Official Site: http://www.darksoulsii.com/us/?lang=en
Source: Youtube Channel Plexirvones
I loved Demon's Souls but I've sadly haven't got to play much of Dark Souls despite buying it pretty much when it came out. Still, it's needless to say that I was pretty excited to hear Dark Souls 2 was being developed. Today, IGN has revealed an interview with the Director at FROM Software and Global Producer at NamcoBandai as they showed some gameplay footages from Dark Souls 2. From what they've shown in the interview and demo, the enemies and the environment will have a more dynamic response to the player's actions. So far, the game looks absolutely beautiful. They said they wanted to improve the graphic quality from Dark Souls to Dark Souls 2 and I can see the difference in the character model and textures in the environment. The game looks great and so I guess I should get around to completing Dark Souls so I can be ready for #2. Dark Souls 2 should be out sometime this fall for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
VGCulture - Roguelike RPGs
So yesterday, I talked a bit about cRPGs/dRPGs. Another sub-genre of a RPG popular back in the 80's is roguelike. Unlike cRPGs where the player builds a party of 3-6 characters traveling through labyrinths in a first-person perspective and going into random battles for combat, Roguelikes are generally characterized by its top-down perspective view on randomly generated levels, permanent death, and turn-based movements. The player would take control of one character and build them in numerous ways if the game allows it. Some games will have set classes for the player to choose from, or they'll have different skills to pick to make their own class, or they won't have anything at all and become whatever they do more of (melee attacks, ranged attacks, spell casting, etc.). Similar to cRPGs, Roguelikes never did die out throughout the decades and has always attracted a niche group of gamers. Also similar to cRPGs is the fact that most Roguelikes are unforgiving with a very steep learning curve along with risk-reward mechanics that often leads to death and starting over a real drag for those unfamiliar with the genre. Those familiar with the genre often find themselves enjoying the game for its infinite amount of replay value in randomly generated levels, high risk-reward satisfaction, tactical and strategic know-how to conquer stick situations, and the sheer amount of content it provides the player to experiment with. Lastly, another similar trait cRPGs share with Roguelikes is its popularity in Japan.
Roguelike Games in the West
Source: Youtube Channel IGN
Rarely do I ever see a Western developed rogue-like in this day and age. I did see a few throughout high school and early college made by fans as mods or original ideas they were working on, but they never see the light of day or evolve into much past hitting a few enemies and dying in some way. And then all of a sudden, in the past two years, we get Dungeons of Dredmor, The Binding of Isaac, FTL: Faster Than Light, and Sword of the Stars: The Pit. Despite all of them being indie developed, these games have the heart and concept of rogue-likes that reawakens the interests of fans of the genre and captures the attention of gamers of the new era. Although these games are a bit more talked about in the gaming community, they're still pretty niche. Honestly, it's very difficult to portray why a rogue-like is so much fun in a video (although the Japanese developed ones seems to be able to do so).
The first time I saw Dungeons of Dredmor, I thought it looked really boring. It looked slow, shallow, and boring. But it had a sale and I didn't mind spending $2.49 just to see what this game was all about. I played the demo and was thinking that there were way too many things going on and the tutorial music was starting to annoy me. So to finalize trying out the game, I decided to play on the hardest difficulty and leave permadeath on since I didn't think I'd play the game for very long anyways. To my surprise, the game was incredible! Rather than choosing one class, the player was able to select various skills to match the play style that they wanted, and each skill provided abilities and perks to make their character stronger. Unlike the tutorial music, the in-game music is unique, somewhat atmospheric, and quite memorable. As I collected more items, got stronger, killed various enemies, I started appreciating all the spontaneous and random events that could happen with every step and behind every door. The humor also made for a light-hearted adventure rather than a dark and serious one that most western developed dungeon crawlers seem to have. After about 5 hours of playing and eventually dying, I played another round. Needless to say, I really enjoyed the game and tried my best to let my friends know how great of a game it was. Unfortunately, not everyone that tried it enjoyed it, but roguelikes are like that: you love 'em or hate 'em (or just not care too much for them).
The Binding of Isaac isn't strictly a rogue-like, but it has many elements to the genre. The game utilizes permadeath and cannot be saved mid-game and must be completed in one run. Levels, rooms, and items and randomized every playthrough, so all sorts of events can happen throughout each playthrough. The player's character gradually becomes stronger by acquire different items, buffs, and companions. Combat and gameplay is not turn-based, but rather action-based and played like a twin-stick shooter (like Robotron 2084 or Geometry Wars). The game contains a lot of crude humor, lots of poop, and a nasty difficulty curve. But the game usually doesn't take up more than one hour per playthrough which makes it a great game for those looking for instant gratification as most rogue-likes do take a decent amount of planning and preparation. Another roguelike that doesn't take too much time to play is FTL: Faster Than Light. This game is also not strictly a rogue-like, but has many elements of one. Lastly, Sword of the Stars: The Pit is currently being developed and is set to launch on the Steam platform. All of these great games can be found on Steam.
There is one other rogue-like that I have played in the past 2 years called "Hack, Slash, Loot (HSL)", but it is one game I cannot recommend even to the most hardcore of fans. Roguelikes are known for their difficulty because of how random some events, enemies and levels can be, but they still require skill to play. And a skilled player can turn situations around in a rogue-like. In "Hack, Slash, Loot"; however, everything is based on luck. True, other roguelikes require a fair amount of luck for item drops, enemy engagement, and crits, but combat shouldn't be such a hassle. HSL is solely based on luck. If you can't find the equipment to improve your character, you will die. If you happen to run into the wrong enemy right around the corner, you will die. These sound pretty common. But the fact that your character will have a low rate of landing an attack? That's just absurd! Nearly every character/class I played had difficulty killing enemies because they almost always miss their attacks. The only class that I had somewhat of a chance with was the Amazon as her default bow allows her to build up hit chance % for each kill. And even then, enemies would still randomly kill her in 1-3 hits. The only way to get the other classes was by dying, a lot. For a game to revolve its content and gameplay around dying and luck shouldn't considered to be a game much less a roguelike. I was sorely disappointed with HSL. This is not to be mistaken for Hack Slash Crawl. It's a diablo-esque dungeon crawler with many roguelike features played in Flash. THAT game is just amazing, and free for the most part.
