Friday, December 9, 2011

It's That Time Again: Games of the Year

The worst thing about the end of the year is not trying to figure out which games you loved the most, it's to look back and realize...man...I didn't play all the games I wanted to. So coming up with a Game of the Year list is a tad frustrating, because there are plenty of games that could be on this list that aren't simply because of the time or money that didn't allow me to get to them. So as a heads up, I want to make everyone aware that I have only played games on the Playstation 3. Due to how my house is configured, the Playstation is the easiest console to own and play on. After a year of my Xbox 360 collecting dust, I went ahead and got rid of it entirely. Which is why no 360 games will appear on this list. Here is my list, in order:

10. Little Big Planet 2



It's hard to believe that the year started out with this. Little Big Planet 2 came out shortly after the year started and tested the minds of players around the world. While the game itself still suffered from a weak storyline about a space dragon who tried to devour everything and a little sackboy who finds ways to get around the universe gathering allies, the levels themselves help you forget about the lingering narrative problem both games have had. Greater improvements with the physics in this game, although Sackboy still has that "lift" in his jumps and hesitation when he jumps, along with more creative levels from the developers made me eager to get through all the levels to not only see what was in store for Sackboys' story, but also the variation what can be done.

Sackboy himself is still as adorable as ever and the developers were smart in allowing people to pull over the content from the previous game into the new game. Allowing players to keep all the costumes that were available from the first game was a major plus and adding the number of stickers and hats only made it that much better. They then went an extra step and found a way to link the games in multiplayer as well allowing people playing the second game to jump into levels made in the first game and play those as well.

The level creation has always been something I've never been good at. I've never quite figured out how it all works, but at the same time, I can tell when it's been improved. Using the term dumb-down may be seen as a criticism, but for this game it's a much needed addition to the user-generated levels. And they did exactly that for making your own levels, they dumbed-it-down. They added more tools and tutorials to help out people with creating whatever comes to mind including adding ways for story beats and linking levels. This of course ended with a ton of levels created simply for trophies, but that's something that's unavoidable.

While a lot of games make vast steps past it's predecessor, Little Big Planet 2 did something not a whole lot of games can do. They made their previous game almost pointless to go back to. While the story is different and the costumes are not the same, finding ways to incorporate the first game into the second without needing the first game was an amazing feat and one of the best ways to start the year out.

9. Mortal Kombat


I'm not normally into fighting games. I'm terrible when it comes to specific button presses and combos are never something an opponent has to worry about from me. Mortal Kombat is one of the few games that despite my inadequacies in the fighting department, I can still find quite a bit of pleasure in.

The fighting itself is still very much Mortal Kombat. You can expect fatalities at the end of your match, maneuvers only certain characters can use, fluid controls, and uppercuts that will take you into a new part of the level. While teleportation can be a frustrating opponent move used by what seems like half of the characters in the game, the game itself feels balanced in the move department. You won't find yourself stuck in the sweep glitch that the original game allowed players to manipulate, but the feel of the original Mortal Kombat is something the new Mortal Kombat exudes.

Mortal Kombat has always had a storyline that I have found incomprehensible. Too much has happened and since I haven't played every game, I have become lost in the MK lore. Luckily, this game throws that to the wind and offers a sort of reboot that bounces the player back to the beginning and adds a sort of "alternate timeline" to the events of Mortal Kombat. Much easier to follow and no previous knowledge is needed. I believe games like Tekken could take a beat from how Mortal Kombat approached their story.

The best mode this game has to offer is not the story mode or even the multiplayer. Instead, what it has are the challenge rooms. While there are rooms where you fight against three other characters, the most fun is had in the quirkiness the rooms provide. There is something oddly enjoyable about seeing your characters arms fall off and realize you have to win the match only kicking. With hundreds of scenarios to choose from, this mode provides players a nice break from the regular game.

Playing the original Mortal Kombat


8. Catherine


I felt lied to. That's what crossed my mind after finishing Catherine. The box art, the advertisements, the pictures...all pointed at a possible dating simulator. And as someone who has never played a dating simulator, it intrigued me. Instead what I got was Catherine. Instead of a dating simulator, I was playing a horror game with puzzle-platforming gameplay. In the end, I was still glad.

Catherine stars Vincent, a man who has trouble sleeping because every time he falls asleep he becomes a man sheep. He inhabits rooms with other sheep who are trying to make it to the top of a stack of blocks while the bottom falls out from under them. Usually, it's because a large horrifying creature is chasing them trying to kill them all. When he wakes up, he can't remember what he's been dreaming about. In the main world, he's questioning his relationship with his girlfriend Katherine while bumping into a new bombshell Catherine. Let me tell you, that caused a lot of problems when I was trying to explain the story to my wife and brother-in-law.

While the puzzles the dream world provides were not terribly hard and involved a bit of strategy, it's also where the game suffered the most. There didn't seem to be enough variety in the puzzles and each dream could have had one or two less of them since each dream had 4 -7 block puzzles each. But to add to the difficulty of the puzzles, there would also be a number of other sheep who were also trying to survive this level. And while they didn't seem eager to reach the top, they had no problem trying to make sure you didn't. So these added to the strategy by trying to find ways past them of ways to take them out of the level entirely.

Instead, the game should have stuck to the best part of the game, and that's the story. The idea that men are dying in this world in their sleep and that Vincent is someone who looks to be heading down the same road was fascinating to me and had me engaged. Adding to that, Vincent has friends that were interesting and fun to listen to and I wish the parts of the game with them in it was expanded. The thing that I have to keep reminding myself is, the in-world gameplay part...didn't really have much gameplay. It was links between the puzzle sections. Vincent is in a bar surrounded by people (who you meet in your dreams as sheep) and you talk to them and give them advice. Since the characters were so distinct and interesting, I loved this part, even if it meant I didn't get a lot of gameplay in. Just listening to their stories and the excellent voice work was well worth it. Add it to the amazing graphics and it was a world I wanted to stay in.

While I feel Catherine may have been a better game as a dating simulator, it still held it's own as the game it released as. The characters in this game were some of my favorite characters in the games I've played this year. They had a life to them most games can not express. If Catherine expanded on it's positives and focused less on it's puzzle aspects, it would be much higher up on this list.

7. Infamous 2


While Infamous 2 suffered from some flaws, the greatest flaw it made was releasing during E3. This game was overlooked by games that weren't even out yet and reviewers didn't have the time to review it. So some outlets didn't get an Infamous 2 review out until almost two weeks after release.

Cole McGrath makes his return from the previous game and it starts out with a bang. Watching your old city get trampled by a giant monster was pretty amazing and a great way to bring players into this game. While the overall game isn't terribly difficult, too often you find yourself outmatched by sheer numbers. Most enemies can either teleport to where you are or shoot projectiles at you. And when there is twenty or so enemies around, this can cause a problem. Even though they have given Cole more powers to play with, the overabundance of enemies can still cause frustrations.

Getting around the city is still a blast grinding on rails and hovering over large gaps, though the biggest improvement on this came in the DLC follow-up "Festival of Blood". And while Festival of Blood only provided a few hours more of content, the new way of travel made me yearn for an easier way to make my way around New Marais.

Infamous 2 expands on it's mission structure that plagued the first game by adding many more missions and going the Little Big Planet route of user-created content. At a certain part of the game, the player can access missions that other players have created that allow  for more mission variety. They can also add a story to the mission, which can kind of break the game depending on what the user decided to make. One mission in particular had me chase down Cole's friend Zeke around New Marais in an attempt to kill him. Considering his part in the game...it doesn't quite work. However, it was a nice thing to add to the game, and can help mix up the mission structure a bit.

While most of the lead-in to the game focused on the look of Cole and what his voice sounded like, as a whole, this game was overlooked. But with everything Sucker Punch added to this game, it has me looking towards the third game. I would love to fight more giants, because this game had plenty of them and they were all pretty good.

