2010 was a pretty good year for gamers and an okay year for the industry. For me personally, beside graduating and gaining the knowledge of topic on art, music, game design, and business, I felt like I didn't play nearly enough videogames, haha. I would say that Team Fortress 2 and League of Legends dominated my play time in 2010 with TF2 racked up to 128 hours and LoL up to 156 hours. Because of this, I can't really do a top 10 list like many others have. Instead, I will try to mention what I can of 2010 and comment on it. So here it is:
GAMES OF 2010
-Mass Effect 2 - Okay, I totally missed out on all the buzz when it released since I was still in school and had barely got through anything in the first one (even though I was playing 12-20 hours of TF2 each week). But it's okay, I bought it in the recent Steam holiday sales and will play it when I finish the first one.
-Red Dead Redemption - I tried it a little at E3 and didn't get enough time to really have a grasp of what the game was really like. I hear people spending hundreds of hours on this game, it must be good. Most people didn't even know it's a sequel of Red Dead Revolver, that's why I'm so surprised this one got so popular.
-Alan Wake - I heard this was a disappointment. "Scary, but short and mediocre story" is what I hear. I'm still curious about playing it.
-Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Bah, I had the chance to play it at E3 and I skipped out on it. My friends and the gaming community agrees that it's better than AC 1 & 2 combined together. I have yet to play ANY of them. I played about 5 minutes of the 2nd one when I was helping out at a Ubisoft launch party.
-Super Meat Boy - I got it a week before Christmas as a gift from a friend and really enjoy it! It's difficult, but not frustratingly intimidating like "I Wanna Be The Guy" is like. I like that game too, but it's very hard to make any progress without seeing a walk-through video.
-Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - I recently bought this during a Steam holiday deal and am very surprised at how wonderfully smooth it runs on my computer. I'm going through campaign (surprised that there is even a story in a battlefield game) and am really like the over all feel and gameplay. The Multiplayer looks amazing, but I haven't played it yet. I'm very excited about trying it out when I get the time.
-Split/Second - My friend tried this and said it was only okay. I didn't take too much notice on it other than the fact that you can destroy buildings to impede on your opponents progression.
-Blur - This game caught my attention tenfold compared to split/second. It was colorful, fast, destructive, and an interesting mix between realism and arcade. I am now playing and "WOW" is it exciting. I haven't played a racing game that I enjoyed so much in the longest time.
-Limbo - This was showcased at E3 and I know nothing about it. I heard so many great things about it, but never bothered to look it up and see how it works.
-Rock Band 3 - I never bothered buying any of the music games because I saw how quickly the game gets replaced by sequels and how expensive it would be to get all the equipment. I didn't care about Rock Band 3 and it seems like a lot of my friends didn't either because those who had 1 & 2 didn't bother getting 3. I am hearing a lot of great content always being added though. This is probably the best Rock Band from what gamers and critics are saying, but in terms of marketing, it came out at the wrong time.
-Heavy Rain - I'm so curious about this game, I like a good story. But I never got around to getting the game.
-Monday Night Combat - I recently bought the PC version when I saw it the second it came out on Steam. I remember thinking when watching the Xbox Trailer "if this ever comes out on PC, I think I'll get it". I enjoy both TF2 and LoL and hear that it's a combination of both. I played through the tutorial but haven't gotten the chance to play the real game yet. It's still in Beta right now, but the dev team is hard at work updating it.
-Bayonetta - I played the demo and thought it did very well compared to a lot of other action games I played for study this year. It's combat is fluid and the progression of the game kept me interested (then again, it's a demo, so it might be different in the full version. I'll get this eventually.
-Vanquish - Played the demo for this one too and was amazed at how well designed the game was. The gameplay was fast paced but the levels and enemies were rather challenging. This game is one I should look out for in a sale.
-Sin and Punishment: Star Successor - I bought like 5-7 Wii games and have barely played any of them because of how busy I've gotten. I really want to get this game, but I think it will have to wait until I finish up the other 50+ games I have.
-Dark Void - I remember hearing about this in 2009 and waited for so long. Then it came out and fell under the radar because of its ratings with the critics and the reception it received from a lot of gamers. I need to check it out sometime to see why it wasn't as successful as I thought it would have.
-Singularity - I didn't have enough interest in the game to buy it, but I liked what I saw in the videos. Maybe I'll buy and play it one day, but I think I can hold out on this for a while.
-3D Dot Game Heroes - It looks like Zelda gameplay, and that's alright. I like the concept, but I'm not sure how well the game progresses. If it doesn't keep the player's interest all the way through, it may not really be all that worth it.
-Metro 2033 - Saw this a lot at Play n Trade, but didn't buy it and I never heard of anyone playing it. When I got online, those who've played it seemed to have enjoyed it. I'll look into in the near future.
-Fallout: New Vegas - Players who liked the 3rd one didn't like this one as much but still enjoyed the game. I'm still waiting for a $5 sale on Fallout 3 to play through that first.
-Halo: Reach - I'm very sad that I haven't played this yet. I didn't even get to play ODST! One day...
-God of War 3 - I didn't play the first two yet, so I didn't pay much attention to this one.
-Kirby's Epic Yarn - I saw it at E3, but didn't play it. There's quite a few Wii games I want, but I already have 5-7 of them I've barely touched since I bought them.
-No More Heroes 2 - Same reason as Kirby's Epic Yarn. That and I haven't played the first one.
-Chime - I read an article on Gamasutra about this and am now convinced to buying it. I'm going to try it out this weekend.
-Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit - I don't know much about this iteration other than the well received critiques. My friend is excited for a chance to play it, maybe we will in the near future.
-Gran Turismo 5 - I'm not a huge fan of realistic car racing since I am incredibly terrible at them, but I love love LOVE the detail the developers put into the accuracy of the models, graphics, and physics. I'm not going to buy it, but I'd love a chance to play it.
-Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West - bought this because I was excited after seeing the trailer right before it came out. I was sad to see that very few people were on. I am terrible at Lead and Gold, but when a full house is in session, the game can be pretty fun.
-Blacklight: Tango Down - I'm sad that there are so little people playing this as well. The game is really fun, but has many flaws and questionable creative design that were never fixed or updated. The developers seemed to have abandoned the PC community of the game. I still play it for the leveling, weapon customization and Mission mode. More people need to play it!
-Medal of Honor - Despite the average ratings the game received, I really enjoyed it and still play it despite having Black Ops and MAG. I bought it during Black Friday sales and have played mostly multiplayer. There are times where it felt like it had unfair advantages in game design, but other times it's so rewarding that I look past those flaws. The audio is the best I've ever heard in a First Person Shooter to date.
-Call of Duty: Black Ops - A friend bought it for me for Christmas! I was so happy, it brought all my friends together once again like we did in the 007 Goldeneye N64 days and played 4 player split-screen. Online play has a lot of problems, but the overall game experience is gold. I'm disgusted with the dispute between Activision and Infinity Ward and what the original members of Infinity Ward had to go through, but I have to praise Treyarch for a truly enjoyable experience in the Call of Duty series.
-Fable 3 - I didn't really play the first two and so ignored this title. Maybe I'll play the series one day.
-Final Fantasy 13 - I couldn't help but buy it. I like it, but haven't had the time to play it. MUST FIND TIME TO PLAY FINAL FANTASY!!!
-Final Fantasy 14 - I participated in the open beta and was disappointed with the requirements of graphics since it was so laggy. The graphics themselves; however, was breathtaking. Final Fantasy has always had a knack for creating an experience rather than just pure gameplay. The problem is that people don't want to pay every month for mediocre gameplay that was already done before, even if the detail in content is top-notch. Square-Enix has to remember that the world is recovering from recession and is possibly still facing the effects of it. That's why mobile games and indie games are on the rise now, they entertain without killing the wallet.
-World of Warcraft: Cataclysm - WoW is an exception from the previous sentence I just wrote because WoW has been and still is about the gameplay and what the players want. I don't know too much about it since I refuse to pay every month to play it (because of my hectic schedule) but one of my friends immediately bought it and started playing it. Those who quit WoW are now going back to it.
-Civilization V - I never paid attention to Civ games and I keep hearing about how great the series is. What surprises me the most is that the composer for Civ 4 is nominated for a Grammy. I haven't heard his music yet, but why that game? Why now? Music has been a huge contribution to the game industry and for music, yet a game I barely know of is mentioned for being grammy-worthy? I think what scares me about the Civ games is the amount of time people put into it. Will I have to put in a lot of hours before I enjoy it?
-Starcraft 2 - Ugh, I bought the collector's edition for $100 and have only played 22 hours on multiplayer. I haven't even touched the singleplayer yet. I like the game so far, but playing against others is rather intimidating. I mainly wanted SC2 for its editor above all else. The editor in SC1 is what decisively got me focused in game development.
-Metroid: Other M - Despite the mixed reviews it got among critics, gamers, and Metroid Fans, I really enjoyed the game a lot. I haven't beat it yet, but I am very ready to play it some more when I get the time. The most rewarding aspect is knowing all the background story and character of Samus Aran and seeing it expand through her voice and her perspective.
-Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Heh, I haven't played through the first one which I got 2-3 years ago...
-GoldenEye 007 - I really wanted it, but again I was held back by the thought of all those Wii games I haven't beat yet.
-Donkey Kong Country Returns - I played this at a friend's house a few days ago. It's much harder than I thought, and the addition of simultaneous play makes it even more challenging to progress. It's fun, but I feel like it lost a lot of what the original had.
-Super Street Fighter 4 - I need to buy this one day. I have the original (SF4) and haven't had much time to play through it. I played it at a friend's house and thought it was a fair deal to release another SF with so many extra characters and at a lower price.
-Army of Two: 40th Day - The story was terrible and didn't make any sense all the way to the end, but the gameplay was pretty fun as long as you had a friend to play with and had a huge TV.
-BlazBlue: Continuum Shift - Oh man, I love this game. Quirky characters, incredible soundtrack, interesting story (though kinda convoluted), and great gameplay. I just wish I had more time to play it more often.
-Dark Void Zero - I bought the PC version on Steam and was a little disappointed with the same bosses, save system, and short length of the overall game. I don't play it that often, but I plan on at least beating it. Can't believe they added a DRM with a 5 install limit. I don't plan on taking it off since it doesn't take up that much space.
-Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations - This is possibly one of the most memorable games I played this year. I loved the story and the introduction of new characters. It does make me miss Phoenix Wright, but it captures a lot of the charm its predecessors had.
-Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies - To be honest, the only Dragon Quest I've really played is DQ Swords on Wii. I haven't even beaten that one yet. I heard this 9th one on DS could last months of gameplay.
-Sonic Colors - I still have faith in Sonic, I'm planning on playing this one day.
-Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem - Gonna play it one day, just not now.
-Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - I tried this at E3 and had a hit of nostalgia. It's been so long since the 2nd one and this one.
-Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light - I want to play this. I HAVE THIS! Yet I haven't even touched it yet...
-Puzzle Quest 2 - I tried this at E3 as well. Little has changed, and I haven't played enough of the story mode to get a fell for it. It'd be nice to have even more classes, but then maybe that's asking for too much.
-Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City - I'm still working on the first one...the game is hard...
