(Xbox 360, PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Intense Violence/Sexual Content/Strong Language; www.assassinscreed.com)
(four and a half stars)
Players "relive" the life of an Italian Renaissance assassin in the much-improved follow-up to a title that was graphically and mechanically impressive, but stumbled with boring and repetitive gameplay. This time around, the story is better, the landscape is more enjoyable, and the gameplay is more varied- keeping everything that worked well in the original game, like fast parkour chases and sword combat, and rehauling everything that needed improvement. Plus, Leonardo DaVinci is to your character as Q is to James Bond- Bravo! Amico mio!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Modern Warfare 2 Review
(Xbox 360, PS3; $59.99-$119.99; Rated M for Blood/Drug Reference/Intense Violence/Language; www.modernwarfare2.com)
(five stars)
Despite my feelings on a poorly-designed, controversy-laden level of the new "Modern Warfare 2" where players control an undercover CIA agent in bed with a Russian terrorist group as they commit a massacre at an airport, and the need for more responsible decisions from game developers releasing a title guaranteed to be played by impressionable teens, it's undeniable that the latest from the "Call of Duty" franchise, now spun-off under the "Modern Warfare" moniker, is an epic experience from a stellar developer at the top of their game. The bad taste that the infamous "No Russian" level left in my mouth was not enough to sour me on an, otherwise, exhilarating experience.
Developer, Infinity Ward, took a page out of the Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay playbook of sequels- make everything bigger, louder, and more chaotic than before. Arguably in fact, some of the levels played out in "Modern Warfare 2" are directly lifted from Bruck-Bay films which clearly influenced the look and feel of the game. Like a Bruck-Bay sequel, familiar faces return, some never seem to stay dead, and flashy effects sequences distract from convoluted plot lines. In the end though, the "Modern Warfare 2" experience is rewarding and the chaos is well-used to envelop the player in the multiple roles of Army Rangers and Operatives in the super-secret, multi-national Taskforce 141.
And unlike most Bruckheimer/Bay extravaganzas, you won't feel you've wasted your money with "Modern Warfare 2."
In fact the infinite replayability of "MW2" is what makes it one of the most solid purchases a hardcore gamer could make this year. The relatively short, but solid single-player campaign makes room for the long legs of the phenomenal multiplayer mode that kept the original "Modern Warfare" at the top of the online charts for years after its initial release. Incredibly designed maps, improved perk/reward systems that allow players to outfit their soldiers to best suit their playstyle, and the continual desire to level-up your character to gain more experience and better rewards has all of the trappings to make "Modern Warfare 2" as big of a time-suck as any "World of Warcraft" out there. Despite the number of great games out on the market right now, once you are hooked into "Modern Warfare 2's" multiplayer, you will have to, and should, will yourself away in order to experience other games.
And I haven't even mentioned the 2-player, cooperative "Special Ops" missions that allow you to have the single-player experience with a friend either locally or online.
Likely your loved one already has a copy, since everyone and their mother is going to buy this game, but if it's on a wish list this year (and they are over 17 years old) be sure to pick it up for them- they'll be playing it until next December at the earliest.
(five stars)
Despite my feelings on a poorly-designed, controversy-laden level of the new "Modern Warfare 2" where players control an undercover CIA agent in bed with a Russian terrorist group as they commit a massacre at an airport, and the need for more responsible decisions from game developers releasing a title guaranteed to be played by impressionable teens, it's undeniable that the latest from the "Call of Duty" franchise, now spun-off under the "Modern Warfare" moniker, is an epic experience from a stellar developer at the top of their game. The bad taste that the infamous "No Russian" level left in my mouth was not enough to sour me on an, otherwise, exhilarating experience.
Developer, Infinity Ward, took a page out of the Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay playbook of sequels- make everything bigger, louder, and more chaotic than before. Arguably in fact, some of the levels played out in "Modern Warfare 2" are directly lifted from Bruck-Bay films which clearly influenced the look and feel of the game. Like a Bruck-Bay sequel, familiar faces return, some never seem to stay dead, and flashy effects sequences distract from convoluted plot lines. In the end though, the "Modern Warfare 2" experience is rewarding and the chaos is well-used to envelop the player in the multiple roles of Army Rangers and Operatives in the super-secret, multi-national Taskforce 141.
And unlike most Bruckheimer/Bay extravaganzas, you won't feel you've wasted your money with "Modern Warfare 2."
In fact the infinite replayability of "MW2" is what makes it one of the most solid purchases a hardcore gamer could make this year. The relatively short, but solid single-player campaign makes room for the long legs of the phenomenal multiplayer mode that kept the original "Modern Warfare" at the top of the online charts for years after its initial release. Incredibly designed maps, improved perk/reward systems that allow players to outfit their soldiers to best suit their playstyle, and the continual desire to level-up your character to gain more experience and better rewards has all of the trappings to make "Modern Warfare 2" as big of a time-suck as any "World of Warcraft" out there. Despite the number of great games out on the market right now, once you are hooked into "Modern Warfare 2's" multiplayer, you will have to, and should, will yourself away in order to experience other games.
And I haven't even mentioned the 2-player, cooperative "Special Ops" missions that allow you to have the single-player experience with a friend either locally or online.
Likely your loved one already has a copy, since everyone and their mother is going to buy this game, but if it's on a wish list this year (and they are over 17 years old) be sure to pick it up for them- they'll be playing it until next December at the earliest.
Tony Hawk: Ride Review
(Xbox 360, PS3, Wii; $119.99; Rated E10+ for Animated Blood/Lyrics/Mild Suggestive Themes)
(one star)
Speaking of games that are more fun to play than "Brütal Legend," the latest release by Tony Hawk is...
Not one of them.
In fact, "Tony Hawk's Ride" is pretty much the opposite of fun. In fact, the only time I really enjoyed the game was taking the included skateboard peripheral out of the box in anticipation of playing, and deciding it was time to turn the game off and do something- anything- else.
With occasional releases that slowed the descent, the "Tony Hawk" franchise has been plummeting from relevance and interest for so many years that, hopefully, "Ride" will kill the franchise until The Birdman and Activision can figure out a way to re-imagine the once-seminal series.
"Ride" was supposed to be that reimagining. Allegedly, Hawk brought the concept of using a wireless skateboard deck with motion sensors to control the game. Since motion control was all the rage, and Activision had made a boat-load of money from including expensive peripherals in a number of their other games ("Guitar Hero," "DJ Hero," and the night-vision goggles of "Modern Warfare 2"), a $120 skateboarding peripheral seemed to make good business sense at the time- despite the collective cocked eyebrow of the gaming media.
But even if the price of a peripheral-bundled game is exorbitant, it can be overcome by a unique, quality experience (ala, "Rock Band" and to a lesser extent "DJ Hero"). "Tony Hawk: Ride," however, is not a quality experience. In fact, "Ride" feels like a very rudimentary, broken, last-generation game. On "Beginner" mode, the steering is automatic, and the player only need concentrate on popping the tail or nose of the skateboard in order to perform a jump/ollie. Motion sensors on the board, theoretically, register whether the board is twisted or tilted in order to perform flip tricks, and if the board is being held in order to perform grab tricks.
In review, the number of correct maneuvers registered by the board was at about 50%, and because of the delay between performing a movement on the board and that movement being translated to the character on the screen, the game never feels like an extension of the player's movements. Nor are the movements representative of what real skateboarding is like- and let's not even go into how uncoordinated you will feel on the board as it slips out from underneath you. In harder difficulty settings, players can choose to steer their character on screen by tilting the board, but when the core trick functions of the game don't work adequately, who cares if you can steer over to where you want to trick?
I tried to divorce myself from the fact that I have played much more fun "Tony Hawk" games through the years, and tried to look at "Ride" from the perspective of a 10-12 year old boy on Christmas morning. The imprecision of controls from the board, and the inability to use a regular controller for a more traditional "Tony Hawk" experience, leaves me wishing that my parents had just spent the $120 on a real skateboard, helmet, and knee pads.
(one star)
Speaking of games that are more fun to play than "Brütal Legend," the latest release by Tony Hawk is...
Not one of them.
In fact, "Tony Hawk's Ride" is pretty much the opposite of fun. In fact, the only time I really enjoyed the game was taking the included skateboard peripheral out of the box in anticipation of playing, and deciding it was time to turn the game off and do something- anything- else.
With occasional releases that slowed the descent, the "Tony Hawk" franchise has been plummeting from relevance and interest for so many years that, hopefully, "Ride" will kill the franchise until The Birdman and Activision can figure out a way to re-imagine the once-seminal series.
"Ride" was supposed to be that reimagining. Allegedly, Hawk brought the concept of using a wireless skateboard deck with motion sensors to control the game. Since motion control was all the rage, and Activision had made a boat-load of money from including expensive peripherals in a number of their other games ("Guitar Hero," "DJ Hero," and the night-vision goggles of "Modern Warfare 2"), a $120 skateboarding peripheral seemed to make good business sense at the time- despite the collective cocked eyebrow of the gaming media.
But even if the price of a peripheral-bundled game is exorbitant, it can be overcome by a unique, quality experience (ala, "Rock Band" and to a lesser extent "DJ Hero"). "Tony Hawk: Ride," however, is not a quality experience. In fact, "Ride" feels like a very rudimentary, broken, last-generation game. On "Beginner" mode, the steering is automatic, and the player only need concentrate on popping the tail or nose of the skateboard in order to perform a jump/ollie. Motion sensors on the board, theoretically, register whether the board is twisted or tilted in order to perform flip tricks, and if the board is being held in order to perform grab tricks.
In review, the number of correct maneuvers registered by the board was at about 50%, and because of the delay between performing a movement on the board and that movement being translated to the character on the screen, the game never feels like an extension of the player's movements. Nor are the movements representative of what real skateboarding is like- and let's not even go into how uncoordinated you will feel on the board as it slips out from underneath you. In harder difficulty settings, players can choose to steer their character on screen by tilting the board, but when the core trick functions of the game don't work adequately, who cares if you can steer over to where you want to trick?
I tried to divorce myself from the fact that I have played much more fun "Tony Hawk" games through the years, and tried to look at "Ride" from the perspective of a 10-12 year old boy on Christmas morning. The imprecision of controls from the board, and the inability to use a regular controller for a more traditional "Tony Hawk" experience, leaves me wishing that my parents had just spent the $120 on a real skateboard, helmet, and knee pads.
Brütal Legend Review
(Xbox 360, PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Gore/Intense Violence/Partial Nudity/Strong Language/Suggestive Themes; www.brutallegend.com)
(three and a half stars)
Tim Schafer is one of the most creative minds in game design. The Susan Lucci of videogames, Schafer has never had a break-out commercial hit, despite his past games- "Monkey Island," "Grim Fandango," and "Psychonauts" to name a few- being beloved by critics and fans alike.
With the marketing power of EA games co-publishing the Heavy Metal action-adventure of "Brütal Legend," and the casting of Jack Black in the lead role of super-roadie, Eddie Riggs, one would think that Schafer and his team might finally get the hit they deserve.
Unfortunately though, while the acting, graphics, and trademark Schafer wit are top-notch in "Brütal Legend," the fun of the gameplay is only so rewarding. "Legend" becomes a victim of including too many good ideas, without any real cohesion between any of them.
The story involves Riggs who is transported a fantasy world inspired by Heavy Metal tropes and album covers. A small band of humans live in fear of leather-clad Doviculus (voiced by Tim Curry), the Emperor of the Tainted Coil, who has enslaved humanity with the help of the traitorous, glam-tastic Lionwhyte (voiced by Judas Priest's Rob Halford). Riggs inspires the small band of resistance fighters by using his other-worldly roadie-knowledge of stage construction and mechanics, along with his enchanted guitar, "Clementine," and battle axe, "The Separator," to lead the humans against the forces of the Tainted Coil and the goth-inspired Drowning Doom.
The richness of the story and background of the world of "Legend" is classic Schafer, the amount of detail behind the "Legend" mythology is the reason to keep playing the game. However, in what looks to be an open-world, Hack-and-Slash adventure game (which would have been thoroughly enjoyable if left there), "Legend's" main focus of gameplay is in the Real-Time Strategy events known as "Stage Battles" where players guide Eddie to gather resources, build and manage troops, and direct the flow of battle against the enemy. In addition to being able to pull back and get a birds-eye view of the action, players have the option of dropping to the ground as Eddie and taking on enemies to help ground forces.
