Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sneak Preview
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Platform: PSP
Release Date: Third Quarter 2010
Developer: Square Enix
I know what you're all thinking--"oh great, a new reason for all the Roxas fan girls to squeal." However, seeing as the first two Kingdom Hearts games were simply fantastic for me--I'm looking forward to the new PSP title, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.
The story is rather complex: three different characters, three different storylines, and three different save files. That's what's been revealed thus far for the game without a release date other than "2010." We know for a fact that it IS coming to America(don't ask how or I might get into trouble), we just don't know when.
The graphics in the videos and the screenshots look absolutely spectacular--you'll find it hard to believe that this is merely a PSP game, where the majority of the games for the system resemble PSone graphics. And yet, the charming, cinematic quality and the high-polygon count of all the characters still remains intact.
If anything, the battle system resembles the Kingdom Hearts I and II battle system, but with more customizable options and less limitations with summons. Players should have the choice to rapidly mash the Attack button, or let loose with a flurry of magic. Plus, the skillset promises to be more vast than any Kingdom Hearts game ever.
Look to the stars for this highly anticipated prequel to the Kingdom Hearts series sometime this year, most likely Winter 2010.
*all images originally from gameFAQs.com
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Cool Boarders 3 Review
Playstation, 1998
Although fun back in its day, Cool Boarders 3 is a classic snowboarding game that has not aged gracefully. Once the player chooses their boarder and board, they are given the selection of prime carving locations that pay homage to Japan, the Midwest United States and Eastern European slopes and must meet requirements such as dodging an avalanche or racking up as many points as possible in a halfpipe.
Home is Just Over that Mountain
Cool Boarders 3 boasts a great variety of features, although they all share the same goals: make it down a mountain in as fast a time as possible, or squeeze as many tricks as one can into a single run. In single player mode, the challenges are just that--challenging--but once you learn the ropes of how to do the tricks and do them in rapid succession, the formula gets stale. Unlockables include new courses, new boards and new characters--although the vast majority of the characters are already available at the start of the game.
PROTIP: At the end of the run on Devil's Butt, be sure to grind the rail to the far left of the slope--otherwise you need to time the jump PERFECTLY to make it above the painful rocks.
Stereo to H-E-Double Hockey Stick
Being a snowboarder game with snowboarder-appropriate music, the soundtrack is reminiscent of the music played at local surf or skate shops--until the same three songs are played again and again and again. Tunes that are catchy at first quickly turn into an irritating conundrum of the same flat guitar chords and wah-wah distortion played at every screen, stage and slope. In comparison to rockin' soundtracks like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater or even fighting games, the muddy and flat rock music doesn't compete.
On top of this, irritating menu noises (how many times can a person stand the sound of a "swoop") and EXTREMELY repetitive character noises give the player a headache long before the competition starts. It is quite irksome how a 13-year old boy snowboarder makes the same sound as a twenty-something girl when they fall on their butts or get punched in the face. The best sounds in the whole game are found in the company logo introductions--9-8-9 Studios' introduction sounds as if Fox Sports West produced it, and Bob and Larry in the Basement produced the rest of the sounds in the game.
Before Shaun White, There Was...Pixels
Although the controls are simple, they feel rather stiff in comparison to other extreme sport games. It's great how a player gets a sense of speed when carving the slopes at 65 MPH, but try making a turn or landing a railslide on a downed tree, and it takes a bit of time to master such a feat. The combat mechanics are also quite clunky and unnecessary--the hitbox is completely inaccurate and sometimes a character will fall down for no apparent reason and suddenly realize that they were punched 3 seconds ago. All the same, they do their job--as do the graphics of the game.
Crisp, clear powder is laid before the player as far as the eye can see--but no matter what stage they're boarding on, the same rocks, trees and pixelated powder plague every screen. The character models are also quite blocky, suffer from the typical Playstation "jaggies" and have little variance in them. The only truly outstanding character is Fast Eddy--a boarder who dons a motocross helmet and goggles, and maybe Joker--a guy whose ridiculous mohawk is, well...a joke. The remainder of the characters are unappealing characters who look more like they belong in a fashion show than a snowboarding competition. Also unappealing is the score, text and MPH indicator in the game--other extreme sport games and even NFL MADDEN games have a tendency to use appropriate, but appealing, in-game text. This game does not--it uses a cheap number and text display system that can be found in a cheap digital wristwatch.
As you can see, the ho-hum graphics are rife with pixelation...
They call it "Half Pipe" For A Reason...
Cool Boarders 3 was a game I had no problems with back in it's heyday, when Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was still NEW, and extreme games were few and far between. When given another snowboarding game a few years later (MTV Snowboarding to be exact), it paled in comparison to the fun I had with Cool Boarders 3. But now, with the myriad of Tony Hawk games and the realization that snowboarding is an immensely slower sport than skiing, this is a game that hasn't aged gracefully. The perfect candidate for a rental or reminiscing, but no more.
Crisp visuals, but blocky environments, pixelated powder and "jaggy" character models hurt the score big-time.
Tame rock music plays continuously throughout the entire game, giving the correct mood...until one realizes that they've heard the same, and flat, muddy riff five times before the run is complete.
Good, but not great. The simplicity of downhill boarding is fine, but try doing a trick or landing a jump and the controls start to get picky.
A fun game for a while, especially in multiplayer mode with a friend, but once the clunky combat and irritating course requirements knock your character on their ass multiple times--it gets as old as the outdated graphics.
