it isn't going to be in gameplay (different style perks, bigger maps, vehicles, etc) could it at least be in the tech (destructible environments, changing levels, better animation reconciliation, less clipping)
On of my good COD buddies came to it's aid here... "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Fair enough. But the truthfulness of that statement in this situation depends solely on your definition of success. Activision sees the dollar sign as a success. Because so many people buy it, it must be a solid product. All those people who buy it, see all the other millions buying it, so they believe it must be a solid product. This is all an elaborate ruse. It's a house of cards, just waiting to fall. Activision knows that as soon as they change anything, it's going to ruin their money printing machine. As soon as a large enough chunk of the population gets tired of it, they are going to jump ship.
I'm jumping ship. Bobby Kotick is going to have to come to my house and show me his business model to fix my complaints about COD. I'd like to say that I won't even play it, but I know myself better than that to make that promise. I can make the promise not to buy it - my money will not be going to Activision.
-------
As an additional reminder, here is the quote from Kotick in response to why Activision dropped Ghostbusters and Brutal Legend from their line-up after their merge with Blizzard:
“[They] don’t have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million dollar franchises. … I think, generally, our strategy has been to focus… on the products that have those attributes and characteristics, the products that we know [that] if we release them today, we’ll be working on them 10 years from now.”
Kinda speaks for itself...
I even enjoy playing it (most of the time). I can easily say that the only reason I still actively play it is because of who I'm playing with. The group of guys I play online with (who I do know in real life) are amazing company, but this is the only game they play. Some play other single player games now and then, some at one time play other first-person shooters, but really, COD is it.
Here is the tricky thing about it all... no one I play with can really articulate anymore, what makes COD better or different than other FPS out there. I remember when COD4:Modern Warfare came out... it was so easy to see what set Duty apart from the rest of the pack. Incredibly smooth gameplay, customizable weapons, fast instant multiplayer action. What FPS doesn't have that stuff now? It's become so routine that no one really remembers what set COD above the competition in the first place... it's just always been that way. It's Call of Duty, that's why...
I think what makes me so mad at this whole thing is how unashamed Activision is in changed almost nothing on a game by game basis. I would love to be corrected on this, but aren't all of the current COD games using the exact same gameplay engine that COD4:MW did? That came out in 2007 - That's 5 years of using the same tech, same gameplay design, same texturing... How lazy. Could we add something new please?! If it isn't going to be in gameplay (different style perks, bigger maps, vehicles, etc) could it at least be in the tech (destructible environments, changing levels, better animation reconciliation, less clipping)
On of my good COD buddies came to it's aid here... "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Fair enough. But the truthfulness of that statement in this situation depends solely on your definition of success. Activision sees the dollar sign as a success. Because so many people buy it, it must be a solid product. All those people who buy it, see all the other millions buying it, so they believe it must be a solid product. This is all an elaborate ruse. It's a house of cards, just waiting to fall. Activision knows that as soon as they change anything, it's going to ruin their money printing machine. As soon as a large enough chunk of the population gets tired of it, they are going to jump ship.
I'm jumping ship. Bobby Kotick is going to have to come to my house and show me his business model to fix my complaints about COD. I'd like to say that I won't even play it, but I know myself better than that to make that promise. I can make the promise not to buy it - my money will not be going to Activision.
-------
As an additional reminder, here is the quote from Kotick in response to why Activision dropped Ghostbusters and Brutal Legend from their line-up after their merge with Blizzard:
“[They] don’t have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million dollar franchises. … I think, generally, our strategy has been to focus… on the products that have those attributes and characteristics, the products that we know [that] if we release them today, we’ll be working on them 10 years from now.”
Kinda speaks for itself...
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review
Last night I had decided it was time to finish Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DE). Around 5 months ago I hit the 30 hr mark in the game and had a plethora of new games to play so it got temporarily shelved. The way the game had been progressing I figured I had at least another 12 hours to go, but as it turns out I only had 3.
You play as Adam Jensen. A normal human cop/security officer that gets almost completely destroyed in the opening section of the game. You're pieced back together (RoboCop anyone?) without given the opportunity to choose to die or take the augmentations to save your life. So some months later you're back in the field still working for one of the biggest augmentation companies in the world, Sarif Industries, and in search of the people that not only almost killed you, but that kidnapped several high ranking scientists from Sarif.
DE was an amazingly refreshing and excellent game. The experimental gameplay coupled with excellent level design (complete with "hero sized vents"), the best soundtrack I've ever heard in any game and some pretty stellar graphics all created one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in any game this generation.
It controls very well and rewards patience. In case you weren't aware the game lets you play in a myriad of ways, but doesn't necessarily make any of them easy because ammo is limited. I played it stealth...or at least as stealthy as I could manage with the tools at my disposal.
Flipping open your map you can see yourself and your objective. The interesting aspect comes in when you realize that the building you're in might have 5 floors and there could literally be dozens of different paths to take. Along the way you'll come across guards, locked doors, security cameras, turrets, laser alarms and, of course, the occasional boss fight.
The main cities gave me a huge boner because of how they were conveyed. It's rare that a game so realistically builds a world that it feels like it could actually exist. That even if I weren't in it at that moment that it could be out there somewhere. Tons of attention to detail and an amazing aesthetic really go far and this game does it with the best of them. Only other games to give me this vibe were Half Life 2, Resistance 3, The Darkness and The Chronicles of Riddick.
I was really happy with the story as I thought it was going to pull the obvious double cross with one of the main guys, but instead it went with the larger ideology of the game in the end. Is evolving the human race through technology a good or bad idea? I also really dug Adam's borderline resentment towards those that saved him. He's not a fan of augmentations and has literally been saved by them and made to be more than man from them. He's grumpy yet compassionate all at once and I felt like I related to the character. It is worthy of note that the voice actor not only isn't Nolan North, but did an excellent job. In fact all the cast did. Some would argue that Adam's voice is too gravelly, but I really liked it a lot. Take that Gordon Freeman you voiceless shit!
The game also features a heavy rpg element in that you earn xp and can use Praxis Kits to further augment your abilities. Want heavier armor? How about running silently or going completely invisible? Do you want to jump higher or take no fall damage? Would you like the ability to hack higher rated locks? Shoot explosive shells out of your arms? See through walls? The list literally goes on and on. It was awesome to see just how customized I could build my Adam to fit the play of my style. Since I was stealth I invested heavily in stealth augmentations, but was wise in knowing that the boss fights would own me if I didn't upgrade my armor.
