Changing My Convictions

Throughout my gaming life I've never been a huge fan of stealth-based gameplay. With the exception of playing a thief in Skyrim, shooters, sports/racing games and RPGs have always been more of my forte. Recently however, I've been whistling a different tune. 

Having played the Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 2 DLC I found myself wanting for a taste of something comparable. The NHL season is slowly coming to a halt so, with minimal hockey on TV, I've had some time to dig into my backlog and finally popped in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction for my 360. The game has been around for about 4 years now but, to me, it looks brand new. I have played games from the Splinter Cell series before, and I've enjoyed a few of them, but none were very memorable—I couldn't tell you any of the other games’ story lines if my life depended on it. I just remember being frustrated at my inability to shamelessly go on a murderous rampage when stealth got boring. Conviction changed that.

In this chapter of the series you are no longer working for anyone in particular, meaning you don’t have the restraints of pacifism like in the older games. You still play as the infamous Sam Fischer, but the game starts with you trying to enjoy your retirement until certain events pull you out of it. Straight from the get-go you’re thrown into a combat situation that doesn't require you to fully rely on stealth abilities. This is where the “Mark and Execute” mechanic of the game is introduced. After performing a hand-to-hand kill you gain the ability to mark and execute. As long as you have a visual on the target you can mark him by pushing the right bumper and once you get close enough you can take him out quickly and efficiently. In the beginning you only have the ability to mark 2 targets but as the game progresses you get upgrades and newer weapons that allow you to mark up to 5 or 6. This feature is perfect for taking out larger groups of enemies instead of having to sneak around the whole damn map for half an hour just to get past a meaningless section of gameplay.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this game, so far, is the awesome visual effects. The scenery and ambiance seems to have a big Noire style influence with a lot of heavy shadows and minimal colour, sort of akin to the movie Sin City. Whenever Sam is hidden to enemies your whole screen goes black and white. I thoroughly enjoyed the way that was handled. On the topic, the game’s entire design philosophy seems very minimalist. For instance, there are very few menus to navigate through, and all of your weapon selection can be done with quick lists on the D-Pad. Additionally, whenever you get a new objective during a mission it is displayed in a big wide white font on a wall nearby—however if you want to view it again you just press Select and it will appear on whatever surface you’re looking at.

The gadgetry you come across also adds a good deal of different ways to neutralize your enemies. Besides your basics like flash bangs and frag grenades, you get things like the deployable Sticky Camera. The camera is a throwable device that sticks to walls and allows you to get a look at what might lie ahead of you. The camera has a noise maker to distract enemies and if they get close enough you can detonate it to take them out. I had a lot of fun luring unsuspecting foes to their untimely demises.

The game isn't perfect of course: there were a few things that got on my nerves. At one point in the game you’re given a pair of sonar goggles to detect enemies and laser security features. Shortly after that you have to go through a series of rooms guarded by this laser system and the whole thing just seemed tedious and didn't contribute much in the way of gameplay. I’m all for a good puzzle but the story was so enticing and I really disliked wasting 20 minutes trying to figure it out. Furthermore, there are several instances where, if you die, you have to repeat a cutscene that happened at the last checkpoint. One particularly problematic level had me dying over 15 times and I had to rewatch this 30-second cutscene each time. I found myself lowering the difficulty just to ease past it to avoid the scene again. The worst of it is: it was a really great and powerful scene and its repetition really ruined it for me.

All in all I highly recommend Splinter Cell: Conviction to anyone who hasn't played it yet. The game also has a multiplayer option which I haven’t taken advantage of. From what I understand it’s the same story but you can play with a friend on the same TV. I haven’t fully finished the game yet but I intend to in the near future and I’m hoping to buy the next installment, Splinter Cell: Blacklist. If anyone has any recommendations for similar games please leave me a message in the comment section.

Thanks for reading.
Later days.

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TBT - Dumbfounded Epiphanies

You know that moment when you're playing a game, and you just sort of get it? You've been playing a game for a number of hours and sure you like it, but then it hits you, and you start loving the game.  Maybe that is a bit vague, but I'm sure you have an idea what I'm talking about.

I don't really have those moments anymore. Maybe when I was younger I just didn't think about what I was doing in a game as much, and it took a while for me to come around. Maybe newer games have become too simplified nowadays, never leaving enough to be discovered on your own. In any case, I want to share a couple of Eureka moments I've had.

Everything Is Better With Monster Breeding

I used to play a ton of Monster Rancher 2 on the PS1 and this was partly due to the anime that was on TV at the time. It was a fun show to watch, almost like Pokémon but the creatures in the show actually had personalities in it—unlike Pokémon where they just annoyingly say their name over and over again, only in a different tone. 

The game itself was so unique because in order to get new Monsters, you had to put physical CDs into your Playstation and each disc was different, just like in the show! I remember spending hours looking for any manner of CD I could find in my house to see what it would generate in the game. Once you had the Monster of your choosing you had to train it and enter it into tournaments. The training was okay, little mini game type things, but the fighting was pretty sick. Combat was sort of set up like a fencing match. You would control your creature and move them up and down a straight combat area. Monsters could have up to 4 different abilities each with different attack ranges, which makes the ability to move around the ring actually meaningful. 

