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Andromus

Sun Jun 07 2009, 01:27PM

Registered Member #15

Joined: Thu Aug 09 2007, 07:23PM
Posts: 46

GPP Mk7 wrote ...

Escape from Monkey Island (PC) - 7

Pretty good, but I think I should have played the originals first due to all the references that are flying over my head.

I definitely recommend playing the games in order. The earlier games are better, and as you say, there are plenty of in-jokes and nods to the earlier games you'll miss out on otherwise.

Sleepy

Tue Jun 30 2009, 01:49PM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

Advent Rising - 4

It felt to me like this game suffered from scope creep... like the developers wanted to make something so epic that they ran out of time to polish the details. While the overarching storyline was somewhat interesting, I found the actual dialogue annoying and forgettable. I was really expecting more from a screenplay written by Orson Scott Card.

One more thing:

Dear Game Writers everywhere,

Not every game has to have a wisecracking protagonist. Please stop.

Thanks,
Sleepy

Areala

Thu Jul 02 2009, 12:10AM

Registered Member #10

Joined: Sat Aug 04 2007, 10:48PM
Posts: 135

Dear Sleepy,

As you are no doubt well aware, wise-cracking protagonists are a staple of the film industry. As we base nearly all of our game writing skills off of the same tired tropes trotted out yearly by Hollywood, you must understand that games without wisecracking protagonists tend to massively undersell games who feature heroes with spiky hair, enormous swords that defy the laws of physics (or comparably-enormous firearms in a science fiction setting), and a quick-witted response to any provocation even when they are on the receiving end of painful and potentially-disfiguring genital tortures the likes of which the ESRB will not yet let us depict in their full and uncensored glory.

To understand why we must behave in this fashion, one need only look at the commercial failure known as "Ico". By all monetary estimates, "Ico" was a terrible game. It sold fewer than 700,000 copies, and most of those were in Europe. We writers can point to Ico's decision to break all the rules listed above concerning large swords, witty dialogue and spiky hair, and additionally point out that the game not only uses subtitles for all character dialogue, but even goes so far as to use NONSENSE subtitles for one character's interaction with another as reasons for its failure. By contrast, Final Fantasy VII featured all the requisite characteristics for a truly successful protagonist and has sold over ten million copies world-wide.

As we are no doubt certain that you understand, this renders Final Fantasy VII superior to products like Ico in every way possible. Perhaps you should reevaluate your review of Advent Rising based on these factors which clearly make it one of the most amazing games in the known universe. We will accept your purchase of another copy of Advent Rising via STEAM as an adequate apology.

Thanks,
Game Writers everywhere.

;)

Areala

Thu Jul 02 2009, 12:51AM

Registered Member #10

Joined: Sat Aug 04 2007, 10:48PM
Posts: 135

I haven't been able to decide what I want to play so I've been swapping games out like mad over the last few weeks...

Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) - 8. While I'm nowhere near done with the game, and have only just gotten to the second "section" of Liberty City, GTA IV has been an interesting diversion as I've been trying to figure out what I want to focus on doing. Controls on this game seem to need some help, but the new mapping waypoint and GPS systems incorporated do more than offset that negative point. Also gone is the gratuitous and over-the-top foul language used in San Andreas. While it still exists, it is actually possible to play for more than 5 minutes without hearing somebody drop the F-bomb.

Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires (PS2) - 8.5. I'm not a huge fan of tactical strategy games like this, but I've always had a special place in my heart for games like Dynasty Warriors, which (except for the first) have their hearts set on being button-mashers of the highest order. The added strategic elements of Empires means that every game is different, and you can have no end of fun trying to take over Three Kingdoms-era China in both Historical or Fictional scenarios. The inclusion of a create-a-fighter mode means that you can add your own custom characters into the mix and field them during the action scenes. It's a great time waster if nothing else, and I've sunk God-knows-how-many-hours into it since buying it back when it was released.

