this is for the recent 360 launch for the franchise by namco... this cult game has grown immensely since its initial launch in the states... the wild japanese game features the prince of the cosmos doing the busy work for the king who drunkenly (or stoned you choose the context) knocked the stars from the sky... to do so you must use these objects 'katamari' to roll up items to build stars...
the gameplay is unique and completely addicting... i mean... you start playing and wonder where the hell 6 hours went addicting...
controls are rather similar to that of like... a 3d marble madness type game...
cameras... something that needed drastic improvement finally got some with this launch... thank jeebus
graphically this game is a lot better than its predecessors... objects are sharper and cleanly distinguishable...
music and sounds are as lovable as ever... god is the music ridiculous and awesome... (as the theme song gets stuck in my head...)
ending... this game is just a much improved version of the ps2 ports... i highly recommend picking it up if you love the series...
Friday, May 2, 2008
Obligatory World of Warcraft Blog
i figured since i spent a great deal of time playing this game during the semester i can do a blog on it... since the game fucking changes every 2 months...
world of warcraft is an MMORPG that pretty much took the world by storm... not necessarily in a good way either... WoW (as it is commonly called) set a very low bar for gameplay difficulty... one unfathomed by previous developers.... the game itself plays very smoothly with the occasional bug here and there... and the community is rather active...
graphically the game is constructed well... however models are becoming dated... and constantly being reused... a huge no-no in my book...
sounds are similar to the graphics... in the sense they are well recorded and used... but constantly used by several sources limiting the actual sound effects
story is pretty well furnished... the entire warcraft universe is filled with fan and professional based lore... however the majority of several things were taken from a previous game, Warhammer... a popular table top hobby game started in the UK...
this game is constantly being updated... nearly every month or 2 there is a decent patch filled with new stuff... constantly changing the game... sometimes for the worse...typically for the worse... and often dulling down the game to the level a retarded chimp (vin diesel) *cue daniel tosh* can play...
overall this game is pretty well developed and stands on a large community... but at the same time effectively destroying the MMORPG market with they're low barred staples...
world of warcraft is an MMORPG that pretty much took the world by storm... not necessarily in a good way either... WoW (as it is commonly called) set a very low bar for gameplay difficulty... one unfathomed by previous developers.... the game itself plays very smoothly with the occasional bug here and there... and the community is rather active...
graphically the game is constructed well... however models are becoming dated... and constantly being reused... a huge no-no in my book...
sounds are similar to the graphics... in the sense they are well recorded and used... but constantly used by several sources limiting the actual sound effects
story is pretty well furnished... the entire warcraft universe is filled with fan and professional based lore... however the majority of several things were taken from a previous game, Warhammer... a popular table top hobby game started in the UK...
this game is constantly being updated... nearly every month or 2 there is a decent patch filled with new stuff... constantly changing the game... sometimes for the worse...typically for the worse... and often dulling down the game to the level a retarded chimp (vin diesel) *cue daniel tosh* can play...
overall this game is pretty well developed and stands on a large community... but at the same time effectively destroying the MMORPG market with they're low barred staples...
Space Quest Series
ok... this is old skool... and i mean old... older than some of the people in our class... but i love these games and grew up playing them... they are .. Space Quest... starring the lovable janitor Roger Wilco... i recently came to learn that Sierra re-released all these games with a dos emulator sooo i had to get a hold of them...
these games feature a genre not too popular amongst today's gaming crowd... the point and click adventure games... where you simply move your character around by clicking squares and using commands to investigate items and people... its sorta like the cheesy CSI games out there... only sci-fi and silly...
graphically these were pretty intense for the day... and with the re-release... ive gotten to seen the early ones with updated vga friendly graphics... however i miss the outrageous sprite driven pixelated graphics...
story is pretty genuine... since there were few games out at the time to compare to... but still it remains pretty genuine
sounds were terrible.... 8 bit sound for a sci-fi game is a bit much for me... the shrill alarms made my ears bleed...
these games and the genre were the forefathers for the simple flash games you see on websites like stickdeath.com ... a genre missed by a few loyal fans...
these games feature a genre not too popular amongst today's gaming crowd... the point and click adventure games... where you simply move your character around by clicking squares and using commands to investigate items and people... its sorta like the cheesy CSI games out there... only sci-fi and silly...
graphically these were pretty intense for the day... and with the re-release... ive gotten to seen the early ones with updated vga friendly graphics... however i miss the outrageous sprite driven pixelated graphics...
story is pretty genuine... since there were few games out at the time to compare to... but still it remains pretty genuine
sounds were terrible.... 8 bit sound for a sci-fi game is a bit much for me... the shrill alarms made my ears bleed...
these games and the genre were the forefathers for the simple flash games you see on websites like stickdeath.com ... a genre missed by a few loyal fans...
