The Sampler Platter

I feel that a lot of PC gamers have the same problem I’m having: getting through that backlog of games without adding any more games to the pile. Personally, I have my own backlog, but of PS3 games. I decided to tackle it this week,and boy did I fail miserably.

I guess my problem is that I can’t focus my attention on any one game at a time. To combat my short attention span, I ended up sampling some of the various games I own on PS3.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was a return to First-Person Shooters for me. I’ve stayed very far away from FPS games (with the exception of BioShock) since the first Black Ops. I resumed a save I had from years ago, because I didn’t feel like restarting the game. Actually, jumping back in was painless and I commend DICE for making it this way. I especially loved the sound, humor, and how the narration (especially with your team) carries the game. I look forward to beating the campaign soon.

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare brings what I love about movies into video games. Rockstar hit this one out of the park, and I feel like they’re the right developer to do something like this. Taking a fairly serious game and making it feel more like a cheesy Spaghetti Western was unique, despite being another zombie game.

Personally, I’m never tired of zombies, but others have grown sick of it. Either way, it’s all good fun in Undead Nightmare because of the unique blend of B movies and Spaghetti Westerns in a game.

To be honest, I have never really devoted any of my time to the Final Fantasy series. My brother is currently playing Final Fantasy IX and he thinks it’s his favorite Final Fantasy so far (he’s recently played VII, IX and XIII).

Taking his opinion into consideration, I put in a little over an hour just recently. Surprisingly, this game doesn’t feel all that old, despite supposedly going back to the basics of Final Fantasy games (thanks Wikipedia). I went through some battles and a bit of the tutorial so far with Vivi and Zidane, but I’m having a fun time exploring as well. I definitely will be going back.

Ambience can make or break a game, and that’s the driving force behind the Dead Space series.

Having barely played much of the first Dead Space and completely skipped the sequel, jumping into Dead Space 3 felt odd. Initially, the game felt familiar, but I noticed the great sound of the first Dead Space felt muffled by the rest of the game. It feels more “actiony” which works, but was unexpected. Oddly enough, this makes me want to go back to the original Dead Space. At least I didn’t pay for this game (free on PlayStation Plus).

Final Verdict

Okay, it’s not that I really have a short attention span; it’s just that I have such a mess of video games and I didn’t know where to start. Overall, I can say I’ve enjoyed sampling these games because I wasn’t necessarily bored with any of them.

Sampling also helped me focus on cleaning up the major mess of games I have. I picked games at random and weeded out the less interesting games. I’ll probably be skipping Dead Space 3 but it did make me want to go back to finishing the first game in the series. More importantly, I believe I’ll pick up Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Final Fantasy IX, and play them in tandem. Fingers crossed that I’ll beat both of them!

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An HD Coat of Paint‏

Last week, I talked about the new Oddworld remake that just came out. Of course, this is a PS1 remake, so the developer—Just Add Water—waited long enough and really re-made the game: new graphics, animations and voiceovers.

Last generation, we experienced a similar thing, where PS2 games were remastered for the PS3. Upscaled graphics, and more importantly, an HD, 16:9 presentation made the purchase worth it. Games like Kingdom Hearts were actually built almost from the ground-up, and many seemed to have included a couple of games all in one package (Jak & Daxter, God of War, Final Fantasy X/X-2). The value is there for me since going from 4:3 to widescreen looked great, especially with new or upscaled graphics. Seriously, try playing your PS2 games now: they really don’t look that great anymore.

A nice article on Kotaku made me think: are we going to see the same trend on PS4? The Last of Us got a remastered edition. The PS4 edition was thoroughly improved with updates such as higher resolution and better framerates. But in the end, is it worth it? Maybe so, for someone who has not yet played the game. I myself wouldn’t mind returning to the game as it was easily my favorite game of 2013. With that in mind, the game was barely made 1 year ago. Moreover, I don’t think jumping from 720p to 1080p is much greater than the move from 480p to 720p. Maybe it would be if I had a 50”+ television, but the original PS3 game looked great on my 40” 1080p screen.

