• /
    • Archives /
  • March 2008

Archives For March 2008

Gaming Column – Retro Revival

March 31, 2008 — Leave a comment

Originally published in The Daily Toreador.

There are three states that classic video games from the 80s and 90s find themselves in at this point: they’re still stars, they’re stuck in obscurity, or they’ve been driven into the ground.

Unfortunately, it’s that latter fate that seems to have befallen my beloved Sonic the Hedgehog in recent years. All of the 3D entries in the series have been bashed by critics and marked with disappointment by many fans. The 2006 “Sonic the Hedgehog” – titled thus as it was supposed to be a sort of rebirth for the franchise, apparently – on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 was particularly awful, combining shoddy programming with frustrating gameplay, a horrible camera, a boring story, terrible voice acting, and a host of other problems. With the possible exception of “Sonic and the Secret Rings” for the Nintendo Wii, 3D “Sonic” has simply never been very good.

But there may be the slightest glimmer of hope for the series. Screenshots and a video have supposedly leaked out from Sega’s own website involving the newest entry in the “Sonic” series, “Sonic Unleashed”. Judging from the video, it looks as if Sega has finally decided to listen to what fans have been trying to tell them for a decade now – “Sonic” is better in 2D, and the speed is all that matters. The video appears to show slick, 3D, “next-gen” visuals, but with mostly 2D, oh-so-classic 2D gameplay. Sega will neither confirm or deny that the video is real, but all indications are that it is, indeed, legit. And while Sega may find a way to screw this glorious idea up, I can’t help but feel hope that my blue buddy from years past my finally be ready to take on the world again.

And this got me to thinking – as I often do – about other classic video game franchises that I’d like to see brought back or remastered.

Some series’ have survived throughout the years – often switching from 2D to 3D – without any problems. Nintendo in particular seems to have nailed this on the head. The first 3D outings for both the “Mario” and “Zelda’ games were not only two of the best games in their respective series’, but also two of the best games of all time. Likewise, names like “Metal Gear” and “Final Fantasy” are doing perfectly fine for themselves.

But some games just can’t seem to make that transition. “Bubsy” was at least a somewhat well known 2D game in the SNES days, but when he tried to go 3D on the PlayStation, it essentially killed his video game “career”, and we haven’t seen him since. Similarly, the “Contra” games that have involved 3D gameplay haven’t been nearly as well-received as their 2D counterparts, causing Konami to wisely focus on a more “classic” style for most of the series, such as the recent “Contra 4” on the Nintendo DS. The “Castlevania” series is almost exactly the same: while the 3D entries of the series on the PS2 and Xbox were met with some degree of success – the N64 games were disregarded by most – the series mostly lives on in 2D incarnations on the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.

It’s possible that there will always be an effort to revive classic games for modern systems, mostly due to demand from fans. Years ago, Sega announced that it was attempting to remake “Altered Beast” and “Vectorman”, both beloved Sega Genesis classics. However, “Vectorman” was – perhaps very wisely – canceled, and the new “Altered Beast” was only released in Japan. Now, Sega is working on a new “Golden Axe” title, again trying to cash in on nostalgia.

So the trend continues – “Bionic Commando”, for instance, is finally coming back, both as a 2D remake and as a full-fledged 3D successor – and likely will for some time. Are there any games that you personally are dying to see come back? “Kid Icarus”? “Chrono Trigger”? “Blaster Master”? “Actraiser”? Heck, “Diablo”? Drop me an e-mail or post a comment on the DT website. I’m curious as to which old franchises are most dear to my readers’ hearts.

In Columns, Gaming
permalink

Review – Super Smash Bros. Brawl

March 27, 2008 — Leave a comment

Strictly speaking, there are only two places that you can find an epic adventure featuring Mario, Link, Star Fox, Solid Snake, Sonic the Hedgehog, Samus, and many more all at once. One is the multitudes of often sub-par fan fiction online, and the other is “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” on the Nintendo Wii.

