Enjoying God Of War as much as I did, it was only natural that I'd pop out soon and pick up the sequel. All I have to say about it is that it's generally more of the same, but astonishingly even more epic and over the top. Boasting possibly the best opening in gaming history, as a god powered Kratos fights the Colossus of Rhodes on a destruction packed rampage through the city, the entire game is a series of bombastic battles and set pieces. It's the first game in ages that I've marathoned through a game in a single day, and the fact that I'm replaying it straight away is a testament to it's quality.
I've also regrettably had to give up on Gears of War, not because of any issues with the quality of the game, but because I've now had all my savegames deleted twice.
Graphically and gameplay wise the game is an excellent port, so it seems odd that it's afflicted by so many bugs, and that something like this hasn't been addressed, as a brief sweep of the internet reveals I'm certainly not the only one to be afflicted. Regardless, it goes into cold storage for a while until I feel motivated enough to pick it up again.
Monday, 31 March 2008
Thursday, 20 March 2008
"That exit called paradise"
The big release this past weekend in Europe was No More Heroes, which I picked up on launch day. This in itself is kind of telling, as this isn't normally the kind of game that really gets me excited, which says something about the continuing software drought on Wii. Nevertheless, I'm glad I did, but it comes with some serious caveats.
Essentially, this is a game of two halves. There's no doubt that the game is very seriously broken in some aspects, most notably technically. The textures are poor, framerate drops frequent and the camera is obnoxious. The most talked about aspect of the game in reviews has been the 'job' system, which tasks you with completing boring, menial jobs in order to earn cash to participate in the more exciting battle segments. While I can appreciate that this is done for dramatic effect, and it certainly lends strength to the themes of the game, there's no denying that it's really quite boring, and that's a major problem. I love story and atmosphere in games, but that should never be generated at the expense of gameplay, and that's exactly what No More Heroes does, it mortgages satisfying interaction in order to make a point, a tradeoff I for one definitely don't feel is worth it.
But, in time honoured review fashion, we'll move onto more positive aspects. Though the graphics are basic, Grasshopper Manufacture's trademark cell shaded style renders certain areas, especially characters, terrifically. And speaking of characters, they're the games ace in the whole, from your in game persona, nerdy loser Travis Touchdown, to the various bosses who bar your way. They're a wonderful collection of freaks and monsters, some bloodthirsty, some polite, others just flat out insane, and the wonderful faceoffs, full of great cinematography and loaded dialogue are definitely the game's highpoint. Combat fits in well too, being satisfyingly over the top, and with excellent Wii remote integration. I actually prefer the 'censored' Euro/Japan release, where the enemies dissolve into black pixels (very reminiscent of the effect from Twilight Princess actually) to the full fat US version, where everbody explodes like a broken ketchup bottle, though the Euro versions lack of dismemberments does lead to some very odd discrepancies with the cutscenes.
What I found most surprising about the game is how much of a hardcore gamer's game it is.
It lacks all of the elements that have been introduced over the years to make the experience easier. You have to repeat tasks, slog through corridors and put up with absurd technical and gameplay limitations. But this is compensated for by the numerous in-jokes and references, like the 8-bit graphics, old school sound effects and the brilliant plot, which becomes increasingly irrelevant and ludicrous as the game continues, and frequently contradicts itself. How many other games offer a menu with 'View Ending' or 'View True Ending' as options?
Ultimately then, it's flawed but fascinating. The game is infuriating, and at times downright tedious, but it appeals to the heart and soul of gamers in a way few titles can or indeed want to these days. And for all the niggling problems, that makes No More Heroes a gem.
Essentially, this is a game of two halves. There's no doubt that the game is very seriously broken in some aspects, most notably technically. The textures are poor, framerate drops frequent and the camera is obnoxious. The most talked about aspect of the game in reviews has been the 'job' system, which tasks you with completing boring, menial jobs in order to earn cash to participate in the more exciting battle segments. While I can appreciate that this is done for dramatic effect, and it certainly lends strength to the themes of the game, there's no denying that it's really quite boring, and that's a major problem. I love story and atmosphere in games, but that should never be generated at the expense of gameplay, and that's exactly what No More Heroes does, it mortgages satisfying interaction in order to make a point, a tradeoff I for one definitely don't feel is worth it.