Anyway, I digress. My real point is: will The Last of Us open the floodgates for remastered last-gen games? I feel like it will, and I’m very indifferent about it. On one hand, some games may play much better given the better hardware; but on the other hand, I bet some developers will put a half-assed effort into re-releasing games that are barely 1 year old.

GTA V

Naughty Dog has clearly put a lot of effort into remastering The Last of Us for the new architecture, but in the end, consumers don’t really care and just assume it was easy to just port a game. Regardless, I feel that successful franchises should make use of the beefier hardware and port older games to acclimatize themselves to the new consoles’ architectures. It’d be a great learning tool and a better chance at making their following games better and faster.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if The Last of Us: Remastered and GTA V are big successes just like they were last year.

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Drakengard 3: Nierly As Good

What was the last game you played which was co-constructed by the collective video game media as being largely inconsequential or unlikeable? For me personally that game was Neir, an unapologetically idiosyncratic experience which demanded players cope with often lacklustre gameplay and mundane objectives in order to appreciate beautifully composed music, poignant writing, and brilliant characterization.

I would likely rank Nier as one of my top 5 PS3 gaming experiences

Nier was experimental in many ways. For instance, dungeons would often host unique camera angles for seemingly no reason, actual gameplay would often devolve into tedious combat, the game was padded by mundane fetch quests which managed to effectively convey the day-to-day life of protagonist Nier, the game’s story would reveal itself incrementally by playing through the game more than once, etc. These features would prove endearing to some; though they would also force away a lot of potentially interested gamers before the really good story started to warp itself around your waking thoughts.

Unfortunately, Cavia dissolved shortlyafter releasing Nier, being absorbed in some capacity into Access Games. Fast-forward to 2014, and the crux of the team who worked on Nier (including director Taro Yoko) have brought the world Drakengard 3(released in Japan as Drag-on Dragoon 3). In many ways, Drakengard is a series which is antithetical to Nier: it presents a more immediate experience, with gameplay which feels strikingly like Dynasty Warriors, emphasizing high death counts and therefore a more traditional playstyle.  

Thankfully, despite the differences in the way the games actually play from one another, much of what makes Nier so fantastic is also present in Drakengard 3. For instance, I immediately found myself enamoured by how honest the game’s characters are, and how enjoyable the game’s story is. Protagonist Zero is a goddess of sorts, and is out to kill her goddess sisters along with thousands of soldiers which stand against her, for reasons which are not initially clear. Her motifs are clearly those of an apathetic and morally ignoble person, and director Taro Yoko along with Access Games are quick to point this out. What results is the sense that Drakengard 3 is honestly shouldering one of the medium’s common uses of violence as a means of encouraging players to consistently return to the games they play.

Having been away from the world of Nier for the better part of two years, I’m happy to commit my time to its kin. If like me, you’ve played one too many overly polished and dull video games, and are looking for something unusual to play to cleanse your palette, I would be hard-pressed to recommend anything besides Drakengard 3 to you. What may begin as a generic action title will very quickly reveal itself to be one of the most unique video games you’ll likely ever play. 

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Just Playing Some PS7

Having bought a PS4 a month ago has given me some buyer’s remorse, not because of the console itself, but the lack of games so far. I saw it coming, yet I still bit the bullet and bought the console early. So far, I’ve only played 5 games, which have been more or less great (inFamous, Tomb Raider, Thief, Resogun and Mercenary Kings), but I still see myself going back to some great last gen games. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait for the games to start rolling out on the next gen consoles, but as of right now, there are simply better, new games rolling out on the older consoles.

Why not both?

