DP’s Games Crunch 2010 Part #3
January 19th, 2011
Same rules, one last time: “for every game I’ve played this year I pitch a short, snappy summary that tries to be informative and interesting at the same time”.
Dragon’s Lair
The level of interactivity is frequent enough to call Dragon’s Lair a game, but a very dubious one at that. Alas, I quite admire the animation.
Dead Space
Dead Space is rather poor at horror, relying on jack-in-a-box scares and rushing players. In regards to the combat, when every confrontation is fast and immediate, there’s little space to wedge dimension into the equation. Dead Space has a great assortment of weapons and a good, albeit limited, range of enemies that work harmoniously with the weapons to support the “strategic dismemberment”, but it’s all put under stress by the impetus to catch the player unawares. The paralysis technique (which slows enemies down) becomes a crutch, which speaks to the space needed in the 3rd person combat. As an aside, the sequel seems to be ignoring these issues outright, with the developers putting their energy into producing bigger, barely interactive set pieces.
Dead Space Extraction
Articles on Dead Space Extraction
(Am I allowed to say that Extraction is better than the original Dead Space?)
If on-rails shooters hadn’t fallen off into arcade obscurity, then they’d probably be more along the lines of the rather dynamic Dead Space Extraction. Lots of unique, well implemented ideas here which combine to set Extraction apart from a typical rail shooter.
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2 forgoes its predecessor’s cryptic puzzles in favour of a more practical approach. Instead of odd coloured gems and pieces of statues, the inventory in RE2 is more practical, including chords, cogs, handles and fuses—meaning that thinking up the answers to a riddle is considerably easier and more logical. Oftentimes it seems that a new item could have a whole range of uses, so finding out which one pushes the game forward is part of the joy. This modification, along with more in-game directives to steer the player on course and a greater emphasis on combat, made Resident Evil 2 more palatable to the masses and such a massive success.
Resident Evil 0
Resident Evil 0‘s puzzles aren’t so cryptic as in Resident Evil, but also not as practical as in Resident Evil 2, rather the prequel is a mix of both with most puzzles utilising the player zapping mechanic (switching control of Rebecca and Billy). Each character’s personality in this relationship is defined by the pros and cons that each offers the player. Rebecca can mix herbs and because of her weight can fit through or be lifted up to certain areas, however she can’t carry much inventory or take as much damage as Billy; this defines her as a fragile, but resourceful character. Billy is the opposite, he can carry more gear and take more damage; this defines him as the defender. Since Billy is the heaviest he helps Rebecca climb up to certain areas, so although Rebecca is weaker in strength, Billy cannot go very far without her. I felt that much of their relationship was communicated through these actions, causing me to dislike the Resident Evil 0 when it came to defining these characters through cutscenes.
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
Articles on Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
Hasn’t got a patch on Dead Space Extraction when it comes to innovation, but Umbrella Chronicles similarly makes a stand for rail shooters by putting forward a surprising amount of content and smartly positioning itself as a part #1 anthology of the series to date.
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The revolutionary Zelda I was hoping for, but never expected to find in this game. Phantom Hourglass overhauls large components of the Zelda tradition with touch screen controls, new inventory items, new and interesting ways to interact with the game world, the infamous Temple of the Ocean King which altered the dungeon-to-dungeon progression model and a new, semi-automated mode of transport just to start. I plan on outlining all the revisions in a future article. For now though, I’m looking forward to see how Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword will advance these changes even further.
Meteos
Meteos‘ match-3 gameplay is great for a while, however nothing is built up from this core. No modes or different takes on the basic gameplay.
Okami
Before I played Phantom Hourglass, I thought that Okami was the future for Zelda. A lack of structure to this massive adventure (which leads to a ton of burnout) demotes this title to an alternative to the legend and not a replacement. Still, an awe inspiring alternative though.
Passage
Passage is a metaphor for life, that is, the passage of life. There are several parts to the metaphor:
Space – In the course of life we take, there are some avenues that we can’t go down because of the people we are with. This is shown through the narrow corridors where you cannot go with your partner, but could alone.
Age – The pixelated appearance of the 2 avatars changes so slowly that you don’t even noticed that your appearance has changed until it’s changed significantly.
Blur – There is always a blur surrounding the player. In the beginning, the path in front of you, your future, is unclear. As you walk forward you travel further into the centre of the screen and the two balance out. By the end, the past is a blur and your future comes with no time to think; you often run into walls that you can’t even see.
Actions – Certain avenues will lead to boxes which you can open, as in life where certain decisions can lead to pathways with rewards.
