It's Coming

Seriously. I have content coming. Valkyria Chronicles completely destroyed my resolve to do much else for the last month. I played through it twice because I liked it so much. It single-handedly justified my purchase of a PS3, and I've had some interesting thoughts as a result of playing it that I'd like to write about in the not too distant future. In the meantime, I have an article about inFamous forthcoming (seriously, I actually have a decent chunk of it written), and then a discussion on avatars afterward. I also want to write up a few editorials somewhere during it all about the Final Fantasy series and perhaps a piece about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Hopefully no other video games will devour my time and attention the way Valkyria Chronicles did before I get all this finished.

Sidenote: It is kind of nice hopping into the current generation of consoles so late because I can get the great games that came out more than a year ago on the cheap. I just bought the first Uncharted and BioShock for a combined total of less than fifty bucks.

Sidenote 2, the sequel: The next Valkyria Chronicles game will be on the PSP. Guess I'll have to make another investment...

Blog Status Update

I was writing a review for Dragon Quest V when I realized my reviews don't tell readers anything that they can't find someplace else. Another problem is the fact that I only play the games I want to play which is a strength and a shortcoming in doing a blog. Any review I would write would already say, "the game is good," and "I like it," and "and the game is worth playing" because obviously I'd not play it if it weren't. I'm going to need to change the scope when I talk about a game. My "fix-it" scheme is vague right now, but I have some ideas keeping me awake at night.

In short: reviews have been nixed and I'm going to replace them with something similar, but different...I just need to figure that out...

As a result, I'm not going to talk about Dragon Quest V or Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon since it was nearly a year ago that I played them. They're not fresh in my head anymore. However, I will say Dragon Quest V is fantastic, and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon will only appeal to fans of the series/genre.

Soon I'll talk about inFamous.

Playing Valkyria Chronicles now, and it consumes me. More on that later too.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Blog Status Update

Not much to say for this entry.

I played New Super Mario Bros. Wii at my sister's house for a few hours tonight. Though it is quite difficult at times, it is fun. A lot of fun. I'll withhold criticism until I play it in its entirety.

I'm almost finished with all of my grad school applications, and I'll have a lot of content forthcoming. Here is a list of what to expect:

Reviews

• Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
• Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
• inFamous
• Flower
• Ghostbusters (PS3)

Articles

• The Final Fantasy series, and Final Fantasy XIII
• Retrospect: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Upcoming Games I Want, 2010 Edition
• Editorial: Separation Anxiety

I also have Valkyria Chronicles waiting patiently for me.

Soon...

The Best Game of the 00 Decade

Here it is! The best game I've played over the last ten years.

1. Okami

I'd been keeping an eye on Clover Studios' Okami for a few years before I finally had the disc in my PS2. That two year wait was worth it as Okami blew me right off my feet when I revived the first Guardian Sapling and watched as life and color erupted forth on the screen. I played constantly over the next week and a half. Everything the game has to offer - story, visuals, music, and gameplay - are all top notch. However, the most noticeable aspect is the sumi-e inspired visuals which give Okami a very distinct, water-color look that is absolutely breathtaking in motion, and the mesh of Eastern and Western classical music only adds to the effect. The gameplay offered one new system with the Celestial Brush that allowed you to manipulate "the very fabric of existence" in order to solve puzzles, battle foes, and help NPCs, and, though fighting most of the bosses multiple times throughout the game was somewhat tiresome, each boss fight was epic and intense. Finally, Okami's story, while serious in nature, is underscored by a quirky charm that keeps the player from feeling bogged down in all the darkness spreading across the world. I even found myself a bit choked up at the end, not only because it was touching, but because I was about to leave behind the world and characters I had grown so fond of behind. With the developer, Clover Studios, closing their doors after the the game's North American release I thought I would never again get to experience the joy of running full speed through Shinshu and Ryoshima again. However, thanks to some dedicated designers at Capcom, a sequel for the DS is in the works. I'm sure it won't be the same without the original creative talent behind it, but I'll take it if it means I get to experience the world of Amaterasu once again.

A Little Sidenote: Which version of Okami I prefer is a toss-up. The PS2 has tighter, more responsive controls, but after playing the Wii version with its brighter colors and widescreen support, I doubt I could go back to the PS2 version.

