I bet I can blame my sudden re-interest in Castlevania to that CHD quick look, or maybe my roommate buying Dracula X Chronicles. But the mood is right, and the lights are low, so it was time to get my game on with a classic.
Symphony of the Night Could arguably by my favorite Castlevania game. Yet, I often declare that Dracula X is my favorite game of all time, But it could be that I think Richter is a great character. (Most Castlevania games are devoid of personality, So talking about Which Belmont is awesome is probably stupid.) but if you had to write an essay discussing the merits of Metroidvania game design, SoTN could be your best example on why it works. (but we're not here to debate the fundamentals of gameology... gameanomics?)
Alucard, You have long hair and a beautiful face. Does that make you a woman? Probably the biggest reason of why I can't put this game down is because I just get stuck wandering around. Dracula's house is huge and there's so many nooks and crannies to explore. Especially getting new abilities will obviously help you uncover more. So my desire to explore is makes me play it, but that gets to a point where you've wandered around the Castle so much that you forget where everything is. So exploring slowly turns into wandering aimlessly. It eventually becomes the bane of your existence. Perhaps a lot of amateur vampire hunters simply die walking around, getting lost, loosing their minds. Etc.
On top of that you have another house to wander around that is completely upside down. So not only do I have to 100% that stuff, but I have to deal with my own Vertigo, which is probably a strange experience to have on the PSP. (Falling upwards is a much more frightening thought then falling down.)
But if you think that running around looking for stuff is the only thing that adds to the re-playability, when you beat the game you have the option to play through the game as Richter Belmont or Maria (this blonde in that always pops around the game and asks Alucard what's up) It's a cool added challenge to the game. You're pretty much stripped of everything Alucard can do, and you go back to the action-whip stylings of The Belmonts. Which you think you be hard, because you only have so big a life bar and one life, but the dudes whip is insanely powerful. (and dude also plays exactly like he does in Dracula X) Maria on the other hand, though she has the same amount of lives and health as Richter, her attacks are much more weaker. And could result in a harder play through. (But her ability to fight her enemies with animals is pretty amazing. I would never think throwing a bird at someone to be an effective attack.)
When I get done with this, I'll probably start looking towards another Castlevania game to fill that void, but I realize that I haven't actually played any Castlevania game past SoTN, so throw a suggestion my way of what's a good one to play after this, and I may take you up on that.
(I'm also hoping that this is the Blog that let's me finish that silly quest :P) Ciao.
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BOX ART BECAUSE I WENT TO THE WIKI PAGE AND THERE IS NO SCREENSHOTS OF THE GAME SO THIS IS ALL YOU GET! IT'S NOT EVEN THE RIGHT GAME! I MEAN I PLAYED THE SNES VERSION NOT GENESIS! FUCK! When I was a wee lad, I avidly subscribed to Nintendo Power, every issue that arrived was another excuse to ask my parents to bend to my will and buy me something. One month was particularly exciting. The Big Book of Super Nintendo! So many pages of gamesgamesgames to look forward to! I would read it cover to cover. Constantly, making a check list of all the games that looked exciting to me based off of screen shot alone. I don't think I've gotten through the entire list, but there's one game that I recently finally played.
That entire First paragraph was a ruse. You see, The game I've played was none other than Ys III and to be honest, there's absolutely nothing to talk about with this game. It's too easy... Maybe in my youth I could have enjoyed it and thought of it as a challenge. But I leveled up to the maximum (which is 16) in the first stage. (out of boredom) Then I proceeded to breeze through the game, holding onto the attack button, because it was practically rapid fire.
I'm actually surprised that it took me this long to play this game, because it was practically over in a sitting. I could have done it in all one go, but I seem to only play video games from late hours of the night to the early mornings. And I could have sworn at some point I fell asleep.
But it was there, and it was gone. There was a story too, You show up in a town, and then you help them out. And Then Garland shows up, and then you beat him and then a more evil evil shows up, and then you beat that. All the while getting the impression that EVERYBODY TALKS LIKE THIS.
End of Act 1.
I Find, that I like Amano's Artwork. So to feed my appetite for another video game to play. I looked towards Final Fantasy IX to fill that void. Here's a fun fact though, My first experience with the game, I beat it. That's right, I curiously explore the game through someone else's save file, and it just happened to be at the very end of the game.
I was actually disappointed by the ending. But maybe that had to do with how easy the final boss was. Because as the ending continued to unfold afterwards... the PS2 died. Then the friend whom I borrowed it from was very upset with me. That aside I also feel like it is a very ugly looking game. As if they tried to add a level of detail to it that my mind refuses to enjoy. All the characters are stupid looking too, and I'm saying that as immature as possible.
