I don't know if I should be excited or not that they have already announced Rock Band 2 is probably coming out this fall as I have only just gotten the first one. Finished playing through that this weekend on solo tour mode, I guess I've grown to like more of the initial set-list on the game out of the package from playing through it. Still the major reason for getting it was the DLC, so much win so far in what they have made available. The Pixies' Doolittle is amazing to play to, also Heir Kommt Alex and obviously I am a fan of the addition of Hysteria. Why Harmonix have you not released more Muse DLC =(. GH3 has Stockholm Syndrome, KoC, SMBH, and Exo-Politics, Rock band should ummm show em up and release MORE MUSE. I want more Muse...
uhhh things that I want to do with my free-time tend to jump all on me at once and don't seem to string out and be there for when I get bored. Now there is too much to do...catch up with Code Geass R2, read Watchmen that I'm borrowing from a coworker, play too many 360 games, watch other shows that have seemed to amass into a pile for consumption. grglgrgl...this summer is definitely more dynamic than previous ones.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Ladytron come back soon, oh please do!
I saw Ladytron this weekend at Merriweather, a few notes about the show. First off, Ladytron is absolutely amazing and great live performers. Immediately when their set was done I wanted to see more of them, I am greatly looking forward to their next tour through the area. Annoyingly though this show, which was supposed to take place at the 9:30 club and would've been 10x better there, had been changed to take place at Merriweather. Adding Ladytron to the line-up of a mini-festival whose lead act was Thievery Corporation. While I honestly don't know much about Thievery Corporation (I hear they're good) the other artists at the show were Seu Jorge (Awesome work in The Life Aquatic), TV on the Radio (I found them as a group a bit out of place at this festival, I only know one song by them but I like it), Turntables on the Hudson (it was pretty interesting ethnic dance music), and Federico Aubele whom I didn't know but their music was definitely pleasing to the ear. I am pissed that Ladytron was taken from the 9:30 club venue where they would've headlined, had even more performance time and better sound mixing and added to the lineup at Merriweather. I generally feel bad to rag on people but the guys doing the sound mixing at Merriweather were horrible, they had the drums and bass and low synth frequencies drowning out Mira and Helen's vocals, not to mention the other melodies from the guitars/synths. I mean come on, you would think they would understand not ALL shows need "ZOMG MORE AWESOME BASS" (when I was in the Drum 'n' Bass tent at Starscape for over 10 hours that is when I want the bass, not here). Despite being hot, humid, and aurally disatisfied by the mixing I still had a hell of a time purely from Ladytron's set. Also Mira is super cute/hot, props to the outfits they perform in. Here is a little live performance at KCRW they did, asklhgfhgfg
Ahhh I want to see them again live as soon as possible...
So my recent escapades with my newly acquired 360 have taken me through Clive Barker's Jericho. Despite the scathing reviews and utter beating that it received from critics and reviewers alike I went ahead and bought it after much enjoying the demo from Xbox Live. I have to honestly say I loved the game. I do agree that the ending was a bit of a let down, but it was not a complete game-killer and the overall experience was rather memorable. First off, despite this being a FPS it's not Halo or Resistance. If you think of it this way, if these were RPGs Halo would be Morrowind (fuck you Oblivion, you sucked...ok you weren't that bad, you just weren't as good as Morrowind) very open and explorable in terms of story(more open/explorable maps for Halo). Jericho on the other hand is a JRPG in that the levels are very limited and shuttle you in the direction you need to go, on top of that it's episodic (read clear a couple rooms and enter loading screen with story advancement update + save-checkpoint). I found this change of pace refreshing after having played various other FPS games where YES you can use strategy to hang back and take 10x longer but you never get hurt because you're being snipey, but there is never any actual danger. Jericho basically puts you in these claustrophobic corridors with enemies that can spawn from anywhere (think aliens how they can come in from any vent around you) and on top of the fact the enemies are in your face there are suicide exploding enemies as well which can wipe out your whole party. Basically every review I read called this cheap, I honestly saw it as the only way you can possibly die in this game. Oh right, I need to explain the mechanics...I'll get back to the enemies.
So in Jericho you're a 7 man squad, soon to be 6 man because one person dies (no spoiler there, it's practically on the back of the box). This dead teammate ends up being the explanation for why you can, at any time, jump between squad members and take control of their person. This is AWESOME and really well done. Seeing as how the 6 different characters all have unique abilities and weapons this adds amazing flexibility on how you can approach situations or how you wanna play depending on your style. Since the spirit of the 7th guy had the power to heal, this means whoever you currently have control of can revive a downed teammate. This leads you to realize the only way for you to get a game over really is to either all die very rapidly before you can revive (this did happen a couple times when we were caught in machine-gun cross-fire...my fault) or to be caught in a massive explosion, aka explosive cultists. Yes these exploding enemies are throughout the game, I mean can you fault the designers for wanting to put an actual danger to your safety throughout the game to actually add a challenge? Yes, that's right, I didn't see it as cheap because almost any time happened to die to them was because of my own fault from lack of accuracy (you have to take out these points on their body, think regenerators from RE4) or from advancing too quickly.
Another complaint people had was the scenery was bland and uninspired due to repetition, I didn't really think this was the case, plus since you are constantly in darkness it didn't really matter much to me anyways. I guess the flaws that reviews found in this game were things that didn't phase me and the unique experience that Jericho had to offer me won out. You can command either alpha or omega squads (3 people in each), the VAing I found to be great, the graphics were awesome and absolutely horrific. Some of the larger boss battles were awe-inspiring, the enemies are QUITE numerous at times, but this isn't a problem if you're smart and target their respective weaknesses. They have some of those crazy "PRESS THIS BUTTON TO NOT DIE, NOW THIS BUTTON" sequences in the game at various points, I found this fun despite many other people finding it out of place and frustrating. Also when creatures jump on your face and try to evicerate you and you have to do the button sequence then it's exhilarating (I think the voice acting really shines for some of the characters as they scream/breathe hard/yell during these struggles, ESPECIALLY if you fail at the buttons).
In closing regarding Jericho I would say it's definitely not for everyone. It seems that the critics have thought this, I enjoyed it as a change up in the FPS genre that gave me a real run for the money in terms of difficulty. Yes you die from exploding cultists who frequently spawn behind or very close to you, but it's not like sodliers in Iraq get fair warning of the various planted roadside explosives. I found the claustrophobic levels to keep me on edge rather than just get frustrated with the level design. A lot of people won't like the game, I can't really recommend it, but I can say I enjoyed it at least. I also went and read Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart (inspiration for the Hellraiser movies) after I beat the game, pretty interesting book too. Plus Clive Barker gets two thumbs up in my book for saying games are definitely an art form.
.....Ladytron you are awesome come back SOOOOON.
Ahhh I want to see them again live as soon as possible...
So my recent escapades with my newly acquired 360 have taken me through Clive Barker's Jericho. Despite the scathing reviews and utter beating that it received from critics and reviewers alike I went ahead and bought it after much enjoying the demo from Xbox Live. I have to honestly say I loved the game. I do agree that the ending was a bit of a let down, but it was not a complete game-killer and the overall experience was rather memorable. First off, despite this being a FPS it's not Halo or Resistance. If you think of it this way, if these were RPGs Halo would be Morrowind (fuck you Oblivion, you sucked...ok you weren't that bad, you just weren't as good as Morrowind) very open and explorable in terms of story(more open/explorable maps for Halo). Jericho on the other hand is a JRPG in that the levels are very limited and shuttle you in the direction you need to go, on top of that it's episodic (read clear a couple rooms and enter loading screen with story advancement update + save-checkpoint). I found this change of pace refreshing after having played various other FPS games where YES you can use strategy to hang back and take 10x longer but you never get hurt because you're being snipey, but there is never any actual danger. Jericho basically puts you in these claustrophobic corridors with enemies that can spawn from anywhere (think aliens how they can come in from any vent around you) and on top of the fact the enemies are in your face there are suicide exploding enemies as well which can wipe out your whole party. Basically every review I read called this cheap, I honestly saw it as the only way you can possibly die in this game. Oh right, I need to explain the mechanics...I'll get back to the enemies.
So in Jericho you're a 7 man squad, soon to be 6 man because one person dies (no spoiler there, it's practically on the back of the box). This dead teammate ends up being the explanation for why you can, at any time, jump between squad members and take control of their person. This is AWESOME and really well done. Seeing as how the 6 different characters all have unique abilities and weapons this adds amazing flexibility on how you can approach situations or how you wanna play depending on your style. Since the spirit of the 7th guy had the power to heal, this means whoever you currently have control of can revive a downed teammate. This leads you to realize the only way for you to get a game over really is to either all die very rapidly before you can revive (this did happen a couple times when we were caught in machine-gun cross-fire...my fault) or to be caught in a massive explosion, aka explosive cultists. Yes these exploding enemies are throughout the game, I mean can you fault the designers for wanting to put an actual danger to your safety throughout the game to actually add a challenge? Yes, that's right, I didn't see it as cheap because almost any time happened to die to them was because of my own fault from lack of accuracy (you have to take out these points on their body, think regenerators from RE4) or from advancing too quickly.
Another complaint people had was the scenery was bland and uninspired due to repetition, I didn't really think this was the case, plus since you are constantly in darkness it didn't really matter much to me anyways. I guess the flaws that reviews found in this game were things that didn't phase me and the unique experience that Jericho had to offer me won out. You can command either alpha or omega squads (3 people in each), the VAing I found to be great, the graphics were awesome and absolutely horrific. Some of the larger boss battles were awe-inspiring, the enemies are QUITE numerous at times, but this isn't a problem if you're smart and target their respective weaknesses. They have some of those crazy "PRESS THIS BUTTON TO NOT DIE, NOW THIS BUTTON" sequences in the game at various points, I found this fun despite many other people finding it out of place and frustrating. Also when creatures jump on your face and try to evicerate you and you have to do the button sequence then it's exhilarating (I think the voice acting really shines for some of the characters as they scream/breathe hard/yell during these struggles, ESPECIALLY if you fail at the buttons).
In closing regarding Jericho I would say it's definitely not for everyone. It seems that the critics have thought this, I enjoyed it as a change up in the FPS genre that gave me a real run for the money in terms of difficulty. Yes you die from exploding cultists who frequently spawn behind or very close to you, but it's not like sodliers in Iraq get fair warning of the various planted roadside explosives. I found the claustrophobic levels to keep me on edge rather than just get frustrated with the level design. A lot of people won't like the game, I can't really recommend it, but I can say I enjoyed it at least. I also went and read Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart (inspiration for the Hellraiser movies) after I beat the game, pretty interesting book too. Plus Clive Barker gets two thumbs up in my book for saying games are definitely an art form.
.....Ladytron you are awesome come back SOOOOON.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Xenosaga 1- Another favorite scene
Yeah, apparently the combined FMVs of Xenosaga 1 take over 3 hours. I'm just asking that you watch from around 2:50 to 7:00 or so.
Planned sequels suck because I last saw this in High School. I last saw the other video from Xenosaga 2 three years ago. I had little to no idea what was going on story-wise with Xenosaga 2, just that I had Xenosaga 3, and Xenosaga 3 has the Xenobible or whatever to remind people of all the shit that happened in the other two games, so I was better off finishing off Xenosaga 2 and playing Xenosaga 3 rather than replaying the whole game. Then I found Youtube! :) :) :) :) :) :)
Another good Xenosaga moment is when the Gnosis (Did you see Final Fantasy: The Spirts Within? Remember the spirit creatures? Yeah, Gnosis is those things) touch Shion, partially turning her to stone, and then it's like, "Whoever touches the Gnosis is all cursed and shit!" And then this other touched-by-a-gnosis guy turns into a gnosis monster and you have to fight him! Shit! I forgot how Shion managed to not turn to stone...
Xenosaga 2 - Favorite scene in like...anything
Yeah, I'm mostly talking about that first scene, not really that psuedo philosophical babble afterwards. Dig me some hot complicated character motives and development though.
Background information (thxxx Wiki):
"Albedo was created by Dimitri Yuriev as U.R.T.V. Unit 667, originally a conjoined twin with Unit 666, Rubedo. U.R.T.V. stands for U-DO Retro Virus, and are bio-engineered weapons designed to fight against U-DO, a mysterious wave existence.
Albedo was high-strung and fearful as a child. He clung to Rubedo for protection, and lashed out violently against anyone who attacked Rubedo, once even going so far as to injure and nearly kill a fellow U.R.T.V., Number 623. He did not show any remorse afterwards, indicating his developing sociopathy that would manifest in his later life. He also treated the other "normal" U.R.T.V.s as inferiors, and did not see them as actual people like the way he saw Rubedo and Nigredo."
Masculinism - Wanted Movie
Disclaimer: I wrote this on a hangover. It does not mean to strongly criticize anyone or society as a whole if contemporary masculinity is practiced in moderation. My thoughts are not concrete, I am just thinking out loud.
I sat in the theater thinking about this movie, Wanted, thinking that we had talked about it already and that we might as well write something about the next graphic novel to movie experience. I kinda felt like a loser thinking, "Ooh, I'm gonna write about this on my blog," but I think there's more to Wanted than a movie that follows all the acceptable formulas for action set by previous successes (Matrix, Equilibrium, Spiderman, etc.) while still adding some really exciting action sequences (how many car chases have the main character staring at panty most of the scene? How many gunfights have the main character jamming a gun in a man's eye, shooting said eye, and then holding the man on the gun as a human shield while still shooting other people?).
Wanted goes along with Fight Club's idea of a generation of men raised by their mothers, forgetting what it means to be a man for the sake of an emasculating society, "how much you know about yourself, you never been in a fight" type of thing. The main character has a shitty job, a fat boss who terrorizes him, and a whiny girlfriend routinely fucked by his fratboy best friend. The life we all dread. One day his father, a notable assassin, is killed, and he is targeted by a rogue assassin. So, Angelina Jolie (who only gets a handful of lines throughout the movie) saves him from his normal life to be an all-powerful assassin and say fuck you to whoever he wants.
This is the ideal, right? We all, presumably, wish that one day we can just say "fuck you" to every little piece of shit in our life we normally just deal with, but what a way to do it, huh? The first thing that sets him free is $3 million; the second thing is learning how to kill, and the third thing is Angelina Jolie.
In reality though, money probably does not set you free. It helps, but a windfall of $3 million doesn't change who you are, it just means you can pick a better lifestyle, go back to school, take a vacation. If money made men masculine then Bill Gates would be the most masculine man we know, and I think we can agree he's not, but he is powerful, so maybe money is a good way to symbolize and exert power. Power, I think we can agree is pretty damn masculine.
Arguably, women do not free you of shit you didn't want to deal with because women are people and people cause issues. Even you cause issues for yourself. Do women make men masculine? Well, wasn't that the problem back in the day? Men being men meant women couldn't be free. Masculinity requires power, and subjugation is a means, albeit a really poor one, to said feeling of power.
So, one of the ultimate feelings of power must come from power over the lifespan of another human being. Well, that's not socially acceptable and it's not a good message (Be a Man, Pick Up a Gun) that Wanted sends. Video games are more socially acceptable. We kill people all the time in video games. I've learned recently that entertainment, and video games especially, are gendered. According to my Poli Sci Prof and several other girls I've talked to, the fact that video games tend to face a good guy versus a bad guy who can only be quelled by violence is a male concept, and, the fact that most video games have an objective to achieve is also a male concept. While I would rather play MGS4 and save the world, my lady friend would rather design a bedroom in The Sims (admittedly, she wants to be an interior decorator) or try out new personalities with her character. I beat Xenosaga 2 and another lady friend watches How I Met Your Mother.