6. Dead Island


If this list was about game trailers of the year, Dead Island would have taken the top spot. The initial trailer featuring the little girl dying while the adults tried to fight off the zombies was heartbreaking and set a tone, that if pulled out in the game, could make this game one of the best emotionally-driven game released in recent memory.

However, Dead Island failed in that regard in every way possible. I found myself not caring about any particular character in the game and found most under-utilized, including the forgettable main cast. The one character who receives the most character development in the game is a female mechanic who loses her father due to the zombie outbreak. Unfortunately the bad voice acting and cheesy dialogue ruins what should be emotional moments between them and everything about this plot line is predictable and ends just how you think it would. This isn't a problem this one plot line has, as the majority of the game's plot is cliche'd and can be figured out rather quickly. If you come to this game for a deep story experience, you will be let down.

But where it fails in story it makes up in level design and overall development. I have always had a problem in first person games with combat, but Dead Island was able to correct it and make what is normally a terrible melee experience into a likable one. It's still not great, but it works. And in a game like this, that's really all I need. Having two methods of melee also helps, where you can either have the normal swing of a melee weapon, or you can use the analog stick to pinpoint on the zombie where you want it to hit. While it isn't perfect, it works pretty well. Especially when you add to the fact that zombies are able to have their bones broken. The sound of hearing the bones break is superb and having the zombies arm go limp and attack you with headbutts is wonderful. This small, but important, gameplay mechanic adds an extra touch to the game that I think a lot of RPG's should take into consideration.

As far as level design, what can I say about this game? It's beautiful. Clearly a lot of time was spent making this world look as fantastic as it does and it is a big game. The main problem I have with this game is that the best level is the first one. It's nice to have a game that doesn't involve zombies chasing the player through an empty city and I was hoping this game would be it. There's a nice contrast the resort level provides having a gorgeous are overridden by zombies and dead bodies lying around. But that changes as the later levels move into a city, a jungle and a jail. All zombie tropes I would have preferred to avoid. So it's sad that the best level is what they start with, but all levels are well designed and look amazing. But it will be hard to recapture that resort feel if a Dead Island Two makes it's way around.

While a varying zombie type would have been welcomed and having a weapon-upgrade system that made me want to switch out to better weapons should have been in place, this game came out a lot better than I thought it would. The story aside, it's a very competent game. While the threat of zombies may be waning in the general public today, Dead Island is able to create a fun experience with them that hasn't been felt since the original Dead Rising. If they can make the needed improvements for a potential sequel, I could see this becoming a new successful franchise.

5. Battlefield 3


I haven't been exposed to a lot of Battlefield as the first game I played was two years ago. Battlefield 1943 I felt was amazing but Bad Company 2 didn't quite pull me in. So I was somewhat excited for Battlefield 3 but it wasn't something I would grab right out of the gate. But this game did something that most games have not done for me, and that was rejuvenate my interest in multiplayer.

So let's just get this out of the way. The single player campaign. Terrible. There can be no argument that they went the Call of Duty route with big setpieces mixed in with a lot of running to one area, having a shootout, then running to another area, having another shootout, then rinse and repeat. Also, considering that Call of Duty: Black Ops was released last year, their method of storytelling is a bit questionable seeing as it's how they both have someone being interrogated to remember what led him to the situation they are currently in. And while the controls work perfect and the crew you are with actually succeed in killing people, there's a lack of feeling to the single player campaign that some first-person shooters suffer from. Perhaps it's the fatigue of military shooters in general, but single-player campaigns in these shooters struggle. But like most, it's the multiplayer where the game really lies.

DICE should have just spent the time from the single player campaign and work on the multiplayer some more. Just make this game an online game only. While this could make sales suffer, it would have made the experience better. The single player campaign left a sour taste in my mouth that the multiplayer had to rinse out. But it worked. The multiplayer is solid. Besides the usual Deathmatch modes every shooter has, Battlefield excels with Conquest and Rush. Both modes do what Deathmatch (or really any other military shooter) does not do, and that's have the best team win. Not the best individuals, the best TEAM. That is why Battlefield is such a great multiplayer experience.

I'm terrible at shooters. Absolutely awful. But Battlefield 3 allows me to help my team in ways Call of Duty never allowed me too. I'm fortunate to have a positive kill/death ratio, but I'm fantastic with helping revive my teammates. Being able to get points by spotting enemies that are later killed or drop medical boxes and ammunition is the best ways to get players like me involved. It is very possible that someone who goes 4-15 to still come out with the best score in the match because of these other methods of getting points. Being a team is the key in this game. Even being in a squad gets you points since having your squad members spawn on your location also boosts your point total. Everything in this game rewards you for being a team member opposed to the lone wolf feel of success other games give you. And if there is one thing that Battlefield 3 does better than any other multiplayer game, it is making the teamwork feel like an important part of the game.

There is one area this game could definitely improve in that isn't single-player, and that's getting used to the jets and helicopter controls. There needs to be a sort of tutorial section where people can just get used to the controls of these vehicles. No player should be worried to jump into a helicopter because they are unsure of how good of a pilot another player is. But that's what Battlefield 3 does. With no other area to learn these, players get upset and vocal about who is flying these vehicles. And after a few attempts with death being the end result of every one, players just give up and wait for someone else to fly it. But that  shouldn't be the case. DICE needs to add a section for players to get used to these controls that won't affect their in game stats or anyone else's for that matter.

Aside from the lack of vehicle tutorial and the skippable-worthy campaign mode, I can't find many complaints about Battlefield 3. Some of them will be getting corrected in future patches, so there's no point in mentioning them here. But the real draw is the multiplayer and that's where DICE should focus their attention in the future. Because right now, Battlefield 3 is the best military shooter on the market. And aside from numbers, nobody else has a better multiplayer experience.


4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim


I was in the minority in terms of excitement for Skyrim. I hated Oblivion. In fact, hated is an understatement. I found the gameplay boring, the voice work dry, the camera work shoddy, and the combat system the worst. I was hesitant to pick up Skyrim even after the reviews started to come out. Eventually, I worked up the nerve to pick it up. And if you were a skeptic of Oblivion, I hope you you pick it up too. You may be pleasantly surprised.

You have to give it to Bethesda, they know how to make beautiful worlds. Skyrim is no different. The game looks amazing. While the people can still look stiff at times, they have more life in them than the characters in Oblivion did. It also helps that the camera does not zoom in to their face and instead focuses in on that characters entire body. These characters inhabit a detailed world where one minute you are walking through a forest jumping over boulders and the next you see a transition onto a snowy pathway as you make your way up a mountain. While paths may be difficult to find at times, it takes no effort to make a path of your own by using the geography to your advantage and forcing your way up a mountain where you can get a view over all of Skyrim. And when you finally reach a height great enough to look out over the land, you can appreciate the work that Bethesda put into this game. No other world has this much craftsmanship put into it. And none that you will spend as much time in just walking around trying to discover the number of icons that come across your compass.

The story itself I still can't find myself drawn into. Perhaps it's because the main story quest is the least of my concern as I travel Skyrim and instead focus on all the side quests and leveling up my character. From my understanding, dragons have returned to Skyrim after at one point being thought of as extinct. You realize this just as you are about to be beheaded and after escaping certain death, you travel the world trying to find out why these dragons have returned and your link to them. Mix in some religious conflict, political conflict, and racial conflict, and the story of Skyrim surpasses any game in recent memory.