Bloodrayne (PS2) - 7. Back when I first played it, I'd have given Bloodrayne an 8. However, comparing the differences between the first and second game, Bloodrayne appears sorely lacking. Graphically, the game looks very much like a first-gen PS2 game, with strictly-average modeling of all but the main character. Mouths don't sync up to voice acting, and much of the animation looks stock and slightly wooden. The control isn't as tight as 2, and combat seems to be far more aimless. Rayne can pick up and wield a plethora of ranged guns, and there's nothing more fun than feeding on Nazis as the half-vampiric heroine, but evolution proves that there's no such thing as the perfect game. The second game is far more focused and enjoyable, while the first one is merely a bunch of good ideas thrown together that happened to make a moderately-decent if slightly aimless and wandering game.

Blood Will Tell (PS2) - 9. How on earth this game was so overlooked is quite beyond my capacity to understand. Found for $4.00 at the local used game store, I figured I'd take a chance on it. What I discovered was an amazing 3D action title that puts to shame the likes of Shinobi, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, and Onimusha. Part of this has to do with the fact that Osamu Tezuka wrote the story, but story alone will not save a game. In addition, be aware that the story takes certain...uh...liberties with Japan's history (you play a samurai who is basically a cyborg, and yes that makes no sense at all but just go with it OK?) Fortunately, Blood Will Tell does quite well in the control department (with one little niggle), has gorgeous sound effects and music (but not-so-good voice acting for a couple characters), and does an excellent job of convincing you that you're actually wandering around feudal Japan. Like Beyond Good & Evil, it's one of those criminally-underappreciated games that you didn't play.

Silent Hill: Homecoming (PS3) - 7. Back in October of last year, I had the option of choosing between SH: Homecoming or Dead Space to purchase with money received for my birthday. On the recommendation of a trustworthy GameStop clerk, I chose Dead Space. I'm glad I did. Because while Homecoming is a decent enough game, it suffers from problems that Dead Space just laughed at as it paved over them. First and foremost, the control scheme of Homecoming manages to frustrate veteran survival horror players by completely obliterating the standard "L1 to enter combat mode and R1 to attack" controls that we've all gotten used to while at the same time making it impossible to reconfigure the controls to the old ways. As L1 now brings up your inventory, and X attacks, I've wasted plenty of health items while I was attempting to hit L2 to enter my combat stance. This is absolutely unforgivable in my opinion, and seriously drops my rating. Thankfully, the music, sound effects, graphics and voices are all very well done. The atmosphere is still there, something that worried a lot of fans when Konami farmed development of this game out to a western dev. team. There's still something that seems to be missing though...I'm not sure what it is, but until I find it, I can't bring myself to rate Homecoming any higher.

Ico (PS2) - 10. Roger Ebert may have claimed that video games are not art, but Fumiko Ueda had no problem proving him wrong in 2001 with the release of this mind-blowing work of magic stuffed into a CD-ROM format. Every year or so, I have to go back and replay this game just to fully appreciate what it is possible to do with a video game that is so intensely story driven, but in such a way that the player always feels like he or she is writing it instead of just acting out something pre-scripted by another person. All of this is accomplished by the "nonsense" dialogue spoken by the characters, and the nonsense subtitles used for Yorda's speech that force a player to interpret what she's saying simply by watching her body language and tone of voice. The castle you explore is, by and large, a major character in the game, and I've yet to experience another platformer like Ico.

Whew...I'll shut up now. :)

*huggles*
Areala

Sleepy

Thu Jul 02 2009, 07:10AM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

Areala wrote ...

Perhaps you should reevaluate your review of Advent Rising based on these factors which clearly make it one of the most amazing games in the known universe. We will accept your purchase of another copy of Advent Rising via STEAM as an adequate apology.

Thanks,
Game Writers everywhere.

;)

You just made my morning, Areala! Thanks for the laugh. :)

Sleepy

Sat Jul 04 2009, 10:43PM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

Fable: The Lost Chapters - 9

So far it feels a lot like Zelda (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but with more freedom of choice and character customization... oh, and voice overs.

The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is because there's an awful lot of stuff going on in the game, and most of it isn't terribly well documented in the manual or elsewhere. Some of it you can figure out, but some of it I have no clue. For example, I often see values displayed with a second value in parentheses beside it and no explanation on what the second number is... or when you look through your list of spells to purchase, some of the spells are in purple, some in red, etc. No idea what the colors mean.