Roguelike Games in Japan
Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA
I'm not certain what was my first rogue-like game I've played, but one of the games I first noticed for its unique game mechanics was Izuna: The Unemployed Ninja. At first, I was sad to find out that the game wasn't an Action-RPG. Everything getting one turn per action meant getting hit multiple times per movement or attack. Dying meant losing all items that I had equipped and found. It was a daunting experience and I didn't play it after the first 30 minutes. But one night when I wasn't able to sleep, I tried playing it again and somehow found the flow of the game and how it worked. Being somewhat more forgiving than most Roguelikes, Izuna didn't have permadeath. Losing all your HP in a dungeon means getting knocked out and having people from the village carry you all the way back into town but can't carry all your items along with you back out. Unlike most Rogue-likes where the player has to focus on stats, classes, feats and such, Izuna focuses on character level only and equipment acquisition. This allows the player to focus more on items and combat and not have to worry about builds, class types, preparation, stat balance and losing absolutely everything when they die. Still, the game was really tough and how I mainly played the game was always carrying a teleportation scroll (Kikan I think it was called) and advancing into a dungeon as far as I can before warping out when things got too difficult so that I would ensure getting money, good items and levels out of the run through the dungeon. I'm still currently playing the 2nd one whenever I'm not playing my other handheld games and it's somewhat easier than the first one with a lot more content, but still puts up a tough challenge.
The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon spin-off series takes many aspects of Rogue-likes, but are not nearly as difficult. One Japanese developed Roguelike I really enjoyed was ClaDun: This is an RPG. The player could create and customize their own characters and combine them with other characters to enhance a stat to ridiculous proportions. It gets to a point where a character can one shot enemies, zoom past them at incredible speed, or cast a spell so devastating that a boss wouldn't be able to take a hit. It took out turn-based movement and battle for an Action-orientated combat mechanic but kept difficulty, randomness and high risk-reward aspects to the game for all sorts of shenanigans. ClaDun 2 was eventually released both for PSP and even for PC on Steam, which I have bought but have yet to find the time to play. Another Action-orientated Rogue-like I sadly never got to try is Baroque. It was originally launched for the PS2 but has also been released for the Nintendo Wii and Apple iOS iPad. Like many roguelikes, it's unforgiving and causes the player to start over if they die. Strange enough, I heard that some events can only be triggered by dying. Although roguelike games aren't made very often, there's one on its way to America this year.
Source: Youtube Channel MMediaEntertainment
Supposedly a spiritual successor to "Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman" for the PSP, The Guided Fate Paradox will be a Roguelike RPG with a vast amount of customization, content, and craziness. Being developed by the team who worked on Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, you can expect the skill animations to be flashy, colorful, and totally over-the-top. The game should be out sometime this Fall, but delays can happen.
Source: Youtube Channel Ew Ae
The game I want to talk about most, and the game responsible for spurring the idea of writing this post, is a Japanese indie developed game called "Elona". Most people are probably familiar with the popular flash game "Elona Shooter" which was developed by the same person to promote "Elona". The game had been released back in 2007 as a freeware game and I had known about the game but did not try it. As my friends and I were talking about Roguelikes, one of them mentioned Elona and I had remembered the game mostly because you can be a Pianist as a class in the game. He described his experience with the game and highly encouraged me to try it out. So I eventually did and was already enraptured by the game through its character creation. There's a wide selection of races, classes, builds, perks, appearances, nicknames, and equipment quality that the player can roll for. Once the game starts, everything is up to the player. The game is open-world rather than being dungeon-only levels but still randomly generate levels inside caves and buildings. Hunger, thirst, fatigue, backpack weight, diseases and curses all play part in the adventure. The player doesn't lose their characters after dying, but rather lose some money, drop some items, and reawaken back at their home. When a player dies, they can leave a message that is sent out to the text feed of other players playing the game that announces where they died, who killed them, and their message. Does this sound familiar? It reminded me of Demon's Souls where players don't directly interact with each other (although they can in Demon's Souls when summoned) but can leave messages and blood stains when they die to warn other players. It also kind of gives it an involving feeling when you see messages of other players deaths and realize that you're not the only one getting killed and having struggles. Despite not being able to see and play with other players, players can make Moon Gates which is a rift that the player can go through to go to other player's houses. Some may contain riches and items that can help the player while others may be a sick joke by the player where it's ridden with high level monsters everywhere. The game is progressive and does have a story. And with the amount of content is provides, I imagine this game can last a very long time.
Roguelikes have a unique charm to them that no other genre really has. But they attract a niche group of gamers and are not widely popular as other RPG genres in the market. Even turn-based JRPGs are starting to become a niche in the RPG sector as Action-RPGs become more popular. It can be difficult for newcomers to get into Roguelikes, and there aren't that many easy ones to get into. If you are new to Roguelikes and want to try to get into it, I would recommend Dungeons of Dredmor above all the other ones I've mentioned as it is the easiest to pick up.
Roguelike Games in the West
Source: Youtube Channel IGN
Rarely do I ever see a Western developed rogue-like in this day and age. I did see a few throughout high school and early college made by fans as mods or original ideas they were working on, but they never see the light of day or evolve into much past hitting a few enemies and dying in some way. And then all of a sudden, in the past two years, we get Dungeons of Dredmor, The Binding of Isaac, FTL: Faster Than Light, and Sword of the Stars: The Pit. Despite all of them being indie developed, these games have the heart and concept of rogue-likes that reawakens the interests of fans of the genre and captures the attention of gamers of the new era. Although these games are a bit more talked about in the gaming community, they're still pretty niche. Honestly, it's very difficult to portray why a rogue-like is so much fun in a video (although the Japanese developed ones seems to be able to do so).