It’s somewhat hard to imagine “Super Smash Bros.” needing an explanation at this point. The series, which started nine years ago on the Nintendo 64, has quickly become one of Nintendo’s most popular. In fact, the company was pleased to announce that this newest entry has sold more than 1.4 million copies during its first week of sales in the US alone.

But in case you’re not one of that “in” crowd, let me briefly explain what “Smash Bros.” is all about. At its core, “Smash Bros.” is a simple fighting game for up to four people. Unlike the “Street Fighters” and “Mortal Kombats” of ages past, there’s no real need to memorize countless button combinations and seemingly complex sequences of moves. The game is designed in such a way that even the inexperienced can pick up a controller and enjoy themselves, but hardcore fans can play with a level of extreme depth. The tournament scene that has formed around the series is astounding, and the game can be found at parties just as often as any of the “Halo” games.

But what really sets “Smash Bros.” apart from other games is its character roster, and the roster in “Brawl” is bigger and better than ever. “Fire Emblem’s” Ike can go toe to toe with “Earthbound’s” Ness. “Mario’s” Princess Peach can throw down with Princess Zelda of the series that shares her name. There are over thirty fighters to choose from, and there’s a good chance that at least one will strike a deep chord with people who have been playing games for years.

In addition to expanding the game’s cast, “Brawl” adds a host of new gameplay options that serve to expand the gameplay time of a game that could already entertain for hundreds of hours. For many, the chief among these is the addition of online play. At the time of this writing, many people are having trouble matching up with random opponents over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection – Nintendo insists that this is due to the enormous amount of players trying to log on at once – but those who are met with success generally have a positive experience. Playing with friends – using Nintendo’s much criticized “friend codes” system – seems to work fine without any problems.

Another addition is the stage builder. While it is basic and provides relatively few items and settings for creation of your own levels, it nonetheless adds a great deal to the overall package of the game.

Last but far from least is the “Subspace Emissary” mode, for 1-2 players. Simply put, it is a side-scrolling adventure game – complete with story – using the “Smash Bros.” gameplay. Most fighting games don’t try to incorporate much of a single-player/co-op mode at all, and when they do, they typically fail. However, “The Subspace Emissary” is an extremely entertaining addition to “Smash Bros.” that plays out almost like the world’s ultimate – and official – Nintendo fan fiction. Through the 8+ hours that you spend just making your way through the plot, you’ll unlock a lot of the features of the game, as well as learn the mechanics if you’re new to the series.

All told, “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” is an extremely complete and fulfilling package. It’s enjoyable even if you’re by yourself, but is by far the most fun when playing with a room full of friends. It’s an extremely easy recommendation for any Wii owner, and fans of multiplayer games in particular.

In Gaming
permalink

Review – Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

March 27, 2008 — Leave a comment

Originally published in The Daily Toreador.

While the “Advance Wars” (or, more appropriately, the “Wars”) series has been going on for quite some time (20 years in Japan, 7 here in North America), it hasn’t changed a whole lot over that time.

Sure, new features, units, and gameplay elements have been added with every incarnation, generally making for a better game every time it appears, but the series has always maintained a certain level of “cuteness” factor. For a game about war, Advance Wars has always had very anime-styled characters, who seem to find themselves in funny or awkward situations almost as often as they find themselves on the battlefield. Couple that with upbeat music, and you had a somewhat odd – though extremely good and addictive – turn based strategy series.

That changes with “Advance Wars: Days of Ruin” on the DS. As the name implies, this game is much darker and much more serious. The art is still obviously from Japan, but it’s grittier, with a more mature look. The story is also much more serious, beginning immediately after a meteor shower throws the world into chaos. However, while the characters are, as a whole, more war hardened and grim, there are still many that have a great deal of humor and charm. It’s a pretty good balance, really.

