Okay... I was REALLY enjoying this game.
REALLY.
I've been playing it for hours on end, I've put over 30 hours into it, more than half of them in the last week alone. The level design, the music, even the control to an extent (playing on the wii) the art style, everything was absolutely wonderful. Combat is fast and visceral, and locking is more or less simple and responsive. I was actually dreading stopping for the night because of how much I wanted to keep playing, and that's after already sitting for almost 5 hours straight.
I was even loving the story. The dark twisted storyline that seemed to set itself apart completely from other games in the series.
And then they name-dropped.
As soon as they mentioned Ganondorf, I lost all interest in continuing.
I don't know why he's in this game. None of the other characters from the previous games are, except for Zelda and Link. But that's a given. I don't see why they had to cornhole Ganondorf into the game for continuity purposes. The game already HAS a villain: Zant. Why do they need another one?
Yeah, I'll keep playing. but seriously. GTFO my game Ganondorf :(
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Progress for November 2, 2010 - Kingdom Hearts
Whose brilliant idea was it to hide the fucking difficulty setting? Apparently I have to play this game for TWENTY-THREE MORE LEVELS before I actually start make any progress in terms of my character's strength.
Fuck you, Disney. You took what should have been an excellent game and completely shit all over it.
Kingdom Hearts can suck my ass.
Fuck you, Disney. You took what should have been an excellent game and completely shit all over it.
Kingdom Hearts can suck my ass.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Progress for October 25, 2010 - Kingdom Hearts
Nobody cares. Been playing it. About 15 hours in. Level 26.
Progress will be slow for a bit while I work on other projects.
Progress is really slow for FF8 as well. I'm about halfway into disc 2.
I want to play something more action-oriented next.. any suggestions?
Progress will be slow for a bit while I work on other projects.
Progress is really slow for FF8 as well. I'm about halfway into disc 2.
I want to play something more action-oriented next.. any suggestions?
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Progress for October 2, 2010 - Eternal Darkness - COMPLETED
Wheee! Well, technically. This game was fun as hell. But I still need to play through it 2 more times to get the true ending. I guess that'll be something to add to the 100% list.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Breath of Fire - Retrospective
Breath of Fire should come in a plain white box with JRPG stamped on it.
Not to call it a terrible game, but I can't remember the last time I was so underwhelmed and bemused by a game.
Well, maybe one time.
Breath of Fire follows such a generic RPG plot that you can almost play a drinking game with the number of cliches you find. Your character Ryuu is one of the last of a dying race *gulp* who is the only one that can defeat the big-bad. *gulp* You accomplish this by traveling all around the world from one town to the next *gulp* fighting progressively stronger monsters in each area *gulp* In most cases, you will be forced to solve the problem(s) of whichever town you visit before you can continue *gulp* Even while the evil dark lord is sitting in his tower brooding and listening to The Cure. Along the way, you must collect 6 McGuffins *gulp* (in this case Keys) in order to do.... something involving the goddess Tyr.
Honestly, I wasn't interested enough to care. After 6 shots, you'd be ready to pass out too.
Breath of Fire's only saving grace is the field abilities of the characters you acquire along the way, who just randomly HAPPEN to decide to tag along with you. This lends almost a metroidvania-like quality to the game, as your new abilities allow you to access previously blocked off areas. Bo can travel through trees unopposed and shoot his longbow and hunt roaming animals on the world map, Karn can pick locks and disarm traps and pitfalls, Ox can destroy walls and punch trees to collect fruit, etc. While this helps to give the characters much more identity beyond their in-battle skillset, it has the side effect of creating the most convoluted, twisted, backtracking, meandering, where-the-fuck-do-I-go-now? gameplay this side of Resident Evil 2. There are at least a dozen areas in the game where you have no choice but to talk to EVERY PERSON IN THE WORLD and simply HOPE they're the right person to advance the plot. And if that doesn't work, it's time to go searching the entire overworld map for glyphs and icons you may have forgotten about and see if it's time to play with them. And of course, this is all BEFORE you get the ability to fly around the world as a bird.
Breath of Fire is also WAY too easy. I understand that the GBA version (Which I played) is of a lesser difficulty than the original SNES version, but it's a problem that still requires addressing. The encounter rate in the game is brutally high, oftentimes forcing you into a battle every 10 steps, and watch the screen-fade/monster-appear/battle animation/victory/screen-fade sequence every time. If you stop to fight every one of these battles, you will be unfairly over-leveled for most of the entire game, which rarely makes enemies any threat to you. With an encounter rate so high, the only way to catch your breath and actually figure out the labyrinthine dungeons to get anywhere is to use the "mrbl3" item to keep enemies away for 100 steps, and I have a sneaking suspicion that's exactly what the developers intended, since the mrbl3 is one of the dirt cheapest items in the game. There were at least 2 times in the entire game where I simply dropped 300 gold pieces (a pittance) on mrbl3 items to avoid random battles for the entire dungeon, and STILL took the boss out without breaking a sweat, despite not gaining any experience along the way or actively taking time to grind for levels. You can even set the game to battle for you, which makes an already passive activity even less engaging, and once you manage to get Ryuu's final dragon spell, there is NOTHING in the game that can stop you.
Even control is clunky and unresponsive in this game. Navigating menus is uncomfortable, and even though the game was designed for the SNES, the L and R buttons are never used at all to my recollection, even though it would be a VERY welcome option to use them to navigate between party members from the status menu.
The whole of Breath of Fire just seems lazy. I can cut it some slack for being a SNES era RPG with a limited memory capacity, but Final Fantasy 4, 5, and 6 all came out on the same system, and they're all much better designed games with easier to follow, less-cliche storylines, more identifiable characters, and better music. The only tune I recall enjoying is the Big Fish music that plays when Gobi morphs underwater, and you almost never hear that anywhere else in the game.