The first time I saw Dungeons of Dredmor, I thought it looked really boring. It looked slow, shallow, and boring. But it had a sale and I didn't mind spending $2.49 just to see what this game was all about. I played the demo and was thinking that there were way too many things going on and the tutorial music was starting to annoy me. So to finalize trying out the game, I decided to play on the hardest difficulty and leave permadeath on since I didn't think I'd play the game for very long anyways. To my surprise, the game was incredible! Rather than choosing one class, the player was able to select various skills to match the play style that they wanted, and each skill provided abilities and perks to make their character stronger. Unlike the tutorial music, the in-game music is unique, somewhat atmospheric, and quite memorable. As I collected more items, got stronger, killed various enemies, I started appreciating all the spontaneous and random events that could happen with every step and behind every door. The humor also made for a light-hearted adventure rather than a dark and serious one that most western developed dungeon crawlers seem to have. After about 5 hours of playing and eventually dying, I played another round. Needless to say, I really enjoyed the game and tried my best to let my friends know how great of a game it was. Unfortunately, not everyone that tried it enjoyed it, but roguelikes are like that: you love 'em or hate 'em (or just not care too much for them).
The Binding of Isaac isn't strictly a rogue-like, but it has many elements to the genre. The game utilizes permadeath and cannot be saved mid-game and must be completed in one run. Levels, rooms, and items and randomized every playthrough, so all sorts of events can happen throughout each playthrough. The player's character gradually becomes stronger by acquire different items, buffs, and companions. Combat and gameplay is not turn-based, but rather action-based and played like a twin-stick shooter (like Robotron 2084 or Geometry Wars). The game contains a lot of crude humor, lots of poop, and a nasty difficulty curve. But the game usually doesn't take up more than one hour per playthrough which makes it a great game for those looking for instant gratification as most rogue-likes do take a decent amount of planning and preparation. Another roguelike that doesn't take too much time to play is FTL: Faster Than Light. This game is also not strictly a rogue-like, but has many elements of one. Lastly, Sword of the Stars: The Pit is currently being developed and is set to launch on the Steam platform. All of these great games can be found on Steam.
There is one other rogue-like that I have played in the past 2 years called "Hack, Slash, Loot (HSL)", but it is one game I cannot recommend even to the most hardcore of fans. Roguelikes are known for their difficulty because of how random some events, enemies and levels can be, but they still require skill to play. And a skilled player can turn situations around in a rogue-like. In "Hack, Slash, Loot"; however, everything is based on luck. True, other roguelikes require a fair amount of luck for item drops, enemy engagement, and crits, but combat shouldn't be such a hassle. HSL is solely based on luck. If you can't find the equipment to improve your character, you will die. If you happen to run into the wrong enemy right around the corner, you will die. These sound pretty common. But the fact that your character will have a low rate of landing an attack? That's just absurd! Nearly every character/class I played had difficulty killing enemies because they almost always miss their attacks. The only class that I had somewhat of a chance with was the Amazon as her default bow allows her to build up hit chance % for each kill. And even then, enemies would still randomly kill her in 1-3 hits. The only way to get the other classes was by dying, a lot. For a game to revolve its content and gameplay around dying and luck shouldn't considered to be a game much less a roguelike. I was sorely disappointed with HSL. This is not to be mistaken for Hack Slash Crawl. It's a diablo-esque dungeon crawler with many roguelike features played in Flash. THAT game is just amazing, and free for the most part.
Roguelike Games in Japan
Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA
I'm not certain what was my first rogue-like game I've played, but one of the games I first noticed for its unique game mechanics was Izuna: The Unemployed Ninja. At first, I was sad to find out that the game wasn't an Action-RPG. Everything getting one turn per action meant getting hit multiple times per movement or attack. Dying meant losing all items that I had equipped and found. It was a daunting experience and I didn't play it after the first 30 minutes. But one night when I wasn't able to sleep, I tried playing it again and somehow found the flow of the game and how it worked. Being somewhat more forgiving than most Roguelikes, Izuna didn't have permadeath. Losing all your HP in a dungeon means getting knocked out and having people from the village carry you all the way back into town but can't carry all your items along with you back out. Unlike most Rogue-likes where the player has to focus on stats, classes, feats and such, Izuna focuses on character level only and equipment acquisition. This allows the player to focus more on items and combat and not have to worry about builds, class types, preparation, stat balance and losing absolutely everything when they die. Still, the game was really tough and how I mainly played the game was always carrying a teleportation scroll (Kikan I think it was called) and advancing into a dungeon as far as I can before warping out when things got too difficult so that I would ensure getting money, good items and levels out of the run through the dungeon. I'm still currently playing the 2nd one whenever I'm not playing my other handheld games and it's somewhat easier than the first one with a lot more content, but still puts up a tough challenge.
The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon spin-off series takes many aspects of Rogue-likes, but are not nearly as difficult. One Japanese developed Roguelike I really enjoyed was ClaDun: This is an RPG. The player could create and customize their own characters and combine them with other characters to enhance a stat to ridiculous proportions. It gets to a point where a character can one shot enemies, zoom past them at incredible speed, or cast a spell so devastating that a boss wouldn't be able to take a hit. It took out turn-based movement and battle for an Action-orientated combat mechanic but kept difficulty, randomness and high risk-reward aspects to the game for all sorts of shenanigans. ClaDun 2 was eventually released both for PSP and even for PC on Steam, which I have bought but have yet to find the time to play. Another Action-orientated Rogue-like I sadly never got to try is Baroque. It was originally launched for the PS2 but has also been released for the Nintendo Wii and Apple iOS iPad. Like many roguelikes, it's unforgiving and causes the player to start over if they die. Strange enough, I heard that some events can only be triggered by dying. Although roguelike games aren't made very often, there's one on its way to America this year.
Source: Youtube Channel MMediaEntertainment
Supposedly a spiritual successor to "Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman" for the PSP, The Guided Fate Paradox will be a Roguelike RPG with a vast amount of customization, content, and craziness. Being developed by the team who worked on Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, you can expect the skill animations to be flashy, colorful, and totally over-the-top. The game should be out sometime this Fall, but delays can happen.
