So, the year's closing out, and here I am wrapping up the year with the last (for now) installment in the Mario and Luigi series, Bowser's Inside Story.
This game was released for the DS in 2009, having been developed, like the other titles in this series, by AlphaDream. Like the other two games, this game stars Mario and Luigi. Unlike the other two, this game also features Bowser as a playable character.
As the game begins, the Mushroom Kingdom is beset by a plague called the Blorbs, with any toads infected swelling up to a ridiculous size. A meeting is called with Princess Peach and her advisers, including Mario and Luigi, and a representative from the stars, a young Star Sprite named Starlow. Bowser interrupts this meeting, claiming that he came to offer his help, but the sight of Mario infuriated him into attacking. After Mario trounces Bowser, Peach and Starlow send him flying away. Bowser lands in the woods, where a mysterious man gives him a mushroom that will give him the power to defeat Mario. The mushroom does that, but also temporarily brainwashes him. Bowser uses the power of the mushroom to suck up the toads in Peach's Castle, Peach herself, and Mario and Luigi, and the villain that gave Bowser the mushroom is revealed to be Fawful, from the first game. After sucking up everyone, Bowser is sent away by Fawful, and Bowser decides to get his revenge. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi are inside Bowser, trying to find a way to get everyone out. All three have to work together, though Bowser never knows it, to stop Fawful.
In terms of gameplay, this game is very similar to the previous two titles in the series. Once more, everything Mario and Luigi do is done with the A and B buttons, and Bowser uses the X and Y buttons. This game still technically used Bros. Items for Mario and Luigi, but the attacks were done using points like the first game, instead of consuming items like the second. Like I said in my Partners in Time review, I prefer this, as it allows the player to have greater choice in what attacks they can use, so I am happy to see its return. Bowser, on the other hand, doesn't use items at all, instead utilizing his minions to perform special attacks. This goes from lighting Goombas on fire and launching them at the opponent, to having Shy Guys form a slingshot to fire Bowser at the enemy, to even using bouncing Koopa shells off of Bowser into the enemy. Bowser also keeps the ability he gained at the beginning of the game to suck up foes. Sometimes this heals him or gives him a stat boost, and sometimes it actually swallow his enemies, allowing Mario and Luigi to fight them from inside Bowser.
When it comes to the writing, this game is a lot like Superstar Saga. You go to many different locations across the Mushroom Kingdom, meeting various characters, few recurring, but many memorable, at least to some degree. Like Partners in Time, however, this game once more includes a Navi-like character in the Star Sprite named Starlow. Honestly, I found Starlow to be much more annoying than Stuffwell ever was, not seeming to do anything other than explain where I needed to go next, when most of the time, I figured that out without any help from her. I still don't see why they added either of these characters to the game, as they didn't do anything to progress the plot, nor were they entertaining, but I talked about that last week, so I don't feel like repeating myself too much.
Like I said earlier, Fawful has returned as the main villain of this game, much to my pleasure. I mean, much as I love other aspects of these games, Fawful remains my favorite part, and is probably one of my favorite characters of any game. Joining him as second-in-command in Midbus, a... pig-like monster who, like his boss, has a very strange way of speaking. I think I've heard it compared to an old kung-fu movie, and that's as good a comparison as any, I suppose. I haven't really seen any old kung-fu mvoies, so I can't say if it's accurate, but I digress.
All in all, this is probably my favorite game in the series. It's very well-made, the writing is fun, and I really don't have anything else to say. While I would recommend playing any of the games in this series, this is the one I'd recommend above the other two.
But, seriously, if you're only going to play one of them, play this one. Easily the best of the three.
And if you're not going to play any of them, still play this one. It's awesome. And Fawful's in it. Fawful is awesome.
So, yeah, that wraps up this review. See you next year, er, week, when I'll be back, same as normal.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time
Alright, second week of my look at the Mario and Luigi series. Here we are with Partners in Time, the 2005 sequel to Superstar Saga developed for the Nintendo DS. And that's all I've got for an intro.
In this game, Professor E. Gadd has invented time travel. And, instead of testing it himself or hiring someone to test it like a rational person might, he lets Princess Peach use it first. And, of course, she takes it back to when the Mushroom Kingdom was being invaded by aliens.
What, you didn't know that? Yeah, the Mushroom Kingdom was invaded by an alien race called the Shroobs, and when Peach found out about this, she decided she had to go back in time and get herself kidnapped by them, because they were about the only people that HADN'T kidnapped her yet. So when the time machine comes back sans Princess and with an angry alien, Mario must go rescue Peach. And Luigi comes with because he's in the title. Since the time machine (of course) doesn't work, they instead go through a hole in time and space that was opened by the time machine's usage.
Of course, that's only half of the story's intro. Shortly before the Shroobs invaded, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were at Baby Peach's castle when Baby Bowser decided to babynap Baby Peach. Baby Mario stops Baby Bowser, but then the Shroobs attack, and all of the babies (plus a young-ish Toadsworth) flee in the Koopa Cruiser. It's at this point that they find the adult Mario and Luigi struggling to fight off some Shroobs, so Baby Mario and Baby Luigi go to their rescue. The adults decide to take the babies with them on their quest to rescue Peach, which may or may not be kidnapping, I'm not quite sure. Thus begins our adventure, with the four Mario bros. using various portals scattered across Peach's Castle in the present to visit different locales in the past, so that they can collect shards of the time machine's power source, the Cobalt Star, and use the reformed star to gain access to the past Peach's Castle and rescue the princess.
In many ways, this game is very similar to Superstar Saga. Battles are still turn-based, with Mario and Luigi using A and B, and the babies using X and Y, to attack and defend. The Bros. Attacks are changed a bit in this game, though. Instead of spending Bros. Points to use them, attacks are used by Bros. Items found throughout the game in blocks, or purchased in shops. I actually preferred using Bros. Points, since it allowed me to choose what attacks I wanted to use, instead of being limited by what items I had. However, there are a lot more choices for each of the brothers, and if there's one particular attack you grow fond of, you can use that with either brother, so that's a nice improvement. But generally, this game plays the same as the original, so that's definitely a point in its favor.
This game does suffer a bit in terms of writing, however. The plot is, like I said earlier, fairly standard, with Peach being kidnapped for the umpteenth time. But where Superstar Saga had a multitude of interesting characters, this game decided to have a few recurring characters, few of whom I felt were very interesting. I did like Kylie Koopa, a koopa (what else) with the personality of an old-school reporter, always looking for a big scoop. On the other hand, there was Stuffwell, who, in addition to holding the party's inventory, served as the game's Navi. And yes, he was just as annoying at times as she ever was. I'm not sure why he was in this game. Saga did perfectly fine without a character like this, so I don't know why they decided to add it in here. But, I'm griping. There weren't really any offensive characters, even if there weren't really any memorable ones, so I'm not really going to complain.
I will mention that Fawful has returned in a bit part as the owner of a shop where he trades beans that you can dig up for badges. In particular, you can trade 90 beans for an Ulti-Free badge, which gives the wearer unlimited uses of any Bros. Item. And if you're paying any attention, it's not that hard to find 90 beans by the endgame, so you should be going into the final boss fight with at least one of the brothers able to use as many Bros. Items as you want, which makes the fight a lot easier.
I'd also like to take a moment to talk about the music in this series. I neglected to mention it in the Superstar Saga review, but Yoko Shimomura (probably better known for her work in the Kingdom Hearts series) does a great job composing music in all three of these games. In particular, I love the final boss theme. It's a great song, and if I ever do a list of the best boss themes, feel free to give me crap if it doesn't show up on that list.
So, to wrap things up, this is a good game. Not really a great game, and definitely my least favorite in this series, but it's fun, and I would still recommend playing it.
As one last added note, the beginning of this game is actually the reason I decided to review this series this month in particular. The first area Mario and Luigi visit in the past is called Holli Jolli village. It's snowy, the mayor is a fat Toad you find stuck in a chimney, and the background music is a somewhat eerie arrangement of 'Jingle Bells.'
Also, when you reach the village, it is full of smoldering craters from a recent Shroob attack, and almost all of the villagers have been abducted by the Shroobs to have their life energy drained from them as a power source.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
In this game, Professor E. Gadd has invented time travel. And, instead of testing it himself or hiring someone to test it like a rational person might, he lets Princess Peach use it first. And, of course, she takes it back to when the Mushroom Kingdom was being invaded by aliens.
What, you didn't know that? Yeah, the Mushroom Kingdom was invaded by an alien race called the Shroobs, and when Peach found out about this, she decided she had to go back in time and get herself kidnapped by them, because they were about the only people that HADN'T kidnapped her yet. So when the time machine comes back sans Princess and with an angry alien, Mario must go rescue Peach. And Luigi comes with because he's in the title. Since the time machine (of course) doesn't work, they instead go through a hole in time and space that was opened by the time machine's usage.
Of course, that's only half of the story's intro. Shortly before the Shroobs invaded, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were at Baby Peach's castle when Baby Bowser decided to babynap Baby Peach. Baby Mario stops Baby Bowser, but then the Shroobs attack, and all of the babies (plus a young-ish Toadsworth) flee in the Koopa Cruiser. It's at this point that they find the adult Mario and Luigi struggling to fight off some Shroobs, so Baby Mario and Baby Luigi go to their rescue. The adults decide to take the babies with them on their quest to rescue Peach, which may or may not be kidnapping, I'm not quite sure. Thus begins our adventure, with the four Mario bros. using various portals scattered across Peach's Castle in the present to visit different locales in the past, so that they can collect shards of the time machine's power source, the Cobalt Star, and use the reformed star to gain access to the past Peach's Castle and rescue the princess.
In many ways, this game is very similar to Superstar Saga. Battles are still turn-based, with Mario and Luigi using A and B, and the babies using X and Y, to attack and defend. The Bros. Attacks are changed a bit in this game, though. Instead of spending Bros. Points to use them, attacks are used by Bros. Items found throughout the game in blocks, or purchased in shops. I actually preferred using Bros. Points, since it allowed me to choose what attacks I wanted to use, instead of being limited by what items I had. However, there are a lot more choices for each of the brothers, and if there's one particular attack you grow fond of, you can use that with either brother, so that's a nice improvement. But generally, this game plays the same as the original, so that's definitely a point in its favor.
This game does suffer a bit in terms of writing, however. The plot is, like I said earlier, fairly standard, with Peach being kidnapped for the umpteenth time. But where Superstar Saga had a multitude of interesting characters, this game decided to have a few recurring characters, few of whom I felt were very interesting. I did like Kylie Koopa, a koopa (what else) with the personality of an old-school reporter, always looking for a big scoop. On the other hand, there was Stuffwell, who, in addition to holding the party's inventory, served as the game's Navi. And yes, he was just as annoying at times as she ever was. I'm not sure why he was in this game. Saga did perfectly fine without a character like this, so I don't know why they decided to add it in here. But, I'm griping. There weren't really any offensive characters, even if there weren't really any memorable ones, so I'm not really going to complain.
I will mention that Fawful has returned in a bit part as the owner of a shop where he trades beans that you can dig up for badges. In particular, you can trade 90 beans for an Ulti-Free badge, which gives the wearer unlimited uses of any Bros. Item. And if you're paying any attention, it's not that hard to find 90 beans by the endgame, so you should be going into the final boss fight with at least one of the brothers able to use as many Bros. Items as you want, which makes the fight a lot easier.
I'd also like to take a moment to talk about the music in this series. I neglected to mention it in the Superstar Saga review, but Yoko Shimomura (probably better known for her work in the Kingdom Hearts series) does a great job composing music in all three of these games. In particular, I love the final boss theme. It's a great song, and if I ever do a list of the best boss themes, feel free to give me crap if it doesn't show up on that list.
So, to wrap things up, this is a good game. Not really a great game, and definitely my least favorite in this series, but it's fun, and I would still recommend playing it.
As one last added note, the beginning of this game is actually the reason I decided to review this series this month in particular. The first area Mario and Luigi visit in the past is called Holli Jolli village. It's snowy, the mayor is a fat Toad you find stuck in a chimney, and the background music is a somewhat eerie arrangement of 'Jingle Bells.'
Also, when you reach the village, it is full of smoldering craters from a recent Shroob attack, and almost all of the villagers have been abducted by the Shroobs to have their life energy drained from them as a power source.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
So, I originally planned on doing this review... almost 2 months ago now. Then I got distracted, then I did that thing for October, then... I did other stuff that wasn't reviewing this game. So, now it's December, almost Christmas in fact, and so I've decided to do some reviews all about the jolly fat man in red.
...Mario, of course, not Santa. Don't worry, you aren't the first to confuse the two. But we'll get to that later. Anyway, for the next three weeks (well, two and a half), I'll be doing a series of reviews on the Mario & Luigi games, starting by finally reviewing Superstar Saga.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was released for the Game Boy Advance on November 17th, 2003. It was the third Mario RPG released, after Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario. In this game, Princess Peach has not been kidnapped, surprisingly enough. Instead, her voice has been stolen... somehow. There's magic involved, that's all you really need to know. So Mario must journey to the neighboring Beanbean Kingdom in order to save Peach's voice. And, due to a wacky misunderstanding, Luigi comes along too.
This game is fairly basic when it comes to gameplay. In battle, Mario uses the A button for his commands, while Luigi uses the B button. They can attack individually, with Jump, Hammer, and Hand commands (Hand being elemental attacks, Mario using fire, Luigi using Lightning), or they can spend BP (Bros. Points) in order to pull off Bros. Attacks, powerful combination moves that require the player to enter the proper button sequence to deal maximum damage. Outside of battle, each of the brothers uses either the A or B button for commands, though this time it depends on the order in which they are standing, with the front-most brother using A, and the rear brother using B. The order can be switched using START, so that both of the brothers can use their abilities to their fullest. I only really have two complaints in this area: One, that the battles are a little too easy, but that could just be because I've played this game too many times; and Two, that the SELECT button is used to open the menu and the START button is used to switch the brothers instead of vice-versa, but that's just me being nit-picky. Overall, the gameplay in this game is solid and enjoyable.