Now the Eureka moment I had in this game was when I learned how to give my Monsters better longevity. Prior to figuring this out, my Monsters would sadly only live to the age of about 2 or 3, which is abysmal. See, there were these items you could buy from the shop that sort of boosted the Monsters physique, but they don't really explain it properly anywhere in the game. Anyway, feeding this item to your Monsters on a monthly basis doubled their lifespan, minimum, which was amazing because being able to train a Monster for that much longer was super fun. Higher levels, new abilities, harder training regimens, stronger competitions, it was all good fun.

Into The Abyss 

I have played every single game in the Disgaea series, but none as much as the very first one. I loved it so much, I've also pretty much played every single game that the developers have pumped out. 

Aside from being your typical turned based strategy game, Disgaea has ridiculousness out the Yin-Yang: you can get your characters up to level 9,999; you can do millions upon millions of damage; lift and throw units; even go inside your weapons to make them stronger. At first I was playing this game like any other, going through the motions taking it one chapter at a time.

As I mentioned you can go inside your equipment, this is done through the item world, and that is where my Eureka moment happened. In essence the entire item world is one giant grind, but instead of just walking around a world map getting into random encounters like in a JRPG, this felt like it had a bit more to it. You weren't just grinding levels, you were making your equipment stronger at the same time. Part of the allure to it as well was capturing residents—which were creatures that lived inside the weapons that increased its attributes depending on its type—once captured, you could move them into different pieces of equipment, it was a pretty flexible, if not time consuming, system.

Times Are Changing

So yeah, I don't really have moments like this anymore, but I'm curious if any of you do? What game was it, and what part of it did you just get that made the whole experience that much more enjoyable? Leave a comment at the bottom!

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Zombocalypse

My Organ Trail blog got me thinking about other zombie games worth talking about and there was one game that popped into my head and it's not even a video game. Zombies!!! was one of the first board games I ever bought that wasn't made by Parker Brothers and was the jumping point for my foray into board gaming.

I bought the game on a whim; I love zombies and anything zombie related was amazing to me. The game isn't overly complicated and once the players get a feel for the game the pace picks up and it becomes a ton of fun. The game is for two to six players but I find its best with four. The game is pretty quick with anything more than that and ends up slowing down when you only have two people. The way to win is simple: be the first to reach the center of the helipad tile or rack up 25 zombie kills.

The "board" consists of tile cards: at the beginning of each turn the player selects a card from the stack and plays it on any legal space he wants and then adds the zombies, hearts, and bullet counters the tile specifies, if any. Each player is dealt three event cards which have varying effects and can be played either during your turn or occasionally on your opponents turn: you can mess with them, position yourself better or just to spawn an ass load of zombies.

One of the big draws to the game is the ridiculous amount of expansions it has—ten to be exact—and they're all based on a different zombie movie theme, whether it's a military base, zombie dogs, murderous clowns or just a good old fashioned mall, they all add a new level to the game and all work in tandem with one another. One of my favourite parts of the game is all the different tropes and zombie movie moments and weapons thrown into the game. Through the event cards it really gives the game that zombie movie feel and zombie fans in general will easily pick up on the references and subtle nods.

Since playing this game, I've purchased and played tons of board games, I even worked at a board game store at one point. I have to say this is definitely one of my most recommended games to board gamers and fans of the zombie genre in general. It really has a solid apocalypse survival feel and would be perfect for any zombie lover out there. The game also has tons of room for any house rules you can come up with. I'd personally recommend bumping up the kill count for the win condition because occasionally, with a lucky streak, you can get 25 kills pretty quick and easy.

The game was also ported to the XBLA and the various app stores. I've heard that they're pretty faithful to the board game but I've never picked them up myself. It also contains a single player mode where the player must fight his way to the helipad and survive all on his lonesome. All in all, if you're looking for a good game with tons of replay value and options, this is the game for you. 

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More Like Neo Geo F

Hello all. Today I wanted to tell you a story about the worst purchase of my life: the Neo Geo X.

As a kid, my buddy introduced me to emulators and ROMs. With our slow internet connections, we’d download our games, which were all usually Japanese SNES games. I fondly recall playing Gundam and Dragon Ball Z fighters, previously only available in Japan.

A few months later, my friend told me about the Neo Geo. Our quest to play Neo Geo games was slow because the ROMs' file size were so huge back then. Luckily, a friend burned me a couple of CDs loaded with basically every Neo Geo game, and thus began my love for this arcade machine/console. Samurai Shodown and Metal Slug were my jam.

Fast-forward to the end of 2012: I hear that the Neo Geo X will be an affordable way to play Neo Geo games on your TV—at about $200. Compare this to the price of some Neo Geo cartridges—hundreds of dollars—and this is a steal. I started reading about it, which only hyped myself up. A handheld, preloaded with 20 games, and a way to play it on your TV? I was sold. The only thing was it was hard to find in my neck of the woods, or so I thought.

Then on one unfortunate, rainy afternoon, Sean and I headed into EB Games and I spotted the monstrosity and purchased it. The clerk even had a tough time ringing it up—a sign I should’ve taken into consideration. Sean voiced his opinion and was hesitant to express any happiness about the new purchase. He clearly was the smarter one that day (he also pawned his copy of Assassin’s Creed 3 on me a few minutes prior).

I get back home and open up the packaging, and let the handheld charge for a bit. Once I booted the sucker up I noticed something—the handheld is super light. There was literally no heft to it. It felt like a kid’s toy—the front of the device was made with 1 piece of cheap plastic that would flex with the slightest push. This is when you realize why Nintendo is the king of handhelds—they build solid devices.