While leveling up is a feeling of accomplishment in this game and I'm eager to do it every time, it is far too easy to grow in more areas than others. Some skills are used quite a bit and due to how the enemies levels scale in terms of the players, leveling up in lockpicking or sneaking may not always be the best route. This can lead to a level 28 character who is undetectable and a real charmer but absolutely dreadful in battles because the armor or magic wasn't leveled up enough. It would be a great feeling to not worry about spreading the perks too thin and overpowering your character in only a few levels, but that's what happens. With only 80 perks to choose from out of 251, I don't like having to worry about what I pick. And as far as I know, there is no way to go back and retool the character if you don't like how the character has been upgraded.

My biggest fear in this game was the combat. I wish I could say it was perfect in Skyrim, but it isn't. The melee attacks still move slow and sloppy and connecting with an enemy has been a consistent problem. Magic hasn't been as big of an issue, but a lock-on system would be a way to improve on easy misses. While the combat needs work, it still works. The companions that can join you help with this to take attention off of your character during battle. The only regret I have with the companions are how easy they go down at times or how your shortcuts lead to them taking longer ways around. It hasn't affected me in the main world, but this is problematic in dungeons or caves. Shortcuts for you may end up with the companion to take the long way and run into a group of bandits. When you go back to find them, you find the remaining bandits attacking and his dead body ready to be looted.

The best thing about the game are the dragons. If there was a moment this year that had to define "epic" in gaming, I would say Skyrim is what brings that moment. There is nothing more terrifying than traveling through the world and then the Skyrim music pops on and a dragon roars. There is such a rush of caution and excitement trying to locate the dragon and prepping for the showdown. It's even better the randomness of which they show up which could lead to battles in towns. Unfortunately for me, the only town I've fought them in consists of two guards and the rest as civilians. They don't help particularly well. But it sure feels good to be in battle with some enemies, have a dragon crash the party, and the saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" come to life as everyone starts attacking the dragon.

While I have found my experience in Skyrim enthralling, Skyrim the problems in Skyrim can outweigh the good on many occasions. While playing the PS3 version is not the way to go (but my only option) the various freezes and lag issues are concerning. Many concerns going into this game have been kind of addressed, but are still existent and I have yet to have a real "water-cooler" moment that everyone else playing this game has had. I have however had a lot of moments with guards who all sound the same pulling off their best Arnold impression along with overused dialogue. I love hearing shopkeepers tell me "Some may call this junk, but I call them treasure...". But regardless, it's hard to deny how great this game is. Especially when you spew flames at mammoths.

3. Portal 2


How do you improve on one of the greatest games that has ever been released? I think a lot of people were asking that when news of Portal 2 came out. For a puzzle heavy game, it was able to tell a story better than most games are able to. But of course, there was only one real character in the first game, and that was GLaDOS. And while it didn't have the same "oomph" that the first game had, Valve was able to succeed in putting out another Portal game.

The player returns to Aperture Science Enrichment Center as the main character Chell, who once thought she escaped. She wakes up in a room, that after an encounter with her new friend Wheatley, begins to break apart and you are whisked away to a new area of the Center in an incredible looking sequence. You inevitably return to the spot where you defeated GLaDOS in the previous game and after some terrible instructions by Wheatley, GLaDOS is reactivated and begins retesting Chell. And while Wheatley brought humor to the table, I found myself laughing the most as GLaDOS begrudgingly comments on Chell during testing.

The third and last character that this game has is Cave Johnson, the CEO of Aperture Science. Not only does this section allow Chell to explore the back story of Aperture Science (along with who GLaDOS really is) it adds in a new upgrade to the portal gun. Instead of shooting portals, it shoots out different colored goo. This adds to the puzzles by allowing players to bounce on blue gel, speed up on orange gel, and white gel to add portals to areas that previously could not have portals put on them. And since the puzzles in Portal 2 are still difficult to figure out, but in a "oh, why didn't I think of that" sort of way, adding more elements to these puzzles make it even better.

But although the puzzles are what help make this game what it is, there were too many times I found myself bored with the area I was in. I know a lot of people wanted a longer Portal game, but perhaps Valve had it right the first time. Playing through double or triple the testing rooms and adding an underground section with more puzzles made this game drag in areas that I didn't think were possible. And although the characters and story is what helped pull me through these times of lost interest, it would have made the game better had they shortened it up and made it tighter. Now this isn't to say the puzzles in the game are terrible, because they aren't. The puzzles are creative and well thought out and many of them have multiple solutions. I would say that these puzzles are much better than the first game's puzzles. But having too many of them still make the game drag especially since the best part of the game isn't the puzzles. Since I never played the multiplayer section of the game, I don't know how well those puzzles were laid out, although I have heard some good and challenging things about it. Soon I should be able to play it since a friend of mine is finally getting the game. Very much looking forward to it.

I can not stress enough how it is the story and characters that really make this game work. Chell is nothing more than an avatar and isn't really a character in the game, and Cave Johnson is nothing more than a recorded voice. Yet, somehow, Valve is still able to make the four main characters work. The relationships between everyone is so dynamic and perfect that it's disappointing when the game ends. Valve are the masters of voice work and Portal proves this. There are no other games that could bring the characters to life the way Portal has and not have some sort of body that emotes expressions with it. But thanks to the script, the voice work and the setting of the game; Valve succeeds where most would fail. And that is why it is one of the best games of the year.

2. Bulletstorm


While most gamers may have overlooked this game, there were some who clearly didn't. And by some, I mean Fox News. At the beginning of the year, this game came under controversy because of it's crude language and foul skill-shot system. Of course Bulletstorm had to be called out by a bunch of tightwads who hadn't played the game, for if they had, they would have had a ton of fun with this game and realized all of the criticism they were giving it was wrongly placed.

Well...for the most part. The game has a ton of language not suitable for children. That I will give them. What they failed to mention was the context most of the language was in and that it was done in a way that was more silly than serious. All the insults and profanity were goofy and absurd and is what helped set the characters apart from any other in games this year. Has anyone ever told you they will "Kill your dick"? And if they did, would your response be "What? What does that even mean? Your gonna kill my dick? I'll kill your dick! How bout that, huh?". The conversations that these characters have or the one liners that leave their lips may be riddled with language to get you kicked out of a church, but it's also in a context that will have you rolling on the floor.

Unlike most first-person shooters, the guns in Bulletstorm didn't range by simply the spread of the shot or how powerful it was close up. These guns would blow entire torsos apart, shoot out bouncing mines, or you could maneuver bullets around objects using the sniper rifle. Each gun also has a secondary fire where it may allow you to blow up bullets before it hits the enemy as if acting like a grenade or when it hits the enemy causing them to dissolve to nothingness. Despite how much fun it was to use these weapons, it was the two simplest weapons in the game that was the most satisfying. Throwing your leash to pull someone close than kicking the shit out of them.

The leash is used just like it sounds, you throw an energy rope out to lasso someone and you pull them towards you. As they get nearer, time slows down allowing you to basically do whatever it is you want to this poor floating soul. If you rather not drag them towards you, the leash also has a secondary fire which propels them into the air then crashes them back to Earth in a large blast. Not only does that enemy get affected, but any enemy near them all fly into the air. Simple but effective. The leash may work well for distances, but what about close quarters? Well, that's where your large ass feet come in. The player has the ability to not only melee enemies, but kick them as if they are kicking in a door. Like the leash, once an enemy is kicked, time slows down allowing you to do whatever you want. This is where the skill-shots best come into  play.

In Bullestorm, Sausage Fest isn't a party with only men. Nope, instead it's when you kill enemies by blowing up a hot dog cart. And I'm sure most people can figure out what a gang bang is, but in Bullestorm, this is when you kill two or more enemies with an explosive flail. As you can see, this is where Fox News had the problem with the skill-shot system. All in the name. In total, there are 135 skillshots using a variety of weapons and surroundings. When I say surroundings, some skill-shots involve kicking enemies towards walls where they may be impales on objects or burned alive. These skillshots can all be stacked to help boost points which you get for killing enemies. These points are received by the skillshots used, the number of enemies killed using these skillshots and the type of skillshot used. These points then go towards new weapon unlocks or bullets at drop kits littered around each level.

