Do you ever play a game, and even if it is a decent one, it still makes you just think about wanting to play a completely different game instead? Not that it's a bad game, but you know there is another game of similar genre and style that is just simply better or more fun, and as much as you try to get in to and really enjoy what you are playing, your mind just drifts away to the other game? Of course you do, but as normal gamers, you can easily transition from one game to the next, provided you have the game you want to play. If you don't, well, then your out of luck. For me, however, especially in the context of this blog, when I'm playing one game for the blog, I can't just go and switch on a whim. I have to be dedicated to the project. Besides, if I switch and want to write about the other game, then I'll have to play the first game again if I want to add it to the blog. So instead, I'll just bite the bullet and play the first game, write about it, and try to move on. I played Big Sky Infinity. I've had this game sitting on my hard drive of my PS3 and my memory card of my Vita for what seems like forever, pretty much untouched. It was a cross-buy game from the PSN, that may have actually went free on PS Plus sometime after I bought it, but I may be mistaken. Regardless, I bought it, thinking I would love it, as it is a twin-stick shooter, with the shtick being that the game progressively adjusts the difficulty of itself as you play, depending on how well or terrible you are doing. Seems good on paper, and while it is serviceable for what it is, all it did was make me want to play Super Stardust Delta on my Vita, and even more than that, the upcoming Resogun on the PS4, made by the same people responsible for Super Stardust Delta. I'm sorry, but that game looks AMAZING, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Sounds weird that one of my most anticipated games for the "next-gen" consoles is a downloadable PSN title, but hey, the heart can't help what it wants. Anyway, I'll probably keep the game on my Vita for now, as mindless twin-stick shooters are good to keep around for random moments of boredom and quick fun, but I need space on my PS3 hard drive, so I don't think it will make the cut. At least I gave it a shot, though, even if I wanted to play something else the entire time.
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I've never was a Sega kid. Growing up, I had the Nintendo consoles, and always relied on friends who were Sega kids to play Sega exclusive games. For the most part, this meant Sonic games, and then the awesome Dreamcast collection, so for the most part, there is a huge Sega Genesis library of games I've never touched. While I don't feel like a piece of my gaming universe is missing because of this, every once in a while I think about a game that I wished I had played as a kid, if only for some context, especially for this blog. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is one of those games. While never playing the original game, I have heard plenty of good things about it. I was always curious about it, but never had a chance to check it out. Well, I still haven't played it, but I did get a chance to play the brand new remake of the classic game, aptly named Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse. What, did you think they would come up with a cooler name, or add an "HD" or "Remake" or "Remix" to the already absurdly long title? Think again, my friends. Anyway, this is your run of the mill 2.5D platformer game with 3D background, or however it is people usually describe this type of game. In simple terms, it's a platformer through and through, in every sense of the genre. It's side-scrolling and you jump on platforms, jump on enemies and collect things along the way that end up helping you advance in the game. I wouldn't want it any other way. While it is a Disney game, they really don't have many true Disney references in it other than Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and the witch that seems to be the witch from Cinderella, who has kidnapped Minnie and is imprisoning her in her castle away from Mickey, who is on a warpath of sorts to rescue his fair lady. All of the enemies though are creations specifically for this game, as far as I can tell, and while I find it a little odd, I don't see it as a bad thing, as it could easily get muddled down if it were nothing but actual, existing Disney characters. More power to them for creating an entire world of characters just for this one game, that are now officially, unofficially part of the Disney family. So what did I think about the game? Well, I beat it. In one sitting. Because it was fun, and it was totally one of those games that you keep saying, "Just one more level, just one more level." And then you realize you are getting to the point of no return and you might as well finish it. Sure, I could go back and finish up the trophy list by collecting every single thing in the game, but let's be real here. Me beating a game is an accomplishment in it's own right, so why push myself to tie up lose ends when I have so many other great games to play? I wouldn't have done it back when I was a kid. Of course, that might have had something to do with not having a Genesis. Just