Official Site: http://www.raw-thegame.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/209730/
Source: Youtube Channel focusinteractive
I mentioned this beautiful looking Action-RPG, Hack-n-Slash two days before the release of Diablo 3 as my anticipation for D3 had caused me to look at other games to divert my anxious heart for its release. Realms of Ancient War (RAW) had been under my watchful eyes to see what becomes of it, and I apparently wasn't keeping a close enough watch since the game released today without notice. The game looks amazing with beautiful graphics, slick animations, flashy abilities, and fast-paced hack-n-slash action. What I'm mainly curious about at the moment for the PC version is whether the game can be played like a point-n-click or if it plays like the consoles where it uses a controller. The game seems to play more closely to games such as Gauntlet than Diablo where attacks are more directional rather than target based. I love assassin-based classes in RPGs, and so the Rogue is the character I'm most excited about playing if I get the game. What a lot of players will be sad about is that the game doesn't support online gameplay with other players. It can be played co-op with another friend, but only locally. For console players, this won't be too much of a problem having multiple controllers and playing on the usual TV screen, but this might be a bit of a drag for PC players who will need to find gamepads to play with a friend and share a screen that may or may not be really tiny depending on the monitor size. Still, the game looks like a really fun adventure and I'm very willing to play through it for a single-player experience. RAW is available today for Playstation 3's PSN download, Xbox 360's XBLA download, and PC download including Steam for $14.99 (currently 25% off on Steam for $11.24).
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
VGCulture - League of Legends Semi-Finals continue
Official Site: League of Legends Official Site
own3D.TV Site: http://www.own3d.tv/game/League+of+Legends
Last week, the semi-finals for the League of Legends tournament never finished because of technical problems that prevented the first team from even finishing their game. So the tournament is being held without an audience with the same hi-quality stream they would have had for an on-site tournament. There are only 4 teams left. Which 2 teams will go onto the grand finals?
own3D.TV Site: http://www.own3d.tv/game/League+of+Legends
Last week, the semi-finals for the League of Legends tournament never finished because of technical problems that prevented the first team from even finishing their game. So the tournament is being held without an audience with the same hi-quality stream they would have had for an on-site tournament. There are only 4 teams left. Which 2 teams will go onto the grand finals?
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
GameLight - Code of Princess
Official Site: http://www.atlus.com/codeofprincess/
Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA
Code of Princess is an Action-Beat 'em Up with RPG elements that's reminiscent of Guardian Heroes back in the Sega Saturn days (and a game of fond memories for me). There are a lot of characters to choose from and in some of the modes there are over 50 characters to choose from (including the last boss). Two of the developers that worked on this game worked on Guardian Heroes, so some of its influence is probably still there. What made Guardian Heroes so great was the cohesive mixture of vibrant and colorful characters, intense combat, branching story paths that brought the players to many conclusions, the exciting and memorable music, and crazy multiplayer gameplay in both cooperative campaign and competitive combat. From what I understand, Code of Princess won't have branching story paths and the main characters will essentially go through the same storylines. The highlight of the game is probably its ability to play online with other players cooperatively and competitively. For cooperative play, four players can link together online to possibly play through campaign (not entirely sure yet) if not helping each other on the 100+ quests within the game. I think competitive multiplayer is still limited to 4 players as Guardian Heroes was up to 8 (or was it 10?) players at a time. I'm very curious about this game as I love beat 'em ups and they're quite rare now. The game seems to have great lasting appeal and replay value, but a lot of that comes from the online multiplayer. What usually happens is that people stop playing online as Nintendo still haven't found the best way to deliver online multiplayer on their platforms yet (although the handheld market is definitely better than what the Nintendo consoles have done). I guess I'll be picking up this game eventually. Code of Princess is exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS and is available at your local game store or favored online shop.
Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA
Code of Princess is an Action-Beat 'em Up with RPG elements that's reminiscent of Guardian Heroes back in the Sega Saturn days (and a game of fond memories for me). There are a lot of characters to choose from and in some of the modes there are over 50 characters to choose from (including the last boss). Two of the developers that worked on this game worked on Guardian Heroes, so some of its influence is probably still there. What made Guardian Heroes so great was the cohesive mixture of vibrant and colorful characters, intense combat, branching story paths that brought the players to many conclusions, the exciting and memorable music, and crazy multiplayer gameplay in both cooperative campaign and competitive combat. From what I understand, Code of Princess won't have branching story paths and the main characters will essentially go through the same storylines. The highlight of the game is probably its ability to play online with other players cooperatively and competitively. For cooperative play, four players can link together online to possibly play through campaign (not entirely sure yet) if not helping each other on the 100+ quests within the game. I think competitive multiplayer is still limited to 4 players as Guardian Heroes was up to 8 (or was it 10?) players at a time. I'm very curious about this game as I love beat 'em ups and they're quite rare now. The game seems to have great lasting appeal and replay value, but a lot of that comes from the online multiplayer. What usually happens is that people stop playing online as Nintendo still haven't found the best way to deliver online multiplayer on their platforms yet (although the handheld market is definitely better than what the Nintendo consoles have done). I guess I'll be picking up this game eventually. Code of Princess is exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS and is available at your local game store or favored online shop.
Friday, October 5, 2012
GameLight Review - New Super Mario Bros. 2
Official Site: http://newsupermariobros2.nintendo.com/
Source: Youtube Channel Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: August 19, 2012
Genre: Platformer
Pros:
-Back to the basics and still a lot of fun
-The 3D is really cool for the 2D Mario game
-Addictive focus on collecting coins
Cons:
-This Mario game makes you really greedy (leading to falling into bottomless pits)
-Significantly easier than past Mario games, even its predecessor New SMB1
-The game is pretty short
I wasn't too keen on buying this game outright as I knew I'd be able to finish it fairly quickly. But I had bought a 3DS XL and had no games on hand and New Super Mario Bros. 2 seemed like the best bet to start off with. It's a Super Mario Bros. game, so it's pretty obvious what to expect when one is familiar with the series. The game is a lot of fun, there's tons of secrets hidden throughout the game, and this time around you can play 2-player co-op through the whole game. One of the major differences in this iteration of Super Mario Bros. is that there is an extreme focus on coin collecting. The game records an overall collection of coins and is shared universally through Nintendo's data servers and shows up on the official website of how many coins have been collected by players in total. The game is a lot easier than the first New SMB and is fairly short, but it still provides plenty of entertainment finding secrets, rushing through levels, and furiously collecting coins. This is one game that could be fun for most gamers of any age or skill level and a definite must for Mario fans.
