Videogame Pundit

Lite Hearted, Heavy Hitting

2006-01-26T15:09:00.000-05:00

Nintendo DS has gotten some well deserved flak from gamers everywhere. The machine is somewhat ugly. I mean, the original silver DS was just a monstrosity all up in your face. It's edges were too "sassy", it's clam shell was some what abstract with it's uneven edges, and no overall symmetry. It was just ICK! Then came along the electric blue DS, which prompted not only this writer, but many others to take part in the DS revolution. Sure the form hadn't changed, but it was far better than the plain and vanilla silver tact. New colours followed, and I think it'd be safe to assume that with the multitude of colours the DS sports, there'd be something for everyone. Well, almost everyone. Techy sticklers would have you believe that form factor is a big part in making a piece of technology worth the sticker price; and they'd be mostly right. Up until now, the PSP has ran laps around the DS with respect form factor and "sexyness". This is no longer the case...

Say hello to the DS Lite. Now I'm sure you can get the news anywhere, so I'm not going to pretend like this is breaking news or even unexpected. This is somewhat surprising though. To see Nintendo boldly denying they have anything to announce merely weeks ago, to now unleashing upon us what looks to be a fantastic redesign of the once ugly duckling of the handheld breed. Just look at it? The flush clam shell design, the rounded corners, no more edgies, the elimination of the God forsaken buldge of the clam-joint...and even better, mirroring the Revolution's aesthetics and design. This not only adds a detectable streamline from their handhelds to their consoles now, but it clearly shows forethought in what is sure to be a changing image for Nintendo (possibly for both good and for bad). My only concerns at this point are: will the screens be the same size? Smaller would suck, and bigger would be "teh B0mbzorz", but keeping the screens the same size is crucial in this much needed redesign. Lastly, will button size increase? I sure hope so, and for the sake of all that are annoyed, no more "clicky" buttons. Those two things aside, I think a round of applause is in order. Nintendo has given the DS a face lift sleak enough to show the PSP it isn't the only one with a metaphorical bosom. Now that DS has both the style and the software, it's only a matter of weeks before Sony announces a "secret announcement to be made at E3 about the PSP", and only a matter of months before they unveil the PSP redesign. I can't see Sony letting this slip by.

The one thing I think we should all hope for is a black colour option alongside this white version. Nintendo says it will launch with with two unannounced colours other than white, which is great because white is so Apple, I almost want to puke. I understand that Apple has it's iPod which is strikingly hip with the tech heads and style whores, but it only works for Apple. It just looks down right prissy on the DS Lite, and while the form and layout is exceptional, the colour is off-putting. Nintendo NEEDS a black DS Lite, and I expect they'd be smart enough to see that a simple colour and this redesign is all they'll need to show up the PSP as a piece of "fashionable" hardware, once and for all.

PSP redesign countdown commence...

Review: Electroplankton - Ushering in non-games, unfortunately...

2006-01-23T17:20:00.000-05:00

VGP Score

3.9

From the musically infatuated mind of Toshio Iwai, Electroplankton is one of sure to be many, non-game games for the Nintendo DS. Due to the nature of Electroplankton, there isn't much to say about the game. The length of this review, is precisely indicative of just how little there is to Electroplankton. It's not that I've forgone delving into the game's intricacies, it's just so devoid of content, that saying much more than a few paragraphs would be purposefully stretching thin something for the sake of a word count.

The game boots up, and immediately greets the gamer with the title screen. No logos or corporate affairs here, this game is all about the planktonite creation of musical fusion. The box exclaims that the Electroplankton will respond to your voice and your touch, to mesmerize you with unforgettable sounds; which couldn't be further from the truth. Let's get one thing straight, there is no game here. There is no sense of progression, no sense of agency, no underlining goal to be accomplished. It's a hodge-podge of 10 mini-games that ostensibly mesh well with the game's clearly defined sense of style. And when I say there's no game here, I mean it. This is what Nintendo calls "reeling in a new type of gamer". What I don't understand - or at least, what perplexes me - is that while attracting this new breed of gamer, they've up and abandoned the gamers that gave them their now diamond name-sake. Let's digress for a moment and look at Nintendogs. One of many "niche" titles that Nintendo created with the DS - a piece of software that can only be done with a DS, and was designed to attract a new kind of gamer; specifically, the rare and elusive gamer-girl. They succeeded. Not only did they succeed by creating a brand new fish to fry, they pleased most of us "main gamers" (whatever you call us) simultaneously. A grand slam, wouldn't you say? Here we have a "game", that appeals to no gamer, not even this new demographic hooked, lined and sinkered by Nintendogs, and to top that it barely even qualifies as a non-game.

You have two options, one of which is the game, the other is a participatory showcase of the Electroplankton mini-games, which in and of itself, is useless. There is no game there, and there is little to no interaction. Software-user interfacing takes a back seat as playing in this mode, known formally as Audience mode, is not interesting, not fun, and wholely lacking in every aspect of software design. This however, is neither the focus nor the bulk of the game, thankfully. In Performance mode, you have the choice between 10 different mini-games, each with their own aural fixations and rudimentary "game" mechanics. Each mini-game is based upon the aquaitic horseplay of different "plankton" - I'm sure some of them are fish, and others tadpoles, but who's keeping track, really? Playing with Tracy lets your draw a path for a quintet of arrow-head plankton to swin along. As they breast stroke across the screen, cacophonous or harmonious bells will chime in, depending on how rhythmically you set their paths. End game, moving on. You'll progress through several analogs of this plankton, but the end result is the same: touch fish, fish make noise. Rec-Rec, a fish like plankton lets you record 4 voice tracks, and sync them to background music. There is no choice of background music, and once you've recorded a few tracks, it's over and there's nothing more to see. Moving on...if you skip down the homogeneous list of plankton mini-games, you'll come across the Lumiloops. Think back to that 5th grade talent show, where the nerdy asian kid licked his finger and polished the rim of a wine glass, with varying volumes of water. While interesting, it lasts only as long as it takes to explain what it is. Melodious humming eminates, and eventually disipates, and the gimmick is done. One of the few "neat" plankton events, but distracting to say the least.

The most interesting, and probably the best of the mini-games, comes in the form of the Beatnes, or more appropriately, the BeatNES. Polygonal heads, attatched to chains of beads swaying with the rippling water, remixing the old school Super Mario Bros. theme song. How nostalgiac it is to hear the sounds of a warp pipe and ding-dong-ing of the 1-Up green mushrooms. Tapping the heads of these "Beatnes" will play a classic SMB sound, be it the warp-tubing or 1-Up-ing I just mentioned, or the classic, and mildly annoying coin collecting rings. Subsequently, these Beatnes recall the taps and musical effluence you just created, and will play them back to you in a loop overtop of the already hip-hop happening SMB theme song. Tapping the elongated, beaded bodies of these 5 different plankton, pops in with a single piano note which if your rhythm isn't too adept, will sync to the music automatically to the best of the software's ability. You can create some really neat stuff with this mini-game. Beatnes is a show stopper in terms of Electroplankton fun, and will probably be the one thing you spend the most time with. However, all that said, these 10 mini-games won't last you any longer than about 30 minutes. Half of the musical madness here is either too simple to create anything symphonically amusing, or too mundane to try for more than 30 seconds, just so you can say "Yeah, I tried it".

The three main attractions here are the Luminaria, Lumiloops, and Beatnes. Everything else can be thought of as filler. There's just no amusement there. It'd be a no brainer to say though, that overall, no matter which mini-game you chose, you're going to be getting the utmost in high quality sound, as I'm sure the lack of required compression allows for cleaner, crisper and more audible audio cuts. Great stuff to be sure, it's just a shame there's nothing here tempting you to enjoy it. Trying to shy away from the term "gameplay", Electroplankton offers mild amusement for a short while. The user interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, given the simplistic nature of the title. The glaring problem here is that Electroplankton doesn't offer anything more than you should come to expect from amateur flash games from websites like Newgrounds. The fact that Nintendo is charging top DS dollar for this title, is an insult to DS owners everywhere. There's no game to be played, for the gamer and the non-gamer alike. As a music creation tool, it's still sub-par, since there isn't anyway to mix tracks from different mini-games into a self-created masterpiece, and is sorely lacking in all of the composition departments. The ability to change tempo, change background music, and overall have total control are things that NEED to be in Electroplankton - but sadly, are not.

Given the mini-game nature of Electroplankton, would it have really been that hard to put in some sort of goal oriented gameplay here? Sure the music is fun, but what about doing something with that music? There are endless possibilities here, especially for a music game and DDR and Guitar Hero have shown us this. Yet, it would seem that Nintendo and Toshio Iwai collectively passed them all up, for reasons unknown. Is the game fun? Sometimes. For the most part, the game offers little satisfaction, even for a non-game. Were I to even grade it based on a non-game grading curve, the game still comes out stale though. As a piece of software, and not as a game, it's a mediochre at best music creation tool, and even worse for user controlled creativity. I just can't help but think on what a missed opportunity this is. I want to like Electroplankton, I even did enjoy some parts of it, but not enough. Even if every one of the ten plankton shared with me a visceral experience, it wouldn't have lasted much longer than 45 minutes, and would still fall short based on the bars of content and user control. It's something I'd wouldn't even pay a nominal fee for online for a flash based game, let alone the full $40 ($50 CDN) retail price, plus all applicable taxes. It just doesn't cut the mustard, sorry Nintendo. Sorry Mr.Iwai.

By the time you've finished reading this, you will have been completely finished with Electroplankton.

Destroyer of men - Kingdom Hearts 2

2006-01-20T19:22:00.000-05:00

In the midst of slaying trolls and maliciously attacking evil-doing Nintendo fanboys, I came across a curious gamer. A man, whose soul has been ecclipsed by the rotund shadow of videogames, and the damned piece of software, known only as Kingdom Hearts II. I tried to console the man, but only came to realize his humanity had been robbed, his life destroyed, and a future annihilated. How could this come to pass? I managed to conduct an interview with the man before his mortal vessel succumbed to the vacuous void of the television screen. Let's hear his story...

For personal reasons, our victim would like to remain known only as Mr. Malediction

The face of what is now the destroyer of men.

VGP: For the record, it was indeed Kingdom Hearts II that put you in this greivous situation?

Mr. M: ...(all the man could do is shudder -- Ed.)

VGP: So how exactly have you suffered?

Mr. M: I've lost my job, my wife parted with me, I do not sleep, I've been reduced to rummaging through my neighbours' trash cans and recycling bins for some morsel of sustinance, as I've been roobed of time go to purchase food. I've been infected with dysentery ever since the feces started piling up, now that I can't go to bathroom either.

VGP: Sounds terrible. How exactly has Kingdom Hearts II done this to you? How could such things come to be?

Mr. M: You have no idea. It prevented me from going to work. At first it was only one night, but it kept asking for more. It became obsessed with me, always wanting more from me; time I didn't have, but I had no choice! It tempted me to a point where refusal only meant more suffering. It was a vicious cycle of one evil in place of another. If I left it, it would haunt and hound me to no end. It was like a living hell! But if I stayed by it's side, I would suffer financial hardships. The temptation became too much, and I had to make a choice. I had to make the chocie that would lead to the least amount of pain. For God only knows how much I've had to endure trying to peel myself away from this hellishly parasitic relationship.

VGP: And this was only the catalyst, was it not?

Mr. M: Yes. It then proceeded to tempt me with morsels of information, that would in turn lead to greater understandings; understandings of how things worked. Do you know how hard it is knowing only a small part of the bigger picture? I had to have more. I began to crave the information so much that I neglected my wife. She tried to take it away from me, but the connection I had with it was unbelievably strong, such that it transcended love or hate. It was a symbiotic emotion; a hybrid of the two former. I protected it with every ounce of strength. As long as their was breath in my body, I remained steadfast. I eventually wore her down, but in turn she left me. It was now all I had left. It forced me to stop answering my phone, but it levitated me to an enlightened state of informity. I now knew all there was to know, but it wouldn't stop there. It taunted me. Driving became a regular activity between the two of us. Every ride was another path down insanity, which would lead to only more suffering.

VGP: So how did you detach yourself from this menacing entity?

Mr. M: It isn't easy, things became more complicated than I had anticipated. I began to realize that if I co-operated, I in turn experienced greater suffering emotionally and humanistically, but co-operating fooled it into thinking I was swaying; that I was becoming part of some larger than life ideal it had planned. I soon realized playing It's game, began to wear it out. It's final chapeter was coming to a close, as I beat it at it's own game, on It's own terms. No more were the shackels of servitude clenched to the flesh of my wrists. The bindings changed hands, and now I was in control. I was the master form of this epic battle. Things played out in my favour. I finished it deftly with a blade most fierce. Never have I triumphed so purposefully, yet deteriorated so lamentably in one swift blow. For the life-eater that was Kingdon Hearts II, was no more, but did not part with it's physical form before laying seige on my life, eradicating every ounce of dignity, free time, sanitation, and hour of sleep from me. I was a shell. A shadow, a heartless entity, a nobody.

VGP: And here you are...

Mr. M: No, it doesn't end there. I soon learned that I came to miss it. It became so integral to my lifestyle, that I yearned for it evermore. I revived the one thing I had left in my life...IT. Which is where I am today. To this very moment, I am haunted and stalked by the prolific events that subsequently turned my life from one of happiness, into one of insanity. Kingdom Hearts 2 has not only destroyed my life, it has overtaken it. Now I serve only it, and there is no turning back. Good bye cruel, RL(sic)!

(After he spoke these words, his face then stared blankly into the illuminous glass panelling of the television, which once stood in the middle of a fulfilled man's living room. Now, it was a dungeon. A dungeon for a man now captivated by a relationship with something so sinister, it trades pleasure for pain, and suffering for happiness. Thumbs twirling, twirling, twirling...) One can only hope they do not suffer the same fate as our now oblivious gaming brother.

VGP's Best of 2005!

2006-01-02T20:42:00.000-05:00

*high profile awards are measured up to the top 3 titles, while the lower key, yet still important awards are only measured up to the runner-up.

Best Graphics

: Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)

As if there was any question. Resident Evil 4's graphics engine stands up to the challenge, and rises above all expectations. The living disposition of Leon and his fellow cast mates never cease to amaze, and the pus spewing sores of the ganado and blunt toothed jaws of the el gigante don't disappoint either. As I exclaimed in the written review: this game is next-gen now, and looks better than most high-end PC titles and even the elusive Xbox 360, and it's bevy of launch software. Gamecube owners get the King Shit of graphical presentation.

Silver: Shadow of the Colossus (Ps2)
Bronze: Killer 7 (GC)

Best Story

: God of War (Playstation 2)

A broken man, seeking redemption for the murder of his very own wife and daughter, brought about by the trickery and deceit of the God of War, reaps the ultimate reward for doing what no lumbering army of God's could do. This game has "epic" written all over it. Graphic and non-gratuitous, God of War is an adults rendition of greek mythology, and it sparkles with perfection. The only thing that could make one forget the superb and moderately pornographic story telling here, is the fact that a sequel is, as we speak, in transit.

Silver: Killer 7 (GC, Ps2)
Bronze: Resident Evil 4 (GC, Ps2)

Best Soundtrack

: Shadow of the Colossus (Playstation 2)

Evocative of some of the euphoric feelings most gamers got from experiencing the polyphonic masterpieces of Final Fantasy-past, Shadow of the Colossus shares it's emotions with gamers, rather than just show them off. From the opening moments where nothing but desolation and lonliness prevail, up until the triumphant battle cheers of tussels with the Colossi, Shadow does more than just play music, it is music, and music is art.

Silver: God of War (Ps2)
Bronze: Killer 7 (GC, Ps2)

Best Videogame "Extra"

: Separate Ways (RE4, Ps2)

When a developer can deliver an unlockable feature that lasts almost as long as the game itself, you've done more than create a great extra, you've fabricated a whole new dimension of playability. Ada herself gets her own special abilities like the flip kick; her own gadgets like the grapple gun which allows traversal to new areas altogether; her own set of bosses, including one boss exclusive to Separate Ways, as well as her own cut-scenes, story-line and special weapons. Separate Ways is good enough to be a standalone piece of software. Heck, if all you could play was Separate Ways, the game would still exude the same rich quality of the game we've all come to know and love, starring Leon Kennedy. Separate Ways is more than compensatory for the tardy arrival of RE4 on the Ps2, it's a gift. One which all Resident Evil 4 players should experience at some point in their gaming careers.

Silver: Julius Mode; Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Nintendo DS)
Bronze: Call David Jaffe; God of War (Playstation 2)

Best Handheld game

: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Nintendo DS)

There's just no competition here. Konami has delivered a phenomenal iteration of the Castlevania series. The strage thing is, it makes use of the Nintendo DS' "features" in very artificial, and gimmicky ways. It isn't the final banishment seals or the ease of navigation with the second screen map that make C:DoS great (they're great additions to be sure, though). It's the depth of gameplay and multitude of customization options, coupled with superb boss encounters and dense sprite 2-D visuals that make Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow a must-own for any self-respected DS owner. It takes action RPG to an all new level for handhelds, and is light years ahead of the rest of the franchises golden, yet unpolished, titles.

Silver: Lumines (PSP)
Bronze: Nintendogs (DS)

Best Voice Acting

: God of War(Playstation 2)

Sophisticated dialogue, and narration on par with blockbuster motion pictures like Lord of the Rings, God of War offers the gamer a believable and emotionally attached cluster of voice work. While technically short-casted, Kratos, Ares and the narrator - remindful of dame Judy Dench - really have been personified within all parameters of humanity. God of War proves to the industry that only a few voices, honed and tweaked to perfection, is by and large better than a large cast of just "good" voice actors.

Silver: Resident Evil 4 (GC, Ps2)
Bronze: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (GC, Ps2, Xbox)

Most unique title

: Killer 7 (Gamecube)

When someone asks you what was one of the most memorable games of this entire generation, I would hope that on a top ten list, Killer 7 is one of the games you mention. Regardless of whether or not you loved or hated Killer 7, it's a game that caused quite a stir among reviewers everywhere, and should be something you can look back on ten years from now and reminisce. It polarized the entire industry, and not a single game has ever been able to pull off such a feat. From the self-proclaimed lunatic, Suda 51, Killer 7 is a unique perspective on the first person shooter and third person adventure hybrid. It also boasts a storyline more cryptic than the Metal Gear Solids of gaming, or any movie the existential film community would care to conjure. There's no denying the staying power of Killer 7. To this very day, few will say they were in the middle. Most either hated it (as if it had raped and murdered their dog) or loved it (like a mother loves her child). It's suprising to see such reception, but it's that polarity that will forever cement Killer 7 as a memorable game. Even despite this love-hate relationship, the game's cast was crafted masterfully, and really challenged what we think we know, what we actually know.

Note: The Ps2 version of Killer 7 is a glitchy, fat-trimmed version of the Gamecube version. To get the full effect of the unique antics of Killer 7 and the Smith's, do yourself a favour and pick up the Gamecube version if you haven't already..and if you can find it.

Silver: We Love Katamari (Ps2)
Bronze: Kirby: Canvas Curse (DS)

Best Action game

: Devil May Cry 3 (Playstation 2)

Take it or leave it, Devil May Cry 3 is the best action game to date. It's a hardcore gamer's wildest dream, featuring a combat engine as lame or as badass as you can make it, and as fast or slow as you want it to be. Just be prepared for the flurry of enemies and bosses, designed to fully test the mettle of anyone, anywhere. Put it this way: if DMC3 is any indication of where DMC4 is heading on Ps3, then next generation is going to blow minds and break barriers, and Capcom will be on the forefront with Devil May Cry.

Runner-Up: Resident Evil 4 (GC, Ps2)

Best Adventure Game

: God of War (Playstation 2)

Without much competition in the category, and God of War already being the masterpiece that it is, Kratos and his Blades of Chaos were a shoe-in for best adventure title. The total game-time probably won't exceed 10 or 11 hours for 99% of gamers out there, but theres more earth shattering content in those 10 hours, than in the whole of other adventure franchises like Zelda and now Shadow of the Colossus. What those guys do is stuff in a lengthy travel period of mundane button mashing to traverse the trail from point A to point B. God of War cuts the fat, and gives gamers all of the things that matter without that, yet comes to a more complete finish. It's reasons like that that make David Jaffe one of this generations greats. God of War isn't just the best adventure game of 2005, and not just the best game of 2005, it's one of this generations best games. Easily in the top ten, if not the top 4 or 5.

Runner-Up: Shadow of the Colossus (Ps2)
Honourable Mention: Killer 7 (GC)

Best Platformer

: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (Gamecube, Playstation 2, Xbox)

I know what you're thinking: Prince of Persia is an adventure game, not a platformer! You couldn't be more wrong. When you're scaling the outer walls of the Tower of Babylon, and solving some of the most mind bending, platform intensive puzzles, not to mention the fact that the primary means of travel in PoP is to scale the walls and platform your way across the condemned rooftops of Babylon, I'd say PoP does more than just adventure. It does platforming better and smarter than any game to date. That's the God's honest truth.

Runner-Up: Sly 3 (Ps2)

Best RPG

: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Nintendo DS)

RPG fans had some pretty slim pickings in 2005. Without a doubt, no RPG-nut should be without C:DOS or DQ8, but it all comes down to which one is better. Dragon Quest VIII suffers from some pretty hard to miss flaws. Square Enix really fell flat in a lot of areas, but came out smelling cleaner than a daisy with respect to others. However, Castlevania does not ever once suffer from the same stigma. At it's worst, C:DoS does some things mildly mediochre, while remaining quite faithful to the series, and fair to the gamer. Where Dragon Quest VIII has longevity, Castlevania has depth. Where Dragon Quest VIII has satisfactory game design, Castlevania's is great. Where Dragon Quest 8 is breath taking, Castlevania is simply mind blowing. Konami and the Nintendo DS have a winning combination here, and you'd be hard pressed to challenge that notion.

Runner-Up: Dragon Quest VIII (Ps2)

Most innovative game design

: Kirby: Canvas Curse (Nintendo DS)

When the Nintendo DS launched, Nintendo was hot on it's heels, enforcing this notion that the dual-screened, touch friendly handheld would lead to innovation. The launch lineup of software never once proved that point. Instead, we were left with a slightly in-tact rehash of a ten year old game, and 10 other low profile titles that really could be summed up as underwhelming at best. None of them were unique, none of them were innovative, and sure as the wind at my back, none of them were doing Nintendo any good with this new image they were intent on setting for themselves. Then comes our stay-puffed marshmallow space cadet, Kirby. Unleashing upon the DS crowd, true innovation. There's just no denying the power of an innovative game mechanic. It's something no one has ever experienced before, and when it's as good as the penmanship of our pink, fluffy friend, it can only result in good times with what is now the best handheld of 2005.

Runner-Up: Archer McLean's Mercury (PSP)

Game of the year

: God of War (Playstation 2)

David Jaffe has proven once and for all why a game doesn't need to be revolutionary to be great. All it takes is polish. God of War, while technically not markedly different from it's brethren, features some wholelly refined gameplay that gleams in comparison to other adventure titles, and boasts an unmatched sense of scale. From the peon minions of Ares, all the way up to the supersized god of war himself, there's just no umbrella to put the content of this game under. It's something that needs to be seen to be believed. These things coupled with an amazing story, great voice acting, and enough unlockables to warrant the purchase twice over, God of War is the full package.

Silver: Shadow of the Colossus (Ps2)
Bronze: Resident Evil 4 (GC/Ps2)

Reviews for Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Sly 3, and Dragon Quest VIII coming soon...

The orgy of fantastic: 2006

2005-12-29T23:36:00.000-05:00

It's true, VGPundit has lacked in the update department for the last two weeks. Lacking as in, not at all. Working in the lab and updating was just proving to be a job I needed a vacation from. So like any good Christian, I took a couple weeks off for the Christmas season and all the fluff and burdens that come with that, ie: shopping, eating, spending, and familying.

It has proven to be a great year though. This year has seen the announcement of all 3 next-gen consoles, a bevy of quality software, most of which residing on the Playstation 2 and Nintendo DS. However, the launch of the PSP proved to give us some quality software, as did the Gamecube. Xbox was all but barren with Xbox 360 looming on the horizon, yet with all of these high profile games overloading the minds of nerds everywhere the year wasn't without it's fair share of controversy and suprises. The Revolution Remote being the most notable event of the year.

It would almost seem like this year kicked so much ass, that the blood shed could never be matched by any other annual-contender. Yet, lo and behold, 2006 comes out from the darkness to deliver what could very well be the best year the gaming industry has ever seen in all of it's long, gory history. Kingdom Hearts 2, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the launch of both the Ps3 and Revoloution, Super Smash Bros. Online and an E3 and TGS that will showcase all of these things in the greatest detail yet. What's so exciting about all of these things, is that Zelda could very well be the best game the game the GC has ever seen, and the same for Kingdom Hearts and it's philial Ps2. And who could forget, Metal Gear Solid 4...

...If 2005 was sex, 2006 is going to be a full on orgy!

The annual VGP awards will be handed out first thing in the new year, and a batch of reviews will be posted in the mean time, since some of the years late comers are also the years best. Just keep in mind, most of this years games have had time to digest in the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere, even my own. So don't be expecting a direct score to award conversion, a game is not always the sum of it's parts, and each game has it's own ying and yang. See you then.

A few orders of business (12/12/05)

2005-12-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

Xbox 360 -- Japanese Launch Update

Looks like Microsoft has decided to bite off more than they can chew. The console first retailed for 38 800 yen, and now after only 4 days on the market, Xbox 360 is practically being given away at 18 800 yen. This is a rather big deal for poor old Microsoft, yet not entirely suprising. They launched with a paltrey 6 titles, and have done nothing to prove to the Nihon people that Xbox 360 is going to be any different than Xbox. Four days in and prices are being slashed to less than half, in turn for some retailer kick-back who can't give the things away? Oh the smell of success...if only Microsoft Japan knew what that smell was. I bet it's cherries. I bet!

Wise words from a wise man: "In my studio, 360 degrees means that nothing changes."

I'm not going out on a limb here and calling Xbox 360 a failure. I'm really not. It's just not suprising that our friends in the land of the rising sun have no interest in this thing. When it comes to videogames, if it isn't a Sony or Nintendo product, people just don't seem to care. Similar in fashion to the declining popularity of Nintendo's once dominant rule over home consoles here in North America.

REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts (Ps2) -- (9.5)

My mouth waters every moment KH2 peaks it's head out from the hole it hides in.

"I'm now a believer. I can certainly say that Kingdom Hearts, even though a game with some hard to miss flaws, is a fantastic and euphoric trip down memory lane. It teaches us so many things we didn't realize about games, Disney and the depth of both children's literature and RPG's." Read the full review

Review Retro Recall: Devil May Cry (9.3) and Devil May Cry 2 (7.2)

One, Two Punch: DS takes 2005 with a last minute victory!

2005-12-02T21:26:00.000-05:00

Undeniably, the PSP's launch line-up was spectacular. Representing at least one game from every major genre, and most of the titles were fairly good, if not incredibly satisfying to boot. Admittedly, I was wowed by Lumines and Metal Gear AC!D. Both titles were the killer apps the PSP needed. Both worthy of a system purchase, even if both were fairly niche (and at moments, mildly underwhelming: MGA). So it was a shoe-in: Nintendo had nothing but Zoo Keeper and a ported rehash of an N64 classic - aged 10 years of course - and now Sony's wonder machine was poised to unleash upon the gaming community real next-gen handheld gaming. To a point, I'd say they succeeded. A new standard for graphical excellence has been marked. A mark no current Nintendo handheld can reach, but only yearn for. Post-launch, the PSP lost it's momentum, though. Software was steadily released, eventually trickling into a drought (a common thing for any new piece of gaming technology), and most of the games were "okay" at best.

Yet, without any real high profile titles of it's own, the DS was left behind in Default Second place, since really the best titles for each came in the launch pack, with PSP easily trumping the DS' offerings. That's not to say the DS didn't have any reasons to play, they just weren't worth the 200 dollar investment. Then came along Kirby: Canvas Curse. Wow, the game just blew me away. Ostensibly it was nothing special, but mechanically and practically it was genius. Pure genius. Hands down, Canvas Curse's curlicue's of destruction were ultimately more addicting than the trance-mix antics of Lumines. Of course it's presentation as a product was more streamlined towards "minors" and the cutesy people out there, but it was a damned good game, and still is, even after almost half a year of incubation.

It still wasn't enough though. As the whole package, the PSP still had better games, and was still leading, leaving the DS in it's wake. Months pass, and the DS is still without it's reason to live. Yearning for that higher calling. Then August rolls around...and the DS finds it's inner beauty. Nintendogs and Advance Wars: Dual Strike swoop down and rescue our dual-screened friend from iminent drowning. Like most Nintendo gaming machines, it had obtained it's completed Tri-Force. Power, Wisdom and Courage...Nintendogs, Advance Wars and Kirby. While no individual title would be called better than Lumines, I would gladly take those three over any single killer app on the market. The DS had finally caught up, and was finally putting up a fight. Dukes raised, mouth guard in...let the fight begin.

Months passed again, and still no clear winner. This was getting exhausting. Then that glimmer, that light, that something that renews the meaning of "Gamer", that ignites what small spark of excitement, laying dormant. You begin to realize that through thick and thin, there will always be a saviour: that game is Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Easily the best handheld game the DS had, and even easier, the best game amongst the rubbish and rubies of the PSP and DS software lineup. It was That edge the DS needed. Solidifying the Nintendo DS as 2005's "must own handheld", Castlevania DoS could very well be one of the greatest handheld games ever made. And with that, the Nintendo DS pushes forward in a momentous leap of faith, to take the title of "Handheld of the Year". Proving itself to be more than a contender with software, rather than hardware, the PSP was left wallowing in it's own pool of excessive UMDs, as it's killer apps were ecclipsed one after the other. While the PSP is still a stand-out piece of technology - being the publicly advertised tech-nut that I am - the DS just has more fire power. With some hot 2006 salvos coming from the Sony camp, I wouldn't be suprised if the DS is given a run for it's money once again, but right now, the crown jewel is firmly centred on the DS.

One broken Xbox, medium Rare...

2005-11-24T13:42:00.000-05:00

By now you've probably been caught in the middle of some Xbox 360 buzz about it's diseased guts and the craptastic Perfect Dark Zero. Reviews have been pouring in for Rare's highly anticipated killer app, PDZ. Whats funny about this high ratio of high scoring reviews, is that it's unusually so. For the most part, every review tears the single player apart...shreds into strips of scrap paper, boils it and feeds to the dogs. PDZ suffers from "the same exact enemey 100 times" disorder, renders characters via injection molded Barbie and Ken templates, and has textures that are almost next-gen, but not really there - and I'm of course citing these reviews here, not my own experience. Some reviewers construe the "dodge for cover" and lack of jump constricting and limiting. The flip side to that coin is that the online co-op and multiplayer options have gamers gleefully smiling and raising their controller grasping fists in the air. Yet, despite a piece of shit single player campaign, most reviewers are scoring the game high - and even extremely high - simply because the multiplayer is so great. Okay, so multiplayer is great...that's incredible, I'm happy for you. But what about those non-online, non-multiplayer kind of people? Would it not stand to reason that if every facet of your game, especially the primary single player campaign, are not up to snuff, that the game should not be scored well? If half of your game is a torrential shit storm and the other half an ocean of warm, delicious, gooey chocolate...does that not put the overall product somewhere in the middle?

It would seem reviewers are taking for granted that they can actually play online. They mistakingly forget about the single player campaign in lieu of the multiplayer, which is down right wrong. If the single player were great, but the multiplayer
"shit faced", you can bet your bottom dollar the reviews rolling in would be at best slightly above average. I take pride in being part of that niche species of gamer that actually read the words accompanying the shiny score in the top corner...and I'm not impressed. I'm reading reviews that explicitally call the single player version of Perfect Dark Zero sub-par and dreadfully disappointing...yet I'm witnessing scores of 9.0+, because it features some extravagant fluff mode, that is almost standard with every game anyway. This same phenomenon occured with the dawning of Halo 2, and it's stellar online mode. Despite an obviously unfinished and unpolish single player experience, the online was great...and some how warranted scores of anywhere from 9.5 - 10. This perplexes me, and has me wondering if the single player experiences of these games were really as good as their multiplayer counterparts, would reviewers be so inclined as to slap an "11/10" approval stamp on the title, breaking all laws of mathematics, setting new precedent in the review community?

To say I don't have some journalistic discourse with these people reviewing the game would be a lie. I do, and quite a lot. Time and time again, I find people like Greg Kasavin of Gamespot and Hillary Goldstein and Doug Perry of IGN Xbox to be the biggest bull-shitters in this industry. Who are they kidding? These people fall victim to hype far too often, and really do taint what could be great publications. with contradictory reviews and numerical scores that just don't click with the written word. (I will however only point out IGN Xbox. Matt Cassamassima, Jeremy Dunham, Ivan Sulic and Craig Harris of IGN Cube, Ps2, PSP, and DS respectively run their channels with the prestige and videogaming honour they should. However the entirety of Gamespot is still a steaming pile of excriment.) I'd hope that in a few years people will see that this idea of multiplayer trumping single player is a dated and erroneous practice; sure it's great, but grade the game, not just what you deem gradable.

On a related note, 24 hours later and Microsoft is running into some serious problems with Xbox 360. It would appear that a portion of Xbox 360's are actually crashing mid-game, disconnecting abruptly from the internet, and just plain not working. Official word is that ""It's what you would expect with a consumer electronics instrument of this complexity .... par for the course.".

Par for the course? Par for the course?! That's right. You heard it here first, Microsoft calls a complete system crash, "par for the course"...coming from the people behind Windows 98, NT and ME, I can't say I'm surprised. I'm sure there are a few of you who experienced the notorious Disc Read Error (DRE) on the Playstation 2. Sure, occasionally a game wouldn't load - though most eventually would - and some claim a repurchase to solve the problem, but did the Playstation 2 ever crash and give out during a game? Never. Dead pixels on the DS and PSP (not to mention any LCD screen in existence) is "par for the course". This isn't just a minor glitch...this is a full on crash. When you purchase a car, "par for the course" is oil changes, perhaps worn break pads, and the occasional defect; be it kinked transmission fluid hose, or faulty oil pump causing the car not function properly, but fixable at reasonable cost (if any) to the consumer. That's par the course. Starting up the engine, having her purr like a tiger to then promptly drive herself off of a cliff is not "par for the course". Nice try though Microsoft, perhaps next time we'll wait until our product is ready for the consumer, and not just ready to take a bite out of your competitions marketshare. Greedy pricks.

We shall call it X-Day!

2005-11-22T12:08:00.000-05:00

By now, if you had an Xbox 360 on pre-order, you probably already have the machine in your hands. If not, better luck next time. The day has finally come, and it seems that Microsoft knows how to throw one hell of a party. Kudos to Microsoft of masterminding the largest console launch ever. But was it worth it? Has Microsoft been stretched and contorted to it's theoretical limits? It would seem this launch is anything but "successful". Console shortages are ripping through the hearts of gamers everywhere...and yes even some people who already laid down the full 400 USD for the thing. If you're following, Microsoft is spreading themselves far too thin. The fabric of their being has been pulled taught to the point of tearing. North America, being Microsoft's only source of "million seller marketplace" has received the most generous allotment of machines - obviously - but is even that enough? We got somewhere in the ballpark of 1 million Xbox 360's here, and still there are people who have pre-ordered (months in advance mind you) that aren't going to be fragging or flaming online like they had expected. At this point historically, I'd assume thats the kind of thing that is entirely unavoidable.

