Watch me talk about Sucker Punch!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Another review!
Dead Space 2 takes another cue from the Alien series as Isaac wakes up three years after the events of the first game in a hospital, with military staff who "believe" that what happened on the Ishimura was a terrorist attack. What follows is one of the scarier moments I can recall in a video game, as the hospital is besieged by necromorphs, and you are left to escape by yourself in a straitjacket.
Let's talk about story. In Dead Space, the entire game was little more than playing errand-boy to a pair of bossy coworkers. It was enjoyable, but a tad repetitive. In Dead Space 2, the name of the game is escape. You are trapped on the Sprawl, a planet-cracking settlement on Titan, and the necromorphs are on the loose. You spend the majority of the game trying to get off the moon, and you meet a variety of colorful locals on the way (and by colorful, I mean lunatic). Also, let's not forget that Isaac himself was left a little nuts after discovering the marker, and you must contend with his insanity throughout the story.
Graphically, Dead Space 2 is as gorgeous as horrible, bladed corpse mutations can be. The interactions between characters are all superbly animated, and Isaac's movements while stomping the well-detailed guts out of necromorphs are incredibly smooth. As for the music, however, most of it seemed to be standard horror fare, with screeching violins when anything jumps out, and rapid crescendos to build tension. Some of the score (such as during credits, for example) jumped out as being original, but most of it was pretty forgettable.
All the same mechanics return from the first Dead Space. You use telekinesis to impale enemies, and stasis to stop them in their tracks. There are puzzles aplenty, but none of them seemed to be too challenging. A few new things had been added, though, like the abilty to tack the nearest store, workbench, or save station in addition to your objective, and the fact that all the suits retain the best armor and inventory bonuses so you can switch between your favorites whenever you want. Also, the different suits each have a unique passive bonus, which may influence your decision.
The biggest difference in the gameplay comes from the zero gravity portions of the puzzles. Your suit has little airjets attached to it at various locations, which allows you to move freely in zero-g. While diminishing the feeling of disorientation from the first, this makes zero-g fighting more dynamic and intense. New necromorphs add to the fun, especially the stalkers, velociraptor-like necromorphs that hide behind pillars or crates and surround you, much like in Jurassic Park.
Another addition to the sequel is multiplayer. I played a few matches, and if you've played Left 4 Dead, you've played Dead Space 2 multiplayer. A team of humans must complete a slew of objectives, while necromorphs constantly spawn and kill them. You gain experience for each match, and you are able to upgrade your suit and guns accordingly. When playing on the necromorph team, you must wait longer to spawn as more powerful necromorphs, and you can choose from which vent to spawn. Sneaking up on the humans is paramount, and it can be a lot of fun. The multiplayer is worth a try if you're into that kind of thing, but the campaign is definitely where I spent most of my time.
As for the feature I believe was just tacked on? Definitely the hacking. It's just annoying when you have to do it, and it doesn't really have any imagination behind it. Other than that, though, Dead Space 2 takes the awesome groundwork laid by the original and builds a mighty fortress of terror on top. If you liked the original, you should buy this game immediately. If you like horror, but haven't played the first one, don't worry! Dead Space 2 came with a handy "Last Time on Dead Space" feature, which recaps the events of the first.
I give this game an 8.
Let's talk about story. In Dead Space, the entire game was little more than playing errand-boy to a pair of bossy coworkers. It was enjoyable, but a tad repetitive. In Dead Space 2, the name of the game is escape. You are trapped on the Sprawl, a planet-cracking settlement on Titan, and the necromorphs are on the loose. You spend the majority of the game trying to get off the moon, and you meet a variety of colorful locals on the way (and by colorful, I mean lunatic). Also, let's not forget that Isaac himself was left a little nuts after discovering the marker, and you must contend with his insanity throughout the story.
