Final Fantasy XIII

Sure took me a long to complete this game. I've had it seen it was released back in March and was playing it randomly since then. I haven't played too many of the games in the main Final Fantasy series, just III, X, X-2, and the beginning of XII. At the end of the day I liked this one but I have to say that your opinion on Final Fantasy XIII will depend greatly on your ability to like the story, or rather its storytelling method. Like every Final Fantasy game since VII, XIII’s storytelling is derived from anime, and if you don’t like anime for its melodrama, long winded dialogue, and over exaggerated movement, I don’t think you’ll be too happy when the characters start spouting extemporaneous prose posing as conversation at each other like a couple of professional wrestlers cutting a promo in the middle of a ring. This style of storytelling derives from the theatre of ancient Greece, where the primary purpose of their morality plays was further development of their characters, and it is here where XIII’s story truly shines.

As for the gameplay, the first thing that has to be brought up is that the level design is extremely linear. Actually, The first 60% of XIII isn’t just linear, it’s a straight line. There’s very few branching paths to speak of, and the ones that are there aren’t very big. Chapters one through twelve are designed for two things: to tell you a story and to train you how to fight. This sounds like a long tutorial, and it somewhat is, but there’s not a lot of downtime. You’re constantly learning new things, developing the story, changing locales, and you are always moving forward and never backward. It gets kinda boring, but once you hit chapter thirteen, that all changes. Suddenly you’ll be in a big open world with all the optional areas, side quests, and treasure that you were looking for most of the game. This is where Final Fantasy XIII the game really starts to live up to its potential. It's a shame then that you can't fight everything you see, because the difficulty of some of the random enemies suddenly spikes, which brings me to my next point: Final Fantasy XIII's difficulty is a very random. I frequently destroyed my opponents for a bulk of the game's routine encounters and suddenly found myself outclassed by the time I reached the second half of the game.

The combat doesn’t get off to the same blistering speed as the story does, as the game spends the first ten or so hours slowly feeding you the basics of the battle system and this is a good thing, as throwing the unique and complex mechanics at once could’ve been too much to handle for some. In a first for the series, you only have control over the party leader, and instead of micromanaging what each character does, any point during combat, you can initiate a paradigm shift to change the role that each character plays in battle. The combinations of classes your characters can be at any given time are limited to pre determined commands that you can select in the options menu before battle. It's certainly a unique combat setup, but the only downside that the game ends whenever you leader is knocked out, regardless of the status of the other two party members. It's annoying, but it just another of a few small flaws in an otherwise solid game. The JRPG genre has been one that has been starving for innovation and a refreshing change of pace, and Final Fantasy XIII is certainly that. Its originality derives from its streamlined nature and its no-nonsense approach to progression. I've played better RPGs than this and though I can't compare it to other entries in the series, it gets the job done.

E3 2010: Overall Impressions

Well, E3 ended last week and it took me awhile to get to this point as I've been pretty busy over the last week. After thinking about it for a while I decided that E3 2010, like last year, was decent, but nothing mind blowing. The big difference is that most of what was really good about this years showing only came from Nintendo while Microsoft and Sony were weaker than they usually were which I guess I should elaborate on.

Out of the big 3, I think everyone agrees that Microsoft had the worst showing without a doubt. They didn't have have much to present that wasn't already known or guessed at in some shape or form and half of that had to with the fact Microsoft unveiled half of their stuff in the weeks leading up to E3, Gears of War 3 being the biggest spoiler. Last year Microsoft had 90% of their game shown before the conference and this year that total is somewhere around 99%. Microsoft needs to learn that part of the fun in E3 is the surprise and wonder in what new game could possible be shown off. Even worse was Microsoft's Kinect. Their answer to the Wii turned out to be nothing more than a straight up rip-off as every game looked and played a like poor man's Wii game and considering that the 360 is more powerful than the Wii, this is just pathetic. The gadget's use for interacting with the console itself is less impressive than it was last year as it looks like it would be easier to just use the controller, which defeats the purpose of Kinect entirely...I don't know what the hell Microsoft is thinking...

It seems like Microsoft and Nintendo switched places. While Microsoft was trying to damn hard to grab some casual gamer attention, Nintendo actually showed off a surprising amount of new games. Even more shocking is that most of these games are from franchises that the company has ignored on the Wii. The fact that Kirby, Donkey Kong, and Kid Icarus are getting high profile games alongside Metroid and Zelda is nothing short of mind blowing. The only thing they could have done to make this any better would have been holding off on revealing Mario Galaxy 2 last year and showing it now. Nintendo seemed to finally realize that they can target hardcore and casual gamers with their classic series and it paid off wonderfully. Even though I can't comment on the system, the way they handled the 3DS unveiling was just the icing on the cake. It truly was Nintendo's E3...

Sony managed to convince to buy a PS3 last year with they're comparatively stronger showings and its a purchase I haven't regretted yet. I've play my PS3 more in the past 6 months than I played the 360 in the two years I've had the thing. Sadly, Sony fell in the same trap Microsoft did, only they aren't in as deep. Only Twisted Metal was a true surprise announcement and everything else was shown beforehand. It doesn't speak well that the game I'm most excited for is The Sly Collection...a group of games released roughly 5 years ago. Sony's games are at least more interesting than Microsoft and I say that I'll actual try to play most of them. Their attempt at a Wii counterpart, The Move is somewhat more respectable as it appears to work much better than the Wii does and the games seem kinda interesting, but like Kinect it seems to be 4 years too late. Unless casual gamers with a Wii happen to also have a PS3 or 360, I don't really see the market for either motion control device. They still haven't given me a reason to get a PSP, although I think the thing has enough games that I could justify getting a used PSP...still better than anything Microsoft has come up with.

So in summation, E3 2010 was okay. Microsoft was the worst, no question asked. Some of Sony's games mentioned should be pretty good. And Nintendo did the reverse of the other two and give everyone what they want.