The United Kingdom consequentially gets the shaftiest shaft of all shafts, receiving a paltry and insulting 50 000 Xbox 360s to place under the Christmas tree. That's Goddamned offensive (although Europe's running total is around 400k). While I'm uncertain on the actual alotted consoles for our Japanese neighbours, the number is within range of 200k. If Microsoft's brass knew full well about this world wide launch from step one, why didn't they forsee this shortage? It doesn't take clairvoyancy or wizardry to predict this kind of road bloc, but Microsoft has gotten so damned cocky. Both the DS and PSP were in unprecendented demand for a handheld during their respective launches. Both sold at a faster rate than previous GameBoy iterations. Videogames are a hot commodity, that's not news Microsoft.

However, an international launch has one huge advantage: saturation. The console is unleashed everywhere, all at once, and not only becomes the buzz of the town, the state,the province, or the country...but the world. This is definitely Microsoft's 1UP with this launch. But is it worth disappointing eager consumers who actually pre-ordered a console but were in the end ripped of that pleasure? I'd say no. There's no doubt in my mind that Microsoft just wasn't prepared for this launch. Yes, Xbox 360 will sell out all across the country...but is it because of demand, or because Microsoft just couldn't keep up with the ambition they set forth with?

The launch line-up here is getting mixed reviews. It seems that PGR3 and Call of Duty 2 are the "must have" titles of Xbox 360, but those aren't what I'd call "killer apps". Nintendo DS had Super Mario 64, Gamecube had Pikmin and the soon thereafter Super Smash Bros Melee - which probably holds the honour of best launch title ever. Playstation 2 had Fantavision and PSP had Lumines. Each a unique experience you probably wouldn't get anywhere else. The unfortunate thing is you can play CoD2 and PGR3 type experiences on other consoles, and in a multitude of forms. The only non-sports, non-FPS game in the Xbox 360 18 title launch line-up is Kameo, and the game has been getting average to "good" reviews. It certainly isn't the AAA system seller everyone thought it would be (and to debunk a classic Miyamoto quote: a delayed game IS NOT inevitably good!). Do I personally see a reason to be playing an Xbox 360 this year? No, not at all. As a rule, I do not play sports games...they are fun, but ultimately the same experience year after year. First person shooters are a mixed breed, but not something I'd like to saturate a library with. Is it worth the price of admission? The hardware certainly makes it seem so, but with the Playstation 3 on the horizon, and at a likely similar price point, I will opt for the more advanced, more powerful console and deductively the better launch-line up (since any combination of exisiting titles would be better than the sports/FPS ratio that the Xbox 360 sports).

To add insult to injury, a week ago, order forms for Xbox 360 still numbered in the thousands per chain in Japan. The launch line-up is even worse, with no RPG in sight and only 6 titles to chose from, the Xbox 360 JP launch is at it's best, rushed and pathetic. Launching in Japan without an RPG is the equivalent of lauching here in North American with no Madden or racing sim. It's not asking for, it's demanding failure. Not to say Xbxo 360 will fail in Japan, but it's launch probably will. I assume the majority of machines will be snatched up by impulse shoppers and mildly interested folk who already paid tribute to the original Xbox, since there doesn't appear to be demand anywhere near the magnitude of "Playstation" or "Nintendo DS".

On top of this evolving list of problems, backwards compatibility is at an all time low. Combined with only 18 games being backwards compatible in Japan, and 200 here in North America and Europe (out of the potential 700 titles, even excluding the most recent titles, like Half-Life 2 and Prnce of Persia), Xbox 360 is going down in history as "the little big console that couldn't". This entire fiasco is just proof that this next-gen jump start is happening far too early. Microsoft just wasn't ready or prepared for this. Microsoft is master of their domain, they know that they could sell you an empty box as long as their hype-campaign was forcibly backing it, so these short comings are something that could have been easily avoided...if Microsoft weren't the industry newbies they're proving themselves to be. Broadening the window for multinational launch would have been a start, and actual backwards compatibility would have been a close second on the list of things Microsoft knew would go wrong, but ignored anyway.

Demo-lition Mastery and FFXII HaXxor!

2005-11-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

You're just not a hardcore gamer if Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King doesn't interest you. Not only does it fill the pre-requisite of having more words than non-nerds can handle a single title, it fully taps the power of RPG fan service. People wanted a 3D DQ game with that latest tech generation appeal. Akira Toriyama is probably one of the most renowned pencil guys in Japan, and his work is distinguishable from all other forms of manga, and Square Enix brought him on board to sketch the googley eyed disposition of the DQ8 cast. This title is hot in Japan, I can't even tell you how hot, since merely mentioning the hotness will melt the skin off of our faces. What I can tell you, is that it's sold a whopping 4 million units in Japan, and is still casually flying off shelves. Dragon Quest to those Nihonmaniacs is what FF is to us Cannuckle Patriots (ie: North Americans). Sure, FF is wildly popular in Japan, moreso than here in the west, but Dragon Quest is by far the more popular option overseas. We chose McDonalds, they chose Ramen, and occasionally we all eat both.

Saving impressions of the game until review time, DQ8 in North America has come bundled with the english demo of Final Fantasy XII. The game that's been in development for almost 4 years now - a teaser poster with the FFXII logo was leaked only weeks before FFX-2 released in NA during Christmas 2001 - it's about god damned time we get a demo. Trailer after trailer after trailer...one man can only be tempted so long. What a thinker: Square Enix being aware that DQ is a vastly under sold and under appreciated series here, releases the demo of a game most of us have wanted and pined for exclusively with this title. Sneaky? Yes, absolutely. But at what cost? Is it really so sneaky when the game the demo is packed with is freaking fantastic? Konami pulled a similar stunt when they released the godly Metal Gear Solid 2 demo with the low key Zone of the Enders. Zone of the Enders, to this day, was a huge hit with fans, and not because of the tantalizing and manipulative MGS2 demo. The game on it's own merits was friggin' unbelievable. It was a sleeper hit that only Metal Gear Solid fans really nurtured in their collective bosom. ZOE2 hits shelves a little later, and it sells like 10 copies - obvious hyperbole - and the amount of people who bought that game could probably congregate in a 10 feet x 10 feet room. Why? No high profile demo of course. Which is a shame, since ZOE2 is easily one of the best games of this generation past. It was innovative, remarkably original, and was of course a Kojima production (whose name alone sparks interest, due to his unparalleled talent at creating great videogames).

Back to the topic on hand, if the FFXII bundle hadn't come prepackaged with Dragon Quest VIII Journey of the Cursed King - a name I say in full proudly and repeatedly to reaffirm my nerdness - the game wouldn't sell, and would go unappreciated again. It would be another fabulous title in the stinker, simply because people were too distracted by a billion dollar advertising campaing for Xbox 360, instead of looking at the sheer volume of high quality titles available for still viable current-gen platforms. So while sneaky, it's for the best. There is no wrong in tricking people into doing something, so long as it's something they will enjoy (they just don't know it yet).

On a more important note, the demo of FFXII has been u83R HaX'D! It would appear that summoning the esper Hashmal as Vaan in the Phon Coast stage of the demo, allows your newly summoned creature to "pwn" the enemies with his "Roxxor" attack. I shit you not. This attack is real, and it really does own. Is this a humourous jab at internet leet-speak or is it a genuine attempt by Square Enix to be original? I can't even tell, the demo is such a serious venture that it almost seems inappropriate for it to be a humourous jab. Then again, never put it past Square to load a game to the brim with pop-culture homages and esoteric references.

Review Round-Up (11/11/05) - And then there was...the One.

2005-11-13T22:42:00.000-05:00

Resident Evil 4 (GC versus PS2) 9.5/9.6:The room is dark, dimly lit by a chest mounted flashlight, and everything around you is dripping with blood. The foul stench of rotted flesh permeates through the walls, and the loco locals are even worse off. Around every corner a trap is set, a creature lurks and evil waits for that prime moment; the moment when your inner fear is at it's peak, and leaps at you from it's resident holdings. Resident Evil 4 takes off in a radically new direction that succeeds on every level...Full Review

Review Round-Up (11/04/05) - Regaling with Jak

2005-11-05T01:51:00.000-05:00

Reminiscing with Jak and Daxter, his pedigree of gaming goodness and sour grapes.

Jak and Daxter (PS2) -- 9.4: Naughty Dog, the founding father of the Crash Bandicoot series, a now legendary platformer for the Playstation, have now made their debut on the Ps2 with this incredible new franchise, that simply dwarfs what Crash Bandicoot was. If Crash Bandicoot was a cheap red wine, Jak and Daxter would be the champagne, its simply euphoric...Full Review

Jak II(PS2) -- 7.0: Notably, Jak and Daxter was platforming in the most literal sense. There weren't many enemies, (compared to other platformers) and the challenges weren't very difficult. Even though the game was simplisticly designed, it was too hard to put down...which is exactly why Jak II is such a disappointment...Full Review

Jak 3 (PS2) -- 9.0:Jak 3 is the epic conclusion to what we now refer to as the "Precursor Legacy Saga". Insinuating, that there be another saga, or even sagas in Jak and Daxter's future...or maybe just one of them. For all intents and purposes, it does a pretty good job at tying up loose ends, and explaining the origin of the precursors and the mysterious origin of Jak and his furry frere Daxter...Full Review

I'm hoping to get a review for Jak X posted, but I haven't finished playing the game yet, nor can I bring myself too. If there are any takers, I'd be willing to post a guest review for the game. Anyway, if you ever wondered and contemplated playing the Jak series, I highly recommend it. Even though the central chapter is a bit bumpy, the overall trilogy is very well done, well written, and overall a good set of games to own.

Review Round-Up (10/27/05) - Ten calibur artistry...

2005-10-27T23:17:00.000-04:00

Review: Shadow of the Colossus (Ps2) - Some mountains are climbed, others are slain...

2005-10-27T23:00:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

10

You don't often come across the likes of Shadow of Colossus. There are many people and games before it that have tried to make 'art' with videogames. If you were privaleged enough to play Team ICO's seminal title ICO, you were treated to some great visuals. The entire game played out like an active, living painting. Every brush stroke mirrored by the input of the controller, and every colour change as transient as the artists pallette. The game was just beatiful. It unfortunately remained rather similar throughout the whole adventure. The game played intuitively, but it was a lot of the same. Team ICO now has their chance to continue on towards the goal they set out to accomplish with Shadow of the Colossus. The team has grabbed a hold of that beauty and artistry, and held onto it maternally throughout the development of Shadow. That thing is what the games industry has desperately needed, and in heavy doses. Shadow, being the spiritual successor to ICO, has retained the quality of looking like art, but also boasts the ability to play like art. The game takes the idea of sim, and truly immerses you in it. Perhaps not as traditional as Will Wright wrote it, but there's definitely art mimicking life, and life mimicking art here. The story begins quaintly: a lone man - a Wanderer - riding in by horseback to a barren land, devoid of significant life, and empty of civilized impedimenta. An impossibly high bridge, bare backing into a shrine where 16 colossal monuments watch, as the Wanderer - someone we lovingly call Wander - places the body of his deceased loved one Mononoke, on the alter. Wander's goal is to find a way to bring her back from the dead and return her soul - at any cost. The Dormin, the omnipotent voice from somewhere offers you the restoration of Mononoke's life in exchange for defeating the 16 colossi that roam freely in the cursed land. Using the sacred sword - which you stole away as you fled from your native kingdom - find and defeat them. No how, or why, just do it and you'll see the lungs of your loved one inflate with a breath of life. Love does crazy things to a man, and this time is no different. No reason necessary, no cost is too high, and no mountain too live...

The game starts the player off with a bow and enchanted sword, his trusty steed and impeccable ambition. The thing to note as the introduction reels through it's 10 odd minute cut-scene, is that the only way in or out of this barren landscape is the impossibly built bridge, which you ride in on. So any life roaming through the flora and fauna of the land, can only escape over this bridge, which is a feat in and of itself to reach. The feeling of isolation and desolation are emphasized, just by this point alone. That same point is reemphasized time and time again, as you head-to-head it with a colossus the realization dawns that it's only you, the colossi and your only friend, Agro the horse. Agro's place in this epic story is not fully realized until the final act plays through. There's great emotional attachment to the characters here, and it's done with so little effort. The idea that the player knows whats going on is tossed, right until the final chapter comes to a close. By the time the credits roll, you'll be taken a back by just how much punch was packed into about an hour of story in a 10 hour game. The emotions invoked here are deep and in some cases painful. During one or two moments this reviewer felt the urge to shed a tear (however, did not). The relationship between Wander and Agro will tug at your heart strings, and there's nary a game that can boast the same thing.

But how does it play? Really, the game is art in every sense of the word, but there's still a game beneath that canvased disposition. The entire premise of the game is to hunt down these colossi and take them down. Is that it, you ask? For the first playthrough, yes definitely. However I'm going to veto the negative connotation attched to that statement. There are games that impliment half finished ideas, and only those ideas. Shadow is far from a half finished idea. It's a fully honed and tweaked idea, that gives the game something most other one trick ponies don't have: focus. The game never loses track of what it wants you to do, and never distracts you with filler. The enemy is the colossus, and no one else. There are other things to do and collect, like find fruit tees and white tailed lizards to increase health and strength, but those are fairly secondary. The focus never shifts to those things. To cement the point I'm trying to make: the fact that all you do is fight colossi is not a slight against the game. It's 100% in it's favour.

In order to reach each colossus, there's some lengthy travel times and exploration that need to be done first. By holding your sword up in brightly lit areas you can reflect sunlight, which will narrow into a singular beam when you're pointing in the direction of your target colossus. Making your way there will require you to trot through some rough terrains of varying nature, such as scaling mountains, crossing barren deserts, navigating through forest thicket, and breast stroking across lakes of water. Truly sights to be seen. The sheer size of the land is enough to make any Grand Theft Auto or Spider Man 2 fan jealous. The sqaure mileage of this game equates to about twice as much as any of the aforementioned games. Draw distances and texturing (even some of the first vertex shading I've seen on the Playstation 2) are all of the highest calibre. Although, the land is the furthest thing from most impressive in this title. The most impressive features in Shadow are the colossi themselves. Tens to even a hundred times larger than our lonely hero, these beasts represent a technical marvel in videogame design and presentation.

This a great time to take a dive into the waters of ravenous graphics whores. The colossi are huge, the grand scale is immeasurably large, and the number of polygons and textures on these monstrosities number in the tens of thousands. There's no shortage of ambition on the visual front here. Suffice to say, Shadow boasts the best sculpted graphics engine ever seen on the Playstation 2, or even the rival power houses Gamecube and Xbox. That said, there are those who would piss and moan with framerate diatribe, and admittedly, it isn't always perfect. But we're not talking significant drops here. The game for the most part consistently runs at a smooth 30 FPS, and on occasion will drop to around 28. On very rare occassions, it will drop lower then that, but never during any crucial event and it's never detrimental to the experience. The framerte drops happen the least during the colossi fights, and given the ambitious architectural precedence here, these slight drops are more than forgivable. In fact, they're expected. The overwhelming beauty here is more than enough for any hardcore gamer. There's absolutely no disappointment from any angle.

Onwards and forwards as they say. Scaling the colossi require some quick thinking, and active puzzle solving. These monsters are walking, living, breathing puzzles, each with their own criteria for revealing crucial weak points, or places where a greivous wound can be inflicted to knock them over. These weak points can be located using the sunlight via enchanted sword, but getting to them and taking down the colossus is another story. Unlike most reviewers, I have no problem spoiling some of the game to exemplify this point. There are 16 colossi in total, and explaining the ins and outs of one or two won't ruin any of the experience. One colossus, about the size of a small mountain, covered from snout to claw in stone armour, needs to be tipped over with the pressure of a water geyser. Afterward, you climb the fur of it's belly, and up to the top of his shell. To do this the player must mount Agro, and lure him over the geyser and take out his ankles, to weaken his support. Another example, and my personal favourite being colossus 5 known as Avion, requires that you lure a flying colossus to swoop down at you, and as he rears into the final stretch of the attack, you jump and grab hold of his wing. From here you take out the tail and wings to bring the bird out of the sky. Some truly remarkable gameplay here. Rest assured that every colossus requires a new strategy. There's nothing reused from colossus to colossus, and that makes each and every new monster a fresh and inventive experience. I suppose there's even a bit of innovation that accompanies Shadow, as no game has ever come close to so much as attempt combat on a scale as large as there is here. The entire process is fun and inviting, and exhilerating to the very bittersweet end.

The epitome of grandiose arrangements are in the soundtrack that plays before, during and after each fight. When trying to mount the colossus, a thunderous and ominous ballad echoes over and over until you begin the colossal ascension, but when you begin scaling them and going on the offensive, the victorious fanfare begins pounding, and rhythmically gets the blood pumping. It's an equilibrium of both the fantastic soundtrack and epic gameplay that creates this feeling, this aura that you're not only playing the game, but living it. It's a fantastic thing to embrace, and a wonderful experience, because that's what this game ends up being, an experience. Not just a game, but something you explore, you breathe in and you become a part of. I've never experienced anything like this game before during my tenure as a gamer. On top of a 10 hour experience during the first playthrough, the game warrants at a minimum 4 playthroughs, as doing so and completing all modes unlocks a total of 16 items, weapons and armour,that enhance your successive playthroughs; daring and efficient explorers will find some fabulously rewarding secrets and easter eggs as well, especially for fans of ICO.

What it simply comes down to is this: no game touches Shadow of the Colossus. No game in existence has ever reached such a lofty height as this. While I don't expect everyone to resonate with the opinion that Shadow is the best game ever, I would expect that everyone acknowledge that it does many things so radically different, and does them so well, that it is easily a contender for the game of the year. It's by and large an adventure on par with Resident Evil 4, God of War, and Killer 7. Very rarely would I throw around the phrase: "among the best games ever", and even more rare, as in almost never, would I call a game the greatest ever made. This is one of those rare times. Expect great things from this title. When you can do so much with so little, it wets the pallette just to imagine what Team ICO will do with the power of the Playstation 3. While a direct sequel to Shadow would be utterly fantastic, it's all too obvious and not a likely project for Team ICO. I do however have great expectations for their next title, as this game has proven, it's not how much you have, but what you do with it. A masterpiece has been painted, and the regal colours of Shadow of the Colossus articulate a world of unparalleled beauty.

Structuring...

2005-10-26T12:50:00.000-04:00

VGPundit is going under a massive internal restructuring. Instead of sporadic updates, there's going to a much more structured update system. All reviews for any given week will be posted on Fridays and only Fridays. Editorials will be posted on either Monday's or Wednesdays. Tuesdays and Thursdays are reserved for writing and obtaining the content, or posting guest columns.

This week will see reviews for Sly 3, Budokai Tenkaichi, Shadow of the Colossus, and a special review for Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow...and yes, it's that good. That's all guaranteed for Friday's update, so please stay tuned for that.

Review Run

2005-10-09T22:14:00.000-04:00

Here starts an onslaught of reviews. This list will be updated periodically throughout the week. The reviews for Advance Wars DS, We Love Katamari, Ultimate Spider Man, and a couple others are done. All thats left is some careful editing and they'll be posted on this list soon enough. The first of the items is Katamari Damacy, in anticipation for the We Love Katamari review which will be the next thing to come...UPDATE: We Love Katamari, added (10/11/05). UPDATE: The long requested Advance Wars DS review added (10/12/05). UPDATE: Ultimate Spider Man added (10/13/05).

In anticipation of the new Ratchet: Deadlocked, I've ripped three older (with a clear older writing style) Ratchet reviews from my archives. Enjoy!

Ratchet and Clank -- 9.2
Going Commando -- 9.5
Up Your Arsenal -- 9.8

Ultimate Spider-Man

8.0

Read the review

Katamari Damacy

9.1

Read the review

We Love Katamari

9.5

Read the review

Advance Wars: Dual Strike

8.8

Read the review

God Speed

Review: Final Fantasy VII Advent Children - Crank up the AC, 'cause it's burning up!

2005-10-06T14:39:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

9.8

WARNING: Advent Children may contain scenes that will blow your mind.

The better sooner-than-later Advent Children has reached the eastern shores of Japan, and to no suprise, the DVD and UMD versions have been gobbled up by the masses of gamers and Final Fantasy fanboys everywhere. The movie has been in development for well over 4 years, as I still have archived on my hard drive, a trailer from early 2003 stating a Summer 2004 release date for the picture. Several delays later, and Advent Children is finally market ready. From the trailers shown, there would certainly have to be a great deal more excitement and razzle dazzle than was displayed in order for Advent Children to be a critical hit, as most of the "cool" factor wore off after the same footage was shown, cut in varying sequences, for each new trailer to hit the net. With no ego or interfering FF-fanboyism, that all bets are off and that Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children contains the sweetest action scenes in movie history, and makes up for the lackluster previews we've been given. This is the kind of stuff that topples what the Matrix did for modern kung-fu, and it even makes the uppity antics of Dante from Devil May Cry fame, look like a complete wuss; and that's only scratching the surface. Beneath the layers of nostalgia and f**king amazing fight scenes, there's a very subtle plot that may or may not intrigue you. You're definitely going to want to dust off a copy of FFVII for Playstation if you're not literate on the happenings of Cloud and his posse, and if you're not an FFVII fan, you probably won't digest a heck of a lot of what's going on. Advent children is fanservice, and not much more, but it takes fan service and sets new standards of what is lame, and what is totally fucking amazing.

The movie runs at about 1 hour and 40 minutes, which isn't short-changed by any means, and the cinematic quality is top notch. The movie runs at an extremely fast pace, switching from scene to scene with few transitions, but it works rather well. Square Enix can get away with it since the fanbase watching the film doesn't need many explanations, as the background work has been layed out by the predecessing game's 50+ hour journey. The movie focuses on Cloud and the confliction within himself, still mourning Aeris(th), and coming to terms with the death of both her and his deceased best friend Zack. That's putting it nicely. The main "crisis" in the movie a Sephiroth/Jenova revival theme, which has been played out before, but it's done with more flare this time around. The plot is almost an afterthought in Advent Children though, but it's safe to say that it's appropriate, since it doesn't try to stretch the pedigree of FFVII too thin by diluting it with more convoluted back story. In essence, Advent Children plays out like a 2 hour FMV Epilogue taking place 2 years after FFVII. It's not meant to create a whole new story, but play out as an extension of the previous. As a film critic, this is seen as some what of a minimalist approach to film making, but to the Final Fantasy fan in me, that's more than par for the course.

Voice acting is great, and if you can't get your hands on a few subs, then perhaps you should take up Japanese, as most cuts are without sub titles (depending on the legality of your acquisition). Parallel to that, are the life like qualities of the environments and non-lifeform things, like fabric, wood, and the things that make up what is not "people". It's almost mistakable for the real thing. The character models for our rag tag team of worldly heroes goes back to a still cartoony look, yet retaining the life-likeness of real people. It's just a work of art to be quite honest. There's no equivalent to this movie, or at least none that could hold a candle. Soundtrack is classic FFVII, with a few new twists on everyone's favourite ballads like One Winged Angel and the Forest of the Ancients theme. Great stuff all around, at least for any self respecting FFVII fan.

The best part of Advent Children though, is the action. In my mind, it's easy to justify watching this movie, even if you're ignorant on everything Final Fantasy, since the combat sequences require no previous investment, and just sitting back and watching the choreography be executed is mind boggling. Abso-freakin'-lutely incredible. Limit Breaks galore as you watch Cloud, Tifa, Red, Cid, Barret, Vincent, Yuffie, and Cait Sith kick materia-listic butt. As I mentioned earlier the action tops every standard set by conventional film making. Some would call it cheating since CG characters can do anything you want them to, but sit back and watch just how complex the actual fighting is, trying to ignore the fact that the combatants are flying 200 feet into the air, never seeming to be caught by the descending hand of gravity. You'll find some high quality stuff to be sure. Once you've experienced just how much the combat enthralls the viewer, you'll understand how Square Enix could justify delay after delay. I would have waited 3 more years for this kind of work. If this is what Square Enix calls "fan service", I'm eccstatic about the possibilities for Crisis Core on the PSP, and FFIII on the DS.

Where Advent Children succeeds is delivering a clear and concise follow up to Final Fantasy VII, in just about every aspect. The whole team is back - yes that includes Cait Sith - and they all kick major ass. Cloud redefines the definition of bad ass, while the rest of the team picks up the slack, and out-badassing everyone in the long line of bad asses, other than Cloud himself. As a fan of the series, I've reviewed and scored the movie as such, just be warned that if you aren't interested in seeing the biggest, baddest, most earth shattering fight scenes ever (you better believe level 99 means something), and you aren't a fan, then there's very little here that you'll enjoy, or even understand. Advent Children is the best movie based on a game to date, and while I wouldn't normally consider that to be of much consequence, understand that FFVII:AC takes the concept of fan service and runs with it. There's very little to whine about, and to eschew the unneccessary confusion, yes I am a fanboy of Final Fantasy VII, and this movie is a masterpiece. God Speed.

The reason behind the lack of updates for September was due to a bunch of scheduling conflicts with my chemical physics department, and troubles with some domain hosting. The server that I tried to obtain ended up being totally bogus, and that's why the domain VGPundit.com isn't working right now. Only the blogspot domain is operating, but this should be ironed out within the next two weeks. I'm hopin to have 4 (yes, four) reviews posted this weekend, so keep an eye out for that.

On the horizon is Shadow of the Collosus and Castlevania DS, so it's going to a pretty swank holiday season come this winter.

Revolutionary Nintendo - An Essay In Many Parts

2005-09-19T21:15:00.000-04:00

The Industry of Non-Games

With a bevy of Nintendo fanboy hatred looming on the internet for people who dare speak against Nintendo's "Revolution", I say fuck you. A big fat fuck you. It's not arguable: Nintendo's controller is not innovative. It does nothing new. It doesn't introduce any new technology, and certainly doesn't break any ground on the gaming front. Every tech demo or flashy controller setup on the Revolution, has been done before in arcades all across the world. Innovation is something that is next to impossible to acheive with gaming hardware, since the intended audience isn't willing to throw massive amounts of resources into purchasing a brand new technology, that is obviously pricey. And while naysaying fanboys will say "But it's never been done before in games", I say get a life. Better yet, get a god damned education, or even a dictionary for crying out loud. The dictionary definition of innovation is the creation of something new or introducing something new.

Again, fanboys will cry "Nintendo is introducing it into gaming", which again is wrong on two levels, the first being a contrived version of the latter. First, everything the Revolution does, has been done to some degree in arcades and with home console peripherals, historically speaking. Even the design isn't brand new, as one handed controllers are what started this industry in the first place. In no appreciable amount, is this a newly introduced concept or application in gaming. Second, and this is the real clincher: Revolution's technology was introduced many years ago. The technology itself was introduced in a medium that isn't videogames, and was ported (the Nintendo fanboys favourite deragatory reference) to the Revolution controller. This DVD remote control doo-dad, is ported technology, old news, the salad shooter of console technology. On the same tangent however, while Revolution is not innovative, the ideology Nintendo presents with it is inventive. In other words, it's creative, and thinking with an open mind.

I should add one caveat to the previous rant, and that's the Revolution concept, and the notion that it's innovative and industry saving is what I was attacking. Yes, Revolution will fail, and fail miserably, but that doesn't mean it's going to be a total miss with the crowd that does buy into it. As I did mention, for I all know, it could be rather fun to play around with the Revolution, but to call it a "new standard" in gaming, and claiming that it's here to save an industry that just doesn't need saving at the moment, is pretentious. It's round-about insane to even call this thing "anything saving". It's just not going to have any significant impact on conventional gaming. People will buy Ps3 and Xbox 360 in droves, and no amount of radical new controller design is going to change that. Even today, Nintendo claimed that the Revolution is going to be imitated by both Sony and Microsoft in the coming years. I say just watch. The only people to even attempt imitation are going to be third party developers with peripherals and game specific devices for non-Revolution games. The ideas and products won't sell, and Nintendo will have to barter with themselves on whether or not their Revolution was actually as impactful as they boasted years prior.

In the same address, Nintendo also believes they're going to become market leader again, or at least think they can with Revolution's new radical design. Claiming, that there is an untapped market of gamers that are too afraid to try gaming due to intimidating numbers of buttons and functions. This just isn't the case. In order for Nintendo to regain market leadership, they're going to have to make up well over 100 million units; units that aren't represented in today's unit sale demoegraphics. That means Nintendo believes they've honed in on a select group of people that number in the tens of millions, that haven't tried or are too afraid to try gaming. Again, this just isn't the case. There are 5 year olds playing Halo (immorally and illegally in some cities), and completing the hard and Legendary difficulties faster than most adults can. In the same sense, there are 7 year olds teaching grown men and women the ropes of Halo 2 (see EGM: October 2005) for a fee. This "intimidated" demographic, just doesn't exist. If anything at all, people are becoming more and more adept at videogames and the complex controllers at much earlier stages.

Though, to be fair, what Nintendo believes and what is reality are two things that have never really meshed in the past, and they aren't about to start going to now. For what it's worth, Nintendo's industry is profitable. Being the profit-mongers that they are, they are constantly performing a disservice to their loyal fanbase by overcharging on hardware. I won't dwell on the matter in length, but as a rule, hardware is almost always sold at a loss or at cost, and the profitable dividends are made up in software and peripheral sales. This time around, Nintendo has cornered all 3 aspects as profit sources, and one can and cannot blame them. I'm merely pointing out that the gamers Nintendo call "hardcore", are in fact the masochists of gaming culture. Nintendo fence sits on the blurred line between honesty and dishonesty far too often, and while I can't say Sony and Microsoft aren't run by money grubbing maniacs, Nintendo's entire sales pitch seems to be oriented around that idea. This is partially why I'm not pleased with Revolution. It's an old technology, that will be cheap to manufacture considering it's age, and they'll insist on charging large sums for it, even though the inner specifications are barely comparable to Ps3 and Xbox 360. I just don't see the honesty there.

Cheating the Cheap on the Cheap

Nintendo is known for gouging their fanbase for money. First they released the memory card for Gamecube that could save about one game, and then after a few months of bitching, unleashed the real memory cards that were actually useful, again for a sum that only equated to more profit for Nintendo. You want to play Donkey Kong 64 or Majora's Mask? Sorry, you're going to have to pay for an add-on that gives your N64 the power to play them. The worst part about the expansion-bay massacre, was that Nintendo had planned on gouging it's fanbase, even in the earliest planning stages of it's Ultra console. The GameBoy (the original) is probably the most pitiful example I can think of on Nintendo's part, taking 7 years to gift the GameBoy with a colour screen, merely to turn around a few years later and launch the GBA, regifting the SNES technology and making all other GB's obsolete. Even worse, they launched the GBA with no back light, and a battery guzzling infrastructure that was later replaced with the real version of the handheld, the GBA SP. Which is truly a great piece of hardware, it's just shameful it took Nintendo ten years of cash cowing the GB to get it out there. That's the Nintendo industry that I don't jive with. Most informed gamers don't either. Those who do are the abused bastard children of Nintendo's ideology.

Self Supression

Nintendo has never been able to outsell their anterior console in their entire history as a videogame company, and aren't about to start now. Nintendo becoming market leader is like saying N-Gage is poised to take the handheld industry by storm. Nothing will come of it, and it's in foolishness to even make such baseless conjectures, especially in international press releases. And while Nintendo's handheld industry continues to go strong, it isn't as stampeding as it used to be. Nintendo DS is selling wonderfully, but it's also neck in neck with the Sony PSP, worldwide. Nintendo is only outselling the PSP on a weekly basis in one market, and that's Japan. Launching early in Europe and in North America has netted Nintendo a respectable 1 million unit lead on the international market, but both the NA and EU launch of the PSP have outdone the DS launch by a factor of 2, on both occasions. PSP and DS are on the verge of sparking a true handheld war that will bring about fantastic software in a truly competitive market. Being an owner of either in today's gaming populace only means good things for the future. As a console gamer though, if not now, in the years to come, third parties will nearly abandon Nintendo's console industry. Not because there aren't great opportunities to create unique software, but because of Nintendo's image in the console world. Nintendo is profitable, and therefore can sustain losses on software if a game doesn't sell, but for third parties, their hopes and dreams reside solely on a silicon coated disc, that if sold poorly, won't be considered for future versions or sequels on the Revolution. You can convict me of feigning clairvoyance, but come back to me when the next generation is over, and show me Nintendo in the lead, and show me that Nintendo has created a profitable environment for third parties. I really don't think you'll find either though.

Innovative Non-Innovations

Nintendo's ideals rest solely on convincing their ignorantly loyal fanboys that what they do is innovative, and somehow convince them that being "innovative" automatically makes the games they make good, no matter how the innovation (if there actually is any) is executed. That's not a business model I particularly enjoy, but do partake in because I'm a sucker for the likes of Super Smash. Bros., the newly addicting Nintendogs and the truly innovative software like Kirby: Canvas Curse. These are the games that keep me coming back, but Mario Party 23, Donkey Konga 5, and Super Mario 341 are what invoke these feelings of a battered and bruised son, fathered by a drunkard, inebriated on his own selfish, personal gain. If Nintendo truly embodied the goodness and well-being they say they do, they wouldn't be in last place, they wouldn't have people like me, skeptical of every move they make and disgusted by rehashed mascot franchises. Nintendo has embroidered themselves the "Everybody company", but it's somewhat of a misnomer. Nintendo is the gaming company for those who want convenient gaming, not emotional, rich, deep or engaging experiences, that are created manually by software developers, not automatically created using one gimmick or another.

Are there unique concepts and game designs that could blow me away with the Revolution's controller? Absolutely, in fact I expect some games to do just that. That doesn't mean all of Revolution's generation is going to be filled with titles like that. Most of Nintendo's gimmicks are only ever used properly by Nintendo, while third parties dodge the firey bullets of innovation by using the DS' second screen for a puny map, or never using Gamecube's peripherals or online development. I have no doubt that third parties will weasel out of creating innovative software on Revolution by discovering an obvious, ambiguous and mundane feature to use the controller for, while keeping everything else the same. Myself, I like more of the same, so long as it's new and enjoyable. For the most part, I was never given that with Nintendo's "innovations" like the DS. Developers were too concentrated on finding a use for the second screen, rather than focusing on the game itself. To the same effect, third party Revolution software will follow suit.

Do I hate the controller? I suppose I don't hate what it does, just what it stands for, and what Nintendo wants to make it out to be. Deep down, I think Revolution could be a niche gaming toy that provides momentary fun and excitement, but in no way will it replace or reinvent the way we play games. No one is going to copy it, and if fortune smiles upon the industry, Nintendo will realize they can't simply "save" something that doesn't need saving, or "reinvent" something thats already perfect. Nintendo doesn't need to standardize an industry that already has a standard that works almost too well, and they certainly don't need to "innovate" with something that isn't innovative. I don't hate the Revolution, but I certainly don't like it. Call me Revolution bipartisan.

The Best and Worst of TGS

2005-09-17T01:19:00.000-04:00

With Revolution comes change, but the converse is not always the truth. Nintendo has operated under this false pretense. I guess I should show off the snazzy new Revolution controller, the "different just because" controller that Nintendo thinks is going to reinvent the industry and save it from it's otherwise profitable and timely success. I'm actually quite glad Nintendo's Revolution controller turned out this way, otherwise I'd have nothing to bitch about. This years Tokyo Game Show is running smoothly, and eye brows are being raised all over the place. Microsoft announced a cheaper premium pack for the Japanese market, and Konami unveiled Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the Ps3. Both things equate to much more than Nintendo's rebellious hurrah. The features of the Revolution controller are as follows:

- Infrared laser pointing detection
- Gyroscopic motion detection via pseudo-gyro motion detectors
- Rumble
- Wireless

At least thats the list as Nintendo wants you to see it. There's clearly a desperation to play "extend the list" with the ignorant gamers, as rumble and wireless technology are no longer features, but an industry standard. So the two new additions to Nintendo's controller-that-can't are laser pointing and Gyros. Precisely what every damn gamer this side of the Gamecube had predicted it to be. There is no suprise here. I find no happiness in discovering that Nintendo's Revolutionary design is in fact merely a controller with a feature everyone guessed since the primary announcement of Revolution. The poor bastards at Nintendo must have been shitting themselves a year and a half ago when Nintendo announced a legendary feature ladden controller that will reinvent how we play games, only to have 12 year olds guess the feature in the same 10 minutes. The despotism has been overrun, viva la Revolution!