Source: Youtube Channel Ew Ae
The game I want to talk about most, and the game responsible for spurring the idea of writing this post, is a Japanese indie developed game called "Elona". Most people are probably familiar with the popular flash game "Elona Shooter" which was developed by the same person to promote "Elona". The game had been released back in 2007 as a freeware game and I had known about the game but did not try it. As my friends and I were talking about Roguelikes, one of them mentioned Elona and I had remembered the game mostly because you can be a Pianist as a class in the game. He described his experience with the game and highly encouraged me to try it out. So I eventually did and was already enraptured by the game through its character creation. There's a wide selection of races, classes, builds, perks, appearances, nicknames, and equipment quality that the player can roll for. Once the game starts, everything is up to the player. The game is open-world rather than being dungeon-only levels but still randomly generate levels inside caves and buildings. Hunger, thirst, fatigue, backpack weight, diseases and curses all play part in the adventure. The player doesn't lose their characters after dying, but rather lose some money, drop some items, and reawaken back at their home. When a player dies, they can leave a message that is sent out to the text feed of other players playing the game that announces where they died, who killed them, and their message. Does this sound familiar? It reminded me of Demon's Souls where players don't directly interact with each other (although they can in Demon's Souls when summoned) but can leave messages and blood stains when they die to warn other players. It also kind of gives it an involving feeling when you see messages of other players deaths and realize that you're not the only one getting killed and having struggles. Despite not being able to see and play with other players, players can make Moon Gates which is a rift that the player can go through to go to other player's houses. Some may contain riches and items that can help the player while others may be a sick joke by the player where it's ridden with high level monsters everywhere. The game is progressive and does have a story. And with the amount of content is provides, I imagine this game can last a very long time.
Roguelikes have a unique charm to them that no other genre really has. But they attract a niche group of gamers and are not widely popular as other RPG genres in the market. Even turn-based JRPGs are starting to become a niche in the RPG sector as Action-RPGs become more popular. It can be difficult for newcomers to get into Roguelikes, and there aren't that many easy ones to get into. If you are new to Roguelikes and want to try to get into it, I would recommend Dungeons of Dredmor above all the other ones I've mentioned as it is the easiest to pick up.
Monday, April 8, 2013
GameLight - Demon Gaze
Official Japanese Site: http://demongaze.jp/
Source: Youtube Channel SuperPlayUp
[This section is mostly talking about cRPGs. Skip to the bottom for Demon Gaze]
Are Computer Role-Playing Games (cRPG)/Dungeon Role-Playing Games (dRPG) making a comeback in the game industry? Probably not since they've always been around. That is to say, classic dungeon crawling RPGs never died out and has always been played by a niche group of gamers. The classic first-person perspective in a maze-like labyrinth with custom building parties, graphing out maps on grid sheets, and turn-based battles was the videogame interpretation of pen-and-paper RPGs that RPG fans loved back in the day. It focused less on story development and more on the experience and journey through level progression. As videogames evolved, the abstract mechanics of numbers, statistics, and turn-based feel are more hidden in place of more adventure and action orientated games that we have now such as Mass Effect 3, Phantasy Star Online 2 and Fallout 3. One of the more prominent cRPGs throughout the decades is the Wizardry series. I didn't play much cRPGs back in the day and the closest game I played to a cRPG was Ultima Exodus on the NES. In the past few years though, I have been dabbling in the cRPG genre unknowingly by trying out games I haven't heard before. I've played Legend of Grimrock and thought it was okay but got lost and haven't played it since (I probably will soon). A few years back, I tried out the NES version of Wizardry and found it to be tough. I played a few cRPGs on my palm pilot and graphing calculator back in high school made by fans. I tried out The Dark Spire for the Nintendo DS just last week and realized a lot of time and dedication was needed to play that game. In fact, most cRPGs do require a decent amount of time, patience and commitment to play through. Etrian Odyssey had great graphics and music, but it was also super grindy. What I'm trying to get at here is that cRPGs have always been around, but they're not talked about very often in the mainstream gaming community. Then in the past few years, Legend of Grimrock and Etrian Odyssey 4 was talked about quite often. Because I didn't get very far with Etrian Odyssey, I didn't bother taking a look at 2 and 3. But when 4 came out with a demo, I decided to give it a try and found it to be a lot more easier to get into and enjoy. That has probably been one of the biggest problems with cRPGs is that they're too much like the old school ones where they're super hard-core, making it difficult for newcomers to enjoy. Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls for the PS3 and iOS had this exact problem as many reviews by players found it to be confusing, frustrating, and too abstract for those unfamiliar to the genre. Despite having originated in the West, cRPGs had become a very popular genre in games in Japan and still holds true now. This leads to the actual topic at hand: Demon Gaze for the Sony PS Vita.
[Demon Gaze article starts here]
Source: Youtube Channel kadokawagames
I apologize for having such a long rant on cRPGs, but that was my original intention for today's post. It just so happened that I found out about another cRPG today that was released for the PS Vita in Japan back in January 24th of this year called Demon Gaze. At first glance, it looks very Japanese with animé style graphics, lots of fan service, and animé tropes everywhere. But in the end, the game is very much tied to its cRPG roots with first-person exploration in a dungeon, turn-based battles, and custom party management. The animé nature of the game may bother some or many here in the West, but the game was obviously made with Japan's audience in mind. With the success and widespread exposure Etrian Odyssey 4 has had in the West, there's a chance that Demon Gaze could be picked up by a publisher in the US and get localized. If it does get brought over and I get a PS Vita, perhaps I'll consider checking this game out. Like I've said before, these types of RPGs to require a bit of time and commitment to play and I'm not sure if I'll have that. If old school dungeon crawling RPGs and animé themes is your thing, be sure to keep an eye out for a name called "Demon Gaze". Kadokawa did file for a trademark in the US, perhaps they'll publish it themselves rather than wait for another publisher to pick it up.