-FIFA Soccer 11 - I am terrible at this game, haha. The gameplay is amazing and doesn't feel too clunky (as realism gets better, controls get clunkier). Fun game, but no buy.
-Dead Rising 2 - I want to get this just for the co-op play. It feels like there are hardly any co-op games worth playing nowadays. Zombie games seems to be the way to go for Co-op (L4D2).
-Mafia II - A friend of mine played and beat it. He enjoyed it thoroughly, so I'll play it eventually.
-NBA 2K11 - I missed out on 2K10, but it feels like such a huge leap from 2K9 to 2K11. The gameplay is much more realistic, but the player controls feel a lot heavier and unruly.
-Vindictus - I've been keeping up with this game for a long time and was happy to see it finally out this year. I played it at E3 and was excited for the official launch. It came out and I got really busy. I played the introduction and that's about it so far. I miss having time to play MMOs...
-Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - I played this at E3 this year and saw this at E3 2009's trailer last year. I'm a huge fan of Castlevania and really want this. But I have restrained myself from buying anymore games until I finish a majority of the ones I have now. Steam deals are an exception.
-Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage - I was very happy to see this game brought over to the English speaking audience since I started watching all the episodes of the classic "Hokuto no Ken". The game doesn't seem too spectacular from what I played at E3 and the Demo on PS3, but there's something about it I enjoy that makes me sure that I'll get this game in the future.
I probably missed a lot from this year, especially the indie games since I've been playing a lot of those. 2010 overall wasn't too bad. I'm still playing a lot of older games since I didn't get to play them when I was still in school. I'm working on Metal Gear Solid 1,2,3, and 4 right now, and have been playing other older games more often. Right now, Demon's Souls is the game that has most of my attention besides the most recent game I got Call of Duty: Black Ops. With the Holiday Sales on Steam these past 2 weeks, I think I have enough games to keep me busy all next year. I'm very certain I'll still be buying more though.
Happy New Year everyone, and Happy Gaming.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Retroview - Super Smash Bros. Melee
Title: Super Smash Bros. Melee (SSBM)
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo
Director: Masahiro Sakurai
Platform: Nintendo Gamecube
Release Date: December 2, 2001
Genre: Fighting
(Source: Wikipedia)
Source: Youtube Channel fredfredfred
Possibly one of the greatest gift I received for Christmas as a child was a brand new Gamecube, an extra controller, with Super Smash Bros. Melee and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. (Christmas is still special, I got Eternal Sonata and Call of Duty: Black Ops from friends this Christmas). Just a short while ago, there was an article I read that interviewed Masahiro Sakurai (I can't find the source, I don't remember where I read it from) and how he struggled through the project on Super Smash Bros. Melee and how difficult it was to keep the rest of the team motivated. I then read through the comments and saw that many of the readers did not like the sequel "Brawl" compared to "Melee" because of how casual it became. I, with certain others, enjoy both because of the unique experiences each delivers. There are so many aspects to Melee that made it fresh and exciting. Even now, I still go back to my Gamecube to play Super Smash Bros. Melee (if not Phantasy Star Online Ep. 1 & 2).
Computer AI
The first difference I experienced immediately was the difficulty of the computer AI compared to its predecessor. The computers were faster, smarter, and responded to situations lightning fast. They were able to dodge/block attacks, tech at any speed they were flying off in, and recover most of the smashes that had them hurdling out of the screen. My friends and I weren't very competitive in Melee, so having the CPU as our worthy adversary was a good stand-in if there weren't enough players.
Adventure Mode
The addition of a side-scrolling adventure was so cool because it reflected the designs and themes of the games the characters were based out of and takes the player out of the limitation of a fighting game. Secrets were scattered around the levels, cameos were made, and a lot of references were made which helped a lot of 3rd party companies with their own games, especially the introduction of Fire Emblem into the English speaking community.
Additional Modes
These were more of a time waster and a distraction from the main game. Hit the targets, events, 100-man melee and others had a lot to offer, but weren't the most entertaining parts of the game. Practice mode was probably the most entertaining. It allowed players to experiment, cause glitches, create wacky scenarios, and indulge in all sorts of shenanigans. I spent a lot of time on practice mode when I first learned about competitive play on Melee with all the secret techniques such as SHFFL-ing, wave dashes, and gimping.
Competitive Worthy
This is probably the biggest highlight in Melee that everyone hated in Brawl. The gameplay was fast, fluid, had glitches such as wave dashing, L-Cancel, and such that made the gameplay faster for those who could control it, and had a very strong community among Tournament players around the whole world. This brought a lot of people together. I've participated in local tournaments before and I cannot keep up at all. I've tried to practice the way tourney players do, but didn't improve to how they played. On the other hand, my techniques were much smarter and practical than before. Level 9 computers aren't so bad anymore.
Plethora of Characters
Melee has 14 more characters than Super Smash Bros. did. There were some delegations on whether it was all that great with copy characters such as Dr. Mario, Pichu, Roy, and Ganondorf in the roster since they used near identical animations and move sets. That's debatable since fighting games have had more than one instance of similar characters. Despite that, the two most played characters, Fox and Falco, being the same type of fighter had very different play styles in tournaments. If I remember correctly, Brawl has 35 characters, 9 more than before. The roster on Brawl has been noted as incredibly balanced and fair while Melee characters had some debate on the impracticalities of Pichu and Mewtwo. Nonetheless, that leap between 12 characters to 26 was a significant one and players to this day continue to play Melee over Brawl despite having less characters than Brawl.
I'm probably missing a dozen notable features that made the game great, but it all comes down to the fact that Melee truly was a well designed game that offers infinite replay value. Again, I like Brawl, but I also acknowledge and sympathize with many others when they say they prefer Melee over Brawl. It really makes me wonder what Nintendo has in store for the next iteration. It'll be very difficult to live up to Brawl, let along Melee.
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo
Director: Masahiro Sakurai
Platform: Nintendo Gamecube
Release Date: December 2, 2001
Genre: Fighting
(Source: Wikipedia)
Source: Youtube Channel fredfredfred
Possibly one of the greatest gift I received for Christmas as a child was a brand new Gamecube, an extra controller, with Super Smash Bros. Melee and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. (Christmas is still special, I got Eternal Sonata and Call of Duty: Black Ops from friends this Christmas). Just a short while ago, there was an article I read that interviewed Masahiro Sakurai (I can't find the source, I don't remember where I read it from) and how he struggled through the project on Super Smash Bros. Melee and how difficult it was to keep the rest of the team motivated. I then read through the comments and saw that many of the readers did not like the sequel "Brawl" compared to "Melee" because of how casual it became. I, with certain others, enjoy both because of the unique experiences each delivers. There are so many aspects to Melee that made it fresh and exciting. Even now, I still go back to my Gamecube to play Super Smash Bros. Melee (if not Phantasy Star Online Ep. 1 & 2).
Computer AI
The first difference I experienced immediately was the difficulty of the computer AI compared to its predecessor. The computers were faster, smarter, and responded to situations lightning fast. They were able to dodge/block attacks, tech at any speed they were flying off in, and recover most of the smashes that had them hurdling out of the screen. My friends and I weren't very competitive in Melee, so having the CPU as our worthy adversary was a good stand-in if there weren't enough players.
Adventure Mode
The addition of a side-scrolling adventure was so cool because it reflected the designs and themes of the games the characters were based out of and takes the player out of the limitation of a fighting game. Secrets were scattered around the levels, cameos were made, and a lot of references were made which helped a lot of 3rd party companies with their own games, especially the introduction of Fire Emblem into the English speaking community.
Additional Modes
These were more of a time waster and a distraction from the main game. Hit the targets, events, 100-man melee and others had a lot to offer, but weren't the most entertaining parts of the game. Practice mode was probably the most entertaining. It allowed players to experiment, cause glitches, create wacky scenarios, and indulge in all sorts of shenanigans. I spent a lot of time on practice mode when I first learned about competitive play on Melee with all the secret techniques such as SHFFL-ing, wave dashes, and gimping.
Competitive Worthy
This is probably the biggest highlight in Melee that everyone hated in Brawl. The gameplay was fast, fluid, had glitches such as wave dashing, L-Cancel, and such that made the gameplay faster for those who could control it, and had a very strong community among Tournament players around the whole world. This brought a lot of people together. I've participated in local tournaments before and I cannot keep up at all. I've tried to practice the way tourney players do, but didn't improve to how they played. On the other hand, my techniques were much smarter and practical than before. Level 9 computers aren't so bad anymore.
Plethora of Characters
Melee has 14 more characters than Super Smash Bros. did. There were some delegations on whether it was all that great with copy characters such as Dr. Mario, Pichu, Roy, and Ganondorf in the roster since they used near identical animations and move sets. That's debatable since fighting games have had more than one instance of similar characters. Despite that, the two most played characters, Fox and Falco, being the same type of fighter had very different play styles in tournaments. If I remember correctly, Brawl has 35 characters, 9 more than before. The roster on Brawl has been noted as incredibly balanced and fair while Melee characters had some debate on the impracticalities of Pichu and Mewtwo. Nonetheless, that leap between 12 characters to 26 was a significant one and players to this day continue to play Melee over Brawl despite having less characters than Brawl.
I'm probably missing a dozen notable features that made the game great, but it all comes down to the fact that Melee truly was a well designed game that offers infinite replay value. Again, I like Brawl, but I also acknowledge and sympathize with many others when they say they prefer Melee over Brawl. It really makes me wonder what Nintendo has in store for the next iteration. It'll be very difficult to live up to Brawl, let along Melee.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
VGCulture - Hardcore Games
I've been wanting to write a post on the topic of very difficult games for a while now. This subject is on a lot of hardcore gamers and retro gamers minds for the longest times, especially with the rise of casual games that has been popularized by Nintendo's release of the Wii system and Zynga with their online casual game sensation Farmville. With the industries' new found demographic, developers have been condemned to creating casuals games or games with very easy difficulties. This can be dragged out to be a long discussion, so I plan on talking about some of the more difficult games that have come out now and how they try to keep games challenging and fresh.
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment
This is possibly my 3-4th time posting this video of Super Meat Boy. I can't emphasize enough of how true it is to the retro days of gaming where players learned through making mistakes (not from an hour long tutorial), where rewards were given to those who excelled, extra content is scattered throughout the game, difficulty came from level design and is determined by skill, not unruly controls, bad creative decisions, and certainly not by chance or luck. Super Meat Boy uses a common system of short levels with difficult designs for the player to learn through. The more they fail, the more the player can get used to an area. I Wanna be the Guy (IWBTG) uses that same mechanic and has players dying over and over. This model of gameplay was used a lot in older games such as Contra, Castlevania, and Ninja Gaiden for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Generally, it is platformers that is associated with hardcore games. I'm not sure why that is, but I assume it has to do with the standards that Super Mario Bros. set for games released after it. Platformers require timing, reaction speed, coordination, and a lot of memorizing in more difficult areas. Here are a few platformers I'd recommend trying out:
-Love+
-Spelunky (There's a bit of luck involved, but it is definitely difficult).