The Good:
Not to call it a terrible game, but I can't remember the last time I was so underwhelmed and bemused by a game.
Well, maybe one time.
Breath of Fire follows such a generic RPG plot that you can almost play a drinking game with the number of cliches you find. Your character Ryuu is one of the last of a dying race *gulp* who is the only one that can defeat the big-bad. *gulp* You accomplish this by traveling all around the world from one town to the next *gulp* fighting progressively stronger monsters in each area *gulp* In most cases, you will be forced to solve the problem(s) of whichever town you visit before you can continue *gulp* Even while the evil dark lord is sitting in his tower brooding and listening to The Cure. Along the way, you must collect 6 McGuffins *gulp* (in this case Keys) in order to do.... something involving the goddess Tyr.
Honestly, I wasn't interested enough to care. After 6 shots, you'd be ready to pass out too.
Breath of Fire's only saving grace is the field abilities of the characters you acquire along the way, who just randomly HAPPEN to decide to tag along with you. This lends almost a metroidvania-like quality to the game, as your new abilities allow you to access previously blocked off areas. Bo can travel through trees unopposed and shoot his longbow and hunt roaming animals on the world map, Karn can pick locks and disarm traps and pitfalls, Ox can destroy walls and punch trees to collect fruit, etc. While this helps to give the characters much more identity beyond their in-battle skillset, it has the side effect of creating the most convoluted, twisted, backtracking, meandering, where-the-fuck-do-I-go-now? gameplay this side of Resident Evil 2. There are at least a dozen areas in the game where you have no choice but to talk to EVERY PERSON IN THE WORLD and simply HOPE they're the right person to advance the plot. And if that doesn't work, it's time to go searching the entire overworld map for glyphs and icons you may have forgotten about and see if it's time to play with them. And of course, this is all BEFORE you get the ability to fly around the world as a bird.
Breath of Fire is also WAY too easy. I understand that the GBA version (Which I played) is of a lesser difficulty than the original SNES version, but it's a problem that still requires addressing. The encounter rate in the game is brutally high, oftentimes forcing you into a battle every 10 steps, and watch the screen-fade/monster-appear/battle animation/victory/screen-fade sequence every time. If you stop to fight every one of these battles, you will be unfairly over-leveled for most of the entire game, which rarely makes enemies any threat to you. With an encounter rate so high, the only way to catch your breath and actually figure out the labyrinthine dungeons to get anywhere is to use the "mrbl3" item to keep enemies away for 100 steps, and I have a sneaking suspicion that's exactly what the developers intended, since the mrbl3 is one of the dirt cheapest items in the game. There were at least 2 times in the entire game where I simply dropped 300 gold pieces (a pittance) on mrbl3 items to avoid random battles for the entire dungeon, and STILL took the boss out without breaking a sweat, despite not gaining any experience along the way or actively taking time to grind for levels. You can even set the game to battle for you, which makes an already passive activity even less engaging, and once you manage to get Ryuu's final dragon spell, there is NOTHING in the game that can stop you.
Even control is clunky and unresponsive in this game. Navigating menus is uncomfortable, and even though the game was designed for the SNES, the L and R buttons are never used at all to my recollection, even though it would be a VERY welcome option to use them to navigate between party members from the status menu.
The whole of Breath of Fire just seems lazy. I can cut it some slack for being a SNES era RPG with a limited memory capacity, but Final Fantasy 4, 5, and 6 all came out on the same system, and they're all much better designed games with easier to follow, less-cliche storylines, more identifiable characters, and better music. The only tune I recall enjoying is the Big Fish music that plays when Gobi morphs underwater, and you almost never hear that anywhere else in the game.
The Good:
- Classic turn-based RPG style is familiar and easy to understand for veterans and beginners
- Field Abilities of party members add an interesting twist to an otherwise unremarkable game
- Cliche and boring story
- Poorly presented plot-progression requirements
- Unbalanced combat/leveling system
- When they named the minotaur character "Ox", did that decision take more or less time than deciding to name a dragon "Ryuu"?
- Watching the trailer for The Nutcracker 3D on youtube as the auto-battle took care of the final boss for me.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Progress for July 19, 2010 - God of War - COMPLETED!
Kinda snuck up on you this time, but who gives a fuck nobody reads this blog anyway.
expect a review whenever I get around to it. it's not like I have a deadline or anything.
expect a review whenever I get around to it. it's not like I have a deadline or anything.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
BioShock and Diablo 2 - Retrospective
You may feel cheated when I combine these games together into a single review, but when I stopped to think about it, they are actually very similar games. While they may follow very different control schemes, plots, storylines, are set in different fiction genres, and in fact belong to completely different game genres, the two games are actually quite similar in terms of basic thought processes.
You begin each game in a strange environment. People around you seem to have a vague idea of who you are, but you're more or less a stranger to them. However, they still need your help, and you are given a number of quests that you have to complete in order to progress.
As you play through the games, you will encounter various enemies. How you kill them is your own responsibility. The game does not discriminate against the way you choose to inflict damage, but certain enemies will be resistant or weaker to specific types of attacks. Switching methods of attack on the fly is key to defeating waves of enemies without too much headache.
When you kill enemies, they will give you loot. This loot is randomly generated and not fixed to any specific progression. Depending on what kinds of items your kills give you, you may choose to focus on a different method of attack; favor a different type of weapon. The difference between what weaponry enemies give you, what you choose to use, and what weapon is most effective against them is the general balancing act of the gameplay, mostly by choosing the most effective weapon for each situation, based on range, speed, strength, and ease of use. Necessity (or laziness), however, may tempt the player to focus on one or two main modes of attack, and only use others when absolutely necessary (or when bored).