The writing was weak in Wanted, and that made the twists in the movie really unsatisfying and uninteresting for me because for the most part, the twists just added time. Like a video game (SPOILER! Assassin's Creed), taking out one enemy makes the character realize that the real enemy is someone else. The best twist to this story, and this flows naturally if you see the movie, I think, would be that the main character (a moral person) realizes that despite all his bitching, he was okay with the life he had. It wasn't perfect, but it was moral. It wasn't entirely destructive like his life as an assassin.
There has to be some way to be a man without hurting other people. We may agree, the American definition for men is flawed and needs to change but there's been no large masculine movement to change it in society, probably because, for most people, it's just fine as it is.
The feminist movement told women to get out and be successful, don't be no domestic, educate yourself! Break the glass ceiling! Masculinity tells us blue-collar work is manly or money gets you women and power and is therefore masculine, but doesn't tell us to go to school to get rich. It tells us to play sports, get lucky, or whatever but combined with the narrative that anyone can do anything, forgets to tell us that few people get windfall lucky. Books are ghey. Cars and babes are phat. Parties are sweet. Instead of maturing Masculinism, the main response to feminism seems to be fratboyism, rampant homophobia, and sexism (in sometimes extremely perverse ways, e.g. Bangbus) when the ladies aren't around or right in front of her face if she's desperate enough for attention, none of which are productive or respectful. Just wait until women have all the best high-paying jobs and are the most successful, and men have a disproportionately high rate of poverty, then hopefully society realizes it was wrong.
harold norse was a poet back in the day who wrote a poem called i am not a Man and it iS rather movin(g), i Believe.
Lynny Boy Jo will return with the regularly scheduled blogging in soon
I sat in the theater thinking about this movie, Wanted, thinking that we had talked about it already and that we might as well write something about the next graphic novel to movie experience. I kinda felt like a loser thinking, "Ooh, I'm gonna write about this on my blog," but I think there's more to Wanted than a movie that follows all the acceptable formulas for action set by previous successes (Matrix, Equilibrium, Spiderman, etc.) while still adding some really exciting action sequences (how many car chases have the main character staring at panty most of the scene? How many gunfights have the main character jamming a gun in a man's eye, shooting said eye, and then holding the man on the gun as a human shield while still shooting other people?).
Wanted goes along with Fight Club's idea of a generation of men raised by their mothers, forgetting what it means to be a man for the sake of an emasculating society, "how much you know about yourself, you never been in a fight" type of thing. The main character has a shitty job, a fat boss who terrorizes him, and a whiny girlfriend routinely fucked by his fratboy best friend. The life we all dread. One day his father, a notable assassin, is killed, and he is targeted by a rogue assassin. So, Angelina Jolie (who only gets a handful of lines throughout the movie) saves him from his normal life to be an all-powerful assassin and say fuck you to whoever he wants.
This is the ideal, right? We all, presumably, wish that one day we can just say "fuck you" to every little piece of shit in our life we normally just deal with, but what a way to do it, huh? The first thing that sets him free is $3 million; the second thing is learning how to kill, and the third thing is Angelina Jolie.
In reality though, money probably does not set you free. It helps, but a windfall of $3 million doesn't change who you are, it just means you can pick a better lifestyle, go back to school, take a vacation. If money made men masculine then Bill Gates would be the most masculine man we know, and I think we can agree he's not, but he is powerful, so maybe money is a good way to symbolize and exert power. Power, I think we can agree is pretty damn masculine.
Arguably, women do not free you of shit you didn't want to deal with because women are people and people cause issues. Even you cause issues for yourself. Do women make men masculine? Well, wasn't that the problem back in the day? Men being men meant women couldn't be free. Masculinity requires power, and subjugation is a means, albeit a really poor one, to said feeling of power.
So, one of the ultimate feelings of power must come from power over the lifespan of another human being. Well, that's not socially acceptable and it's not a good message (Be a Man, Pick Up a Gun) that Wanted sends. Video games are more socially acceptable. We kill people all the time in video games. I've learned recently that entertainment, and video games especially, are gendered. According to my Poli Sci Prof and several other girls I've talked to, the fact that video games tend to face a good guy versus a bad guy who can only be quelled by violence is a male concept, and, the fact that most video games have an objective to achieve is also a male concept. While I would rather play MGS4 and save the world, my lady friend would rather design a bedroom in The Sims (admittedly, she wants to be an interior decorator) or try out new personalities with her character. I beat Xenosaga 2 and another lady friend watches How I Met Your Mother.
The writing was weak in Wanted, and that made the twists in the movie really unsatisfying and uninteresting for me because for the most part, the twists just added time. Like a video game (SPOILER! Assassin's Creed), taking out one enemy makes the character realize that the real enemy is someone else. The best twist to this story, and this flows naturally if you see the movie, I think, would be that the main character (a moral person) realizes that despite all his bitching, he was okay with the life he had. It wasn't perfect, but it was moral. It wasn't entirely destructive like his life as an assassin.
There has to be some way to be a man without hurting other people. We may agree, the American definition for men is flawed and needs to change but there's been no large masculine movement to change it in society, probably because, for most people, it's just fine as it is.
The feminist movement told women to get out and be successful, don't be no domestic, educate yourself! Break the glass ceiling! Masculinity tells us blue-collar work is manly or money gets you women and power and is therefore masculine, but doesn't tell us to go to school to get rich. It tells us to play sports, get lucky, or whatever but combined with the narrative that anyone can do anything, forgets to tell us that few people get windfall lucky. Books are ghey. Cars and babes are phat. Parties are sweet. Instead of maturing Masculinism, the main response to feminism seems to be fratboyism, rampant homophobia, and sexism (in sometimes extremely perverse ways, e.g. Bangbus) when the ladies aren't around or right in front of her face if she's desperate enough for attention, none of which are productive or respectful. Just wait until women have all the best high-paying jobs and are the most successful, and men have a disproportionately high rate of poverty, then hopefully society realizes it was wrong.
harold norse was a poet back in the day who wrote a poem called i am not a Man and it iS rather movin(g), i Believe.
Lynny Boy Jo will return with the regularly scheduled blogging in soon
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
El-P - Welcome to waterboarding
Did you know what waterboarding is?
Wikipedia says, "Waterboarding is a form of torture that consists of immobilizing a person on their back with the head inclined downward—known as the Trendelenburg position—and pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. Through forced suffocation and inhalation of water, the subject experiences the process of drowning and is made to believe that death is imminent. In contrast to merely submerging the head face-forward, waterboarding almost immediately elicits the gag reflex. Although waterboarding does not always cause lasting physical damage, it carries the risks of extreme pain, damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, injuries (including broken bones) due to struggling against restraints, and even death. The psychological effects on victims of waterboarding can last for years after the procedure."
Goddamn.
Oh my... it is way too early
Parkour is absolutely amazing. Awesome to watch, and I am sure it is just as incredible to be able to do. For such a great concept/activity to be put into a game and executed pretty damn well is the same level of awesome. Possibly even more awesome because then people who would not normally try scaling building faces can get to try it out. This is the main reason Assassin's Creed kicks so much ass... but oh there is so much more.
First off, this game was hyped. The hype machine is a dangerous thing that can utterly shatter and beat down an easily above average game. This just so happens to be what happened to Assassin's Creed. Around the game's release early reviews of it acted as though it was such a disappointment for the future/past "twist" to be revealed so early. I found this hardly a twist, more like a genius explanation to why you can "redo" some of your investigations or how dying is actually a "mistake" for once as well as a great stage for the story to take place on. The twists and turns Desmond's ancestor Altair takes as he continues to take out his targets while beginning to question the motives behind his killing whenever a primary victim expels information regarding their motives I found to be very well done. The final stages of the story and the end of the game left me completely ready and wanting a sequel, almost but not quite as ready for a sequel that Beyond Good & Evil left me feeling (god that experience was so unfair, and having to wait this long for confirmation that they are even continuing the BG&E franchise was so painful haha). Looking at the game for purely the story that it delivers, I was absolutely thrilled and loved what it had.
Now for the gameplay/mechanics part. This is definitely a love or hate situation. To go on top of that it is reliant on one big factor, how much a person actually finds themself enjoying and immersed in the world. When I first popped the game in, I spent over an hour just running around Masyaf at the very beginning. The visuals had me entranced, and the fluidity of Altair's movement and the subtle interactions you can have with people (running into them, making them confused at your actions, taking them out) impressed me. As a rather important note I can say I am a relative stranger to most free-roaming games so this may not amaze some people, I'm sure other games may have higher levels of involvement with the populace of a game. Because I already stated my love of parkour then I just happened to love every minute of dashing around on tops of buildings or blasting through marketplaces or being sneaky and taking out rooftop guards etc. I have heard complaints that the game is highly repetative. To me it was one of those guilty pleasure repetatives, I know they could have switched it up a bit probably but I really didn't mind. If you really think hard about it they could've had all sorts of other types of investigation quests, other mini-quest types, different formats for assassinations etc. The problem I have, despite these possibilities of improvement, I still had so much damned fun that I really didn't care.
Another issue people attacked it for is that the combat system was too dull. I personally loved it. I am sick of those games where you have to hack someone a million and one times to whittle down their hp bar because you've gotten to the hard part of the game where *more hp* = *zomg difficulty ^^^*, while some great games don't do this a good deal of them do. I liked the fact that combat is short and sweet, you can insta-kill people, if you're skilled enough with your timing you can counter everything they throw at you. Think about it this way, these are random city guards and militia. Most of them are not gonna be sword experts, you've been trained as an assassin all your life. Obviously for the most part you can dish out massive damage, counter, evade, tear it up on most of the guards. The last final couple fights had it's difficulty increased because the enemy starts to counter or break your guard more frequently. This helps force you to utilize your dodging or reverse grabs more since they aren't as necessary earlier on. The combat system is fluid, animations are hot and sexy sprays of blood whenever you counter-kill someone, and best of all it's not a focal point of the game. Yes you can brawl your way to the target, but as a player you actually feel compelled to be sneaky just because it's so much cooler and makes you feel more like a badass.
That is basically what this game boils down to, how much you as a player buy into the atmosphere. It was incredible to me. The game is what it is, the over-hype hurt it's credibility to be as amazing as it was advertised but it is still a great game. Definitely above average, very memorable and I can't wait for a sequel. Honestly this is a genius set up in having an above average game which is brought down by mechanics and quests that could have been more diversified. This allows their sequel to easily surpass the first game seeing as how they have an amazingly solid base to build off of, now they get to work out all the details of making it even better. Ubisoft, I can't wait to see what you do with the second part of the trilogy... on a related note you better get to making that BG&E cause I want it bad.
Why the hell did you have to change the art-style on BG&E though? =(
The cel-shading of the original was so amazing and beautiful, and going off of that I hope they stick to the cel-shaded theme of the concept art for the new Prince of Persia game cause those look amazing. I have to say though I have yet to play any PoP games.
Now I don't know what I should dive into next... DMC4, GTA4, Ninja Gaiden 2, or Jericho.
"Oh you think that's hard! I'M JUST THE TUTORIAL LEVEL!"
First off, this game was hyped. The hype machine is a dangerous thing that can utterly shatter and beat down an easily above average game. This just so happens to be what happened to Assassin's Creed. Around the game's release early reviews of it acted as though it was such a disappointment for the future/past "twist" to be revealed so early. I found this hardly a twist, more like a genius explanation to why you can "redo" some of your investigations or how dying is actually a "mistake" for once as well as a great stage for the story to take place on. The twists and turns Desmond's ancestor Altair takes as he continues to take out his targets while beginning to question the motives behind his killing whenever a primary victim expels information regarding their motives I found to be very well done. The final stages of the story and the end of the game left me completely ready and wanting a sequel, almost but not quite as ready for a sequel that Beyond Good & Evil left me feeling (god that experience was so unfair, and having to wait this long for confirmation that they are even continuing the BG&E franchise was so painful haha). Looking at the game for purely the story that it delivers, I was absolutely thrilled and loved what it had.
Now for the gameplay/mechanics part. This is definitely a love or hate situation. To go on top of that it is reliant on one big factor, how much a person actually finds themself enjoying and immersed in the world. When I first popped the game in, I spent over an hour just running around Masyaf at the very beginning. The visuals had me entranced, and the fluidity of Altair's movement and the subtle interactions you can have with people (running into them, making them confused at your actions, taking them out) impressed me. As a rather important note I can say I am a relative stranger to most free-roaming games so this may not amaze some people, I'm sure other games may have higher levels of involvement with the populace of a game. Because I already stated my love of parkour then I just happened to love every minute of dashing around on tops of buildings or blasting through marketplaces or being sneaky and taking out rooftop guards etc. I have heard complaints that the game is highly repetative. To me it was one of those guilty pleasure repetatives, I know they could have switched it up a bit probably but I really didn't mind. If you really think hard about it they could've had all sorts of other types of investigation quests, other mini-quest types, different formats for assassinations etc. The problem I have, despite these possibilities of improvement, I still had so much damned fun that I really didn't care.
Another issue people attacked it for is that the combat system was too dull. I personally loved it. I am sick of those games where you have to hack someone a million and one times to whittle down their hp bar because you've gotten to the hard part of the game where *more hp* = *zomg difficulty ^^^*, while some great games don't do this a good deal of them do. I liked the fact that combat is short and sweet, you can insta-kill people, if you're skilled enough with your timing you can counter everything they throw at you. Think about it this way, these are random city guards and militia. Most of them are not gonna be sword experts, you've been trained as an assassin all your life. Obviously for the most part you can dish out massive damage, counter, evade, tear it up on most of the guards. The last final couple fights had it's difficulty increased because the enemy starts to counter or break your guard more frequently. This helps force you to utilize your dodging or reverse grabs more since they aren't as necessary earlier on. The combat system is fluid, animations are hot and sexy sprays of blood whenever you counter-kill someone, and best of all it's not a focal point of the game. Yes you can brawl your way to the target, but as a player you actually feel compelled to be sneaky just because it's so much cooler and makes you feel more like a badass.
That is basically what this game boils down to, how much you as a player buy into the atmosphere. It was incredible to me. The game is what it is, the over-hype hurt it's credibility to be as amazing as it was advertised but it is still a great game. Definitely above average, very memorable and I can't wait for a sequel. Honestly this is a genius set up in having an above average game which is brought down by mechanics and quests that could have been more diversified. This allows their sequel to easily surpass the first game seeing as how they have an amazingly solid base to build off of, now they get to work out all the details of making it even better. Ubisoft, I can't wait to see what you do with the second part of the trilogy... on a related note you better get to making that BG&E cause I want it bad.
Why the hell did you have to change the art-style on BG&E though? =(
The cel-shading of the original was so amazing and beautiful, and going off of that I hope they stick to the cel-shaded theme of the concept art for the new Prince of Persia game cause those look amazing. I have to say though I have yet to play any PoP games.
Now I don't know what I should dive into next... DMC4, GTA4, Ninja Gaiden 2, or Jericho.
"Oh you think that's hard! I'M JUST THE TUTORIAL LEVEL!"
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The best pre-E3 rumor so far...
Rumor has it that the third installment of the most bad ass franchise in the history of video games will be shown at this year's E3. To be honest, this is the first I've been excited about E3 all year... nothing has really caught my attention. I did gloss over all the Microsoft rumors that were leaked... but I just didn't care.
~JFu
P.S. After reading a review for Wanted, it seems like it might be the fun, campy thrill ride that I didn't think it would be (I thought it would take itself seriously). If this turns out to be true... I'll probably end up seeing it.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Yeah... Where the hell IS Matt?