Score below is as follows.

CONFERENCE PLACING:
1st: Nintendo
2nd: Sony
3rd: Microsoft

E3 2010: Additional Game Impressions

Here's My quick thoughts on some additional games that were on display at E3 but not shown off during the conferences.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (3DS): The N64 classic and self proclaimed best game in the universe will be released on Nintendo's new handheld system. I never played the original game as I didn't get into the Zelda series until Wind Waker. All I've heard about this game is that its really good and the water temple is bitch, which apparently is going to be made a tad easier in this version.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Really..another Kingdom Hearts game? I love the series but they're really just stalling with the third game. We've already got a prequel coming on the PSP and two handheld titles that take place between the first and second games. Its unknown where in the timeline the game will take place in, but I'll probably play and at least the 3DS's analog nub will make the game more playable than the DS iteration of the series that came out last year.

Sonic Colors (Wii and DS): This looks like it takes what worked about the sonic levels in the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed and made them into their own game. Sonic has some power-ups to use that don't seem to impede the gameplay so is shaping up to be a pretty good title...lets just hope that Sega doesn't predictably mess this up...

Marvel vs Capcom 3 (PS3, Xbox 360): I guess this is the Vs. Capcom's series answer to Street Fighter IV. I don't play Marvel vs Capcom 2 that much but I might give this a shot when my fighting game friends get a hold of this.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 (Multiple Platforms): This is just further devaluing of the Star Wars series. The purpose of the first game's plot was to bridge the gap from the prequel series to the original movies so making a sequel to that seems kinda pointless...I did kinda like that game, so I'll check this one out in spite of my bitching...

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (Multiple Platforms): seems to play more like the DS games than an actual continuation of the original series, but I'm intrigued by the episodic content and my fondness for the series pretty much forces me to want to download this. If I had a choice between Sonic Colors or this, I'd guess I'd go with this one.

Okamiden (DS): I still need to finish the Wii version of Okami before I can even try this, but I like what played in that game and I hope this handheld version doesn't disappoint.

Mario Vs Donkey Kong: Miniland Mayhem (DS): Sadly, this game continues the Mini Mario gameplay that second game used...I want them to go back to the Donkey Kong Arcade style gameplay from the first game.

Star Fox 64 3D (3DS): WooHoo! I love Star Fox 64 and having a portable version of it is a dream come true. I don't know what will be added to the game other than 3d effects but I hope it doesn't mess up with what made the original game.

And so E3 2010 comes to a close...

E3 2010: Sony Impressions

Last one...After the unexpected domination of Nintendo at their conference, Sony's turn at bat was surprisingly disappointing. Not as bad as Microsoft's waste of space, but still pretty underwhelming. This mainly had to do with Sony not reveling anything that everyone was already aware of. There's still some games worth discussing though.

Killzone 3: I'm not sure what sets the Killzone series apart from other shooters on the market other than it being the only shooter franchise of any value on the Playstation systems. Everyone seems to be really excited for this one and I don't see much reason why. It looks pretty and some of the action is intense, but I have to say that don't like the Playstation controller for standard shooters, I'd much rather play it on X-Box...see I don't completely hate my 360....

The Sly Collection: I'm kinda pissed that Sony didn't dwell on this outside of an announcement that it was coming and it would in 3-D and be compatible with the Plystation move. The Sly Cooper series will be getting the God of War treatment by having it PS2 entries scaled to HD and released in a PS3 collection. I loved the Sly series and I can't wait for fourth entry in the series, but being able to play the older titles on the PS3 with thorphy support will be a the things that dreams are made of. The best part is that more of this collections are rumored to be coming. Keeping my fingers crossed for a Ratchet and Clank collection...

Playstation Move: Mircosoft's motion control device had a name change in the last year. Sony's device was just lucky enough to get a name. Like Kinect, the Move doesn't look any different or better than what was shown off last year. It offers full 1:1 motion control which is on par with what Wii motion plus can do and while the devices line-up of games is a lot less rip-offy than Kinect's offerings, they still aren't interesting enough to warrant a look. Sure, I think the Move is stronger than what the Wii offers, I just don't think the Market is there for it. The thing will launch this launch this September and there are bunch of different add-on devices to go with it.

Sorcery: Good job Sony! You made a Harry Potter game for the Move that looks even less interesting than they do.

Heroes on the Move: The idea behind this is somewhat intriguing. The game's a crossover between Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank, and Jak & Daxter and uses the Move to pull off attacks. from what was shown in the trailers, it looks like all the characters the do are their most basic attacks: Sly swings his cane, Ratchet swings his wrench, etc. I love two of the franchises on display here (piss off Jax...), so if I ever do get a Move, I'll have something to check out.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta: I knew that although God of War III is the final game in the series timeline, the franchise was just gonna do a Metal Gear Solid and release a bunch of games that take place at different points in the series history. This one takes place between the first and second game as Kratos is getting use to position as the new God of War. I don't have a PSP yet and I would have preferred that GOW III turely would have been the last of the franchise, but I might play this one.

Little Big Planet 2: I didn't like the first game, it came free with my PS3 (along with the amazing Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time) and just didn't live up to the hype and success that the franchise has garnered. The sequel looks like it could be an improvement. There's more customization options (no shock there), and the series is make a jump to cover more game genres than just platformers, so this one could be worth a look.

Portal 2: Like everyone else, I love Portal and although I want more, I don't really care for the notion of a full blown sequel. The first game was an independent masterpiece, taking a small idea an pushing it to its limits and working with little resources the development team had to its max. The sequel is getting a bigger team and seems to be going for the whole bigger is better idea that games stupidly fall for.

Final Fantasy XIV Online: I finally completed Final Fantasy XIII a few weeks ago, but that doesn't mean I'm icthing for more and it certainly doesn't mean I want that more to be an online game. I didn't like FF XI because it was online and my stance has changed here...didn't i say that last year? Oh well...