The number of weapons you have access to in Bioshock is much, MUCH smaller than in Diablo, but the overall number of weapon types are more or less equal. Weapons can be infused with elemental properties: ice attacks will freeze enemies and make them easier targets, but fire and electrical attacks are also available. Certain enemies are much more vulnerable to particular elements, while others are resistant or even completely immune.
While Bioshock and Diablo both follow a more or less linear plot (You complete the same quests in more or less the same order in every playthrough) in Bioshock, every weapon and enemy you face appears in generally the same location every time, and in fact every map is identical to every playthrough. Every key item and weapon you find will be in the same location and found at the same point in the plot; in some cases these are even required in order to progress.
Diablo, however, gives you a wide selection of weapons. While any specific aspect of them can be simplified by attack speed, range, and whether it is used in one or both hands, these weapons are replaced with stronger varieties throughout the game, andyour choice of what you use is made more complex with the addition of magical modifiers. Magical weapons can be found that provide any number of bonuses, from increased attack rating, higher health and mana, elemental properties, and much much more.
Unfortunately, The majority of weapons you find will be completely worthless to you. Modifiers such as "low quality" "crude" "damaged" or "cracked" are just as common as an unmodified or "superior" weapon, and these weapons are generally not even worth picking up to sell back in town; they aren't even worth the space in your inventory. And even when you do find a magical item, odds are you won't be interested in the item's particular modifiers. But when you do finally get that perfect item you've been hoping for, it's one of the best endorphin rushes in gaming.
Replay value in Diablo 2 is made much higher than in Bioshock based purely on the sheer number of ways you can play through it. Every class has 30 skills, each of which has 20 levels of effectiveness. Since it's impossible to gain 600 levels, you will have to choose what skills your character will focus on for any individual playthrough. Multiply this by 5 classes (7 in the expansion) and the infinite number of maps that can be randomly generated, and Diablo 2 is a game that anybody can play through multiple times and never have the exact same experience.
But the burning question is: would you want to?
What Bioshock lacks in complexity, it makes up for in focus. While it doesn't do nearly as much as Diablo 2, what it does do is highly polished and enjoyable. It may not be as long, but the fact that it can be played through and experienced much quicker means the entire narrative arc can be enjoyed in a shorter amount of time, and gratification is easier to come across. The game is too short to become monotonous, and too focused to become diluted.
Diablo's enjoyment comes from the progression of your character and growing him/her based on your method of play. You become attached not only to your character, but even your items. You hesitate to throw away that awesome sword you found in act 1, that served you so well for two entire acts and matches your character's skills perfectly, even though it has been rendered obsolete by newer equipment and is taking up too many of your inventory slots. But eventually you bite your lip and sell it to the merchant with a heavy heart, replacing it with something that may serve you better, but has no nostalgic attachment... yet. But perhaps in time you will learn to appreciate this one just as much.
Which is a better game? Who can say. It's all a matter of how you play it.
You begin each game in a strange environment. People around you seem to have a vague idea of who you are, but you're more or less a stranger to them. However, they still need your help, and you are given a number of quests that you have to complete in order to progress.
As you play through the games, you will encounter various enemies. How you kill them is your own responsibility. The game does not discriminate against the way you choose to inflict damage, but certain enemies will be resistant or weaker to specific types of attacks. Switching methods of attack on the fly is key to defeating waves of enemies without too much headache.
When you kill enemies, they will give you loot. This loot is randomly generated and not fixed to any specific progression. Depending on what kinds of items your kills give you, you may choose to focus on a different method of attack; favor a different type of weapon. The difference between what weaponry enemies give you, what you choose to use, and what weapon is most effective against them is the general balancing act of the gameplay, mostly by choosing the most effective weapon for each situation, based on range, speed, strength, and ease of use. Necessity (or laziness), however, may tempt the player to focus on one or two main modes of attack, and only use others when absolutely necessary (or when bored).
The number of weapons you have access to in Bioshock is much, MUCH smaller than in Diablo, but the overall number of weapon types are more or less equal. Weapons can be infused with elemental properties: ice attacks will freeze enemies and make them easier targets, but fire and electrical attacks are also available. Certain enemies are much more vulnerable to particular elements, while others are resistant or even completely immune.
While Bioshock and Diablo both follow a more or less linear plot (You complete the same quests in more or less the same order in every playthrough) in Bioshock, every weapon and enemy you face appears in generally the same location every time, and in fact every map is identical to every playthrough. Every key item and weapon you find will be in the same location and found at the same point in the plot; in some cases these are even required in order to progress.
Diablo, however, gives you a wide selection of weapons. While any specific aspect of them can be simplified by attack speed, range, and whether it is used in one or both hands, these weapons are replaced with stronger varieties throughout the game, andyour choice of what you use is made more complex with the addition of magical modifiers. Magical weapons can be found that provide any number of bonuses, from increased attack rating, higher health and mana, elemental properties, and much much more.
Unfortunately, The majority of weapons you find will be completely worthless to you. Modifiers such as "low quality" "crude" "damaged" or "cracked" are just as common as an unmodified or "superior" weapon, and these weapons are generally not even worth picking up to sell back in town; they aren't even worth the space in your inventory. And even when you do find a magical item, odds are you won't be interested in the item's particular modifiers. But when you do finally get that perfect item you've been hoping for, it's one of the best endorphin rushes in gaming.
Replay value in Diablo 2 is made much higher than in Bioshock based purely on the sheer number of ways you can play through it. Every class has 30 skills, each of which has 20 levels of effectiveness. Since it's impossible to gain 600 levels, you will have to choose what skills your character will focus on for any individual playthrough. Multiply this by 5 classes (7 in the expansion) and the infinite number of maps that can be randomly generated, and Diablo 2 is a game that anybody can play through multiple times and never have the exact same experience.