Aesthetics
The graphic style and quality is essentially the same as the first New Super Mario Bros. 1 released on the DS and is possibly run on the same engine. The biggest pull that differentiates this one from its predecessor in terms of graphics is the ability to display images in 3D. The objects don't really jump out of the screen like most people imagine 3D images to do, but it does provide a different form for players to look at and play on. It definitely accentuates certain objects in the game that are either important, dangerous, or useful while playing. In terms of audio, I don't think anything has changed at all. The music is the same main theme used in the first one with a lot of variations throughout the game and the sound effects are a direct port with some additional new ones. We don't need to discuss story as most gamers already know and accept that story isn't important in a Super Mario Bros. game. It was still kind of aggravating seeing Mario and Luigi waving off good-bye to Princess Peach only to see her captured once again. You'd think that they'd have more guards around her considering her history of getting kidnapped. So despite having a lot of the same assets and materials used in the first game in the second one, they were still able to keep the game fresh, lively, while making the game mechanics work along side the aesthetics. Aesthetics: 10/10
Buttons
One of the aspects of Super Mario Bros. games I've always loved in the platforming genre is how incredible the controls are. Although the game only utilizes 2 buttons, the developers make creative uses of them through level design and character ability. In the newer Super Mario Bros. games, new abilities have been added alongside new power-ups. Super Mario Bros. have always been a lot of fun with just running, jumping and abilities from the power-ups to fly and throw fire; however, the ability to wall kick jump, triple leap jump and smash down adds in all sorts of different puzzles and challenges for the player to encounter and overcome. Players who've played through the original Super Mario Bros. 3 game will feel pretty comfortable with the power-ups while those who've played New Super Mario Bros. 1 will know the exact controls and abilities as nothing as changed. What really makes these abilities shine is actually the level designs, but the controls themselves are really tight which should be true for any platformer. The controls for Super Mario is the best in its genre and this game proves that it still hold true. Buttons: 10/10
Concept & Content
So the goal of the game is still the same since its first in the series: Run right to reach to the goal without dying. Throughout each iteration, little things in-between the start and the goal has changed. Much like its predecessors, there are power-ups to help the player out, hazards to watch out for, and secrets/rewards to find and collect. There is a huge emphasis on collecting coins and there are tons of ways of collecting coins with the new gold block head, golden power flower, P buttons and such to bring out a ton of coins. With this in mind, players also have to fight off greed as a lot of special coins and coin collection events can lead to falling into pits, lava, enemies, and other hazards. Still, dying isn't much of an issue as the player will collect hundreds of lives along the way. I honestly don't know why there is a "lives" system in this iteration. They should've just allowed infinite lives while having a counter of how many times a player died and in what form (enemy, bottomless pit, time over) instead. The boss battles is reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World as Bowser's children return. The game overall felt really easy which made me question why it was so fun. I guess it felt easy because I didn't have to worry about a Game Over for all the lives I gained and it was still fun because there were still challenges throughout the entire game that rewards the player little by little. Besides the main worlds, there are the alternative worlds and a special world. When you complete a world, levels from that world are unlocked in Coin Rush. Coin Rush is a special mode where the player has to collect as many coins as possible without dying in a short amount of time through three randomly selected levels. Coin Rush is the main mode to keep the replay value of this game high. The player can also play co-op campaign with another 3DS owner with their own cartridge simultaneously, much like the Wii version of Super Mario Bros. I'm a bit disappointed that the 2-player competitive mode from the first New SMB didn't make a return with even more levels as it was an incredibly fun mode. Just recently, Nintendo has announced 3 DLC packs that adds more challenges in Coin Rush mode (3 extra levels each from what I understand). It bothers me knowing that even Super Mario Bros. has DLCs now, but the game provides the full package with the DLCs being additional replay value. The DLCs are $2.49 each and can be bought through the eShop. The game stayed true to the classic Mario games with its own twists, though it'd be nice to see some additional modes or the return of competitive multiplayer requiring only 1 cartridge to further extend the replayed value for a launch cost of $40 for the game. Concept and Content: 9/10
Duration
Even though the main game was somewhat short, I was pretty satisfied when I completed everything (other than grabbing all the special coins). The pacing was fairly quick and I never got bored in-between. There were parts in the game where I kept dying because I kept getting greedy and I realized if you die 5 times or more, you get the special invincibility leaf. It's pretty much telling you "you're sucking too hard, take this." I've played roughly 10 hours of the game rushing to the very end, then replaying the levels to grab the special coins, unlocking the alternate worlds, and completing the secret world. I suppose Coin Rush could provide some replay value for me, but I'm practically done with the game and don't really plan to play it all too often anytime soon. Duration: 9/10
Fun
I immediately fell back in love with Super Mario Bros. when I started up the game and felt all the tingling sensations back in my thumbs as I breezed through the game. The game is significantly easier than the first one, but I really didn't mind. I laughed at how much lives I accumulated throughout my first play through rushing to the end of the game in which I ended up with 256 lives. The focus on coin collecting was a bit distracting at first, but I eventually got used to it and either embraced it in certain levels or completely ignored it if it was causing me to die one too many times from being greedy. I felt pretty good after completing the game in its entirety (though I didn't 100% on the special coins), but did feel a bit bad about spending $40 on 10 hours of playing. All in all, it was a really enjoyable Mario game and a big sigh of relief knowing that I can still enjoy platformers. Fun: 10/10
Overall
$40 is a bit pricey for the amount of time I spent on the game, but the quality is definitely there. I would probably still buy the game if I had to choose all over again whether to get the game as my first 3DS game or not. It doesn't try too hard to be different or ground-breaking while still being able to deliver a different experience that players have had in the previous Mario games. Any fan of platforming and definitely fans of Mario should play through New Super Mario Bros. 2 at one point. Whether the $40 is worth it depends on whether an individual is okay with the one playthrough or if they can make the purchase worth it through excessive play of coin rush (I know some people out there are doing it if we have over 165 billion coins collected in total). Overall: 9.6/10
Source: Youtube Channel Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: August 19, 2012
Genre: Platformer
Pros:
-Back to the basics and still a lot of fun
-The 3D is really cool for the 2D Mario game
-Addictive focus on collecting coins
Cons:
-This Mario game makes you really greedy (leading to falling into bottomless pits)
-Significantly easier than past Mario games, even its predecessor New SMB1
-The game is pretty short
I wasn't too keen on buying this game outright as I knew I'd be able to finish it fairly quickly. But I had bought a 3DS XL and had no games on hand and New Super Mario Bros. 2 seemed like the best bet to start off with. It's a Super Mario Bros. game, so it's pretty obvious what to expect when one is familiar with the series. The game is a lot of fun, there's tons of secrets hidden throughout the game, and this time around you can play 2-player co-op through the whole game. One of the major differences in this iteration of Super Mario Bros. is that there is an extreme focus on coin collecting. The game records an overall collection of coins and is shared universally through Nintendo's data servers and shows up on the official website of how many coins have been collected by players in total. The game is a lot easier than the first New SMB and is fairly short, but it still provides plenty of entertainment finding secrets, rushing through levels, and furiously collecting coins. This is one game that could be fun for most gamers of any age or skill level and a definite must for Mario fans.