Source:
-Joystiq - Kadokawa trademarks 'Demon Gaze' in US
Source: Youtube Channel SuperPlayUp
[This section is mostly talking about cRPGs. Skip to the bottom for Demon Gaze]
Are Computer Role-Playing Games (cRPG)/Dungeon Role-Playing Games (dRPG) making a comeback in the game industry? Probably not since they've always been around. That is to say, classic dungeon crawling RPGs never died out and has always been played by a niche group of gamers. The classic first-person perspective in a maze-like labyrinth with custom building parties, graphing out maps on grid sheets, and turn-based battles was the videogame interpretation of pen-and-paper RPGs that RPG fans loved back in the day. It focused less on story development and more on the experience and journey through level progression. As videogames evolved, the abstract mechanics of numbers, statistics, and turn-based feel are more hidden in place of more adventure and action orientated games that we have now such as Mass Effect 3, Phantasy Star Online 2 and Fallout 3. One of the more prominent cRPGs throughout the decades is the Wizardry series. I didn't play much cRPGs back in the day and the closest game I played to a cRPG was Ultima Exodus on the NES. In the past few years though, I have been dabbling in the cRPG genre unknowingly by trying out games I haven't heard before. I've played Legend of Grimrock and thought it was okay but got lost and haven't played it since (I probably will soon). A few years back, I tried out the NES version of Wizardry and found it to be tough. I played a few cRPGs on my palm pilot and graphing calculator back in high school made by fans. I tried out The Dark Spire for the Nintendo DS just last week and realized a lot of time and dedication was needed to play that game. In fact, most cRPGs do require a decent amount of time, patience and commitment to play through. Etrian Odyssey had great graphics and music, but it was also super grindy. What I'm trying to get at here is that cRPGs have always been around, but they're not talked about very often in the mainstream gaming community. Then in the past few years, Legend of Grimrock and Etrian Odyssey 4 was talked about quite often. Because I didn't get very far with Etrian Odyssey, I didn't bother taking a look at 2 and 3. But when 4 came out with a demo, I decided to give it a try and found it to be a lot more easier to get into and enjoy. That has probably been one of the biggest problems with cRPGs is that they're too much like the old school ones where they're super hard-core, making it difficult for newcomers to enjoy. Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls for the PS3 and iOS had this exact problem as many reviews by players found it to be confusing, frustrating, and too abstract for those unfamiliar to the genre. Despite having originated in the West, cRPGs had become a very popular genre in games in Japan and still holds true now. This leads to the actual topic at hand: Demon Gaze for the Sony PS Vita.
[Demon Gaze article starts here]
Source: Youtube Channel kadokawagames
I apologize for having such a long rant on cRPGs, but that was my original intention for today's post. It just so happened that I found out about another cRPG today that was released for the PS Vita in Japan back in January 24th of this year called Demon Gaze. At first glance, it looks very Japanese with animé style graphics, lots of fan service, and animé tropes everywhere. But in the end, the game is very much tied to its cRPG roots with first-person exploration in a dungeon, turn-based battles, and custom party management. The animé nature of the game may bother some or many here in the West, but the game was obviously made with Japan's audience in mind. With the success and widespread exposure Etrian Odyssey 4 has had in the West, there's a chance that Demon Gaze could be picked up by a publisher in the US and get localized. If it does get brought over and I get a PS Vita, perhaps I'll consider checking this game out. Like I've said before, these types of RPGs to require a bit of time and commitment to play and I'm not sure if I'll have that. If old school dungeon crawling RPGs and animé themes is your thing, be sure to keep an eye out for a name called "Demon Gaze". Kadokawa did file for a trademark in the US, perhaps they'll publish it themselves rather than wait for another publisher to pick it up.
Source:
-Joystiq - Kadokawa trademarks 'Demon Gaze' in US
Friday, April 5, 2013
VGCulture - Mega64 performing Hotline Miami
Source: Youtube Channel RoccoB64
Mega64 have been doing videogame related videos for years now and have gotten into a lot of trouble in public many times before. They get into all sorts of shenanigans around people unaware that they're shooting a video and often times get the police called on them. So when I heard that they did a video based on the violent retro-styled game "Hotline Miami", I was instantly interested and scared at the same time. The video does justice to the game but does get them in trouble...again. For those interested in playing the game, it's available on Steam for $9.99.
Mega64 have been doing videogame related videos for years now and have gotten into a lot of trouble in public many times before. They get into all sorts of shenanigans around people unaware that they're shooting a video and often times get the police called on them. So when I heard that they did a video based on the violent retro-styled game "Hotline Miami", I was instantly interested and scared at the same time. The video does justice to the game but does get them in trouble...again. For those interested in playing the game, it's available on Steam for $9.99.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
GameLight - Dynasty Warriors 8
Official Site: http://www.tecmokoeiamerica.com/dw8/#home
Source: Youtube Channel GemaTheEntertainer
I was really surprised to hear a release date for a North America (July 16th, 2013) and even more surprised that the game has been out in Japan a little more than a month now (February 28th, 2013). I'm definitely excited about the new iteration to the Dynasty Warriors series, but I'm also a bit skeptical. The reason for such doubt is that Dynasty Warriors 7 was an incredible game. After the disappointment of DW6, DW7 took everything that was great about their franchise and made one heck of an action game. The story was told in a much more personal fashion rather than having hacked scenes here and there. It was emotionally moving and well thought out. The graphics were made to be a bit more realistic in terms of color palette choices compared to past DW games and was optimized so well that 3x-5x more enemies appeared on screen. The flow and animation of combat was so smooth and effortless that it allowed a large array of possible combos. In short, Dynasty Warriors 7 was so great that I wasn't sure if Omega Force/Koei was capable of making something even better. There have been a lot of videos from the Japanese version of Dynasty Warriors 8 already uploaded online, but I didn't want to watch too much and spoil my experience with the game when I finally get it. From what I gather, there will be new characters, new weapons, new modes, an affinity mechanic that creates advantages and disadvantages in a fight (think rock-paper-scissors or Fire Emblem), new abilities, and the ability to use 3 different musou attacks with each character. I'm really surprised at how quickly Dynasty Warriors 8 came out as I was expecting for it to come out on the PS4. I'll be really excited for a Dynasty Warriors on the PS4 utilizing the next gen technology for consoles.