My favorite aspect of this game, by far, is the writing. The story's more-or-less standard, the princess('s voice) has been kidnapped, and it's up to Mario (and Luigi) to save her (voice). But it's the details in what Mario and Luigi encounter in the Beanbean kingdom that make the game so much fun. You run into Hammerheaded Hammer-Makers that give you (What else?) hammers, an old man who ferments cola by telling it (truly awful) jokes, and a giant hermit crab with a lisp dressed as a Christmas tree who mistakes Mario for Santa Claus.
Yeah. Yeah, that's a thing that happens. But probably the best of all these characters is the main villain's cronie, Fawful. He is... incredibly strange, referring to people as 'finkrats' and making strange references to sandwiches. I don't understand a word that comes out of his mouth, but it's always fun to run into him.
This was probably my first (non-Pokemon) RPG, and remains to this day one of my favorites. This game, and its two sequels, are some of the few games that I make a point of replaying every year or so. So in case you couldn't guess, I'm strongly recommending you get this game and play it. Even if you aren't normally a fan of Mario, this is a great game.
...Mario, of course, not Santa. Don't worry, you aren't the first to confuse the two. But we'll get to that later. Anyway, for the next three weeks (well, two and a half), I'll be doing a series of reviews on the Mario & Luigi games, starting by finally reviewing Superstar Saga.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was released for the Game Boy Advance on November 17th, 2003. It was the third Mario RPG released, after Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario. In this game, Princess Peach has not been kidnapped, surprisingly enough. Instead, her voice has been stolen... somehow. There's magic involved, that's all you really need to know. So Mario must journey to the neighboring Beanbean Kingdom in order to save Peach's voice. And, due to a wacky misunderstanding, Luigi comes along too.
This game is fairly basic when it comes to gameplay. In battle, Mario uses the A button for his commands, while Luigi uses the B button. They can attack individually, with Jump, Hammer, and Hand commands (Hand being elemental attacks, Mario using fire, Luigi using Lightning), or they can spend BP (Bros. Points) in order to pull off Bros. Attacks, powerful combination moves that require the player to enter the proper button sequence to deal maximum damage. Outside of battle, each of the brothers uses either the A or B button for commands, though this time it depends on the order in which they are standing, with the front-most brother using A, and the rear brother using B. The order can be switched using START, so that both of the brothers can use their abilities to their fullest. I only really have two complaints in this area: One, that the battles are a little too easy, but that could just be because I've played this game too many times; and Two, that the SELECT button is used to open the menu and the START button is used to switch the brothers instead of vice-versa, but that's just me being nit-picky. Overall, the gameplay in this game is solid and enjoyable.
My favorite aspect of this game, by far, is the writing. The story's more-or-less standard, the princess('s voice) has been kidnapped, and it's up to Mario (and Luigi) to save her (voice). But it's the details in what Mario and Luigi encounter in the Beanbean kingdom that make the game so much fun. You run into Hammerheaded Hammer-Makers that give you (What else?) hammers, an old man who ferments cola by telling it (truly awful) jokes, and a giant hermit crab with a lisp dressed as a Christmas tree who mistakes Mario for Santa Claus.
Yeah. Yeah, that's a thing that happens. But probably the best of all these characters is the main villain's cronie, Fawful. He is... incredibly strange, referring to people as 'finkrats' and making strange references to sandwiches. I don't understand a word that comes out of his mouth, but it's always fun to run into him.
This was probably my first (non-Pokemon) RPG, and remains to this day one of my favorites. This game, and its two sequels, are some of the few games that I make a point of replaying every year or so. So in case you couldn't guess, I'm strongly recommending you get this game and play it. Even if you aren't normally a fan of Mario, this is a great game.
Friday, December 7, 2012
The 2012 VGAs: An Attempt at Live-Blogging
So, this last Friday night, Spike aired the 2012 Video Game Awards. And, while the show went on, I decided to write my thoughts on the show as it aired. And so, without any alteration (past maybe some spell-checking), here are my comments on the 2012 VGAs.
8:02 - First off, the South Park opening... which I missed, as I was watching the wrong video. Oh well, not too fond of South Park anyway. Oh hey, Samuel L. Jackson's hosting. He's pretty awesome, this could be good.
Sam, that's not how RPGs work. Viewers making choices does not make this an RPG Awards Show. If anything, it's a Visual Novel Awards Show, and even that's not a perfect analogy.
Okay, looks like I'm not missing much South Park. Not really heard much about this game, let's see if the trailer can do anything for me.
...Okay, didn't really do much for me. I mean, the humor seemed very similar to the show's, and the gameplay was not there at all, and- Why is Kenny dressed as Zelda?
8:07 - Oh hey, Walking Dead People are presenting an award. Best Shooter... suddenly I don't care. Shooters have never been my thing, and I haven't played any of these games. So Borderlands 2 wins, and this means literally nothing to mean. And it also won best multiplayer, I guess. Good for them.
8:10 - The future of gaming? This should be interesting... and a gameplay trailer, too? Guy with a hook hand, that's unusual. Amnesia... that's more normal. As is the apparent In Media Res opening.
...This game actually looks kinda interesting. Or at least it might if I had any clue what was going on... Very actiony, at the very least. Was that guy riding a fire Unicorn? Anyway, the game is called 'The Phantom Pain.' Might have to keep my eyes open for that one.
8:14 - And we have a little skit with Master Chief and Cortana talking about his nomination for Character of the Year. That was pretty fun, and it turns out Chief is a Samuel L. Jackson fan, which I'm taking as canon.
8:20 - Okay, I like this skit. If only for the NPH cameo. Though future-Samuel L. Jackson being the president of the world seems unrealistic. And there's almost too much use of the word 'future.' Wait, did Samuel L. Jackson just go back in time just so he could insert himself into video games?
...Actually, I'd do that too.
8:23 - Oo, video game music time. I love video game music time. Can they turn off the sound effects though? I know it builds atmosphere, but I just want to hear the music.
This is a really good medley. It's doing a great job of smoothly transitioning between each of the games, and making the score to each one sound epic. I mean, if I didn't see the footage, I'd have a hard time believing these were composed by different people. It just seems like one big flowing piece, instead of a medley. I know I'm kind of going at length about this, but I'm really enjoying it. Easily my favorite part of the show thus far. But now it's over.
8:32 - And now a skit starring Assassin's Creed III's Connor. Where he kisses Ubisoft's ass. Pretty reasonable, they did create him.
8:35 - Trailer for The Last of Us. Not really heard a lot about this game, but the story (based off of the trailer) looks interesting, and I love the song that the composer's playing here. I have no clue what that instrument is, but it's really nice-sounding.
And immediately followed up by a trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Not gonna lie, not very interested in this, since I've never played any Castlevania- wait, you play as Dracula in this game? And it's a modern setting? Okay, I want this game.
8:39 - And now Samuel L. Jackson's Cortana. This is pretty weird. Not in a bad way, though.
8:45 - I have no clue who Claptrap is. I have no more comments on this skit. Kinda like him, though.
8:47 - And Jessica Alba's talking about some game from last year everyone loved that's getting a sequel. I have no clue what she's talking about.
Huh. Dark Souls 2. Never really heard of the first one.
8:49 - Oh, hey, another award. Been a while, hasn't it? About 40 minutes, I think. And Best Action-Adventure goes to... Dishonored. Which has done nothing to interest me, so I'm just going to move on.
8:52 - Wait, The Last of Us is set post-apocalypse? I thought it was just normal Pittsburgh. Huh.
8:58 - I have no clue who this character is, or what game he's from.
8:59 - And Linkin Park's playing. Ohai, mute button.
9:03 - Indie games time. Let's see if I've played any of thes- Nope. Thought some of them looked interesting, though, and probably would pick up Journey if I had a PS3. Which won. So, guess I made the right choice? And it won best PS3 game and best score. Good for them.
9:05 And now Samuel L. Jackson is in Star Wars Angry Birds. This actually makes perfect sense, and should be in the actual game.
9:12 - Oh hey, it's that guy who talked about his pubes in the pre-show. And he's introducing Snoop Do- Lion. So, we meet again, mute button...
9:15 - And a trailer for Assassin's Creed III DLC. And it seems to really be going into alternate history, which seems like a weird direction to take.
Wait, KING Washington? Okay, this shit officially went crazy.
9:16 - Ohai Shepard.... and Female Shepard. Now I'm just confused. Are they both canon? Is tha- Is that how that works? My head hurts...
9:19 - And Gears of War 4 trailer. Somehow I feel like this awards show was not made with me in mind. I mean, really? Pokemon Black and White 2 don't get a single nomination? What a rip-off...
9:25 - Samuel L. Jackson in Dishonored. Re-enacting Pulp Fiction. Also apparently slept with Lady Gaga.
9:27 - So, the best games of the year get a medley, but Tomb Raider gets a performance with her trailer all to herself? What's that about? I mean, it's not bad, but still...
9:31 - And Claptrap has won Character of the Year. And may in fact be insane.
...He's insane, isn't he?
9:37 - Samuel L. Jackson in an... oddly-animated Minecraft. With Gangnam Style. Which is then interrupted by Sam via crossbow. That was pretty awesome.
9:38 - Hey, it's Tenacious D. AKA a musical act I wouldn't mute.
...Except they're not performing, they're announcing Game of the Decade. This is one I'm interested in. Let's see what the people decided.
Half-Life 2, huh? Guess you guys REALLY want a sequel. No offense, just not what I was expecting. Not even the Valve title I was expecting. Though I suppose it says a lot when these guys got nominated for Game of the Decade twice.
9:42 - Leonard, you need your glasses, you look weird without them. And then Halo trailer. Bored now.
9:44 - Okay, is Bioshock one of those games I need to play sometime? Because it seems like it, given all the hype Infinite's been getting.
I feel like I need a list of these games.
9:48 - I'm just going to say, this is the second unique commerical break I've had. And hour and fifty minutes into the show.
9:51 - Oh yeah, and Mass Effect 3 won Best RPG. Why couldn't THAT one? I was actually interested in that. And somehow Diablo III was running against it. No clue how that works.
9:53 - They gave Samuel L. Jackson a mini-gun. Who thought that was a good idea? Who in the HELL thought that was a good idea?
9:54 - And here we go. Game of the Year is... The Walking Dead? Really? The only game of the five that I've played? Awesome. Good for TellTale, great game. Really need to get around to episodes 2-5.
9:57 - And to close it out, Tenacious D actually IS performing. More awesome.
So, all in all, an... interesting experience. Still want to know what the best Wii/WiiU game was (my money's on Xenoblade, which IS in fact on my list of those games). Kinda interested in some of the choices (Not having played it, I'm unsure what makes Half-Life 2 the Best Game of the Decade), but I'm not complaining. And Samuel L. Jackson was a good host.
Also, I kinda wish the one of the surprise trailers had been for Chrono Trigger 3, but I doubt that'll ever happen at this point. Still, I can always wish, right?
If you guys thought this attempt at live-blogging went well, be sure to say something. I just decided to do this because I thought it might be interesting, but if you liked it, I might try it again sometime.
8:02 - First off, the South Park opening... which I missed, as I was watching the wrong video. Oh well, not too fond of South Park anyway. Oh hey, Samuel L. Jackson's hosting. He's pretty awesome, this could be good.
Sam, that's not how RPGs work. Viewers making choices does not make this an RPG Awards Show. If anything, it's a Visual Novel Awards Show, and even that's not a perfect analogy.
Okay, looks like I'm not missing much South Park. Not really heard much about this game, let's see if the trailer can do anything for me.
...Okay, didn't really do much for me. I mean, the humor seemed very similar to the show's, and the gameplay was not there at all, and- Why is Kenny dressed as Zelda?
8:07 - Oh hey, Walking Dead People are presenting an award. Best Shooter... suddenly I don't care. Shooters have never been my thing, and I haven't played any of these games. So Borderlands 2 wins, and this means literally nothing to mean. And it also won best multiplayer, I guess. Good for them.
8:10 - The future of gaming? This should be interesting... and a gameplay trailer, too? Guy with a hook hand, that's unusual. Amnesia... that's more normal. As is the apparent In Media Res opening.
...This game actually looks kinda interesting. Or at least it might if I had any clue what was going on... Very actiony, at the very least. Was that guy riding a fire Unicorn? Anyway, the game is called 'The Phantom Pain.' Might have to keep my eyes open for that one.
8:14 - And we have a little skit with Master Chief and Cortana talking about his nomination for Character of the Year. That was pretty fun, and it turns out Chief is a Samuel L. Jackson fan, which I'm taking as canon.
8:20 - Okay, I like this skit. If only for the NPH cameo. Though future-Samuel L. Jackson being the president of the world seems unrealistic. And there's almost too much use of the word 'future.' Wait, did Samuel L. Jackson just go back in time just so he could insert himself into video games?
...Actually, I'd do that too.
8:23 - Oo, video game music time. I love video game music time. Can they turn off the sound effects though? I know it builds atmosphere, but I just want to hear the music.
This is a really good medley. It's doing a great job of smoothly transitioning between each of the games, and making the score to each one sound epic. I mean, if I didn't see the footage, I'd have a hard time believing these were composed by different people. It just seems like one big flowing piece, instead of a medley. I know I'm kind of going at length about this, but I'm really enjoying it. Easily my favorite part of the show thus far. But now it's over.
8:32 - And now a skit starring Assassin's Creed III's Connor. Where he kisses Ubisoft's ass. Pretty reasonable, they did create him.