-I Wanna be the Guy (Recommended as the King of Hardcore at the moment)
-N+
-Super Meat Boy
-VVVVVV (Not exactly a platformer per se, but a lot of elements similar to it)
For current day standards of 3D graphics and complicated controls, it is rare to find a game that is challenging and difficult based on gameplay and design as most 3D action games suffer from clunky controls, horrid camera controls, unavoidable attacks from enemies that gives players no means of escape, terrible AI systems, and glitchy level designs. The perfect example I can think of for a hard game that was based off all its flaws is Golden Axe: Beast Rider. The game had a wonderful concept with challenging gameplay, but was overwhelmed with poor creative decisions that never gave the player the chance anyhow despite learning the game in and out. One game that had somewhat of a good design was Heavenly Sword, but was based off of patterns. The game I'm finding most fascinating and incredibly difficult is Demon's Souls.
Source: Youtube Channel jaferris06
There is so much that goes into what makes Demon's Souls challenging but fair. There is a lot of memorizing involved which saddened me that the enemies were going to be at the same exactly location each time. What I soon realized was that the situations may change and the player would have to react differently to the situation. One play through, the player may have gotten to the enemy easily and perform a critical hit from behind; however, a second run through the enemy may have turned around with all its buddies and attack you in a chain. There's also the dynamics of the different classes to choose from, the various weapons in use, and the numerous builds the player can level up to that change the way the game plays. Add in the ability for player to invade other player's games and kill them and you have that element of human interaction that most competitive gamers enjoy most: another intelligent human to challenge rather than a pre-programmed AI. The difficulty between playing against other players and playing against the game is different. How I look at it, playing a difficult game is like challenging the game designer. Demon's Souls is, at its core, difficult to begin with. The game starts off with a tutorial and with the player dying soon after and is reborn as a phantom with half the HP and power they had as a human being. Unlike a hack and slash, the player is limited to actions based on a stamina bar. The player would have to choose what actions to take at the right time as to not waste any stamina. With the danger of encountering a unknown foe and not expecting what type of attacks they can perform, the whole game puts the player on edge the whole time.
What I'm trying to get at here is that perhaps one of the reasons why hardcore games are so rare these days is because of how difficult they are to create and still make them fun (if not fair). Casual games are easier to create and attract which is probably why they are developed more than often now. I don't mind easier and casual games, but once in a while I like a challenge. I am finding that challenge in indie games and once in a while in retail games such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma. If any of you readers have any suggestions on "Good" hardcore games, I'm all ears.
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment
This is possibly my 3-4th time posting this video of Super Meat Boy. I can't emphasize enough of how true it is to the retro days of gaming where players learned through making mistakes (not from an hour long tutorial), where rewards were given to those who excelled, extra content is scattered throughout the game, difficulty came from level design and is determined by skill, not unruly controls, bad creative decisions, and certainly not by chance or luck. Super Meat Boy uses a common system of short levels with difficult designs for the player to learn through. The more they fail, the more the player can get used to an area. I Wanna be the Guy (IWBTG) uses that same mechanic and has players dying over and over. This model of gameplay was used a lot in older games such as Contra, Castlevania, and Ninja Gaiden for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Generally, it is platformers that is associated with hardcore games. I'm not sure why that is, but I assume it has to do with the standards that Super Mario Bros. set for games released after it. Platformers require timing, reaction speed, coordination, and a lot of memorizing in more difficult areas. Here are a few platformers I'd recommend trying out:
-Love+
-Spelunky (There's a bit of luck involved, but it is definitely difficult).
-I Wanna be the Guy (Recommended as the King of Hardcore at the moment)
-N+
-Super Meat Boy
-VVVVVV (Not exactly a platformer per se, but a lot of elements similar to it)
For current day standards of 3D graphics and complicated controls, it is rare to find a game that is challenging and difficult based on gameplay and design as most 3D action games suffer from clunky controls, horrid camera controls, unavoidable attacks from enemies that gives players no means of escape, terrible AI systems, and glitchy level designs. The perfect example I can think of for a hard game that was based off all its flaws is Golden Axe: Beast Rider. The game had a wonderful concept with challenging gameplay, but was overwhelmed with poor creative decisions that never gave the player the chance anyhow despite learning the game in and out. One game that had somewhat of a good design was Heavenly Sword, but was based off of patterns. The game I'm finding most fascinating and incredibly difficult is Demon's Souls.
Source: Youtube Channel jaferris06
There is so much that goes into what makes Demon's Souls challenging but fair. There is a lot of memorizing involved which saddened me that the enemies were going to be at the same exactly location each time. What I soon realized was that the situations may change and the player would have to react differently to the situation. One play through, the player may have gotten to the enemy easily and perform a critical hit from behind; however, a second run through the enemy may have turned around with all its buddies and attack you in a chain. There's also the dynamics of the different classes to choose from, the various weapons in use, and the numerous builds the player can level up to that change the way the game plays. Add in the ability for player to invade other player's games and kill them and you have that element of human interaction that most competitive gamers enjoy most: another intelligent human to challenge rather than a pre-programmed AI. The difficulty between playing against other players and playing against the game is different. How I look at it, playing a difficult game is like challenging the game designer. Demon's Souls is, at its core, difficult to begin with. The game starts off with a tutorial and with the player dying soon after and is reborn as a phantom with half the HP and power they had as a human being. Unlike a hack and slash, the player is limited to actions based on a stamina bar. The player would have to choose what actions to take at the right time as to not waste any stamina. With the danger of encountering a unknown foe and not expecting what type of attacks they can perform, the whole game puts the player on edge the whole time.
What I'm trying to get at here is that perhaps one of the reasons why hardcore games are so rare these days is because of how difficult they are to create and still make them fun (if not fair). Casual games are easier to create and attract which is probably why they are developed more than often now. I don't mind easier and casual games, but once in a while I like a challenge. I am finding that challenge in indie games and once in a while in retail games such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma. If any of you readers have any suggestions on "Good" hardcore games, I'm all ears.
Monday, December 27, 2010
VGCulture - Indie Games Bought during Steam Deals
Hey everyone! Hopefully all of you had a pleasant holiday weekend. Aside spending some time with friends and family, I got onto steam and got some indie games in pursuit of learning more on how I could develop indie games as well. Here is the list and short comments to each:
-Monday Night Combat (I seriously need to play this more to have a real opinion)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfw3aml0Sss
-Bullet Candy (Hard, quirky, but somewhat entertaining. I need to play this more as well)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDyTPAbsM58
-Foreign Legion: Buckets of Blood (Had my eye on this one since its release. I like it, but it's difficult)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnXRxKpJ0Og
-Gravitron 2 (Okay, so it's a mix between defender and lander. Controls are annoying, graphics are nice)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvNd2aMsEP0
-Space Giraffe (It's kinda like tempest. I'm not sure if I really like the game, it's very disorganized in graphics)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7uKebwW_Qs
-Super Laser Racer (I didn't plan on buying it, but it came with the pack. Controls are annoying)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaqRBtTK1SY
-Super Meat Boy (This is probably my favorite indie game I bought next to VVVVVV)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ohjyhICYco&feature=fvst
-Caster (Interesting gameplay, terrible graphics)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6ZHH7cHdh4
-Recettear (I played the Japanese Demo a long time ago, I'm glad it was brought over. Interesting game)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ_4Hvbgn3E
-VVVVVV (Frustratingly fun with tons of challenges and awesome music.)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf06P-_1lkU&feature=related
Sorry I have to keep it so short today, I'm getting a bit of a break this week so I can finally work on other projects as well as posts on this blog. I might want to do a GameOn event next week based on indie games. I also would like to do a post on difficult games and a Retroview on Super Smash Bros. Melee this week. Thanks for stopping by, more to come very soon.
-Monday Night Combat (I seriously need to play this more to have a real opinion)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfw3aml0Sss
-Bullet Candy (Hard, quirky, but somewhat entertaining. I need to play this more as well)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDyTPAbsM58
-Foreign Legion: Buckets of Blood (Had my eye on this one since its release. I like it, but it's difficult)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnXRxKpJ0Og
-Gravitron 2 (Okay, so it's a mix between defender and lander. Controls are annoying, graphics are nice)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvNd2aMsEP0
-Space Giraffe (It's kinda like tempest. I'm not sure if I really like the game, it's very disorganized in graphics)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7uKebwW_Qs
-Super Laser Racer (I didn't plan on buying it, but it came with the pack. Controls are annoying)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaqRBtTK1SY
-Super Meat Boy (This is probably my favorite indie game I bought next to VVVVVV)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ohjyhICYco&feature=fvst
-Caster (Interesting gameplay, terrible graphics)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6ZHH7cHdh4
-Recettear (I played the Japanese Demo a long time ago, I'm glad it was brought over. Interesting game)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ_4Hvbgn3E
-VVVVVV (Frustratingly fun with tons of challenges and awesome music.)
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf06P-_1lkU&feature=related
Sorry I have to keep it so short today, I'm getting a bit of a break this week so I can finally work on other projects as well as posts on this blog. I might want to do a GameOn event next week based on indie games. I also would like to do a post on difficult games and a Retroview on Super Smash Bros. Melee this week. Thanks for stopping by, more to come very soon.
Friday, December 24, 2010
VGCulture - Merry Christmas Everyone
Wow, Christmas arrived so quickly that I almost forgot. When I was younger, I would watch a lot of Christmas cartoons every year around the holidays. I associated Christmas with cartoons and toys for presents. As I got older, less Christmas cartoons were created and more of the same ones I watched every year repeated. I then associated Christmas more with playing videogames and being with friends and family since they started to become rarer occasions. I also associated Christmas with food as well, I never knew how much I liked food till much later. Because of the association of videogames, there are certain games that come to mind when Christmas rolls around: Goldeneye 007, Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, Phantasy Star Online. etc. I can't imagine what game I would associate this year's Christmas since I have become a workaholic and think nothing but of getting things done. It's also because I'm not so limited to a single game any more. With the Steam Deals going on, I've already acquired six games and counting. What's on today's menu specifically?
I recommend:
-Battlefield 2: Complete Collection - $4.99
-Torchlight - $4.99
-Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - $2.50
-Devil May Cry 4 - $9.99 (meh, I got this for PS3, so I don't know about PC)
-Counter-Strike Source - $4.99 (It's worth it!!!)
-Overlord Complete Collection - $2.99 (Gonna buy it today!)
-Fallout: New Vegas - $29.99
-Borderlands - $9.99
Sorry the post is kind of bland today. I still have tons of work to do before I get to play any games. I wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas. Happy Gaming all~
I recommend:
-Battlefield 2: Complete Collection - $4.99
-Torchlight - $4.99
-Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - $2.50
-Devil May Cry 4 - $9.99 (meh, I got this for PS3, so I don't know about PC)
-Counter-Strike Source - $4.99 (It's worth it!!!)
-Overlord Complete Collection - $2.99 (Gonna buy it today!)
