God, this game is awful. Don't buy it or play it, ever.
Now that that's out of the way, some comments.
This game really looked promising. It was being developed by tri-Ace, who also created the Star Ocean series and Radiata Stories (awesome game). The graphics looked amazing in previews, and it looked like tri-Ace was going to step into the big leagues of RPG development.
Wrong.
All of the focus was, apparently, on the graphics, and they completely forgot to make a good game. Right from the get go, you are thrust into fighting without any indication of why or how to do anything. Supposedly you look EXACTLY like some knight guy. And you don't even know who YOU are. And the dialogue/voice acting is LAME. Really Lame. Then, the game DUMPS tutorial screen upon tutorial screen on you. There is no gentle easing into the gameplay mechanics, like most well designed would do. You get 5 screens of text, and then they say, ok, go do it. This might beOK if the test weren't IMPOSSIBLE to read. They forget people still have normal, 27-inch, tube TVs. The text was beyond blurry, and even walking right up the the TV, I could not make out what buttons I had to press when they were talking about the L and R triggers. Luckily, the face buttons on the Xbox controller are colored, so at least I can see that. Bad engineering on that part.
Back to the bad design, this game is an action RPG. Actually, it is mostly a hack'n'slash. No turned based battles or even going to a different screen to fight. All the fighting is done right there on the game field. At first, it kind of reminded me of Zelda... only in no way was it good. it is an action-RPG that feels way to clunky. It was hard to maneuver may character effectively, and I also had to just rely on hacking everything in sight and hoping my party member healed me. Oh right, we have someone tagging along. At certain parts of the game, it forces you to control you other party member. This is an incredibly frustrating experience, since the tutorials do a horrible job of explaining how to control them. So you are left guessing, and usually end up dead. Again, terrible design.
Then, before you can even being to get your bearings with the combat system, you are put into a chase segment, where you have to run from a big fat monster thing. However, on the way, you have to kill people in your way. So, backing up a second, you press R2 to draw and sheath your sword. You can't loot treasure while your sword is out, nor can you inspect things or open doors. Frustrating. Also, you run faster while you have your sword sheathed. So, take it out to fight, put it away to run. So you run up to enemies to kill them, then you start running away from the fat guy. Oh right, I need to put away my sword to run faster. Your character has to FUCKING STOP and do this slow animation of him putting away his sword, and the while the monster thing is beating on you with his belly or large club. Frustrating. Oh there are more enemies and barricades I have to fight through. Start the whole annoying process over again.
Me and Meghan stopped playing after an hour. It was just too bad to warrant any more time wasted. Terrible game all around. It is a shame too, it would have been nice to see some of those awesome graphics. Guess they will be left.... undiscovered. (I'm sorry.. I just had to).
Dec 15, 2008
Video Game Awards
Last night was Spike's Video Game Awards. I was pretty excited to see what they did with it. I know that any kind of award show relating to video games is going to piss me off, but I was at least excited to see people talk about games.
This thing was a horrible mockery. Not only was it terribly managed by Spike (there were so many stupid mistakes....), but it was terribly managed AND utterly out of touch with anything related to video games. There was an endless parade of completely UNNECESSARY celebrity morons including LL Cool J, Mike Tyson, various UFC fighters, and some fucking horrible band filled with half-starved retarded children that I don't even want to know the name of. I mean, I could deal with the mistakes and the laid back approach as long as they kept it simple and kept it about the games. But the games were just an afterthought to the award show. Which means it was just a giant medium to sell advertising and for Spike to plug its other shows (nudge nudge UFC nudge nudge). I mean, I know games have been going towards the abyss of mainstream crapdom for a while, but it was just hard to watch what it has become. I should have expected it but, it was just sad.
Speaking of the games itself, all of the nominees were the equivalent of phoning it in. Not one intelligent thought or surprise pick was there. All we had were the blockbusters, the sequels, and the well-established series sludge. I'll admit that a lot of these were good games, but at least at the Oscars we see some actual artistic films filled with actual acting nominated, not just the blockbusters. Nope, we just get the Gears of Wars, the Grand Theft Autos, and the Rock Bands. No surprises. Hell, none of the games even nominated for Best RPG were actual RPGs. Come on, why not at least give a nod to games like Persona 4? Oh right, its just a mega-game from a major studio. Sorry I mentioned anything. Even Tales of Vesperia would be a nice nomination. Nope.
Uggggg. I hate to be one of those people but games were certainly of better quality when they weren't "mainstream". Games certainly have benefited in a way that they are no longer seen as some horrible thing only weird geeky people do. Nope, we are no longer lumped in with LARPers, and games like World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero (and the damn Wii) have certainly helped in that regard. But now, people only care about the blockbusters and the money making franchises. Smaller game studios keep getting eaten up, and the games industry is pretty much like the music industry now (but not quite as bad yet). You have those few giant corporations, and some smaller developers trying desperately to stay afloat.
And Jake Black wasn't even a host. More like a sideshow attraction.
Complete List of Nominees
List of Winners
/jaded
This thing was a horrible mockery. Not only was it terribly managed by Spike (there were so many stupid mistakes....), but it was terribly managed AND utterly out of touch with anything related to video games. There was an endless parade of completely UNNECESSARY celebrity morons including LL Cool J, Mike Tyson, various UFC fighters, and some fucking horrible band filled with half-starved retarded children that I don't even want to know the name of. I mean, I could deal with the mistakes and the laid back approach as long as they kept it simple and kept it about the games. But the games were just an afterthought to the award show. Which means it was just a giant medium to sell advertising and for Spike to plug its other shows (nudge nudge UFC nudge nudge). I mean, I know games have been going towards the abyss of mainstream crapdom for a while, but it was just hard to watch what it has become. I should have expected it but, it was just sad.
Speaking of the games itself, all of the nominees were the equivalent of phoning it in. Not one intelligent thought or surprise pick was there. All we had were the blockbusters, the sequels, and the well-established series sludge. I'll admit that a lot of these were good games, but at least at the Oscars we see some actual artistic films filled with actual acting nominated, not just the blockbusters. Nope, we just get the Gears of Wars, the Grand Theft Autos, and the Rock Bands. No surprises. Hell, none of the games even nominated for Best RPG were actual RPGs. Come on, why not at least give a nod to games like Persona 4? Oh right, its just a mega-game from a major studio. Sorry I mentioned anything. Even Tales of Vesperia would be a nice nomination. Nope.
Uggggg. I hate to be one of those people but games were certainly of better quality when they weren't "mainstream". Games certainly have benefited in a way that they are no longer seen as some horrible thing only weird geeky people do. Nope, we are no longer lumped in with LARPers, and games like World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero (and the damn Wii) have certainly helped in that regard. But now, people only care about the blockbusters and the money making franchises. Smaller game studios keep getting eaten up, and the games industry is pretty much like the music industry now (but not quite as bad yet). You have those few giant corporations, and some smaller developers trying desperately to stay afloat.
And Jake Black wasn't even a host. More like a sideshow attraction.
Complete List of Nominees
List of Winners
/jaded
Dec 11, 2008
Dec 8, 2008
Mirror's Edge: The Review
So I just beat the full version of Mirror's Edge. The full game was everything the demo promised it would be, and (a little bit) more. The games contains great looking cityscapes, fun and fluid first-person "runner" gameplay, and a bit of combat/shooter segments. It was quite the enjoyable game experience, if not as absolutely amazing as I first thought (read: it was still really, really good).
So, the back story is that you are a "Runner", the last bastion of hope in a society where the government has completely taken over and censored society as a whole (hello, cliche). They say it is your job to run messages to and from members of the resistance, because phone lines and internet are no longer safe. However, you will never actually do this. The shit hits the fan right in the first level, and you are basically out to uncover a nefarious plot set in motion by "the man". It was a fairly decent plot line; just the right amount of fluff to keep things moving along, but not take anything away from the gameplay.
And this game is ABOUT the gameplay. It ends up rotating between sections of puzzling solving (how do I get over there?) and combat (who put these guys with guns here?). It works well and the system is mostly transparent until you near the end of the game, when you kind of realize they are just following a cycle. But, this doesn't mean it gets tired or old. The puzzle solving aspects remind me a lot of Portal... minus the... portals. In essence, you are simply trying to get from point A to point B, with the only obstacles being the environment. You have to be pretty clever to get through some of the areas, and you will end up using all of Faith's wide array of acrobatic moves, so your gaming skills will be tested as well. And you will die. A lot. But I never really felt like the game was too hard or being cheap. I always knew that I could get past an area with a bit of persistance. the checkpoint system is nice too, with only a few areas that made you get through an area you already passed through in order to get to the place you died (read: fell tragically to your death). I found these bits of the game to be incredibly rewording. It was a nice feeling when I figured out a particularly tricky area. Take THAT shady industrial areas I have no business in being in...
Now come the combat sections. Once the puzzling solving is done, you are usually placed in a situation where you have no choice but to get through a group of armed a-holes trying to kill you (you aren't exactly sure why either...). Your instincts tell you ok, this is first person, I snagged a gun from that guy I just killed (more like kicked once in the head.. now he's "dead")... so it must be a shooter, right? Wrong. You are going to die in the combat sections. A lot. It can be frustrating at times, but I felt it was in the same spirit as the puzzling solving elements: I just needed to find the "trick". When you don't have a gun, you can run right up to an enemy and disarm them as they try to beat you with their gun. (Why they don't just keep shooting is beyond me, but oh well). If you fail twice in catching their gun at the right moment, you are dead. Start again from the beginning of the section. So, you can see how it would be frustrating to run at an enemy shooting you in the face, only to then be killed when his pistol whips you. However, I still found these sections rewordingly challenging. It felt good to get through these parts, and have my adrenaline come down a couple notches for the next puzzling-solving part. Win.