8:35 - Trailer for The Last of Us. Not really heard a lot about this game, but the story (based off of the trailer) looks interesting, and I love the song that the composer's playing here. I have no clue what that instrument is, but it's really nice-sounding.
And immediately followed up by a trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Not gonna lie, not very interested in this, since I've never played any Castlevania- wait, you play as Dracula in this game? And it's a modern setting? Okay, I want this game.
8:39 - And now Samuel L. Jackson's Cortana. This is pretty weird. Not in a bad way, though.
8:45 - I have no clue who Claptrap is. I have no more comments on this skit. Kinda like him, though.
8:47 - And Jessica Alba's talking about some game from last year everyone loved that's getting a sequel. I have no clue what she's talking about.
Huh. Dark Souls 2. Never really heard of the first one.
8:49 - Oh, hey, another award. Been a while, hasn't it? About 40 minutes, I think. And Best Action-Adventure goes to... Dishonored. Which has done nothing to interest me, so I'm just going to move on.
8:52 - Wait, The Last of Us is set post-apocalypse? I thought it was just normal Pittsburgh. Huh.
8:58 - I have no clue who this character is, or what game he's from.
8:59 - And Linkin Park's playing. Ohai, mute button.
9:03 - Indie games time. Let's see if I've played any of thes- Nope. Thought some of them looked interesting, though, and probably would pick up Journey if I had a PS3. Which won. So, guess I made the right choice? And it won best PS3 game and best score. Good for them.
9:05 And now Samuel L. Jackson is in Star Wars Angry Birds. This actually makes perfect sense, and should be in the actual game.
9:12 - Oh hey, it's that guy who talked about his pubes in the pre-show. And he's introducing Snoop Do- Lion. So, we meet again, mute button...
9:15 - And a trailer for Assassin's Creed III DLC. And it seems to really be going into alternate history, which seems like a weird direction to take.
Wait, KING Washington? Okay, this shit officially went crazy.
9:16 - Ohai Shepard.... and Female Shepard. Now I'm just confused. Are they both canon? Is tha- Is that how that works? My head hurts...
9:19 - And Gears of War 4 trailer. Somehow I feel like this awards show was not made with me in mind. I mean, really? Pokemon Black and White 2 don't get a single nomination? What a rip-off...
9:25 - Samuel L. Jackson in Dishonored. Re-enacting Pulp Fiction. Also apparently slept with Lady Gaga.
9:27 - So, the best games of the year get a medley, but Tomb Raider gets a performance with her trailer all to herself? What's that about? I mean, it's not bad, but still...
9:31 - And Claptrap has won Character of the Year. And may in fact be insane.
...He's insane, isn't he?
9:37 - Samuel L. Jackson in an... oddly-animated Minecraft. With Gangnam Style. Which is then interrupted by Sam via crossbow. That was pretty awesome.
9:38 - Hey, it's Tenacious D. AKA a musical act I wouldn't mute.
...Except they're not performing, they're announcing Game of the Decade. This is one I'm interested in. Let's see what the people decided.
Half-Life 2, huh? Guess you guys REALLY want a sequel. No offense, just not what I was expecting. Not even the Valve title I was expecting. Though I suppose it says a lot when these guys got nominated for Game of the Decade twice.
9:42 - Leonard, you need your glasses, you look weird without them. And then Halo trailer. Bored now.
9:44 - Okay, is Bioshock one of those games I need to play sometime? Because it seems like it, given all the hype Infinite's been getting.
I feel like I need a list of these games.
9:48 - I'm just going to say, this is the second unique commerical break I've had. And hour and fifty minutes into the show.
9:51 - Oh yeah, and Mass Effect 3 won Best RPG. Why couldn't THAT one? I was actually interested in that. And somehow Diablo III was running against it. No clue how that works.
9:53 - They gave Samuel L. Jackson a mini-gun. Who thought that was a good idea? Who in the HELL thought that was a good idea?
9:54 - And here we go. Game of the Year is... The Walking Dead? Really? The only game of the five that I've played? Awesome. Good for TellTale, great game. Really need to get around to episodes 2-5.
9:57 - And to close it out, Tenacious D actually IS performing. More awesome.
So, all in all, an... interesting experience. Still want to know what the best Wii/WiiU game was (my money's on Xenoblade, which IS in fact on my list of those games). Kinda interested in some of the choices (Not having played it, I'm unsure what makes Half-Life 2 the Best Game of the Decade), but I'm not complaining. And Samuel L. Jackson was a good host.
Also, I kinda wish the one of the surprise trailers had been for Chrono Trigger 3, but I doubt that'll ever happen at this point. Still, I can always wish, right?
If you guys thought this attempt at live-blogging went well, be sure to say something. I just decided to do this because I thought it might be interesting, but if you liked it, I might try it again sometime.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
This Week in Gaming: 11/25-12/1
So, another week has passed, and I once again don't have anything to review. However, never let it be said that a lack of things to say will keep me from saying things! So, I decided that this week I'd try something new; I'm going to be going over a few gaming-type news stories from this week. Odds are, if you're reading this, there's a decent chance you already know this stuff, but I'll just talk about it anyway.
'Wii Mini' Announced for Sale in Canada
Nintendo announced on the 27th that, starting on December 7th, the Wii mini will be available for sale in Canada. The system will be more compact than the original Wii, and will be priced at only $99, making it the cheapest Wii unit yet. However, this comes with some disadvantages. First off, the unit will be unable to play Gamecube games. This is due to the fact that Nintendo decided to remove the Gamecube controller ports from the unit, which also means that any Virtual Console/Wiiware titles that require wired controllers will also not be playable. However, this latter fact shouldn't be too big a problem, as the Wii mini will also not be able to connect to the internet, and will not be able to use SD cards as storage space.. This leaves you with a cheap console, yes, but one that is only able to play Wii games, a somewhat limiting experience*.
On the plus side of things, I think it is a nice-looking console. I like the red-and-black coloring, it looks pretty cool, but I just don't see the point of it.
Honestly, this seems to me to be kinda like what happened with the Game Boy Micro. Nintendo releases their new console/handheld, and THEN go back and release a smaller version of their previous console/handheld. And, memory serving, the Game Boy Micro didn't sell very well, sleek-looking though it may have been. This all just leaves me wondering what Nintendo's thinking with this idea. Also, why are they just selling it in Canada? That just confuses me.
Source: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/11/wii-mini/
Black Friday Console Sales Announced
With Black Friday come and gone, thank God, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have all released their sales numbers for the week. Microsoft announced the sale of 750,000 Xbox 360s between November 18th and 23rd, a number that seems ridiculously high, given how long the 360 has been out for, but there you go.
Nintendo says that 400,000 Wii Us were sold during its first week, from the 18th to 24th, putting it well above the Wii, which only sold 200k during its first week, and sold 300k units this Black Friday week. In addition, the 3DS sold 250k units.
Sony finally released their sales numbers on the 29th, with a time frame matching that used by Nintendo. 525k PS3s were sold during that time, in addition to 160k PS Vitas and a 259% increase in Playstation Plus subscriptions over last year.
All in all, all three companies appear to have done well, at least as best as I can tell. The Wii U did sell the weakest out of the consoles, not counting its predecessor, but from what I have heard, there were some shortages in some places, which, if true, could explain the weaker sales.
Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/29/comparing-nintendo-sony-and-microsoft-black-friday-sales
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Released
The original Baldur's Gate was released just over 14 years ago, and has gone on to be recognized as one of the best RPGs ever made. To this day, Baldur's Gate II retains an active community, and the series has held up remarkably well. So, when the Enhanced Edition, developed by Overhaul Games, was announced earlier this year, fans got excited. In fact, when the option for people who had pre-ordered it to pre-load the game, the site was actually shut down when I went to download it, presumably from the number of people trying to get the game.
And then, this week, the game is finally released, to cheers of the fans**. Finally, after over 11 years, the series gets something new, with word of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition down the road, and the possibility of Baldur's Gate III if sales of the first two go well enough.
What I'm saying is, go get Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. No, really, go. This article's over, go to www.baldursgate.com, and buy the game, and then play the game, as it is awesome***.
*Note: I'm not saying Wii games are bad, just that I enjoyed having a wider catalog with a basic Wii.
**Or at least mine.
***Not gonna lie, this last section might've just been me plugging the game.
'Wii Mini' Announced for Sale in Canada
Nintendo announced on the 27th that, starting on December 7th, the Wii mini will be available for sale in Canada. The system will be more compact than the original Wii, and will be priced at only $99, making it the cheapest Wii unit yet. However, this comes with some disadvantages. First off, the unit will be unable to play Gamecube games. This is due to the fact that Nintendo decided to remove the Gamecube controller ports from the unit, which also means that any Virtual Console/Wiiware titles that require wired controllers will also not be playable. However, this latter fact shouldn't be too big a problem, as the Wii mini will also not be able to connect to the internet, and will not be able to use SD cards as storage space.. This leaves you with a cheap console, yes, but one that is only able to play Wii games, a somewhat limiting experience*.
On the plus side of things, I think it is a nice-looking console. I like the red-and-black coloring, it looks pretty cool, but I just don't see the point of it.
Honestly, this seems to me to be kinda like what happened with the Game Boy Micro. Nintendo releases their new console/handheld, and THEN go back and release a smaller version of their previous console/handheld. And, memory serving, the Game Boy Micro didn't sell very well, sleek-looking though it may have been. This all just leaves me wondering what Nintendo's thinking with this idea. Also, why are they just selling it in Canada? That just confuses me.
Source: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/11/wii-mini/
Black Friday Console Sales Announced
With Black Friday come and gone, thank God, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have all released their sales numbers for the week. Microsoft announced the sale of 750,000 Xbox 360s between November 18th and 23rd, a number that seems ridiculously high, given how long the 360 has been out for, but there you go.
Nintendo says that 400,000 Wii Us were sold during its first week, from the 18th to 24th, putting it well above the Wii, which only sold 200k during its first week, and sold 300k units this Black Friday week. In addition, the 3DS sold 250k units.
Sony finally released their sales numbers on the 29th, with a time frame matching that used by Nintendo. 525k PS3s were sold during that time, in addition to 160k PS Vitas and a 259% increase in Playstation Plus subscriptions over last year.
All in all, all three companies appear to have done well, at least as best as I can tell. The Wii U did sell the weakest out of the consoles, not counting its predecessor, but from what I have heard, there were some shortages in some places, which, if true, could explain the weaker sales.
Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/29/comparing-nintendo-sony-and-microsoft-black-friday-sales
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Released
The original Baldur's Gate was released just over 14 years ago, and has gone on to be recognized as one of the best RPGs ever made. To this day, Baldur's Gate II retains an active community, and the series has held up remarkably well. So, when the Enhanced Edition, developed by Overhaul Games, was announced earlier this year, fans got excited. In fact, when the option for people who had pre-ordered it to pre-load the game, the site was actually shut down when I went to download it, presumably from the number of people trying to get the game.
And then, this week, the game is finally released, to cheers of the fans**. Finally, after over 11 years, the series gets something new, with word of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition down the road, and the possibility of Baldur's Gate III if sales of the first two go well enough.
What I'm saying is, go get Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. No, really, go. This article's over, go to www.baldursgate.com, and buy the game, and then play the game, as it is awesome***.
*Note: I'm not saying Wii games are bad, just that I enjoyed having a wider catalog with a basic Wii.
**Or at least mine.
***Not gonna lie, this last section might've just been me plugging the game.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Five Greatest Songs (From Games I've Never Played)
The music in video games has always been one of my favorite parts of playing a game. Hell, easily half of the songs on my MP3 player are either straight from a game, or a cover/remix of a song from a game. It's something that aids the storytelling process so well, and can help inspire the emotions the game is trying to convey. And so, loving video game music as I do, and not having a review ready this week, I've decided to do a list of some of my favorite video game songs. However, this is going to have a slight twist: This list will be completely composed of songs from games I have never played. And so, without further ado, the five greatest songs from games I've never played!
Note: As I've said before with these sort of posts, these are completely my opinions. There are a lot of games I've never played, and I'm sure there are some great songs I've missed. However, these are the ones that I've somehow managed to find and absolutely love.
5. Pursuit ~ Cornered (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
4. Blinded by Light (Final Fantasy XIII)
I have been a fan of the Final Fantasy series since I first picked up Final Fantasy IV a few years back. One of the things I loved about it was the beautiful soundtrack composed by Nobou Uematsu. However, he did not work on this game. Instead, I'm listening to 'Blinded by Light,' the Final Fantasy XIII battle theme composed by Masashi Hamauzu. Now, while it's true that I've never really heard any good things about this game, I love this theme. It has feeling of epicness to it that just makes for an amazing boss fight.
...Which is precisely why it isn't higher on the list. From what I understand*, this is the standard battle theme for this game. And I don't feel like that's where this song belongs. In fact, I could actually see this song getting annoying after a while. While it does have that feeling of epicness, that feeling should be saved for truly epic moments. It just doesn't feel right when you're listening to it while beating up nameless mooks.
3. You Will Know Our Names / Unfinished Battle (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Xenoblade Chronicles is probably my most-wanted game right now, and the soundtrack is no small part of it. Hell, 'Unfinished Battle' is the reason I first even heard of this game. I'm putting both of these songs in the number 3 spot because it felt unfair to have a single game represented twice on a five-entry list, but if it weren't for that, I'd take 'Pursuit ~ Cornered' off in a heartbeat to give both of these the spots they deserve. 'You Will Know Our Names' is the standard battle theme for the game, and it works really well as this. It gets the adrenaline pumping, giving the feeling of awesomeness without giving the impression that this should be saved for important events. Unlike 'Blinded by Light,' which I did enjoy, which I admitted could get annoying after a while, I would listen to 'You Will Know Our Names' looped indefinitely.