As far as gameplay goes, there actually aren’t any earth-shattering changes. For those unfamiliar with the series, “Advance Wars” is a turn-based game that puts you in control of an army of units. Usually the battles tend to be one on one, but sometimes you’ll have three or four armies on the battlefield at once wreaking havoc. You can control them with either the buttons or the DS stylus (for curious fans, stylus control is very much improved over the last DS game, “Dual Strike”), leading them to either decimate the opposing forces or capture their headquarters.

Units are varied, but in the traditional strategy categories. You have ground units such as infantry and tanks, air units such as battle copters and bombers, and sea units such as battleships and submarines. You either start out with a selection of these units at your disposal, or more often, build them with factories, airports, and harbors. Units work in a sort of “rock, paper, scissors” fashion, with units like anti-air working best, unsurprisingly, against air units, but weak against units like tanks.

Aside from the new look, “Days of Ruin” introduces new terrain types, such as ruins, and new units, like the mammoth War Tank. In an extremely exciting move, Nintendo also added online play over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. You can play against either strangers or friends, though if you play with friends you’re given the option of using voice chat.

Unfortunately, some old things were removed to make way for the new. The most disappointing loss for me personally is the Shop. In the past, you would receive money for playing the game, either through the campaign or skirmish matches against the AI. The better you did the more money you received. This money allowed you to buy characters, maps, and other things. The feature added a lot of replay value to the game, and I’m sorry to see it go.

CO Powers are also different here. In the past, the character you chose would have some affect on your army such as making your tanks stronger or making units cheaper for you to produce. They also had individual powers that would charge up as you both gave and received damage. When used, these powers would have a certain, temporary effect, like healing your units a bit or making them move further in a snowy environment.

Now, COs enter the battlefield themselves as opposed to watching from the sidelines. They piggyback with another unit, and have a certain field of influence in which they give their trademark bonuses.

All things said, this is another very solid entry in the “Advance Wars” series. For both fans and newcomers alike (provided they like strategy), it’s the kind of game that you can easily start playing at 8:00 at night, become engrossed in the tactics, then look at up the clock and realize that it’s 2AM, you have a class in six hours, and you say you’ll stop after just… one… more… turn.

In Gaming
permalink

Review – LOST: Via Domus

March 11, 2008 — Leave a comment

Originally published in The Daily Toreador.

Have you ever been watching Lost, enjoying one of the best shows on television today, and wondered what it would be like to be a survivor of Oceanic flight 815? Then Lost: Via Domus is the game for you! Or at least… it wants to be.

The game centers around a survivor from the crash that you will never see on the show itself. The action picks up immediately after the mysterious crash, and your character is quick to realize that he lost his memory. You know nothing about the man or his past, save that he was evidently a photojournalist – even his name is a mystery when you first begin. This serves both to differentiate itself from the hit television show and to give you a somewhat fresh perspective of life on the island.

The game tries to be as much like the series as possible, going as far as to make each section of the game a separate “episode” beginning with the all-to-familiar, “Previously, on Lost” voice-over before a short recap of earlier events. If you’ve ever watched the show, then you probably know that each episode prominently features flashbacks of various characters, giving you a look at their life before the fateful crash. Via Domus works in much the same way. While most of the game takes place on the island, there are many flashbacks in which you get a brief look at your previous life, and are required to take pictures of various items, people and events in an effort to help your character piece together the loose bits of his lost memory. This works well as a story element, and is an interesting way of handling the main character’s amnesia.

You’ll encounter all the major characters you would expect to see. Jack, Kate, Locke, Sawyer, Charlie, Hurley, Ben, Juliet… They all make appearances, sometimes long, sometimes brief. The storyline takes place during the events of the first two seasons of the show. Trouble is, while Lost fans will certainly recognize events and know what’s going on, anyone who doesn’t follow the show religiously will be entirely… well, lost. They events are depicted nicely, but nothing is explained in any detail whatsoever. I expect it would be near impossible to fully enjoy the game’s story if you aren’t already familiar with the plot. Which is something of a shame, as the story is indeed an interesting addition to the Lost saga, even if it’s not considered entirely “canon”.