So, I greatly enjoyed my time in Mirror's Edge. It was not as completely mind blowing as the demo was the first time I played it through, but it was certainly a great experience. I appreciate the new ideas and the innovative take on what essentially boils down to a First-Person Platformer. That description doesn't do it justice though. You really need to see the landscapes for yourself and get the feeling of momentum as you throw your character off of a building. I suggest a rental first. If you want toplay through it again multiple times (which I would definitely like to do) and do the online time trials, then I would say it is definitely worth the purchase.
Happy Leaping.
Coming Soon: Mirror's Edge: The Rant
So, the back story is that you are a "Runner", the last bastion of hope in a society where the government has completely taken over and censored society as a whole (hello, cliche). They say it is your job to run messages to and from members of the resistance, because phone lines and internet are no longer safe. However, you will never actually do this. The shit hits the fan right in the first level, and you are basically out to uncover a nefarious plot set in motion by "the man". It was a fairly decent plot line; just the right amount of fluff to keep things moving along, but not take anything away from the gameplay.
And this game is ABOUT the gameplay. It ends up rotating between sections of puzzling solving (how do I get over there?) and combat (who put these guys with guns here?). It works well and the system is mostly transparent until you near the end of the game, when you kind of realize they are just following a cycle. But, this doesn't mean it gets tired or old. The puzzle solving aspects remind me a lot of Portal... minus the... portals. In essence, you are simply trying to get from point A to point B, with the only obstacles being the environment. You have to be pretty clever to get through some of the areas, and you will end up using all of Faith's wide array of acrobatic moves, so your gaming skills will be tested as well. And you will die. A lot. But I never really felt like the game was too hard or being cheap. I always knew that I could get past an area with a bit of persistance. the checkpoint system is nice too, with only a few areas that made you get through an area you already passed through in order to get to the place you died (read: fell tragically to your death). I found these bits of the game to be incredibly rewording. It was a nice feeling when I figured out a particularly tricky area. Take THAT shady industrial areas I have no business in being in...
Now come the combat sections. Once the puzzling solving is done, you are usually placed in a situation where you have no choice but to get through a group of armed a-holes trying to kill you (you aren't exactly sure why either...). Your instincts tell you ok, this is first person, I snagged a gun from that guy I just killed (more like kicked once in the head.. now he's "dead")... so it must be a shooter, right? Wrong. You are going to die in the combat sections. A lot. It can be frustrating at times, but I felt it was in the same spirit as the puzzling solving elements: I just needed to find the "trick". When you don't have a gun, you can run right up to an enemy and disarm them as they try to beat you with their gun. (Why they don't just keep shooting is beyond me, but oh well). If you fail twice in catching their gun at the right moment, you are dead. Start again from the beginning of the section. So, you can see how it would be frustrating to run at an enemy shooting you in the face, only to then be killed when his pistol whips you. However, I still found these sections rewordingly challenging. It felt good to get through these parts, and have my adrenaline come down a couple notches for the next puzzling-solving part. Win.
So, I greatly enjoyed my time in Mirror's Edge. It was not as completely mind blowing as the demo was the first time I played it through, but it was certainly a great experience. I appreciate the new ideas and the innovative take on what essentially boils down to a First-Person Platformer. That description doesn't do it justice though. You really need to see the landscapes for yourself and get the feeling of momentum as you throw your character off of a building. I suggest a rental first. If you want toplay through it again multiple times (which I would definitely like to do) and do the online time trials, then I would say it is definitely worth the purchase.
Happy Leaping.
Coming Soon: Mirror's Edge: The Rant
Ok, just ONE more flash game...
So, the Mirror's Edge flash game might have been kind of lame...
But, THIS one is awesome. Kind of like Mirror's Edge only much better and more intuitive. And snappy insults from an evil overlord/machine that is trying to kill you. Nice.
Oh, and it is called Hunted Forever. I promise this is the last flash game post....
But, THIS one is awesome. Kind of like Mirror's Edge only much better and more intuitive. And snappy insults from an evil overlord/machine that is trying to kill you. Nice.
Oh, and it is called Hunted Forever. I promise this is the last flash game post....
Dec 4, 2008
Mirror's Edge: The Flash Game
Wow, so I never expected to be writing/commenting about web games on this blog...
Anyway, so there's an official Mirror's Edge flash game being developed, and you can play the Beta for it now. Takes a little bit of getting used to, but it seems really polished for being a Flash game AND for it only being a beta release.
Check it out!
Anyway, so there's an official Mirror's Edge flash game being developed, and you can play the Beta for it now. Takes a little bit of getting used to, but it seems really polished for being a Flash game AND for it only being a beta release.
Check it out!
Dec 3, 2008
Auditorium
You have to give it to indie web-based game developers. They really do have some incredibly innovated (and FUN) ideas for games. Makes me wish THESE people were developing next-gen console games, and not the people who like to recycle the same BS ideas over and over again.
I'm not going to explain what to do in Auditorium, you'll figure it out. Just go play it.
Kind of reminds me of this....
I'm not going to explain what to do in Auditorium, you'll figure it out. Just go play it.
Kind of reminds me of this....
Nov 29, 2008
Bodom, meet Rock Band
In honor of Children of Bodom being added to Rock Band as a downloadable track, here's some more games + metal = love.
Nov 28, 2008
Sacred 2: Blind Guardian
HELL YES
Sacred 2 is a recently released Action-RPG a la Diablo. And its made by a German developer. And Blind Guardian is IN the game. Yes please.
Sacred 2 is a recently released Action-RPG a la Diablo. And its made by a German developer. And Blind Guardian is IN the game. Yes please.
Left4Dead
Two words: HOLY SHIT. This game is intense. If you already know about the game itself, its great, go play it now. If you don't know what it is yet, here ya go!
Left4Dead is a first-person shooter from Valve, the creators of Half-Life and its various iterations. More specifically, it is a zombie FPS. This game was modeled to be Dawn of the Dead in game form, not another Resident Evil. These zombies aren't content to slowly plod after you, they run full out at you, and they come in droves. Fortunately, you don't have to go at it alone. You have 3 other teammates with you, who are either controlled by other people online, or by the computer. You would be cut down in seconds without the extra support. The team aspect makes the game even more scary, because the game is not-so-subtly telling you that if it catches you alone, it'll rip you to shreds. You need to stick with your teammates. You aren't some super soldier out to take on the world. You are just some person who gets caught in the middle of a zombie movie.
The game has 4 campaigns, which are basically different "movie" backdrops. Your goal is to survive through each section in the movie in order to be rescued at the end. You aren't here to cure the world, or even save it. Your only focus is to survive. I really love the focus of the game. It couldn't have nailed the zombie movie aspect more completely.
For each movie campaign, you can choose one of the 4 players. I chose the beefed-up Pancho. Once loaded up, you can pick which gun you want from a table in front of you. I chose the Shotgun (of course!). The other options are double pistols, an Assault Rifle, or a Sub-Machine Gun. As you progress later in the campaign, you can also pick up better weapons, including a faster, more powerful Shotgun and a Sniper Rifle. There are also the standard medpacs, pain killers, and various explosives.
So, the gameplay itself isn't anything super special. The whole point of the game is the atmosphere, and the situation you have been put in. Valve really nailed it here, and I can see this game being fun for a long time, especially online with a bunch of friends and added downloadable content. They have already planned on adding an exact replica of the Dawn of the Dead mall sometime in the future.... awesome.
Left4Dead is a first-person shooter from Valve, the creators of Half-Life and its various iterations. More specifically, it is a zombie FPS. This game was modeled to be Dawn of the Dead in game form, not another Resident Evil. These zombies aren't content to slowly plod after you, they run full out at you, and they come in droves. Fortunately, you don't have to go at it alone. You have 3 other teammates with you, who are either controlled by other people online, or by the computer. You would be cut down in seconds without the extra support. The team aspect makes the game even more scary, because the game is not-so-subtly telling you that if it catches you alone, it'll rip you to shreds. You need to stick with your teammates. You aren't some super soldier out to take on the world. You are just some person who gets caught in the middle of a zombie movie.
The game has 4 campaigns, which are basically different "movie" backdrops. Your goal is to survive through each section in the movie in order to be rescued at the end. You aren't here to cure the world, or even save it. Your only focus is to survive. I really love the focus of the game. It couldn't have nailed the zombie movie aspect more completely.
For each movie campaign, you can choose one of the 4 players. I chose the beefed-up Pancho. Once loaded up, you can pick which gun you want from a table in front of you. I chose the Shotgun (of course!). The other options are double pistols, an Assault Rifle, or a Sub-Machine Gun. As you progress later in the campaign, you can also pick up better weapons, including a faster, more powerful Shotgun and a Sniper Rifle. There are also the standard medpacs, pain killers, and various explosives.
So, the gameplay itself isn't anything super special. The whole point of the game is the atmosphere, and the situation you have been put in. Valve really nailed it here, and I can see this game being fun for a long time, especially online with a bunch of friends and added downloadable content. They have already planned on adding an exact replica of the Dawn of the Dead mall sometime in the future.... awesome.