Gran Turismo 5: Again, I don't really have much interesting in racing outside of Mario Kart and Burnout so Gran Tursimo is pretty much a moot point to me. Looks really pretty though. Its stated for release nest year but given the infamous delays of the last game, I'm only interested in seeing rather or not it actually comes out.

Infamous 2: Infamous is on my list of Playstation exclusives that I need to play now that I own a PS3. Even though I haven't played that, I can't really say I'm excited for this and its for its for the dumbest reason...I can't stand Cole's new character design...his hair looks so damn out of place. Anyway the game's developer Sucker Punch also develops the Sly Cooper series and it goes without saying that I'd rather they make a new Sly game than new Infamous.

Twisted Metal: I've never played a game in this series before, but it looks cool, like a twisted version of Mario Kart. Not much was shown apart from some muliti player modes, but I could get into this.

And so E3 2010 ends...

Sonic Unleashed (PS3)

I’ll get this out of the way quickly, Sonic Unleashed is not a return to form for the series. Neither is it an awful game. It’s a decently made game, built on poor ideas, lingering annoyingly between good and bad in the ‘average’ department. Now, when you consider the pile of garbage that the last main Sonic game, 2006's "Sonic the Hedgehog" was, this is nothing but a good thing. It’s clear to see when hearing about the Hedgehog Engine, or how Sonic Team spent months designing Sonic stages that cover hundreds of virtual miles that Sonic Team haven’t lazed about this time. They definitely needed to prove after Sonic 2006 that they can create a well-produced, non-glitchy game and on that note, they succeeded. As well produced as Sonic Unleashed is, however, it can’t escape the fact that it’s concept, ideas and design are flawed. The game begins with an astoundingly beautiful opening cinematic in which Sonic and Dr. Robotnik are busy having their final showdown. As Sonic corners the Eggman and is about to bring him down, it turns out that the whole thing was a scam by the good doctor, who traps Sonic, corrupts the Chaos Emeralds, turns him into a werewolf and wakes up yet another Sonic Team-created Final Fantasy monster, Dark Gaia. It's as absurd as any other recent Sonic plot, but the difference here is that it never takes itself too seriously, using some childish slapstick and a more cartoon-like approach overall. While not exactly engaging, I enjoyed it...kinda. The new sidekick, Chip, is pretty likable even though his singular gimmick of perpetual hunger gets grating after a while.

Gameplay is roughly split in two halves, with Sonic the Hedgehog performing speed runs through daylight stages, and Sonic the Werehog tackling Gaia monsters in a platform brawler style at night. The Sonic levels are similar to most Sonic games. Sonic will smash through enemies, jump from rail to rail, home in on airborne enemies to cross chasms. It's all somewhat enjoyable once you get used to it. Smashing the square button to ram Sonic through a pile of enemies was a real rush, and being able to drift properly (when I was actually able to do it without dying) is a great accomplishment. However, irony rears its head as Sonic actually runs too damn fast sometimes and as a result, you’re not able to see obstacles and bottomless pits in time to react, unless of course, you know it’s there in the first place. It doesn't help that the levels suffer from poor design choices that hold the speed stages back (and get progressively worse as the game goes on).

The controls were not designed for intricate platforming, and the piss-poor design of some of the stages doesn't help matters. In fact, just after checkpoints one of the more broken levels (Spagonia's Rooftop Run Act II), you are given an extra life that appears every time you restart. The very fact that Sonic Team had to put that life in indicates that they knew how broken the stage was. Covering your own ass like that doesn't make up for the fact that the whole level is shattered in terms of design. Yet the game is able to make up for itself with such stages at Rooftop Run Act I, which is, to be honest, beyond breathtaking. There are moments in Sonic Unleashed where I felt absolutely magnificent, and as Sonic hits 300 in-game miles-per-hour, blasting through stages, leaping from spring to spring and running along walls, I found it hard to stay mad at the game. Until, of course, yet another broken section rears its ugly head.

As for the Werehog, he actually isn't too bad. Like Sonic's gameplay, The Werehog's game is also roughly split between enjoyment and hatred. At its core, the nighttime stages make for some simple but pleasant brawling, with Sonic able to pull off some great moves. However, the Prince of Persia like acrobatics simply don't work. The controls aren't responsive enough for these platforming sections, and I often found myself falling to your death thanks to sluggish movement, poor camera angles, or both. More often than not thought, the Werehog stages work pretty well as a brawler. The Werehog has access to some powerful and impressive moves, and also has an "Unleash" meter which, when filled, gives him a little extra edge in battle. It's certainly not as much fun as something like Devil May Cry, but it's fundamentally solid action.

I think I covered everything I wanted to. I had a lot of complaints but I was hoping not to sound like I completely hated the game. Odd mistakes and ignorant design choices have dashed this game's hopes of being anything more than a decent outing at best. By all means, I'd say play this game just to experience the high points, as they are worth experiencing. But this is one of the most Bipolar games I've played in recent memory.

Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing

I feel bad for ignoring this game for as long as I have. I mean the game has two kisses of death upon it: it heavily features Sonic and its a kart racer that star Mario characters, but the game actually manages to join the extremely small group of kart racers that could give Mario Kart a run for its money. The large cast of characters from Sega's history is delight despite the fact that I'm only familiar with the more recent franchises and it actually makes me wish that Nintendo would do something like this with their characters. The only downside to character selection is that the 360 version gets a third party bonus character in the form of Banjo-Kazooie, the Wii and PS3 get Miis and absolutely nothing, respectively. Also there are roughly 12 franchises on display in the form of playable characters, but there are 24 tracks to choose from and they only comes from the series of Sonic, Billy Hatcher, Super Monkey Ball, Samba De Amigo, Curien Mansion and Jet Set Radio. It's too bad that more series didn't have their own tracks and Sonic has 9 of em (all taking after Sonic Heroes) while the others have 3. It's not too big of a deal though, because these tracks are actually very well designed. Each one is unique and feels like the game their representing (like the loops in the Sonic tracks, or crazy twist and turns on Monkey Ball tracks) and all of them are a lot of fun to race on.