Space (2) – The path is narrow and you can’t see what is either side of you only what is in front or behind you. It is possible to explore these areas and even get lost, but you often find your way forward again. It appears that this could represent life’s distractions.
Standing still – It is possible to stand still and just die; to do nothing with your life. If the player chooses to do nothing the aging process happens slower.
Osmos
What Osmos represents through its gameplay is that you only get what you give. In order to absorb the bigger circles, you must sacrifice part of your own size for acceleration.
Everyday Shooter
It’s much harder to infer what Everyday Shooter is all about. Each level does have a narrative, but it’s much harder to make a story out of the abstract shapes on screen. In any case, I found Everyday Shooter to be enthralling, one of my personal favourite games. It’s just so damned engrossing. Still trying to figure out why, must be the interactive art and musical ensemble.
Beneath a Steel Sky
Articles on Beneath a Steel Sky
Dave Gibbons, a post-apocalyptic, pulp action set up, criticism of consumerism and hierarchy, and clever writing all indicate the Beneath a Steel Sky is cut from the same cloth as many good British comics.
And Yet It Moves
Another clever indie puzzle-platformer which stands above the gimmicks. The level design is of a professional caliber and the unique presentation really sells this excellent game.
Castlevania: 2 Pak
Articles on Castlevania: 2 Pak
Two pretty good Castlevania games on one cart. Harmony of Dissonance is primarily dissonance with such open-ended level design and so little to tip the player in the right direction. Aria of Sorrow, on the other hand is void of this issue thanks to a strong central hub design. And then there’s the soul system which just keeps on giving.
DP’s Games Crunch 2010 Part #2
January 13th, 2011
Same rules: “for every game I’ve played this year I pitch a short, snappy summary that tries to be informative and interesting at the same time”. Still have another article to get through yet, so stay tuned.
God of War II
More of the same with some immaterial additions, so just more of the same then. God of War II dilutes Kratos character into the one-dimensional ball of rage he’s been ever since this sequel. At least it nails the core assets to any good blockbuster: good pacing and a grand sense of scale.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories/Vice City Stories
What appears to be a sideways look at GTA III and Vice City is nothing but a slew of uninspired missions and lack of concessions made to fix the atrociously dated primary combat systems that such missions are often based around. The results? A set of games that fall apart whenever combat is mandatory. At least the combat isn’t half as offensive as the narrative.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Articles on Mario Kart: Super Circuit
I just couldn’t “get” the power sliding no matter how hard I tried. As a Mario Kart enthusiast, that’s certainly disheartening and speaks much to my experience with Super Circuit. As a safe bet hybrid of Mario Kart 64 and Super Mario Kart, Super Circuit adeptly blends the mechanics of both games.
Wario Land 4
The tightest, strangest and arguably best Wario Land game. The folded levels are the next evolution in the series following trademark inability to die and body slamming moves the series has been known for.
Quake II
There’s a smooth feel of aiming and movement in id first person shooters that makes their games so timeless. Playing Quake II now is a joy, as is Wolfenstien 3D and as is Doom because the movement has a layer of lubrication that never chalks up the playability. Gotta be careful with the wordplay there DP, but I’m sure you get my point all the same.
VVVVVV
Every screen presents a new and interesting idea within the level design that maximise the application of the simple gravity flip mechanic. VVVVV is constantly creative in this way and one of the best games of the year for it. Also, the soundtrack is downright amazing.
Puzzle Quest
An inherent issue of not being able to see, and therefore plan ahead for, gems just above the upper margins of the board, constricts advanced play, creating a randomness that is the gems outside the player’s view. Puzzle Quest is addictive for what it is, but is an unavoidably shallow experience.
Chibi Robo: Park Patrol
Articles on Chibi Robo: Park Patrol
I was thinking the other day, how can a game that’s so destructive to someone’s life still earn itself a 78% on Metacritic? Chibi Robo: Park Patrol tasks the player with the same routine as a factory worker, with variation (smoglings, building new areas, making friends) only impeding the process of repetition.
Diner Dash
I’m really curious about what it would take to make the capitalism metaphor in Diner Dash more apparent to players. There’s a base here for a form of complicated expression, but it’s just not persuasive enough at this stage. I have this topic thumbed down.
Doom Resurrection
There’s a lot of small things Doom Resurrection could do to be more dynamic (see: Dead Space Extraction), but it simply follows the status quo of on-rails games which is a bad decision given the inherent limitations of the genre. One could argue that Doom Resurrection suffers from too much automation in gameplay due to its ambitious graphics on a limited platform, but really it’s just a lack of ingenuity.