Nov 25, 2008
Twilight
In case you hadn't heard, there is a new adolescent book to movie hysteria that has recently been unleashed, and that is the Twilight Saga. The books, in a nutshell, are about a 16 year old girl who falls in love with a Vampire, who has been 17 since the early 1900s. So basically, it is a love story for the super-hero generation. When Meghan first read these (four) books, I was a bit skeptical at first. The vampires sounded really hokey and it mostly just seemed geared towards high school freshman girls, and in reality, it is. But, since the movie was coming out, I decided I would read the first book before, and not pull a Harry Potter where I haven't read the books at all.
The book pleasantly surprised me. Stephanie Meyer, the author, draws you into this universe and makes it completely believable. I love the witty sarcastic humor that she adds to the main character, Bella, and it sometimes feels as though you are sharing your own private joke with her. Also, the vampire love story isn't laid on too thick for my early 20s male self, and there was really only one part of the book where I felt.... well, awkward. But mostly, I just wanted to see what happened next, even though the book is mostly about emotions rather than action up until the later parts of it.
So, I can get through this book easily, but I can't force myself to sit down and read a whole Harry Potter, or even The Lord of the Rings. And, for those of you who don't know me personally, I love to read. I am a big fan of the Forgotten Realms/Dragonlance series of books, and I always have a current book that I am reading. But, I can't get through The Lord of the Rings, which is the basis for any fantasy universe ever created. The way Tolkien writes just.... annoys me. It is like reading the internal ramblings of a scatter-brained old lady. Also, I can't get through Harry Potter either. J.K. Rowling doesn't annoy me as much as Tolkien does, but I can't shake the feeling that she is just trying too hard to be Roald Dahl, and not quite reaching it for me. I like Roald Dahl (or I did when I was a kid anyway), but I can't get into Rowling or Tolkien. Maybe I just don't get British people..... that could be it.
Anyway, I liked Twilight. Book or not, when the movie was announced, I told Meghan I was going to bring her. She adamantly refused, because she knew the movie would never be as good as the books, just like Harry Potter, even though, she admits, the Harry potters movies are good movies. I assumed that since Twilight was also being made by Warner Bros., it would at least be an enjoyable movie.
God was I wrong. This movie is HORRIBLE. The best way I can describe it is it's like watching the atrocious meadow/fireplace scenes from Attack of the Clones, for two hours. It is THAT bad. First, the actors are terrible. Every single actor acts as if they have this giant stick up their ass, just like in the new Star Wars movies. The terrible acting is slightly more forgivable in a movie that takes place in space and has lots of action and lightsaber dueling, but this movie is ABOUT emotion. The acting should not just be a side dish. I thought that Robert Pattison would actually be a good choice for the role of Edward, the leading vampire man-meat, due to his role in Harry Potter. But, he comes off like Anakin. "Gee, I know I have some emotion and acting talent in here somewhere, but I just can't find it".
But, I feel like this movie suffers from the same problem that the new Star Wars movies did, where the fault doesn't (totally) lie with the actors, but in the terrible writing and directing. First of all, they didn't actually make a movie based on the book, they basically just made a narration. You can get away with some of this dialogue in the book, since there is so much character development, you know why they are saying the things they do and acting the way they act. But, when you cut out all the character development, and then pull out random lines from the book for the characters to say, you are left wondering what the hell is wrong with these people. It feels like you are watching a movie about a high school for the mentally disabled, where every student also happens to be socially awkward. They needed to write a movie, not a book, cut out some of the stupid scenes, and focus on having less scenes with more character development. The whole thing just feels rushed. It seems like Warner Bros. didn't have faith that this movie would do anything. The movie is two hours flat, which is a telltale sign that the duration was a mandate from above, then the horrible low-budget writer they chose tried everything she could to fit the book into 2 hours. Wrong. The screenplay writer, Melissa Rosenburg, needs to stick to writing TV shows.
This brings me to the next huge mistake of this movie, the directing. This movie looks like it is shot from some n00b straight out of film school who just wants to throw in as many stupid, awkward, F-ING RETARDED camera shots as humanly possible. It is like she just discovered this new plaything called a camera and decided to just go crazy. Weeeeee. Do us all a favor and stop directing anything. The director, Catherine Hardwicke, also directed the movie Thirteen, which is about a (you guessed it) 13 year old girl who is discovering all the wonders of teenage life, including drinking, drug use, and sex. Here, Hardwicke's camera n00bness works because the movie has an indie-movie feel and is also very depressing, so the random hand held camera bits and shots that have the colors washed out feel more natural. This doesn't work in Twilight. You can't direct the same movie about teenage drug use when exploring a more lighthearted story of a girl and her vampire lover. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way. Also, your shots were so damn awkward that it made the actors feel awkward, which in turn makes your audience feel awkward. And for the love of god, BACK AWAY from the actors a little bit. The close of the the mom is probably the most frightening thing in this movie. Back up, make a real movie. Ugggg.
Also, another indicator that the producers didn't have any faith in this movie on its own, is the inclusion of popular music throughout the movie. The end credits roll with Linkin Park. Really? Did ANYONE take this movie seriously during filming/post-production? What a joke.
So anyway, if you were thinking of checking this movie out, don't. It's terrible. It reminded me a lot of the worst movie ever made, Pathfinder. I turned that movie off after 30 minutes due to the horrible directing and acting. Twilight doesn't hold a candle to the Harry Potter movies, not even close. Those movies are well constructed, directed, and acted. Twilight is none of those, and everyone should stay away from it, and read the books instead. You can read them in a single day if you wanted to and it would be much better spent than going to see this crap.
One other note about this movie. This movie is part of the reason we aren't talking about the new Harry Potter movie right now. HP and the Half-Blood Prince was originally going to be released around this time, but it was pushed back until next July to make room for Twilight. Another justification is that Warner Bros made such a giant, Titanic-sized load of money from The Dark Knight, they moved Harry Potter to next year to pad its fiscal pockets for '09, and placed Twilight in its stead.
Don't pay 10 dollars, or any amount of money for that matter, to see this movie. The End.
The book pleasantly surprised me. Stephanie Meyer, the author, draws you into this universe and makes it completely believable. I love the witty sarcastic humor that she adds to the main character, Bella, and it sometimes feels as though you are sharing your own private joke with her. Also, the vampire love story isn't laid on too thick for my early 20s male self, and there was really only one part of the book where I felt.... well, awkward. But mostly, I just wanted to see what happened next, even though the book is mostly about emotions rather than action up until the later parts of it.
So, I can get through this book easily, but I can't force myself to sit down and read a whole Harry Potter, or even The Lord of the Rings. And, for those of you who don't know me personally, I love to read. I am a big fan of the Forgotten Realms/Dragonlance series of books, and I always have a current book that I am reading. But, I can't get through The Lord of the Rings, which is the basis for any fantasy universe ever created. The way Tolkien writes just.... annoys me. It is like reading the internal ramblings of a scatter-brained old lady. Also, I can't get through Harry Potter either. J.K. Rowling doesn't annoy me as much as Tolkien does, but I can't shake the feeling that she is just trying too hard to be Roald Dahl, and not quite reaching it for me. I like Roald Dahl (or I did when I was a kid anyway), but I can't get into Rowling or Tolkien. Maybe I just don't get British people..... that could be it.
Anyway, I liked Twilight. Book or not, when the movie was announced, I told Meghan I was going to bring her. She adamantly refused, because she knew the movie would never be as good as the books, just like Harry Potter, even though, she admits, the Harry potters movies are good movies. I assumed that since Twilight was also being made by Warner Bros., it would at least be an enjoyable movie.
God was I wrong. This movie is HORRIBLE. The best way I can describe it is it's like watching the atrocious meadow/fireplace scenes from Attack of the Clones, for two hours. It is THAT bad. First, the actors are terrible. Every single actor acts as if they have this giant stick up their ass, just like in the new Star Wars movies. The terrible acting is slightly more forgivable in a movie that takes place in space and has lots of action and lightsaber dueling, but this movie is ABOUT emotion. The acting should not just be a side dish. I thought that Robert Pattison would actually be a good choice for the role of Edward, the leading vampire man-meat, due to his role in Harry Potter. But, he comes off like Anakin. "Gee, I know I have some emotion and acting talent in here somewhere, but I just can't find it".
But, I feel like this movie suffers from the same problem that the new Star Wars movies did, where the fault doesn't (totally) lie with the actors, but in the terrible writing and directing. First of all, they didn't actually make a movie based on the book, they basically just made a narration. You can get away with some of this dialogue in the book, since there is so much character development, you know why they are saying the things they do and acting the way they act. But, when you cut out all the character development, and then pull out random lines from the book for the characters to say, you are left wondering what the hell is wrong with these people. It feels like you are watching a movie about a high school for the mentally disabled, where every student also happens to be socially awkward. They needed to write a movie, not a book, cut out some of the stupid scenes, and focus on having less scenes with more character development. The whole thing just feels rushed. It seems like Warner Bros. didn't have faith that this movie would do anything. The movie is two hours flat, which is a telltale sign that the duration was a mandate from above, then the horrible low-budget writer they chose tried everything she could to fit the book into 2 hours. Wrong. The screenplay writer, Melissa Rosenburg, needs to stick to writing TV shows.
