30 Days of Gaming: Day 10

Day 10 - Character You Feel You are Most Like (Or Wish You Were)


Hmmm.  I've been stuck on this one for a long time.  Honestly, one of the things I like about game characters is that they are able to be more.  Whether that's more athletic, resilient, fearless, evil, good, whatever.  Game characters can just be so much "more" than possible.  Also, there will be minor SPOILERS in some descriptions for Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption, and Final Fantasy XIII.  You've been warned.

Review: Bastion

Bastion

XBLA (reviewed), PC, Chrome Browser

Publisher: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Supergiant Games

Release Date: 20 July 2011

What would you do if you woke up and found that your entire world was in ruin? Floating above a destroyed world, all you know is that the world is gone, and moving forward is the only way to set things right. Thus begins Bastion, Supergiant Games' first entry and a show piece of Microsoft's “Summer of Arcade” promotion. The crowded XBLA scene has plenty of fun games, so what does Bastion do to stand out? Only everything.

Welcome to the end of the world

30 Days of Gaming: Day 9

Day 9 - Most Annoying Character

There are a couple of gimmes in this category.  Everyone knows about Navi from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  Her constantly popping up with a shout of "Hey!" and annoying you with "Hey!  Listen!"  and then saying something obvious gets on a lot of gamers' nerves.  I mean, check out this awesome 10 hour video of her greatest hits.  On the other hand, she was super useful for some things.

Yep....I'd go nuts, too.

A recent one, too, is Hope Estheim from Final Fantasy XIII.  Oh, Hope.  Not only is he the best caster in the game, but he gets the supremely awesome Alexander summon.  This would make him top shelf in my opinion except for one tiny little problem.  He's a whiny bitch.  Not just a little, a lot.  He constantly cries about his now dead mother and how he hates his dad.  It's not weird for teens to be this way.  It is super annoying listening to it over and over and over again.  He gets better, I'll admit that.  But damn... Oh, how I hated Hope.

This is an awful video (with some spoilers).  Fits this **** perfectly.

However, the cream of this crappy crop is Bentley from the Sly Cooper series.  Side-kicks are usually annoying in some form (Daxter, for example), but Bentley takes it to a new level.  First off, he sounds like a stuffed-up, sickly Jewish stereotype.  Second, he brags about how smart he is and talks down to Sly whenever Sly cannot fathom what Bentley is blathering on about.   But what really pushes him into the ranks of reviled characters is the fact that you have to play as him.  Starting in Sly 2, Bentley becomes a playable character.  So, not only do I have to listen to him whine and act like a bitch, but now I have to play as him? And he's terrible compared to Sly?  ...dammit, Sucker Punch! Why?!?!  The first time you play as him, he is slow, terrible and has a crossbow.  Then, you get to play as him in a wheelchair for Sly 3!  Oh, we're PC!  We've got a strong handicapped chap!  Great...if he wasn't a stereotype otherwise, you might win.  I hate this obnoxious waste...

I cannot even find an annoying video of this annoying jerk

30 Days of Gaming: Day 8

Day 8 - Favorite Character

Oh, this one is super difficult. Well written characters are one of the driving reasons I buy video games. If there isn't a strong character, I usually lose interest rather quickly. I suppose I'll just throw out a few and give reasons as to “why” because I cannot just pick one. There may be spoilers to game plots in my elaborations, so be forewarned. They are in no particular order other than train-of-thought.

30 Days of Gaming: Day 7

Day 7 - Favorite Game Soundtrack

The boss theme from FF XII

The main theme from FF XII

Theme of the Empire from FF XII

I have to go with Final Fantasy XII on this one. There are plenty of great games with outstanding soundtracks: any of the Nobuo Uemitsu scored Final Fantasies, the music games I play (DDR and Beatmania), Mario games and countless others that you cannot help but to hum along with when you hear those first few notes. But, Hitoshi Sakamoto created something wonderful when he made the music for XII. It's drum heavy, the music swells and fades appropriately and really sets the tone well. It's a region at war, and the music all has a war-chant like bent to it. There are blissful highs and staggering lows. There are slow builds and fast drops. It's everything needed in a game soundtrack, and it's all done to drive home ideas and feelings. Hands down, one of my favourite collections of music to listen to at home.

A close second would be the soundtrack to Chrono Cross.  Composer Yasunori Mitsuda created some of the most amazing soundscapes during the PSX era.  Though not as well known as Nobuo Uemitsu, Mitsuda deserves recognition for making such great music.  There really isn't anything more to say on this one, just listen and enjoy! 

Time's Scar from Chrono Cross

Chrono Cross's Magical Dreamers

Review: L.A. Noire

L.A. Noire

PS3 (reviewed), Xbox 360, PC

Publisher: Rockstar Games

Developer: Team Bondi

Release Date: 17 May 2011

Can you read people? Can you, with only a glance, tell if someone is lying? What hides behind furtive glances and not-quite-meeting-your-eye looks? Great detectives and policemen do this routine every day. They work with witnesses and interrogate suspects to piece together what happened. Searching crime scenes for clues and confronting someone with facts that counter their lies is compelling stuff. It's an exciting battle of wits; where thoroughness in your preparation wins the day. This cerebral cat-and-mouse game is the basis for Team Bondi's and Rockstar's L.A. Noire. More detective drama than game it nonetheless takes players on an amazing interactive journey through the gritty and rough streets of a faithfully recreated 1940s Los Angeles.