Moreover, the screen was piss-poor. Yes, I understand the games don’t run in high definition, but the screen was a cheap LCD that didn’t reproduce the colours all that well. It was a 16:9 display, but the games are all 4:3. They give you the option to stretch the game to 16:9, but it truly looked ugly. Another real half-assed attempt.

Look at those amazing black levels!

The buttons on the handheld were alright. The USB controller was really good. The ability to output to your TV was cool too, but some people say that it’s not perfect.

Here’s the kicker—the handheld itself is just an emulator, preloaded with ROMs. There’s nothing special about it: it’s loaded with Linux, an emulator and 20 games. Who in their right mind wants to pay $200 for an emulator?!? I can get the same experience on any computer, and output it to my TV!

Minus the USB controller, the Neo Geo X was a big waste of money for me. The handheld’s LCD screen was iffy and the material quality was poor. What I could’ve done was buy the USB controller and simply play it on any computer. The picture quality would’ve been perfect and the cost would’ve been minimal.

Overall, I got to pay $200 + tax for an experience very similar to the one I had as a kid (a free experience back then, mind you). If my math is correct, I believe this purchase was based on the fact that I was 99% stupid when I entered EB Games that awful day.

In the end, I sold my Neo Geo X on Craigslist at a loss. A kind man was happy to take it off my hands for about $150. I hear that it’s out of production now, so it’s probably worth more nowadays, but I truly couldn’t give a damn. Good riddance to that pile of junk.

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What Is Real Anymore

If I were to guess which topic we'll be hearing more about at this year's E3, I think I would have to say Virtual Reality (VR). The first name that pops into mind (outside of the ridiculous Virtual Boy) is the Oculus Rift. It's really been the only bit of public knowledge on VR over the last couple of years. That is until Sony showed off their VR headset (code named Project Morpheus) at the Game Developers Conference back in March.

The Oculus Rift, being an entirely PC based technology, never really showed up at E3 before. I mean it did, but only really in passing (nothing like it getting featured in one of the press conferences). I guess one of the reasons for that is it really seems that E3 is more focused on the console-side of gaming, there really is no big advocate for PC games. The biggest press conferences held during the event are Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, who all explicitly talk about their individual platforms (Playstation, Xbox, and whatever Nintendo decides to call their "fun box", respectively).

The only real curious thought I have is if Microsoft announces something VR related of their own—whether that be in house tech they created like Sony, or some sort of joint endeavor to get the Oculus Rift working on the Xbox One. Now Oculus just got bought out by Facebook—who dropped a hefty 2 billion dollars down for the company—so who knows if they want to get into bed with Microsoft at this point in time. Considering the Oculus Rift is heavy on the PC, I don't see it as much of a stretch for it to eventually become compatible with the Xbox One.

All this new tech is pretty cool, and to be honest I cannot wait to give it a try...but! There may be some concerns with it, namely motion sickness. Now I have never had a problem like this with video games, but you do hear about some people getting sick playing first person shooters. You also hear about people using the Oculus Rift with flight simulators, doing flips and barrel rolls, and how they actually got that sort of sinking feeling in their gut as if they were on a ride at an amusement park. Some people might not be able to handle it, at least not without a heavy dose of Gravol beforehand.

What even happens when all this gets even more immersive? I'm really holding out for that smell-o-vision. When technology can link up with your mind and make you think you smell something that isn't even there...you know the tech has come a long way. Imagine how many people will play games like Outlast, though. Some people can't stand looking at gore in movies, imagine playing a game and it smells like all the rotting flesh and blood everywhere? A lot of people will have puke all over their room for sure. This begs the question: I know how they create sound effects, but will this create a whole new profession? The Scent Designer? Discussions for another day I suppose.

Now with Project Morpheus entering the fray, one of the major gaming companies is bringing VR to the fore front, and unless no one actually buys it and the tech bombs when it's released, this can only be a good thing for VR as a whole. Competition just breeds better products for the consumer. 

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Link-ing My Worlds

Hello, my name is Alex. I am actually the younger brother of Adam and long time friend of everyone on the Basement Gamer. A little bit about me: I've been playing games from a very young age, as long as I can remember, really. The NES we had was hooked up in my parents' bedroom, so my brother and I couldn't play it 100% of the time. Then we got a SNES and I was only a 5 year old little kid or so, without the dexterity to complete any game on my own.

2 Years later when N64 was made available, I remember the day we got that from our local store, I think we bought it from Blockbuster at the time. I couldn't even tell you honestly. But oh! It wasa glorious day when we went home and popped in Super Smash Brothers. Holy hell did we pump hours upon hours into that console, much like everybody else in the late '90s. Not to mention Mario Kart and then... The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and 007 Goldeneye. Fast forward over 15 years of gaming and here we are today.

But I'm not here to talk about the good ol' days. No no! Not today. Today I'm here to talk to you about The Legend of Zelda, but not Ocarina...sadly. On this day I'll talk about the most recent addition to the franchise. Nintendo originally started developing it as a remake for one of the most iconic Super NES games of all time, A Link to the Past, which was later decided to be made into a completely new game, with fresh mechanics never before seen in the franchise, labeled "A Link Between Worlds".

