What I've been playing (no.1)

So what I've been playing recently?

Rock Band 2
Sure I made it to the Immortals induction and unlocked the Endless Setlist but this game is far from over: My band Demon Flower is now going back over previous locations to achieve a five star score over places which I may have missed the first time around. And as long as there continue to be opportunities to take advantage of the DLC then I doubt I'll be getting tired of RB2 any time soon.
(Shackler's Revenge is still a bitch though)

Final Fantasy 1
Downloaded to the Virtual Console, this game looks weird, when one is more used to it's dazzling offspring. But, it is interesting to play it from a pioneering perspective: There are some really good ideas at work here and it's interesting to see which ideas have lasted throughout the series in various incarnations.

That and the fact that's a really fun game to play.

Super Mario World
Another gem from the Virtual Console. I remember playing this as a kid and it's still as fun as it ever was - Although some of criteria to access the secret levels are fiendish. "You expect me to do WHAT!?!"

Spike vs Final Fantasy 7

Final Fantasy 7. There I've said it. It must be one of the biggest, most acclaimed, most best-selling and indeed, most enduring game ever made. It sold the Sony Playstation, introduced many to RPGs and, thirteen years on, still has more staying power than many other games/franchises.
Yet to the newcomer, all of this may seem intimidating. It has, in recent years become a trend to dismiss FF7 with spinoffs that didn't quite work, the entire franchise being milked for all it's worth, age being quite clear and many of it's devotees no longer in their teens.

So last year, I actually sat down and played FF7 with fresh eyes.



So why has it taken me this long? Well, personally I have been suspicious of anything attracting a large following as a) I feel that people should find things in their own time and come to their own conclusions, b) if experience has taught me anything is that anything supposedly awesome can easily turn out to be a massive disappointment and c) following a crowd like a sheep would rob me of my identity and individuality. That being said, I paid little attention to FF7. Additionally, I felt that i had picked up all I needed to know about the game through, by chance, reading an article on Advent Children in Anime Insider. Finally, it became all too clear that the game's reputation seemed to rely solely on one moment (I think you know what it is)

For many, Final Fantasy 7 was the first RPG their ever played - which in effect contributes to the never-wavering devotion form the fans. And in that sense, I am an interesting candidate to play FF7. You see, the first Final Fantasy I played was number 10 - a great game yes but it's not my favorite. The first JRPG I played was Secret of Mana which I think is one of the best games I ever played (I am so looking forward to having a three player game of it on the Wii). BUT! The first RPG I played on ANY computer/video game system was Pool of Radiance on the Commodore 64. As such, I find western RPG's a more attractive prospect than JRPGs (Baldurs Gate 2 FTW!!!!). So there is indeed a lot of truth to the notion that the first time you encounter something new is the most memorable.
Similarly, I don't consider myself a Final Fantasy fan: In my mind there are fans, those who have played EVERY FF game made, and non fans, those who played none of them. This places me in the middle - yet out of all FF games I have played, I have found something to enjoy: 10 was great, 4 was great, 5 and 9 were both fun to play even if underrated, and 6 is the one where they got everything right and is thus one of the best games I have ever played (in case you haven't heard those words a thousand times before).



But in the end, it was my own principles that got me: Everyone should discover something in their time and arrive at their own conclusions. I sought the negative opinions and, although a minority, I felt they brought up something interesting points. But no matter, I should least play it enough to form my own opinion. I had the game lying untouched on my shelf for Lord knows how long so there is no point in talking about something I haven't even played. Also, I have a Cloud cosplay planned (Kath's idea) so I may as well conduct some research. Who knows? I might be surprised....

At this point in time, I am halfway through the game and, surprise surprise, I am actually having fun.