-Fallout: New Vegas - $29.99
-Borderlands - $9.99
Sorry the post is kind of bland today. I still have tons of work to do before I get to play any games. I wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas. Happy Gaming all~
GameLight Review – Super Meat Boy
Developer: Team Meat
Platform: PC (Also available on X-Box Live Arcade / Cancelled on WiiWare)
Release Date: November 30, 2010
Genre: Casual, Indie
In a time where the game industry has forgotten its roots in developing games through their limitations, Super Meat Boy revitalizes many aspects that made games simple, challenging, and entertaining. With a well defined concept and ingenious level designs, Super Meat Boy is sure to turn into a classic hit. Before it reaches there, let us play this great game.
 |
| Source: http://www.justpushstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/smb1.jpg |
Graphics
It’s difficult to describe the graphics in a single sense. If I remember correctly, Super Meat Boy started off as a Flash game and so it retains much of quirky cartoonish cut scenes and simplified character drawings. But in the recreated, retail game, there are all sorts of different zones that visit much of the retro-age pixel graphics. The animation is what impresses me. The character moves so fluidly and the developers put in the detail of having meat stained where death was previously met each time. There are times where some of the objects seem to blend with the background which impedes on the progression of a level. But it isn’t a big issue considering the way the game was designed. “Learning from past mistakes” is the key to getting past challenges in this game. Meat stains stay even after death; this helps the player judge the distance and timing of certain areas after each failed attempt. That fact that the graphics are simple and takes up very little processing power allows for a smoother gameplay experience which is necessary when playing in the harder difficulties. Graphics: 9/10
Audio
The music is amazing. It doesn’t catch on very quickly and may not be incredibly memorable, but it stimulates the mind and adds to the experience. It’s a mix of retro synth with grungy guitar riffs that acknowledges the many references to retro games as well as nodding to the player and saying “yes, this is a seriously hard game” through powerful chords. The sound effects are appropriate and humorous. It is one thing to make a game infuriatingly difficult and another to say “it’s okay, that was kinda funny”. The splatter and splat noises coming from each of the deaths of Meat Boy can feel sucky, but it doesn’t matter after 20, 50, 100 deaths later. The addition of the announcer that shouts “SUPER MEAT BOOOOOY” and “WARP ZOOOOONE” is a nice touch that supports the quirky demeanor of the characters in the game. I’m still debating whether I’d listen to the music outside of the game or not. I think I would, but the music doesn’t really stick very well. Memorable music is a difficult thing to achieve, but it fulfilled its duty on setting the mood. Audio: 9/10
Gameplay
The objective is simple, get from point A to point B. Getting there is the hard part. Meat Boy can run, slide, and jump off walls. Utilizing these simple moves, the player has to maneuver through chain saws, razors, salt, lasers, fire pits, and other things that can kill him. As Meat Boy, you will die a lot (A LOT). But it’s okay, because each level takes less than a minute to beat. The game’s fluid movements and challenging level designs is what made me interested. Growing up, I played Super Mario Bros., Castlevania, and Ninja Gaiden (I didn’t play Mega Man until much later) and enjoyed the challenging. What I would’ve liked in those retro games was controls with fluid movements without having to stop. (Ninja Gaiden was somewhat smooth. Despite that, they were all great games). It’s a bit intimidating having to die several times before getting past the first obstacle of a level, but the fact that there’s no limit to how many times you die and having the chance to try again immediately serves justice to the difficulty the player has to endure. Along with the main game are secrets. Playing games like Metroid and Megaman makes one enjoy finding secrets and specials, and Super Meat Boy has that aspect about it. Special areas, secret characters, faster paths, and alternate versions of levels are a few of the things to search for when playing the game. Because of this, the replay value is quite high for a platformer because it can be played in different ways and styles depending on the characters (each character has a special ability). I honestly don’t have much to criticize the gameplay or level designs. I haven’t enjoyed a platformer like this since Doukutsu Monogatari (Cave Story). Gameplay: 10/10
Overall
Sure the graphics aren’t astounding and mind blowing as other indie developers have demonstrated and perhaps the music isn’t Harry Gregson Williams (Metal Gear Solid) or Daisuke Ishiwatari (Guilty Gear/BlazBlue); however, it serves as appropriate for the game in the theme of eccentric characters and crazy adventures. Super Meat Boy is a great example of a well developed game that goes beyond its core structure by adding the dynamics of collection and secrets. Though it doesn’t tell a compelling story or present a mind-blowing action cinematic, it does something most games sold in the market forget to do: make a fun game. The game can be played in so many ways in different styles. Do you complete all the levels? Try to get all A+ scores? Collect all the Bandages? Beat the game with every character? Perform speed runs without dying? The sheer difficulty may not interest everybody, but those who seek challenge will find homage in all that was great in the retro days now with this gem of a game. Overall: 9.3/10
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
VGCulture - Filler with Awesome Gaiden
Sorry, I got extremely busy today and didn't get to do anything until now. But I'm about to sleep, so here's a filler:
Source: Youtube Channel egoraptor
Ah, gotta love his work~
Source: Youtube Channel egoraptor
Ah, gotta love his work~
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
GameLight - Warface
Source: G4G.IT - http://www.g4g.it/2010/12/21/warface-trailer/
I saw this post yesterday but didn't really have any interesting in checking it out. Not sure why, but I was curious and checked out the video of it today and was blown away:
Source: Youtube Channel DTOID
Developed by Chinese game company Tencent, Warface utilizes the powerful Crytek engine with realistic physics, smooth animation, and incredible texture/lighting on the graphics. This video is still only in its Alpha phase and it looks incredible! The realism is captured by the detailed environments, perception blur, and I have to admit the physics is unrealistically hilarious. But wow, the game really stands out for me in just how it looks, which leads me to thinking how well it would do in the market. Not everyone has a powerful computer to support even the most basic settings of the CryEngine. I'm hoping that the sounds are just as good as the graphics because that was something that impressed me about Medal of Honor (2010): powerful sounding guns with directional sense. Since the game is only in Alpha and is being produced for a Korean audience (for now), I probably won't be able to see the game anytime soon. Hopefully I get a really nice tower that can handle it by then.
I saw this post yesterday but didn't really have any interesting in checking it out. Not sure why, but I was curious and checked out the video of it today and was blown away:
Source: Youtube Channel DTOID
Developed by Chinese game company Tencent, Warface utilizes the powerful Crytek engine with realistic physics, smooth animation, and incredible texture/lighting on the graphics. This video is still only in its Alpha phase and it looks incredible! The realism is captured by the detailed environments, perception blur, and I have to admit the physics is unrealistically hilarious. But wow, the game really stands out for me in just how it looks, which leads me to thinking how well it would do in the market. Not everyone has a powerful computer to support even the most basic settings of the CryEngine. I'm hoping that the sounds are just as good as the graphics because that was something that impressed me about Medal of Honor (2010): powerful sounding guns with directional sense. Since the game is only in Alpha and is being produced for a Korean audience (for now), I probably won't be able to see the game anytime soon. Hopefully I get a really nice tower that can handle it by then.
Monday, December 20, 2010
VGCulture - Steam Holiday Sales
Last Christmas at around the same time, there was a huge sale with games as low as $1 on Steam everyday. I resisted with all my might not to buy any games as I still refused to use Steam (prior to the big update early 2010, the application was slow, ate RAM like crazy, and I didn't like the fact that all the games you owned weren't tangible). Then it happened: Christmas Eve, friends and family gathered and we among friends opened up the gifts we got each other. I ripped open the wrapper and saw that it was a pen box. I liked fancy pens and the novelty of it, but it felt way too light. I opened it up and saw a piece of paper inside that said "Go check your e-mail on the computer RIGHT NOW!" So I opened up a browser, logged in, clicked on the message from my friend and then I saw it: "TEAM FORTRESS 2!" (TF2) It was a great/terrible gift that made me happy/frustrated. It entertained the 2nd half of my last year in college and ruined my sleep schedule of the first 3 weeks returning to campus. It also caused the many weekends of staying up until 6AM playing. Throughout the time I played TF2, I noticed games on sale mid-week and weekends almost every week. I got a lot of my games for $5 and started to see huge improvements in the Steam program. It was then that I decided that I would not miss out on this years STEAM HOLIDAY SALE!!! It starts today:
From the special day sale, I have this to say about the following:
-Fear Complete set (I heard it was good, $10 is a fair price)
-Titan's Quest Gold (A friend of mine played this a lot in place of Diablo 3 until it comes out)
-Super Meat Boy (I'M BUYING THIS! It looks challenging, fun, and absolutely hilarious)
-Portal (Uhhh, who missed out on getting this game for free?)
-Fallout 3 (Bah, I was hoping for a steeper drop in price. I'll get it eventually)
-Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Finally, it's about time. So going to get this)
Besides these daily sales is a ridiculous library full of games 10-95% off. This is the best time to buy the games that you want, because it'll be another year before you get the chance again! Have fun and happy gaming~
http://store.steampowered.com/
It's one week away from being a entire year since I started using Steam, and I have 35 games and now I'm going to get more. It's worth it, it's really really worth it.
 |
| Source: http://store.steampowered.com/ |
-Fear Complete set (I heard it was good, $10 is a fair price)
-Titan's Quest Gold (A friend of mine played this a lot in place of Diablo 3 until it comes out)
-Super Meat Boy (I'M BUYING THIS! It looks challenging, fun, and absolutely hilarious)
-Portal (Uhhh, who missed out on getting this game for free?)
-Fallout 3 (Bah, I was hoping for a steeper drop in price. I'll get it eventually)
-Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Finally, it's about time. So going to get this)
Besides these daily sales is a ridiculous library full of games 10-95% off. This is the best time to buy the games that you want, because it'll be another year before you get the chance again! Have fun and happy gaming~
http://store.steampowered.com/
It's one week away from being a entire year since I started using Steam, and I have 35 games and now I'm going to get more. It's worth it, it's really really worth it.
Friday, December 17, 2010
GameLight - Land of Chaos Online (LOCO)
Last night, I talked a bit about how interesting it was it combine genres in games such as in "Monday Night Combat" having the action of a TPS (like TF2) and the gameplay structure of a MOBA (like DotA). I have yet to try out the Beta since I've been busy with other work, but I also forgot to mention another game that was similar to "Monday Night Combat." "Land of Chaos Online" or LOCO is an action MOBA Online game that does a similar fusion of MOBA and Hack n' Slash Action (like Dynasty Warriors).
Source: Youtube Channel GamexOnline
Graphics: Many free online games have incredible graphics now, and LOCO is no exception. The environment has a nice atmosphere that really sets the mood to each level. The characters are drawn/modeled distinctively though named oddly (Foxlady? Really?). The animations are fluid, the effects are a bit on the cheap side sometimes with flat textures in some of them rather than using particle effects, and great lighting effects.
Audio: I can't express how incredible the soundtrack is to the game. It's memorable, powerful, exciting, and is worth listening outside of the game. I am a bit sad on the quality of the sound recording for the initial music, but the new ones are in higher quality with a clear tone (the initial music for the game is muddled). Voice acting is okay I guess, there isn't much to criticize on that topic.
