tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25423997950448170922024-02-18T21:48:52.891-05:00You Are Lose!A (hopefully) thoughtful analysis of video games that currently tickle my fancy.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-13621523157374140102009-02-25T10:28:00.004-05:002009-02-25T10:58:30.909-05:00Half-Life 2: Episode 1 - The Elevator of Doom<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPAfJe046ucHM3DtL3Z808y2AN2NquQW4DC6YJ53FgC5FSv9rraJQPQ5NwEyayIgi9ELg0usJ8unGhQavFAFZMZ4tFXpDJoF586QAwxLahvxh99jOT9SKD7H8Qq_8MfhtxLHpN5OkXPI/s1600-h/HL2+Episode+1+-+Elevator.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPAfJe046ucHM3DtL3Z808y2AN2NquQW4DC6YJ53FgC5FSv9rraJQPQ5NwEyayIgi9ELg0usJ8unGhQavFAFZMZ4tFXpDJoF586QAwxLahvxh99jOT9SKD7H8Qq_8MfhtxLHpN5OkXPI/s200/HL2+Episode+1+-+Elevator.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306764949913668434" border="0" /></a>After delving back into the world of <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life</span> with <span style="font-style: italic;">Episode 1</span> recently, I got stuck in the first chapter on possibly the most frustrating gaming section of recent memory. There aren't even any enemies involved, just deadly, falling objects.<br /><br />Near the end of the first chapter, as you try to make your way to the core of the Combine Citadel, you come across a powerless elevator that looks like it descends to the core. So I casually turned the power on for the elevator, and as it started moving, waited patiently for an expected Combine assault. After all, on a similar elevator ride in <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span>, Combine soldiers fired on me the entire time. Unfortunately, I was dead wrong.<br /><br />The Citadel core was unstable, and threatening to blow up the entire place. Thus, the walls had been constantly shaking. On the elevator, Alyx Vance, your indefatigable AI partner, warns you to "Look up" and "Watch out!" The danger in this section of the game was not soldiers or bullets, but huge falling chunks of debris from the unstable building. What made this section so annoying was that it only partially depends on the player's skill; there's also a significant luck factor involved. Combine this with 15-20 seconds of loading each time you fail and die, and you have a tedious exercise in figuring out how best to approach the situation.<br /><br />Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that your elevator, in this high-tech, futuristic fortress, is made of frickin' glass!? Are you telling me glass is the most stable, strong building material the Combine had available? What this means in practical terms is that if a single large piece of debris hits your elevator: Boom, Crash! - instant death, load, wait, retry.<br /><br />Granted, during this section, although you have no traditional weapons, you do have the super-charged gravity gun. One option is to use it to simply repel the 4 or 5 pieces of debris away from you. Apparently my timing isn't good enough, because that method just didn't work for me. The other option is to grab energy balls lining the walls and fire them at the debris to knock them off course. After dozens of hours of playing <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span>, I'm pretty decent at aiming my guns, especially at large objects. But where the luck comes into play is that even if you hit the piece of debris with an energy ball, that's no guarantee it won't still crash into the elevator. The physics and gravity modeled in the game may still pull the debris right into you, or it might bounce off the wall and ricochet into you. Since this is a one hit death that is only partially within your power to prevent, it was incredibly frustrating. I must have played this short segment for nearly an hour before finally getting past it. I even had to make a quicksave halfway down the elevator shaft to give me a decent shot of making it through.<br /><br />I suppose it wouldn't have been so bad if the loading time wasn't so long between retries. Usually the loading between sections isn't a big deal, because it loads a large area of the game and I don't die all that often. This is the closest I've been to hurling a controller across the room since the original <span style="font-style: italic;">Super Mario Kart</span>. Thankfully, I made it past, and am now in the core battling the more forgiving Combine soldiers. <span style="font-style: italic;">Phew!!!</span><br /><br />Did anyone else have a similar experience during this section of <span style="font-style: italic;">Episode 1</span>? Was it just me? What other games have you become frustrated at in unexpectedly difficult/unfair situations?Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-45571364956252414432009-02-17T13:46:00.002-05:002009-02-17T14:06:36.148-05:00Turn-Based or Real Time RPGs?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRssPT6cUySLfHUVuXeiO5wwVVFnu5nk1mVd6wXhpPO_obGUZ7I7C7USAGHygMOTOCmQyUKtLS5Y-gzAho26k8jGT6wRIXN7jv2a-XMb3INLQqt8Pn27zYfxzW4O_6Lnmv_vUt-T2aka4/s1600-h/Final+Fantasy+IX+Cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRssPT6cUySLfHUVuXeiO5wwVVFnu5nk1mVd6wXhpPO_obGUZ7I7C7USAGHygMOTOCmQyUKtLS5Y-gzAho26k8jGT6wRIXN7jv2a-XMb3INLQqt8Pn27zYfxzW4O_6Lnmv_vUt-T2aka4/s200/Final+Fantasy+IX+Cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303844647903737746" border="0" /></a>After having played so many turn-based RPGs over the past year or so, I've noticed quite a few differences with <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy IX</span>. Most recently on the DS, I played <span style="font-style: italic;">Dragon Quest IV</span>, but I also played <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy III</span> relatively recently. I must have a strategic mind because I greatly prefer a turn-based system of battle, versus an active system such as in any <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy</span> after number 4. I just don't like the idea that if I don't act quickly enough, the enemy will get to go before me or even sneak in an extra attack. This might be why I liked the strategic battles of <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy X</span> so much: every enemy had a weakness I could exploit, and I always knew the exact turn order of all characters and enemies.<br /><br />Back to <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy IX</span>, it continues the <span style="font-style: italic;">FF</span> tradition of employing a real-time battle system. Each character (and enemy) has a timer that fills up at varying speeds. When the gauge is full, that character can take an action. However, in practice, this system still largely replicates a turn-based system. At the most active setting, if you can input your commands without thinking too long, the characters and enemies will pretty much stay in the exact same turn order. So, for example, if the battle order is Character 1, Character 2, Enemy 1, Character 3, Enemy 2, and you don't waste any time picking your actions, that order will remain the same.<br /><br />Of course, I'm still only partway through disc 2 (of 4). I would expect the real-time battles to get more complicated as the game goes on and you have more skills and abilities to choose from. But maybe not, if the fighter attacks, the thief steals, the mage casts his strongest spell, and the healer waits to heal. In typical usage, <span style="font-style: italic;">FFIX's</span> active battle system is no different than a turn-based system. This may also change later as fast characters get faster, and may start to gain extra turns.<br /><br />Plus, due to my turn-based preference, I set the battle speed to "Wait," so that the battles effectively pause as I think about which spell to cast. I'm not trying to make the game easier, I just like to have plenty of time to choose the best action.<br /><br />Otherwise, <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy IX</span> is going great. The first disc and a half have been largely story-based, with my party moving quickly from location to location, at the mercy of the plot. But I think the game world opens up a bit more on disc 3, and I have more freedom to roam around and go where I will.<br /><br />I really like how each character has a predefined role or class. I much prefer these types of RPGs to the ones where characters are blank slates and all end up being copies of each other. In <span style="font-style: italic;">FFIX</span> each character is unique: Zidane is the nimble thief, Vivi is the powerful mage, Dagger is the healing white mage, and Steiner is the brute physical attacker. I find unique characters preferable to a game like <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy VI</span>, where each character can learn every spell in the game, and by the end they mostly are all identical except for a few special abilities.<br /><br />This is also the first PS1 game I've played on my PS3. I'm not certain, but I think it looks better and loads fast than when played on my PS2. I'm not going to time the load times or anything, but it certainly seems to be pretty speedy. I've also been able to play quite a bit remotely via the PSP, which has been really nice for when my girlfriend would rather watch <span style="font-style: italic;">The Bachelor</span> than me play a classic PS1 RPG.<br /><br />I'll press onward in my 4th attempt or so to actually finish <span style="font-style: italic;">FFIX</span>, although I will be slowly delving into <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2: Episode 1</span> soon. This should provide a nice contrast of games and playing styles.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-50219031000458204122009-02-12T10:09:00.006-05:002009-02-12T11:37:42.044-05:00Half-Life 2: A Stressful But Satisfying Experience<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIyCSffYmtnv3ToRSGkA1IGRZFS1lnXV1vGZuYm5skTMZR4ofKu2kB9bceEhsyxiM86UuMM11Zgo0BV-ehB8FGJlPRypT_5NJVbEZOxAiqbjuBAameDtur005DyV6S_I3WZbEmywLehmo/s1600-h/Half-Life+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIyCSffYmtnv3ToRSGkA1IGRZFS1lnXV1vGZuYm5skTMZR4ofKu2kB9bceEhsyxiM86UuMM11Zgo0BV-ehB8FGJlPRypT_5NJVbEZOxAiqbjuBAameDtur005DyV6S_I3WZbEmywLehmo/s200/Half-Life+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301937583236057234" border="0" /></a>As part of my effort to expand my gaming horizons, I've been trying to play games in genres I normally avoid. One of the biggest gaps in my gaming knowledge is First Person Shooters, which is why the first game I bought for the PS3 was <span style="font-style: italic;">The Orange Box</span>. On Wednesday I finished my 2nd ever FPS, <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span> (the first was the original <span style="font-style: italic;">Halo</span>.) I know that <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span> isn't the most difficult shooter, and that in the grand scheme of things this isn't the grandest of accomplishments, but for me it's pretty significant.<br /><br />When I first started playing <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span> several months ago, I found it very stressful and a little unsettling. I wasn't used to the fast pace, enemies jumping out of corners and dark spaces, and constantly being shot at from myriad locations. But over the last few weeks, as I played the game more regularly and eagerly, the tense shout-outs became almost normal. While they were still a little stressful, they became more exciting and I actually looked forward to discovering what new scenario, set-piece, or battle lurked around the next corner or down the next tunnel. I don't think I'll ever become a hard-core shooter fan, trying to play all of them. My successful completion of <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span> shows that with a little dedication, I can delve into genres other than RPGs and strategy games and come out unscathed, probably all the better for it.<br /><br />Just as with any type of media, it's important for consumers to be able to experience and appreciate different types within that form. I may not like very many romantic comedies, but I can understand what others see in a particularly well-made film. Similarly, I don't desire to play very many shooters, but I certainly see why they can be so appealing. There's a distinct thrilling from encountering a group of enemies and having full control over your character's capability to engage them and remove them as a threat. It's exciting and makes you feel very powerful, especially in a game as well-made and with such beautiful combat scenarios as <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span>. My successful completion of this game gives me heart that other shooters are not beyond the realm of my capabilities. <span style="font-style: italic;">Bioshock</span> will, I think, be even more intimidating as it subscribes to a freakier/creepier cast of enemies, but I know it will be well worth the journey.<br /><br />In the meantime, before acquiring other PS3 games to expand my library beyond the single game I currently possess, I'm going to take a short break from <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span>. Although I beat the game, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Orange Box</span> also includes <span style="font-style: italic;">Episode 1</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Episode 2</span>, each of which are about a third as long as <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span> and directly pick up the story. I believe these 2 episodes, along with the as-yet unannounced <span style="font-style: italic;">Episode 3</span>, serve as a sort-of unofficial <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 3</span>. I'm going to take a break from shooting things for a little while, just to give my nerves a rest, and so my girlfriend will stop thinking she lives in the middle of a war zone.