What I do enjoy is the little moments of dialogue, and the ability to rename everyone still makes my day. Playing through the game with characters like Dave, Steve, Candy and Helen always adds a new level of enjoyment for some reason.
I suppose I should get back to it for now. As low as this game is on the list of Final Fantasies I enjoy, I've just made it to Disc 2. So I might as well keep going.
I've been posting this a lot on screened, obviously due to the matter that it's a show but I figured I should blog about it here as well.. because, why not? Months ago, My roommate and I, started talking about shit we could do, to deal with the fact that the acting business is really just slow as fuck in Vancouver. I've been working on a pilot with a friend of mine, and loosing my mind, because it hasn't even gone anywhere (in the 1 and a half I've had it around :( )
So we talked about comic strips I used to do, and ways we could make it live action. and for some strange Reason, Ghost Chair was one of them we both loved the idea of doing. The show is about a crime fighting chair that is partially invisible, working for a government agency. within the month so far, I've just been writing, and he's been animating, and we've been doing a lot of screen tests. Below is probably our best example:
we hope to actually do a good job with it, we're keeping it short, 6 or 7 , 6 minute long episodes. really just for the sake of doing it. We could only see where it's going to go from there. We can't really take it too seriously because we have no budget. So if we just resort to short little things with it all the time then that's just as fine too. and I guess, if you like it enough, please feel free to check out the rest of it, or even go as far as subscribing. And it return we'll just... um... keep it up!
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I hear Sleepy_Insomniac makes some hilarious Jokes. Underneath that Abrasively witty Title, I have a serious vendetta against Split/Second. Because It started out as a Love/Hate relationship that leans closer and closer to hate every time I turn that game on. I've complained about it here and there (if you caught the end of the Naked Cartoon Podcast #4, I call it the worst game I've ever played.) but never really divulged on it because I never had the time.
First, I want to get out of the way, that I really love it's gimmick. It's Action-Paction to the nuts of 'explosions' and “Oh-SHITs!” does make for an exciting racing game. When you find the groove you get quite an adrenaline rush, there can be amazing moments coming out of near death experiences and gargantuan terrain changers. It's time trial stages suffer from being near perfect if you want to make it to first. But to get there, you sit in disbelief wondering how you were capable of pulling some of that shit off in the first place.
Gimmick aside, everything else about it, is insufferable.
Cars go "flippy-flippy" Maybe it's because it takes the name “Split/Second” to heart. EVERYTHING is constantly on you ass. Cars, Buildings, Missiles, gas tanks, airplanes, etc. It has a love for rubber-band AI. But these are the kind of competitors that are really hard to catch up to, the first couple/ten times you play through. If you're in the back of the pack, you could find yourself half way through the last lap, still seconds away from whoever is first/second. I suppose I could always just go back and finish a race when you unlock a better car, yet I hate myself enough to keep playing a stage until I get first place.
As I mentioned above about the time trials stages, Runs have to be near perfect because to win them (at least the car specific ones) you're literally a split/second away from getting second place. It usually involves driving past near-crashes or taking turns drifting as little as possible. When I mastered them I actually felt good about it, because I managed to pull first place out of my ass. But I'm a habitual creature. Training myself how to race in a time trial cannot be applied to a normal race and essentially I'm re-learning every new level I'm in. (But that's my problem and god forbid it applies to anyone else.)
There's also an Online mode that's currently Dominated by anyone that's already beaten the game, and I have to wait till I can unlock a car as, remotely as awesome as everyone else. But I'm half way through this bitch, so I'm committing! For the sake of beating the damn thing, and uh... just to get some trophies.
It'll take me a while to finish though, because I'm rather enjoying myself a lot more with Torchlight.
[SIDE NOTE] I suppose I also forgot to mention, that for a game that's treating itself like a TV show, it really isn't doing much to show it, I kind of imagined that it would be the kind of game to benefit from commentary, But I could be wrong.. what do you think?
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How many people put in a GTA game to just cruise around and listen to the radio? How Many people Play Chibi Robo just to clean up around the house?
In all my years of playing video games, the most enjoyment I get out of them is when I'm doing mundane things. not to say that I can't buckle up and be awesome when I have to. I like to think I have a natural talent when it comes to playing video games ( You can't let my skills at SSF4 fool you). I enjoy picking up and playing Bad company 2 and rocking the top of the match. (which actually surprises me, and I often think my team did poorly if I'm number one.)
But when a video game likes to be a little more open, and offers the gamer these chances to explore, or participate in a mindless mini games, it automatically becomes my favorite part. I always keep one of those games handy when I'm playing something big. I'm going through Demon's Souls and I'm rocking Sims 3 on the macbook at the same time. A game that lets you play as boring as fucking possible.