Gameplay: I participated in the beta and loved the idea and enjoyed the gameplay...until I started to go against other players. In the beta, characters were ridiculously broken and overpowered other characters if they had an early lead. That might be different now. The games were also fill with a lot of trolling. Players would constantly harass their team mates, flame on the lobby chat, and cause all sorts of problems for the other players and moderators. It was infuriating playing with other people and I pretty much gave up hope on the game because of the bad community. It might have changed now. The action aspect is very refreshing after playing so many years of DotA from a top-down view and having to only click on enemies. The RPG-leveling system was interesting, but a bit difficult when trying to find the best item builds. The controls were okay, but it gets tricky with ranged characters. The game is played like Dynasty Warriors, but in the format of like DotA. So the goal is to destroy the main building of the opposing team. The twist is that after the building is destroyed, a huge boss comes out and you have to fight it while fending off the opposing team's players. Just like DotA, there are lanes (sometimes open areas) and NPC enemies come out to destroy each other's base while players can defeat them to earn experience points and currency to buy items. The battle modes are pretty challenging if you play with players who don't cooperate or don't know what they're doing. I lost almost all my matches against other people. I think I've had 1-2 wins out of the 10+ matches I had. I always had people die a lot on my team and blame everyone else on the team or having to go against really smart players. A new Co-Op mode was added and I tried it out. It's seems impossible, everything takes forever to kill and your character dies rather quickly. The game is great in many ways, but it also has various aspects that discourage me from playing it.
I'm going to try out "Monday Night Combat" this weekend and see how it fares. I'm hoping it doesn't give me as bad a experience as LOCO has in terms of community. I do recommend at least trying out LOCO since it's free and they constantly update it with more maps, more characters, and more events.
Source: Youtube Channel GamexOnline
Graphics: Many free online games have incredible graphics now, and LOCO is no exception. The environment has a nice atmosphere that really sets the mood to each level. The characters are drawn/modeled distinctively though named oddly (Foxlady? Really?). The animations are fluid, the effects are a bit on the cheap side sometimes with flat textures in some of them rather than using particle effects, and great lighting effects.
Audio: I can't express how incredible the soundtrack is to the game. It's memorable, powerful, exciting, and is worth listening outside of the game. I am a bit sad on the quality of the sound recording for the initial music, but the new ones are in higher quality with a clear tone (the initial music for the game is muddled). Voice acting is okay I guess, there isn't much to criticize on that topic.
Gameplay: I participated in the beta and loved the idea and enjoyed the gameplay...until I started to go against other players. In the beta, characters were ridiculously broken and overpowered other characters if they had an early lead. That might be different now. The games were also fill with a lot of trolling. Players would constantly harass their team mates, flame on the lobby chat, and cause all sorts of problems for the other players and moderators. It was infuriating playing with other people and I pretty much gave up hope on the game because of the bad community. It might have changed now. The action aspect is very refreshing after playing so many years of DotA from a top-down view and having to only click on enemies. The RPG-leveling system was interesting, but a bit difficult when trying to find the best item builds. The controls were okay, but it gets tricky with ranged characters. The game is played like Dynasty Warriors, but in the format of like DotA. So the goal is to destroy the main building of the opposing team. The twist is that after the building is destroyed, a huge boss comes out and you have to fight it while fending off the opposing team's players. Just like DotA, there are lanes (sometimes open areas) and NPC enemies come out to destroy each other's base while players can defeat them to earn experience points and currency to buy items. The battle modes are pretty challenging if you play with players who don't cooperate or don't know what they're doing. I lost almost all my matches against other people. I think I've had 1-2 wins out of the 10+ matches I had. I always had people die a lot on my team and blame everyone else on the team or having to go against really smart players. A new Co-Op mode was added and I tried it out. It's seems impossible, everything takes forever to kill and your character dies rather quickly. The game is great in many ways, but it also has various aspects that discourage me from playing it.
I'm going to try out "Monday Night Combat" this weekend and see how it fares. I'm hoping it doesn't give me as bad a experience as LOCO has in terms of community. I do recommend at least trying out LOCO since it's free and they constantly update it with more maps, more characters, and more events.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
NewNews - MNC Beta goes live and new Contra game talk
I couldn't decide which of two topics to talk about today so I'm going to talk a little about both:
-http://kotaku.com/5714402/a-new-look-at-the-cartoon-contra-hard-corps-uprising/gallery/
-http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/16/monday-night-combats-steam-beta-live/
Both of these were just posted on their respective pages about 15 minutes ago.
So Konami and Arc System Works are developing/recreating "Contra: Hard Corps" as "Hard Corps: Uprising" in a more animé-ish art style. Knowing and loving both companies, I can expect fast-action challenges with flashy and stylish gameplay. If any of you have played "Contra: Hard Corps" on the Sega Genesis, you'd remember that it was a monster of a game and that it was very VERY easy to die resulting in a continue or game over. From the looks of the picture, it seems as though they added a health bar that looks similar to the one in "Castle of Shikigami 3". More than likely, it's going to be digitally sold. I haven't bought anything digital other than on Steam for PC. It makes me feel uneasy buying a game that isn't tangible and relies on accounts and the services of the developers/publisher (especially online exclusive games). I sunk into using Steam religiously now because of the Christmas gift my friend got me last year (Team Fortress 2). I now have 128 hours on that game, which is a LOT for me. Maybe I'll eventually go to a GameStop and buy one of those prepaid card points and start playing these digi-downloads. There are quite a few I want to play other than "Hard Corps: Uprising".
Source: Youtube Channel UberEntChannel
I was kinda sad to see that I couldn't play the beta when I pre-purchased it 2 days ago, but behold! It's now available for beta testing and I'm going to download it right now. I find the concept of a 3rd person action shooter mixed with a MOBA gameplay structure to be an interesting one to experiment. If it was popular enough on Xbox Live Arcade for the developers to create a port for the PC, then it must hold some merit of genuine entertainment. So as far as I can tell, it's a mix between Team Fortress 2 and DotA (or League of Legends/Heroes of Newerth) in a 3rd person perspective. It's a 6 on 6 versus battle with class based characters and MOBA leveling system. I've played all 4 games referenced and have enjoyed each one for their unique aspects (TF2, DotA, LoL and HoN are all hybrid genre games too!) and am glad that developers of the gaming industry continues to further that experiment by mixing and matching. It's only $13.49, so log onto steam and pre-purchase it now so that you can participate in the beta!
-http://kotaku.com/5714402/a-new-look-at-the-cartoon-contra-hard-corps-uprising/gallery/
-http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/16/monday-night-combats-steam-beta-live/
Both of these were just posted on their respective pages about 15 minutes ago.
 |
| Source: http://kotaku.com/5714402/a-new-look-at-the-cartoon-contra-hard-corps-uprising/gallery/ |
Source: Youtube Channel UberEntChannel
I was kinda sad to see that I couldn't play the beta when I pre-purchased it 2 days ago, but behold! It's now available for beta testing and I'm going to download it right now. I find the concept of a 3rd person action shooter mixed with a MOBA gameplay structure to be an interesting one to experiment. If it was popular enough on Xbox Live Arcade for the developers to create a port for the PC, then it must hold some merit of genuine entertainment. So as far as I can tell, it's a mix between Team Fortress 2 and DotA (or League of Legends/Heroes of Newerth) in a 3rd person perspective. It's a 6 on 6 versus battle with class based characters and MOBA leveling system. I've played all 4 games referenced and have enjoyed each one for their unique aspects (TF2, DotA, LoL and HoN are all hybrid genre games too!) and am glad that developers of the gaming industry continues to further that experiment by mixing and matching. It's only $13.49, so log onto steam and pre-purchase it now so that you can participate in the beta!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
VGCulture - Indie Game Wants
I heard there was a "Humble Indie Bundle 2" being sold.
Source: Youtube Channel WolfireGames
-Braid
-Cortex Command
-Machinarium
-Osmos
-Revenge of the Titans
Like the first one, you set the price yourself. The games value bought separately is $85. The amount you submit is split between the developers, charity, and the team running the bundle campaign. I'm all for supporting the charity, but I also want to support the indie developers as well. But if I were to buy the games, I'd probably take it for $5 and may not have interest in playing them. Most of my support of indie games has been on Steam and my support in game charity is through helping the "Get Well Gamers Foundation". The indie games I've bought include: Galcon Fusion, Mount & Blade original and Warband, Nation Red, Plain Sight, ProtoGalaxy, AaAaAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, Beat Hazard, BRAINPIPE: A Plunge to Unhumanity, GridRunner Revolution, QuantZ, Shatter, Torchlight, Trine, and just yesterday I got Monday Night Combat. I want to keep learning about indie games and supporting them so that perhaps I'll be working on them one day. This then leads to a small list of ones I'm interested in (on Steam):
-Super Meat Boy (This is high on my list of want)
-Amnesia (Meh...I heard it was a scary game. Not sure how long it'd hold my attention)
-DeathSpank (Kinda curious)
-Recettear (I played the Japanese Demo a looooooong time ago, and I'm interested in buying it)
-Arcadia (More interested in trying it than buying it. Looks like Geometry Wars with a slight difference)
-BitTripBeat (The music matching gameplay intrigues me and I like the retro/modern hybrid it integrates)
-Shank (Looks interesting, but also looks like a few hour enjoyment and nothing beyond that)
-VVVVVV (It looks like a difficult game, and I'd like to give it a try. Same for Super Meat Boy).
-Swarm Arena (I don't know what the game's about, but it looks pretty)
-Shattered Horizon (It's an indie game? I didn't know that, haha. I don't have Vista/7, so I can't played it).
Besides all those indie games and more, I'm also considering buying Battlefield: Bad Company 2 along with the new expansions and DLC:
Source: Youtube Channel EA
I really don't like how we are sold with broken games that get fixed after its releases with limited content that's sold later for prices that match the prices of some retail games. It makes me respect developers like Valve and TripWire for adding so much more content long after its release with no extra charge so that the player count is stabilized with more joining in. With a lot of DLCs out there, players get separated from those who have it and those who don't. Then we get abandoned when no more money can be made out of that game and releases another with give DLCs already lined up before its release. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the game industry is suffering while the indie developers are starting to become more popular among gamers. I'm really trying my best not to get "Minecraft", for if I do there will be no work done for me...except for all the work inside the game, haha.
Source: Youtube Channel WolfireGames
-Braid
-Cortex Command
-Machinarium
-Osmos
-Revenge of the Titans
Like the first one, you set the price yourself. The games value bought separately is $85. The amount you submit is split between the developers, charity, and the team running the bundle campaign. I'm all for supporting the charity, but I also want to support the indie developers as well. But if I were to buy the games, I'd probably take it for $5 and may not have interest in playing them. Most of my support of indie games has been on Steam and my support in game charity is through helping the "Get Well Gamers Foundation". The indie games I've bought include: Galcon Fusion, Mount & Blade original and Warband, Nation Red, Plain Sight, ProtoGalaxy, AaAaAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, Beat Hazard, BRAINPIPE: A Plunge to Unhumanity, GridRunner Revolution, QuantZ, Shatter, Torchlight, Trine, and just yesterday I got Monday Night Combat. I want to keep learning about indie games and supporting them so that perhaps I'll be working on them one day. This then leads to a small list of ones I'm interested in (on Steam):
-Super Meat Boy (This is high on my list of want)
-Amnesia (Meh...I heard it was a scary game. Not sure how long it'd hold my attention)
-DeathSpank (Kinda curious)
-Recettear (I played the Japanese Demo a looooooong time ago, and I'm interested in buying it)
-Arcadia (More interested in trying it than buying it. Looks like Geometry Wars with a slight difference)
-BitTripBeat (The music matching gameplay intrigues me and I like the retro/modern hybrid it integrates)
-Shank (Looks interesting, but also looks like a few hour enjoyment and nothing beyond that)
-VVVVVV (It looks like a difficult game, and I'd like to give it a try. Same for Super Meat Boy).