Other than that, I have very little to complain about. Great game so far!

Areala

Fri Jul 10 2009, 10:51PM

Registered Member #10

Joined: Sat Aug 04 2007, 10:48PM
Posts: 135

Fatal Frame III: The Tormented (PS2) - Undecided.

Yeah, I'm as confused about the "undecided" up there as the rest of you are. For the first time in my life, I have met the video game that refuses to be classified with a number in my mind.

This game is freaky as all hell. I've played Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. And they were scary. But Fatal Frame III has taken it to the next level. There's no doubt in my mind that this is the best game in the series, but my problem is that I'm getting TOO involved with it and literally scaring myself outside the game. Wandering around an old, dilapidated mansion armed with nothing more than guts and a camera while trying to battle ghosts and figure out why you're having the awful dreams...yeah, that's creepy. Noticing elements of the dream world creeping into the waking world within the game, though, that just takes things to a whole new level. That's so wrong, but what's even worse is that I'm jumping at shadows and believing in ghosts.

WHAT have you DONE to me, Tecmo?? I want my sanity back!

Andromus

Sun Aug 09 2009, 04:44PM

Registered Member #15

Joined: Thu Aug 09 2007, 07:23PM
Posts: 46

Fallout -- 8 (I think)

Having just finished it, I'm not quite sure what to make of Fallout. It has a great character creation system, one of the best and most balanced I've seen. It has a creative and unique sense of style, with a retro 50's look designed to evoke images of the Cold War. There's some solid writing behind it also.

But for every well thought out aspect of Fallout, I found something else that made it feel almost as rough as the environment it portrays. Lack of party control, terrible inventory system, etc.

Still, even with being frustrated at times, on the whole I enjoyed it. I understand Fallout 2 corrects some of the problems of Fallout 1. I'm really hoping that Fallout 2 turns out to be the polished game Fallout 1 really deserved to be.

[ Edited Sun Aug 09 2009, 04:46PM ]

Sleepy

Mon Aug 10 2009, 03:28PM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

Fallout, for me, has the distinction of being the only game that I have ever decided to play through a second time immediately after beating it the first time. That is in no small part due to the well-balanced character creation system you mentioned. I played through the first time as a gun-toting warrior and the second time as a more charismatic (and lucky) person. I had a great time playing through both times.

I also thought it was really neat that they offered the player the chance to win the game without having to fight and kill the final boss. I still can't think of another game that does that. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion in any action/adventure/RPG game that you are going to have to punch, kick, shoot, and slice your way through the final boss. I found it rather refreshing that Fallout broke that mold and let you talk the final boss down.

Sleepy

Sat Aug 22 2009, 09:16PM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

Painkiller - 5

I really enjoyed this one at first. Every once in a while you just want to mindlessly shoot hordes of enemies and Painkiller had more of that than any game I've played since Serious Sam.

But, I think the game ran a little long for my tastes. I also thought it was skewed a little difficult. Even on the easiest difficulty and with my quicksave addiction I found several levels quite challenging. Also, the Black Tarot cards were awfully hard to unlock. So I didn't really get to utilize them.

I did really like the design of the final level in Hell. They didn't go the obvious volcano/lava/inferno route. Instead, the level was full of scenes of wars throughout history frozen in time. So you start off with a catapult launching at a stone wall with the explosion hovering in mid-air. Then you run through the trenches of World War II. Then you see a giant mushroom cloud in the background. There's half exploded buildings frozen in time too. Really neat stuff.

Sleepy

Sun Aug 23 2009, 07:29PM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

The Mystery of the Mummy - 1

Bleh. To me, this is an example of why the point and click adventure genre died.

It touts itself as a Sherlock Holmes game, but instead of classic Holmesian investigation and deduction you're just walking around a mansion going through a series of Myst-like puzzles with little to no explanation as to how they should work or why they are there. It was really poor use of the Holmes license.

The game is also guilty (on multiple counts) of one of my cardinal sins of the adventure genre - forcing the player to have a certain item in their inventory in order to perform a certain action, when, in reality, that action doesn't really require that item. Classic example - in one room there's a ceiling fan set into a ceiling that looks to be about 9 feet high. You need to turn on this fan. In reality, you could pull over a chair and stand on it to reach the switch, or maybe even stand on your tiptoes. In the game, you have to wait until you have the Hooked Ancient Egyptian Sceptre in your hands and only that item can reach the switch. Lame.