This is quite possibly one of the coolest/happiest videos I've seen in a long time. I tried to post it earlier but the blog was shut down for updates. It would have completely changed my cynical views on life had I not just eaten the most horribly buttery noodles at the time (I almost had a heart attack).
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
I realize it will probably take up half the page but it's worth it. To make up for that, you can enjoy the most fantastical intro to a show in the history of... human history
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
I realize it will probably take up half the page but it's worth it. To make up for that, you can enjoy the most fantastical intro to a show in the history of... human history
DO YOU LIKE RPG'S NOW?!?!?!
God bless Adam Sessler. I used to not be able to stand him... but he's grown on me over the years. This is an oldie but a goodie... back right before G4 completely sold out (even though they had already started to).
~JFu
TAKE THAT XENOSAGA
Sunday, June 22, 2008
El-P Deep Space 9mm
Last one. Also poignant.
When I rap next to a naked woman, I always hope she doesn't pull a gun.
Youtube still thinks we're Gardening all the time. I'm still hoping my hip-hop tree buds soon.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
REALLY!?!?!?!
This is quite possibly the stupidest shit ever. I am really excited about guitar hero for the DS but damn... does this shit ever happen? C'mon, suspension of disbelief is key to most movies... why can't it carry over to commercials?
Summer Time... and the living's easy?
Damn, this has probably been the most prolific summer we've ever had... granted this is the only summer we've had. Regardless, we are posting like crazy... and you know, it's all damn good. So you, as the reader, have to take it on yourself to scroll down to keep up with all the updates. Yes, we have more than one update per day... possibly even three... maybe more. Like I said, it's all interesting and it's all good. You may not agree with our views, but damnit, read it. Chances are you might enjoy it. Welcome to MS(g)B... we got shit to write... and you got to read it. If you don't have time, make it. It'll be worth it... trust us.
~JFu
P.S. Kat Williams stand up... watch it.
~JFu
P.S. Kat Williams stand up... watch it.
Most games with stories worth being told have gameplay flaws
Rule of Rose is most definitely one of them. To preface this let me say that the story present in Rule of Rose was by far one of the most touching and heartwarming stories that I have experienced in quite a while. While some blanks or explanations may be needed, seek the internet's help, it definitely pays off to clarify your queries. I will also admit that it was so painful to have to put up with the battle-system at a particular part of the game but oh was it worth it.
The story is about a girl, Jennifer, and her acid-trip-gone-wrong story accompanied by her faithful dog. Needless to say if you are not down for a story involving a girl's psychological problems, children cruelty to each other, and a dog then this game is not for you. There is a lot to frustrate here, but if you're willing to invest in chugging through it I found the story worth it. Graphics wise I found the game was presented very well. There is a great deal of darkness to add to the absolute surreal nature of the game and on top of that there is a constant grain filter on the screen (I believe the player has some input on the level of graininess if it bothers you). The sound is also pretty good, the musical score is absolutely disturbing. There are mostly strings arrangements throughout, during combat or just the many disturbing cut-scenes they play various pieces that give off the most nervous and unsettling feeling. The atmosphere and feel to the game through graphics, presentation, and music is top notch. The voice acting is also absolutely amazing.
Now to the game-play. I personally did not have a problem with Jennifer's awkward handling of weapons because I felt that it was reasonable that a completely terrified girl would not be a pro at hacking little imps with pairing knives or an ice pick. I also really enjoyed the level of detail in expressions she had (she looks away when she stabs, not wanting to see the actual drawing of blood, as well as taking deep breathes after running for a prolonged period of time once you stop). Major issues arise when collision detection for weapons end up not working in your favor quite often, and of course for the enemies they seem to randomly connect when they honestly should not. This would not have been that large of a problem if health items would have been more readily available but they are most definitely a luxury. What this does cause the player to do is play intelligently, avoid conflicts, and massive resource controlling. This lead me to beat the game relatively without a hitch save for one area near the end which had me pulling my hair out (I was so close, but getting past that part honestly made the end all the more sweet).
There is not much I can say about the game without increasing the risk of me accidentally spoiling the story. I know not that many people played it, probably some that tried gave up after being frustrated. This game honestly reminds me of Jericho, which I recently played the demo of on Xbox Live. While I heard the ending of Jericho is disappointing, Rule of Rose's ending is NOT, I got the sense it's reviewers expected the next Halo in it when it was more atmosphere/immersion based not "ZOMG GUYS LETS PLAY JERICHO AND KNOCK BACK SOME COLD ONES" on the weekend. That being said, Rule of Rose is similar to something like Resident Evil only in the sense that the control of the character is similar...that is about it. For the low price that it has surely obtained by now at your local gamestore it would be a worthwhile investment if you have a good deal of patience, about 8 hours of freetime, and a hunger for an absolutely great story. Looking back I don't see myself ever trying to obtain the various bonus unlockables, but I do potentially see myself giving it another playthrough. This is definitely finding beauty in an abandoned ugly duckling, and man do I love my ugly ducklings.
Bottomline if you didn't catch my drift I think the game is totally worth the frustration.
Also, I hope to try out Clive Barker's: Jericho at some point once it drops more in price. That game's demo was the first time I had truly had such a visceral experience from a first-person-view. Having a slimy-rotting-templar-zombie fall on top of you and while straddling you stabs and bludgeons you and while your character screams (and she sounds very believable) if you fail a pretty rapid series of button pressing in order to parry and block the blows left me in quite a shock. The voice acting was pretty good in the game to boot (I point this out since it is a squad based game and your teammates at least sounded intelligent and realistic). The reason for my sudden interest I think is due to my anger at reviews which hastily compare a game to the genre's standards as opposed to it's own merits especially if it wasn't trying to meet the conventions of the genre in the first place. Most complaints seem to be due to the questionable ally AI (I've only played the demo so far), useless squad commands (when playing it I mainly didn't notice, I just made my own advances and they helped cover my back), and ripping the switching characters mechanic which I found to be very successful. Whatever, now I am just rambling but I honestly am looking forward to trying out the game once it's price goes down some more since I am down with the occult and creepiness. Also I want to know if the story is complete rubbish or not.
The story is about a girl, Jennifer, and her acid-trip-gone-wrong story accompanied by her faithful dog. Needless to say if you are not down for a story involving a girl's psychological problems, children cruelty to each other, and a dog then this game is not for you. There is a lot to frustrate here, but if you're willing to invest in chugging through it I found the story worth it. Graphics wise I found the game was presented very well. There is a great deal of darkness to add to the absolute surreal nature of the game and on top of that there is a constant grain filter on the screen (I believe the player has some input on the level of graininess if it bothers you). The sound is also pretty good, the musical score is absolutely disturbing. There are mostly strings arrangements throughout, during combat or just the many disturbing cut-scenes they play various pieces that give off the most nervous and unsettling feeling. The atmosphere and feel to the game through graphics, presentation, and music is top notch. The voice acting is also absolutely amazing.
Now to the game-play. I personally did not have a problem with Jennifer's awkward handling of weapons because I felt that it was reasonable that a completely terrified girl would not be a pro at hacking little imps with pairing knives or an ice pick. I also really enjoyed the level of detail in expressions she had (she looks away when she stabs, not wanting to see the actual drawing of blood, as well as taking deep breathes after running for a prolonged period of time once you stop). Major issues arise when collision detection for weapons end up not working in your favor quite often, and of course for the enemies they seem to randomly connect when they honestly should not. This would not have been that large of a problem if health items would have been more readily available but they are most definitely a luxury. What this does cause the player to do is play intelligently, avoid conflicts, and massive resource controlling. This lead me to beat the game relatively without a hitch save for one area near the end which had me pulling my hair out (I was so close, but getting past that part honestly made the end all the more sweet).
There is not much I can say about the game without increasing the risk of me accidentally spoiling the story. I know not that many people played it, probably some that tried gave up after being frustrated. This game honestly reminds me of Jericho, which I recently played the demo of on Xbox Live. While I heard the ending of Jericho is disappointing, Rule of Rose's ending is NOT, I got the sense it's reviewers expected the next Halo in it when it was more atmosphere/immersion based not "ZOMG GUYS LETS PLAY JERICHO AND KNOCK BACK SOME COLD ONES" on the weekend. That being said, Rule of Rose is similar to something like Resident Evil only in the sense that the control of the character is similar...that is about it. For the low price that it has surely obtained by now at your local gamestore it would be a worthwhile investment if you have a good deal of patience, about 8 hours of freetime, and a hunger for an absolutely great story. Looking back I don't see myself ever trying to obtain the various bonus unlockables, but I do potentially see myself giving it another playthrough. This is definitely finding beauty in an abandoned ugly duckling, and man do I love my ugly ducklings.
Bottomline if you didn't catch my drift I think the game is totally worth the frustration.
Also, I hope to try out Clive Barker's: Jericho at some point once it drops more in price. That game's demo was the first time I had truly had such a visceral experience from a first-person-view. Having a slimy-rotting-templar-zombie fall on top of you and while straddling you stabs and bludgeons you and while your character screams (and she sounds very believable) if you fail a pretty rapid series of button pressing in order to parry and block the blows left me in quite a shock. The voice acting was pretty good in the game to boot (I point this out since it is a squad based game and your teammates at least sounded intelligent and realistic). The reason for my sudden interest I think is due to my anger at reviews which hastily compare a game to the genre's standards as opposed to it's own merits especially if it wasn't trying to meet the conventions of the genre in the first place. Most complaints seem to be due to the questionable ally AI (I've only played the demo so far), useless squad commands (when playing it I mainly didn't notice, I just made my own advances and they helped cover my back), and ripping the switching characters mechanic which I found to be very successful. Whatever, now I am just rambling but I honestly am looking forward to trying out the game once it's price goes down some more since I am down with the occult and creepiness. Also I want to know if the story is complete rubbish or not.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Nitpciking Penny Arcade... and Spore
I hate to keep ripping on Penny Arcade because I honestly like the two of them. I've been a fan of their strip for a long time and enjoy all that they've done to forward the gaming community (they have seemingly made it more acceptable... though that could just be the natural progression of things). I also really dig their Child's Play Charity and wouldn't mind going to PAX.
In light of recent events, however, I have become a little aggrivated with them. I will admit I'm a huge MGS fanboy and it pains me to see someone rip so hard on my most beloved franchise... but I can also accept that it's not everyones' cup of tea. The fact that they didn't like the game is fine. What really struck a nerve was how they seemed to be going so far past what was necessary to rip it a new one... even criticizing genuinely good aspects of the game. It was as though they were just trying to piss everyone of and reveling in the fact that they have the ability to do so.
Over the years, they have become more and more famous, and because of this, feel entitled to mouth off about anything... and be considered an authority. LilBeej made a good point saying how they should stick to humor (which they started with) and keep the commentary to a minimum (at least keep it in comic form). As their sucess has grown, so to has their egos. I was able to brush it off when it wasn't directly impacting something I cared about, but after the MGS fiasco, it's kind of hard not to go back and notice they've been doing this shit for a long time. The most recent example has to do the with Daily Show.
The Daily Show was commenting on recent Obama shortcomings/controversies and showed a very funny photoshopped image of Obama punching a baby. Jon Stewart followed by saying something along the lines of "you don't know what that baby said" and "maybe he was being a dick." There was an old strip where Penny Arcade made a very similar joke, granted there was no funny photoshop with it (the original comic). The rabid hordes of Penny Arcade Fanboys emailed the clip to Gabe and he felt the need to post about it. He prefaced the post with this message:
"**Just to clarify, I'm not saying they stole it. In fact I'm saying I understand how easy it is for two people to make the same joke. I just think it's funny.**"
The last part of that leads me to believe that he DOES think it was taken from them. Maybe I'm wrong. It then goes on to compare the two and provide links to both. The post is concluded with this message:
"I had a lot of people telling me we got ripped off. As someone who writes jokes for a living I understand how easy it is to unintentionally copy someone else. Either way there isn't much to do about it except feel flattered I guess."
This to me proves their ego has grown a little bit more than it should. By using the term "flattered" he's completely eliminated all possibility of him thinking this to be a coincidence. And yes, there is a good chance that one of the Daily Show writers is a fan of penny arcade (hell, they all could be) and wanted to pay homage to the strip. There is also the chance that it seems like a fairly simple (yet effective) joke to come up with. One that I'm sure many people used well before Gabe and Tycho. Maybe Penny Arcade even borrowed it from someone else. All I'm trying to get across is I think Penny Arcade needs to be a little more humble in their dealings with things. Having opinions is fine and dandy but they don't have to think the world revolves around them... even though their following is very large. And fucking with fanboys for the hell of it can be fun... but there's just no need (like there was no need to try and reason with that crazy swedish lady who spit on me on the subway).
After reading over this, I just realized that Gabe could be using "flattered" referring to all the people who took the time to email the clip. If this is true, then cool. But it does seem ironic that Penny Arcade will blast fanboys while not apologizing for the hordes that follow them (who knows, maybe they have).
I also downloaded the Spore Creature Creator. I'm not registered with EA so my version might be extremely limited (can't download any updates). It's a lot of fun and I find myself spending far too long with it (I SHOULD BE WORKING DAMNIT). It really is cool just creating things and made me remember why I enjoyed the Sims so much. Very similar feeling to this game (atmosphere-wise). And with everyone contributing some kind of phallic or perverse creation, I thought I'd give it a try. The first couple of times I set out to do this, I got so damn distracted with all you are able to do, that I completely forgot to make a phallic creature and made something completely different. I finally got around to it and found it to be not as fun as I had hoped (it had two penises on either end with boobs on top... teehee). Today I even tried to make a yoshi clone but it didn't come out so well. What strikes me the most (didn't I use that for the MGS review) is the sheer amount of customization you are allowed. It's almost limitless and proves both hugely appealing and very frustrating. I never can be quite satisfied with my creature since there is always something left I could add or take away. But really, the whole thing is very enjoyable... I might even pick up the game when it comes out.
~JFu
In light of recent events, however, I have become a little aggrivated with them. I will admit I'm a huge MGS fanboy and it pains me to see someone rip so hard on my most beloved franchise... but I can also accept that it's not everyones' cup of tea. The fact that they didn't like the game is fine. What really struck a nerve was how they seemed to be going so far past what was necessary to rip it a new one... even criticizing genuinely good aspects of the game. It was as though they were just trying to piss everyone of and reveling in the fact that they have the ability to do so.
Over the years, they have become more and more famous, and because of this, feel entitled to mouth off about anything... and be considered an authority. LilBeej made a good point saying how they should stick to humor (which they started with) and keep the commentary to a minimum (at least keep it in comic form). As their sucess has grown, so to has their egos. I was able to brush it off when it wasn't directly impacting something I cared about, but after the MGS fiasco, it's kind of hard not to go back and notice they've been doing this shit for a long time. The most recent example has to do the with Daily Show.
The Daily Show was commenting on recent Obama shortcomings/controversies and showed a very funny photoshopped image of Obama punching a baby. Jon Stewart followed by saying something along the lines of "you don't know what that baby said" and "maybe he was being a dick." There was an old strip where Penny Arcade made a very similar joke, granted there was no funny photoshop with it (the original comic). The rabid hordes of Penny Arcade Fanboys emailed the clip to Gabe and he felt the need to post about it. He prefaced the post with this message:
"**Just to clarify, I'm not saying they stole it. In fact I'm saying I understand how easy it is for two people to make the same joke. I just think it's funny.**"
The last part of that leads me to believe that he DOES think it was taken from them. Maybe I'm wrong. It then goes on to compare the two and provide links to both. The post is concluded with this message:
"I had a lot of people telling me we got ripped off. As someone who writes jokes for a living I understand how easy it is to unintentionally copy someone else. Either way there isn't much to do about it except feel flattered I guess."