But, in time honoured review fashion, we'll move onto more positive aspects. Though the graphics are basic, Grasshopper Manufacture's trademark cell shaded style renders certain areas, especially characters, terrifically. And speaking of characters, they're the games ace in the whole, from your in game persona, nerdy loser Travis Touchdown, to the various bosses who bar your way. They're a wonderful collection of freaks and monsters, some bloodthirsty, some polite, others just flat out insane, and the wonderful faceoffs, full of great cinematography and loaded dialogue are definitely the game's highpoint. Combat fits in well too, being satisfyingly over the top, and with excellent Wii remote integration. I actually prefer the 'censored' Euro/Japan release, where the enemies dissolve into black pixels (very reminiscent of the effect from Twilight Princess actually) to the full fat US version, where everbody explodes like a broken ketchup bottle, though the Euro versions lack of dismemberments does lead to some very odd discrepancies with the cutscenes.
What I found most surprising about the game is how much of a hardcore gamer's game it is.
It lacks all of the elements that have been introduced over the years to make the experience easier. You have to repeat tasks, slog through corridors and put up with absurd technical and gameplay limitations. But this is compensated for by the numerous in-jokes and references, like the 8-bit graphics, old school sound effects and the brilliant plot, which becomes increasingly irrelevant and ludicrous as the game continues, and frequently contradicts itself. How many other games offer a menu with 'View Ending' or 'View True Ending' as options?
Ultimately then, it's flawed but fascinating. The game is infuriating, and at times downright tedious, but it appeals to the heart and soul of gamers in a way few titles can or indeed want to these days. And for all the niggling problems, that makes No More Heroes a gem.
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Here comes Justice
So I'm a big Ace Attorney fan. And I mean really really big. And that's the reason why I had Apollo Justice:Ace Attorney imported from the States before Euro release. Having devoured it in two days straight, I've got some interesting things to say about this supposed reboot of the franchise. Namely that it isn't even a reboot at all. OK, so it's got shiny upgraded sprites, new 3D sequences and some DS specific features, but crucially these are taken far less advantage of than you might think. In fact, it seems as though the level of interactivity has actually taken a step back from Capcom's last effort at a DS Ace Attorney, namely the truly outstanding extra case that was included with the English language version of the original game. Intriguing and original concepts do pop up, most noticeably a very neat X-Ray machine minigame, but these are absurdly underused.
The other main problem with the game is the characterization, unusual as creating memorable characters has always been a forte of the previous games. And to a certain extent, that's the problem here. Previous games introduced us to such a compelling cast of individuals that shrugging them off here is a big issue. Apollo himself and his assistant Trucy are straight cyphers of Phoenix and Maya, and the rest of the cast simply doesn't click so well. Major culprit in this case is the new prosecutor, Klavier Gavin. He's a perfectly good and interesting character, but he lacks the nasty, spiteful edge that previous prosecutors brought to the courtroom, and as a result, you never really feel any enmity towards him.
Having Phoenix Wright himself around doesn't really help break the mould either. He appears in every case in some capacity, and the overarching story arc also focuses on his fall from grace. In fact (SPOILER ALERT!) by the last case, the game drops all pretence and actually morphs back into a Phoenix Wright game (brilliantly the scenes set in flashback are downscaled to use old-school sprites), via some truly bizarre moments where the fourth wall is totally broken.(END SPOILERS)
So that's quite a lot of words ranting off against a series I profess to love. So here's the real kicker.
The game is brilliant
Despite everything I've said above, it retains all of the series's fantastic trademarks, namely terrific scripting (very well localized indeed), a genuine sense of tension and drama in the courtroom and some of the finest, most gripping stories ever told in games. It's one of the few games you can laugh out loud at one minute and then be deadly serious about the next.
So my final thoughts? The game is a missed opportunity for sure. But it still plays to the strengths of the series, and remains a brilliantly written and executed slice of adventure gaming. And that's good enough for me.
The other main problem with the game is the characterization, unusual as creating memorable characters has always been a forte of the previous games. And to a certain extent, that's the problem here. Previous games introduced us to such a compelling cast of individuals that shrugging them off here is a big issue. Apollo himself and his assistant Trucy are straight cyphers of Phoenix and Maya, and the rest of the cast simply doesn't click so well. Major culprit in this case is the new prosecutor, Klavier Gavin. He's a perfectly good and interesting character, but he lacks the nasty, spiteful edge that previous prosecutors brought to the courtroom, and as a result, you never really feel any enmity towards him.
Having Phoenix Wright himself around doesn't really help break the mould either. He appears in every case in some capacity, and the overarching story arc also focuses on his fall from grace. In fact (SPOILER ALERT!) by the last case, the game drops all pretence and actually morphs back into a Phoenix Wright game (brilliantly the scenes set in flashback are downscaled to use old-school sprites), via some truly bizarre moments where the fourth wall is totally broken.(END SPOILERS)
So that's quite a lot of words ranting off against a series I profess to love. So here's the real kicker.