In concept, this sounds promising, but Real-Time Strategies rarely work well on a console that is constrained by the limited buttons of a controller. "Legend" doesn't solve this problem, and so managing and commanding troops gets frustrating and often results in amassing forces into a huge blob and storming the enemy with little, actual, strategy. Learning the intricacies of the "Stage Battles" take the entirety of the single-player campaign, making the story a lengthy tutorial for "Legend's" multiplayer mode that focuses on the "Stage Battles" entirely.
For a game that has so much potential for wide commercial appeal because of the source material, humor, star-studded voice cast, incredible heavy-metal soundtrack, and great visuals, "Brütal Legend" is likely to lose its target audience because of the awkward and niche Real-Time Strategy element. If left to an open-world adventure, "Legend" could have finally become the break-out hit that Schafer's amazing mind is owed. But in a sea of top-teir titles these months, this game will ultimately be left in the dust of other games that are just more fun to play.
Still, for the Metal-Head in your family, it's a worth-while gift, even if it's not as great as it should have been.
(three and a half stars)
Tim Schafer is one of the most creative minds in game design. The Susan Lucci of videogames, Schafer has never had a break-out commercial hit, despite his past games- "Monkey Island," "Grim Fandango," and "Psychonauts" to name a few- being beloved by critics and fans alike.
With the marketing power of EA games co-publishing the Heavy Metal action-adventure of "Brütal Legend," and the casting of Jack Black in the lead role of super-roadie, Eddie Riggs, one would think that Schafer and his team might finally get the hit they deserve.
Unfortunately though, while the acting, graphics, and trademark Schafer wit are top-notch in "Brütal Legend," the fun of the gameplay is only so rewarding. "Legend" becomes a victim of including too many good ideas, without any real cohesion between any of them.
The story involves Riggs who is transported a fantasy world inspired by Heavy Metal tropes and album covers. A small band of humans live in fear of leather-clad Doviculus (voiced by Tim Curry), the Emperor of the Tainted Coil, who has enslaved humanity with the help of the traitorous, glam-tastic Lionwhyte (voiced by Judas Priest's Rob Halford). Riggs inspires the small band of resistance fighters by using his other-worldly roadie-knowledge of stage construction and mechanics, along with his enchanted guitar, "Clementine," and battle axe, "The Separator," to lead the humans against the forces of the Tainted Coil and the goth-inspired Drowning Doom.
The richness of the story and background of the world of "Legend" is classic Schafer, the amount of detail behind the "Legend" mythology is the reason to keep playing the game. However, in what looks to be an open-world, Hack-and-Slash adventure game (which would have been thoroughly enjoyable if left there), "Legend's" main focus of gameplay is in the Real-Time Strategy events known as "Stage Battles" where players guide Eddie to gather resources, build and manage troops, and direct the flow of battle against the enemy. In addition to being able to pull back and get a birds-eye view of the action, players have the option of dropping to the ground as Eddie and taking on enemies to help ground forces.
In concept, this sounds promising, but Real-Time Strategies rarely work well on a console that is constrained by the limited buttons of a controller. "Legend" doesn't solve this problem, and so managing and commanding troops gets frustrating and often results in amassing forces into a huge blob and storming the enemy with little, actual, strategy. Learning the intricacies of the "Stage Battles" take the entirety of the single-player campaign, making the story a lengthy tutorial for "Legend's" multiplayer mode that focuses on the "Stage Battles" entirely.
For a game that has so much potential for wide commercial appeal because of the source material, humor, star-studded voice cast, incredible heavy-metal soundtrack, and great visuals, "Brütal Legend" is likely to lose its target audience because of the awkward and niche Real-Time Strategy element. If left to an open-world adventure, "Legend" could have finally become the break-out hit that Schafer's amazing mind is owed. But in a sea of top-teir titles these months, this game will ultimately be left in the dust of other games that are just more fun to play.
Still, for the Metal-Head in your family, it's a worth-while gift, even if it's not as great as it should have been.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Street Fighter IV 'Round 2' Arcade Fightstick: Tournament Edition Review
(Xbox, PS3; $149.99; www.streetfighter.gameshark.com)
Coinciding with the earlier release of "Street Fighter IV" last Spring, peripheral manufacturer MadCatz released a line of controllers meant to recapture the nostalgic feeling of smokey arcades and button mashing. MadCatz, who's quality of past peripherals were sometimes the subject of debate, came out swinging with the "SFIV" Fightpad ($40) and Arcade Fightstick ($80)- both looked great and offered a much better amount of control and durability for the classic fighting game than anything else out there.
But the pièce de résistance of the line, by far, was the "Tournament Edition" fightstick. This hefty, classically designed joystick was constructed with authentic Sanwa Denshi parts- the same parts that go into the arcade cabinets of the game and sought after by fighting fanatics. So well-received was the "Tournament Edition" fightstick, that even at the $150 price tag, it was sold out and nearly impossible to locate. Indeed, at the time of my review of "Street Fighter IV," and of the less expensive Fightpad and standard Fightstick, I was not able to get my hands on one for review.
Knowing a holiday money-maker, MadCatz announced the "Round 2" versions of their "Street Fighter IV" peripherals, and included a refresh of the "Tournament Edition." With new, understated artwork and packaged in a collectible display case, the "Tournament Edition" is again available for those who want the best arcade experience at home. The pricetag may be spit-take inducing, but for the purist who wants unquestionable control, and a stick that's worthy of using in competitions, or to relive the joy of retro arcade games, the "Tournament Edition" fightstick is a perfect gift.
Coinciding with the earlier release of "Street Fighter IV" last Spring, peripheral manufacturer MadCatz released a line of controllers meant to recapture the nostalgic feeling of smokey arcades and button mashing. MadCatz, who's quality of past peripherals were sometimes the subject of debate, came out swinging with the "SFIV" Fightpad ($40) and Arcade Fightstick ($80)- both looked great and offered a much better amount of control and durability for the classic fighting game than anything else out there.
But the pièce de résistance of the line, by far, was the "Tournament Edition" fightstick. This hefty, classically designed joystick was constructed with authentic Sanwa Denshi parts- the same parts that go into the arcade cabinets of the game and sought after by fighting fanatics. So well-received was the "Tournament Edition" fightstick, that even at the $150 price tag, it was sold out and nearly impossible to locate. Indeed, at the time of my review of "Street Fighter IV," and of the less expensive Fightpad and standard Fightstick, I was not able to get my hands on one for review.
Knowing a holiday money-maker, MadCatz announced the "Round 2" versions of their "Street Fighter IV" peripherals, and included a refresh of the "Tournament Edition." With new, understated artwork and packaged in a collectible display case, the "Tournament Edition" is again available for those who want the best arcade experience at home. The pricetag may be spit-take inducing, but for the purist who wants unquestionable control, and a stick that's worthy of using in competitions, or to relive the joy of retro arcade games, the "Tournament Edition" fightstick is a perfect gift.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review
(PS3; $59.99; Rated T for Blood/Language/Suggestive Themes/Violence; www.unchartedthegame.com)
(five stars)
Everything that was fantastic about the original "Uncharted" returns in its sequel "Among Thieves." Namely, players can expect huge action set pieces, big explosions, exciting gun fights, and rock-solid visuals. Everything that needed revision from the first game- more engaging puzzle exploration, improved combat, and a less-hokey third act- has been improved, making "Uncharted 2" the most solid action-platformer since... well... since August's "Batman: Arkham Asylum."
But before that, you had to go back to 2007's "Uncharted" to play something this solid.
Honestly, if you can only afford to purchase "Batman" or "Uncharted 2," I don't envy you. My advice is to go with your gut: do you like stealthy superheroes or Indiana Jones better?
Familiar faces and voices all return for this Hollywood-level blockbuster as roguish, opportunist/treasure hunter Nathan Drake seeks the lost fortune of Marco Polo. As if being shot at by terrorists and chased by helicopters wasn't bad enough, Drake also has to juggle the affections of his current partner-in-crime with that of "last year's model" war-time journalist, Elena Fisher.
But when you're the rough-and-tumble handsome-type like Drake, that comes with the territory.
The pacing of "Uncharted 2" is brilliant- with intense action sequences followed by quiet, environmental platforming sections that allow players to take in just how beautiful every piece of artwork is. The pacing, engaging story, incredible motion-capture and voice acting make the game all too easy to play for hours just to see what's around the next corner.
And when its all said and done, "Uncharted 2" adds an online multiplayer and cooperative mode to keep players returning for more. The multiplayer takes everything that's great about cover-based shooting, ala "Gears of War," and gives it verticality. Yes, this is a platforming shooter, and it works surprisingly well.
For a thrill-ride of an adventure, and for a game that's as much fun to watch as it is to play, "Uncharted 2" is the best first-party title on the PS3.
(five stars)
Everything that was fantastic about the original "Uncharted" returns in its sequel "Among Thieves." Namely, players can expect huge action set pieces, big explosions, exciting gun fights, and rock-solid visuals. Everything that needed revision from the first game- more engaging puzzle exploration, improved combat, and a less-hokey third act- has been improved, making "Uncharted 2" the most solid action-platformer since... well... since August's "Batman: Arkham Asylum."
But before that, you had to go back to 2007's "Uncharted" to play something this solid.
Honestly, if you can only afford to purchase "Batman" or "Uncharted 2," I don't envy you. My advice is to go with your gut: do you like stealthy superheroes or Indiana Jones better?
Familiar faces and voices all return for this Hollywood-level blockbuster as roguish, opportunist/treasure hunter Nathan Drake seeks the lost fortune of Marco Polo. As if being shot at by terrorists and chased by helicopters wasn't bad enough, Drake also has to juggle the affections of his current partner-in-crime with that of "last year's model" war-time journalist, Elena Fisher.
But when you're the rough-and-tumble handsome-type like Drake, that comes with the territory.
The pacing of "Uncharted 2" is brilliant- with intense action sequences followed by quiet, environmental platforming sections that allow players to take in just how beautiful every piece of artwork is. The pacing, engaging story, incredible motion-capture and voice acting make the game all too easy to play for hours just to see what's around the next corner.
And when its all said and done, "Uncharted 2" adds an online multiplayer and cooperative mode to keep players returning for more. The multiplayer takes everything that's great about cover-based shooting, ala "Gears of War," and gives it verticality. Yes, this is a platforming shooter, and it works surprisingly well.
For a thrill-ride of an adventure, and for a game that's as much fun to watch as it is to play, "Uncharted 2" is the best first-party title on the PS3.
Borderlands Review
(Xbox, PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Gore/Intense Violence/Mature Humor/Strong Language; www.borderlandsthegame.com)
(four and a half stars)
Many shooter-fans have waited in anxious anticipation for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's" release this week. The juggernaut of a game is sure to garner record-breaking sales, and those who have only the budget for one or two games this season will likely focus their attention on the latest in the "Call of Duty" series.
Which is a shame because many will have passed up the charm, cooperative fun, and compelling action of October's "Borderlands."
Take the run-and-gun of "Call of Duty" and "Halo," add the loot-hoarding of "Diablo," sprinkle the RPG and co-op of "World of Warcraft," and bake in a "Mad Max" landscape, and you have "Borderlands" - a First-Person Shooting, Role-Playing Game that delivers everything shooter fans wanted from last year's role-playing, but not-quite-an-FPS, "Fallout 3."
The paper-thin plot allows up to four players to control four different classes of characters- from heavy gun-toters to stealthy saboteurs- and blast through main and side quests in pursuit of "The Vault," a hidden treasure-trove of alien technology. The real reason players will sink 30+ hours into this game, however, is the unending amount of weapons and loot found throughout the world. Touting a "bazillion" different weapons, "Borderland's" random gun generator means that no two guns are alike: from a scoped shotgun that fires acid bullets, to a combat rifle that actually regenerates its own ammunition, the only real problem players will have is finding enough time to experiment with whatever they find.
The tongue-in-cheek nature of the characters and the cel-shaded visuals of the game mean that in a sea of all-too-serious shooters, "Borderlands" embraces its quirkiness; the drop-in, drop-out nature of its multiplayer gives it an almost party-like quality to the game. Like the obsessive questing of "World of Warcraft" players, jumping into "Borderlands" with three other friends is the perfect way to melt away a long holiday weekend together.