I'll wait till my sim is happy, then I'll go home. How much more awesome can it get, to wake up, shower, eat and write. Only to later, do that exact shit in a video game? Not to say that I won't go ahead and trap somebody in a tiny room with fireplaces and watch them burn to death, but it's the boring stuff that makes The Sims so great. I wish I could say that for the recently played Afrika, but I really don't think that game lets you do enough dicking around for the kind of game it is.
I also like to think that playing RPGs is that same kind of boring experience. I admit the only reason I go back to playing FF7 is because I could care less about what I'm doing and just sit there and grind. (That, and one of my favorite thing is to give the characters plain ass names. My Favorite moment will always be when Barret looks at Cloud and says "The Planet is dyin' Gary!")
It's actually something I think about if I ever had to classify myself as Hardcore or Casual, and maybe I can make an argument for both sides... I have the knowledge and skill to take gaming seriously, and I've played a lot different games out there. I do feel like I always need to add to my collection, and there's a lot of gems that I still need to play through. Even if I like games that much, I would never want to blow my way through hours of this stuff and act like I'm probably the best and most knowledgeable gamer out there. That would just be a waste of my time.
Well I guess, if the game let me spend hours of productivity not actually playing it.. then it wouldn't be.
[I'm pretty much free writing for the benefit of getting out of a writers block. But the facts are still true. Wouldn't you ever admit to liking a game just to do all the boring things in it? Isn't that the BEST part of Brutal Legend?]
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I promised myself to get some games out of the way this year, because I have a terrible habit of putting them off for the longest time. Maybe it's the amount of games that are in this bloody apartment, because I always have one game that seems to be leering over my shoulder wanting me to play it. Or you always get that urge to play something, because you know there's still stuff you can do. ( I keep thinking about that final hunt in FFXII.. )
Thankfully, a game I can scratch off my playlist is Afrika( True story: REVIEW IS HERE ). Interesting that game. It's both pretty cool and pretty boring. there's more than a couple of times I knew I could be playing something else, because near the end of it's run I decided a fitting balance to that game was Demon's Souls(But I must be having RE5on my mindinstead, because my character looks a lot like Chris Redfield). There's probably a lot of things I could criticize about Afrika. It's a bummer how stiff it is, and there's a serious lack of personality. But I guess the game served it's purpose of killing my brain. It's boring enough to make you forget was the word tedious means, and I don't mean boring in a bad way. But I sure as hell don't mean relaxing :P
Coming up gaming wise, is Super Street Fighter IV and Nier. I am kind of being heckled to get the 360 version (Because why the hell not, right?) But I like the PS3 version for my own reasons. If all else fails, I'm probably going to end up getting both to keep everybody happy! hurhhurhur. In terms of who I'm maining, I'm going to keep my Final Fight Spirit Alive and Main Cody. I'm not sure if that makes me cool or un-cool I've only played street fighter alpha 3, two or three times before, and I'm not sure how much of his move-set is the same. You guys that are already playing it should give me a heads up, or any other advice, since I'm getting back into it.
That's all I can bring myself to talk about. Unless you want to hear about how I've accidentally installed Sims 3 onto my macbook, and pass the time controlling the lives of others. But.. come on, really?
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Kazuma Kiryu I don't find myself necessarily wanting to review a game all the time. More or less I'm rambling or soap-boxing about one or a couple of things, than the game as a whole. I remember When Resident Evil 5 came out, and the only thing I could get out of it was a long winded Essay, on Chris Redfield suffering from being one dimensional. (he only really cared about one thing but happened to be in Africa for everything else.) But lately I've been playing the hell out of games that Deserve more than a couple of words from me.
Yakuza 3 (Not so much this game, as it is the entire series) is definitely a sleeper hit. I can ignore the fact that things were cut out of the Western release, because there's already more than enough things to do. It probably has some kind of special place for me, being a veteran Shenmue player. But there is so much to this game that is so different, that it makes you think they could just as easily take this engine, and sneak in a new Shenmue game to keep people at bay. I've been giving this game enough attention that it makes me wonder where the hell I was when the first two came stateside.
The Second thing I reviewed, was more just for the hell of it, Final Fantasy XIII. It's rather all the things I've talked about the game with other people, so I just decided to review it for shits and giggles. I know a lot of people are reviewing the hell out of this game, But I wanted to voice my little low score opinion. I've since become a cranky old man whenever there's talk about Final Fantasy games, and sure there's a lot of good points and bad points, but I don't think it's worthy of being put on a pedestal.