This brings me to the next huge mistake of this movie, the directing. This movie looks like it is shot from some n00b straight out of film school who just wants to throw in as many stupid, awkward, F-ING RETARDED camera shots as humanly possible. It is like she just discovered this new plaything called a camera and decided to just go crazy. Weeeeee. Do us all a favor and stop directing anything. The director, Catherine Hardwicke, also directed the movie Thirteen, which is about a (you guessed it) 13 year old girl who is discovering all the wonders of teenage life, including drinking, drug use, and sex. Here, Hardwicke's camera n00bness works because the movie has an indie-movie feel and is also very depressing, so the random hand held camera bits and shots that have the colors washed out feel more natural. This doesn't work in Twilight. You can't direct the same movie about teenage drug use when exploring a more lighthearted story of a girl and her vampire lover. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way. Also, your shots were so damn awkward that it made the actors feel awkward, which in turn makes your audience feel awkward. And for the love of god, BACK AWAY from the actors a little bit. The close of the the mom is probably the most frightening thing in this movie. Back up, make a real movie. Ugggg.
Also, another indicator that the producers didn't have any faith in this movie on its own, is the inclusion of popular music throughout the movie. The end credits roll with Linkin Park. Really? Did ANYONE take this movie seriously during filming/post-production? What a joke.
So anyway, if you were thinking of checking this movie out, don't. It's terrible. It reminded me a lot of the worst movie ever made, Pathfinder. I turned that movie off after 30 minutes due to the horrible directing and acting. Twilight doesn't hold a candle to the Harry Potter movies, not even close. Those movies are well constructed, directed, and acted. Twilight is none of those, and everyone should stay away from it, and read the books instead. You can read them in a single day if you wanted to and it would be much better spent than going to see this crap.
One other note about this movie. This movie is part of the reason we aren't talking about the new Harry Potter movie right now. HP and the Half-Blood Prince was originally going to be released around this time, but it was pushed back until next July to make room for Twilight. Another justification is that Warner Bros made such a giant, Titanic-sized load of money from The Dark Knight, they moved Harry Potter to next year to pad its fiscal pockets for '09, and placed Twilight in its stead.
Don't pay 10 dollars, or any amount of money for that matter, to see this movie. The End.
Nov 24, 2008
No More Metal in Guitar Hero/Rock Band?
So today I was litening to some Lamb of God, and I got to thinking to myself, have we seen the last of any really good metal songs in Guitar Hero and Rock Band?
I was thinking, now that we have singing in both games (a feature I could easily do without... but I realize it kind of adds to the whole "band" thing), will we ever have any more true metal songs like Six, My Curse, Take This Life, and The Light That Blinds? I mean, it will probably be fairly hard to pull off metal/growling vocals in these games well enough to not be lame. Even these songs are fairly tame as far as lyrical stylings. You may point out that they are making a Guitar Hero devoted entirely to Metallica, but they are much more of a "singing" band, and the vocals aren't hard to pull off. In GH:World Tour and Rock Band 2, we are seeing very little metal songs, aside from Metallica. I wonder why exactly this is, but I have a suspicion the vocals are a pretty decent-sized factor.
Also, the drum parts would probably also be especially hard. You have some pretty heavy double bass in a lot of modern meal songs, and only one pedal to work with. The beat would probably throw you off, since there would be no real way to match it perfectly.
Then, I remembered that Korn's "Freak on a Leash" is in Guitar Hero World Tour. If you don't know, this song has this one part that's like growling scat vocals. I was like hmmmm, I wonder how they pulled this off. Well, the results can be seen below, at around 2:55:
Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about that. The video quality is terrible, but it seems like he is hitting the "notes" for the most part. I wonder if its the same for a female trying to do this, without the deep tone. Meghan will have to try :) .
Anyway, this isn't quite the same as a true metal song/vocals. And the intrument parts are not hard at all for the song. Hopefully, we'll see some downloadable content for these games with some actual metal in them.
I was thinking, now that we have singing in both games (a feature I could easily do without... but I realize it kind of adds to the whole "band" thing), will we ever have any more true metal songs like Six, My Curse, Take This Life, and The Light That Blinds? I mean, it will probably be fairly hard to pull off metal/growling vocals in these games well enough to not be lame. Even these songs are fairly tame as far as lyrical stylings. You may point out that they are making a Guitar Hero devoted entirely to Metallica, but they are much more of a "singing" band, and the vocals aren't hard to pull off. In GH:World Tour and Rock Band 2, we are seeing very little metal songs, aside from Metallica. I wonder why exactly this is, but I have a suspicion the vocals are a pretty decent-sized factor.
Also, the drum parts would probably also be especially hard. You have some pretty heavy double bass in a lot of modern meal songs, and only one pedal to work with. The beat would probably throw you off, since there would be no real way to match it perfectly.
Then, I remembered that Korn's "Freak on a Leash" is in Guitar Hero World Tour. If you don't know, this song has this one part that's like growling scat vocals. I was like hmmmm, I wonder how they pulled this off. Well, the results can be seen below, at around 2:55:
Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about that. The video quality is terrible, but it seems like he is hitting the "notes" for the most part. I wonder if its the same for a female trying to do this, without the deep tone. Meghan will have to try :) .
Anyway, this isn't quite the same as a true metal song/vocals. And the intrument parts are not hard at all for the song. Hopefully, we'll see some downloadable content for these games with some actual metal in them.
What it Takes to Be a Pro Gamer
Interesting read about a Pro Gamer. This guy was interviewed by ESPN the Magazine, which is pretty cool to have pro gaming in a major sports magazine.
Check it out.
If I played any game as much as this I would be so damn sick of it.
Check it out.
If I played any game as much as this I would be so damn sick of it.
Nov 20, 2008
Mini Impressions!
So, I haven't updated for a bit, mostly due to the lack of new gaming going on in my life until the last few days. I just got Madden 09 and Call of Duty:World at War from Gamefly.
We'll start with Madden. It seems like EA takes the main criticism of its flagship franchise to heart way too much. That criticism being that they are never innovating Madden, they are just basically charging full price for a roster update every year. This may be true, but I think that sometimes its fiddling with the game engine makes things worse. The character animations, especially after plays, look terrible. You would think this would be a huge area for polish for them, since the source material for these animations NEVER CHANGES. You don't have to put in new, lackluster animations in every other year in order to keep things fresh. Just continue to polish the ones you have, the game would be so much better.
Also, Pass Defense is horrendously hard to do manually, since the ball flies so lightning fast that the mechanical actions you have to take to switch to the nearest defender, run to the receiver, and block the pass will never be fast enough to get in the way of the pass. Madden now likes to rub it in even more at the end of the game by telling you your "Madden Skill" in Pass Defense has gone down. Thanks John.
Also, the ball looks huge in a player's hands, Quarterbacks don't look natural at all throwing the ball, Punt Block is the best way to return a punt, and you can't set the Sim Quarter Length, like you can in the 2K sports games. This means while you are playing a 4 min quarter, the CPU sims the computer controlled teams at 15 min quarters, making you seem like a slacker in the Season stats.
Here's an idea EA. Just polish your existing game. People will buy it no matter what, and you'll end up having a better game for it. Don't listen to the stupid reviewers.
Call of Duty:World at War is another Call of Duty game. Which means it is a great game, but nothing has changed since the last go around. Except the Japanese are more crafty at hiding in bushes and ambushing you than Germans are apparently. I haven't played a lot through the main campaign yet, but we'll see how it stacks up to CoD2 and 4.
So I got a wonderful little email today from Mythic saying my Warhammer account is canceled because the credit card was rejected. Oh right, I had to cancel that credit card. Thanks for making canceling my account easy for me Mythic! I was thinking about doing that for a week or so now, but this makes my decision for me hah. Warhammer just didn't get it right. It may eventually get there, as long as Mythic makes the base gameplay smooth and fun. It is just not fun to play right now.
WAR has actually made me want to play WoW again. I know, I know. Say what you will, but the base gameplay for WoW is just great. The game runs so smooth and it just feels right. WAR feels too forced. It is like here's something like WoW, but we don't have the will or resources to make it just right. I know WoW will be the same stupid questing/rep grinding/raiding at end game, but I'm looking forward to getting back on my Shaman, doing some 5-man instances, and pvping. My Shaman in WoW is an absolute blast to play. I can wade into a group and face stomp someone, and also actually feel like my heals make a difference. My Disciple in WAR just seems useless all over. My DPS never seems to matter, and my heals never seem to matter.
WoW got it right, and WAR might get it OK in the future. For now, I'll see what's up in the new expansion in WoW and have some fun on the perfect class for me, while I wait for the DAoC Origins server to get in some real RvR.
Meghan and I played Guitar Hero 2 last night. Goddamn I can't wait to play the new one. I miss me some GH action!
We'll start with Madden. It seems like EA takes the main criticism of its flagship franchise to heart way too much. That criticism being that they are never innovating Madden, they are just basically charging full price for a roster update every year. This may be true, but I think that sometimes its fiddling with the game engine makes things worse. The character animations, especially after plays, look terrible. You would think this would be a huge area for polish for them, since the source material for these animations NEVER CHANGES. You don't have to put in new, lackluster animations in every other year in order to keep things fresh. Just continue to polish the ones you have, the game would be so much better.
Also, Pass Defense is horrendously hard to do manually, since the ball flies so lightning fast that the mechanical actions you have to take to switch to the nearest defender, run to the receiver, and block the pass will never be fast enough to get in the way of the pass. Madden now likes to rub it in even more at the end of the game by telling you your "Madden Skill" in Pass Defense has gone down. Thanks John.