This time, you are the law

30 Days of Gaming: Day 6

Day 6 - Favorite Genre


I had a bit of a pause with this one.  RPGs of nearly any flavor I enjoy.  Recently, I have sampled the delights of Western RPGs (WRPGs).  I began Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the first time earlier this week.  Heck, I even had a bit of fun with Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, bugs and all.  But most of these seem more like Action games than RPGs, and the big ones (Fallout, Elder Scolls) are really difficult for me to enjoy because I get caught up in exploring the world and not doing quests.  Then I die.  I die a lot.  And it's usually after I've not saved for over an hour or two.  WRPGs are fun, but not my favorites.

30 Days of Gaming: Day 5

Day 5 - Favorite Developer


This one is actually pretty tough.  I think I have to give it to two development houses that have brought me a ton of joy over the years.  Honestly, these two could do no wrong in their own rights, and I eagerly await what comes next from the latter.

First off, the studio that dominated my teen years and made me appreciate deep stories and amazing worlds.  Pretty much every Squaresoft game that came out, I enjoyed.  I rented Chrono Trigger from Blockbuster a few times as a kid, and I loved it!  I didn't understand the Squaresoft magic entirely yet, that came later.  That time, when the core Final Fantasy games were purchased Day One, came after I discovered the joys of Final Fantasy VII.  The PSX era (and my collection) is/was dominated by these wonderful games.  I sunk hours into Final Fantasy VIII, Vagrant Story, Front Mission 3 and even lesser titles like Threads of Fate.  All of these games had stellar stories, well written characters (though some translations hurt to read now) and offered worlds to get lost in that I'd only seen in books.  But, despite how lovely all those games are, I have the most affection for Final Fantasy: Tactics.  This single game I've purchased multiple times (PSX, PSN, PSP) and I love it every time I boot it up.  Squaresoft could do no wrong in my eyes, and the joys of FF:T are a large reason why I purchased their games without question.

When this came on screen, joy soon followed

As Squaresoft started to tank in Japan (thank you, Spirits Within...), they were snapped up by Enix.  Enix didn't have the same hold on me.  While I certainly enjoyed Star Ocean: The Second Story, I hadn't played a Dragon Quest game to completion since the first one.  I was worried that my beloved games would be changed or corrupted by the new parent company.  Sadly, I was mostly right.  But, the core FF games again shined, and included one of my favorites with Final Fantasy XII, and my number one favorite Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy X.  To see this development house go downhill since the PS2 era is sad.  They more publish now and the last FF game was, to me, disappointing.  I'll always love the Squaresoft days, and the mixed bag of the SquarEnix days may yet turn around.

So awesome!

Now, a new development house has taken over.  These folks first caught my eye back on the PS2 with a platformer that was the natural step up from Mario 64.  An open world that held many secrets and offered me the chance to go where I wanted and explore to my heart's content.  That game was Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.  The team at Naughty Dog had pushed what Mario started in amazing new directions.  Instead of hubs, everything was part of the world.  I climbed a mountain, swam a lake and explored jungles and swamps, all without having to jump into paintings or pipes.  This blew my mind at the time.  Their animation style rivaled Disney and the colorful world came alive.  I fell in love.

The new favorite developer

I wouldn't have them up here if they only had the one good game.  Though I never played the other Jak titles (something I plan to rectify with the HD collection) because I had other distractions.  No, Naughty Dog finally got my attention with a little game called Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.  I had loved the Tomb Raider series for years, but Lara had gotten stale and her adventures were no longer fun to me.  Then came this wise-ass Nathan Drake and his gorgeous game world that just begged to be explored.  Then came the amazing action sequences, the superb dialog and the industry-defining animations.  I was hooked.  Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is honestly one of my favorite games off all time, and the amount of hype I had for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception was unbearable.  This series has cemented my love for the Dogs, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.

Where do we go from here?

News Roundup: 4 December 2011

The weekly news stories that caught my eye for the week ending 4 December.  Getting down to the wire on the year.  Stories, as always, after the jump with article links in the headlines!

30 Days of Gaming: Day 4

Day 4 - Favorite Gaming System

I used to say, "Anything by Nintendo!" and that was that.  It had all of the classics that shaped my gaming loves: Super Mario Bros, Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest) and Bionic Commando soaked up hours of my life (after homework, of course) as I explored these worlds.  When the SNES came out, I got it as soon as possible and enjoyed the heck out of games like U.N. Squadron and Super Mario World.  Lastly, the N64 showed me that Mario could run around in 3D and still be amazing!  I also was introduced to other platformers and even FPSs thanks to Goldeneye.  

Super Mario Bros 3 and I made some fond memories with friends

Then came the watershed moment that changed everything.  Most people around my age remember watching the TV adverts for Final Fantasy VII.  I remember seeing it and my jaw thudding to the floor.  I had always enjoyed the JRPGs from Nintendo, so this was a natural move.  While the N64 had platformers, the PSX had Lara Croft and Cloud Strief.  These were more mature characters with more mature stories to tell.  I wasn't a kid anymore, and playing "kiddie" games wasn't cool (I'm sure you all remember those teenage years).  As such, Sony swiftly replaced Nintendo in my heart.  I haven't looked back since.  

This blew my mind

While I was getting the PS2 a few months after launch, I never owned a GameCube.  I picked up my workhorse PS3 about 4 months after launch, and it still gets turned on almost daily.  My Wii was an afterthought, and mostly for Wii Fit (until Skyward Sword and now Xenoblade Chronicles).  I still play kid games on occasion because they can be fun, and having a little one of my own means that I'll be dusting off the old NES as she gets older and introducing her to my old flame.

These adverts were what sold me on the PSX

I do have all the systems (yay for not having to take sides!), but my Sony consoles are the ones that get the most use.  They showed how technology advancements would shape the hobby I love and while Nintendo owned my childhood, Playstation owns my adult life.

Hello, my love.