But the burning question is: would you want to?
What Bioshock lacks in complexity, it makes up for in focus. While it doesn't do nearly as much as Diablo 2, what it does do is highly polished and enjoyable. It may not be as long, but the fact that it can be played through and experienced much quicker means the entire narrative arc can be enjoyed in a shorter amount of time, and gratification is easier to come across. The game is too short to become monotonous, and too focused to become diluted.
Diablo's enjoyment comes from the progression of your character and growing him/her based on your method of play. You become attached not only to your character, but even your items. You hesitate to throw away that awesome sword you found in act 1, that served you so well for two entire acts and matches your character's skills perfectly, even though it has been rendered obsolete by newer equipment and is taking up too many of your inventory slots. But eventually you bite your lip and sell it to the merchant with a heavy heart, replacing it with something that may serve you better, but has no nostalgic attachment... yet. But perhaps in time you will learn to appreciate this one just as much.
Which is a better game? Who can say. It's all a matter of how you play it.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Progress for May 1, 2010 - God of War
SADFHGASDFAdfng dadfBNADFNzdnfg ZCFGjn SFDN ZXCFG NADFNadfn bZCXFZN BADFNB zdfnb ADFBN ADFNASDFANQRADFN ASDFn zcfgVFNADFHNDFDNAFHSD aseflfk ckJSj zdsdvls;aejdg;waebje;t ga;eh g;eahq eh g ase; dgjklasdhgjlawhr;kgjl ae;dg hk' das;ljkbvjkl gwadl; kgjhawsdwb l;kjvhr
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
FUCK
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
FUCK
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Progress for April 27, 2010 - BioShock (Take 2) - COMPLETED!
Beat it tonight. If I'd have known I was this close to the end, I would have beaten it a long time ago. How come I always seem to beat these games near or after midnight? Never in the morning or afternoon?
Anywho. I got the good ending, but I didn't get the achievement for it because I accidentally harvested one of the last 2 little sisters. I'm not looking forward to playing through those last two levels all over again, but I'll probably do it later, since it's worth an easy 100 points.
This is going to be a tough game to review. May take a few days to get my bearings straight.
Anywho. I got the good ending, but I didn't get the achievement for it because I accidentally harvested one of the last 2 little sisters. I'm not looking forward to playing through those last two levels all over again, but I'll probably do it later, since it's worth an easy 100 points.
This is going to be a tough game to review. May take a few days to get my bearings straight.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Progress for March 28, 2010 - Final Fantasy VIII
I've been playing this one very slowly over the course of the last week or so. I'm only about 3 hours in; just finished the SeeD exam and got a rank of 8. I really don't know what to say about this game. This is one of those games that is so deep and complex that a "perfect playthrough" is almost impossible, especially the first time through. I've also found that trying to do these things perfectly really kills the fun of any game. So what if you can't get the super-awesome spell by collecting all of the randomly scattered chess pieces around the world and arranging them on the chess board in the final boss's room? Does it mean you can't beat the game? No, of course not, it's just for the insane completionist. I find it just more fun to play through based on my own mood and decisions and just let the game adapt. Unfortunately there are a good number of games that CAN be rendered unbeatable by this method; more an oversight on the part of the designers I suppose.
I am in fact having a lot of fun naming all the characters weird stuff.
Squall = Spoony
Quetzalcoatl = Lugia
Shiva = Cold Tits
Ifrit = Mr. Burns
Siren = Paris (Hilton)
This resulted in the somewhat amusing line:
Hooray for juvenile humor! ^^
Anywho.
Time: 3:01
Place: About to go down to talk to Quistis in the training area.
I am in fact having a lot of fun naming all the characters weird stuff.
Squall = Spoony
Quetzalcoatl = Lugia
Shiva = Cold Tits
Ifrit = Mr. Burns
Siren = Paris (Hilton)
This resulted in the somewhat amusing line:
Hooray for juvenile humor! ^^
Anywho.
Time: 3:01
Place: About to go down to talk to Quistis in the training area.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Clear Ring of Death
I really don't know what to say as I write this. My 360 has betrayed me. Look at what it did to my beloved Fallout 3 GOTY disc!
Earlier today, my foot caught the memory card hanging over the ledge of the entertainment center as I was moving, which caused the console to make a terrifying clattering noise as it was jolted around, but I immediately took the disk out and inspected it for problems and there weren't any scratches like this. I continued to play, but about 3 AM this morning the dreaded "Disc Read Error" message popped up. I pulled it out, fearing the worst, and absolutely wanted to murder myself when I saw those ring-shaped death-scratches.
I don't think my xbox is still under warranty, and I don't know what to do. I don't know how to fix the disc, I don't know how to fix the system, I don't have the money to get a new one, and I don't trust this thing anymore to put any more of my game discs into it to test it out. So that means no BioShock, no Assassin's Creed, not even any Mass Effect, which I haven't had a chance to play yet. I'm now limited to my downloaded games, which leaves Fable as the only "full retail game" I can play on it.
FUCK!
Earlier today, my foot caught the memory card hanging over the ledge of the entertainment center as I was moving, which caused the console to make a terrifying clattering noise as it was jolted around, but I immediately took the disk out and inspected it for problems and there weren't any scratches like this. I continued to play, but about 3 AM this morning the dreaded "Disc Read Error" message popped up. I pulled it out, fearing the worst, and absolutely wanted to murder myself when I saw those ring-shaped death-scratches.
I don't think my xbox is still under warranty, and I don't know what to do. I don't know how to fix the disc, I don't know how to fix the system, I don't have the money to get a new one, and I don't trust this thing anymore to put any more of my game discs into it to test it out. So that means no BioShock, no Assassin's Creed, not even any Mass Effect, which I haven't had a chance to play yet. I'm now limited to my downloaded games, which leaves Fable as the only "full retail game" I can play on it.
