VW's Top 1000 Games

[Garfield And Friends]

#524: ASSASSIN'S CREED 2

Genre: 3D action platformer
Format: Xbox 360 / PS3 / Windows / Mac
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Year: 2009
Publisher: Ubisoft



Either I'm really stupid, or I don't pay much attention to game plots, but either way I didn't care which Italian holyman I was killing or why when playing Assassin's Creed 2. It's just more of the same stealing, infiltrating, and hightailing action, though the setting has changed from the Third Crusade to Renaissance Italy.

Graphically, it remains a remarkably attractive title, and after climbing up all those high vantage points, it is hard not to savour the fantastic cityscape down below. The sword 'n hidden blade combat remains fairly similar to the first game. All good. One thing I love about AC2 are the tomb raiding side quests. These are very much Prince of Persia-style dealios where a treasure has been inconveniently placed in a nearly impossible-to-reach chamber in one of the grand buildings of Forli/Venice/wherever. Speaking of Venice - great location in real life, and great location for a game here too!

Those annoying beggars from the first game have been replaced by singing minstrels this time. Trololololo! Die you bastards. Unfortunately, sinking a blade into them one time too many will make Ezio fail the level. Humbug.

I've read terrible things about the DRM on the Windows version. Luckily I own the PS3 release, which plays well, bar the (very rare) frame drop when rotating the camera very quickly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnQZHBodpwk

[Big Jack McBastard]

I loved gradually uncovering 'The Truth' (accessing Subject 16's memories) in the hidden glyph 'quizzes' on AC2, they start off simple enough but gradually become maddeningly difficult, especially the maths/symbols ones, (as I recall the AC Brotherhood ones were even tougher) so many times I'd thought I'd cracked one only to realise I'd gotten it wrong from the start.

I'd figured out *who* I was watching by about the 6th piece of video but that just spurred me on to get the rest and see *what* I was watching, it's a pretty audacious theme for a videogame to be tackling, though for the most part it's played out as a sideshow/distraction from the leaping about stabbing people in the throat it's a hell of an idea for a backstory.

Vid:

Spoiler alert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-bibDttnQE&feature=related

[close]

"Say whut?"

Spoiler alert

Yeah, that's Adam and Eve, a pair of bred slaves for a god-like alien race escaping from 'Eden' which is/was actually a technologically advanced workhouse come prison for humans. 27 seconds in we get a glimpse of the inside where one of these god-aliens holds a 'Piece of Eden' (which enables the barer to control/torment/project their will all over who ever they focus it on) in front of some of the less agile, less escape prone workforce. At the end we see Eve has a Piece of Eden, stolen from their masters. The locations of which are what the Templar organization of Abstergo has spent all this time trying to root out of Desmond's (and 16 other poor sods) noggin(s) so they can more directly and effectively take over the world. Why would their locations be found in Desmond's DNA? cos he, along with Altiar and Ezio and the other Abstergo Subjects before him are direct descendants of Adam & Eve, OMG!

[close]

I liked how AC:Brotherhood just continued to tease our collective balls with the underlying story of the Pieces of Eden, Desmond's inevitable out-of-Animus japes in the future will be interesting to see develop, if they ever get round to taking that leap.

[Little Hoover]

^co-signed all that stuff you said.

The only problem is it feels like the game is probably writing itself into a corner, it's resolution can probably only be either underwhelming or utterly ridiculous.

[Big Jack McBastard]

It's going to take some pulling off if they go for the end game of Desmond as a full on right here right now assassin in the modern/future world, this is very true.

I can't really see them taking that route too far though, maybe a few closing sections towards the end of the 'last' game where the heat is on would suffice in that regard, the main stories so far are too steeped in history and the fantastic city re-creations are so awesome, jumping into a very obvious future tech city for any length of time would be a hell of a gear change to realise and harder still to not have it seem contrived.

I'd be interested to see what they did if tasked with it though.

As for the fate of the story I can only see the destruction of the PoEs as an outcome. I'd hazard a guess that will coincide with the apparent crippling of the Templars and most likely Desmonds death/transformation into.. something.

Though after the credits finish rolling, some berk in a future archaeological dig or a submersible in the Atlantic will unearth the last one which was previously thought impossible to retrieve, I bet my nuts on it.