This entire time I've been explaining the weapons and skill-shot system and have yet to talk about the actual story. Going into Bulletstorm, I wasn't expecting a whole lot. It had a lot of Gears of War looking characters and a generic video game name. Yet People Can Fly and Epic Games crafted an amazing storyline about friendship and survival hidden behind what most people noticed in the first place, and that's the language. But once you get past the language the characters used and the words that pop up during kills, you find Grayson who's trying to right the wrongs of him and his crews past. And while during so, trying to save his friend Ishi's life who is slowly being taken over by his robot side after it was implanted because Grayson almost killed him when getting revenge on the person who ruined their past. Their banter is friendly and light-hearted and taking your time navigating the levels are fine since you get to hear them joke with each other.

All around, this was easily the best first person shooter experience I have had in a long time. The weapons are fun and creative, the skill-shot system brings a challenge to killing enemies, and the characters and story make for a compelling experience. Of all the new IP's I have played this year, Bulletstorm is the game I would be most excited to play a sequel for. The problem being it didn't sell very well, and a sequel is unlikely. On the plus side, the game is on the cheap side now, so if you haven't played it, go pick it up!


1. Batman: Arkham City


Say what you will about Batman: Arkham City. There are too many tools, the dialogue is cheesy, the magic of being Batman is gone....it really shouldn't matter. When Arkham Asylum came out, people were amazed that a comic book game of that caliber had been released. Arkham City is an improvement in every way. So giving it the criticism that other games should (but do not) get is unfair considering it's hard to fix what's barely broken in the first place.

Batman punches people in the face. Hard. Many times in fact. He may even mix in a few cape swipes, kicks and batarangs for good measure. And why shouldn't he? He's the god-damn Batman. And it still feels sweet beating the hell out of enemies as Batman. I don't think I'm alone in saying that Arkham City has, hands-down, the best melee combat in all of video games. It is quick, responsive, flows well, and makes you feel untouchable. The combat also allows the player to mix in gadgets to boost the combo to make attacks more fierce and finish fights more quickly. But although having all of the gadgets at your disposal is nice and helps change-up the fight, they aren't really needed. Which in some cases may seem bad, but because fighting with no gadgets is still a blast and gives the player a sense of bad-assness that no other game has done, sometimes all you want to do is go hand-to-hand with 15 gang members at once.

While Arkham Asylum had a more hallway approach to it's level design with a few open areas, I wasn't quite sure how Arkham City's "open-world" would work out. Rocksteady pulled it off though. While it still borrows the same hallway interior settings that Arkham Asylum did, it also built a beautifully detailed section of Gotham where every nook and cranny has details most games would have ignored. No matter what part of the city you are in, there is never a feeling of being lost. Certain buildings are nice landmarks that help you get your bearings of where you are in the world and there is never a boring moment in Gotham. Most open world games have stretches where nothing happens as you walk from one area to another before you run into something worth doing, but the city has so many villains around, Riddler trophies to gather, or other side mission stories to do that there is never a slow moment in getting around the city.

Which, getting around the city was another fear. I think a lot of people were expecting to drive the batmobile or bat-gyroscope around the city. If they want to add the bat-gyroscope, they can still do that since it's awesome. But moving from one end of Arkham City to the other is rather fast and fun. Using the cape to dive and ascend is a blast once you get the hang of it especially with the sound affects of the cape adding to the experience.

If there was one area where Arkham Asylum suffered the most, it would be the boss battles. Aside from Poison Ivy, the boss battles were nothing more than fighting the regular titans in the game but longer fight sequences. Arkham City improves on that greatly. While fighting some of the villains are still rather "meh", they have changed it up enough so it didn't fall into the same trap Arkham Asylum did. The best fight in the game is against Mr. Freeze. The thing they did though was use Batman to the best of his ability. They didn't add any special way to take him down, instead they force you to use Batman's skills. They want you to use the various take-down moves in the game to weaken Freeze enough to beat him. So instead of putting Batman in a circle and having him fight, they give you an entire room where you must sneak around as Freeze hunts you down using your heat trail. Again, they did nothing special in this boss fight, but it is the best fight in the game.

Of course you can't mention Arkham City without acknowledging the great voice work. Kevin Conroy still has the best Batman voice and could only be improved with better dialogue. We get it Batman, you are the shadows or whatever lame line you want to spout  before you engage the enemy. Though having some nice one-liners were great. Arleen Sorkin is replaced by Tara Strong who fills in surprisingly well for Harley Quinn, and of course Mark Hamill stealing the show as the Joker. Almost comically, the worst voice-actor of the bunch is Nolan North pulling out a dreadful Penguin. His whole "cockney" accent doesn't feel right but luckily voices many thugs throughout the city who don't sound half bad. Except...you know...most of them sound the same.

Not everyone was able to play as Catwoman, and I'm not going to go into that whole debacle with the online pass. But playing as Catwoman was both fun but also a chore. Having the Catwoman pass allows four mini-missions that allows you to step into that those high heel boots of Catwoman and prowl the city kicking ass. The kicking ass part was fun. The getting around the city, not so. Catwoman plays a lot how I feel a Spider-Man character would play. She's agile and flexible, fast and loves to hop around. She doesn't have a wide array of arsenal at her disposal, but the caltrops are particularly great since they are spikes that enemies than step on and complain. Fighting with Catwoman is a blast especially since it's a nice contrast to the power moves that Batman has. However, she doesn't traverse as well as Batman. Instead of quickly zipping to a rooftop she uses her whip to pull herself to the side of a building and she has to hop up. It isn't fun and takes a far greater time to move throughout the city. The mini-missions themselves are not spectacular, but again, can be a nice change of pace from playing as Batman.

There are very little problems with this game and most complaints against this game are absurd. People complain about too many gadgets (most of which you rarely have to use), no explanation of why they made Arkham City (there is, but you have to collect the Riddler trophies), why Batman is helping villains (most of the help is actually helping Gotham as well or Batman himself), or being Batman is less impactful (which I can understand for the most part). Instead they should focus on the side missions that usually end poorly and too quickly, the few boss fights that are kind of bad, some story beats that aren't made too clear at times, and of course the abrupt and disappointing ending. You don't hear these other reviewers complaining about picking up audio logs in Bioshock or Resident Evil which is no different than the Riddler trophies. In fact it's worse because you aren't even shown where they are and there is no incentive to get them other than the back story. I also don't see reviewers moan about the over-abundance of magic in Skyrim the way they are troubled about the 9 or so gadgets Batman has in Arkham City. Perhaps it's my bias towards Batman since I read comics....

Regardless, I think it would be hard for anyone to call Arkham City a terrible game especially if they loved Arkham Asylum. Arkham City has made improvements in areas that were flawed in the previous game, in created a bigger detailed world, the best melee system in gaming, quite a bit of stuff to do in an 8-10 hour story game, great voice-work...the list goes on and on. No other experience this year has given me the same amount of enjoyment that Batman: Arkham City did. And because Rocksteady has pulled a second successful and great comic book game out of their hat, I am more excited than ever to play a third game.


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Video Game Urban Myths

There was once a time where most gamers were foolish and believed most rumors of things in games. It was hard enough to get around the web during the dial-up days and even harder to find devoted sites to gaming to find the best information. So the various legends of what can be done in video games ran rampant throughout the gaming community which caused many people frustration in pounding out specific button presses in weird corners of the map hoping for odd occurrences to pop up.