Top 10 Video Games of the 00 Decade, Part Deux

As I continue my rundown of what I consider the best games of the last decade, I've noticed how predictable my gaming tastes are. Maybe I should broaden my horizons?

5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was one of the most controversial games of the last decade. Not because it is immoral or violent, but because Nintendo decided to drastically overhaul the art style from the series' previous 3D incarnations; a move which put gamers in a frenzy about Link's new "kiddy" look. But the cartoonish, cel-shaded visuals actually masked the very serious nature of Wind Waker's plot. Though the game is relatively short and easy, and traversing its vast ocean became tiresome, the minimalist story about the fall of the land of Hyrule kept me on the edge of my seat. Finally, the series showed its maturity thanks to the sympathetic portrayal of Ganondorf, the series' main antagonist, and the discovery of the source of his lust for power. I must also give it credit for breaking what has become known as the "The Zelda Formula" which its successor, Twilight Princess, failed to do.

4. Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime was one-half of Nintendo's successful relaunch of the Metroid series. Many gamers, including myself, were worried about the series' first foray into the third dimension when Nintendo announced Metroid Prime would play from a first-person perspective as that led us to believe it would turn into a space shooter more akin to the Dooms, Unreals, and Halos of the world rather than the atmospheric, exploratory nature of its predecessor, Super Metroid. However, Retro Studios delivered as Metroid Prime surpassed our best expectations with its fantastic setting, ambient soundtrack, and subtly told story on top of being one of the best shooter experiences found anywhere. But calling Metroid Prime a shooter is to sadly misclassify it. Most of the game is spent solving environmental puzzles, and finding out which way to go next. After all, "Evil must be eliminated, but first it must be found."

3. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Square Enix's flagship Dragon Quest series is an odd cultural phenomenon. It's hard to ascribe what exactly makes this series so great. For example, Dragon Quest VIII's, plot and gameplay are more similar to a game one would play in the early 90s. While other RPG series were moving away from the tried and true turn-based battle systems, Dragon Quest VIII embraced it. Those gamers with an epic mindset (the main story takes around 70 hours to complete with easily 100 more hours for completionists) played it, and loved it anyway. Though it played like a Super Nintendo RPG, it stood out thanks to its extremely high productions values. Most noticeable are the visuals. The world is gigantic and beautiful with its vivid color palette, soaring vistas, and fantastic map design. This coupled with a fully symphonic soundtrack and the best voice-acting on the PS2 made the Dragon Quest series a hit outside of its native Japan for the first time. Being the hero never looked or sounded so good.

2. Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus is one of the most interesting specimens developed in the 2000s. Calling it a game hardly does it justice because it is so different than what one would expect from video games. There's the player and their horse, the vast world, and a grand total of sixteen huge Colossi to defeat. There isn't much else to the game aside from a few small lizards and some fruit of an indeterminate type. Yet the game is completely engaging despite its sparsity thanks, similarly to Dragon Quest VIII, to its amazing map design that offers the player with a living world full of forests, canyons, and lakes to traverse in order to find and destroy the elusive Colossi. All of this to return life to the protagonist's deceased lover. The story may sound cliche, but Shadow of the Colossus is beautiful and the emptiness of the landscape only adds to its emotional impact right up to the unexpected denouement. No other game makes a better argument about the artistry of video games than Shadow of the Colossus.

So what is my favorite game of the last ten years? I bet the world wants to know (yea right!), but the suspenseful conclusion of my list must wait! Not because I want to create tension, but because I'm tired and I'm going to bed.

Top 10 Video Games of the 00 Decade, Part 1

Seriously? A top ten list? Could I be any more cliche? Probably not, but the zero-zero decade brought us some fantastic games in spite of concerns many had that the gaming industry would stagnate. It is also the decade where 3D became the true standard for video games, and then retrograde to "classically" designed games one would expect to find on the NES and not systems capable of rendering extremely realistic three-dimensional detail.

Of course, my list is limited to the games I actually played over the last ten years.

10. Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Bros. Melee made an even better argument than its predecessor that players could enjoy beating down with their favorite Nintendo characters. Not only that, but I found I still prefer it to its sequel due to a slightly better physics engine and more responsive controls. It is still fun, furious, addictive, and the best party game I've played this decade.