[loveable bobbi bundles]

#535:  "Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne"

I hope M.P.3 keeps the tongue-in-cheek dialogue of the first two (and the bullettime shenanigans of course).

[loveable bobbi bundles]

#523: AutoDuel
Genre: top down role playing meets gta
Format: Apple II
Developer: Origin Systems
Year: 1985
Publisher: Origin Systems



AutoDuel was boss. Cobble together a car ,fit it with machine guns and blast enemies to bits around east coast america. Open world gameplay with lots and lots of options and side missions like courier jobs. Very involving and the action bits are the perfect compelment to the customisation and car maintainance around the various cities.

[Consignia]

#522: Persona 3 Portable



Genre: JRPG
Format: PSP
Developer: Atlus
Year: 2009
Publisher: Atlus

The Megami Tensai series are a series of games, going way back to the NES. There's been tons of spin-offs and sequels, but some of the most famous are the Persona series. The Personas are JRPGs with the over-riding theme of school kids summoning demons from the depths of their minds. Originally PSX and PS2 games, they are currently being re-released on portable formats mostly on the PSP but Persona 4 is getting the Vita treatment. However, this is about Persona 3 Portable, the re-hauled version of the PS2 classic.



The basic story of P3P is there is an extra hour every night where all but a few people are locked out, and monsters called shadows lurk to prey on the sleeping human's emotions. Are group of school kids who aren't affected venture into this dark world to destroy this evil threat, so others can rest easy. You take on main character, given the gender and name of your choice[nb]Kanae Shirota in my case[/nb], who has been thrust into this world, and must go on a journey spanning the school year balancing destroying shadows and maintaining a decent school life.



The game is split into two segments; school life and dungeon conquering. The dungeon conquering is the bit during the dark hour, were you explore the main dungeon, Tartarus. During the dark hour you seek out the bigger shadows and fight in very much a typical JRPG style. The school life segment plays out very much like a visual novel, more so than the original version thanks to the PSP's isometric perspective, where you manage trying to keep up with school, as well as make friends, and fix other's social problems. By following these social links, you delve into the deeper world of Persona, with some surprisingly deep characters and stories. The two segements aren't completely distinct, by following the social links in the school life, you get more powerful summons during the dungeon bits, which are key to making progress.



The game itself is quite difficult to get stuck into at first, but once you are enthralled, it's totally addictive. Some of the social links can be absolutely heart breaking, and the ending itself is one of the most bittersweet ones around. It can be surpisninly cutting at times, even when it's following genre tropes. The time transition in it is perfectly suited to short bursts of play on the PSP, so while the graphics are cut down slightly, the whole thing feels a lot better suited to the portable console. It's quickly risen to one of my favourite JRPGs, and has left be gagging for more. The recent announcement of Persona 4 for the Vita, makes me feel it can't come out soon enough. Thoroughly recommended for anyone with the slightest enjoyment of JRPGs.

Gameplay footage

[Consignia]

Just a quickie:

#521: Rhythm Tengoku Gold



Genre: Rhythm Game
Format: DS
Developer: Nintendo
Year: 2008
Publisher: Nintendo



This is a quirkly little game from Nintendo. Following on from a previous outing on the GBA, Rhythm Tengoku Gold twists it's features to take on the layout of the DS. The basic format of the game involves tapping or swiping the DS touch-screen in time to music. There's ton's of unique stages, ranging from knocking poles through blocks to getting a monkey to cheer along to a pop star. Each stage is filled with charm from the characteristic graphics to the catchy tunes that play along with them. The remixes count as sort boss stages taking on all the lessons you've learn't to put a new spin on them.



The game is deceptively difficult. It can be relativly easy to get a passing grade, but perfects require maddeningly flawless performances. You'll simultaneously love and hate the game at same time. There's apparently a Wii game out, so that's something to dust off the old Wiimotes for.

Gameplay footage

[HappyTree]

That looks more fun than Rock Hero. Not sure about the one before it, looks a bit dodgy having kids shooting themselves in the head to release a powerful spirit!

[dr_christian_troy]

Aside from the CaB Annual, I should point out I'd be more than happy to get this put together as a book with proceeds to CaB when it's finished, if that's something folks would be interested in (based on a few suggestions by a few CaBbers, I should say).