So I'm sure we all have a number of ones we have heard during our years as gamers. Different stories of things that supposedly were in game that we couldn't really find out at the time. Of course there were ones like Luigi being in Super Mario 64 or Michael Jackson writing some music in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but there were key ones that I grew up questioning. The following are a list, and probably the most well known ones, that I was under the impression, could possibly work if done correctly.

1. Every Adolescent Gamers Wet Dream: Lara Croft Nude


Now let's be honest...how many people have heard about a naked Lara Croft in her early games? I'm not talking about the PC patches that showed us her pixelated goods, I'm talking about the two myths that plagued the minds of many young gamers that would cause Lara Croft to go from her blue tank top and booty shorts to her bosoms and booty minus the shorts. There was a specific button combination that would somehow cause her clothes to disintegrate off her revealing the body of a video game goddess. As many codes as there were in the game, it seemed...somewhat plausible.

There was also another rumor I heard of that there was a secret room in her house that if you were able to get in it, not only had great treasures, but would also allow her to change clothes. During the changing scene, you would then get to see the naked Lara as she began to change into her second set of clothes.

Of course, these both turned out to be completely false and dreams were crushed and faces had tears streaming down their face. I am not at all ashamed to say I did everything I could to see Lara naked. And having seen those PC patches....I was disappointed. This would later play out in similar situations where I dreamt of what certain celebrities would look like naked, think they would appear naked in a movie and be saddened when they weren't. Then someone else finds a way to show them naked and it doesn't quite live up to your expectations. I'm looking at you Scarlett....


2. That Last Ledge in Final Fantasy 7 Should Belong to the Revived Aeris!


There were a lot of problems wrong with Final Fantasy 7. The graphics don't really hold up, Cloud is a pretty awful character, the pacing is pretty poor, and the overall story is pretty "meh". However, it's still one of my favorite RPG's of all time. But despite that, I can not forgive the game for giving me the hope of reviving Aeris. Shortly after the game came out, everyone was clamoring about how to bring Aeris back.

But why did people think she was alive in the first place? Well, many reasons really. The one I always heard the most regarded the very end of the game as you travel down the crater to fight Sephiroth. Right before the last battle, everyone jumps to a piece of rock jutting out from the crater. There is enough spots for everyone and all is filled...except one. Why would there be one extra? Well, of course, it had to be one for the dead character Aeris! Add to the recipe of conspiracy about her ghost character being a hint she can be revived, the load screen with her in front of the Highwind although you don't get it until after she's dead, and her ultimate weapon that can only be attained after her death and you have one delicious piece of secret-content pie.

But no recipe is complete without the knowledge of how to make it! And oh are there a lot of methods to do that. One of the most popular ones is treat Tifa like complete dog shit. Always have Aeris in your party and not Tifa, go on a date with Aeris at the Gold Saucer, and just favor Aeris in general. Apparently if Tifa is in your party after Aeris leaves and you go to save her, Tifa pushes her out of the way in the cut scene and Tifa dies instead. There was also the rumor of having her Level 4 Limit Break would cause her to survive if it was ready to use before she left the party, the Underwater materia would have a special power to revive her along with taking out the time limit against Emerald Weapon, or just fully leveling up the Restore materia would do it.

But nope, Aeris is dead. Unless you have a magical Gameshark to bring her back, she stays dead. I know it's hard to believe considering how easy it was for everyone to fall in love with this sweet character, but there's no coming back and there never was.


3. The Ultimate Pokemon is Stuck Under a Truck


I was one of the many that caught the Pokemon craze when it hit stateside. It all began with that stupid VHS tape that Toys R Us sent me in the mail before the animated show hit the air. But when it came on, I watched every episode and bought every game. I was hooked from the get go. I caught all 150 Pokemon after buying both games then forcing my friend to trade using his Gameboy.

Then the news came out. You know Mewtwo? Well, you know he's a clone right? He's the strongest one in the game...or so you thought. The cute little creature he was cloned from, Mew, is in the game as well! And Mew is much stronger than Mewtwo. Before it was common knowledge that the way to get Mew was to use a Gameshark or have Nintendo give you Mew, there were hints you could find Mew in Vermillion City hidden underneath a truck. It was a long convoluted process, like most things that you think exist, that involved fighting Misti then trading for a Pokemon with cut so you can continue the game without getting on the SS Anne. Then you need to fly to SS Anne, and right before you get on the boat, Surf to the right and there's a small patch of land with a truck on it. If you use Strength on it, the truck should move and BAM there's Mew.

Allegedly, there are actual legit ways to get a Mew in the game without the Gameshark or Nintendo promotion. Again, long convoluted way about fighting two trainers in particular, lots of saving, lots of flying, having specific Pokemon, yada yada yada. Haven't tried it myself, but there are a lot of people out there saying it works. Looks like there is another glitch in the game that isn't Missingno. So while it would seem getting Mew isn't a myth as much as HOW to get Mew being the myth, it's certainly no more ridiculous to think than holding the up arrow and pressing B repeatedly to make an Ultimate Pokeball turn into a Master Ball.

4. Going from Chrono Cross to Chrono Trigger


This map above is the world map to Chrono Cross, the "sequel" to Chrono Trigger. When I originally played Chrono Cross, I had no idea what Chrono Trigger was. Never played it, and I never understood the links Chrono Cross had to it. Since I haven't played it since then, I'm still not entirely sure of everything that links the two games together. But there was one thing on this world map that was supposed to link it in more than just narrative.

Most RPG's have a moment in the game where the world opens up and you can travel anywhere on there. Chrono Cross is no different. But there was one place you could get to that wasn't on the map, and that was the original world of Chrono Trigger. Since the method of getting around the world is using a boat, many sailed these blue oceans getting to new lands. But then, there was a river someone noticed in the top left of the map. It was rumored that either having completed a certain objective in the game or having the correct party members, there would be a way to push through this river rapid allowing the player to break through into a whole new world. The world of Chrono Trigger.

Nobody has been able to do it from what I've seen. and I've tried looking and can't find that video game urban legend anywhere. I'm almost positive that I did not (radical) dream this idea from my brief memory of the game, especially since I had no idea what Chrono Trigger was at the time. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never push through that little river rapid that blocked me from entering that new open world. And it's a shame, because Chrono Cross could have used some more areas for exploration.

5. He Huffed, He Puffed, and He Blew Into His Cartridge


This can't be a myth now can it? I grew up blowing into many of my NES and SNES cartridges, and I'm sure I would have my N64 cartridges had I ever had a N64. And you know what, the games always worked when I blew in them and the console itself. So when I heard that this hurts the games and console more than help it...PURE BLASPHEMY!

But it makes sense right? Little spittle get into the cartridge/console and it causes problems due to corrosion and other chemical reactions and the games shouldn't work after a while. But they always did. If some inner wind doesn't work, we always pulled out a swab and use that, sometimes with rubbing alcohol. God we were stupid. Yet, put an old cartridge in front of me I'll use the same methods. It's burned into my brain of how to solve it now. Who needs those 3rd party cleaners they put out in the 80's and 90's? Not me, and neither did you. Although they were problematic, they always felt easier to fix than when discs started to be used.

And I may as well ask here, if blowing in the cartridge or console didn't work, there was one other method you used right? SLAM! You push that damn cartridge in further and harder each time. Pull it out, slam it. Pull it out, slam it. Occasionally blow into it again, then slam it back in. Always looking at the screen hoping to see the NINTENDO circle logo to show up on the screen. If it wasn't up in one second, you repeat the process until it does. God I miss the good ole days.



There are so many more myths and urban legends on video games to get into. These were the ones that resonated with me because they were a part of my childhood. In a way, it's somewhat disappointing. As stupid and ridiculous as some of these were, it was always fun trying to get these to work. Now....there's nothing like that. Most people are perfectly happy with glitches they find in the game, and as broken as most games are nowadays, there are a ton of glitches that people keep busy with. But these various urban legends are genuinely more fun and bring the kid in me back. 