The A.I. is actually pretty smart as they are competitive and not only know how to use items, but they sometimes take short cuts too. Also unlike Mario Kart, it doesn't feel like A.I. is cheating...too much. Like every other kart racer, you can pick up items to destroy your opponents. The items are decent put there's nothing too special. There's a missile which locks on to your rivals, a boxing glove (kind of like the green shell from Mario Kart), and mines which you set behind you. However, each character has their own All-Star move which you only get if you're behind and can be used to catch back up. For instance, Sonic gets the chaos emeralds which he uses to turn into Super Sonic and knocks everyone out as he runs into them, Ryo ditches his motorcycle for a forklift and tosses everyone in the air. The main effect is mostly a boost but each have a unique side effect and the All-Star move in general is surprisingly not as unbalanced as you might think. One more thing this game offers is drifting, which you use to turn corners easier. Holding down the drift button will put you in a drift and will charge your turbo which gives you a boost upon release.

The game has some decent replay value thanks to the online option. It's fairly easy to jump in and play a few races, but I do have some problems with it, though. First off, there is a lobby and host system for the online, which feels completely unneeded. Second, you can only choose the course you want to play if you are the host. Why couldn't they have done what Mario Kart Wii does and let everyone vote on the track we all want to see? Also, the All Stars Special moves are not online for some reason. I don't know why, it would of been a nice option. Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing is an incredibly fun game and probably the biggest surprise I've had in of my expectations of a game.

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain is a difficult game to discuss. Partly, because Heavy Rain doesn't really act like a standard video game. Most reviews seem to be evenly split between those who think Heavy Rain's unique approach to storytelling qualifies it as one of the most innovative, imaginative games of all time and those who see Heavy Rain as little more than a typical B-movie masquerading as interactive entertainment. The game's basically the evolution of what Indigo Prophecy did a few years ago. It's an adventure game that works to immerse you in its story than to stump you with somewhat complicated puzzles. That gameplay element is still there, as the game often sticks you as one of its four main characters in some limited environment, and lets you walk around, examining and interacting with objects in the world. Sometimes things are simple, like taking a shower or making dinner and other times the situations are more extreme and you have to act quick.

Progressing in this game doesn't revolve around open exploration, but interacting with everyday objects via quick-time events. All you've got to do is follow the arrows on the screen. The tutorial level demonstrates this perfectly; you hold a control stick to get Ethan out of bed, shave and brush his teeth, etc. All you've got to do is get close enough to the object, and follow the prompt that appears. You can even hold a button to look through the characters' thoughts, which uncover more options and hints as to what you should do. By the time you've manipulated everything, you should have uncovered the next plot point. Even when you're not in control, the commands still show up during the cutscenes; rather than attacking an enemy, you'll have to follow a prompt to shoot or dodge. It takes a while to get used to the movement mechanics. Pressing a shoulder button lets the characters walk in whatever direction they're facing, and the analog stick can be used to turn their heads and move accordingly. It can be awkward, especially when you're in a cramped space and you're trying to focus on a single object. Even if you do get a handle on it, the characters move in a slow, almost drunken state. It's not horrendously bad, but it feels clunky compared to the quick-time events. You might pass up the item completely, forcing you to stumble around and try again. You might be facing the right direction, the game will occasionally ignore your inputs and force you to restart the animation sequence. It's annoying, especially when you've got to hold down multiple buttons at just the right time to work. These miscues rarely happen, but they are jarringly out of place in an otherwise well done experience.

I've spent a lot of time just talking about how the game works, though the most important factor to the experience working is the story and while it's not great, but not bad. The game's worth playing just to see this kind of story pan out in a game. It plays out like an eight hour suspense/mystery movie, and the fact that it doesn't completely fall apart under all that weight is something of an accomplishment. A few of the twists in the story seem a bit too forced, and certain twists later on make you feel like a lot of what you're doing was wasted and that you were lied to. But to the game's credit there are occasional moments that manage to strike emotional chords that most games are incapable of touching. Also I'm not sure the story was as dynamic as advertised. From what I can see from my experiences, the main plot seems pretty set in stone, with only the extraneous details being highly variable. The ending is basically thrown together as a result...but it still manages to be pretty good.

I guess the game's technical presentation is worth bringing up. Heavy Rain is a beautiful game, no doubt about it. Thematically, everything in the game is dark and the environments are a reflection of this which helps set the mood of each scene, but it can also make the game feel a bit bland at times. Unfortunately, the animations can be very, very stiff at times. Small clipping issues and the occasional texture hiccup can be pretty hard to ignore. The voice acting has its problems, although it's only really an issue because so much of the game is talking. A lot of the actors aren't bad, some even occasionally great, but almost all of them are clearly Europeans imitating American accents, some a lot worse than others. The musical score for this game is incredible. The music invokes emotions such as fear, anxiety, happiness, sadness, and tension. Ultimately, Heavy Rain is, despite its shortcomings, a game worth experiencing at least once.

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Like the first game, Crash 2 has also been taking up space on my PS3 hard drive since January. The only reason I shelled out some cash for more Naughty Dog garbage after being tortured by the first Crash game is because a lot of people informed me that the second game is a huge improvement over the first. I kinda have to agree, Crash 2 is the typical sequel that tries to fix any issues that plagued its original outing and...well...at least it's better than the first one. Crash 2 sets the standard in terms of how most of the latter non-Naughty Dog produced sequels would play out. They fixed the saving problem that destroyed the first game and kinda improved the level design, so I was actually able to finish this one. Crash can now slide, giving him a lower attack than the spin, and he can also pull off a belly flop. The world map has been replaced with a warp room, featuring five levels and a lift to the boss (or next floor if the boss is defeated). The bosses can't be fought again, but since they're barely challenging and not very good, it's no big lost.