My first thoughts while playing this game were, "Alright, so they're mixing A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time". That is to say they took the best aspects of the bird's eye view Zelda games and the Third Person Zelda games, both of which have been blended absolutely amazingly. Where the other DS Zelda titles had you doing these gimmicky touch screen commands—such as drawing the path of the boomerang, etc—the developers instead made the touch screen your User Interface, where you change your items, look at your map, so on and so forth. All of which can be done in real time or by pausing the game as is customary in Zelda games. Then we come to the actual gameplay which is executed as you'd expect: everything is smooth and fantastic.

A couple of things I welcomed with open arms, much to my eventual dismay. Firstly, being that they added the possibility to play on a harder difficulty. This is where my frustration began. The first 8 hours of playtime was just me dying over and over again in every single situation. Previously, I very rarely died playing any Zelda game. Most of my deaths in previous titles were attributed to not paying any attention to my health or simply dying strictly during boss fights. This is no longer the case on the harder difficulty, and it's not because of smarter enemies, more difficult enemies, or even just more enemies. No; the harder difficulty was simply Link taking more damage. But not just more damage, no, thatwould be too simple. It is a ridiculous amount of damage. Simply put, a basic octorok deals about 4 hearts of damage, something a little bit stronger like a Crab would do about 8 hearts of damage. So any dungeon monster deals about 8 hearts of damage give or take 4. The only time you can ever take less than 4 hearts of damage is when you accidentally hurt yourself. So until you're 4 or 5 dungeons in, when you get 9 hearts, everything kills you in one hit. This wouldn't be such an awful and frustrating thing if the other new mechanic introduced didn't exist.

The other mechanic is the fact that you no longer get important items in the dungeon and therefore keep your items after you acquire them. No, this installment introduces a merchant who basically steals your home and turns it into his store, then allows you to rent any item of your choosing. You choose whichever items are your favorite and run with those until you die and the merchant takes them back. So couple that with dying at every corner, and you get the time consuming and annoying lap race that is: Rent your items at your house, walk to a dungeon trying not to die along the way, enter the dungeon and try to progress to the boss, try to defeat the boss, but probably die along the way, respawn at your house and repeat.

Luckily this isn't actually as bad as I'm making it out to be for one reason. That being said, you meet a witch early on in the game who allows you to fast travel to certain statues that you can activate, which also act as save points. These statues are excellently placed directly in front of almost every single dungeon as well as all over the world map. This made my trips back to the dungeons much faster after dying. However, once you unlock the ability to purchase and keep items even beyond death, the entire problem dissipates and the game becomes even more amazing.

All in all, A Link Between Worlds is fantastic and I am enjoying every minute of it . I'm finding myself unable to put down my 3DS, even as I write this I have my trusty Link Between Worlds box in my pocket ready to be taken out and continue my quest. Like a good book, it is always at my side. 

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TBT - King Of The Links

With Campeau talking about Mario Tennis the other day, it's a funny coincidence that I planned on talking about the Game Boy (GB) version of Mario Golf for my throw back this week. This game (along with Mario Tennis for the GB) was like the "Be A Pro" mode in an EA Sport's game before it ever existed, and was arguably the ultimate mix between RPG and Sports game.

When Mario Golf originally came out for the N64, I was all over it. Don't ask me why I like golf so much, it's not even a sport I'm good at in real life, but there is just something about the gentleman's game. Mario Golf for the N64 was a pretty basic golf game, nothing extravagant, just solid golf. A few different modes here and there but it ultimately came down to it being a multiplayer game.

The GB version however couldn't have been more different and my god, do I wish Nintendo would just start making console games like this! My point being that for the most part, when Nintendo makes console games, they are always so focused on multiplayer (local multiplayer of course, since their online infrastructure is atrocious). Ever since the N64 came out and had built in 4 player support, they took complete advantage of it. The only problem is that all their genius single player games moved over to the handhelds. Case and point: Pokemon will never be the same on console as it is on a handheld, but why Nintendo; why!?

Like I mentioned earlier, it's a sport-RPG. You create your own character and traverse the world playing golf. As you continue to play rounds you gain XP points and level up. Just like in any other RPG, when you level up you get to put attribute points into whichever stat you so desire. Want your drive distance to be longer? Done. How about a better putting ability? You can do that too!

As you continue along your path to becoming the greatest golfer in the Mushroom Kingdom, you can get invited to tournaments. You even meet and play skins matches against the "pros"—of course pros being Mario and his posse of regulars—you can even purchase new gear with your winnings.

One thing Mario Golf has over any of the "Be A Pro" modes in an EA sport's game is that golf is an individual effort. No need to worry about anyone on your team letting in a softy or giving up the ball at a very inopportune time: that right there just removes any anxiety or frustration rooted in this type of mode. Tiger Woods PGA Tour games try to do the same thing, but I just don't get the same feeling as when I was a kid playing on my Game Boy.

I think the main reason why would be the lack of real progression. In Mario Golf, you started off pretty shitty, but were able to achieve something awesome by the end of the game. In Tiger Woods, I feel as though it just sort of starts you off as a pro, and the amount your character's skills actually progress vs. how much equipment does for you is practically negligible.

If Nintendo has this version of Mario Golf on the Virtual Console for the DS/3DS, I would highly recommend picking it up, well worth your time.

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No Tough Love

I've never been a huge fan of sports games but there is one that I can always play and that game is Mario Tennis. If you haven't gone back and played a N64 game since its heyday, then you probably don't know that the controls from that generation are pretty balls and most games haven't aged that well, or at all.