Monday, September 19, 2011

DCUO going Heroic! Free 2 Play in October!



After realizing that WOW is the only successful MMO that will utilize monthly subscriptions, DC Universe Online has finally scratched their monthly payments and are going F2P starting at the end of October. Or at least, October is when they say they will. If anyone has been playing the game, they know that SOE can not be trusted with deadlines. So there is a chance this may not take effect until February 2012 sometime...

So they are breaking their model into three areas:

Free: Expect the basic. Only two characters available, limited powers, limited character slots...well...limited everything. If they want more of them, they will have to pay for them. Must still pay for DLC.

Premium: This is where I fall in. For those who have paid for the game or have paid $5 in the game will fall under this category. This is where the normal range of stuff falls. There are still some limitations in terms of what can be in the bank, how much money you carry, inventory slots and the like; but for the most part it will be what players currently have. Must still pay for DLC.

Legendary: For those that still want to pay, this is what you want. More characters! Bigger money limit! More inventory slots! More bank slots! And DLC is FREEEEEEEEEE!!!!

As someone who has owned the game since day 1 (well, I traded it in to Amazon before they realized it couldn't be played again, but I bought it a second time...I'm a glutton for punishment) I can honestly say it's about damn time. I had fun with the game, don't get me wrong, but I think the devotion to it was due to my lifelong love for the DC Comics.

The game itself had many problems. Missions were repetitive and you were guaranteed to collect 20 things, defeat 25 enemies, do those things two more times, destroy some objects, then go in a building and fight a main villain/hero. Rinse and repeat all the way to level 30 and again some if you want to create a new character. The sad part is, it didn't matter if you were hero or villain. Didn't matter if you were mentored by Superman or Batman. Didn't matter what power you had. The majority of the missions in that game applied to everyone across the board. So expect to play the same thing multiple times if you are making multiple characters.

Also, the chat was broken. I could rarely hear people talk and it was a common occurrence at least on the PS3. There were times I would try to fly somewhere only to come to a complete stop while the chat menu popped up despite never having clicked the button for the menu in the first place. And one of the most annoying problems of all, the delay it took for the world to pop in. I will lend this advice now. If you are going to a mission, stop well ahead of entering the orange mission area. Too many times I have died because I entered the mission and was getting demolished by invisible enemies that hadn't loaded up onto the screen yet. Very annoying.

But the game was still fun. The combat worked well, people were always willing to help out, and customizing the character is one of the highlights of the game. Could the game have improvements? Sure, what game can't. But despite the faults this game has, it was still fun. But it isn't fun enough to charge a monthly fee based on how broken the game still is. They have recently added a new power, that of light. So if you want to be a Green Lantern or a Yellow Lantern, that option is there now as well.

But for this game to really excel, it needs to make improvements. The following list is my opinion of what SOE needs to do to make this game superior to the other Superhero/Supervillain game out there:

1. Fix the bugs: Too many times have I been stuck in a position where I can't attack. I can't explain it. I can't move a muscle. I sit there and can spin in a circle while stuck in a combat position, but my character just receives the punishment and doesn't give it. There have been some mission glitches where I finish a mission but doesn't give me credit for it. I have even flown through the floor of the Watchtower and flew through space and being unable to get back in. And when I do get in, sometimes I can't leave. I'll go over to the teleporter to head to Gotham but it doesn't take me anywhere. I'm pressing the damn O button DCUO, take me where I want. But no, I just sit there. Stuck in the watchtower as if Final Crisis has occurred.

2. Expand the level: The level cap is 30. While it feels like it takes forever to get there due to playing missions for the 6th time, it would be nice if the cap would rise. While there are ways to still increase the stats through new weapons and armor, part of the thrill is leveling up and gaining new abilities. If they would do this, it would increase the longevity of characters and gameplay.

3. New powers and costumes!: It's one thing to have powers similar to Superman. It's another to have a costume almost similar to Superman. But being able to purchase the S symbol or a cape with the S symbol would be awesome. There are too many Big Bad Beetleborg costumes running amok in that game the creativity of characters feel at an all time low. And while everyone running around with a Deathstroke costume wouldn't make it any better, I think there would be more people trying out different costumes to look like a cool Green Lantern with the Green Lantern symbol than someone who just received the mentor armor that they want to run around and show off. The same with powers. I want someone to shoot electricity from their hands or stretch twenty feet to pull enemies closer. I want to grow to be 15 feet and kick around enemies with my boots. There are so many powers available in the DCU, it would be nice to see some more added. You add stuff like this, and you will bleed my wallet dry!

4. World Events: I don't know how easy this would be. I'm not a programmer and I don't know anything about MMO's. In fact, this is my first MMO. But how awesome would it be to have Imperiex attack the planet? Not just a small area, but Imperiex drones dropping out of the sky with only a few safe areas for people to gather? Or how about the Anti-Montior stomping around Metropolis with heroes and villains all trying to take him out together? So many awesome opportunities and so far nothing like that.

Those are just my few gripes about the game and it would be nice for it to be improved on. So if you haven't tried the game, what have you got to lose now? Well, besides the space. It's a huge game (18 gbs I think it maxed out at?). Everyone harps MMO's to be free to play. This one is now, so give it a shot and let's see all those new heroes and villains roam the city.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Nintendo 3DS: Can it recover?

Since the release of the 3DS back in March, feelings of the Nintendo 3DS has been lackluster at best. The leadup to the 3DS was general excitement since the 3D worked and most hoped Nintendo had improved upon the previous DS generations. When it released though, Nintendo had a non-functional online store, a forgettable list of launch titles, and a staggering pricepoint given their home console cost less.

Since then, the Nintendo 3DS has had disappointing US sales that have yet to touch 1 million and a looming competitor in the PS Vita at the same pricepoint with impressive compatitbilities. Nintendo needs to do several things to pull this fuel out of the fire before it blows up in their face as a complete disaster.

1. Handheld Selling Games


There are many times an amazing game comes out for a console that people claim is console-buying worthy. Call of Duty could be up there, Metal Gear Solid, Halo, Mario, etc. Nintendo (and Sony in the future) need to have a similar game but something that will sell their handheld. Many were hoping that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would be that game. But is it really? A game that was released back in 1998 with a graphical update including 3D graphics is going to be the handheld seller? They need something more and they have the names to do it. With upcoming games like Super Mario 3D, Resident Evil: Revelations, Mario Kart, and more; Nintendo is trying to bring out a variety of games hoping to catch the interest of various gamers and bumping up the 3DS sells.

But a lot of these games seem like merely rehashes of previous games or ones that are already on consoles. Resident Evil: Mercenaries has come out with negative reviews for a full 3DS cost of a mode in Resident Evil 5. Star Fox 64 3D is just another N64 game with updates in the same vein of Ocarina of Time. Super Street Fighter IV, Metal Gear Solid 3, Madden NFL Football...why play these games on a 3DS when they have superior console versions?  There is no incentive to own these games other than to try and pass time with a handheld that has nothing else on it. So why even bother purchasing the 3DS until a better lineup is in stock?

2. The Cost
$250 is a LOT of money. To put it down on handheld that has not proven itself and whose biggest draw is a gimmick most people don't particularly enjoy...it's not going to succeed. Add to the fact the PS Vita looms in the distance and side by side, there is no comparison. The PS Vita will win out of the 3DS if they are at the same pricepoint. Considering how sad the sales have been for the 3DS, a pricedrop at E3 would have been reassuring. But with no mention of one, perhaps Nintendo wants to see how it fares during the holidays. This would have a bigger selection of games built up and they wouldn't have to sacrifice the price difference for a time where they probably get the most sales during the year. But, again, the PS Vita will be out around then too, and it will be in for a battle if they cost the same. If Nintendo wants a sure-fire way to come out on top, a price drop is the only logical answer.