<br /><br />Of the multiple console games I have yet to finish, the most likely games to work on before becoming a shooter aficionado again are the first disc of <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy IX</span>, the first character of <span style="font-style: italic;">Odin Sphere</span>, or figuring out where the heck I am in <span style="font-style: italic;">Jak II</span>. I'm leaning towards <span style="font-style: italic;">FFIX</span> as a way to continue using my PS3 and not have to switch around cables. Before my shooter hiatus, I should have one more post about <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span>. For an inexperienced FPS gamer such as myself, it was pretty incredible and jaw-dropping. Except for the zombie infested Ravenholm section. That scared the pants off me.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-17110110327650581362009-02-10T14:08:00.004-05:002009-02-10T14:58:09.115-05:00A Newly Discovered Feature of the PS3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcs4Vjog5jdG_c47ZJF9CPoBfDLuHHXWACkSKEtSLvh6Gc4K-C3_3lkE8_BW0vSdsWNeZAXFr6PgiNXLOg5YrNkwRNhf_8HLDF6rSzl5BoZIFJustO3uk9Al27nFv7K5NrZB_gWcFcfFs/s1600-h/PS3+Remote+Play.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcs4Vjog5jdG_c47ZJF9CPoBfDLuHHXWACkSKEtSLvh6Gc4K-C3_3lkE8_BW0vSdsWNeZAXFr6PgiNXLOg5YrNkwRNhf_8HLDF6rSzl5BoZIFJustO3uk9Al27nFv7K5NrZB_gWcFcfFs/s200/PS3+Remote+Play.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301259617958751954" border="0" /></a>I'm still discovering new features of my PS3, after owning one for about 4 months. Some features I am aware of, but can't fully take advantage of. For example, I can't play any games in high-definition because I do not yet own an HD-TV. Likewise, while I have rented one Blu-Ray movie, I don't really see the point until I have a better TV. After all, without an HD-TV and an HDMI cable, the picture doesn't really look better.<br /><br />What I've recently discovered about the PS3, though, is an interesting little feature: the Remote Play ability to control your PS3 via a PSP. I don't know how many people actually own both of these devices, but their connectivity is pretty simple and, well, powerful. First you connect them via the USB cable, which basically registers your PSP with that particular PS3 system and lets them recognize each other. Then there are a couple of ways to get into controlling the PS3 with the PSP. The slightly more convoluted way is to power on the PS3, go to Network icon on the XMB, and set it manually to Remote Play. Then, do the exact same thing on the PSP and you're all set. What I think is the cooler way is to change the PS3 settings so Remote Play also enables a remote start. This way, if your PS3 is in standby mode and the TV is in use, you can turn it on and use it with the PSP without messing with the TV.<br /><br />Ok, so you can turn on the PS3 with the PSP. What else can you do? Perhaps one of the best uses of this feature is watching video clips stored on the PS3 remotely. This is pretty good for me too, since I'm not really losing much quality because I only have a standard-definition TV. Less significantly, you can use the PSP's mobility to watch videos away from the living room (or wherever the TV is). I'm also not certain, but I believe a handful of PS3 games allow for Remote Play. I'll have to check on that.<br /><br />I also love that PS1 games, as well as at least one PlayStation Network title, can be played remotely. I tested <span style="font-style: italic;">PixelJunk Eden</span>, since it's the only PSN title I own, on the PSP. While it doesn't work nearly as smoothly or look as good as on a TV, it's still more than possible to play it. Remote Play is also particularly well-suited to playing old PS1-era RPGs. I've had an itch recently to play through <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy IX</span>, which is one of the few <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy</span> games I've neglected. The slower pace and lack of intense action makes games of this type easier to play remotely than more fast-paced games.<br /><br />Which brings me to my biggest complaint about Remote Play: there is a noticeable lag when accessing the PS3 through the PSP. Since you're not using the PS3 directly, but instead over a wireless network, it's inevitable that a little of the finesse, of the near-instantaneous response time will be lost. This is why games like <span style="font-style: italic;">FFIX</span> work so well remotely, while a 2D fighter might be a little more difficult. A second minor problem is that the PSP battery life was short enough on its own. By using the wireless connectivity constantly during Remote Play, it just runs down that much faster. So you can't expect to use this feature for an exceptionally long stretch of time.<br /><br />This is a nice little addition to the PS3's feature set. It feels more useful than other handheld-console connections (such as GBA-GameCube), perhaps because the feature is not tied to a specific game. Instead, you have full access to the PS3, and can do pretty much anything you would normally. It's also very advantageous if you live in a household where the television is shared. If someone is watching a TV show, but you really want to play through the next dungeon in <span style="font-style: italic;">FFIX</span> or start downloading a new demo, you can still do it peacefully. Just set the PS3 to standby, boot up the PSP, and go to town. Remote Play may not be perfect, but in certain situations it feels just right.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-33402184497648263292009-02-05T13:35:00.005-05:002009-02-06T14:25:50.882-05:00PS3 Trophies: What Are They Good For?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlurQD1Nk_0gmkeWinE8nzOk9NWzgc4POO5nhgPA-v9vzA2b0es7YTHxP8Ut2-erPoBpSZHUr23KH_xN0XqoSNQ7V_lSmoOVSw_KaUNOrwPu3UNKuzKaxPpzuaqQcXRb2SLtw3eED3u-4/s1600-h/LittleBigPlanet+Play+Trophy.PNG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlurQD1Nk_0gmkeWinE8nzOk9NWzgc4POO5nhgPA-v9vzA2b0es7YTHxP8Ut2-erPoBpSZHUr23KH_xN0XqoSNQ7V_lSmoOVSw_KaUNOrwPu3UNKuzKaxPpzuaqQcXRb2SLtw3eED3u-4/s200/LittleBigPlanet+Play+Trophy.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299394914628493106" border="0" /></a>As a kid, I collected many things: baseball cards, action figures, anything with 'Star Wars' written on it. Most of these items didn't have much value, but they meant something to me at the time. Especially regarding my binders full of baseball cards, most were not worth any money. Yet I cherished them because they represented larger than life personalities. And stumbling across a popular player in a fresh pack, an uncommon event, was pure joy. In some ways, Microsoft and Sony's inclusion of Achievements and Trophies (respectively) in this hardware generation reminds me of my earlier childhood hoarding tendencies.<br /><br />I'm conflicted, though, in that I think trophies (I'll speak of them since I don't have a 360, although my thoughts should largely apply to Achievements as well) are both a welcome evolution to video games and an unnecessary burden. Much like with my baseball cards, I feel strongly compelled to collect as many trophies as I can, just because they exist. Similarly, I try to complete games I own as much as possible. This why <span style="font-style: italic;">Fire Emblem</span> (GBA) still sits in my unfinished pile, because I still need to re-finish the game with another main character, Hector. So with the two games I have played that feature trophies (<span style="font-style: italic;">Pixeljunk Eden</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span>), I try to gather as many as I can.<br /><br />Trophies work best for me when either the game itself is not excessively challenging, or when the unlocking of the trophy can be found through a mostly normal play through. For example, <span style="font-style: italic;">Pixeljunk Eden</span> has a trophy for collecting all 5 Spectra in each garden, a reasonable and worthwhile request. Similarly, <span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span> has trophies for completing each main level or gathering all the stickers in each level. These trophies make sense within what the games set out to accomplish. <span style="font-style: italic;">Pixeljunk Eden</span> is about repopulating and rejuvenating a large garden, thus capturing all the Spectra both furthers that goal and your sense of purpose within that world. <span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span>, while it includes numerous developer-created levels, is really about sharing and interacting with other users. Thus, the trophy for collecting all the stickers can only be earned by playing with others, either online or off, since some stickers require 2-4 players.<br /><br />However, trophies are at their worst when they require you to go far outside the realms of normal activity within a game world. Sure, these types of achievements might be cherished by regular gamers seeking an extreme challenge from their tired old games. But I'm more of a <a href="http://insultswordfighting.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-taxonomy-of-gamers-table-of.html">Tourist/Completist</a>, so events that force me outside the normal arc of a game don't interest me much. For example, one trophy in <span style="font-style: italic;">Pixeljunk Eden</span> is rewarded for finishing a garden without missing any pollen. For those unfamiliar with the game, when your avatar swings into an enemy, they release a certain amount of pollen, which appears as a burst of numerous, extremely tiny drifting dots on the screen which disappear after a short time. Fail to grab even one of these, and you might as well start over. With so many games to play, I have no time for such tedium.<br /><br />At the same time, the value of some difficult trophies is purely dependent on the characteristics of the player, and of the game itself. In <span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span>, I was immensely proud when I finally earned the Play trophy, for beating all the main story levels without dying. This was quite hard, because some of the later levels are long and reasonably nasty. But I didn't mind retrying levels until I earned this trophy, because the mechanics were relatively simple and restarting a level was quick and seamless. I didn't need an extraordinary amount of skill to earn this trophy. I mainly needed patience, and the ability to remember where I made mistakes and correct them the next time.<br /><br />So my general attitude toward trophies is that the best ones are acquired through the normal course of play, or when the game is so compelling and fun in its own right that you don't mind replaying part of it repeatedly to earn one digital award. For me, they are also at their worst when they are excessively and purposefully beyond the realm of normal difficulty or expectations. I have so many games I want to get through, that trophies that are too tricky to earn aren't worth my time.<br /><br />Nonetheless, these types of achievements are by and large an addicting addition to PS3 and 360 games when implemented with thought and care. But they are also easy to abuse, and developers can simply add them haphazardly because they are required to by Sony and Microsoft. But the good outweighs the bad. And it's now even easier to show off my collection than when I was a child. No more lugging around heavy binders of baseball cards. Now, all we need to do is exchange our user names.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-66047171564124500422009-02-04T14:14:00.003-05:002009-02-04T14:44:34.406-05:00A Final Mystery: The End of Persona 3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWnKo2RsofeWZ12hDZwE-iJN-A0ZlTu5gKuKdgl_GWAFziLCqMSwySF_uS7Gel3JcXCPM7Uh8UyyT4Y0nTh1fEcpDZv2WnJ1b3yAV-238iuqvtazkeSM_9_mE8Dzphbbz03oSCgR6uD8/s1600-h/Persona+3+The+Answer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWnKo2RsofeWZ12hDZwE-iJN-A0ZlTu5gKuKdgl_GWAFziLCqMSwySF_uS7Gel3JcXCPM7Uh8UyyT4Y0nTh1fEcpDZv2WnJ1b3yAV-238iuqvtazkeSM_9_mE8Dzphbbz03oSCgR6uD8/s200/Persona+3+The+Answer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299030257145600754" border="0" /></a>What a week! Here in Kentucky we had a major ice storm last week. Several hundred thousand people were/are without power. Some won't even get power for a few more weeks. I was lucky, in that I only lost cable and Internet for a few days. Not such a big deal, when you consider that some people were unable to stay in their homes. But I'm back online now, and the city's slowly getting back to normal.<br /><br />In gaming news, after returning <span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span> (bloody brilliant game!) I switched gears full forward into finishing off <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>. The lack of cable and Internet really helped quicken this goal. With no television, Internet, or ability to look for jobs, I had lots of free time to delve deeper into Tartarus. Mission accomplished! I beat <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>.<br /><br />Ah, but I forgot to mention that I actually own <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3: FES</span>, which is the special edition of the game, released several months after the original. What this means is that while the original, main storyline is the same (except for some added items and social links) there is an entirely new addition to the game. This mode is called The Answer (as contrasted with The Journey). It's supposed to expand upon the plot of the main game and explain what happened afterwards.