saying... I have tons of new games to play. Literally, tons of games, in the non literal sense, of course. I have games I started for this blog that I never have made it back to, I have games I've downloaded that I've never installed, games I've bought that I haven't even taken the wrapper off, and of course, games I have that I haven't been back to play and write about for this blog, that I started before this year. Shank 2 is one of those games, and to be real with you all, the only reason for me going back and playing it now was to hopefully clear up some unfinished games on my PS3 hard drive so I can start working on untouched ones, finally. Essentially, I'm trying to clear up what we like to call in the industry, my backlog. If only so that I can start adding more games to it, one at a time. Shank 2 was one of the first games I downloaded when I got my PS3 thanks to PS Plus. Over a year ago, when I first jumped in, Sony was offering free games as part of the service, but they were no where near the awesome monthly titles we see now. It was a spattering of games, usually indie or PSN titles, which was fine and dandy, but let's be real. It wasn't even close to what they give us every month now. Regardless, I snagged Shank 2 back then, and played it for a while before being distracted by some other game. Since then, I have kept it at the bottom of my hard drive, waiting to be played again, at some point. Maybe even be beaten as well! So, I played it. I wanted to give it another shot, and either beat it, or decide if it's worth keeping around if I don't with the intent to beat it at some point. Sure, it's not a huge game and not taking up a bunch of precious gigabytes, but the more games I can get rid of now, the more new games I can put on the hard drive. That's my logic, at least. Anyway, this game is fun, I suppose. It's your typical side-scrolling beat'em up game, and the art style is very comic book-ish, which is really cool. The storyline is a little bizarre, but a rogue mercenary out for vengeance always seems to work in games, however it is presented. It's not a hard game, and while the combat is enjoyable, it gets tedious after a while, as do most beat'em games like this one. I didn't get through the game, but I think I've played enough of it to be satisfied with it and not worry about having to finish it. So with that, I deleted it from my hard drive and will wipe my hands clean of Shank 2. Thankfully, if I ever get that itch to ever beat it, driven by sheer boredom, then I could always just re-download it at a later time. Or I could just finally buy a bigger hard drive for the PS3, replace it with the one that's in there and have all my games at my fingertips, like I have been talking about forever. As if thinking about my backlog wasn't bad enough, looking at the entire thing would be maddening. Pinball tables, my old nemesis. Don't get me wrong, I love playing pinball tables, but unfortunately, they tend to own me on a regular basis, which is basically every time I touch one. I love the feeling of being so close and personal to the game, to have actual control over what is happening rather than digital representation of a button push. Seeing the ball bounce around, the lights flashy and going crazy, the sounds of the points racking up ... and the devastation of seeing the ball slide right down the middle of the table, fitting perfectly between both paddles on its way to certain doom. Trust me, I've seen that more often than I'd care to admit. Seems inevitable that with my quarter comes certain disappointment, quicker than I would hope. Honestly, I think pinball tables are created to make you feel inferior as a gamer. I admire thoroughly those pinball wizards who can keep a ball going for seemingly as long as they want, because for the rest of us casual pinballers, that gap between the bottom paddles seems ridiculously impossible to overcome. None the less, I come back to pinball tables every chance I get, just because I think maybe I'll get better by trying, or that the next time the quarter gets dropped in, I'll have an incredible run. These are what we call pipe dreams, my friends. Thanks to PS+, I was able to satisfy my pinball craving at home, without having to lose a roll of quarter while doing so. I got Star Wars Pinball, for both my PS3 and my Vita, as did every other PS+ member. I've played some Zen Pinball tables before, and even bought the Plants vs. Zombies table, because well, it looked fun. And it was. But the Star Wars Pinball? Yeah, now that's what I'm talking about. These tables actually feel like they could be real tables, except of course for the animation and stuff going on outside the table. Other than that, I could totally see these being real tables, and man oh man, that would be some fun. Regardless, these digital versions of pinball tables are a blast, and while I probably wouldn't have bought them because of how many other games I need to play, it was nice to be able to experience these for free, and be able to whenever I get that itch to play some pinball. Unless of course my itch is to lose a bunch of quarters, in which case, I'll see you down at the arcade, folks. I've written about my love for sports before on this blog, haven't I? All real sports, that is. I've always