Now, I want to now go play a game that will only be for myself. I figure a treat is in order. I suppose I still have heavy Rain to finish, but I feel as though Afrika is calling out to me. Odd, I do want to get back into Demon's Souls, but Afrika should really get rolling so I can be satisfied with having played that game from beginning to end.
You don't know how weird it is to have that game in the back of your mind.
Before I finish here's a question I want to ask: Do you feel jaded or overjoyed Whenever something video game related is referenced or shown in a Tv-show or movie. Sometimes when I see it happen, it doesn't feel right to me, but the odd time I get a kick out of a specific character lounging back in a game. Does it feel out of touch or necessary? Or do you really just like it, because you like that game?
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What I've been playing is always the same games lately, but just one more added on.
Recently Yakuza 3 has jumped into the mix. I've Put FFXIII on hold, because I'm just burnt out by it, and I still try and find the time to sneak in a BC2 match.
But, me and the Yakuza were on a break!! Yakuza 3.. what can I say about you? I barely played you before. I touched base on the very first game and didn't even look at the second. Yet here I am, entranced by you, in the weirdest way.
I like it, I like wandering aimlessly finding as many sub-stories and keys then I can before I have to do nothing but go to the next chapter. If it one thing I will instantly like about video games is how much other things I can do for no reason. mini-games galore. Dates with pretty, and unfortunate looking women. It's currently at the top of my list of games I should finish before my attention goes elsewhere.
I do miss the way Kazuma used to look a hell of a lot like David Schwimmer.
Bad Company 2 is still my go to game, when I want to bust out some multiplayer, it's a lot coming from me, because I don't really enjoy FPS' at all. After doing two personal Feats of hitting rank 22, and my kills finally getting above my deaths, I've hit a groove that I do not want to loose. I'm actually yet to use the recon kit as I've been having a lot more fun going between Engineer and Medic. Plus, riding in the 2nd seat of the Helicopter, is more fun for me that it probably should be.
I do have a bit of a nagging complaint against Rush mode, seeing a team of defenders think it's a great idea to bomb the hell out of buildings that the M-COM stations are in, basically giving it to the attackers to destroy completely. But it depends on the people you play it with and thankfully it's not very often.
And I know I've said before that I've found my grove in Final Fantasy XIII where I'm comfortable playing it. But as long as it took for me to get there, I'm just burnt out. I could probably much rather go back to XII or Get around to beating Afrika like I've wanted to.
Oh well, thems the breaks.
Is anyone else out there rockin' the Yakuza 3? Do you think it's worthy enough for Sega to keep bringing out over here? In the off chance that if they do, they'll do it right?
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Last night, for no reason I was offered an opportunity to stand around in line at a Best Buy. So naturally I went. It was at the one Close to Downton, in Vancouver. We decided to go as early as we did, in case there would be a ridiculous line. YOU'D NEVER KNOW. This is God of War 3, babies kill for this game. (Right?) We were early enough to not care about waiting in a line. Went down to the game section and I tried my hand at some Vancouver 2010 and DJ Hero. Which I can honestly say, DJ hero is not for me. It looks cool went people play it, but as soon as I gave it a whirl, I looked like I wasn't allowed to have fun at my age. (Hard was too hard, Easy felt retarded, but Medium was juuuuust right.) Then after a bit more wandering, we moseyed over to the nearby Wendy's.
Then later on, we luckily wasted enough time to Justify standing in line, especially since there were two guys already forming one. So we found our place and spend the next two hours, trying to entertain ourselves. Luckily I had a video camera and ridiculously recorded the night's events.
Bonus acknowledgment points if you can name the tunes. :P
In terms of what I'm playing... I would say Heavy Rain, but I put that on Hold to play Bad Company 2, which isn't even being played that much because I'm in the Middle of Final Fantasy XIII. BC2 is great, as demonstrated last week with our Bombing run. (I look forward to the next!) But I'm in the habit of playing through a class until it's leveled up completely, So I'm still in the middle of Engineer.
Final Fantasy XIII is a different story. It's hard to really enjoy. It has it's moments, but they are few and far between. The Story itself is better than most. But the Gameplay is good and a horrible horrible mess at the same time. VI and XII still have the top spot for me. And XIII is chillin' at the bottom with IX. But luckily I've reached the point in the game where I'm a little more comfortable.
But one thing to note: I've never liked the idea of "If party leader dies, game over." It's always been a terrible concept. We you have a supporting character with Raise, it should actually be put to use. Eidolon battles are also an acquired taste. Sometimes they take me a while, sometimes, I just figure it out. But I'll be ready to judge this game completely, when I'm done with it.
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