<br /><br />I have a couple of problems with this. First is that I just finished playing an 80 hour RPG. The last thing I want to do is now wade into a 25-30 hour extension of the game, which is largely a humongous dungeon crawl. Granted, the hearsay on the Internet seems to indicate that the story in The Answer is amazing and well worth the time. But I ask you this, Internet: is it amazing by universal narrative standards, or just amazing by the generally dull video game standards?<br /><br />Second, what is the point of this extra chapter? I didn't feel like there were any loose ends left over at the conclusion of <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>. Maybe I missed something, but I now understand why Tartarus existed, where it and the Shadows came from, and why it had to be destroyed. I even think I have a tenuous grasp on the general theme of the game: Death. What is there left to add? One of my biggest pet peeves is when DVDs are released as unrated or with extra scenes added in. Except in very rare cases, I want to see the movie as it was originally released and intended to be seen. These additions rarely add anything, and usually detract from the overall worth of the film.<br /><br />Does a similar concept hold true with video games? Admittedly, most video games are only released in one version. Very few receive updated releases. One notable example was <span style="font-style: italic;">Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence</span>, which added better, more fluid controls and an online component to the original game. But releasing an addition to the story is quite different to improving the controls or fixing some bugs. The new <span style="font-style: italic;">Prince of Persia</span> is similar to <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> in this regard in that they are planning to release some DLC that tweaks the difficulty and adds on some more story segments at the end of the main game. In general, I think these kinds of additions are completely unnecessary. If the story is understandable and 'complete', it doesn't need further explanation. It's redundant.<br /><br />Specifically with <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>, I think the game is fine the way it stands. It doesn't need an extra story to plod through just for some added insights. There are no loose ends, and everything fits together pretty well. That being said, I would like to play through The Answer and see if it really is as interesting as everyone says it is. Just not right away, because I am extremely burned out on <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> and long RPGs in general. Since my PS3 has been neglected for the past few months, other than <span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span>, I'm going to return to <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span>. A fast-paced shooter will be a nice change of pace. I can't wait to get back to tossing things around with the good old gravity gun!Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-36784693153448373912009-01-26T14:15:00.004-05:002009-01-27T10:32:36.084-05:00LittleBigPlanet: The Smile Maker<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZy42LYb0lBuBKKbVC4edQymCm1cziQ9J6mE5d3w4hqsfby8jlDGqvYXZl18EkCXUJIzmF_IJ7hUEXt2D3UCFB1W8Fp5Tz9VWlf37H7L718pBXt4FBMs7YcJvP2iID4gHubOGYFvlDUKA/s1600-h/LittleBigPlanet+-+Sackboy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZy42LYb0lBuBKKbVC4edQymCm1cziQ9J6mE5d3w4hqsfby8jlDGqvYXZl18EkCXUJIzmF_IJ7hUEXt2D3UCFB1W8Fp5Tz9VWlf37H7L718pBXt4FBMs7YcJvP2iID4gHubOGYFvlDUKA/s200/LittleBigPlanet+-+Sackboy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295696539265624210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span> is the most fun, charming, entertaining experience I've had since childhood.<br /><br />Being currently unemployed and therefore on a very tight gaming budget, I rented <span style="font-style: italic;">LBP</span> last week, largely because I was unsure if it would be able to sustain my interest over a long period of time as a purchased title. After five days, I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it could keep me entertained for months. My only hesitancy is that since I'm not interested in taking the time and intense effort to create a decent level to share, what's the point of purchasing a game when I miss out on 1/3 of what it has to offer? Now I know that the other 2/3's, playing through the Media Molecule-developed story levels and sampling the wide variety of community-developed levels, provides more than enough engaging content.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Play</span><br /><br />The 25-30 levels Media Molecule created as the Story levels in <span style="font-style: italic;">LBP</span> are brilliant fun. They slowly but surely introduce new ideas and types of play. First, you just run and jump. Soon, you kill enemies, including giant bosses, navigate deadly traps, and work your way through very complicated scenarios. However, while these levels are fun and interesting in their own right, they become even more fantastic when I remember that they were completely created using the in-game level creator. Every tool and technique Media Molecule used to make these levels can be borrowed and replicated by any player around the world, provided they have the patience to create an equally complex level. Part of the genius is that for playing through and thoroughly scouring every nook and cranny of the levels, you are constantly rewarded with new costumes, stickers, and building materials that can then be immediately put to good use in the level editor. Playing through the story levels is not a waste of time. In fact, it's completely necessary if you want to maximize your productivity when creating levels of your own.<br /><br />While the story through most of the developer-made levels is largely forgettable (I couldn't tell you the plot in most of the areas), the ending is simply brilliant. It reminds me of <span style="font-style: italic;">Portal</span>, in the sense that there is a satisfying ending to the story levels that is nothing like what you expect. The best praise I can give the ending is that I couldn't help but smile at the charm of it all! Media Molecule actually managed to ground the mythos of <span style="font-style: italic;">LBP</span> in the real world. It's just amazing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Create</span><br /><br />For me, this is the least interesting mode of <span style="font-style: italic;">LBP</span>. Granted, it's vast and allows you to build, create, and set-up nearly any type of object or experience you can imagine. However, my personal tendency is to play through levels rather than create them. I've tried messing around with level editors in the past, and it never lasts long. I will make the effort of creating a level or two at some point, just to fully check out what the editor is capable of, but that will have to wait until I buy the game. My rental is due back today at noon. : )<br /><br />I'm not sure what Media Molecule expects out of the average user. Traditionally, very few people mess around with level creation. And of those who do, an even smaller percentage are even moderately decent at level design. So while some amazing levels have been created, a lot of them are pure garbage. It's too much to expect everyone to suddenly become a game designer, but the tools available do allow certain types of people to really put their creativity and imagination to good use.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Share</span><br /><br />With only a five day rental period, I have barely scratched the surface of checking out what user-created levels are available. I've played quite a few based on <span style="font-style: italic;">Shadow of the Colossus</span>, the famous <span style="font-style: italic;">Azure Palace</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Little Big Calculator</span> levels, and even a few reproductions of <span style="font-style: italic;">Super Mario Bros.</span> that somehow have not been removed. I also plan on looking at levels focusing on pirates, ninjas, and Japanese themes before I take the game back. The ability to search for levels has been greatly improved with a recent patch, with levels being searchable by several different criteria. The ability to rate and comment on each level after you play it really helps to keep the community involved in the game, having total control over which levels and authors rise to fame and which sink to the bottom of obscurity. The variation and creativity of the user-created levels is seemingly endless. They could keep me entertained for a long time to come.<br /><br />I am fully convinced that <span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span> is one of the most endearing, entertaining, and just plain <span style="font-style: italic;">fun</span> video game experiences I've had in a very long time. It really makes you feel like a kid again. In some ways, <span style="font-style: italic;">LBP</span> is more of a sandbox-style game than an open-world game like <span style="font-style: italic;">GTAIV</span>. You can do, build, and play anything you want to. There are no serious punishments, or even a <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span>wrong" way to play a level. You are encouraged and expected to explore each level as fully as possible. Jump and run around. Have fun. The world really is your own personal playground, and we're all better off for it.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-14632806788484345492009-01-20T10:17:00.003-05:002009-01-20T11:09:06.899-05:00(In)Consistency in Persona 3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk88PeazTcBfMyajTytaWmhQWKQTlwO1ntBhSWAURsTaaq68wNdgLxyoipkO-2ndlH3348uPiOe6kIN5T7RHNYk3NYs8FCWh4kg9Iyg4MF0ySVHBHo2pSZ6T4iSZ8nOwvLdWxvS5Inowc/s1600-h/persona3.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 114px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk88PeazTcBfMyajTytaWmhQWKQTlwO1ntBhSWAURsTaaq68wNdgLxyoipkO-2ndlH3348uPiOe6kIN5T7RHNYk3NYs8FCWh4kg9Iyg4MF0ySVHBHo2pSZ6T4iSZ8nOwvLdWxvS5Inowc/s200/persona3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293408531172350898" border="0" /></a>Ok. I know have complained a lot about <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> recently, and how I grew tired and bored with its slow pace and plodding narrative. Now that I'm into December (when the game ends in January, I think?), the narrative has really ramped up. As such, I'm a little more involved in the story, and actually look forward to reaching the next full moon as quick as possible in order to see what happens next. But this renewed interest in <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> doesn't mean that other aspects of the game don't stand out to me as problematic.<br /><br />Since the beginning of the game, in fact since the first time my character died and I had to reload the game, one glaring flaw of the battle system has annoyed me to no end. When a character dies in battle, there a re a couple of ways to revive them, usually by using either a Revival Bead (item) or the spell Recarm. Then, the character is revived with some amount of health, and you hope they survive until you can heal them. This is a standard revival technique, found in nearly every RPG in some form or another. And it works very well, usually. Unfortunately, in <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>, the only character that cannot be revived, at all, is the main character, who also happens to be the only one you directly control in battle.<br /><br />If the main character (MC from now on) loses all his health, he dies. Game over. No chance to revive him in the same battle. You then must spend several minutes watching scene, going through the title sequence, reloading, and backtracking. This is particularly annoying if you are stuck battling a difficult boss or guardian. Perhaps the reasoning for this aspect of the battle system is that since the player does not have direct control over his teammates, if the MC dies, it's Game Over because you can't bring yourself back from death. However, all of your teammates are capable of using items in battle, including Revival Beads. I've seen them revive each other before. At least one character, who usually serves as my party's healer, has the Recarm spell. Why, when the MC falls in combat, can one of the other characters not revive me? If they can revive each other, it makes absolutely no sense that they cannot revive me also?<br /><br />Each party member can have a battle tactic assigned to it. So, for example, I could assign my strongest attacker to go all out attacking an enemy, or have another character target an enemy's weakness. If I have programmed all my teammates to attack, then I understand that they might not revive the MC. However, if, as I regularly do, I have assigned one character to always heal the party, why would that character not be given the chance to also revive the MC? There's no reason not to. When a simple stroke of bad luck (such as one of the frequent instant death spells being successful) conspires against you, it's not only unfair to instantly have to restart, but it makes no sense within the logic of the game world.