Am I being punished for not buying into Nintendo's rehashery all these years? Is this Nintendo's last practical joke on the world as it parts ways with common sense, competition, and a healthy industry? Is Nintendo out of their Goddamned minds? I don't know, I honestly don't. Nintendo showed the controller to a select few during these past few days during the Tokyo Game Show, and the best they could come up with was "Excellent for FPS games and Fishing games!". I mean, it's a low-tech remote control. Even worse, Nintendo claims that it's both innovative, and industry saving. Last time I checked, which was yesterday, the industry wasn't in need of saving. Growth of profits and revenue were at an all time high, and the Playstation brand name had become the best selling console to date in less time it took Nintendo to accomplish such a feat in double the amount of time. Perhaps a more accurate assessment would be that it's not the industry that needs saving, but Nintendo themselves.

I've always supported Nintendo's hardware. I have, really. Despite the fact that most of their software is trash (though getting it right on rare and awesome occasions), their hardware is usually trustworthy, and you can always count on a few games to wet the pallette just enough to keep the purchase worthwhile. That's how Nintendo has operated, but now they want to move from one paradigm to another, while almost abandoning the aging paradigm all together. I will clarify momentarily.

One glance at the controller and you just know it's not going to operate with any of the software you know and love, because it's far too radical and doesn't have the same functionality of normal (and standard) controllers. Keep in mind, this is the controller that Nintendo believed everyone would copy...NEWS FLASH: No one is going to copy this. It's an absurd concept. Not only absurd, but completely unintuitive, uninventive and truly outdated technology. The idea of a wireless mouse operating in three-space while controlling something on screen is far from new; it's in fact quite old. Not only that, the technology inside the tiny doo-dad is created by a completely separate other company; Nintendo merely invested in them early to become a shareholder of something they had no hand in creating. No suprise really, it isn't the first time Nintendo has taken old technology and feigned creatorship. Don't get me wrong, the DS is dandy, but the technology inside is outdated and on the non side of innovation.

I won't go on record and say using it won't be fun, it may be, but if it is, it can only last for so long. Nintendo's notion of redefining how we control First Person Shooters is far fetched; being optimistic here. There is no substitute for a mouse and keyboard. Nintendo must be off their rocker if they think they've found a device that surpasses the keyboard and mouse in usefulness. The controller is basically the NES light-gun taped to a gyro. Whoopty-fuckin'-doo. The controller isn't even held similarly. Instead of sitting, arms rested upon the lap, Nintendo's approach is to hold the arm out in the air to aim and fire on screen. Which would be cool for about 4 minutes, then the arms start to go tired, blood rushes away from the extremities, and the limbs go numb. I just don't see this concept working outside of brief tech demos. People play games for hours, not minutes. The other "use" Nintendo has for the controller is Fishing, where the controller detects the pitch, arc and velocity of the rod being cast. Sure it's neat, but the Dreamcast did it already with a game specific controller. There goes that idea.

On the roster of innovations Nintendo gleefuly showcases, the least interesting is "Find Pikachu", where you use the controller to find Pikachu in a still image. I am supremely unimpressed. Nintendo waited this long to show off a piece of technology where everything it can do has been done before. I'd also like to take this time to direct your attention to the Eye Toy 2, which was shown at E3 2005, where the camera was able to do exactly what Revolution's controller can do, however mechanically different. The Eye Toy, more over the Ps3 in conjuction with the standard Eye Toy, was able to detect the motion of coloured cups in 3 dimensions. Movement in and out of the screen was possible, not just in the ZY plane, but also the ZX plane as well. This is the same "revolutionary" stuff Nintendo claims to have "innovated" games with. Sorry Nintendo, you were already beaten to the punch, even before you could showcase Revolution, or it's former shell.

There are key differences between Eye Toy 2 and Revolution though, so I won't say one has beaten the other, just that the technology and the concept is again not innovative. I can imagine the drunken stupor fanboys are in over this as they believe just about anything Nintendo tells them, but the hard truth is, there is nothing revolutionary about Revolution at all. It's an ugly remote control, that deviates so far from gaming as we know it, that it can't even be called gaming anymore. Nintendo has niched themselves to the point of being the non-gamers developer of non-games. Fundamentally, Revolution will play games like we know them today, but Nintendo probably won't make them. I can also see developers being shyed away from Revolution as it's now written in stone that Nintendo has alienated gamers to a point where third party exclusives won't sell well enough to warrant the issuing of resources to make the game.

The sheer awkwardness alone of holding it, and waving it around (while tiring out the arms) is a huge turn off. Nintendo's dwindling fanbase continues to shrink as Revolution's controller has hammered the final nail into Nintendo's coffin. No kiddies, Nintendo is not going away anytime soon, but it's now a sure thing that in 10 - 12 years time, Nintendo is going to be gone. They won't be around, and this is the catalyst. The reactive tempers of Iwata and Reggie have brought Nintendo into the final verse of their beloved swan song.

It isn't all bad news though. Nintendo has offered "add-ons" that gamers can purchase to extend the use of Revolution, considering it's base function is useless as is. This not so new fangled thinga-ma-bob shows promise in bringing real games to Revolution, but the thing begs the question: Why not just build it right into a normal controller in the first place, rather than charging gamers for an add-on to play real games? Why? The answer is crystal clear: You will need to purchase a new add-on for each and every one of Nintendo's "new" franchises. You want to play those old school NES, SNES and N64 games for download? Sorry, you're going to need an add-on to play them. There is going to be an add-on for every this and that on the Revolution, and that's a sorry existence Nintendo has created for itself. I'm sorry fanboys, but you want to demand that HDD's being included for free in Xbox 360 and Ps3, tell your darling father figure Iwata to start including real controllers as a standard first.

All in all, I want to get my hands on it. I want to see what it's like, and most of all I want to reassure my assumptions that it is in fact the biggest failure since Nokia's bastard child the N-Gage. Nintendo claims they aren't competing with Sony or Microsoft, but so long as they claim to make games they are competing. There isn't much choice in the matter. You're a competitor if you make products that classify as the same as other things. In this case: videogames. Sure, Nintendo will lose, and lose hard against the competition, but they're still competition. No matter how many Reggies or Satoru Iwata's come around and claim "no we are too hardcore 4 U". Even in the years to come, when Revolution sells itself into the ground, fanboys will cry that "casuals just weren't hardcore enough to understand the Revolution". Bullshit. Nintendo calls it a new standard, everyone who isn't Nintendo calls it a gimmick. It's only a standard if everybody uses it and Nintendo is going to be the only entity using it. Sony and Microsoft won't mimic this idea. Not now, not ever. Industry saving? Hell no, the industry was never in any trouble to begin with Nintendo! If there's anything that needs saving, it's the Nintendo industry, and that's all.

Counteracting the worst possible news one could get, the best possible news surfaces as the legendary Hideo Kojima shows off Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. While nothing is known about the gameplay at this point, the entirety of the trailer shown at TGS, is just a portal for Hideo to show off his sense of humour, his new and ultra powerful graphic engine, and the new look of the Metal Gear Solid series. Snake has aged to the point of being an old man, and Otacon aids him through the use of a Cell-powered Metal Gear MkII (a nice nod from Kojima to the Ps3's fatherly Cell processor). While the graphics are what matter least in the end, it's satisfying to know that fanboys who claimed the Xbox 360 was the most powerful, despite the fact it's far from it, were all wrong. This game is what next-gen is supposed to be. I mean, just look at this picture of Otacon. You can see the pores in the skin, the texture of each individual thread in his lab coat, and the per-pixel shadowing on his facial hair give Otacon an almost spooky life-likeness. While I'm not too keen on the greying of Snake, I do think this game shows us what next-gen powered games will be like. Gears of War was astounding, but as we now see, even the Unreal 3 graphics engine is being trumped.

Review: Nintendogs (DS) - Puppy Love

2005-08-29T17:54:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

9.0

The latest piece of work to come out of the Nintendo factory is the fluffy and furry Nintendogs. It's a virtual puppy simulator, that for all intents and purposes, is basically a simple application that does nothing more than let you play with your dog. Sounds pretty lame on the surface, and I for one was convinced Nintendogs would fall flat on it's belly on the game side of things. I couldn't have been more wrong. First off, the one thing that I let slip past me, was that this game has freaking puppies. And they're absolutely adorable. Who doesn't like little puppy wuppies? Nobody! The box art alone will tug at your "cute" strings, and draw you near via undetectable humanomagnetic field. Very scientific. Clearly, Nintendo has found the holy grail of marketing schemes with Nintendogs. Who wouldn't feel even a little criminal for ignoring a product placement featuring the most adorable puppies playing with Nintendo DS'? Nobody! The game plays on a very powerful gimmick, and this game has proven to me once and for all, that good gimmicks do exist, and a game oriented around them can be very fun.

When you boot up the ol' "N'dogs" (as most lovingly refer to it), you get a chance to visit the kennel and peruse the offerings of 6 breeds of puppies (18 in total across all 3 versions). When you're ready, you get to purchase a dog for about half of the change you have, and you get to take it home and begin playing with it. I guess first and foremost I should make note of one of the few problems I had with Nintendogs, since this particular one is used so heavily. The first thing you do is choose a name for the pup, and the game prompts you to begin calling the dog so the game can recognize your voice, and the dog can learn his/her own name. Once the dog learns their name, they respond attentively when called, but getting then to learn their name is obnoxious. The game will ask you to say the dogs name upwards of 10 - 15 times, and doesn't make mention of how long it will take, so you begin to wodner if you're doing something wrong. You aren't, so before Nintendogs gets good, it begins annoyingly. Small gripe, and it gets even smaller when you begin to experience the rest of Nintendogs. When you first get the chance to start adoring your new bundle of furry joy, you can start teaching the pooch to do tricks. Using the stylus, you can lead him into doing a sit, lie down, shake a paw, roll over and qwirky things like "chase your tail". The way you do it is by leading him into the trick, and then verbally saying "Sit" or "Lie down".

The amount of times it takes for the dog to learn the trick ranges from a convenient 3 - 4 times, to the obnoxious 10 - 12 times. Once they've learned the trick, they will do the entire trick on voice command, which is great, but at times the voice recognition is touchy at best, but overall the dogs are fairly obedient. The tricks are performed with whatever vocal command you attach to it, so you can even if you're so inclined, teach the dog to roll over at the order of "Pirates! AHOY!". Weirdo.

The Nintendogs pant and paw like real dogs, and often display a hint of that life-like nuance like leaning into an ear scratch, and bowing down into a combination stretch-yawn. In the house alone, where you will most often play with your dog, you can toss around balls, throw frisbees, play with toys (like the bubble blower, which blows bubbles as you blow into the microphone. Sweet!),and even whip out the miscellaneous items like disposable cameras, tissue boxes and photos of other dogs. Your dog will approach items differently as well. From a timid and wary approach to items they don't like, to the free spirit chase of items they have a lot of fun with. There's really a wide variety of things to do with the dog, just in your house. Taking your dog for a walk will make it stronger and will often yield red ribboned gifts that could be toys or charming canine apparel. There are competitions that test your dogs ability to catch a frisbee, perform tricks and exhibit their agility. They're the only way to earn money, which you'll use to buy food, water, and shampoo for your dog. Again, the "sim" part of Nintendogs is stressed. There's definitely very little traditional game here, but what Nintendogs offers is warmly amusing, and hits a soft spot in everyone. The game is down right addictive, and rightfully so. Those pups are just so darn cute! Admittedly, the game gets repetitive after about a half hour, so the game is designed for short bursts of entertainment. Not that the game won't be played a lot, it just won't be played for long stints. In the end though, Nintendogs offers a realistic and meaty sim style puppy game, that can and will be loved by all. It's definitely a killer app for the DS, and is the most darling thing since real puppies.

The only real major problem I had with Nintendogs was that when you sleep the DS, the game tends to freeze up and you will lose all unsaved data. Is it because of the stress on the DS hardware, or perhaps just a bug that was never fixed or even discovered? Who knows? Just don't sleep your DS with N'dogs in it. After all is said and done, Nintendogs is extremely fulfilling for such a small time investment. It's never been more fun to control a living breathing creature, and guide them around a virtual world at your whim. Come on Nintenladies!

Review: Geist (GC) - Metaphysical steaming pile

2005-08-26T01:33:00.000-04:00

Geist is one of those games that does a few things right, but is hampered by another few fatal flaws that just ruin the entire experience. The game stars John Raimi, a medium and recon private in a futuristic army. You're sent into an undeground operation, only to be taken captive and have your ethreal spirit torn from your physical body. You then must use your powers as an invisible and haunting ghost to get your body back and stop the Volks coproration, which is using a portal to hell to create an army capable of taking over the world. Fairly thin on the surface (and arguably a total scam on Doom 3), but the plot of Geist, while not nearly as complex as say Metal Gear Solid, Killer 7, or heck even Killzone and Halo, is still a mature storyline that looks good on Nintendo and their second party developer N-space. The game, unfortunately, doesn't fair quite as well.

First and foremost, the game is at max a 10 hour game. There are only 9 missions, and each is do-able in under an hour, even when you run into one of the games many, and frequent glitches. I'm not one to complain about game length, but that rule only applies if the game I'm playing is worth playing again and again. This is not one of those games. The game takes a first person approach to the adventure game; and no it is not a "first person shooter", since there is equally a number of first person "adventuring" missions as "shooting". So for argument's sake, it's a first person adventure game. Fair enough...now where's my adventure? In ghost form, Raimi can scare humans and other living creatures into a state suitable for possessions. Geist plays up the possession of people and objects quite a lot. In fact, apart from the story, the possession is by and large the best part of the game. You aren't in any position to be fighting or attacking enemies in ghost (spirit) form, but you can solve puzzles that allow you to progress from one area to another. An example of this possession puzzle solving is when you possess a small mouse and return it to the owner, who then shoves you into a small cage. You awaken to a small room with a woman, a dog, a bird and a bunch of equipment to possess. In order to progress, you must possess a light bulb, which you can then explode using the "host action" ability, which then scares a talking parrot beside the exploded bulb. You then possess the scared parrot to sqwak and eerily screech ghostly voices, which then scare the woman. Possess the woman, and leash the dog, which then lets you scare one of the game's main enemies, who has an inate fear of canine kind. At times like this the game throws you into a daze of awe. The spirit mechanics are very fun, but only make up about one third of the entire game. The rest of the game is possessing people with official clearance to enter certain rooms, and last and certainly least, possessing people with guns who can shoot through the army of soldiers who apparently shoot to kill anyone who looks even remotely suspicious. Nice guys, huh?

The first person shooting is atrocious at best. First and foremost, there's an artifact of the Gamecube controller that will automatically make all first person shooters inherently bad on the the console: the c-stick. It's barely functional as an aiming/movement tool. So right there, any and all FPS'ing in any game will have that strong slight against it, unless you're smart and design the game around a control scheme that doesn't do that, a la Metroid Prime. Four years in, there's really no excuse for it. The aiming reticle is violently touchy. I can't even recount the number of times I swayed the reticle back and forth across an enemies head as the game's touchiness tempted me to toss the controller at the screen. The reloading has a fair lack of responsiveness, as pressing Y to reload, will sometimes and sometimes not work. It's a gamble each time really. It's not as bad as it sounds, but a problem none the less.

The enemy AI is dumbed down to the point of enemies standing in one spot and shooting at you from 50 feet away with pin point accuracy. No really, an enemy will be an entire room away from you, firing at you with unparalleled accuracy, while you try to empty entire clips into him and hit nothing but air. This flaw in the game doesn't even take into account the massive amount of glitching the game does. The enemy types also don't vary much, if at all. There are only a handful of human soldier enemies, and even less "demon" enemies. The bosses aren't even that varied. In fact, I fought the same boss 4 times throughout all of Geist, and another boss twice (including one very obvious rip off of Katamari Damacy). When the game only has 9 missions, a four times repeated boss encounter is unacceptable, even detestable. Weapons vary even less. Tsk tsk.

Now, I understand graphics don't comprise much, if any of the games overall quality, but Geist's graphics are sub-Dreamcast at their very best. For a game that was delayed again and again, and has been in development so long some even thought of it as vaporware, you'd better have something to show for it. This game has nothing. It's as hard on the eyes as the action is on your hands. Not something I'd be willing to pay top dollar for, not even close. In fact, there are Dreamcast games that look better than this, and when you're dealing with a console ten times more powerful than said ancient and deceased console, failing to even meet a 6 year old standard is pitiful. I should also note that collision detection is as broken as the control scheme. There are even times when enemies from the floor below you half pop through the floor you're on. Pathetic.

This is a great time to introduce the fact that Geist is a game that will glitch, and will glitch a lot. We're not talking simple collision detection problems, and not even severe collision detection problems. This isn't about a few textures not rendering, or even choppy framerates (which are all present in this game irregardless). No, these are game breaking glitches and they happen a lot. If you possess a living creature and back it against a wall, and dispossess them, Raimi's spirit exits through the back of the creature, and sometimes clips right through the wall into null space. You can't return to the actual game, and all you can see is the heads up display and a large black void. Restart! You'll be terrified to open every door, no not because of demonic minions lurking behind them, but for fear that the game will fail to load the next room. Three times in my entire experience with Geist, the game refused to load the room I was trying to enter, in fact it decided to stop loading all rooms. RESTART! There's even a point where you need to possess a key character in order to progress, but when I reached him he was a stand still mime, whom I couldn't even scare because his character model was frozen in place. GRRRR! RESTART! I counted a total of 9 game breaking glitches through the Geist experience. Glitches that forced me to restart the game on the console, while losing all of my unsaved progress. Unacceptable and utterly repugnant.

All in all, what Geist does right is the possession. It contains a decent plot, but nothing to go gaga over. The meat of the game is the possession, I just wish there was an even greater emphasis on it, and not the running and gunning. If enough thought were put into it, I'm sure an entire game dedicated to the possession of Geist could make for a remarkable title. There is a lot of potential in Geist, but it's fumbled at every opportunity. When it succeeds, it's fantastic, but the problem lies in that these instances are so rare, that they barely constitute any redeeming value. The game needs work; quite a lot of it. The glitches in Geist make the game near unplayable, and the shoddy controls frustrate the whole experience, especially during the shooting sequences. It's a technological blunder, and even worse as a total game. I for one would love to see the potential of Geist realized in a sequel, but for now, we're left with this terd of a game. If you're curious about the possession techniques of Geist, rent it, for the rest just stay away. Nintendo and N-space for now are completely inept at creating an adult, first person experience.

Verdict

4.5

I'm late...Vol. 2

2005-08-24T10:48:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so I've been running late with everything, and haven't posted in over a week. Needless to say things won't resume until at least this weekend. If you're interested, I've listed the main stories I've been looking into.

J Allard defending Microsoft's idea of (shitty) backwards compability...
The idea of 2 SKU's for Xbox 360, and Next-gen pricing in general. Hopefully a post will fall on the end of this week, being Saturday or if not Sunday.

Sly Kaplan: Distractous Announcementus - Look at the shiny DS

2005-08-16T22:31:00.000-04:00

The sneaky minds at Nintendo pulled a one-two-punch today with a dual announcement, with no doubt a hidden agenda. Nintendo announced that the DS would see a price drop next week to an MSRP of $129.99 USD, meant to coincide with the release of Nintendo's trojan horse, Nintendogs. The price drop coincides with the release of a key Nintendo title, the announcement of the price drop does also. Did it never phase anyone about why Nintendo waited until a week before the date the price drop is supposed to go into effect, to go public with this stuff? Within the same few hours, Nintendo also announced that the release date of Zelda has been officially pushed back until after the 2005 fiscal year (March 31. 2006), into the fiscal year 2006. A vague statement indeed, as it could mean any date inbetween April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007. We weren't even given a time period of release, except that it would be in the 2006 year and after March 31, 2006. It comes as no suprise that Nintendo needed a positive announcement to counter this saddening news. At this rate, Nintendo might as well port over the Twilight Princess engine to Revolution development kits, and give it a next-gen face lift. Keeping Zelda as a launch title for Revo would fortify it's place in the console market. Revolutions would sell themselves if gamers knew Zelda was a launch title.

That aside, it's rather deceptive, and more obviously so. It's not unheard of for a company to make two announcements in the same time period, but never in the same day. Square Enix announced that FFXII and Kingdom Hearts II would be delayed into 2006, but a week later announced a specific release date of September 13, 2005 for the feature film, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Microsoft pulled a similar stunt with 360, when asked about backwards compatibility, they stood firm on their original statement of 'only best selling games being back compat' but then said "Hey look, Halo 3!". It's a common occurance in the industry, but never has such a move been so transparent and painfully obvious. The Nintendo DS price drop is clearly meant as a distraction from the disappointment of Zelda's tardy arrival. Sneaky indeed. I never believed for a second that Nintendo would get it out by the holiday season. I also don't think Nintendo had ever intended on releasing it this holiday season. The pre-mature announcement of Zelda: TP at E3 2004 was meant as a distraction: a so called hype-theif. I don't blame them either. This is Nintendo's last great hurrah on the Gamecube, so they might as well make it count.

In regards to the reasoning, Perrin Kaplain says "This delay will increase quality and make it a multi-million seller!". I'm not quite sure I get what she's saying. More development time, make a great game it does not. It also has no bearing on how many units it would sell. In fact, Nintendo could release Twilight Princess as a half finished game, and it would still sell in the millions; once glance at Halo 2 proves that. Not only that, the game would still get great to perfect reviews, not because the reviewers played and enjoyed the game, but because it's Zelda. The Tri-force pedigree is so rich, that no game can bring it down from greatness, and thus forth every Zelda has to be great as a rule. With such a full and competitive holiday season, Nintendo is probably doing more bad than good. Being pushed into the 2006 fiscal year means our boy Link is going head to head with Kingdom Hearts II and Final Fantasy XII, two games that have been delayed month after month and watered mouths since early 2003. This also means the Gamecube is without a significant release for over a year, considering the last BIG blockbuster release was Resident Evil 4, and that came out this January. Nintendo's going to have to bite the bullet and get rocking on that Revolution info, because as a gamer, I simply refuse to wait around while Microsoft and Sony waft the fumes of Xbox 360 and Ps3 under my nose.

No object is shiny enough to distract angered and disappointed fans Nintendo. We want Zelda, not 20 dollar savings at Best Buy.

Join the fight, we want YOU!

2005-08-15T21:55:00.000-04:00

One of my readers brought to my attention this utterly hilarious piece of work. If you read it, you'll be treated to some fancy letter heads, and hilarious Thompson-isms, but the ultimate thing to note is the writers daring attempt to egg on Sir Thompson with an illustation of his own; see below.

While I can't say "Picasso", I can say "Join the fight". Below I've concocted my own Thompson death scene. At this point, he should be praying for death, as the amount of embarassment and indignant publicity this man has gathered is inhuman.

If you're reading this, I suggest you create your own version of Jack Thompsons death. Make it as brutal as possible. Once complete, submit them to a free photo dump website like Photobucket, and email the pictures to me, and I'll form a compendium of Jack Thompsons fanart. In this war, there are those who will use words, but I personally am starting a new sect of visual assaults. Make sure you use artisitc techniques like chiaroscuro shading like I did in my mega tank. All the power to you fellow GAFTs (Gamer's Against Fuckers like Thompson)!

Fun with Engrish!

2005-08-11T22:32:00.000-04:00

In lieu of making Jack Thompson the laughing stock of foot notery, I've decided to translate his reply from my last post into Engrish, just to see how the Japanese perceive what this man says. All I can say is the gaming mother land is probably both very confused, and very terrified...I know I would be, if a creepy, rickety old man with Albert Einstein hair and homely eyes started speaking in what sounds like German...I'd be evacuating Hiroshima.

"Permits me anyone gambling industry and, generally like olds of year of 1st, 12 from assossicated speech separated, is mainly. As for _ those compilation, and sale ones being careless, the あ. I jaw "21 year am old," it can worry Gamer and that culture less. That does not stop the fact that they are these sales of the product in the individual whose olds of year of 12 where type it moves enterprise is younger. Assossicated including the people like you, the fact that everyone it protects your enterprise which has the fact that it makes responsibility, you do not have to try."

I never expected Thompson to be the kind of person to "jaw 21 year olds". Boys will be boys...

To be quite frank, the engrish version uses more sophisticated language than the original english version. An anomoly indeed. Quite frieghtening.

Review: We Love Katamari - Oi! Oi! Moshi! Moshi!

2005-08-10T20:27:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

9.5

We Love Katamari, we really do. Who knew that the rolly polly antics of Katamari Damacy would catch on, and set fire to the industry and redefine what can be called innovation. It turns out, we do love Katamari, and we loves them a lot! Katamari Damacy makes it's return in an almost unchanged form. The concept is still the same: collect stuff to collect bigger stuff. The world is full of stuff, so whose to say there isn't extra stuff for the Prince and King of the Cosmos to abuse by rolling into gigantic balls of crap, which will later be hurled into the heavens to become...planets. Not stars, planets. From what I can tell, the game is operating on exactly the same graphics engine as the last outing, so there is no grand change there, but whose to say thats much of a bad thing?

We Love Katamari comes brimmimg with extra things to do, and improvements over the original Katamary Damacy. For starters, the sense of scale has swollen to ungodly proportions. In the last KD outing, the largest possible size for a Katamary was about 1000m, give or take, and the largest objects you could collect were mountain sized land masses. This time around, the largest possible Katamari size is around 3500 metres, and you're even granted the opportunity to roll up the King of the Cosmos if you're skillful enough with a bounding Katamari. Mountains eventually become the smallest of objects to pick up, and the sheer number of items for rolling over has increased by a generously appreciable amount.

We Love Katamari would almost seem like an all too appropriate name for the game. After all, not even Namco could have guessed that the highly addictive gameplay of WHK's sister title would have caught on like some viral outbreak. Everyone everywhere had heard of Katamari Damacy, and despite the fact that there were many naysayers among the testy gamers, most loved it and couldn't put it down. It turned out, We the gamers actually do love Katamari. Call it self-absorbed, but the title's toungue and cheek inference, permeates right into the game. After the end of the first game, people of earth became amazed by the katamari rolled in the previous title, and thus ask the Prince and King of the Cosmos to roll up special katamari just for them. Sort of like a gift. Whether or not the katamari is impressive enough, the chinsey humans regift the Katamari to the King for planetary formation. Who wouldn't want to take a few steps on Yokozuna Planet?

So the fans of the previous game, ie: Us, send the Prince and King on missions to do whatever it is katamaris do. In the last game, missions were semi-varied, but there were generally only 4 types of missions. This time around however, strategic, colourfully varied missions take place in diverse locations. Where as in the last game, there were only about 3 "Complete" stages in the game, this time there are well over 12. The game also throws some humourous missions at the gamer, when a wannabe sumo wrestler asks you to roll him over food to fatten him up, so that you can complete the ultimate goal of rolling over the opposing wrestler. It's indeed side splitting to see in action.

Another example of the new mission types is a campground locale, where your job is to roll an enflamed ball of junk over other junk, as to keep the fire burning with disposable objects as fuel. Wait too long to collect more things, or fall into a pool of water, and you'll extinguish the ball and fail the mission. Not only has the game become challenging, it's formulated it's own type of quirky strategy. And while I make it seem like these new type levels make it a different game, rest assured that in the end all we really want to do is roll a katamari, and that is exactly what we're still doing. Instead of just rolling this time though, you roll with style...Before long the player finds himself in a NASCAR mode katamari race where the Prince rolls about ten times as fast as normal, and later engaging in a celestial raid of the planets, moons and constellations with the goal of rolling up the Sun. Even the credits have a cute little mini-game with the gargantuan King using the appropriately sized Sun as a Katamari. It's an all around fun-fest.

The game also offers a somewhat free form style of play this time, so at any given moment, you could have anywhere from 3 to 5 different missions ready to go, and you get to pick which order you do them in. Another place where We Love Katamari trumps KD, is in it's replay value. In the first Katamari, when you watched the credits roll, you were done. There weren't any hidden or unlockable missions, and there certainly weren't many things to do since most of the missions were restricted to the standard types. However, in WHK, we're treated to secondary and even tertiary missions for each stage. For example, a "Get as big as possible within this amount of time", may ask as a secondary mission to "Get this big as fast as possible". Not an astronomical change, but still engaging enough to keep the player coming back for more.

It should go without saying that the plot behind We Love Katamari is about as absurd as it's dialogue and inert obsession with hallucinogens. Chronicling the childhood of the King and just how he became the King, the games plot is told through ten chapters, which are all depicted with semi-animated flash sequences which will make you laugh, cry and scratch your head; filled with obscene stragetude like the King's broken hair piece creating a heart shape when connected to a half loaf of bread, belonging to his future wife: true love is born!

As expected, the crazy and catchy soundtrack of the previous game makes a strong comeback with a jived up version of the main Katamary Damacy theme song, with an even more extravagant opening sequence to go along with it. The game even allows the player to chose which song they'd like to hear when playing any given level. A personalized katamari simulator, so to speak (I kid, I kid). The only real problems I had with Katamari is that the camera can sometimes sneak into tight corners and show an obscured view of the level which does nothing good for a level where you're racing against the clock. That, and short but still existent load times have peaked their head into this game. Blame it on the huge numbers of items in each stage and the expanded sense of scale. Other then that, controls are tight, graphical glitches are absent, and the game itself is still as fun as it was last year. We Love Katamari doesn't get bragging rights to being chalk full of innovation this time around, and Namco anticipated that. Instead compensated with a wholely refined gameplay, greater mission types, greater level variety, and even mutating physics for Snow, Speed, and underwater stages. We're even gifted with secondary missions for almost every level, and a bushel of unlockable content, including a full listing of the games soundtrack to be listened to at the gamer's whim. Good on you Namco. I love Katamari, my neighbours love Katamari, and even my dog loves Katamari. We all Love Katamari.

Review: Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow (DS) - Suck or Blow?

2005-08-09T23:05:00.000-04:00

This is a new experiment feature meathod for reviewing games. It's definitely not going to become standard, but if response is positive, we'll continue to do it. The guest reviewer today is Jose Lopez (aka DiGiTaL MaStEr 87), and we'll be going head to head, or at the least discussing back and forth the pros and cons of the game. We both apply a score, and the VGP score is the average of those two scores. Enjoy!

Adam Malcolm VS Jose Lopez
VGP Score

9.6

Adam's Score - 9.4 / Jose's Score - 9.8

Adam Malcolm: Well first off is gameplay, so I guess I should just first state: wow. This game refines what it means to be a Castlevania game. It's an action RPG at heart, and features one of Castlevania's largest and most labrynthine maps in the history of the franchise. How did you find the exploration?

Jose Lopez: Honestly, I'll say that the exploration is easily the best of the Castlevania series. As usual, there's backtracking, but it's not as tedious as it has been in the past. All the areas interconnect at just the right spots to make exploring the vast expanses of the village and castle rather simple, and the teleporters make it even easier. No complaints at all.

AM: The teleporters do make it easier. I do really wish they would place the save points closer to the warp points, since I was sometimes deciding which warp to use based on closest save point, and not which area was closest to my next goal. Not a major complaint though. Speaking of which, I do wish there were more save points, or at least check points in the game. I was kind of annoyed by having to backtrack to a save point just to make sure I didn't lose a rare soul I collected, but overall I found navigating the map intuitive. I should note that this is the perfect game for the DS' second screen. With such a convoluted maze, you'll be checking it a lot, and keeping it on the top screen constantly makes navigation that much easier than say Aria of Sorrow or Symphony of the Night. How about the combat?

JL: Well, the combat really puts a wealth of options at your disposal in terms of fighting styles. The sheer amount of different weapons available in the game (each with their own advantages, disadvantages, and special abilities) leaves plenty of room for you to develop your own technique. Many weapons, however, need to be unlocked or created. Unlocking weapons in Boss Rush Mode is rather easy, since you just need to beat the mode in a certain amount of time, and only three weapons need to be unlocked this way (Terror Bear, RPG, and Nunchaku). However, creating weapons is a hassle at times, since you need to locate a specific soul and fuse it into your current weapon. Some of the souls are more common, but you can count on eventually sacrificing rare souls in order to get Ultimate weapons. Though it's a unique idea, and quite enjoyable at times, it can also be stressful and annoying as well. However, I'll say the combat system, as a whole, is quite superb

AM: I'm inclined to agree. I do recall some bitching on your end about tracking down certain rare souls just to upgrade a weapon, but the rewards are usually worth it. The amount of weapons is at times daunting, no? However, it makes for a fully customizable game. You name a weapon, and this game will have it, and with the ability to equip two sets of armour and weapons, you an combo a handgun and great sword together, or perhaps a hand-to-hand weapon and boomerang. It opens up some really great options for fighting off different kinds of enemies. What was your favourite two weapon combo?

JL: Personally, I enjoyed the Valmanway [great sword] and Death's Scythe

AM: Good choices. I was more of a fast/ranged attacker. I played up close and fast with the fisted weapons like Whip Knuckle with the handguns and rifle. Call me a coward, but I normally depended more on clever soul usage to defeat my enemies.

JL: What souls did you use most often, aside from the essentials (like Bat Company)?

AM: I mean yeah, souls like Bat Company were essential for travel. The flying armour and Zephyr souls were temporarily in my arsenal, but overall, I would have Amalaric Sniper and Gergoth on one set, and Zombie with Barbariccia on the other. You?

JL: Here's my two favorite sets: Axe Armor, Alastor, Golem & Amalaric Sniper, Skull Archer, The Creature.

AM: I loved Skull Archer. I almost forgot to include the support souls. I always had Creature and Treant on one or the other set, so I could switch between them and recover health and MP faster. Did you find that there were many souls that were just useless and added for kicks and filler? I mean, how many times did I summon a bat or Corpseseed? Never!

JL: None of the souls are worthless, perce, as maxing out the ones that can be leveled up wields much more powerful effects for the most part

<AM: I know, but there were sets that worked so well that others were obsolete. I think there should have been creative puzzles for the different weaker souls.

JL: Bat's actually a decent soul, though Corpseweed may not be the best of choices

AM: Overall though, great combat. An exhausting amount of customizability makes this game accesible to every kind of gamer out there. It's an admirable trait in games these days, wouldn't you agree?

JL: I agree completely, especially on a handheld game. I just wish that the same customizability could carry on into the Julius mode, but I guess that may be expecting a little bit too much.

AM: It's only one cart, they can only do so much, especially since the normal campaign has so many endings and alternate sidequests.

JL: Indeed

AM: I think the best part of the combat, or at least where mettle was tested the most was in boss fights. How did you find the bosses?

JL: Some I found to be quite easy, while others were ridiculously difficult. For example, I found Flying Armor, Balore, and even Paranoia and Zephyr to be extremely easy, but then Aguni, Death, and Abaddon really pushed me to my limits, and I was forced to quickly learn their patterns and abilities and find solutions to the problems they presented. I believe that Abaddon, most of all, was a pain. His attacks were all over the place, and though the Persephone and Medusa Head souls made the duel a bit easier, it was still ridiculously difficult.