This to me proves their ego has grown a little bit more than it should. By using the term "flattered" he's completely eliminated all possibility of him thinking this to be a coincidence. And yes, there is a good chance that one of the Daily Show writers is a fan of penny arcade (hell, they all could be) and wanted to pay homage to the strip. There is also the chance that it seems like a fairly simple (yet effective) joke to come up with. One that I'm sure many people used well before Gabe and Tycho. Maybe Penny Arcade even borrowed it from someone else. All I'm trying to get across is I think Penny Arcade needs to be a little more humble in their dealings with things. Having opinions is fine and dandy but they don't have to think the world revolves around them... even though their following is very large. And fucking with fanboys for the hell of it can be fun... but there's just no need (like there was no need to try and reason with that crazy swedish lady who spit on me on the subway).
After reading over this, I just realized that Gabe could be using "flattered" referring to all the people who took the time to email the clip. If this is true, then cool. But it does seem ironic that Penny Arcade will blast fanboys while not apologizing for the hordes that follow them (who knows, maybe they have).
I also downloaded the Spore Creature Creator. I'm not registered with EA so my version might be extremely limited (can't download any updates). It's a lot of fun and I find myself spending far too long with it (I SHOULD BE WORKING DAMNIT). It really is cool just creating things and made me remember why I enjoyed the Sims so much. Very similar feeling to this game (atmosphere-wise). And with everyone contributing some kind of phallic or perverse creation, I thought I'd give it a try. The first couple of times I set out to do this, I got so damn distracted with all you are able to do, that I completely forgot to make a phallic creature and made something completely different. I finally got around to it and found it to be not as fun as I had hoped (it had two penises on either end with boobs on top... teehee). Today I even tried to make a yoshi clone but it didn't come out so well. What strikes me the most (didn't I use that for the MGS review) is the sheer amount of customization you are allowed. It's almost limitless and proves both hugely appealing and very frustrating. I never can be quite satisfied with my creature since there is always something left I could add or take away. But really, the whole thing is very enjoyable... I might even pick up the game when it comes out.
~JFu
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
What it means to be 10/10 - 2/2 of MS(g)B on MGS4
I am of the opinion that videogames, rather than predisposing people to violence and war, give the player the important experience of being a part of war-like conditions. Call of Duty 4 and other titles seem to make war cool, but as Army of Two (also made war cool ) dealt with the growing private military complex and its possible moral ramifications; Haze, like MGS4 also tells the story of soldiers watering down combat for better effectiveness, and even the movie Ironman dealt with the US lack of accountability for civilian casualties, Metal Gear Solid 4 is part of a re-emerging (historically, this shit be cyclical) social critique on those who wage war, war profiteers, war's effect on people, and, especially, the future of war.
Unlike the complicated plots of MGS2 and 3, more dealing with soldiers as the plaything of planners, MGS4's focus on war is a throwback to the original Metal Gear Solid. MSG2, in particular, seems to have thrown a lot of people off . I've talked to a few people who kind of lost interest because of 2, bought the third game but never really played it (the third game was hard as shit). Playing the previous MGS games is nigh essential for playing MGS4. You can get by, but you're gonna be confused.
What's been nice about the Metal Gear Solid series is that while most sequels show you the characters soon after the events of the previous title, MGS1,2, and 4 take place years later and don't waste time in the beginning on you catching up on what's happened. The passing of time has created many new problems for the characters involved in the story, most prevalent would be Snake's inexplicable, rapidly-progressed aging. MGS4 starts off in combat and takes frequent breaks for exposition to catch up on the past years, and when it comes it leaves you with even more questions to keep you going.
While a throwback to the original in story, what's weird about 4 is that in gameplay, it resembles a first-person shooter more than a stealth game despite the tools used for stealth being very user-friendly and fun. For stealth purposes, a circle appears around your octocamo (which unlike the constant adjustments you had to make in three, automatically adjusts to your surroundings) indicating enemy position, distance, and awareness of you. In addition, the Solid Eye provides data on troop movement by sight and sound data represented in a sonar-like manner. Instead of 2 and 3's stamina bar, there's a psyche gauge. Its level is affected heavily by the percentage of stress Snake's body experiences due to getting shot, getting shot at, or even crouching for too long. Lower levels of psych makes you run slower and aim shittier. High levels of stress and shooting can induce a combat high making you more effective and take less damage.
For combat, there are many, many weapons (Example: at least 5 different rocket launchers) with very many different appeals. New weapons can be picked up or bought through your start menu, accessing Drebin, a war profiteer, and his store. All extra guns you pick up are automatically sold to Drebin (presumably because Otacon's toy robot has taken them to Drebin), and upgrades and more weapons can be bought at any time (saved my ass in the middle of several boss fights when I ran out of ammo). Resource management is challenging because health and psych recovery items must be found (a.k.a. Procure On-Site); however, they are plentiful.
So, how does this change Metal Gear Solid's gameplay?
While taking down every enemy was my only stealth strategy in MGS2, in MGS4, collecting weapons for Drebin (the weapons pimp) creates an incentive to take down all enemy soldiers instead of sneaking by. In addition, several rail-shooter or team gameplay elements emphasize shooting over MGS' really fun and challenging stealth action.
PMC and Rebel NPCs are often infinite and their bodies disappear over time. This and the Drebin point system creates an incentive to farm enemy respawn spots for Drebin Points to get new weapons, and I think this system, besides discouraging stealthy play, took away from what could have been a powerful vision of the battlefield. See, Snake actually steps around bodies in this game, and him stepping around a battlefield riddled with corpses fighting for (and this too could have helped Kojima's themes but the detail on the Rebel's objectives are slight; however, the Private Military Company troops are motivated by economic profits which is, you know, sick) what seem to be lost or foolish causes as a consistent image everywhere Snake went would really bring home the way war devastates lives, maybe throw in some crying children and parents for emotional flavor.
Instead, like a shooter with RPG elements (RE4, for example), every time a soldier dies, a sound that a gun pickup is available goes off, and you, the player, internally jump with glee at the Drebin Points it's going to get you. So, despite killing being a disincentive in the previous games, the more you kill, the better weapons you get, the better damage you can do to your enemies. Killing more drops some of your end-of-chapter Drebin Points, but so what? You can make more from farming troops anyway. I tried to kill as little as possible which gave me about 5 weapons to choose from with little upgrades available, so Drebin Points stopped mattering to me after a while, which detracted severely from my enjoyment of this game.
It's also really distracting that all the rebels sound like Americans. What are Americans doing in the Middle East fighting for the previous regime? Aren't the Americans part of the PMC? Why does every dying person have the same death rattle (and since people die a lot, this noise gets frigging spammed)? I think this is because there's only two voice actors for the troops. There's also only 5 different types of enemies besides the boss, so really, to summarize, gameplay is hide, find enemy troop, line up shot to take down enemy troop, then progress. In the most fun parts of the game, environmental factors like a mortar or APC or ambient warfare force you to vary your strategy. Level design also helps mix up the line-up, shoot combination. Various mini-games like tracking footprints and tailing also vary gameplay.
Boss battles do not vary gameplay so much. They get repetitive too: (1)find hiding boss, (2)enable normal combat situation with boss (you know, do something so he or she will actually die), (3)line up shot, (4)take shot, repeat. I'm exaggerating a little bit, but I did spend a lot of in-game time lining up shots, which to me is repetitive as hell. It really pales in comparison to boss battles from previous games.
Don't get me wrong, I loved this game. In my every waking moment, the bleakness of various elements called out to me, pulled me in, and distracted me from everything else. One boss kept trying to hug me to death, and if you let her, she lays you down and her and snake both finally seem at peace. I had trouble wanting to retry the segment. The world is sad. The music is amazing. The graphics and motion-capture are so intensely beautiful and realistic that in everyday life I often still feel like I'm in the game, and I loved that while I played it, I felt linked to much bigger things than myself. I felt like I was saving the world, but I kept getting pulled out of that by the weaker points of this game.
Like the fact that the story really lacks consistency. Kojima's sense of humor is cute and doesn't distract as much as the fact that the characters are larger-than-life then human then larger-that life. They're badass, but to create tension and suspense they make mistakes and get hurt, but then they keep coming back. To me, MGS4's epic qualities don't qualify as good when Kojima keeps picking and choosing when to bring the game back down to reality. I mean, it's really hard to kill anyone in this game, much less stop these motherfuckers from talking because they talk a lot.
It's like first somebody has information, then after a level ends they miraculously have more information, and then after that they get some more. Much of the cinematics involve explaining events or phenomena instead of showing events or phenomena (although even that has too much detail at times), which is fine in smaller doses but MGS4 has a lot to explain, so the cinematics dragged on very long.
Even cinematics that show are problematic because this is a video game. Many action cinematics in MGS4 easily could have made for very fun gameplay elements. I think part of the reasoning for this is due to the fact that although the story mainly deals with the lives of people around Snake, he is the only playable character. I think Snake's biggest character development and sketching happened in MGS1. Now Snake's old, but at his core he's still Snake. At first, Snake gets the biggest focus, but in terms of story, he's not the main character. The cast of MGS4 is an ensemble with roughly equal parts to play in the main story, but still Snake is the only playable character.
I really did not mind playing as Raiden in the second game, and I really wanted to play as him this time around. Goddamn that boy's cool! If only the community had accepted him. Right, the community...Part of the gameplay experience, although we at MSGB (unlike Penny Arcade ) and other fine publications try our hardest to minimize it's effects, is expectations based on hearsay, personal preference, and past experiences. There is a lot of press on MGS4 saying it is the best game ever. You hear this and go, "Wow, ok! I'll check that out" or "Bullshit" or you say "Damn, of course! It's Metal Gear Solid!"
And, in response, I would say that MGS4 is a game everyone should suffer through. It's steps away from being perfect so when I say suffer through, I mean there are really good bits (bits that should go down in history as really good bits), and I'm really happy with the conclusion of the series, but that there are other bits that really bring the game down, and given the caliber of the game's good bits, they bring it down more for me because the good bits give me such high expectations. The level of storytelling in this game is so fucking high at times, but then some cheesy or questionable element comes up, and it frustrates the hell out of me.
But then again, I told a friend the way I felt about MGS4 (Really good with some really bad parts), and he said, "Sound like a Metal Gear Solid Game." How true. Throughout the series, the almost-trademark elements of these games that have bothered me have made others fall in love and rediscover that love over and over. So, I can sit here and be bitter about the cheesy bits and no one will care, because they love those cheesy bits for their cheesiness, and in the end, what makes a game a ten out of ten, to me, is if (like MGS fanpeople) on your first time playing you are hooked in mind, body, and controller to the game despite its shortcomings.
While I'm an avid MGS follower, I've always been on the fence about the series. I think I focus on the weaker points of the series because I see them as part of bigger trends that bother me, and that, in turn, makes me judge MGS4 unfairly. For instance, I see in MGS4 that the largest Japanese market likes or the entertainment industry of Japan thinks the market likes cheesy shit. I see translations that could have been better, awkward or unnecessary foreign language use (Raison d'etre, Guns of the Patriots, etc.), and a Japanese predilection to connect everyday situations to more abstract concepts or use analogies in a way that confuses rather than adds to meaning, and also, (shit...I'm sorry) Fanboy/girlism really bothers me. It's a stupid pet peeve. Becoming more attached to a label or set of characters or whatever is natural as time goes on and increases enjoyment of said franchises which is really what matters, right? Good entertainment.
I've just been burned so many times by companies that take advantage of these fanboy/girl-attached labels (Square, Troika, X-Men, etc.) to cater to a specific audience or make money with subpar products. MGS4 is not subpar. It's better than most everything out there, but I expect it to excel like it was the first time we'd ever heard of Metal Gear or Hideo Kojima, and it doesn't always do that.
and that MakeS me a (g)rand ol' Bitter coot about Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Lynny B cooked
Unlike the complicated plots of MGS2 and 3, more dealing with soldiers as the plaything of planners, MGS4's focus on war is a throwback to the original Metal Gear Solid. MSG2, in particular, seems to have thrown a lot of people off . I've talked to a few people who kind of lost interest because of 2, bought the third game but never really played it (the third game was hard as shit). Playing the previous MGS games is nigh essential for playing MGS4. You can get by, but you're gonna be confused.
What's been nice about the Metal Gear Solid series is that while most sequels show you the characters soon after the events of the previous title, MGS1,2, and 4 take place years later and don't waste time in the beginning on you catching up on what's happened. The passing of time has created many new problems for the characters involved in the story, most prevalent would be Snake's inexplicable, rapidly-progressed aging. MGS4 starts off in combat and takes frequent breaks for exposition to catch up on the past years, and when it comes it leaves you with even more questions to keep you going.
While a throwback to the original in story, what's weird about 4 is that in gameplay, it resembles a first-person shooter more than a stealth game despite the tools used for stealth being very user-friendly and fun. For stealth purposes, a circle appears around your octocamo (which unlike the constant adjustments you had to make in three, automatically adjusts to your surroundings) indicating enemy position, distance, and awareness of you. In addition, the Solid Eye provides data on troop movement by sight and sound data represented in a sonar-like manner. Instead of 2 and 3's stamina bar, there's a psyche gauge. Its level is affected heavily by the percentage of stress Snake's body experiences due to getting shot, getting shot at, or even crouching for too long. Lower levels of psych makes you run slower and aim shittier. High levels of stress and shooting can induce a combat high making you more effective and take less damage.
For combat, there are many, many weapons (Example: at least 5 different rocket launchers) with very many different appeals. New weapons can be picked up or bought through your start menu, accessing Drebin, a war profiteer, and his store. All extra guns you pick up are automatically sold to Drebin (presumably because Otacon's toy robot has taken them to Drebin), and upgrades and more weapons can be bought at any time (saved my ass in the middle of several boss fights when I ran out of ammo). Resource management is challenging because health and psych recovery items must be found (a.k.a. Procure On-Site); however, they are plentiful.
So, how does this change Metal Gear Solid's gameplay?
While taking down every enemy was my only stealth strategy in MGS2, in MGS4, collecting weapons for Drebin (the weapons pimp) creates an incentive to take down all enemy soldiers instead of sneaking by. In addition, several rail-shooter or team gameplay elements emphasize shooting over MGS' really fun and challenging stealth action.
PMC and Rebel NPCs are often infinite and their bodies disappear over time. This and the Drebin point system creates an incentive to farm enemy respawn spots for Drebin Points to get new weapons, and I think this system, besides discouraging stealthy play, took away from what could have been a powerful vision of the battlefield. See, Snake actually steps around bodies in this game, and him stepping around a battlefield riddled with corpses fighting for (and this too could have helped Kojima's themes but the detail on the Rebel's objectives are slight; however, the Private Military Company troops are motivated by economic profits which is, you know, sick) what seem to be lost or foolish causes as a consistent image everywhere Snake went would really bring home the way war devastates lives, maybe throw in some crying children and parents for emotional flavor.
Instead, like a shooter with RPG elements (RE4, for example), every time a soldier dies, a sound that a gun pickup is available goes off, and you, the player, internally jump with glee at the Drebin Points it's going to get you. So, despite killing being a disincentive in the previous games, the more you kill, the better weapons you get, the better damage you can do to your enemies. Killing more drops some of your end-of-chapter Drebin Points, but so what? You can make more from farming troops anyway. I tried to kill as little as possible which gave me about 5 weapons to choose from with little upgrades available, so Drebin Points stopped mattering to me after a while, which detracted severely from my enjoyment of this game.