[Wilbur]

Aside from the CaB Annual, I should point out I'd be more than happy to get this put together as a book with proceeds to CaB when it's finished, if that's something folks would be interested in (based on a few suggestions by a few CaBbers, I should say).

*finished* ? That may take a while !! :) Sounds like a great idea.

[NoSleep]

#520: Front Mission 3

Genre: Tactical role-playing game
Format: Playstation/PSOne.
Developer: Square
Released: Japan - September 1999, North America - March 2000, Europe - August 1999.
Published: Square(JP), Square Electronic Arts(NA), Square Europe(EU).

Just finished replaying one of the two possible paths through this game (the Emma game; having played the Alisa game several years ago), so I thought I'd pass along some recollections.

Front Mission 3 was the first of the Front Mission series to be released outside of Japan. Other than that Front Mission 4 only made it to North America, making Front Mission 3 the only one of the series to make it to Europe[nb]Front Mission Evolved doesn't count, as it isn't a Tactical RPG.[/nb]. The first game (SNES) can be found as ROM patched with a fan translation into english, although you might also be able to find the DS version of the first game, released only in North America.

The game: You and your team are all equipped with Wanzers (pronounced Van'tzer) short for Wanderung Panzer (walking tank); mecha with pilots and heavy weaponry.
For each mission you must pick four team members, equip them in a Wanzer and position them in the playing area. Each team member then moves about the map (set out as a grid) and selects which weapon to hit the enemy with. After all four team members have had been moved the enemy (CPU) phase begins similarly. There are the usual options you would expect in a turn based strategy game; missiles, that can be fired a safe distance from the enemy; shotguns, which will damage all parts of the target's wanzer (parts are body, L-arm, R-arm, legs); machine guns, that will spray damage somewhat randomly over parts; rifles, which, like missiles, will damage a single part quite badly; grenades, which spread damage over several squares, so can take out more than one enemy at a time (as well as causing damage to any nearby friendly wanzers); & melee weapon, for getting close up and whacking a huge dent in a single part (expect a reply punch).

Kazuki lines up an enemy for a blasting with his shotgun:

You're usually outnumbered and the enemy comes in more shapes and sizes than your own team of four wanzers; aside from meeting standard wanzers you'll be up against giant wanzers, helicopters, tanks, grenade launchers, ground troops and the occasional surprise.

During battle it is possible to make wanzer pilots on the enemy side surrender or eject from their machines. In which case you get to add their machine to your own artillery after the showdown, even leaving your own machine and using one of their's mid-battle. This booty can be sold or kept for spare parts.

Yes, it's a Square game, so expect lots of customisation of your machines (and pilots) as they level up (which costs money in the case of the wanzers). You have the choice to make up each wanzer to various strengths; accuracy (important for ranged weapons), power (allowing more weight), armour (increasing HP), speed, melee capability; all of which has to be balanced in favour of one speciality or another. You can choose between having a backpack that allows for carrying extra missiles, grenades, health restore for pilots, repair for wanzers; or you can opt for a backpack that increases the power of your machine so that you can carry more powerful weapons. Each part has the ability to trigger a Battle Skill for the pilot which they can then use in subsequent missions. The Battles Skills will randomly occur during both the player phase and the enemy phase. Some will increase defense or retaliation moves other increase the efficiency of attacks. Battle Skills can often be triggered off in a volley, allowing a wanzer to attack several times in one turn; it's the luck of the draw.
Expect to find yourself mulling over your accumulated stock to see what parts are worth keeping and using and what to sell off to pay for upgrades and recovery items (as well as buying new parts from the shops you find).

Talking of shopping: one place you can always buy new parts and upgrades from is the virtual internet that is included as part of the game. You'll receive and send emails that may end up affecting the outcome of the game. By hacking government or corporation websites etc you may find bonus items through the game. There also mission simulations on the virtual net that have a real effect upon your experience if you need to level somebody up; also a little bit of extra cash for winning.

The game can unfold in one of two different ways dependent upon a single decision early in the game (get some rest or accompany your best friend on a delivery) which is enough to cause you to sometimes end up fighting against members of your own team in the alternative scenario. The relationships are somewhat fraught between "you" (Kazuki) and your best mate (and others,) if you opt to leave him to deliver those wanzers on his own; and the story is somewhat bleaker (Kazuki is a bit of a hothead anyway, but he's OTT in this scenario). I'd definitely go for following him on the delivery first time off (although the Kazuki still manages to punch a female team member and slap his own sister).