Some gripes are that while the graphics really do shine the facial animations on non-story specific characters can be pretty damn awful and ugly. The enemy AI can be pretty dumb and the boss fights are bananas bad at times.
I'd say I put in just over 30 hrs into the campaign and that includes quite a few, but not all, sidequests. For a fps in today's market that number is literally unheard of and I can happily say that the game didn't overstay it's welcome.
I also want to pat myself on the back for challenging myself to play the game without killing anyone and earning "The Pacifist" trophy. You're only allowed to kill the bosses. Everyone else has to be knocked out or left alone. One death to any enemy or npc and it's all over. Spreading that out over 30 hours on my first playthrough of the game on medium difficulty was a good challenge. I didn't want to "learn" the game and then go back for it. I wanted to get it on my first game and I did. There is only 1 gun in the game that will 100% knock someone out without any chance of killing them and that's the stun gun. The worst part was is that was the only ammo never for sale. You only had what you picked up in the game off of enemies or out of lockers. All in all I would easily bet I had less than 30 shots for that gun in the whole game and I ended the game with 19 in my inventory. Patience and timing were everything.
Should you get and play DE? Absofuckinglutely you should! It's everything that great games are made up of and is a reminder of why games can be so amazing. A game that bucks convention and goes old school and passes this reviewer's expectations with flying colors.
It's an amazing game that shouldn't be missed by anyone unless....you know....you just like CoD, New Super Mario and Madden. Which in that case you should just go kill yourself.
Score: 9 out of 10
You play as Adam Jensen. A normal human cop/security officer that gets almost completely destroyed in the opening section of the game. You're pieced back together (RoboCop anyone?) without given the opportunity to choose to die or take the augmentations to save your life. So some months later you're back in the field still working for one of the biggest augmentation companies in the world, Sarif Industries, and in search of the people that not only almost killed you, but that kidnapped several high ranking scientists from Sarif.
DE was an amazingly refreshing and excellent game. The experimental gameplay coupled with excellent level design (complete with "hero sized vents"), the best soundtrack I've ever heard in any game and some pretty stellar graphics all created one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in any game this generation.
It controls very well and rewards patience. In case you weren't aware the game lets you play in a myriad of ways, but doesn't necessarily make any of them easy because ammo is limited. I played it stealth...or at least as stealthy as I could manage with the tools at my disposal.
Flipping open your map you can see yourself and your objective. The interesting aspect comes in when you realize that the building you're in might have 5 floors and there could literally be dozens of different paths to take. Along the way you'll come across guards, locked doors, security cameras, turrets, laser alarms and, of course, the occasional boss fight.
The main cities gave me a huge boner because of how they were conveyed. It's rare that a game so realistically builds a world that it feels like it could actually exist. That even if I weren't in it at that moment that it could be out there somewhere. Tons of attention to detail and an amazing aesthetic really go far and this game does it with the best of them. Only other games to give me this vibe were Half Life 2, Resistance 3, The Darkness and The Chronicles of Riddick.
I was really happy with the story as I thought it was going to pull the obvious double cross with one of the main guys, but instead it went with the larger ideology of the game in the end. Is evolving the human race through technology a good or bad idea? I also really dug Adam's borderline resentment towards those that saved him. He's not a fan of augmentations and has literally been saved by them and made to be more than man from them. He's grumpy yet compassionate all at once and I felt like I related to the character. It is worthy of note that the voice actor not only isn't Nolan North, but did an excellent job. In fact all the cast did. Some would argue that Adam's voice is too gravelly, but I really liked it a lot. Take that Gordon Freeman you voiceless shit!
The game also features a heavy rpg element in that you earn xp and can use Praxis Kits to further augment your abilities. Want heavier armor? How about running silently or going completely invisible? Do you want to jump higher or take no fall damage? Would you like the ability to hack higher rated locks? Shoot explosive shells out of your arms? See through walls? The list literally goes on and on. It was awesome to see just how customized I could build my Adam to fit the play of my style. Since I was stealth I invested heavily in stealth augmentations, but was wise in knowing that the boss fights would own me if I didn't upgrade my armor.
Some gripes are that while the graphics really do shine the facial animations on non-story specific characters can be pretty damn awful and ugly. The enemy AI can be pretty dumb and the boss fights are bananas bad at times.
I'd say I put in just over 30 hrs into the campaign and that includes quite a few, but not all, sidequests. For a fps in today's market that number is literally unheard of and I can happily say that the game didn't overstay it's welcome.
I also want to pat myself on the back for challenging myself to play the game without killing anyone and earning "The Pacifist" trophy. You're only allowed to kill the bosses. Everyone else has to be knocked out or left alone. One death to any enemy or npc and it's all over. Spreading that out over 30 hours on my first playthrough of the game on medium difficulty was a good challenge. I didn't want to "learn" the game and then go back for it. I wanted to get it on my first game and I did. There is only 1 gun in the game that will 100% knock someone out without any chance of killing them and that's the stun gun. The worst part was is that was the only ammo never for sale. You only had what you picked up in the game off of enemies or out of lockers. All in all I would easily bet I had less than 30 shots for that gun in the whole game and I ended the game with 19 in my inventory. Patience and timing were everything.
Should you get and play DE? Absofuckinglutely you should! It's everything that great games are made up of and is a reminder of why games can be so amazing. A game that bucks convention and goes old school and passes this reviewer's expectations with flying colors.
It's an amazing game that shouldn't be missed by anyone unless....you know....you just like CoD, New Super Mario and Madden. Which in that case you should just go kill yourself.
Score: 9 out of 10
Monday, July 30, 2012
Unit 13 - Vita - Funny Story
So TJ was talking up the tactical shooter "Unit 13" (from the makers of the SOCOM series) for the Vita and since I enjoyed the demo I picked it up yesterday.
We were excited to have a fun coop shooter on a handheld and I'll just say that the game is surprisingly fun, controls very well and demands you pay attention while playing because, in SOCOM fashion, it can be pretty difficult with quick deaths if you aren't careful.
The funny story was that TJ and I were unaware of a built in feature of the Vita we'd never used because we didn't know it existed. In game headset-less chat.
Now we knew that there was a party system and in game chat, but we figured it was all with bluetooth headsets. Basically for about 40 minutes we messed around with Vita settings and in game settings and party settings, but we weren't getting good results. We were hearing ALL audio in the headsets and sometimes we could hear each other and other times not.