For instance, Dark Souls 2 was just released recently, and people seem to be enjoying it immensely.  A friend of mine is so vocally ecstatic over this game that it makes me think I should give the Souls series a second chance. I have, unfortunately, given up after playing Demon’s Souls for about 10 hours, primarily because of its difficulty level, but the challenge was fun. Moreover, the satisfaction of defeating enemies in this series was its selling point, but long story short: I just wish there was a PS4 port. I don’t think there’ll be anything of the sort. Now, before you retort,

Child of Light was recently released on every platform under the sun. It flew under my radar (did anyone else hear of this game before its release?) and is receiving universal acclaim. The game is about 12 hours from what I hear, which seems to be great value, and I’m certainly yearning to play another RPG. My last RPG was Ni No Kuni and as such, I welcome this game with open arms (she’s definitely a looker too…the game that is).

Sure, there’s a few great downloadable titles on PS4 – Resogun is fun and all, but it feels less intense in comparison to Super Stardust HD. Mercenary Kings was charming when I played couch co-op with Adam, but I don’t see myself playing much more if I’m alone at home. Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a quirky title for PC/Mac/Linux and PS4, in which you are an octopus pretending to be a man. You also have a human family, and nobody seems to suspect you aren’t a human. It’s funny but this game really isn’t that long, and for me, the novelty would probably wear off quickly.

The one thing in common with these games: they’re all relatively short indie titles.   This is fine and all, but I’m really waiting for the meatier, longer, bigger showings.

The Last of Us Remastered is due to come out later this year, but I’m not willing to shell out another $70 on a game I've already played. Hopefully they offer some sort of discount for people who already own the PS3 version.

From Software (developers of the Souls series) is rumored to be working on a new title for the next gen consoles.  Whatever the game is, it’s probably going to be better than a PS4 port of Dark Souls 2. I’ll probably end up buying both anyway.

Call of Duty yada yada yada. Advanced Warfare blah blah blah. Kevin Spacey. To be honest, I haven’t played a CoD game since Black Ops, so I might give this one a shot when it arrives on PS4. However, I highly doubt it will be any better than the PS3/Xbox 360 versions.

Same thing applies to Watch Dogs. But seriously, if I wanted to watch dogs, I’ll just go to the dog park. And why does the cover art have a masked man with a gun? What kind of dog watcher is he?

Is it worth buying a PS4 right now? Probably not. The console is a great update from the PS3, but the lack of PS4 offerings has forced me to turn my PS3 on more than my PS4.  It’s only normal since it’s just the beginning of the product’s life cycle, and I guess I’m one of the early adopters.

Maybe it’s just that the PS3 is a familiar face, in which I was used to turning it on and pushing its buttons. She’s been with me since 2008, so it’s hard to let her go. PS4 is new to me. She’s faster, sleeker, and I guess this all makes me nervous. Sure, she has the same buttons as the PS3, but I don’t know what order to push them in. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon.

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Lightning Returns Dressed Up For The Wrong Occasion

I imagine Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (LR) as a game whose photograph could be placed next to the definition of “irony” in any future iterations of the dictionary...Presumably in this future, people will require photographs to understand the meaning of words. But I digress: returning to the point of this post now, let me begin to explain why irony and LR are so matrimonial.

Over the years, Final Fantasy has devolved from a hallmark brand whose institutionalized presence in the industry and within the RPG genre garnered much praise, to a dirty word that people use to defame JRPGs and discredit their relevancy within the video game scene. Final Fantasy XIII (FFXIII) marked the beginning of this negative pit of internet revulsion, and was often criticized for being too linear, and far to affectless: fans wanted more of the same, more of what made earlier Final Fantasy games fantastic; and FFXIII allegedly embodied the sentiment of Square Enix not caring about their fans.

In order to appeal to their primary consumer base, Square Enix began tinkering with FFXIII, mutating its sequel into a less-linear experience whose characters and story became so removed from competent storytelling that fans could safely conclude that Lightning and her friends were no longer taken seriously by anyone at Square Enix either. Problem solved.

Except that LR is sort of contrary to the message and sensibilities that FFXIII-2 seemingly embodies. Sure, LR is less linear than FFXIII and even FFXIII-2, and sure the story is even more laughable, but the game is also so completely unlike any other Final Fantasy game in the series that it begs the question as to why it even exists in the first place.