I'll say it again; it's a Square game.

http://youtu.be/ZLpKsGCgmk0

[Phil_A]

#519: Floor 13
Publisher: Virgin Games
Developer: PSI Software
Genre: CLASSIFIED
Released: 1992

Lots of games have rightly or wrongly been called "unique", but Floor 13 certainly fits that category. Essentially, it's a political simulation of sorts, dealing with governmental abuses of power. Although it has undercurrents of dark humour, the subject matter is subtly disturbing, and delves into the kind of morally dubious territory that very few games have dared to go, before or since.



As the game begins, you've just been assigned the role of Director General to a top secret government department, after your predecessor accidentally and tragically threw himself out of his own window while tying his shoelaces. What this basically entails is being in charge of all the rather less than savoury activities that most allegedly democratic governments would like to pretend they know nothing about - surveillance, torture, assassinations, etc. The PM has charged you with the task of making sure his party increase their lead in the polls, and you are to use any means at your disposal to make this happen.

Succeed, and you'll be rewarded with titles to your name and invitations to certain "special" members only clubs. Fail, and you might find your career taking a sudden nosedive. Literally.



Everything that happens in Floor 13 is controlled by a deceptively simple checklist interface. The game takes places entirely within the confines of your office and the eight departments under your jurisdiction. Each morning you arrive, check the poll ratings, read any new reports that have come in, and makes decisions on what actions to take. You might have to, say, slander the reputation of a political opponent, have their home searched for incriminating evidence, or in extreme cases, give the order to have them "removed". Naturally, you never get your hands dirty by involving yourself in the actual execution of any of these operations - the game is realistic in that respect at least. But it does mean the gameplay can get somewhat repetitive, as you move back and forth between the same few screens. The scenarios are all randomly generated, so sometimes it can feel like you're just repeating the same tasks with the names changed. I never played far enough to discover if the game can actually be "finished", or whether, as I suspect, it's entirely open-ended.

In a way, it's a shame there was never a sequel, as it seems like there's a lot of room for expansion in this concept. Imagine, for example, if you had the option to secretly work against the government under the instruction of their opponents, or could progress to new departments depending on how well you do your job.

Anyway, that's Floor 13. It's a fascinating oddity, quite daring in a way, and the kind of game it's hard to imagine any publisher taking a punt on now. Really, it's worth playing just for it's sheer unusualness.

That's all. I'd love to talk about more about it, but the Black Helicopters are outside my window and I have to go. Bye!

[Big Jack McBastard]

Jane Palmer:
Insignificant
Suspected affiliation to the RSPCA.
Known government supporter.

KILL

Heh, might have a look and see if I can find this.

[Wilbur]

Jane Palmer:
Insignificant
Suspected affiliation to the RSPCA.
Known government supporter.

KILL

Heh, might have a look and see if I can find this.

You can download it legally I believe.

[Big Jack McBastard]

You can download it legally I believe.

Now where's the fun in that? You a square maaaan?

[Consignia]

#518: Corpse Party



Genre: Adventure
Format: PSP
Developer:  Team GrisGris
Year: 2010
Publisher: 5pb

A nice little horror game that popped into my radar at the end of last year. It's an adaption a really old indie game brought up to date with redone art work, voice acting and a more fleshed out story. The original was made in a home RPG-Maker engine, so it retains lots it's of 16-bit RPG roots in it's visual style, but it really is more of an adventure games as it features no random battles or anything of the sort.



Told in five parts, the story is of a bunch of school kids getting sucked into an evil version of their own school. The horror prays on the gang as they try and discover what is going on, without succumbing to the grisly deaths on offer. The atmosphere is heightened by the characters having to deal with some normal issues in the face of the situation. As well as the normal story progression, you can encounter alternative "wrong ends", were the terror gets the better of them, and you get some truely nasty detailed death sequences. Nothing is really shown, but the text and sound work paint a horrific picture in your mind.