Eternal Sonata
sooo yeah... Eternal Sonata... this game is pretty epic in the sense that its biographical and gives history lessons through-out... the idea behind the game is you're in the dream world of Frederic Chopin while he is in a coma from tuberculosis... (pretty wild idea IMO)... you progress through the game and learn more about Chopin's life and this history of his homeland during his era, through the use of cut scenes, cinematics, and photographs trailed with narration...
graphically this game is great... it uses cell shaded characters (im such a fan for this style since i become reminiscent of old rpgs) with full 3d surroundings...
sounds are superb... what else could you expect from a game about a famous piano prodigy...
characters are hilarious... each has a weapon based from an instrument... your primary character Allegretto uses a sword thats also a stringed instrument...
story is immersive and easy to relate to since its biographical
this game is just a great one... for anyone that loves classical music its a must... only complaint is that the combat is too easy... it gets to the point where your characters are just so over powered that it becomes a waste to fight a boss...
graphically this game is great... it uses cell shaded characters (im such a fan for this style since i become reminiscent of old rpgs) with full 3d surroundings...
sounds are superb... what else could you expect from a game about a famous piano prodigy...
characters are hilarious... each has a weapon based from an instrument... your primary character Allegretto uses a sword thats also a stringed instrument...
story is immersive and easy to relate to since its biographical
this game is just a great one... for anyone that loves classical music its a must... only complaint is that the combat is too easy... it gets to the point where your characters are just so over powered that it becomes a waste to fight a boss...
Super Smash Bros Brawl
im sure about half the class has done a blog on this one... but i figure i can throw a minor twist on mine since im probably the only person that didnt play SSB-melee...
my room mate picked up this game the day it came out... i was looking forward to it primarily since i hadnt played a smash bros game since N64... we played that game for hours... had some friends over doing FFA for a drinking game... over all pretty enjoi-able...
like most fighting games i get bored rather quickly... this game is similar if not more so in my opinion...
the controls for most of the characters are the same and they lack originality... the few new characters are pretty cool... and the like super smash moves as well...
im mildly let down on the lack of new levels, however the few new ones are pretty awesome, in particular i like the one where its like a comic and shit gets drawn onto the level and it becomes interactive...
the graphics are on par with that of a wii game...
controls are alright with the wiimotes... however i prefer to use the game cube controller...
overall... this game sorta just feels like an expansion to me... not enough like a new game in the sense that its for the wii and doesnt utilize the motion sensoring... the game is fun for a short while but after the initial buyout craving/frenzy dies down... it'll be shelfed until we get a wild hair in our ass when we're drinking...
my room mate picked up this game the day it came out... i was looking forward to it primarily since i hadnt played a smash bros game since N64... we played that game for hours... had some friends over doing FFA for a drinking game... over all pretty enjoi-able...
like most fighting games i get bored rather quickly... this game is similar if not more so in my opinion...
the controls for most of the characters are the same and they lack originality... the few new characters are pretty cool... and the like super smash moves as well...
im mildly let down on the lack of new levels, however the few new ones are pretty awesome, in particular i like the one where its like a comic and shit gets drawn onto the level and it becomes interactive...
the graphics are on par with that of a wii game...
controls are alright with the wiimotes... however i prefer to use the game cube controller...
overall... this game sorta just feels like an expansion to me... not enough like a new game in the sense that its for the wii and doesnt utilize the motion sensoring... the game is fun for a short while but after the initial buyout craving/frenzy dies down... it'll be shelfed until we get a wild hair in our ass when we're drinking...