Sleepy

Mon Aug 31 2009, 01:26AM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

Ben There, Dan That - 7

An often cute, sometimes crass, always irreverent retro point-and-click adventure game that pays homage in many ways to the classic LucasArts adventure games of yore. It's an independent game developed using the freeware Adventure Game Studio. The game itself is also free.

The game is distinctly British, so some of the jokes and slang were lost on me, but it still had several funny moments. I won't say anything made me quite laugh out loud, but they were clever enough to make me smile.

What I originally considered one of the game's greatest strengths turned into an annoyance by the end of the game. Like the classic LucasArts games, each screen has multiple items on it that you can interact with via multiple verbs - look, take, use, talk, etc. The developers have gone through great pains to write unique responses to almost every combination of item and verb on every screen. This includes attempting ridiculous things such as talking to doors and picking up people.

Most of these interactions accomplish nothing in the game, but I found myself compelled to try and make every interaction on every screen. More often than not, these responses tend more towards boring and juvenile rather than inspired and truly funny. Arguably, calling this annoying is unfair because the game never required me to interact with everything in every way possible, my bizarre completionist gamer personality did.

Sleepy

Fri Sep 04 2009, 01:18PM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - 9

I've been playing this for a few days now and to be honest I would have given this a significantly lower score had I not finally figured out how to play the game "properly" and had I not just found the Boots of Blinding Speed.

Regarding playing it "properly", it took some time for me to realize that I couldn't play Morrowind in the completionist style that I tend to use while playing many RPGs. In other words, when I got to a new city, I couldn't just go to every building in the city, talk to every person in every building, and ask every person about every conversation option. Well, I could... but it was honestly a colossal waste of time because 95% of what people have to say is unimportant or you've already heard it before. Learning what you can skim over, I think, is key to enjoying this game.

Also, the Boots of Blinding Speed allowed me to walk/run around the world far faster than when I started the game. I honestly was stunned at how slow I walked/ran when the game started. It was unbelievably tedious even at run speed, and walk speed was unbearable. Worse, running (which was the only option for movement as far as I was concerned) drained fatigue which made EVERYTHING else you did less likely to succeed. I can only guess they forced the player to move so slow to prevent them from running past all the enemies. I wish they had just allowed you to move faster except when enemies were around (then you slow down and go into "combat mode". I think that would've made for a better game. As it stands, the Boots have managed to turn travel and exploration from a chore into a joy... how it should be to begin with.

With that said, I love the scope of the game and particularly the "hand-made" feel of the world. I tried to play Arena and Daggerfall but just couldn't get into them because everything felt randomly-generated rather than being purposefully crafted and placed. Sure you can create 15,000 locations and fill them with 750,000 random NPCs (Daggerfall's claim), but really, at the end of the day, what's the point? I much prefer Morrowind's feel of purpose. Of course, Morrowind still seems to have a lot of purposeless NPCs... just several thousand less than Daggerfall had.

GPP Mk7

Wed Oct 07 2009, 12:58PM

Registered Member #20

Joined: Wed Aug 22 2007, 11:17AM
Posts: 22

Scribblenauts (DS) - 10
Great fun! This game alone is reason enough to get your hands on a DS if you don't already have one.

Just had to add that it really feels "sandbox-ish" in that you can do so many different things that have nothing to do with advancing the game, but are interesting. On one very simple level, a tornado blocked my access to the starite thingy (cake, whatever...). I beat the level with a with a jet pack and went back and typed "portal" the next time. Upon attempting to enter said portal, a demon emerged from it and poked me to death with his large fork. Next try, I typed "teleporter" and used it (you can make two, but it doesn't work the way you'd expect, like many things you bring into existence in the game, unfortunately), and found myself on the surface of Mars. There were some Martians and gray aliens wandering around, and a space shuttle seemingly in need of repair. This was an entirely different level than the one I had previously left, apparently with its own goal.
This second one would normally qualify as an easter egg in any other game, but given the nature of Scribblenauts, I can't say for certain what you'd call it.
On the title screen, which is "playable", I tried the teleporter again, and I seem to have wound up in the offices of the developer of this game, 5th Cell.