Unlike its fallen brethren, Mario Tennis doesn't suffer from the same issues as Goldeneye and Ocarina of Time—which make you question how you had so much fun playing these games while wrestling with the three pronged monster that was the "controller"—but it rises above all that and sits atop the pedestal alongside Super Smash Bros. and Diddy Kong Racing, with the other still playable games from that era in gaming not too far away.

I've owned this game since I was a kid but to be honest, I hadn't given it much thought until I played it recently with some buddies at a friend's apartment and it all came back to me. I realized that this game was a lot better than I ever thought it was; the controls were simple and you could pick up the basics within a round or two and after a few sets you've learned all the in's and out's. In the same vein as most Mario games, all the characters fall into different classifications—whether it be all-around, power, technique, or tricky—each brings a different strength to the table and are pretty self explanatory. The different stages also change the games ball speed, bounce and overall feel of the game.

I've spent many a night playing doubles with a bunch of friends till the wee hours of the morning, hurling insults and trash talk at one another during nail biting, tie breaker rounds. If you can round up four working N64 controllers I recommend getting this game, it is too much fun for its own good and I honestly couldn't recommend it more highly. The game is super solid and hours of fun. Also if you like drinking game the rules are simple: Miss a shot? Take a drink; Get a fault? Take a drink; Double fault? Do a shot cause you suck; Losing team finishes there drink, rinse and repeat.

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Cash Of Clans

So for the past few months, I’ve been playing Clash of Clans. In case you haven’t heard about this game, it’s for mobile devices (iOS and Android) and made by developer Supercell. This game is so popular it’s getting ads on TV. Crazy.

The premise of the game is bare, but enjoyable. You build a base and defend it, while attacking other bases. You mine for 3 resources – gold, elixir, and dark elixir – and use them to upgrade and build new buildings. It’s well presented and allows you to create a clan to attack other clans. You get a variety of troops to attack with, so this allows for strategic planning of your attacks.

Please don't attack me

As a freemium game, building takes time – sometimes days – but you can purchase gems with real currency to speed up time. You can get these gems for free as well, by clearing bushes, trees, and rocks that grow on your base, but it’s insanely slow. Makes you wonder how much money Supercell is making off this game. Well, this fairly recent article states that the company has generated almost $900 million in revenues. It’s also valued at roughly twice the amount of Take-Two Interactive.

I myself spent $10 on it so far, but I don’t plan on spending a penny more. The freemium model allows customers to gauge how much they value the game: clearly, I value it at $10, while someone else could value it at $1,000.

Giving consumers this option is a smart idea, but I believe it’s used in the wrong way most of the time. Freemium games tend to put time constraints, almost forcing people who, in this day and age, don’t like to wait days for in-game upgrade to complete. On the other hand, you can literally play these games for countless amounts of hours, due to their simplicity. Sure, there are literally hundreds of these kinds of games out now, but they’re good time-killers.

The truth is: these games don’t have any story. The developers make a simple game, balance the mechanics, and put time constraints to have consumers pay them. They prey on our want to have things done faster. This causes us to value these types of game differently from one another.

All your money are belong to us!

Shareware is fairly similar, but overall more honest to the consumer. Old DOS games used to offer the first chapter or a small part of the game for free to lure gamers into buying the game. Sounds perfectly fine to me. Other developers release demos, which is a similar concept as well. Moreover, you’ll find many programs or apps that are free, but add features for some money. Keywords: add features. Most freemium games don’t add features, they just allow you to play faster.

To me, Clash of Clans is the ultimate example of a freemium game. How is it possible that Supercell, a developer with no track record, is valued more than Take-Two, who has published the Grand Theft Auto and BioShock series? Because everyone has a smartphone, mobile games grow exponentially in popularity but also tend to crash. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same fate for Supercell, since it’s already happening to Zynga.

Final Thoughts
Freemium games allow the consumer to price the game however they see fit. Most developers of these games implement the freemium aspect in shady ways to force out as much money from people as possible. The combination of freemium games being made available to every consumer with a smartphone results in the widest audience attainable.

This pricing model has worked magically for one-hit-wonder developers to turn big, quick profits. Casual gamers don’t seem to mind paying for the option to speed up the game—an option that adds no true value to the game. Developers aren’t going to change until consumers tighten their wallets.

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The Calm Before The Storm

I'm in a sort of a lull at the moment, which was bound to happen sooner or later. Being an early adopter of the PS4, there eventually just isn't any games to play, Brandon even talked about it a couple of weeks ago...on the bright side at least I've actually beaten the games I bought, which is a little unprecedented for me.

If you want to compare launch window games (the window being the first 6 months within a console’s release) of the PS4 with the PS3, well the considerable edge goes right to the PS4. I can't even remember what I played on the PS3 outside of Virtua Fighter 5, Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm...oh and Gundam: Cross Fire (haha, gotta get one of those Gundam games in there). Meanwhile on the PS4 I've already beaten games like: Knack, Thief, Assassin's Creed IV, inFamous and Tomb Raider. On top of those games, there were indie titles like Outlast, Resogun—which reminds me, I played a ton of Super Stardust on the PS3—and Don't Starve. That isn't all though. Games I didn't beat yet include the likes of Killzone and Battlefield 4.