Now, I have no clue what 'Unfinished Business' is used for in-game, but I'm sure it's something big. It doesn't quite have the feeling of a boss battle theme, but at the same time, it does have this feeling of importance, the same sort of "Use this theme sparingly" quality that I felt in 'Blinded by Light.' And I'd be perfectly willing to wager that that's exactly how it's used.
2. Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Part of what makes this theme so great for me is the obvious James Bond homage. This feels exactly like a classic James Bond theme, which goes great to establish the setting of this game. And, honestly, I just love James Bond themes. They tend to have this really... grandiose feeling to them, and this song encapsulates this perfectly. Even the singer, Cythina Harrell, sounds like she stepped right out of one of those movies.
The only thing really, that keeps this out of the #1 spot is some of the lyrics. "Someday, you feed on a tree frog?" Really? I'm sorry, you just completely lost the feeling I was getting from you. I really have no clue what that was about, unless Snake does actually eat a tree frog in game, but even still, why talk about that in the song? I know, it's nit-picky, but it bugged me, and since this is my list, I can decide where these songs go.
1. Revived Power (Shadow of the Colossus)
Remember earlier when I said that boss themes should have this feeling of epicness, of importance, to them? Well, this song is EXACTLY what I was talking about. Kow Otani did a phenomenal job when composing this piece to accompany your battles with the Colossi. It honestly gives the feeling that you are fighting an enormous monster against impossible odds, but that you MUST somehow come out on top. From what I understand, I realize that this game has a bit of moral ambiguity to it, but as far as this song tells me, you are a paragon of virtue fighting insurmountable evil, but through the righteousness, you WILL prevail. And even if that's not true, I'd still love fighting the Colossi just to hear this song. This is easily the best song I've ever heard from a game I've never played.
Well, that wraps up this week's post. If you can think of any other awesome video game songs, feel free to tell me about. But, for now, this is me signing off until next week. See you then!
*Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Note: As I've said before with these sort of posts, these are completely my opinions. There are a lot of games I've never played, and I'm sure there are some great songs I've missed. However, these are the ones that I've somehow managed to find and absolutely love.
5. Pursuit ~ Cornered (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
Despite my best efforts, the only game from this series that I've played so far is Apollo Justice. From everything I've seen, this looks like a great series. Good story, engaging puzzles, and most of all, a great soundtrack. And the song that stood out most to me was 'Pursuit ~ Cornered.' I love the feeling this song has. It gives off this impression of, "You just made a huge mistake, and I'm about to win!" that I love in video games. Much love to Masakazu Sugimori for being able to express this feeling so well in just about 45 seconds of music. To me, this is the epitome of comeback music, and for that, I love it.
4. Blinded by Light (Final Fantasy XIII)
I have been a fan of the Final Fantasy series since I first picked up Final Fantasy IV a few years back. One of the things I loved about it was the beautiful soundtrack composed by Nobou Uematsu. However, he did not work on this game. Instead, I'm listening to 'Blinded by Light,' the Final Fantasy XIII battle theme composed by Masashi Hamauzu. Now, while it's true that I've never really heard any good things about this game, I love this theme. It has feeling of epicness to it that just makes for an amazing boss fight.
...Which is precisely why it isn't higher on the list. From what I understand*, this is the standard battle theme for this game. And I don't feel like that's where this song belongs. In fact, I could actually see this song getting annoying after a while. While it does have that feeling of epicness, that feeling should be saved for truly epic moments. It just doesn't feel right when you're listening to it while beating up nameless mooks.
3. You Will Know Our Names / Unfinished Battle (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Xenoblade Chronicles is probably my most-wanted game right now, and the soundtrack is no small part of it. Hell, 'Unfinished Battle' is the reason I first even heard of this game. I'm putting both of these songs in the number 3 spot because it felt unfair to have a single game represented twice on a five-entry list, but if it weren't for that, I'd take 'Pursuit ~ Cornered' off in a heartbeat to give both of these the spots they deserve. 'You Will Know Our Names' is the standard battle theme for the game, and it works really well as this. It gets the adrenaline pumping, giving the feeling of awesomeness without giving the impression that this should be saved for important events. Unlike 'Blinded by Light,' which I did enjoy, which I admitted could get annoying after a while, I would listen to 'You Will Know Our Names' looped indefinitely.
Now, I have no clue what 'Unfinished Business' is used for in-game, but I'm sure it's something big. It doesn't quite have the feeling of a boss battle theme, but at the same time, it does have this feeling of importance, the same sort of "Use this theme sparingly" quality that I felt in 'Blinded by Light.' And I'd be perfectly willing to wager that that's exactly how it's used.
2. Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Part of what makes this theme so great for me is the obvious James Bond homage. This feels exactly like a classic James Bond theme, which goes great to establish the setting of this game. And, honestly, I just love James Bond themes. They tend to have this really... grandiose feeling to them, and this song encapsulates this perfectly. Even the singer, Cythina Harrell, sounds like she stepped right out of one of those movies.
The only thing really, that keeps this out of the #1 spot is some of the lyrics. "Someday, you feed on a tree frog?" Really? I'm sorry, you just completely lost the feeling I was getting from you. I really have no clue what that was about, unless Snake does actually eat a tree frog in game, but even still, why talk about that in the song? I know, it's nit-picky, but it bugged me, and since this is my list, I can decide where these songs go.
1. Revived Power (Shadow of the Colossus)
Remember earlier when I said that boss themes should have this feeling of epicness, of importance, to them? Well, this song is EXACTLY what I was talking about. Kow Otani did a phenomenal job when composing this piece to accompany your battles with the Colossi. It honestly gives the feeling that you are fighting an enormous monster against impossible odds, but that you MUST somehow come out on top. From what I understand, I realize that this game has a bit of moral ambiguity to it, but as far as this song tells me, you are a paragon of virtue fighting insurmountable evil, but through the righteousness, you WILL prevail. And even if that's not true, I'd still love fighting the Colossi just to hear this song. This is easily the best song I've ever heard from a game I've never played.
Well, that wraps up this week's post. If you can think of any other awesome video game songs, feel free to tell me about. But, for now, this is me signing off until next week. See you then!
*Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Demo Reviews
Hey guys. I'm sorry that I didn't get this posted yesterday, but it took a little bit longer than I intended. Instead of reviewing a single game this time around, I decided to take a look at three demos available on the 3DS's eShop. So, without further ado, let's get started!
Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion
The first demo I looked at was for Disney's Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion. A sequel to 2010's Epic Mickey (and at the very least a quasi-sequel to Sega's Illusion series from the early 90s), Power of Illusion sees Mickey having to return to Wasteland, having heard from Oswald of the Castle of Illusion appearing there, with various toon characters, Minnie included, trapped inside. So Mickey... borrows... the magic paintbrush from Yen Sid once again, and ventures into the Castle to save his girl. However, it is quickly revealed to the player that Minnie is safe and sound, leaving you to wonder just what sort of trap is Mickey wandering into...
Power of Illusion plays as a fairly standard platformer. You play as Mickey, going through linear courses, jumping on enemies, etc., in order to both reach the end and rescue toons. Two of the three levels in the demo are based off of Peter Pan, so for the most part you're rescuing characters from that movie, but you also rescue Scrooge McDuck, Goofy, and a couple other Disney characters. As you rescue characters and bring them back to the Fortress (the hub for this game), you can go on quests for them, which reward you with money, upgrades, and sketches, which are basically summons for this game. These sketches range from Tinker Bell sprinkling fairy dust on you to let you jump longer, to Scrooge McDuck pulling a DuckTales and jumping all over enemies with his cane.
As with Epic Mickey (from what I've heard, I've never actually played the game), the magic paintbrush is an important part of gameplay here. You can use Paint to create platforms or obstacles to damage your enemies, or use Thinner to destroy obstacles. In addition, you can also use both Paint and Thinner as projectiles to damage your enemies. Paint causes them to drop health upon defeat, while Thinner makes them drop money, which can be used at Scrooge's shop to buy upgrades to your health, attacks, etc.
So, you go through the first three levels and unlock the first boss: Captain Hook. Mickey heads into the boss room, the two exchange some banter, and then... the demo ends.
No, seriously. It ends JUST as the boss battle starts. See, that bugs me. I'd have been fine if they'd stopped before entering the boss room, I get wanting to save your bosses for the real thing, but they lead me to believe that I was going to be fighting Captain Hook. And damn it, I WANT to fight Captain Hook!
All in all, this demo did a great job. When I downloaded it, I wasn't really that interested in the game, just bored and looking for something to play. Now, I want to actually go out and buy Epic Mickey, so that I can beat it and then buy this one. Which is exactly what a good demo should do. Anyway, on to the next game.
Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy
This... strangely-named (apparently it's supposed to be a portmanteau of 'theatre' and 'rhythm') game is Square Enix's first entry on the 3DS. From what I understand, it's supposed to be a sort-of continuation of the Dissidia series, in which characters from various Final Fantasy games are brought together in order to fight to determine the fate of the world or something. I don't know exactly, but it isn't important to the demo, as it is just two levels of the Challenge mode. What sets this game most apart from the two Dissidia games, however, is the genre. While those two were fighting games, this is a... rhythm game. Yeah.
Basically, you play through various songs from the 13 Final Fantasy games included. In the demo, you only have the choices of 'The Man with the Machine Gun,' from Final Fantasy VIII, and 'The Sunleth Waterscape,' from Final Fantasy XIII. You tap the touch screen in time with the cues on the top screen, holding where indicated, and sometimes having the slide the stylus in a particular direction. Honestly, I'm doing this game justice in my description. If these two songs are any indication, this is a very enjoyable game, and I certainly want to get the full version when I get a chance. But, past that, I don't really have anything to say.* This was a great demo, and it certainly did its job well.
Lego Lord of the Rings
Now, let me preface this by saying something. I LOVE the LEGO video game series. I feel like Traveller's Tales has done a great job at... quasi-adapting these movies, telling the stories while still being both fun to play and funny. Out of these three demos, this was easily the one I most wanted to play.
This demo puts you on Weathertop, recreating the scene from Fellowship of the Ring where Frodo gets stabbed as the Witch-King of Angmar. You go through a couple scenes, using each of the Hobbits' abilities, as well as Aragorn's towards the end, in order to progress through the story. Gameplay and graphics are just about the same as any other of the LEGO games, music is taken directly from Lord of the Rings, as is the dialogue, which is probably my biggest problem with this demo.
One of the things I loved about the other LEGO games is a consequence of the lack of spoken or written dialogue. Instead, the characters basically played charades with each other, acting out scenes instead of speaking them. One of my favorite examples of this comes from Episode V of LEGO Star Wars. In the climactic scene in Cloud City, where Vader makes his big reveal, instead of simply saying "No... I am your father," he instead pulls out a baby picture of Luke. It serves the same purpose as the spoken line, but is a bit sillier, and it fits the general tone of the game. With this game, however, the dialogue adds a tone of seriousness to the game, which is rather jarringly juxtaposed with some of the sillier elements of the scene. The best example comes to me is when, after Frodo is stabbed, Aragorn is being all grave about how they have to hurry to Rivendell, while Merry and Pippin are in the background with a stretcher and nurse's hats. Now, without the dialogue, I feel like this would've been funny. But with it? The two tones just kind of clashed, and I, for one, didn't like the result. Sadly, I'm no longer very keen on getting this game after having played the demo
So, that wraps up this week's (albeit-late) review. Be sure to stop by next week for more... whatever it is I do here.
*My top scores: Sunleth: 7,229,392 on Ultimate; Machine Gun: 6,665,950 on Basic
Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion
The first demo I looked at was for Disney's Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion. A sequel to 2010's Epic Mickey (and at the very least a quasi-sequel to Sega's Illusion series from the early 90s), Power of Illusion sees Mickey having to return to Wasteland, having heard from Oswald of the Castle of Illusion appearing there, with various toon characters, Minnie included, trapped inside. So Mickey... borrows... the magic paintbrush from Yen Sid once again, and ventures into the Castle to save his girl. However, it is quickly revealed to the player that Minnie is safe and sound, leaving you to wonder just what sort of trap is Mickey wandering into...
Power of Illusion plays as a fairly standard platformer. You play as Mickey, going through linear courses, jumping on enemies, etc., in order to both reach the end and rescue toons. Two of the three levels in the demo are based off of Peter Pan, so for the most part you're rescuing characters from that movie, but you also rescue Scrooge McDuck, Goofy, and a couple other Disney characters. As you rescue characters and bring them back to the Fortress (the hub for this game), you can go on quests for them, which reward you with money, upgrades, and sketches, which are basically summons for this game. These sketches range from Tinker Bell sprinkling fairy dust on you to let you jump longer, to Scrooge McDuck pulling a DuckTales and jumping all over enemies with his cane.
As with Epic Mickey (from what I've heard, I've never actually played the game), the magic paintbrush is an important part of gameplay here. You can use Paint to create platforms or obstacles to damage your enemies, or use Thinner to destroy obstacles. In addition, you can also use both Paint and Thinner as projectiles to damage your enemies. Paint causes them to drop health upon defeat, while Thinner makes them drop money, which can be used at Scrooge's shop to buy upgrades to your health, attacks, etc.
So, you go through the first three levels and unlock the first boss: Captain Hook. Mickey heads into the boss room, the two exchange some banter, and then... the demo ends.
No, seriously. It ends JUST as the boss battle starts. See, that bugs me. I'd have been fine if they'd stopped before entering the boss room, I get wanting to save your bosses for the real thing, but they lead me to believe that I was going to be fighting Captain Hook. And damn it, I WANT to fight Captain Hook!
All in all, this demo did a great job. When I downloaded it, I wasn't really that interested in the game, just bored and looking for something to play. Now, I want to actually go out and buy Epic Mickey, so that I can beat it and then buy this one. Which is exactly what a good demo should do. Anyway, on to the next game.
Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy
This... strangely-named (apparently it's supposed to be a portmanteau of 'theatre' and 'rhythm') game is Square Enix's first entry on the 3DS. From what I understand, it's supposed to be a sort-of continuation of the Dissidia series, in which characters from various Final Fantasy games are brought together in order to fight to determine the fate of the world or something. I don't know exactly, but it isn't important to the demo, as it is just two levels of the Challenge mode. What sets this game most apart from the two Dissidia games, however, is the genre. While those two were fighting games, this is a... rhythm game. Yeah.
Basically, you play through various songs from the 13 Final Fantasy games included. In the demo, you only have the choices of 'The Man with the Machine Gun,' from Final Fantasy VIII, and 'The Sunleth Waterscape,' from Final Fantasy XIII. You tap the touch screen in time with the cues on the top screen, holding where indicated, and sometimes having the slide the stylus in a particular direction. Honestly, I'm doing this game justice in my description. If these two songs are any indication, this is a very enjoyable game, and I certainly want to get the full version when I get a chance. But, past that, I don't really have anything to say.* This was a great demo, and it certainly did its job well.
Lego Lord of the Rings
Now, let me preface this by saying something. I LOVE the LEGO video game series. I feel like Traveller's Tales has done a great job at... quasi-adapting these movies, telling the stories while still being both fun to play and funny. Out of these three demos, this was easily the one I most wanted to play.
This demo puts you on Weathertop, recreating the scene from Fellowship of the Ring where Frodo gets stabbed as the Witch-King of Angmar. You go through a couple scenes, using each of the Hobbits' abilities, as well as Aragorn's towards the end, in order to progress through the story. Gameplay and graphics are just about the same as any other of the LEGO games, music is taken directly from Lord of the Rings, as is the dialogue, which is probably my biggest problem with this demo.
One of the things I loved about the other LEGO games is a consequence of the lack of spoken or written dialogue. Instead, the characters basically played charades with each other, acting out scenes instead of speaking them. One of my favorite examples of this comes from Episode V of LEGO Star Wars. In the climactic scene in Cloud City, where Vader makes his big reveal, instead of simply saying "No... I am your father," he instead pulls out a baby picture of Luke. It serves the same purpose as the spoken line, but is a bit sillier, and it fits the general tone of the game. With this game, however, the dialogue adds a tone of seriousness to the game, which is rather jarringly juxtaposed with some of the sillier elements of the scene. The best example comes to me is when, after Frodo is stabbed, Aragorn is being all grave about how they have to hurry to Rivendell, while Merry and Pippin are in the background with a stretcher and nurse's hats. Now, without the dialogue, I feel like this would've been funny. But with it? The two tones just kind of clashed, and I, for one, didn't like the result. Sadly, I'm no longer very keen on getting this game after having played the demo
So, that wraps up this week's (albeit-late) review. Be sure to stop by next week for more... whatever it is I do here.
*My top scores: Sunleth: 7,229,392 on Ultimate; Machine Gun: 6,665,950 on Basic
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Super Mario Land
Well, time for my first normal review in... two months. What with Month of Horrors, Wreck-It Ralph, and general laziness on my part in September, I haven't reviewed a game without any particular theme in mind since early September. So, I figured it might be good to get back into the swing of things with something easy. And thus, I decided to review Super Mario Land.
Super Mario Land was released by Nintendo for the Game Boy on July 31st, 1989, over two full years before I was even born. In it, you play as, big surprise, Mario, who has to save Princess Daisy from the evil alien Tatanga, but to do so, he must traverse across the four kingdoms of Sarasaland, defeating Tatanga's minions along the way.
Now, this game is a bit of a black sheep in the Mario series, just because of how incredibly different it is from any other title. Koopas now explode when you jump on them instead of turning into kickable shells, worlds only consist of three levels, as opposed to 4 like in Super Mario Bros., and there's only four worlds to begin with, giving a total of 12 levels, and leaving a bit to be desired when it comes to length. Also Mario must save Daisy instead of Peach. Daisy would go on to appear in precisely none of the main Mario games, though she has appeared in numerous spin-off titles, and the fandom has taken to pairing her with Luigi to complement Mario's pairing with Peach.
Gameplay-wise, it's fairly similar to Super Mario Bros. The only differences that come to mind are the enemies, and the fact that the Flower gives you the ability to shoot balls that bounce at 90-degree angles, instead of allowing you to shoot fireballs.
With graphics, it's a 23-year-old game, and it shows. It's perfectly reasonable for the beginning of the handheld-era, I'd say. The music, however, is great. Yes, it's 8-bit, but that doesn't necessarily mean that its bad. Also, the first time you get a star and hear the Can-Can played, it's kind of jarring, but in a good way.
So, all in all, I enjoyed Super Mario Land. It's not a particularly long game, but if you have a couple bucks to burn, and a couple hours to waste, I would definitely recommend picking it up on the 3DS's eShop.
Super Mario Land was released by Nintendo for the Game Boy on July 31st, 1989, over two full years before I was even born. In it, you play as, big surprise, Mario, who has to save Princess Daisy from the evil alien Tatanga, but to do so, he must traverse across the four kingdoms of Sarasaland, defeating Tatanga's minions along the way.
Now, this game is a bit of a black sheep in the Mario series, just because of how incredibly different it is from any other title. Koopas now explode when you jump on them instead of turning into kickable shells, worlds only consist of three levels, as opposed to 4 like in Super Mario Bros., and there's only four worlds to begin with, giving a total of 12 levels, and leaving a bit to be desired when it comes to length. Also Mario must save Daisy instead of Peach. Daisy would go on to appear in precisely none of the main Mario games, though she has appeared in numerous spin-off titles, and the fandom has taken to pairing her with Luigi to complement Mario's pairing with Peach.
Gameplay-wise, it's fairly similar to Super Mario Bros. The only differences that come to mind are the enemies, and the fact that the Flower gives you the ability to shoot balls that bounce at 90-degree angles, instead of allowing you to shoot fireballs.
With graphics, it's a 23-year-old game, and it shows. It's perfectly reasonable for the beginning of the handheld-era, I'd say. The music, however, is great. Yes, it's 8-bit, but that doesn't necessarily mean that its bad. Also, the first time you get a star and hear the Can-Can played, it's kind of jarring, but in a good way.
So, all in all, I enjoyed Super Mario Land. It's not a particularly long game, but if you have a couple bucks to burn, and a couple hours to waste, I would definitely recommend picking it up on the 3DS's eShop.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Wreck-It Ralph
So, odds are you've heard of Disney's newest movie, Wreck-It Ralph. And I'm going to review it!
...Yes, seriously. I don't care if it's not a video game, it's close enough.
So, as I said earlier, Wreck-It Ralph is Disney's latest movie. It stars John C. Reilly as Wreck-It Ralph, the antagonist of the arcade game Fix-It Felix Jr. As the film begins, it is the game's 30th anniversary, and the characters of the game are all celebrating. All except Ralph, who's left all alone in the dump he calls home. When he tries to join the party, he's told, as a villain, they don't want him at the party. And so begins Ralph's quest to become a hero, leaving his game to try and prove that he's able to be a good guy.
So, I'm going to do this a little differently than usual, even accounting for the fact that this is a movie instead of a game. I'm going to look at this first as a gamer, and then as a film-goer. I'm not sure how well this is going to go, but I'm going to give it a shot.
So, as a gamer, this movie is a LOT of fun. Each of the game worlds visited has its own unique feel to it. There's the classic, Donkey Kong-like feeling of Fix-It Felix Jr., the dark Halo-ish feel of Hero's Duty, and the light, obviously-Mario Kart-inspired game that is Sugar Rush. They all feel like they're actual games, games that I would be perfectly happy to try my hand at playing.
And then there's the references. I've seen this movie compared to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? in terms of cameos from famous characters, ranging from Q*bert to Street Fighter's Zangief to Sonic the Hedgehog, but I'd say it might just go a little further than that. Game Central Station, the 'hub' of the movie, has tons of graffiti in it referencing various games ('Aerith lives,' anyone?) and the lost-and-found in Tapper's bar (itself a reference) contains numerous subtle gags. And I'm more than willing to admit that there's probably a bunch more that I missed. So, yeah, as a gamer, this is a very fun movie to watch.
Now, as a film-goer, this movie... is still pretty fun. The writing isn't great, but for a kid's movie, it's enjoyable. And I will say this, the three acts are a little disjointed. The middle chunk of the movie didn't really progress the plot at all. It was good for character development, it definitely helped me feel closer to Ralph and friends, but the plot kinda got put on hold for a while to allow for this. This is one of my only complaints, though. The animation is good, least as far as I can tell, and the voice acting is VERY solid, and, ignoring act two and an admittedly-large-ish number of poop jokes, the writing is good as well. I definitely feel comfortable recommending this movie for movie-lovers, ESPECIALLY Disney-movie-lovers.
So, yeah, this movie is great, you should definitely go watch it. For the remainder of this post, I'm going to talk about the opening short.
Paperman was directed by John Kahrs, a former Pixar animator who made this as his directorial debut. The short tells the story of a young businessman who, after meeting an attractive woman at the train station before work on day, spends the rest of his work day trying to get her attention after spying her in the office building across the street. However, unable to yell without being noticed by his coworkers, his only option is to make paper airplanes out of his work and try to successfully launch one into the window of her room. And that's all I'm going to say on the plot.
Now, this short is easily one of my favorite Disney shorts ever*. It's really well-animated, and the love story between the two main characters is absolutely adorable. Despite not having a single spoken line at any point, you grow to character for the protagonist, wanting him to end up with the girl he has fallen in love with. I'm not going to lie, it may have rained a little bit in the theatre when I was watching it. At least, that's the best explanation I can come up with for why my eyes started to water up.
So, to wrap things up here, Wreck-It Ralph is a great movie, and you should definitely go see it.
Like, right now.
No, seriously, why are you still here? Go see it!
...
GO!
*Yes, even counting the Pixar shorts from before Disney bought them out.
...Yes, seriously. I don't care if it's not a video game, it's close enough.
So, I'm going to do this a little differently than usual, even accounting for the fact that this is a movie instead of a game. I'm going to look at this first as a gamer, and then as a film-goer. I'm not sure how well this is going to go, but I'm going to give it a shot.
So, as a gamer, this movie is a LOT of fun. Each of the game worlds visited has its own unique feel to it. There's the classic, Donkey Kong-like feeling of Fix-It Felix Jr., the dark Halo-ish feel of Hero's Duty, and the light, obviously-Mario Kart-inspired game that is Sugar Rush. They all feel like they're actual games, games that I would be perfectly happy to try my hand at playing.
And then there's the references. I've seen this movie compared to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? in terms of cameos from famous characters, ranging from Q*bert to Street Fighter's Zangief to Sonic the Hedgehog, but I'd say it might just go a little further than that. Game Central Station, the 'hub' of the movie, has tons of graffiti in it referencing various games ('Aerith lives,' anyone?) and the lost-and-found in Tapper's bar (itself a reference) contains numerous subtle gags. And I'm more than willing to admit that there's probably a bunch more that I missed. So, yeah, as a gamer, this is a very fun movie to watch.
Now, as a film-goer, this movie... is still pretty fun. The writing isn't great, but for a kid's movie, it's enjoyable. And I will say this, the three acts are a little disjointed. The middle chunk of the movie didn't really progress the plot at all. It was good for character development, it definitely helped me feel closer to Ralph and friends, but the plot kinda got put on hold for a while to allow for this. This is one of my only complaints, though. The animation is good, least as far as I can tell, and the voice acting is VERY solid, and, ignoring act two and an admittedly-large-ish number of poop jokes, the writing is good as well. I definitely feel comfortable recommending this movie for movie-lovers, ESPECIALLY Disney-movie-lovers.
So, yeah, this movie is great, you should definitely go watch it. For the remainder of this post, I'm going to talk about the opening short.
Paperman was directed by John Kahrs, a former Pixar animator who made this as his directorial debut. The short tells the story of a young businessman who, after meeting an attractive woman at the train station before work on day, spends the rest of his work day trying to get her attention after spying her in the office building across the street. However, unable to yell without being noticed by his coworkers, his only option is to make paper airplanes out of his work and try to successfully launch one into the window of her room. And that's all I'm going to say on the plot.
Now, this short is easily one of my favorite Disney shorts ever*. It's really well-animated, and the love story between the two main characters is absolutely adorable. Despite not having a single spoken line at any point, you grow to character for the protagonist, wanting him to end up with the girl he has fallen in love with. I'm not going to lie, it may have rained a little bit in the theatre when I was watching it. At least, that's the best explanation I can come up with for why my eyes started to water up.
So, to wrap things up here, Wreck-It Ralph is a great movie, and you should definitely go see it.
Like, right now.
No, seriously, why are you still here? Go see it!
...
GO!
*Yes, even counting the Pixar shorts from before Disney bought them out.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Month of Horrors: The Creepiest Moments in Video Games, Part 7
So, here we are. Halloween. And we have reached the end of both this list, and the Month of Horrors. And with that, I am now confronted with my creepiest moments in any video game. I'm a little disappointed, honestly. I'd intended to do a Let's Play of this game, since it isn't very long, but I wasn't able to record any footage of myself playing. So, instead, you'll just have to read what I have to say instead of listen, while I talk about:
1. Slender
Now, for those of you who haven't heard of Slender, or The Slender Man in general, could you tell me where you've been hiding? Because, honestly, I'd like to join you. The Slender Man is one of the creepiest things I've ever heard of, and this game does a great job of capturing the feeling of his mythos. So, if you haven't heard, The Slender Man is a... creature of some sort. He stalks people, and eventually... does something to them. And that's one of the scarier things about him. Nobody knows exactly what he is, or what he does with his victims, or really anything about him. So people can just assume whatever they think is scariest.