Space Invaders: Infinity Gene
Articles on Space Invaders: Infinity Gene
Space Invaders: Infinity Gene references its long absence on the shoot ’em up scene with a homage to decades worth of design advancements in the genre. The project is an indirect acknowledgement of Space Invaders port-heavy, innovation-lite former years, so I’m curious about how the developers pitched this proposition to their superiors and what they make of this interpretation.
DP’s Games Crunch 2010 Part #1
January 7th, 2011
And so another year of games crunching. In brief, for every game I’ve played this year I pitch a short, snappy summary that tries to be informative and interesting at the same time. Most of the games here I’ve written about them elsewhere on the blog, so it’s easy to refer back for more substantive reading.
Also, sorry for the week-long delay. I’ve been running short on material to write about and haven’t started this article as I was waiting to get some scans in from Australia. Fortunately, I’m back on track. Expect future posts on Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Wario Land 4, Chibi Robo: Park Patrol, Fallout 1 and 2, Metroid Prime Hunters and Wolfenstien 3D.
Rainbow Islands
I loved playing this game as a kid, but could never get past the third world and just figured that I wasn’t very good. Well, actually there’s more to it than that. The enemies move horizontally too quickly for the player to easily dodge. Jumping to avoid is problematic as you’ll either fall through the rainbow you land on and fall down further or jump to the platform just above you which is likely populated with enemies. The level design works to exacerbate this dilemma by spacing platforms in vertically tight-knit clumps (and then populating many platforms with hard to predict enemy types) and leaving gaping holes throughout the level to fall to your doom. Typically unruly arcade-era coin-eating design.
Plants Vs Zombies
I can’t understand how people find this game to be so additively compelling. The strategies are very simplistic and the majority of the player’s time is spent watching how things slowly play out, which is made all the more agonising by the fact that it’s easy to predict what will happen. Plants Vs Zombies requires such little and such limited interaction to keep me personally engaged.
God of War III
The logical conclusion to a franchise which originally based its core mechanics on another game (Devil May Cry) and then became the fattest chicken in the hollywood-driven mainstream video games coop: superficial restructuring over fundamental innovation. The storyline is schizophrenic too.
The Path
I fall on the apathetic side of responses to The Path. The goal of The Path is, as a troubled emo variant of little red riding hood, to follow the path to grandma’s house. Well, actually, the game deliberately pips the player to go off track into the woods to explore what is a metaphor for each girls emotional concious. Further evaluation of this game depends greatly on personal interpretations. I could say that the walking and interaction mechanics are ghastly, but then others would say that The Path should be interpreted as art and not entertainment on the barometer of fun. In which case, I didn’t really care for the thin emotional expression. Perhaps it’s a failing of truly using the assets of the medium, where really The Path only allows the player to minimally control a slide show of abstract imagery. It’s probably best to make up your own mind. Here are some resources:
Heavy Rain
Some critics complain about the non-American voice acting of in-game American characters, the clichéd hollywood tropes and mundane tasks as a way to distract readers from the indisputable fact that Heavy Rain, not without clear, easily-resolved faults, manages to dismantle skill as a necessity in video games. Heavy Rain‘s design is a model for an alternative style of game and this is very important.
deBlob
deBlob embodies the laid-back personality of Australia, where the game was developed, through instances of play with light constraints and lots of player freedom. The segregated level design splits the world into chunks with each area hidden behind gates with modest, colour-the-world objectives required to open the next part. This segregation of the open world keeps the player from steering off track or being overwhelmed, thereby keep the game’s breezy mojo in check.
Klonoa
If you have kids, then both deBlob and Klonoa are excellent Wii games for them. Solid building blocks for platforming (tossing items, the double jump, perspective switching) are steadily teased out with new and interesting permutations in enemy and level design. Klonoa‘s ending is a surprising tear-jerker.
House of the Dead: Overkill
Articles on House of the Dead: Overkill
Not for the kids, but a great Wii game that, along with the 2 games above, proves that 3rd parties understand Nintendo design paradigms very well. Simple gameplay systems that consist of a condensed number of mechanics where the elements of the game (level design, interactive points, enemies) broaden, deepen and strengthen the mechanics.
Fallout
We interpret the world through our lived experiences and video games have the potential of enriching our lives by allowing us to experience things that may not be possible in our own lives. Fallout’s morally derelict post-nuclear war setting is a great setting to experiment with morals and grey ambiguity. See my writing for more.
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