The gameplay itself is a bit on the average side, but this could actually be considered a blessing. Video games based on licensed franchises are very, very rarely known for being quality products, but Lost: Via Domus is certainly acceptable. The team at Ubisoft did a nice job of capturing the essence of the show, focusing on plot and adventure rather than action – most of the time, anyway. They also did a fabulous job with environments, for the most part, giving everything a very “Lost-like” feel. As a fan, it’s admittedly exciting to enter the infamous hatch, only to find a computer inside beeping loudly, begging you to input “the numbers”.

But while you do indeed input said numbers, carrying dynamite from the Black Rock, and evade the Black Smoke, there are still things that you might want to do or see if you follow the show. Where’s Walt? Why can’t you play ping pong with Hurley? Why does Charlie sound nothing like Dominic Monaghan?

But it would perhaps be possible to look past all of this if it weren’t for Via Domus’ biggest problem: it’s far too short. The game can easily be completed – having seen everything there is to see – within six hours. Seeing as how the game retails for $60, that’s pretty unacceptable to most people.

If you don’t enjoy or aren’t familiar with Lost, then stay away. There’s nothing for you here. But if you’re a diehard fan of the show, then this is easily worth a rental – probably not a purchase. Lost: Via Domus is available now for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

In Gaming
permalink

Rolling on: A Gary Gygax tribute

March 6, 2008 — Leave a comment

Originally published in The Daily Toreador.

Since 1974 millions of people across the globe have taken part in an extremely enjoyable use of the imagination. After school or work, young and old alike will gather together with loved ones – sometimes even in costume – find a dark cellar, lock the doors, and role-play.

Maybe I should be more specific about what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about Dungeons & Dragons, and other role-playing games like it. Pen and paper, ten sided dice… You know, the kind of role-playing that you don’t have to be attractive or intoxicated to take part in. Well, okay, some of you may prefer to be intoxicated, but the more nerdy of us would rather have our minds free and clear when we enter the dark, dank chambers full of ogres, only to realize with horror that we forgot to cast our Magical Watchdog spell, and the only party member with a knife that does +3 damage to ogres is in the tavern getting drunk.

I mention the famous fantasy tabletop game because its co-creator, Gary Gygax, tragically passed away on Tuesday, March 4th, at the age of 69. He leaves behind him a legacy that has influenced and entertained millions of people. The D&D name alone is massive enough, including not only the extremely expansive worlds of the tabletop game, but also a variety of books, video games, a TV show, and movies.

And the influence is more expansive than that. Traits of D&D can be found in the renowned text adventure Zork, the Ultima RPG series, and a vide variety of fantasy novels. It was also a D&D inspired game released in 1991, Neverwinter Nights, that was the first graphical Massively Multiplayer Online RPG (it would later be remade by BioWare in 2002). So when you’re playing World of Warcraft at two in the morning when you should be studying, remember: Dungeons & Dragons helped shape the experience.

And you can thank Gary Gygax in part for that.

Sure, the game has seen more than its share of controversy over the years. The 80s in particular played host to religious and moral uproar when D&D was blamed for introducing people to witchcraft, Satan worship, and inducing suicidal thoughts. While it’s certainly possible to see where the religious angle came from, claims such as these were largely unfounded. In truth, the game flexed and strengthened the imaginations of many, and provided a great social experience. While the number of tabletop role-players has dwindled in recent years, the traditions still live on, and people still play. From the casual players to the LARPers and convention goers, D&D is still played all over the place.

If you’ve got to leave this earth, that’s quite the resume bullet point to leave behind. So here’s to Gary Gygax. The man always rolled twenties.

In Columns, Gaming , ,
permalink