Source: Youtube Channel GemaTheEntertainer
I was really surprised to hear a release date for a North America (July 16th, 2013) and even more surprised that the game has been out in Japan a little more than a month now (February 28th, 2013). I'm definitely excited about the new iteration to the Dynasty Warriors series, but I'm also a bit skeptical. The reason for such doubt is that Dynasty Warriors 7 was an incredible game. After the disappointment of DW6, DW7 took everything that was great about their franchise and made one heck of an action game. The story was told in a much more personal fashion rather than having hacked scenes here and there. It was emotionally moving and well thought out. The graphics were made to be a bit more realistic in terms of color palette choices compared to past DW games and was optimized so well that 3x-5x more enemies appeared on screen. The flow and animation of combat was so smooth and effortless that it allowed a large array of possible combos. In short, Dynasty Warriors 7 was so great that I wasn't sure if Omega Force/Koei was capable of making something even better. There have been a lot of videos from the Japanese version of Dynasty Warriors 8 already uploaded online, but I didn't want to watch too much and spoil my experience with the game when I finally get it. From what I gather, there will be new characters, new weapons, new modes, an affinity mechanic that creates advantages and disadvantages in a fight (think rock-paper-scissors or Fire Emblem), new abilities, and the ability to use 3 different musou attacks with each character. I'm really surprised at how quickly Dynasty Warriors 8 came out as I was expecting for it to come out on the PS4. I'll be really excited for a Dynasty Warriors on the PS4 utilizing the next gen technology for consoles.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
VGCulture - Shoot 'em Ups on Steam
I have once again accumulated a decent amount of games to review. So instead of having a detailed review of each one, I'm going write a short article about the shoot-em-ups I've played and briefly reflect on them.
eXceed Complete Pack - $9.99
Source: Youtube Channel Fiorion
eXceed Complete Pack is totally worth it for those who love bullet hell/Danmaku shoot-em-ups. Rather than just being upgrades from each other, each of the eXceed games are vastly different from each other in terms of game mechanics. The first eXceed is sadly not translated to English, but is still playable with classic insanity of bullets even on the easiest level. eXceed 2nd uses the polarity bullet mechanic that is most well known for in the shoot-em-up Ikaruga. eXceed 3rd plays much like Touhou with grazing bullet mechanics much like Shikigami no Shiro 3 (Castle of Shikigami 3). Side from beautiful visuals, the games have an incredible collection of music that plays throughout the levels. One of my favorites is the first half of the one that plays in the video above.
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved - $3.99
Geometry Wars is a great game to play when there isn't that much time for a break or if you want to play a short session for it. This Arena style arcade shooter is matched with tight controls, colorful visuals, and a motivating song that keeps the action going.
Sine Mora - $9.99
Source: Youtube Channel DigitalRealityGames
The graphics and aesthetics in Sine Mora is breath-taking and absolutely beautiful. This 2D shooter with 3D graphics has a unique mechanic, challenging boss battles and all sorts of weapons and ships to use, but it's sadly a game I didn't enjoy entirely. Rather than having health or lives, the game runs on time. When the player gets hit, they lose a bit of time and running out of time meant game over. The way a player acquired stronger versions of their weapons is by picking up power-ups dropped by enemies. If the player is hurt in any kind of way, the power-up falls out of the player's ship and starts floating away. Here's where I had problems with the game. Without those power-ups, the player is really weak and useless and won't be able to defeat bosses in time without them. It makes sense to avoid getting hit, but there are a lot of moments where unexpected speeding danger hits the player. The power-ups float towards danger which causes the player to run into more things that eats up time just to get back time. But if you don't grab the power-ups, you run out of time trying to whittle down the bosses. Add this with unchangeable key bindings, unruly movement controls (too fast on keyboard and too slow on mouse) along with moving levels while getting shot from all 360 degrees and you find yourself being more frustrated with the game than enjoying it. It's sadly not a game I can't recommend. Great visuals and audio (music/sfx/interesting choice of having voice acting in Hungarian), but the game mechanics and controls were just awful for me.
Ether Vapor Remaster - $7.99
Holy cow is this game hard! Edelweiss is apparently known for making really difficult and challenging games. The game's life system works much like Gradius V for those who have played it. Essentially, the more you play the game, the more lives and shields you'll receive. This can be very discouraging for some players having to lose over and over and starting over from the very beginning of the game. The concept behind this game is like many older games where you try to learn and get better each time you restart the game. It's a dastardly way to extend a game's play length, but those that have the patience and time will find challenge and gratification when they get to the end of the game.
Really Big Sky - $5.99
Source: Youtube Channel bossbaddiegames
I think this game randomly generates levels every time. Each time I played it, the level changes. The player can keep improving their ship at the end of each playthrough. The visuals are super flashy and the audio makes for a explosive experience. There are a lot of modes to play but must be acquired by fulfilling certain conditions. It's a great distraction to sit down and relax to this game.
Scoregasm - $9.99
I have a hunch that this game is by the same developer as bullet candy as the concept is similar and the ship looks the same. Although significantly better in visuals, gameplay, and level design than Bullet Candy, I still got bored of the game fairly quickly. What I enjoyed most were the boss battles where it felt more like a bullet hell. With the rest of the levels, it just felt like a tight-spaced geometry wars in very short durations.