<br /><br />Finding myself very near the end of the game now, I find this inability to revive the MC a particularly glaring fault as I learn more about the themes and point of the narrative. I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that the theme of <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> revolves around death, and seems to be focusing on the characters' ability to accept and understand death. Perhaps, when I finally complete the game, I will be able to come up with some thematic reason as to why the MC is so fragile and able to be permanently killed. Until that point, it just adds to the tedium that sometimes pops up in this game.<br /><br />I wonder if <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 4</span> addresses this problem. I know that game gives you full control over the entire party, so perhaps the death of the main character does not lead to an instant game over. Does anyone know? I'd be very curious to find out.<br /><br />I'm near the end, so my ranting about <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> should come to an end soon, and I can move on and complain about something else.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-88915908728703544102009-01-15T13:32:00.003-05:002009-01-15T14:10:25.884-05:00Sometimes I Feel Like an Open World Game, Sometimes I Don't<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneV_GmPOnMdmNbKB9LtSI9XdzOFZGGhW3hcfj85h4akrvasx0QJ72bzHECEvl4p9TkvSepGEj7Vd_UDkitLgqzulNq0sf9Ht3VvzJskFzcoaU8BtP6R2JIjgz_XtQ5czKBgPdk9CoekE/s1600-h/High+Western+Plains.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneV_GmPOnMdmNbKB9LtSI9XdzOFZGGhW3hcfj85h4akrvasx0QJ72bzHECEvl4p9TkvSepGEj7Vd_UDkitLgqzulNq0sf9Ht3VvzJskFzcoaU8BtP6R2JIjgz_XtQ5czKBgPdk9CoekE/s200/High+Western+Plains.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291599905889481122" border="0" /></a>If there's one consensus among those who write about video games, it's that most of the top games of 2008 were characterized by their open ended nature. <span style="font-style: italic;">Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Fable 2, GTA IV, LittleBigPlanet</span>. These games want you to believe you can do anything and/or go anywhere. I often find these type of open ended experiences overwhelming. With so many options of what to do next, I often freeze up and find myself unable to continue at a solid pace. Sometimes, I don't even feel like starting up such a large, open world game. This causes me to spend way too much time thinking about what game to play, or what I should do next in that game, than <span style="font-style: italic;">actually playing</span> a game.<br /><br />I've recently been playing a lot of <span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization Revolution</span>, which while open in terms of having numerous civilizations to play as and choices to make, provides a relatively short, clear game experience. More relevant is that I've also been reading a lot about and delving into <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span>, which is an absolutely huge game. You can tweak the map settings, difficulty, starting civilization, and opponents any way you like. Games span hundreds of turns, maybe 20 hours of real-world time. There's always something new to see behind the flashing prompt, which reads "<span style="font-style: italic;">Press Enter to End Turn.</span>" Getting a handle on <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span>, and playing it enough to feel semi-competent, is a tall order for many gamers.<br /><br />That being said, it almost felt like a relief returning to <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> last night after many months away from Gekkoukan High School and the random dungeon Tartarus. I know I've complained <a href="http://youarelose.blogspot.com/2008/12/persona-3-slowest-game-of-last-year.html">previously</a> about how slow and plodding <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> can be at times. And I think that complaint still stands. But after all the <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span> decision-making I've been doing the last few weeks, the relative simplicity of <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> was a joy to behold. What personas to fuse, what characters to spend time with after school to increase social links, and just keeping track of my daily schedule seemed simple in comparison. Plus, I had last saved just one week before the next major boss, so I quickly found myself facing an exciting, story-based segment. Since this was near the end of the game (finally), I witnessed several intriguing revelations.<br /><br />I always like to have a couple of gaming options at my fingertips at any given time. I'm not always ready for the time commitment to a massive <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span> session. Nor do I always want to slog through several more days of <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>. Even though spreading my gaming time amongst several games slows down my overall progress, the options help keep my sanity and enjoyment intact.<br /><br />Plus, sometimes I just want to play through a few quick levels of <span style="font-style: italic;">New Super Mario Bros.</span> You can't beat playing a game with such a classic, quick design. I love playing video games. I just don't want it to feel like a chore.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com67tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-86062401586485608042009-01-14T10:53:00.005-05:002009-01-14T11:41:08.730-05:00To Those Who Make Civ IV Seem Easy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rNPSXaiSEtFBf4DTpgMbRvQlYHWJjnfMct7spmn3U7HlI3eoI45yBdtWpLGldfV9D2deyiG1TZeU5FqUwgrXvd8CP-n_B1hu7URvNW_GGhCOILLIu9GOX7Hr4zc3V03hyqTqucXH_LQ/s1600-h/Tip+of+the+Hat.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 177px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rNPSXaiSEtFBf4DTpgMbRvQlYHWJjnfMct7spmn3U7HlI3eoI45yBdtWpLGldfV9D2deyiG1TZeU5FqUwgrXvd8CP-n_B1hu7URvNW_GGhCOILLIu9GOX7Hr4zc3V03hyqTqucXH_LQ/s200/Tip+of+the+Hat.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291190279339482226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization IV</span> is a hard game.<br /><br />And I don't mean hard in the sense of trying to make a difficult jump in a <span style="font-style: italic;">Mario</span> game. I mean hard in the sense that there are dozens of different variables you need to keep in mind at any given time. I'm about 170 turns or so into my first game (out of 500 on normal speed, I think?). After a couple of brief wars, which I spectacularly failed, I have seven cities. In those cities, I need to regularly decide which units and buildings to construct, constantly monitor my workers to make sure they're doing the right jobs, make sure I produce enough research to advance technologically, make sure my empire's not going bankrupt, keep track of the AI personalities so they don't overrun me, and try to maintain a formidable military presence while also building infrastructure and wealth. <span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization IV</span> is huge and extremely open-ended, and is proving to be more than a little overwhelming.<br /><br />Which is why I greatly salute players like <a href="http://www.garath.net/Sullla/civ4.html">Sulla</a> and <a href="http://www.compoundeye.net/civ/">Kylearan</a>, who play this game all the time. In my constant reading about <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span>, I regularly come back to their websites to read reports about games they've played, most of which were challenges on higher difficulty settings. They make it seem so effortless, yet I make many mistakes and stall out attacking a weaker civilization on the most average difficulty setting. Most of their posts are older, of challenges from a website called <a href="http://realmsbeyond.net/civ/etactics.html">Realms Beyond Civilization</a>. I don't know if they still play regularly, or will ever post commentary on their completed games again. But I really enjoy wading through their dense play-by-play walkthroughs of past victories. I don't know that I'm learning much myself, being such a novice, but it's pretty exciting and interesting to watch a pro take a fledgling civilization and turn it into a globe-spanning empire.<br /><br />Perhaps the biggest lesson I've taken to heart so far is that the <span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization</span> games are at heart economic simulations. If you understand that aspect of the game, you can be successful at the other parts. A successful economy in <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ</span> leads to faster research, faster production, and even the ability to buy upgrades, units, and favors. It's a very powerful aspect of the game. Unfortunately, I'm mostly stumbling through everything, even though I feel like I understand the game <span style="font-style: italic;">in principle</span>.<br /><br />The learning curve on <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ</span> is extremely high, perhaps more so given that I installed the main game and both expansions at the same time. This means I have numerous map options and settings to choose from, difficulty levels to master, scenarios to conquer, and a grand total of 34 civilizations and 52 leaders to choose to play as. Overwhelming is an understatement.<br /><br />That's why I'm glad such a passionate fan community exists around <span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization IV</span>, even more than three years after its initial release. Perhaps the best site for general information and strategies is <a href="http://www.civfanatics.com/">Civfanatics.com</a>. The community and forums are still very active, and there is a mountain of helpful information to search through. Sites like <a href="http://www.garath.net/Sullla/civ4.html">Sulla's</a> and <a href="http://www.compoundeye.net/civ/">Kylearan's</a>, despite being older and infrequently (no longer?) updated, inspire me with visions of the high peaks of success that are possible with this game.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization IV</span> is dense, complex, long, and utterly engaging. I may get tired of it quickly, and move on to other, more instantly gratifying games. But if I stick with it, I know that there is a small army of dedicated players out there willing to provide advice on my amateur tactics. <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span> is a different beast from <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ Revolution</span>, like comparing Mozart's <span style="font-style: italic;">Requiem</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">Mary Had a Little Lamb</span>. Both are fun, but one makes me want to wail in confusion while the other makes me feel like a king.<br /><br />Sulla and Kylearan, and others who have mastered <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span>, I give you a tip of my hat.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-14050480084782851292009-01-13T11:16:00.007-05:002009-01-13T18:45:54.775-05:00Montezuma: How to Conquer the World Without Really Trying<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dDKhwKF0NmE5TcV9I8Ysq4q_mMb4IjqgBdzl-2V6CDz_ScWV1Sw6m7PPTH61-0PRW4MqnVnc4GQ_TSQ0Nm11B0LaWRcKWIB-qX8sJxJ3aWl4QIZAbu4AcKwvvfVMYgSlsNtmHRueUpo/s1600-h/Montezuma2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dDKhwKF0NmE5TcV9I8Ysq4q_mMb4IjqgBdzl-2V6CDz_ScWV1Sw6m7PPTH61-0PRW4MqnVnc4GQ_TSQ0Nm11B0LaWRcKWIB-qX8sJxJ3aWl4QIZAbu4AcKwvvfVMYgSlsNtmHRueUpo/s200/Montezuma2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290928738696215570" border="0" /></a>(The following are extracts taken from the diary of Emperor Montezuma of the Aztec civilization.)<br /><br />4000 BC<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The soon-to-be-mighty city of Tenochtitlan was founded today. It's not much to look at yet, but on the coast it will soon be a mighty city indeed. But before I can lead the Aztec people to world dominance, we're going to need some strong Jaguar Warriors.</span><br /><br />3700 BC<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The first (of many) Jaguar Warriors finished training today and set out to explore the wilderness. His instructions were as follows:<br /></span><ol><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Explore the murky terrors of the unknown.</span></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Seek contact with other people. If you meet someone, kill them!</span></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">I would like a nice gold bar, or maybe some spices, for my wife. See if you can find some.</span></li></ol><span>2500 BC</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tenochtitlan is growing nicely, with thousands of citizens at my command. Two more mighty Jaguar warriors joined with the first, forming a mighty army. Being blessed by the gods, I gave them the ability to heal after battle. Now no one will be able to harm them! Hahahaha. Unless the enemy has tanks or something. That would be very, very bad.<br /><br />My Jaguar Warrior Army headed towards nearby Kyoto to send a message to the puny Tokugawa that if you settle too close to the Aztecs, you're going to get burned.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><span>1900 BC</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Unsurprisingly, Tokugawa possessed no tactical finesse whatsoever. His capital was defended by but a duo of archers. My Jaguars had slaughtered countless barbarians, and were veterans of the battlefield. Kyoto soon became an Aztec colony.<br /><br />Oh yes, and Kyoto was the Japanese empires' sole city. Thus, they have been completely annihilated. Good bye.