To elaborate, I’ve grown up identifying Final Fantasy as the Hollywood blockbuster of RPGs. By this I mean that I viewed every entry as presenting an experimental and engaging combat system, as having a plot whose melodrama and relative linearity was tempered by interesting characters, and as a being gift wrapped nicely by a level of visual polish that helped justify its popularity.

LR is a disjointed mess that’s often too fragmented to truly appreciate. For instance, NPCs are littered across the world, and are seemingly walking around everywhere. One particular zone in the game, the Wildlands, is infested with all manner of wild dogs, who are seemingly everywhere, such as in the neighbouring canyons, fields and villages. No one cares that the world is ending, or at least they don’t express this outwardly based on their actions or dialogue.

Even stranger, LR feels like a right and proper RPG: Lightning can be customized meaningfully; quests and areas can be tackled and visited in any order; and the game is challenging and rewards experimentation and planning. “Right and proper” here is used to differentiate most Final Fantasy games from more traditional RPGs, in which the player is given a great deal of agency to customize their play experience and shape it into something which is meaningfully different from other players experiences with the game. Most Final Fantasies lean so heavily on story progression that meaningful customization suffers. Sure, you can invest time into ensuring that Cloud learns lightning before cure, but he’ll likely end up learning both anyways.

To summarize, LR is ironic insofar as it’s designed as an F-you to most of the Final Fantasies that came before it, in spite of being developed to usurp FFXIII’s lasting negative impact on the franchise: the battle system is solid and remarkable, but plays out in real-time and is more comparable to The Witcher series than to any other Final Fantasy game that came before it; the story borderlines on incoherent and is seemingly written by several children from a future where planning ideas before putting them to print is openly disparaged; and the game lacks visual and visionary polish. And yet, the game rewards experimentation, planning and forward-thinking (the hallmark of any good RPG, in my opinion) over grinding and story consumption. LR has become a Western RPG, wearing JRPG clothing; it is a gaming experience that is all dressed up, but that has nowhere to go.

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That's How I Role

So I recently started playing Fallout : New Vegas again, after talking about it on the podcast I started jonesing for another play through, and I figured I would talk about it in my blog this week.

Now to preface this I should explain to you the way I play most Bethesda games: I give my character a compulsion. Now this ranges from ADD, OCD, alcoholism, addiction, compulsive lying, inferiority complexes and kleptomania. Now I know what you're thinking "Why the hell would you do that?" and the short answer is "its fun".

No matter which compulsion you pick, it adds a new dynamic to the game forcing you to look at rooms, areas and interactions differently. During my last play through, my character was an alcoholic who loved whiskey. I ended up collecting all the whiskey I could find and maintained a constant buzz throughout the game. Fallout even acknowledges addictions to the point where you have to drink or you suffer the negative effects of your previous binges. By the end of the game I was running low on whiskey and had to scavenge the wastelands for every bottle. It adds a surprising new element to the game: something as trivial as an optional consumable becomes a major item you need at all times.

So now that you know about how I role-play in Bethesda games, I can tell you about my new campaign. I decided to make Campaloupe a compulsive liar who is obsessed with ashtrays and after playing for about three hours, I've learned something I hadn't thought about...there are shit ton of ashtrays in a game about Las Vegas. I mean seriously the people who preceded the nuclear holocaust had a seriously unhealthy smoking problem. Bundle in the fact that I have to lie whenever I'm prompted too, the game has actually been pretty crazy so far. I've gotten into about four or five fights with people in-game due to it and I've all ready collected about 90 ashtrays, which are scattered across my floor in Novac.

To be honest though it's something I think everyone should try in any game you can. Like I said before, it really adds new layer to the game and I consider it a game long mission or objective.

Well that's how I've been playing lately and as I progress, I may throw in a few updates now and again on Campaloupe's exploits.

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