Also, the ball looks huge in a player's hands, Quarterbacks don't look natural at all throwing the ball, Punt Block is the best way to return a punt, and you can't set the Sim Quarter Length, like you can in the 2K sports games. This means while you are playing a 4 min quarter, the CPU sims the computer controlled teams at 15 min quarters, making you seem like a slacker in the Season stats.
Here's an idea EA. Just polish your existing game. People will buy it no matter what, and you'll end up having a better game for it. Don't listen to the stupid reviewers.
Call of Duty:World at War is another Call of Duty game. Which means it is a great game, but nothing has changed since the last go around. Except the Japanese are more crafty at hiding in bushes and ambushing you than Germans are apparently. I haven't played a lot through the main campaign yet, but we'll see how it stacks up to CoD2 and 4.
So I got a wonderful little email today from Mythic saying my Warhammer account is canceled because the credit card was rejected. Oh right, I had to cancel that credit card. Thanks for making canceling my account easy for me Mythic! I was thinking about doing that for a week or so now, but this makes my decision for me hah. Warhammer just didn't get it right. It may eventually get there, as long as Mythic makes the base gameplay smooth and fun. It is just not fun to play right now.
WAR has actually made me want to play WoW again. I know, I know. Say what you will, but the base gameplay for WoW is just great. The game runs so smooth and it just feels right. WAR feels too forced. It is like here's something like WoW, but we don't have the will or resources to make it just right. I know WoW will be the same stupid questing/rep grinding/raiding at end game, but I'm looking forward to getting back on my Shaman, doing some 5-man instances, and pvping. My Shaman in WoW is an absolute blast to play. I can wade into a group and face stomp someone, and also actually feel like my heals make a difference. My Disciple in WAR just seems useless all over. My DPS never seems to matter, and my heals never seem to matter.
WoW got it right, and WAR might get it OK in the future. For now, I'll see what's up in the new expansion in WoW and have some fun on the perfect class for me, while I wait for the DAoC Origins server to get in some real RvR.
Meghan and I played Guitar Hero 2 last night. Goddamn I can't wait to play the new one. I miss me some GH action!
Nov 9, 2008
WAR - Some thoughts
I've been wanting to post some thoughts about WAR here for a bit, but wasn't sure how to approach it. Then I found a thread on VN that started with a simple question of someone asking how it compared to DAoC. The thread was filled with a lot of thoughtful comments on where WAR has failed. I was surprised since thoughtful posts are quite rare on VN. I think it was really showing how much hope people had for this game, and how good they want it so badly to be.
But for a lot of people it seems, WAR is not there yet. We want it to be good so badly, but it isn't. I was going to make a short post in this thread, but it turned intoa full fledged blog on my thoughts of how WAR has went. Here is my post:
For a long time Mythic and Mark said, they don't want to BEAT WoW
I took this as "We want to do our own thing, and carve our own niche in the MMO market"
What this really meant was "If you can't beat em, join em"
Mythic made WoW 0.8, and just threw in more WoWish-PvP elements
People say that if they made DAoC2, they wouldn't have the subscriber numbers they have now. I don't agree at all. The MMO player base is much, much bigger now than when DAoC was in its prime. You had many people clamoring for the next big thing, and they wanted to get AWAY from WoW, not go play a misguided attempt to make another WoW. So DAoC fans, plus people who wanted out of WoW (a LOT of people) would make for a very big subscriber base.
If Mythic HAD done its own thing, carved its own niche and created a game for themselves, and not to pander to what they THINK people want, they would have a much more successful MMO, experience-wise. This game does not have the soul to hold the long term, dedicated fan base. There is nothing in WAR to be dedicated to, or be devoted to. It is either going to have a big fan base or crumble into the dust, very very quickly.
Mythic missed their big chance to grab a big audience from WoW. Now, WotLK will be out on Thursday, and people who have tried WAR hoping to find the next big thing will leave and go back to WoW, after they have seen there is nothing to see here. Now, we'll have people leave for WotLK.
AND, even though many people are CLAMORING for Origins on these boards, I think it would be a terrible decision on Mythic's part, for the long term success of WAR. Then you will have DAoC fans leaving to play Origins. And then you are left with the people still hoping WAR will be great. I think eventually those people will realize there is nothing magical about WAR. It has no soul.
WoW has really ruined MMOs for good. It has too many developers seeing $$green$$ and not enough following their own minds for making a good dame.
The game that will "beat" WoW will be absolutely nothing like WoW. Why Mythic didn't see this is beyond me. They made exactly what they said they were NOT doing from the start. They made another WoW, and its not even close to being as good as even WoW.
That's the post. I know this may make some people feel like I don't like WAR at all. That isn't true. I've had a lot of fun pvping with my guild. Having a full guild group working together is a lot of fun in this game. That is what these games should be about, having fun with your friends.
I have been trying to get all of my friends to play this game (dammit JIM). I have really enjoyed playing with my friends that are in there now (especially Meghan!). However, there needs to be something holding the experience together. I can play with my friends in any game. Right now, the game just seems a bit confused. It comes off as not really being sure of what it is. It tries to do so many things at once, and it sounds great on paper that you can DO so many things, but it just ends up not getting any of them fully right.
I have a lot of hope for this game. I think they have a lot of work ahead of them to make it a quality game, but I think it is in there somewhere. I think Mythic just needs to create the game they want to create, and not create a game they think fans want. Fans don't even know what they want, and they will never be happy no matter what. Hopefully WAR will get on track soon, and the people will have something other to play than WoW.
But for a lot of people it seems, WAR is not there yet. We want it to be good so badly, but it isn't. I was going to make a short post in this thread, but it turned intoa full fledged blog on my thoughts of how WAR has went. Here is my post:
For a long time Mythic and Mark said, they don't want to BEAT WoW
I took this as "We want to do our own thing, and carve our own niche in the MMO market"
What this really meant was "If you can't beat em, join em"
Mythic made WoW 0.8, and just threw in more WoWish-PvP elements
People say that if they made DAoC2, they wouldn't have the subscriber numbers they have now. I don't agree at all. The MMO player base is much, much bigger now than when DAoC was in its prime. You had many people clamoring for the next big thing, and they wanted to get AWAY from WoW, not go play a misguided attempt to make another WoW. So DAoC fans, plus people who wanted out of WoW (a LOT of people) would make for a very big subscriber base.
If Mythic HAD done its own thing, carved its own niche and created a game for themselves, and not to pander to what they THINK people want, they would have a much more successful MMO, experience-wise. This game does not have the soul to hold the long term, dedicated fan base. There is nothing in WAR to be dedicated to, or be devoted to. It is either going to have a big fan base or crumble into the dust, very very quickly.
Mythic missed their big chance to grab a big audience from WoW. Now, WotLK will be out on Thursday, and people who have tried WAR hoping to find the next big thing will leave and go back to WoW, after they have seen there is nothing to see here. Now, we'll have people leave for WotLK.
AND, even though many people are CLAMORING for Origins on these boards, I think it would be a terrible decision on Mythic's part, for the long term success of WAR. Then you will have DAoC fans leaving to play Origins. And then you are left with the people still hoping WAR will be great. I think eventually those people will realize there is nothing magical about WAR. It has no soul.
WoW has really ruined MMOs for good. It has too many developers seeing $$green$$ and not enough following their own minds for making a good dame.
The game that will "beat" WoW will be absolutely nothing like WoW. Why Mythic didn't see this is beyond me. They made exactly what they said they were NOT doing from the start. They made another WoW, and its not even close to being as good as even WoW.
That's the post. I know this may make some people feel like I don't like WAR at all. That isn't true. I've had a lot of fun pvping with my guild. Having a full guild group working together is a lot of fun in this game. That is what these games should be about, having fun with your friends.
I have been trying to get all of my friends to play this game (dammit JIM). I have really enjoyed playing with my friends that are in there now (especially Meghan!). However, there needs to be something holding the experience together. I can play with my friends in any game. Right now, the game just seems a bit confused. It comes off as not really being sure of what it is. It tries to do so many things at once, and it sounds great on paper that you can DO so many things, but it just ends up not getting any of them fully right.
I have a lot of hope for this game. I think they have a lot of work ahead of them to make it a quality game, but I think it is in there somewhere. I think Mythic just needs to create the game they want to create, and not create a game they think fans want. Fans don't even know what they want, and they will never be happy no matter what. Hopefully WAR will get on track soon, and the people will have something other to play than WoW.
Nov 6, 2008
The Woes of Death, Take 2
So I died again in Persona. Not to the same hard enemy (I beat that one this time around), and I didn't lose like 2 and a half hours again, since i was saving diligently. It was probably about a half hour of an XP grinding session, which was going well. Then some mobs ganged up on the main character and killed him. Damn shadow things. That's my one gripe in this game; if the main character dies, it's game over. And there are some abilities that have a chance to instantly kill you. So, a mob could cast an instant kill spell on you, and its game over. No way to stop it. Lame.
Oh well, I'll have to tackle it again soon, I'm being super motivated to beat it!
Oh well, I'll have to tackle it again soon, I'm being super motivated to beat it!
Nov 5, 2008
The Woes of Death
I just died playing Persona 3 after about 2 and a half hours of gametime. Uggggg. This game isn't conducive to saving, since you don't happen upon save points like in any other game. There's a save point in the house you live in, but since it isn't like a new save point where you are compelled to save, I usually don't. Of course I know I should especially when entering a new level of the dungeon with newer, more powerful enemies....
