Bottom of the Barrel (no.1): Chase HQ

Hello and welcome to a new series within this blog. You know, over the time I've done this blog, I've spoken a lot about the games I've liked but therein raises a question: What about the games I don't like? As I've been gaming for many years surely there has been some rubbish that has earned nothing but my scorn and contempt?

Well actually there is so may I present this series, where I talk about games I despise.
So to get the ball rolling, lets talk about a game called Chase HQ.

Chase HQ was originally released in the arcades in 1988. Inspired by the success of racing games at the time, Chase HQ offered a spin on the concept. Instead of racing against a computer opponent or against the clock, players assumed the role of a police officer in a car tracking down criminals. The player would take a set course in pursuit and catch up with the criminal at the halfway mark. From there, the player would need to stop the criminal through repeated ramming of their vehicle - but even then it was challenge to stop the criminal's vehicle before the time runs out.  It makes for a tense and  exciting scenario and, as such, was a big hit in the arcades.

Of course, I never got to play Chase HQ - nope I had to settle for  the conversion on my trusty Commodore 64. But as it turns out, I could've done better:


Look at this! The graphics are terrible, even by 8bit standards, and the sound is awful. Everything looks so stiff and dull. This is less about speeding down a highway in pursuit of a dangerous criminal and more plodding with a really ghastly sounding engine. This isn't exciting - it's downright tedious!
And the cars are badly drawn too: Why even as a child I saw the yellow car and always saw the face of a man with mustache:

And incidentally what gender is that person in the character sprite Nancy? I've seen footage of the arcade counterpart where Nancy has a woman's voice but here Nancy looks like a man - which, in retrospect, gives the interactions between him and the player character/driver a strangely homoerotic quality to it....

But I digress: I know for a fact that the Commodore 64 was a capable of doing so much better but this is a complete travesty. It's enough to out one off Racing games for life.

"Let's go Mr Driver!"?  No thanks

Planet of Sound (no.8)

Name: Jasmine
Birthdate: 27th July 1984
Instruments: Vocals / Bass / Guitar
Affiliations: Demon Flower
Bio: Jasmine is the daughter of two very wealthy parents. She has two sisters.
From an early age, Jasmine showed a keen interest in singing, a love that would be with her for the rest of her life. During her middle-school years, Jasmine would increase her musical ability, learning to play the bass. But it was her singing that bowled many people over, with her gorgeous voice and understanding of various styles of music.
However, it was also in this time that she developed a rebellious phase, indulging in punk music (Sex Pistols and Joan Jett being particular favourites) and becoming embodied in the goth culture, buying an entirely new wardrobe in the process.
With her musical talents, taste in clothing and generally cute disposition, Jasmine found herself growing attached to a number of college bands and playing whenever and wherever she could. Within time, she eventually met Spike - there they bonded over similar tastes in music and the two became fast friends.

At first Jasmine was the bass player within Demon Flower – but eventually a lot of media attention was placed upon her so Spike decided to go with it, promoting Jasmine to lead singer. This move paid off at first but eventually the success went to Jasmine’s head and she began making a spectacle of herself and lost focus on the music. Finally after much frustration Spike fired Jasmine.

Since leaving Demon Flower Jasmine tried to keep her music career going through playing in other bands and trying to write some songs but neither went anywhere. Eventually however Spike contacted her and they reconciled. As a result Jasmine was welcomed back into Demon Flower as a bass player and a co-vocalist (singing the softer material as Sam handled the heavier stuff). Whilst Jasmine’s role in the band has been reduced from before, she is however glad to have a second chance and determined not to muck it up.

Girl Power

A friend of mine recently put forth the suggestion that someone should make an RPG out of the anime Revolutionary Girl Utena. I myself haven’t seen the TV series but I am aware of Utena itself – to a point where I can some potential in that idea. If we follow the Bioware business model, there are some workable ideas that may come across as familiar territory: Sword fights, romance sub-plots of either gender, a princess to defend and a major catastrophe to prevent. Throw in some unique art direction, bizarre symbolism, and the idea just might work.