AM: I think in that exact example, it's the only boss fight I'd call "poorly designed". It's hard to a point where it's "memorize the patterns", there's nothing intuitive. I can guarantee most people won't beat him on their first try, simply because his attacks aren't too predictable, or intuitively dodged. Others I would give that quality too. I think most of the bosses, even the hardest, were doable on the first try if you were up to snuff. Most bosses have predictable attacks, that can dodged, even if they're not anticipated in advance. Great work from Konami on this part.

JL: What did you think of the final boss of the main game, Menace?

AM: Well that's a good question actually. He's one of those bosses that requires a good amount of leveling up and some strong and leveled up souls, so right there you need a small time investment to get suped up for the battle, unless you're a godly gamer. I wasn't too troubled by it though. The multiple forms wasn't a big problem either, since I actually found the second form easier than the first, but overall a very well designed boss. I guess this is a good time to bring up the quality of the visuals...the sprites, and boss sprites in this game have an uncanny level of detail for a 2-D side scroller/platformer.

JL: It's also important to note that there are several 3-D effects found within the game, including some enemies (like Alastor).

AM: Ah, I almost forgot. The invisible soldier holding the giant sword?

JL: Yes. Though the soldier's ghost was 2-D, the sword (which was, in actuality, the enemy) was a 3-D model

<AM: I was taken by surpise. I was glad to see some 3-D incorporated into a 2-D game. A nice touch. The number of frames added to the animations had to have been doubled. Those fire effects when fighting Dario? Wow, some of the best 2-D stuff on any handheld really.

JL: You didn't get to experience the best 2-D of the game, though the final boss of Julius Mode is totally different from that of the main game, and though I won't spoil who it is for anyone, let's just say it's a nice bit of nostalgia and easily the best looking boss fight of the entire game.

AM: I have to admit that I haven't completed Julius mode yet, but you do get control over 3 different characters, which works quite well. I love playing as Alucard...a good nod towards arguably the best Castlevania before this.

JL: Yes, Alucard is a blast to play as, as are Julius and Yoko. However, I do wish that you could change their equipment, maybe have them learn new skills and spells and abilities as they level up, and maybe even have more differences in their game aside from a different final boss.

AM: That's definitely a good idea for the next game, which I pray to God there will be sooner than later.

JL: Actually, Castlevania DS 2 has been announced for release next year and it's rumored that it's going to be a sequel to the events of Julius Mode

AM: I mean, there's just such a high quality production value here. The environments are varied to such an extensive degree. I sure hope you're right about that sequel.

JL: It's definitely going to be a sequel to Dawn of Sorrow, since IGA has stated that the handheld Castlevania games will all be focusing on the events prior to Dracula's eventual demise in 1999 from now on.

AM: Good to know. What did you think of the soundtrack and other sound effects, etc.?

JL: Well, the soundtrack was pretty good overall. I loved some of the new themes, such as the Lost Village and Condemned Tower. I also loved the three classic themes that returned in this game ( Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears, and a boss theme from Castlevania 64 ). However, I did have some issues with a few of the newer themes, as some were down-right forgetable. Overall, though, the music is definitely above average, as is to be expected from this legendary series. The sound effects were also great. My favorite was Alucard saying "Julius" in Julius Mode. I don't know why, but it just sounds so great. All the other sound effects are superb as well though. Hearing different death sounds for most enemies was definitely a pleasant surprise, and all of Soma's voice work was great as well. I was very impressed. What did you think?

AM: I'd have to agree. The actual soundtrack was just underwhelming entirely. Nothing really to note. However, I tremendously enjoyed the small snippets of voicework in this title, considering it's only a 2-D game on a small DS card. This shows the extra space goes a long way. I mean, the sound effects were great, and I thouroughly enjoyed the array of sounds for each and every ability, weapon and enemy. Great variety that can only make for a better game. But a game is nothing if it can't control well...what did you think of the controls? And especially the new touch screen seals for the bosses?

JL: The controls were fantastic. Precise and intuitive. And though I found the touch-screen seals to be a nice challenge, I loathed using the touch-screen to destroy ice with the Balore soul. Annoying at best. And it's even worse in Julius Mode, when you can't use the touch-screen and must whip the ice blocks to break them. Honestly, Konami should've left the bits with the ice blocks out of the game altogether. Your thoughts?

AM: I think the ice blocks thing was okay, but they should have remained confined to one large chunk of the castle, because they just impeded the fast pace of the game. I think it was just a gimmicky use of the touch screen to be quite honest. Though the final banishment using the magical seals was such a blast. I mean you screw up, and you have to fight the boss back down. It challenges you to practice them and become efficient at doing them, and it's a fairly nice close to the boss battles. It's fairly forgiving too, so if you're not a precise tracer, the game still lets you complete the seal. A great feature. What else are we forgetting?

JL: Well, we still haven't touched on the story or the game's lifespan, so let's start off with story. What did you think of the whole plot revolving around the cult trying to create an "anti-God"?

AM: I don't think much of it. I found the plot to be a complete afterthought in Dawn of Sorrow. I do acknowledge that it was decent enough, but there was never at any point in the game where I was anticipating what was going to happen next, nor did I ever care what was happening in the plot. I found that the game does nothing to draw you in, as the story is told through sporadic scripted events, which I really didn't take much away from.

I also found that the multiple endings, enabled a multiple scenarios situtation, so that there was a different overall story for each scenario, or at least an extended story. So it was confusing at times. I do think the story was good, I just believe they did a crack job of portraying it and even writing it. The scripting was rather juvenile at times.

JL: I'll say I was underwhelmed up until the very end, when the story converges into two. One one scenario, Soma becomes evil, and in the other, Dmitrii is somehow alive and has copied all of Soma's powers. This is where the story really got interesting. I loved seeing the two scenarios as they occured, though I will say the "Bad ending" where Soma becomes evil really leads to some... interesting developments, and the rumors of this bit being used as 'canon' by IGA is promising. Overall, I'd say the story was decent.

AM: Canon? Wow, that would make it the "good" ending then wouldn't it? (duh dun dunnn!)

JL: Yes, however I can't help feel that, if the 'Bad' Ending and Julius Mode are made canon, then the entire Aria of Sorrow / Dawn of Sorrow will end up repeating itself in terms of story with the next games... then again, IGA's always full of surprises, so who knows?

AM: Too true. So we're in agreeance then that the story overall isn't the game's best feature, but it's just one part of a multifaceted masterpiece?

JL: Indeed. Can't say it's bad, but it isn't good either.

AM: So what about longevity? What was your total game time again?

JL: For the main game and Hard mode alone I've racked in a total of about 30 hours (so far)... and I've spent about 2 hours on Boss Rush Mode... and about 10 on Julius Mode... heh... I'd say I've played for about 45 hours overall so far.

AM: Wow. You're a hardcore Vania trekker. I think my overall time, for the normal difficulty single player, Julius mode and some of Hard mode, that the overall clock readout was only about 17 hours. Pittence compared to yours, clearly. Though for a handheld, anything over 10 is above average.

JL: Indeed. I must say I've become a bit obsessed with this game. I've obtained all the souls (including the bonus soul for beating Hard Mode) and also have created all the Ultimate weapons.

AM: You're a beast Jose. No one dare cross your path if every there's an online mode in Dawn of Sorrow 2.

JL: Heh. You're too kind.

AM: So overall then, great game?

JL: Great doesn't do the game justice. I'm going to have to say this is a Fantastic game, and easily the best game on the Nintendo DS as of this writing.

AM: Easily. Best on the DS, and I'd go as far as saying best handheld game, period. It's just an overall great experience. An unprecedented amount of depth for a handheld game, and replay value is dished out in a 9 course meal.

JL: Indeed. What numerical score would you give this game?

AM: That's a good question. I mean we raved about the combat, customization, ease of control, intuitive interfacing, and complained about very little. I think overall I was displeased with the story more than you were, and there was some forgettable tracks from the soundtrack, and a few minor qualms here and there. However, I should say those negative aspects are transient. You get over them. They rarely impede the process of exploration, and don't make it any less fun because of it. I think a 9.4 would do just fine.

JL: I'm going to give it a 9.8. While I did have some issues here and there, nothing was too major and overall the game is just a superb experience. I really wasn't expecting it to turn out as excellent as it did, so I'm not ashamed at all to give it that score.

AM: I don't blame you. You did afterall acheive the fabled 100% milestone. Would you concur on the point of being the best handheld game to date?

JL: Actually, though this may be a bit of a surprise to you, I'm not going to give it that title. It's definitely #3 as of right now

AM: *SHOCK*...Just for reader reference, what would you give the top two slots to?

JL: While I can't decide which deserves #1 and which deserves #2, in my mind there's a never-ending battle between two games for the title of best handheld game ever made: Tetris for the original Gameboy and Dragon Warrior 3 for the Gameboy Color, and yes, I would give them each a 10. Fantastic games.

AM: Good choices, but I'd argue that those two are antiquated even by today's standard, but that's for another day.
Looks like the overall score we're giving Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is 9.6. DS fans can't go wrong.

JL: Here's hoping the DS sequel that's being released next year is even better!

Review: Shadow of the Colossus - Some mountains are climbed, others are slain...

2005-08-09T22:42:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

10

You don't often come across the likes of Shadow of Colossus. There are many people and games before it that have tried to make 'art' with videogames. If you were privaleged enough to play Team ICO's seminal title ICO, you were treated to some great visuals. The entire game played out like an active, living painting. Every brush stroke mirrored by the input of the controller, and every colour change as transient as the artists pallette. The game was just beatiful. It unfortunately remained rather similar throughout the whole adventure. The game played intuitively, but it was a lot of the same. Team ICO now has their chance to continue on towards the goal they set out to accomplish with Shadow of the Colossus. The team has grabbed a hold of that beauty and artistry, and held onto it maternally throughout the development of Shadow. That thing is what the games industry has desperately needed, and in heavy doses. Shadow, being the spiritual successor to ICO, has retained the quality of looking like art, but also boasts the ability to play like art. The game takes the idea of sim, and truly immerses you in it. Perhaps not as traditional as Will Wright wrote it, but there's definitely art mimicking life, and life mimicking art here. The story begins quaintly: a lone man - a Wanderer - riding in by horseback to a barren land, devoid of significant life, and empty of civilized impedimenta. An impossibly high bridge, bare backing into a shrine where 16 colossal monuments watch, as the Wanderer - someone we lovingly call Wander - places the body of his deceased loved one Mononoke, on the alter. Wander's goal is to find a way to bring her back from the dead and return her soul - at any cost. The Dormin, the omnipotent voice from somewhere offers you the restoration of Mononoke's life in exchange for defeating the 16 colossi that roam freely in the cursed land. Using the sacred sword - which you stole away as you fled from your native kingdom - find and defeat them. No how, or why, just do it and you'll see the lungs of your loved one inflate with a breath of life. Love does crazy things to a man, and this time is no different. No reason necessary, no cost is too high, and no mountain too live...

The game starts the player off with a bow and enchanted sword, his trusty steed and impeccable ambition. The thing to note as the introduction reels through it's 10 odd minute cut-scene, is that the only way in or out of this barren landscape is the impossibly built bridge, which you ride in on. So any life roaming through the flora and fauna of the land, can only escape over this bridge, which is a feat in and of itself to reach. The feeling of isolation and desolation are emphasized, just by this point alone. That same point is reemphasized time and time again, as you head-to-head it with a colossus the realization dawns that it's only you, the colossi and your only friend, Agro the horse. Agro's place in this epic story is not fully realized until the final act plays through. There's great emotional attachment to the characters here, and it's done with so little effort. The idea that the player knows whats going on is tossed, right until the final chapter comes to a close. By the time the credits roll, you'll be taken a back by just how much punch was packed into about an hour of story in a 10 hour game. The emotions invoked here are deep and in some cases painful. During one or two moments this reviewer felt the urge to shed a tear (however, did not). The relationship between Wander and Agro will tug at your heart strings, and there's nary a game that can boast the ame thing.

But how does it play? Really, the game is art in every sense of the word, but there's still a game beneath that canvased disposition. The entire premise of the game is to hunt down these colossi and take them down. Is that it, you ask? For the first playthrough, yes definitely. However I'm going to veto the negative connotation attched to that statement. There are games that impliment half finished ideas, and only those ideas. Shadow is far from a half finished idea. It's a fully honed and tweaked idea, that gives the game something most other one trick ponies don't have: focus. The game never loses track of what it wants you to do, and never distracts you with filler. The enemy is the colossus, and no one else. There are other things to do and collect, like find fruit tees and white tailed lizards to increase health and strength, but those are fairly secondary. The focus never shifts to those things. To cement the point I'm trying to make: the fact that all you do is fight colossi is not a slight against the game. It's 100% in it's favour.

In order to reach each colossus, there's some lengthy travel times and exploration that need to be done first. By holding your sword up in brightly lit areas you can reflect sunlight, which will narrow into a singular beam when you're pointing in the direction of your target colossus. Making your way there will require you to trot through some rough terrains of varying nature, such as scaling mountains, crossing barren deserts, navigating through forest thicket, and breast stroking across lakes of water. Truly sights to be seen. The sheer size of the land is enough to make any Grand Theft Auto or Spider Man 2 fan jealous. The sqaure mileage of this game equates to about twice as much as any of the aforementioned games. Draw distances and texturing (even some of the first vertex shading I've seen on the Playstation 2) are all of the highest calibre. Although, the land is the furthest thing from most impressive in this title. The most impressive features in Shadow are the colossi themselves. Tens to even a hundred times larger than our lonely hero, these beasts represent a technical marvel in videogame design and presentation.

This a great time to take a dive into the waters of ravenous graphics whores. The colossi are huge, the grand scale is immeasurably large, and the number of polygons and textures on these monstrosities number in the tens of thousands. There's no shortage of ambition on the visual front here. Suffice to say, Shadow boasts the best sculpted graphics engine ever seen on the Playstation 2, or even the rival power houses Gamecube and Xbox. That said, there are those who would piss and moan with framerate diatribe, and admittedly, it isn't always perfect. But we're not talking significant drops here. The game for the most part consistently runs at a smooth 30 FPS, and on occasion will drop to around 28. On very rare occassions, it will drop lower then that, but never during any crucial event and it's never detrimental to the experience. The framerte drops happen the least during the colossi fights, and given the ambitious architectural precedence here, these slight drops are more than forgivable. In fact, they're expected. The overwhelming beauty here is more than enough for any hardcore gamer. There's absolutely no disappointment from any angle.

Onwards and forwards as they say. Scaling the colossi require some quick thinking, and active puzzle solving. These monsters are walking, living, breathing puzzles, each with their own criteria for revealing crucial weak points, or places where a greivous wound can be inflicted to knock them over. These weak points can be located using the sunlight via enchanted sword, but getting to them and taking down the colossus is another story. Unlike most reviewers, I have no problem spoiling some of the game to exemplify this point. There are 16 colossi in total, and explaining the ins and outs of one or two won't ruin any of the experience. One colossus, about the size of a small mountain, covered from snout to claw in stone armour, needs to tipped over with the pressure of a water geyser. Afterward, you climb the fur of it's belly, and up to the top of his shell. To do this the player must mount Agro, and lure him over the geyser and take out his ankles, to weaken his support. Another example, and my personal favourite being colossus 5 known as Avion, requires that you lure a flying colossus to swoop down at you, and as he rears into the final stretch of the attack, you jump and grab hold of his wing. From here you take out the tail and wings to bring the bird out of the sky. Some truly remarkable gameplay here. Rest assured that every colossus requires a new strategy. There's nothing reused from colossus to colossus, and that makes each and every new monster a fresh and inventive eperience. I suppose there's even a bit of innovation that accompanies Shadow, as no game has ever come close to so much as attempt combat on a scale as large as there is here. The entire process is fun and inviting, and exhilerating to the very bittersweet end.

The epitome of grandiose arrangements are in the soundtrack that plays before, during and after each fight. When trying to mount the colossus, a thunderous and ominous ballad echoes over and over until you begin the colossal ascension, but when you begin scaling them and going on the offensive, the victorious fanfare begins pounding, and rhythmically gets the blood pumping. It's an equilibrium of both the fantastic soundtrack and epic gameplay that creates this feeling, this aura that you're not only playing the game, but living it. It's a fantastic thing to embrace, and a wonderful experience, because that's what this game ends up being, an experience. Not just a game, but something you explore, you breathe in and you become a part of. I've never experienced anything like this game before during my tenure as a gamer. On top of a 10 hour experience during the first playthrough, the game warrants at a minimum 4 playthroughs, as doing so and completing all modes unlocks a total of 16 items, weapons and armour,that enhance your successive playthroughs; daring and efficient explorers will find some fabulously rewarding secrets and easter eggs as well, especially for fans of ICO.

What it simply comes down to is this: no game touches Shadow of the Colossus. No game in existence has ever reached such a lofty height as this. While I don't expect everyone to resonate with the opinion that Shadow is the best game ever, I would expect that everyone acknowledge that it does many things so radically different, and does them so well, that it is easily a contender for the game of the year. It's by and large an adventure on par with Resident Evil 4, God of War, and Killer 7. Very rarely would I throw around the phrase: "among the best games ever", and even more rare, as in almost never, would I call a game the greatest ever made. This is one of those rare times. Expect great things from this title. When you can do so much with so little, it wets the pallette just to imagine what Team ICO will do with the power of the Playstation 3. While a direct sequel to Shadow would be utterly fantastic, it's all too obvious and not a likely project for Team ICO. I do however have great expectations for their next title, as this game has proven, it's not how much you have, but what you do with it. A masterpiece has been painted, and the regal colours of Shadow of the Colossus articulate a world of unparalleled beauty.

Review: Katamari Damacy - Can you hear the colours?

2005-08-09T21:45:00.000-04:00

Verdict

9.1

Katamari Damacy marks a point in gaming history when we come to realize that something simple can turn into something beautiful. Katamari Damacy takes the weird and whacky approach to game design, and a few heads have been turned. The King of the Cosmos one day decided it would be great to bump into the stars in the night sky and leave Earth without it's celestial nightlight. Tsk Tsk Sir King! We would be pleased if you would help clean up this mess Mr. Cosmos! Take the reigns of a Katamari as the Prince of the Cosmos, and roll up stuff until the ball is big enough to rocket into the sky and ignite into a twinkling ball of gas. You'll do it once, you'll do it twice, and you'll even do it three times in a bedroom...if this is the kind of thing that turns your crank, then Katamari Damacy (Damacy pronounced "da-ma-shi") just may be the next big thing in your life.

Katamari Damacy was released a budget title in Japan by Namco, and by some miracle decided the world should take part in this one of a kind game. The game plays as simple as games can get. Press forward, collect stuff, and keep moving forward. As you collect more stuff, you grow, able to collect bigger and better stuff. The entire premise of Katamari Damacy centres around this idea. It's a simple one yes, but it's performed wonderfully. By pressing forward on both analogue sticks, you roll the ball forward; by pressing up on one and down on the other, your katamari turns. Pressing in both analogue sticks allows the prince to do a quick turn and start rolling in the opposite direction. That's it. The only requirement to play Katamari Damacy is that you have thumbs. Everything else comes natural. There's no lofty time investments necessary, Katamari Damacy is a pick up and play game, that can be played in as long or as little spurts as you'd like. The missions only last for a few minutes each time, the longest being about 12 minutes, and the mission and location variety will keep you coming back for more. The game offers a few different types of missions, like get the katamari "X meters" large in a certain amount of time, or get it as big as possible in "X minutes". The best levels however are the Eternal levels which let you roll around any given stage as long as you want, to as large as you want. A veritable free-roaming-roller.

Visually the game takes no strides to advance the power of the Ps2's techno architecture, and certainly won't impress the players with large numbers of polygons. In fact, it will probably impress you with it's home grown, unique style that uses a polygon deficient visual theme. An odd direction to take, but it's pulled off in tandem with the sense of scale that Katamari Damacy offers. Beginning as the size of 1 cm wide navy bean, you start off by plowing through piles of dice, thumb tacks, paper clips, moving your way up to mahjong pieces and chapstick cartons by the time you grow a few more centimetres. Everything happens in real time in this game as well, so the scale of the game is constantly changing in real-time with no loading transition, which creates a fluid and seemless experience. The billowy Katamari will inevitably grow to the size of small animals, permitting you to roll over and pick up cats, dogs, rats, toys, flower pots, birds...up to the size of people which lets you pick up men, women, children, pop machines, statues, trees, cars, fences, water bouys...and the paramount scale of picking up houses, towers, dinosaurs, godzilla, Ultraman, mountains, clouds, steam liners, icebergs, and even continents. The scale that this game operates on is far more impressive than any game to date. It's just impressive to play through a stage and think, you began by picking up a garbage can and ended up rolling over Mt. Fuji, with no stopping to load more objects into the frame. The Prince of the Cosmos is in essence an earthly undulating brigand. It's a technical feat, and it's bizarrely addicting to boot.

On top of a gameplay that will have you pasted to the screen for hours upon hours, the soundtrack fits the zaney and out of this world game style. I'm not quite sure how many times I caught myself in a lecture just singing to myself "Naaaa na na na na na, na Katamari Damacy! Laaaaa la la la la la, la Katamari Damacy!". With a Beach Boys-esque drum roll (Oh, get it, ROLL! I kill me...*wipes tear*) into the catchiest song in the Cosmos, Katamari Damacy sets a mood so happy, so exciting, and so hallucinogenic (just try and ignore all the references to illegal substances in this game) that anyone not made happy, not cheered up, or without a smile when playing Katamari Damacy is in fact no human. It's been scientifically proven.

The best thing about Katamari, is that it takes a true stand with innovation. It doesn't try to blow you away with eye popping special effects, or complex gameplay. It does something so different, so new, and executes it in such a way that giving it a typical genre would be disingenuous. This game defines innovation. It puts a face on innovative games, and proves to the world that new ideas aren't yet exhausted. So while I'm tempted to only score Katamari Damacy an 8.0 for just being a game (considering it's simplicity may turn off some), the game gets major brownie points for innovative game design. While it takes a step back in terms of power an impressive number counts, it takes two steps forward by being radically different and doing it with finesse and style. Kudos Katamari, Kudos.

Review: Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal (PS2) - Online and on fire!

2005-08-09T20:54:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

9.8

Ushering in a new breed of platformers, Ratchet and Clank was the ultimate app for any platformer die-hard. It's mix of great platforming, whacky weapons, and clever puzzle solving, as well as a slew of hidden items which emphasized heavy exploration, made it one of the best games ever to be conceived. It's successor, Going Commando, reached even further, combining the winning formula of the first title, and mixing it with some simple, yet unique, RPG elements. The whole idea of an RPG-platformer was new, and it was by far one of the best ideas since sliced bread. Going commando featured all new worlds, expanding upon the axiom, bigger is better. With new concept weapons, and a new "upgrade" feature, Going Commando was something new, but something familiar at the same time. The combination of old and new worked so well together, that this reviewer personally, thought it was the best game of 2003.

With large shoes to fill, the third installment of the Ratchet and Clank series had it's work cut out for it. However, as daunting a task as it is to top Going Commando, Insomniac managed to up the ante with Up Your Arsenal. Without a shred of doubt, I can say this game is flat out the best platformer to date. As niche as the platforming genre is, this game manages to branch out into nearly every possible genre, while pioneering an entirely new type of gameplay, while still engaging that Ratchet and Clank nuance that's progressive from title to title. If there is one word for this game, it is golden.

Where Going Commando shined, Up Your Arsenal sparkles. With a steadier pace, and an overall fiercer nature, the gaming industry cowers in fear over the sheer ingenuity found in the details of this game. For starters, Ratchet and Clank exude a unique personality, which is matched only by the antics of their brethren, Jak and Daxter. The oozing character this game has is great, and it truly shows that quirks and qualms go a long way. From the raging hair band antics of the robot butlers, and the out of this world sense of humour, to the super villain Dr. Nefarious, who begins to air lost soap-opera episodes when his circuits short out; it's hard to imagine this franchise any more hilarious, but it's also hard to imagine someone thinking up these zaney ideas from scratch.

Ratchet is once again charged with the task of saving the universe from the mechanical and organic flood of friend and foe (suprised?), but this time Ratchet isn't a loner space cowboy. In fact, this game is almost a "family reunion" of sorts, as Ratchet's partners in crime (err...allies), the Q-Force join him on his misadventures. Comprised of Helga, Captain Qwark, Skid McMarx, Al, and Srunch, Qwarks monkey, the laughs are neverending. Contrary to the frenzied laughter this game causes, the game takes itself pretty serious when it comes to gameplay, and being aesthetically and aurally pleasing.

The Ratchet bread and butter, is as always, the weapons. In this game however, it's been taken to all new levels, so it's no longer just "weapons", it's mass-artillery. If you haven't already experienced it, havoc ensues around every corner and the sound of gun-fire in the distance is mesmerizing. MUST SHOOT! Admittedly, the game does reduce the amount of platforming from the previous games, but it is still there, and what is there (the bits and pieces), is striking, and more intellectually stimulating than other platformers.

In case this turns you away from the game, fear not as the mass platforming that was cut in favour of fantastical gunplay and battlefields, has been reinstated within a mini-game-ish part of Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Old school platforming returns with style, as the outlandishly absurd tales of Captain Qwark are retold in Vid-comics, which are visual retellings of the adventures of the Q himself. With a very heavy emphasis on platforming (2-D platforming), the Qwark Vid-comics offer more challenge than any other part of the game, and there is no question that it feels refined and without flaw. An incredible pick-up, after you realize the platforming is somewhat scarce in this game.

Combat feels better than ever with the handy new upgrade system, which allows each weapon to upgrade a total of 5 times on the first playthrough, and for all of those familiar with "Challenge mode", 8 weapon variations are available. An aspect of Going Commando that stood out among all else, was the ability to mod your weapons, to somewhat personalize them, and give them cool after-effects. These mods have now been incorporated into the upgrade system, which actually improve the flow of the game, rather than stunting it with backtracking.

This explains why there are so many versions of each weapon, but don't fret, the weapons still upgrade into it's most powerful form at the very end. Many of the weapons you encounter will be familiar to you as they are staples of the Ratchet and Clank universe. The basic rifle: N60 Storm, the heavy hitter: Nitro Launcher, and the super powerful RYNO makes it's glorious return. Which ever way you look at it, Up Your Arsenal has more to offer in terms of, well arsenal, than any of the previous games. Though, if theres one thing that tops the sheer quantity of weapons it's the maniacal brain behind their creation.

The weapons again range in usefulness dependant on your style of gameplay, and their effects are varied, and once again all useful at some point or another. Some weapons make a return in the form of similar-but-new weapons, like the Disc Blade Gun, reminiscent of the Multi-Star and Charge Cannon, a duplicate of the Blitz Cannon but twice as effective. Also, with a save file from Going Commando the Lava Gun, Bouncer, Shield Charger, Mini-Turret Glove, and Plasma Coil are added to your inventory at no cost and suped up to match the strength of the beefy opposition. Ranging from a firey whip which slices and dices enemies with an eviscerating inferno, to a liquid-nitrogen streaming water-gun that freezes enemies on contact, to the return of barn yard playmates with the Qwack-O-Ray, it isn't hard to see this games jovial, yet wide appeal.

The gunplay is what will really test your metal though. With new weapons come new strategies, and this time you aren't just fighting a corporation, you're fighting an army. This game is a war between you and the Thyrranoids and it gets messy. It will become common place to be enveloped in a blitzkrieg of enemy fire, only to be countered by a swipe of the Plasma Whip (Yes, there are even new melee weapons), or vaporization via the Rift Inducer, which literally dematerializes enemies into small black holes which when upgraded, can fire multiple miniature rifts to create monstrous ones which easily annihilate any of the larger brutes that just so happen to cross your path. And the rush of adrenaline you get from it is breath-taking. It's back to the basics with Ratchet's run and gun formula, but is tossed up a bit for variety during the rescue missions, the vehicular combat, and a deluge of mini-games and slew of brain-teasing puzzles.

With a meager amount of health crates and ammo, the game ramps up the challenge ten fold, also giving enemies the ability to do anywhere from one to 50 damage to your health. In order to turn the tables ever so slightly the maximum amount of health upgrades maxes out at 200 health points now, and they're all requisite for those tough skill point challenges that require the dukes of hazard rather than the lock, shock, and two smoking barrels.

As if the gameplay wasn't already the most refined product to hit the platforming (and RPG) market, the addition of multiplayer battles and online gameplay magnify quality, longevity, fun and overall impressiveness by an immeasurable margin. It's befuddling to see that such a deep, polished single player game (the best I've come across), can be paired with an online/offline multiplayer mode, that is just as deep, and just as polished and at times more polished than the single player experience. Multiplayer, though done before, has never been done online. As impossible as it is to imagine having Ratchet's free-roaming, run and gun mechanic applied to online, it's been done, and it's eons beyond anything we've seen before.

This is no doubt where online gamers will widdle away countless hours of their lives in the name of good clean fun. The online mode houses 10 different playing arenas (locations from all 3 Ratchet games, slightly modified of course), 12+ weapons and gadgets, aerial and vehicular combat, as well as Clans, online rosters, buddy lists, "Challenges", and rankings on nearly anything you could possibly imagine (including how many times you've squatted on top of someone's charred corpse). If online gaming is your schtick, and you consider yourself a Ratchet and Clank pro, test your might online. You may be suprised at how challenging it can be.

In due time, you'll be having just as much fun fragging and being fragged as just about anyone else who tampers with the controller for even a brief moment online. It's undeniable that Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal offers plenty of single player and multiplayer gametime, and to add the cherry to the heap, challenge mode makes a comeback with more unlockables, and more hidden items than any platformer before it.

More challenge, more weapons, more RPG elements, and more qwack. This game has it all, and I'd be hard pressed to offer any other game for 2004, save for maybe Jak 3, which would accompany Ratchet well this platforming season. I could go on for hours about how great Ratchet is, and go into much more detail about the how well rounded the graphics are with new impressive water effects, an even greater variety of planetary exploration, or the tight control and fitting soundtrack, but if my previous words are of any indication, there is no need to go into such things. Prepare to stay inside for a few weeks. Lock your doors, open a window, and get ready for one hell of a ride. In a time where originality is scarce in videogames, Ratchet and Clank comes to a harmonious conclusion with this impressive title.

Review: Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando (PS2) - Role playing the aggressor...

2005-08-09T20:46:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

9.5

Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando is one of the best games ever made, period. I don't think you can make a platformer much better. In fact, this time around, its a platformer with attitude, and by attitude I mean RPG elements that will blow you away, and keep you glued to the screen for hours. There isn't a dull moment in Going Commando, and it goes without saying, that Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando is the Royal Flush of Platforming!

The game picks up where the last left off. The defeat of Drek has left Ratchet and Clank out of business, or put into early retirement since their aren't anymore worlds to save. Soon after, they're kidnapped and brought to Bogon, where they meet Ambercrombie Fizzwidget, a man who works for Megacorp, where they develop prototype gadgets and weapons. Soon, you're tasked with retrieving a missing item from a mystery person, and along the way you'll discover new friends, new missions, and learn about the attempted destruction of Gadgetron. The story is quite amusing for a platformer, and Insomniac really did go the extra mile to make this game even more immersive. Plus a cameo by Captain Quark is most welcome. The new planets and mission driven story are most impressive, from planet Aranos to Yeedil, this game will have you hooked.

Graphically this game is stunning. If you remember the worlds and environments from the first Ratchet, you'll most likely be familiar with the style of the worlds of this next game. There are even more worlds than before, not to mention the number of polygons has been ramped up in order to compete with Naughty Dogs Jak II. I must say, after playing Jak II, and now Going Commando, there is no comparison. While Jak II has large environments, almost everything in Ratchet 2 (and I mean that) can be destoryed, not to mention the environments are ten times larger and more complex, which adds another degree of depth to the gameplay, because the worlds are so interactive, even more so than the first Ratchet and Clank.

You'll want to take a look around in FPV just to see how alive these worlds actually are. For example, in the Maktar Resort, if you look in the sky you'll see enemy ships flying around, most of which you can blast out of the sky, and you'll also see civilian vehicles flying around in an organized manner, but organized in a way that the traffic looks random. So much so, that you'll be wondering just how they can pack such a lush and live environment, and so many of them onto one DVD. Insomniac hit the nail on the head with Ratchet 1, and I never thought it was possible, but it seems that Insomniac has managed to improve on what was almost perfection.

Gameplay. There isn't a platformer with more gameplay than Ratchet and Clank 2. What makes it so good you ask? Well, heres what...in a nut shell: RPG elements, the Maxi games, the 20+ new weapons and many returning weapons and gadgets from Ratchet 1, which are all fully upgradable, more bots to control with Clank, more Giant Clank, larger worlds with even more life than before, more intelligent AI, and over all, you get to blow **** up. Now lets explain these different things. RPG elements: As you kill enemies, you will earn experience. There is an experience metre under your health, and it will eventually reach its maximum and thats when you level up.

As you level up, you will earn more hit points, in fact, you can earn from 1 - 80 points in a single game. The Maxigames (sometimes called Mega-games) are incredible battle arena challenges where you're challenged to fight different bosses and several enemies, and by several I mean about 100 per battle (with few exceptions). Some examples of the bosses are Chainblade and the B2 Brawler, an octopus like robot that will kick your ass if you don't beat him at his own game. The new weapons and gadgets are not really suprising to most Ratchet fans, as getting gadgets was and still is one of the main priorities in the Ratchet series. This time there is a twist though: You can buy weapons, and at first they seem to be quite weak compared to some of the weapons from the first game. But as you use them more and more, they begin to charge up, until the meter under the weapon is full, and then it upgrades into its ultimate form...or so you'd think.

In most cases, the upgrade includes faster firing rate or incredibly strong attacks. Either way, you'll go looking for trouble just to upgrade your weapons. Some examples are the Lancer, which upgrades to a Heavy lancer, the Miniturret which upgrades to a missle launching Megaturret and my personal favourite, the Chopper, which then upgrades into the Multistar. The Meteor Gun, Spider Bot, Zodiac...and (insert ultimate weapon here), are just a few guns to add to the list of upgradable weapons. You can also upgrade Ratchets suit into many different forms, each increasing Ratchets defensive properties, and minimizing damage done to him, not ot mention they look cool as hell...especially Carbonox!

As Clank you will get to control a heftty amount of servo-bots, which function just like the ones from Ratchet 1, only there are twice as many. There are large ones, small ones, ones that shoot lasers, and ones that can act as bridges. You also get to do a lot more missions as Giant Clank...nuff said. This time round, the worlds are much larger and even more creative. The most creative "worlds" are the battle spheres, where you're literally walking around on a spherical moonlet, where you have to use jump pads to get on top of towers to destory generators and target enemies.

The enemies are also a lot smarter and tougher. They will dodge your attacks, and they become harder to defeat later on, meaning they require more power to kill. This is all interrelated as you need to fight enemies to gain experience, and you need to use your weapons in order to upgrade them, otherwise, later on you'll regret it as you get your ass handed to you.

Its not fair to compare this game to Jak II...but in reality, its been compared to Jak II since before either game was released. Its only fair to put those who are quick to judge to rest. There is no question, Ratchet and Clank 2 will have you glued to your sofa because this game is non-stop action, and fun, and is masterful, in every sense of the word.

No lag, no collision detection issues, and certainly a blast to play. Insomniac has packed about 3 games worth of gameplay into this disc, definately another bar raised by Insomniac.