Developer, Gearbox Software should be proud of the experience they created. While the sheep are blindly playing "Modern Warfare 2" over Thanksgiving, reward Gearbox's good effort by getting a party going in "Borderlands" and never regret a moment.
(four and a half stars)
Many shooter-fans have waited in anxious anticipation for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's" release this week. The juggernaut of a game is sure to garner record-breaking sales, and those who have only the budget for one or two games this season will likely focus their attention on the latest in the "Call of Duty" series.
Which is a shame because many will have passed up the charm, cooperative fun, and compelling action of October's "Borderlands."
Take the run-and-gun of "Call of Duty" and "Halo," add the loot-hoarding of "Diablo," sprinkle the RPG and co-op of "World of Warcraft," and bake in a "Mad Max" landscape, and you have "Borderlands" - a First-Person Shooting, Role-Playing Game that delivers everything shooter fans wanted from last year's role-playing, but not-quite-an-FPS, "Fallout 3."
The paper-thin plot allows up to four players to control four different classes of characters- from heavy gun-toters to stealthy saboteurs- and blast through main and side quests in pursuit of "The Vault," a hidden treasure-trove of alien technology. The real reason players will sink 30+ hours into this game, however, is the unending amount of weapons and loot found throughout the world. Touting a "bazillion" different weapons, "Borderland's" random gun generator means that no two guns are alike: from a scoped shotgun that fires acid bullets, to a combat rifle that actually regenerates its own ammunition, the only real problem players will have is finding enough time to experiment with whatever they find.
The tongue-in-cheek nature of the characters and the cel-shaded visuals of the game mean that in a sea of all-too-serious shooters, "Borderlands" embraces its quirkiness; the drop-in, drop-out nature of its multiplayer gives it an almost party-like quality to the game. Like the obsessive questing of "World of Warcraft" players, jumping into "Borderlands" with three other friends is the perfect way to melt away a long holiday weekend together.
Developer, Gearbox Software should be proud of the experience they created. While the sheep are blindly playing "Modern Warfare 2" over Thanksgiving, reward Gearbox's good effort by getting a party going in "Borderlands" and never regret a moment.
DJ Hero Review
(Xbox, PS3, Wii; $119.99; Rated T for Mild Suggestive Themes/Lyrics; www.djhero.com)
(four stars)
Video games and Rap/Hip-Hop music have been a mixed bag. On the one hand, "Karaoke Revolution" and "Singstar" have shown that Radio-friendly Hip-Hop has a place in karaoke-based games; on the other hand, Rap-only karaoke games like "Get On Da Mic" and the Hip-Hop based fighting game "Def Jam Vendetta" prove the music genre to be misguided in gaming.
With the success of Rhythm-based games like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band," fans showed developers and publishers how much they love to pretend to make music. But with both of those titles being so steeped in guitars and the culture of Rock, the poorly-tapped audience of club-goers were left without a game to call their own.
Thankfully the king of exploitable franchises, Activision, figured out a way to serve both the denim-wearing fist-pumpers in "Guitar Hero," while breaking through to the block-rockin' bass-heads in "DJ Hero."
And I'll be darned if "DJ Hero" isn't the pick-me-up the music genre needed. Like playing a plastic guitar or drums for the first time, it taps into the "I can't believe I'm really doing this in a video game" feeling. It's new, and with the right music, it's addictive.
In part, it's because of the song mashups- 100 individual songs make for over 90 unique mixes that span the range from forgettable to incredible. Though players have to trudge a bit at the earlier levels, the art of turntablism is really showcased in some of the later mashups by historic DJs. Grand Master Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Davis' own hometown favorite, DJ Shadow all contribute their own original mixes that show their craft. I especially appreciated the artistry in mixing of songs that I would never think could go together- Jazzy Jeff's combination of "Bittersweet Symphony" with LL Cool J's "Rock the Bells" particularly had me grinning ear to ear.
The other half of the fun in "DJ Hero" comes from the included turntable peripheral, with which players will scratch, drop, and crossfade the music in the game. The controller is well-crafted and a blast to play with. Cutting the turntable back and forth to create a scratch sequence taps into my inner air-guitarist- like my euphoria when nailing a guitar solo in "Guitar Hero," getting through a complex crossfade-and-scratch sequence and coming out the other side on beat in "DJ Hero" is amazingly rewarding.
Though the mechanics and gameplay aren't as intuitive as "Guitar Hero," making this feel much more like a puzzle-game than its predecessors and requiring a solid learning curve, the uniqueness of the controller and the music should ensure fans of the club atmosphere to come back for more...
And maybe even bring a few cynics along the way.
The hefty $120 price tag is the biggest problem "DJ Hero" has going for it; though the novelty should be tried by everyone, only the most hardcore will invest in the cost to play this game. Why Activision didn't eat the cost of the controller in order to sell the game at a reduced price and get it into more homes is beyond me. If "DJ Hero" fails to move this holiday season, it won't be as a result of the music it's spinning.
(four stars)
Video games and Rap/Hip-Hop music have been a mixed bag. On the one hand, "Karaoke Revolution" and "Singstar" have shown that Radio-friendly Hip-Hop has a place in karaoke-based games; on the other hand, Rap-only karaoke games like "Get On Da Mic" and the Hip-Hop based fighting game "Def Jam Vendetta" prove the music genre to be misguided in gaming.
With the success of Rhythm-based games like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band," fans showed developers and publishers how much they love to pretend to make music. But with both of those titles being so steeped in guitars and the culture of Rock, the poorly-tapped audience of club-goers were left without a game to call their own.
Thankfully the king of exploitable franchises, Activision, figured out a way to serve both the denim-wearing fist-pumpers in "Guitar Hero," while breaking through to the block-rockin' bass-heads in "DJ Hero."
And I'll be darned if "DJ Hero" isn't the pick-me-up the music genre needed. Like playing a plastic guitar or drums for the first time, it taps into the "I can't believe I'm really doing this in a video game" feeling. It's new, and with the right music, it's addictive.
In part, it's because of the song mashups- 100 individual songs make for over 90 unique mixes that span the range from forgettable to incredible. Though players have to trudge a bit at the earlier levels, the art of turntablism is really showcased in some of the later mashups by historic DJs. Grand Master Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Davis' own hometown favorite, DJ Shadow all contribute their own original mixes that show their craft. I especially appreciated the artistry in mixing of songs that I would never think could go together- Jazzy Jeff's combination of "Bittersweet Symphony" with LL Cool J's "Rock the Bells" particularly had me grinning ear to ear.
The other half of the fun in "DJ Hero" comes from the included turntable peripheral, with which players will scratch, drop, and crossfade the music in the game. The controller is well-crafted and a blast to play with. Cutting the turntable back and forth to create a scratch sequence taps into my inner air-guitarist- like my euphoria when nailing a guitar solo in "Guitar Hero," getting through a complex crossfade-and-scratch sequence and coming out the other side on beat in "DJ Hero" is amazingly rewarding.
Though the mechanics and gameplay aren't as intuitive as "Guitar Hero," making this feel much more like a puzzle-game than its predecessors and requiring a solid learning curve, the uniqueness of the controller and the music should ensure fans of the club atmosphere to come back for more...
And maybe even bring a few cynics along the way.
The hefty $120 price tag is the biggest problem "DJ Hero" has going for it; though the novelty should be tried by everyone, only the most hardcore will invest in the cost to play this game. Why Activision didn't eat the cost of the controller in order to sell the game at a reduced price and get it into more homes is beyond me. If "DJ Hero" fails to move this holiday season, it won't be as a result of the music it's spinning.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The Beatles: Rock Band: Review: Now
(Xbox, PS3, Wii; $59.99 (game only); Rated T for Mild Lyrics/Tobacco Reference; www.thebeatlesrockband.com)
(four and a half stars)
Once rhythm-based games became a powerhouse for how music was experienced by gamers, arguably the Holy Grail of bands to feature in either "Guitar Hero" or "Rock Band" was The Beatles.
Knowing how notoriously tight-fisted Apple Corps. is with the use and likeness of the Fab Four and their historic anthology, it seemed that getting The Beatles' music to appear in a video game would be an impossibility, let alone animated versions of the band.
How Harmonix and MTV were able to actually release "The Beatles: Rock Band" is a "Behind the Music" documentary that needs to be made. It's not so much that I think Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr would have put the kaibosh on a video game version of themselves...
But Yoko...
Ugg... Yoko.
Putting aside the shady deals and enormous royalty promises that were made in exchange to get this game made, "The Beatles: Rock Band" is here, and created with such respect to the material and the band, that it isn't so much a game, but the epitome of an interactive documentary.
Documentaries have been done in game-form before, namely "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" and "Guitar Hero: Metallica," but the way these titles were put together only felt like a half-hearted celebration of the band and its music. Songs that had nothing to do with the band had to be played in order to unlock the segments of that featured Aerosmith or Metallica. The documentary features of those games, thought original, seemed tacked on.
"The Beatles: Rock Band" features 45 songs from twelve of The Beatles albums, with the promise of the full albums of "Abbey Road," "Rubber Soul," and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as downloadable content for the future. Though all 45 songs are unlocked from the beginning of the game to allow fans to "Quickplay" them in any order, the "Story Mode" shines as an tribute to the band and its music.
Playing the discography of The Beatles chronologically, the Story Mode is a walk down memory lane for the Baby Boomers who are the target audience for this game. Starting out at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, to appearing on the "Ed Sullivan Show," to rocking Shea Stadium, to being introspective in Abbey Road Studios, players experience the legacy of The Beatles with accurate reproduction of their seminal performances and unlock vintage, digitally restored audio, photos, and video of the band in their heyday.
The animated versions of the Fab Four and the locations they made famous have a stylized, yet faithful look. Rather than go for photo-realism, Harmonix's artstyle is more exaggerated and cartoonish which works especially well for the songs featured at Abbey Road Studios. These "Dreamscapes" begin with the band in the studio and take off into fantastical images associated with the lyrics and feel of the music. For some songs like "I am the Walrus," means psychedelic flights of fancy; for others like "Here Comes the Sun," a more serene, peaceful experience.
The Dreamscapes are so unique, yet complementary to the band's music, that it is both amazing that Harmonix convinced Apple Corps. to allow them to do it, and obvious that the game needed to be done this way.
Mechanically, the only change to the gameplay in "The Beatles: Rock Band" is the introduction of three-part vocal harmonies- a feature that is crucial to have in a game like this, and near-impossible to pull off while playing another instrument. Kudos to The Beatles for their musical skill.
Though none of the songs from prior "Rock Band" releases can be imported into this game, nor can the music of The Beatles be imported into the "Rock Band" platform, for any fan of music-based games and of The Beatles, purchasing this game is a no-brainer. This is also the perfect game to get for parents or... gasp... grandparents who grew up on The Beatles and insist that video games "just aren't for them." My father-in-law, who proudly stated that he's never played an never would play a video game, broke down and played this game-
He always dreamed of being Paul McCartney.
For those, like myself, who are not Beatles zealots- "The Beatles: Rock Band" won't change minds. As much as the game has increased my appreciation for the music of the boys from Liverpool, its not making me run out and buy the remastered discography. I am, however, blown away by how much care and reverence Harmonix took towards the music and the band.
It only makes me more hopeful for if and when "Led Zeppelin: Rock Band" is announced.
(four and a half stars)
Once rhythm-based games became a powerhouse for how music was experienced by gamers, arguably the Holy Grail of bands to feature in either "Guitar Hero" or "Rock Band" was The Beatles.
Knowing how notoriously tight-fisted Apple Corps. is with the use and likeness of the Fab Four and their historic anthology, it seemed that getting The Beatles' music to appear in a video game would be an impossibility, let alone animated versions of the band.
How Harmonix and MTV were able to actually release "The Beatles: Rock Band" is a "Behind the Music" documentary that needs to be made. It's not so much that I think Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr would have put the kaibosh on a video game version of themselves...
But Yoko...
Ugg... Yoko.
Putting aside the shady deals and enormous royalty promises that were made in exchange to get this game made, "The Beatles: Rock Band" is here, and created with such respect to the material and the band, that it isn't so much a game, but the epitome of an interactive documentary.
Documentaries have been done in game-form before, namely "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" and "Guitar Hero: Metallica," but the way these titles were put together only felt like a half-hearted celebration of the band and its music. Songs that had nothing to do with the band had to be played in order to unlock the segments of that featured Aerosmith or Metallica. The documentary features of those games, thought original, seemed tacked on.