 Of course, the afore-mentioned points are all story-telling elements. I reiterate, I have not seen the TV series but I have seen the movie – but that was back in 2001 and I think, by now, my head has stopped hurting. So what I do know about Utena? Well I do know about its critique of shojo anime and how it challenges the various stereotypes of the genre. But here’s the thing: I have no interest in shojo anime – maybe because, oh I don’t know, I’m a GUY. Not only that but many shojo anime I’ve seen seem to follow a similar template: All the female characters are strong/independent/heroic/boyish/physically aggressive/matched up with each other whilst all the male characters are either a) evil bastards, b) incompetent as much as possible or c) decent & polite and thus set up to have their balls kicked in so hard they come out his ears. True they have been some shojo anime I have enjoyed but those shows have the male cast and female cast on equal ground. In fact as a writer myself, I couldn’t care less about gender or sexual orientation for I’m far more interested in creating characters. Likewise, extremes don’t interest me, only equal ground.

But I digress: As much as I despise the ‘females good/males bad’ shojo trope, I can see it having some potential as an RPG: You see, when you get down to it, in any RPG the player builds a character to use with the issue of gender selection being a lesser decision. More often than not, the gender selection is a cosmetic decision (although it does affect how they’re addressed by the in game characters and determining who the Player Character gets to bang over the course of the game). So here’s what I propose: How about an RPG where the gender selection can actually effect how the game is played? You know, two separate campaigns which can yield completely different outcomes. And if we decide to follow the good/bad decisions route that have appeared in many games, it can be used to turn the entire concept on its head: Thus, using the shojo trope I described, the selection of a female character may yield a traditional RPG campaign but the selection of a male character may lead to something different.
So what I have in mind is a female character can go through the entire campaign making ‘good’ decisions and come out heroic or she make ‘bad’ decisions and come looking evil. Conversely, a male character can go through the entire campaign making ‘good’ decisions and come out constantly getting screwed over – or he can make ‘bad’ decisions and come out victorious (however over the skulls of many). Of course this is not the first time a ‘character does good things but comes out short’ scenario has appeared (Final Fantasy Tactics anyone?) but it certainly does offer four unique paths through the game.

Only problem is, this idea won’t sell at all: For male gamers make up a large portion of the gaming population and most likely won’t take too kindly at such a condemnation. Oh well….

Why my favourite games rock: I Wanna Touch the Sky

It’s been a while since I sat down and bashed out an essay-length post about a favorite game of mine and why I think it rocks. So for today, seeing as I have nothing better to go on about, I would like to talk about a game close to my heart: A game called Skies of Arcadia.

Now, I like my RPGS but, as any gamer would tell you, RPGs are the type of game that demand a huge commitment: They present huge worlds that can be explored, problems that need to be solved, strategies that need to be devised,  and are the type of game that demands a huge amount of time form the playing (average of seventy hours maybe?). Now whilst I’ve played many RPGs, they aren’t the type of game that I would willingly pop back into the console for another run through. Skies of Arcadia however is a rare exception – once a year I like to go back and take yet another shot at this game. And for a game to do that, it must be a special one indeed, right? Of course.

Now allow me to brutally honest: if you’ve played more than few JRPGs then the set up for Skies of Arcadia would sound disturbingly familiar: In Skies of Arcadia, the player controls a guy named Vyse, a courageous but cocky young lad (ooh here we go) who is part of band of sky pirates (ooh pirates) along with his female best-friend-since-childhood-but-not really-romantic interest Akia (aren’t they all?). During one particular raid, they encounter a mysterious teenage girl (well they’re sticking with the familiar) named Fina whose origins are unknown (ho-hum) and whose in possession of a great power (like you do). This zany trio then teams up to go on an adventure which involves exploring the world, recovering magic crystals (as they all seem to do) and defeating an evil empire (because there’s no such thing as good empires – you thank Star Wars for that). 

Original image located here. Accessed 23rd July 2013

Have I lost you yet? I hope not. True Skies of Arcadia may be following the standard JRPG textbook but there is a lot going on about this game that somehow manages to capture interest.

So what do I like about this game? Well I like exploring the world set before me. I’ve had many an enjoyable time traversing from one end of the world to the other and finding new locations. I love how the obligatory JRPG airship is made available from the very beginning and the inclusion of the Discoveries is a nice touch. I love visiting the various areas and the designs put into them. I like how later in the game, one gets a crew and gradually builds up a pirate base. And if anything, I love how the game world actually feels genuinely huge – which is perhaps rarer than one would think.

I also like the characters – the three leads in particular have a lot of personality and the journey they take is indeed one worth following. The side characters are also heaps of fun too with Gilder being a particular favorite (he’s DA MAN!). And I also like the music – easily one of the best gaming soundtracks I’ve heard – being loaded with memorable tunes arranged in a manner both inventive and magnificent . The combat is fun – okay sure the rate encounter is ridiculous and the ship-to-ship battles get tedious but all else there is certainly a lot going for Skies of Arcadia.