</span></span></span></span><span><br /><br />0 BC (0 AD?)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The last 2000 years have been largely peaceful for the Aztecs. Settlers founded three more cities to expand my empire, and scouts revealed that we have complete control of the entire western half of the continent. Unfortunately, upon discovering the mangy Mongolians and evil Egyptians on my eastern borders, my Jaguars are not strong enough to overrun them. Thus I sacrificed them and called my many scientists to my throne room and spoke, "The Mongolians are a blight to my eyes. You must create a weapon that can bust down their stone walls. Perhaps some type of device that throws rocks at very high speeds." So began the age of the catapult.<br /><br /></span>600 AD<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">With but two tiny cities crammed in a corner of the continent, Genghis Khan and the Mongolians have been eradicated, and the cities were welcomed into the mighty Aztec empire. Now to go after Cleopatra and the Egyptians. I am not ashamed to admit that they are very strong, with many strange technologies that I do not understand. Instead of bows, their archers carry long pointy sticks. No matter. My catapult armies can throw rocks very fast. Smash, smash, smash!<br /><br /></span>700 AD<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">At Cairo, the gods punished me. For my arrogance? No, for not building a sufficient army. Cleopatra is very smart and crafty. Her "piighkemen" easily kept my catapults and Jaguars from getting close to the city. They even had a strange shiny man on a horse with a sword. He terrified me so very much, he must be the devil. I ordered my scientists to make me a "nite," as I heard them called. Many citizens have been sacrificed to please the "nite" gods. They will be mine soon.<br /><br /></span>1400 AD<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I am growing older, but my hatred for Cleopatra burns only the hotter with each passing year. </span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">Many centuries have passed since my deal with the devil, but I have now amassed many armies of Knights on the outskirts of Cairo. Dark-robed spies are waiting to sneak in and destroy defenses. The Egyptians have no light at the end of the tunnel.</span><br /><br />1425 AD<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Egyptians no longer walk the face of this Earth. Cleopatra begged for mercy, but I snubbed out her light myself.</span><br /><br />1450 AD</span><span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A scouting unit has revealed Emperor Napoleon's French to the east. I know I must annihilate them. The blood lust of the gods demands it. My son urges me to seek peace. But I know I cannot. I am growing old, and have but a few years to make my mark on history. Napoleon, make your peace with the world. There is no hope, and there will be no mercy.</span><br /><br />1700 AD<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What have I done? Millions have been slaughtered, forests cut down, cities demolished. And I, the sole Emperor of the World, the Universe, and Everything, sit atop it, seeing all, trusting no one. Was it worth it? What use is it to rule a world scorched by flames, scarred by warfare? Perhaps next time will be different. I won. But at what cost?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-55944977614335362062009-01-07T10:34:00.005-05:002009-01-07T14:16:54.680-05:00The Shortcomings of Civilization Revolution DS<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVgTw4OyfiIWG2Hic0EQ7ZumdjHcYsWyY5nm4j40V7kn5T1XdS5OIsfqVH6e823b3Zi3HNEH7aAfzKwOOxkw4SnriExL8UMKxfppdRdQKo6Z_WmYgSIvtp1dGj8Ed-D-tpdnUNWVtC_0/s1600-h/Civ+Rev+Catapult.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVgTw4OyfiIWG2Hic0EQ7ZumdjHcYsWyY5nm4j40V7kn5T1XdS5OIsfqVH6e823b3Zi3HNEH7aAfzKwOOxkw4SnriExL8UMKxfppdRdQKo6Z_WmYgSIvtp1dGj8Ed-D-tpdnUNWVtC_0/s200/Civ+Rev+Catapult.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288632814733930258" border="0" /></a>Despite the many things I enjoy about <span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization Revolution</span>, as with most games there are a number of issues that could be addressed to make the game a little smoother. So I'll start this series of posts with a look at where <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ Rev</span> falls a little short. Although I'm talking about DS version, I believe <span style="font-style: italic;">most</span> of my comments probably apply to the PS3/360 versions as well.<br /><br />One of the biggest problems with <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ Rev</span> simply involves the interface. There's no map in this game. This is no problem at all in the early stages of the game when you're still exploring. Most of the area can be seen without scrolling at all. But later in the game when all the land and the other civilizations have been exposed, it can sometimes be a real pain to slowly scroll to the city or location you want to examine. The fastest way I've found to traverse the world is to go into the city view mode and keep hitting 'R' to go to the next city.<br /><br />Another interface problem involves the city management screen. From here you can decide what your city will build next, and also determine how to allocate your workers. There are buttons to set your workers to focus on gold, production, science, food, or some combination of those. Unfortunately, most of the presets rarely are adequate for how I want to run my city. While there is a customization button, it becomes tedious to go into this customization menu and manually set your workers on the right tile every few turns. Here's where <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ Rev</span> could have benefited from <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span>. In <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span>, you manually set your workers on the first screen when you opened the city maintenance screen, unlike <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ Rev</span> where it's buried a layer deeper. I see no reason I could not also customize my workers, which is usually optimal, from the main city screen. This is a minor gripe, but in a game whose existence is based on being streamlined, fast, and accessible, I think an opportunity was missed.<br /><br />One problem unique to the DS version is the lack of the Civilopedia. I know, this was largely unavoidable due to size limitations. After all, they did cram the entirety of a <span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization</span> game onto a tiny DS cartridge. But with the removal of this resource that explains every single unit and feature in the game, I sometimes find myself unable to look up some information that the game will not tell me. For example, after creating a Cannon, I might forget the strength of that cannon a few turns later. The game won't tell me just by selecting the cannon, only when I'm preparing to attack another unit. I can also find out the Cannon's statistics by going into a city menu, going to the Unit Production menu, scrolling down to Cannon, and then switching back and forth between highlighted units until the statistics screen pops up. This is a small issue, but when striving for quick and easy access, this added time in every game does not help.<br /><br />A few more minor nuisances:<br /><ol><li>You can't customize a map type. You can only play on a random map, so every time the map is mostly similar. You can choose continents, Pangaea, islands, highlands, etc. as in <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ <span style="font-style: italic;">IV</span></span>. I would assume this was cut due to balance issues. With only one general type of map it would be much easier to keep the game more balanced, although different map types force you to use different strategies with different civilizations.</li><li>I've only finished 3-4 games, so this is a bit of a jump. <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>But it seems like any civilization has a pretty decent chance to meet any of the four victory conditions, despite having civilization-specific advantages. You can play to maximize your civilization's inherent advantages, but you don't have to. In short, you can play as any civilization with any style you want to, and still have a good shot of winning any victory condition. (<span style="font-style: italic;">This could also be a compliment</span>.)</li><li>Due to the faster-paced nature of the game, games too often rely on aggression and warfare, with very little room for diplomacy beyond buying/selling technology and paying one rival civilization to attack another.</li></ol>I wrote a lengthy list of criticisms here, but I'm not really trying to devalue the game in any way. I <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> enjoy it. It's just as fun and addicting as it's PC big brother, as long as you accept it's limitations. That "one more turn" mentality is just as prevalent here, maybe more so since there's a little less to manage in any individual game. I know I'll play many more matches. I'm currently only on the middle of five difficulties, and will probably play the next few games at this level. The next highest will probably be quite the challenge, as the A.I. gets some resource and speed advantages that I don't.<br /><br />While the "revolution" in this adaptation isn't quite perfect, it's a lot of fun. The core changes to game play really do speed things up; my games typically take 5-6 hours since I micromanage a lot.<br /><br />Next up: a more specific civilization post.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-58342213348702491862009-01-06T15:41:00.005-05:002009-01-06T16:18:50.068-05:00Back in the Saddle in the New Year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0wo682wWVP8yBapvxPsRCeDPkPrSmhAS52OlmWPIwnz-NhRyp1R75FPg9QF9JvPEvmMTaxH-WVPEiiZEgmQoYF2MEI5uDdfCSsx_gIRh83_ruzXjRLDk5tLy0Z4jmrd2m9-KqoWMMN4/s1600-h/Deadwood.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0wo682wWVP8yBapvxPsRCeDPkPrSmhAS52OlmWPIwnz-NhRyp1R75FPg9QF9JvPEvmMTaxH-WVPEiiZEgmQoYF2MEI5uDdfCSsx_gIRh83_ruzXjRLDk5tLy0Z4jmrd2m9-KqoWMMN4/s200/Deadwood.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288293184994866194" border="0" /></a>I've been away from the blogging game for quite a while now. Without going into too many details, it was largely because of a busy holiday time, my continuing search for a job, and general laziness. Oh yeah, and getting wrapped up in <span style="font-style: italic;">playing</span> games instead of <span style="font-style: italic;">writing</span> about them!<br /><br />Even though I haven't written much recently, I have certainly stayed busy. The remake of <span style="font-style: italic;">Dragon Quest IV</span> for the DS kept me busy through most of the Christmas season. As a long time fan of Japanese RPGs, it really scratched an itch I had neglected for far too long. One thing I like about JRPGs like <span style="font-style: italic;">DQIV</span> is their repetition and relative simplicity. I know that typically a new town will lead to a new dungeon to explore. And if I'm not strong enough for a particular boss, I know I can walk back and forth in a room, level up, and try again. For me, (most) JRPGs are the comfort food of video games, an electronic macaroni and cheese.<br /><br />As I've <a href="http://youarelose.blogspot.com/2008/12/persona-3-slowest-game-of-last-year.html">posted previously</a>, I also spent as much time as possible on <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>, enjoying it but struggling to stay involved enough to see it through to the end. Not much news there, I have about three months of game time left, and <span style="font-style: italic;">at least</span> three major bosses. The struggle shall continue, although it is getting easier.<br /><br />Perhaps the biggest regret of the last few weeks is that I have neglected my PS3 almost completely, and I'm not sure why. One reason is that I want to rush through <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> so I can play <span style="font-style: italic;">Metal Gear Solid 3</span>, in order to finally play <span style="font-style: italic;">Metal Gear Solid 4</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">MGS4</span> is arguably the game I most want for the PS3, but I see no point in getting it until I play the third outing. My plan is to reinvigorate my PS3 attention by renting a game soon, ideally <span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span> or the new <span style="font-style: italic;">Prince of Persia</span>. So we'll see how that goes.<br /><br />Perhaps the biggest reason I'm not currently focused on the PS3 is that I'm completely engrossed in <span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization Revolution</span> (DS version). It was next on my list after <span style="font-style: italic;">DQIV</span>, after many months of neglect. I realize and accept that it's a simpler, streamlined version of its PC counterparts, and really enjoy it for what it is. It will probably be my game of choice for essays for the next couple weeks.<br /><br />After starting <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ Rev</span>, and seeing a holiday sale on Steam, I was immensely curious if the critically-acclaimed <span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization IV </span>would work on either my or my girlfriend's computer. Unsurprisingly, it failed completely on my ancient PC, but runs quite smoothly on my girlfriends so far. <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span> really is quite a beast of a game. There's so much to learn and do, I'm pretty sure it could be played forever, and would be my game of choice if I was stranded on a desert island (with electricity). Learning about the intricacies of <span style="font-style: italic;">Civ IV</span> (as well as <span style="font-style: italic;">Revolution</span>) has consumed my thoughts of late. There's just so much involved with both of those games.