Graphically, Dead Space 2 is as gorgeous as horrible, bladed corpse mutations can be. The interactions between characters are all superbly animated, and Isaac's movements while stomping the well-detailed guts out of necromorphs are incredibly smooth. As for the music, however, most of it seemed to be standard horror fare, with screeching violins when anything jumps out, and rapid crescendos to build tension. Some of the score (such as during credits, for example) jumped out as being original, but most of it was pretty forgettable.
All the same mechanics return from the first Dead Space. You use telekinesis to impale enemies, and stasis to stop them in their tracks. There are puzzles aplenty, but none of them seemed to be too challenging. A few new things had been added, though, like the abilty to tack the nearest store, workbench, or save station in addition to your objective, and the fact that all the suits retain the best armor and inventory bonuses so you can switch between your favorites whenever you want. Also, the different suits each have a unique passive bonus, which may influence your decision.
The biggest difference in the gameplay comes from the zero gravity portions of the puzzles. Your suit has little airjets attached to it at various locations, which allows you to move freely in zero-g. While diminishing the feeling of disorientation from the first, this makes zero-g fighting more dynamic and intense. New necromorphs add to the fun, especially the stalkers, velociraptor-like necromorphs that hide behind pillars or crates and surround you, much like in Jurassic Park.
Another addition to the sequel is multiplayer. I played a few matches, and if you've played Left 4 Dead, you've played Dead Space 2 multiplayer. A team of humans must complete a slew of objectives, while necromorphs constantly spawn and kill them. You gain experience for each match, and you are able to upgrade your suit and guns accordingly. When playing on the necromorph team, you must wait longer to spawn as more powerful necromorphs, and you can choose from which vent to spawn. Sneaking up on the humans is paramount, and it can be a lot of fun. The multiplayer is worth a try if you're into that kind of thing, but the campaign is definitely where I spent most of my time.
As for the feature I believe was just tacked on? Definitely the hacking. It's just annoying when you have to do it, and it doesn't really have any imagination behind it. Other than that, though, Dead Space 2 takes the awesome groundwork laid by the original and builds a mighty fortress of terror on top. If you liked the original, you should buy this game immediately. If you like horror, but haven't played the first one, don't worry! Dead Space 2 came with a handy "Last Time on Dead Space" feature, which recaps the events of the first.
I give this game an 8.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Good thing they didn't call it the "Fun and Games Festival."
Hello, internet!
I just got back from MAGFest (the Music and Games Festival in Alexandria, Virginia), and boy am I exhausted. Thankfully, I haven't come down with a case of ConCrud like everyone else seems to have done.
As for how the con itself was, well, it was fantastic. I'd never actually been to a con where I was genuinely interested in going to panels and shopping for swag. The number one reason I went was that a lot of folks from Channel Awesome were going to be there, and boy, were they... um... there.
I kid, they were namesakingly awesome. They all seemed excited to be there (except for one case, but we'll get to that), and they were all so happy to meet and speak with their fans. Let me break it down to everyone I met there:
Obscurus Lupa: Lupa is one of my favorite reviewers on the site. As she's pretty new, this was her first con with the Channal Awesome guys. You could tell, too, because she always looked surprised when anyone recognized her. She was really nice, but she always looked kind of lost, and we (my girlfriend - Elise, best friend - Greg, and I) kept accidentally bumping into her - so much so, that we were afraid she would think we were stalking her.
Luke Mochrie: Another person we seemed to be accidentally stalking. We met him the same time we met Lupa, which was outside a live riffing of Bloodrayne II with Spoony, Linkara, and JewWario (they were supposed to be riffing House of the Dead, and Spoony even had a script written out, but they didn't have it for him) at midnight. Elise got along with Luke very well, because he's in film school right now, and she took film classes in college.
Paw and Pushing Up Roses: These two are so, so nice. Like, they are the nicest people ever. We didn't get to talk to Paw much, but we caught up with Roses as she was filming Arc Impulse (an awesome video game music band) and got to talk to her a bit. And I guess I have to mention that her tattoos are even more awesome in real life.