Aesthetics
The graphic style and quality is essentially the same as the first New Super Mario Bros. 1 released on the DS and is possibly run on the same engine. The biggest pull that differentiates this one from its predecessor in terms of graphics is the ability to display images in 3D. The objects don't really jump out of the screen like most people imagine 3D images to do, but it does provide a different form for players to look at and play on. It definitely accentuates certain objects in the game that are either important, dangerous, or useful while playing. In terms of audio, I don't think anything has changed at all. The music is the same main theme used in the first one with a lot of variations throughout the game and the sound effects are a direct port with some additional new ones. We don't need to discuss story as most gamers already know and accept that story isn't important in a Super Mario Bros. game. It was still kind of aggravating seeing Mario and Luigi waving off good-bye to Princess Peach only to see her captured once again. You'd think that they'd have more guards around her considering her history of getting kidnapped. So despite having a lot of the same assets and materials used in the first game in the second one, they were still able to keep the game fresh, lively, while making the game mechanics work along side the aesthetics. Aesthetics: 10/10
Buttons
One of the aspects of Super Mario Bros. games I've always loved in the platforming genre is how incredible the controls are. Although the game only utilizes 2 buttons, the developers make creative uses of them through level design and character ability. In the newer Super Mario Bros. games, new abilities have been added alongside new power-ups. Super Mario Bros. have always been a lot of fun with just running, jumping and abilities from the power-ups to fly and throw fire; however, the ability to wall kick jump, triple leap jump and smash down adds in all sorts of different puzzles and challenges for the player to encounter and overcome. Players who've played through the original Super Mario Bros. 3 game will feel pretty comfortable with the power-ups while those who've played New Super Mario Bros. 1 will know the exact controls and abilities as nothing as changed. What really makes these abilities shine is actually the level designs, but the controls themselves are really tight which should be true for any platformer. The controls for Super Mario is the best in its genre and this game proves that it still hold true. Buttons: 10/10
Concept & Content
So the goal of the game is still the same since its first in the series: Run right to reach to the goal without dying. Throughout each iteration, little things in-between the start and the goal has changed. Much like its predecessors, there are power-ups to help the player out, hazards to watch out for, and secrets/rewards to find and collect. There is a huge emphasis on collecting coins and there are tons of ways of collecting coins with the new gold block head, golden power flower, P buttons and such to bring out a ton of coins. With this in mind, players also have to fight off greed as a lot of special coins and coin collection events can lead to falling into pits, lava, enemies, and other hazards. Still, dying isn't much of an issue as the player will collect hundreds of lives along the way. I honestly don't know why there is a "lives" system in this iteration. They should've just allowed infinite lives while having a counter of how many times a player died and in what form (enemy, bottomless pit, time over) instead. The boss battles is reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World as Bowser's children return. The game overall felt really easy which made me question why it was so fun. I guess it felt easy because I didn't have to worry about a Game Over for all the lives I gained and it was still fun because there were still challenges throughout the entire game that rewards the player little by little. Besides the main worlds, there are the alternative worlds and a special world. When you complete a world, levels from that world are unlocked in Coin Rush. Coin Rush is a special mode where the player has to collect as many coins as possible without dying in a short amount of time through three randomly selected levels. Coin Rush is the main mode to keep the replay value of this game high. The player can also play co-op campaign with another 3DS owner with their own cartridge simultaneously, much like the Wii version of Super Mario Bros. I'm a bit disappointed that the 2-player competitive mode from the first New SMB didn't make a return with even more levels as it was an incredibly fun mode. Just recently, Nintendo has announced 3 DLC packs that adds more challenges in Coin Rush mode (3 extra levels each from what I understand). It bothers me knowing that even Super Mario Bros. has DLCs now, but the game provides the full package with the DLCs being additional replay value. The DLCs are $2.49 each and can be bought through the eShop. The game stayed true to the classic Mario games with its own twists, though it'd be nice to see some additional modes or the return of competitive multiplayer requiring only 1 cartridge to further extend the replayed value for a launch cost of $40 for the game. Concept and Content: 9/10
Duration
Even though the main game was somewhat short, I was pretty satisfied when I completed everything (other than grabbing all the special coins). The pacing was fairly quick and I never got bored in-between. There were parts in the game where I kept dying because I kept getting greedy and I realized if you die 5 times or more, you get the special invincibility leaf. It's pretty much telling you "you're sucking too hard, take this." I've played roughly 10 hours of the game rushing to the very end, then replaying the levels to grab the special coins, unlocking the alternate worlds, and completing the secret world. I suppose Coin Rush could provide some replay value for me, but I'm practically done with the game and don't really plan to play it all too often anytime soon. Duration: 9/10
Fun
I immediately fell back in love with Super Mario Bros. when I started up the game and felt all the tingling sensations back in my thumbs as I breezed through the game. The game is significantly easier than the first one, but I really didn't mind. I laughed at how much lives I accumulated throughout my first play through rushing to the end of the game in which I ended up with 256 lives. The focus on coin collecting was a bit distracting at first, but I eventually got used to it and either embraced it in certain levels or completely ignored it if it was causing me to die one too many times from being greedy. I felt pretty good after completing the game in its entirety (though I didn't 100% on the special coins), but did feel a bit bad about spending $40 on 10 hours of playing. All in all, it was a really enjoyable Mario game and a big sigh of relief knowing that I can still enjoy platformers. Fun: 10/10
Overall