Finally, after a while I said, "we'll figure this out later, lets just disconnect the headsets and play a round or two." As soon as we disconnected the headsets we could hear each other perfectly through the systems mic and speakers. The audio quality was quite shocking and is easily on par with the 360 chat and normal phone conversation.
We just kicked ourselves for a minute at what noobs we were and then continued to pwn the AI in numerous scenarios and mission types.
My takeaway lesson is that you shouldn't overcomplicate things. Sometimes....shit just works all it's own.
We were excited to have a fun coop shooter on a handheld and I'll just say that the game is surprisingly fun, controls very well and demands you pay attention while playing because, in SOCOM fashion, it can be pretty difficult with quick deaths if you aren't careful.
The funny story was that TJ and I were unaware of a built in feature of the Vita we'd never used because we didn't know it existed. In game headset-less chat.
Now we knew that there was a party system and in game chat, but we figured it was all with bluetooth headsets. Basically for about 40 minutes we messed around with Vita settings and in game settings and party settings, but we weren't getting good results. We were hearing ALL audio in the headsets and sometimes we could hear each other and other times not.
Finally, after a while I said, "we'll figure this out later, lets just disconnect the headsets and play a round or two." As soon as we disconnected the headsets we could hear each other perfectly through the systems mic and speakers. The audio quality was quite shocking and is easily on par with the 360 chat and normal phone conversation.
We just kicked ourselves for a minute at what noobs we were and then continued to pwn the AI in numerous scenarios and mission types.
My takeaway lesson is that you shouldn't overcomplicate things. Sometimes....shit just works all it's own.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Best Worst Game You've Ever Played and Finished
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand - 360
This was one of those "I'll get it if you do" type purchasers between me and Salad. It has, arguably, the worst story ever with a ghettotastic soundtrack and yet it's tons of fun.
Amazingly fun online coop was a blast and the controls and action were almost always tight! Played like Gears of War, but with gangbangers instead of comic book characters.
My favorite moment was when a helicopter was dropping off some bad guys and Salad shot a rocket perfectly into the door of the chopper and killed everyone inside before they could bail. It was just one of those rare moments that you don't hardly ever see. Especially when considering it was done very fast and on our one and only playthrough.
This was one of those "I'll get it if you do" type purchasers between me and Salad. It has, arguably, the worst story ever with a ghettotastic soundtrack and yet it's tons of fun.
Amazingly fun online coop was a blast and the controls and action were almost always tight! Played like Gears of War, but with gangbangers instead of comic book characters.
My favorite moment was when a helicopter was dropping off some bad guys and Salad shot a rocket perfectly into the door of the chopper and killed everyone inside before they could bail. It was just one of those rare moments that you don't hardly ever see. Especially when considering it was done very fast and on our one and only playthrough.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Best 3 Handheld Games
It seems that the most action this blog gets is for lists so here goes:
Tetris - GameBoy
Arguably the best game ever. Tetris for the GameBoy was given hundreds of hours of my time. My family would spend every vacation passing the system around trying to one up each others highest line count. Add in an amazing soundtrack and the super huge battery life of the original 4 AA GameBoy and you've got a bitchin' game!
Super Mario 64 DS - DS
This is a port (go figure with Nintendo) of one of the best 64 games ever. It's also the game that singlehandedly got me through all of my chapels at school senior year. The camera system was balls, but the overall experience was preserved well with this title.
Gravity Rush - Vita
Can't remember ever being more impressed with any handheld game, ever. A console sized game on a handheld that doesn't sacrifice on anything. Great controls and fun combat. My reigning champ of handheld game to beat.
Tetris - GameBoy
Arguably the best game ever. Tetris for the GameBoy was given hundreds of hours of my time. My family would spend every vacation passing the system around trying to one up each others highest line count. Add in an amazing soundtrack and the super huge battery life of the original 4 AA GameBoy and you've got a bitchin' game!
Super Mario 64 DS - DS
This is a port (go figure with Nintendo) of one of the best 64 games ever. It's also the game that singlehandedly got me through all of my chapels at school senior year. The camera system was balls, but the overall experience was preserved well with this title.
Gravity Rush - Vita
Can't remember ever being more impressed with any handheld game, ever. A console sized game on a handheld that doesn't sacrifice on anything. Great controls and fun combat. My reigning champ of handheld game to beat.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
L4D on Vita
Just like modders doing more with Kinect than Microsoft ever will it appears that, so far, the Vita is doomed to the same fate.
Somebody has got remote play running through a PC to his Vita and he's playing Left 4 Dead on it.
Holy balls. This is something that I'm dying for Sony to do officially as they've stated many times in the past that they plan to, but let's face it....the speed at which Sony works we'll be on the VitaGO before it happens.
I just love the idea of playing my PS3 games on my Vita. Not that it allows for a huge benefit in any huge way, but it's just neat that this tech is already out there and working with non-Sony products.
I'd love to play Mass Effect 3 from my bed. Just sayin....
Somebody has got remote play running through a PC to his Vita and he's playing Left 4 Dead on it.
Holy balls. This is something that I'm dying for Sony to do officially as they've stated many times in the past that they plan to, but let's face it....the speed at which Sony works we'll be on the VitaGO before it happens.
I just love the idea of playing my PS3 games on my Vita. Not that it allows for a huge benefit in any huge way, but it's just neat that this tech is already out there and working with non-Sony products.
I'd love to play Mass Effect 3 from my bed. Just sayin....
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Halo Wars general thoughts/semi-Review
I’ve owned this game for almost 2 years, but just finally
got around to playing it. I can’t really say what took so long. I remember
playing the Tutorial and the first stage right when I got it, and enjoying it,
but then it just got pushed back as newer games poured in.
For anyone who may not know, it’s a Real Time Strategy game
on the 360. It was made by Ensemble Studios, who promptly shut down after
completing this game. I’m not sure of the circumstances there. Ensemble also
made the ‘Age of Empires’ games for PC, so they were no slouches when it came
to the RTS genre.
The game takes place about 20 years before the events of the
original ‘Halo: Combat Evolved.’ It follows the exploits of the UNSC ship
Spirit of Fire, led by Captain Cutter, Sgt. John Forge (voiced by Nolan
North!), a woman scientist named Anders and the AI Serina. The long and the
short of the plot involves the Covenant digging up an artifact that ultimately
leads them to a fleet of powerful Forerunner ships, with the Spirit of Fire on
their tail the whole time trying to prevent them from accessing said ships. If
you’re interested, here’s a more detailed plot summary, along with some
commentary on the role the women characters play. It also shows off the
cut-scenes in the game, which I found to be really enjoyable and impressive,
honestly. I recommend watching it.