It's also really distracting that all the rebels sound like Americans. What are Americans doing in the Middle East fighting for the previous regime? Aren't the Americans part of the PMC? Why does every dying person have the same death rattle (and since people die a lot, this noise gets frigging spammed)? I think this is because there's only two voice actors for the troops. There's also only 5 different types of enemies besides the boss, so really, to summarize, gameplay is hide, find enemy troop, line up shot to take down enemy troop, then progress. In the most fun parts of the game, environmental factors like a mortar or APC or ambient warfare force you to vary your strategy. Level design also helps mix up the line-up, shoot combination. Various mini-games like tracking footprints and tailing also vary gameplay.
Boss battles do not vary gameplay so much. They get repetitive too: (1)find hiding boss, (2)enable normal combat situation with boss (you know, do something so he or she will actually die), (3)line up shot, (4)take shot, repeat. I'm exaggerating a little bit, but I did spend a lot of in-game time lining up shots, which to me is repetitive as hell. It really pales in comparison to boss battles from previous games.
Don't get me wrong, I loved this game. In my every waking moment, the bleakness of various elements called out to me, pulled me in, and distracted me from everything else. One boss kept trying to hug me to death, and if you let her, she lays you down and her and snake both finally seem at peace. I had trouble wanting to retry the segment. The world is sad. The music is amazing. The graphics and motion-capture are so intensely beautiful and realistic that in everyday life I often still feel like I'm in the game, and I loved that while I played it, I felt linked to much bigger things than myself. I felt like I was saving the world, but I kept getting pulled out of that by the weaker points of this game.
Like the fact that the story really lacks consistency. Kojima's sense of humor is cute and doesn't distract as much as the fact that the characters are larger-than-life then human then larger-that life. They're badass, but to create tension and suspense they make mistakes and get hurt, but then they keep coming back. To me, MGS4's epic qualities don't qualify as good when Kojima keeps picking and choosing when to bring the game back down to reality. I mean, it's really hard to kill anyone in this game, much less stop these motherfuckers from talking because they talk a lot.
It's like first somebody has information, then after a level ends they miraculously have more information, and then after that they get some more. Much of the cinematics involve explaining events or phenomena instead of showing events or phenomena (although even that has too much detail at times), which is fine in smaller doses but MGS4 has a lot to explain, so the cinematics dragged on very long.
Even cinematics that show are problematic because this is a video game. Many action cinematics in MGS4 easily could have made for very fun gameplay elements. I think part of the reasoning for this is due to the fact that although the story mainly deals with the lives of people around Snake, he is the only playable character. I think Snake's biggest character development and sketching happened in MGS1. Now Snake's old, but at his core he's still Snake. At first, Snake gets the biggest focus, but in terms of story, he's not the main character. The cast of MGS4 is an ensemble with roughly equal parts to play in the main story, but still Snake is the only playable character.
I really did not mind playing as Raiden in the second game, and I really wanted to play as him this time around. Goddamn that boy's cool! If only the community had accepted him. Right, the community...Part of the gameplay experience, although we at MSGB (unlike Penny Arcade ) and other fine publications try our hardest to minimize it's effects, is expectations based on hearsay, personal preference, and past experiences. There is a lot of press on MGS4 saying it is the best game ever. You hear this and go, "Wow, ok! I'll check that out" or "Bullshit" or you say "Damn, of course! It's Metal Gear Solid!"
And, in response, I would say that MGS4 is a game everyone should suffer through. It's steps away from being perfect so when I say suffer through, I mean there are really good bits (bits that should go down in history as really good bits), and I'm really happy with the conclusion of the series, but that there are other bits that really bring the game down, and given the caliber of the game's good bits, they bring it down more for me because the good bits give me such high expectations. The level of storytelling in this game is so fucking high at times, but then some cheesy or questionable element comes up, and it frustrates the hell out of me.
But then again, I told a friend the way I felt about MGS4 (Really good with some really bad parts), and he said, "Sound like a Metal Gear Solid Game." How true. Throughout the series, the almost-trademark elements of these games that have bothered me have made others fall in love and rediscover that love over and over. So, I can sit here and be bitter about the cheesy bits and no one will care, because they love those cheesy bits for their cheesiness, and in the end, what makes a game a ten out of ten, to me, is if (like MGS fanpeople) on your first time playing you are hooked in mind, body, and controller to the game despite its shortcomings.
While I'm an avid MGS follower, I've always been on the fence about the series. I think I focus on the weaker points of the series because I see them as part of bigger trends that bother me, and that, in turn, makes me judge MGS4 unfairly. For instance, I see in MGS4 that the largest Japanese market likes or the entertainment industry of Japan thinks the market likes cheesy shit. I see translations that could have been better, awkward or unnecessary foreign language use (Raison d'etre, Guns of the Patriots, etc.), and a Japanese predilection to connect everyday situations to more abstract concepts or use analogies in a way that confuses rather than adds to meaning, and also, (shit...I'm sorry) Fanboy/girlism really bothers me. It's a stupid pet peeve. Becoming more attached to a label or set of characters or whatever is natural as time goes on and increases enjoyment of said franchises which is really what matters, right? Good entertainment.
I've just been burned so many times by companies that take advantage of these fanboy/girl-attached labels (Square, Troika, X-Men, etc.) to cater to a specific audience or make money with subpar products. MGS4 is not subpar. It's better than most everything out there, but I expect it to excel like it was the first time we'd ever heard of Metal Gear or Hideo Kojima, and it doesn't always do that.
and that MakeS me a (g)rand ol' Bitter coot about Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Lynny B cooked
Monday, June 16, 2008
We're still kind of saying "fuck you penny arcade"
This was originally going to be a comment to the last post but grew into much more of a rant:
I am glad somebody took the initiative to write something on this matter. I was about to, but it would have been far more inflammatory. I really actually agree with most of your points but feel the need to add/comment on a few things.
First I feel that Penny Arcade (like you told me the other day) is simply doing this because they can. They have a platform in which they know they can get their message across... and quite simply want to exercise their power by pissing off the masses. What they are doing is essentially no different than what goes on in most forums. The only difference is they are well versed and have an audience.
They do bring up one good point. Metal Gear Solid does not need to be awarded a 10 from everyone and anything above 9 is a great score. I would give it a 10 out of 10 (possibly even an 11) but I know it's not for everyone... and that's fine. But again, it's not like Konami of Kojima is complaining... just uneducated forum surfers.
It is interesting how they have only played six hours and feel they are a good authority. I doubt they will do a follow up. Even if they enjoyed the rest of the game, they would be too proud to admit it. I mean they've taken it this far. In regards to some of the direct complaints, I feel that the gameplay is something that can be appreciated by even non metal gear fans. It's really superb and not clunky at all. I have no idea where Tycho is getting that from. And to say that it is no longer Metal Gear when stealth switches to action is ignorant. It's still Metal Gear in every aspect. It's just much easier to defend yourself this time around (I'll go into that more when I actually do my write up on gameplay). I do sort of agree on the install times. They are not annoying the first go around. What is sort of obnoxious is that when you go back and play again you have to go through all of them. But really... it's two fucking minutes. Most games have load times longer than that. It's such a small complaint that it shouldn't amount to anything.
I did play splinter cell and it was not all that great. The pacing was very off and the stealth elements were wholly borrowed from metal gear. And the combat... now that was clunky. If you got spotted you were done... period. Imparting western sensibility just made it a fucking Tom Clancy Novel with raa raa America and the U.S. is the best... well that's how I remember it.
Finally, the boss battles have always been one of the most positive aspects of the metal gear series. They are always clever and always fun. And the fact that you are taking on such a larger than life character makes Snake all that much more of the ultimate badass and super soldier he is said to be. MGS4 has some really funny codec sequences that touch on this exact point.
-JFu
I am glad somebody took the initiative to write something on this matter. I was about to, but it would have been far more inflammatory. I really actually agree with most of your points but feel the need to add/comment on a few things.
First I feel that Penny Arcade (like you told me the other day) is simply doing this because they can. They have a platform in which they know they can get their message across... and quite simply want to exercise their power by pissing off the masses. What they are doing is essentially no different than what goes on in most forums. The only difference is they are well versed and have an audience.
They do bring up one good point. Metal Gear Solid does not need to be awarded a 10 from everyone and anything above 9 is a great score. I would give it a 10 out of 10 (possibly even an 11) but I know it's not for everyone... and that's fine. But again, it's not like Konami of Kojima is complaining... just uneducated forum surfers.
It is interesting how they have only played six hours and feel they are a good authority. I doubt they will do a follow up. Even if they enjoyed the rest of the game, they would be too proud to admit it. I mean they've taken it this far. In regards to some of the direct complaints, I feel that the gameplay is something that can be appreciated by even non metal gear fans. It's really superb and not clunky at all. I have no idea where Tycho is getting that from. And to say that it is no longer Metal Gear when stealth switches to action is ignorant. It's still Metal Gear in every aspect. It's just much easier to defend yourself this time around (I'll go into that more when I actually do my write up on gameplay). I do sort of agree on the install times. They are not annoying the first go around. What is sort of obnoxious is that when you go back and play again you have to go through all of them. But really... it's two fucking minutes. Most games have load times longer than that. It's such a small complaint that it shouldn't amount to anything.
I did play splinter cell and it was not all that great. The pacing was very off and the stealth elements were wholly borrowed from metal gear. And the combat... now that was clunky. If you got spotted you were done... period. Imparting western sensibility just made it a fucking Tom Clancy Novel with raa raa America and the U.S. is the best... well that's how I remember it.
Finally, the boss battles have always been one of the most positive aspects of the metal gear series. They are always clever and always fun. And the fact that you are taking on such a larger than life character makes Snake all that much more of the ultimate badass and super soldier he is said to be. MGS4 has some really funny codec sequences that touch on this exact point.
-JFu
We're not saying "fuck Penny Arcade" anymore
I hereby ask every person I know to ignore all comments Penny Arcade has on MGS4 or any other MGS game. I hope that what they have said up 'till now embarrasses them enough into an apology of some sorts or at least exposes how unprofessional they are, not that we're better than them, but they are just two guys who got popular off making people laugh, and that, over time, has given them access to the gaming industry with the flawed assumption that they know a good game.
Penny Arcade has a pseudo review up: http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/06/13/perspective/
They have only played six hours.
I think the comment on controls is interesting, but otherwise they are nit-picking on microscopic elements of the game (criticizing the install as a weakness of Blu-Ray? They don't even take that long!), and abusing illiterate fanboys from forums as if that's all MGS4 fans are. Forums are notorious for ignorant commentary. Penny Arcade's fine grammar-nazi rants obviously prove their superiority.
They are looking for the game to fail because it's a popular phenomenon that they never got into, and it severely hinders their judgment of the game. The games they choose to contrast MGS in terms of stealth are both made by Ubisoft, which they have an advertsing deal with. Splinter Cell does not contain the level of storytelling present in MGS4. Assasin's Creed did, but not Splinter Cell, as far as I am aware. I will give it another shot, but I found the story cheesy. Stealth in Assasin's Creed was a joke for the most part. It was very easy to evade guards, and often unnecessary as Altair was a fucking badass. What makes MGS4 special is the fact that it is able to combine deep social commentary with deep characters and still be a fun stealth gaming experience. I have played nothing like it except previous MGS titles.
I like Penny Arcade much better when they make jokes, not commentary.
i'M Shit-fuckin(g) furious aBout this,
Lynny BoJ
Penny Arcade has a pseudo review up: http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/06/13/perspective/
They have only played six hours.
I think the comment on controls is interesting, but otherwise they are nit-picking on microscopic elements of the game (criticizing the install as a weakness of Blu-Ray? They don't even take that long!), and abusing illiterate fanboys from forums as if that's all MGS4 fans are. Forums are notorious for ignorant commentary. Penny Arcade's fine grammar-nazi rants obviously prove their superiority.
They are looking for the game to fail because it's a popular phenomenon that they never got into, and it severely hinders their judgment of the game. The games they choose to contrast MGS in terms of stealth are both made by Ubisoft, which they have an advertsing deal with. Splinter Cell does not contain the level of storytelling present in MGS4. Assasin's Creed did, but not Splinter Cell, as far as I am aware. I will give it another shot, but I found the story cheesy. Stealth in Assasin's Creed was a joke for the most part. It was very easy to evade guards, and often unnecessary as Altair was a fucking badass. What makes MGS4 special is the fact that it is able to combine deep social commentary with deep characters and still be a fun stealth gaming experience. I have played nothing like it except previous MGS titles.
I like Penny Arcade much better when they make jokes, not commentary.
i'M Shit-fuckin(g) furious aBout this,
Lynny BoJ
DLC and the issues that arise from this new form of distribution
Despite waiting overnight outside a store in the cold 2 and a half years ago to get my hands on a Wii, I never truly thought I had entered the "next gen" of gaming. This is purely my feelings of the situation, it definitely innovated and did it's own thing, but to me it was a new spin on last gen's technology (I know the Wii is a more powerful system than the original xbox so it is better, so that's why it's like last-gen.5 or something). Today I look forward to the pleasure of coming home from work and finding an Xbox Elite waiting for me on my doorstep. Waiting to jump into the meaty PS3/360 market I figure has proved beneficial because I didn't have to deal with any RRoDs and hardware issues, the only downside being I missed out on the 60GB PS3 with proper backward compatibility. Myself being someone that saves up and inevitably invests in most consoles, not blindly favoring one brand, I chose the 360 first due to the strong surge of JRPGs appearing on the console. ATLUS deciding to bring over and distribute largely 360 games instead of PS3 has also been a very large factor. This just means sometime a couple years from now I may finally get around to getting a PS3, they're all lovely honestly. As long as I play a game that is sweet and entertaining I am happy.
More to the point though, in recent days I have been catching up on 360 media since I don't tend to pay much attention to game releases on consoles I don't immediately own (go figure). I have come upon quite a difficult decision that is whether or not it will be worth downloading games that have been re-released on Xbox-Live Arcade in HD or other newer shiny version despite having the original game. For me this applies to Rez and Ikaruga in particular, for all I know there are others. Both games are utterly beautiful pieces that in their previous incarnations were already in a league of it's own in presentation. The fact that I will have my 360 hooked up via HDMI thus getting the most out of the HD experience I am torn on whether it would be worth it to pay again for these great games, and since these will be the definitive versions to play my progress and data from the previous games become moot. Why God why! These kinds of decisions are obviously what truly make life such a burden to experience.
Despite that DL issue I am also now burdened with that "oh so horrible" decision of what order I should get all the sweet games I have been missing out on. What a tragedy right? the horribly unfair decisions of deciding how to best approach eating the whole cake for yourself to maximize pleasure. I mean, I need Ninja Gaiden 2. Gamestop's ridiculous pricing of NG:Black at $5 less than original MSRP for a used game that most don't even have a manual has always deterred me from picking it up (I missed the "holy crap ninja gaiden" train when it came out initially). Then there is Bioshock, GoW, Dead Rising, Culdcept Saga, and Assassin's Creed. Yeah, that's right I said it, Assassin's Creed. Currently priced at a reasonable $31.99 on amazon I find that a pretty reasonable deal. Yeah I know the storyline twist, yeah I know it's repetative, yeah I've seen plenty of reviews and videos of it. I don't care, if I get to run around as a badass assassin in a robe and slay who I wish while prancing about rooftops a la parkour then I want it. I need to TASTE that. Also the animation and eye-candy that looks absolutely immersive and gorgeous, I must try it.
Also to satiate my next gen JRPG hunger I don't know where to start first: Lost Odyssey, Eternal Sonata, or Blue Dragon. The first I know I can definitely wait a bit and it's price will drop as well known publisher RPG prices tend to fall like rocks after a few weeks (blue dragon is $20 on amazon now).