There's more emphasis on collecting gems, whether by breaking all the crates in a stage, following a secret path or completing the Death Route, which are naturally full of nitro, TNT, pits, spikes and all kinds of devious hazards. I didn't do any of this. Like the first game, there are plenty of cheap deaths and stupid game play concepts. The god awful warthog riding stages have been replaced with baby polar bear riding stages that are only a tad less awful, and there are stages where Crash can ride motorised surfboards and jetpacks, which also suffer from poor controls. I think the problem with some of this may have to do with the fact that game doesn't use the analog stick, it uses the D-pad. Sure, the levels aren't fully 3D in the sense that you can't go that far to the left or right, but I think the controls might feel a little more responsive and less clunky if used the stick. This game is at least somewhat enjoyable, but I'm not going to look into the third game anytime soon as I'm convinced that Naughty Dog doesn't have much talent for platformers.

Crash Bandicoot

I lived in a Nintendo household growing up and didn't acquire a non-Nintendo system until 2004, when I got my PS2. There was a huge backlog of PS1 titles that I missed and with the PS3's downloadable service, I'm able to check out what I've been missing. Crash Bandicoot was the Playstation's Mario equivalent, back when it was pretty much required for all systems to have one. It was made by Naughty Dog, the same people who would go on to make the those tolerable Jak and Daxter games. The Crash series went on without them and people have been complaining that the series was better in their care, but taking on their initial outing with the Bandicoot, I found a game that wasn't even worth completing! This game has been taking up space on my PS3's hard drive since early January, and while I normally won't talk about something on this blog without completing it (or in the case of stuff I already owned - replaying it), This game is just too unplayable to warrant even that.

Crash Bandicoot is a like a 3D Super Mario World or Donkey Kong Country. In fact, it's kinda what Mario 64 would have been like it had just took Mario World and put it in 3D. The gameplay is simplistic and kinda enjoyable, barely complicated at all. However the level designs are just pure shit and feature tons of cheap deaths and this is greatly elevated by the fact that it's in 3D and the camera is low. The controls are stiff and feature some of the clunkiest jumping I've seen in a platformer and combining this with poor level design and low camera turns stage progression into a nightmarish game of trail and error. Even when the game shows presents the action from a 2D perspective, the ledges are rarely more than one block wide, so if you happen to accidentally move up or down, you're likely dead. Then there are the stages where Crash rides a Warthog and dies when the damn thing runs into the tiniest little pebble on the ground...and the shit controls don't make that any better.

But you know, even with all that the game wouldn't be too much trouble to muscle through if it wasn't for the game's truly fatal flaw. The greatest problem in a game filled with annoyances is that it simply won't let you save. To save your progress or get a password, you can either complete a Tawna bonus stage and you can only do a bonus area once per level, so if you want to save again you'll actually need to find another level with a bonus area and of course the game doesn't inform you of what stages have them and if they've been completed. The other method of saving is to get a gem. That option is ruined by the fact that you must destroy all boxes in a stage without dying to get a gem and I've already covered how horrendous the levels are. It's a shame, if I was simply allowed to save when I wanted, I would have at least been able to persist to the game's end, but now it just left me wondering how this series ever got off the ground.

God Of War

I can't tell if my opinion was affected by the tons of praise this got. It's definitely a good game. But at the time this came out, I really can't see how it earned the title of PS2 Game of the Year over Shadow of the Colossus or Resident Evil 4. And more recently, I'm completely baffled at this game being awarded best PS2 game ever over games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and or the Ratchet and Clank series. Anyway, God of War is a very fun game. A lot of people say that the combat is what makes this game so great, but it isn't why I like it though. Yeah, the fighting looks cool, but anyone can pull off a sweet looking combo. Just because the animations look nicer doesn't make your combat deeper than a normal button masher. I will admit that the fighting is very fluid and rewarding and as you progress you become more powerful as the game goes on. There's fairly good enemy variety, with things like centaurs and sirens and plenty of undead soldiers, although most of them come off as annoying little shits that do nothing but swarm around you and piss you off .

The story was more interesting than I expected, accomplishing its goal of helping us understand Kratos a bit more, but what I really liked were the game's set pieces, although even that was a bit uneven at times. The Temple of Pandora section of the game was brilliantly designed, really pulling off the feel of an epic, hazardous dungeon. In complete contrast to that, right before the temple section, the game figures the most entertaining thing you could do to enter the temple is to force you to slowly plod around a huge empty desert searching for sirens that you can you barely hear. I really want to slap the game designer that came up with that. But that somewhat short nightmare is nothing compared the last act of the game, starting in Hades. They were just lazy and braindead here, instead of making what could have been a really cool area, they just threw a bunch of enemies and idiotic spinning spike hazards at you, and it really isn't fun or interesting. After that you enter the final fight against Ares, and the whole showdown with him is no good. After the excitement of the first two boss fights, Ares is just a cheap twat who blocks all of your attacks and the final phase of the fight is more about luck than actual skill. So, God of War is a fun game. It's certainly one of the better PS2 games out there, but its far from the best.

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time

I think I've more than satisfied my Ratchet & Clank fix, what with me playing the entire Future arc to 100% completion in under a month. A Crack in Time is easily the best of the PS3 entries, and probably my favorite game in the series after Up Your Arsenal. The PS3 games didn't do much to reinvent the series. Really, they just upped the graphics and decided to tell a more engaging storyline, but the core gameplay that's been more or less the same since the second game "Going Commando" is still enjoyable. I know I've said this before but the Ratchet games, like the Mario games, are games that can released every couple of years and I'll be happily obliged to play them. At this point the Ratchet gameplay isn't as engrossing as it used to be but A Crack in Time came pretty close to wowing me like the older games did.