"The Beatles: Rock Band" features 45 songs from twelve of The Beatles albums, with the promise of the full albums of "Abbey Road," "Rubber Soul," and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as downloadable content for the future. Though all 45 songs are unlocked from the beginning of the game to allow fans to "Quickplay" them in any order, the "Story Mode" shines as an tribute to the band and its music.
Playing the discography of The Beatles chronologically, the Story Mode is a walk down memory lane for the Baby Boomers who are the target audience for this game. Starting out at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, to appearing on the "Ed Sullivan Show," to rocking Shea Stadium, to being introspective in Abbey Road Studios, players experience the legacy of The Beatles with accurate reproduction of their seminal performances and unlock vintage, digitally restored audio, photos, and video of the band in their heyday.
The animated versions of the Fab Four and the locations they made famous have a stylized, yet faithful look. Rather than go for photo-realism, Harmonix's artstyle is more exaggerated and cartoonish which works especially well for the songs featured at Abbey Road Studios. These "Dreamscapes" begin with the band in the studio and take off into fantastical images associated with the lyrics and feel of the music. For some songs like "I am the Walrus," means psychedelic flights of fancy; for others like "Here Comes the Sun," a more serene, peaceful experience.
The Dreamscapes are so unique, yet complementary to the band's music, that it is both amazing that Harmonix convinced Apple Corps. to allow them to do it, and obvious that the game needed to be done this way.
Mechanically, the only change to the gameplay in "The Beatles: Rock Band" is the introduction of three-part vocal harmonies- a feature that is crucial to have in a game like this, and near-impossible to pull off while playing another instrument. Kudos to The Beatles for their musical skill.
Though none of the songs from prior "Rock Band" releases can be imported into this game, nor can the music of The Beatles be imported into the "Rock Band" platform, for any fan of music-based games and of The Beatles, purchasing this game is a no-brainer. This is also the perfect game to get for parents or... gasp... grandparents who grew up on The Beatles and insist that video games "just aren't for them." My father-in-law, who proudly stated that he's never played an never would play a video game, broke down and played this game-
He always dreamed of being Paul McCartney.
For those, like myself, who are not Beatles zealots- "The Beatles: Rock Band" won't change minds. As much as the game has increased my appreciation for the music of the boys from Liverpool, its not making me run out and buy the remastered discography. I am, however, blown away by how much care and reverence Harmonix took towards the music and the band.
It only makes me more hopeful for if and when "Led Zeppelin: Rock Band" is announced.
Guitar Hero 5 Review
(Xbox, PS3, Wii; $59.99 (game only); Rated T for Mild Lyrics/Suggestive Themes; www.guitarhero.com)
(four stars)
The leap from "Guitar Hero" to "Rock Band" was monumental.
What once was a two guitar-maximum experience became a full band rock-fest with guitars, drums, and vocals- "Guitar Hero III" couldn't hold a candle to the band experience.
Activision played catch-up by releasing "Guitar Hero: World Tour" last year and with it, it's own drum set and improved guitar. However, with "Rock Band 2" already releasing with the promise of being able to import almost all content from the original "Rock Band," I didn't give "World Tour" much notice- it felt too johnny-come-lately to me.
I am glad, however, that I was feeling the need to rock out lately- when "Guitar Hero 5" arrived on my doorstep, I popped it in and had the freshest "Guitar Hero" experience since the first time I held a plastic guitar.
Developers, Neversoft, threw out many of the mechanics of the Rhythm-based genre that had grown old and tiresome. Most notably, all 85 songs are instantly playable in the game- no more having to wade through the single-player portion of the game in order to unlock songs. Having all songs unlocked initially, while not only one of the most requested features from fans, also symbolizes an embrace of the "Guitar Hero" franchise as a game meant for parties with a pick-up-and-play mentality.
And pick-up-and play you can.
Unlike normal games which load into a title screen from which players can launch gameplay, "Guitar Hero 5" loads into a random song with accompanying visuals. Up to four players can jump in and begin playing at any point, without need to pause or restart the song- Players just pick up their guitar, microphone, or drums; choose their difficulty; and begin jamming out once the signature note "highway" appears for their instrument.
In this, "Party Play Mode," players can play for as long or little as they like- there is no failing out of a song, and another song begins to play after the conclusion of another. Players can also customize the songs that will rotate through "Party Play Mode" to better suit their taste in music.
Effectively, "Guitar Hero 5" has become an interactive jukebox- a playable soundtrack for your next party.
Additionally, "GH5" allows up to four players to play whatever instruments they want, in whatever combination they have available to them- eliminating the conundrum where no one wants to sing certain songs, but everyone still wants to play.
For competitors, there are six different play modes that award points for different scenarios from the traditional highest scorer, to a mode where the lowest scoring player gets dropped at a certain point in the song, and my favorite, "Momentum," where all players begin on Medium difficulty and increase or decrease the difficulty depending on notes hit or missed.
Finally for the budding composer and producer, "GH Tools" allow for the creation and distribution of your own music tracks- think of it as the "YouTube of Guitar Hero," upload your own creations or download and play others.
Of course, this is all topped off with a traditional single-player mode for those who seek to rock alone.
What "GH5" suffers from is a solid soundtrack and a paltry selection of downloadable content compared to "Rock Band." Though most of the songs from "Guitar Hero: World Tour" and "Guitar Hero: Smash Hits" can be transferred over and played for a nominal fee, there's still not the selection that "Rock Band" offers.
This may change with time, but whereas MTV seeks to release more content for "Rock Band", Activision seeks to release more versions of "Guitar Hero"- "GH: Metallica," "GH: Smash Hits," and "GH5" have already been released this year, with "GH: Van Halen" and "Band Hero" scheduled to be released by the end of 2009.
That's unfortunate, because the "Guitar Hero" drums are so much more fun to play on than the "Rock Band" drums. Although both drum sets can be played on the other game, neither feel quite right as they do on the franchise they were made for.
What "GH5" does right, it does so well that it's a shame I am only interested in playing about 15 of the 85 songs that are on the game disc. I've already become a "Rock Band" guy, so I don't see myself beginning to download new content for "Guitar Hero" at this point, but the changes that were made for "Guitar Hero 5" need to become the new standard in music games, and I hope to see the "Party Play" concept show up in "Rock Band 3."
Bravo to Neversoft for making a long-in-the-tooth series feel fresh again.
(four stars)
The leap from "Guitar Hero" to "Rock Band" was monumental.
What once was a two guitar-maximum experience became a full band rock-fest with guitars, drums, and vocals- "Guitar Hero III" couldn't hold a candle to the band experience.
Activision played catch-up by releasing "Guitar Hero: World Tour" last year and with it, it's own drum set and improved guitar. However, with "Rock Band 2" already releasing with the promise of being able to import almost all content from the original "Rock Band," I didn't give "World Tour" much notice- it felt too johnny-come-lately to me.
I am glad, however, that I was feeling the need to rock out lately- when "Guitar Hero 5" arrived on my doorstep, I popped it in and had the freshest "Guitar Hero" experience since the first time I held a plastic guitar.
Developers, Neversoft, threw out many of the mechanics of the Rhythm-based genre that had grown old and tiresome. Most notably, all 85 songs are instantly playable in the game- no more having to wade through the single-player portion of the game in order to unlock songs. Having all songs unlocked initially, while not only one of the most requested features from fans, also symbolizes an embrace of the "Guitar Hero" franchise as a game meant for parties with a pick-up-and-play mentality.
And pick-up-and play you can.
Unlike normal games which load into a title screen from which players can launch gameplay, "Guitar Hero 5" loads into a random song with accompanying visuals. Up to four players can jump in and begin playing at any point, without need to pause or restart the song- Players just pick up their guitar, microphone, or drums; choose their difficulty; and begin jamming out once the signature note "highway" appears for their instrument.
In this, "Party Play Mode," players can play for as long or little as they like- there is no failing out of a song, and another song begins to play after the conclusion of another. Players can also customize the songs that will rotate through "Party Play Mode" to better suit their taste in music.
Effectively, "Guitar Hero 5" has become an interactive jukebox- a playable soundtrack for your next party.
Additionally, "GH5" allows up to four players to play whatever instruments they want, in whatever combination they have available to them- eliminating the conundrum where no one wants to sing certain songs, but everyone still wants to play.
For competitors, there are six different play modes that award points for different scenarios from the traditional highest scorer, to a mode where the lowest scoring player gets dropped at a certain point in the song, and my favorite, "Momentum," where all players begin on Medium difficulty and increase or decrease the difficulty depending on notes hit or missed.
Finally for the budding composer and producer, "GH Tools" allow for the creation and distribution of your own music tracks- think of it as the "YouTube of Guitar Hero," upload your own creations or download and play others.
Of course, this is all topped off with a traditional single-player mode for those who seek to rock alone.
What "GH5" suffers from is a solid soundtrack and a paltry selection of downloadable content compared to "Rock Band." Though most of the songs from "Guitar Hero: World Tour" and "Guitar Hero: Smash Hits" can be transferred over and played for a nominal fee, there's still not the selection that "Rock Band" offers.
This may change with time, but whereas MTV seeks to release more content for "Rock Band", Activision seeks to release more versions of "Guitar Hero"- "GH: Metallica," "GH: Smash Hits," and "GH5" have already been released this year, with "GH: Van Halen" and "Band Hero" scheduled to be released by the end of 2009.
That's unfortunate, because the "Guitar Hero" drums are so much more fun to play on than the "Rock Band" drums. Although both drum sets can be played on the other game, neither feel quite right as they do on the franchise they were made for.
What "GH5" does right, it does so well that it's a shame I am only interested in playing about 15 of the 85 songs that are on the game disc. I've already become a "Rock Band" guy, so I don't see myself beginning to download new content for "Guitar Hero" at this point, but the changes that were made for "Guitar Hero 5" need to become the new standard in music games, and I hope to see the "Party Play" concept show up in "Rock Band 3."
Bravo to Neversoft for making a long-in-the-tooth series feel fresh again.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Batman: Arkham Asylum
(Xbox, PS3; $59.99; Rated T for Alcohol and Tobacco Reference/Blood/Mild Language/Suggestive Themes/Violence; www.batmanarkhamasylum.com)
To say that videogaming has not been nice to the "Batman" franchise would be an understatement. Second only to "Superman," the ol' "Dark Knight" has not been treated very favorably on video game consoles, despite his many appearances. In fact, a high-quality "Batman" game has been the exception, rather than the norm.
So it was with great trepidation and hope that "Batman: Arkham Asylum" would turn things around. Not being released in conjunction with a movie was the first thing in "Arkham's" favor, but being developed by a relatively unknown and untested developer, Rocksteady Studios, pretty much kept everyone on pins and needles. No one moreso than publisher, Eidos, who was looking to hit one out of the park after its recent string of so-so and terrible releases.
As screen shots and developer walk-throughs of the game started to emerge, it began to look as though "Arkham" was going to turn out as a great-looking title. As long as the developer could keep the same quality of visuals in-game as they had in the cinematics, "Arkham" could be something fans could get behind. Once it was announced that voice talent from the critically acclaimed "Batman: The Animated Series" was acquired to provide the voices- most notably Mark "Don't call me Luke" Hamill would be returning as the voice of the Joker- the future looked even brighter for the Dark Knight.
As an aside- I don't care how many Heath Ledgers you tape together and garnish with Jack Nicholsons, Mark Hamill is the greatest Joker, ever. End of story.
"Arkham Asylum" has been released and it is, hands-down, the greatest "Batman" game ever made- but given its predecessors, that isn't saying much. So I'll also say that it's the greatest licensed superhero game ever. Heck, I'll even say it's the greatest licensed game, period. No other game has come this close to exemplifying all of the hallmarks that make the character, his enemies, and his environment so true to the source material.
"Arkham" opens with Batman bringing the Joker into the famed psychiatric hospital. From the beginning walk down the Arkham Intensive Treatment Intake area, the feeling of the game and its well-known characters are set. Arkham is far from the pastel-colored, serenity-filled rooms of modern psych wards- this is a dank, dreary place and danger can be felt around every corner. Hope left Arkham Island a long time ago; and the buildings of the asylum, while fully functioning, are as decayed as its inmates' minds.