Oh! Also I found another conundrum with regard to Lost Planet. First a note about myself, I am a collector of games and I like good package presentation, limited edition, the whole deal. I recently got DMC4 Special Edition for the same price as the normal (yes I bought it before I owned the console, it is an awesome trend that I have done for the PS2, Gamecube, DS, and PSP) and it came in a sweet-ass tin, bonuses DVD, and first disc of the anime (no idea if it's any good). Anyways, the special edition of Lost Planet is still available on amazon that comes in a metal tin and comes with some extras/goodies. Alas, the problem is that they have since released a "Greatest Hits" version of lost planet that is a whole other beast in itself. It features various new multi-player modes and new characters to play and for all I know it has an option to suck off the user upon winning in an online match. The only thing is A. it doesn't come with a soundtrack/tin etc. (so I can be cool and pretend I got it when it first came out!) and B. the stupid giant font of "GREATEST HITS" on box art I find absolutely horrendous and an eyesore. They need to make that shit reversible-covers or something for anal-retentive people like me. Ahh, there is poverty around the world, hunger, and AIDs among other things and I am stuck with these tough decisions... life is hard.
*Ramp(Logical Song) by Scooter bitches*
More to the point though, in recent days I have been catching up on 360 media since I don't tend to pay much attention to game releases on consoles I don't immediately own (go figure). I have come upon quite a difficult decision that is whether or not it will be worth downloading games that have been re-released on Xbox-Live Arcade in HD or other newer shiny version despite having the original game. For me this applies to Rez and Ikaruga in particular, for all I know there are others. Both games are utterly beautiful pieces that in their previous incarnations were already in a league of it's own in presentation. The fact that I will have my 360 hooked up via HDMI thus getting the most out of the HD experience I am torn on whether it would be worth it to pay again for these great games, and since these will be the definitive versions to play my progress and data from the previous games become moot. Why God why! These kinds of decisions are obviously what truly make life such a burden to experience.
Despite that DL issue I am also now burdened with that "oh so horrible" decision of what order I should get all the sweet games I have been missing out on. What a tragedy right? the horribly unfair decisions of deciding how to best approach eating the whole cake for yourself to maximize pleasure. I mean, I need Ninja Gaiden 2. Gamestop's ridiculous pricing of NG:Black at $5 less than original MSRP for a used game that most don't even have a manual has always deterred me from picking it up (I missed the "holy crap ninja gaiden" train when it came out initially). Then there is Bioshock, GoW, Dead Rising, Culdcept Saga, and Assassin's Creed. Yeah, that's right I said it, Assassin's Creed. Currently priced at a reasonable $31.99 on amazon I find that a pretty reasonable deal. Yeah I know the storyline twist, yeah I know it's repetative, yeah I've seen plenty of reviews and videos of it. I don't care, if I get to run around as a badass assassin in a robe and slay who I wish while prancing about rooftops a la parkour then I want it. I need to TASTE that. Also the animation and eye-candy that looks absolutely immersive and gorgeous, I must try it.
Also to satiate my next gen JRPG hunger I don't know where to start first: Lost Odyssey, Eternal Sonata, or Blue Dragon. The first I know I can definitely wait a bit and it's price will drop as well known publisher RPG prices tend to fall like rocks after a few weeks (blue dragon is $20 on amazon now).
Oh! Also I found another conundrum with regard to Lost Planet. First a note about myself, I am a collector of games and I like good package presentation, limited edition, the whole deal. I recently got DMC4 Special Edition for the same price as the normal (yes I bought it before I owned the console, it is an awesome trend that I have done for the PS2, Gamecube, DS, and PSP) and it came in a sweet-ass tin, bonuses DVD, and first disc of the anime (no idea if it's any good). Anyways, the special edition of Lost Planet is still available on amazon that comes in a metal tin and comes with some extras/goodies. Alas, the problem is that they have since released a "Greatest Hits" version of lost planet that is a whole other beast in itself. It features various new multi-player modes and new characters to play and for all I know it has an option to suck off the user upon winning in an online match. The only thing is A. it doesn't come with a soundtrack/tin etc. (so I can be cool and pretend I got it when it first came out!) and B. the stupid giant font of "GREATEST HITS" on box art I find absolutely horrendous and an eyesore. They need to make that shit reversible-covers or something for anal-retentive people like me. Ahh, there is poverty around the world, hunger, and AIDs among other things and I am stuck with these tough decisions... life is hard.
*Ramp(Logical Song) by Scooter bitches*
One half of MS(g)B's take on: Metal Gear Solid 4
I started this review a couple of days ago and have had trouble finishing it. There is so much I wanted to say but was unable to... either because it was a spoiler or I just couldn't find a way to put it into words. Here is my best effort... I guess. It was started immediately after I finished the game and just wrapped up a few minutes ago. I stand by everything I have said 100% except for maybe the game captivating part. I certainly had been captivated by other games before, just not on such an intense level. There are also a lot of things I wanted to add but didn't. I love the plot twists in the MGS series. My grammar and writing is atrocious. Watching Snake get old is really hard to do (even my mom thought it was upsetting). A side note on that: My mother has watched me play bits and pieces of every single one. When she heard me talk about the fourth installment she brought up a story. She remembers watching a cut scene in one of the three previous tittles (we could not figure out which one) and thinking it was genuinely moving and she was surprised she could care for a video game character. Anyways, here is my review of MGS4. Lbeej's will probably be on the way soon because he's already started. Sorry if it's a little too melodramatic.
21 hours, 45 minutes, 01 second. That’s how long it took me to finish Metal Gear Solid 4. It’s 4 in the morning which means in the 51 hours that have passed since putting the game into my PS3, close to half have been devoted to this title... and for very good reason.
I could go into detail and talk about what the game does right and what it does perfect (oh so perfect). I could also nitpick on the ever so tiny flaws (they do exist but don’t amount to shit). I could even go on and on about how this is a fanboys wet dream (it’s great standalone but if you are a fan of the series… you WILL NOT be disappointed). Though, to be honest, after having just watched the credits roll, it wouldn’t feel right. This is going to sound over the top, but I don’t think my words could do the game justice… especially for fans of the series.
I know there are those who have played previous tittles and will pick this one up, play through it, and think that it’s not bad (if you are not a fan of the series, this one probably won’t change your mind… then again, it could), but I’m not talking to them. I’m talking about the people who have been huge fans of everything Metal Gear since the beginning. Since they were 12 years old in their friends’ basement, watching some guy shoot stinger missiles at a giant robot thinking “what the hell is this?” People who when they finally got the chance to sit down and play, were absolutely stunned by the sheer brilliance and badassery the game possessed. At the time, it was unreal to be so captivated by a game (for me at least). The unique gameplay, the suburb storytelling, the long list of jaw dropping “oh shit” moments (cyborg ninja intro, psycho mantis battle, Meyrl getting baited, rappelling down the tower, the fucking elevator with stealth guards… I could keep going), and the ability to not only draw you in, but make you genuinely care about the characters involved elevated my appreciation of gaming. I was instantly hooked and have been ever since… throughout the entire series (yes, even with that weird step mother seducing thing in MGS2).
Then I finally got to play the fourth installment. And after having finished it, I’ve decided not to say too much about the game. There are, however, a few things I want to touch on. First, it must be emphasized that Metal Gear Solid 4 is Kojima’s swan song that is sure to please the fans. Not only does it tie up all the loose ends (yep, every single last one of them), it is the most satisfying conclusion possible to this long-running series. More importantly, it is able to evoke insanely genuine amounts of emotion, more so than any other game I have come across. This is in part due to the excellent graphics and facial animations, as well as the superb delivery by the voice actors (props to David Hayter).
What stands out the most, however, is what the game was able to do to me. At one point while playing, I became 12 again. Without realizing it, I was screaming and yelling, wincing every time Snake got punched, and actually swinging my fists as he would throw one hell of a right hook (might have been left). Once it caught my attention, I embraced it and couldn’t have been happier. It was not a reliving of more innocent times (god knows I cursed like a sailor when I was younger) but a reintroduction to the unadulterated joys a video game can create. Granted, I’m specifically referencing one moment, but the game is comprised of nothing but instances like these (there were other times I was hooting and howling louder than a sane person should). Instances where you loose yourself and become so absorbed that, even though you realize you are playing a game, the line seems so blurred that you feel as though you are experiencing what you are doing first hand. It’s tough to describe and it is definitely something that needs to be experienced. I would even go as far as recommending you play it alone, so you can get the full effect… and not be ashamed to shed a tear or two (yes I cried… twice).
At some point during the final credits, it hit me: THIS IS MY FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME. Up until that point it had been Metal Gear Solid. So yes, take this big bold statement with a grain of salt seeing as how I am a fanboy (fuck you penny arcade). Just know this, Metal Gear Solid 4 is worth playing… worth owning so you can play it again and again (which I will be doing)… and most importantly, worth experiencing. There is not another game that I have come across which does such an effective job of pulling you in and not letting you go. It’s been one hell of a ride Snake. Thanks for the memories.There you have it, my review of Metal Gear Solid 4. Understand I am a HUGE fanboy but at the same time this is a superb game by its own merits. So what'd ya think? Love it? Hate it? Make you wanna play the game? Leave some comments because I don't write long pieces here often... and need to know if I should.
P.S. I fucking love that picture at the top
Sunday, June 15, 2008
I know I shouldn't but...
I can't help myself. Here's an excellent quote from the MGS4 review by Gamepro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhRw3nE67aw
My review is on the way soon. Then I will probably be in a posting blackout as I try and wrap up summer school.
"There's not much left to say. Metal Gear Solid 4 is a brilliant, moving, exciting, intense action game that succeeds hugely at everything it sets out to do. It sets new standards for graphics, sound, gameplay, and storytelling, and it may be years before it is equaled, let alone surpassed. You will not play a better game this year-maybe even this decade. If you own a PS3, buy this game immediately. And if you don't own a PS3, well, it's time to start saving those nickels and dimes.
In the end, everyone's a winner. The PlayStation 3 finally gets its "savior," Kojima gets his masterpiece, and gamers get one of the best games of all time. And they all lived happily ever after."
Also while DTipps didn't seem to like this version of the MGS theme, I might go as far as saying it's my favorite. DON'T READ THE COMMENTS SECTION ON THIS VIDEO... HUGE FUCKING SPOILER... JUST LISTEN AND ENJOYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhRw3nE67aw
My review is on the way soon. Then I will probably be in a posting blackout as I try and wrap up summer school.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Persona 3 Redux
After posts "What the Fuck Happened? - JRPGS, mostly Persona 3" and "In the interest of friendly debate," I gave Persona 3 another shot.
By another shot, I mean I played it several nights through to 6 am. I really enjoyed it. It starts off really slow, true, but the apex of the game comes from the fact that it's not a JRPG with dating-sim elements, it's the other way around. It's a dating sim where successful social interaction makes you better in battle, or this is the way I like to think of it because the battle system gets really old. I got really tired of switching my persona based on which enemy I was facing, using the same attack on each individual enemy then doing the all-out attack. Boss fights were more fun except for the one where my lack of battle training and proper Persona creation made a fight against a boss with no weaknesses (attacking a weak point disables the enemy, this particular enemy had moves that could severely hurt one of my party members. I ended up letting him die in the interest of conserving resources) near impossible, but that's not the game's fault.
There's no growth in the battle system. Doing well in battle makes it so you can get cash or make higher level Personas, but leveling up by itself only increases your health and spirit points and your party members' Persona level. So, Persona 3's battle system is too repetitive with too few benefits. Also, in order to progress to fight higher level enemies, you have to complete a story event, so leveling up takes longer because lower level enemies give much less experience.
The boss battle sequences and requests (a.k.a. side-quests) are fun and rewarding, but are the only times when fighting becomes really important and meaningful. Otherwise, you're better off spending your night upping your charm or academics so you can date one of your party members in the future.
By another shot, I mean I played it several nights through to 6 am. I really enjoyed it. It starts off really slow, true, but the apex of the game comes from the fact that it's not a JRPG with dating-sim elements, it's the other way around. It's a dating sim where successful social interaction makes you better in battle, or this is the way I like to think of it because the battle system gets really old. I got really tired of switching my persona based on which enemy I was facing, using the same attack on each individual enemy then doing the all-out attack. Boss fights were more fun except for the one where my lack of battle training and proper Persona creation made a fight against a boss with no weaknesses (attacking a weak point disables the enemy, this particular enemy had moves that could severely hurt one of my party members. I ended up letting him die in the interest of conserving resources) near impossible, but that's not the game's fault.
There's no growth in the battle system. Doing well in battle makes it so you can get cash or make higher level Personas, but leveling up by itself only increases your health and spirit points and your party members' Persona level. So, Persona 3's battle system is too repetitive with too few benefits. Also, in order to progress to fight higher level enemies, you have to complete a story event, so leveling up takes longer because lower level enemies give much less experience.
The boss battle sequences and requests (a.k.a. side-quests) are fun and rewarding, but are the only times when fighting becomes really important and meaningful. Otherwise, you're better off spending your night upping your charm or academics so you can date one of your party members in the future.
MS(g)B's answer to the difficulty problem - Ninja Gaiden Sigma
After he jumps from a mountaintop, bringing his sword through an enemy, Ryu (the main character of Ninja Gaiden Sigma) comments that the Ninja he just fucked up to the serious "had gaping holes in his defenses," and "He never would have been able to survive in this world anyway."
You also get all your arrows from dead ninjas. You get them by pulling them out of their bodies, reciting a tear-jerking epithet, "While I regret doing this... he's not using them."
There is no respect for the dead when the holder of the Dark Dragon blade slaughters your ninja tribe. There can only be vengeance. There is no time to mourn.
This game is about getting your ass kicked, and not every once and a while. Every fucking battle with anyone will easily get you killed. Actually, compared with the numerous ninja waiting in alleys, boss battles are easy. This one set of three black spider ninjas almost consistently kills me either through their speed and numbers or the fucking timed-mine-kunai they stick into you. These motherfuckers can also grab Ryu and shove a sword into him, which, for whatever reason, is not a one-hit kill.
To counter the fact that the enemies are l33t as shit at killing you and also to make boss fights significantly easier, the guide I read suggested the following method to mitigate constant-death anxiety. It's similar to PS2's Shinobi's Tate system whereby chaining murders increased your damage bit-by-bit to help you take down bosses and stronger enemies.
Step 1: Kill yourself an enemy
Step 2: Hold down Triangle to absorb the enemy's death orb to power up your Ultimate Techniques
Step 3: Kill another enemy with the ultimate technique
Step 4: Repeat endlessly
The guide neglected to mention steps between the steps like "Dodge your fucking ass off! Them motherfuckers don't give you time to absorb shit!" and "Release the triangle button real fucking now or he's gonna...oh shit...you just wasted a health orb, and now he...oh...he hit you again. Hope you like load times, corpse." Jumping off an enemy's head and hitting the charge attack button (triangle) as soon as you land skims microseconds off the time to charge but is damn essential and a pretty good strategy to put distance between you and your future victims even though it's repetitive to perform the same pattern of movements over and over.
However, if you really want your Home avatar's bare penis to drag against the ground on the leaderboards, performing the above trick can get you there.
I...like this game? In the old days games were harder, presumably to increase their value as games were much shorter and a harder game meant more time spent relative to money thrown out. Also, games nowadays tend to tell a much deeper story than they did back then, and so the end-goal and incentive to play the game is different. Before, it was just to play the game and hopefully to beat it. Now, the end objective is the end of the game, the completion of the story. Harder difficulties are mainly to relive gameplay (Exception is Resistance: Fall of Man's Hard difficulty which is mad fun). It's somewhat demanded of gaming companies to enable the everyman to defeat your everyday action game on normal difficulty in 20 hours or so (::cough, cough:: MGS4) with moderate hiccups. Not that this necessarily makes a value judgment on said games. Twenty hours is a decent chunk of time, and sometimes even that is too long for a game (Uncharted). So, Ninja Gaiden is a black sheep in the gaming and especially casual-gaming (whatever that means) market.