A Crack in Time, for the most part concludes the story that began in Tools of Destruction and was pretty much glazed over in Quest for Booty, about the origins of both the titular heroes. The majority of the game splits off between taking control of Ratchet and playing as Clank by his lonesome. Clank gets about four levels to himself throughout the duration of the game, and for the better half of the game, the two stay separated. Clank gains the power to control time as he can toss time bombs that slow down fast-moving platforms and he also uses a temporal staff that will allow him to reflect enemy attacks back at baddies as well as fix broken down machines. But, the meat and potatoes of Clank's stages are the special time puzzles. These are rather clever as they have Clank recording copies of himself to perform actions such as stepping on a button to open a door or lower platforms. It's very ingenious how the puzzles work and they increase in difficultly very smoothly and the tougher ones succeed in making you feel smart without being too frustrating. Its a shame then, that the main puzzles stopped right when they were really getting good. Overall though Clank's solo portions of the game are much stronger than the controlling robots/zoni gameplay they normal stick him with.

Meanwhile, Ratchet does the usual thing of going to various planets, gaining various weapons and blowing everything up. His gameplay is just as solid as its always been, though I wish there was bit more enemy variety. The space exploration from select previous entries has returned in a big way. Instead of directly traveling to each planet they're grouped into small sectors that can be flown through. Apart from a few space battles, this portion of the game mostly exists to explore the tiny spherical planets that house the game's many, many bonus items and they're a joy to search for. The Ratchet and Clank games have always been good at motivating me in searching every nook and cranny for every tiny little bonus.

The story is intriguing and though a few things are left unresolved by the game conclusion, I felt that it was fairly epic close to this chapter of the franchise. There were plenty of surprises in the plot to keep me interested and entertained and there is some legitimately strong subject matter this time around and it handled surprisingly well. While I've never found the Ratchet and Clank games to be that hilarious, there were parts that made me laugh. The return of Dr Nefarious, one of my favorite characters in the series, was a treat even if his ultimate scheme wasn't that impressive and Captain Quark is always good for a cheap laugh or two. I'm not sure what's next for Ratchet and Clank, what with there being talks that this is either the final game in the Future arc or the final game overall. While I hope to see more from the series, I'll be somewhat satisfied if this is the last they ever do.

Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest For Booty (Review)

I really don't know how to feel about this one. Quest For Booty is a downloadable installment to the Ratchet & Clank Future saga, meant to bridge the gap between Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time. Upon it's original release it was also suppose to tide people over for a whole year until ACIT was released and I think I would've have enjoyed it a lot more if I had been able to play back then instead of having to play it solely to gain full comprehension of the Future saga's narrative. I understand that Quest for Booty wasn't made to be the next big installment in the series, but even though it was a quick and enjoyable few hours of standard Ratchet fun, I still couldn't help but feel...underwhelmed.

As a roughly two hour outing, the experience is a bit more narrow and guided. You start the game with a select few weapons (none new, all of them are from Tools of Destruction), and after the first stage, they're all taking away and you slowly earn them back as the story progresses. You don't have to buy any of them (except for a bonus weapon for the last level) and they start off partially upgraded so not much effort going to weapon experience department. The game's actually pretty disappointing in this area as well as not being able to fully explore any of the levels, but the game design is still strong enough to overlook the limitations they placed on the gameplay for this outing.

The gameplay is actually a little more focused on platforming and puzzles than the usual, but with few exceptions, this shift in focus works mostly in the game's favor. In addition, the game is a bit more focused on the cut scenes and progressing what little story there is here forward. Usual you're allowed to goof off for a bit after completing an mission, but here you're thrown around from one interesting event to another, with some expeditionary cut scenes and some entertaining hand-drawn map screen images and somewhat amusing narrations thrown in for measure. Oddly enough, not much actually happens in terms of the story apart form a cliffhanger ending that reintroduces one my favorite characters in the franchise and sets things up for the saga's big finish. The game is not as good as proper Ratchet release, but I guess it does what it sets out do well and its a decent little time waster.

Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Review)

So, I finally got a Playstation 3 and now I'm having to backtrack and play all the exclusive games I wanted to play for the system. Ratchet & Clank is right up there with Mario as one of my favorite series and its the series I've been dying to sink my teeth back into as these PS3 entries have been released. 2005's Deadlocked was last new Ratchet game I played, but since that game acts mostly as spin-off, then 2004's Up Your Arsenal was the last proper Ratchet game I got my hands on so I've been in desperate need of a Ratchet fix. Tools of Destruction, as the first entry for the PS3, is really nothing more than a graphical upgrade and a very good one at that. The folks at Insomniac are very good at making the most out of a system's hardware and the PS3 more than excels at highlighting the Ratchet universe's distinctive visual style. However, the trade-off for the shiny new graphics seems to be that there are a few more glitches than we're used to seeing in the series though. Some enemies won't disappear form the terrain or get stuck in it when they're defeated and occasionally the controls lock up for a few seconds which result in a few cheap shots and deaths here and there.

Other than that though, the game plays just like it predecessor. The gameplay isn't as awe-inspiring as it has been before, but its still an incredibly satisfying outing. The one thing I kept hearing about this game was that the difficulty was too easy, although I did see that from time to time, there were definitely some rough patches noticeably near the end of the game and trying to upgrade all the weapons wasn't a walk in the park. Anyway, running around, blowing up everything and collecting experience is just as fun as it has been in the past, but it's hard to not admit that we've all done this before. Tools of Destruction has a few problems that harm the overall experience, but it's easily one of the more enjoyable games I've played in a while.

Best Games of 2009

2009 was a relatively decent year in games or at least it was in terms of what I played. My lack of job meant I couldn't try out many new titles and my lack of a PS3 until just last week ensured I was unable to play the system that seemed to have the best year as far as exclusives were concerned. The Wii and 360 had almost nothing to offer in terms of big titles...well the 360 actually had two Halo games, but I have no interest in that series. There was a pretty strong showing for multi-platform releases and I guess any year that gives me a proper Mario game and a Ratchet and Clank title couldn't be all bad. Now that I've got a job and PS3 maybe I can go back and play some of the year's big releases.