-Swarm Arena (I don't know what the game's about, but it looks pretty)
-Shattered Horizon (It's an indie game? I didn't know that, haha. I don't have Vista/7, so I can't played it).
Besides all those indie games and more, I'm also considering buying Battlefield: Bad Company 2 along with the new expansions and DLC:
Source: Youtube Channel EA
I really don't like how we are sold with broken games that get fixed after its releases with limited content that's sold later for prices that match the prices of some retail games. It makes me respect developers like Valve and TripWire for adding so much more content long after its release with no extra charge so that the player count is stabilized with more joining in. With a lot of DLCs out there, players get separated from those who have it and those who don't. Then we get abandoned when no more money can be made out of that game and releases another with give DLCs already lined up before its release. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the game industry is suffering while the indie developers are starting to become more popular among gamers. I'm really trying my best not to get "Minecraft", for if I do there will be no work done for me...except for all the work inside the game, haha.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
GameLight - Deus Ex Human Revolution
So I saw this on Nerf Now!!!'s comic just now:
and I feel bad because I can't really sympathize with all the gamers that played the first two Deus Ex games. I've been told numerous times of how Deus Ex is one of the most finely developed, intricately written, and well designed gamed of all time but never found the chance to play it. Well, I got it earlier this year and have slowly worked on finishing the game and I can see why it is so highly praised. Open ended gameplay, immersive story, continuous statistics (health, injuries, skills, items, everything stays with you throughout the game), memorable tracks, challenging level designs, etc. The game may be old, but it has a lot of innovations that current day publishers would be so freaked out to even mention such open-ended gameplay. Then there's the fact that I haven't tried or seen "invisible war" which is the sequel that did not serve justice to the first game. I'll eventually play it to find out what was so bad about it, but when I found out about Deus Ex 3 (when it wasn't fully named yet) and told people who played the first two, they just groaned and said "oh great, another disappointment".
Source: Youtube Channel Machinma
After a few trailers released, I'm (sorta) convinced that this next Deus Ex will be incredible in its own rights. Will it be compared to the first one by other players? HECK YEAH! People are already talking about how it's all action and how implausible the technology looks more advanced than the first one when it was set at a time sooner than the first one. I don't care, I don't want to compare games or put it down before it even comes out. I wouldn't be able to enjoy a game and judge it fairly if I already have all these preconceptions laid out. Then again, I'm already expecting varieties of flashy weapons, open-ended city exploring, and futuristic gadget utilization. Hopefully it'll be a great game.
 |
| Source: http://nerfnow.com/ |
Source: Youtube Channel Machinma
After a few trailers released, I'm (sorta) convinced that this next Deus Ex will be incredible in its own rights. Will it be compared to the first one by other players? HECK YEAH! People are already talking about how it's all action and how implausible the technology looks more advanced than the first one when it was set at a time sooner than the first one. I don't care, I don't want to compare games or put it down before it even comes out. I wouldn't be able to enjoy a game and judge it fairly if I already have all these preconceptions laid out. Then again, I'm already expecting varieties of flashy weapons, open-ended city exploring, and futuristic gadget utilization. Hopefully it'll be a great game.
Monday, December 13, 2010
NewNews - Monday Night Combat...ON PC!!!
Haha, I was about to talk about another re-release of Final Fantasy IV (you can still read it on Joystiq) as I was starting up steam. Then the Steam "Update News" shows up and displays "Monday Night Combat" Pre-purchase! What's Monday Night Combat? Well, I didn't know too much about it a while ago but ran into the name one day and saw this video:
Source: Youtube Channel UberEntChannel
I guess it's supposed to present itself like a futuristic sport in how we have Monday Night Football right now. The gameplay is an inspiration of Team Fortress 2's class based action with the rules, goals, and strategy of Defense of the Ancients - DotA (at least from what I read and see). It was released for Xbox 360 and had no announcement of it coming to PC. I was thinking this to myself when I saw the video above: "Wow, this looks like a fun hybrid of a game. I'd probably buy and play it if it released on PC." And *BOOM* there it is! Pre-purchase gets players into early beta to test out the game and its release date is set to January 17th of 2011. I think I'd be willing to pay $13.49 for early beta and some Action/Strategy gameplay. It's also considered an Indie game, and I'm always trying to learn more about the indie scene lately. My wallet suffers because of Steam's awesome deals. Be sure to listen to news and videos of gameplay to decide whether you'd like to give this game a try.
Source: Youtube Channel UberEntChannel
I guess it's supposed to present itself like a futuristic sport in how we have Monday Night Football right now. The gameplay is an inspiration of Team Fortress 2's class based action with the rules, goals, and strategy of Defense of the Ancients - DotA (at least from what I read and see). It was released for Xbox 360 and had no announcement of it coming to PC. I was thinking this to myself when I saw the video above: "Wow, this looks like a fun hybrid of a game. I'd probably buy and play it if it released on PC." And *BOOM* there it is! Pre-purchase gets players into early beta to test out the game and its release date is set to January 17th of 2011. I think I'd be willing to pay $13.49 for early beta and some Action/Strategy gameplay. It's also considered an Indie game, and I'm always trying to learn more about the indie scene lately. My wallet suffers because of Steam's awesome deals. Be sure to listen to news and videos of gameplay to decide whether you'd like to give this game a try.
Friday, December 10, 2010
VGCulture - Music: Snake Eater
Source: Youtube Channel Ricpos
It looks like I'll be posting at a different time and making shorter posts from now on as I've got a project to take care of now. Anyways, my game-a-week mission is probably going to be impeded by this project and so I'm not certain of my plans on continuing it. This week's game for me is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and wow, it's much harder than MGS2 (then again, I played very easy on 2 while I'm playing normal on 3). After about 2 hours, the beginning song played (video above) and it really reminded me of a James Bond 007 movie (James Bond 007 being one of my favorite series of films). That sense of mystery, sensuality, and classic film nostalgia was a bit humorous when put into contrast to one of the codec conversations Naked Snake has with para-medic. She asks if Snake has ever watched "007 - From Russia with Love", and snake replies by expressing his dislike for James Bond in how unauthentic he was as a spy. CO Zero then has his rebuttal on how James Bond was the greatest thing to come out of Britain right next to the Mayflower. The song is definitely "listen" worthy, and listen to it now if you haven't heard it before! I'm not very far in the game yet since I've been caught up with so many objectives to fulfill in the real world, but I imagine that the rest of the game should be fun (hopefully).
Thursday, December 9, 2010
VGCulture - Videogame Quizzes
I thought I'd share something fun with everyone today.
http://www.sporcle.com/
It's a site where users can play quizzes and make quizzes. My friends and I would gather around and play the videogame ones, and they're much more difficult than one would expect.
Source: Youtube Channel SporcleClipQuizzes
This is one of the clips played for a "videogame music" quiz in trying to figure out the game based on the songs being played. You can play it here: http://www.sporcle.com/games/amaranth/clip_game
Along with having a fun time figuring out the answers to quizzes, there may be a game or two that you've never heard of and take interest in looking it up and playing it. Here's the specific link to the videogames secton:
http://www.sporcle.com/games/category/gaming
Have fun!
http://www.sporcle.com/
It's a site where users can play quizzes and make quizzes. My friends and I would gather around and play the videogame ones, and they're much more difficult than one would expect.
Source: Youtube Channel SporcleClipQuizzes
This is one of the clips played for a "videogame music" quiz in trying to figure out the game based on the songs being played. You can play it here: http://www.sporcle.com/games/amaranth/clip_game
Along with having a fun time figuring out the answers to quizzes, there may be a game or two that you've never heard of and take interest in looking it up and playing it. Here's the specific link to the videogames secton:
http://www.sporcle.com/games/category/gaming
Have fun!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
GameLight - Vindictus
I finally found the opportunity to play Vindictus at home! What I mean is that I tried it out at E3 in June before it was released for Closed Beta. Not much seemed to have changed besides some extra content and some fixes to lag. For those who don't know what the game is about, just watch the video:
Source: Youtube Channel loadstart
Vindictus is an phenomenal MMOARPG that brings the fluidity and excitement of action games with the online, social aspect of an RPG. I've tracked the game since it was first announced in Korea years ago when it was still known as "Mabinogi: Heroes" (the name is still used in Asia), especially since I've been playing their other creation "Mabinogi: Fantasy Life" for years (though not religiously). As much as I love MMORPGs with its immerse environment and social aspects, it was refreshing to have a fast-paced action game in the online realm that boasts its combat system that requires more twitch skill rather than tactical planning.
Graphics: The game is developed on the source engine provided by Valve and is optimized incredibly well considering its detail and realism. I'm running on 1920 x 1200 resolution in-game and it barely has any graphics lag whatsoever. The style is much more violent and mature themed compared to its predecessor which fancied anime style themes with cel-shaded textures. The animations to certain gestures and actions do have some inconsistency and erratic movements, but is overlooked by every other astounding animation used in combat. Although a free game, Vindictus' graphics could rivals those of commercially sold games out in the market right now.
Audio: This factor is also very different from Mabinogi: Fantasy Life. Mabinogi is known for its whimsical themes with the sound effects somewhat cheesy and the music sort of retro-like with MIDI sounding instruments. But similar to it, the music is great. I loved a lot of the music composed for Mabinogi and was one of the reasons why I liked the game. I'm still not sure how I feel about the tunes for Vindictus yet, but I think the composition of real instruments and thundering power that it invokes does the game justice when fighting hordes of enemies.
Gameplay: The controls work similar to an action game with WASD keys as movement, mouse as camera angle, and the mouse buttons as attacks. Skills can be acquired and rise in level like in a RPG and its system is similar to Mabinogi in how levels corresponds to the actions and skills used in battle. Unlike many MMORPGs, Vindictus follows a distinct story that is told through cinematics and dialogue rather than having the player reading through all the quests given to try to piece the story themselves. Going into battle is similar to Phantasy Star Online or Dungeon Fighters Online in how players start out in town and can be instanced into a level through a portal or stage selection of some sort. Players can team up with 3 other players to fight in room to room dungeons like in Gunz: The Duel's quest mode. This means that the dungeon's rooms are linear and not free roaming. Objects are scattered around the levels and can be interacted as tools and weapons against enemies. The player can destroy crates and pick up a broken fragment to chuck at an enemy. Enemies' dead bodies can be picked up and thrown at live enemies as well, so that ability to interact with all sorts of objects changes the dynamics of battles when given the opportunity to utilize them. So far, there's only three characters to choose from. A fast attacking, dual wield swordsman; a balanced warrior wielding a sword and shield, and a mage who uses large weapons like scythes and mallets while casting powerful spells to deal damage. More should be on the way.