3. No Real Rush
The clock is not ticking down on Nintendo. After the success of the Wii, Nintendo has more than enough money to back a disappointing launch of the Nintendo 3DS. Make no mistake about it, as problematic as this launch has been, Nintendo has a DS successor in it's grasp. But like the original DS, the train didn't take off until it's later generations. They do not need to toss this handheld aside and forget about it, they just need to help it start picking up steam. Better games, cheaper price, improved online capabilities, better store, less focus on gimmicky 3D and instead on how it improves gameplay, and it's street pass capabilities (even though it will work in very few places in the US). It's Nintendo. There are few areas where they have failed miserably. And this is not a Virtual Boy. It hasn't went through the holiday phase, it has next-to-no games available for it, and in truth...it hasn't been out for very long. As long as Nintendo makes wise decisions and don't treat it's software the same way they did the Wii, the 3DS will have a long life cycle. But they can not give up on it. If they do, the 3DS is DOA.


Nintendo has a many franchises they can use to back this system up with. They have a strong following with previous DS owners and plenty of money that they received from DS and Wii sales. They have formulas for success but they do have chances to screw it up. Support is what the 3DS needs, not denial. Yes, it has sold poorly and yes, many people are speaking bad of the system as a whole. Nintendo shouldn't let that get them down. They need to reiterate with it's fanbase how no other system will get Pokemon and how they want to improve this online store compared to the DS and Wii store. They have to let people know this is the new generation of DS and they aren't going to fall back into their safe DSlite zone. They must move forward and improve on the criticisms they receive. If it means a new 3DS with longer lasting battery, more colors, and smaller hardware...then fine. I'm sure with each iteration, the handheld will get better and sales will go up. So despite the past few months, Nintendo should not worry. There is room for improvement and time for it. Fans should not give up hope.

Friday, July 1, 2011

REVIEW: Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

A few weeks ago, I sat down to this computer and started typing up a review for Brink and LA Noire. I ultimately realized...why would I want to review games that had received enough discussion when instead I could focus on lesser played games that SHOULD receive some sort of recognition. So I sat around playing some games recently, and after a purchase from Gamestop felt I came across one that I could finally write about.




Now, while I feel that those who did review this game seemed to be pretty praiseworthy about it, I think it felt more sideline-esque. Worthy of a mention, but easily overlooked and just briefly stated. After spending quite a few hours this week playing this game, I came to the realization that if you don't have Mario Kart at your disposal, or even if you do, this game could possibly become your favorite cart racer you have played in years.


Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing features twenty characters and around 30 playable tracks that all revolve around Sega games. While I haven't played a lot of Sega games (and had missed the Dreamcast altogether), a lot of what is in this game didn't seem like it would appeal to me. Half of the characters I didn't know anything about and the most knowledge I had about them is that I heard of the game they were in...but never played it myself. Fortunately for those of us with no experience with Shenmue, Space Channel 5, and ChuChu Rocket!, the majority of the characters in the game (7 of the 20 to be exact) come from the various Sonic games throughout Sega's history. Of course you will see Sonic and Tails, but Shadow the Hedghog makes an appearance along with the much hated Big the Cat.

Once you pick the character you would like to use, there are also 24 tracks to choose from all coming from the same games the characters are in. Here is where I think it starts to overshadow the popular Nintendo cart racing games. The levels in this game are nothing short of beautiful. Bright bold colors with lively music and some creative looks to the level left me in awe. One level in particular involved driving on a sort of "rainbow road" but in the distance is a large head of some characters that I'm unfamiliar with and streams of colors everywhere leading to one trippy experience. I have played many of the Mario Kart games, and none of the levels have really caught my interest the way these levels have.

The controls in this game are remarkably smooth. The movements are tight, drifting is very easy and also a large part of this game, and I have yet to have any issues with placing items. The one drawback I have with the controls are the stiffness and difficulty I have with the character All-Star moves. For example, Tails has the special move of calling down a tornado. Moving Tails and the tornado is quite a frustrating thing. Moving left and right feels almost non-existant while the character itself is automatically propelled forward in the track. As a whole however, the controls are responsive and crisp and easy to pick up and simply play.

All of the characters and tracks that are playable are not available right at the beginning. As the game is played, the player racks up Sega Miles which they can then use to unlock various other characters, tracks, and music to use. While I haven't quite figured out how the Sega Miles calculator works, I would think it safe to assume that it depends on how big the track is, how many laps you do, the difficulty, and what place you finish in. These are quite easy to attain and can be done in the various modes that the game offers from Single Race, Grand Prix, Time Trials, or the missions it offers.

The game modes offer a lot of replayability and a nice mix of ideas that make it push past a simple battle cart game. Like most games, you have the regular single race where you pick the level, the character, how many laps, etc. There are also six different Grand Prix events, each with four different levels to play with basically the same scoring method that Mario Kart has. Time Trials are just what they sound like. You race around tracks trying to reach the quickest time battling not only yourself, but also the staff racer and also the ability race against the ghosts of those on the leaderboard for the game. Finally, the Mission mode has 64 different...well...missions you play from that you need to try to AAA rank in. You can get by getting lower scores, but the AAA is what you should shoot for. While I haven't finished all 64 missions since more unlock as you play them, I have had missions where I roll around on a giant egg as Billy Hatcher, try to get all the chaos emeralds and as many coins I can as Dr. Robotnik, knockout races where a timer ticks down and once it reaches 0 the person in last place is out, and one where targets move on the track and you need to shoot them all with boxing glove items. Very nice addition to an already great game.

Speaking of items, expect a lot of similarities to the italian plumber version. Instead of hitting question mark boxes and running over brightly colored arrows to dash, expect to grab question mark bubbles and run over blue arrows to speed up. Missiles have replaced red turtle shells while green turtle shells have been replaced with green boxing gloves. Each character also comes with a special maneuver if they are racing rather badly, but fortunately the rubber-band gameplay is not as bad as it's Nintendo counterpart and while I'm in first, I've never been threatened by a character who went into their "All-Star" attack. Throw in some other items like a confusion star that turns the world upside down for a character or a horn that blasts characters too close to you, and despite the similarities, it comes out with a good number of likeable items.

Now, I have mentioned Mario Kart several times in this review and normally I'm not a big fan of reviewers throwing in other games to describe the one they are trying to review. However, once you play this game, you'll notice why I used it. This game does more than simple nods to Mario Kart, it flat out goes full Night at the Roxbury head bob for this game. Make no mistake, Sega made this game to try and capture the Mario Kart audience that wasn't quite being fulfilled enough on the Wii and DS, and for sure wasn't being satisfied on the Xbox or Playstation. And while games that try to cash in on other game successes usually come off pretty poor, I hope Sega comes out with more. This was an immensely satisfying game and the best cart racer I've played since the original Mario Kart.

Friday, May 20, 2011

E3 Press Conferences

Other than the Sony mishap, there's not much news to talk about is there? So I'm focusing (yet again) on E3 and what to expect from the 3 big press conferences held by Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. So the company with the least amount of news going into E3 is Microsoft, and they are kicking off the show conferences.

1. Microsoft - The Underdog



On June 6th, at 10am, Microsoft will be taking the stage for their conference. And truthfully...nobody really knows what to expect. The obvious thing will be Kinect games and going from the rumblings around the web, they will try to bring in some fans with some core games. Child of Eden is a good possibility with it's release being the following week and I'll go so far as to say a Dance Central 2 after the critical acclaim it received the previous year. I would also expect them to discuss a lot of features that they are talking about for it and an idea of when to see those.