Phelous: Phelous is definitely my favorite person on the TGWTG site. That said, he was very low-key at the con. Sometimes he didn't even seem to be having much fun, but other times he actually opened up and joked around. I think it probably has to do with shyness or something like that. He's still my favorite.
Linkara and Iron Liz: Again, really nice people. Liz seemed to stand back and let Linkara interact with most of the fans, which was probably a good idea. Linkara is very loud. Not in an obnoxious way, but in a hilarious way. You could tell where Linkara was no matter where you were in the con, because his voice just carried.
Spoony and Scarlet: Spoony seems to have been the spotlight of the Channel Awesome presence. He had three events all to himself (his standup was amazingly funny), and he was really great to his fans. Scarlet was filming most of the time, but she was really cool when we talked with her.
Angry Video Game Nerd: This was actually my second time meeting James Rolfe, the first being at VGXpo in Philadelphia. His panel mostly consisted of "what if" questions, and any personal questions were deftly evaded. Another person who is nothing like his on-screen persona.
Scott Ramsoomair: The artist and author of VGCats, Scott spent his panel answering silly meme-related questions and showing us a comic-in-progress to prove that he really was working on one.
Well, those were the "famous on the internet" people I met at MAGFest. We mostly went to their panels, but we also went to a Cooperative Storytelling in Tabletop RPGs panel which was really cool. The concerts we went to were mostly awesome, but a few just made me wish I were listening to the band on my iPod.
That's all I have to say for now! I'll upload some pictures of the stuff I got signed in a bit. Okay, latuhz!
I just got back from MAGFest (the Music and Games Festival in Alexandria, Virginia), and boy am I exhausted. Thankfully, I haven't come down with a case of ConCrud like everyone else seems to have done.
As for how the con itself was, well, it was fantastic. I'd never actually been to a con where I was genuinely interested in going to panels and shopping for swag. The number one reason I went was that a lot of folks from Channel Awesome were going to be there, and boy, were they... um... there.
I kid, they were namesakingly awesome. They all seemed excited to be there (except for one case, but we'll get to that), and they were all so happy to meet and speak with their fans. Let me break it down to everyone I met there:
Obscurus Lupa: Lupa is one of my favorite reviewers on the site. As she's pretty new, this was her first con with the Channal Awesome guys. You could tell, too, because she always looked surprised when anyone recognized her. She was really nice, but she always looked kind of lost, and we (my girlfriend - Elise, best friend - Greg, and I) kept accidentally bumping into her - so much so, that we were afraid she would think we were stalking her.
Luke Mochrie: Another person we seemed to be accidentally stalking. We met him the same time we met Lupa, which was outside a live riffing of Bloodrayne II with Spoony, Linkara, and JewWario (they were supposed to be riffing House of the Dead, and Spoony even had a script written out, but they didn't have it for him) at midnight. Elise got along with Luke very well, because he's in film school right now, and she took film classes in college.
Paw and Pushing Up Roses: These two are so, so nice. Like, they are the nicest people ever. We didn't get to talk to Paw much, but we caught up with Roses as she was filming Arc Impulse (an awesome video game music band) and got to talk to her a bit. And I guess I have to mention that her tattoos are even more awesome in real life.
Phelous: Phelous is definitely my favorite person on the TGWTG site. That said, he was very low-key at the con. Sometimes he didn't even seem to be having much fun, but other times he actually opened up and joked around. I think it probably has to do with shyness or something like that. He's still my favorite.
Linkara and Iron Liz: Again, really nice people. Liz seemed to stand back and let Linkara interact with most of the fans, which was probably a good idea. Linkara is very loud. Not in an obnoxious way, but in a hilarious way. You could tell where Linkara was no matter where you were in the con, because his voice just carried.
Spoony and Scarlet: Spoony seems to have been the spotlight of the Channel Awesome presence. He had three events all to himself (his standup was amazingly funny), and he was really great to his fans. Scarlet was filming most of the time, but she was really cool when we talked with her.