Suffice to say the launch of the PS4 was pretty satisfying for me. The only problem now is that it's May and nothing gets released around now. I was looking at the upcoming releases for the next month or so and its slim pickings.

MayWe Have Games?

Here are a few of the more notable games releasing in the coming weeks:

A new Wolfenstein game is releasing on the 20th of May, and it does actually look pretty fun, but then I noticed it has no multiplayer...who in their right mind releases an arcade first person shooter(FPS) with no multiplayer? I don't care so much when 3rd person shooters come out with no multiplayer (they tend to be more story-driven then FPS's anyway), but Tomb Raider still had multiplayer, even if it was a load of crap. Some may argue that removing the multiplayer and focusing on the single player is the way to go, and in some cases yes, but I just can't see it in an FPS. Maybe developers have hard wired it out of me, but unless this game is like 15-20 hours, I can't really justify paying $60-70 for it when I don't have the added luxury of a multiplayer mode to extend my stay—even if it was crap, I could still sink 5-10 hours into it. I'll probably pick it up cheap next year sometime.

Also releasing on the 20th, Transistor is probably the most note worthy game coming out in this dismal time period. Developed by Supergiant Games, who are of Bastion fame, Transistor is easily the most buzz-worthy indie title to be coming to the PS4 since the console’s release, at least in my opinion. Simply put, Transistor is an action-RPG, with 2D graphics that look fantastic. And if the soundtrack follows what was heard in the launch trailer, it's going to be a hit. At the moment, Supergiant Games has a proven track record (I'm sure they can continue it).

Watch Dogs is actually releasing on the 27th of May, which easily has the biggest budget this month, but I feel as though the hype train has left the station with this one. I can't really put my finger on it, but last year this game had tons of momentum. Then it got delayed as a launch title and poof, haven't really heard much. I'll still pick it up, but I'm not really sure what to expect.

Last up, Square-Enix is publishing this really weird/interesting action-adventure mystery game on June 3rd. It's called Murdered: Soul Suspect. In it, you control Detective Ronan O'Connor who gets brutally killed right off the bat. Ronan then returns as a ghost and now you must help him try to solve his own murder so he may continue his journey to the afterlife. To be honest, I'm going off a gut feeling here. I've looked at a trailer or two, not sure what the gameplay is like either, but it sounds interesting and is different to say the least. I'll probably pick it up barring it gets horrendous reviews—it very well could considering the people behind Dark Void are developing it.

In E3 We Trust

The only real saving grace about this time period is that E3 is just around the corner! In a mere three weeks time, we will be like kids in a candy store...or at least the fat kids salivating on the windows outside.

I can't wait to see what the press conferences bring this year. Sony and Microsoft always go toe to toe and it's pretty entertaining to see how the internet reacts to it all. If either of them can get Rockstar to divulge something on stage, everyone will go nuts. Nintendo doesn't really join in on E3 anymore; at least not over the last few years. Instead what they opt to do is host their own little event where they pretty much do the same thing...apparently E3 was too expensive and loud for them. Whatever, as long as we get to hear about some new games, who cares how they do it! They just better actually bring something to the table *cough* Pokemon RPG on the Wii U, or at least something interesting for that damn console. I hate having to feign interest in it all the time, just give me something to care about!

I won't really make any predictions per say, but what I really want is to hear about the new Kingdom Hearts game, and Final Fantasy XV from Square-Enix. I've always been a huge fan of Square's games, and both of these games are being made by the same development team, which I love, so I have high hopes!

Outside of that, there are still an excess of games I want to get some news on: Star Wars Battlefront 3, Tom Clancy's The Divison, that Sci Fi Call of Duty game, Destiny, Halo 5 and Sony even has that new virtual reality head set to show off. The build up to E3 is usually unbearably long and I don't see it being any shorter this year.

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[A -> B] Life: Measuring Progress In JRPGs Through Common Encounters

Earlier this week I read an article in which an author pondered over what made common encounters in JRPGs good. Broadly, in JRPGs common encounters are battles which occur frequently as the player’s party explores the game world. The author’s focus here is on encounters which occur randomly (in games where enemies do not physically appear on the world map and in dungeons) in addition to those which the player can initiate (in games where all enemies are visible). While his thoughts are worth exploring in their own right, my own idea of what makes common encounters “good” is far simpler; far more systemic; and far more measurable.

In my opinion, JRPG encounters are noteworthy institutions in the RPG subgenre quite simply because they help to define the core experience of playing these types of games: namely, each common encounter serves as a tangible time commitment made in the effort of achieving level, skill and monetary maximization within the game. Perhaps this answer is far too simple to come across as enlightening; however, I would urge you to think about it throughout the rest of this post.

I’ve recently begun playing Bravely Default for the 3DS, which was released earlier this year to commercial and critical success. Part of the warm critical reception was grounded in the game’s mechanical transparency: players are free to change the game’s difficulty at will, how fast battles play out, how much experience they acquire after battle, and the occurrence rate of common encounters (among other options not pertinent to this post). Importantly, the option to customize the relative value of common encounters has caused me to re-focus my attention of why these encounters exist in the first place.

JRPG exploration

Most avid JRPG enthusiasts will agree that the institutionalization of what is regularly defined as a “common encounter” was initially crafted due to hardware constraints. Early JRPGs such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest could not render battles in real-time without sacrificing memory which was committed to world-building and exploration. Therefore, battles which took place in separate areas from exploration became the norm.