It's a great little oddity of a game. It has it's frustrating quirks, but is also strangely tense and engaging in away you wouldn't expect. The sound direction is one of the game's real selling points, with adding to the chilling atmosphere with it's spooky music and sound effects. It's quite surprising it got a Western release at all, only getting pushed because the publishers translator had a passion for it. I loved it, and it's easily a contender for my favourite game of 2011.

[Consignia]

I refuse to let this thread die...

#517: Disgaea 3



Genre: Strategy RPG
Format: PS3/Vita
Developer:  Nippon Ichi
Year: 2008
Publisher: NISA

The first game to really light my fire with the Vita, and it's a port. I'm sure it's almost exactly the same as the PS3 version, but it really suits the Vita form factor, with a quick skirmish here and there. Disgaea is a series of turn based strategy games, with an emphasis on cheery and silly presentation with a quite a deep gameplay system underneath.



The gameplay in Disgaea 3 is simple or as complex as you want it to be. You have the options to completely strategise, grind away, or maximise your team's stats to achieve victory. Maps are small and the longest ones may take twenty minutes at most to complete. Aside from the straight-foward story campaign, theres loads of side missions you engage your self in, including the bizarre item world sections, where your inventory gets turned into randomly generated maps. There are also a multitude of character classes to delve into as well, which you can also spend ages delving into.



The presentation is really silly. It has a storyline, but it never for a moment takes itself seriously, or if it does, it's so it can follow it with a gag soon after. The general premise, is the son of a demon overlord wants to become a hero to take revenge on his father for deleting his video game saves. There are also a bunch of side stories that run the gamut from teaching the demon world to have good manners to violent dispute at a zombie maid cafe. It sometimes falls flat with it's double terminology (being a delinquent for a demon means doing good deeds, and vice versa etc.), but it can get quite amusing at times. Even some of the special attacks can be funny, although you'll probably turn them off after a while.



The game is particularly well suited to the Vita. It also contains some additional content above the PS3 version as well as all the DLC, which would have previously had to been paid for. It the first game of 2012 I've really got myself totally hooked on. There's huge elements of just one more go, that makes it difficult to put down.

[Thursday]

Ahh really enjoyed Disgaea 3. Feel like I only really scratched the surface of what you can do with it tactically, I can't even remember if I finished the post-game world, but even after that it seems that the unwritten point of the game, is to get all the characters maxed up to the highest possible statistics possible so that every stat is at 999999/999999 basically. Compelling up to a point until you suddenly question why you're doing this. But I love that it has the option of doing it. Essentially an OCD man's nightmare/wet dream. I think the complexity of the numbers, and grinding by repeating a certain level over and over hundreds of times eventually broke my PS3 though.

[castro diaz]

#516 Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe

Genre: Future Sports
Format: Megadrive
Developer: Bitmap Brothers
Year: 1990 (or 2095)
Publisher: Image Works

The year is the middle future, industrial techno is the soundtrack and there's no petrol left to drink.  The world is in a right state.  The only escapism is Speedball, a futuristic and enjoyably violent sport that has elements of 5-a-side football, ice-hockey, rollerball (the original, the remake was shite) and Ridley Scott's imagination.  A top-down view sees you control 8 players from a side called Brutal Deluxe, and you enter a tournament (or league) playing against increasingly more deranged and aggressive cyberpunk teams as you progress.  Points are earned by scoring in a traditional goal, however there are many ways to play it and other scores and bonuses are awarded through buttons, stars and future shiny things to hit on the side of the pitch-the thinking man's tactic, or 'playing German' as it was known in our house.[nb]Although born 40 years after the end of WW2, the blood ran deep for this 6 year old.[/nb]  Games lasted just two minutes and seemed engineered to be as close and as nervewracking a finale as possible, the basketball style countdown and fraternal rivalry no doubt helping.  I remember how much it'd hurt my tiny lady-like (now and then) fingers after a game of frantic offense[nb]sorry to use an Americanism but it's 2095 and we already say things like butthurt and lame[/nb]/defense.  It really was end to end stuff. 