The first time through will most likely take you well over 25 hours, and that doesn't mean reaching for that golden 100% marker. Afterward, you can restart the game with your previous weapons and have another go at it. This time around there are Platinum bolts to get (sorry, no more gold bolts or gold weapons), which will help create more powerful upgrades and unlock certain bonuses. The mods only add extra replay value, as you'll want to get all of them including the poison mod, which is the most devastating. There are a metric tonne of extra features available to extend the value of Going Commando. Much more than in the original R&C. All the new weapons have two special extra upgrades that are only available on the second playthrough.

This is over and above the normal upgrades that they have during the regular game. And it is in addition to the mods (which can be purchased with platinum bolts.) There is just so much involved with the arsenal of weapons this time, you'll need two of you to take it all in. The same can be said about all the different suits available to Ratchet, as well as his new Gadgets and Clanks new abilites, like controlling Megacorp robots. Its all about experiementation in this game and trust me, its hell'a fun. Its also fun to challenge yourself to try and playthrough certain planets with minimum number of weapons, or finding new interesting ways to destory enemies. (Tough baddies become puny weaklings when Ratchets arsenal is amped to max...and its not an easy to task to jack his arsenal so high, which is why there is so much replay value to Going Commando.

Overall, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando is an incredible game, that only gets better with every passing minute. If you liked Ratchet and Clank, you'll absolutely love Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando. Its a whole new take on the Ratchet and Clank series, while retaining that familiar feel of Ratchet and Clank 1, and I enjoyed it.

Review: Ratchet and Clank (PS2) - A new breed...

2005-08-09T20:39:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

9.2

Being the following act to Jak and Daxter as far as platformers go, Ratchet and Clank would have to put on quite a show to impress the loyal JaX fans. Its safe to say that Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank are quite different platformers, but both are part of the same genre in every sense of the word. Its easy to label these two series as part of the same kin, but actually, these iterations of each are nothing alike, but will please both game's audiences either way.

Ratchet and Clank is developer Insomniac's new baby, now part of the Ps2 Hall of Fame. It single handedly redefines how far you can take the platformer genre, when mixed with the different facets of other genres, like puzzle, first person shooter and action/adventure games. Simply put, Ratchet and Clank is a platformer first and foremost, but is also an amalgamation of so many different popular genres, and creates something so new, and so fresh, it breathes new life into what was almost a dead genre (with the exception of Jak and Daxter). It combines the fast paced platforming of it's kin, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, and Jak and Daxter (some of the more memorable moments in platforming), and combines them with gunplay on a massive scale.

Ratchet and Clank starts of simple enough, with Ratchet being a mild mannered mechanic, working on the planet Veldin. His soon to be classic side kick Clank, is a defunct failure of a series of destroyer robots, who in turn realizes the peril the galaxy is in, due to the menacing scheme of the money hungry "Supreme Executive Chairman" Drek. (Yes, the name is rediculously long and weird, but it fits the humour this game offers like a fitted tee.) Clank then leaves the robotics factory in search of help, only to crush his clunker of a ship into Ratchet's planet. Clank teams up with Ratchet to find Captain Qwark and heed his attention, and get him to save the galaxy. Along the way, you'll meet dead beat Hover boarding champions, zaney mechanics, and uncover the true scheme of both Drek and Qwark...

The game plays pretty simple. The level design is top notch, and right off the bat, is one of the most notable things about Ratchet and Clank. In lamens terms, the world is alive. Harmless creatures roam about, and hovercraft and space-age vehicles literally bring the planets to life. Not only that, but all these things are 100% destructable, as well as almost every machine, box, board, lamp and light...and it feels so good. The amount of detail is astounding, as even the smallest of plants and pebbles, even though purposeless, add an element of realism that only enhances the expansive worlds and locales. The presentation is also up among the best. The levels are not linear by any means, and usually end up being very circuitous, which adds a level of efficiency to the game; it saves back tracking, and allows for faster progression through the game; again, this is but one more thing that adds to the games fast pace, and overall intense action oriented attitude. There isn't one thing displeasing about the level design, and each level is isolated as a "planet" in the galaxy. The visual appeal of the game is not limited to the level design however, and reaches much further into the character models and weapon effects.

Ratchet himself (with Clank as a modified backpack per ce) is very smooth, and detailed wonderfully. The number of polygons rivals some of the best looking action adventure games out there, and his motions are also fluid and add a touch of realism. The best of the best, and the cream of the crop, the weaponry of this game is probably one of its main selling points. Its stock loaded with more weaponry than most traditional first person shooters. With over 30+ weapons and gadgets, Ratchet's arsenal is one to behold. Each weapon is unique, and offers new and interesting ways to dispose of the competition. Not only do the weapons look cool, the after effect of blasting one of them off is also cool. The Devastator, your cliche rocket launcher, peters out with an explosion of particles in the same fashion as a common firework. The Tesla claw is handheld lighting storm to put it bluntly, and the Pyrocitor lets loose with a stream of flame. Some of the more innovative and intriguing weapons are the Decoy Glove and Visibomb. The Decoy Glove releases an inflatable doll of Ratchet which confuses the enemies and tricks them into attacking that, leaving themselves vulnerable to the real Ratchet. Lastly, the Visibomb is a remote controlled missile, a la the Nikita missle launcher. This is but a fraction of your arsenal, and it gets more and more powerful as the game progresses.

The actual gameplay consists of typical platforming, the foremost example is on the planet Kerwan, where you must scale 3 huge towers up and down, to reach your goal, which incorporates not only a three dimensional scaling of the walls, but is also very challenging from a strategic standpoint. Secondary to that, are the heavy duty gun battles, and giant boss battles. The game gives a real sense of accomplishment as you buy new weapons, complete new objectives, gather new infobots (which give co-ordinates to other planets) or increase your health which is reminiscent of RPG qualities. These and a wealth of upgrades for Clank, which adds new dynamics to the platforming aspect of the game, and you've got some top notch gameplay here.

Audio wise, the game is fairly normal. Nothing stands above and beyond anything else in the actual score, with the exception of the sound effects. The sound effects, primarily from the guns and weapons, really stand out, and really offer a wide array of aural pleasures. You'll have to hear it to experience it, but fear not, you won't be disappointed.

The game controls very well and is fairly intuitive. Even though this game is a blast to play, the gameplay isn't what will keep you coming back for more. It's the sheer number of unlockables. The game offers a melting pot of cheats, secrets and unlockables. Throughout the game, you'll discover Gold Bolts, which in turn, allow you to purchase Gold weapons, which are upgrades of some of your already strong weapons and increases their damaging qualities one hundred fold. On your first play through, you'll only be able to purchase 6 Gold Weapons, but upon starting a new game, you'll be able to carry over all your weapons and bolts (currency) from the previous play through, and then be able to purchase up to 10 Gold Weapons. Not only this, but the use of Cheats will be unlocked, and the the Skill Point list, which will further unlock more hidden features. Upon completion of the skill points you will open up interviews, behind the scenes videos, as well as some quirky closure to some of the open ended points of the game through the epilogue. Its these features and many others, that will keep you coming back to this game. Even though the gameplay is insanely addictive, the number of unlockables adds that extra incentive.

Like it or not, Ratchet and Clank is here to stay, and it will be remembered, and it will be put in the ranks of the Jak and Daxters and Super Marios of platforming history. Some of the best production values ever, and an ass load of fun and innovation, this game is the re-definition of platforming.

Review: Ultimate Spider Man (PS2/GC) - Can't do everything a spider can...

2005-08-09T20:35:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

8.0

Click to see the Limited Edition box art

Ultimate Spider-Man marks what should have been the inception of the greatest Spider-Man game to date. Make sure you read that correctly: should have been. What could go wrong? Ultimate Spider-Man was ready to pounce on us with it's fully realized combic book style, greater mission variety and web-slinging on par with what we've come to love in Spider Man 2. Let's be real: Spider Man 2 was no more a Spider man game than Resident Evil: Apocalypse was a movie about Resident Evil. The goal attempting to be reached was fumbled somewhere along the way. In the end, Spider Man 2 failed to please with it's lack of mission variety and repetitive gameplay. The one thing Activision wasn't planning on was Spider Man 2 becoming a smash hit with those who longed for a true web-slinging simulator. That is what Spider-Man is all about afterall. Spider Man 2 presented the gaming public with the best web-slinging simulation to date. The city, which was nearly a scale model of New York, was so navigable with Spider-Man's webslinging controls that most gamers spent the bulk of their time exploring the cityscape and hopping from roof top to roof top. Explorning was about as easy as scratching your ass, and 8 times as fun. IT IS what gave the game it's longevity.

This time around, everyone's favourite web-head isn't so daring. The webslinging has been toned down to the point of stripping Spider-Man of all his "hardcore", and pumping him full of "casual (read: simplicity)". Where as in the last game, the physics and web-slinging felt responsive and controllable, it feels randomized and clunky here. Instead of using the alternating shoulder buttons to web-sling and control momentum, only the one shoulder button controls his web, while a face button merely gives him a boost on descension. Where Spider-Man could perform air tricks and wall runs intuitively in Spider Man 2, he's stripped of his acrobatics and stunted with a counterintuitive wall-run which sometimes feels like a random occurance rather than a controlled event. Where gamers could charge a jump to any controlled degree via the charge meter in Spider Man 2, we're made to guess a length of time to hold the button down for, without charging. Where Spider Man could do a running sprint and vault himself at enemies or across rooftops in SM2, he can do neither in this game. The thing to understand here is that Spider Man has been dumbed down from Amazing Acrobat, to Wobbly Web-zipper incapable of the derring-do that made him so popular in the first place. It turns out that the web-head's web-zip is more effective and more efficient for travel than normal web-slinging. That right there should tip people off to the shoddiness of Activision's work. As far as evolution and growth go, Ultimate Spider-Man shows no signs of it in the web-slinging department, which is (if you haven't guessed) a major part of what makes Spider-Man games so fun. It's like taking a running leap backward.

Apart from that, the city itself is actually larger than it was in the previous Spider-Man game, with some of the outskirt suburbs being navigable this time around, where previously we were shunted back with a "Area Not Available" buzzer. It's good to see at least the square mileage has been expanded. Spider-Man's native milieu is something that shouldn't be too hard to mess up or expand upon, and it's good to see the ball was never dropped in that respect. Again though, getting around the extra space is just not possible, or made to be extremely tedious and frustrating with the piss poor web-slinging. So while it's great to see effort put forth to improve upon the scalable city, it's for naught since no one is going to be able to admire it in any appreciable amount.

Combat returns with the one button punch and kick system, and moves from a preset combo structure, to a free-form combo creation system. It is great to see in action, but getting to the point where the combat system here is better than that found in Spider Man 2, will require a time investment longer than the actual game, and my Spidey sense tells me not many people are going to want to put that much time into this game considering it's whack-job slinging. Suffice to say, the combat is great, it just should have picked up faster.

The game's plot revolves around the relationship of a young Peter Parker and Eddie Brock, and the mystery behind the symbiote that overtakes Brock's psyche. Along the way, you'll meet some mythos favourites like Johnny Storm, Nick Fury, Silver Sable, Wolverine, Electro, Shocker, Rhino, and a suped up version of the Green Goblin. I think it should be safe to say that in a game head-lining both Spider-Man and Venom, that the ultimate conflict will resolve in a head-to-head between Peter and Eddie, but I won't delve into specifics. Graphically the game is right on the ball. It gives Spider-Man the comic booky face lift he's been yearning for. It's about time we get a Spider Man game that recreate and animate the sketchbooks of people like Todd McFarlane and Mark Bagley. I wholely appreciate the life-like graphics of Spider-Man 2 - and in some ways like them more during the webslinging - I can better appreciate a graphics engine like this. Telling the story through moving story boards, that at the core bring the comic books to life, without removing the "noise words" and palette frames that characterize a pencil drawn disposition.

The ability to play as Venom this time around is so welcome, I can't even begin to dictate just how cool it is to be the Amazing web-heads favourite arch-nemesis. While Venom's combat controls have been reduced to button mashing, his method of travel has been worked from the ground up to create a wholely new experience from the red spandex wonder. Instead of shooting web, Venom leaps large distances, often as high as most small skyscrapers, and uses his symbiote suit to lash out tentacles to grab onto ledges or the sides of buildings. The voice work for both Eddie Brock and Peter Parker is of the higest quality, even if the rest of the colourful cast don't resonate with that remark. The game still creates an atmosphere and plotline that will soothe almost any Spidey die-hard.

The biggest gripe I have with Ultimate Spider Man (aside from the webslinging, which is an entire topic unto itself) is the mission variety. Activision, we aren't fools. We as humans will eventually learn to recogize patterns, and anticipate them, and yes even loathe them. For starters, side missions are a requisite for unlocking the next story mission. Which if you played the last Spider Man game, gets boring...and fast. Most missions though, will have you squaring off and trading blows with a new boss. So if you're constantly fighting new bosses, doesn't that count as variety? No! Every boss fight can be dumbed into a three tier strategy. Chase Boss, save civilians, kill boss. While accomplishing the killing is different each time, the former two are not. It almost seems like Activision was desperate to increase the gametime, so they threw in a chase scene and civilian rescue aspect to every mission. It isn't all bad however. The non-boss missions are generally all different from one another, and the visual style will immerse you into the experience. It's just a shame that for a game raised upon such a pedestal of anticipation, it's hard to watch as Activision takes everything that should have remained unaltered from Spider Man 2, and degraded them into nothing; while barely touching the things that actually do need work.

As a stand-alone title, Ultimate Spider Man is pretty good. I'd recommend it only to the Spider Man die hards, and maybe even the casually interested Spider Man fans. Other then that, I feel that too many will be disappointed by the lack of intuitive and enjoyable web-slinging. To it's merits, what USM tries to do right (ie: Style, story and immersion) it does them extremely well. In other places it falls far too short. It's a hodge podge of awesome and hamstrung. For those looking for a Spider Man fix, this game will suffice, no qualms about that. It just doesn't deliver on the fronts that matter most to long time fans of ol' webs.

Review: Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS) - In War, nobody wins, unless you're a gamer

2005-08-09T13:33:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

8.8

Advance Wars Dual Strike is probably the best name I could think of to describe Nintendo DS' newest strategy game. Where Advance Wars 2 was essentially the same game as Advance Wars 1, save for few minor changes, Advance Wars DS plays as a true expansive sequel to Advance Wars. Advance Wars: Dual Strike takes the idea of strategy, and raises it to the n'th power. It's a game that'll make you think. Planning ahead is par for the course in this highly anticipated title. Where most tactics games boil down to point and click attacking, Advance Wars: DS requires so much more. I should warn the gamer that AW:DS is a time investment. The game is long, and missions can sometimes require up to an hours worth of free time just to complete. That said, you'll have a hell of a time in the process. On a chess-like battlefield, the best strategy game to ever hit the market will rock you into the ground.

Mise en scene, you begin the assailment with a set number of units and buildings, and so does the opposing army. It's your job to recruit new soldiers and vehicles by securing resources to supply them. This alone is part of the strategy. Capturing buildings increases the bi-turnly wage of the CO (Commanding Officer for those who don't know), and being frugle with it means picking and chosing which units you need and don't need, and which units will actually be beneficial, and not just something to waste your resources on (something that plagued the first two AW titles). While it seems basic, consider that you're only given enough resources each time to purchase one or two new units, so you need to make it count. New units like the Megatanks (which might as well be dubbed "Asskickinators") add to the strategy, and the enemies' uncanny technique for securing buildings and crucial waypoints only make things harder. When you do get a potshot off at the enemy units, the display switches to the classic "War" screen where the opposing squads attack each other and the last man standing wins.

This is a good time bring up the first successful use of a two screened handheld: The "Dual Strike" aspect of AW. This time around you'll lead a rogue squadron of aerial stealth bombers and their kin into battle. Not only that, but this aerial based team can attack ground units, and vice versa. It's a two-fronted battle that takes place both in the air, and on the ground simultaneously with the top and bottom screens. I don't think I have to mention that this alone increases the strategy and difficulty by a few notches. You're playing twice the game on twice the screens with twice the strategy, and it only continues to get better.

Once again consider this: that while you're fighting a two fronted battle, you'll be making choices as to which units pose a greater threat, and thusly chosing which units would best vanquish them, but you're also trying to run scounts and infantry all across the board capturing buldings and cities. Therein lies the great strategy. You could capture a city, and increase revenues; capture a factory to pump out more units per capita; or capture control towers which increase the attack stats of your units by a marginal amount, that when added in series can nearly double the attack strength of your units. Where do you even begin? That is entirely up to you. No strategy is the right strategy. There are at any given time, 3 or 4 ways to go about any given situation, and that's the beauty of Advance Wars: Dual Strike. The series has evolved from an amateur tactics game to a full-on war combat simulator. The expansive single player campaign dwarfs the previous titles and that ain't even beginning with the head-on multiplayer modes. When you're dealing with a friend who operates on the same stregic paradigm as you, you begin to see just how complex and difficult the game becomes. You aren't second-guessing CPU AI now, you're heading off against another person, decked out with the same bling-bling and artillery as you, and the same motive: capture your HQ or destroy you in the process.

And while I want to say the game's perfected combat and strategy cross the t's and dot the i's of that metaphorical chapter, the game has it's fair share of flaws. Though none are too bad, just random things that really take you out of the experience. You can now control two CO's per battle, which is great, as both CO's can use their abilities separately or together in Tag Team formation, which is great. Combinging regenerative and attack enhancing CO powers - like Rachels Lucky Lass ability - might be what you need to take on a vicious formation of tanks, but then again, money making powers - like Colin's Gold Rush - in conjuction with anything else may not be quite as effective. Herein lies one of the problems with Advance Wars: Dual Strike, in that there are rather obvious lopsided balancing issues with COs and CO powers. Not something that will break the game for you, but some abilities may never help you in the short and long of it all, and in some cases the opposing CO's will have abilities that make some assaults one-sided - though it can also be the other way around too. The last thing, but probably the most disturbing is the dialogue. Quite the irony for such a grown-up gameplay. "Total ownage! OMG! We got you sooo owned! You got served!", and I can't bring myself to think about it anymore. It does more to usurp than enhance the game is all that can be said.

Aside from that, sound effects remain in tact from their GBA counter parts, and to some that may be a put off but considering they were satisfactory to begin with, it isn't too much of a bad thing. There is really no overhaul done to the game from previous installments, both aurally and visually. The main difference is that the AW sprites get a resolution boost from the DS back-lit screens, and there is no real practical use for the touch screen. The game can be played without it. Not that it matters, but seeing that things like this really were never touched upon make me want an AW game that truly makes it a DS title, and not just a great extension of a GBA series. For being the true sequel to Advance Wars, I'm giving the game so leeway. It deserves so much respect, and Intelligent Systems have created a gameplay here that pretty much makes it the best tactics style game to date. The strategy has been perfected, and that should count for the lion's share of credit. I'd hope the next game in the series, if on the DS, will take full advantage of it's features and give us an upgraded graphics engine (and please ammend the balancing issues).

Overall, Advance Wars: Dual Strike is a great addition to anyone's DS collection. Mission length is long, the game will run around 25 hours (if you're a rush player), and you'll be cognitively challenged and made to think during every minute of it. If deep gameplay is what you're looking for, this is it; multiplayer is a blast too. Just don't expect much from the rest of the game.

Jack Thompson: The boy, the legend

2005-08-07T18:44:00.000-04:00

Dear Jack,

You're a man of few words, and what few words you speak make the teeniest tiniest baby seem like a genius. Heck, you even make this guy look intelligent: Poopty Peupty Pants-ss!

Sincerely, Your maker

It's increasingly more difficult for us gamers to garner serious attention in the industry we support. People like Jack Thompson, a lawyer with some personal vendettea against us as gamers, is continuing that trend. We've always been criticised as people playing with toys, and the jobs game developers and journalists have have been mocked day to day, and very few people realize just how big the world of gaming is. You tell them, "The gaming industry makes more money, and pulls in more fans per year than the movie industry". If you're conversing with intellectual individuals, you'll promptly be refuted with "But games cost upwards of 60 dollars, where as movie tickets cost 10 bucks and DVDs about 20". What I'd like to see is movie studios increase the price of movie tickets to 30 bucks a pop. Over the years, gamers have seen price inflation from generation to generation. As a generation starts up, peak prices of games might be 40 bucks, but in the next wave of gaming, peak prices increase to 60 bucks. Year after year, price increase after price increase, gamers still come back and will pay that price differential, regardless.

If movie studios and cinema corporations increases ticket prices to 30 bucks, you can guarantee most people would forego movie watching indefinitely, and stick to renting a DVD. Even then, increase a DVD's price to 40 bucks, and you'll see a significant drop in sales and annual revenue. Justifying 20 bucks for a DVD these days is still difficult for some, and if a price increase would decrease sales, it can't just mean we make more money because of higher prices. Our prices are constantly on the rise, yet we still maintain solid sell through rates. Thats not something the movie industry can boast. The gaming industry as a whole has surpassed the movie industry, and to every dismerit of the movie industry, they simply can't keep up.

Jack Thompson is the kind of man who would ignore this logic. I recently read an email from a fellow message board user with a reply from Mr. Jack Thompson:

From: "Name Censored"
To: jackpeace@comcast.net
Subject: My concerns as a Gamer
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 14:22:45

[Dear Jack Thompson],

I want to equally praise you and offer you some sound advice on your campaign to get violent games off of retailers shelves. Let me first off say that I want to personally thank you for trying to get the ESRB to further enforce stricter ratings on games across the board. Not only will that help parents out but it will also allow people to take the ESRB more seriously. I'm sure that every serious gamer and parents who are gamers are giving you the All-American Salute.

However, despite my comments above, I do have some concerns in how you attack people who work in this industry in general. These people do work hard to ensure that all the consumers that they do appeal to are catered to properly. If that means that Joe "21-Year Old" Gamer wants to play Killer 7 he can do so without any worry that his game that he purchased and whatever culture that he is from is not belittled. The same applies to Mary Jane Gamer if all she wants is the next Rugrats game. The gaming industry, in general, has done a fair job in catering to every single consumer out there.

The people who do work in this industry work very hard to make sure that the products they make are products that are worth selling to every individual out there. So where am I getting at exactly? I disagree with the way on how you belittle the ESRB's importance to the industry and the people who do work for the ESRB. I also highly disagree that your common stereotype towards gaming journalists, gamers in general, and developers are nothing more them people that are highly biased towards the industry they work in. Not to mention that they have no intelligence whatsoever and the jobs they are currently employed in are noting more then sheer gimmicks. This is very disrespectful to the people who do work in the industry and all I'm going to ask is to please stop.

People don't tell you how to be a lawyer and what to do as a lawyer, you really have no right in telling anybody who works in that industry what to do to become whatever standard you have previously purposed. Offering advice is one thing, demanding is another.

Thank you for your time and good luck,

(My name here!)

From: Jack Thompson
Subject: My concerns as a Gamer
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 16:08:22

Let me first off say that anyone assossicated with the gaming industry, in general, are much like twelve year olds. They are careless in what they create and sell. I could care less about Joe "21-Year Old" Gamer and his culture. It does not stop the fact that twelve year olds who run the industry are selling these kind of products to younger individuals. Don't try to defend your industry, everyone assossicated with it is to blame including people like you.

According to this intelligent (and clearly not insane) lawyer, we're all twelve year olds, even developers, making and selling games to 6 year olds. The letter speaks for itself, so I won't dwell on it much longer; but I should say I'm insulted that a man like this is being supported, while those who have genuine concerns for the ESRB are being swept under the rug faster than you can say "Adults Only".

As I mentioned a while ago, I support the ESRB for slapping "AO" on GTA for Hot Coffee, because the material is there and it's rather explicit, clothed or not. Explicit visualizations of oral sex, anal sex and many other sexual positions makes GTA:SA a prime candidate for the AO rating, and I say good on the ESRB for doing this. It's going to set a precedent. Jack Thompson wants to go after Killer 7 for having "t3h s3X" as well. The restriction on ratings are almost identical to movie ratings; an AO rating is the exact equivalent of NC-17 in the US, and the R rating here in Canada. There are no grey lines: the difference between these extreme ratings and anything lower is the explicitness of the sex. In GTA, the sexual acts are clearly explicit, much like the movie Showgirls. In Killer 7, the single piece of sexual content is off-screen, and all you hear is moaning, and a close up of Samantha's face as she rides Harman. Both people are fully clothed to boot. I think now is a good time to point out that much worse happens in PG movies like Titanic and The Notebook.

While he's at it, why not go after God of War? The exact same content is in God of War, as Kratos pleasures two women, completely off-screen. There's no question that if Killer 7 and Capcom are litigated for "t3h s3x", it will be thrown out. David Jaffe (creator and director of God of War) commented on Jack Thompson as barely a footnote in the campaign for a standardized and legalized ratings system. He's entirely right. After enough of these unsubstantianted claims and cases (remember this is the same man who said the Sims have "penises, vaginas, pubic hair and labia", despite the character models having no genetalia underneath the strategically placed blur), they'll be thrown out of court, and Thompson can go back to his desk job of helping parents whose children were murdered by other children who play Grand Theft Auto, whose ignorant parents purchased the game for them.

I wouldn't count on Thompson's rhetoric to leave us anytime soon; give it time. One day some court justice will wise up to Jack's ignorant and immature vendetta against videogames. I will go on record and agree that the ESRB needs fixing, but it shouldn't be dismantled. It's doing a hell of a job considering the onslaught of questionable content in today's games. Sure there are some inconsistencies, but there are also the same inconsistencies in the movie industry. We can't catch them all, as the people rating these things are only human; on both sides of the fence. If you have something to say to this uneducated man looking to make a fast buck on virtual controversy, then do so at HIS SITE. Keep in mind, it's easy to email him and insult his intelligence and flame him like it's your last day on earth: but exercise restraint (leave that for editorials like this or message boards).

You can and probably will be more intelligent than him if you just give him your side of the story, and correct him in his mistakes and use examples like the one I just gave you. I'm assuming the man isn't entirely unreasonable, but if he is, he'll learn his lesson one day when hundreds of websites archive the thousands of emails and jack ass responses to and from him. We can and will win this, but only if you do your part and prove to this man we aren't 12 year olds, and that he is entirely in the wrong here.

2005, Did it live up to the hype?

2005-08-07T00:49:00.000-04:00

Well the first six months of year have come and gone, and enough time has passed to let the first halve's games sink in, and you begin to realize there are great contenders for Game of the Year thus far. Suprisingly, the original home grown titles are shaping up to be better than the few sequels that ended up being extraordinarily well done. So I've compiled a list of games so far for this year that get my nomination for Game of the Year. I suppose I could dive into other categories, but I"ll save those for the year end bash where I pick my pics for Game of the Year, and the obligatory special mentions for graphics, sound, etc, etc. This has been a very big year of "firsts" and "bests", and it still holds true for the predictions made circa pre-new years eve 2004, that 2005 will be gamings biggest and greatest hurrah.

God of War - Playstation 2

Without question, God of War is the greatest action title of the year, and in some cases ever. It puts a tasteful spin on the pornographic mythology of Greece. Not to mention stupendous story line, voice acting and a combat engine with limitless possibilities. This is the first game to use Greek myths as a basis for story telling on such a deep level. Even though many things God of War does have been done before, they've never been done quite as good as here. This is the game that brought the name "David Jaffe" into the ranks of Hideo Kojima, Shigeru Miyamoto or Shinji Mikami. For the latter, it took many years, and tens and hundreds of games to elevate them to legendary status, but it took only two games for Mr. Jaffe; God of War being the pinnacle game to cause this rise to fame.

Read the Review

Resident Evil 4 - Gamecube

A game that reinvents it's kindred genre. Survival horror was stagnating before this beauty, and Resident Evil 4 did what it set out to do: breathe new life into a series some were worrying would continue to fester in it's stale and fixed camera roots. Not to overlook that this game has the best graphics of any console game in existence, with well over 10 000 polygons per charcter and texturing that adds an uncanny level of realism. While the overall methods of zombie disposal haven't changed much, the way we play and view the series has, and this game is a definite contender.

Review coming soon...

Killer 7 - Gamecube

I'm only nominating the Gamecube version of Killer 7 since the Ps2 version is plagued with unacceptable load times, atrocious framerates and graphical glitches. The world is black and white between the Ps2 and GC versions of this slam dunk hit from Capcom. Not suprisingly, this is Capcom's second nomination this year, proving that Capcom is still a strong developer, if not the strongest, in today's vicious, no holds bar market. Killer 7 tells a story so twisted, imagination is merely a basic prerequisite for understanding it, and a gameplay that shows us that you can mix the first person shooter and third person adventure genres cohesively. It also has one of the greatest visual styles, and just an overall characterization that pads every wall, and oozes out of every corner of Killer 7. One of the greatest gaming acheivements in a long while.

Read the Review

Devil May Cry 3 - Playstation 2

While Devil May Cry 3 doesn't tell the best story of these pics, or have the best visuals or highest number of polygons, it offers us something we've never had before: a fully customizable combat engine. We're not talking stringing together a couple moves with a bit of choice, we're talking a full fledged combo-maker. Chose between 5 melee weapons and 5 fire arms, and mix them together as you switch between them mid combo to begin newer and more complicated moves. You could in essence, create a combo of any length for any amount of time. The stylized action broke new ground and again, brings Capcom another AAA title for 2005. Devil May Cry 3 features the most out of sight cut-scenes, the best action and fight sequences in gaming history (akin to Riyuhei Kitamura's Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes remake) and reminds us that even the most solid of hardcore gamers can still be challenged on all new levels. Perfect game design all around.

Read the Review

(And it's Capcom with a hat trick)

I understand this year has seen many great titles, but I can't nominate every game I play and like. These choices are in my eyes, the best 4 titles seen so far this year. My intent from the get go was to only include 3 games, but as you can see there's just too much quality here, that not one of these games could do without a nomination. This is going to be the fiercest year yet for winning the hearts of gamers everywhere. In the remaining part of the year, we still have The Legend of Zelda to look forward to, Shadow of Collosus, Ultimate Spider Man, and the hoping to launch in 2005, Kingdom Hearts II.

Until then, stay frosty.

Revolution controller revealed!

2005-08-04T21:55:00.001-04:00

In a recent fad of creating home brewed imaginations of Nintendo's Revolution controller, I've taken it upon myself to debut the controller myself. I will more than likely be dismebered and disfigured by Nintendo hitmen, but it's a small price to pay to unleash to the world Nintendo's secret to the next generation of consoles.

Nintendo's controller has taken a simple is better, less is more approach with the controller. With innovative LCD technology, any person can pick up the controller and play games on Revolution. Chosing "WIN" has never made games simpler, and this by far is the best way Nintendo can reach all 6 billion people internationally with their innovative brand of videogames. I know I'm envious...

As you can see, this officially gives Nintendo the innovative edge next generation. I will retire to my secret lair now, and await the Nintendo execs to come knocking on my door. Note to Nintendo: I have a lot of guns. I'm a friggin' one man army. You've been warned.

Industry Biz

2005-08-03T00:28:00.000-04:00

Today an article on gameindustry.biz surfaced, in regards to an article from PSM that hasn't yet reached shelves. It consisted of a laundry list of "not"s for the Playstation 3. From everything I've read, every person I've heard an opinion from, have yet to make note of the "anonymous" source for the information. While none of the information is official, the items listed appear to be pretty damning, but not to the degree that people think. This information is unconfirmed, so take it with a whopping grain of salt.

What's in the laundry basket?

Trendy hoodie:First on the list was a report that Playstation 3 won't support Playstation 2 or Playstation memory cards. Now while I don't like this idea one bit, I sort of expected it. The Playstation and Playstation 2 memory cards use a fairly ancient solid state memory, and engineering the console to fit a port for 300 KB and 8 MB memory cards is silly when you consider the more efficient forms of memory we use now. The report also claims Sony will stick to it's DUO series of memory sticks, which is fine with me. The format is relatively cheap for the quality and speed they put out. Considering we aren't talking huge movie file and video editing, this is probably the most logical move for Sony. The format, while not the best on the market, is among the superior kin of flash memory. The only downside is that larger sized cards are pricier, and the largest size right now is the rare and elusive 2 GB memory stick. The most common right now is the 1 GB, but I assume the 2 GB will become cheaper and more available at Ps3 launch. I won't lie, I have 2 Ps2 memory cards because 8 MB is just not enough. Games like Jak II and the Devil May Cry series use up 1.5 MB and 600 kB respectively. Those are definitely the high end of the save size, and they're rare, a few of them and your card is full. I had the same problem with the Gamecube, but I have purchased 3 of those cards. I guess I could have upraded to that 1000+ block cards, I just never thought I'd get that far. I was wrong.

I like the idea of a unified, high capacity format for all of Sony's machines. It just makes sense. I know many people, myself included are diasppointed that we won't be able to transfer over our saves to the Ps3, but keep in mind this information is not validated. I should point out that backwards compability is one of Sony's highest selling points, so I'm 99.99% certain that Sony will come up with a solution to make the switch. Those lucky enough to pick up the DEX drive when they were a hot item will have it easy, but what about those of us without? A similar solution will probably come into effect. A USB dongle to make the switch is the most likely scenario. Don't expect something like this to give you access to your Ps2 memory card when playing a game. I can guarantee the function will be direct transfer only. While such a device could run up to 20 bucks, it's a small price to pay to have full access to my large supply of game saves for my hundreds of games. Most games I willingly play from square one anyway, so even if this isn't in the cards (which would make me cry) I'd still get just as much satisfaction out of my games as before.

Mismatched socks: The second item on the list is that third party peripherals will be incompatible like dancemats...and, well nothing. If you want a f*cking dancemat so bad, keep your Ps2 and play that. You know Konami can't resist rehashing the shit out of Dance Dance Revolution, so if you like your dancepad so bad, wait for a new DDR game for Ps3, and pay the extra ten bucks for the edition of the game that comes with a mat. The article explains this incompatibility only applies to items that use the controller ports, which makes the dancemat the only candidate, which almost makes it a moot point. Things like the microphone, Eye Toy and head set use USB, so no worries Kareoke Revolution, SOCOM and Anti-Grav players! My take: I don't care. I play DDR with the controller because playing songs like Max 300 on Heavy difficulty go beyond the confines of human motion. I'll take a wireless controller over a dancemat anyday.

Downy Ball: PSP as a wireless remote or the Ps3. Who didn't see PSP/Ps3 connectivity coming? If you're one of the ones who didn't, return to your endless slumber. I've never been a fan of Handheld/Console connectivity, especially when it comes to games. This however, extends beyond the games, and is an interaction between the hardware, which I find to improve the interfacing of both. While I'll hold my breath for a game that uses the PSP as a controller (which has it's own share of interesting possibilities), this whole thing is expected and can't really have any negative side effects.

Sweaty bandanna: According the article, Sony wants to use the HDD for multimedia functions and not gaming. The article goes on to state that it will use an 80 GB microdrive at first. Now, a microdrive would be in line with a "removable HDD" that Sony pitched to us back at E3, and it's small compact size makes it a logical solution for the Ps3, but the notion to question here is why isn't there in game support for the HDD? First, I should point out that this bit of information is more than likely false. As far as Microdrives go, they're extremely pricey. About 200 bucks for the basic 2 GB ones. The highest capacity microdrives at the moment are about 6 GB, with Hitachi planning on releasing a 20 GB version the future. There are no plans, or the capability, to produce an 80 GB microdrive without raising the price to $3000.