<br /><br />Even though I've been somewhat lazy with the blog, I'm trying to rectify that in the new year. Here's to more consistent posting in the future!<br /><br />P.S. I don't have a 2008 "Best of" list because I so rarely played any of the big games that were actually released last year.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-42711099091890685622008-12-19T11:36:00.003-05:002008-12-19T12:02:21.280-05:00Persona 3: The Slowest Game of (Last) Year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsI9fFppvt2ewbE496N2vFb4XRYk0Gj9P1u3jkkLv7CsQgMFw7fBTEc-hHyTo9FRL9tp-jVhQYe3uFrw5d5F2kIgkbS1gxKSDM4wzOiT2Y4WbbQeoSR4YdVsIySW4lPOdvs4gD6-_sMGs/s1600-h/Persona+3+Poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsI9fFppvt2ewbE496N2vFb4XRYk0Gj9P1u3jkkLv7CsQgMFw7fBTEc-hHyTo9FRL9tp-jVhQYe3uFrw5d5F2kIgkbS1gxKSDM4wzOiT2Y4WbbQeoSR4YdVsIySW4lPOdvs4gD6-_sMGs/s200/Persona+3+Poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281547616804895426" border="0" /></a>Once again, The Brainy Gamer has approached a subject far more elegantly than I. In his <a href="http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2008/12/persona-non.html">most recent post</a>, Michael talks a little about <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 4</span>. In particular, although he really enjoys it (just like last year's version), he really criticizes the game's lack of pacing. I'm still slowly trudging through <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>, largely based off Michael's recommendation last year. Well into my 42nd hour with the game, and <span style="font-style: italic;">maybe</span> only halfway through, I had been trying to figure out for days what exactly bothered me about the game.<br /><br />I love the atmosphere of it. The characters, for the most part, are believable and interesting. You have a great deal of freedom in how you choose to spend your days within the game world. The plot is interesting. I really want to see why this giant tower exists that I occasionally venture into to fight monsters, and why some people want me to stop. Although, it is a bit slow-moving. Wait a minute! That's it. The plot is extremely slow, and the pacing is lethargic. Of course, I was only reminded of this thanks to Michael's well-written post on <span style="font-style: italic;">P4.</span> But I'll throw in my own two cents anyway.<br /><br />As I've already said, in general, I really like <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>. Yes, it has a lot of familiar RPG trappings, but I really enjoy the many twists and additions Atlus made to the formula. The problem is that in a game that is somewhat accurately described on the back of the case as taking 70+ hours to complete, how do you keep the player interested enough to finish the game? I suppose I'm enough of a completionist, and invested in the game enough temporally to force myself through to the end. The slow pace of such a long game is, in my opinion, a detriment to what is turning out to be an interesting plot.<br /><br />A two hour movie can ramp up or ease down the tension within just a couple of minutes. Even books, which take several hours to read, are more adept at alternately maintaining suspense and providing relief to the reader. The problem is that in an RPG of the length of <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona</span>, there is <span style="font-style: italic;">a lot</span> of downtime. Like Michael, "I accept the idea that <em>P4</em>'s (<span style="font-style: italic;">P3's)</span> narrative is punctuated by many hours of dungeon battles that deliver virtually no story at all." While the dungeon crawling occasionally feels a little tedious, the always-difficult battles do keep me engaged.<br /><br />But when the game returns to more "official" storytelling, as Michael says, the characters often reiterate multiple times things which I already know. They have trouble getting straight to the point. And since the major plot scenes are fully voiced, and I'm often in a hurry, I constantly feel disconnected from the game by constantly pounding on the X button to speed through the dialogue. Thus it sounds like every character has a stutter. I never let them finish a sentence, because I can read much faster than they can talk. Usually, I just want to get on with it.<br /><br />One technical aspect of the game also frustrates me, as I try to force the game to pick up the pace. As a PS2 game, <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> must do a lot of loading: when you first start the game, every time you open the menu, when you enter a new area, when you open a door. It's never ending, and in a 70+ hour game, the two seconds it takes to open the menu really starts to add up. So while the in-game clock may say I've played for 42 hours, 2-3 hours of that could easily be time spent opening the menu.<br /><br />Compare this to the other RPG I've been playing, <span style="font-style: italic;">Dragon Quest IV</span> on the DS. As a cartridge-based system, like the SNES which it closely emulates, DS games rarely, if ever, feature excessive amounts of loading. I can access menus and go to new areas in <span style="font-style: italic;">DQIV</span> pretty much instantly. It's a much more seamless process, whereas the constant pauses in <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> constantly take me out of the game and add to my frustration at not being able to pick up the pace a little bit.<br /><br />The pacing and loading problems of <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> are by no means a deal-breaker. Anyone who enjoys RPGs should by all means give the game a shot. But they really do detract from the game's ability to weave together a solid narrative. And when I have a huge stack of games waiting to be played through, it's really frustrating to be stuck in this turgid world. As much as I like <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>, the length and pacing issues really make me question whether I'll be able to muster up the strength to tackle the 4th iteration. Other games will probably prove to be more important.<br /><br />At any rate, Michael, thanks for another excellent post, and for finally helping me to see the problems I was having accepting <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-87281315184758645662008-12-11T11:37:00.005-05:002008-12-11T12:36:48.242-05:00Do Some Games Benefit From Older Technology?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi959GbVugB3q1y2uCxKk3hsyKtPfmBnKzUQuWQaEwWRIxtuBLd1DNaCTz3Xmc20wXMkS7QRBP3_hucDtdNbEDeT-QCD9oyJ1VXpMwHgp6ezLkX_lbh7RNDYBo0y6WwgKIXCg5LIDBQ_cE/s1600-h/Dragon+Warrior+3.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi959GbVugB3q1y2uCxKk3hsyKtPfmBnKzUQuWQaEwWRIxtuBLd1DNaCTz3Xmc20wXMkS7QRBP3_hucDtdNbEDeT-QCD9oyJ1VXpMwHgp6ezLkX_lbh7RNDYBo0y6WwgKIXCg5LIDBQ_cE/s200/Dragon+Warrior+3.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278587808267555618" border="0" /></a>Recently, on the excellent Verbal Spew, Jeremy Parish of 1UP posted an <a href="http://www.gamespite.net/verbalspew/archives/entry_1025.php">interesting article</a> delving into the announcement that <span style="font-style: italic;">Dragon Quest X</span> would be released on the Wii. A lot of people were surprised that <span style="font-style: italic;">DQIX</span> was revealed a couple years ago to be destined solely for the DS. But really, in Japan as elsewhere, everyone and their grandmother has a DS. It makes perfect sense for a high-profile game to try to go where the money is. Similarly, the Wii has seen enormous levels of sales and popularity since its launch two years ago, so it should come as no surprise that Square-Enix wants to market <span style="font-style: italic;">DQX</span> to as large of an install base as possible.<br /><br />But what this really points to, I think, is that not all games derive direct benefits from a huge increase in graphical and technological power, a la the PS3 and 360. Parish writes that "it makes sense that Dragon Quest's sequels are headed to DS and Wii. They don't need PS3-level power to be heartwarming, and in fact too much tech would probably just get in the way. The hardcore gamers have their PS3s and Xbox 360s, but <i>everyone</i> has a DS or a Wii." I agree, not just about <span style="font-style: italic;">Draqon Quest</span>, but about RPGs in general. In particular, turn-based RPGs such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Dragon Quest</span>, some iterations of <span style="font-style: italic;">Final Fantasy</span>, and strategy games such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Advance Wars</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Jeanne d'Arc</span> don't necessarily need advanced technology to achieve their goals.<br /><br />As Parish says, if the goal of a game like <span style="font-style: italic;">DQV</span> is to tell a slight spin of a familiar story, with a well-known turn-based battle system, it hardly needs to be remade for the PS3, right? If nothing else, if an RPG such as this were made for the PS3, the developers would devote extra time to producing top-notch graphics, figuring out the hardware, and maximizing the game's performance for the technological elite. This, in turn, takes them <span style="font-style: italic;">away</span> from expanding and perfecting the story and battle system, which are the main draws of most RPGs anyway. More advanced technology is just a distraction from the most important parts of many RPGs. This is somewhat evidenced by the large number of RPGs on systems with lower specs, particularly the DS, but also the PSP and the continued support of the PS2 (see <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 4</span>).<br /><br />At the same time, Parish does a great job of acknowledging that there is also a place (currently a very large place) for big budget, technologically advanced games. And there are definite advantages to having the power of a PS3 or 360 available. One of the biggest, I think, is just being able to clearly see what's going on in the game. Sharp graphics on a decent-sized HD-TV truly are a beauty to behold. Especially in fast-paced games like shooters, the ability to easily delineate everything in your field of vision is a huge asset. The simple ability to see clearly and evaluate your surroundings was often disappointingly difficult in previous generations, particularly during the early days of the PS1 and N64's attempts at 3D. I remember numerous times wondering what I was looking at in games like <span style="font-style: italic;">GoldenEye</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Perfect Dark</span>, trying to make out my enemy amongst a bunch of debris. An increase in graphical power is a major benefit for shooters and other action games that rely on the player's ability to constantly know what's happening around them.<br /><br />But take any RPG, and this type of graphical fidelity is nowhere near required. Would or <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">4</span> have been better on a current-gen system? Perhaps, but I don't think so. Everything they set out to accomplish, creating a believable high school-based world, developing your interactions with NPCs, and crafting an exciting turn-based battle system could all easily be accomplished on the PS2. You're never in doubt as to what you're doing. While a PS3 version would certainly have crisper graphics with more polygons, in this case, I don't think that's necessarily a benefit, and would potentially distract the developers from honing other aspects of the game.<br /><br />What other games or types of games can benefit from a hardware downgrade? I think an argument could be made that high-profile sequels (e.g. <span style="font-style: italic;">MGS4</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">GTAIV</span>) don't always benefit from the newest technology. Are there any other genres or games that benefit from older, easier to use technology? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let me know in the comments.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-36169356297699383562008-12-05T15:46:00.002-05:002008-12-05T17:01:33.960-05:00Portal: Simultaneously Enthralling and Disappointing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzavMmzp7qo7EpGnfnno78JKafDHLOxG7lGTBLm3Kjn_gjjteXnuPGElEsUiCn-cLj5iRh-s533a3KMluYdjtSgX5ljbdw9D2vIKWzsNhp8ED8OEffgINDdB3ickfG4D3_vorocMcPAU/s1600-h/GLaDOS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzavMmzp7qo7EpGnfnno78JKafDHLOxG7lGTBLm3Kjn_gjjteXnuPGElEsUiCn-cLj5iRh-s533a3KMluYdjtSgX5ljbdw9D2vIKWzsNhp8ED8OEffgINDdB3ickfG4D3_vorocMcPAU/s200/GLaDOS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276429425586238530" border="0" /></a>Sometimes, expectations are everything. A big reason for buying the PS3 version of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Orange Box</span> was <span style="font-style: italic;">Portal</span>. But since being released over a year ago, the game has been talked to death, and I thought I knew everything about it going in. I was both right and wrong.