The game has a few different modes. There is a 15 mission
campaign that I quite enjoyed playing. Each mission takes between 20 and 40
minutes on average, with incentives to go back and play on different
difficulties and collect skulls, black boxes (unlock “Timeline events” to see
some additional Halo backstory). The missions have great variety, with
different objectives for each one. You’ll escort civilians to escape ships,
build a huge army to take down a Super Scarab, clear out multiple bases, etc.
Each mission also has a par time. You earn Tin, Bronze, Silver, or Gold medals
for each mission depending on how quickly you go, how many bonus objectives you
complete, etc. Corresponding achievements apply for those inclined. Skirmish
mode is the standard “Versus” mode where you can play up to 3 v 3. I haven’t
gotten to do that, but it sounds interesting.
Moving on to the gameplay, I found it to be a refreshing
change from any RTS I had played on a computer. In the past whenever I’ve
played a RTS game, I feel pretty weighed down with options. I think Ensemble
did a great job paring down for the game to work well with the limited control
options on a console. There are bases with 7 spots for additional attached
buildings to help build your army. Each building can generally be upgraded a
few times to unlock unit upgrades, faster build times, or more supplies. Again,
I appreciate that there are a limited number of units. Selecting units is
fairly simple. The LB button selects all units, RB selects local units,
double-tapping A selects all of the unit type that you have selected. All
fairly simple and it works well. My biggest frustration comes from my units not
prioritizing their targets very well. What I mean is when I’m attacking an
enemy position I have to basically just select every unit on the screen and
have them attack the same target instead of “dividing and conquering” or having
certain units attack the turrets and some attack Building X and some attack
Building Y. I think that sort of thing is much easier to divvy up on a PC game
but like I said, this game pulls things off pretty well.
Friday, June 29, 2012
SEGA
Did I ever mention that I actually got SEGA to engage in a debate with me on twitter? I know I told Lead Salad about it, but I actually wrote a twitter to them and they responded and what followed was amazing. I kind of won the debate. More on that in a minute, but let me just say I hate SEGA in many ways.
They used to be great. They made great games and systems, but now they just make terrible Sonic games over and over and horrible Marvel movie games. They're a shell of their former self and that's why they need to be put out of their misery to the resounding clapping of my hands.
This post was spurred on by an article TJ sent me yesterday. I read the article without a bit of surprise. Bottom line is that SEGA is restructuring and trying to streamline their business to cut losses. My only comment to the heads of SEGA is that if you quit making shit games or made something the fans actually want you'd be a profitable corporation again. Also, have any of you actually played video games?
What follows is my Twitter debate which will actually show more of what I've briefly described above:
NOTE: Since it will take me days to get back to SEGA's October 2011 tweets I'll just paraprase what was said by them.
@Sega please do all gamers a favor and bury Sonic. I know he's all you've got, but seriously....let him go. #sonic #sega #cashin
@SEGA You are at complete liberty to disregard everything @HaikusAreEvil says.
@DizzyMissLizi @SEGA I'd just like to see something new from them 1st party is all. Just wantin a return to form. Not Super Monkey Ball 32.
@DylanCrespo @SEGA Bayonetta was astounding, but was developed by Platinum Games. Condemned is also excellent, but was dev by Monolith.
They used to be great. They made great games and systems, but now they just make terrible Sonic games over and over and horrible Marvel movie games. They're a shell of their former self and that's why they need to be put out of their misery to the resounding clapping of my hands.
This post was spurred on by an article TJ sent me yesterday. I read the article without a bit of surprise. Bottom line is that SEGA is restructuring and trying to streamline their business to cut losses. My only comment to the heads of SEGA is that if you quit making shit games or made something the fans actually want you'd be a profitable corporation again. Also, have any of you actually played video games?
What follows is my Twitter debate which will actually show more of what I've briefly described above:
NOTE: Since it will take me days to get back to SEGA's October 2011 tweets I'll just paraprase what was said by them.
SEGA: We have many games besides Sonic coming out in the near future. Check the website. Get informed.
SEGA: Play Bayonetta.
To which there was no reply. There was another guy that hopped in, but his account is locked and I can't access his tweets.
Basically, the best game SEGA had to throw back at me that wasn't Sonic or Super Monkey Ball was Bayonetta. Which wasn't even developed by them.
What's funny is that the new Sonic game that is of old-school 2D design hasn't even been that well received. In fact, the fan made Sonic 2 HD remake not only looked better graphically than SEGA's Sonic 4, but was generally perceived as a superior game. Until SEGA made the fans that made the game take it down.
Yet another example of SEGA sucking at life is the HD rerelease of one of the greatest Dreamcast games ever, Crazy Taxi. They ran into issues with the licensing of music (still not sure if it was money they didn't want to pay or something else) so the game was released without it's best element. The amazing soundtrack.
The game I'm most excited about SEGA putting out is the HD rerelease of Jet Set Radio. I just can't wait to get it for Vita and see how they've fucked it up.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
3DS XL
I don't have a 3DS and don't plan on getting one, but I still couldn't help, but shake my noggin with the announcement of 3DS XL.
I know that my brother-in-law and Amateria both have a 3DS so I guess this is geared towards them more than anyone.
Do you feel burned at all? Would you have picked the XL over the stock version had you had the choice? What about the still no inclusion (yet can still be bought as an extra!) of a 2nd circle pad?
I mean it's a no brainer that handhelds get bumps in certain areas like battery life, sleeker design, brighter screens, but this just seems like a little too much to me as a consumer.
Let me explain:
The PSP had 4 different iterations: PSP 1000, PSP 2000, PSP 3000 and PSPGo. The 2 after the original were better battery life, skinnier design and brighter screens. The 4th was a craptastic digital only version that sucked massive ass.
The DS had, if I remember correctly, 4 different iterations: DS, DS Lite, DSi and DS XL. All of which were pretty drastically different than the other: inclusion of cameras and different software.
I guess, as a consumer, it feels a bit more of a backhand with such changes to the hardware. Where if you don't upgrade to the new version, you're left behind with the outdated version with not only different and worse specs, but also entirely different features.