Did I mention how violent it was?  Very violent.  Danny Dyer could make a documentary about it, looking hungover and a bit intimidated on the sidelines, making furtive glances to the camera when someone talks about biting a man's eye off.  You could target and injure opposition Messis and it was a legitimate and worthwhile tactic.  Upgrades could be picked up on an already busy screen by skating into them during the frantic action, or post-match by using points won in-game to boost the armour of your players robocop sytle.  There was a small element of team management for the would be Steve Keans amongst us too.  You could heat up the ball as well meaning it'd be hotter than microwaved cheese strings and hurl it through hapless robotnics in to the goal.  Then, after a victory your team would be seen getting cyber-pissed on bottles of WKD silver and having a great old time of it.



Not sure if I ever won the cup, though I suppose I'd have remembered it had I done so, unless my brain has started repressing happy childhood memories as well.[nb]Just checked youtube-I haven't.  Curse you Team Super Nashwan (no doubt a nod to China's rise to global domination)[/nb]  But it was great fun, especially in multiplayer.  Like a lot of the best arcade games, and games in general I suppose, it's quite easy to pick up and play, to get the hang of.  But to master it takes a lot more practice, thumbs of a daredevil and the coolness under pressure of a time traveler.  Ain't no denying how fun it was.  Ice-Cream!

[Morrison Lard]

#515 Jet Set Willy

Genre : Platform / Domestic chores
Format : ZX Spectrum[nb]other inferior home computer systems were available[/nb]
Developer : Software Projects
Year : 1984
Publisher : Software Projects
Sex : Yes please



Miner Willy first came to fame in the game Manic Miner.
With the riches he'd mined, he splashed out on a humungous mansion and threw a big party.

The following day, he had to embark on a big clean-up mission and gather together missing items.
This was mostly down to his housekeeper not letting him go to bed until he'd tidied up.
I found this to be quite confusing, and wondered why his housekeeper was flat out refusing to do her job,
it was probably down to her union though, this was the mid 80s after all.

The game was one of the most hellishly difficult things ever,
even now it makes mastering quantum mechanics look like putting together a fuzzy felt farm.
It wasn't just difficult though, at least one level couldn't be passed from a certain direction and
there was an item which couldn't be collected without Willy dying.

There were also numerous bad things that would repeatedly slaughter you mercilessly,
until a huge foot stomped on you and all of your progress was lost forever.



The game was huge, me and a pal once mapped it all out on graph paper, only for some bloody Speccy magazine to
do a much better job of it mere days after we finished the marathon project.[nb]some kind digital soul has done it here too- http://mdfs.net/Software/JSW/JGH/Screens/BigMap.htm[/nb]

Jet Set Willy seemed to leave me with a few questions which will probably stay unanswered forever;

Why did he have a dolphin as his butler?
How did he manage to keep his mined wealth, was he on the take?
Why did he still wear his National Coal Board boots despite being rich?
What the hell was a a quirkafleeg?[nb]I've just this second found out[/nb]
If the off-licence was that far away was it really worth the aggro?
Did any of those POKEs ever work?

[Consignia]

#514: Persona 4 The Golden



Genre: JRPG
Format: Vita
Developer:  Atlus
Year: 2012
Publisher: Atlus

The latest in the long line of Persona games, an extended port of the original PS2 game. Remade for the Vita with loads of extra features and story bits.



The game is vaguely a sequel to Persona 3, but only really tangently. Our hero[nb]You get to name him, so in my case he's Daisuke Shirota (白田大介)[/nb] arrives in a backwater town to spend a year with his uncle and cousin. No sooner has he arrived but a series of strange murders take place seemingly linked to a strange world in the TV where the deepest recesses of your soul come to life. It's up to him and his new friends to get to the bottom of the bizarre happenings whilst balancing out a normal school life.



The thing that is immediately noticeable it the game is a lot lighter than it's predecessors. Not just in tone, but it's generally a lot more bright and colourful than it's dower relatives. There's a lot more emphasis on everyday life aspects, as the social links from Persona 3 take more of an important role. The battle system is none too shabby either, a refinement this time, and makes the dungeons feel more fun to explore.



Having not played the original PS2 game, I can't say what exactly is new in this version. Definitely the new character, Mari, a poet of Vogonesque quality, and loads of new events and anime cut scenes. It feels less visual novel like than P3P because the story takes place with CG characters, but it feels more alive and more anime-esque as a result. But like P3P, it's flow fits a portable platform really well. I'm struggling to say which I prefer out of the two[nb]Probably this one colour palate grounds[/nb], but it is a wonderful JRPG experience that the Vita desperately needs.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

#513. 'Splosion Man



Genre: Platformer
Format: Xbox 360
Developer: Twisted Pixel
Publisher: Microsoft
Year: 2009

"Everybody loves doughnuts."