In Slender, you are trapped in a forest with The Slender Man. You have to find 8 pages scattered throughout the forest, on trees, construction equipment, in a bathroom (or, what's assumed to be a bathroom, there's no plumbing), etc. As you gather pages, The Slender Man begins appearing, more often and closer each time you gain a new page. If he stays near you for too long, you die. You can run from him, but only for so long. And I mean that literally, not figuratively, since you run by holding Shift, and you get tried after running for too long. Oh, and it's night, and your flashlight's batteries WILL die after a while.
So yeah, I wouldn't say that I love this game. I HATE it. But for all the right reasons. This game IS being inside The Slender Man Mythos. It is a perfect representation of what it is like to be stalked by The Slender Man. And you WILL wet yourself playing it. Don't try to hide it, it's inevitable. But I would definitely recommend downloading it at http://slendergame.com/download.php . It's completely free, and good for a nice scare.
And with that, the Month of Horrors is over. I hope you all have a nice Halloween, and remember: When you hear something go bump in the night, it might not be just the wind...
1. Slender
Now, for those of you who haven't heard of Slender, or The Slender Man in general, could you tell me where you've been hiding? Because, honestly, I'd like to join you. The Slender Man is one of the creepiest things I've ever heard of, and this game does a great job of capturing the feeling of his mythos. So, if you haven't heard, The Slender Man is a... creature of some sort. He stalks people, and eventually... does something to them. And that's one of the scarier things about him. Nobody knows exactly what he is, or what he does with his victims, or really anything about him. So people can just assume whatever they think is scariest.
In Slender, you are trapped in a forest with The Slender Man. You have to find 8 pages scattered throughout the forest, on trees, construction equipment, in a bathroom (or, what's assumed to be a bathroom, there's no plumbing), etc. As you gather pages, The Slender Man begins appearing, more often and closer each time you gain a new page. If he stays near you for too long, you die. You can run from him, but only for so long. And I mean that literally, not figuratively, since you run by holding Shift, and you get tried after running for too long. Oh, and it's night, and your flashlight's batteries WILL die after a while.
So yeah, I wouldn't say that I love this game. I HATE it. But for all the right reasons. This game IS being inside The Slender Man Mythos. It is a perfect representation of what it is like to be stalked by The Slender Man. And you WILL wet yourself playing it. Don't try to hide it, it's inevitable. But I would definitely recommend downloading it at http://slendergame.com/download.php . It's completely free, and good for a nice scare.
And with that, the Month of Horrors is over. I hope you all have a nice Halloween, and remember: When you hear something go bump in the night, it might not be just the wind...
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Month of Horrors: The Creepiest Moments in Video Games Part 6
So, this month is reaching its finale. As we approach the end, we also reach the end of this list. These last two were probably the easiest for me to place, admittedly for wildly different reasons. Once more, if you have any problems with them, that's fine, this is my own subjective list.
With that out of the way, here's number 2!
2. The Darkness Beyond Time (Chrono Cross)
So, for those of you unfamiliar with Chrono Cross, you might be wondering why there's no picture for this entry. Well, I tried to find one, but, sadly, I could not find a single picture of the Darkness Beyond Time that didn't contain MASSIVE spoilers for the game. If you've played it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't played it, you should. It's a great game, and I'm sure I'll be talking about it at some point, but that's neither here nor there.
So, remember a few days ago, when I talked about 2300 A.D. in Chrono Trigger, and how it inspired the heroes of that game to prevent the disaster causing the bad future from ever happening? Remember how I said that, later, I would talk about the consequences of preventing that bad future from happening? Well, it's later, so here we go.
The Darkness Beyond Time is the fate which awaits all timelines that are prevented from occurring. It's sort of like a temporal graveyard, serving as the final resting place of all things that should've been, but aren't. Every time a time traveler prevents something from happening, the timeline where it DID happen is sent to the Darkness, where it and its inhabitants will exist for all time.
And THAT is what scares me about the Darkness Beyond Time. The idea that one could spend all eternity in this place, due to no actions of your own, and being completely incapable of doing anything about it. Someone could go back in time right now, and change the timeline in such a way as to throw us all into this kind of place.* And the idea that there's nothing I could do to prevent this kinda terrifies me.
So, just once more entry left on this list, and one more day left in the Month of Horrors. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!
*Assuming time travel exists and works this way
With that out of the way, here's number 2!
2. The Darkness Beyond Time (Chrono Cross)
So, for those of you unfamiliar with Chrono Cross, you might be wondering why there's no picture for this entry. Well, I tried to find one, but, sadly, I could not find a single picture of the Darkness Beyond Time that didn't contain MASSIVE spoilers for the game. If you've played it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't played it, you should. It's a great game, and I'm sure I'll be talking about it at some point, but that's neither here nor there.
So, remember a few days ago, when I talked about 2300 A.D. in Chrono Trigger, and how it inspired the heroes of that game to prevent the disaster causing the bad future from ever happening? Remember how I said that, later, I would talk about the consequences of preventing that bad future from happening? Well, it's later, so here we go.
The Darkness Beyond Time is the fate which awaits all timelines that are prevented from occurring. It's sort of like a temporal graveyard, serving as the final resting place of all things that should've been, but aren't. Every time a time traveler prevents something from happening, the timeline where it DID happen is sent to the Darkness, where it and its inhabitants will exist for all time.
And THAT is what scares me about the Darkness Beyond Time. The idea that one could spend all eternity in this place, due to no actions of your own, and being completely incapable of doing anything about it. Someone could go back in time right now, and change the timeline in such a way as to throw us all into this kind of place.* And the idea that there's nothing I could do to prevent this kinda terrifies me.
So, just once more entry left on this list, and one more day left in the Month of Horrors. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!
*Assuming time travel exists and works this way
Monday, October 29, 2012
Month of Horrors: The Creepiest Moments in Video Games Part 5
So, here we are in the final three. This is where we get to the big stuff, the big scares. So, let's get straight into Number 3!
3. Earth Temple (Wind Waker) / Bottom of the Well (Ocarina of Time) / Arbiter's Grounds (Twilight Princess)
So, the reason I chose to put all of these dungeons is because all three are very similar to each other. They're all dealing with fighting various kinds of undead, they're all old, decrepit dungeons, they all have the same dark, claustrophobic feeling to them.
So, what makes this type of dungeon so scary? Like I said before, the claustrophobic feeling to them. The feeling that, around any corner, there could be monsters ready to strike, to kill. And, with the Arbiter's Grounds in particular, the idea that people HAVE died there. It was a prison, presumably with executions in it. And, even in the case of the other two, where do you think the undead creatures came from? Especially the worst of the lot, the biggest reason these dungeons are here: Redeads.
No matter what incarnation they are, these monsters never fail to utterly terrify me. That ear-piercing scream, followed by what can only be described as, well....
3. Earth Temple (Wind Waker) / Bottom of the Well (Ocarina of Time) / Arbiter's Grounds (Twilight Princess)
So, the reason I chose to put all of these dungeons is because all three are very similar to each other. They're all dealing with fighting various kinds of undead, they're all old, decrepit dungeons, they all have the same dark, claustrophobic feeling to them.
So, what makes this type of dungeon so scary? Like I said before, the claustrophobic feeling to them. The feeling that, around any corner, there could be monsters ready to strike, to kill. And, with the Arbiter's Grounds in particular, the idea that people HAVE died there. It was a prison, presumably with executions in it. And, even in the case of the other two, where do you think the undead creatures came from? Especially the worst of the lot, the biggest reason these dungeons are here: Redeads.
No matter what incarnation they are, these monsters never fail to utterly terrify me. That ear-piercing scream, followed by what can only be described as, well....
...Yeah. Not even the cartoony feel of Wind Waker's graphics make that any better. If anything, it might actually be a little worse here.
So, zombie fun times aside, these dungeons are a lot of fun, they're great, especially for those in need of a good scare.
Well then, with that, we are down to two parts. Be sure to come back tomorrow and Wednesday to find out the top two creepiest moments in video games.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Month of Horrors: Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland
So, as I discussed a few days back, Kirby is one of the most terrifying video game characters in existence. So I figured, what better to close out the reviews this month than a Kirby game?
Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland is a 2002 remake of Kirby's first game, Kirby's Adventure. In it, you play as Kirby, who is trying to restore the Dream Rod, which has been shattered by King Dedede. He has to traverse across 7 different worlds in order to do so, beating Dedede's minions along the way.
When it comes to gameplay, I'd say this game is a little below-average, based off of my experience with later Kirby titles. In fairness, it is a remake of Adventure, but I don't feel like that means that HAL had to do a STRAIGHT adaptation of mechanics, which I get the impression is what they did. It's strange, I almost want to say that this game is both harder and easier than other Kirby titles. I felt like a died a lot more often while playing it, but it was also MUCH shorter. Like, maybe a couple hours. Honestly, I know their are extra modes, 100% completion, that kind of stuff that can lengthen gameplay, but the story itself only took me a couple hours to complete. The copy abilities are there as in any Kirby game, but they felt a little off to me. Abilities not doing things I remember them doing, doing things I don't remember, that kind of thing, and I'm sure that's just because I'm used to later games.
As you could tell from how short the synopsis was, this game does not have a lot in way of story. In fact, I didn't even realize what I was collecting until the last world. It kinda just throws you into the game and gives you the impression that you're supposed to go beat up a bunch of enemies on each level. And that's all their is to say there.
Now, I know that a lot of this can be defended by saying "Come on, it's a remake of an NES game, what do you expect?" To this, I say: Did you not see the thing I wrote on How I Review Games? I spelled out very clearly that, if you want to remake a game, that's fine, but make sure that it holds up to the standards of today. Or, 2002 in this case. And, honestly, I don't feel like it holds to those standards. Maybe Kirby's Adventure was a good game, I don't know, I never played it. But Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland? I'd give it a pass.
Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland is a 2002 remake of Kirby's first game, Kirby's Adventure. In it, you play as Kirby, who is trying to restore the Dream Rod, which has been shattered by King Dedede. He has to traverse across 7 different worlds in order to do so, beating Dedede's minions along the way.
When it comes to gameplay, I'd say this game is a little below-average, based off of my experience with later Kirby titles. In fairness, it is a remake of Adventure, but I don't feel like that means that HAL had to do a STRAIGHT adaptation of mechanics, which I get the impression is what they did. It's strange, I almost want to say that this game is both harder and easier than other Kirby titles. I felt like a died a lot more often while playing it, but it was also MUCH shorter. Like, maybe a couple hours. Honestly, I know their are extra modes, 100% completion, that kind of stuff that can lengthen gameplay, but the story itself only took me a couple hours to complete. The copy abilities are there as in any Kirby game, but they felt a little off to me. Abilities not doing things I remember them doing, doing things I don't remember, that kind of thing, and I'm sure that's just because I'm used to later games.
As you could tell from how short the synopsis was, this game does not have a lot in way of story. In fact, I didn't even realize what I was collecting until the last world. It kinda just throws you into the game and gives you the impression that you're supposed to go beat up a bunch of enemies on each level. And that's all their is to say there.
Now, I know that a lot of this can be defended by saying "Come on, it's a remake of an NES game, what do you expect?" To this, I say: Did you not see the thing I wrote on How I Review Games? I spelled out very clearly that, if you want to remake a game, that's fine, but make sure that it holds up to the standards of today. Or, 2002 in this case. And, honestly, I don't feel like it holds to those standards. Maybe Kirby's Adventure was a good game, I don't know, I never played it. But Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland? I'd give it a pass.
Month of Horrors: The Creepiest Moments in Video Games Part 4
Well, here we are at the half-way point of this week. Now, today's entry is a little complicated. It is actually TWO moments, from two very different games. However, the moments I picked from both of these games happen to be very similar in tone, so I felt it appropriate to talk about both of them on the same day.
4. 2300 A.D. (Chrono Trigger) / The Future (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky)
Now, what freaks me out about both of these is the idea of a ruined future. The idea that there will be some kind of apocalypse, and humanity (or... Pokemonity) will be left in shambles, trying vainly to survive in the hellhole that was once their home. In Chrono Trigger, there's this scene where the characters, who just fell through a time vortex to get there, realize that this place is their planet, 1300 years in the future. The fact that their world has gone so horribly wrong terrifies them, leading them to resolve to avert the catastrophe that led to this world. Of course, this decision had terrible consequences of its own, but that is a discussion for another day...
Likewise, in Mystery Dungeon, the characters are shocked to discover that this is their future. It's especially shocking since they had thought that they had been working to avoid this horrible future, where time has ground to a halt. But then they found out that they had been manipulated by an enemy who had wanted to preserve this dark future, and they had to, like the Chrono Trigger protagonists, resolve to make their way back to their own time and avert this disaster. Which, actually leads to similar consequences as Chrono Trigger, as it turns out...
Oh my God, Explorers is a partial remake of Chrono Trigger! Screw talking about this scary stuff, I'm going to go work on their theory! See you guys tomorrow for Part 5!
4. 2300 A.D. (Chrono Trigger) / The Future (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky)
Now, what freaks me out about both of these is the idea of a ruined future. The idea that there will be some kind of apocalypse, and humanity (or... Pokemonity) will be left in shambles, trying vainly to survive in the hellhole that was once their home. In Chrono Trigger, there's this scene where the characters, who just fell through a time vortex to get there, realize that this place is their planet, 1300 years in the future. The fact that their world has gone so horribly wrong terrifies them, leading them to resolve to avert the catastrophe that led to this world. Of course, this decision had terrible consequences of its own, but that is a discussion for another day...
Likewise, in Mystery Dungeon, the characters are shocked to discover that this is their future. It's especially shocking since they had thought that they had been working to avoid this horrible future, where time has ground to a halt. But then they found out that they had been manipulated by an enemy who had wanted to preserve this dark future, and they had to, like the Chrono Trigger protagonists, resolve to make their way back to their own time and avert this disaster. Which, actually leads to similar consequences as Chrono Trigger, as it turns out...