I have been neglecting Persona 3 for a while. I started it during early summer, like May/June. Lately I haven't been playing it, since I was out of it for a bit while moving to California from new York. I wanted to try getting back into it tonight during my break from WAR. And this is what I get hah. I was debating whether or not just to stop playing altogether, in preparation for Persona 4. But, 3 is such a damn good game that I didn't want it to go unfinished. Maybe I'll start it up again tomorrow, but right now I'm discouraged. Back to Stranglehold I guess....
I have been neglecting Persona 3 for a while. I started it during early summer, like May/June. Lately I haven't been playing it, since I was out of it for a bit while moving to California from new York. I wanted to try getting back into it tonight during my break from WAR. And this is what I get hah. I was debating whether or not just to stop playing altogether, in preparation for Persona 4. But, 3 is such a damn good game that I didn't want it to go unfinished. Maybe I'll start it up again tomorrow, but right now I'm discouraged. Back to Stranglehold I guess....
Stranglehold
So, the other game I have out from Gamefly right now is Stranglehold. I have been wanting to play this game for a while, and had it about midway down on my GameQ. I was hoping to nab Madden 09 or Too Human the most, but my next game fell all the way down to like 12th on my list. So I was a little disappointed. I guess that's my one major gripe with Gamefly, is that it is hard to get new games you want unless you time your returns with a game's initial release, which is what I did with Fallout 3 and The Force Unleashed.
Anyway, I got Stranglehold. This game is actually meant to be a story sequel to the movie Hard Boiled, which is directed by John Woo and stars Chow Yun-Fat. I downloaded this movie, but never got the subtitles working correctly so I didn't get to watch it. Anyway, there's some plot or something, but it probably just gets in the way of Chow Yun-Fat kicking major ass. Much like elements of this game... but I'll get to that.
So, the basic gameplay of Stranglehold is ripped straight out of Max Payne. Third-person action game with lots of guns, and you can can slow down time to slaughter people more effectively. Diving to the side will automatically slow down time, allowing you to mow down enemies in mid air, creating a very cinematic (and satisfying) effect. I loved Max Payne. It is my favorite action game of all time. It was everything I wanted in a game at the time of release (and still is really). The gameplay and atmosphere especially were wonderful. A bit B-movie, but I loved every minute of it.
Stranglehold tries to do the same thing, but misses the mark a bit. First, you face waves upon waves of enemies. I realize China has people to spare, but they will be taking a population hit here with the amount of people you kill. It is pretty fun to slaughter enemies 20 at a time, but eventually it ends up feeling like each enemy isn't some new obstacle to get around, like it felt for me in Max Payne. Don't get me wrong though, it is still a blast. Also, the game feels a bit more loose than Max Payne does. The controls aren't as tight, and it is more difficult to hit multiple enemies while diving, since you don't get as much air time. Also, you automatically slide over low platforms when you get near them. Things like table and counters. Sounds like a cool concept, but when you are in an area with a lot of these things around, like a bar, you end up sliding this way and that when you don't want to, and it's hard to aim when you are sliding at an odd angle away from an enemy. A bit frustrating, but those few times when you slide nicely across a bar, time slows down and you line up a few headshots in a row are very satisfying.
The environments are also highly destructible. Wood splinters, tiles shatter, and things explode around you in the middle of an intense fight. It creates quite a nice experience with things blowing up and shattering around you. One bar fight takes place around some tiled pillars. Think The Matrix lobby scene, which I'm sure was what they were thinking of. It was fun.
Another cool aspect is the "Sniper" ability. You don't get an actual sniper rifle, it's not this game's style, but rather you can activate an ability with any gun that slows down time and zooms in your aim. When you shoot, the camera follows the bullet (again, a la Max Payne) towards your target. You then get a nice bit where blood splatters over your enemy and you watch him writhe in agony for a few seconds before snapping back to your character. Nice.
Anyway, in the midst of all this fun in killing people and blowing things up, a snake rears its ugly head.... Gaming Conventions. I get to the second level, after the first is a straight up run to the end fight in the middle of a street/marketplace. Now I also have to destroy 10 drug tables along the way. I rolled my eyes when I first saw this. Stupid "do that, this many times" objectives. Ok, we will see how this goes. They were relatively easy to find, but I did spend some time at the end trying to find the very last one. Its frustrating to get to a point in the level that you can't get though because you haven't found everything. These lapses in action are usually expected in a game, but since the action is so heavy throughout the other parts, these portions are all the more glaring. Kind of takes you out of the intense battles. I wish they would just get rid of these altogether. In the next level, I got to the end and realized I couldn't actually finish the level, because the bomb I need to plant was back in an area that was now blocked off. Frustrating.
Another gaming convention gripe: only carrying two weapons. You start out with pistols, then eventually find the standard Rifle, Shotgun, Machine Gun, etc. But you can only carry two at a time. Why, because Halo said so? This is so stupid. I am taking 15 bullets to the face every minute and shrugging it off, but god forbid I carry more than two weapons. Come on people, Halo is not God's gift to gaming. Wake up. Halo says "Thou shalt not carry more than two weapons. Two weapons is the max, and the number of the maximum weapons to be carried is two." Stop with these stupid restrictions.
Anyway, Stranglehold is really fun to play, even if it is hampered by unnecessary game conventions. If these elements were removed completely from the game, I think the overall experience would benefit greatly. Just full on action and killing. It is good fun until World at War and Mirror's Edge next week. Funny this has taken the time completely away from Fallout.
Anyway... where the hell is Max Payne 3? Now please!
Anyway, I got Stranglehold. This game is actually meant to be a story sequel to the movie Hard Boiled, which is directed by John Woo and stars Chow Yun-Fat. I downloaded this movie, but never got the subtitles working correctly so I didn't get to watch it. Anyway, there's some plot or something, but it probably just gets in the way of Chow Yun-Fat kicking major ass. Much like elements of this game... but I'll get to that.
So, the basic gameplay of Stranglehold is ripped straight out of Max Payne. Third-person action game with lots of guns, and you can can slow down time to slaughter people more effectively. Diving to the side will automatically slow down time, allowing you to mow down enemies in mid air, creating a very cinematic (and satisfying) effect. I loved Max Payne. It is my favorite action game of all time. It was everything I wanted in a game at the time of release (and still is really). The gameplay and atmosphere especially were wonderful. A bit B-movie, but I loved every minute of it.
Stranglehold tries to do the same thing, but misses the mark a bit. First, you face waves upon waves of enemies. I realize China has people to spare, but they will be taking a population hit here with the amount of people you kill. It is pretty fun to slaughter enemies 20 at a time, but eventually it ends up feeling like each enemy isn't some new obstacle to get around, like it felt for me in Max Payne. Don't get me wrong though, it is still a blast. Also, the game feels a bit more loose than Max Payne does. The controls aren't as tight, and it is more difficult to hit multiple enemies while diving, since you don't get as much air time. Also, you automatically slide over low platforms when you get near them. Things like table and counters. Sounds like a cool concept, but when you are in an area with a lot of these things around, like a bar, you end up sliding this way and that when you don't want to, and it's hard to aim when you are sliding at an odd angle away from an enemy. A bit frustrating, but those few times when you slide nicely across a bar, time slows down and you line up a few headshots in a row are very satisfying.
The environments are also highly destructible. Wood splinters, tiles shatter, and things explode around you in the middle of an intense fight. It creates quite a nice experience with things blowing up and shattering around you. One bar fight takes place around some tiled pillars. Think The Matrix lobby scene, which I'm sure was what they were thinking of. It was fun.
Another cool aspect is the "Sniper" ability. You don't get an actual sniper rifle, it's not this game's style, but rather you can activate an ability with any gun that slows down time and zooms in your aim. When you shoot, the camera follows the bullet (again, a la Max Payne) towards your target. You then get a nice bit where blood splatters over your enemy and you watch him writhe in agony for a few seconds before snapping back to your character. Nice.
Anyway, in the midst of all this fun in killing people and blowing things up, a snake rears its ugly head.... Gaming Conventions. I get to the second level, after the first is a straight up run to the end fight in the middle of a street/marketplace. Now I also have to destroy 10 drug tables along the way. I rolled my eyes when I first saw this. Stupid "do that, this many times" objectives. Ok, we will see how this goes. They were relatively easy to find, but I did spend some time at the end trying to find the very last one. Its frustrating to get to a point in the level that you can't get though because you haven't found everything. These lapses in action are usually expected in a game, but since the action is so heavy throughout the other parts, these portions are all the more glaring. Kind of takes you out of the intense battles. I wish they would just get rid of these altogether. In the next level, I got to the end and realized I couldn't actually finish the level, because the bomb I need to plant was back in an area that was now blocked off. Frustrating.
Another gaming convention gripe: only carrying two weapons. You start out with pistols, then eventually find the standard Rifle, Shotgun, Machine Gun, etc. But you can only carry two at a time. Why, because Halo said so? This is so stupid. I am taking 15 bullets to the face every minute and shrugging it off, but god forbid I carry more than two weapons. Come on people, Halo is not God's gift to gaming. Wake up. Halo says "Thou shalt not carry more than two weapons. Two weapons is the max, and the number of the maximum weapons to be carried is two." Stop with these stupid restrictions.
Anyway, Stranglehold is really fun to play, even if it is hampered by unnecessary game conventions. If these elements were removed completely from the game, I think the overall experience would benefit greatly. Just full on action and killing. It is good fun until World at War and Mirror's Edge next week. Funny this has taken the time completely away from Fallout.