As one would expect, Joker springs a trap once entering the Asylum with the help of his psychotic love-interest, Harley Quinn. Harley enables Joker to have total control of the island, bringing a host of escaped convicts to act as the muscle. It is, of course, Batman's job to re-gain control of the island from Joker, save the staff of Arkham, and uncover the reason why Joker wanted to be caught in the first place.
"Arkham Asylum" is really three types of games in one: It is first a game that has its own influences from the "Metroidvania" genre, but in 3-D- players will visit and re-visit areas on the island in order to uncover secrets that originally couldn't be accessed with the equipment Bats has to begin with. As the story progresses, and after visiting some very key places in "Batman"-lore, Batman will acquire new upgrades to his equipment allowing for the opportunity to more meticulously explore the nooks and crannies of Arkham.
Doing so will help solve the puzzles of the "Riddler's Challenges" that are strewn about the island and its buildings. These side diversions involve picking up hidden "Riddler Trophies" and solving environmental riddles that unlock bonus art and achievements. Some of the riddles can be simple- a riddle mentioning a Cat means to look for something that belonged to Catwoman, however others can leave your head scratching until the wheels of your brain finally kick into place with an "A-ha!" moment. The only thing more rewarding than figuring out a challenging riddle, was to hear how irritated The Riddler was with my ability to have solved his puzzle.
Arkham Island makes for a great setting because it allows Batman's Rogue's Gallery to all take roles in the game- all of the expected foes are here- from the aforementioned Joker and Riddler, to Scarecrow and Bane, and a host of others. Those who don't make physical appearances in the game are still represented by objects, riddles, or references noting their existence- including obscure villains like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (yes, they are really are Batman villains) and Hush. The attention to detail put into the game really makes "Arkham Asylum" a love-letter to fans. And Bat-fans like me eat it up.
Finally, the stealth-action portion of the game that has Batman acting like the "World's Greatest Detective," gathering clues, setting up a crime scene, and analyzing DNA to track enemies; and stealthily moving through the shadows in order to take out goons along the way. In true "Dark Knight" form, Batman uses the night to his advantage- from grappling onto gargoyles and springing on unsuspecting criminals, to scaring the guano out of enemies by picking off their compadres from the shadows one-by-one. When engaged in combat, Bats moves effortlessly from thug to thug, dispensing vigilante justice with timed button-combos. As more enemies are defeated, players will gain experience points which will unlock combat and equipment bonuses- why toss one Batarang, when you can toss three?
Of course, Batman never kills any of the thugs- only beats them into unconsciousness. Because, as you know, killing is a line that The Bat doesn't cross...
I have often said that the "Splinter Cell" stealth-action series was the best "Batman" game, despite the number of "Batman" titles on the market. The feeling of slinking in the shadows as "Splinter Cell's" covert operative, Sam Fisher, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike at an enemy, and using darkness as your personal hiding spot, conveyed the exact feeling that control over "Batman" should feel. It's so good that finally there is a "Batman" game that does Batman so right. A must-have.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Shadow Complex
(Xbox; approx. $15; T for mild language/violence; www.xbox.com)
To end their "Summer of Games" promotion of bite-sized downloadable games, Microsoft released "Shadow Complex" for $15, a game that could have easily sold for $40 if pressed on a DVD and sold in retail stores.
But "Shadow Complex" has a value that far outweighs a $15 price tag: it not only shows that a high-quality game experience can be had for less than the $60 retail cost that the industry has gotten used to, but it also reminds us that 2-D action/exploration is not an mechanic that was lost back in the 16-bit days of the early 90s.
"Complex" is based off of famed sci-fi author, Orson Scott Card's "Empire" novels regarding a civil war that takes place between liberals and conservatives in the not-too-distant future. Intended as the bridge between the first "Empire" novel and the follow-up "Hidden Empire," "Shadow Complex" tells the story of everyman, Jason Flemming, who's girlfriend, Claire, gets captured by paramilitary thugs while on a simple day of hiking and cave exploration- talk about a bad date.
While searching the caverns for Claire, Jason quickly learns that the spelunking he intended to do that day was more than he bargained for, as the caverns are a front for a gigantic high-tech military complex that is gearing up for an attack on San Francisco after already successfully assassinating the Vice President of the United States. Jason is pulled into the role of the reluctant hero, needing to foil the plans of the Shadow Complex while rescuing Claire.
Yep. That's a contrived plot with a whole lot of cliche video game story elements to it, all right. Let's hope the books are better.
Where "Complex" may be a little light on story, it more than makes up for it in play mechanics, control, graphics, and overall fun. Developers, ChAIR Entertainment openly acknowledge "Complex's" influences coming from classic 2-D action/exploration series like "Castlevania" and "Metroid." Those two historic franchises exemplified the style of game so well that it's garnered it's own genre, "Metroidvania," to which "Shadow Complex" pays homage to a tee.
"Metroidvania" game mechanics focus primarily on map exploration and acquiring equipment to explore more of the map. In this style, some areas are seen but not accessed until later in the game when the right weapon or equipment is acquired- making traversing full areas of the map a necessity in order to advance, or acquire bonus items. Though back-tracking is often frowned upon in game design, back-tracking in "Metroidvania"-styled games is meant to further the element of exploration in the game- and rewards the player for doing so.
It's here where "Shadow Complex" succeeds so well. Each area of exploration is perfectly designed to leave the player satisfied, while still wanting to continue playing because the next reward or area is just around the corner. Pacing in "Shadow Complex" is perfect, save points are always about 15 minutes of play-time apart, new weapons or abilities every 30 minutes- it's a perfect game to pick up and play for a short duration, or to waste several hours in.
The only minor issue that I take with "Shadow Complex" is the character design of the protagonist himself. Jason looks exactly like Nathan Drake, the protagonist of the "Uncharted" series, right down the half-tuck of his t-shirt into his jeans. To make matters worse, Nolan North, who provides the voice acting for Jason, also is the voice of Nathan Drake- making the two characters virtual carbon copies of each other.
This begs the questions- did they design Jason before securing Nolan North's voice? Did they intend Jason to be a Drake-ripoff? And can it be a ripoff if the exact same guy plays the exact same character? Has Nolan North become the Samuel L. Jackson of videogames? Mysteries abound.
The downloadable aspect of the game makes for a short game, around 6 hours or so the first time through. But time-honored 2-D traditions of "speed-runs," to see how quickly the game can be completed, are uploaded to an online leaderboard to see if players have got the skills to beat their friend's best time.
Those needing a retro-revival of a long-dormant genre are wise to invest the small amount of money it takes to download "Shadow Complex." For that matter, I'd rather download "Complex" four times rather than play some of the junk that is passed off as a $60 title. We can only hope that the sequel to the game comes quickly, and is as well received as "Super Metroid" was to "Metroid" back in the day.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
From My Ivory Tower...
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="203" caption="Look how smart I am. Look!"]
[/caption]
With August here, we find ourselves in a barren wasteland of video game titles.
Which isn't so bad because the weather is so surprisingly nice, you should be outside anyhow.
Nevertheless, titles that I hoped to review for this column either are unavailable to me ("Wii Sports Resort"), have broken code in desperate need of a patch ("Fat Princess), or release at the end of the month ("Batman: Arkham Asylum," "Madden 10"). As such, there's not a whole lot to talk about until the next few months where there will be too much to talk about.
Which gives me room to espouse thoughts and philosophy on an unsuspecting audience for where I think this industry is headed and where it needs to go. Undeniably, video games are a major pillar of entertainment- generating more sales than box office sales and music. But the industry is still in its infancy compared to mediums like film, books, and music- there's a whole lot farther we have to go until we get a "Citizen Kane," an "Odyssey," or an "Abbey Road."
And so, I present the top three ways to improve the video game industry for business and consumers:
[/caption]With August here, we find ourselves in a barren wasteland of video game titles.
Which isn't so bad because the weather is so surprisingly nice, you should be outside anyhow.
Nevertheless, titles that I hoped to review for this column either are unavailable to me ("Wii Sports Resort"), have broken code in desperate need of a patch ("Fat Princess), or release at the end of the month ("Batman: Arkham Asylum," "Madden 10"). As such, there's not a whole lot to talk about until the next few months where there will be too much to talk about.
Which gives me room to espouse thoughts and philosophy on an unsuspecting audience for where I think this industry is headed and where it needs to go. Undeniably, video games are a major pillar of entertainment- generating more sales than box office sales and music. But the industry is still in its infancy compared to mediums like film, books, and music- there's a whole lot farther we have to go until we get a "Citizen Kane," an "Odyssey," or an "Abbey Road."
And so, I present the top three ways to improve the video game industry for business and consumers:
Thursday, July 9, 2009
inFamous
(PS3; $59.99; Rated T for Blood/Drug Reference/Language/Mild Suggestive Themes/Violence; www.infamousthegame.com)
Despite the lack of a "Sly Cooper" game for the PS3- a title that I absolutely can't wait to see make its way into High-Definition- Developer Sucker Punch, has given us the mechanics of their "Sly Cooper" titles wrapped in its stylish, edgy, and more Teen-oriented action-platformer, "Infamous," exclusively on the PS3.
"Grand Theft Auto" defined the go-anywhere/do-anything style of sandbox gameplay on which many have iterated. The Xbox 360's "Crackdown" took the "GTA" sandbox and gave it verticality by allowing players to bound up buildings and across rooftops in its super-cop shoot-em-up. "Infamous" continues to iterate by taking the width and breadth of city exploration, but adds moral choices and super-powers to give players the story of regular-Joe-turned-super-Joe and his evolution to become either the savior of the city, or its ultimate undoing.
Though moral choice is all the rage in gaming these days, "Infamous" experiences the same problem that other games have encountered when allowing the character to choose whether he will be good or evil: the narrative doesn't support a character that acts truly evil and inevitably rewards doing good. The game's primary mission structure is the same regardless of what shade of character players choose; regardless of how dastardly you would like your character to be, he'll ultimately have to do "good" things that help the city from destroying itself because the narrative calls for it.
There isn't a separate story line for each branch of morality, but I can't totally fault Sucker Punch from not developing the game that way- doing so would have required creating at least two games, not one- an undertaking that isn't likely to be financially feasible.
Nevertheless, the differentiation between "good" and "evil" powers in "Infamous" is satisfying and adds to the characterization of Cole, the protagonist, even if the different powers don't have a direct effect on the narrative. Doing good allows players to play with more precision and subtlety which cause less collateral damage, enabling players to take down enemies without causing harm to civilians- thereby earning their respect and assistance from the police. "Evil" powers throw caution to the wind and create more wanton destruction than necessary- if some poor schlep gets in the way of arching red lightning from your hands... well.. he should have watched where he was going, shouldn't he?
The sandbox nature of the game is a blast to explore, while the mission that advance the story are fun and varied. Sucker Punch never fails to deliver a striking and stylized game, and "Infamous" is no different- whether climbing up sky scrapers, gliding along power lines, or causing chain reactions that end up destroying a city block- the game and its cutscenes bring alive the comic-book nature of the story, making this a striking and edgy game appropriate for the high school crowd.
Red Faction: Guerilla
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbGm2GXpxAY[/youtube]
(Xbox 360, Ps3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Strong Language/Violence; www.redfaction.com)
For a game that stayed relatively low on the hype-radar, the newest edition of the "Red Faction" franchise hits with as much force as its main character's trusty sledgehammer.
"Red Faction: Guerilla" is the first time the series appears in a third-person perspective as opposed to the first-person perspective of its two predecessors. This turns out to be a welcome change: 1. Because there are more than enough first-person shooters out there, and 2. It makes for some very fun Geo-Mod shennanigans.
What the heck is a "Geo-Mod" shennanigan?
The "Red Faction" series' calling card has been the ability to destroy parts buildings and assorted structures in order to make firefights more interesting. See a need to get through a building, but the doorway is blocked by enemies? Blow a hole in the wall and flank them. The previous games ability to destroy was limited- a basic skeleon structure would remain even if players blew the heck out of the stucture. With "Guerilla," the new Geo-Mod 2.0 allows players to completely dismantle every structure in the game- brick by brick.
The benefit of having free control of the camera in a third-person perspective allows players to actually get to see the glorious explosions they make in the game, while running away to get clear of the blast zone. The Geo-Mod technology allows for some very fun mechanics in the, now, open-world game. For instance, players can set remote-detonation charges all over a building, attract enemies into the building, and lead them up to the second level; then the player can leap out of the 2nd-story window and detonate the charges, trapping all of the enemies inside and blowing them to kingdom-come.