BUT, even if this is true, and Games don't use the HDD for gaming we should remember that Sony is pushing the superior Blu Ray format, which is faster, cheaper and better than DVD9 and HD-DVD. It holds 5 times more information, so it could easily contain large chunks of data it could dump into the internal memory, or memory sticks instead of using the HDD. While it's probably easier to just route the data to the HDD, Sony is clearly looking to save every penny on Ps3 considering it's beefy capabilities so this isn't entirely a bad thing. It could make no difference actually. While I don't think this is true, it might be so I wouldn't dismiss it, but it isn't something to lose sleep over.

Brand embroidered blue jeans: HD and the reported lack of standard interlaced resolution. I suppose this is a huge deal. The article states that Sony may chose not to include the standard definition of 480i. Verdict: Bogus. This is entirely BS. No hardware manufacturer, no matter how stupid would ignore the standard. It's a standard for a reason, and Sony isn't a group of stanky monkeys who spend their days ignoring the market of televisions (unlike a certain someone who thinks HD is a "gimmick"). As lathargic as Sony can be with some things, keeping up with the industry standards is not one of them. You can bet Sony will include standard definition for the Ps3, it's a no brainer. The article states 720p as an all around standard for Ps3 games, which makes sense. Both Sony and MS are pushing this resoluion for the HD era.

I think this whole issue of HD is getting nauseating. HD is going to become the standard, it isn't a matter up for debate. Digital broadcasting will be the only standard by December 2006, and HD will do the same. While HD is an expensive thing now, a few years down the road it will be customary to think of HD as we now think of screen size. Resolution will be a key buying factor for the consumer, and HD is going to be part of that consumer choice. More so than it is now.

Dryer sheet: In short, while if many of these things came to pass, there'd be a lot of bitching, and rightfully so. Some of these things aren't very good for the Playstation 3, but others are beneficial and others are just impartially effective. On the whole, the Playstation 3 is still going to be a powerful machine, quite capable of accomplishing impressively large tasks, and while Sony could still make a few drastic mistakes, the likelihood is low. They have a proven formula with the Ps2, and changing it too much is just not something I can see them doing. If you're a frequent message board user, you've probably already read the article, so you know that many anti-Sony fanboys have eaten this up and taken it as the Bible, and religiously used it to say "Playstation 3 fails again, high-fives for my Nintendorks all around yall!". I just have one thing to say to them: Sony isn't an anonymously traded company.

Review: Resident Evil 4 (GC) VS Resident Evil 4 (PS2) -- Evil knows no limits...

2005-08-01T22:31:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

9.5(GC)|9.6(PS2)

The room is dark, dimly lit by a chest mounted flashlight, and everything around you is dripping with blood. The foul stench of rotted flesh permeates through the walls, and the loco locals are even worse off. Around every corner a trap is set, a creature lurks and evil waits for that prime moment; the moment when your inner fear is at it's peak, and leaps at you from it's resident holdings. Resident Evil 4 takes off in a radically new direction that succeeds on every level. It's both the best looking and one of the best playing games of this entire year, if not the last 4 years. It's debut was on the Gamecube, and it received unparalleled worship and praise, but rightfully so. You take control of Leon some years after the events of Racoon City. Umbrella has been dismembered, and the remnants of their corrupt corporation still linger in the new enemies unleashed upon you. The Presidents daughter has been kidnapped, and you've been charged with the mission of finding and rescuing her. She is your top priority. Any and all obstacles are to be eliminated by any means necessary. Along the way, you'll uncover the diabolical plans of a twisted religious cult to infiltrate the top brass of the United States using mutant insects known as Las Plagas. Returning friends and foes await, as new enemies and new allies take up arms in an ongoing battle that leads up to a climax worthy of the title "Resident Evil".

It goes without saying that the Resident Evil series was slipping. Resident Evil wowed everybody with it's slick 3D visuals matted onto some fairly ornate 2D backgrounds, and Resident Evil 2 continued that tradition with fabulously pre-rendered cut-scenes (one of the first games to feature them with cinematic flare). The story evolved into a plot of deceit and corruption, and Resident Evil 2 had audiences captivated. Arguably the best Resident Evil before this game, it featured almost too much replay value for a single gamer to handle, and was one of the first games to offer 4 different scenarios for one central plot axis. The game rocked to put it bluntly. Not so subtly, Capcom announced the third title which acted as the epilogue for what we now call the "Umbrella Saga". For all intents and purposes, it was a fitting end. The game was okay, since it was essentially a port of the Resident Evil 2 graphics engine, and felt more like an expansion pack to Resident Evil 2 more than anything. An onslaught of spin-off titles, online enabled games, and some nifty first person shooter games were created in the image of this excellent series. Needless to say, without any real substantial evolution, the series began to stagnate. Resident Evil was becoming the Mega Man of 10 years ago (and to a lesser extent, still today). Nothing other than a true successor to Resident Evil 3, one which defied all boundaries was going to save the series. Capcom delivered.

Preface: Normally I don't section off a review into blocky chunks, but the comparitive nature of this review is going to require it, to make it easier to read and judge the difference between the two.

Graphics

GameCube: There's no contest here. Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube is quite a beautiful thing. You're looking at the best looking game of current generation games, across all platforms, including most PC titles. Capcom has outdone themselves to the n'th degree here. This kind of thing just shouldn't be possible on the GameCube, it defies all the laws of hardware output as we know it. Fire is rendered in realtime using actual fluid dynamics, cloth billows in the wind under a clearly defined set of real world physics, and the polygon counts are through the roof. This is the kind of game you look at and point fingers: "pre-rendered". Absolutely not in this case. Everything, from start to finish is real-time rendering, and at no framerate cost. Unbelievably astounding. Graphical overlay portrays heat and steam like real-world things, and the particle effects for exploding grendades and the ichorous purging of molten magma will put every concept of real-time rendering on current-generation consoles into question. Doors break away a la geomod (re: Red Faction II), and crack at the seems when shot at or pounded by rusty chainsaw. Mucous and slime cover every inch of the infestuous beings chasing after you, and it's all so very sweet. It's almost a surreal experience watching Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube in execution. This is the only true game that can be called "next-gen now", as it breaks the barriers we perceived the GameCube to have. No Xbox game has ever done what this game has done, and to the same effect, even the Ps2 twin brother can't hold a candle to this beauty. Capcom gets an A+ on their report card here.

Playstation 2: There isn't much to say here that hasn't been said about the GameCube version. In the case of the Playstation 2 however, the hardware just isn't up to snuff. The polygon counts have been reduced dramatically, textures muddy with some minor aliasing, and the overall effects involved just aren't all here. Don't get me wrong, the game is still beatuiful, if not one of the best looking games on the Playstation 2, but the polish just isn't here. It compeltely lacks that "next-gen now" quality that makes the GameCube version so much better visually. To add insult to injury, none of the cut-scenes in the Playstation 2 build are real-time. They're all pre-rendered. The proof of this, is in the fact that during the cut-scenes, if you've unlocked an alternate costume or have a piece of body armour equipped, Leon won't be wearing either. He'll be redressed in his default black fitted tee, which isn't horrendous, its just the alternative is much better. Frame-rate holds up though, and the overall effect is still there. It isn't a significant downgrade, but they both also aren't brother and sister either.

Gameplay

GameCube: The behind the back camera view here has it's ups and downs. On the plus side, it allows for pin-point accuracy when you aim your weapon, and keeps a front facing view of all of the surroundings, which avoids entirely the artifact of fixed (read: bad) camera angles of Resident Evil past. The downside however is that you won't always see enemies coming at you. Not a terrible problem once you memorize where enemies are, and make good use of the quick-turn, but it can make for some pretty cheap deaths here and there. Overall, a problem that will frustrate you at first, but once you've learned the lay of the land, it's not something that will continually annoy. The advantage mentioned before however makes for some interesting combat though. Pin point accuracy means you can shoot out any part of the body you need to. If you're being ambushed, punch a hole through some enemies by blasting their legs. Get to a safe spot and continue the clash. The addition of scope based weapons also adds to it a certain Metal Gear Solid feel, that the game really takes advantage of. Context sensitive actions force the player to utilize some strategy however. Ammo in this game is not candy. You aren't allowed to fool around with it. You have to make due with what you have in your arsenal, and at times it might only be a knife and some herbs. Besides the point though, if you shoot or blind an enemy, context sensitive attacks activate, allowing Leon to kick and suplex enemies, which will do major damage and mar the size of any group of foes. Further, all of this is done with some slick controls.

Playstation 2: Ten months ago, I would have told you the game couldn't feel more natural than with the GC controller. I couldn't have been more wrong. Where the game felt natural on the GameCube's funky love handle, it feels made for the Playstation 2. The symmetry makes it feel far more intrinsic, and the larger second analogue stick makes camera movement far easier. Both control well, and the GameCube's controller is no slouch, it just performs better on the Playstation 2.

Don't be fooled though, a well placed shot can easily be countered by a few side-steps and reticle dodges of the enemy. The AI is - while not complex by any means - adequate for the control scheme and perspective the game gives you. Enemies will side-step the moment you're about to pull the trigger on a shot locked plumb to their forehead. They will duck, they will run at you, and they will throw shit til kingdom come. These guys are out for blood, and no amount of weaponry is going to stop them from running head-on into a silver bullet. The villagers (aka Ganados) take up sickle, axe, mace, sheild, pitchfork and sticks of TNT just to see you suffer, and they will succeed on several occasions. This game is ruthless. It's a non-stop gore fest from start to finish. Just when you thought you were home free, a suprise attack is sprung and anything from primative ganado to swarthy mutant will make chase. And while these home grown scares - native to Resident Evil - are all in tact, the game's focus is drastically shifted to the action side of things. You will jump, and you will scream, but far less this time around. The idea here is that you're the hunted, not the other way around. The enemies will have you on the run, and it's never felt better in any game before this.

The boss fights on the other hand are a mixed bag. Some are rather generic, being a super-duper-ultra enemy that just requires more bullets to take down, rather than different strategy. Which is fine. It's not like you're led to expect much else. Other bosses involve the typical method of revealing it's weakspot and attack that instead. On the other hand, there are boss fights that make you want to cry at just how wonderfully molded they are. Without spoiling much, the boss fight against the newly introduced villain Krauser will take you for a spin. It's a boss you fight in two stages. The first being an interactive cut-scene, where the screen prompts you take action and retaliate, otherwise be thwarted and killed in situ. To get all of the necessary information out of him, you'll have to counter all of his attack via these teleprompted button presses, in the mean time being treated to a fantastically rugged action sequence that projects better than most movies. The second part involves the same type of thing (if you so chose) and involves some varied and unique gunplay set in a deserted ruin, where not only is there some stealth involved, but some great exploration and pseudo-platforming. This is the grade A beef of Resident Evil boss fights.

Puzzle solving makes a more than obvious return, with the classic fetch quests, which have you combine and sequence items so that you can create keys and switches to unlock doors to new areas. Mostly that's about it for the recumbent aspects of Resident Evil 4. The rest is primarily run and gun, and ostensibly it's art in motion. If there's a single downside to the refined gameplay here, it's that in situations where certain ammunitions are required, the game does not always give them to you. If you need rifle ammo to snipe out certain parts of an enemy body via thermal imaging, if you don't have any in stock, you may just be out of luck, and resort to blindly blasting at the body with a shotgun. Fortunately, those problems are secluded to a few acts in the last chapter, but they're still there and will be annoying if you're not chinsey with ammo.

Extras and Replay

GameCube:: There's no question that a hefty number of unlockable items and game modes can be found in Resident Evil 4, like alternate costumes and game modes...however the bulk of them lie in the Playstation 2 counter-part.

Playstation 2: After you complete the game once on your own accord, you unlock a Mercanaries mode, a returning feature for those of you who played Resident Evil 3. This mode sports a wide array of maps where you chose from a roster of characters (some old, some new) to run and gun through, each with their own context sensitive special ability. Leon carries his kick over, but someone like the unlockable Hunk (from RE2 fame) can get his groove on by snapping the necks of villagers, and Krauser has both a double round-house and T-Virus mutation which allows for some quick decapitations. Getting better and better rankings in this mode will also unlock some killer weapons which can be upgraded along side the rest of your arsenal on successive playthroughs. Uber weapons like the infinite rocket launcher and chicago typewriter, make playing through RE4 again and again, easier and faster.

On top of this a side mission dubbed "Assignment Ada" is unlocked, where you take control of Ada once again and play to obtain all of the plagas samples that are only alluded to and breifly shown in the main game. It completes a bit of Ada's backstory for RE4, and takes place in the same locations that Leon treks through in the normal single player experience.

These, while fine and dandy, are nothing compared to what the Playstation 2 version gets as some exclusive extras. On top of the two costumes you unlock from playing through RE4 on normal on the GameCube, Leon and Ashley get their own unique costumes. The mobster tux with accompanying scarf are what Leon gets, and a suit of armour which Ashley can be fitted with so that enemies can't carry her away, and makes her impervious to bullets and enemy fire. It makes the game laughably easy, but they're fun to use, if only momentarily. On top of the already delicious Assignment Ada sidequest, Playstation 2 owners get undoubtedly the best videogame extra in recent memory. It's a full fledged single player experience with Ada known as Separate Ways that put you in the shoes of Ada throughout the on goings of Leon's single player experience, and explains here part in the overall scheme of things. Complete with her own set of unique cut-scenes and dialogue, not to mention some exclusive weapons, Separate Ways is good enough to be a standalone game (a damn good one too if combined with Mercenaries and Assignment Ada). This puppy right here is what bumps up the overall interest and value of the game. There's a completely different side of RE4 from the prespective of Ada, and she even gets to visit a location not even Leon is privaleged enough to go to. The plus side here too, is that all of these extras and the single player experience are held on one single disc, and not less on two like the GameCube version. It's called bang for your buck, and RE4 on the Ps2 will put smiles on wallets everywhere.

Overall

Unquestionably, if you're looking for a solid single player exprience with visuals never seen before, then your obvious choice is the GameCube version. However, even for GameCube version veterans, theres more than enough reasons here to rebuy the game and play through what I believe is the best reason to own RE4. If it's the overall value, and longevity in your game, then the Playstation 2 version is for you. There's no doubt here, if it's outside the realm of graphics and fancy visuals, the Playstation 2 version succeeds more than the GameCube version in most everyway. Not to say that it's a grand leap from the GameCube to Playstation 2, but the difference is noticable and the nose gained in the race is probably only going to affect those who haven't already played the game. The overall winner here is the Playstation 2 version, but make no mistake, both games are fantastic and easily among the top competitors for game of the year. You won't be disappointed no matter which way you swing, or which field you play on.

Review: Jak 3 (PS2) - Redemption!

2005-08-01T01:28:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

9.0

Jak 3 is the epic conclusion to what we now refer to as the "Precursor Legacy Saga". Insinuating, that there be another saga, or even sagas in Jak and Daxter's future...or maybe just one of them. For all intents and purposes, it does a pretty good job at tying up loose ends, and explaining the origin of the precursors and the mysterious origin of Jak and his furry frere Daxter. I think it goes without saying that Jak II was a little underwhelming, considering the massive awesome that the original Jak and Daxter was. Without a doubt, for myself, Jak II was rather disappointing. It suffered from many glaring flaws, many of which were ignored by many reviewers in favour of stunning visuals, top notch voice acting and a story that literally shames the plotlines of every other platformer in existence. Surely good stuff to look at, but not good to overlook the bad just to exemplify the good. Jak II was by all definitions, a mindless, cruel, and at times, near-impossible game to play and complete. The difficulty was severely unbalanced, the cards were always stacked in the enemies favour, and occasionally, extremely wretched level and stage design made the controls awkward to use, and the experience overall a disappointment. One thing that kept me coming back however, was the story. No matter how many controllers I obliterated, no matter how many decibells my high pitched screeching was during choice moments of frustration, the plot-line kept me going. I always wanted to see what would happen next. One thing to notice though in a situation like this, if a games plot can keep you playing a poorly designed game, with no reason to keep playing gamplay wise, you know the developers hit the nail on the head with their storyline. So now you know just how the Jak II effect works, and let me preface the rest of this review, by telling you that a new balance has been made. The plot has been sacrificed in exchange for some major and minor gameplay tweaks. Both are advantageous and disappointing at the same time. Let me also make one statement before this review gets under way: I don't like being lied to.

Without a doubt, Jak 3 sports some of the best visuals on the Ps2. And yes, I mean ever. The amount of detail, and obtusity in the free-roaming environment is a great to see. Some would argue that a game like GTA San Andreas (or any of it's predecessors) surely hold the record for that...but what you need to recognize, is that those are all 90 degree buildings, roads and overall environmental structure. Jak 3 works on the same principle that the original Sly Cooper worked on. No 90 degree angles. Any and all obscurity is welcome, and the more obtuseness the better. If theres one thing I can give this game, it's that Naughty Dog knows how to work it's mojo when it comes to visuals. A mojo not to be outdone by their ability to weave together plot points from so many different sources that it's almost nauseating. Along the same thought however, the plot is not nearly as great as Jak II's. Where Jak 3 fails is in the voice acting, and the under-use of key characters and concepts. There is so much more room for fleshing out the plot of Jak 3, but just the basics are here. The key plot axis of Jak 3 is to find out who the Precursors really are, and why there must exist a balance of dark and light. This primary element of story telling leads Jak through many different missions, but never straying from the main plot point. It may be an on track game, but without any background, or any significant detail we couldn't get from Jak II, the plot is somewhat in the shadow of it's predecessor. Don't get me wrong, the plot is still great (save for one key plot loop hole that pretty much questions the entire proceedings of Jak II), in fact it's better than great. As I mentioned earlier, this game could shame even some of the most elaborate RPG's with it's deep and intriguing story, it just isn't as edge-of-seat-sitter as Jak II.

Moving on in what I'm thinking is the hardest game to review; this game does so many things right that you just don't want to bring up the negative aspects of the game. The promises of a more balanced difficulty, tightened controls, and longer and more varied mission selection are all broken within an hour of gameplay. The controls are still iffy. The primary controls for Jak are decent this time around, and the lizard leapers are an easy controlling mode of transportation, and air mobility has some of the tightest control for a "ship" simulator in a long time (sometimes too tight)...however, any and all forms of wheeled mobilization are in lamens terms: garbage. They don't work, and at times, you discover yourself fighting the controls, more than fighting the enemy. It's really that bad. Driving along flat wasteland, and suddently spinning out of control for no apparent reason, as well a terrain not designed to be traversed by the majority of the vehicles provided, and you've got yourself the worst driving simulation in existence. Your vehicle will flip, it will tumble and occasionally blow up, simply because the controls are horrid and the sheer physics of it all, is entirely against you. If Jak were a racing game (at times it seems like it, since 30% of the game is on Dune Buggy), I would say it's hands down the worst ever. However, this is a platformer, so some mediocrity in the driving can be tolerated, in small, and moderate doses, which is thankfully the case.

Secondarily, the promise of a more balanced difficulty, as well as longer and more varied missions. I'll start with the latter. This game is short. Significantly shorter than Jak II. Completing Jak II from 0 - 100% on your first trek through the game, should take approximately 15 - 20 hours, depending on your skill level. This game, I finished in under 9 hours on my first time through. Now, you may be thinking: "Well the game is supposed to be easier, so it's obviously going to take less time to finish". Wrong. The game is easier overall, in fact, at times it's just perfect. At others the game teeters on the edge of possible, and occasionally messes something up so much, that it becomes intolerable to keep playing. Case and point: The Daxter "Hacking" mission. Take pac-man, and remove any and all things good, innovative and useful, and you've got this mission in a nut-shell. You move Daxter's head along a Pac-Man-esque labyrinth attempting to collect "pellets", to hack into the KG computer network. Pac-Man, as basic and rudimentary as it is, allowed the player to utilize two directions of movement: Clock-wise and counter-clockwise. Not so in Jak 3. You are restricted to a clock-wise movement, and at the same time, hunt down "pellet creators", and evade an "evil" thingy (I don't know what it is), which will always pull a cheap kill on you, even without contact. It's extremely frustrating, and in fact, the epitome of poor game design. Adding insult to injury, it completely disrupts the flow and momentum this game attempts to muster prior to the mission. Words cannot do justice to the atrocity of the mission in question. Luckily, missions this poorly designed, and frustratingly difficult, only occur on rare occasions, but once again, breaking the promise of balanced difficulty. Like I said, I don't like being lied to.

On the other hand, there are moments in Jak 3, where the game comes together in perfect unison, and the gameplay tighter, and much more appealing than ever. At times, Jak 3 ends up being the game that Jak II should have been, and then some. Some of the core play mechanics and fundamental "RPG" elements are once again, a year too late, and an obvious scam on the Ratchet and Clank formula created with Going Commando, but this time, it's far less noticeable, since the weapons are not necessarily derived in the same fashion Jak II's were. The use of Dark Jak is far more practical, since you can now revert back to regular Jak form at any time, without depleating your entire stock-pile of Dark Eco. There are more health items (which are certainly needed this time around, since the enemies still get off a few cheap shots here and there), far more checkpoints (thank the heavens) since the last game featured next to none, and the new "secret" upgrade system, really helps the player if they're struggling with a certain part of the game. The addition of Light Jak is a welcome one. Light Jak comes with the ability to fly, shield himself, freeze time and heal himself. This leaves itself open for some cleaver platforming, and be clear that the cleaverness of the platforming involved with these abilities stretch only as far as the immediate stage following the bestowing of said abilities. Sad really, since Jak 3 has more potential for clever, and innovative platforming than any other game to date.

In terms of audio, Jak 3 is good. It definitely took a step down from the voice acting quality (in fact compeltey changing the voices of some characters *cough* Keira *cough*) of Jak II, but the score more than makes up for it. The lack-luster voice acting doesn't help the skin and bones plot, but the score and overall timbre of the musicality is so good I require a new word to describe it's fabulousness. Frabjulous. The music is frabjulous. (Forgive the personal desire to attempt to convey how great the aural offerings are this time around). Weapon effects, and secondary voicing and ambient sound effects are also top-notch, and very evokative for the mood this game tries to set.

All in all, you'll need a tootchpick to extract the left-over taste in your mouth since this game leaves the series open for more adventures, but be mindful that this story arc does finish in Jak 3, so those expecting a fourth game in this line of titles be warned, this is the last game. And that's really disappointing. You can see the potential for Jak 3 when you play through the game. At moments Jak 3 gets the platformer genre so perfect, and innovates so much, that it becomes something so fresh and so new, it's like picking up that intellivision number pad for the first time again. It's so unique in it's execution, but yet so distasteful, disgusting and derivative in some of it's other regards. With some of the best visual effects on the Ps2, the most unique plotline in platformer history, a game actually worth playing this time around, and an overall improvement over the disappointing and overrated Jak II (even by this reviewer), it's hard to believe there are such pedestrian elements as the over-used Dune Buggy scenario, and some absolutely atrocious missions, not to mention a game almost half as long as it's predecessors, Jak 3 pleases and displeases. It definitely pleases more than it displeases, in fact, more so by an imaginary factor of 10. There is so much over-shadowing the bad in this game, that some of it is forgivable, but the rest prevents Jak 3 from being perfect, and what it should have been.

I don't normally discuss how I come to my score, but indulge me as my score is generously high despite all the criticisms I've had through out this review. As I write this I'm still debating whether Jak 3 is an 8 or 9. How much fun did I really have? The driving is dreadful, but fortunately it doesn't comprise the majority of the game. The plot and voice-acting aren't as good as Jak II's, but that's only in comparison. Stand-alone, they're great in their own regards in Jak 3. The game still has it's peak moments of disequilibrium, but I say "moments", since thats all they are. As I reflect, out of the 9 total hours it took to complete Jak 3 (even with a plethora of side-quests completed), only about an hour of it was spent in frustration. As I digress, I want to point out that despite it's flaws preventing Jak 3 from being perfect, what is there convinces me that it IS okay to overlook some of the bad to exemplify the good, so long as the good is worth praising, and in this case, it is.

I may have been harder on Jak 3 since it's the final game in a trilogy story arc, and personally wanted to see one of my favourite games (the original Jak and Daxter) brought to a harmonious end, and in many ways it did, but I also think I'm being very lenient with Jak 3, so it balances. As far as the game goes, it IS a Ps2 AAA title (if not a AA 1/2, ha), but like many games, it isn't perfect, but is so close, you can taste it.

Review: Jak II (PS2) - Jak and Daxter high on GTA

2005-08-01T01:19:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

7.0

Notably, Jak and Daxter was platforming in the most literal sense. There weren't many enemies, (compared to other platformers) and the challenges weren't very difficult. Even though the game was simplisticly designed, it was too hard to put down...which is exactly why Jak II is such a disappointment.

I think this game takes a lot from other games that have made the grade, but when you take incomplete parts of each, you get very shoddy gameplay. The weapon-esque features of Ratchet and Clank, the Dark Eco Jak that almost spins off from Devil May Cry, and the Car-jacking antics of GTA, are all integrated into this game, but they are done so in a manner that feels sloppy.

The story starts off with Jak and Daxter being teleported through a vortex to Haven City, where Jak is mysteriously captured and tortured with Dark Eco by a man known as the Baron. Daxter comes to the rescue, and you are off to find the Baron, and complete missions for people along the way. All platformers should have simple stories, that unravel quite naturally. Jak II is just the opposite. You'll need to complete about 6 - 7 missions, just before you actually get to your first objective. The story unravels so slowly, and Naughty Dog obviously tried to introduce too many characters, most of which play absolutely no part in the story what so ever. Given the story is interesting - inevitably - it goes by too slowly, and is stretched out far too thin.

Theres no doubt that Jak II flaunts some of the best graphics ever seen on any platformer. Its actually on the same level as Ratchet and Clank . The polys are high, and the textures are smooth. Even though you can still see some jaggies here and there, the overall effect of the extra polygons doesn't go by unnoticed.

Soundtrack...What sound? The game consistently uses the same songs over and over again when riding through Haven city, and then changes to another song when being chased by the Krimzon Guard. Thats about it, there are a few instances where different orchestrated songs are intermittently inserted into the cut-scenes, but thats about it. The sound effects aren't much to gawk at either. The same sound effects are used when hitting every single enemy, regardless of them being metallic or organic, its all the same. It may seem small, but things like this take away from the immersion, and over all feel.

The controls are...so so. There isn't much to be proud of, or anything that hasn't been done before. You are given the ability to double and triple jump, which is kind of far fetched, but when dealing with Jak II, everything goes. Although, sometimes, the controls are so unresponsive that on occassion you'll need to use a double or triple jump to dodge certain enemy attacks, but the double jump is incredibly inconsistent. Sometimes you can press the jump button twice rapidly, and you'll do a small double jump, other times, if you push the jump button twice at the same speed, Jak does nothing, and falls to his doom. Very frusterating.

Where the game truly suffers is gameplay however. There are several things that are aggrevatingly flawed with Jak II...

1) Yes, you can steal any car you see - a la Grand Theft Auto - BUT, there aren't any secret missions for them, or any real purpose to using the cars. Nearly the entire game can be completed on foot, with no use of cars. There are very few, and I mean few missions where you actually need to use a vehicle. Not to mention, there are only about 5 different vehicles in the game, just different colour schemes are mixed and matched. Extremely lazy on Naughty Dog's part. Even though the car-jacking is fundamentally useful, it lacks function of urgency, which is what every aspect of a game should have.

2) There is a very shoddy auto-aim system. Sometimes the auto-aim works, and sometimes you're stuck running in circles to attack enemies. Either way, the weapon system is far from perfect. There are only 4 weapons to boot...a very poor effort by Naughty Dog. Not to mention, that the weapons don't range in damage dealt, with the exception of the Peacekeeper.

3) How many missions do I have to complete to make any head-way in this game?! You're required to complete so many arbitrary missions, you begin to wonder if the game is ever going to take off...which it never does to be quite honest. You'll become bored of this game, and so disgruntled with it before you even meet the Shadow...(no spoilers, so don't ask).

4) This game is HARD HARD HARD HARD HARD. Jak II is unbelievably diffcult. Within the first two missions, you'll be begging for mercy since you'll be getting your ass handed to you from every direction. A good example is trying to fight off the sentry tank in the ammunitions factory. Dodge his cannon, while at the same time jump and double jump your away across moving platforms, while dodging moving lasers that summon turrets which auto-aim and fire at you, and at the end of it all, you have destroy two generators and get the tank to destroy all the ammunition. That's a mouthful huh? Well get used to it, there isn't a single mission afterward that gets any easier. The few races you do have to complete, are 10 times harder. It's not even challenging...just cheap. I spit!

5)Whats the deal with the no checkpoints?! There's virtually no checkpoints! You can get through an entire mission and die seconds before you're going to complete it, so you're forced to start right from the beginning. Thats's BS if you worked your ass off just getting to where you died. Sorry, but a game without checkpoints (or at least next to none), is certainly flawed so long as the difficulty is ramped up so incredibly high for a platformer.

6) Granted that each vehicle type has its own physics and damaging qualities, they control worse than the mini plane from GTA3...(you GTA people know what I'm talking about). It takes some major adjustments, as you'll be hitting every vehicle that flies at you, and blow up your hovercraft in the process. Not to mention, afterward, you'll be chased and hunted by the Krimzon guard. You can get the hang of it, but it shouldn't be so frustrating to do so.

7) Dark Jak: This is possibly one of the best qualities in the gameplay, and the only thing saving the Gameplay from completely failing. It is rather fun to play as Dark Jak, but his time is short lived, and his powers are minimal. You can aquire different abilites by collecting metalhead gems, but you won't really want to later on. Dark Jak is a very intersting addition to Jak II, but almost plays like a Devil May Cry scenario...Fight enemies, transform, kill enemies, rinse and repeat. Even worse, the game never actually requires Dark Jak, so it plays out more like a gimmick than anything.

Even though this game seems fun to play...at times, it just isn't (pardon my frankness), and soon becomes a chore. You'll only find it fun if you can actually stomach all of these poor qualities in the gameplay. There certainly are a number of precursor orbs this time around, and collecting them can get you some cool unlockables. There is a list in the main menu, and each require an increasing amount of Precursor orbs to unlock. But thats about it. Other than that, you won't want to keep exploring the city as even that becomes a challenge. I recommend once you've completed it, if you complete it all, don't play it again, and return it, or trade it for a better platformer...a la Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando. Overall, no real compelling reason to keep playing.

If there was ever a reason to buy Jak II, it just went down the drain. If anything, rent this game before you buy it...IF you buy it. This definately is not what Naughty Dog made Jak II out to be...very disappointing.

Review: Jak and Daxter (PS2) - Naughty Dog reprises the role of Platforming genius

2005-08-01T01:07:00.000-04:00

VGP Score

9.4

Naughty Dog, the founding father of the Crash Bandicoot series, a now legendary platformer for the Playstation, have now made their debut on the Ps2 with this incredible new franchise, that simply dwarfs what Crash Bandicoot was. If Crash Bandicoot was a cheap red wine, Jak and Daxter would be the champagne, its simply euphoric.

This new game gives us something new, and something to look forward to for the years to come on the Ps2. A great game for a great machine. Jak is an elf like humanoid, who teams up with his buddy (also elvan humanoid...for now) Daxter. Both characters are unique, and both make the game what it is. Jak is your well known hero, who is simply out to get the girl, but eventually finds himself entangled in a web of deceit as he must stop the Dark sages Gol and Maia and stop them from taking over the world with Dark Eco (more on Eco a bit later). As they partake on this awesome journey, Daxter is accidentally flung into a pool of Dark Eco, from an accident involving a Precursor artifact. You may be confused about the Precursors, and trust me, you always will be. The whole precursor thing is open for interpretation...for now. In any case, Daxter is then spit out of the Dark Eco pool, and transformed into an ottsel, a combination of an otter and a weasel. His appearance is very unique, and contrasts Jak perfectly, which is what all sidekicks should offer, contrast. Just the character of each is astounding. Daxter is the rambunctious and out of control personality that offers laugh out loud humour to the game, and Jak is the strong and silent type, who offers his strength and skills to do what else, but save the world. Your job is to find the other Sages, and get their help, to bring down Gol and Maia. Its fun, its quirky and it works.

One of the key elements of the story is "Eco", a magical force that evaporates out of the earth, and all sorts of earthly elements are respresented. The main type of Eco is Green eco. An eco that has several regenerative properties, and is essentially the "health" of the game. The yellow eco is your typical projectile weapon, where the user charged with it, is able to manipulate it into quick bursts of energy, which damages the enemy on contact. The thrid type of Eco is Blue eco. This empowers the user with an incredible sense of speed, and several lifts, switches and doors can only be opened when the individual trying to use them is charged with blue eco. It allows Jak to run at super high speeds, and lets him find hidden passages to allow him to find more precursor orbs, the currency of Jak and Daxter. The final type of Eco is red eco, which when charged with it, the user becomes ultra strong, and their attacks strengthened ten fold. It adds a very unique element to the game, and using these different types of eco in different syncopations is what truly adds challenge and depth to this game. The other types of eco that aren't useful to the player, are Dark eco and White eco. These two types of eco may not be integral to the gameplay, but the dark/light duality is crucial to the plot of the game, and eventually becomes the climax of the game itself.

As I mentioned earlier, the currency of Jak and Daxter is Precursor Orbs, a common artifact of the precursors, used for exchanges to obtain power cells (They are essentially to Jak and Daxter, as what coins are to Mario). Using them to purchase Power Cells will allow you to further progress through the game. Power Cells are what "power" different pieces of machinary, to allow you to venture from one location to another. For instance, collecting 20 power cells initially, will allow you to activate the Zoomer which allows travel across the lava pits, and lets you enter different areas of the Jak and Daxter world, like the Lava Tube, Snowy Mountain, etc. Collecting power cells by exchanging orbs is not the only way to obtain them. Every "level" contains a certain number of power cells, and all of which will have special tasks which need to be accomplished in order to get them. For example, you will find on Sentinel Beach, that there is a Power Cell lying in the open, but when you try to find it, a large bird will come and swipe it from you, perching itself on an island, where you must go to get it back. Once you get the bird to let go of the Power Cell, you must race to it before he gets there to swipe it again. Small challenges like this, though meaningless at first glance, are incorporated very well into the world, and in some cases, the overall story/experience of the game. Even though this game is a collect-a-thon of items, be it, precursor orbs, power cells, eco, or scout flies, its very engaging, and will always have you wanting more, more, more, more. This game offers an all encapsulating feel when it comes to gameplay.

Aside from the astounding gameplay, the linear platforming genre, is intertwined with "mini-game" gameplay segments, like racing, Puzzle solving, and simple...mini games, each yielding more power cells. Its very diverse, and offers a lot especially since the world is so expansive, and so unique, not to mention there are almost no load times, and the world is seamless when traveling from one locale to another.

Visually the game is remarkable for a first generation Playstation 2 game. It doesn't offer a lot of graphical excellence in terms of polygon counts for the characters, but the attention to detail is tremendous, especially in the jungles and in the busy villages, its nostalgiac to reminisce about the days when we thought this was the cat's meow of graphical excellence. Also, each "section" of the game is given a unique appearance from the last, that it is a treat in itself just to travel in this game.

Jak and Daxter sports some very dense landscapes. Some tasks can only be accomplished once you've made your way through the game to a certain point. You may see a power cell somewhere, and think "How do I get there?". This is where you'll have to use your head. You may see an offline eco vent, and some inactive switches or platoforms. Once you reactivate the eco vents later in the game, you can teleport back, and solve the puzzling task. This simple element of non-tedious backtracking is fun, and I guarantee satisfaction in seeing the creativity involved in making such unique and puzzling challenges. This platformer is just that, with all these extra bells and whistles too. Its a platformer in every sense of the word. Like I said, the worlds are dense. An area may seem empty or barren, but once you look up, you realize there is a clockwork of activity there, and your job is to move about up, down, left, right, sideways, backways diagonal ways, and in a very non-linear path. Nothing is layed out for you, ever. Everything is about exploration and figuring things out for yourself, and to be honest, even though it sounds daunting, the game is paced very well. You'll be collecting new power cells every few minutes, and opening more oppportunities to explore with every task you complete. Everything is meshed together to form one giant cohesive exeprience, which is in no way boring or overly difficult. The learning curve is just perfect to a "T". The more you put into this game, the more you get out, which is why this game is so addicting; I will tell you now, once you're finished, you'll stand up and give this game a round of applause, and immediately begin playing again.