Anyway... where the hell is Max Payne 3? Now please!
Nov 3, 2008
Mirror's Edge Demo
Two Words: HOLY S@#T! This game is going to be awesome. I had an absolute BLAST playing this. I was going to wait until tomorrow at work to write about this, but I don;t think it can wait. I just got done playing through the demo level of it, and it is amazing.
For the uninformed, Mirror's Edge is a game based on FreeRunning.This concept was played with in Assassin's Creed, but here the entire game is based around it. Whoever thought up this idea must have seemed crazy to those around him, but by god is it fun. You spend your time running around rooftops, vaulting fences, wall running, sliding under obstacles, and yes, running/fighting enemies. The enemy fighting though seems like it will be more disarming them, then running. It is not a game based around killing your opposition, just finding creative ways to avoid them.
The level only had a small bit of people trying to stop you though, most of it is based around the environment obstacles, and how you navigate them. There are a variety of ways to apporach each obstacle, and this game had me going back for more as soon as I finished the demo. I wanted to play again to see how much smoother I could do the level. I wanted to perfect my run.
The imagery in the game is breathtaking. You are on top of buildings in the middle of the city, and it seems to stretch on all around you. The art style really stands out too. The environments are mostly white, with colors used to guide you through the levels, and give you hints on where to go next. This is implemented really well, and it reduces the confusion on where you should go next (this still occurs, but not in a frustrating way). If you fail and/or fall of a roof, you continue right where you left off, no harm done. Good move on that part.
This demo was a lot of fun, and gave a nice slice of what the whole game could be. I for one am excited as hell for this game to come out. If i time my Gamefly returns right, I should be sitting pretty playing this and Call of Duty: World at War next week.
Til then.... I'll be running around on rooftops!
/notsojaded
For the uninformed, Mirror's Edge is a game based on FreeRunning.This concept was played with in Assassin's Creed, but here the entire game is based around it. Whoever thought up this idea must have seemed crazy to those around him, but by god is it fun. You spend your time running around rooftops, vaulting fences, wall running, sliding under obstacles, and yes, running/fighting enemies. The enemy fighting though seems like it will be more disarming them, then running. It is not a game based around killing your opposition, just finding creative ways to avoid them.
The level only had a small bit of people trying to stop you though, most of it is based around the environment obstacles, and how you navigate them. There are a variety of ways to apporach each obstacle, and this game had me going back for more as soon as I finished the demo. I wanted to play again to see how much smoother I could do the level. I wanted to perfect my run.
The imagery in the game is breathtaking. You are on top of buildings in the middle of the city, and it seems to stretch on all around you. The art style really stands out too. The environments are mostly white, with colors used to guide you through the levels, and give you hints on where to go next. This is implemented really well, and it reduces the confusion on where you should go next (this still occurs, but not in a frustrating way). If you fail and/or fall of a roof, you continue right where you left off, no harm done. Good move on that part.
This demo was a lot of fun, and gave a nice slice of what the whole game could be. I for one am excited as hell for this game to come out. If i time my Gamefly returns right, I should be sitting pretty playing this and Call of Duty: World at War next week.
Til then.... I'll be running around on rooftops!
/notsojaded
Fallout 3 (aka Elder Scrolls: Fallout)
So Fallout 3 has arrived from Gamefly. It was on the top of my list of the flood of games being released this season, so I was excited. I was hoping for Bioshock with more RPG elements. What I got was Elder Scrolls: Fallout.
Let me start by saying I briefly played Fallout 1 and 2, a while ago. Actually, it was a random purchase, because I had heard about the games in passing, and about how good they were, then I randomly found then a some website for a $10 package deal. So I purchased and played for a bit. What I remember the most was killing/being killed by rats in a cave, then the desert, then townspeople being angry at me for no good reason. I do remember the atmosphere, and the dark humor. So, like I said, I had hoped this would give me the atmosphere and feeling of Bioshock and the original Fallouts, coupled with the gameplay of Bioshock meets a lighter Elder Scrolls.
On to the impressions of the game. I loaded it up, and it starts out with your birth, then random bits of your life as you grow up in "Vault 101". This is basically the point (much like in Elder Scrolls) where you are choosing your beginning traits/stats, and also going through a bit of a shooting tutorial (a very, very basic tutorial). It is kind of going slow, but that's ok. The game atmosphere gives off a bit of a Half-Life vibe at this point. I just can't help but feel like I'm gonna need to whack some uglies with a crowbar soon. As it turns out, I end up whacking people with a baseball bat once the shit hits the fan, so its not too far off. The game tries to have you create ties to a childhood "friend" at the start, so you feel bad when you kill her father, the Overseer. And by kill, I mean you have a choice as to how you are going to get through the secret passage. And it is not a A or B choice like in you are deciding to kill/save a Sister in Bioshock. The game lets you figure out the course of action, and eventually you realize that in order to get through the secret passage out of the Vault, you need info from the Overseer. Or you could just take his passcode/card/whatever from his cold dead corpse. This was not really a choice for me however, because once I had weapons, I was bashing everyone in sight, in slow motion awesomeness thanks to the VATS system, or whatever they are calling it. The system is essentially the quasi-turned based system seen in BioWare's products (Baldur's Gate and KoTOR) where you can queue up actions.
Anyway, I kill this girl's father, and she runs in and just keeps syaing over and over "OMG you killed my father. Don't talk to me". So much for any kind of ties or development. the girl wants you to leave her alone. So you follow the tunnel out into the actual game. Here's where the Elder Scrolls hits. The travel by locations system is the same. The wait/rest/sleep system system is the same. The walking around feels the same. I don't know if the early Elder Scrolls game were the same as Fallout 1 and 2, but man, all of the systems were ripped from Elder Scrolls. I realize its the same developer, but I was hoping for a bit of a different experience.
Ok, on to the first town. Its the same, nameless existence you have in Elder Scrolls. Talk to townspeople, get random stupid side quests that send you around the area, doing tasks, killing people in their homes, etc. There's also the main quest storyline, where you are tyring to find your father, who escaped the Vault just before you did, which causd this whole fiasco in the first place. Why do I need to find my Dad? Why did he leave? Why do I care? Some story build up in the beginning would have been nice. But no, you are given no reason for your Dad's departure, and are thrust out into the world. This may seem like motivation, but there is no personal connection. I don't give a crap about my father (besides the fact that he is voiced by Liam Neeson... awesome). Give me some real motivation.
Thus, we come to my problem with Fallout, and the Elder Scrolls game in general. I am one of those people where the games are just too broad. I don't like doing random side fetch quests. I want some motivation. Even the main quest, I feel so disconnected from it. There's story, but not the type of story seen in traditional RPGs. There's no emotion or connection. Just a grind. I can grind in MMOs. I don't want to grind and do random side quests in a single player game. I try really, really hard to like and get into Elder Scrolls games, but I just can't. there's nothing keeping me playing. There is no carrot. Well, at least no visable one. So, there's no story motivation, nor is there even character development motivation. Sure, I know if I go out adventuring, I'll eventually level my character, but the levels are so few and far between, I just don't care. The pace of the game is slow slow slow. I mean, can't Bethesda make a game like this where everything isn't so damn slow? Talking, walking, everything. You still walk around like you have a giant stick up the rear (try switching to third person, it is awful to watch...). Can't we have a smooth walking character to control, that can run and jump like any other third person action/adventure game? I think a Fable-ish style engine would do wonders for the Elder Scrolls series.
Anyway, I was hoping Fallout was going to be a different experience. But to me, it just feels like Elder Scrolls with a different coat of paint. I guess I'll just go back and play Bioshock again and pretend. And truth be told, I find going back to play Bioshock again would be much more enjoyable than playing ANY of the upcoming releases. /jaded
Let me start by saying I briefly played Fallout 1 and 2, a while ago. Actually, it was a random purchase, because I had heard about the games in passing, and about how good they were, then I randomly found then a some website for a $10 package deal. So I purchased and played for a bit. What I remember the most was killing/being killed by rats in a cave, then the desert, then townspeople being angry at me for no good reason. I do remember the atmosphere, and the dark humor. So, like I said, I had hoped this would give me the atmosphere and feeling of Bioshock and the original Fallouts, coupled with the gameplay of Bioshock meets a lighter Elder Scrolls.
On to the impressions of the game. I loaded it up, and it starts out with your birth, then random bits of your life as you grow up in "Vault 101". This is basically the point (much like in Elder Scrolls) where you are choosing your beginning traits/stats, and also going through a bit of a shooting tutorial (a very, very basic tutorial). It is kind of going slow, but that's ok. The game atmosphere gives off a bit of a Half-Life vibe at this point. I just can't help but feel like I'm gonna need to whack some uglies with a crowbar soon. As it turns out, I end up whacking people with a baseball bat once the shit hits the fan, so its not too far off. The game tries to have you create ties to a childhood "friend" at the start, so you feel bad when you kill her father, the Overseer. And by kill, I mean you have a choice as to how you are going to get through the secret passage. And it is not a A or B choice like in you are deciding to kill/save a Sister in Bioshock. The game lets you figure out the course of action, and eventually you realize that in order to get through the secret passage out of the Vault, you need info from the Overseer. Or you could just take his passcode/card/whatever from his cold dead corpse. This was not really a choice for me however, because once I had weapons, I was bashing everyone in sight, in slow motion awesomeness thanks to the VATS system, or whatever they are calling it. The system is essentially the quasi-turned based system seen in BioWare's products (Baldur's Gate and KoTOR) where you can queue up actions.