One of the nice things about the current generation of consoles is that the online services have provided a niche for the types of games that seemed all but extinct a few years ago. Such is the case with 'Splosion Man, a 2D platform puzzler that could (spangly polygon graphics aside) easily be a lost classic from the days of the Amiga.

The hero of the game is the titular 'Splosion Man - a sort of cross between the Pepperami man and a flatulent Human Torch - who, finding himself in the depths of a vast laboratory complex, makes a break for freedom. In order to escape, he'll need to negotiate fifty levels jam packed with all manner of deathtraps and security droids. If the premise sounds a little reminiscent of Portal, it doesn't appear to be an accident - each level even includes a hidden cake. As with the Valve classic, your progress revolves around a single method of movement, exploding, which you use to jump, attack enemies and operate switches. You can 'splode three times in midair before you have to either land on the ground or slide down a wall in order to recharge. Explosive barrels launch you greater distances and, in terms of gameplay, that's all there really is to the game.

Presentation-wise it's top notch. The developers cite Earthworm Jim as an influence an there's a suitably cartoony visual style and sense of humour to it. The sound is similarly good and, in another possible homage to Portal, there are songs, such as the Donuts Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zz30HFFNDI (warning: contains ukulele).

There are a few small complaints: certain sections have the camera zoom out so far that it can be tough to see what you're doing, even on a big telly. There are also some brutally difficult sections requiring split second timing, that occasionally feel like they come down to luck more than skill. Luckily the developers are merciful and dying enough times will unlock the "Way of the coward" option, allowing you to skip the current level (not that I ever needed it). Plus, the difficulty level is entirely in keeping with the game's old school roots.

[DJ Solid Snail]

#514: Persona 4 The Golden

I ended up spending about a hundred and fifty fucking hours of my life on Persona 4 so to hear they've added loads of new stuff to 'The Golden' is utterly mental. That horrifically catchy soundtrack is forever imprinted on my subconsciousness, and I can never again listen to a techno song without recalling the gay sauna dungeon theme. Incidentally, did they

Spoiler alert

re-gay

[close]

Kanji in this version?

Spoiler alert

After all his soul-searching, they just end up labelling him 'confused' in the English localisation, which seems to completely miss the point.

[close]

I call all my Persona series protagonists Quincy Jones, out of habit.

[Consignia]

Incidentally, did they

Spoiler alert

re-gay

[close]

Kanji in this version?

Spoiler alert

After all his soul-searching, they just end up labelling him 'confused' in the English localisation, which seems to completely miss the point.

[close]

Spoiler alert

They never out right state it, although I didn't do his Social Link (never found him until January), so that might have cleared it up. Some of the extra events take cues from the anime and pair him with Naoto. Although you can get the hero to a have a kiss with human-version Kuma.

[close]

I'm actually surprised going by other places how was actually added. Some of the events which quite integral are apparently new. I think that's why they add two months of extra time at the end, because of all the extra days you can't do the social links.

[RickyGerbail]

my top 10:

System Shock 2
Super Metroid
Zelda: Link to the past
Baldurs Gate 2
Baldurs Gate
Fallout
Fallout 2
Civilization 5
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Jagged Alliance 2

and garfields Zumphhoitz Bleep.

[Big Jack McBastard]

#519: Floor 13
Publisher: Virgin Games
Developer: PSI Software
Genre: CLASSIFIED
Released: 1992

I've just gotten round to starting this, I'm a month and a half in and have already tried (and failed) to kill off an ex-nazi, prozzie hungry judge who's a persistent embarrassment to our side (as he's a supporter). Put a pansy-assed subversive novelist into interrogation (he's now at stage 2, which I assume means the pliers are coming out) and infiltrated the, fairly benign, workers union he was affiliated with. Rumbled a drug operation in a tie shop and infiltrated the cartel doing the shipping. I've got another 2 abductions on the cards and am now investigating a singer and a judge on the grounds that they might be in cahoots to keep an abusive witchcraft coven under wraps.