Yeah I couldn't believe it myself. Try as I might to find an excuse to hate this game, I couldn't help but actually enjoy it. Sure the graphics looked antique by today's standards, sure the music sounds horribly midi for a Playstation game (or maybe that's me being biased after spending many hours playing Castlevania: SOTN), sure the character have little in the way of actual distinction, sure there are too many villains sure Sephiroth has got NOTHING on Kefka (don't like it? Bite me) and sure the story is absurdly complex, leaning on incomprehensible.
But you know what? That doesn't matter. I am willing to ignore all of the above when one considers the game's strengths: The backdrops and settings still manage to hold up pretty well - even if the rest of graphics don't. I also really like how the cyperpunk setting works wonders in a game where it's predecessors have all been based on a medieval/fantasy setting. The ideas that drive the game are compelling with the theory that the planet would be much better off without us humans (perhaps more so considering Al Gore's environmental campaigning has gathered more attention in recent times than ever before). The mini-games have been fun and the tasks to find some of the bonuses have so fun been enjoyable rather than frustrating *coughFFXcough*. The game seems less interested in forcing story progression onto the player and simply steps back and lets them go and bonk some heads - and that's what matters: The game is FUN.



There is a lot of joy to be had in going around and killing some monsters. It doesn't get tedious and the player is allowed to progress the story at their own pace. I thought I would abandon the game once my fav character was out of the picture but somehow I feel compelled to keep going onward (and whatever feelings of bitterness spawned from my paranoid mind (I might elaborate on this in a later note)). There is much to enjoy this game, and in a way it seems like an accumulation of all the elements spawned from previous FF's - but still making room for FF7 to say something of it's own. Now I'm not going to going to declare it one of the best I've played (Ico, Metal Gear Solid, Baldur's Gate 2, Civ2 and FF7's younger brother FF6 are still rated higher) but FF7 in it's own right turns out to pretty damn good.
In short, I came into FF7 with an open mind and I found it really fun to play.
Which is what a video game should do

So in the end, I played a game I have been reluctant to play and it turned out to be pretty damned good. Sure this opinion may be subject to change as my progress continues but ultimately what this goes to show that sometimes finding something out on your own, when thousands have come before you, can actually turn out some magic in it's own way.

More games I own

Last week I posted a list of console games I own.
Today, I present the PC games I own:

Age of Empires
Age of Kings
Baldurs Gate 1+2
Battlefield 1942
Civilisation 2
Clive Barker's Undying
Command and Conquer: The First Decade
Cricket 96
Crimson Skies
Curse of Monkey Island
Day of the Tentacle
Descent 2
Deus Ex
Diablo
the Dig
Dreamweb
Fallout 1+2
Forgotten Realms Archive (Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades, Pools of Darkness, Hillsfar)
Freedom Force
FX Fighter
Grim Fandango
Half-Life 1+2
Heroes of Might and Magic 2
Homeworld
Mafia
No One Lives Forever 2
Pharaoh
Planescape: Torment
Port Royale 2
Portal
Quake 2
Rainbow 6: Rogue Spear
Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Reloaded
Rome: Total War
Sam and Max Hit the Road
Sim City 2000
SPQR
Starcraft
System Shock 2
Team Fortress 2
Thief 2
TIE Fighter
Total Annihilation
Ultima Underworld
Warcraft 2
Wolfenstein 3d

So, any questions?

How many games?

To further my credentials as gamer, here's a list of what games I own:

Xbox:
Burnout 3: Takedown
Halo
Ninja Gaiden Black
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Silent Hill 2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Wii:
Beatles Rock Band
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Metroid Prime (GC)
Rock Band 2
Star Wars Rogue Leader (GC)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Wii Sports
Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure

Playstation:
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
Doom
Final Fantasy Anthology (4+5)
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 9
Ghost in the Shell
Loaded
Metal Gear Solid
Return Fire
the Raiden Project
Theme Park
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Wipeout 3

PS2:
Final Fantasy X
God of War
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
Grand Theft Auto 3
Guitar Hero 2
Guitar Hero Metallica
Hyper Street Fighter 2
Ico
Madden NFL 2004
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Okami
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Resident Evil 4
SEGA Megadrive Collection
Shadow of the Colossus
Sonic Gems Collection
Sonic Mega Collection Plus
Soulcalibur 3
Spyhunter
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse

Virtual Console:
Actraiser
Adventures of Lolo
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Bubble Bobble
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
F-Zero
Final Fantasy 1
Galaga
Gunstar Heroes
Legend of Zelda
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Mega Man 2
Paper Mario
Phantasy Star
Pilotwings
Punch-Out!
Secret of Mana
Shining Force 2
Streetfighter 2
Streets of Rage 2
Super Mario Bros
Super Mario Bros 3
Super Mario Bros World
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario RPG
Super Metroid
Super Smash Bros.
Waverace 64
Wonderboy
Wonderboy 3: Dragon's Trap


....And this is only the console games....

You and me against the world

I've been a regular viewer of Zero Punctuation for quite a while now. I mean who isn't? It's fun to see Yahtzee tear into game and have the balls to say things that seem to escape the view of other game critics. I've also had the pleasure to meet Yahtzee and got him to sign my walkthrough of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Anyway his latest review, Dead to Rights: Retribution, brought forth an interesting point: The moments when the player is controlling Shadow are far more interesting than when the player is controlling Jack Slate. Now, I won't say that Yahtzee's opinions have that great an influence on my perception towards games in general but what I see is a classic case of squandered potential.



Dead to Rights: Retribution seems to part of a recent clutch of games based on the concept of 'two dudes taking on a whole army' (or in DtRR's case one dude and a dog). Other such games of this caliber include Army of Two and Resident Evil 5. Both games however seemed to have stumbled in executing this concept with dodgy AI no real sense of uniqueness between the characters being controlled.
That being said, there is only one game I have seen to have done this concept the best and that's the Chaos Engine: A game released in 1993 on the Amiga (later ported to the PC, Megadrive and SNES). It works as follows: The player works in team of two with another human or the computer. The player(s) selects a team of two mercenaries from a group of six and they go mow down a bunch of mutants. The thing is, each mercenary has they own unique weapon and set of abilities. Sure there are three sets of stats between the three but they develop in their own unique way. Sure some abilities are shared by characters but that's at different points in the game. The point is, the two player mechanic works because the characters are unique and only by working together can victory be achieved. Even in one player mode, the player still has a degree of control over what abilities are used by the team itself. It also encourages careful thought into what mercenaries are selected, based on what they can do and their rate of reliability in the battlefield.

In short, the two player mechanic can work when the AI is reliable enough and the two characters each have a degree of uniqueness that, when combined, can succeed. As indicated above, it can be done so there's really no excuse.



So what would I have done in Dead to Rights: Retribution? I would've had the player control Shadow and have Jack being controlled by the computer/2nd player. I mean think about it: Here, we have a team of two who have unique approaches to solving a problem. They play completely differently and it may offer an interesting spin on how the story is told: Through the eyes of Shadow.

And hey, there's nothing wrong with controlling a dog: Just look at Okami.

And a blog is created

Hello world: I'm the Alchemist and this is my blog.
I'm a veteran gamer and I would like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences as I play games.

As a starting point, with I’ll state my credentials as a gamer: I am in my late-twenties and have been gaming for a substantial portion of my life. I have played many games on many systems, starting with the Commodore 64 and running all the way to the Playstation 2, and have seen many systems come and go. I have played the Sega Master System, Megadrive, Saturn and Dreamcast. I have used the NES, the SNES, the N64 and the Gamecube. I have even played the PC, Amiga, PS1, Xbox and countless arcade games. I have played so many games that I know what makes a good one. I know, upon completing a game, the feeling of euphoria at a job well done. And I’ve seen how certain games on obsolete consoles can stand the test of time and put a lot of modern games to shame. Currently I own a PC, a Wii and a PS2.

Anyho, a blog is started and I guess it's all downhill from here......