Oh my God, Explorers is a partial remake of Chrono Trigger! Screw talking about this scary stuff, I'm going to go work on their theory! See you guys tomorrow for Part 5!
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Month of Horrors: The Creepiest Moments in Video Games Part 3
And here we are with part 3 of the Creepiest Moments in Video Games. Now, like the first one, this isn't a moment IN a game, but a commercial for one. However, honestly? This commercial encapsulates the feel of the game really well, and I feel it is creepy enough to put here in its own right.
5. The Commercials for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Now, probably the biggest scare factor in these, at least for me, is the realistic nature of them. This is something that I'll be going into some more later, but the fact that they take the idea of Majora's Mask, and then make it real does a great job of creeping me out. It's suddenly not just that if you don't stop the moon, the fictional land of Termina will be destroyed. Now, if you don't stop the moon, the real world will be destroyed. Real people will die, and there's only one child able to stop it from happening. And I realize that it's ridiculous to believe that this is real, but then again, isn't that true of any story? Isn't just a show of how good a job the marketers did with these commercials that I am honestly a little frightened by them?
Yes. Yes, it is. These commercials are awesome. Good job, whoever thought of them. You really made me, and I'm sure many others, want to play Majora's Mask. And also maybe gave some of us nightmares.
5. The Commercials for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Now, probably the biggest scare factor in these, at least for me, is the realistic nature of them. This is something that I'll be going into some more later, but the fact that they take the idea of Majora's Mask, and then make it real does a great job of creeping me out. It's suddenly not just that if you don't stop the moon, the fictional land of Termina will be destroyed. Now, if you don't stop the moon, the real world will be destroyed. Real people will die, and there's only one child able to stop it from happening. And I realize that it's ridiculous to believe that this is real, but then again, isn't that true of any story? Isn't just a show of how good a job the marketers did with these commercials that I am honestly a little frightened by them?
Yes. Yes, it is. These commercials are awesome. Good job, whoever thought of them. You really made me, and I'm sure many others, want to play Majora's Mask. And also maybe gave some of us nightmares.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Month of Horrors: The Creepiest Moments in Video Games Part 2
So, today continues my countdown of the seven creepiest moments in video games. Now, this title is kind of a misnomer. As seen yesterday, they're not always IN video games, and as you'll see today, they're not always moments. In fact, today I'm going to be talking about one of the longer-running characters in video gaming history, who just celebrated his 20th birthday this year. So, let's get going with...
6. Kirby
6. Kirby
Now, I realize that this is hardly an original argument; hell, there have been songs written about the horror that is Kirby. But that hardly matters, so let's assume for a few minutes that you haven't heard these arguments in the past before.
Since you've never thought about it before, you're probably thinking, "But Flit, Kirby isn't scary! Look at him, he's adorable!" But I say in response, have you ever PLAYED a Kirby game? The little puffball is terrifying.
Let's look at this from the perspective of Kirby's enemies; or, half the time, random bystanders. They're minding their own business, when all of a sudden, this pink blob shows up and eats them alive. If they're lucky, he spits them back out as a projectile. If they're not? He swallows them, absorbing their essence. That is TERRIFYING. Even if they're trying to hinder his progress, that does not justify what Kirby does. Especially since he isn't even always in the right.
Let's talk about Kirby: Squeak Squad, which was in fact my first Kirby game. The game starts out with Kirby eating some cake, when suddenly, the cake is stolen. Kirby immediately goes to fight King Dedede over it, despite have NO EVIDENCE that Dedede has done anything wrong. And, in fact, Dedede hadn't done anything, but does that stop Kirby? NO. He just decides, "Oh, something bad happened to me. Better go beat up Dedede! ^_^"
So, yeah, Kirby: Black hole for a stomach, and no discretion as to what ends up in it. Seems perfectly fitting for the sixth creepiest thing in video games.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Month of Horrors: The Creepiest Moments in Video Games Part 1
So, the Month of Horrors continues. Playing and reviewing these scary* games has gotten me thinking about scary moments across all of gaming. Those moments where, even in a game that seems harmless enough, the game begins to frighten you. Maybe it's a sudden shock. Or maybe a grotesque monster. Or maybe just the disturbing implications of what's happening. No matter what, these moments are always good for a nice scare. And so, I've decided to talk about the 7 Creepiest Moments in Video Games. I'll be doing this over the next week, one every day until Halloween itself.
Now then, these are just my personal opinions. They are what I think are scary. It's completely subjective, if you don't like it, then that's perfectly fine.
So, without any further ado, here's the seventh creepiest moment in a video game.
7. This Commercial for Pokemon: Red and Blue Versions
Now then, these are just my personal opinions. They are what I think are scary. It's completely subjective, if you don't like it, then that's perfectly fine.
So, without any further ado, here's the seventh creepiest moment in a video game.
7. This Commercial for Pokemon: Red and Blue Versions
I
Now, as I've said before, I am a huge fan of Pokemon. However, I didn't really get into the games until Crystal came out. In fact, I don't remember ever having seen this commercial when I was little, and I watched the show religiously. It wasn't until a few years ago that I came across this commercial online.
At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Did they actually think this was a good idea for marketing this game to children. I mean, yes, it does give the idea that the game has all sort of creatures packed in to such a small system, but the idea of putting them on a bus and then crushing the bus with the Pokemon still in it is a ridiculously terrifying image in my mind. Are we supposed to relate to the bus driver, wanting to get all of the Pokemon in his game? Because the only thing I feel towards him is fear.
So yeah, creepy bus driver + animal murder = horrible nightmares, for those of you interested in marketing.
Be sure to come back tomorrow, where I discuss another creepy moment in video gaming.
*Shut up
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Month of Horrors: Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episodes 1 + 2
So, the Month of Horrors continues tonight. Like my last review, this game may not exactly constitute 'horror.' In fact, given its origins and content, it's fairly clearly comedy. However, given the dealings with Old Ones present in this series, I do feel comfortable talking about this game in this month. Also, there are mimes. Mimes are scary, right?
So, odds are, if you're reading this, you've both been to the internet and enjoy games. If this is true, then you have likely seen Penny Arcade at some point in your life. But, if by some anti-miracle you haven't yet, allow me to explain. Penny Arcade is a ridiculously successful webcomic. It was started in 1998, and its creators, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, have made roughly fifteen quintillion dollars from it. It has spawned two conventions, a charity, an upcoming film based off of a one-shot comic, and three games, the first two of which I will be talking about today.
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1 and Episode 2*, were created by Hothead Games in 2008. Rather than taking place in the comic's universe, the game takes the characters from the comics, and places them in an original universe. You play as a character which you create. One day, while minding your own business**... your house is destroyed by a giant robot. Really an establishing moment for the game. Anyway, your character chases after two people that are chasing after the robot, and finds them to be detectives named Gabe and Tycho, who are investigating the robot. You decide to go with them in order to get revenge on the monstrosity, and so begins your adventures. However this goes far beyond what you expect. Dark silent forces are working in the shadows, attempting to summon their great Gods...
Gameplay wise, these games are... kind of reminiscent of Final Fantasy. Every battle begins with a roll for initiative. Whoever rolls the best will go first. As you wait for each of your characters' turns, they have three separate bars that fill up, each one starting after the last is full. The first to fill is items, which range from healing, changing stats, or damaging opponents. The next is your normal attack, which doesn't need any explanation. Finally, your special attack becomes charged. This is an attack that requires you to enter a particular button combination in order to deal massive damage to an opponent. If you do full damage and kill an enemy with it, you will gain an Overkill point. After collecting enough Overkill points, you gain a new special attack, which will do more damage, but requires a more difficult button combination. You also get up to 3 summons, which charge much more slowly, but also do a lot of damage. Overall, these games are not particularly hard to play, and are fairly enjoyable.
Graphically, this game is alright, nothing special, but not bad. Musically... I honestly don't remember the music. However, that's not what I want to talk about. I'd much rather talk about the writing.
This game was very obviously written by the lovely gentlemen responsible for Penny Arcade. The humor is very similar to the comic, for better or for worse. And yet... this game doesn't quite have the feel of Penny Arcade. The humorous parts are there, yes, but there's also a much darker setting here than in the comics. You are put into this world where Great Old Ones are being summoned, and it's up to you to stop them. Without spoiling much, both of these episodes conclude with a boss fight against an Elder God, and it's fairly fun to fight.
So, what do I think of these games, all in all? Well, as a fan of Penny Arcade, I feel that these are great games. There are some elements in episode two that were obviously supposed to be set-ups for episode three, as there were similar things in episode one that gave you rewards when the story was continued in episode two, but sadly, Hothead Games did not develop episode three, which only came out this summer, and so these elements were left unused. However, these two games are both fun, and would recommend them, especially if you enjoy the comic. Both are available on Steam, XBLA, and PSN.
So, now that I've finally gotten the Day of Three Reviews*** finished, be sure to come back next Sunday for my next review.
*Wow, that's a long title
**Why does nothing good come after that phrase anyway?
***Shut up.
So, odds are, if you're reading this, you've both been to the internet and enjoy games. If this is true, then you have likely seen Penny Arcade at some point in your life. But, if by some anti-miracle you haven't yet, allow me to explain. Penny Arcade is a ridiculously successful webcomic. It was started in 1998, and its creators, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, have made roughly fifteen quintillion dollars from it. It has spawned two conventions, a charity, an upcoming film based off of a one-shot comic, and three games, the first two of which I will be talking about today.
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1 and Episode 2*, were created by Hothead Games in 2008. Rather than taking place in the comic's universe, the game takes the characters from the comics, and places them in an original universe. You play as a character which you create. One day, while minding your own business**... your house is destroyed by a giant robot. Really an establishing moment for the game. Anyway, your character chases after two people that are chasing after the robot, and finds them to be detectives named Gabe and Tycho, who are investigating the robot. You decide to go with them in order to get revenge on the monstrosity, and so begins your adventures. However this goes far beyond what you expect. Dark silent forces are working in the shadows, attempting to summon their great Gods...
Gameplay wise, these games are... kind of reminiscent of Final Fantasy. Every battle begins with a roll for initiative. Whoever rolls the best will go first. As you wait for each of your characters' turns, they have three separate bars that fill up, each one starting after the last is full. The first to fill is items, which range from healing, changing stats, or damaging opponents. The next is your normal attack, which doesn't need any explanation. Finally, your special attack becomes charged. This is an attack that requires you to enter a particular button combination in order to deal massive damage to an opponent. If you do full damage and kill an enemy with it, you will gain an Overkill point. After collecting enough Overkill points, you gain a new special attack, which will do more damage, but requires a more difficult button combination. You also get up to 3 summons, which charge much more slowly, but also do a lot of damage. Overall, these games are not particularly hard to play, and are fairly enjoyable.
Graphically, this game is alright, nothing special, but not bad. Musically... I honestly don't remember the music. However, that's not what I want to talk about. I'd much rather talk about the writing.
This game was very obviously written by the lovely gentlemen responsible for Penny Arcade. The humor is very similar to the comic, for better or for worse. And yet... this game doesn't quite have the feel of Penny Arcade. The humorous parts are there, yes, but there's also a much darker setting here than in the comics. You are put into this world where Great Old Ones are being summoned, and it's up to you to stop them. Without spoiling much, both of these episodes conclude with a boss fight against an Elder God, and it's fairly fun to fight.
So, what do I think of these games, all in all? Well, as a fan of Penny Arcade, I feel that these are great games. There are some elements in episode two that were obviously supposed to be set-ups for episode three, as there were similar things in episode one that gave you rewards when the story was continued in episode two, but sadly, Hothead Games did not develop episode three, which only came out this summer, and so these elements were left unused. However, these two games are both fun, and would recommend them, especially if you enjoy the comic. Both are available on Steam, XBLA, and PSN.
So, now that I've finally gotten the Day of Three Reviews*** finished, be sure to come back next Sunday for my next review.
*Wow, that's a long title
**Why does nothing good come after that phrase anyway?
***Shut up.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Month of Horrors: Plants vs. Zombies
So, here begins part two of today's three reviews. Once more, we discuss another game involving zombies. However, this time, the game is a bit less... dramatic.
Popcap's Plants Vs. Zombies was released on May 5th, 2009 for PCs and Macs and has been ported many, many times since. In it, you play as a person whose home is being attacked by zombies. Instead of using a gun or some other reasonable weapon, though, you choose to use various species of plants to combat the zombie horde. You have Peashooters, which, well, shoot peas at the zombies, Wallnuts, which block the zombies from advancing, Sunflowers, which provide sunlight to let you grow other plants, and many which you gain over the course of the game.
So, this plays like most other tower defense games. There are zombies on your lawn, and you don't want zombies on your lawn. So, you set up your plants in each of 5 rows of your lawn, and use them to keep the zombies from reaching your house. If ever the zombies get through your defenses, there is a lawnmower at the end of each row that will kill all of the zombies in that row once a zombie reaches it, but that only works once. If another zombie gets to the end of that row, you lose.
Graphically, musically, this game is okay. It isn't anything spectacular, but it isn't anything terrible either. It's cute*, but nothing in the game sticks out as particularly memorable.
Now, let me preface everything I'm about to say with this: I enjoy this game. It's a fun, lighthearted zombie tower defense game. I don't have any problems with its 'cutesy' graphics, the music isn't bad, the gameplay isn't too easy or too hard, I genuinely like this game.
However, I don't recommend buying it.
See, this is kind of what I don't get about Popcap in general. They put out games, free to play, online, and then offer, for want of a better term, better versions of the games to download for a fee. And, honestly, I just can't wrap my brain around how this works. Obviously it does work, Popcap has been fairly successful, but I just don't get it. Because I see two outcomes of using this system: Either a) the online version is enjoyable, in which case, why get the full version**; or b) the online version is not enjoyable, in which case, why would you want the full version? Now, obviously there's some third option I just don't understand, but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is.