Best Games of 2009

5. [Prototype] (Multi-Platform)

Though the missions get repetitive and the difficulty somewhat spirals out of control in the last few missions, this is a pretty fun open world game. The sheer variety of moves that you can unlock and preform is staggering and something as simple as traversing the city is a blast. This game is often compared to PS3 game Infamous, but since I haven't played that yet I can't really say which is the better anti-hero game, but Prototype is a solid action game.

4. Metroid Prime Trilogy (Nintendo Wii)

I wasn't sure at first whether to count this, as it sort of seems like cheating. I haven't reviewed it yet, and I'm not going to cover it as a single package. After all, it's not one game, it's three, All of which I've already played before. But even with the old content, I still got more fun out of it than most of what I played this year. Metroid Prime is still one of my favorite games of all time,. A fun shooter with a wonderful atmosphere. Metroid Prime 2 is still kind of a letdown with it overuse of backtracking, and Metroid Prime 3 makes up for the second game and is fun closure to great trilogy. Sure I'm kind of cheating, but The Metroid Prime Trilogy is the best gaming value you can get for your money this year.

3. New Super Mario Bros Wii (Nintendo Wii)

This is a pretty personal choice, as New Super Mario Bros Wii didn't do anything to push the franchise forward, it's just another solid entry in one of my favorite series. The game is kind of lazy in the sense that it doesn't have any new ideas of own, it just reuses old standbys from the series's past. The new items are fun and the co-op mode, while annoying at times is fun in a screw around with your friends way. It's not the best Mario game, but its certainly a fun one.

2. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

Ratchet & Clank is right up there with Mario as one of my favorite franchises, so luckily I had a friend with a PS3 who bought the game and though I didn't complete it, I was still able to play enough of it to gather my opinion of it. A Crack in Time doesn't alter the gameplay formula of the series, it just continues the run of gaming goodness that the series excels at. It had been some time since I played a new Ratchet game (2005's Deadlocked was the last for me), but I settled right into the groove as soon as the game started, blowing up everything in sight, collecting experience, and just having a fun time. I've got a PS3 now and I'm working through the earlier PS3 Ratchet entries and I must say this series is still a treat.

1. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo DS)

And the best game of year is actually a handheld title. The Mario & Luigi series has always been a strong series and this third outing may easily be the best. The Mario RPGs have always allowed the writers to throw the Mario cast into bizarre scenarios and Bowser's Inside Story may be the most bizarre. The narrative goes in so many strange and wonderful directions and its all surprisingly funny. The combat is more involved than most RPGs on the market and getting to actually fight as King Bowser is more fun than it has any right to be. It's a very enjoyable experience I think that there should more games as unique as this.

Jak 3 (Review)

Right off the bat, Jak 3 is loads better than Jak 2. This statement feels odd for me because Jak 3 doesn't really fix any of the major problems from the previous game. At least unlike Jak 2, this game doesn't add any more painful problems in addition to what's caused frustration in the past. I find it relatively shocking that Naughty Dog has pretty much let any and almost all criticisms of the first two titles go unnoticed. The only thing that got some form of improvement here was the slight (and I mean slight) increase in checkpoints and the less crowded Haven City which was a hell of a lot easier to traverse now.

I'm being a little hard on Jak 3, but I actually did enjoy it. All of the problems from before are still here, but they are somewhat less frustrating than they were in the past and the game manages to be pretty fun and rewarding. The game wraps up the trilogy's storyline pretty well and the characters who are introduced are fun and probably the most fully realized characters in the series. The dialogue is less painful and forced except for Jak himself, who still sounds like a stock wannabe action hero. The game's attempts at actual humor are more successful; the cutscene that reveals the Precrussors being the highlight. Perhaps most intriguing, you can unlock commentary for a lot of the cutscenes. They're pretty interesting and shows the developers' love for their series and makes you appreciate some of the work they did. Overall though, The Jak and Daxter games really could've been handled better, but apart from Jak 2, it's a pretty fun series (overlooking some annoyances).

Jak 2 (Review)

I remember playing this when I was younger. I finished it and sorta enjoyed it, but I found it too frustrating to fully embrace so I traded it in to my game store. I just recently bought the game back and after running through the game again, I can clearly see why I gave it away before. Jak 2 is a departure from the first game in tone and in gameplay. The bright cheery world and characters are replaced with a dark distopian future and Jak himself has been transformed into a wannabe badass. The Mario 64 elements from the first game are also replaced by a pretty bad attempt at a Grand Theft Auto clone. To the game's credit, the change in tone sort of works. The story is interesting and the characters are...tolerable. Daxter is probably the highlight as his dialogue can oftentimes be hilarious, though sometimes he can off as grating.

The gameplay change, however is extremely clunky. Getting around Haven City is an unbelievable nightmare as it is, without a doubt, one of the most convoluted game environments I've ever seen. Paths diverge wildly, loop around three or four times to get from one major street to another, and are so crowded it's virtually impossible to drive through without accidentally hitting someone or something. The Krimson Guard that patrol the streets function as the GTA equivalent of cops, and the slightest bump into one of them or their vehicles brings their full ire on top of you. Vehicles are difficult to control through the tight, winding paths and they're so congested with traffic that it's easy to get your car destroyed or run into other people. Worst of all (and without question one of the worst parts of the game) are the racing missions which control poorly, are way too strict (you can die in these races), drag on longer than they have any right to, and have little to no baring on the actual storyline. I swear these races made me want to chuck my controller at the screen.