$40 is a bit pricey for the amount of time I spent on the game, but the quality is definitely there. I would probably still buy the game if I had to choose all over again whether to get the game as my first 3DS game or not. It doesn't try too hard to be different or ground-breaking while still being able to deliver a different experience that players have had in the previous Mario games. Any fan of platforming and definitely fans of Mario should play through New Super Mario Bros. 2 at one point. Whether the $40 is worth it depends on whether an individual is okay with the one playthrough or if they can make the purchase worth it through excessive play of coin rush (I know some people out there are doing it if we have over 165 billion coins collected in total). Overall: 9.6/10
Thursday, October 4, 2012
VGCulture - Rant on Metacritic
Official Site: http://www.metacritic.com/
Metacritic used to be a sort of a respectable source for reviews of movies, shows, music and games; however, it has now become a place for enigmatic reviews by editors who are very hard to please (who might also require paying the site to allow their piece to be added to the critic side) and incomprehensible reviews/rants by users who have never watched/heard/played the material and decided to defame its name. Still, I had started posting introductory reviews on the user side of games on Metacritic while linking it to the full review here on Superpad Unplugged. Unfortunately, all my posts were deleted and I can no longer submit reviews anymore. I found out yesterday when I was about to post my review for Diablo 3 when I tried to submit my review and saw this: "You may no longer submit a review due to the content of your previous comments or reviews." Considering that I didn't break any of the rules of regulation on their Terms of Service, I can only guess that I was banned for linking my page on Metacritic. After re-reading the Terms of Service more closely, I didn't see any regulations against linking to my blog for the full reviews of the games I had wrote about. It did say; however, that they would delete posts and ban accounts without warning or reason. I find it infuriating that I've been writing objective and informative game reviews on metacritic for the past 2 years while it has been overwhelmed by posts by users who obviously haven't played the game yet so that they can defame it. Resident Evil 6 is a sad example of what Metacritic has become. Perhaps it's for the best. It doesn't seem like participating in user-score reviews is beneficial or remotely helpful any longer. All reviews will stay on the blog now.
Metacritic used to be a sort of a respectable source for reviews of movies, shows, music and games; however, it has now become a place for enigmatic reviews by editors who are very hard to please (who might also require paying the site to allow their piece to be added to the critic side) and incomprehensible reviews/rants by users who have never watched/heard/played the material and decided to defame its name. Still, I had started posting introductory reviews on the user side of games on Metacritic while linking it to the full review here on Superpad Unplugged. Unfortunately, all my posts were deleted and I can no longer submit reviews anymore. I found out yesterday when I was about to post my review for Diablo 3 when I tried to submit my review and saw this: "You may no longer submit a review due to the content of your previous comments or reviews." Considering that I didn't break any of the rules of regulation on their Terms of Service, I can only guess that I was banned for linking my page on Metacritic. After re-reading the Terms of Service more closely, I didn't see any regulations against linking to my blog for the full reviews of the games I had wrote about. It did say; however, that they would delete posts and ban accounts without warning or reason. I find it infuriating that I've been writing objective and informative game reviews on metacritic for the past 2 years while it has been overwhelmed by posts by users who obviously haven't played the game yet so that they can defame it. Resident Evil 6 is a sad example of what Metacritic has become. Perhaps it's for the best. It doesn't seem like participating in user-score reviews is beneficial or remotely helpful any longer. All reviews will stay on the blog now.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
GameLight Review - Diablo 3
Official Site: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/
Source: Youtube Channel machinima
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms: PC
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Genre: Action-RPG
Pros:
-Fast-paced gameplay with satisfying combat mechanics
-High replay value with variable play-styles and randomly generated content
-Vast array of abilities and runes to customize a class
-Easy drop-in/drop-out multiplayer with little to no problems connecting
-Incredibly detailed work in aesthetics, game mechanics, and end-game content
Cons:
-Requirement of persistent internet connection causes some problems
-Lots of imbalances in classes, items, difficulty, and content
-Auction house breaks some of the game mechanics
-Although high in end-game quality, game lacks content quantity
-Eventually becomes a never-ending grind/farm fest
I think I'm finally ready to give a review, and even now I feel it might be too soon to give one. There is no doubt in my mind that I found Diablo 3 to be a lot of fun; however, I also have my complaints about it much like others have. The biggest complaint I probably have about the game is that it wasn't entirely complete when it launched. The game still had bugs that broke the game or allowed players to exploit them to gain an unfair advantage. There were imbalances to classes where one was significantly stronger than the others. Items were also incredibly imbalanced where uncommon items were stronger and better than rare or even legendary items making finding unique items pointless. Player versus player is still not implemented yet for good reasons of the game not being entirely balanced yet. There was a point in the game where no one could get past the last difficulty level and it became a long and difficult farm for better equipment. Blizzard has been hard at work at balancing the game so that players can still enjoy the game, even at end-game. Since launch, connection issues have been resolved, items and classes have been constantly getting balances, a new level mechanic called "Paragon Levels" was implemented to allow an extra 100 levels past 60 to be gained so players would still gain some sort of progress while playing in the Inferno difficulty, and even now more mechanics such as enemy strength levels is being tested and put into the game. The game is definitely more fun with friends than playing solo or with public players, so that's another factor to consider when deciding to buy the game. To put it simply, the game was worth the $60 I paid for it and I can see myself continuing to play the game for quite a while. The thing is, Blizzard hasn't abandoned the game and its players as they still continue to update the game and probably will years afterwards and so the game will progressively become better and more refined as time passes.