Anyway, I kill this girl's father, and she runs in and just keeps syaing over and over "OMG you killed my father. Don't talk to me". So much for any kind of ties or development. the girl wants you to leave her alone. So you follow the tunnel out into the actual game. Here's where the Elder Scrolls hits. The travel by locations system is the same. The wait/rest/sleep system system is the same. The walking around feels the same. I don't know if the early Elder Scrolls game were the same as Fallout 1 and 2, but man, all of the systems were ripped from Elder Scrolls. I realize its the same developer, but I was hoping for a bit of a different experience.
Ok, on to the first town. Its the same, nameless existence you have in Elder Scrolls. Talk to townspeople, get random stupid side quests that send you around the area, doing tasks, killing people in their homes, etc. There's also the main quest storyline, where you are tyring to find your father, who escaped the Vault just before you did, which causd this whole fiasco in the first place. Why do I need to find my Dad? Why did he leave? Why do I care? Some story build up in the beginning would have been nice. But no, you are given no reason for your Dad's departure, and are thrust out into the world. This may seem like motivation, but there is no personal connection. I don't give a crap about my father (besides the fact that he is voiced by Liam Neeson... awesome). Give me some real motivation.
Thus, we come to my problem with Fallout, and the Elder Scrolls game in general. I am one of those people where the games are just too broad. I don't like doing random side fetch quests. I want some motivation. Even the main quest, I feel so disconnected from it. There's story, but not the type of story seen in traditional RPGs. There's no emotion or connection. Just a grind. I can grind in MMOs. I don't want to grind and do random side quests in a single player game. I try really, really hard to like and get into Elder Scrolls games, but I just can't. there's nothing keeping me playing. There is no carrot. Well, at least no visable one. So, there's no story motivation, nor is there even character development motivation. Sure, I know if I go out adventuring, I'll eventually level my character, but the levels are so few and far between, I just don't care. The pace of the game is slow slow slow. I mean, can't Bethesda make a game like this where everything isn't so damn slow? Talking, walking, everything. You still walk around like you have a giant stick up the rear (try switching to third person, it is awful to watch...). Can't we have a smooth walking character to control, that can run and jump like any other third person action/adventure game? I think a Fable-ish style engine would do wonders for the Elder Scrolls series.
Anyway, I was hoping Fallout was going to be a different experience. But to me, it just feels like Elder Scrolls with a different coat of paint. I guess I'll just go back and play Bioshock again and pretend. And truth be told, I find going back to play Bioshock again would be much more enjoyable than playing ANY of the upcoming releases. /jaded
So, why the weird name?
Gaming with Jade Colored Glasses is kind of a weird, maybe even dumb, name for a blog about gaming. Makes me seem kind of cynical doesn't it? I was trying to think of something profound, like Dubious Quality, but I know that I usually fail at being profound, or even remotely thought provoking, as much as I really would like to be.
So, the name would refer to my current attitude towards gaming: jaded. I have been playing games heavily since I was about 10. I played before that, but I really didn't know what I was doing. All I knew then was that every Ninja Turtles game on NES was god's personal gift to me. I will probably get into my history of gaming later, but before I go off track here, I'll continue. The PS1 was my first real start of "casual hardcore" gaming, and I loved it. I subscribed to about 5 different gaming magazines, I played consoles games like crazy, and was probably getting a new game about every week (thanks Dad!).
But now, in general I feel a big /meh towards games. Don't get me wrong, I still love gaming, and that is about all I do when I go home at night (pesky job...). But, it is hard to excite me anymore about games. Sure, I just reached level 40 in Warhammer Online after about 6 weeks of playing, so one might think I am fully addicted to the game, but really, it was merely to keep up with people in my guild, and just the general need to reach the highest level in something. There certainly isn't the level of sheer awe I felt when I first saw Dark Age of Camelot or first viewed a character flying into Ironforge on the back of a gryphon in WoW.
And right now, we are in the midst of one of the biggest season in gaming history. Just look at a release schedule right now, it is nuts. I'm sure many people feel EXACTLY like this. But me, I'm just mildly stimulated by the games. The one I wanted to try the most was Fallout 3, which I nabbed from Gamefly, and was left a bit disappointed (impressions coming soon!). The others, Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, Little Big Planet, Fable 2, Red Alert 3, Mirror's Edge, etc etc etc, I'm not excited about at all. Sure, I'd like to give some of them a try, but I am just not giddy about all the games coming out.
Ok, before I go too long with this, I think you get the basic idea. I LOVE games, and I want to get excited about them, I just don't. Is it because I am growing up? I hope not... Sometimes I think it may be due to the lack of new ideas in games, but really, there are some games out there mixing it up, and even when I try them, I come away feeling nothing about them. So, feel free to injecct your gaming love and enthusiam into this space, since most of my commentary may come off a bit.... jaded.
So, I hope to post some good commentary on games and the industry in general, along with some others things that I am interested in (heavy metal anyone?). I want to keep people interested and reading, so I will try to update as much as possible. I think I have been doing good with my 1up blog, so I'm hopeful for this blog. Hope you enjoy your stay!
So, the name would refer to my current attitude towards gaming: jaded. I have been playing games heavily since I was about 10. I played before that, but I really didn't know what I was doing. All I knew then was that every Ninja Turtles game on NES was god's personal gift to me. I will probably get into my history of gaming later, but before I go off track here, I'll continue. The PS1 was my first real start of "casual hardcore" gaming, and I loved it. I subscribed to about 5 different gaming magazines, I played consoles games like crazy, and was probably getting a new game about every week (thanks Dad!).
But now, in general I feel a big /meh towards games. Don't get me wrong, I still love gaming, and that is about all I do when I go home at night (pesky job...). But, it is hard to excite me anymore about games. Sure, I just reached level 40 in Warhammer Online after about 6 weeks of playing, so one might think I am fully addicted to the game, but really, it was merely to keep up with people in my guild, and just the general need to reach the highest level in something. There certainly isn't the level of sheer awe I felt when I first saw Dark Age of Camelot or first viewed a character flying into Ironforge on the back of a gryphon in WoW.
And right now, we are in the midst of one of the biggest season in gaming history. Just look at a release schedule right now, it is nuts. I'm sure many people feel EXACTLY like this. But me, I'm just mildly stimulated by the games. The one I wanted to try the most was Fallout 3, which I nabbed from Gamefly, and was left a bit disappointed (impressions coming soon!). The others, Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, Little Big Planet, Fable 2, Red Alert 3, Mirror's Edge, etc etc etc, I'm not excited about at all. Sure, I'd like to give some of them a try, but I am just not giddy about all the games coming out.
Ok, before I go too long with this, I think you get the basic idea. I LOVE games, and I want to get excited about them, I just don't. Is it because I am growing up? I hope not... Sometimes I think it may be due to the lack of new ideas in games, but really, there are some games out there mixing it up, and even when I try them, I come away feeling nothing about them. So, feel free to injecct your gaming love and enthusiam into this space, since most of my commentary may come off a bit.... jaded.
So, I hope to post some good commentary on games and the industry in general, along with some others things that I am interested in (heavy metal anyone?). I want to keep people interested and reading, so I will try to update as much as possible. I think I have been doing good with my 1up blog, so I'm hopeful for this blog. Hope you enjoy your stay!
The Start of Gaming with Jade Colored Glasses
Hello everyone.
I have determined today would be the start of my *new* gaming blog. My old one can be found here . I stopped that blog after boredom and not keeping up with it. Recently, I have switched to blogging on the 1up.com gaming community. I have been enjoying this because it lets me blog in a pre-established community, and I can use one account/identity to also post my thoughts in the gaming clubs that go on there.
However, recently I have been thinking that I want to get my name out there a bit more and have my blog have its own nice url. I want to develop game blogging as my main hobby, when gaming doesn't get in the way of course. Gaming is the main hobby I guess, while blogging will sort of be my "outside of work interest". Is this making any sense at all?
So, I think that I will mirror posts on both blogs. I want to be seen by the 1up community, as well as the wider outside world. Maybe I will link to this blog from 1up. I want people to comment and discuss things, but usually it doesn't happen. We'll see what happens I guess. For now, you can head over to my 1up page. I will be posting some impressions on Fallout 3 soon.
Enjoy! Please comment to my stuff, it makes me feel warm and giddy inside.
I have determined today would be the start of my *new* gaming blog. My old one can be found here . I stopped that blog after boredom and not keeping up with it. Recently, I have switched to blogging on the 1up.com gaming community. I have been enjoying this because it lets me blog in a pre-established community, and I can use one account/identity to also post my thoughts in the gaming clubs that go on there.
However, recently I have been thinking that I want to get my name out there a bit more and have my blog have its own nice url. I want to develop game blogging as my main hobby, when gaming doesn't get in the way of course. Gaming is the main hobby I guess, while blogging will sort of be my "outside of work interest". Is this making any sense at all?
So, I think that I will mirror posts on both blogs. I want to be seen by the 1up community, as well as the wider outside world. Maybe I will link to this blog from 1up. I want people to comment and discuss things, but usually it doesn't happen. We'll see what happens I guess. For now, you can head over to my 1up page. I will be posting some impressions on Fallout 3 soon.
Enjoy! Please comment to my stuff, it makes me feel warm and giddy inside.
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