FUCK!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Progress for March 24, 2010 - BioShock (Take 2)
It took me a while to get back into it, but I'm glad I did. I really liked the plot twist in the middle of Hephaestus. It almost averts the idea of having objectives in a shooter. Why are you doing these things? Well, the game told you to. Okay then!
The difficulty spikes are so strange, but even when the game kills you, there are absolutely no consequences; you just revive at a vita-chamber. In a way, this keeps you playing because you WILL be able to finish the game, simply through pure perseverance, but it does cripple the immersion factor and tension of being low on life. Others have criticized the game for this design choice, but since there's an option to turn it off, you can't really fault them. Personally I prefer to have the option than to simply have it nonexistent by design; it allows more players to play through the game, even if they're not good at shooters, or just not good at console controls.
Seriously, fuck console controls in shooters.
The difficulty spikes are so strange, but even when the game kills you, there are absolutely no consequences; you just revive at a vita-chamber. In a way, this keeps you playing because you WILL be able to finish the game, simply through pure perseverance, but it does cripple the immersion factor and tension of being low on life. Others have criticized the game for this design choice, but since there's an option to turn it off, you can't really fault them. Personally I prefer to have the option than to simply have it nonexistent by design; it allows more players to play through the game, even if they're not good at shooters, or just not good at console controls.
Seriously, fuck console controls in shooters.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Progress for March 18, 2010 - BioShock (Take 2)
Well, that was hell. I had to kill about 5 big daddies in this level, even though it only has 3 little sisters in it. For some reason those bastards just hated me and started attacking me due to some collateral damage. I suppose I could have let them kill me and just rezzed at a vita-chamber, but that feels like cheating, doesn't it?
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Progress for March 16, 2010 - BioShock (Take 2)
I played just a few hours today, I made it through the whole jungle mission and now I'm going on to.... whatever the third area is. I don't have the game on right now as I'm writing this, so I don't know the name of it. I'm really just trying to get to where I was when I stopped playing last time, that way I can actually start analyzing the story again.
An all-rescue run is hard to do on medium or hard... Sometimes I just want to rip one of those little girls open so I can get all the Adam I need. Too many tonics. Not enough slots.
An all-rescue run is hard to do on medium or hard... Sometimes I just want to rip one of those little girls open so I can get all the Adam I need. Too many tonics. Not enough slots.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Progress for March 15, 2010 - BioShock (Take 2)
I started all over again, this time on Medium difficulty. It does add a lot of much needed challenge to the game compared to Easy. I'm still not going to turn off the vita-chambers, though.
I made it through the first couple of levels. I just got to the part where the submarine explodes, and I'm rapidly running low on things like first aid kits and eve hypos. I'm trying to get the good ending by rescuing all of the little sisters, since you're rewarded with a bunch of Adam anyway with the care package, so I'm not sure what the big deal is.
The game feels very similar to Fallout 3, but a bit less open. I do like the fact that BioShock rewards you for killing your enemies in creative ways, since you save on ammo and health, whereas Fallout 3 punishes you by not giving you experience for enemies that your hacked turrets and satellites kill. Saving ammo and health isn't as important in that game, since it is very easy to come by.
I made it through the first couple of levels. I just got to the part where the submarine explodes, and I'm rapidly running low on things like first aid kits and eve hypos. I'm trying to get the good ending by rescuing all of the little sisters, since you're rewarded with a bunch of Adam anyway with the care package, so I'm not sure what the big deal is.
The game feels very similar to Fallout 3, but a bit less open. I do like the fact that BioShock rewards you for killing your enemies in creative ways, since you save on ammo and health, whereas Fallout 3 punishes you by not giving you experience for enemies that your hacked turrets and satellites kill. Saving ammo and health isn't as important in that game, since it is very easy to come by.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Retrospective
If you were to twist my arm, I could probably expand this list to a nice round 50, but I've already spent more time on this game than I should have.
30 things that suck about Majora's Mask:
The only downside to this is that many sidequests are VERY cryptic in terms of how you have to do them. Perhaps the dozens of Gossip Stones around the world give insight into this, but even obtaining the Truth Mask in order to talk to them is a completely optional task. While having this many optional sidequests works in a game like Fallout 3 or Grand Theft Auto 4, Majora's Mask kills it with the addition of the running timer. With that timer always running, and the clock always counting down to the time you'll be forced to start all over. Couple this with the fact that many of these events are linked to a particular time, or even a specific time AND day, and it brings echoes of Night Trap in terms of exploration and memorization.
While I praise Majora's Mask for taking risks with a series that has, let's face it, grown very, VERY repetitive in its age, there are a lot of design choices that prevent it from being hailed as the best in the series.
That award still goes to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
30 things that suck about Majora's Mask:
- The fish that constantly spawn just within range to hit you, and can't be killed without coming to a complete stop.
- the slow as hell vertical movement of zora link underwater
- the zora boomerangs that take 2 years to come back to you, leaving you unable to attack or even effectively move until they do.
- the third combo attack of Goron Link and Zora Link, which never seem to hit anything, and takes 3 times longer than the other attack animations
- that magical woosh animation that plays EVERY time you change your arrows
- the inability to equip more than one type of arrow at a time (see #5)
- jumping puzzles in a game with no jump button
- the fish boss who stays stunned exactly 2 seconds less than is necessary to sink, attack, and get back to safety (see #2)
- enemies that hit you with an inescapable 8 hit combo of 1/4 heart per hit, rather than simply dealing 2 hearts of damage to you
- the lack of any type of camera control outside of completely recentering the camera
- The lack of any way to center the camera if any enemies are in front of Link
- the overly eager bank teller that looks like he's jacking off whenever you talk to him.