Aesthetics
This is a tricky category to go through. For sure, hands down, the graphics and art of the game is top-notch and some of the best you'll see for a top-down action-RPG. The environment might not be as atmospheric and dark as the first two Diablo games in the series, but it certainly brings the world to life with detail in every aspect. Every object, model, animation, particle effect, and subtlety in the game has a purpose in bringing the player closer to the world they play in. The cinematics are possibly some of the best Blizzard has ever done in their career with beautifully crafted environments, involving characters, and exciting choreography. The combat animations and effects are flashy but not distracting and yet still retains a very fast-paced gameplay akin to its predecessors. The user-interface is compared a lot to Blizzard's other game "World of Warcraft." I really love the user-interface for Diablo 3. It's clean, straight-forward, and aesthetically pleasing. It really bothered me in the first two Diablo games where I couldn't see what skills I had and their key placements weren't ideal. Some prefer the darker look of Diablo 1 and 2, and for atmospheric purposes it worked. In terms of gameplay though, it was actually very annoying when enemies blended in with the environment. So development worked around it and made sure enemies were visible and in clear view while still maintaining a believable color palette and design of the world within Diablo 3. If anything, the level designs and fight mechanics for the bosses in the last half of the game was possibly the only thing that really disappointed me mainly because of how incredible the first half of the game was like. Seriously, one of the bosses in the game is absolutely the best boss fight I have ever had in terms of aesthetic and AI mechanic design throughout the entire series. That boss is how all the boss battles should have been like throughout the game. I won't say which boss battle it was *COUGHACTTWO* but most players will know which one I'm pointing to if they come across it. So all in all, visuals are almost perfect in the game.
For audio, sound effects and voice acting were great. I was pleased to see that the player's character had speaking parts to the game and was more involved with the people around them rather than being the silent hero that kills everything. It really brought out each of the character's personality and made them more believable in the world they're fighting in. Sound effects were just as detailed as the visuals. In the visuals, even tiny things such as leaving footprints and rag-doll effects to dead enemy bodies were accounted for. So for the sound effects, every little object, attack, enemy and environmental effect had their very deliberate attention to how they sounded like. A player can tell what kind of enemy is right outside of the screen, what kind of item dropped, or what to be cautious of because of how unique each sound effect was and how the player reacts to them. Even if a player doesn't hear a trap or see an exploding mine, they'll heard the initial start-up and know to be careful around them.
The music is another story. There isn't anything wrong with the music in Diablo 3. They're appropriate, they intensify the mood, and they do their job as background music. Unfortunately, none of them really stuck. The most recognizable track is probably the log-in screen, that also plays right before you reach Diablo, and even that doesn't really have much of an impact. I was hoping to hear at least one track that I'd really enjoy listening to, but they were all just..."there". Then again, music is very subjective and some people may really enjoy the music done in Diablo 3 aside from hearing it in-game.
What bothered me more than anything in the game was the progression of the story. I won't delve too deep into details as it might spoil some plot points for those who haven't played the game yet. To be frank, there were a lot of points in the story where I just felt dissatisfied even though some of the plot twists were predictable. There were so many ways to have made the story so much better, but the game went for cheap emotional reactions and typical story changers. I also really didn't like some of the writing for the last half of the game. All the main enemies constantly threatened the player so often that it became a joke rather than a daunting foreshadowing. You will probably hear the lines "it is futile" or "but it is of no matter" from the enemies more times than you will ever hear in all the games you've played throughout the year combined. Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
The biggest improvement from the previous two games to Diablo 3 is the controls of the game. Skills were always juggled around to be used effectively in Diablo 2 and more so in Diablo 1 and it didn't make it easier that there wasn't a definitive user-interface that was easy to use. Blizzard's simplified combat mechanics with 4 slot skills and two mouse skills make a comfortable and highly viable control scheme that works alongside their "customizable class build" mechanic so that players can still be unique despite having access to all the same skills. No longer do you have to click every individual gold piece in order to pick them up as it made no sense to force a player to do so if they're going to pick them up anyways (You can walk over money to automatically pick them up now). No longer do you have to pick up or buy identify scrolls or teleport tomes as the player in Diablo 2 would eventually have so much money or find them so often that they never ran out (In Diablo 3, you right-click an item to identify them and you can activate a portal to town whenever you want once you have the item for it). In terms of controls and inventory/statistics window mechanics (which doesn't block the entire screen anymore), Diablo 3 is definitely the best out of the series. All the controls, keys, and user-interface makes the most sense (also, hotkeys can be customized to fit any sort of layout needed). Buttons: 10/10
Concept & Content
Diablo 3 is obviously a different game from its predecessors despite having the same game type layout (Kill, loot and level). There were many players upset about the new skill mechanics where the player eventually receives everything at max level and can switch them around. It isn't like most traditional RPGs where a player had control over their attributes and chose a skills tree to focus on so that each character was unique. I love the new mechanic and accept it whole-heartedly as I've played so many RPGs and am done with having to start an entirely new character of the same class just to experience a different build. With the new skill mechanic, I can experiment with all sorts of builds without having to start new characters and be creative with my play-styles. And since end-game mostly consists of grinding and farming, I can have fun changing up my build and sometimes challenging myself into crazy non-conventional skill sets. There are currently five classes to choose from and I've tried most of them out, albeit my witch doctor isn't very far. Each class provides a unique experience throughout the game. The core game hasn't changed much: talk to town NPCs for quests, kill enemies along the way to the next part of the story, loot for better equipment or