With the PSP models they all did the exact same things, but did them more efficiently. With the DS you were actually left out if you didn't upgrade.
Just seems like a crappy way to treat your customers that's being repeated with the 3DS, but I guess as long as people keep paying for them (as with Nintendo they inexplicably always do) then Nintendo has no reason to change.
I know that my brother-in-law and Amateria both have a 3DS so I guess this is geared towards them more than anyone.
Do you feel burned at all? Would you have picked the XL over the stock version had you had the choice? What about the still no inclusion (yet can still be bought as an extra!) of a 2nd circle pad?
I mean it's a no brainer that handhelds get bumps in certain areas like battery life, sleeker design, brighter screens, but this just seems like a little too much to me as a consumer.
Let me explain:
The PSP had 4 different iterations: PSP 1000, PSP 2000, PSP 3000 and PSPGo. The 2 after the original were better battery life, skinnier design and brighter screens. The 4th was a craptastic digital only version that sucked massive ass.
The DS had, if I remember correctly, 4 different iterations: DS, DS Lite, DSi and DS XL. All of which were pretty drastically different than the other: inclusion of cameras and different software.
I guess, as a consumer, it feels a bit more of a backhand with such changes to the hardware. Where if you don't upgrade to the new version, you're left behind with the outdated version with not only different and worse specs, but also entirely different features.
With the PSP models they all did the exact same things, but did them more efficiently. With the DS you were actually left out if you didn't upgrade.
Just seems like a crappy way to treat your customers that's being repeated with the 3DS, but I guess as long as people keep paying for them (as with Nintendo they inexplicably always do) then Nintendo has no reason to change.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Gravity Rush - First Impressions
As part of my Father's Day I picked up Gravity Rush for the Vita. I had enjoyed the demo enough and saw that it had some pretty awesome potential. After dumping in a little over 2 hours last night, in my first play of the game, I'm happy to say that the game is simply wonderful!
The game starts in a typical wokeupandcan'trememberwhoyouareandnowhavestrangepowers type way which is kind of an old hat, but the game really does a good job of sucking you into it's awesome world. It's a sandbox/open world game that is reminiscent of Crackdown in some aspects like the cell shading and orb/jewel hunting, but it plays in a completely different manner.
You play as a "shifter" named Kat who is given powers to shift gravity by a sparkly looking cat that she names Dusty. It's funny because around the 2 hour mark while "flying" around the world I realized I wasn't actually flying. I was falling. No matter which direction you go in the game while you "fly" you're actually falling because you are going with the gravity parameters you've set.
The game controls very well and the combat is surprisingly fun, fast and very fresh. You find yourself using face buttons and the touch screen all in rapid succession and I'm still shocked at how well it flows.
The music is truly excellent and keeps the game feeling....I don't know.....more immersive? I'm having a hard time pinning down what I mean, but the score is one of the best I've heard in some time.
Kat is an extremely likable protagonist and I've come to see the game as a origin story for a new superhero. Awesome.
There are also comic sections to read that work like a 3D interactive comic that is somewhat animated. I love these as they are extremely well done and very nice looking. It just helps solidify the whole comic book hero image in my mind.
I've already become obsessed with collecting every jewel and completing every side mission and challenge. I very easily see myself dumping hours and hours into this trying to 100% the game.
It's a very good game that I'm thrilled to have in my collection of growing Vita games. It's the best new IP I've seen since the first Assassin's Creed and it deserves every gamers' attention.
I know that game journalists seem to enjoy nothing more than saying the Vita is already a failure (IGN, Kotaku and Gamesradar), but with games like this I just don't get it. This game couldn't work on any system, but the Vita. Maybe if Kat were a plumber stuck in old school game design it would be better received on a handheld. (Yes, I'm a bitter game blogger!)
While you're waiting for my full review, in a week or so, please watch this launch trailer to see the game in motion:
The game starts in a typical wokeupandcan'trememberwhoyouareandnowhavestrangepowers type way which is kind of an old hat, but the game really does a good job of sucking you into it's awesome world. It's a sandbox/open world game that is reminiscent of Crackdown in some aspects like the cell shading and orb/jewel hunting, but it plays in a completely different manner.
You play as a "shifter" named Kat who is given powers to shift gravity by a sparkly looking cat that she names Dusty. It's funny because around the 2 hour mark while "flying" around the world I realized I wasn't actually flying. I was falling. No matter which direction you go in the game while you "fly" you're actually falling because you are going with the gravity parameters you've set.
The game controls very well and the combat is surprisingly fun, fast and very fresh. You find yourself using face buttons and the touch screen all in rapid succession and I'm still shocked at how well it flows.
The music is truly excellent and keeps the game feeling....I don't know.....more immersive? I'm having a hard time pinning down what I mean, but the score is one of the best I've heard in some time.
Kat is an extremely likable protagonist and I've come to see the game as a origin story for a new superhero. Awesome.
There are also comic sections to read that work like a 3D interactive comic that is somewhat animated. I love these as they are extremely well done and very nice looking. It just helps solidify the whole comic book hero image in my mind.
I've already become obsessed with collecting every jewel and completing every side mission and challenge. I very easily see myself dumping hours and hours into this trying to 100% the game.
It's a very good game that I'm thrilled to have in my collection of growing Vita games. It's the best new IP I've seen since the first Assassin's Creed and it deserves every gamers' attention.
I know that game journalists seem to enjoy nothing more than saying the Vita is already a failure (IGN, Kotaku and Gamesradar), but with games like this I just don't get it. This game couldn't work on any system, but the Vita. Maybe if Kat were a plumber stuck in old school game design it would be better received on a handheld. (Yes, I'm a bitter game blogger!)
While you're waiting for my full review, in a week or so, please watch this launch trailer to see the game in motion:
Friday, April 20, 2012
Most Favorite MP Gaming Moment Ever
We've all been playing games together as a group for the better part of a decade now and I want to know what's been your favorite moment of playing with each other ever?
I can recall dozens of hilarious moments, but I think my all time favorite goes to Lead Salad.
He was visiting me for the week and his visit happened to coincide with the release of Resident Evil 5. We both went to GameStop at midnight and bought it and then went back to my apartment to play LAN coop.
We played for a solid 4-5 hours straight and things started to get a little....slap happy. We were fighting some villagers and one of them happened to jump in such a way that the bottom of his foot was exposed and Lead Salad blasted the bottom of the guy's foot and killed him. It may not sound funny, but we shit our pants laughing for about the next 20 minutes and it's something I still laugh out loud about to this day.