Just checked the polls and we're 16 points ahead, looks like my moral bankruptcy has settled in nicely as I caught myself going "Ooh good!" when it popped up cos I've got a meeting with the PM tomorrow and I'm sure to be kept on.

No-one has died as a result of my orders yet but it's in the pipeline as I'm clearly not a very nice chap.

[Big Jack McBastard]

Oh well scratch that, the author is dead and I've just been hoyed out the bloody window.

A day is a long time in politics.

[Moribunderast]

WHITE DAY: A LABYRINTH NAMED SCHOOL

I'm an avid fan of horror games. Silent Hill 2 is probably my favourite video game. I loved the Resident Evil series before it became Gears of Modern Warfare: QTE Edition. Games like Dead Space, Fatal Frame and Haunting Ground have both delighted me and filled me with regret when I'm trying to get to sleep without imagining a monster at the foot of my bed. Problem is, the last few years it's been pretty slim pickings for a fan of horror games. Amnesia and Slender are probably the only two standouts of recent times. And Spec Ops if you could class that as a horror game. To be honest, I was beginning to think my days of being truly frightened by a video game had passed me by. Then I discovered White Day: A Labyrinth Named School.

White Day is a Korean game released in the early 2000s that never received an English translation. That has changed. A dutiful fan has worked diligently to make the game available to us non-Korean speaking plebs and thanks to his handiwork, I just had my first real scare in a long time.

Players of Amnesia and Fatal Frame will feel right at home. The game takes the player on a First-Person journey through a haunted school. There's darkness, there's evil and THERE IS SOMETHING BEHIND YOU. As far as gameplay, it plays like a typical Survival Horror - solve puzzles while avoiding the things that are trying to kill you. There are no weapons in this game. You either hide, run or die.

After this game's initial release, there was such a backlash from players - turned off by how exceedingly scary and difficult the game was - that the developers had to offer patches that made it easier and LESS SCARY. When I first read that I thought it sounded like ridiculous hyperbole but upon playing the game I discovered that it was originally released with only two difficulties: Hard and Real. In Real difficulty, you can not save. You either finish the game in one sitting or you don't finish it at all. If you die, you restart. One of the aspects of Fatal Frame I always loved and hated in equal measure was the spaced apart save areas. On one hand it's annoying when you need to stop playing but don't want to lose recent progress. On the other it forces you to continue playing when you'd really like to turn off the game and not be frightened anymore. The two hardest (original) difficulties in White Day take that idea to it's logical conclusion. There are, however, easier (and less scary) settings available now which should make it more accessible to those who just want to check out the game without being forced to repeat an hours gameplay because you were killed.

Basically, if you're a fan of horror gaming, PLAY THIS. It's atmospheric, it's creepy, it's good. This link will take you to the download: http://unnamedgs0.blogspot.com.au/p/whiteday.html

To whet your appetite, here is a brief clip of gameplay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7idUhl4jA8

[Rev]

Let's get back to it.

#512: Pathologic

Genre: Adventure?  Possibly
Format: PC
Developer: Icepick Lodge
Year: 2006
Publisher: G2 Games

You won't like this game.  It's broken in several crucial departments and poorly designed in others.  From an objective standpoint it's a shit game.  Fuck that, from a subjective standpoint it's a shit game.  It's an absolute horror for all the wrong reasons, and demands things of the player that should have been demanded of the developers.  They'd clearly been playing a bit of Morrowind while putting this sucker together, and you can't pull that kind of thing off on the budget they were on.

You play as one of three characters - your pick, although one isn't playable until after a first go THAT YOU WILL NEVER FINISH - shoring up in a town in which something is very clearly wrong.  There's a malaise that hasn't quite made itself known on your arrival, but it will as the days go by.  People become sick, and so does the environment.

It's an impossibly punishing game.  Some would argue unplayable.  But it's the sort of game that rockets to my top ten because of what it tries to do.  It's a bit brazen about it, admittedly.  Instead of a tutorial, you're met early on by two actors in masks, who have a loose relationship with the fourth wall and occasionally crop up again to remind you that you're playing a game and will play it how you're supposed to.

You'll hate it and you'll love it, but you'll mostly hate it.  It's one of the best games ever made.