But what interests me the most about Skies of Arcadia is that it seems a deliberate attempt to go against the grain of what was popular in JRPGs at the time. Keep in mind that this game was released in 2000 and at the time Sony was still relishing in the success brought about by both Final Fantasy 7 and 8. That being said, I have this fancy about Skies of Arcadia: Sega saw the success of both Final Fantasy 7 and 8 and noted some key features, namely the drab cyberpunk settings, the dour characters and how everything was done with seriousness and solemnness – so someone in Sega thought: Bugger this, let’s do something of our own! And it shows: Everything in Skies Arcadia eschews dark and serious for brought and colourful. Instead of dealing with the theme of a doomed world coming to end, there is the theme that there world is out there to be explored. Instead of a mopey/emo-esque lead character, Skies of Arcadia presents a lead with an enthusiastic, never-say-die personality that comes across as curiously refreshing. Hell, Skies of Arcadia even takes the character tropes that defined the party in Square’s games and puts a distinct twist on it. If anything, the more I look at Skies of Arcadia, the more it becomes clear to me that the makers really wanted to take the seriousness of both Final Fantasy 7 and 8 and really show it up. And for me, such audacity needs to be lauded.

Ultimately, the greatest impression Skies of Arcadia leaves on me is that it is a labor of love. Obviously the people who made it realized that the Dreamcast was in dire need of a major RPG so they put everything they had into. And to have such a game convey the amount of effort put into it is something worth celebrating when game companies tend to stamp out thoughtless, generic rehashes of popular franchises (looking at you EA!). And whilst Sega’s reputation as a RPG maker is patchy to say the least – more of a case of misses than hits – it is indeed welcome to see them finally conceive an RPG that actually works a treat.

Sadly due to it being on the Dreamcast, Skies of Arcadia didn’t go anywhere afterwards – it did turn up on the Gamecube however with the magnificent soundtrack reduced to Midi tunes but that was it. Alas, Skies of Arcadia ended up joining the scrap heap of Sega’s failed IPs. Still you never know: Sega certainly seem keen on rehashing past games for the XBLA, PSN and Virtual Console so maybe there could lie the possibility of seeing this great game redone in HD.

In fact I’d rather play Skies of Arcadia in HD than a complete HD built-from-the-ground-up Final Fantasy 7 revamp….

Original image located here. Accessed 23rd July 2013

Reboot This: Racing Destruction Set

Here's a game I wish they'd revisit: Racing Destruction Set.
As regular readers would know, my childhood in gaming was spent around a Commodore 64 - whilst not a big deal in the US it was however important enough in both Europe and Australia (y'know, places that don't matter) had had many interesting and unique games available. One such was the superbly titled Racing Destruction Set, courtesy of a company called Electronic Arts.

As the title suggests, this is racing game - and one which involves trying to sabotage your opponents efforts through any means necessary. As well as being a great two-player game, it even boasted a track-designing feature and a gazillion options.
But really, mere words can't do the features of Racing Destruction Set justice: Instead, they can be better exemplified with this video:



So there was certainly a lot going for Racing Destruction Set: Aside from track building, there was vehicle selection, gravity selection (GRAVITY!), terrain selection and a race/destruction option, the latter incorporating oil slicks and landmines. With so much options and freedom of choice for the player (this was back in 1985 mind you) it does seem mind-boggling that such an approach hasn't been replicated in the years since.

Last week I made a post talking about Super Mario Kart where I lamented how many clones that damn game inspired and how none of them really succeeded in replicating, let alone besting, the winning formula. And it always struck me that no one was looking back to Racing Destruction Set. I mean why not? If a formula can work so well, why not take the formula that made Racing Destruction Set, give it some fantastic graphics and you'll have game that can a serious competition for the untouchable Super Mario Kart.
Indeed, I thought back then that those wanting to replicate Super Mario Kart shouldn't be doing so - They should be doing something new with the formula. In fact it always struck me that if people wanted to usurp Super Mario Kart, they should try implementing a Track Builder - I mean I would've bought it - yet it is funny how took nearly twenty years before someone else thought the same with the PS3 game ModNation Racers.