Playing again is actually encouraged in this game. The bare minimum for completing this game is only collecting a total of 72 power cells. Though, if you put the extra couple hours to obtain the full 101 power cells, you will be rewarded with an extended ending, with footage you can't see if you JUST do the bare minimum. See, the more you put it, the more you get out. Its a very friendly game, and almost anyone can enjoy this game, despite skill level or experience. Its a great way to kick off the Playstation 2 software line up, and this game is deserving of a spot in anyone's permanent collection.

Some of the most addicting gameplay, pasted together with a cohesive gaming experience, makes for one of the best games ever. Well worth your time.

Demystifying Killer 7

2005-07-31T19:58:00.000-04:00

Master, we are in a tight spot...

Needless to say, if you haven't finished Killer 7 yet, don't read on. Major spoilers abound. This editorial is primarily written witht the audience of people who have finished the game in mind, so please, no complaints. You've been warned.

Who are Harman and Kun?

My interpretation rests solely on the roles of both Harman and Kun. If there's one common person throughout Killer 7, it would most definitely be Harman. His role in Killer 7 is vital. To put it simply, Harman and Kun are the mortal forms of God and Satan. Think about it, why is a room where Harman and Kun play chess titled "Forbidden Room"? It isn't just a chess game, it's representative of God and the Devil moving around their fighters in a great war between good and evil. There's also stark contrasts between Harman and Kun: Harman has white hair, and Kun has Black hair. Harman's apparel is similar to the tunic of a preist, and Kun's suit is reminiscent of some kind of Vampire, embodying the demonistic side of the spectrum. The subtle hints are placed throughout the game. For example, who does Harman command? You, Garcian. Who commands the Heaven Smile? Kun. Good verus bad, again. How do Harman and Kun perform such extravagant feats like catch bullets mid-air? Divine and satanic power would seem like a convenient answer, but the subtle hints placed throughout the game make it a likely possibility.

The next question is why do Harman and Kun engage in this war? I suppose we can look to other forms of entertainment like movies for the answer. If you're a comic book fanatic, you've probably read Hellblazer, and the recent Constantine feature film. God and the Devil engage in a war with each other, and instead of going head to head, they wage war with divine and unearthly mortal beings. I suppose the film provides a convenient template for deciphering this, and it may in fact be wrong, but I think it's a good starting point.

The most apparent hint that Harman is in fact God, would be Iwazaru. We all know Lucifer is an archangel, so at one point in time, he called Him "master". With the amount of bizarre themes in Killer 7, would it seem so far fetched that Kun would mock Harman by pretending to aid you in Harman's name yet lead you time after time into hordes of Heaven Smile? I wouldn't think so. Remember, "In the name of Harman..."? Everyday devout Christians worship "In the name of our lord", "In the name of God", and "In the name of the Father". So the question is, is Harman really a father?

The next question is, how do you prove Kun is Satan? Most of us know the alternative name for Satan is "Lucifer". Lucifer was believed to be second in command to God himself, at least in Christian mythology. We normally refer to a "second in command" as 's right hand man. Lucifer the name is also derived from two words: lux, meaning light, and ferre, meaning to bear. Lucifer is the bearer of light. Coincidentally enough, in the battles with Kun and Harman, Kun's right hand is raised in the air, and is appearingly holding "light". This imagery is just too hard to ignore, and is probably the most convincing piece of evidence for the God/Satan theory.

Who is Samantha?

The answer is both the Christ and the anti-Christ; Jesus and Dante. We know that Samantha's last name is Smith, so I believe this is to lead us to the conclusion that she is Harman's daughter. So which is which? In lamens terms, the maid outfit is Jesus, and the casual clothing is Dante. Why else would the maid answer to every one of Harman's wishes, and the hill-billy Samantha torture and mock him? Dante's purpose was to mock God and his divinity with Christ, so the fact that we see him and Samantha engaging in incestual acts is only the smallest of ways in which she (and Kun) could mock him. The change happens when the lights are on or off. I'm not sure which is which, but there's deifnitely a transformation there. While it's entirely possible that Samantha could be nobody, I think her relation with Harman and her different states, justifies the notion that Harman and Kun are Godly and Satanic figureheads for the greater beings and concepts of "God" and the "Devil".

Garcian, The Killer 7, and Heaven Smile

Garcian is undoubtedly an Angel of death. Why ele is the first mission entitled "Angel"? If Harman is in fact God, or at least a representation of him, then why does he approve of the mindless acts of violence Garcian commits? Garcian must be doing His will if he so approves. Why would Harman approve of such things? Because the Heaven Smile are the pawns of Kun, the Devil. Does Garcian have the power of resurrection? No, as Garcian himself states, he's only a collector. He retreives the bodies and brings them back to Harman's Room to be resurrected with his power. Harman is in fact the one with the power of resurrection. But Harman isn't in Harman's room? Who else has the power of regeneration? Christ right? I've already discussed Samantha as the Christ figure, and this one fact proves that a little more: who controls the TV remote? Samantha. She's the one who resurrects your fallen assassins, not Garcian.

The name Heaven Smile is hard to discern reasoning for, and every theory I can come up with leads to basless speculation. I really can't tackle that realistically. The Killer 7...why were they murdered, and why are the Killer 7 vigilantes for God? As they say, fight fire with fire. The Killer 7, or at least 6 of them, are past-life sinners. Dan is consistently referred to as "Hellion", Coyote is a theif, and Kaede is a suicidal maniac; suicide being a mortal sin. Fight evil, with evil. Of course, this is again only a theory, so I can't concretely prove this but you could say that's how I feel about it.

So what about the ending?

Well we know Iwazaru, in spirit form is a servant of Harman, as he heads him as master. In a past life, Iwazaru was once Harman's master, so I suppose thats why Iwazaru appears to you in spirit form, and not in the form of a corpse or ghost. Iwazaru didn't die, only his soul, something only God himself can claim possession over. It's as vague differentian, but it's one that fits. When you kill Iwazary in the end, you aren't defeating the servant, you're killing the now present, physical form of Iwazaru. The man who is now ruler of the underworld, Lucifer. What about the 100 years later? As I mentioned earlier, both Harman and Kun are in my interpretation, only the physical forms of his holiness and the ruler of the underworld. Both can be killed, but both can be revived when either is ready to wage war against one another again.

I suppose this entire entire game, in my eyes, is a very macabre take on the Christian Dogma, but the signs are there. While I believe that the roles of Garcian, the Killer 7, Samanta and the Heaven Smile are up for interpretation, I think there's just too much evidence proving that Harman and Kun are or are representations of God and Lucifer. I think the entire plot is just ingeniously put together. There are so many possibile interpretations, and most of them would be just as valid as this one. If you think I've missed something, or if you have your own interpretation, feel free to let me know in a comment. I'm still very open to interpretation on all fronts.

...a really tight spot.

Review: Killer 7 (GC) - Still sopping up the drool...

2005-07-29T01:26:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: This review is purposefully short. While theres a lot to the game, most of the discussion lies in the plot. Tommorow night, I will delve deep into my interpretation of the Killer 7 story and give my thoughts on the end result. Coming into this game, I was extremely skeptical. The game was selling poorly in Japan, and the general consensus of the game was that it was subpar. After further investigation and some misinterpreted babelfish, it seemed like those who played Killer 7 either loved it like a child, or wished so much misery upon Capcom that you'd think they had raped their dogs, then their children, and then skinned them, collected their blood and drank it as a Gatorade substitute. There was, and still is a definite split between critics on Killer 7. Fortunately, I'm on the supporting side. I absolutely loved Killer 7. It's a work of art, and features some of it's own nuances and innovations. The game puts you in the role of the Killer 7, a syndicate of Smiths who are hired assassins. You have 7 targets, and you engage in a tug of war between good and evil. Your main enemies are the Heaven Smile, who just so happen to be a large group of terrorists.

Each target is assigned their own mission, and some missions are broken into two parts due to length. As the Killer 7, you can switch between 6 members of the Killer 7. Each member has their own pros and cons. Among these are type of weapon, reload time, fire rate, weapon kick back, speed and special abilities. While the former attributes are present in all of the assassins, each character has their own unique special abilitiy. Kevin Smith can turn invisible, and thus invincible, Con runs at super sonic speeds, MASK lifts large objects, and so on. These abilities are fully upgradable and are integral to the puzzle solving, which there is quite a lot of. While there is a lot of it, the puzzles don't generally reach further than the ol' fetch item, use item as key to open new door, to get to new area. Some do get slightly more complex, but not at as rule. The gameplay however is polarized linear; literally. You use the A button to run along a preset path and use the analog stick to turn at junctions. Really unconventional, but very innovative for the third person action/first person shooter genre. You can enter the first person and scan the area for enemies, which don't appear unless you scan using the Vision ring. It's odd, but it works suprisingly well. Sometimes enemies can gang up you due to awkward camera angles, which results in cheap deaths but these instances are few and far between.

Some enemies pull of cheap shots by poor design, but again they aren't common and don't result in a fully "broken" experience. The game is almost linear to a fault, but it straddles that line so smoothly and manages to do it well enough that it creates unique gaming experience without flip flopping between good and bad. Graphically the game is a treat. Cel-shaded characters and pastel matted textures on the surroundings provide a surreal environment that just oozes genuine character. It puts you in an alternate reality. You can absorb the blood of your enemies, as their bodies vaporze into a red mist; that doesn't even resemble reality as we know it. It's a completely original experience with no equal. Not to mention, it's a blast to play. It's so easy to adapt to, and while it's convention is new, it's execution is superb. In place of fancy prerendered cut-scenes, the game sports stunning anime cut-scenes, that just completely meld the entire experience into one. The animation and charater illustrations are similar to the old Maxx cartoons, and it's so very wonderful. Anime geeks globally will love Killer 7 just for it's wacky anime cliches and japan-isms.

The voice work is something else. Top notch and among the ranks of the Metal Gear Solids and God of War games of our time. I'd go as far to say it surpasses both in many instances. The voices of Harman, Garcian and Dan Smith are probably the picks of the litter, but don't mistake the rest for fodder, they're all stellar. In line with the voice work is the soundtrack, which is again completely original and in some instances will have you second guessing the track choice for certain scenarios. I find now the most appropriate time to remind everyone that Killer 7 has one of the best disco songs in the history of good disco songs. As you ascend and descend the stairs in the oddly titilating Vinculum gate, the Killer 7 appear to be dancing wildly to this outrageously catchy disco trance mix. A "disco dance simulator" if you will.

As a final product, the puzzle solving could use some challenge tweaking, and the camera angles in some instances could be improved, but Killer 7 is the full package. The plot is so twisted and out of sight that it makes Metal Gear Solid look like fourth grade picture books. As a whole series, the MGS story is still more gripping and more masterfully crafted than Killer 7, but on a game per game basis, Killer 7 takes the cake. It's never straight out told to you, and that's what makes it so wonderful. It's a game that keeps you thinking long after the experience has ended, and that's what makes a great storyline. The graphics and audio are top notch, anime cut-scenes totally geek out the entire experience, and the disco dancing has to be seen/heard to be believed. Overall, Killer 7 earns one of my highest recommendations, and I say you're a fool if you can't see how far originality and innovation go in a sequel-copycat saturated market. Killer 7 strictly as a gameplay experience only deserves an 8, but it's the only game that has earned more than it dished out. I'd be a fool to offer anything lower than a 9.5. It has it's short comings, but this is one game that ten years down the road, people will look at and say "Yes, I do remember Killer 7, for what it did, how it did it, and how it stood above the rest despite a completely polarized fan base." Maybe not so much in those words, but the idea is that Killer 7 is a game for collectors, for people who love originality, and for people who can look back and brag for trying something new, and being part of an audience who embraced change and untested waters.

Verdict

9.5

Bravo!

PSP ^2.0: Firmware update satisfies, leaves much to be desired

2005-07-27T19:04:00.000-04:00

North American PSP users were suprised to hear Sony make an outrageous oversight on the PSP's Firmware 2.0 update today. It would seem the PSPs uncanny ability to translate almost any language, has allowed PSP users to fully translate the Japanese update, available for download from the Japanese PSP website. While some worried it wouldn't be compatible with the NTSC PSP, it suprisingly is. While you could babelfish the website to learn how to install it, most message boards give a much more concise version. Once the update is installed, the functionality is literally doubled.

The biggest upgrade is the addition of an internet browser. The first PSP browser was hacked directly out of the Wipeout Pure game, but ran at ridiculously low speeds. Slower than dial-up slow. Pictures weren't downloadable, and many basic things like links failed on occasion. There was no higher function other than displaying the page, and poorly at that. This new browser uses the PSP's XMR interface, which gives it a much smoother look, and yes it does run at acceptable speeds. Certainly not high-speed broadband by any means, but a complex page like IGN.com managed to load entirely in under 30 seconds. No flash compatibility though, so it's a slight discomfort there.

You can see from the photos I snapped up once I started browsing that I was searching pages like Penny Arcade, Google images and there's even a photo of the new wallpaper I've added as part of another feature added to the PSP. Let me get this straight: as a browser, the PSP sucks. The pages are never displayed in their true resolution, and you often have to scroll sideways, as the screen only displays half the width of most sites. Navigating through the pages is, I found, easier than a PC broswer, but looking at pages is often lame. Links bunch together, and some links still don't work, but web-forms function nicely, and the clarity is mind blowing. It's a love/hate relationship.

I think when I'm browsing that it's neat, but why not wait a little longer to perfect the broswer? The cache is too small, it doesn't load flash or dynamic HTML, and is just not even half as functional as normal web browsers. For a first try though, I'm impressed. Hopefully Sony decides to improve the browsing capabilities with update 2.1 or higher, and for their sake I hope they do, because right now the browser is only good enough for those who are desperate and need to google something when they're away from a computer. Overall, the update is very satisfying. The ability to change wallpapers and use custom wallpapers pretty much makes obsolete hacks like PSPersonalize, and the new compatibility between Pro DUO and ATRAC3 is something most desired since launch. A juicy update that should have been named "Firmware Squared". Still, some problems can't be overlooked...

DSUpdate.net takes Ps3 to task, I return the favour

2005-07-24T15:20:00.000-04:00

If you're an avid reader of videogame blogs, or wannabe web-sites, you may or may not have heard of DS Update. If you do then you've already read this piece of work. If you read it from start to finish, bravo. I found myself tempted to exit my browser and pray to our lord, so that people like this "Ninty Freak" never procreate. I did however, stomach the entire thing, and found myself laughing histerically. Do people like this actually believe what they say? Do they ever even present an iota of proof for their luacrous claims? No, and that's why I'm here to show them how it's done. Proof is undeniably the one thing that creates a solid statement. If you can back yourself up, then you're standing pretty firmly. Without it, like this article from DS Update, your ideas fall apart with even the mildest of shakes.

Dear DS Update,

In your article entitled "The Fall of the Playstation Generation", you make many, almost all, incorrect assertions about the Playstation 3. If you had any sense of journalistic integrity, you would have done your research. I will tackle each point, bit by bit, until I'm fully satisifed with your dismemberment. Please take this opportunity to learn from your mistakes. There is no wrong in disliking the Playstation 3, but making generalistic claims that Sony will die because of the Playstation 3 without proof of any of the points you make, is a sure way of being taken to the ground. Quite easily too I might add.

1) Form factor is not a verifiable reason for the "downfall of Sony". If you'll recall, the original Playstation 2 was a hideous machine. It looked far worse than any stand alone DVD player, and still sold by the millions. Let's not forget, there are significant numbers of gamers who prefer the look of the Playstation 3 to the other console, and vice versa. You don't like the look of the Playstation 3, I get that, but it isn't a valid reason, or even piece of a valid reason for "ending the Playstation Generation". It just doesn't hold water. Ugly products sell all of the time, and is often not at the top of the list of reasons for purchasing an expensive piece of hardware.

2)"Ps3 is an untested technology": Wrong. Game studios like Epic have had RSX and Cell technology months prior to E3. Watch the press conference for yourself, and hear them tell you straight up that they received development software for RSX and Cell 2 months before E3. That pegs "testing time" at roughly 5 months already, with little less than a year to go. By industry standards, that's decent. Don't forget, Microsoft only just got beta kits to developers in June. That leaves only 5 months for "testing", as opposed to Playstation 3's one year or more time for product testing, benchmarking and development.

3)"This will make games buggy and glitchy": See above. If Playstation 3 games are going to be glitchy with a years worth of technology benchmarking, then Xbox 360 games are going to damn unplayable. This is of course not true, so take this as a sarcastic undertone to the previous statement.

4)"Cell and Playstation 3 are difficult to program": Quite the contrary actually, and developers seem to be singing it's praises too. Just the fact that these statements were made so long ago leads one to believe you pulled the entire paragraph in which this point lies, directly from your ass. You say one thing, but the truth is the extreme opposite.

Other things to consider, are the recent developments from Sony's Playstation Meeting 2005. Sony has entered in a liscencing agreement with Havok, the creators of the industries most commonly used physics engine, because of it's ease of use. It's a tool for developers, which makes life easier rather than program an entire physics engine for each game exclusively. Instead of using an internal PPU, the Playstation 3 can now account for realistic physics without the added cost in the hardware. The sizable storage of the Blu Ray format also makes this a practical application.

Second, Sony has gone into cohoots with Epic, and liscenced the Unreal 3 Engine for Playstation 3 development kits. Again, the Unreal engine series are widely considered the best 3-D rendering tools ever, and if you payed attention at E3, delivers powerful visuals that pack a strong punch, and it churns them out in record time. The Unreal Tournament 2007 real-time tech demo was cited at being a mere 2 month development. Teaming up with AGEIA also glues these two important tools together, and concretely makes Playstation 3 an easy to develop for piece of hardware.

5)"Blu-Ray up to 50 GB, HD-DVD up to 45 GB": I suppose both statements are accurate, but not quite fair. The 45 GB HD-DVD's are a triple layered version of the format, and the 50 GB Blu-Ray discs are dual layered. Being fair, dual layered versions of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are 50 GB and 30 GB respectively, and triple layered versions are 75 GB and 45 GB respectively. Using nonpartisan comparisons, Blu-Ray is still the superior format.

6)"Blu-Ray is costly": Again, the opposite is true. Manufacturing cost of Blu-Ray discs is half off current DVD costs. This is due to the fact that Sony can use silicon based plastics instead of glass based plates. The reason Betamax was defeated by VHS, was because it was a vastly more expensive medium, and a Betamax player was bulky and overpriced. This time around, Blu-Ray has the advantage, but this format is war is going to operate under a different set of industry condititions so anything is possible.

7)"Ps3 will cost $400-800 dollars, games $80, HDD $150?": Let's see, first off, the Playstation 3 only costs 494 dollars to produce, and Sony expects to incur billions in losses on the system, so ultimately we're looking at an estimated 400 dollar maximum price tag. Following the same link, Sony officially says Playstation 3 will launch around the price point as Playstation 2 in Japan. "Around" can mean many things, but in no way is it indicative of a doubled price or greater depending on which idiots you talk to.

As for games, no official figures have been given, but you can expect Xbox 360 software prices to be on the rise in concert with the Playstation 3's. This is a moot point no matter how you look at it. With increased development costs for games on all fronts, not just the Playstation 3, increased software prices is an expectation. You're suprised by this? You shouldn't be. As for a 150 dollar hard drive, I'd like you state a source because as it stands, the 40 GB hard drive for the Playstation 2 doesn't even cost 100 dollars and it comes preloaded with Final Fantasy XI, let alone a 20 GB hard drive with no preloaded software exceeding that number, especially within a years time. Get on with the source citing or admit you're full of shit.

8)"It could very well be that Sony will never make a PS4.": It's also very likely that every bit of "information" you've made mention of is entirely false. No, not likely, it is. You are wrong on all accounts. Courtesy of one of my more humourous readers: "I'm going to have to ask you to leave the internet, you're just too fuckin' stupid".

ADDENDUM: Apparently it wasn't enough to be publically humiliated, but now he had to go and completely disown any credibility DS Update may have initially had. Matt Shellder, you truely are a piece of work.

A little bird once asked...

2005-07-24T01:49:00.000-04:00

I was recently asked a few questions by someone who chose to remain anonymous, and considering the weight of such issues, I've decided to answer with formal reply. Should make for some interesting conversation...

1. Who will finish in 2nd place worldwide, next-gen, behind Sony?

I think first and foremost is will Sony actually finish first? I think in the long-term, the answer is most definitely yes. But that's looking ten years down the road, and I'd like to focus on who will be where in say, 5 years. I think if by chance the Xbox 360 hits off in North America with unprecedented success, we could easily see a tie between Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Given that Xbox 360 will have the seasonal lead, 360 will be the industry leader temporarily...by default. It'd be like claiming captain of team of one. Nothing to be proud of.

Playstation 3 will also have the slight against them by launching in the down season of gaming sales for both software and hardware. Relying on hype to sell consoles isn't commonly unsuccessful, but it isn't a solid foot to stand on. I think it's also a given that Playstation 3 will launch at a higher price than Xbox 360, so right there are a few reasons why the Playstation 3 will get off to a slow start. Theoretically, Microsoft could easily announce a price drop on P-day, but I doubt that would happen. Industry trends point to a price drop happening a year or more after a consoles release, taking into consideration the massive losses most companies endure. Minimization is key. Sure enough though, come the holidays, Xbox 360 could see a price drop and the Playstation 3 may still be at it's inflated price. This didn't stop the Playstation 2 from out maneuvering the Dreamcast, so now we're entering dodgey territory. Overall, Playstation 3 still has significant brand association over Xbox. Let's not forget, nothing will change the fact that the Playstation brand has the most software titles available, and most of the Xbox 360's hot item software will be multiplatform, so I can definitely see people spending the extra cash on the Playstation 3, to get the same game in higher definition with slightly better visuals. The enourmous array of the Playstation 3's features will only sweeten the deal.

I have no doubts that the Playstation 3 will be industry leader again, and Xbox 360 will definitely follow behind in second. It will be a close race initially, but Ps3 will undoubtedly pass 360 in due time, and it will take a significant lead. What about Revolution? Well, it will launch much later, with a less impressive spec sheet, and will mostly feature Nintendo's key mascot titles. Nintendo will carry through with most of it's current fanbase, and it will not grow. That is almost certain at this point. So why did I not consider Rev into my equations? Revolution is a non-issue at this point. Avid gamers will buy it as a secondary console to the flagship machine, either Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.

2. Where will Nintendo be in the industry in 5 years?

Nintendo will still be Nintendo. They will continue to produce games that feature Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus, and the like, and will stay strong with a user base so faithful, that even the Pope is envious of Iwata-san. I don't think Nintendo's fanbase will ever deplete to the point of uselessness, but in the coming years, technology prices will rise to a point where an audience of 9 or 10 million over 5 years won't be enough to sustain a profitable company. In 5 years Nintendo will still have Revolution, and more than likely a successor to that, but unless Nintendo starts competing with Sony and Microsoft on the same level with the same sized pockets, the inevitable will happen, but not for a long while down the road.

To be slightly snarky, yet entirely honest, in 5 years Nintendo will still operate under the guise of "innovation" despite only a small percentage of their games actually being innovative. Nintendo will still pretend that profits earned from GameBoy and Nintendo DS count as "success" on the console front, and Reggie will always believe their console is the strongest because they have sold "2 BILLION! !", despite the fact that at that point Sony will have surassed them on the pieces of software sold. Their audience will shrink to a niche of a niche, and they couldn't be happier. They'll be last, but they'll be fine with it. This is of course as long as they continue on their current path, things can still change and it isn't too late for Nintendo to pull a 180 with Revolution..."OMG! PUN!".

3. Where will Microsoft be in the industry in 5 years?

Second place believing they'll eventually acheive first. I think the fact that Microsoft expects to be first in Japan and worldwide next generation is stigma enough to cement their silver medal. Consider it fate's way of rubbing it in for lying about theirs and other companies hardware, while making idiotic claims like "Most powerful console ever", and "E3-scale event", despite the over zealous hyperbole. Microsoft's deep pockets will continue to fuel their arrogance, but Sony will continue to beat them.

I've actually been thinking that Revolution may have a chance to over throw Xbox 360, but it's not a scenario likely to happen yet entirely possible. Xbox 360 could launch too early and see dismal holiday sales (and by dismal I mean in comparison to other holiday launches). Xbox 360 will be competing with Playstation 2 and Gamecube this winter. Ken Kutaragi was entirely accurate in that somewhat obscure reference: Xbox 360 is launching at a time when Playstation 2 and Gamecube are going to see some of their highest profile games yet. We're talking games that have been written in chalk, erased, and rewrittn in ink for the past 3 years, high profile. It's almost certain that both Ps2 and GC will see a price drop before the holiday season. Possibly a 79.99 dollar tag for the GC, and potentially a 129.99 or even 99.99 for the Playstation 2. Being realistic, Playstation 2 and Gamecube will rippen fully this holiday season and I think it's possible that most people will find gaming pleasure from their still useful toys than new ones on the market. With this, MS comes out with no significant numbers on the Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 is poised to continue it's reign come launch time. Then, when Revolution launches, we have a reoccurrance of what happened earlier: MS VS Nintendo for second place. While Nintendo will still be at the disadvantage, remember that Nintendo has Japan and Japan will always support Nintendo over Microsoft. Also consider that Gamecube launched some time after the Xbox, and Gamecube was once in second place this generation with Xbox pulling up the tail end. As they say, it's not over until it's over...

And now for a few answers with a little more brevity...

4. What are your thoughts of the Hot Coffee Rockstar GTA scandal?

Rockstar is getting what they deserve. They were careless, and the AO rating slapped on GTA is their punishment. Kudos to them for fixing their error, but why all the lies? First it was l33t modders, then it was l33t haxxors, and now it's l33t programmers who think their too l33t, that no one else can be as l33t as them, thus making any l33t programmer's l33tn3ss not nearly as l33t as Rockstar's, thusly making it impossible to find Hot Coffee. What the fuck? I say walk with your head in shame Rockstar, everyone is watching from here on...

5.What would the industry be like if Sony was the only hardware maker? Would it be better or worse?

We'd be back where we started with Nintendo being the only viable platform, and software prices being held dishonestly high for profit. Creativity would still flourish, but perhaps more on the third party side than anything.

This actually raises a strong issue I have with the industry: why not have one universal platform for gaming to take place on? Do you go out and buy a Paramount DVD player to watch Top Gun, or a Warner Brother's DVD player to watch the Matrix trilogy? No, we all own a DVD player, that plays DVDs. Why can't we ever just get a "game machine" that plays games? If Sony were the only entity on the market right now, under the current conditions, I'd say we were in bad shape. Competition sprouts creativity. But under newer conditions perhaps akin to the way the DVD format has evolved, Sony being the only hardware manufacturer might not be a bad thing. Other companies who also own shares in the format of Playstation 6/7/8, could release platofrms of their own, and voila, we have the most efficient way to run the gaming industry. You pick the machine, but you also pick the games. One or all, it wouldn't matter. Multiplatform games are gone, and the world can now enjoy games without having to mark allegiances with one comany or another. I don't think that will happen, but I'd be happy to see it if it ever did.

My apologies for not including links to relevant stories or information. I may or may not update later...don't hold your breath. Hope you find these answers to your liking Sir Anonymous, and whoever else happens to graze through the walls of text.

E3? Really? Prove it...

2005-07-23T01:35:00.000-04:00

Microsoft announced that they plan on unveiling the Xbox 360 to Japan with an "E3 scale" event. At first it doesn't even phase you, and then it dawns on you: Microsoft is frickin' nuts. Who in their right mind can call their event "E3 sized"? We're talking a single company whose presence at most E3's barely comprises 1/3 of the show, this is with BOTH Xbox 360 and Xbox content on the floor, as well as software for both. Is Microsoft that arrogant that they think they can fool the public into thinking the Xbox 360 can over shadow the entire industry, and cover the same groud, square footage, and even number of trailers, titles and booths with only Xbox 360 merchandise than say 10+ platforms across thousands of titles, gadgets and tech demos from major companies like Nintendo, Sony, Nokia, Square Enix, Konami, etc.? I'd like to think such things are possible, but they aren't. Microsoft wouldn't know what to do with it, even if they had as much. Microsoft is so full of shit lately, and as much vim and vigor, which leads the public to believe they're pretending to do something of consequence, when it is in fact just pretending. I'm not one to oppose tall talkers or verbiage twisters, but this is E3 we're talking about: an event so huge it takes an entire years worth of planning between hundreds of companies with thousands of hours of content...and Microsoft plans to topple it with one platform? I'd be impressed if they even came 1/10 as close to the spectacle of E3. Something to think about...

SONY: 1 - MICROSOFT: 0, Playstation Meeting 2005 impresses, questions still linger

2005-07-22T11:51:00.000-04:00

Recently, Sony treated select few members of the press to their future plans regarding the Playstation 3, Playstation 2 and PSP. The most interesting news came in the form of new real-time footage trailers, even some gameplay footage. Probably the most tantalizing of the bunch of trailers was the new teaser for Final Fantasy: Crisis Core, the Final Fantasy VII spin-off that many are expecting to be the PSP's must have killer app, considering the hardware's well is completely dry in the traditional RPG department. The teaser comes in the form of a sequence of anime cut-scenes, which if is indicative of how the story will be told, has me just eccstatic. The game features Zack as the main character, but the trailer also features scenes with Cloud and Sephiroth, and appears to recount the events leading up to the Nibelheim incident (an event prior to FFVII). No telling what the game plays like, but we all know Final Fantasy fanboys won't care either way...it's Final Fantasy, and Seven at that.

But if that wasn't enough Sony decided it was time to pull out some bigger guns and launch a few nuclear salvos at Microsoft. This will come off fanboyish, and I won't hide that because I've already proclaimed my disgust with Microsoft's actions this generation, but Sony has once again proven to us that the Ps3 is still the most powerful console coming to the market, no matter how many false press releases and how many ATi officials Microsoft gets to hype their own video cards. Some interesting trailers to note were the Resident Evil 5 trailer, which I covered much earlier, and the sequel to Genji, a game available in Japan but still awaiting release in the US.

Factor 5 showed it's first trailer for it's new Ps3 development titled "Lair". The trailer featured a bunch of uninteresting scenes picturing flying dragons, but the best thing to note was that Factor 5 has been listening to the gaming community: a large disclaimer reading "This trailer is composed of in-game footage" preceded the video. Look at the picture and see for yourself...

...That's all real-time, and it's looking great. My only concern is how will the game play?

A new RPG announced from Webzen, Endless Saga, was shown in trailer form, but we weren't privy to whether or not it was real-time or not. Disappointing yes, but the visual style looks fairly akin to Final Fantasy XII.

The biggest thing next to Capcom's Resident Evil 5 trailer was the new real-time demo of a new Dynasty Warriors looking game, but even better was the fact that it was running entirely off of Playstation 3 hardware, or at the least Playstation 3 evaluation kits, both scenarios best Microsoft's "Dual G5" setups at E3. While the entire clip was merely a cut-scene, just the fact that it was running on the hardware is reason enough to make special note of it. And while it's still just a play on numbers, it's a good way to gauge just how far this next generation of games is going to advance: In previous Dynasty Warrior games, characters are comprised of a paltry 1000 polygons, compared to 1.5 million in this trailer. Who ever said "take baby steps" obviously never heard of videogames...well that's more than likely true considering the ripeness of the adage.

And while we were still left in the dark about how these games will play, there was a demo played for an audience. The new Gundam Ps3 title was in playable form running on actual development hardware, and it looked exactly as we were shown back at E3. Even though the demo moved at a turtles pace, it proved once and for all that these "trailers" at E3 are more than just plausible, it's going to be easily possible. The game wasn't even using the Havok physics engine yet and was running entirely off of the central core of the Cell processor, completely ignoring the seven SPE's. Watch the demo, with this information in mind, the game is mind bogglingly impressive, not because of the game itself, but just what it's running on and just how little work the Ps3 actually does to run it. Trailers and "in-game" footage isn't enough though. At E3, Microsoft did have playable demos, and you can guarantee they're going to have playable demos at their Nihon-ified unveiling, and more than likely on real hardware. The same will follow at the Tokyo Game Show, which is only months away from the Xbox 360's launch period. Sony needs a playable hardware presence at TGS this year, and if this meeting is any indication, things are moving smoothly.

Sony framed the release of the Ps3 for Spring 2006, which is still in step with their quoted release at E3. Good news to be sure, but it can't come soon enough. All we need now is for Nintendo to come out of hiding and let the consumers educate themselves and make their decision on which console they will purchase first/if at all. While I wouldn't call this years annual Playstation Meeting a nail in any coffin, it proves to Microsoft it takes more than just talk. Sony has proven they can talk the talk and now they can walk the walk, in fact they hit the ground running. So far Microsoft has managed to fumble the talks, I just hope they remember to tie their shoelaces...

Microsoft has it's own unveiling planned in Japan which they claim is an "E3 scale" event. We'll see for ourselves.

Resident Evil 5 Trailer...Next Next Gen...

2005-07-21T10:21:00.000-04:00

I have to say, I'm floored. Words barely escape my mouth. The footage shown looks real-time in some spots, and not in others. I'm going to give Capcom the benefit of the doubt. Resident Evil 4 is by and large the best looking game this generation, and there's no chance of anyone surpassing it. The game looked pre-rendered from stage primus, when Leon was still infiltrating a haunted mansion. Considering RE4 ended up being all real-time, all the time, and Capcom's recent movement away from pre-rendered cut-scenes, I'd be willing to bet this trailer is real-time as well. If that's true, I'd say that more than proves the Killzone trailer is/can be real...not only that, but it pails in comparison to the realism conveyed in this trailer.

What this trailer also proves to me, is that this game has no chance of appearing on Revolution. Nintendo's console, on good authority, is the weakest console next gen, and rumours point towards it being markedly inferior to Xbox360 and Ps3. What does this mean? It means Capcom is working on a next-gen game, not two next-gen games. I suppose it's still possible to get a highly downgraded port a year or so after release, much like the dated but still lively and competitive Ps2 is getting RE4 in November, but I think Capcom would do good to begin some Revolution exclusives.

There's also something many people haven't considered: Nintendo's controller, or at least the number of buttons. The GameCube controller, notably, had just enough buttons and analogue sticks for Resident Evil 4 and some would even arguge not quite enough. Nintendo's new anti-button campaign would suggest that not only is the hardware incapable of handling Capcom's next-gen Resident Evil kernel, the controller won't be nearly as capable as the Ps3 or Xbox360. Out of all the messages on boards I've read, or rants in blogs all over the net, no one has made mention of this, and to me the controller is probably the most damning piece of evidence against Revolution at this point. To no dismerits of Nintendo's Revolution and their mystery controller, as I'm sure they'll be pumping out title after title that uses it effectively: third parties won't fare as well I fear, and if you ask me Resident Evil 5 is only the beginning.

If you haven't already seen it, or if you have, watch it again: Resident Evil 5 Trailer.

Super Hyper Hiatus Force GO!

2005-07-20T22:31:00.000-04:00

Sorry the lack of posts.

Life's been somewhat...complicated lately. I'll be doing my best to update more. Psychonauts and Killer 7 are definitely on the roster of reviews, and the next "No School Like the Old School" is being worked on as I speak.