had an affinity for the major American sports - baseball, basketball and of course football. There is nothing like Opening Day of baseball season, or the World Series. In basketball, there is March Madness, the All-Star weekend and the NBA Playoffs. In college football, there is bowl season and rivalries week. But nothing comes even remotely close to the kick-off of the NFL season. Nothing. It's kind of amazing to sit back and think about just how big the NFL has grown in recent years. The sheer popularity of this league is mind-numbing, and is easily one of the most influential brands in the United States. Sure, during the season it's easy to understand everyone's excitement, but with the passing of every year, it's clear the NFL is in the hearts and minds of fans seemingly every single day. Even the offseason now yields headline-grabbing stories on a regular basis, constantly reminding the public how much they miss the football season. Well, the wait was grueling, long and tedious, but finally, the NFL season kicked-off officially, marking five solid months of weekly football games, fantasy leagues, betting odds, lazy Sundays and a whole lot of pigskin. And I couldn't be happier about it. Because of this, I decided to celebrate the beginning of the season in the best way I knew how. By playing the newest version of the Madden franchise of course, Madden 25. Madden 25? Sounds weird, doesn't it? Instead of putting the year in the title like every other Madden game before it, EA decided to pay homage to the 25th year anniversary of the franchise. It's odd, but it doesn't really bother me. Maybe because I'm not a annual buyer of the Madden games, as I haven't bought one in about three years, I think. To me, this game is amazing, based on how long it's been since I owned a Madden game. I played last year's on the Wii U earlier in the year, but I hardly remember it. This game feels and looks amazing, something that the rest of the internet seems to disagree on. This might have something to do with the fact that by buying a game franchise on a yearly basis tends to make each new game seem like a copy-and-paste of last year's model. But give it a few years in between games, and you would be surprised how refreshing the new games can be. It looks great, it plays great, and it is a fun way of partaking in the NFL experience on a different level than most are you used to. Having franchises, playing against friends or simply just playing exhibition matches is as fun as it always has been. I wish I could talk about how different this game is than previous games, but I can't. My memory doesn't work like that, unfortunately. I can tell you that having the old Michael Vick aka "The Michael Vick Experience" as quarterback for the All-Madden team is more fun than I could possibly describe. I remember back in the day when he was on the Falcons, and having to make rules about no one being able to be them when playing with friends. Man, those were the days. Anyway, I love football. It seems like it's been gone far too long, but I'm glad it's finally back now. Apparently Peyton Manning did to, as he put up "video game numbers" in the opening game. Any time a game has to include the tagline "The Game" after a colon that's at the end of the actual name of the game, I tend to be worried. Usually this means that the game is based on something from another form of media or entertainment, like a show, movie or comic book. This of course usually means that it is a recreation of something in video game form, which if we have learned anything over the years, is usually a really bad thing. Especially when ":The Game" is based off of the latest summer blockbuster movie. But what happens when ":The Game" is based off of a movie (more indy than blockbuster) that is based off of a comic book? Well, you get Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, which thankfully, isn't a bad thing in the grand scheme of things. It quite handily strikes down any preconceived notions you may have had about the game prior to playing it, and disproves the notion that every game with the subtitle "The Game" is a throw-away quick money grab disguised as a real video game. Scott Pilgrim is awesome, and he is awesome in any form he is presented in. Thankfully, everyone playing the game gets to reap the benefits from this truth. Because the game is awesome too, and even more fun to play. It pays homage to the old school, side-scrolling beat 'em up genre perfectly, but adds its own twists to the style in a way that makes it feel refreshing, interesting, engaging and an absolute blast to play. There are RPG elements thrown in to the mix, with the option of upgrading your abilities to better serve you in battle. And when I say "option," I mean it's an absolute must, as this game gets hard quicker than you would expect. Sure, it is probably designed to be played co-op, with up to three more people, for solo gamers like myself, it's more than just a challenge to struggle your way through the world. While the difficulty is frustrating, it never feels like it lessens the amount of fun I'm having playing the game, which is a true testament to this universe. Fun is fun, no matter how you spin it. The real star of the show though is the game soundtrack. Now, I'm