- The unreliable "automatic" method of getting Epona to jump over a fence.
- being told every time what every item you get in a chest does, including items that you pick up multiple times in every dungeon like keys and rupees.
- The 4 pages of text that appears every time you talk to the bank teller, which inevitably leads to the player selecting the first option as a result of button mashing.
- Getting a measly 5 rupees for putting 1000 rupees in the bank, which you generally only do when you're about to turn back time, forcing you to decide whether to deal with #15 again, or lose the 5 rupees.
- the way rupees are never used to buy actual supplies, since bombs and arrows can be found in grass and pots all over the world, and thus just end up maxing out your wallet until you deal with #15 again.
- Riding Epona. If you get near a wall. Any wall. At any speed. At any angle. Epona flips out and you have to wait 3 years to regain control.
- Watching the same unskippable cutscenes over and over because you have to get a key item again.
- Bubbles that curse you for too fucking long. Seriously, I timed it. it takes 60 seconds to regain the use of your sword. In game time, this is an entire hour.
- that 1 second of ocarina time between when you can start playing, and when the game will actually start listening to the buttons you press.
- inability to move up or down on the owl quick-travel map
- how slow Epona moves, even with carrots
- waiting for carrots to recharge.
- Tingle. just... Tingle.
- having to listen to Tingle's diatribe every time you want to buy a map
- birds and bats that swoop down from above and behind link, which don't even deal any significant damage, but continually respawn.
- that music that plays whenever an enemy is near that sounds like the trolley from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood
- how slow link walks when charging his spin attack
- being unable to pause when any message is on screen, even messages that are unskippable, but do not pause the game.
The only downside to this is that many sidequests are VERY cryptic in terms of how you have to do them. Perhaps the dozens of Gossip Stones around the world give insight into this, but even obtaining the Truth Mask in order to talk to them is a completely optional task. While having this many optional sidequests works in a game like Fallout 3 or Grand Theft Auto 4, Majora's Mask kills it with the addition of the running timer. With that timer always running, and the clock always counting down to the time you'll be forced to start all over. Couple this with the fact that many of these events are linked to a particular time, or even a specific time AND day, and it brings echoes of Night Trap in terms of exploration and memorization.
While I praise Majora's Mask for taking risks with a series that has, let's face it, grown very, VERY repetitive in its age, there are a lot of design choices that prevent it from being hailed as the best in the series.
That award still goes to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Progress for March 7, 2010 - Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Well, there goes Twinmold. I don't really know what it is about this game. I guess it's a pretty standard Zelda game, but when a game is about exploration and puzzle solving, having a constantly running timer can be rather cumbersome. I'm quite glad they never did it in other Zelda games. I think tomorrow I'll go around helping some people, get some last heart pieces, and take on Majora. However that works.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Progress for February 21, 2010 - Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Ugh, fuck. Okay, I beat Goht (3 times, actually, but that's not important) and I was going around doing some sidequests. Getting the bomb mask, the giant bomb bag, beating shooting galleries, and getting ready to have my sword forged and get Epona, and then the game crashed. Fucking fuck. I don't know when the last point I saved was, but I'm not looking forward to replaying everything I have to. Ugh.. Oh well. 2 dungeons down, two to go.
Also. How come the bomb shop cators exclusively to a Goron clientelle, but the entrance isn't low enough for Gorons to enter?
Or for that matter, how come Goron Link can't even use bombs? He can use the powder keg, but not the normal bombs. I thought the Goron economy was based around bombs.
Also. How come the bomb shop cators exclusively to a Goron clientelle, but the entrance isn't low enough for Gorons to enter?
Or for that matter, how come Goron Link can't even use bombs? He can use the powder keg, but not the normal bombs. I thought the Goron economy was based around bombs.
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Feature Creep Network
You may have noticed the new navigation up at the top. Welcome to the Feature Creep Network. the FCN is a new online media network feature 53Games and other sites for movie and game reviews, Let's Plays, and general updates. Be sure to check out our latest series, Talking Pictures for our review of Avatar.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Progress for February 2, 2010 - Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Deku Link is cute.
Anywho, pretty standard progress today. after a couple of hours getting re-acclimated to the area and doing the occasional rupee grind, I beat the first dungeon. I beat Odolwa... somehow. Honestly, I don't know how I killed him, but I was at 1/4 of a heart when I just happened to set off a bomb flower at his feet and he died. No complaints, but weird.
Looking at a walkthrough online, I see I missed a LOT of special items I could have gotten. Oh well. Tomorrow.
Anywho, pretty standard progress today. after a couple of hours getting re-acclimated to the area and doing the occasional rupee grind, I beat the first dungeon. I beat Odolwa... somehow. Honestly, I don't know how I killed him, but I was at 1/4 of a heart when I just happened to set off a bomb flower at his feet and he died. No complaints, but weird.
Looking at a walkthrough online, I see I missed a LOT of special items I could have gotten. Oh well. Tomorrow.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Progress for January 29 - Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Nothing really too major to report. All I did today was play through the obligatory first three-day cycle, and now the real game can begin.
One thing that's always fascinated me about this game is the way the first section is designed to be played through in exactly 50 minutes, otherwise you lose and have to start the entire game all over again. I'm sure more than a few kids have run into this, unable to complete it correctly on the first playthrough, and then being dumbfounded when the end of the world happens.
That kinda stuff can scar a kid for life.
One thing that's always fascinated me about this game is the way the first section is designed to be played through in exactly 50 minutes, otherwise you lose and have to start the entire game all over again. I'm sure more than a few kids have run into this, unable to complete it correctly on the first playthrough, and then being dumbfounded when the end of the world happens.