It's super black sheep for me. This is the second time I've bought this game. The first time, I got the Xbox version, and lemme tell you, the graphics for the most part look the same as they did then...like Dynasty Warriors 4 dated. Now some of the PS3's titles have been ugly, but they still are ages past the black blob that is Ryu; however, the new material with Rachel (those boobies are my calling in life) looks supremely better. Anyway, back then on the XBOX, I got to the burning man on the burning horse that breathes fire boss fight, and could go no further. I quit, gave up. The sight of the Ninja Gaiden gamecase brought guilt and regret at just not having the stones. Then I played massive amounts of Super Smash Bros Melee. Then I actually learned how to counter due to the easy interface of Assassin's Creed. Then I fucked shit up in Heavenly Sword. Ninja Gaiden Sigma seemed more attainable, and it is. I'm proud to say that I toasted the firey guy and his fire horse in the first four hours. That was only the second level though, and things continue to get increasingly harder. If I stop for a bit and come back to Sigma, it seems like my ability to perceive and react to situations within Sigma improves, but since Sigma requires a massive amount of concentration, this kind of double-thinking distracts and weakens my performance. Yeah, I guess it's like sex in that way.
Sex requires you to act on an instinctual level and not let little things like "he's not wearing a condom" or "i gotta call my mom" affect your enjoyment. Ninja Gaiden requires the same. If you don't understand instinctively to roll away just as an enemy attacks or jump over said enemy as they attack to get the drop on them, then you or your partner will not cum or stay erect.
Getting that instinctual-level knowledge, unlike sex, comes from massive amounts of repetition, so Ninja Gaiden, like old school, is a game that requires a lot of time to make small strides, so it's taking me a long time to complete it, but I think I enjoy the process or will enjoy it when I can actually dispatch foes with consistent BALLAness. Until then, just like with Warhawk, I'm a slave to the learning curve.
ummM...don't tell peopleS if you can tell its (g)one Been a long time...
Lynny-Jo
You also get all your arrows from dead ninjas. You get them by pulling them out of their bodies, reciting a tear-jerking epithet, "While I regret doing this... he's not using them."
There is no respect for the dead when the holder of the Dark Dragon blade slaughters your ninja tribe. There can only be vengeance. There is no time to mourn.
This game is about getting your ass kicked, and not every once and a while. Every fucking battle with anyone will easily get you killed. Actually, compared with the numerous ninja waiting in alleys, boss battles are easy. This one set of three black spider ninjas almost consistently kills me either through their speed and numbers or the fucking timed-mine-kunai they stick into you. These motherfuckers can also grab Ryu and shove a sword into him, which, for whatever reason, is not a one-hit kill.
To counter the fact that the enemies are l33t as shit at killing you and also to make boss fights significantly easier, the guide I read suggested the following method to mitigate constant-death anxiety. It's similar to PS2's Shinobi's Tate system whereby chaining murders increased your damage bit-by-bit to help you take down bosses and stronger enemies.
Step 1: Kill yourself an enemy
Step 2: Hold down Triangle to absorb the enemy's death orb to power up your Ultimate Techniques
Step 3: Kill another enemy with the ultimate technique
Step 4: Repeat endlessly
The guide neglected to mention steps between the steps like "Dodge your fucking ass off! Them motherfuckers don't give you time to absorb shit!" and "Release the triangle button real fucking now or he's gonna...oh shit...you just wasted a health orb, and now he...oh...he hit you again. Hope you like load times, corpse." Jumping off an enemy's head and hitting the charge attack button (triangle) as soon as you land skims microseconds off the time to charge but is damn essential and a pretty good strategy to put distance between you and your future victims even though it's repetitive to perform the same pattern of movements over and over.
However, if you really want your Home avatar's bare penis to drag against the ground on the leaderboards, performing the above trick can get you there.
I...like this game? In the old days games were harder, presumably to increase their value as games were much shorter and a harder game meant more time spent relative to money thrown out. Also, games nowadays tend to tell a much deeper story than they did back then, and so the end-goal and incentive to play the game is different. Before, it was just to play the game and hopefully to beat it. Now, the end objective is the end of the game, the completion of the story. Harder difficulties are mainly to relive gameplay (Exception is Resistance: Fall of Man's Hard difficulty which is mad fun). It's somewhat demanded of gaming companies to enable the everyman to defeat your everyday action game on normal difficulty in 20 hours or so (::cough, cough:: MGS4) with moderate hiccups. Not that this necessarily makes a value judgment on said games. Twenty hours is a decent chunk of time, and sometimes even that is too long for a game (Uncharted). So, Ninja Gaiden is a black sheep in the gaming and especially casual-gaming (whatever that means) market.
It's super black sheep for me. This is the second time I've bought this game. The first time, I got the Xbox version, and lemme tell you, the graphics for the most part look the same as they did then...like Dynasty Warriors 4 dated. Now some of the PS3's titles have been ugly, but they still are ages past the black blob that is Ryu; however, the new material with Rachel (those boobies are my calling in life) looks supremely better. Anyway, back then on the XBOX, I got to the burning man on the burning horse that breathes fire boss fight, and could go no further. I quit, gave up. The sight of the Ninja Gaiden gamecase brought guilt and regret at just not having the stones. Then I played massive amounts of Super Smash Bros Melee. Then I actually learned how to counter due to the easy interface of Assassin's Creed. Then I fucked shit up in Heavenly Sword. Ninja Gaiden Sigma seemed more attainable, and it is. I'm proud to say that I toasted the firey guy and his fire horse in the first four hours. That was only the second level though, and things continue to get increasingly harder. If I stop for a bit and come back to Sigma, it seems like my ability to perceive and react to situations within Sigma improves, but since Sigma requires a massive amount of concentration, this kind of double-thinking distracts and weakens my performance. Yeah, I guess it's like sex in that way.
Sex requires you to act on an instinctual level and not let little things like "he's not wearing a condom" or "i gotta call my mom" affect your enjoyment. Ninja Gaiden requires the same. If you don't understand instinctively to roll away just as an enemy attacks or jump over said enemy as they attack to get the drop on them, then you or your partner will not cum or stay erect.
Getting that instinctual-level knowledge, unlike sex, comes from massive amounts of repetition, so Ninja Gaiden, like old school, is a game that requires a lot of time to make small strides, so it's taking me a long time to complete it, but I think I enjoy the process or will enjoy it when I can actually dispatch foes with consistent BALLAness. Until then, just like with Warhawk, I'm a slave to the learning curve.
ummM...don't tell peopleS if you can tell its (g)one Been a long time...
Lynny-Jo
ZOMG UPDATES: the final update
Clever titles are just not my thing. Well, I DID IT. I beat MGS4... and... well you'll just have to wait for my review, which might actually disappoint (It's been started and... well... it's really not a traditional review). Anyways I'm off to bed... oh you want some new tidbits... a real update. Well, I have come to the conclusion that Metal Gear Solid 4 is my favorite game of all time, no joke
... how's that for an update?
... how's that for an update?
Friday, June 13, 2008
This monkey's gone to heaven....
Today is a day for celebration, or rather next week. I am currently salivating over my approaching purchase of a 360 elite, my decision for the 360 before the ps3 because ATLUS has declared it's support for Microsoft's child. Behold there is a god, and we shall all soon be making fools of ourselves trying to channel some Frank Black screams into the microphone. Guitar Hero and Rock Band were just casual novelties to me until Muse appeared in GH3, and now they have Muse DLC. Now it has become Serious Business >_< and I must elevate and learn to play the games so that I can fake rock out to one of my favorite bands. The fact a whole Pixies album is now on board is fantastic...oh deary me must get hands on it.
Wagon Wheel Anachronism
This might not be your type of music, I mean, it's not quite mine. I've started to like it, I mean, just watch the damn video and see if you pick up what I did.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
FUCK YOU PENNY ARCADE!
AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
They think they're so cool because the can give fanboys the finger and everyone has to watch.
I wish they were less involved in the industry. Their game is fucking fun though.
Strongest Man Alive
When Shadow of the Colossus came out in the fall of 2005 I had started my freshman year of college and knew little to nothing about it much less heard of it's predecessor Ico. My friend described SotC as a game "where you go around and kill these giant statues, and when they die it happens dramatically with sad music. I think you're supposed to sympathize with them.", while that is a rough paraphrase the "die to sad music" part was definitely the words used to describe it. Around this time was the beginning of my foray into games that were claimed to be "missed by the crowd". In the following months I would pick up Beyond Good and Evil, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Panzer Dragoon Orta, as well as Ico and SotC among others. As fate would have it, since my friend purchased SotC immediately I opted to try out the previous title Ico so that we could exchange impressions of both and possibly swap in the future. This write up is about Shadow so I will reserve my thoughts on Ico, but needless to say I was awestruck and hooked. There was no way I could wait till winter break to possibly borrow SotC, I purchased it immediately after.
warning, there be spoils abound
The Setup
A haunting melody plays during the intro scene as Wander carries his incapacitated/dead lady friend into the forbidden land, this perfectly prefaces the journey you are about to partake in telling you that it will be a solemn and isolated affair. The forbidden land is inhabited by very little wildlife, the only creatures encountered are lizards and birds in the vast expanse of the peninsula. Anyways, this piece isn't so much a review of the game as it is my personal testament to how much I love the story and the character of Wander. This man, desperate to revive a woman that he obviously cares about having broken his people's laws and stolen a sacred sword and trespassed onto forbidden grounds, convenes with a powerful being (Dormin) and regardless of the possible consequences makes a pact with an imprisoned spirit whose intentions are completely ambiguous. In his blind devotion and determination to aid his lady he agrees to fell 16 colossi that can be found throughout the land in exchange of "bringing Mono (the girl) back to life". At no point does Wander question the ordeal that lies before him or what may become of him, neither does he specify exactly what "bringing her back to life" entails. Even while you begin to go about your task in the forbidden land your elders are pursuing you to reclaim the sword and hopefully stop you from doing anything you may regret.
The Trials
Wander seeks out sixteen behemoths in the lands, each located in their own habitat/area of the peninsula. Your arrival being the only provocation for a break in their eternal slumber. Most of the colossi don't even want to bother with you until you provoke them with arrows or run at them with sword drawn, Only then do they try to protect what lies sealed within them. The sudden end to each of these confrontations as the life animating the stone, earth, and grass is perfectly portrayed. Each of these seals broken, Wander unknowingly releasing each part of Dormin in order to uphold his end of the bargain for the future of this girl. Every fallen colossus releases a part of Dormin, and every time that dark spirit forces it's way into Wander's body. Each adversary is met with the same determination and ultimate victory no matter the cost. Wander is one determined guy, and with almost no support he endures. Defying his people and his society by being in the sacred land he experiences what can only be the most trying of trials in hopes that this girl can be given another chance at life.
The Friend
While practically a solo act, Wander does have one companion. Agro the horse is quite possibly one of the best supporting characters I have seen in a game ever. The development is so subtle and it can only go so far as it is just his horse, but it is so much more. Not only is this journey only possible because of Agro being there, but in this desolate land Agro is the only thing Wander has keeping him company besides his determination. This horse follows you without fear wherever you may go, rides on without complaint and carries it's master to the next destination. He isn't even taken back to the temple like Wander is whenever a colossus is felled, he runs back on his own out of devotion. When Wander is scaling a colossus Agro trots about neighing as if a worried friend is pacing out of anxiety for a loved one. Helping you in the conflicts that he can he is there for Wander at every point in the game when possible, and his ultimate sacrifice (which we find out is not as grave as it seems at the time, but still just as shocking the first time you see it) before the final colossus left me utterly silent in shock. Best horse, nay a friend, ever!
The Sacrifice
As the game progresses and he defeats more colossi the ritual begins to take it's toll. It physically manifests itself in his skin becoming paler, his hair loses it's red hue favoring black, his eyes losing their color, and ultimately having horns protrude from his forehead. That's right, the fine print of the pact Wander did not know involved his body being used as a vessel for Dormin as the seals are broken. Ever so slowly his soul is being eroded away from his body as Dormin's spirit overtakes it. While it is open to interpretation, I think Dormin takes advantage of Wander in even another way. The initial confrontation with Dormin reveals his voice has a dual nature to it, voiced by a male and female, and as the game progresses (the girl is closer to being "revived") the female voice has less of a presence. The way I see it, he was not only taking over Wander's body but is actually placing the female part of his spirit in Mono's body as his soul is re-assembled from the various parts sealed in the colossi. The final sequence of events is gut-wrenching as Lord Emon, the priest from your village that pursued you, points out just what you have done as the physical changes on Wander's body are finally more evident. In a desperate gambit for both sides Lord Emon orders his men to slay Wander, once this proves impossible they begin to flee the temple. At this point Dormin's true shape, a grotesque shade, surges from Wander's body and attempts to slay his would-be killers. As Lord Emon is the last member out of the temple he casts one final seal before leaving. Casting away the sacred sword which Wander had stolen the seal imprisons all the shadows within the temple, the user is given control of Wander's now disembodied shade as he desperately tries to reach Mono's side. It is absolutely devastating to witness his futile attempts to reach her side and is finally consumed into the vacuum, left at the epicenter of the spell is the first child that bears the curse of this sin, a horned child. Now after all the chaos Mono awakes to find Agro limping into the temple and they find the child and proceed to the garden on the roof of the temple (you can reach the garden shown during the end credits by climbing a great deal up the side of the temple, I've done it and it takes a decent amount of time of just scaling walls). This ending sets up, how I interpret the game, the premise of the previous game Ico. So in my eyes SotC is the prequel to Ico, it is the start of the affair and the reason why there is a cursed child at all.
This game is fantastic, I can not speak enough about my love of it. Wander is one of the best characters I have ever had the delight of playing in a game before. The visuals are jawdropping, the music is BEYOND perfect (I bought the soundtrack and it's fantastic), the controls are tight and intuitive. I'm not sure where I heard that people had issues with controls but honestly I don't understand why you would. The mapping of buttons and rather simple mechanics are very logical, the difficulty comes from how disorienting it would be to be tossed about while climbing a large object. All I can say is Wander is a hell of a man, and simplified this game goes to show how utterly ridiculous one's willingness to do things for a woman can be. Damn those women!
*If there was an actual room with just a set of stairs and "Rave On" playing like in Killer 7, I would totally want to pass through it multiple times every day.*
warning, there be spoils abound
The Setup
A haunting melody plays during the intro scene as Wander carries his incapacitated/dead lady friend into the forbidden land, this perfectly prefaces the journey you are about to partake in telling you that it will be a solemn and isolated affair. The forbidden land is inhabited by very little wildlife, the only creatures encountered are lizards and birds in the vast expanse of the peninsula. Anyways, this piece isn't so much a review of the game as it is my personal testament to how much I love the story and the character of Wander. This man, desperate to revive a woman that he obviously cares about having broken his people's laws and stolen a sacred sword and trespassed onto forbidden grounds, convenes with a powerful being (Dormin) and regardless of the possible consequences makes a pact with an imprisoned spirit whose intentions are completely ambiguous. In his blind devotion and determination to aid his lady he agrees to fell 16 colossi that can be found throughout the land in exchange of "bringing Mono (the girl) back to life". At no point does Wander question the ordeal that lies before him or what may become of him, neither does he specify exactly what "bringing her back to life" entails. Even while you begin to go about your task in the forbidden land your elders are pursuing you to reclaim the sword and hopefully stop you from doing anything you may regret.