The game is brilliant
Despite everything I've said above, it retains all of the series's fantastic trademarks, namely terrific scripting (very well localized indeed), a genuine sense of tension and drama in the courtroom and some of the finest, most gripping stories ever told in games. It's one of the few games you can laugh out loud at one minute and then be deadly serious about the next.
So my final thoughts? The game is a missed opportunity for sure. But it still plays to the strengths of the series, and remains a brilliantly written and executed slice of adventure gaming. And that's good enough for me.
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Dog of War or Cog of War?
It so happens that for the past week I've mostly been playing two games that end with 'of War'. Firstly, there's God of War, a title that's been languishing on my pile of shame for quite some time now. I actually picked it up about a year ago and got about halfway through the game, but then other shiny things distracted me. This time however, I ploughed all the way through in half a dozen sittings. It's a spectacularly visceral game, in more ways than just visually, although nobody could be disappointed with the amount of dismemberments, decapitations and all round bloodletting involved. The controls are tight and responsive, with excellent use of pad rumble and the combo system walks the line between simple and complex very well, allowing even cack-handed idiots like myself to chain in spectacular sequences extending into the hundreds of hits.
It's not all about the combat though, as the level design extends to some truly brilliant puzzles, especially the fiendish Rings of Pandora, where almost a third of the game is one huge puzzle. There are some decent platforming sections as well, although there's one particular platform bit near the end, involving rotating towers of blades, which deserves to be buried and never brought to light. This aside however, the game is truly a masterpiece of polish, with some of the most epic scenes imaginable. Glorious graphics, and a complex meandering storyline, making outstanding use of its inspired ancient Greek setting, provide some truly special moments, like seeing the Titan Chronos emerge out of the desert with a mountain strapped to his back, or reading the ramblings of the temple's architect as he slowly loses everything, including his sanity, to accomplish his work. One infamously immature moment aside, the game is also a great lesson in how to make a violent and explicit game which nevertheless uses these factors to it's advantage. In short, it's a masterpiece, and the second installment is high on my must buy list.
The second game I've been playing is the beer drinking fratboy's favourite, Gears Of War, and that opening sentence sums up my attitude to the game, more of which later. I'm late on the bandwagon for this one as well, but for good reason, namely that I physically cannot play shooters on consoles, so I've waited for a PC release. First impressions are good. The game runs well, and with a high resolution and plenty of processing, looks absolutely stunning.
This tends to happen a lot
It plays well too, the cover and popout controls adapting well to a keyboard. I'm only on the second chapter of the game at the moment, so I'll reserve judgment until the end as always, but at the moment, the firefights, weapons, terrain and level design are all top notch, while the story is rubbish, the atmosphere lacking and the chracterisation risible. And having said that I'm finding it terrific no brain fun. An open verdict on this one then, and I'll get back to you when it's done and dusted.
It's not all about the combat though, as the level design extends to some truly brilliant puzzles, especially the fiendish Rings of Pandora, where almost a third of the game is one huge puzzle. There are some decent platforming sections as well, although there's one particular platform bit near the end, involving rotating towers of blades, which deserves to be buried and never brought to light. This aside however, the game is truly a masterpiece of polish, with some of the most epic scenes imaginable. Glorious graphics, and a complex meandering storyline, making outstanding use of its inspired ancient Greek setting, provide some truly special moments, like seeing the Titan Chronos emerge out of the desert with a mountain strapped to his back, or reading the ramblings of the temple's architect as he slowly loses everything, including his sanity, to accomplish his work. One infamously immature moment aside, the game is also a great lesson in how to make a violent and explicit game which nevertheless uses these factors to it's advantage. In short, it's a masterpiece, and the second installment is high on my must buy list.
The second game I've been playing is the beer drinking fratboy's favourite, Gears Of War, and that opening sentence sums up my attitude to the game, more of which later. I'm late on the bandwagon for this one as well, but for good reason, namely that I physically cannot play shooters on consoles, so I've waited for a PC release. First impressions are good. The game runs well, and with a high resolution and plenty of processing, looks absolutely stunning.
This tends to happen a lot
It plays well too, the cover and popout controls adapting well to a keyboard. I'm only on the second chapter of the game at the moment, so I'll reserve judgment until the end as always, but at the moment, the firefights, weapons, terrain and level design are all top notch, while the story is rubbish, the atmosphere lacking and the chracterisation risible. And having said that I'm finding it terrific no brain fun. An open verdict on this one then, and I'll get back to you when it's done and dusted.
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