Sadistic? Maybe. Entertaining? Definitely.
"Guerilla" is chock-full of game. After arriving on Mars, the oppressive Martian government ends up killing your brother which pulls you into the middle of a band of freedom fighters. In order to avenge your sibling's demise, the Red Faction uses you and your demoltion skills to wreak total havok. Progressing through a variety of mission types will recruit more guerilla fighters to the Faction's side- but it's all really a thin narrative as an excuse to blow more stuff up.
When not playing the single-player campaign, "Guerilla" has an offline multiplayer mode that challenges players to see who can cause more destruction in a short period of time, as well as a healthy and enjoyable online multiplayer that gives players power-ups like the "Rhino Pack," which allows players to runs straight through a building in order cause its collapse on unsuspecting opponents.
Perhaps it's appropriate that "Guerilla" was released in the summer- it is definitely on-par with blockbuster movie releases: no one really cares what the plot is, stuff blows up real pretty-like, and everyone goes home feeling like they got their money's worth...
Unless you saw "Transformers 2;" but then again- you knew what you were getting into.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
(Xbox 360, PS3, Wii; $49.99-59/99; Rated E10+ (Wii) for Comic Mischief/Fantasy Violence, Rated T (Xbox, PS3) for Comic Mischief/Fantasty Violence/Mild Language; www.ghostbustersgame.com)
To this day, the original "Ghostbusters" remains one of my top ten favorite movies of all time.
Heck, I even think that "Ghostbusters II" wasn't half bad.
So it is without hyperbole when I say that "Ghostbusters: The Video Game" was my most anticipated title this year. After getting tossed aside as one of the titles that Activision decided to not publish when it bought out Vivendi Games, I thought it might never see the light of day. Surprisingly, Atari- a company up against the ropes financially- bought the publishing rights to it and released it in conjunction with the movie's 25th anniversary. The move was a win for Atari, and a win for Ghostheads all over.
Much ballyhoo and credit has gone to "Ghostbusters" writers, Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis for penning the script to this "Ghostbusters." How much of the actual scribing Akroyd and Ramis actually will likely be debated in the same vein as the "writing" of "Good Will Hunting" by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Nevertheless, it's clear that Akroyd and Ramis had at least some collaberation on the project and they have both stated that they intended "Ghostbusters: The Video Game" to be cannonical- for all intents and purposes, this is "Ghostbusters III."
Nothing solidifies this more than having the entire cast of the original "Ghostbusters" back to voice their characters in the game- save for Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver, who's characters do not appear in the game.
That's right folks, they even got Bill Murray to come back and reprise his role as Dr. Pete Venkman- that's huge.
Of all the characters though Akroyd really brings Ray Stantz back to life- he sounds just as he did back in '84; honorable mentions should be given for Ramis' Egon Spengler and Ernie Hudson's Winston Zeddemore, but as big of a "get" it was for Murray to reprise his Venkman, he phones it in a little too much.
Developers, Terminal Reality, obviously have as much of a love affair for the material as the fans do- "Ghosbusters" is littered with nods to the previous movies, opportunities to explore the firehouse, and chasing after Slimer in the Sedgewick Hotel. Everything that a Ghosthead would want from a "Ghostbusters" game is here- wrestling a ghost with a proton stream and ultimately capturing it in a trap feels right, the characters look exactly as they should on the High Definition systems- and even on the limited hardware of the Wii, the stylized/cartoonish look of the Ghostbusters begs for an updated cartoon series.
It is with this care and downright enjoyable story that will ultimately propel the player, fan or not, through what is, otherwise, a mediocre gameplay. Were there not all of the trappings and fan-service, and if there wasn't such a rich property about which to create a game, the gameplay mechanics and level design would only be ho-hum and ultimately boring after a few hours of play- bustin' makes me feel good, but a little more variety would make me feel great.
Still, it's the nostalgia factor and the Hollywood talent that wins me over. "Ghostbusters" puts me as a new Ghostbuster among the original four, the feeling and humor of being a Ghostbuster is right-on, and this is probably a better experience than any third movie could have been.
It's cliche, I know, but for my money- "who ya gonna call?"
Monday, June 1, 2009
Punch-Out!!
(Wii; $49.99; Rated E10+ for cartoon violence/comic mischeif; punchout.nintendo.com)
Originally appearing on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" was one of those games that eveyone who played an NES either owned, or knew someone who did. The original arcade version of "Punch-Out!!" gave us larger-than-life characters who, though not as iconic as Mario or Donkey Kong, are every bit steeped in Nintendo history and fondly remembered by fans.
Both the arcade and console versions of the game amounted to more pattern-recognition, than a deep boxing title- due, in part, to the hardware constraints at the time. Each boxer, from Glass Joe to Bald Bull to King Hippo had their own pattern of punches and "tells" that would clue the player into knowing when to dodge and when to strike. Opportunists could disrupt a pattern in order to get more powerful "Star Punches" and help them unleash stronger punches.
It was a simple game, with simple gameplay mechanics and a whole lot of personality.
Fast forward more than twenty years and "Punch-Out!!" for the Wii continues to be the same simple game with a whole lot of personality- only updated for the use of motion-controls which families have become accustomed to over the past few years.
It's fair to say that enough time has occurred between the release of "Super Punch-Out!!" for the Super NES in 1994 and the Wii version of "Punch-Out!!" to not feel that the current title feels like just a rehash. Though the Wii version shares the bulk of the original fighters from the past games and that the fighters still fight and "tell" the same way, the Wii version's artstyle and embrace of the old games' charm makes this version of "Punch-Out!!" feel truly like an homage or a "reboot" to the series, and not just some cashed-in remake.
Basically: the mechanics worked then, still work now; and where visuals and sound needed to be updated to suit current technology, "Punch-Out!!" delivers.
Of course for the new version, motion-controls can be used to control protagonist, Little Mac on his rise through the circuits. Punching left and right using the Wii remote and nunchuck feels natural enough; and for those new to the game- the Wii motions will suffice. A bonus needs to be given to the development team for including the use of the Wii Balance Board to dodge left and right by leaning if players choose to do so. The combination of all three certainly encourages players to get up and move with the game.
But even more kudos need to be given for the inclusion of "Punch-Out!!" being able to be played using the original controls from 1987. For those looking to purchase the game for nostolgic purposes, the original control scheme will fire up the long-dormant muscle memories players have on how to defeat those old characters.
To the new kids having their first exposure to "Punch-Out!!" with the Wii-mote and nunchuck: that's fine and dandy, but the original controls are where it's at- it's faster, its more responsive, and it's the way "Punch-Out!!" is meant to be played.
Additional modes like multiplayer and the "Title Defense Mode" give "Punch-Out!!" some legs, especially because there's very little incentive to play through a game like this once all of the opponent's patterns are learned. These added modes were another wise move by the develoment team, who obviously had a love for the original game and wanted others to share in that love.
It was great in '87, and still classic in '09.
Originally appearing on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" was one of those games that eveyone who played an NES either owned, or knew someone who did. The original arcade version of "Punch-Out!!" gave us larger-than-life characters who, though not as iconic as Mario or Donkey Kong, are every bit steeped in Nintendo history and fondly remembered by fans.
Both the arcade and console versions of the game amounted to more pattern-recognition, than a deep boxing title- due, in part, to the hardware constraints at the time. Each boxer, from Glass Joe to Bald Bull to King Hippo had their own pattern of punches and "tells" that would clue the player into knowing when to dodge and when to strike. Opportunists could disrupt a pattern in order to get more powerful "Star Punches" and help them unleash stronger punches.
It was a simple game, with simple gameplay mechanics and a whole lot of personality.
Fast forward more than twenty years and "Punch-Out!!" for the Wii continues to be the same simple game with a whole lot of personality- only updated for the use of motion-controls which families have become accustomed to over the past few years.
It's fair to say that enough time has occurred between the release of "Super Punch-Out!!" for the Super NES in 1994 and the Wii version of "Punch-Out!!" to not feel that the current title feels like just a rehash. Though the Wii version shares the bulk of the original fighters from the past games and that the fighters still fight and "tell" the same way, the Wii version's artstyle and embrace of the old games' charm makes this version of "Punch-Out!!" feel truly like an homage or a "reboot" to the series, and not just some cashed-in remake.
Basically: the mechanics worked then, still work now; and where visuals and sound needed to be updated to suit current technology, "Punch-Out!!" delivers.
Of course for the new version, motion-controls can be used to control protagonist, Little Mac on his rise through the circuits. Punching left and right using the Wii remote and nunchuck feels natural enough; and for those new to the game- the Wii motions will suffice. A bonus needs to be given to the development team for including the use of the Wii Balance Board to dodge left and right by leaning if players choose to do so. The combination of all three certainly encourages players to get up and move with the game.
But even more kudos need to be given for the inclusion of "Punch-Out!!" being able to be played using the original controls from 1987. For those looking to purchase the game for nostolgic purposes, the original control scheme will fire up the long-dormant muscle memories players have on how to defeat those old characters.
To the new kids having their first exposure to "Punch-Out!!" with the Wii-mote and nunchuck: that's fine and dandy, but the original controls are where it's at- it's faster, its more responsive, and it's the way "Punch-Out!!" is meant to be played.
Additional modes like multiplayer and the "Title Defense Mode" give "Punch-Out!!" some legs, especially because there's very little incentive to play through a game like this once all of the opponent's patterns are learned. These added modes were another wise move by the develoment team, who obviously had a love for the original game and wanted others to share in that love.
It was great in '87, and still classic in '09.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Killzone 2
(PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Gore/Intense Violence/Strong Language; www.killzone.com)
'Killzone,' which was supposed to be the PlayStation's answer to the Xbox's 'Halo,' put up a pretty good firefight when it was initially released, but it ultimately ran out of ammo and got taken down by critics and fans for being mediocre and easily-forgettable.
In an attempt to make things more memorable, Sony released "footage" of 'Killzone 2' when it made the announcement of the PS3. Along with touting the incredible hardware of the system at E3 2005, Sony showed clips from upcoming games, including 'Killzone 2' that looked more amazing than anything anyone had seen in a video game. The intensity of the firefights, the detail in the faces- it all seemed too good to be true.
And it was, because none of the footage on that reel came from an actual game.
Instead, Sony hired computer animators to make mock-ups of what Sony wanted the games to look like. None of the footage shown was real, although Sony passed it off as being so. Later, Sony would admit that the reel was "target rendered" and, although not actual game footage, showed what the PS3 was graphically capable of in terms of a video game.
That set expectations for 'Killzone 2' astronomically high, put enormous pressure on developer Guerrilla Games, and most assumed that the final product of 'Killzone 2' would fall far short of that "target render."
Granted, 'Killzone 2' was delayed over and over again, and development has taken over four years, but 'Killzone 2' is finally released. Can it compare to that notorious preview, or give the Xbox's shooters "Halo" and "Gears of War" a run for its money?
The Godfather II
(Xbox 360, PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Drug References/Nudity/Intense Violence/Sexual Themes/Language; www.godfather2.ea.com)
I was surprised, as many were, when EA announced that it was releasing a sequel to its game based on Francis Ford Coppolla's film of Mario Puzo's "The Godfather." The source material for "The Godfather: The Game" was an interesting hook to try to draw fans of the open-world crime genre game from "Grand Theft Auto," but the game itself was only moderately successful. I expected (hoped?) that the franchise ideas of "The Godfather" as a video game would sleep with the fishes.
So when "The Godfather II" was released, I wasn't expecting much- however, I was pleasantly surprised and thankful to be wrong.
I was surprised, as many were, when EA announced that it was releasing a sequel to its game based on Francis Ford Coppolla's film of Mario Puzo's "The Godfather." The source material for "The Godfather: The Game" was an interesting hook to try to draw fans of the open-world crime genre game from "Grand Theft Auto," but the game itself was only moderately successful. I expected (hoped?) that the franchise ideas of "The Godfather" as a video game would sleep with the fishes.
So when "The Godfather II" was released, I wasn't expecting much- however, I was pleasantly surprised and thankful to be wrong.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Flower
(PS3; $9.99; Rated E; thatgamecompany.com/games/flower)
A lot of talk happens in the industry about "games as art." The industry as a whole wants games to be recognized as an art form, whereas detractors- like film-critic Roger Ebert- are outspoken that video games cannot be seen as art on par with film or literature. Where the dissent in the "games as art" debate comes from confuses me; when experiencing a game such as "Flower," such a dissent is down-right ludicrous.