Ultima Online
hah ok again... i have played UO before... but i have recently picked up the game on a free server that includes all the expansions until the Samurai Empire and they have drastically changed the game...
Previously in UO gear and items meant little in the world of combat... a player with the best gear could easily get schooled by a person wearing crap that had more skill... and the best part... take all of their great gear afterwards...
UO set many, many precedents for the MMORPG world... player housing, skills, rp value, guild benefits... just over all immersion... you could literally do what you wanted to... the game was incredibly intuitive for its time (early 90s people come on...) in the sense that you were able to wash bloody bandages in water and reuse them (one of my all time favorite features) and fighting on horseback... if you were knocked off both you and your horse would fight the enemy...
the expansions added greater items, stats, skills, lands, housing opportunities and over all better graphics... personally the greatest feature is probably the housing changes... they basically packed on the Sims with the samurai empire expansion... allowing players to design a house and yard, leaving room for incredible variations...
these expansions combined with the inventive nature of loyal players have lead to some incredible free servers out there, filled with scripts for races, quests, items and tons of other things... so if you have some free time and just want to poke around in a fun MMO... check out UO... i personally play on this server... www.oblivion2.com ... and my character's name is Aido
Previously in UO gear and items meant little in the world of combat... a player with the best gear could easily get schooled by a person wearing crap that had more skill... and the best part... take all of their great gear afterwards...
UO set many, many precedents for the MMORPG world... player housing, skills, rp value, guild benefits... just over all immersion... you could literally do what you wanted to... the game was incredibly intuitive for its time (early 90s people come on...) in the sense that you were able to wash bloody bandages in water and reuse them (one of my all time favorite features) and fighting on horseback... if you were knocked off both you and your horse would fight the enemy...
the expansions added greater items, stats, skills, lands, housing opportunities and over all better graphics... personally the greatest feature is probably the housing changes... they basically packed on the Sims with the samurai empire expansion... allowing players to design a house and yard, leaving room for incredible variations...
these expansions combined with the inventive nature of loyal players have lead to some incredible free servers out there, filled with scripts for races, quests, items and tons of other things... so if you have some free time and just want to poke around in a fun MMO... check out UO... i personally play on this server... www.oblivion2.com ... and my character's name is Aido
Warhammer Dawn of War
Alright... for all you RTS fans out there... the greatest game of the genre has new expansions...
Admittedly i personally have played Dawn of War before... but i was able to obtain all the expansions for the game recently...
These expansions include new units, campaigns, races, game styles, cinematics and various other tidbits...
Particularly i was playing the Dark Crusade expansion... going through on campaign mode i saw a nice change to the level/mission select style... the world map in itself is a game similar to Risk... where it is turn based and the territories you control are given a numerical value based on garrisoned troops... each turn goes by and you are able to obtain 'requisition' aka money to bolster your defenses... you're primary army is commanded by a hero of the race (i was playing Orks) and is sent to conquer the various territories...
over time as you gain more territories you gain more requisition per turn allowing you to build incredibly defensive territories saving you time should you be attacked (when a territory is attacked you have the option to let it auto-resolve (dnd style roll a die and see if you win) or physically play the defensive mission)
over all this game is rather ground breaking on many levels and i highly suggest it to all RTS fans out there... especially the Warcraft 3 fanbois
Admittedly i personally have played Dawn of War before... but i was able to obtain all the expansions for the game recently...
These expansions include new units, campaigns, races, game styles, cinematics and various other tidbits...
Particularly i was playing the Dark Crusade expansion... going through on campaign mode i saw a nice change to the level/mission select style... the world map in itself is a game similar to Risk... where it is turn based and the territories you control are given a numerical value based on garrisoned troops... each turn goes by and you are able to obtain 'requisition' aka money to bolster your defenses... you're primary army is commanded by a hero of the race (i was playing Orks) and is sent to conquer the various territories...
over time as you gain more territories you gain more requisition per turn allowing you to build incredibly defensive territories saving you time should you be attacked (when a territory is attacked you have the option to let it auto-resolve (dnd style roll a die and see if you win) or physically play the defensive mission)
over all this game is rather ground breaking on many levels and i highly suggest it to all RTS fans out there... especially the Warcraft 3 fanbois
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