9. Chrono Cross

Most either love or hate Square's sequel to Chrono Trigger due to the minimalist connection it had with its predecessor as well as the drastically different battle system. But, to those willing to look at the game as its own game and not as a sequel, found a game that is definitely worth their time. One need only watch the opening cinema to know the game possesses one of the best soundtracks found anywhere. The game also has a very complex, emotional story with some fantastic character development. Finally, the game's "real" ending was more mature and compelling than many developmentally more mature games that have come since.

8. Mega Man 9

Except for perhaps the New Super Mario Bros. games, Mega Man 9 is probably the most popular example of the retro trend that has become prominent in the last few years. It is very much an NES game, and that's what Capcom intended. They even went so far as to make some horrible box art in the vein of the game's twenty year old predecessors. Not only is the game novel, but it's fun, difficult, hilarious, and completely addictive with its tough level design and fantastic 2 channel music. It is easily the best Mega Man game since the release of Mega Man X4, and for only ten bucks it is a bargain at that.

7. Fire Emblem

Fire Emblem was an anticipated release from 2003. Many gamer's interests were piqued by the inclusion of Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Nintendo obliged everyone's curiosity by releasing the seventh game in the Fire Emblem series internationally. What gamers found was a challenging turn-based strategy game with a huge, colorful cast. It also turned into quite the adventure for a Game Boy Advance game with around 30 hours of play time and tremendous replay value.

6. Riviera: The Promised Land

Riviera: The Promised Land was a fairly low-key title that shot under many gamers' radars both times it was released, but I still find it to be the best the Game Boy Advance had to offer. The world is downright gorgeous as all of the environments and sprites were hand drawn and spanned from the gates of Asgard to the Underworld. The battle system, story, and characters were all top-notch, and the game even had some voice-acting in particular scenes and during battles. I'm still amazed the developer, St!ng, could fit so much awesome onto a Game Boy Advance cartridge.

That's it for the first half of my list. I'll post the other half within the next few days.

Playstation 3!

I did it! I purchased a Playstation 3 on Black Friday through Amazon! It should be here on Tuesday along with inFamous and Killzone 2. I'm not interested in the latter game, so it will likely end up being sold back through GameStop. The in-store credit I get will go toward the purchase of something else; I only need to decide what! Muramasa? Batman: Arkham Asylum? Dragon Age Origins? I'll have to figure it out when it happens, but inFamous should keep me entertained for a while. Still, I have those grad school applications hanging over my head, so I can't get too carried away yet, but soon I'll get this blog into full gear (after a year!). Pretty soon I'll write up reviews for the only "new" games I've played this year: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. As well as an updated list of games I'm looking forward to playing.

I've noticed games are more expensive for the PS3 (actually, I think I knew, but forgot until I bought one), so I will have to make my game purchases more selective. Perhaps it is time to subscribe to GameFly?

I Failed, but have Returned!

I haven't updated in almost 10 months! I fail miserably yet again. However, I must cite the excuse of my honor's thesis consuming my time all Spring and not playing anything particularly interesting over the summer, but there are tons of new games for me to check out and write about when the time comes. I did manage to play both Dragon Quest V, and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon earlier this year and will have reviews forthcoming...hopefully soon. I say this because I'm still not quite out of the woods. I spent the last month and a half studying for the GRE and will probably spend a lot of time over the next month getting grad school applications together. As soon as that is finished I'll finally purchase a Playstation 3, as well as get back into games. But I'll still try to find some time to, at long last, get this blog going.

I Fail!

I have had the time to update, but not the motivation. I need to get to work on my honors thesis at school, and probably won't be updating too much for a while. I've also realized that the honors thesis will consume a lot of time, and I won't have much energy for playing Ar Tonelico since I'll likely be replaying The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for a while as it is probably going to be the subject of the aforementioned thesis. I will definitely be posting still, just not as frequently as I had hoped.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is still definitely on my radar, and I will be playing it when it is released in a few weeks.

2009 PS3 and XBox 360 Games I'm Watching

As I've mentioned numerous times already, I don't own either an XBox 360 or a Playstation 3. Regardless, there are games coming this year for both systems that I would like to play. As in the previous post, all screenshots come from 1UP.com.

Street Fighter IV

System: PS3, XBox 360, Arcade
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
ESRB Rating: T (ages 13 and up)
Release Date: 02/17/09

Street Fighter IV is actually almost upon us! Had it not been for the Street Fighter series, many of the other fighting game franchises like Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and etc., probably wouldn't be what they are today. Street Fighter II is still considered one of, if not the best fighting game ever made, and it was released in 1992!