So, ultimately, I recommend playing this game on Popcap's website, it is fun, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it if I were you.
Sorry this review is so short, this one was kind of spur-of-the-moment. But, be sure to stop by later today for the (not-so-)epic finale to this three-review day!
*You know, cutesy for zombies.
**I say this having bought the full version. Shut up, it was on sale.
Note: Yes, I am indeed counting this for Month of Horrors, even if it isn't scary. There are zombies in it, therefore it counts.
Popcap's Plants Vs. Zombies was released on May 5th, 2009 for PCs and Macs and has been ported many, many times since. In it, you play as a person whose home is being attacked by zombies. Instead of using a gun or some other reasonable weapon, though, you choose to use various species of plants to combat the zombie horde. You have Peashooters, which, well, shoot peas at the zombies, Wallnuts, which block the zombies from advancing, Sunflowers, which provide sunlight to let you grow other plants, and many which you gain over the course of the game.
So, this plays like most other tower defense games. There are zombies on your lawn, and you don't want zombies on your lawn. So, you set up your plants in each of 5 rows of your lawn, and use them to keep the zombies from reaching your house. If ever the zombies get through your defenses, there is a lawnmower at the end of each row that will kill all of the zombies in that row once a zombie reaches it, but that only works once. If another zombie gets to the end of that row, you lose.
Graphically, musically, this game is okay. It isn't anything spectacular, but it isn't anything terrible either. It's cute*, but nothing in the game sticks out as particularly memorable.
Now, let me preface everything I'm about to say with this: I enjoy this game. It's a fun, lighthearted zombie tower defense game. I don't have any problems with its 'cutesy' graphics, the music isn't bad, the gameplay isn't too easy or too hard, I genuinely like this game.
However, I don't recommend buying it.
See, this is kind of what I don't get about Popcap in general. They put out games, free to play, online, and then offer, for want of a better term, better versions of the games to download for a fee. And, honestly, I just can't wrap my brain around how this works. Obviously it does work, Popcap has been fairly successful, but I just don't get it. Because I see two outcomes of using this system: Either a) the online version is enjoyable, in which case, why get the full version**; or b) the online version is not enjoyable, in which case, why would you want the full version? Now, obviously there's some third option I just don't understand, but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is.
So, ultimately, I recommend playing this game on Popcap's website, it is fun, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it if I were you.
Sorry this review is so short, this one was kind of spur-of-the-moment. But, be sure to stop by later today for the (not-so-)epic finale to this three-review day!
*You know, cutesy for zombies.
**I say this having bought the full version. Shut up, it was on sale.
Note: Yes, I am indeed counting this for Month of Horrors, even if it isn't scary. There are zombies in it, therefore it counts.
Month of Horrors: The Walking Dead Episode 1
Before getting started, I'd like to apologize for not having posted anything last week. Complete oversight on my part, but I'm going to make it up today with not one, not even two, but three reviews. So, let's get this started with Episode 1 of The Walking Dead.
The Walking Dead originated as a monthly comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Tony Moore, though Moore was replaced by Charlie Adlard after issue 6. However, it's likely that more people will be familiar with the AMC series based off of the comic, created by Frank Darabont. The comics and show focus on Rick Grimes, a Kentucky (Georgia in the show) sherrif's deputy. One day, he is shot in the line of duty, and ends up in a coma for a month. When he wakes, he finds the hospital abandoned, the only people remaining not quite people. These creatures appear human, but devour the flesh of the living, and cannot die unless their heads are destroyed. There's a word for these, but since they don't use it in-universe, I won't use it here. Rick eventually finds his family, and they, along with others, begin making their way across the land, attempting to find some sort of safety and survival.
Now, this is the premise of the show and comic. However, the game has little to do with this. In fact, it seems to be set during the month in which Rick is comatose. Instead, this game focuses on Lee Everett a professor at the University of Georgia. He begins the Apocalypse being taken out of Atlanta in a police car, having just been convicted of the murder of a state senator who had been sleeping with his wife, though Lee claims it was self-defense. Lee is talking to the officer driving the car when they hit a person, careening off the road. Lee blacks out, and when he wakes up, the car is wrecked, the cop is dead, and he must get out of his handcuffs and escape. But once he gets uncuffed, the cop... begins making his way towards Lee. Lee must kill the cop, and begin his attempt to figure out just what is going on anymore.
This is an adventure game, focusing on Lee as he attempts to survive the horde of... walkers, as the show calls them. Lee must find items, and use them to solve puzzles. He also has to interact with numerous other survivors. This actually includes cast members from the show/comic, such as Hershel Graham and Glenn, before they meet Rick. Although, I won't lie, my favorite character is probably Clementine. It's cheap, but adding a child to protect is a good way to get someone invested in a game. It makes me worried that they're going to build up the relationship between Lee and Clementine, only to have something horrible happen to her down the road. Not going to lie, I'll be REALLY angry if that happens.
Graphically, I like this game. From what I've seen, it's similar to what Telltale did with Back to the Future and Jurassic Park, but this one feels more... comic-booky. It's sort of hard to describe, but it feels like these characters actually came out of a comic book. It's really fitting for this game, and I have enjoyed it.
Musically... I have nothing to say. I honestly cannot remember if there even WAS any music, much less what it sounded like. I feel, though, that this works for this game. It gives this feeling of isolation, which really works in a game where you're struggling for survival. I'll take this time, instead, to talk about the voice acting. I really enjoy it. I wish they'd gotten the actors for Glenn and Hershel from the show to voice their characters, but I understand that they probably busy, or Telltale couldn't afford it, or something. Overall, though, I thought the VAs did a good job. I felt comfortable with the characters, and genuinely wanted to help them survive. Except for the assholes, who are still fairly well-written. And then one of the assholes may have been set up as a romantic interest. That was kinda weird...
But yeah, overall, Episode 1: A New Day was enjoyable, and I'll definitely play the rest of them. In fact, Telltale recently announced that they are going to be making a second season of the game, and if the rest of this season is like this episode, I'll certainly plan on getting it.
So, here ends the first review of the day. Be sure to come back later for the next two parts.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Pokemon: Black and Blue (A PETA 'parody')
So, yesterday, PETA released a 'parody' of Pokemon called 'Pokemon: Black and Blue.' This is not the first time they've done this, they've done it with Mario, Cooking Mama, and Super Meat Boy in the past. However, as I've mentioned before on here, Pokemon holds a special place in my heart. To see them do this to my favorite franchise really hurts me. So, I've decided to give my thoughts on the... game. Now then, this is not going to be a normal review from me. Besides the fact that this is way too short for something like that, I also feel the need to break down the arguments which PETA makes and demonstrate why they're wrong. So, let's get started.
DISCLAIMER: My memory of Pokemon canon vs. fanon is a little hazy. There may be times that I use arguments that are never established in the games or anime canon, yet I recall to be generally accepted. Or at some point I saw and decided were really good ideas. Either/or.
I guess I should start with my first impression. When I first heard about this game, I thought to myself, "You know, it's kind of funny that they're doing this. I mean, just two years ago, Black and White came out, and I remember people comparing Team Plasma to PETA, given that they both claim to be working for the rights of Pokemon/animals. But, I'm sure that PETA isn't aware of that, since Black and White reveal at the end that Team Plasma was being manipulated all along by Ghetsis, who really just wanted to take over the world!"
Oh, by the way, there will be spoilers for Pokemon: Black and White here. Just a heads up.
But then I actually open up the game, and this is the first thing I see:
DISCLAIMER: My memory of Pokemon canon vs. fanon is a little hazy. There may be times that I use arguments that are never established in the games or anime canon, yet I recall to be generally accepted. Or at some point I saw and decided were really good ideas. Either/or.
I guess I should start with my first impression. When I first heard about this game, I thought to myself, "You know, it's kind of funny that they're doing this. I mean, just two years ago, Black and White came out, and I remember people comparing Team Plasma to PETA, given that they both claim to be working for the rights of Pokemon/animals. But, I'm sure that PETA isn't aware of that, since Black and White reveal at the end that Team Plasma was being manipulated all along by Ghetsis, who really just wanted to take over the world!"
Oh, by the way, there will be spoilers for Pokemon: Black and White here. Just a heads up.
But then I actually open up the game, and this is the first thing I see:
Yep, yeah, this is it. The first image I use on this thing, and it's of this. Yeah, I feel horrible.
Putting aside Prof. Juniper for a moment, let's look at that sign. 'I support Team Plasma.' Huh.
Well, I guess PETA just admitted that they agree with the villains. You heard it here, PETA sides with evil!*
So, anyway, the games starts with a screen of text. Basically, it's kinda what you'd expect from PETA's interpretation of Pokemon: Children learning to abuse animals, people think that Pokemon are only meant to be used and abused, children begin bullying each other- Wait, what?
"While Pokemon faced the worst abuses, children also started bullying each other..."
Okay, tangent time. Listen here, PETA. Bullying has always been a thing. The human need to dominate one another has always been a thing. Supposed abuse of Pokemon has nothing to do with it. Don't get me wrong, bullying is a horrible, horrible thing, but IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH POKEMON.
But let's put that aside, and get into the game itself. The game begins with Pikachu (Yes, Ash's Pikachu) deciding to liberate himself. You're instantly launched into a battle against... a horrible caricature of Cheren. Who never appears in the show. PETA, you've really got to get your continuities straight.
Now, in a normal review, I'd talk about the battle mechanics. But here, there's nothing really to say. They're fine. They SHOULD be fine, since Game Freak has been refining them for years. Pikachu has four moves, Quick Attack, Thundershock... Group Hug, and... Protest. Wow. Anyway, Group Hug and Protest are stat-dropping moves, so I didn't use much of them. Cheren, on the other hand, uses attacks like 'Tail-docking.' With a pair of shears. Wow again.
Anyway, you beat Cheren, and he goes on about how Pokemon are bred to fight, and Pikachu says that 'even you know what a weak argument that is!' which brings me to my first counter-argument: Pokemon kinda ARE bred to fight. Again, what I am about to say might not be canon, but, according to my memory, Pokemon and humans have a sort of mutually beneficial relationship. Pokemon travel with humans in order to protect them from wild Pokemon, and, in exchange, humans help Pokemon to get stronger. Why do you think that you're never allowed into the tall grass until you have your first Pokemon. I'll tell you why: wild Pokemon will RIP YOU APART. They are magnitudes stronger than any human, and as willing to harm others in self-preservation as any wild animal. So, you need Pokemon with you in order to protect yourself. Now, why do the Pokemon agree to protect you? So they can get stronger. Pokemon, at least most, have an inherit desire to become stronger; to become the strongest. And they realize that, with the right human calling the shots, they can battle much better. Not necessarily because the human is smarter, though that will likely sometimes be the case, but also because it's one less thing for the Pokemon to think about in the heat of battle. That's why trainer-owned Pokemon are always worth more EXP. They're simply more challenging opponents because of the trainer aiding them.
So, anyway, Cheren talks about how HIS Pokemon wouldn't want to leave, and Pikachu tells him to give his Tepig the choice as to whether or not she wants to travel with him. And since PETA made this game, Tepig of course decides that her trainer is evil and want to go join the Pokemon Liberation Front with Pikachu.**
Afterwards, you meet Nurse Joy, she goes on about the 'evils of exploitation,' and gives you a video which, knowing PETA, I refused to watch. Pikachu and Tepig decide to go the the Global Terminal and spread the video across all of Unova in order to increase awareness of... whatever it was in that video.
Also, I haven't mentioned it before, but Pokemon can talk in this. Yeah.
Anyway, I'm going to skip over the battle with Prof. Juniper, since all it does is give you a Snivy, and move straight on to Ghetsis. So, yeah, after I saw that Team Plasma sign earlier, I just assumed that nobody at PETA had actually played the game, and they were just going off of what they had heard. NOPE. Ghetsis actually acknowledges that he was manipulating Team Plasma, doesn't actually believe any of that, and now... skins and butchers Pokemon that are... too old to battle, I guess? And I think he does it while they're still alive too, which is sick.***
After that, you get an Oshawott that Ghetsis apparently skinned alive, and move on to the final boss... ASH KETCHUM.
I feel kinda dirty posting that.
Okay, I'm not sure PETA has ever seen an episode of Pokemon. They think Pokemon can talk, they think dresses like THAT... this is just wrong. Heck, they say that Ash keeps Pikachu in a Pokeball. He tried that once. Pikachu didn't take it too well.
Honestly, that last sentence really reflects my view on this game as a whole. Its argument lies in the fact that people are abusing Pokemon. You remember that thing I said earlier, though? The part where I talked about how Pokemon can easily kill humans? Yeah, that's why you never hear about Pokemon abusers. If anyone really tried to abuse their Pokemon, THEY WOULD GET KILLED. This isn't like a cat, where you can declaw them or something. Heck, I'm not sure humans would even HAVE any means of self-defense. I mean, the show has guns in it once or twice, but the games never mention them.
Also, the game says that Ash has never cared about Pikachu. As a response, I simply say that you should go watch the episode "Pikachu's Goodbye."
Done crying? Good. After the battle, Ash is convinced that he's been wrong, and decides to form an organization to spread the word: "Pokemon Treated Ethically, Awesome!"
Wow. Just, just wow. No, you know what? I'm done here. This rant is over. Bye.
See you later.
*Note: I am in no way saying that PETA is evil. I'm sure they're doing what they THINK is right.
**This is actually suspiciously similar to a scene in Pokemon Special, though I'll let it slide, since I doubt that anyone at PETA actually reads it.
***For those interested, I try not to think about what exactly they DO eat in Pokemon. I mean, early on the show showed non-Pokemon animals, so maybe they eat those and just don't show them? I don't know.
All images shown were made by PETA. All characters portrayed were originally created by Game Freak.
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