Titan Attacks! - $4.99
Source: Youtube Channel Puppygames001
An homage to old arcade games such as Galaga and Asteroids, Titan Attacks is essentially Space Invaders with power-ups. I've played quite a few flash games with the same concept and similar visual aesthetics, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Titan Attacks is mildly entertaining, but starts getting boring after the player gets full on all the items. It wasn't a bad game, but don't expect too much out of it either.
eXceed Complete Pack - $9.99
Source: Youtube Channel Fiorion
eXceed Complete Pack is totally worth it for those who love bullet hell/Danmaku shoot-em-ups. Rather than just being upgrades from each other, each of the eXceed games are vastly different from each other in terms of game mechanics. The first eXceed is sadly not translated to English, but is still playable with classic insanity of bullets even on the easiest level. eXceed 2nd uses the polarity bullet mechanic that is most well known for in the shoot-em-up Ikaruga. eXceed 3rd plays much like Touhou with grazing bullet mechanics much like Shikigami no Shiro 3 (Castle of Shikigami 3). Side from beautiful visuals, the games have an incredible collection of music that plays throughout the levels. One of my favorites is the first half of the one that plays in the video above.
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved - $3.99
Geometry Wars is a great game to play when there isn't that much time for a break or if you want to play a short session for it. This Arena style arcade shooter is matched with tight controls, colorful visuals, and a motivating song that keeps the action going.
Sine Mora - $9.99
Source: Youtube Channel DigitalRealityGames
The graphics and aesthetics in Sine Mora is breath-taking and absolutely beautiful. This 2D shooter with 3D graphics has a unique mechanic, challenging boss battles and all sorts of weapons and ships to use, but it's sadly a game I didn't enjoy entirely. Rather than having health or lives, the game runs on time. When the player gets hit, they lose a bit of time and running out of time meant game over. The way a player acquired stronger versions of their weapons is by picking up power-ups dropped by enemies. If the player is hurt in any kind of way, the power-up falls out of the player's ship and starts floating away. Here's where I had problems with the game. Without those power-ups, the player is really weak and useless and won't be able to defeat bosses in time without them. It makes sense to avoid getting hit, but there are a lot of moments where unexpected speeding danger hits the player. The power-ups float towards danger which causes the player to run into more things that eats up time just to get back time. But if you don't grab the power-ups, you run out of time trying to whittle down the bosses. Add this with unchangeable key bindings, unruly movement controls (too fast on keyboard and too slow on mouse) along with moving levels while getting shot from all 360 degrees and you find yourself being more frustrated with the game than enjoying it. It's sadly not a game I can't recommend. Great visuals and audio (music/sfx/interesting choice of having voice acting in Hungarian), but the game mechanics and controls were just awful for me.
Ether Vapor Remaster - $7.99
Holy cow is this game hard! Edelweiss is apparently known for making really difficult and challenging games. The game's life system works much like Gradius V for those who have played it. Essentially, the more you play the game, the more lives and shields you'll receive. This can be very discouraging for some players having to lose over and over and starting over from the very beginning of the game. The concept behind this game is like many older games where you try to learn and get better each time you restart the game. It's a dastardly way to extend a game's play length, but those that have the patience and time will find challenge and gratification when they get to the end of the game.
Really Big Sky - $5.99
Source: Youtube Channel bossbaddiegames
I think this game randomly generates levels every time. Each time I played it, the level changes. The player can keep improving their ship at the end of each playthrough. The visuals are super flashy and the audio makes for a explosive experience. There are a lot of modes to play but must be acquired by fulfilling certain conditions. It's a great distraction to sit down and relax to this game.
Scoregasm - $9.99
I have a hunch that this game is by the same developer as bullet candy as the concept is similar and the ship looks the same. Although significantly better in visuals, gameplay, and level design than Bullet Candy, I still got bored of the game fairly quickly. What I enjoyed most were the boss battles where it felt more like a bullet hell. With the rest of the levels, it just felt like a tight-spaced geometry wars in very short durations.
Titan Attacks! - $4.99
Source: Youtube Channel Puppygames001
An homage to old arcade games such as Galaga and Asteroids, Titan Attacks is essentially Space Invaders with power-ups. I've played quite a few flash games with the same concept and similar visual aesthetics, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Titan Attacks is mildly entertaining, but starts getting boring after the player gets full on all the items. It wasn't a bad game, but don't expect too much out of it either.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
VGCulture - April Fools 2013
There were a lot of April Fools jokes this year. Like every year, I avoid the internet on April 1st and read all about it the next day. Here are the ones I found:
[Half-Life 4]
The same old, boring "next Half-Life game" joke that's done every year to destroy the hopes and dreams of rabid fans awaiting the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 3 or Half-Life 3. Honestly, Valve isn't going to release a Half-Life 3 until they can truly innovate something in the genre or industry like they have with Half-Life 1 and 2. Half-Life 2: Episode 3? Well, that all depends on them.
[Journey: Rocket Death Match DLC]
Source: Youtube Channel thatgamecompany
I'll be honest and say that I didn't really enjoy Journey that much. It was an interesting experience, but it didn't feel much like a game. What's sad is that this little April Fools Joke looks more interesting than what I played. There are too many people who liked Journey for me to write an honest game review on it.
[Deus Ex: Human Defiance]
April Fools Joke? Most likely. Will there be a playable version of this? Who knows. But they did take the time to make all those assets (art, music, etc.).
[Minecraft 2.0]
Source: Youtube Channel paulsoaresjr
This is quite a big tease to Minecraft fans claiming lots of additions and new content with a Minecraft 2. To make it more convincing, there are 3 different videos "showing off" all the new content. I've always had an interest in Minecraft and even tried buying it once, but the purchase didn't go through. Maybe it's for the best, I'd probably spend too much time on it anyways.
[Football Manager 1888]
I wasn't expecting an April Fools Joke by Football Manager, but this is one that could seemingly be legitimate if they really wanted to.
[Razer Naga - Phone Update]
Source: Youtube Channel cultofrazer
The Razer Naga has a built in function no one knew about: a built in phone. You can talk and text others using your own Naga mouse! Or so the update claims.
[Apple - iPlay]
Source: Youtube Channel IGN
What's funny about this April Fools Joke is that Apple making a platform to play all their games isn't too far-fetched considering the Android market has the Ouya coming out. Maybe if the Ouya is a hit, Apple will try something similar.