If you're not certain if the game will be to your liking, go ahead and try it, it's FREE! It's one of the more impressive MMOs out there that has depth, replay value, and innovative concepts. I encourage everyone to try it out, it could be a great game to play for those of you who are getting ready for winter break:
http://vindictus.nexon.net/
Source: Youtube Channel loadstart
Vindictus is an phenomenal MMOARPG that brings the fluidity and excitement of action games with the online, social aspect of an RPG. I've tracked the game since it was first announced in Korea years ago when it was still known as "Mabinogi: Heroes" (the name is still used in Asia), especially since I've been playing their other creation "Mabinogi: Fantasy Life" for years (though not religiously). As much as I love MMORPGs with its immerse environment and social aspects, it was refreshing to have a fast-paced action game in the online realm that boasts its combat system that requires more twitch skill rather than tactical planning.
Graphics: The game is developed on the source engine provided by Valve and is optimized incredibly well considering its detail and realism. I'm running on 1920 x 1200 resolution in-game and it barely has any graphics lag whatsoever. The style is much more violent and mature themed compared to its predecessor which fancied anime style themes with cel-shaded textures. The animations to certain gestures and actions do have some inconsistency and erratic movements, but is overlooked by every other astounding animation used in combat. Although a free game, Vindictus' graphics could rivals those of commercially sold games out in the market right now.
Audio: This factor is also very different from Mabinogi: Fantasy Life. Mabinogi is known for its whimsical themes with the sound effects somewhat cheesy and the music sort of retro-like with MIDI sounding instruments. But similar to it, the music is great. I loved a lot of the music composed for Mabinogi and was one of the reasons why I liked the game. I'm still not sure how I feel about the tunes for Vindictus yet, but I think the composition of real instruments and thundering power that it invokes does the game justice when fighting hordes of enemies.
Gameplay: The controls work similar to an action game with WASD keys as movement, mouse as camera angle, and the mouse buttons as attacks. Skills can be acquired and rise in level like in a RPG and its system is similar to Mabinogi in how levels corresponds to the actions and skills used in battle. Unlike many MMORPGs, Vindictus follows a distinct story that is told through cinematics and dialogue rather than having the player reading through all the quests given to try to piece the story themselves. Going into battle is similar to Phantasy Star Online or Dungeon Fighters Online in how players start out in town and can be instanced into a level through a portal or stage selection of some sort. Players can team up with 3 other players to fight in room to room dungeons like in Gunz: The Duel's quest mode. This means that the dungeon's rooms are linear and not free roaming. Objects are scattered around the levels and can be interacted as tools and weapons against enemies. The player can destroy crates and pick up a broken fragment to chuck at an enemy. Enemies' dead bodies can be picked up and thrown at live enemies as well, so that ability to interact with all sorts of objects changes the dynamics of battles when given the opportunity to utilize them. So far, there's only three characters to choose from. A fast attacking, dual wield swordsman; a balanced warrior wielding a sword and shield, and a mage who uses large weapons like scythes and mallets while casting powerful spells to deal damage. More should be on the way.
If you're not certain if the game will be to your liking, go ahead and try it, it's FREE! It's one of the more impressive MMOs out there that has depth, replay value, and innovative concepts. I encourage everyone to try it out, it could be a great game to play for those of you who are getting ready for winter break:
http://vindictus.nexon.net/
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
NewNews - New type of editor in Little Big Planet 2?
I apologize for the late post. I've been busy all day with work that needed my attention. I saw a post on Joystiq that made me a bit curious about Little Big Planet 2 (LBP2).
Joystiq - Wolfenstein 3D recreated (with alarming accuracy) in LittleBigPlanet 2
I've played through most of the first one and didn't really care for playing online, and so I didn't have much interest in tracking LBP2.
Source: Youtube Channel MrShuanji
After reading through the post and watching the video, I was a bit more convinced that I should track the game and see what else it's capable of. At the moment, I'm more interested in trying to learn more on how to use the Starcraft 2 editor and UDK so I can create more games that I could add to my portfolio. But yeah, the editor for LBP2 doesn't seem to restrict to the graphics of the game and the rules of the first game, so it'll be interesting to see what people make.
Joystiq - Wolfenstein 3D recreated (with alarming accuracy) in LittleBigPlanet 2
I've played through most of the first one and didn't really care for playing online, and so I didn't have much interest in tracking LBP2.
Source: Youtube Channel MrShuanji
After reading through the post and watching the video, I was a bit more convinced that I should track the game and see what else it's capable of. At the moment, I'm more interested in trying to learn more on how to use the Starcraft 2 editor and UDK so I can create more games that I could add to my portfolio. But yeah, the editor for LBP2 doesn't seem to restrict to the graphics of the game and the rules of the first game, so it'll be interesting to see what people make.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Retroview - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Title: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (MGS2)
Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
Designer: Hideo Kojima (producer, writer, director)
Platform: Playstation 2
Release Date: November 13, 2001
Genre: Stealth Action
(Source Info: Wikipedia)
Instead of doing a full blown review (since it's a little over 9 years now since its release) I thought I'd dissect the game a bit and see what I've learned (A great deal, that's for sure). Up till now, I've been learning most about design from bad games that were bad because they were so apparent and easy to distinguish. For good games, it's much more difficult to pinpoint the things about them that make it so enjoyable and popular. If it were really that easy to find out, we wouldn't have so many bad games. So I bought Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty last year, 2009, on spring break when a local game shop was shutting down and had a huge sale. I bought it used for $2.50 and never had a chance to play it. I don't even remember what I did last summer, but I must've been very busy not to have played many games. Continuing the journey I set off from this summer till now in my mission to beat one game each week and try to learn something from it, I borrow Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4 from a friend but decided to my copy of MGS 2 first since I didn't know the actual details of the story. That's right, I've never played an actual Metal Gear Solid game (what I mean is I played the Game Boy Color version a little and I've tried the NES originals, but not the "Solid" Series. Everything I knew about Metal Gear Solid I learned from parodies, music, and gaming references. After playing through MGS2, I realized the story was much deeper and convoluted than I have previously suspected.
Source: Youtube Channel mysfhonor
Story
I'm not even sure how to elaborate the story other than trying to simplify it to the max. Metal Gear Solid 2's story reminded me a bit of V for Vendetta in how there's an all powerful government that controls every information, entertainment, thought and say of it people; however, it goes beyond the government and explains to the protagonists and the player in how an entity known as "The Patriots" having even more control than the U.S. President. Throughout the story is a swirl of unsuspecting plot twists, betrayals of allies and enemies only finding that they are being betrayed themselves or have some other important agenda they plan on taking. It's how the story is told that I find most fascinating. A large portion of the story is told through conversations rather than full blown CG cinematics. Along with the dialogue is flashbacks, some showing events from MGS1. But most of the time, it's a conversation between two or more people on nanocommunications. Even for people who haven't played the game yet, it should look familiar:
Source: Youtube Channel Tobes14
I rather not get too detail into the story since it'll take a lot of explaining and it would spoil a lot to those who haven't played the series yet. I've always been busy and didn't have the chance to play the series, but I'm glad I am now. But yes, the story is extensive and is very detailed in nature. I spent nearly an hour at one point just listening to a conversation or watching a cinematic. In the words of my friend, "it's like watching an interactive movie!"
Characters/Voice Acting
So the name "Snake" is usually the one associated with MGS games, but in MGS2, the majority of the game is about an agent called Jack, codename Raiden. Most of the interactions between the characters are through dialogue, and so the voice acting is very important. Whoever played the voice of Rose was incredible. She wasn't voice acting for the character; she WAS the character. All the annotations and emotions and tone of her speech sounded so sincere and so real. Rose is like the medic/save character for Raiden and is also his girlfriend. As the game progresses, both character's history, personality, and purpose is slowly revealed and tugs at the heart of players to become more attached to them. There are many other characters that share this type of attachment, interaction and relation with one another. Raiden's voice acting I found to be weird and kiddish in the beginning. In the middle of the game, I just thought his voice acting was just weird. By the end of the game though, he sounded very human. What I mean is that his character's voice acting improved and also had the tone and attitude that reflects all of human life, namely the player holding the controller. I'd go as far as to say that the story and progression of the character is life changing in the eyes of the player. I know I'm being very vague here, but I don't want to spoil anything for you readers if you haven't played the game yet. I guess what I learned about building an involving character is giving a history to present reasons for their being in the present, interactions with other characters to reveal attitude, ethics and personality, and that conversations by itself can be a very powerful method in creating the credibility of a character's knowledge and interest.
Graphics/Camera Angle
I didn't have a problem with the graphics despite it being from 9 years ago. The angle of the camera was something I had to get used to. The ability to see all around the character from a top-down view made puzzles and sneaking around easier, but it made combat more complicated. Objects, enemies, and items were distinguishable, but secret areas and dark areas are more difficult to deal with. I liked the cinematics and most of the art style they chose to work with when showing a flashback or such. It had a mix between videogame CG, film noir, espionage, and reality which pulled the player in and out of story, gameplay, reference, and life itself. There were times where they used real clips filmed around the United States. This reminded me of my art classes in how I shouldn't limit myself to one style or think so narrow-minded whenever working on a project.
Gameplay
The gameplay felt like a progression to me as well as the story. At first, I really couldn't grasp the controls and combat very well. I started in normal but I kept get caught, shot at, I couldn't bring out my gun and I died consistently. So after a few deaths, I decided to just play on Very Easy. The game was way to simple to get through, except when I didn't understand a puzzle very well. The idea of standing still in order to go into first-person and shoot made it difficult to determine my presence to the enemy and how to act whenever I couldn't see where my enemies were coming from. I got more used to the controls, I got more items, and boss battles started to get more challenging. That was something I really liked: Boss battles. I've played other stealth games like Splinter Cell before, but it was more towards the realistic side. Tenchu has a similar style in camera angle and boss battles, and it was something I enjoyed in MGS2. The game could be a lot of killing, or you could go through very stealthfully, and I usually go for the ninja path because I have plenty of hack n slash games to fulfill my urge for action games. It got really action packed when I (hmm not sure if I should tell everyone this...oh well) got my sword. Yes, you get to use a sword in a stealth game. By the end, it's more action orientated and ended up killing enemies using the sword. I'm still trying to figure out everything that made the gameplay fun, but I wasn't bored with sneaking around and avoiding conflict nor did I think it was repetitive slashing away with the sword. Could it be the frequent conversations in-between each scene? Maybe it's the fact that it's free roam and the player wasn't restricted to a linear path. I guess I can still try to figure it out as I continue to play through MGS3, 4, and 1.
Music
Harry Gregson-Williams is amazing. I can't say I remember all the tunes from the game, but the music truly set the mood at the right moments and changed the atmosphere when there wasn't even a graphical reference to rely on (during codec conversations). The main theme and others is, by many MGS players, described as "epic" (orchestration) by building a momentum that feels as if the player was about to go into a journey of struggles, meeting new people, and facing formidable conflicts (much like how the music for Lord of the Rings sounded like). Electronic sounding themes made for an exciting tune when encountered with a boss battle. Abrupt computer noises with bass filled drums drew a sense of urgency and danger. My personal favorite is still the main theme. It seems to create a sense of nostalgia, even if I've never played the game before. The music is definitely an important aspect to the success of the MGS series.