JRPG common encounter

While common encounters can certainly become draining (due in large part to their frequency and repetitive nature), they function as effective roadblocks which help the player chart his/her progress through the game’s story. As I’d touched on during my last post, battles in RPGs generally feel necessary to varying extents, as they often enable players to empathically understand the personal milestones which the game’s characters themselves are going through.

Beyond the value that common encounters bring with respects to enriching JRPG stories, I feel as though “good” common encounters also actively encourage experimentation. Much of the praise for the Bravely Default plays with this element of relative necessity well. By inviting players to dictate the value they place on common encounters (“value” here is defined through battle frequency, battle duration, and victory spoils), developers Silicon Studio is gently nudging players to consciously appreciate each battle they fight.

Moreover, common encounters become experiments, where players can incrementally improve their battle strategies through micro-level resource management. It’s worth noting that Bravely Default, like Final Fantasy Tactics, has a job system, whereby your four-person team’s roles can be changed before/after battle. By encountering the same foe multiple times, I felt that I was able to actively gauge the effectiveness of my job combination, equipment setups and subspecialty abilities, which I measured through damage output and team synergy.

In this way, common encounters enable the player to play more effectively; to learn from his/her choices immediately through constant feedback. This strategic management loop of battle/resolve/tinker/battle helps define the pacing of a good JRPG, in addition to contributing to the player’s active understanding that his/her actions (however seemingly small) are actively contributing to his/her level, skill and wealth maximization within the game world. It’s all good stuff, and I find myself fond of how transparent the entire process is.

In other words, the next time you find yourself facing off against the exact same combination of ecological beauty (natural predators such as bird-, dog- and cat-like abominations all working together in a harmonious attempt to kill and consume the player’s party), thank me for providing it with context and meaning. You’re welcome.

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TBT - Schooling Your Rival

A lot of people will recognize Sakura from the Street Fighter series. She started off there and thrives as a pseudo Ryu clone. Little do people know though, she practically stared in a little fighter called Rival Schools on the PS1.

It was one of those 3D fighters with the really horrible polygon graphics—think like the very first few Tekken games. The fighting itself was pretty solid. Capcom was and still proves to be a strong driving force in the industry when it comes to fighting games. 

The one thing about Rival School that will stick with me till the end of time, is how much Sean hates it, and how annoyed he got when we played it. At first, it was like any other fighter. Back in the day, Sean and I would go head-to-head in any fighting game and play for hours just hitting rematch, often times never even changing characters for a good 20 matches. We were always pretty even. 

The problem Sean had—and probably still does have—with Rival Schools was this peculiar bug. Not really sure if it was designed this way, and I really don't see how it could have been, but if you used a super move your character would become invulnerable for a moment, allowing you to dodge attacks. The best worst part about it was that you could actually dodge the other person's super move with it as well.

Unfortunately for Sean I was able to use this little quirk in the game to my advantage a little better than he was able to. We both got really pissed off when it happened to us though. I don't remember it being the reason we stopped playing the game—most likely a new fighter was added to my library—but it sure didn't help.

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Dysentery For All

Oregon Trail was a classic game played by countless youths all over the world and was even the first video game many people experienced. Too bad it's absolute crap when you compare it to Organ Trail!

Organ Trail is a zombie survival game that came out as a mobile game in 2012 and was eventually greenlit by Steam users and released in 2013. I picked it up for cheap during one of the countless steam sales that have plagued my wallet and when I finally got around to playing it, I was surprised at how much fun it was and how much depth was in the game.

If you have played Oregon Trail before, there are a lot of similarities and the game is basically a homage to it; that and the Walking Dead series (take your pick: comic or show). When you start the game it gives you the option to name your party members—I usually named them after my friends to see how long me and my buddies could last in a theoretical zombie apocalypse—but if it's taught me anything they're all a bunch of filthy liars. I can't even remember how many times Adam has killed someone because he would get bitten and lie about it right to my digital face and then later on he'd turn and take someone down with him.

The game revolves around you and your fellow survivors piling into a station wagon and traveling across the U.S, collecting food, fuel, and other various supplies you need to survive in a hostile zombie wasteland. The game reminds me a lot of FTL because, as in FTL, random encounters will happen as you travel and give you the option to swap supplies with traders, or fight bandits/other survivors... Which brings me to the combat.

The combat is really fun. It uses a cover based system, so you spend a lot of time learning your opponent's movement patterns and then pick them off one by one.It really has a survival feel and with limited ammunition you really have to pick your battles and shots.

Every so often you'll reach a settlement. Settlements have merchants and bounty boards. You can fulfill bounties for cash and other necessary items as you pass through. They all vary in difficulty, so be sure you're ready, because you only have one life and when you die it's game over and you have to start right back at the beginning.

Overall, the game itself is solid. It's addictive as hell, has a ton of replay value and once you get the hang of it, you really start wanting to keep taking cracks at it, seeing the various outcomes and routs the game can take. The random encounters along the way really add depth to the game whether someone "turns" or dies from some disease or dysentery or is taken hostage by bandits and left to die.

This game is entirely worth your time and with a five dollar price tag it's worth every penny. Whether you're a fan of zombies or just survival games in general (the graphics make it literally playable on any pc out there). All in all, this is definitely a game any and every Steam gamer should have in his or her library.

