Play Impressions – Connection Tour 2008
August 12th, 2008
Monday a few weeks back, actually more than a few weeks ago, during the start of E3 2008, Nintendo’s tour of Australia (dubbed the Connection Tour) came to my state. I was fortunate enough to attend the event sampling some of the demos on offer. General impressions were a little disappointing, the budget was low in contrast to previous tours with limited demos on display with many of already released titles. In fact numerous games weren’t shown that were stated to be present in a newsletter put out by Nintendo Australia which added to the disappointment. Namely Sonic Chronicles (DS) and Cooking Guide (DS) which I was eager to try out. It did seem a little strange though that Sonic Chronicles would be on display, I don’t even think press have had access to this game at the time.
Despite the omissions, what was on offer was adequate with the best titles consisting of Samba de Amigo (Wii), de Blob (Wii), Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Wii), Guitar Hero on Tour (DS) , Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (DS) and a series of DS Touch Generations games including Maths Training and CrossWords. Here are my collective thoughts on some of these games.
Samba de Amigo
On learning that this game was going to be present at the event, I wanted to prepare myself by watching some YouTube video of the Dreamcast version so that I knew exactly how to play this title before I went hands on. I regretfully forgot to watch the video but not to worry Samba is very easy accessible title.
I had a pretty rough run though. For one, the difficulty was set to Hard for some bizarre reason and the game froze on me after selecting a song beyond the demo’s scope (Hey Macarena). While it was easy enough to understand the play mechanics (6 circles representing up, down left right, diagonals, shake Wiimote and nunchuck in direction of respective circle) my nunchuck often struggled to be recognized, particularly in diagonal gestures. Maybe it was just the context of the event but it was a little concerning.
Tags: Crosswords, de Blob, Guitar Hero, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Samba de Amigo
Play Impressions (29/4/08) – PSP Edition
April 28th, 2008
Even though I have been raving and ranting about the PSP before the gaming blog even came to conception and while these gaming orientated articles were being posted on my personal blog, up to now, I still don’t even own a PSP myself. Thats right, the master of hypocrisy has struck again 
! I have been interested in purchasing a PSP for some time now and still haven’t sealed the deal despite the release of the PSP Slim and the fruitation of an even more exciting library of games.
My reason for this is that I already have far too many games to play and should just wait until the console and it’s software is significantly cheaper. Fortunately my twin brother took me by surprise and picked up a PSP himself in a pack (PSP Media Manager + 4GB memory stick Pro Duo) as well as a few games. In the past 3 weeks we have been picking up a few games for the console and here are my impressions on some of my favourites.
Jeanne d’Arc
Jeanne d’Arc, what a fantastic little game. As an enormous fan of the original Final Fantasy Tactics I must say that I am throughly enjoying this (rather similar) little strategy RPG romp. If you have played FF Tactics before or in fact any SRPG game then you should immediately have some idea as to what to expect from this game. The basic; attack, defend, skill, wait options are all featured as well as the obligatory elemental triangle and the same weapon equiping system you’d expect. What makes this game such a fresh experience though are a few key factors; namely the gorgeously lush visuals, olde France thematic and the user friendly design. The last point shines in all its glory throughout this title and is a testament to Level 5’s role playing expertise.
Now as mentioned at least three times already, I personally love anything that is or is heavily inspired from Final Fantasy Tactics (non inclusive of the GBA and NDS titles). So when I talk about this game, I will literally be gushing out the love. My apologies.
Cutting the fat though and attempting to stick with the gameplay for a moment, Jeanne d’Arc’s skill system works a little differently, each party member has 3 slots in which you can equip any skill to, this includes spells, concentrated attacks etc. With this you can equip various elemental attributes which align and add power of the respective element to your player. You gain these skills (as equipable items) through the spoils of battle.
What concerns me about this system is the lack of breathing space, there are only 3 slots for skills. Hopefully this will increase will leveling up or else I for see this system being highly restrictive. Especially considering how these slots are also used to assign yourself to various elements.
Marching onwards, the presentation in Jeanne d’Arc is simply magnificent. Everything in this game is lush and beautiful, each object has it’s own semi cell shaded look that developers; Level 5 are renowned for (see: Rogue Galaxy, Dark Chronicle). The colours literally burst out of the screen. There are plenty of subtle details too such as smog, dust and special effects. The whole graphical presentation reeks of polish and is visually stunning. Sound is equally as worked and used appropriately within the context of the game. I am listening very closely to the game’s music and attempting to gauge the difference between this and the gorgeous music from Final Fantasy Tactics. So far Jeanne d’Arc is holding it’s own in that respect.