The platforming is still present but they're in their own sections outside the confines of the shitty city. The platforming sections are well-designed if often put off by the game's irritants, although the integration of guns into the Jak and Daxter formula is done better than I expected. Enemies are still in cheap as hell locations and your guns have really bad auto targeting. Also, when you die, the game remembers the ammo and power-ups you used up, but respawns all the enemies and obstacles...this is such a well thought out game. Really... someone should have playtested this game a little more. Jak 2 is a constant battle between love and hate. It has it moments, but its just too damn frustrating to truly be enjoyable.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Review)

Jak and Daxter kicked of a trio of high profile platformer series for the Playstation 2, the latter two series being Ratchet & Clank and Sly Cooper. I've played the later Jak and Daxter games, but it sure took me a while to get around to playing The original outing. This game didn't really change my opinion of the series though. Now don't get me wrong, I think it's a solid platformer, but I just can not figure out why some people believe this series is better than Ratchet or Sly. The only think Jak has over Sly is writing and storyline, while the storyline manages to be the only thing to trump Ratchet (well...the PS2 entries in the series anyway). The Jak and Daxter games are just more frustrating, suffer from imprecise controls, and are just less polished...sort of.

The first game is more of standard platformer in comparison to the sequels. It's sort of a hybrid of Crash Bandicoot and Super Mario 64. Developer Naughty Dog gave Jak and Daxter pretty much all the same moves they gave Crash when they developed that series, while the gameplay has you going around doing various tasks to earn orbs that allow you to move on to next level a la Mario 64. While the game gets the job done, there are some things that shouldn't have made through the testing phase, such as the double jump which seems to be too specific about it's timing, a picky-ness that sent me to my death more times than necessary. Most enemies serve no other purpose than to piss you off when you're trying to do other things and the enemies are fairly often placed in cheap as hell locations. It also doesn't help that Jak has a stupid method of restoring health. He can take 3 hits before he dies, but can regain one health point by collect 50 green eco orbs that, while plentiful, oddly takes too damn long to full up and makes death seem like faster option to get your health back.

Okay, I'm being a little hard on the game... despite all this bitching, I really did enjoy this game. It just that all those annoyances really make it hard to not be a little irritated will going through it. The world Naughty Dog has created is colorful and fun to run around in. The story and characters, while not on par with the sequels, are somewhat entertaining and actually managed to make me laugh sometimes, though the game is definitely not as clever as it thinks. The game could have been developed a bit more, but it's still a solid platformer.

Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (Review)

There isn't much to say about this. Klonoa 2 is pretty much exactly the same as the original PS1/ Wii remake game. There aren't any new abilities or power-ups to nab, the story brings up some of the same themes and character motivations as the first, and apart from the surfing/snowboarding levels, you could switch one world from this game with a world from the first and never know the difference. Klonoa 2 pretty much feels like an expansion pack for the first game, and since that game was fairly charming that works out quite well here. Klonoa still has his unique enemy chucking ability and his still useless floating jump. The only thing that got somewhat of an upgrade were the bosses who now kinda put of a fight...it's not much but it's there. Klonoa 2, like the first game, is just a easy, well-made, fun little diversion.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge (Review)

It's somewhat interesting how The Nightmare Before Christmas became a mega-cult hit in America roughly over a decade after it's initial release. Now-a-days its the go to franchise for the emo/goth crowd and the movie itself has become a lot more noteworthy to casual audiences. I've only seen the film twice before, largely due to the interest from the film's inclusion in the Kingdom Hearts series. In Japan, the fandom of the movie never really died down so it comes to no big surprise that Capcom decided to make a game based off of it. The game acts as a sequel taking place one year after the events of the movie. Jack, still longing after something different, decides to go out in search of new scares again. Before departure, Dr. Finklestein gives Jack the Soul Robber, a gooey whip that can stretch out and change shape. But, when Jack returns to Halloween Town, he finds that the towns changed for the worse. While absent, Lock, Shock and Barrel have sewn Jack's nemesis Oogie Boogie together again and he is lusting for revenge(as you can tell from the game's title). The story and writting is pretty stale and bare-bones, but it is at least tolerable due to the admirable voice acting. A few of the the original VAs returned, Chris Saradon is Jack, Ken Page is Oogie Boogie, and the characters who have new voices are quite similar to the originals.

The game is a modified version of Capcom's own Devil May Cry series and the game doesn't do much to hide this. Like DMC, the levels are presented as a series of chapters, each of which is relatively short consisting nothing more than killing a horde enemies and maybe fighting a boss. There's a version of DMC's “Style Ranking”, where constant attack combos result in a “coolness title” that will increase upon scoring more and more hits on opponents. And at the end of each level, the game tallies up how well you did in four categories (damage, time, surprise, and max combo), then assigns an overall ranking. It doesn't do any of this as well as Devil May Cry, but it did it well enough to ensure I was at least mildly entertained til the end. The thing that really sticks out for the game are the Boss Battles which act as musical numbers...of course, what would Nightmare Before Christmas be without some singing and dancing? The songs are modified versions of songs from the film (only one song is brand new) and during the fight you collect notes as you hit the boss, grab enough and everyone will start dancing while you press onscreen buttons to inflict massive damage. The songs and dancing sequences are the only part of the game I really like and helped the game stand on it's own a little better. Mega-fans of the movie will get a lot more mileage with this game than most people. The game is solidly put together despite most of it being copy and pasted from others and it applies the Nightmare Before Christmas brand pretty well. It's just an overall good game.

E3 09: Best Games

Okay, this is my last E3 09 post. I decided to end this by listing my ten favorite games that appeared at E3 this year. This includes any game announced or mentioned during the press conferences or games that were said to be on display on the show floor.

These are the 10 games I'm most excited for and the list is in no real order.

1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
2. New Super Mario Bros Wii
3. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
4. No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle
5. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
6. Metroid: Other M
7. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
8. God of War III
9. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
10. Crackdown 2

And that's most of what I want that I found out at E3 this year.