"Flower" is a game, for certain; but it is not a game in the traditional sense: there is no enemy or opposition, there is no formal score to achieve, there is no "winning." Players can complete the game, but like completing a book or a film, the sense of accomplishment is really only in completing it- not how it was completed or how well it was completed.
"Flower" is also a sensory experience. Each "stage" is an environment where players begin as a single flower pedal caught in a breeze. Controlling the breeze by using the PS3 controller's motion sensor, players will fly through the environment looking for other flowers to pick up other pedals. As more flowers appear and more pedals are collected, the landscape begins to fill with more color, sounds, and flowers.
This is where the "gameness" of "Flower" ends. Players can either choose to obsessively collect every flower in the environment to make the pedal-filled breeze flow colorfully throughout the environment, fly through the environment to the end of the stage, or just stay in the environment and experience the world.
Choosing to "experience" "Flower" by "playing" "Flower" is the greatest treat- its images and sounds are relaxing while the flying through the environment is still engaging. For the first time, I played a video game before heading to bed, and it soothed me. "Flower" is a tranquil game. Unquestionably, it is also an artistic experience.
A game for everyone? Well, like any work of art, it can be experienced by anyone but not appreciated by everyone. "Flower" isn't going to find favor with 13-17 year old boys who just want to use their PS3s to shoot aliens or cause virtual destruction; others outside that demographic may just not "get it."
For those who want to appreciate how the medium of video games, and interactive entertainment in general, are an evolving art form- look no further.
"Flower" is both a game and not a game; an experience, but more than an experience; something that you play, and something you just control. My existential approach to this review is now over. I'm only too glad that this review was written, for fear that I would have been punched in the face for making "quotes" with my fingers too much if required to explain "Flower" verbally.
A lot of talk happens in the industry about "games as art." The industry as a whole wants games to be recognized as an art form, whereas detractors- like film-critic Roger Ebert- are outspoken that video games cannot be seen as art on par with film or literature. Where the dissent in the "games as art" debate comes from confuses me; when experiencing a game such as "Flower," such a dissent is down-right ludicrous.
"Flower" is a game, for certain; but it is not a game in the traditional sense: there is no enemy or opposition, there is no formal score to achieve, there is no "winning." Players can complete the game, but like completing a book or a film, the sense of accomplishment is really only in completing it- not how it was completed or how well it was completed.
"Flower" is also a sensory experience. Each "stage" is an environment where players begin as a single flower pedal caught in a breeze. Controlling the breeze by using the PS3 controller's motion sensor, players will fly through the environment looking for other flowers to pick up other pedals. As more flowers appear and more pedals are collected, the landscape begins to fill with more color, sounds, and flowers.
This is where the "gameness" of "Flower" ends. Players can either choose to obsessively collect every flower in the environment to make the pedal-filled breeze flow colorfully throughout the environment, fly through the environment to the end of the stage, or just stay in the environment and experience the world.
Choosing to "experience" "Flower" by "playing" "Flower" is the greatest treat- its images and sounds are relaxing while the flying through the environment is still engaging. For the first time, I played a video game before heading to bed, and it soothed me. "Flower" is a tranquil game. Unquestionably, it is also an artistic experience.
A game for everyone? Well, like any work of art, it can be experienced by anyone but not appreciated by everyone. "Flower" isn't going to find favor with 13-17 year old boys who just want to use their PS3s to shoot aliens or cause virtual destruction; others outside that demographic may just not "get it."
For those who want to appreciate how the medium of video games, and interactive entertainment in general, are an evolving art form- look no further.
"Flower" is both a game and not a game; an experience, but more than an experience; something that you play, and something you just control. My existential approach to this review is now over. I'm only too glad that this review was written, for fear that I would have been punched in the face for making "quotes" with my fingers too much if required to explain "Flower" verbally.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Street Fighter IV
(Xbox 360, PS3; $59.99; Rated T for Alcohol References/Mild Suggestive Themes/Violence; www.streetfighter.com)
If there was ever a hotly-anticipated game that could potentially get old, lost gamers back into gaming and purchase a system, it's "Street Fighter IV."
Many men (and woman) my age dropped some serious coinage into a "Street Fighter II" cabinet back in the early 90's when the franchise really became synonymous with arcades. Many a Friday night were spent in the smokey, dimly lit corridors of "Pinball Pete's" at the University of Michigan playing and watching others play this game and its many spin-offs.
I know. Look, I didn't have much of a social life at college, okay? Lay off.
There are those of us who stuck with gaming when it became more prevalent in the home than in the arcade, and those of us who went onto more mundane hobbies like golf or securities trading. "SFIV" is for both of those people.
If there was ever a hotly-anticipated game that could potentially get old, lost gamers back into gaming and purchase a system, it's "Street Fighter IV."
Many men (and woman) my age dropped some serious coinage into a "Street Fighter II" cabinet back in the early 90's when the franchise really became synonymous with arcades. Many a Friday night were spent in the smokey, dimly lit corridors of "Pinball Pete's" at the University of Michigan playing and watching others play this game and its many spin-offs.
I know. Look, I didn't have much of a social life at college, okay? Lay off.
There are those of us who stuck with gaming when it became more prevalent in the home than in the arcade, and those of us who went onto more mundane hobbies like golf or securities trading. "SFIV" is for both of those people.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Halo Wars
(Xbox 360; $59.99; Rated T for Mild Blood/Mild Language/Violence; www.xbox.com)
The monumental success of Microsoft's "Halo" franchise is arguably the single reason why the Xbox survived its first incarnation during the last-generation of console wars and the primary reason why Microsoft was able firmly entrench itself with the Xbox 360.
Simply, "Halo" is a system seller.
But re-treading old ground with first-person shooters based in the "Halo" universe will wear down the franchise's appeal over time. Despite the fun of playing Master Chief over and over again, without some new spin it's just the same old thing. Ensemble Studios, creators of the blockbuster "Age of Empires" franchise treads new ground by taking the "Halo" franchise away from the first-person perspective and gives players a bird's eye view of the action through a real-time strategy game.
The monumental success of Microsoft's "Halo" franchise is arguably the single reason why the Xbox survived its first incarnation during the last-generation of console wars and the primary reason why Microsoft was able firmly entrench itself with the Xbox 360.
Simply, "Halo" is a system seller.
But re-treading old ground with first-person shooters based in the "Halo" universe will wear down the franchise's appeal over time. Despite the fun of playing Master Chief over and over again, without some new spin it's just the same old thing. Ensemble Studios, creators of the blockbuster "Age of Empires" franchise treads new ground by taking the "Halo" franchise away from the first-person perspective and gives players a bird's eye view of the action through a real-time strategy game.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Game Guy Lo-Fi: Zombies!!!
($24.99; Ages 12 & up; 2-6 players; www.twilightcreationsinc.com/zombies)
Boy I love zombies. I mean I really, really love zombies. Not a real zombie, of course- no, that I wouldn't think twice about putting a shotgun to its face and pulling the trigger. But the idea of zombies- that I love.
Of course movies have taken virtually ever zombie scenario and rehashed it over and over again, which is what makes Twilight Games' "Zombies!!!" so much fun- it's a send-up of all of the wonderful zombie cliches we've come to know and love over the years- its like "Shaun of the Dead" in board game form.
And despite the many pieces to the game: map tiles, cards, dice, player pieces, life indicators, bullet indicators, and over 100 miniature plastic undead- it's quite an easy game to play.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Game Guy Lo-Fi: Risk (Revised Edition)
($24.99; Ages 12 & Up; 3-5 players; www.hasbro.com/risk)
For some reason, at no point in my very geeky boyhood did I ever play "Risk." Despite hours of comic books and Dungeons & Dragons, and with no natural talent for any sport, I never played one of the most popular strategy games of all time. How this happened is beyond me, as I had many close friends who used "Risk" as a gateway-game to get into even harder strategy titles like "Axis & Allies." For me though, I led a Risk-free childhood.
In part I think it was because I knew that a game of "Risk" was tantamount to a week of summer vacation, which is quite a valuable commodity and shouldn't be wasted on any one board game- regardless of whether that meant world domination.
My interest was piqued when I recently learned that Hasbro was revamping the original "Risk" in order for games to be played in under two hours- perfect for a game night. Jumping on the chance to play with a few other friends who had also not been "at-Risk" as kids, five of us sat down to play.
For some reason, at no point in my very geeky boyhood did I ever play "Risk." Despite hours of comic books and Dungeons & Dragons, and with no natural talent for any sport, I never played one of the most popular strategy games of all time. How this happened is beyond me, as I had many close friends who used "Risk" as a gateway-game to get into even harder strategy titles like "Axis & Allies." For me though, I led a Risk-free childhood.
In part I think it was because I knew that a game of "Risk" was tantamount to a week of summer vacation, which is quite a valuable commodity and shouldn't be wasted on any one board game- regardless of whether that meant world domination.
My interest was piqued when I recently learned that Hasbro was revamping the original "Risk" in order for games to be played in under two hours- perfect for a game night. Jumping on the chance to play with a few other friends who had also not been "at-Risk" as kids, five of us sat down to play.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Game Guy Lo-Fi: Scrabble Slam
($9.99; Ages 8 & up; 2+ players; www.hasbro.com)
Though not a "main course" type of game for a game night, "Scrabble Slam" makes for a good appetizer or dessert game after a filling meal like "Risk" or "Settlers of Catan." In fact, it's not as challenging as a game of Scrabble, but it is good for younger audiences learning vocabulary, as well as a great way to kill 15 minutes.
Play starts with a pre-selected four-letter word- a clean four-letter word. The rest of the letter-based cards are dealt to all players. The first person to "slam" down a new letter to make a new four-letter word and empty their hand, wins. That's it. There's no strategy about when to play a card or who gets to play a card- just whoever can get there first. In fact, the rules don't forbid the repeat of words, so play could involve the monotony of "slid," "slim," "slid," "slim," etc. This is easily rectified by implementing your own house rules that can turn a game as basic and simple as "Uno" into a game so cutthroat that you're liable to end up with a black eye by the end of it.
At least that's how it's played at Casa de Game Guy.
Great for families with kids, or a rowdy group of co-workers on lunch break, "Scrabble Slam" isn't the Mecca of gaming, but at under $10, it's a good quick diversion.
Though not a "main course" type of game for a game night, "Scrabble Slam" makes for a good appetizer or dessert game after a filling meal like "Risk" or "Settlers of Catan." In fact, it's not as challenging as a game of Scrabble, but it is good for younger audiences learning vocabulary, as well as a great way to kill 15 minutes.Play starts with a pre-selected four-letter word- a clean four-letter word. The rest of the letter-based cards are dealt to all players. The first person to "slam" down a new letter to make a new four-letter word and empty their hand, wins. That's it. There's no strategy about when to play a card or who gets to play a card- just whoever can get there first. In fact, the rules don't forbid the repeat of words, so play could involve the monotony of "slid," "slim," "slid," "slim," etc. This is easily rectified by implementing your own house rules that can turn a game as basic and simple as "Uno" into a game so cutthroat that you're liable to end up with a black eye by the end of it.
At least that's how it's played at Casa de Game Guy.
Great for families with kids, or a rowdy group of co-workers on lunch break, "Scrabble Slam" isn't the Mecca of gaming, but at under $10, it's a good quick diversion.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Far Cry 2 Mini-Review
(360, PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Drug Reference/Intense Violence/Sexual Themes/Strong Language; farcry.us.ubi.com)
Sharing the name is the only thing this sequel has in common with its predecessor. In this “Far Cry,” the island paradise is eschewed for an African warzone where players control a mercenary for hire who’s mission is to capture and eliminate the warlord profiteering from civil unrest. Realism is the name of the game as players have an entire open-world to explore in the ultimate goal of tracking down the warlord. This is best for those looking for a break from the “Call of Duty” scene and wanting to try a slow-paced, methodical, and original shooter.