What's yours?
I can recall dozens of hilarious moments, but I think my all time favorite goes to Lead Salad.
He was visiting me for the week and his visit happened to coincide with the release of Resident Evil 5. We both went to GameStop at midnight and bought it and then went back to my apartment to play LAN coop.
We played for a solid 4-5 hours straight and things started to get a little....slap happy. We were fighting some villagers and one of them happened to jump in such a way that the bottom of his foot was exposed and Lead Salad blasted the bottom of the guy's foot and killed him. It may not sound funny, but we shit our pants laughing for about the next 20 minutes and it's something I still laugh out loud about to this day.
What's yours?
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Used Games
I know we aren't really supposed to link to other sites, but I just don't give a shit so here:
Videogames Can't Afford To Cost This Much
and
GameStop The ScapeGoat
I thought that these were extremely well thought out articles on not only the state of used games, but the cost of new ones as well.
I tend to agree with all points the author brings up. How about you?
I think that publishers and developers need to take an honest look at their games and ask themselves if this game is worth 60 bucks? Will this sell better at $40 bucks? Is a tacked on MP (cough*Dead Space 2*cough) really going to sell more copies of your game?
I think the last new game I bought that was only $50 bucks, at launch, was Perfect Dark Zero and that launched with the 360.
I'm not saying GameStop is perfect, but their trade-in policies have allowed me to get many a new game I otherwise wouldn't have and for that I'm grateful and frankly, the developers should be, too.
Also, Goozex.
Videogames Can't Afford To Cost This Much
and
GameStop The ScapeGoat
I thought that these were extremely well thought out articles on not only the state of used games, but the cost of new ones as well.
I tend to agree with all points the author brings up. How about you?
I think that publishers and developers need to take an honest look at their games and ask themselves if this game is worth 60 bucks? Will this sell better at $40 bucks? Is a tacked on MP (cough*Dead Space 2*cough) really going to sell more copies of your game?
I think the last new game I bought that was only $50 bucks, at launch, was Perfect Dark Zero and that launched with the 360.
I'm not saying GameStop is perfect, but their trade-in policies have allowed me to get many a new game I otherwise wouldn't have and for that I'm grateful and frankly, the developers should be, too.
Also, Goozex.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Horde Night?
As you may or may not know, the newest DLC for Gears of War 3 will be released tomorrow. The pack features remakes of Jacinto and Raven Down, plus 3 new maps. Is anyone down for a Horde smack-down on either Tuesday night or Wednesday night? I've got both nights open after about 6pm est and I'd be willing to start as late as about 10pm est. "Gentlemen, you have my demands. Peace out!"
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Mass Effect 3 - SPOILER FREE Final Thoughts
What follows is a quick breakdown, of the first things that come to mind, of what I loved followed by some gripes and then a talk about the ending.
Loved -
- Combat - The game feels like it really hit it's stride with this 3rd installment and actually felt like a modern, competent 3rd person action shooter that had a pretty great RPG element to it.
- Action - There's a ton of it! Combat is fast and tense, but can get only slightly repetitive.
- Set Pieces - While not all were mind blowing I do remember saying "holy shit" more than once. Especially on one of the moons of Palaven. Watching a Reaper ground battle is pretty damned cool and terrifying.
- The Stakes - The game has the pressure set to 11 with pretty much, yet again, the entire universe depending on you. The game does a good job of never really letting you forget what you're up against and how dire the situation is.
- Cut Scenes - While I'm normally not a huge fan of these there were many more in ME 3. They weren't overly long, but generally every mission had a small intro explaining what's coming up.
- Consequences - I've always tried to play out the best/happiest possible ends in these games, but I inadvertently played critical missions out of order and what happened absolutely blew me away. I watched as 2 groups of people I was fighting for fought and the the one I sided with absolutely destroyed the other. My actions had cause the death of literally an entire race of people. I couldn't believe what I'd just witnessed.
Along with consequences there are several moments where I had crew members try and off themselves for various justifiable reasons, but was able to stop them by interrupting the scene with a Paragon Action. I missed one of these with one member and they died. Again, the stakes are high.
- The "I Actually Had Tears Well Up and Almost Cried Moment" - There's a scene where one of my favorite characters from ME 2 goes to right a wrong and this character does so knowing it's going to its death. The final moment is an extremely bittersweet throwback to a very funny dialogue from ME 2 that you'd only connect if you actually spent the time getting to know this character from the previous game.
I was shocked, stunned and actually blown away at my response. The only other time I've had a reaction to a game this strongly was actually in ME 2 DLC "Overlord". When you find that the person behind the machines going crazy was a handicapped savant that had been forcibly hooked into a machine by his brother. The savant in the machine is found in horrible conditions reciting numbers to a game that he and his monster of a brother used to play as kids. It was a beautifully sad moment that still musters up emotions to this day.
- Shepard - He's still awesome. I know that everyone's Shepard is different, but I've always loved how I've played mine. He is a nice guy that cares about others, but calls bullshit when he sees it. He never backs down from a fight. He's astoundingly deadly, but also compassionate.
- Multiplayer? - The multiplayer is actually a lot of fun. It's basically Gears of War's Horde Mode, but in the ME universe with better characters and powers. Winning in multiplayer actually helps your single player game. It was an additive I truly didn't expect to enjoy and I plan on dumping a bunch more time into it.
Gripes -
- Ammo Types - While they still exist there doesn't appear to be a huge difference in them like in ME 2. All are powerful. In ME 2 I constantly switched to get the best results, but in ME 3 I basically just used Inferno Ammo at all times. I only needed to switch on harder enemies that are more like mini-bosses thrown into fire-fights.
- Squad - I'm a little let down by the squad, but not in the way you might expect. This is honestly the best squad in the whole series because nobody sucks. In both previous games there was always one person that made my eyes roll or that was a snooze fest. Everyone in this game is actually pretty awesome. Great personalities and voice acting and they're all truly badasses. My problem is that I didn't get to spend a lot of time with them.
I feel like in the previous 2 games, especially 2, I spent a shit ton of time learning about them and becoming quite attached to their plight and story. Here you spend time around them and not so much with them.
So it's a positive and a negative I guess. So long as I wasn't forced to talk to Jacob from 2 ever again I was happy.