junk to sell, level to become stronger and gain more abilities to utilize until you beat the game. Once you beat the game, you play the game over again with a higher difficulty choice. Besides stronger enemies and better loot, you also encounter special mobs with more special abilities. Some of those special abilities can provide quite a challenge where they can snare a player, pull them into a mob, create a pool of lava under them, or freeze them in place. After the player has reached the hardest difficulty level and beaten that, it's a hardcore grind from there on out. The player will mostly be killing, looting and leveling in an infinite loop to prepare for the release of Player vs. Player mode. In terms of content, there's quite a bit of items to collect; however, the nice ones are incredibly rare. What was mentioned about the game that didn't seem to really reach full potential was the spontaneous special events. It's true that there were some, but there wasn't really enough to keep the game dynamic aside from the randomly generated special mobs. The one factor that might have broken the game is the Auction house. You can see it as a way for Blizzard to make extra money, or you can see it as Blizzard's way to protect its players from fraudulent trades from a third-party, it still factors in as part of the game. The auction takes out a lot of the excitement of finding items on your own in the game and a lot of the social aspect player experienced in Diablo 2 and 1 with players bartering and trading on their own in the lobby chats. I know people who spends hours just going through the auction house trying to find the best items and trying to make money off them. It doesn't really affect individual players right now since a player can choose to use the auction house or not, but it will definitely make a difference once PvP comes into play and those who have the money or gold will have an obvious advantage over those who don't use the auction house. Blizzard is still adding more content to the game with no additional charge and has a history of updating games well after its release, so I still have high hopes that Diablo 3 will continue to grow and provide entertainment value for the next few years. Concept and Content: 9/10
Duration
Normal difficulty doesn't take that long to complete if the player goes straight through it. Normal difficulty is practically one huge tutorial so that players can get used to the game so that they'll be ready for the real challenges the game has in store. Diablo 3 is actually slower in speed than Diablo 2 yet it has a nice pace to it. It never gets dull and draws the player in while never letting going. It's pretty satisfying killing one large mob after another to level up and get better loot to kill even stronger enemies. I have around 90 hours on my main character and close to 200 hours with all my characters combined and I still have more hours I can pull out of it by playing my other characters with friends or grinding my main character to increase her paragon level. Diablo 3 is definitely a game I'll keep coming back for, even if just to login to kill stuff. Duration: 10/10
Fun
My first few hours with the game was horrible because of my laptop. It took forever to install and the graphics were so messed up and it was impossible to see anything. I eventually got the graphics to be somewhat visible, but it was still pretty difficult to get through the game. I eventually bought a new laptop specifically geared towards gaming and my experience with the game changed a lot. Diablo 3 is definitely a lot of fun and I still get my enjoyment out of it playing different classes and trying different builds out. I don't really have an ending impression on it as I'm still currently playing the game and still enjoy it. Despite some of the disappointments I faced throughout the game, playing the game was and still is entertaining. Fun: 10/10
Overall
Like mentioned above, "despite some of the disappointments I faced throughout the game, playing the game was and still is entertaining." I don't regret buying the game on day 1 for full price as it has become the most played game out of my entire library. The combat is satisfying, playing with friends can be quite the bonding experience (especially against the special mobs in Inferno difficulty), and replay value is high so the game wouldn't burn out that quickly for those wanting a game to play for a long time. For some, Diablo 3 is over-hyped and over-rated, but it is undeniable that it's a fun game for those who enjoy top-down, point-n-click, Action-RPGs. Overall: 9.4/10
Source: Youtube Channel machinima
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms: PC
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Genre: Action-RPG
Pros:
-Fast-paced gameplay with satisfying combat mechanics
-High replay value with variable play-styles and randomly generated content
-Vast array of abilities and runes to customize a class
-Easy drop-in/drop-out multiplayer with little to no problems connecting
-Incredibly detailed work in aesthetics, game mechanics, and end-game content
Cons:
-Requirement of persistent internet connection causes some problems
-Lots of imbalances in classes, items, difficulty, and content
-Auction house breaks some of the game mechanics
-Although high in end-game quality, game lacks content quantity
-Eventually becomes a never-ending grind/farm fest
I think I'm finally ready to give a review, and even now I feel it might be too soon to give one. There is no doubt in my mind that I found Diablo 3 to be a lot of fun; however, I also have my complaints about it much like others have. The biggest complaint I probably have about the game is that it wasn't entirely complete when it launched. The game still had bugs that broke the game or allowed players to exploit them to gain an unfair advantage. There were imbalances to classes where one was significantly stronger than the others. Items were also incredibly imbalanced where uncommon items were stronger and better than rare or even legendary items making finding unique items pointless. Player versus player is still not implemented yet for good reasons of the game not being entirely balanced yet. There was a point in the game where no one could get past the last difficulty level and it became a long and difficult farm for better equipment. Blizzard has been hard at work at balancing the game so that players can still enjoy the game, even at end-game. Since launch, connection issues have been resolved, items and classes have been constantly getting balances, a new level mechanic called "Paragon Levels" was implemented to allow an extra 100 levels past 60 to be gained so players would still gain some sort of progress while playing in the Inferno difficulty, and even now more mechanics such as enemy strength levels is being tested and put into the game. The game is definitely more fun with friends than playing solo or with public players, so that's another factor to consider when deciding to buy the game. To put it simply, the game was worth the $60 I paid for it and I can see myself continuing to play the game for quite a while. The thing is, Blizzard hasn't abandoned the game and its players as they still continue to update the game and probably will years afterwards and so the game will progressively become better and more refined as time passes.