not usually one to slobber all over a game's soundtrack, as for some reason that stuff gets lost to me when I'm playing games. Good/bad voice acting I'll take note of, but the soundtrack of the game? It's just usually background noise to me, unless of course the game is actually created to harbor the creativity of a music in one way or the other. But in this game, the soundtrack shines through the lack of voice acting and beautiful and creative level design, adding tempo and personality to the flow and play style. It's fun and energetic, and takes you back to a place in gaming where everything was just simple and fun, when games were just games. Thankfully I was able to put prejudices aside long enough to give this game a shot. While it makes me want to go back and read some Scott Pilgrim comics and watch the movie again, and even see if the soundtrack is available to download from anywhere, the game itself was fun and enjoyable, despite the multiple near-rage quits. Not bad for a game with ":The Game" in it. My childhood is sacred to me. There are things that I fondly remember that I never want to let go from my piggy bank of memories. Things that generations that followed mine don't quite understand, will never understand or simply have never heard of. Toys, cartoons, cereals, movies, video games ... all were pretty important in shaping me to be the kind of guy I am today. However it is you decided to categorize me, that is. Anyway, for what it's worth, I try to hold on to the things that shaped me tightly, in hopes of the special memories I have of them remaining true and pure forever. Unfortunately, Michael Bay has done a fantastic job of taking small bits of my childhood, crumbling them up and tossing them into a burning trash can. He did it with the Transformers movies, he is bound and determined to do it to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and just recently, it was reported that he is going to do it to the Dinobots from Transformers, which essentially will ruin that storyline along with all things dinosaur related. Thankfully, he has kept his grubby little hands off of the Ghostbusters franchise, but after playing Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, it's clear he didn't need to do a thing. I had high hopes for this game. I'm not entirely sure why, but I figured for the couple of bucks I spent to pick it up, it had to be enjoyable in some capacity. I mean, it's the Ghostbusters. How bad could it be? Well, it's pretty bad. Not bad enough to regret buying it or to think I got ripped off (considering it was severally on sale when I grabbed it, I can't complain too much), but it's just not an enjoyable game. For one, it features a brand new ghost busting crew, which is a shame in it's own right. Sure, it has Egon as the guy supply all the high-tech gear, but the actual team you play as and with is an all new group of forgettable characters. They add nothing to the story or the game, which is just a top-down, dual stick shooter anyway. The Ghostbusters movies thrived on having a strong cast of characters, with the actual plots and effects playing second fiddle to the guys you wearing the proton packs. This game does nothing to make you feel any sort of connection to the characters, or the story for that matter. Or even the game play. Essentially, the game just wants you to connect to the idea of this being part of the Ghostbusters franchise. It doesn't give you any other reason to like it. And even that is a stretch if you think about it. The game is boring. You go into a room and the door locks, forcing you to clear the area of poltergeists, before advancing to the next room where the formula is repeated. And it's repeated, over and over again. It wears thin after a while. Because of the 4-player style, the action gets hectic and hard to follow at times, and while the gear seems like it would be fun to use, it just doesn't ever feel exciting at all. I don't know. Maybe I am being overly cynical because it carries the Ghostbusters brand behind it. I guess maybe I expected more from it before of the logo. But ultamitely, if this was just some random game about fighting ghosts, I never would have given it a chance. So at least the brand still has power, even if it is slightly diminished in my heart because of this game. I can live with that. Just don't let Michael Bay anywhere near Slimer, and we're good. I know I have written about fighting games before. I can't remember exactly which game it was that prompted me to share my thoughts on the fighting game genre, but I know I wrote about it. If you remember that post, well, for one, you should write in to me and refresh my memory what game it was (so I don't write about it again), but secondly, you should remember my personal feelings on fighting games. Well, that is, if your memory is better than mine. As a refresher, let me break it down for you real quick. I love fighting games. Absolutely adore them. Unfortunately, my skill level of fighting games doesn't even come close to matching how much I love to play them, which is bizarre. You would think that if someone loves a genre of games, and plays a bunch of them, that they would be half-way decent, right? Well, I'm the exception to the rule. No matter how much I play a