- Errand Boy - While I guess just about every game has you playing some version or variation of an errand boy it was a little more apparent here because of the very nature of your mission.
- Side Quests - All RPGs have main and side quests. While this game featured tons of action packed missions they were mostly all main quest related with only a handful of smaller ones that were side quests. However, there were a ton of side quests that were very weak fetch quests that seemed little more than filler.
- War Assets - It ties into some frustration with the end of the game, but the main crux of the game is building up as many allies as you can to take to war with you. Ultimately, it felt like I was just running up my War Asset number and it wasn't really doing anything.
You'd understand more fully if you've beaten the game.
- Unreal Engine 3 - The engine works better here than in the previous games so that's great, but the problem comes from a spot later in the game where you are fighting on the ground of a destroyed London. I shit you not you could almost interchange the set pieces and looks of ME 3 and Gears. The gameplay styles being so similar certainly doesn't help, but the identical engines really were distracting at moments at how similar the games not only played, but looked when not in space.
- Zaeed Massani - He's a DLC character in ME 2 and is briefly in ME 3. He made my gripe list because he's not in the game enough. He's a merciless bounty hunter that actually comes off as the deadliest man in the galaxy. His brutality and lack of non-sense has consistently made him a favorite of mine to be around, but he's never given any attention. He deserves an offshoot with his own game. You heard it here first.
- Day 1 DLC - Oh yeah baby! You know you love it. Buying a game and there being an additional pack for purchase as soon as you boot it up. Sadly, they marketed that son-of-a-bitch perfectly because it's not just another mission they added, but another squad mate....that's a fucking Prothean! Seriously, the alien race you've spent 100 hours learning about is usable in the game. As a ME junkie I couldn't help myself, but get Javik and use him in absolutely every mission.
The Ending - I'll try and keep this brief
Overall, the ending is bad. The backlash or anger you could feel towards Bioware is, in my opinion, justifiable, but isn't overwhelmingly surprising to this reviewer.
Now that that's out of the way I'll move slightly more into dissection without ruining it for those that haven't beaten it yet.
I beat the game right at 30 hours and for 29.9 of those hours the game was absolutely brilliant. It's literally the last 5 minutes that it falls apart.
The final 30 minutes is the actual end of the game and the first 25 minutes are awesome. You see Shepard get taken to the breaking point and I actually found myself astonished at his resolve and ability to....just....keep....going. It wasn't cheesey either. The bastard just wants to win!
The final 5 minutes and ending cutscene are, from a quick glance, actually pretty awesome. I found it to be emotionally moving, exhilirating and captivating all at once.
It's not until about 2 minutes after the credits started rolling that I began to dissect what I just watched. It's full of holes. And I mean it's riddled with them.
I could have gotten past the holes, but they also did a shit job letting you know about your squad. Who lived? Who died? As they seem to just show them at random in a cutscene. Also, during the final fight I saw a Krogan that I was 60% sure was Wrex get zapped by a Reaper, but I don't know if it was actually him! Did he live? Was that even him?
I went to youtube to look at other endings and basically they are all the same. No matter what you do or don't do or who lives or dies doesn't matter. What happens is a small (but, I guess, arguably large) variation in the cutscene. It's a pretty huge bummer that they're all so similar. To be able to so fully customize your game up until the very end and then be forced to choose door A, B or C was a downer.
I actually kind of dug the ending, but would have preferred another option or two that my Shepard would have chosen. To say, "Fuck these! We're doing option Go Fuck Yourself instead!"
I guess I just don't know where the disconnect happened for Bioware. Maybe being part of EA forced them into a time table that they had to make or maybe that's actually what they wanted, but with a game so full of history and careful plotting and writing the plot holes are glaringly huge.
I found a really good video on youtube that does an excellent job hashing out the big problems with the ending. Obviously, this video is major spoiler territory so only watch it once you've finished the game, but I'll just put it here for easy reference:
Overall -
ME 3 is an amazing game that falls apart at the very last moment. Does it ruin the game? Not at all, but the overall experience of my over 200 hours spent in this universe is definitely marred.
At the start of ME 3 I said that it's shaping up to be the best of the series and I don't really know if I can say that now. Not because of the ending, but seeing all of the differences between all 3 games gives me a much larger appreciation for what each offers.
ME 2 was my least favorite of the 3, but after finishing this game I might actually prefer 2 to the rest.
They seem to each have a different overall focus and, looking back, it's really pretty amazing what Bioware did. ME 1 laid the ground work and ME 2 built on it with am amazing story and unforgettable characters and ME 3 was all about bringing it all together effectively.
I don't think I could pick a favorite and in my opinion that's very high praise.
Bottom Line -
Why the shit haven't you played this yet?
Loved -
- Combat - The game feels like it really hit it's stride with this 3rd installment and actually felt like a modern, competent 3rd person action shooter that had a pretty great RPG element to it.
- Action - There's a ton of it! Combat is fast and tense, but can get only slightly repetitive.
- Set Pieces - While not all were mind blowing I do remember saying "holy shit" more than once. Especially on one of the moons of Palaven. Watching a Reaper ground battle is pretty damned cool and terrifying.
- The Stakes - The game has the pressure set to 11 with pretty much, yet again, the entire universe depending on you. The game does a good job of never really letting you forget what you're up against and how dire the situation is.
- Cut Scenes - While I'm normally not a huge fan of these there were many more in ME 3. They weren't overly long, but generally every mission had a small intro explaining what's coming up.
- Consequences - I've always tried to play out the best/happiest possible ends in these games, but I inadvertently played critical missions out of order and what happened absolutely blew me away. I watched as 2 groups of people I was fighting for fought and the the one I sided with absolutely destroyed the other. My actions had cause the death of literally an entire race of people. I couldn't believe what I'd just witnessed.
Along with consequences there are several moments where I had crew members try and off themselves for various justifiable reasons, but was able to stop them by interrupting the scene with a Paragon Action. I missed one of these with one member and they died. Again, the stakes are high.
- The "I Actually Had Tears Well Up and Almost Cried Moment" - There's a scene where one of my favorite characters from ME 2 goes to right a wrong and this character does so knowing it's going to its death. The final moment is an extremely bittersweet throwback to a very funny dialogue from ME 2 that you'd only connect if you actually spent the time getting to know this character from the previous game.