<br /><br />The first handful of <span style="font-style: italic;">Portal</span> test chambers were magical and enchanting. They were short and simple enough for me to be able to absorb the atmosphere, soak everything in. I knew that there was no shooting involved, just the Portal gun, but I was somewhat surprised that you don't have full access to it until somewhere near the middle of the game. Despite having only one "weapon," this works really well to acclimate you to the handful of features of that tool. At first, the concepts of <span style="font-style: italic;">Portal</span> seemed impossibly hard for brain to process. But as you are introduced to new techniques one by one, you naturally start to see where you can apply them in later levels. The portal gun really does affect the way you see the world and approach the puzzles in the levels.<br /><br />Despite the slow and meticulous introduction of features, problems, and hazards in this game, I felt somewhat of a disconnect when I suddenly encountered lethal test chambers. Although I suppose that's part of the point. GLaDOS has gone off the rails and can no longer be trusted. No longer am I just going through the tests. I'm trying to <span style="font-style: italic;">escape</span>. But I was completely enveloped in the non-lethal, "safe" encounters of the early levels. Personally, I would have welcomed the entire game resembling the first half, with no sentry turrets or pools of acid.<br /><br />Speaking of GLaDOS, the voice of the computer controlling your experiences of the research facility, I think she's every bit as smarmy, humorous, and captivating as I had been led to expect. The problem was that while I caught all of her instructions, advice, and commentary in the first handful of levels, once the action heated up, I wasn't always able to pay attention to her. One play through of this game for a first-person perspective novice like myself is simply not enough time for me to absorb everything. Much of her dry and misleading commentary in the second half flew right by me, as I focused on more pertinent issues like surviving or crossing a huge pool of acid. GLaDOS adds a lot to the game, but I worry that I only appreciated her as much as I did because of the extensive amount of <span style="font-style: italic;">Portal</span> coverage I had already read since its release.<br /><br />On a final note, I was fully expecting <span style="font-style: italic;">Portal</span> to be a three hour adventure. And I was fine with that. In fact, I was looking forward to a shorter game. But after getting stuck on a couple of the later puzzles, and wandering around lost in the final search for GLaDOS, my time with the game probably stretched out closer to the seven hour mark. Again, still not that long for a game, but much longer than I <span style="font-style: italic;">expected</span>. And to some degree that ruined my experience of the game. I kept thinking it was almost over when I still had a while to go.<br /><br />The larger issue here is that of learning too much about a game before it comes out. There's a good chance I'll have this problem repeatedly over the coming weeks as I check out numerous PS3 titles I finally have the opportunity to try. After reading dozens of articles about a particular game, it's bound to not fully meet my expectations. In a perfect world, I would go into a game knowing just enough to get an idea of whether it appeals to me or not. I don't want to know everything about a game before I play it. But as someone who constantly reads about games and the games industry, it's hard to avoid encountering too much about those games I most want to play.<br /><br />I'll have to try to temper my expectations a bit as I begin future games. <span style="font-style: italic;">Portal</span> was a lot of fun, and if I ever have the time, I'd like to play through it again. GLaDOS's commentary was funny and memorable, and the difficulty ramped up nicely. But somehow, it managed to be simultaneously what I expected and what I didn't expect. At the very least, I can be thankful that I'm "still alive."Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-33214209795221639452008-12-04T14:56:00.003-05:002008-12-04T15:22:11.933-05:00Sony's Own Awards Show Highlights Their Struggles in the Marketplace<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjux6S2SLoH7mF1kwWWZsKc_iY2UWBawO6KJZo1oqn0M0a1azm5DHsjYch9Rs9JqybezmEfQuxMbXAi1ex4BU-QEy1yl5l0NQ9sOix2x8FRKQoLn6rogo7Vp_S1zpEy9UlZr5WEKQsXTzM/s1600-h/Awards.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjux6S2SLoH7mF1kwWWZsKc_iY2UWBawO6KJZo1oqn0M0a1azm5DHsjYch9Rs9JqybezmEfQuxMbXAi1ex4BU-QEy1yl5l0NQ9sOix2x8FRKQoLn6rogo7Vp_S1zpEy9UlZr5WEKQsXTzM/s200/Awards.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276032848929827234" border="0" /></a>When you use an RSS reader to keep track of updates on several blogs, you tend to see the same news story posted multiple times. Most recently, I was mildly interested to see all the major gaming sites post about Sony's 2008 PlayStation Awards. Each year in Japan, Sony hands out awards to developers based on how many copies of their game shipped. They generally range from Gold (500,000 to 1 million) to Double Platinum (2 to 3 million).<br /><br />However, after a little googling for the results of previous years, I found that the number of winners and the platforms they're released on really pinpoint Sony's current place in the market. My full report is over at <a href="http://ps2.thegamereviews.com/story-2510-Playstation-Awards-Underscore-Sonys-Troubles.html">The Game Reviews</a>. What I found was that over the last four years, the total number of winners has been cut in half, from 12 or 13 to 6. Furthermore, there are much fewer winners of a Platinum award or higher in the last two years. Most of the current winners only receive a Gold award, having shipped less than a million copies.<br /><br />What this really underscores is how much of a success the PS2 was for Sony, and how difficult they're finding it to replicate that success with the PS3 and/or PSP. As we all know, the PS2 was a huge hit, and still sells thousands of consoles a month to this day. However, Sony's smaller number of awards show that the PS3 and PSP, as we already know, just don't have the install base of the PS2. While there are still a couple of PS2 games in the 2008 awards, there was only a single PS3 game.<br /><br />I'll be interested to see next year's results. There should be an even smaller number of PS2 titles to be eligible for an award. How many PS3 and PSP titles will ship over half a million copies. I certainly can't imagine it being too much more than this year. I would love to see Sony's PS3 install base grow and expand. And a larger number of well-produced games that deserve our purchase can only be a good thing for the industry. Personally, an award won't really affect my decision on whether to purchase a game. But this multi-year glimpse into Sony sales numbers doesn't exactly paint a flattering picture for this generation.<br /><br />What do you think? Are these awards significant? They are Japan-only, after all.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-32677288402697441832008-12-03T11:11:00.004-05:002008-12-03T11:33:36.270-05:00Regarding My PSN ID and Trophies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBtysFmESVA6KF3VwUTLy3if2l1ci4qdLnAx7_LuVXQHhzlBnvzgthYGVBqsXLgKXtlQku-5op-tILrYlwyX5C5wcRkO_bMTLt6T_KgkuhIdTykIJlP4DbIoRgwUIiGYzwuZOAA0L-Yc/s1600-h/PS3+Trophies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBtysFmESVA6KF3VwUTLy3if2l1ci4qdLnAx7_LuVXQHhzlBnvzgthYGVBqsXLgKXtlQku-5op-tILrYlwyX5C5wcRkO_bMTLt6T_KgkuhIdTykIJlP4DbIoRgwUIiGYzwuZOAA0L-Yc/s200/PS3+Trophies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275602600636107298" border="0" /></a>In my Playstation 3 fervor of the last couple of weeks, I totally forgot that I can now play a plethora of games online, and easily add friends and share my PSN ID. My PSN ID is, simply, <span style="font-weight: bold;">koreyjp</span>. I have no idea why the jp is on there. Maybe I originally created it while in Japan? As you can see to the right, I added a cool little image to my blog, my PS3 Trophy Card, courtesy of <a href="http://www.playfire.com/a/welcome">Playfire</a>. I know that trophies haven't been quite as big of a hit as Microsoft's achievements, partly because they're not implemented as cohesively or exhaustively and partly because of their addition as part of a late copycat syndrome. But all that might change in 2009, when all PS3 games are required to include trophy support.<br /><br />So far, the only game I have that supports trophies is <span style="font-style: italic;">Pixeljunk Eden</span>. I think trophies can be a good way to extend the life of the game, and a way of comparing your accomplishments with your friends. They're surprisingly addictive. I really want to get as many of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Eden</span> trophies as I can. But it seems a bit ridiculous when <span style="font-style: italic;">Pixeljunk Eden</span> asks you to complete a level without wasting <span style="font-style: italic;">any</span> pollen. Really? I might just skip that one.<br /><br />I don't have many games at the moment, but if any regular readers of this humble little blog want to add me as a friend, it's <span style="font-weight: bold;">koreyjp</span>.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-60587362686577351952008-12-01T19:49:00.003-05:002008-12-02T16:28:13.065-05:00Half-Life 2: A Great Way to Introduce New Weapons<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozRukb5XOARppVl1W6S7bwzKmcORFdSWKWkY0THTt2tacSDM-oQCeFhldPojqSZeShGvfMe-sGVJQ7zpb2fEHdHsMt3FmvNEbVmfOGIbVRhM3pSMgciIqUYh6X4W27_CQAiIMYSimcoU/s1600-h/Half+Life+2+Ravenholm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozRukb5XOARppVl1W6S7bwzKmcORFdSWKWkY0THTt2tacSDM-oQCeFhldPojqSZeShGvfMe-sGVJQ7zpb2fEHdHsMt3FmvNEbVmfOGIbVRhM3pSMgciIqUYh6X4W27_CQAiIMYSimcoU/s200/Half+Life+2+Ravenholm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275307683503367330" border="0" /></a>First-person shooters terrify me. On <span style="font-style: italic;">The Orange Box</span>, I played <span style="font-style: italic;">Portal</span> first to sort of ease myself into that perspective, even though there's no shooting. That only lasted a few hours (although quite a few more than I expected) so I'm now up to my neck in <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span>. I know. It's possible I'm the only gamer left on the planet who hasn't played it.<br /><br />I'm about one-third of the way in, and Valve created a breathtakingly paced game. It rarely slows down for you, and even when it does, you're just waiting for the next adrenaline-fueled task to pop out of the wall and challenge you. But what <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span> does exceptionally well is familiarize you with the weapons at your disposal within the game. If you've been running along with only a pistol and start encountering groups of enemies, you acquire their assault rifle. When lightning-fast zombies appear, you get a shotgun, which is perfect for blasting their ranks since they get close to you so quickly.<br /><br />But the perfect example of acquainting you with new mechanics in the heat of battle is the gravity gun. It's acquired in the chapter titled "We don't go to Ravenholm." Up until this point in the game, you've largely been fighting through waves of Combine police and the occasional robotic seeker. But now, I know that nobody goes to Ravenholm because it's <span style="font-style: italic;">completely</span> overrun by zombies. They're everywhere! The beauty of giving you the gravity gun at this point in the game is simple: it doesn't use ammo.<br /><br />Up until this point, you can easily blast through soldiers with your assault rifle and gather more ammo than you'll ever dead from their bullet-riddled bodies. But in Ravenholm, there are no Combine soldiers. Only zombies. And as everyone knows, zombies don't use guns. They just unceasingly march towards you, arms outstretched. If you try to plow through Ravenholm with your standard arsenal, as I did, you'll soon find yourself very low on ammo. Logically, since the zombies don't use guns, they don't drop ammo when they die. Sure, there are a few hidden weapon caches, but they're not nearly enough to sustain you through this lengthy chapter.<br /><br />Your only savior is the mighty gravity gun. And you'd better master it quickly, because the zombies aren't the most patient of teachers. You can then casually pull a barrel towards you, and then fling it at a zombie at neck-snapping speed. Even better, pick up a saw blade and watch it slice through as many zombies as you can line up. With no ammo in sight, the gravity gun is the only way to make it. Save your ammo for the numerous ambushes.<br /><br />Unfortunately, as I already mentioned, I didn't know ammo would be so scarce in Ravenholm until I was well past the point of no return. But I've now hoarded enough ammo to safely see me through the rest of the level. And since I was forced to use the gravity gun so much, I feel much more confident and comfortable with it. Bravo, Valve. Excellent introduction of a unique, powerful weapon. Of course, I'm not out of the woods yet. In fact, I'm in the mines.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-26945590229740506492008-11-21T20:17:00.002-05:002008-11-21T20:32:19.924-05:00The Art of the Demo on PS3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RpyIGnrdLAI87wdQyGAPKzukvAk6GuUuA-bf8XEjkVqojEFo9VxkwL6RZKvxCNY25CG5fMp0qAx6vdoHhMLY-g_L5ACqs_PIZrTGoReom7jYjezYnCbZ9GNP01YG3ZUA7Mo2BMROIL8/s1600-h/Pixeljunk+Monsters.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RpyIGnrdLAI87wdQyGAPKzukvAk6GuUuA-bf8XEjkVqojEFo9VxkwL6RZKvxCNY25CG5fMp0qAx6vdoHhMLY-g_L5ACqs_PIZrTGoReom7jYjezYnCbZ9GNP01YG3ZUA7Mo2BMROIL8/s200/Pixeljunk+Monsters.