That kinda stuff can scar a kid for life.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Okami - Retrospective
Stop me if you've heard this one. A wolf, accompanied by an annoying character that rides around on it, speaks for it, and taunts it repeatedly, runs around an ancient land, battling creatures of darkness in an effort to purge the shadows from the land. Along the way you collect new items and powers, that help you access previously inaccessible areas of what would otherwise be a truly free-roaming world.
Yeah, comparisons between Okami and the Legend of Zelda series (specifically Twilight Princess, also on my list) are inevitable. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Zelda's formula has been duplicated, copied, cloned, modified, and ripped off numerous times ever since it first exploded onto Famicom systems in the mid 1980's. You could even argue that Metroid, which came out 6 months later, even ripped off the concept, but in a side-scrolling presentation. Perhaps Metroidvanias should be called Metroidzeldavanias.
This style though, has proven to consistently yield extremely positive results. Games like Shadow Complex, which pay tribute to the style are excellent examples of what an unashamed clone can be. The Zelda and Metroid games are all among the highest rated of any game on the console. Even on the CD-I, the Zelda games hold the #2, 3, and 4 slots in popularity on Gamespot. Axis and Allies must be a pretty good game.
It's unavoidable to compare it to similar games, but even allowing for that, Okami is a damn fine game in its own right. I'm not going too much into the actual gameplay, because anyone reading this has likely already played the game, or at least heard enough about it. But for the uninitiated, you play as the goddess Amaterasu, who has come to Nippon in the form of a white wolf to fight demons. There's a deep story behind all of this about an evil eight-headed dragon named Orochi and a legend that goes back 100 years of a similar wolf fighting and defeating the same dragon, but in the end it all boils down to: "You're a god. Fight evil."
The thing that really sets Okami apart from other games aside from its Katsushika Hokusai visual style is the Celestial Brush mechanic that has you drawing representations of powers on screen in order to activate them. While this sounds fun in theory, it begins to get troublesome when you realize it's impossible for the game to walk the line between "simple" and "distinct" with all 13 powers' brushstrokes. I don't doubt the advanced technology that programmers must have pulled their hair out over when creating the Celestial Brush, but it's not perfect. You will end up using the same gestures for several different attacks, and others that use very similar gestures. The problem with context sensitive controls is you will almost always run into a time when the same context is happening simultaneously. This can result in creating a useless waterspout circle when you're trying to form a lily pad or gust of wind, or causing a trail of fire when you only want to use the slash ability.
The overall presentation of the game is enjoyable, and you can tell a lot of care and humor went into creating all of the memorable characters. If you can begin to actively HATE someone who doesn't exist, it's always a testament to the skill of the writers. One thing I could have done without, though, is the annoying nippon-ese that the characters speak in. It's okay for letting you know what a character sounds like, but it gets VERY annoying VERY quickly, especially when you don't want to skip the text because you actually want to read the story. This is actually a considerable detriment to the game, because I found myself skipping what I was fairly certain was a very well written story simply because I didn't want to hear the gibberish anymore and just wanted to get back to the gameplay. PLEASE, Capcom, put an option to turn the speech off in Okamiden, or omit it altogether.
Okami is a very good and very long game. This is the kind of game a kid who only gets one or two games a year could get for their birthday or Christmas and it would get them through many, many months down the road. If I were younger, I could definitely see myself devoting many weeks of my life to this game, seeking out every hidden bead, powering up every weapon, playing through multiple times to unlock every hidden reward and then looking back on the time with fondness 10 years later, just like certain gamers do now with games like Ocarina of Time or even the original Legend of Zelda. Okami is the kind of game that defines "instant classic."
The Good
The Bad
The Defining Moment
The Burning Question
Yeah, comparisons between Okami and the Legend of Zelda series (specifically Twilight Princess, also on my list) are inevitable. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Zelda's formula has been duplicated, copied, cloned, modified, and ripped off numerous times ever since it first exploded onto Famicom systems in the mid 1980's. You could even argue that Metroid, which came out 6 months later, even ripped off the concept, but in a side-scrolling presentation. Perhaps Metroidvanias should be called Metroidzeldavanias.
This style though, has proven to consistently yield extremely positive results. Games like Shadow Complex, which pay tribute to the style are excellent examples of what an unashamed clone can be. The Zelda and Metroid games are all among the highest rated of any game on the console. Even on the CD-I, the Zelda games hold the #2, 3, and 4 slots in popularity on Gamespot. Axis and Allies must be a pretty good game.
It's unavoidable to compare it to similar games, but even allowing for that, Okami is a damn fine game in its own right. I'm not going too much into the actual gameplay, because anyone reading this has likely already played the game, or at least heard enough about it. But for the uninitiated, you play as the goddess Amaterasu, who has come to Nippon in the form of a white wolf to fight demons. There's a deep story behind all of this about an evil eight-headed dragon named Orochi and a legend that goes back 100 years of a similar wolf fighting and defeating the same dragon, but in the end it all boils down to: "You're a god. Fight evil."
The thing that really sets Okami apart from other games aside from its Katsushika Hokusai visual style is the Celestial Brush mechanic that has you drawing representations of powers on screen in order to activate them. While this sounds fun in theory, it begins to get troublesome when you realize it's impossible for the game to walk the line between "simple" and "distinct" with all 13 powers' brushstrokes. I don't doubt the advanced technology that programmers must have pulled their hair out over when creating the Celestial Brush, but it's not perfect. You will end up using the same gestures for several different attacks, and others that use very similar gestures. The problem with context sensitive controls is you will almost always run into a time when the same context is happening simultaneously. This can result in creating a useless waterspout circle when you're trying to form a lily pad or gust of wind, or causing a trail of fire when you only want to use the slash ability.