fighting game and how well I study the move-sets and practice them, I get absolutely destroyed by others when I try to put my training to the test. I really can't explain why, either. I would say my hand-eye coordination, but that would effect other types of games, if not all video games, as well, right? Maybe I'm just not fast enough, or have slow reaction times. Maybe my fingers can't accurately hit the diagonal position of the D-pad as accurately as I need. Like I said, I really have no idea. With all that being said, and risking the possibility of writing a post exactly like an old one, I can happily say I found a fighting game that I can be good at. Not just good, but dominant. Well, I think I can. That's the thing with Divekick; no matter how good you think you are, the game revolves around sheer luck and guessing, meaning any Joe Schmoe off the street can play for the first time and easily beat a seasoned veteran. How is that possible, you say? Allow me to explain. Divekick was not created to be played by hardcore fighting game fanatics, or be a tournament game at Evo, the largest fighting game tournament in the world, where the best of the best compete. No, this game is made for everyone else, who play fighting games for the fun of it, and just want to have fun while playing the games, not be constantly devastated by inabilities to perform perfect combos with perfect timing. Divekick is for the masses, as they say. This game is the epitome of simplicity. There are only two buttons to control the action. No, seriously. Just two buttons. One for jumping, and the other for divekicking. You can't move your player forward or backwards, you can't block, you can't perform any sort of combos. All you can do is jump up, and divekick in the direction of your opponent. You can perform a kickback, which is an evasion maneuver, for most characters by hitting the kick button before jumping. Also, pushing both buttons at once will perform a special move, individualized for each character. If you manage to hit your opponent before they hit you, you win. Just one hit ends the round. The fact that there is even a health bar is comical in its own right. Each fight consists of a best-of-nine series, which basically means the first one to win 5 rounds, wins the match. With one-hit kills, the matches usually go pretty quickly, unless you and your opponent play a game of chicken and just keep jumping up, afraid to make the first move. In reality, this game is all about timing. Nail the timing of your kick and you'll reign supreme. If your opponent has better timing than you, that will mark success in their favor. Sure, some skill comes in to play, but overall, it's a lot more random and luck driven than skill-based. Which is why this game is fun, not frustrating. This game is available for Steam, but also for PS3 and Vita, which are available as a cross-buy. Buy it for one Sony platform, get it for the other one for free. Sweet deal, huh? For me, I'm playing it on my Vita, but only because it is such a fun, quick little game to pick up and play in short bursts, especially on the go. So there you have it. A fighting game I can fully support. That is, until some who has never played before challenges me and destroys me. At that point, I'll swear off fighting games forever. Maybe. Probably not, but it's nice to think about anyway. On the heels of my failed attempt to join people online and play a game of Borderlands 2 co-op style, I decided to play a game that is absolutely, one hundred percent designed to be played cooperatively with a partner in crime. And like the stubborn gamer I am, in protest of my recent disappointments with every possible partner that should have played Borderlands 2 with me, I shunned the the world and decided to go about this co-op journey completely solo. That's right, I tried to play Ibb & Obb, the most recent release from the PSN as part of their Summer Play promotion, alone. All by myself. A one man wolf pack. And it was probably the worst decision, too. So the game itself is cute, colorful and stylish in the most basic and simple fashion, in every way possible. The pastel colors are utilized to their full potential, but many of shades of the color wheel are vividly splashed around the landscape that you are asked traverse. And when I say "you," I mean "you and your partner." That is, if you have a partner. The game doesn't hold your hand, nor does it walk you through the learning curve of figuring out how to play the game. It just kind of dumps you in and let's you learn on your own. It's not exactly a complicated game, as once you figure out the basic premise and understand the physics of the co-op platformer, you are well on your way. After that, however, is where the fun stops for a one man wrecking crew. You see, there are two characters that play simultaneously, which if you have a second player along for the ride, makes things a lot easier. You control one guy, and your buddy plays as the other, helping each other along the way, solving physic-based puzzles in order to continue the adventure. One character is on the "normal" plane of the level, while the other is upside on the reverse plane of the terrain. You use launch pads, introversion gates that fling you from one plane to the other, and