Aesthetics
This is a tricky category to go through. For sure, hands down, the graphics and art of the game is top-notch and some of the best you'll see for a top-down action-RPG. The environment might not be as atmospheric and dark as the first two Diablo games in the series, but it certainly brings the world to life with detail in every aspect. Every object, model, animation, particle effect, and subtlety in the game has a purpose in bringing the player closer to the world they play in. The cinematics are possibly some of the best Blizzard has ever done in their career with beautifully crafted environments, involving characters, and exciting choreography. The combat animations and effects are flashy but not distracting and yet still retains a very fast-paced gameplay akin to its predecessors. The user-interface is compared a lot to Blizzard's other game "World of Warcraft." I really love the user-interface for Diablo 3. It's clean, straight-forward, and aesthetically pleasing. It really bothered me in the first two Diablo games where I couldn't see what skills I had and their key placements weren't ideal. Some prefer the darker look of Diablo 1 and 2, and for atmospheric purposes it worked. In terms of gameplay though, it was actually very annoying when enemies blended in with the environment. So development worked around it and made sure enemies were visible and in clear view while still maintaining a believable color palette and design of the world within Diablo 3. If anything, the level designs and fight mechanics for the bosses in the last half of the game was possibly the only thing that really disappointed me mainly because of how incredible the first half of the game was like. Seriously, one of the bosses in the game is absolutely the best boss fight I have ever had in terms of aesthetic and AI mechanic design throughout the entire series. That boss is how all the boss battles should have been like throughout the game. I won't say which boss battle it was *COUGHACTTWO* but most players will know which one I'm pointing to if they come across it. So all in all, visuals are almost perfect in the game.
For audio, sound effects and voice acting were great. I was pleased to see that the player's character had speaking parts to the game and was more involved with the people around them rather than being the silent hero that kills everything. It really brought out each of the character's personality and made them more believable in the world they're fighting in. Sound effects were just as detailed as the visuals. In the visuals, even tiny things such as leaving footprints and rag-doll effects to dead enemy bodies were accounted for. So for the sound effects, every little object, attack, enemy and environmental effect had their very deliberate attention to how they sounded like. A player can tell what kind of enemy is right outside of the screen, what kind of item dropped, or what to be cautious of because of how unique each sound effect was and how the player reacts to them. Even if a player doesn't hear a trap or see an exploding mine, they'll heard the initial start-up and know to be careful around them.
The music is another story. There isn't anything wrong with the music in Diablo 3. They're appropriate, they intensify the mood, and they do their job as background music. Unfortunately, none of them really stuck. The most recognizable track is probably the log-in screen, that also plays right before you reach Diablo, and even that doesn't really have much of an impact. I was hoping to hear at least one track that I'd really enjoy listening to, but they were all just..."there". Then again, music is very subjective and some people may really enjoy the music done in Diablo 3 aside from hearing it in-game.
What bothered me more than anything in the game was the progression of the story. I won't delve too deep into details as it might spoil some plot points for those who haven't played the game yet. To be frank, there were a lot of points in the story where I just felt dissatisfied even though some of the plot twists were predictable. There were so many ways to have made the story so much better, but the game went for cheap emotional reactions and typical story changers. I also really didn't like some of the writing for the last half of the game. All the main enemies constantly threatened the player so often that it became a joke rather than a daunting foreshadowing. You will probably hear the lines "it is futile" or "but it is of no matter" from the enemies more times than you will ever hear in all the games you've played throughout the year combined. Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
The biggest improvement from the previous two games to Diablo 3 is the controls of the game. Skills were always juggled around to be used effectively in Diablo 2 and more so in Diablo 1 and it didn't make it easier that there wasn't a definitive user-interface that was easy to use. Blizzard's simplified combat mechanics with 4 slot skills and two mouse skills make a comfortable and highly viable control scheme that works alongside their "customizable class build" mechanic so that players can still be unique despite having access to all the same skills. No longer do you have to click every individual gold piece in order to pick them up as it made no sense to force a player to do so if they're going to pick them up anyways (You can walk over money to automatically pick them up now). No longer do you have to pick up or buy identify scrolls or teleport tomes as the player in Diablo 2 would eventually have so much money or find them so often that they never ran out (In Diablo 3, you right-click an item to identify them and you can activate a portal to town whenever you want once you have the item for it). In terms of controls and inventory/statistics window mechanics (which doesn't block the entire screen anymore), Diablo 3 is definitely the best out of the series. All the controls, keys, and user-interface makes the most sense (also, hotkeys can be customized to fit any sort of layout needed). Buttons: 10/10
Concept & Content
Diablo 3 is obviously a different game from its predecessors despite having the same game type layout (Kill, loot and level). There were many players upset about the new skill mechanics where the player eventually receives everything at max level and can switch them around. It isn't like most traditional RPGs where a player had control over their attributes and chose a skills tree to focus on so that each character was unique. I love the new mechanic and accept it whole-heartedly as I've played so many RPGs and am done with having to start an entirely new character of the same class just to experience a different build. With the new skill mechanic, I can experiment with all sorts of builds without having to start new characters and be creative with my play-styles. And since end-game mostly consists of grinding and farming, I can have fun changing up my build and sometimes challenging myself into crazy non-conventional skill sets. There are currently five classes to choose from and I've tried most of them out, albeit my witch doctor isn't very far. Each class provides a unique experience throughout the game. The core game hasn't changed much: talk to town NPCs for quests, kill enemies along the way to the next part of the story, loot for better equipment or junk to sell, level to become stronger and gain more abilities to utilize until you beat the game. Once you beat the game, you play the game over again with a higher difficulty choice. Besides stronger enemies and better loot, you also encounter special mobs with more special abilities. Some of those special abilities can provide quite a challenge where they can snare a player, pull them into a mob, create a pool of lava under them, or freeze them in place. After the player has reached the hardest difficulty level and beaten that, it's a hardcore grind from there on out. The player will mostly be killing, looting and leveling in an infinite loop to prepare for the release of Player vs. Player mode. In terms of content, there's quite a bit of items to collect; however, the nice