Expect new features for the X-Box like they do yearly. With the acquisition of Skype, that has to be included in the conference somewhere and how that will be brought into the system. New avatar stuff comes about every year with some sort of app that nobody really cares about but Microsoft will include anyways.

I would expect to hear something Halo related, whether it be a new game but it seems more likely for a re-release of a previous game. I've heard a lot of the original being the re-release, but I could see them go the Sony route and re-release the first two games on a collection disc ala God of War, Tomb Raider, etc. The recent news of the Alan Wake downloadable makes that a possibility of something to be shown and I would say it's a safe bet that a Forza is also in the works. Gears of War 3 is a given since that is coming out this year. Oh, and expect a tease of the summer sales they tend to do with the new arcade games to come out. They also normally announce some sort of exclusive with a game like Call of Duty and the map packs, so with the new Modern Warfare coming out, exclusivity with new DLC for that.

Lastly will be a price cut. In fact, I'll say it here. Price cut on all console systems, not just X-Box. I would say Kinect as well, but with the success of it still selling, if a price cut is in the works it will probably wait until Winter for the Christmas rush. Speaking of Kinect, also expect them to continually praise it's success until you hear crickets and snores from the audience. We've heard the same "Kinect is the fastest selling..." discussion since it's release, we don't need it taking up valuable time at the press conference that's supposed to intrigue people for the future.

Unless Microsoft has something hidden behind a big curtain this year, this press conference will be a dud. Kinect will be a big focus since it's the only thing close to a "new system" that they have to compete with Sony and Nintendo's new systems. They need to show games though, not just for Kinect, but for the console as well. They shouldn't rely heavily on 3rd party games to carry their system this year, because the other two consoles are releasing a ton of system exclusive content. They need to WOW with Kinect and they have to get gamers psyched up for future 360-exclusive releases if they even want people to remember they were there this E3.


2. Sony - Winning People Back



The past couple months have NOT been kind to Sony. If the Geohot mess wasn't bad enough, the hackers last month certainly was. So this E3 conference is a major event for Sony especially so soon after the new PSN arrives and the "Welcome Back Program" looms in the future. Which leads me into what will happen on June 6th at 5pm...

Do they address it, or don't they? Part of me thinks they want to move on and try to just impress the hell out of everybody in an attempt to make them forget. It's been discussed pretty extensively the past few weeks and will be for the next two at least. But...it's the elephant in the room. The big fat elephant they have dancing on their projection screen while they try to sell us on the NGP. They have to address it. An apology will be made I'm sure and I think they will also reiterate how important their consumers security is and they will then go into detail about the situation and what they have done to make it better. I also don't expect us to see the "Welcome Back Package" until E3 or maybe slightly after just so they can bring it up as a "see...we care!" way to finish that topic.

I'm sure the Playstation Phone...Xperia Play...whatever it's called will also be talked about. Most people won't care, but I'm sure there will be a few minutes just for this phone and what it can do.

But...the NGP will be the big thing for Sony. We'll get to see it running with games like Uncharted and Wipeout and they let us know all the specs and details about the system and even the release date, price, and list of games. If they don't, they are foolish. They may discuss the PSP and how they plan on improving that with the NGP, but I see a decent portion of the conference being devoted to this new handheld with cheap shots thrown at Nintendo about gimmicky 3D (before they go into their 3D Playstation games and televisions part of the show).

Then out come the games. Twisted Metal was the big reveal last year, so I'm not expecting that to be the finale but it's expected to have something at the conference. The same with Resistance 3, Uncharted 3, The Last Guardian, Dark Souls (maybe), the upcoming Final Fantasy and some news on more collections such as the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus one and probably show us what that looks like cleaned up. The finale, in my mind, has to be The Last Guardian. People have wanted more on that game than any other the past few years and it's time it came out. I'm calling it now...Gameplay will be shown and a release date will be given.

Sony has the potential to be the big show. Nintendo has all eyes on them for their new console reveal, so Sony will have to put the effort in to divert the attention their way. If they do it correctly, and Nintendo fails to impress, Sony has this one in the bag. The PSP was a disappointment (let's not even mention the GO), so a big focus will be on promoting the NGP and they have to have it a decent price to compete with the 3DS regardless of what it can do. They need to acknowledge the recent hackings if only to get it out of the way especially since people are wanting to hear Sony discuss it. And finally, show us that extensive PS3 exclusive list of games to expect that people often overlook for the X-Box's piddly exclusives.

3. Nintendo - All or Nothing



The day everyone is waiting for is June 7th. At 9 in the morning, Nintendo takes the stage with big expectations and hopeful explanations.Their conference will be divided into 3 sections: 3DS, Wii, and Cafe'. Now, will the 3DS go before or after the Wii? It is just their handheld system and they tend to get less love at press conferences than consoles, but with the Wii dying, I can see the 3DS going second. However, if they want to promote the Cafe' right (and depending if they have games to show), they will show the Wii THEN Cafe' if only to show the major differences between the systems.

The 3DS has sold well, but not to Nintendo's liking. They will address this and show how they plan on improving this. So...bring out the 3DS games. The list of games that came out last year will have footage for this year along with seeing what that Super Mario Bros title tease is all about. They know one of the major downfalls of the 3DS was the lack of games so they want to prove everyone wrong and show that it wasn't wrong for them to purchase this system. Zelda, Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros 3 (?), the e-shop, and more will be discussed in this portion of the conference. Oh. Price drop for the handheld as well and maybe a new iteration by the end of the year.

The Wii is dying, but not quite dead. They will still show games that will be coming out this year, similar to what they did last year with games like Donkey Kong, Kirby, etc. Games we weren't expecting, but will see for the Wii shall be announced that will come out before the year's end and of course the one we do know about: Skyward Sword. The problem is, again, the Wii is on it's last legs. Other than some new game announcements and a price decrease, there's not much going for this system this E3. If anything, it's just to help propel the new system to the fanbase.

The big announcement of E3! PROJECT CAFE! The mysteries will be unveiled. What will it look like!? The the hell is the deal with the controller!? Are the graphics really better!? These questions and more will all be answered. This is what everyone wants to know and see at E3. Nintendo can win back a large portion of the hardcore gamers they lost with the Wii, or they can utterly disappoint everyone with a lackluster system that barely competes with the current gen of consoles. What happens here will help dictate the pace of the next generation of consoles. Sony and Microsoft are definately keeping an eye on this console and if it looks like it will be a beast, it could cause them to speed up towards their next system as well. I'm not sure exactly what Nintendo will show, but if they are shooting for the core audience I would expect big name developers to be mentioned, maybe some video of what games will look like, and the hardware itself at the very least. They may hold off on showing the controller, but since it's not as big of a departure that the wiimote was, I don't see them keeping that a secret.

Nintendo's conference will be the most interesting. This is the one people are looking forward to but can Nintendo show enough leading up to the reveal of Project Cafe to interest people? The console itself may show too much or too little and like any reveal can cause some ripples in the fandom. The 3DS didn't get the greatest reception upon it's reveal, it wasn't until people had it in their hands before it really took off. This console could be the same. If Nintendo has a lackluster showing for Project Cafe, the rest of their show will be scoffed at. The 3DS is to help people feel better about their purchase, the Wii is to bide the time until the new console, and the Cafe is supposed to have people excited for the future. If Cafe' is disliked, nobody will care about the Wii releases since those are dying out anyways and the 3DS is just a handheld so it's not held up to the same standards of a console and that news will play 2nd fiddle anyways.


It is coming. We are just a few weeks away and most things are pure speculation at this point. News tends to be pretty dead up until E3 (unless smaller devs want to get SOME mention before the wave of news hits), but with what's coming up, can everything deliver? There's a lot of hope for what's coming out in Sony and Nintendo's camp, and Microsoft has people scratching their heads. But if last year was any indication, anything can happen. It is coming. We are just a few weeks away...