Shaun White Snowboarding Mini-Review
(360, PS3, Wii; $49.99-$59.99; Rated T for Lyrics/Mild Suggestive Themes/Mild Violence; www.shaunwhitegame.com)
Oh how I long for a next-gen update in the ultra-fun “SSX” snowboarding franchise. As much as I had hopes that “Shaun White Snowboarding” would fill that longing, it does not. In fact, it does not even come close. I am positive that the control scheme was developed by someone who has never played a video game before because how to maneuver and pull off tricks defies all semblance of reason.
You’re In the Movies Mini-Review
(360; $69.99; Rated E; www.xbox.com)
If you are playing “You’re in the Movies” then you’ve already realized what a disaster this “party” game is. The concept of having four players play mini-games in front of the Xbox Vision Camera to have their movements photographed and appear in a fake B-movie trailer at the end of 30 minutes might be slightly entertaining for anyone under ten years old, but once you realize that it takes the equivalent of a professional green-screen studio in your family room to get the game working marginally well, you’d wish you were just playing “Rock Band” again.
Tomb Raider: Underworld
(Xbox, PS3, Wii, PS2; $29.99-59.99; Rated T for Blood/Mild Language/Mild Suggestive Themes/Violence; www.tombraider.com)
Lara Croft, much like the terrain she traverses, has had her ups and downs in her twelve years of tomb raiding. After the break-out success of her first adventure, the “Tomb Raider” franchise followed up with a blockbusting sequel that remained the pinnacle of the franchise for many years. After “Tomb Raider 2’s” release, Lara began her slow descent into repetitive and broken gameplay, despite being one of the most recognizable symbols of video gaming next to Pac-Man and Mario. As developers tried tirelessly to make her more relevant in a world of more sophisticated gaming, Lara strayed farther from what made her such a success and even less interesting to play. “Tomb Raider: Underworld” marks her eighth adventure and the game returns to the roots of what made Lara successful: exploration of huge, isolated ruins, environmental puzzle solving, and defending herself from the dangers of the wild (with an occasional pirate or mercenary thrown in for good measure).
“Underworld” continues a reboot of the franchise which started in the sixth game of the series, “Tomb Raider: Legend.” Like “Legend,” “Underworld” gets Lara away from the bright lights of the city and stealthy missions, and puts her back in her short-shorts and climbing boots, dropping her into incredibly-designed forgotten cities and in search of the secret to her mother’s mysterious disappearance.
Admittedly, it has been many years since I played a “Tomb Raider” game, picking up the controller only temporarily for 2006’s “Tomb Raider: Anniversary” which was, in essence, a beautified next-gen version of Lara’s first adventure from 1996, which also happened to be the last “Tomb Raider” I played. “Underworld” captures the feeling I had when playing the original “Tomb Raider”- the isolation of being the only person trekking around giant ruins, listening to the echoes of predators reverberating through dank halls, and crawling through narrow corridors only to come upon massive chambers which required forethought in how to traverse to the other side. In 1996, there was nothing else like it- it launched the adventure-platformer genre.
Since then, adventure-platforming has seen its fair share of innovation, and Lara’s not the only acrobatic wall-crawler on the block any more. So “Underworld” has a lot to live up to, not to mention that it directly competes with the original “Mirror’s Edge” and the rebooted “Prince of Persia” franchise- both released in the same quarter as “Underworld.” “Underworld” succeeds with its varied topography, beautiful colors, and consistently smart environmental puzzles. I’m not a fan of the new art style of “Prince of Persia,” nor do I like it’s delayed control scheme; with “Mirror’s Edge,” though I enjoyed playing it more than “Underworld,” its environments became repetitive and its combat was clunky. As compared to its greatest competitors, “Underworld” is predictable and cinematic- it may not be original, but it does make it palatable.
“Underworld” trips up in its mechanics: the camera, while generally decent, will become an irritation to wrestle with in order to get a good view of where to platform to next; weapon combat involves no strategy except to jump around like a crazed tick to avoid being hit; melee combat is near-suicide; and I had to strain to see in dark tombs, even after ratcheting the brightness up. Again, none of them are deal-breakers, but when balanced against an incredibly similar game like “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune,” it’s easy to see where “Underworld” should be, as opposed to where it is.
Definitely, “Tomb Raider: Underworld” is an enjoyable experience for its short-lived story and fans of the series will be satisfied. But for $60 on the next-gen systems, there are new and/or better action-platforming experiences to be had- but that is not to say that this isn’t worth picking up as a rental or when the price comes down…
After all, “Uncharted 2” doesn’t come out until late 2009.
Lara Croft, much like the terrain she traverses, has had her ups and downs in her twelve years of tomb raiding. After the break-out success of her first adventure, the “Tomb Raider” franchise followed up with a blockbusting sequel that remained the pinnacle of the franchise for many years. After “Tomb Raider 2’s” release, Lara began her slow descent into repetitive and broken gameplay, despite being one of the most recognizable symbols of video gaming next to Pac-Man and Mario. As developers tried tirelessly to make her more relevant in a world of more sophisticated gaming, Lara strayed farther from what made her such a success and even less interesting to play. “Tomb Raider: Underworld” marks her eighth adventure and the game returns to the roots of what made Lara successful: exploration of huge, isolated ruins, environmental puzzle solving, and defending herself from the dangers of the wild (with an occasional pirate or mercenary thrown in for good measure).
“Underworld” continues a reboot of the franchise which started in the sixth game of the series, “Tomb Raider: Legend.” Like “Legend,” “Underworld” gets Lara away from the bright lights of the city and stealthy missions, and puts her back in her short-shorts and climbing boots, dropping her into incredibly-designed forgotten cities and in search of the secret to her mother’s mysterious disappearance.
Admittedly, it has been many years since I played a “Tomb Raider” game, picking up the controller only temporarily for 2006’s “Tomb Raider: Anniversary” which was, in essence, a beautified next-gen version of Lara’s first adventure from 1996, which also happened to be the last “Tomb Raider” I played. “Underworld” captures the feeling I had when playing the original “Tomb Raider”- the isolation of being the only person trekking around giant ruins, listening to the echoes of predators reverberating through dank halls, and crawling through narrow corridors only to come upon massive chambers which required forethought in how to traverse to the other side. In 1996, there was nothing else like it- it launched the adventure-platformer genre.
Since then, adventure-platforming has seen its fair share of innovation, and Lara’s not the only acrobatic wall-crawler on the block any more. So “Underworld” has a lot to live up to, not to mention that it directly competes with the original “Mirror’s Edge” and the rebooted “Prince of Persia” franchise- both released in the same quarter as “Underworld.” “Underworld” succeeds with its varied topography, beautiful colors, and consistently smart environmental puzzles. I’m not a fan of the new art style of “Prince of Persia,” nor do I like it’s delayed control scheme; with “Mirror’s Edge,” though I enjoyed playing it more than “Underworld,” its environments became repetitive and its combat was clunky. As compared to its greatest competitors, “Underworld” is predictable and cinematic- it may not be original, but it does make it palatable.
“Underworld” trips up in its mechanics: the camera, while generally decent, will become an irritation to wrestle with in order to get a good view of where to platform to next; weapon combat involves no strategy except to jump around like a crazed tick to avoid being hit; melee combat is near-suicide; and I had to strain to see in dark tombs, even after ratcheting the brightness up. Again, none of them are deal-breakers, but when balanced against an incredibly similar game like “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune,” it’s easy to see where “Underworld” should be, as opposed to where it is.
Definitely, “Tomb Raider: Underworld” is an enjoyable experience for its short-lived story and fans of the series will be satisfied. But for $60 on the next-gen systems, there are new and/or better action-platforming experiences to be had- but that is not to say that this isn’t worth picking up as a rental or when the price comes down…
After all, “Uncharted 2” doesn’t come out until late 2009.
Lips
(360; $69.99; Rated E10+ for Lyrics/Mild Cartoon Violence/Suggestive Themes/Use of Tobacco; www.xbox.com/lips)
I won’t down-score this game as a result of its horrendous title, but I have to imagine that there are at least a thousand better titles for a karaoke game than “Lips.” Granted: it’s short, suggestive, and maybe even intriguing, but I can’t help but think it was pulled out of a hat or selected by using a dartboard.
Nevertheless, “Lips” is the Xbox’s sleek and stylish 1st party karaoke title meant to both rival Sony’s own “Singstar” franchise and take a piece of the casual game market away from Nintendo. Unless it starts getting some serious content soon, it’ll fail on both fronts.
Which is too bad, because “Lips” is a game I want to see succeed- it is the perfect type of game to have on in the background of a party where just enough people are having just enough fun to make just a little fool out of themselves by singing karaoke. The problem is that with only 40 songs included on the disc, and a very paltry amount of paid, downloadable tracks- “Lips” just doesn’t have enough juice to keep the party rocking all night long. The genres “Lips” features are wide: Maroon 5 to Johnny Cash, Nivrana to Trace Atkins; but because of that width, few people are going to find more than a handful of songs that they’ll actually enjoy singing. Perhaps if “Lips” stuck to a genre of music like the “Singstar” series has done, there’d be more bang for the buck. And in this time where games like “Rock Band” are offering new downloadable songs, and sometimes albums, every week, “Lips” poor assortment of purchasable tracks just aren’t cutting it.
What is promising is the infrastructure of this game, which is spot on: two wireless microphones are included in the $70 package which are just downright sexy. Color-changing lights and motion sensitivity make the mics feel cool to hold and the wireless feature reinforces the idea that “Lips” is a game meant to be passed around. Notwithstanding a meager song selection, “Lips” also enables players to import any non-protected music file from a CD, networked computer, or MP3 player (iPods and Zunes included) for singing in the game. Players won’t have the original music video playing with the song as is the case with the included tracks, and there is no support right now for on-screen lyrics, but for those who know the songs like the back of their hands, the import feature is the best thing about “Lips.” Combine that with the ability to make custom playlists that play as background music regardless of anyone singing, and the ability for singers to drop-in at any point in the song by shaking the mic, and “Lips” has all of the design of a great game… just not right now.
Hints within the import manager suggest that on-screen lyrics for imported tracks may be coming in the future. With that, and more regular downloadable content- “Lips” could be the break-out newcomer to the music party game scene. Without that, and it’ll be another what-might-have-been.
I won’t down-score this game as a result of its horrendous title, but I have to imagine that there are at least a thousand better titles for a karaoke game than “Lips.” Granted: it’s short, suggestive, and maybe even intriguing, but I can’t help but think it was pulled out of a hat or selected by using a dartboard.
Nevertheless, “Lips” is the Xbox’s sleek and stylish 1st party karaoke title meant to both rival Sony’s own “Singstar” franchise and take a piece of the casual game market away from Nintendo. Unless it starts getting some serious content soon, it’ll fail on both fronts.
Which is too bad, because “Lips” is a game I want to see succeed- it is the perfect type of game to have on in the background of a party where just enough people are having just enough fun to make just a little fool out of themselves by singing karaoke. The problem is that with only 40 songs included on the disc, and a very paltry amount of paid, downloadable tracks- “Lips” just doesn’t have enough juice to keep the party rocking all night long. The genres “Lips” features are wide: Maroon 5 to Johnny Cash, Nivrana to Trace Atkins; but because of that width, few people are going to find more than a handful of songs that they’ll actually enjoy singing. Perhaps if “Lips” stuck to a genre of music like the “Singstar” series has done, there’d be more bang for the buck. And in this time where games like “Rock Band” are offering new downloadable songs, and sometimes albums, every week, “Lips” poor assortment of purchasable tracks just aren’t cutting it.
What is promising is the infrastructure of this game, which is spot on: two wireless microphones are included in the $70 package which are just downright sexy. Color-changing lights and motion sensitivity make the mics feel cool to hold and the wireless feature reinforces the idea that “Lips” is a game meant to be passed around. Notwithstanding a meager song selection, “Lips” also enables players to import any non-protected music file from a CD, networked computer, or MP3 player (iPods and Zunes included) for singing in the game. Players won’t have the original music video playing with the song as is the case with the included tracks, and there is no support right now for on-screen lyrics, but for those who know the songs like the back of their hands, the import feature is the best thing about “Lips.” Combine that with the ability to make custom playlists that play as background music regardless of anyone singing, and the ability for singers to drop-in at any point in the song by shaking the mic, and “Lips” has all of the design of a great game… just not right now.
Hints within the import manager suggest that on-screen lyrics for imported tracks may be coming in the future. With that, and more regular downloadable content- “Lips” could be the break-out newcomer to the music party game scene. Without that, and it’ll be another what-might-have-been.
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