Day 28 - A Sequel That Disappointed You
I could cop out on this and go with Final Fantasy XIII. I mean, I loved the story, the characters, the graphics, the Paradigm system, and the voice acting. But, the battle system, the upgrading, and the overall "watch long cut-scene, play for a few minutes, watch another cut-scene" really turned me off.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
30 Days of Gaming: Day 27
Day 27 - A Game I Thought I Would Hate, But Ended Up Loving
Today is all about the big surprises that sometimes land in our laps. You know the ones: they are the games that come out without any fan-fare, cost little and have silly titles like Katamari Damacy or Gungrave: Overdose! These little gems sneak up on you and just brighten your day when you try it.
Probably the one that stands out the most to me is Shadow Hearts. I love JRPGs, but this one seemed a little too silly when I started out. The hero was half-Japanese, half-Russian and spent the opening minutes being aloof and "hardcore-badass!" I was, admittedly turned off. But then battles started, and I was hooked. Here I thought I was playing a generic JRPG with forced "attitude" and a lame, cliched story. Instead, I got a game that wormed it's way into my heart. The characters grew/developed (except the whiny kid), the story took all sorts of twists and turns, and, in the end, the game surprised me with a touching ending.
I love nearly everything about this game. The battles that force you to rhythmically tap a button to hit, the side quests for more powerful weapons were fun and the writing, while it started off slow and is still corny, got much better. I cannot recommend this game and the first sequel enough. If you are a PS2 JRPG fan, look for this game! It may surprise you like it did me.
Today is all about the big surprises that sometimes land in our laps. You know the ones: they are the games that come out without any fan-fare, cost little and have silly titles like Katamari Damacy or Gungrave: Overdose! These little gems sneak up on you and just brighten your day when you try it.
The creature designs were really creepy, and the descriptions are delightful
Probably the one that stands out the most to me is Shadow Hearts. I love JRPGs, but this one seemed a little too silly when I started out. The hero was half-Japanese, half-Russian and spent the opening minutes being aloof and "hardcore-badass!" I was, admittedly turned off. But then battles started, and I was hooked. Here I thought I was playing a generic JRPG with forced "attitude" and a lame, cliched story. Instead, I got a game that wormed it's way into my heart. The characters grew/developed (except the whiny kid), the story took all sorts of twists and turns, and, in the end, the game surprised me with a touching ending.
I love nearly everything about this game. The battles that force you to rhythmically tap a button to hit, the side quests for more powerful weapons were fun and the writing, while it started off slow and is still corny, got much better. I cannot recommend this game and the first sequel enough. If you are a PS2 JRPG fan, look for this game! It may surprise you like it did me.
Monday, December 26, 2011
News Roundup: 25 December 2011
A day late from the holidays, but here are a few news stories that caught my eye over the week of Christmas. See you all next week for the Game of the Year list!
30 Days of Gaming: Day 26
Day 26 - Game with the Best Voice Acting
Yay! More dead-horse beatings today! Voice acting is a relatively new addition to gaming. Before it was all shiny cut-scenes with silent actors. Much like the debut of "talkie" movies, voice acting changed gaming in a big way. No longer were actors hired to grunt, growl or "exert effort." Now studios had to hire folks who could impart emotion. Now actors on film could work in games (and give publishers a bullet point for the box: "Starring Samuel L. Jackson!" and by "starring" we mean "he has a role"). Now people expect voices for all their characters, and it can make or break a game.
Yay! More dead-horse beatings today! Voice acting is a relatively new addition to gaming. Before it was all shiny cut-scenes with silent actors. Much like the debut of "talkie" movies, voice acting changed gaming in a big way. No longer were actors hired to grunt, growl or "exert effort." Now studios had to hire folks who could impart emotion. Now actors on film could work in games (and give publishers a bullet point for the box: "Starring Samuel L. Jackson!" and by "starring" we mean "he has a role"). Now people expect voices for all their characters, and it can make or break a game.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
30 Days of Gaming: Day 25
Day 25 - Game with the Best Gameplay
Since this is falling on Christmas, it's going up on the 24th just so I don't have to remember to upload it tomorrow.
Best gameplay is the theme of the day. Horrid gameplay can ruin any experience. Hell, I will put up with some wonky mechanics if everything else captures my attention (I'm looking at you, Kane & Lynch 2), but if the gameplay is tight, I'm going to love it.
Since this is falling on Christmas, it's going up on the 24th just so I don't have to remember to upload it tomorrow.
Best gameplay is the theme of the day. Horrid gameplay can ruin any experience. Hell, I will put up with some wonky mechanics if everything else captures my attention (I'm looking at you, Kane & Lynch 2), but if the gameplay is tight, I'm going to love it.
30 Days of Gaming: Day 24
Day 24 - Game with the Best Art Style
I've got a few for this one. Art direction can really make or break a game. Look at Darksiders which has a very World of Warcraft style to the characters, but the backgrounds are the ubiquitous "browns, browns and more browns" in a lot of places. It creates an interesting dichotomy of colorful, overlarge characters that pop off the screen while the backdrop is dingy. So, now that I've rambled a bit, let's get to my favorite art styles!
I've got a few for this one. Art direction can really make or break a game. Look at Darksiders which has a very World of Warcraft style to the characters, but the backgrounds are the ubiquitous "browns, browns and more browns" in a lot of places. It creates an interesting dichotomy of colorful, overlarge characters that pop off the screen while the backdrop is dingy. So, now that I've rambled a bit, let's get to my favorite art styles!
Review: ilomilo
ilomilo
XBLA
Publisher:
Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Southend
Studios
Release Date: 5
January 2011
Best friends do
everything together. Play-dates in the park, fishing, trips to the
fair. All these things make memories that should last forever. But
what happens when memories are fading and best friends begin to
forget. Taking these surprising themes and mixing it with cutesy art
and mind-bending puzzles, ilomilo is fun little DLG
(downloadable game) for XBLA.
The strange world of
ilomilo
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