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Green Eggs And Ham

I thought it was funny when Brandon brought up Child of Light last week. To answer his question in short, yes I did hear about Child of Light prior to its release. In fact, I've been anticipating its release for the last couple of months. 

There was just something about this game: Child of Light looks and feels like an indie game, but actually has a big studio and budget behind it. Budget aside, Ubisoft did have an indie approach to the development of this game, at least in terms of team size. If you look at games like Assassin's Creed, those games are all made by tiny villages, numbering around 300-600 people. Compare that to Child of Light, which was produced by a team of about 30 people, you can definitely make the case that it feels more indie just by the sheer difference in staff size.

I won't bother going into the overall details about the game as they've already been covered, but I will try to elaborate on a few ideas that Brandon didn’t completely cover.

The combat is pretty fun. There is enough strategy involved just by the addition of Igniculus that makes you actually think about whom to attack, who to slow down and even for how long. It's very reminiscent of the original Grandia on PS1 (a game I will eventually get to on a TBT). The biggest comparison being the time scale at the bottom, and that each individual friend and foe has a unique speed to their character—the latter of which really changes the tempo of combat when you fight different enemies.

One mechanic they added that really pushes the strategy and timing of the combat is the fact that anyone can have their attack interrupted. However, both you and your enemy only have a small window to interrupt one another. You have to slow down enemies with Igniculus just right to take advantage of the mechanic, and be careful to not mess up the timing and end up having the enemies interrupt you. This mechanic isn't huge, but plays a pretty pivotal role in the enjoyment of the combat. Instead of it just being a game of waiting for your turn and hitting X, you can have an active role in effecting some of the flow.

One thing about the game that doesn't really seem up to par is the main character's combat role. As it stands right now, I have two of the side characters—I don't know how many are in the game mind you, but that is beside the point. At the moment, one of the support characters is strong physically, while the other is strong magically. Now that is all fine and dandy, but they are both better at these individual tasks than the main character is at either. 

This wouldn't actually be a problem if the game was designed like Paper Mario, in the sense that you always control Mario in combat, and you have to choose which secondary character to use at any given time. In Child of Light you are actually able to just swap out the "Jack of All Trades" main character for both "Masters" of a single skill. This isn't exactly desirable from a design stand point considering you would want the player to actually use the main character, since most of the time developers spend a lot of time on them. There is also an added bonus doing it this way because now you give the players a decision about which supporting character is best to use at one point over another. It was originally a decision I thought I had to make until I discovered I could just swap Aurora out.

Personally, I have this really silly notion about using the main characters in games; I have to use them all the time even when it might seem detrimental to my cause. I'm compelled to make them the best I possibly can. Maybe I am nitpicking a bit too much; the game does allow you to change your fighters mid-combat, whenever you want, without having to reset their attack timer. Even with this flexibility though, unless my character is on the verge of dying, I have a hard time finding a reason to do so.

Regardless of that last fact, the sheer presentation in Child of Light, from the Dr Seuss type dialogue to the whimsical music, makes me want to play this game every spare moment I get...which I am sad to say is far and few between, at least until the NHL playoffs are over. 

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Sweet Child O’ Mine

I’m proud to be a Montrealer, partially because studios like Ubisoft Montreal put out Assassin’s Creed. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, Ubisoft Montreal puts out a game like this, and so far, it’s been a great experience.

You play as Aurora, a girl who wakes up in a different world (Lemuria) after falling asleep from being sick. There are many more characters, such as Rubella and Robert, but there’s also Igniculus, which plays alongside Aurora. Think of Igniculus as Navi from Ocarina of Time, but actually useful: he’ll help you with puzzles, open boxes, and provides support during combat.

The art style plays a prominent part in my experience so far. Highly detailed, watercolor-esque graphics play really well with the feel of the game. It’s very fantasy-like, a feast for the eyes. The color choice is immaculate: deep, muted colors and an amazing use of dark and light tones.

I can’t help but feel like this is a children’s book, a fairy tale presented as a video game. The storyline uses heavy rhyming, which sometimes feels odd, but overall ends up charming. Regardless, the story has dragged me in and I can’t stop playing.

Coeur de Pirate, a fairly popular singer around Montreal, composes the music. This sets a tone that is fairly somber, which complements the art style. A great score composed mostly of piano and violins.

The gameplay reminds me of Limbo, just with more RPG elements when in combat. Igniculus can slow down enemy attacks, so there is strategy in choosing which enemy to slow down and when to do so. I find this active style of turn-based fighting impressive, as a lot goes on during a fight. Honestly, I’ve never played other games with this kind of mechanic, so this is new to me. The puzzles are simple but still very fun.

Sometimes I found controlling Igniculus with the right thumbstick a bit loose, but I grew used to it. The game also allows you to control Igniculus with the touchpad, which I believe is the better option of the two.

Final Thoughts

I haven’t finished the game; it’s only been 4 hours out of a supposed 12-hour playtime. My point here is that for $15, you can’t go wrong. You get great art, great music, a good story, some interesting gameplay, and a 12-hour playthrough. Most blockbuster games are the same length, aren’t as good, and cost $60-70. It’s easy to recommend this to anyone because it excels at every aspect in a game and isn’t too long like most RPGs.

It’s also clear that the people behind this game took the time to think this game out in full. Cheers to the staff who worked on this title.

Here’s a song I enjoyed from Child of Light:

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