other forms of physics to help each other, very much in the same way that Portal 2 did. In fact, the game took a lot of what Portal 2 did with the co-op physic-based game play and problem solving and twisted it into a simplified, basic version. And quite frankly, if you are going to be inspired by any puzzle game when developing your own, it might as well be Portal 2, right? Here's where things got horrible for me. If you are choosing to play all alone, you still have to control both characters simultaneously, one with the left analog, the other with the right analog stick. There is no AI to control the other character, you have to move them both at the same time. The first few levels are very doable with this style of game play, but eventually it gets down right tough to nearly impossible. With enough practice I'm sure it can be conquered by your lonesome, but seriously, this game was designed to be played co-op. Trying to play this solo is flat out ridiculous. So now I'm left with the question of whether or not to enlist the services of someone online, or invite someone over for some good old fashion couch co-op. Whichever path I decide to take, one has to be chosen. I will not be able to complete this game on my own, not matter how stubborn and determined I am to make a point. The white flag has been waved. I didn't want to write about this game yet. I was really trying to finish it before I wrote about, for reasons I will explain in just a little bit. And while I got extremely close to finishing it, I didn't quite make it there ... yet. But to write about anything else would be an injustice to this game, as I sat down and had a good, long play session of one game for the first time in, well, a very long time. I didn't buy Bulletstorm. I didn't rent it, nor did I borrow it. I didn't Redbox it or Gamefly it. No, this game was a gift, to not only me and my gaming addiction, but to the blog itself. I opened the mailbox one day a little while ago and saw a package with my name on it, c/o The Noyse. It was from Cleveland, Ohio. I opened it up, and there was Bulletstorm for the PS3, packaged in with a hand-written note. The letter explained how he thought this was a game I would love, despite my cautiously pessimistic attitude about the game that I had on podcasts without ever playing it before. Basically, he felt my early judgement without context wasn't fair to the game, and he wanted to prove me wrong about me convincing myself that I wouldn't like it. And the only way to prove me wrong was to make me play it. But I wasn't to write about it until after I finished it. Unfortunately, I can't handle not writing about it any longer. I have to get this off my chest, and now. Well, I want to say thank you, Bill. You were right, and I was wrong for assuming I would hate this game. Once I start playing this game (which I have done in three different sittings now), I can't seem to the put the thing down. It is so insanely, ridiculously addicting, it's almost scary. When I talk about a pallet cleanser of a game, this is the ultimate epitome of that. Yes, it has a story, but honestly, I skip right over it. I don't even care. That's not saying anything negative about the game or its story, but rather that when I start to play this game, my mind just shuts off (for a refreshing change of pace), I sit back and just have fun. The action is intense. I don't even want to try and describe it. But while I was playing it, my cousin came down the hall to my room to see what I was playing, because it was too loud and he wanted to shut my door. I told him what I was playing, he watched for a few minutes, and then said, "well, that explains why all I have heard was shooting and bullets flying everywhere nonstop all night." Yeah, that would be Bulletstorm. The different and creative ways you kill and can enemies is fun, but not forced. It's very much like Mad World, where the more creative you get with your punishment, the more points you score. Not only that, but those points translate to in-game currency used for ammo and weapon upgrades. Getting points isn't necessary, as you could run through and kill guys in the most basic ways if you wanted to, but honestly, what fun would that be? Besides, the game practically gift wraps you points whether you want them or not, so there is no point in trying to avoid getting them. If you're doing that, you're not playing the game the way it was intended to be played, plain and simple. Like I said, I almost - almost - done with this game. By the time I turned off the game, my head was spinning and my adrenaline had reached it's limit. I literally had to stop playing just to relax from having too much fun. That's the kind of game that is making the daily grind of this project enjoyable, for sure. Just goes to show that you can't always judge a game by its box art, or preview videos, reviews or the labels placed upon it by the internet Sometimes fun games are just fun games, and over analyzing them is pointless. Just shut your mind down, sit back and rain down bullets on your enemies. You'll thank me later, like I am thanking my favorite pizza delivery guy with this blog. |
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February 2014
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