*All image sources are from GameFAQs.com
Monday, February 15, 2010
Nostalgiabombastic Video Game Reviews
http://www.youtube.com/user/FrankieDFrancis
(Sorry, still no Atari Jaguar reviews)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Resident Evil 4 Review
Gamecube, Playstation 2, Wii and PC
Initially released in 2004
In previous Resident Evil installments, one spends many hours roaming the halls for a way out, dodging zombies, mutated dogs and nightmarish creatures within the confines of a fixed camera angle. But with a completely revamped gameplay system, Resident Evil 4 is a welcome breakaway from the traditional survival/horror genre the series is known for, and a great way to spend a weekend.
"It's mah first day!"
On his first day on the job (yet again), Leon Kennedy—survivor from Resident Evil 2 and now a special government agent--finds himself in the middle of yet another developing conspiracy. The President's daughter is missing, and was last seen somewhere in rural Spain. It's up to Leon to rescue her and crush the biological experiments regarding the nearby villagers. Only this time, instead of zombies, Leon encounters villagers and cult worshippers infested by a form of insect--those infested are called "Gonados." Leon and the President's daughter, Ashley, traverse terrain ranging from a Pueblo village, a farm, fishing docks, a grand castle, and an island devoted to further experimentation with the viral species, and encounter both human and non-human enemies alike. Unlike zombies, these baddies can attack Leon with pickaxes, hoes, chainsaws and even explosives. However, Leon is not alone--he receives help tips via satellite feed from Agent Hunnigan, encounters the elusive Ada Wong, and can purchase items such as ammunition and gun upgrades from a strange man simply known as "The Merchant."
Gun n Run
The best way to describe Resident Evil 4 is "tense." Whilst previous installments boasted moments of absolute, crap-your-pants terror, this game gives you the ability to relax a bit more—largely due to the fact that the camera is no longer fixated in blinding perspectives. The scares come from sounds mostly, such as the sound of a chainsaw purring from beyond the other side of the door, or the eerie music cuing the entrance of a gruesome boss. The use of the Dual Shock on the Playstation 2 version is a definite plus--even after a chainsaw death, my heart rate was still high as the controller buzzed in my hands. The eerie soundtrack adds to the effect of the gray and dismal atmosphere that takes up the majority of the game, just don’t expect catchy melodies.
The games graphics and animations are great save for a few hitches, such as the upper body moving separately from the legs on the models, but everything from the overlap of Leon's ridiculous hair and Ada's dress to the varying recoil of each gun looks and feels great. And although the majority of the game is drenched in a grey palette, it gives the appropriate mood that is required of a survival/horror game.
As mentioned before, the inventory system is extremely user friendly, and organizing your items is a breeze. The controls themselves are also vastly improved, as players no longer move like a tank--whatever direction a player wants to go in, they just go. No need for spinning in circles before figuring out one has to press left to face the desired direction...and THEN go forward. The shooting mechanic is also much more accessible to newcomers--it still requires an extra button to aim, and then fire, but the over-the-shoulder perspective makes targeting an enemy much easier to do (and in hind-sight, has influenced the vast majority of third-person perspective games).
The Adventures of Leon and Ashley
The games plays perfect in the first third of the game--the third person perspective is extremely comfortable on the eye, the pace of the game and the amount of exploration with a little backtracking is enjoyable, and then Leon is struck with a curse called Ashley. Once the player finds Ashley, one would think it would be a great relief but nooo...
Not only does Ashley obscure the perspective, but she ends up in the way of incoming attackers, and one shot is enough to kill her and end the game, whether the player shoots her with a pistol, sniper or rocket launcher. This is most frustrating when the player is forced to rescue her from Ganados dragging her across a room hundreds of feet away. Escape missions are especially irritating, as Ashley moves like a fat cat having just finished a meal. And on top of that, even when a player finds a place for her to hide and commands her to do so, she'll pop out of hiding and into harms way to screw up the player's plans again. A guaranteed sigh of relief will surface every time Ashley is captured (which happens quite often, thankfully) and at the final boss (who is surprisingly easy, but still fun).
President Evil: 4 More Playthroughs
This game would be perfect if it weren't for the irritating Ashley, or better yet, if they made Ashley more tolerant of friendly-fire. Other than that, Resident Evil 4 is an experience players will play again and again--speed runs of this game are frequent, and pros can complete this game in as little as 1 hour and 30 minutes, but for first timers, it'll take around 5 or 6 hours. Check out this game if you wish to experience the most influential third-person shooter in recent years.
Graphics 5.0: On the Gamecube versions, even the littlest detail is beautiful--much like the Resident Evil remake on the same system. On the Playstation 2, the graphics STILL look spectacular, sans a few minor details such as Leon's shadow.
Sound 4.5: While the majority of the soundtrack is perfectly suitable for the tense moments throughout some of the games, a few tracks in the later half of the game become a little goofy(jungle music when in a jam? really?) But the sounds do an excellent job at bringing the experience of Evil home.
Control 5.0: Gamers have the choice to aim with the analog stick OR with the combined use of analog and D-pad(which is what I prefer and detested when they removed it in Resident Evil 5). The aiming is precise and accurate, and the freedom of movement and the camera make this game all the more fun.
Fun Factor 5.0: Whether you're at the edge of your seat and using your Pistol ammo sparingly on slowly approaching Pueblo villagers, or wasting as many cultists as you can with the TMP, Resident Evil 4 is a game players will want to experience again and again, in as much--or as little, time as they like. A definitive addition to your PS2, Gamecube or Wii library.
Protip: When you fight two of these guys at once, focus on luring one into the trapdoor into the room first, let him boil, and then fight the remaining giant how you fought him the first time--with razor blades and flash grenades.
Protip: When fighting these guys who resemble Emperor Palpatine, they can take a lot of bullets, so use the heavy artillery(such as this Rocket Launcher).
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your stay here!
-The Editor...aka Wolfenstein Prime.