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271288604849390738" border="0" /></a>So far, one of my favorite things about the PS3 has been the absolutely huge number of demos available for it. This was especially useful since I had the PS3 to myself for three days before <span style="font-style: italic;">The Orange Box</span> arrived and interrupted our honeymoon. I spent my first several hours with the PS3 just downloading and installing every demo that looked moderately interesting. And I <span style="font-style: italic;">still</span> haven't tried all the ones I want to.<br /><br />Unlike the Wii (which I still love), demo availability allows me to dip my toes into gaming waters I had previously avoided. As part of my new gaming initiative, I'm trying to play games that are "out of my element," to quote the philosophical Walter Sobchak. So I've tried out numerous shooters (loved <span style="font-style: italic;">Bioshock</span>), <span style="font-style: italic;">Motorstorm: Pacific Rift</span> (hated it, as expected), and even <span style="font-style: italic;">Super Rub-a-Dub</span> (ughhh?).<br /><br />But what I've really enjoyed about demos is their ability to both remind me of games I forgot about, and open my eyes to new experiences. I tested out the <span style="font-style: italic;">Ratchet and Clank</span> demo, and was completely blown away by how much fun it is. It felt like the PS2 ones all over again. Pure joy wrapped in a colorful candy shell. And despite (or because of?) being cartoony and colorful, it looks really beautiful too. I also tried out <span style="font-style: italic;">Super Stardust HD</span>, only knowing its reputation, and was again blown away by how fun and addicting that 5 minute demo was. I really wanted to keep playing, try to beat the first planet, and unlock a trophy. But alas, it was much too short. However, I shall buy it someday. It made the list.<br /><br />Lastly, I just tried <span style="font-style: italic;">Pixeljunk Monsters</span>. I had played <span style="font-style: italic;">Desktop Tower Defense</span>, so I knew what the game was all about. And I feel very empathetic, because I totally get why some people would love this type of game. But it's just not for me. The continuous march of monsters is just too much pressure. I don't want to be responsible for the lives of my villagers against that constant threat of destruction. If I bought the game based on reputation (and my love of <span style="font-style: italic;">Pixeljunk Eden</span>), I would regret it after the first level, and have to glue my hands to the controller to adequately play through it. But, and here's the important point, I <span style="font-style: italic;">understand</span> it as a game.<br /><br />There are still a dozen or so demos I want to test out, as well as an entire <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life 2</span> campaign to work on. So the PS3 is keeping me plenty busy. I'm just glad I'm able to dip my toes in the water before diving right in.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-29369661847027226952008-11-20T14:42:00.002-05:002008-11-20T15:01:00.591-05:00Why I Bought a PS3My second article is up over at TGR, about <a href="http://www.thegamereviews.com/article-901-Late-to-the-Party-Why-I-Bought-a-PS3-in-2008.html">why I finally bit the bullet and bought a PS3</a>. After arriving last Friday, I've been playing it pretty consistently. Unfortunately, I didn't have a full retail game until just Tuesday of this week, when I received <span style="font-style: italic;">The Orange Box</span> from Amazon. It really is an amazing, great value. I felt portal deserved to be played first, and also that that would ease me into playing a first-person game, which I tend to avoid. It was every bit as amazing as I've heard people say for the past year, although I was a little disappointed/frustrated at points. For the foreseeable future, I'll be focusing on Half-Life 2, which already looks great even though I never played the first one. There are also a number of PSN games I've got my eye on, one of which will probably be swept up soon. <br /><br />Overall, I really like the PS3. It has a really smooth interface, and there are a number of games out for it that I want. Most importantly though, I'm really enjoying playing games on hardware that sports such a big jump in graphics and technology, compared to PS3 and GameCube games. It feels good.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-7405692215072503142008-11-17T12:00:00.002-05:002008-11-17T12:06:02.019-05:00History of Console Prices: My First Feature Article at TGRI received my PS3 on Friday, have been enjoying it immensely, but will post some thoughts about it later. In the meantime, I wanted to advertise a little for my first published feature article over at <a href="http://www.thegamereviews.com/article-888-The-Price-is-Right-Game-Console-Prices-in-Perspective.html">The Game Reviews</a>. I started by updating console price data first published two years ago at Curmudgeon Gamer. What I found was that while game consoles have indeed been getting more expensive, the relative price (adjusted for inflation) has actually decreased somewhat. Also of note, I talk about the added costs gamers face today, beyond simply buying a system and a few physical games from a store. <a href="http://www.thegamereviews.com/article-888-The-Price-is-Right-Game-Console-Prices-in-Perspective.html">Check it out</a>. I think it's pretty decent for my first article.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-24866548595832195952008-11-12T16:07:00.002-05:002008-11-12T16:12:49.153-05:00My PS3 Has Been DelayedWhy, when I find a Dell.com coupon online, do other people find it too? As I talked about last time, I ordered a PS3 at 15 percent off from Dell. It was expected to ship on Monday of this week. However, early Monday morning I got an email saying my shipment had been delayed. While there was no explanation attached, my theory is that other potential PS3 owners found the same coupon. With hundreds or thousands of customers simultaneously trying to get a PS3, I think Dell ran out of stock. My order is now delayed two weeks, <span style="font-style: italic;">I think</span>, because they have to wait for another shipment from Sony. It's a little sad, because I was greatly looking forward to the PS3 arriving. But I think I'll be OK, because I'm still only maybe a third of the way through <span style="font-style: italic;">Persona 3</span>, and am trying to finish up <span style="font-style: italic;">Jeanne d'Arc</span>. So I'm still pretty busy with games.<br /><br />Maybe I'll get lucky, though, and it's all a big misunderstanding. Dell, get your act together. I need that new PS3.Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-13570146660873870482008-11-09T18:53:00.004-05:002008-11-09T19:27:58.315-05:00The Joys of Choosing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwMcLymQbVFQaPqpGsMxWB4lrVcVroAX1sDUfAZhj6Gpg7Mq1qdI4I0JSO2A4JbG9psuQJzsel38pG0nmafK0WkivBj7UfT0iA_Sgwex35x5aHib4z4NkluYD-lSI9qCY826ewAqyN0M/s1600-h/PS3+Pic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwMcLymQbVFQaPqpGsMxWB4lrVcVroAX1sDUfAZhj6Gpg7Mq1qdI4I0JSO2A4JbG9psuQJzsel38pG0nmafK0WkivBj7UfT0iA_Sgwex35x5aHib4z4NkluYD-lSI9qCY826ewAqyN0M/s200/PS3+Pic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266818753237687538" border="0" /></a>Well, I finally did it. I bought a PS3 today. Of course, the only bad news is that it won't arrive until sometime between Thursday and next Monday. I hadn't planned on buying any game system, preferring instead to catch up on PS2 and GameCube games. Fortunately/unfortunately, last I week I saw blogs all over the Internet reporting that Wal-Mart would be having a super-amazing-deal on PS3s on Saturday. Buy a PS3, get a $100 gift card. Effectively, that almost gives you two new games of your choice for free. It's a great deal, especially since Sony has repeatedly stated that they will not be dropping prices this holiday season. The one-day sale started at 8. Thinking there wouldn't be a rush on systems, I took my time and made it to Wal-Mart at 8:15 or so. They were gone. I think I saw a woman leaving with the last one as I entered electronics. : (<br /><br />In my frustration at having missed such a good deal, I scoured the Internet when I got home searching for another one. Luckily, Dell.com had a coupon code for 15% off all electronics, including PS3 and 360 systems. While not quite as good as the Wal-Mart sale, it still got me a PS3 for $340, which is basically like getting a free game.<br /><br />The problem, though, is that I'm completely undecided as to what game to buy. Let me run through a short list of what I'm considering. Please, please give me some input and help me decide. I'll probably mess around with downloading demos, videos, and maybe buying one PSN game first. But I'll want a full retail game soon enough. Here we go, in no particular order.<br /><ol><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Fallout 3</span> - I loved the quirky humor and apocalyptic setting of the first two games, and these turned me on to computer RPGs in general. However, I tend to play a lot of huge, lengthy RPGs/strategy games. Maybe now would be a good time to change pace.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Bioshock</span> - It just made it's way to the PS3 last month after over a year of exclusivity on the 360. I have to eventually play the game that everyone still references. However, everyone has pretty much played and talked this one to death, so maybe I should play something new and fresh.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Call of Duty 4</span> - Similar to <span style="font-style: italic;">Bioshock</span>, I really want to play the FPS that got so much critical acclaim. But it's older and might drop in price after <span style="font-style: italic;">World at War</span> is released. On that note, maybe <span style="font-style: italic;">World at War</span> (if it looks good).</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Metal Gear Solid 4</span> - This is probably the game I actually want the most for PS3, despite its flaws, but I kind of want to play MGS3 first. So maybe I'll wait on this one.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The Orange Box</span> - I've always wanted to play the <span style="font-style: italic;">Half-Life</span> series and see what all the fuss is about, and I don't think I can call myself a gamer without playing <span style="font-style: italic;">Portal</span> at some point. However, the PS3 version is supposedly the most glitchy of the 3 versions, although I've heard it's not so bad.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Far Cry 2</span> - I mainly see this as a good way to branch into a different genre of games, FPSs, which I rarely play. The things I've read about <span style="font-style: italic;">Far Cry 2</span> have been positive, and it's pretty new, but I'm more excited about some of the others.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">LittleBigPlanet</span> - Last, Sony's promise of changing gaming and allowing users an unprecedented degree of freedom. I think <span style="font-style: italic;">LBP</span> looks cute and charming and very fun, but I'm worried I would only use 2/3 of the game. I would definitely play all of the developer-created levels, and I would play as many user-created ones as seemed worth my time. But I highly doubt I would invest much time in creating levels. I've pretty much never done that with other games.</li></ol>So, that's my short list. Leave a comment and let me know what game you think I should purchase first. Ultimately, I'll choose whichever one I think I'll have the most fun with, but I'd like some other input too. And if you think of a game that's not on this list, let me know. I could easily have missed something great. So write me a comment. I need help.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Note: GTAIV is not on this list on purpose. I've never finished a GTA game, so I think I'll probably skip this one.</span>Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542399795044817092.post-37817164681246714152008-11-05T20:14:00.003-05:002008-11-05T20:19:42.028-05:00Writing For a New SiteTo all of you visiting me from GameSetWatch, hello, welcome, and thanks for stopping by. I've been pretty busy lately, and haven't had too much time to post.<br /><br />The biggest news is I've started writing and contributing content to a small gaming website, <a href="http://www.thegamereviews.com/">TheGameReviews</a>. So far I've just been posting news stories, but I'm nearly finished with my first couple of feature articles. Hopefully they'll be looked over, edited and put on the site in the not-too-distant future. Don't worry, I'll always link to whatever I write over there. It's really a great site. All the writers have a great dedication to integrity, and spend a lot of time working on really great articles.<br /><br />I've also been slowly working (suffering?) through <span style="font-style: italic;">Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee</span> along with the <a href="http://www.websitetoolbox.com/mb/brainygamer">Vintage Game Club</a>. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet, but it is frustrating constantly dying and dealing with occasionally clunky controls.<br /><br />Anyway, I've been enjoying all the writing I've been doing lately, and hope to keep it up. Stick around!Koreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381463148055787401noreply@blogger.com2