All the reviews are dead on concerning the terrible controls, unfortunately. And how things don't always behave as they should. Still, this is such a unique game, or perhaps toy is a better word for it.

[ Edited Thu Oct 08 2009, 10:40PM ]

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SHARE AND ENJOY!

Areala

Tue Oct 20 2009, 10:38PM

Registered Member #10

Joined: Sat Aug 04 2007, 10:48PM
Posts: 135

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS) - 8

Hotel Dusk is one of those rare titles that is almost entirely comprised of the story with some random puzzles thrown in for variety which you almost never see outside of Japan. The fact that I'm an enormous sucker for "visual novel" games means that the concept of Hotel Dusk appealed to me immediately, but it wasn't until I managed to get my hands on a DS earlier this year that I actually had a chance to play it.

If you don't like reading a LOT while playing a video game, you'll hate Hotel Dusk. There's a lot of text, and quite a bit to remember, which is why the game lets you keep a notepad full of jotted bits. Since you're playing a former police officer, note-taking should come as no surprise.

The puzzles aren't difficult for the most part, and the game even manages to breathe some new life into a few old standards of the adventure game genre (picking a lock with an unfolded paperclip, for instance, doesn't garner quite the result you might expect). The game is divided into multiple chapters, and covers your stay overnight at the titular "Hotel Dusk" and the mystery you have to uncover there. It's atmospheric, memorable, and even a bit suspenseful at times. Asking the wrong questions or pursuing the wrong leads can result in a premature "Game Over," so it behooves you to watch your mouth and behavior around the hotel's other residents.

I'm having lots of fun with Hotel Dusk, but I'm an avid reader and enjoy the "visual novel" style presentation it offers. Those looking for action, strategy, or even a more traditional form of adventure game ala Myst will likely be disappointed. Those who enjoy a good story, though, should have plenty of fun in the 10-15 hours of playtime that Hotel Dusk will give you. :)

*huggles*
Areala

Sleepy

Tue Oct 27 2009, 08:12AM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

World of Goo - 8

I remember playing the original Tower of Goo game where the goal was just to build the highest tower possible. They left that basic mechanic unchanged and built an excellent puzzle framework on top of it.

Areala

Tue Nov 10 2009, 07:47PM

Registered Member #10

Joined: Sat Aug 04 2007, 10:48PM
Posts: 135

Borderlands - 9

Two words about this game: kick arse. :)

*huggles*
Areala

Andromus

Tue Dec 29 2009, 01:57PM

Registered Member #15

Joined: Thu Aug 09 2007, 07:23PM
Posts: 46

Machinarium -- 10

A wonderful game all around. Highly recommended for anyone interested in puzzles, or even just games as art.

Sleepy

Sun Jan 31 2010, 06:08PM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

Atelier Iris - 8

Typical Japanese RPG fare here with a few things that have kept it really enjoyable for me: Great 2D artwork, lots and lots of excellent voice acting, infectious musical score, and it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Drakengard - 2

Big disappointment from Square Enix. I don't know how it was ever marketed as an RPG. It is a Dynasty Warriors clone mashed up with a dragon flight combat sim... and it is incredibly repetitive. The only thing that keeps me playing repetitive games these days is a really compelling story and that was not to be found here. Don't bother with this one unless you want pretty mindless button mashing for about 30 hours (so I hear).

Sam and Max Season 1 Episode 1: Culture Shock - 9

The video game industry is sorely lacking in games that are genuinely funny. This is one of them.

Sleepy

Fri Feb 26 2010, 11:44AM

Registered Member #1

Joined: Fri Jul 20 2007, 02:27PM
Posts: 195

Supreme Commander - 7

I was a huge fan of Total Annihilation many years ago so I always wanted to get around to trying this spiritual successor. In a lot of ways it's exactly like TA, which is good and bad. The dual-monitor mode is pretty neat but I think it could've used more testing because it can be kinda flaky at times. The zooming is smooth and seamless. Definitely enjoying it right now, but not sure about staying power.

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