Jeanne d’Arc is a bit of a sleeper hit unfortunately, much to my own misunderstanding. The PSP, in my eyes is the current console for SRPG gaming. With Jeanne d’Arc, Disgea and Final Fantasy Tactics leading the way. I have a lot to look forward to playing, that is once I finish obsessing over the next PSP game on the list: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: burnout, final fantasty tactics, Jeanne d'Arc, metal gear solid, playstation 2, psp
Play Impressions (8/4/08)
April 8th, 2008
Its been some time since I’ve shared my thoughts on what I have been playing lately. Frankly it hasn’t been very much at all. As usual I’ve been working on the old stuff that I am happily clearing out, not much retroness in the past month and there aren’t any new releases that particularly interest me. Except for House of the Dead Return which is still overpriced down here in Australia. Fortunately I had the opportunity to finish House of the Dead 4 at an arcade lock-in a few days ago, that should tie me over in the meantime.
I might also play through Kirby’s Adventure on the NES again sometime soon. I’m thinking of doing a video feature highlighting it’s sublime visual and aural prowess. How does that sound?
Capcom Vs SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001
Continuing on with my quest to substitute my previously abandoned love for 2D fighters, Capcom Vs SNK 2 has been the latest gaming snack between study breaks for my brother and I. After settling into this Street Fighter/KOF hybrid it becomes clear that there is a lot to appreciate about this title. Capcom have successfully merged fighting styles from both franchises together with complete respect to the original titles. Characters can evade attack, dash, long jump much like in the KOF games yet there is still a feeling of tactical precision and real time chess like elements which the Street Fighter series birthed. On top of this the game plays in 3 Vs 3 matches with unfortunately no on the fly character switching.
Along with this unique blend of play comes the aptly named groves which are similar to ‘isms’ from Street Fighter Alpha 3. Each groove includes (and excludes) various play mechanics as well as a different way to perform special moves. Some specials require button holds to charge up the special meter, others increase with the damage dealt.
The hybrid of game styles, grooves, varied characters, 3 Vs 3 play all add on the layers of depth. There are so many options at hand here that you really can tailor the game to match your individual play style.
Fight wise I just love the feel of this game, keeping with the hybrid nature this game feels faster, flexible and more acrobatic than Street Fighter and more up to speed with the KOF series. Its just so much fun to play, the game feels versatile yet true to it’s roots.
The mix of 2D sprites and 3D backdrops is also interesting and adds to the flavour of the game. A few of the backdrops don’t feel close or far away enough to the sprites which can feel a little distracting at times. Some character sprites (Morgan’s) are of a painfully lower resolution which is extremely off putting and frankly ugly.
These blemishes as well as a few tacky presentation issues do little to hinder the overall enjoyment that I have had and undoubtedly will continue to have with this title for a long time.
Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones
Some gamers prefer Intelligent Systems other portable strategy title; Advance Wars. I myself? I’m a Fire Emblem fan. Both series’ have stood toe to toe in Japan for the past 20 years, originating on the Famicon (NES).
Much like any new iteration from either series, Sacred Stones doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Theres no real reason for it to though as this is only the second FE iteration to hit Western shores. What it does do though is add a set of new over world mechanics which vary the gameplay considerably. Instead of continually playing a set of battles tied together with the same face sprite orientated cut scenes, Sacred Stones allows you to navigate around a world map in between battles. Enemy groups appear on the map and you can choose to gain experience by back tracking to do battle with them. It works similarly to Final Fantasy Tactics except enemy groups stay fixed in the one spot.
Even though the over world map is a fairly simple mechanic it adds a lot of breathing space. You can now buy new gear, organize your party and items before you begin a chapter. It also removes the static, dated feel of the linear, battle by battle game structure. In this version you can battle creatures as well as humans and there are a handful of new classes to upgrade up to.
So while the core gameplay remains largely unchanged the new features go a long way to fix the previous problems between levels. The strategy is still, of course incredibly addictive. For example, in one instance I was playing this one chapter on and off for about a week, probably totally 10+ attempts. Sure I was replaying the same level, each time slightly varying my attack plan but still this was highly addictive as the series has proven to be.
Theres not much new here but that isn’t what we should be asking for. As a huge fan of this series I am glad to be re-treading old ground over new soil.
Images From Hardcore Gaming101
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