Angry Video Game Nerd: This was actually my second time meeting James Rolfe, the first being at VGXpo in Philadelphia. His panel mostly consisted of "what if" questions, and any personal questions were deftly evaded. Another person who is nothing like his on-screen persona.
Scott Ramsoomair: The artist and author of VGCats, Scott spent his panel answering silly meme-related questions and showing us a comic-in-progress to prove that he really was working on one.
Well, those were the "famous on the internet" people I met at MAGFest. We mostly went to their panels, but we also went to a Cooperative Storytelling in Tabletop RPGs panel which was really cool. The concerts we went to were mostly awesome, but a few just made me wish I were listening to the band on my iPod.
That's all I have to say for now! I'll upload some pictures of the stuff I got signed in a bit. Okay, latuhz!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Double Bonus! A top ten list!
P. S. Since everybody loves doing 2010 lists, here's mine!
Top 10 games in 2010 I didn't review but am going to give a score to right now:
1. Mass Effect 2 - 10
2. Kirby's Epic Yarn - 8
3. Halo: Reach - 9
4. Metroid: Other M - 4
5. Fable III - 7
6. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future - 9
7. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - 8
8. Final Fantasy XIII - 6
9. Valkyria Chronicles 2 - 8
10. Red Dead Redemption - 10
Top 10 games in 2010 I didn't review but am going to give a score to right now:
1. Mass Effect 2 - 10
2. Kirby's Epic Yarn - 8
3. Halo: Reach - 9
4. Metroid: Other M - 4
5. Fable III - 7
6. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future - 9
7. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - 8
8. Final Fantasy XIII - 6
9. Valkyria Chronicles 2 - 8
10. Red Dead Redemption - 10
Golden Sun Review
I am now halfway through my second day in my second semester of community college, and so far I have learned one thing: how to count in binary. LOOK AT ME GO 0 1 10 11 100 101 110 111 1000 1001 1010 OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH. I'm sure you have better things to do than watch me count to ten.
In other news, I've been playing Golden Sun more than I ought to. This is mostly due to the fact that every ten minutes of actual gameplay is complemented by twenty minutes of taaaaaaalking. I believe that the problem comes from the fact that the game is directed towards kids, and so all the more complicated puzzles need to be explained before you attempt them. Nothing is more frustrating than staring at a psynergy puzzle, realizing that you have to put the fires out, and then approaching the fires only to be interrupted by little miss know-it-all Karis to tell you to put the fires out. I'm all for direction in games, but when you tell me the solutions, it loses its grandeur.
Another problem I have with this game is that there are many summons and Djinn that are optional. This would be fine, until you pair that with the fact that there are "points of no return" that you reach every couple hours of play. This means that if you missed that hard-to-reach Djinni or obscure summon and then pass the PoNR, you don't get it. At all. Ever. With the amount of extensive programming available to developers today, there should never be anything in a game that you only get one chance at (I'm looking at you, Zodiac Spear). There should always be a redemption point.
Other than those minor complaints, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is a solid RPG. It has a compelling battle system that, in the case of boss encounters, really makes you feel like you earned victory. The puzzles are challenging when you're not being told how to solve them, and the built-in encyclopedia (looks like more companies are taking hints from Bioware) makes the world more interesting for lore-lovers like myself.
Overall, I give this game an 8.
And since this is my first review, here's my scoring system!
10 - Not perfect, but a pinnacle of its genre. Game developers strive to be this awesome.
9 - Has minor flaws, but nothing that really detracts from the experience.
8 - Probably has one or two flaws that stand out, but overall it is very enjoyable.
7 - The pros outweigh the cons for this above-average game.
6 - Lackluster story, graphics, or soundtrack distract you from solid gameplay more often than they should.
5 - An average game. Try before you buy.
4 - This game has serious flaws. Only play it if you absolutely love the series.
3 - Not even worth considering.
2 - People will reference this game for years to come when comparing other games' shittiness.
1 - This is not a game. It is an abomination.
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