I was shocked, stunned and actually blown away at my response. The only other time I've had a reaction to a game this strongly was actually in ME 2 DLC "Overlord". When you find that the person behind the machines going crazy was a handicapped savant that had been forcibly hooked into a machine by his brother. The savant in the machine is found in horrible conditions reciting numbers to a game that he and his monster of a brother used to play as kids. It was a beautifully sad moment that still musters up emotions to this day.
- Shepard - He's still awesome. I know that everyone's Shepard is different, but I've always loved how I've played mine. He is a nice guy that cares about others, but calls bullshit when he sees it. He never backs down from a fight. He's astoundingly deadly, but also compassionate.
- Multiplayer? - The multiplayer is actually a lot of fun. It's basically Gears of War's Horde Mode, but in the ME universe with better characters and powers. Winning in multiplayer actually helps your single player game. It was an additive I truly didn't expect to enjoy and I plan on dumping a bunch more time into it.
Gripes -
- Ammo Types - While they still exist there doesn't appear to be a huge difference in them like in ME 2. All are powerful. In ME 2 I constantly switched to get the best results, but in ME 3 I basically just used Inferno Ammo at all times. I only needed to switch on harder enemies that are more like mini-bosses thrown into fire-fights.
- Squad - I'm a little let down by the squad, but not in the way you might expect. This is honestly the best squad in the whole series because nobody sucks. In both previous games there was always one person that made my eyes roll or that was a snooze fest. Everyone in this game is actually pretty awesome. Great personalities and voice acting and they're all truly badasses. My problem is that I didn't get to spend a lot of time with them.
I feel like in the previous 2 games, especially 2, I spent a shit ton of time learning about them and becoming quite attached to their plight and story. Here you spend time around them and not so much with them.
So it's a positive and a negative I guess. So long as I wasn't forced to talk to Jacob from 2 ever again I was happy.
- Errand Boy - While I guess just about every game has you playing some version or variation of an errand boy it was a little more apparent here because of the very nature of your mission.
- Side Quests - All RPGs have main and side quests. While this game featured tons of action packed missions they were mostly all main quest related with only a handful of smaller ones that were side quests. However, there were a ton of side quests that were very weak fetch quests that seemed little more than filler.
- War Assets - It ties into some frustration with the end of the game, but the main crux of the game is building up as many allies as you can to take to war with you. Ultimately, it felt like I was just running up my War Asset number and it wasn't really doing anything.
You'd understand more fully if you've beaten the game.
- Unreal Engine 3 - The engine works better here than in the previous games so that's great, but the problem comes from a spot later in the game where you are fighting on the ground of a destroyed London. I shit you not you could almost interchange the set pieces and looks of ME 3 and Gears. The gameplay styles being so similar certainly doesn't help, but the identical engines really were distracting at moments at how similar the games not only played, but looked when not in space.
- Zaeed Massani - He's a DLC character in ME 2 and is briefly in ME 3. He made my gripe list because he's not in the game enough. He's a merciless bounty hunter that actually comes off as the deadliest man in the galaxy. His brutality and lack of non-sense has consistently made him a favorite of mine to be around, but he's never given any attention. He deserves an offshoot with his own game. You heard it here first.
- Day 1 DLC - Oh yeah baby! You know you love it. Buying a game and there being an additional pack for purchase as soon as you boot it up. Sadly, they marketed that son-of-a-bitch perfectly because it's not just another mission they added, but another squad mate....that's a fucking Prothean! Seriously, the alien race you've spent 100 hours learning about is usable in the game. As a ME junkie I couldn't help myself, but get Javik and use him in absolutely every mission.
The Ending - I'll try and keep this brief
Overall, the ending is bad. The backlash or anger you could feel towards Bioware is, in my opinion, justifiable, but isn't overwhelmingly surprising to this reviewer.
Now that that's out of the way I'll move slightly more into dissection without ruining it for those that haven't beaten it yet.
I beat the game right at 30 hours and for 29.9 of those hours the game was absolutely brilliant. It's literally the last 5 minutes that it falls apart.
The final 30 minutes is the actual end of the game and the first 25 minutes are awesome. You see Shepard get taken to the breaking point and I actually found myself astonished at his resolve and ability to....just....keep....going. It wasn't cheesey either. The bastard just wants to win!
The final 5 minutes and ending cutscene are, from a quick glance, actually pretty awesome. I found it to be emotionally moving, exhilirating and captivating all at once.
It's not until about 2 minutes after the credits started rolling that I began to dissect what I just watched. It's full of holes. And I mean it's riddled with them.
I could have gotten past the holes, but they also did a shit job letting you know about your squad. Who lived? Who died? As they seem to just show them at random in a cutscene. Also, during the final fight I saw a Krogan that I was 60% sure was Wrex get zapped by a Reaper, but I don't know if it was actually him! Did he live? Was that even him?
I went to youtube to look at other endings and basically they are all the same. No matter what you do or don't do or who lives or dies doesn't matter. What happens is a small (but, I guess, arguably large) variation in the cutscene. It's a pretty huge bummer that they're all so similar. To be able to so fully customize your game up until the very end and then be forced to choose door A, B or C was a downer.
I actually kind of dug the ending, but would have preferred another option or two that my Shepard would have chosen. To say, "Fuck these! We're doing option Go Fuck Yourself instead!"
I guess I just don't know where the disconnect happened for Bioware. Maybe being part of EA forced them into a time table that they had to make or maybe that's actually what they wanted, but with a game so full of history and careful plotting and writing the plot holes are glaringly huge.
I found a really good video on youtube that does an excellent job hashing out the big problems with the ending. Obviously, this video is major spoiler territory so only watch it once you've finished the game, but I'll just put it here for easy reference:
Overall -
ME 3 is an amazing game that falls apart at the very last moment. Does it ruin the game? Not at all, but the overall experience of my over 200 hours spent in this universe is definitely marred.
At the start of ME 3 I said that it's shaping up to be the best of the series and I don't really know if I can say that now. Not because of the ending, but seeing all of the differences between all 3 games gives me a much larger appreciation for what each offers.
ME 2 was my least favorite of the 3, but after finishing this game I might actually prefer 2 to the rest.
They seem to each have a different overall focus and, looking back, it's really pretty amazing what Bioware did. ME 1 laid the ground work and ME 2 built on it with am amazing story and unforgettable characters and ME 3 was all about bringing it all together effectively.
I don't think I could pick a favorite and in my opinion that's very high praise.
Bottom Line -
Why the shit haven't you played this yet?
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