ones are incredibly rare. What was mentioned about the game that didn't seem to really reach full potential was the spontaneous special events. It's true that there were some, but there wasn't really enough to keep the game dynamic aside from the randomly generated special mobs. The one factor that might have broken the game is the Auction house. You can see it as a way for Blizzard to make extra money, or you can see it as Blizzard's way to protect its players from fraudulent trades from a third-party, it still factors in as part of the game. The auction takes out a lot of the excitement of finding items on your own in the game and a lot of the social aspect player experienced in Diablo 2 and 1 with players bartering and trading on their own in the lobby chats. I know people who spends hours just going through the auction house trying to find the best items and trying to make money off them. It doesn't really affect individual players right now since a player can choose to use the auction house or not, but it will definitely make a difference once PvP comes into play and those who have the money or gold will have an obvious advantage over those who don't use the auction house. Blizzard is still adding more content to the game with no additional charge and has a history of updating games well after its release, so I still have high hopes that Diablo 3 will continue to grow and provide entertainment value for the next few years. Concept and Content: 9/10
Duration
Normal difficulty doesn't take that long to complete if the player goes straight through it. Normal difficulty is practically one huge tutorial so that players can get used to the game so that they'll be ready for the real challenges the game has in store. Diablo 3 is actually slower in speed than Diablo 2 yet it has a nice pace to it. It never gets dull and draws the player in while never letting going. It's pretty satisfying killing one large mob after another to level up and get better loot to kill even stronger enemies. I have around 90 hours on my main character and close to 200 hours with all my characters combined and I still have more hours I can pull out of it by playing my other characters with friends or grinding my main character to increase her paragon level. Diablo 3 is definitely a game I'll keep coming back for, even if just to login to kill stuff. Duration: 10/10
Fun
My first few hours with the game was horrible because of my laptop. It took forever to install and the graphics were so messed up and it was impossible to see anything. I eventually got the graphics to be somewhat visible, but it was still pretty difficult to get through the game. I eventually bought a new laptop specifically geared towards gaming and my experience with the game changed a lot. Diablo 3 is definitely a lot of fun and I still get my enjoyment out of it playing different classes and trying different builds out. I don't really have an ending impression on it as I'm still currently playing the game and still enjoy it. Despite some of the disappointments I faced throughout the game, playing the game was and still is entertaining. Fun: 10/10
Overall
Like mentioned above, "despite some of the disappointments I faced throughout the game, playing the game was and still is entertaining." I don't regret buying the game on day 1 for full price as it has become the most played game out of my entire library. The combat is satisfying, playing with friends can be quite the bonding experience (especially against the special mobs in Inferno difficulty), and replay value is high so the game wouldn't burn out that quickly for those wanting a game to play for a long time. For some, Diablo 3 is over-hyped and over-rated, but it is undeniable that it's a fun game for those who enjoy top-down, point-n-click, Action-RPGs. Overall: 9.4/10
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
VGCulture - October is filled with games
I have returned from a week's worth of hardcore working. I was dealing with a schedule of the moment I wake up until 11PM at night for 7 days to meet deadlines that are coming up fast. With the blog, I have a large amount of game reviews lined-up that I haven't gone through yet just because of how long they take. This next month will truly be a test of focus and endurance as I stuff a ton of work into a short duration.
It will be a busy month for you gamers out there too with these upcoming games:
-Resident Evil 6 (PS3/Xbox 360) - October 2nd
Source: Youtube Channel curseentertainment
-RAW: Realms of Ancient War (PC) - October 4th
-Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 (DS) - October 7th
-Code of Princess (3DS) – October 9th
-Dishonored (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) – October 9th
-XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PS3, PC, Xbox 360) – October 9th
-James Bond 007 Legends (PS3, Xbox 360) – October 16th
-Mark of the Ninja (PC) – October 16th
-Mugen Souls (PS3) – October 16th
-Ragnarok Odyssey (PSV) – October 16th
-Rocksmith Guitar and Bass (PS3, PC, Xbox 360) – October 16th
-Silent Hill: Book Of Memories (PSV) – October 16th
-Ravaged (PC) – October 17th
-Doom 3 BFG Edition (PS3, PC, Xbox 360) – October 19th
-Killzone Trilogy (PS3) – October 23rd
-Medal Of Honor: Warfighter (PS3, PC, Xbox 360) – October 23rd
-Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (PSV) – October 23rd
-Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward (3DS) – October 23rd
-DJMAX Technika Tune (PSV) – October 26th
-Street Fighter x Tekken (PSV) – October 26th
-Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS) – October 28th
-Guns of Icarus Online (PC) – October 29th
-Assassin’s Creed 3 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) – October 30th
-Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation (PSV) – October 30th
-Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth (Xbox 360) – October 30th
-Zone of the Enders HD Collection (PS3, Xbox 360) – October 30th
-Blood Knights (PSN, PC, XBLA) – October 31st
That's quite a bit of games for October alone, but I suspect most of the game releases will be in the next 3 months as the holidays creep up on us.
Source:
-Trendy Gamers: http://trendygamers.com/october-2012/
It will be a busy month for you gamers out there too with these upcoming games:
-Resident Evil 6 (PS3/Xbox 360) - October 2nd
Source: Youtube Channel curseentertainment
-RAW: Realms of Ancient War (PC) - October 4th
-Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 (DS) - October 7th
-Code of Princess (3DS) – October 9th
-Dishonored (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) – October 9th
-XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PS3, PC, Xbox 360) – October 9th
-James Bond 007 Legends (PS3, Xbox 360) – October 16th
-Mark of the Ninja (PC) – October 16th
-Mugen Souls (PS3) – October 16th
-Ragnarok Odyssey (PSV) – October 16th
-Rocksmith Guitar and Bass (PS3, PC, Xbox 360) – October 16th
-Silent Hill: Book Of Memories (PSV) – October 16th
-Ravaged (PC) – October 17th
-Doom 3 BFG Edition (PS3, PC, Xbox 360) – October 19th
-Killzone Trilogy (PS3) – October 23rd
-Medal Of Honor: Warfighter (PS3, PC, Xbox 360) – October 23rd
-Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (PSV) – October 23rd
-Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward (3DS) – October 23rd
-DJMAX Technika Tune (PSV) – October 26th
-Street Fighter x Tekken (PSV) – October 26th
-Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS) – October 28th
-Guns of Icarus Online (PC) – October 29th
-Assassin’s Creed 3 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) – October 30th
-Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation (PSV) – October 30th
-Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth (Xbox 360) – October 30th
-Zone of the Enders HD Collection (PS3, Xbox 360) – October 30th
-Blood Knights (PSN, PC, XBLA) – October 31st
That's quite a bit of games for October alone, but I suspect most of the game releases will be in the next 3 months as the holidays creep up on us.
Source:
-Trendy Gamers: http://trendygamers.com/october-2012/
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