[Farcry 3 - Blood Dragon]
Source: Youtube Channel ubisoft
Take a look at this 80's style commercial.
[Toshibasphere]
Source: Youtube Channel toshibaUS
What's sad is that it feels like it's making fun of Microsoft's Kinect more than anything.
[Team Fortress 2 - Reddit owns TF2]
I was wondering if anyone at Valve even does April Fools jokes and so I went and checked. The apparently had a blog update confirming that reddit owns them now and then explains how they switched the legal documents to end up owning reddit instead. It's not a complex April Fools joke, but it was one I found funny.
[Dishonored - Gameplay Commentary by Co-Creative Directors]
Source: Youtube Channel BethesdaSoftworks
I haven't played Dishonored yet, but using plants and possessing doors sounds like a legitimate way to subdue your enemies.
[Street Fighter IV - Super Duper Edition]
What's more extreme than Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition? Super Duper Street Fighter IV! Capcom is a lot more self-aware than most people think.
[Starcraft 2 - Warhound Returns]
This year's April Fools Joke by Blizzard seems kind of boring compared to the last 2 years, but maybe they were really busy with the launch of "Heart of the Swarm". What I heard though was that all builder units of every race was replaced with the Warhound which kind of made me wish I had played some Starcraft 2 last night...
[League of Legends - Cho'Gath Eats the World (CHEW)]
Source: Youtube Channel kavvsona
Sadly, this can't be played anymore as Cho'Gath already ate the world after yesterday. I got to play a bit of it last night when my friends asked me to play some LoL and this was featured on the front page of the LoL client. Essentially, it was a LoL rendition of the classic arcade game "Rampage" with a secret Teemo Dash game in it. It was a call April Fools treat by Riot Games.
[Guild Wars 2 - Super Adventure Box]
Source: Youtube Channel arenanetofficial
Despite looking like a cheesy 80's videogame commercial, this is a real thing in Guild Wars 2 where players travel through an 8-bit like world with tons of jumping puzzles. This is possibly the coolest April Fools joke this year. This special area will be gone at the end of the month.
[Half-Life 4]
The same old, boring "next Half-Life game" joke that's done every year to destroy the hopes and dreams of rabid fans awaiting the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 3 or Half-Life 3. Honestly, Valve isn't going to release a Half-Life 3 until they can truly innovate something in the genre or industry like they have with Half-Life 1 and 2. Half-Life 2: Episode 3? Well, that all depends on them.
[Journey: Rocket Death Match DLC]
Source: Youtube Channel thatgamecompany
I'll be honest and say that I didn't really enjoy Journey that much. It was an interesting experience, but it didn't feel much like a game. What's sad is that this little April Fools Joke looks more interesting than what I played. There are too many people who liked Journey for me to write an honest game review on it.
[Deus Ex: Human Defiance]
April Fools Joke? Most likely. Will there be a playable version of this? Who knows. But they did take the time to make all those assets (art, music, etc.).
[Minecraft 2.0]
Source: Youtube Channel paulsoaresjr
This is quite a big tease to Minecraft fans claiming lots of additions and new content with a Minecraft 2. To make it more convincing, there are 3 different videos "showing off" all the new content. I've always had an interest in Minecraft and even tried buying it once, but the purchase didn't go through. Maybe it's for the best, I'd probably spend too much time on it anyways.
[Football Manager 1888]
I wasn't expecting an April Fools Joke by Football Manager, but this is one that could seemingly be legitimate if they really wanted to.
[Razer Naga - Phone Update]
Source: Youtube Channel cultofrazer
The Razer Naga has a built in function no one knew about: a built in phone. You can talk and text others using your own Naga mouse! Or so the update claims.
[Apple - iPlay]
Source: Youtube Channel IGN
What's funny about this April Fools Joke is that Apple making a platform to play all their games isn't too far-fetched considering the Android market has the Ouya coming out. Maybe if the Ouya is a hit, Apple will try something similar.
[Farcry 3 - Blood Dragon]
Source: Youtube Channel ubisoft
Take a look at this 80's style commercial.
[Toshibasphere]
Source: Youtube Channel toshibaUS
What's sad is that it feels like it's making fun of Microsoft's Kinect more than anything.
[Team Fortress 2 - Reddit owns TF2]
I was wondering if anyone at Valve even does April Fools jokes and so I went and checked. The apparently had a blog update confirming that reddit owns them now and then explains how they switched the legal documents to end up owning reddit instead. It's not a complex April Fools joke, but it was one I found funny.
[Dishonored - Gameplay Commentary by Co-Creative Directors]
Source: Youtube Channel BethesdaSoftworks
I haven't played Dishonored yet, but using plants and possessing doors sounds like a legitimate way to subdue your enemies.
[Street Fighter IV - Super Duper Edition]
What's more extreme than Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition? Super Duper Street Fighter IV! Capcom is a lot more self-aware than most people think.
[Starcraft 2 - Warhound Returns]
This year's April Fools Joke by Blizzard seems kind of boring compared to the last 2 years, but maybe they were really busy with the launch of "Heart of the Swarm". What I heard though was that all builder units of every race was replaced with the Warhound which kind of made me wish I had played some Starcraft 2 last night...
[League of Legends - Cho'Gath Eats the World (CHEW)]
Source: Youtube Channel kavvsona
Sadly, this can't be played anymore as Cho'Gath already ate the world after yesterday. I got to play a bit of it last night when my friends asked me to play some LoL and this was featured on the front page of the LoL client. Essentially, it was a LoL rendition of the classic arcade game "Rampage" with a secret Teemo Dash game in it. It was a call April Fools treat by Riot Games.
[Guild Wars 2 - Super Adventure Box]
Source: Youtube Channel arenanetofficial
Despite looking like a cheesy 80's videogame commercial, this is a real thing in Guild Wars 2 where players travel through an 8-bit like world with tons of jumping puzzles. This is possibly the coolest April Fools joke this year. This special area will be gone at the end of the month.
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