The Trials
Wander seeks out sixteen behemoths in the lands, each located in their own habitat/area of the peninsula. Your arrival being the only provocation for a break in their eternal slumber. Most of the colossi don't even want to bother with you until you provoke them with arrows or run at them with sword drawn, Only then do they try to protect what lies sealed within them. The sudden end to each of these confrontations as the life animating the stone, earth, and grass is perfectly portrayed. Each of these seals broken, Wander unknowingly releasing each part of Dormin in order to uphold his end of the bargain for the future of this girl. Every fallen colossus releases a part of Dormin, and every time that dark spirit forces it's way into Wander's body. Each adversary is met with the same determination and ultimate victory no matter the cost. Wander is one determined guy, and with almost no support he endures. Defying his people and his society by being in the sacred land he experiences what can only be the most trying of trials in hopes that this girl can be given another chance at life.
The Friend
While practically a solo act, Wander does have one companion. Agro the horse is quite possibly one of the best supporting characters I have seen in a game ever. The development is so subtle and it can only go so far as it is just his horse, but it is so much more. Not only is this journey only possible because of Agro being there, but in this desolate land Agro is the only thing Wander has keeping him company besides his determination. This horse follows you without fear wherever you may go, rides on without complaint and carries it's master to the next destination. He isn't even taken back to the temple like Wander is whenever a colossus is felled, he runs back on his own out of devotion. When Wander is scaling a colossus Agro trots about neighing as if a worried friend is pacing out of anxiety for a loved one. Helping you in the conflicts that he can he is there for Wander at every point in the game when possible, and his ultimate sacrifice (which we find out is not as grave as it seems at the time, but still just as shocking the first time you see it) before the final colossus left me utterly silent in shock. Best horse, nay a friend, ever!
The Sacrifice
As the game progresses and he defeats more colossi the ritual begins to take it's toll. It physically manifests itself in his skin becoming paler, his hair loses it's red hue favoring black, his eyes losing their color, and ultimately having horns protrude from his forehead. That's right, the fine print of the pact Wander did not know involved his body being used as a vessel for Dormin as the seals are broken. Ever so slowly his soul is being eroded away from his body as Dormin's spirit overtakes it. While it is open to interpretation, I think Dormin takes advantage of Wander in even another way. The initial confrontation with Dormin reveals his voice has a dual nature to it, voiced by a male and female, and as the game progresses (the girl is closer to being "revived") the female voice has less of a presence. The way I see it, he was not only taking over Wander's body but is actually placing the female part of his spirit in Mono's body as his soul is re-assembled from the various parts sealed in the colossi. The final sequence of events is gut-wrenching as Lord Emon, the priest from your village that pursued you, points out just what you have done as the physical changes on Wander's body are finally more evident. In a desperate gambit for both sides Lord Emon orders his men to slay Wander, once this proves impossible they begin to flee the temple. At this point Dormin's true shape, a grotesque shade, surges from Wander's body and attempts to slay his would-be killers. As Lord Emon is the last member out of the temple he casts one final seal before leaving. Casting away the sacred sword which Wander had stolen the seal imprisons all the shadows within the temple, the user is given control of Wander's now disembodied shade as he desperately tries to reach Mono's side. It is absolutely devastating to witness his futile attempts to reach her side and is finally consumed into the vacuum, left at the epicenter of the spell is the first child that bears the curse of this sin, a horned child. Now after all the chaos Mono awakes to find Agro limping into the temple and they find the child and proceed to the garden on the roof of the temple (you can reach the garden shown during the end credits by climbing a great deal up the side of the temple, I've done it and it takes a decent amount of time of just scaling walls). This ending sets up, how I interpret the game, the premise of the previous game Ico. So in my eyes SotC is the prequel to Ico, it is the start of the affair and the reason why there is a cursed child at all.
This game is fantastic, I can not speak enough about my love of it. Wander is one of the best characters I have ever had the delight of playing in a game before. The visuals are jawdropping, the music is BEYOND perfect (I bought the soundtrack and it's fantastic), the controls are tight and intuitive. I'm not sure where I heard that people had issues with controls but honestly I don't understand why you would. The mapping of buttons and rather simple mechanics are very logical, the difficulty comes from how disorienting it would be to be tossed about while climbing a large object. All I can say is Wander is a hell of a man, and simplified this game goes to show how utterly ridiculous one's willingness to do things for a woman can be. Damn those women!
*If there was an actual room with just a set of stairs and "Rave On" playing like in Killer 7, I would totally want to pass through it multiple times every day.*
ZOMG UPDATES: Burning the midnight oil
So I've been playing up until now. I'm exhausted and all out of caffeine... I really need to take notes if I want to make a halfway descent review but right now I'll have to go off memory. And don't worry, I won't spoil anything. So far, this is what I've noticed:
-The game is absolutely gorgeous and the attention to detail is astonishing. For instance vamp has the scar on his forehead from when you shot him in 2 and the soldiers dog tags he stole from the same game
-All the cut scenes I have witnessed so far have been in trailers (for the most part)
-The game is broken up into acts and I finished act 1 which took me five hours... i was going slow and died a few times (when I was being retarded)
-There was one "oh shit" moment that I don't want to ruin because it's too cool. It might now amount to anything but it involves... I won't give it away
-The dualschock 3 has some heft to it... more so than the ps2 controller. although it's so nice to have rumble back... actually its fucking great
-there is a mandatory install at what appears to be before each act. its a little weird that there is more than one, but the second one wasn't long at all and they feature snake smoking cigarettes in the background with little tidbits of advice. the best was when it said it was past 4 am and I should take a break.
-Otacon's computer backgrounds were zone of the enders and policenauts
-the rolling on the ground mechanic is one of the most fun things to do and fun ways to travel
-the new camo system far surpasses the other one and is really fucking cool... having a lot of fun with it.
-Snake is aging rapidly and they don't know why (not a spoiler) they do a very good job of making you care. small things like Meryl commenting on it add to the effect. snake is facing his own mortality and you can tell he's having difficulty... and that really goes back to how good the graphics are... I've not seen any other game convey emotion better by using facial expressions.
-There is one thing I can't figure out... when I crouch and don't have anything equiped and hit r1, snake will halfway rise and spread his arms out a little then go back to crouch... i have no fucking clue what this is for
-the square button is only used for auto-aim which i have turned off because i'm not a bitch... so its basically a useless button. also select is no longer used for codec (these are so fucking minor though)
-snake with breasts looks very bizarre (yes... you see snake with breasts)
-the game plays well... theres no way around it... it just feels good. cqc is a little akward right now but thats because it's slightly different (r1 does most of it) and i have yet to practice because i tend to just get in gunfights.
-at one point i started feeling bad i was killing so many PMCs that I switched to my tranquilizer just to ease my conscious.
-i know I said this, but the camo is cool as hell
-they really do a good job of illustrating past relationships between all the characters and brining them into this story... cool to see where it goes
-im pretty sure that guy johnny in all the trailers who is a part of Meryl's squad is raiden in disguise... this is just me pulling it out of my ass but i just have a feeling. again this isn't a spoiler and i wont follow up on this so you wont find out either way
-my collectors edition box is already falling apart which is pretty lame... but i still love it
I'm sure there was more I wanted to say but I'm just drawing blanks now and making so many typos because I Can barely see straight (ok so maybe i am a pussy but im still not putting auto aim on). Last two things that just popped into my head: load times are minimal and saving takes half a second. So far its been fucking spectacular even if there had been very little in the way of plot development.
-The game is absolutely gorgeous and the attention to detail is astonishing. For instance vamp has the scar on his forehead from when you shot him in 2 and the soldiers dog tags he stole from the same game
-All the cut scenes I have witnessed so far have been in trailers (for the most part)
-The game is broken up into acts and I finished act 1 which took me five hours... i was going slow and died a few times (when I was being retarded)
-There was one "oh shit" moment that I don't want to ruin because it's too cool. It might now amount to anything but it involves... I won't give it away
-The dualschock 3 has some heft to it... more so than the ps2 controller. although it's so nice to have rumble back... actually its fucking great
-there is a mandatory install at what appears to be before each act. its a little weird that there is more than one, but the second one wasn't long at all and they feature snake smoking cigarettes in the background with little tidbits of advice. the best was when it said it was past 4 am and I should take a break.
-Otacon's computer backgrounds were zone of the enders and policenauts
-the rolling on the ground mechanic is one of the most fun things to do and fun ways to travel
-the new camo system far surpasses the other one and is really fucking cool... having a lot of fun with it.
-Snake is aging rapidly and they don't know why (not a spoiler) they do a very good job of making you care. small things like Meryl commenting on it add to the effect. snake is facing his own mortality and you can tell he's having difficulty... and that really goes back to how good the graphics are... I've not seen any other game convey emotion better by using facial expressions.
-There is one thing I can't figure out... when I crouch and don't have anything equiped and hit r1, snake will halfway rise and spread his arms out a little then go back to crouch... i have no fucking clue what this is for
-the square button is only used for auto-aim which i have turned off because i'm not a bitch... so its basically a useless button. also select is no longer used for codec (these are so fucking minor though)
-snake with breasts looks very bizarre (yes... you see snake with breasts)
-the game plays well... theres no way around it... it just feels good. cqc is a little akward right now but thats because it's slightly different (r1 does most of it) and i have yet to practice because i tend to just get in gunfights.
-at one point i started feeling bad i was killing so many PMCs that I switched to my tranquilizer just to ease my conscious.
-i know I said this, but the camo is cool as hell
-they really do a good job of illustrating past relationships between all the characters and brining them into this story... cool to see where it goes
-im pretty sure that guy johnny in all the trailers who is a part of Meryl's squad is raiden in disguise... this is just me pulling it out of my ass but i just have a feeling. again this isn't a spoiler and i wont follow up on this so you wont find out either way
-my collectors edition box is already falling apart which is pretty lame... but i still love it
I'm sure there was more I wanted to say but I'm just drawing blanks now and making so many typos because I Can barely see straight (ok so maybe i am a pussy but im still not putting auto aim on). Last two things that just popped into my head: load times are minimal and saving takes half a second. So far its been fucking spectacular even if there had been very little in the way of plot development.
ZOMG UPDATES
It is in my possession. The only reason I am taking a break is I had to take an online quiz and I died twice (not so much because of difficulty but because I'm retarded). So far it's incredible... there are some slight nit picky things that are so small... i mean so fucking small (such as the x button being used to select instead of the classic o button)... that you can gloss right over them. Just downed another redbull and finished the quiz... back to the game. expect updates, write ups, experiences at the midnight release etc.
... You can also make snake puke again and Drebin is really cool but I have a feeling he might betray me... DAAAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
... You can also make snake puke again and Drebin is really cool but I have a feeling he might betray me... DAAAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
FUKENNEDY update NAOW
So the recent HAWP videos on destructoid are quite hilarious, I very much enjoy them. Random tangent, here is to crossing my fingers that my blog entry for the Etrian Odyssey contest wins the goods. I guess something more substantial will come in the morning, it's rather late and work is tommorow...
JFUK I demand immediate update!
Also, Wanderer from SotC is the strongest man in the world...more to come on this later.
JFUK I demand immediate update!
Also, Wanderer from SotC is the strongest man in the world...more to come on this later.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Setting up traps is sweet and totally rewarding!
You know how in some games they have a random story-oriented mini game that is based on using traps? Ever wonder what a whole game based around the concept of setting up traps would be like? Look no further! Trapt is precisely that, a game in which you (an exiled interestingly clad princess) set up various traps to dispense of pursuers. Released in 2005 on the PS2 this title is actually another entry in a series of booby trap based games that I was surprised to find out were all released on the previous Playstation.
Criticisms this game received was that the voice acting was bad, the stability was questionable, and the story is a little silly... but who cares! Honestly at the low price you can find this game for it is totally worth the sadistic pleasure that the game provides. Being allowed to set up elaborate traps to lure mindless soldiers into is awesome. Yes the AI is not great, yes they walk into rather obvious traps, and YES it still feels good when they do and you get to sit back and watch your dope-ass contraption at work as it mutilates, eviscerates, and obliterates a given soldier. Traps are divided up into 3 types: wall, ceiling, floor traps. You may only have 3 of each type with you per level, and it's been a while since I last played it but possibly only one of each type may be deployed at a time. That's ok though, those constraints just let you get creative. On top of that each level has various other well placed hazard objects based on the type of room, one of my favorite rooms to be in was the torture room =D.
This game even has it's share of secrets to be found and unlockables. Based on which ending you get (there are 3 main endings, and one "ending" that doesn't unlock anything but you need to do in order to get 100%) you may unlock one of the 3 secret traps. On top of that there are various special traps that are level specific. One of the first rooms you are in there is a MAN EATING MUSIC BOX. Yes, some poor soul gets pulled through a clockwork music box and it spits him back out after traversing various turning blades, interlocking gears, etc.
Really that is the gist of it all. Trapt is not that long of a game, but you will end up replaying it if you wanna unlock everything. No I would have recommended it for the initial retail price of $40, but yes the game presents an awesome outlet if you are so inclined to that sadistic glee of seeing AI with poor judgement become trapped in gruesome combos (yes there IS a combo system). The fact that I got this game for cheap made it totally worth it, Trapt provided a great deal of fun and to play it with friends is even better. You'll find yourselves high-fiving each other for constantly one-upping the last diabolical contraption that dispatched your would-be-killers.
Dropping a vase on someone's head? Check!
Deployment of banana peels? Check!
Magnet Wall? Check!
Pendulum? Check!
A spring loaded floor to launch someone? Check!
YUSSS this game rocks
\.../ Megalomaniac - KMFDM \.../
Criticisms this game received was that the voice acting was bad, the stability was questionable, and the story is a little silly... but who cares! Honestly at the low price you can find this game for it is totally worth the sadistic pleasure that the game provides. Being allowed to set up elaborate traps to lure mindless soldiers into is awesome. Yes the AI is not great, yes they walk into rather obvious traps, and YES it still feels good when they do and you get to sit back and watch your dope-ass contraption at work as it mutilates, eviscerates, and obliterates a given soldier. Traps are divided up into 3 types: wall, ceiling, floor traps. You may only have 3 of each type with you per level, and it's been a while since I last played it but possibly only one of each type may be deployed at a time. That's ok though, those constraints just let you get creative. On top of that each level has various other well placed hazard objects based on the type of room, one of my favorite rooms to be in was the torture room =D.
This game even has it's share of secrets to be found and unlockables. Based on which ending you get (there are 3 main endings, and one "ending" that doesn't unlock anything but you need to do in order to get 100%) you may unlock one of the 3 secret traps. On top of that there are various special traps that are level specific. One of the first rooms you are in there is a MAN EATING MUSIC BOX. Yes, some poor soul gets pulled through a clockwork music box and it spits him back out after traversing various turning blades, interlocking gears, etc.
Really that is the gist of it all. Trapt is not that long of a game, but you will end up replaying it if you wanna unlock everything. No I would have recommended it for the initial retail price of $40, but yes the game presents an awesome outlet if you are so inclined to that sadistic glee of seeing AI with poor judgement become trapped in gruesome combos (yes there IS a combo system). The fact that I got this game for cheap made it totally worth it, Trapt provided a great deal of fun and to play it with friends is even better. You'll find yourselves high-fiving each other for constantly one-upping the last diabolical contraption that dispatched your would-be-killers.
Dropping a vase on someone's head? Check!
Deployment of banana peels? Check!
Magnet Wall? Check!
Pendulum? Check!
A spring loaded floor to launch someone? Check!
YUSSS this game rocks
\.../ Megalomaniac - KMFDM \.../
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)