Street Fighter IV is the series' first try at 3D, but only in terms of character models and environments; it will retain 2D styled gameplay. Those who've never played a Street Fighter might consider the decision to retain the series' classic gameplay and not venture into a true third dimension a poor decision, but this also means there won't be any growing pains in transitioning to 3D. One of the great things about Street Fighter is that it has always been a pretty easy series to pick up, play, and enjoy, with plenty to master for the truly hardcore.

In terms of "new" gameplay elements, Capcom has added a focus meter that, when full, allows you to execute devastating special moves that will be unblockable. Also, there are plenty of screenshots that deviate from the traditional 2D look, so I think it is possible the camera may move to cinematic angles when special moves are unleashed.

To sum it up, Street Fighter IV is going to be a fun, challenging brawler that will be perfectly approachable to vets and newcomers alike. I only wish they had kept the super-stylized, Okami-like art direction that was shown in the first trailer.

inFamous

System: PS3
Developer: Sucker Punch
Publisher: Sony
ESRB Rating: Pending
Release Date: 05/01/2009

Developed by the same studio that brought us the awesome Sly Cooper series, inFamous is more of a gritty superhero title. You play as Cole, a parkour who is caught in a huge explosion, and is mysteriously the only one to survive. When he awakens he finds he is able to manipulate electricity which allows him to shoot lightning bolts from his fingertips a la Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars. Furthermore, he finds his home, the broodingly named Empire City, has plunged into anarchy and chaos since the explosion, and others possessing superhuman powers have emerged and begin to wreak havoc.

Empire City will be a completely open-ended environment taking cues from the Grand Theft Auto series' pioneering "sandbox" gameplay, but will be more similar to the PS2 Spider-Man games in that you will encounter crimes being committed and it is up to the player to stop the crimes or allow them to happen. Thus you will gain a reputation among the city's inhabitants as either a hero, or (if not a villain) at least a dirty hero. Finally, just because Cole now possesses super human abilities doesn't mean he will be invincible, so a stealth element will probably also be included. Really, what Sucker Punch is doing with inFamous is drawing elements from very popular titles and improving them.

I'm pretty sure this game will be a win with Sucker Punch at the helm. It will definitely have gorgeous visuals and the gameplay sounds compelling. Plus, with a track record as good (though some may call it kiddy) as Sly Cooper, Sucker Punch has shown they're dedicated to delivering highly polished, fun games. This game could be the reason I buy a PS3.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

System: PS3, XBox 360, PC
Developer: Rocksteady
Publisher: Eidos
ESRB Rating: Pending
Release Date: Not announced yet, but hopefully summer or fall of this year.

You might think "Why are you looking forward to a Batman game? All the others have been crap!" While it is true that Batman's video game career has definitely been a lost cause so far, I can't help but get excited for Arkham Asylum. I read somewhere that it is going to be the darkest iteration of Batman in any media format (movies, comic books, whatever). The screenshots look downright frightening, and even classic enemies like the Joker appear extremely vicious. However, the biggest difference between this and previous Batman games lies in the fact this game is being developed independently of any movie releases, so the developers won't need to rush the product to the shelves to correspond to a movie release. It also allows them to be creative in their approach to the Caped Crusader and make him, and his enemies, match their own vision instead of relying on the vision of a movie director who they'll probably never even talk to.

It sounds like the whole game will take place on the island that is the home of the titular Arkham Asylum where the inmates have staged a coup and it is up to none other than Batman to put a stop to the anarchy. Obviously this means you'll get to use cool Bat-gadgets and Bat-fists to quell all of Gotham's lunatics, but it also means utilizing stealth to accomplish objectives and dispatch enemies before they know what is coming. I read an interview where one of the staff described it more as "predatorial" than stealth, so naturally that has me excited.

Of course, I can't help but worry a bit due to Batman's video game track record. But hopefully this will prove to everyone Batman can still learn new tricks after seventy years.

Some other PS3 and XBox 360 games I'm watching: Resident Evil 5, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Prototype, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Velvet Assassin, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

So what about the PSP or the PC? Well, simply put, I don't have a gaming quality PC, nor do I want one. As for the PSP, there just haven't been any games that have really piqued my interest outside of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, and, unless something really cool comes along, then I doubt I'll ever have much interest in the system.