The overall presentation of the game is enjoyable, and you can tell a lot of care and humor went into creating all of the memorable characters. If you can begin to actively HATE someone who doesn't exist, it's always a testament to the skill of the writers. One thing I could have done without, though, is the annoying nippon-ese that the characters speak in. It's okay for letting you know what a character sounds like, but it gets VERY annoying VERY quickly, especially when you don't want to skip the text because you actually want to read the story. This is actually a considerable detriment to the game, because I found myself skipping what I was fairly certain was a very well written story simply because I didn't want to hear the gibberish anymore and just wanted to get back to the gameplay. PLEASE, Capcom, put an option to turn the speech off in Okamiden, or omit it altogether.
Okami is a very good and very long game. This is the kind of game a kid who only gets one or two games a year could get for their birthday or Christmas and it would get them through many, many months down the road. If I were younger, I could definitely see myself devoting many weeks of my life to this game, seeking out every hidden bead, powering up every weapon, playing through multiple times to unlock every hidden reward and then looking back on the time with fondness 10 years later, just like certain gamers do now with games like Ocarina of Time or even the original Legend of Zelda. Okami is the kind of game that defines "instant classic."
The Good
- Classic Zelda-esque free-roaming/dungeon diving gameplay
- Unique Celestial Brush mechanic
- 40+ hour epic; very good value for the price
The Bad
- Game might be a bit TOO long for the average gamer.
- Nippon-ese gibberish gets grating after a while
- Celestial Brush is not perfect
The Defining Moment
- The second celestial brush appearing during the battle against Ninetails. I almost shit myself.
The Burning Question
- Okay, so what exactly is the point of the whole time travel subplot? I'm usually really good at figuring these things out, and I'm pretty sure it's explained somewhere else in the game, but the nippon-ese kept me from reading too much further into it.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Progress for January 8, 2010 - Okami - COMPLETED!
Woo! This game was... very... confusing. Characters and plot lines drop in and out with little to no setup, and function primarily to lengthen an already obsessively long game.
Anywho. Yami is dead. Nippon is saved. Full review later this week.
Final play stats:
Play Time 45 hr 36 min 5 sec
Days Passed 70
Saves....... 86
Deaths..... 0 (Pink tree)
Enemies Defeated 459 (green tree)
Money Gained 3,422,795 (green tree)
Demon Fangs 296 (green tree)
praise earned 4,269 (green tree)
Presents from Issun:
Karmic Transformer 1
Karmic Transformer 2
Karmic Returner
Stray Bead
Karmic Transformer 3
Anywho. Yami is dead. Nippon is saved. Full review later this week.
Final play stats:
Play Time 45 hr 36 min 5 sec
Days Passed 70
Saves....... 86
Deaths..... 0 (Pink tree)
Enemies Defeated 459 (green tree)
Money Gained 3,422,795 (green tree)
Demon Fangs 296 (green tree)
praise earned 4,269 (green tree)
Presents from Issun:
Karmic Transformer 1
Karmic Transformer 2
Karmic Returner
Stray Bead
Karmic Transformer 3
Progress for January 7, 2010 - Okami
Christ, how much longer is this game? I know I'm relatively close to the end, but I have no idea whether that's 2 hours or 20 hours away by this game's perception of pacing.
I just defeated Orochi for the second time. The time travel aspect was... interestingly handled. But I don't think it was entirely necessary.
Anyway. I'll probably continue tomorrow, after I take back some library books.
I just defeated Orochi for the second time. The time travel aspect was... interestingly handled. But I don't think it was entirely necessary.
Anyway. I'll probably continue tomorrow, after I take back some library books.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Progress for January 3, 2010 - Okami
Wow, this game just keeps on going, doesn't it? You certainly get a lot of gameplay for your buck. I've made it to the frozen north, and I spent most of today searching around Nippon for extra praise and treasures in order to boost my ink and health, and to upgrade my combat abilities.
I bought the Golden Fury attack.
Amaterasu pees on the enemies.
I'm afraid to wonder what Brown Rage does.
I bought the Golden Fury attack.
Amaterasu pees on the enemies.
I'm afraid to wonder what Brown Rage does.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Progress for January 2, 2010 - Okami
I think I made a lot of progress today. I'm up to about 33 hours, and I just killed Ninetails. The battle with him scared the shit out of me when I saw that second paintbrush show up O.o but I still prevailed.
One thing that really pissed me off: Without any warning or provocation, the game completely cuts off your ability to travel outside of North Ryoshima, forcing you to make due with whatever supplies and praise you've picked up since then. There is one merchant available, but your ability to upgrade your stats during this time is very limited. If you aren't able to defeat the boss, you better hope you made multiple save files.
One thing that really pissed me off: Without any warning or provocation, the game completely cuts off your ability to travel outside of North Ryoshima, forcing you to make due with whatever supplies and praise you've picked up since then. There is one merchant available, but your ability to upgrade your stats during this time is very limited. If you aren't able to defeat the boss, you better hope you made multiple save files.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Progress for January 1, 2010 - Okami
I'm starting to fall into the groove of this game. I think usually when I play a game like this, I try to do it perfect on the first playthrough. I grind for items, search high and low for every optional piece of treasure until it all just becomes monotonous and boring. I had the same problem with BioShock, and I think I'm going to have a similar problem with Fallout 3. But now in Okami, I'm just going from one objective to the next. I have too many games to get through to dawdle, and I hear Okami is pretty effing long.
I made it to north ryoshima coast, and now I'm trying to find the whirlpool to get to the dragon's realm. Sounds like fun!
I made it to north ryoshima coast, and now I'm trying to find the whirlpool to get to the dragon's realm. Sounds like fun!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