For now, enjoy FOX New's latest breaking news story...

Har har!

RE(5): Dearest Nintendo...Our Apologies

2005-07-20T22:06:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard by now, you live under a rock, or at least a slightly jaded Nintendo fat/fan-boy. Resident Evil 5 is very much real, and its looking fantastic.

Truly inspiring stuff. If these screens are to be indicative of whats to come next generation, it's going to be all dessert all the time. For real time stuff, these screens are jaw dropping...and jaw smashing. The announcement of Resident Evil 5 comes with some awkward stigma attached. Resident Evil 5 has only been announced for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. This comes as a huge blow to Nintendo's Revolution, as Resident Evil 4 was exclusive to the GameCube, at least until the wintery months of November. While the move to put the game on Playstation 3 isn't suprising in the least, the move to Xbox 360 is somewhat odd, considering there isn't a single installed RE fan in the Xbox community. I don't see anything wrong with it, the more the merrier, but if on 360, why not Revolution? Revolution will no doubt carry through with the installed fanbase of RE4, so why shun the Revolution?

There are some strikingly undeniable things that need to be looked at. Iwata made mention shortly after E3 that development kits have been sent out, and one can safely assume that Capcom, being the one of the biggest software developers that they are, would have one of these kits. They know what Revolution is, or at least what it can do (or can't do). There are two scenarios: Either Revolutions controller won't allow it to play the game properly, or the hardware itself is not powerful enough to run the games software, which could be indicative of Revolution's inferior techno guts. Some hopefuls (primarliy Nintendo fanboys) want to believe Capcom is only delaying the announcement of RE5 for Revolution because of a number of reasons, but Capcom has the development kit, and they have had it for some time. There's no question that by now they would know whether or not the Rev could handle it. There is still a possibility that these Nintendo hopefuls will have their wish come true, but it's highly unlikely.

This is more than just a blow to Nintendo, it's almost a KO. This almost seems like an omen, forboding the lack of third party support once again for Nintendo's niche market. Nintendo territory is risky business. Most third party titles fail miserably on Nintendo's console, and the succeful titles are definitely exceptions to the rule. There's no doubt Nintendo will have some killer software for Rev, but will anyone else? Time will tell, but if you ask me, the sky's grey...

Review (+rant): Destroy All Humans! (Ps2) - Not so little green men

2005-07-20T22:02:00.000-04:00

The Grand Theft Auto-zation of games has become somewhat of a plague in gaming today. Too often are games basic cannon fodder with the GTA spin that developers use to sell games that are actually, piles of sh*t. Quite often though, a few gems arrive at our doorsteps that beg the question: "Is this GTA-ification really such a bad thing?". The answer is an invariable no. The Simpsons Hit n' Run, Spider Man 2 and now the querky Destroy All Humans!. What these games do well is the creation of an environment without rules or regulations, and create a personal playground. Seemless is not a prequisite either. It's often forgivable that a world is divided into chunks, as we come to terms with limitations of today's hardware. Destroy All Humans is this type of game. Tall tales of little green men on the discovery channel this game is not. This game puts you in the role of the villain preparing for world domination. The earthly defenses are nothing for your out-of-this-world arsenal. While we will eventually cover the ups and downs of Destroy All Humans, you need to know firstly that the game is fabulous. Why am I beginning the review with the final verdict? Indulge me as I digress...

There has been so much bad press surrounding this game, I nearly removed it from my list of purchases. As per the usual routine in the reviewing community, the game has received a mix of reviews, some good, some bad, but mostly "average". From my point of view, I see reviewers becoming accustomed to setting a standard akin to some high profile game, and making that the stencil for future games. If any game deviates from the set path, and scribbles out of the lines, it's almost as if they're commiting some sort of foul crime. Why is this? GTA-ification is partly to blame. So many games attempt to mimic the pedigree of grand theivery software, that the games end up becoming standard, even in the content it contains. This is wrong. Too many reviews call Destroy All Humans "stale" or "lacking content", when the converse couldn't be truer. Grand Theft Auto has become to exception, not the rule, and I think reviewers need to stop idolizing games to later reflect that on other games, instead of judging games for what they are. While what some of the others say aren't complete lies, they're very general and target specific elements of the game and attempt to convince the reader that the same is true for the rest of the game, or at least stands above the rest. Again, I can't see how these reviewers can virtually stare me in the face and tell me these things.

As I begin to wrap this up, I still don't see my opinion of the game as some kind of canon diction, but I can firmly say Destroy All Humans is entertaining. Very entertaining. It has a few downfalls, but does so many things right that I'd scoff at you for passing this game by. The game begins with a cloned citizen of an alien race known as the Furons, ship being demolish by desert missle test rockets, and thus being captured and taken in for testing. Typical Area-51 knock off, and yes Destroy All Humans uses cliche 1950's lifestyles, stories, stereotypes. Actually it dishes it out to you in multi-course meals that are often gut wrenchingly hilarious. You play as Crypto Sporidian, who is charged with over running the species responsible for downing your cloned brethren. The game starts you off in locales like basic farmland and and small townlettes, and moves up to bigger towns like Santa Modesta, city scapes and the inevitable Area 42...yes 42. Like most other free roamers, the environment is chunked up into pieces. I've heard DAH criticised for having a "chopped" environment, and that it isn't a true "free roaming game". I don't see the difference between boarding a spaceship to chose a new section of the earth to invade, and sitting through a long loading screen as I travel from suburb to suburb in games like Grand Theft Auto. Sure, the transition is somewhat on the formal side, but it doesn't exclude it from being a free roamer. It is, and it's beautifully crafted. The environments are delicious. There also appears to be some faked vertex shading on things like trees or grass, which richens the experience.

As Crypto, you complete missions for your "leader" Orthopox (alt: Pox), and upgrade your weapon and space ship. Mission variety is a mix of both unique and repetitive. What's what though? Generally, the on foot missions are of a large variety, with stealth missions, escort missions, infiltrate amry bases, hypnotize scientists, destroy a certain dollar value worth of machinery, military personel and Majestic mad men (the men in black) or disgusing yourself as the countries president. The control scheme is a rendition of the lock-strafe mode found in games like Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal and Metal Arms: Glitch in the System. Undoubtedly, it works flawlessly. Aiming an anal probe is like a knife through butter...or "into" butter? You have 4 weapons, each can be upgraded to deal more damage, fire more shots or increase ammo capacity. The weapon upgrades aren't fancy, but they do the job and keep the focus on the mission at hand, and not suping up your character into a walking tank. That's reserved for the markedly less stellar UFO destruction derbies. Your UFO is equipped with a few weapons, all of which have the same end result, yet chromatically distinguished. The abductor ray is somewhat fun, and the havok physics engine whirls your prey into a hearty mixture of tossing and tumbling mayhem, while creating large scars of damage in it's wake. While this style of gameplay in DAH is unique, it's reused a few too many times. The abductor ray could have been used for much more novel purposes, opposed to just destroying more than a bunch of houses and land based artillery. The final boss fight which uses the UFO as one of it's "phases" shows excellent promise as to what could be done if a sequel should happen to arise. However, the UFO missions are few and far between for this 20+ hour game, so the ship sequences seem more like a means to an end than an overall integral part of the game. You can at anytime take up arms and demolish the city with your ship, but you could do the same on foot too.

As a higher being, you're instilled with psychic powers called psychokinesis. Using psychokinesis, you can telepathically lift people, cars, tanks and even giant mechs and launch them at the enemy. Other powers include hypnonosis, scanning peoples thoughts for information, and even tricking people into thinking you're one of them in place of a bona fide disguise, aka Holo-Bobbing. All used cleverally and often, but never in repetitous order to keep from becoming stale potatoes. Once a city is conquered, you're free to roam about and find hidden alien probes which endow you with human DNA (Furon currency), which you can trade for upgrades to weapons and ships. You can rectally extract DNA from puny mortal humans via the anal probe, while much more visceral and eviscerating, not quite as efficient. Accompanying top of the pops graphics, a unique and entertaining gameplay experience, the voice acting and plot are perfect. A Jack Nicholson impersonator voices Crypto, which matches the game's theme given Jack's role in the 90's cult hit Mars Attacks!. There aren't many other notable celebrity talents, but rest assured they're all excellent.

Not much more can be said. There's a bushel of unlockables, and some nifty behind the scene's videos, as well as some temporary distractions in the form of B-Side movies that replicate the military musings of the "Day the World Stood Still". While the missions have no checkpoints to speak of, which makes for frustrating losses, and the UFO game particles are somewhat repetitious, the rest of the game is uniquely varied, side slittingly funny, and full of character, and the 50's theme is maintained perfectly. Sure the game has room for improvement outside of the realm of Grand Theft Auto, Destroy All Humans is fabulously entertaining. You can try to put it down, but I'll be damned if you succeed.

Verdict

9.0

June in Review - A controversial month...

2005-07-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

It's been somewhat of a controversial period in gaming for myself, as the reviews I've written in negative toungue have sparked a flocking of Nintendo fanboys, which if I do say so myself, should have predicted long ago...

Psychonauts and Destroy All Humans are poised to take some review spotlight in July...Happy Belated Canada Day!

Review: Meteos (DS) - Pummeling you with mediocrity

2005-06-29T13:25:00.000-04:00

Meteos comes from the genius behind Lumines for the PSP, Q Entertainment. Not unlike Lumines, Meteos is an innovative puzzler but doesn't retain the wholesome gameplay values found in Lumines. Your "planet" is being bombarded with a deluge of meteos, which you mystically line up into rows or columns of 3 or more and morph them into rockets which you launch back at an enemy planet. That's a mouthful. The meteos rain down in a spectrum of destructive colours, so ingesting hallucinogens before playing Meteos is not recommended. Meteos lineage, which is drawn back to Lumines, is rather impressive; which is why it's so frustrating to see this game be so mindlessly average. I do mean mindlessly literally however. The game is clueless, and anyone without a clue can still play and finish Meteos. Where a game like Tetris proved how deep simplistic game design can be, Meteos epitomizes how simplistic game design, if not handled correctly can have devastating side effects.

When your last outing into videogames was Lumines, following it up with a game that matches it is almost an impossible task. Mizuguchi-san of Q Entertainment, the mastermind behind Lumines has created Meteos, and for what it's worth has let us down. For starters, the visual aesthetics are overly complicated, busy, and clutter the screen tremendously. The HUD surrounding the game field is unnecessarily clutterd with radar graphics, and superfluous maps and windows featuring pictures of planets. What all this does is narrow the playing field significantly, making the only part of the screen you focus on a thin strip in the centre of the touch screen, which begins to fill up as the meteos incessantly fall from the top screen which merely displays a planet, and fancy planetesimal designs that add flare, but no substance to the game. All things considered, the DS screen is already incredibly small, so narrowing down the field to half of that leaves the player wanting. These psychedelic colours and fluff are only part of everything surrounding the game, not including the actual gameplay surface itself. It's all very distracting and makes playing the game more difficult than it should be.

In each stage, you're charged with fighting off a hostile planet by sending the meteo fragments back into space, aimed right for said enemy planet. Each stage is it's own planet, and there are quite a few planets to face off against. Apparently planets pose great risk to whichever race you represent, so destroying them at all costs is the primary objective. The only planet posing any great risk is planet Meteos, however destroying every planet on the journey to planet Meteos seems to be necessary. All this said, this game is still just a puzzler, so this whole idea of weaving a plot through the many holes in this game doesn't make it float any more, because it absolutely sinks. The plot is again superfluous fluff that adds nothing.

Meteos fall at a steady rate in the narrow half screen you're left with, and there are about 6 different coloured meteos per round, so multicolour rain is only par for the course. Herein lies the problem, the colour just becomes too much. I'll explain later. As the coloured blocks fall, a la Tetris, they begin to pattern themselves in random fashion and you have to align them into rows or coloumns of three or more identical blocks. Once aligned, the blocks transorm into rockets which begin the initial launch phase of shooting the meteos back into orbit. Once airborne, the initial alignment acts like the fuel for the secondary launch. Align blocks already on the rocketized blocks, and they'll begin a second launch phase leaving the screen, headed straight for random enemy planets. The objective is to destroy each planet, at least in the primary mode known as Star Trip. There's truly a robust puzzle engine here. This idea, this concept is genuine and is truly challenging and fun. However the game itself clutters this ideal, and makes it unnecessarily difficult and distracting.

The random patterning of the coloured blocks creates a daunting wall of technicolour mayhem. Even on the easiest setting, the meteos fall faster than you can blast them into space. The colours are just so distracting and chaotic that finding the possible chains and alignments is often made overly difficult just because as you look for a single colour, the other colours cloud your vision as you optically wade through a soup of colours to find only a single block, making finding chains you'd normally pick up well on, tedious. It's just a mess. It is possible to eventually adjust your vision, much like adjusting to the low light of a dark room, but it's too long after the fact, and by then you've managed to discover the fatal flaw of Meteos. Don't get me wrong, once you've adjusted to the kaleidoscopic screens of confusion, if you haven't discovered this flaw yet, the game offers some of the best challenge since Lumines (however does not match it).

The flaw, if you're still wondering, is the fact once you begin to lose the short lived bouts of meteo deflection, you will frantically swipe the stylus across the screen "just for the hell of it", as you've already predicted the inevitable loss anyway. What you begin to notice is that this tactic is more effective and more efficient than anything you've tried before. Yes, brushing the stylus up and down the columns of meteos will allow players to find alignments, chains and sequences of meteos not otherwise visible due to the sea of lush and disorderly colour. This in and of itself, is the biggest reason why Meteos falls flat on it's face. Once you've discovered this simple yet effective tactic, Meteos turns into a mindless brush-a-thon, mindlessly scratching at the screen to catapault meteos back into space. It's extremely shallow and disingenuous.

While the audio quality suffers from background static, the music is enjoyable and the sound effects distract you from how poor the game design is here, if only for a short while. The game itself suffers from a painfully fatal flaw, but sports a lot of game modes, and the abilitiy to synthesize new items and planets to play with is fun to do, but actually using them is hauled back several notches because the game is so poorly organized. There is a healthy chunk of unlockables, but the incentive isn't there to play the game long enough. While I could recommend that you avoid using the "swipe and win" technique, it's an easy thing to resort to since it's so effective, and such a great way to avoid tight spots. For such a shallow game, it still has some lasting appeal, regardless of how short it actually is. It isn't a complete failure, and I'm sure some will find enjoyment in Meteos, just not the people who discover the easiest way to win a game since the level glitch in Final Fantasy II.

Verdict

6.5

Review: Forza VS Gran Turismo 4 - Who get's the checkered flag?

2005-06-23T23:14:00.000-04:00

By Cesar Herrera

Forza vs GT4

So here am I making a comparison of two of the most current racing simulators on the market. Two strong reasons support the reasoning for a comparison. The first and most obvious (contrary to the racing fan’s mindset) is that each game almost represents one side rather than its own content and style. GT4 is commonly accepted as the console racer to own by PS2 users. Forza, on the other hand is MSG’s first attempt at a racing simulator, and therefore, it has been touted as the GT4 killer by Xbox fans. The second and most obvious reason as that both GT4 and Forza try to reclaim the title of the closest console adaptation to a racing simulator. Both have its flaws and strong points but this of course is going to be taken down by fanboys, and the decision it is going to be ultimately up on your hands.

So we begin with GT4, Polyphony Digital’s fourth iteration of the monster Gran Turismo series. All together, they have sold millions and made themselves a strong reputation on the console racing sim market. Being developed, shortly after GT3’s launch, Polyphony’s goal was to fix their past mistakes and without compromising the package, add some features that could improve the game. From now on, rather than naming the whole Polyphony Digital team; instead I will put this name: Kazunori Yamauchi. Don’t get me wrong, GT4 was not a single man’s job, but I feel the need to put his name here. After all, Kazunori has been the mastermind behind the GT series since the beginning on the PS1 era.

Flashback to 1998, The Gran Turismo series emerges on the Playstation as a racing game different from any other console racing game on the market. Kazunori’s goal? Try to imitate the sport and passion of motor sport racing. Gran Turismo was widely praised for its simulation style gameplay. Use of real world car licenses such as Toyota, Mercedes, Chevrolet (among others), altogether were implemented in a tight package with quality graphics and equally impressive sounds for their time. Seven years later, the Gran Turismo series still reign supreme on the console racing sim market, and consequently, Kazunori’s latest work comes in the form of GT4.

Speaking about the game now, GT4 seems to truly have improved in some areas, but at the same time leave others unattended. This comes not as the developer’s fault but rather due to the PS2’s inferior technology. Still GT4 is a work to marvel and admire especially running on PS2 hardware. So let’s get to the things that GT4 does excellently, which are that connection of the driver and the road, the true to life handling physics, the impressive garage of cars and the lengthy Gran Turismo mode (a more in-depth career mode).

Gran Turismo 4

Unlike other racing games, GT4 makes the connection of “driver and the road” perfectly, such that you can almost feel every bump, and hear the wind whistling through your ears as you hit the double and triple digits on the speedometer. This is possible due to the very believable physics engine that runs the handling of the car. Take a turn too late and you will feel the need of griping to that small piece of road left; brake at the last minute and you will feel all the weight transfer as your view tilts to the front; hit a bump and watch how your view changes drastically as you try to correct your driving path. GT4 lets you feel this with over 650 hundred racing machines which vary from company and year. You can either opt to drive concept cars such as the Cadillac Cien or go back in time with the Ford TT. Of course, you won’t get your hands on all these classics and concepts right away, as you are going to have to make your way into the expansive Gran Turismo mode, which could easily take more than a hundred hours to complete. Sink your way into the GT mode and mess with your car settings, this in part to the wide-ranging amounts of tuning parts which can be bought either from real-life automotive dealers or from popularly known tuning companies such as Opera, HK, Spoon, etc. All these extensive features come at a price though, as the common gamer will feel overwhelmed or worse, become lost in the complex system. Every GT fan knows that the Gran Turismo games have always been about spending time, comparing cars and prices, upgrading and downgrading, winning/losing and of course, tearing your way into any of the 100 tracks offered on this game.

Unfortunately, not everything is good news. GT4 is definitely an improvement over GT3, but on features rather than substance. The handling physics have been enhanced along with a new - rather unnecessary - Photomode feature. They could have spent some of that time to fine tune the AI, because frankly it is the worst part of the game. The computer still adheres to its racing line no matter what, and that often means taking you out of the road. This makes GT4 more like a driving simulator than a racing simulator. Another thing that for others was disappointing (not for myself however) was the lack of damage. Despite being on its fourth iteration, the Gran Turismo series remains “damage less”. Damage made its appearance on GT2 but it seemed to be an “arcade-like” thing, as you could damage the crap out of your car, but still have it running. Sure, it sounds interesting, but it’s also artificial for a racing simulator. We’re talking about real damage physics, which would make your car completely inoperable at any point thereafter. That is realistic, but of course would take the fun out of the game. Finally, another expected feature that didn’t make it up to the retail version was the online mode. I’d say a good portion of the newcomer fans were disappointed with this. I can’t say the same about the old time GT fans. Still Kazunori expects an online version to come sometime during fall 2005. It is not known if this version will come as a patch disc or as a completely different version.

Forza Motorsport

So now it’s Forza’s turn. There is nothing much to say in the way of background information about Forza, as this is MSG’s first foray into the console racing market. In terms of a racing game, it is a sure bet that Forza surpasses GT4, but as a driving simulator, it falls flat. For some reason, I had a very hard time playing this game with the Controller S. Honestly, it’s too sensitive and is completely uncomfortable for the very demanding turns this game inflicts on the gamer.

Speaking about Forza’s handling, one of the most hyped features of this game, I can say it disappoints. The physics feel rigid but at the same time not on a simulation level. For example, all cars tend to over steer regardless of drive train, even FF cars. Another annoying thing is the braking. Without ABS, it’s very easy to lock your brakes. It doesn’t even happen when you are pressing the brakes at full, but it can happen even if you press the brakes at 50%. The game is completely unplayable with ABS off and the Controller S. The Controller S may do a decent job with arcade racing games but it fails with Forza. Then arises the problem that even maxing the brake pressure won’t solve the problem. I think it’s rather a problem of tire selection than brakes. Even buying the best tires (racing slicks) won’t solve the problem. It feels like finding the limits of your racing machine on economy tires. Every videogame racing fan and real racer knows that all that matters in a race is not how much power you have but how good does your car grip the road, and all of that falls under the condition of your tires.

Forza Motorsport

Now we get into Forza’s visual presentation which happens to be the best feature of the game. There are a lot of nice visual effects like the tire marks, natural lightning (something very noticeable in the New York track) and very smooth edges. The tracks look well lit and very smooth. Jaggies are almost non-existent in this game. Car models are a lot cleaner than GT4 counterparts, but they seem to be simpler. The color palette is a lot more vibrant and the car designs suffer for this reason. They look way too perfect. They almost shine on the tracks, even during nighttime. Shadow effects also happen to be better done than GT4. In Forza, you get the full model reflected on the pavement rather than the latter, in which you just get a blurry image. Damage models are another of Forza’s strong points, although they have their limit. Take a turn to wide, and you’ll kiss the wall, which would end on performance damage and a nice bumper dangling in the front of you car. Damage is not limited to the front but can happen on any side of the car. As I said, the damage is nice but it has it limits. There is not a lot of visual damage that you can do to the car. For some reason, no matter how many times I crashed in my “steam boat” Bentley, the bumper would always stay hanging there. Reflections are also another nice aspect, but they are not a pretty thing to see in action. They are pretty to look at but at a choppy rate. It doesn’t move as fluid as GT4’s. Xbox’s extra power makes up for awesome looking racing tracks, although I didn’t enjoy the blue and yellow rumble strips.

Next thing is Forza’s sound, which in my opinion also disappoints. Sure the car and environmental sounds are there but they sound way too muffled. Even in first person view, there is a chance that you are going to hear the audience yelling more than your own engine. The braking also sounds kind of ho hum. No matter how hard your tires are losing traction, the sound is the same. It makes up for a very deceiving thing (very important thing for racing). Sounds are good but they don’t resonate as well as GT4’s. For a clear example, take your Japanese Integra aka American RSX and you will notice the difference on GT4’s more vivid engine revs than Forza’s muffled “same-tune” sounds. The soundtrack is a very forgettable thing but fortunately there is the option for custom soundtracks, so you can trash the Nurburgring while listening to your favorite band.

Gran Turismo 4

Another much acclaimed feature from Forza, the AI… the only good thing going for Forza’s AI is that it is simply better than GT4’s bumper AI. In GT4, a car stopping on the middle of a turn becomes a crash fest; in Forza, the cars will actually brake and change racing lines accordingly. Don’t get me wrong, the AI still sticks to its racing lines, it’s just that it actually acknowledges your presence on the track. One very unpredictable and very annoying thing is Forza’s AI’s aggressiveness. No matter what you do, you will often find yourself restarting a race due to the AI spinning you out for one reason or another.

Then we get to Forza’s Drivatar vs GT4’s B-Spec. There isn’t much science going on in either, as they’re more like the ideal feature for lazy gamers. I prefer to actually play a game instead of the computer playing it for me (although B-Spec will become handy on GT4’s long, and I say very long endurances).

Speaking about extra features; it is obvious that Forza gets the upper hand. In the online aspect, you can do so many things; traditionally compete for first place on races classified by car class, make your own racing clans, and differentiate them by the design on your car (thanks to Forza’s unnecessary but amazing nonetheless visual customization feature). GT4 wins it on car selection, although Forza’s 200 car offering gives you some pretty good racing machines not offered in the first one. For instance, you get cars from such manufacturers as Porsche and Ferrari. I mean 700 cars can look like the better choice but not so when you get so many repetitions of a single car, *cough* Skyline *cough* and some other unnecessary machines like the Ford model-T.

So here I reach the end and still I haven’t reached a verdict. Well…it is not that easy to pick the winner as Forza does things better than GT4 does, and vice versa. All I can say is that for the racing fan that worries more about physics than presentation, GT4 would be the obvious winner, but for that fan who prefers fierce racing, Forza would be the obvious choice.

In my opinion, it all comes to a tie. In the end, if you are a real racing fan, and own both consoles, you will get Forza and GT4. One thing though, use the DFP and Fanatec wheels for each game, as the experience is obviously improved. In today’s age of very complex racing games such as Forza and GT4, a simple controller just won’t do.

Verdict

Forza Motorsport

8.0

Gran Turismo 4

8.0

Carnivale Episode III : Revenge of the Nerds

2005-06-23T19:21:00.000-04:00

If you don't already know about it, go to the new Carnival of Gamers III, where people submit editorials from all walks of the gaming life, including yours truly. You can walk the walk, but can you talk the talk...

"500 trillion by 2056!" -- Sincerely, Bill

2005-06-22T11:25:00.000-04:00

Alright, so we've been over the rampaging machine of crazy known as Microsoft many times already. There's no beating around the bush here: Microsoft is run by baboons. That's the only reasonable conclusion I can come up with. Examining the market at face Value, Microsofts brand name has been stretched to it's limits. Xbox has become a household name, and the vente console that could is still managing to plug holes in the industry that Sony and Nintendo have moulded in the past ten to twelve years. Microsoft recently told the world that they expect to sell 10 million Xbox 360s in the first 12 - 16 months of the consoles life cycle. What I'd like to know is what intel is Microsoft basing these numbers on? It took the Xbox a sluggish 4 years to sell 20 million units, a feat the Ps2 accomplished in only a year. Do they think they're releasing the next Playstation 2? The reason the Playstation 2 sold so well was because it had an installed base of 100 million users with the original Playstation. Not to mention the Ps2 was a cheap and affordable DVD player, which was a technology only in it's infantile (and pricey) stages, yearning for early adopters. The Xbox 360 (no console for that matter) doesn't have the advantage of being a technology requiring early adopters (with possibly the exception of Blu-Ray). The Xbox 360 is still using the minimalist DVD9 format, a format which is already as widespread as DVD5, in a DVD saturated industry. There's nothing alluring or enticing about the Xbox360's features (no next-gen console for that matter). It's all pretty basic stuff we've layed hands on this generation. So it takes Microsoft 4 years to sell 20 million units of a console with the same allure as the Playstation 2, being that it's behind the scenes career is a DVD player, and now Microsoft expects to sell half of that, in units of a console with less desireable "newness" in 1/4 the time.

"Gizmondo sells 20 million in 2 years, gold fish, Albuquerque!"
See, I can do it too.

Where's the logic? Neither Sony nor Nintendo have ever projected sales higher than their installed base. In Nintendo's case, they actually aim low, and inevitably raise their unit sale projections within a few months of launch; at least in their handheld gaming divisions. The most recent example is Nintendo's DS. Raising expectations of selling 3.5 million units worldwide to 4 million. Nintendo's installed handheld base is about 80 million. Microsofts 10 million mark is about the same as Nintendo expecting to sell 40 million DS units in 12 to 16 months. Early adopters are never a bulky bunch, and don't normally number quite as high as the "wait and see" crowd. A general rule of thumb with any new product, is use the previous generation of technology as a guideline to predict sales of the next for the next wave of gamers. The predictions can never be spot on, so never count on complete mimicry, but expect numbers comparable with the previous years. That's a trend that has continued throughout most of gaming history. Nintendo has made this lumpy mistake once before, but has never done it since. Even Sony's nursling the PSP has had it's projected sales of 18 million units shed to about 13 million units. In that case however, no market data is available for comparison or unit projections, so it's an uncommon case, usually tacked onto new tech. Similarly, Microsoft is acting like the Xbox doesn't even exist. Dropping support for the Box to support the 360 was one suprise, but now we're seeing Microsoft pretend the market trend of the Xbox has been erased from memory. All the power to you Microsoft, but you're aiming high for a console whose pedigree has been met with criticism and languid sales.

File Under: Idiocy, ad nauseum.

Review: Kirby Canvas Curse (DS) - Curlicue to Redemption

2005-06-19T09:56:00.001-04:00

The Nintendo DS has seen many games, and many promises, none of which have bee very enticing or promising. What Nintendo has done with Kirby: Canvas Curse is quite possibly the one gem that can forgive all of that. Canvas Curse is a reimagining of the Kirby universe, as it tracks back to the old school 2-D sweetness from years back on the SNES. The stickler with Kirby is that he's a whimsical and timeless character. When I see him turned into a shameless cash-in (Kirby's Air Ride) I cry on the inside. All I really needed was a gift wrapped Kirby game that reinvented my love for the little guy. Canvas Curse does just that for me. The fluffy marshmellow kid inhales once again to take on an evil Witch with a magic paint brush, and blah bla blah bla bla. Plain and shallow as always. Hey thats not what makes Kirby: Canvas Curse such a marvelous game though. Kirby takes up arms with a special...paint brush? Blah! Why is it that I feel like I'm describing drug induced fantasies when I begin talking about this game?

Ostensibly, Canvas Curse is skewed towards children, and younger. The aesthetics of the game don't do anything to change that, but the gameplay does. Simplistic backgrounds which look like random jottings and sketches of an office intern that were thrown together at the last minute don't really scream production values, and the 2-D visuals may be a little off-putting at first, but it takes Kirby back to his roots, which is very nostalgic and the effect is pulled off quite well too. The cutesy and bubblegummy world of Kirby is nothing new, and isn't forced upon you too hard. Apart from that, the visuals attain the goal they were shooting for, but may be something that turns people away from this game. The densely and full-bodied sprites, while bubble gummy and playful, show us that 2-D is not out, and is still very much alive.

The bulbous fruit of Canvas Curse lies in the game itself. As Kirby, you take the form of a fluffle puff ball of pink, that rolls through 24 different and unique stages. As the player, you need only the stylus to play this game, simplifying the controls. If you're think by "simple" that implies this game is easy, you'd be wrong. Canvas Curse dishes out a healthy amount of challenges. While the first 3 or 4 worlds will require little or no skill to complete, encroaching the 7th and 8th worlds will require you to make use of the stylus is many different (offensive and defensive) ways. Tap Kirby to make him dash roll, and tap enemies before he hits them and you'll kill them and snatch up their powers. Kirby, suprisingly, cannot fly in Canvas Curse. How do you propose Kirby scale large mountains or cross impassable ravines without his patented "sucking"? The answer to that question is what makes Canvas Curse one of the most innovative titles this year, and almost ever. You use the stylus to draw rainbow colour-scaled bridges, loop-de-loops, and magical curlicue escalators that Kirby uses to become airborne and reach new places to explore. The idea however is not limited to travel, you can use the paintbrush/stylus to draw bubbles of safety around Kirby, or draw impentetrable barriers in front of enemies, preventing Kirby from taking the backhand of a giant cannon or icy stalagtite. Early on you'll only be required to ink bridges and skyways for the pink bubbly friend; though in the latter stages use every tactic you have to traverse a minimal amount of square footage. Each of the 24 unique stages pose different challenges, which means good news for gamers avid about keeping games fresh.

Control is easy, and very satisfying. Kirby is in perpetual motion meaning the game is very fast paced, and as the player you'll need to be quick with the stylus and think up creative solutions on the fly. Dreamland has never felt like a better place to be. All evil run amok aside, simply going back to a previous stage to explore is just as satisfying as the first time. Be sparing with your ink, but don't be afraid to have a good time. The game is very forgiving for those who slip up. Many will find such a forgiving game welcome since getting used to using only the stylus for the many and varied abilities Kirby has is wishy washy at first, and becoming accustomed to Kirby's floaty nature is somewhat obscure. There is a learning curve, but it isn't too steep. There's a bulky amount of secrets for the curiously minded gamer, and there are mini-games to unlock, and sound bites and new colour/patternful inks to find. Kirby packs a wallop of a punch when it comes to fun. While this game is no slouch in delivering a visual Kirby masterpiece, the heart of the game is just in how fun it is.

All the fun and flurry of rainbows aside, there are a few things which could see some improvement. Boss fights are dumbed down to the level of mini-game, sullying the challenging bosses of Dreamland past. The underwater navigation is partly aggrevating with the finnicky sensitivity of the touch screen, and the second screen is used only for a map (however incredibly useful it is), meaning no real significant use for both screens. Apart from the chaff, Kirby was hailed as an innovative venture from day one, and Nintendo never let us forget that. I suppose sacrificing complexity for fun is a sacrifice some are willing to make, though others will not, but I guarantee it's worked out for the better. Where Wario, Mario and Yoshi have seen somewhat gimmicky and in some instances horrible transitions to the double screened world of the DS, Kirby translates well and Canvas Curse is one of the greatest handheld projects ever taken on, and the results are mind blowing. Innovation and fun both in the same room at the same time. The game will satisfy the many desires and playful urges of gamers everywhere, and regardless of how plain and mundane the plot and childish underpinnings are, it's a hell of a ride. Don't forget to breathe.

Verdict

8.9

Billion Dollar Babies [Machine]

2005-06-16T10:07:00.000-04:00

If there's one thing Microsoft isn't short on, it's marijuana and other illicit mentality manipulative drugs. Upon hearing J.Allard say "We expect to reach 1 billion gamers", I sh*t myself with laughter. Is such a number even possible to reach? Well I suppose if Micrsoft begins catching the consumers eye prematurely in the womb! Little do we know, Microsoft has equipped 12 million ultrasound clinics with specialized ultrasonic devices, that while projecting the image to expecting parents of their in-transit bundle of joy, plays subliminal Xbox 360 commercials to the fetus inside the womb. Rather than blood curddling screams upon birth, the baby instead hums the Xbox jingle. Assuming Senor Allard wasn't under the influence, that would in fact be the only way to attain a goal of such gargantuan proportions.

The farcical goals Microsoft has are enough to make even Ken Kutaragi look completely sane. First, they expect to overthrow Sony's dominance, and second they want to attract 1 billion gamers. Steven Ballmer will say he only wants the industry to reach 1 billion consumers, but we know damn well that he wants those 1 billion people on Train 360. The company execs in the comfy arm chairs, who more than likely have never picked up a controller, must have no idea about how poorly the Xbox has done compared to Playstation 2. On top of that, they also expect to beat Sony on their home turf, Japan. Let me point you here. Does anyone else notice something out of place? Yes, that's right. In 2005 alone, and exclusively to Japan, Playstation 2 has sold nearly 1 million units...and in the far corner: Xbox with a barely mentionable 7000 units. Let's examine that for a minute: Microsoft has managed to sell only 0.7% of Sony's gross (and even Nintendo's with the DS) in Japan. That's right folks, Microsoft expects not only to outsell Sony worldwide, they expect to increase their sales in Japan by 15 000%. Ludicrous!

Sliding along to the even higher goal of reaching 1 billion consumers. As a whole, the gaming industry has maybe 200 million gamers. To reach that goal of 1 billion, the entire industry has to increase 500% by the end of the next generation console cycle, circa 2011. Trends indicate that we're only growing by a (still hefty) 20%. How are we supposed to reach Microsofts (clearly not insane) goal of 1 billion gamers? Even crazier on the highway of lunacy - since Microsoft would expect that gamers they've drawn will get their game on with the Xbox 360 - they would have to increase their total hardware sales projections by 5000%! I think I speak for all mankind when I say: What...the...F*ck? It would seem Microsoft has insider information into an oncoming "boom" in videogame consumership. Their source seems to be the highly respected "Myass" e-zine.

No one other than Microsoft thinks they'll reach their goal. My hope is that Microsoft be drawn and quartered this generation by both Sony and Nintendo, so when they return two generations from now, they'll have more realistic (and human) goals. Having high expectations is one thing, but being down right friggin mental is another. Barring pre-calculated fetal interception, Microsoft is royally f*cked [with respect to their goals].