Replay Value/Secrets
There are a LOT of easter eggs and ways of playing/replaying the game. One of the specials came with a book that went up to 129 pages and then goes onto another book for 397 or something pages. I read the 129 page one and felt like I had enough. I'd probably play the game again on a harder difficulty, and I unlocked a level called insane. I'm probably not going to play that difficulty seeing how I could barely handle normal. There are dog tags that the player can collect throughout the game. A digital camera is given to the player so that pictures in game can be taken and possibly printed out at a game shop (doesn't exist anymore). The characters had many dialogues and it was enjoyable to listen through a lot of the conversations. I already started on MGS3 last night, and I already see a mode where you get to capture monkeys like in the old Playstation game "Ape Escape". A lot of the secrets may seem silly, but those added surprises and references made by the developers builds credibility among the players in how much detail and attention was put into the game.
Stats (from what I can remember):
Play Time: 10hr 57min
Saves: 30 (I save often)
Continues: 40 (I also die a lot)
Enemies Killed: 22
(and some other stuff I don't remember)
After finishing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, I felt pumped and ready to play through the rest of the games of the series. It tells an intriguing (though convoluted) story, has recurring/beloved characters in each installment, dynamic gameplay and attention to detail in as far as realism, sound, and appearance, a worthy soundtrack, and a strong line in the franchise that continues its legacy even now. I'm excited about Metal Gear Solid: Rising, but I hope it comes out on PS3 as well as Xbox 360.
Oh yeah, earlier in the post, I said I learned much about the series through parodies as one of them. This is one of the ones I was talking about:
Source: Youtube Channel to both egoraptor
His stuff are AWESOME...no pun intended.
Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
Designer: Hideo Kojima (producer, writer, director)
Platform: Playstation 2
Release Date: November 13, 2001
Genre: Stealth Action
(Source Info: Wikipedia)
Instead of doing a full blown review (since it's a little over 9 years now since its release) I thought I'd dissect the game a bit and see what I've learned (A great deal, that's for sure). Up till now, I've been learning most about design from bad games that were bad because they were so apparent and easy to distinguish. For good games, it's much more difficult to pinpoint the things about them that make it so enjoyable and popular. If it were really that easy to find out, we wouldn't have so many bad games. So I bought Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty last year, 2009, on spring break when a local game shop was shutting down and had a huge sale. I bought it used for $2.50 and never had a chance to play it. I don't even remember what I did last summer, but I must've been very busy not to have played many games. Continuing the journey I set off from this summer till now in my mission to beat one game each week and try to learn something from it, I borrow Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4 from a friend but decided to my copy of MGS 2 first since I didn't know the actual details of the story. That's right, I've never played an actual Metal Gear Solid game (what I mean is I played the Game Boy Color version a little and I've tried the NES originals, but not the "Solid" Series. Everything I knew about Metal Gear Solid I learned from parodies, music, and gaming references. After playing through MGS2, I realized the story was much deeper and convoluted than I have previously suspected.
Source: Youtube Channel mysfhonor
Story
I'm not even sure how to elaborate the story other than trying to simplify it to the max. Metal Gear Solid 2's story reminded me a bit of V for Vendetta in how there's an all powerful government that controls every information, entertainment, thought and say of it people; however, it goes beyond the government and explains to the protagonists and the player in how an entity known as "The Patriots" having even more control than the U.S. President. Throughout the story is a swirl of unsuspecting plot twists, betrayals of allies and enemies only finding that they are being betrayed themselves or have some other important agenda they plan on taking. It's how the story is told that I find most fascinating. A large portion of the story is told through conversations rather than full blown CG cinematics. Along with the dialogue is flashbacks, some showing events from MGS1. But most of the time, it's a conversation between two or more people on nanocommunications. Even for people who haven't played the game yet, it should look familiar:
Source: Youtube Channel Tobes14
I rather not get too detail into the story since it'll take a lot of explaining and it would spoil a lot to those who haven't played the series yet. I've always been busy and didn't have the chance to play the series, but I'm glad I am now. But yes, the story is extensive and is very detailed in nature. I spent nearly an hour at one point just listening to a conversation or watching a cinematic. In the words of my friend, "it's like watching an interactive movie!"
Characters/Voice Acting
So the name "Snake" is usually the one associated with MGS games, but in MGS2, the majority of the game is about an agent called Jack, codename Raiden. Most of the interactions between the characters are through dialogue, and so the voice acting is very important. Whoever played the voice of Rose was incredible. She wasn't voice acting for the character; she WAS the character. All the annotations and emotions and tone of her speech sounded so sincere and so real. Rose is like the medic/save character for Raiden and is also his girlfriend. As the game progresses, both character's history, personality, and purpose is slowly revealed and tugs at the heart of players to become more attached to them. There are many other characters that share this type of attachment, interaction and relation with one another. Raiden's voice acting I found to be weird and kiddish in the beginning. In the middle of the game, I just thought his voice acting was just weird. By the end of the game though, he sounded very human. What I mean is that his character's voice acting improved and also had the tone and attitude that reflects all of human life, namely the player holding the controller. I'd go as far as to say that the story and progression of the character is life changing in the eyes of the player. I know I'm being very vague here, but I don't want to spoil anything for you readers if you haven't played the game yet. I guess what I learned about building an involving character is giving a history to present reasons for their being in the present, interactions with other characters to reveal attitude, ethics and personality, and that conversations by itself can be a very powerful method in creating the credibility of a character's knowledge and interest.
Graphics/Camera Angle
I didn't have a problem with the graphics despite it being from 9 years ago. The angle of the camera was something I had to get used to. The ability to see all around the character from a top-down view made puzzles and sneaking around easier, but it made combat more complicated. Objects, enemies, and items were distinguishable, but secret areas and dark areas are more difficult to deal with. I liked the cinematics and most of the art style they chose to work with when showing a flashback or such. It had a mix between videogame CG, film noir, espionage, and reality which pulled the player in and out of story, gameplay, reference, and life itself. There were times where they used real clips filmed around the United States. This reminded me of my art classes in how I shouldn't limit myself to one style or think so narrow-minded whenever working on a project.
Gameplay
The gameplay felt like a progression to me as well as the story. At first, I really couldn't grasp the controls and combat very well. I started in normal but I kept get caught, shot at, I couldn't bring out my gun and I died consistently. So after a few deaths, I decided to just play on Very Easy. The game was way to simple to get through, except when I didn't understand a puzzle very well. The idea of standing still in order to go into first-person and shoot made it difficult to determine my presence to the enemy and how to act whenever I couldn't see where my enemies were coming from. I got more used to the controls, I got more items, and boss battles started to get more challenging. That was something I really liked: Boss battles. I've played other stealth games like Splinter Cell before, but it was more towards the realistic side. Tenchu has a similar style in camera angle and boss battles, and it was something I enjoyed in MGS2. The game could be a lot of killing, or you could go through very stealthfully, and I usually go for the ninja path because I have plenty of hack n slash games to fulfill my urge for action games. It got really action packed when I (hmm not sure if I should tell everyone this...oh well) got my sword. Yes, you get to use a sword in a stealth game. By the end, it's more action orientated and ended up killing enemies using the sword. I'm still trying to figure out everything that made the gameplay fun, but I wasn't bored with sneaking around and avoiding conflict nor did I think it was repetitive slashing away with the sword. Could it be the frequent conversations in-between each scene? Maybe it's the fact that it's free roam and the player wasn't restricted to a linear path. I guess I can still try to figure it out as I continue to play through MGS3, 4, and 1.
Music
Harry Gregson-Williams is amazing. I can't say I remember all the tunes from the game, but the music truly set the mood at the right moments and changed the atmosphere when there wasn't even a graphical reference to rely on (during codec conversations). The main theme and others is, by many MGS players, described as "epic" (orchestration) by building a momentum that feels as if the player was about to go into a journey of struggles, meeting new people, and facing formidable conflicts (much like how the music for Lord of the Rings sounded like). Electronic sounding themes made for an exciting tune when encountered with a boss battle. Abrupt computer noises with bass filled drums drew a sense of urgency and danger. My personal favorite is still the main theme. It seems to create a sense of nostalgia, even if I've never played the game before. The music is definitely an important aspect to the success of the MGS series.
Replay Value/Secrets
There are a LOT of easter eggs and ways of playing/replaying the game. One of the specials came with a book that went up to 129 pages and then goes onto another book for 397 or something pages. I read the 129 page one and felt like I had enough. I'd probably play the game again on a harder difficulty, and I unlocked a level called insane. I'm probably not going to play that difficulty seeing how I could barely handle normal. There are dog tags that the player can collect throughout the game. A digital camera is given to the player so that pictures in game can be taken and possibly printed out at a game shop (doesn't exist anymore). The characters had many dialogues and it was enjoyable to listen through a lot of the conversations. I already started on MGS3 last night, and I already see a mode where you get to capture monkeys like in the old Playstation game "Ape Escape". A lot of the secrets may seem silly, but those added surprises and references made by the developers builds credibility among the players in how much detail and attention was put into the game.
Stats (from what I can remember):
Play Time: 10hr 57min
Saves: 30 (I save often)
Continues: 40 (I also die a lot)
Enemies Killed: 22
(and some other stuff I don't remember)
After finishing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, I felt pumped and ready to play through the rest of the games of the series. It tells an intriguing (though convoluted) story, has recurring/beloved characters in each installment, dynamic gameplay and attention to detail in as far as realism, sound, and appearance, a worthy soundtrack, and a strong line in the franchise that continues its legacy even now. I'm excited about Metal Gear Solid: Rising, but I hope it comes out on PS3 as well as Xbox 360.
Oh yeah, earlier in the post, I said I learned much about the series through parodies as one of them. This is one of the ones I was talking about:
Source: Youtube Channel to both egoraptor
His stuff are AWESOME...no pun intended.
Friday, December 3, 2010
GameLight - Cataclysm
In 4 days, it'll be the end of the World...of Warcraft.
On Tuesday December 7th 2010, Azeroth will have change entirely, just how the Overworld became the Ruined World in Final Fantasy 6 (eh? eh? anyone?). This new expansion to the super popular MMORPG by Blizzard Entertainment "World of Warcraft" is more than just an extension of the game, but rather an entirely new one built off of the original. All the places will look different (aesthetically for the most part I think, not sure), 2 new races will be introduced, skill trees are rearranged, and new quests will be available for you and your friends to embark on. For me, I'm not so much interested in playing the new expansion as I am in seeing what changed. I have played WoW when I got the chance and really liked it, but I never got addicted and I didn't stay persistent. I didn't want to pay a monthly fee, I didn't have that much time to play it in the past 5+ years (same as now), and there are literally dozens of games sitting there and waiting for me to play them. My biggest attraction to World of Warcraft consisted of the lore (read the history of Azeroth, it is amazing), the combat system, large party quests/instances/boss battles, and the community (on friendly terms, not the flamers and complainers). I had bought the Special Edition of Starcraft 2 when it released and haven't even touched the Campaign yet because of how much work I've been doing since I got it. If anything, I'm more excited about the release of Diablo III if that ever comes out anytime soon. I got the chance to go to BlizzCon 2008 and tried out Starcraft 2, Wrath of the Lich King, and Diablo 3 and knew I was going to get at least 2 of them. I had no interest in playing (more like paying) World of Warcraft for a long duration, so I never planned on getting any of the expansions. But from all the news I've been reading and my friends' experience in beta testing Cataclysm, I'd say it's worth it to all ex-WoW players to go back on for one month to check out the changes.
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| Source: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/ |
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