Interestingly enough during research for this post I did find that Racing Destruction Set did indeed get a remake in the form of the SNES game RPM Racing - this led to a sequel called Rock N Roll Racing which is of some historical significance as being the first game made by a fledgling company that would later become Blizzard. So maybe there is some interest in keeping the original C64 game alive but I don't recall either game being a big deal.
So yeah, remake Racing Destruction Set. There certainly seem to be some great ideas in work and certainly worthy of dusting off and repackaging for younger gamers to see what their comrades did years before..

Kart up about it

Recently I've been having a go at the classic game Super Mario Kart for the first time in years.

I remember this game when it was first released in 1992 - it was a big deal as it replicated the Mario formula into a racing game and was a blast in multiplayer (the Halo of it's day if you will).
What I also remember was that Super Mario Kart pretty much established the Karting genre of gaming which pretty much followed the same formula: A cast of colorful characters engaged in wacky racing. I do recall seeing so many clones throughout the rest of the nineties and they grew so numerous and so detestable: It was blatantly obvious that the makers of these games were trying to replicate the success of Mario Kart but there was little to improve on: Super Mario Kart was one of those rare kind of games where the formula worked so well the first time that no one - not even Nintendo themselves in the subsequent Mario Kart sequels -  has been able to better it (although I did enjoy Diddy Kong Racing when it was released).

So to come back to Mario Kart now is a bit odd seeing as what it inspired. Now I did recall playing Mario Kart during the glory days of the SNES but, surprisingly, I didn't enjoy it. I found problems with the computer AI being difficult to catch up with, trying to handle turns whilst maintaining a decent speed and the powers up doing....ermm.... not much. Plus, considering the many clones this game has inspired, Super Mario Kart has a lot to answer for.

And what did I think of it this time around? The same problems I had before have arisen again - but at least this time around I've managed to place well against the computer - as opposed to consistently coming last. I did play with some other people this time and I had some success there.
Still, I did enjoy Super Mario Kart this time around then compared to when I did some sixteen years ago. Not sure why though - maybe it was playing against real people, maybe I knew what to expect, maybe the whole Kart genre has kinda dried up at the moment. I'm not sure at all.
Still, I found Super Mario Kart now to be more fun than when i did back in the nineties. And I suppose that's what counts.

Bear it all

Rithendal finds out that Ironhide is quite a popular name for bears in WoW:

Nightfall

Some exciting news: The Sega Saturn classic Nights into Dreams is coming to PSN and XBLA as a HD revamp:


Well this is good news: I've played a bit of Nights in the past and have enjoyed so having it in HD is welcome in my book.
But personally this is indeed a welcome move on Sega's part: I've said before they were doing themselves a disservice through not having Saturn games readily available on a downloadable service. Sure not everything on the Saturn was crash hot but there were a few diamonds in the rough that indeed worthy of preservation for generations of gamers to come.
I just hope that Nights may be the spark that inspires Sega to revamp more Saturn titles *coughShinginForce3coughPanzerDragoonSagacough*

Blessed are the Peace Makers

Last week I heard about a game called Peace Maker - a project done by a bunch of univeristy students that made it's way into a fully-fledged game. But what got my attention was it was billed as a strategy game where peace solutions were the only way to win. Now I like my strategy games having played both Starcraft and Civilization to death so hearing someone propose a new entrant to the genre where actual conflict is the quickest way to lose? That sound downright awful on paper but hey, if someone has the balls (or stupidity) to go against the grain than that's fine by me.
Another selling point is the fact this is a 'serious' game and working to convey a genuine point: The game itself is set in the Gaza Strip and aimed at bringing the Israelis and the Palestinians to a peaceful resolution. 'Inspired by real events' the game blurb proclaims. Well I'm all for games actually working to say something worthwhile (not to mention looking for ammunition to use against the anti-gaming crusaders) so my curiosity was piqued: I went to the Peace maker homepage and downloaded the game for myself.

Needless to say, I was not sure what to expect out of the final product.
To begin with, unlike other strategy games, the player does not assume the role of an army commander - no, instead the player's role is more akin to that of a politician. There are no armies to build up - instead it's a simple matter of making decisions and seeing how they play out. Again, it sure sounds like a concept that shouldn't work - but somehow it does. With each player turn, a decision needs to be made in order to progress - decisions such as construction projects and negotiations with the other factions. But what is interesting is just how these decisions work: The outcome of each decision is indeed unpredictable and there's no guarantee they will yield the desired result. More often than not, good new (e.g educational programs being implemented) walks hand in hand with bad news (e.g. people being killed by a suicide bomber). And if that isn't enough, each decision results in a reaction from the opposition and the world so maintaining a balance is trickier than it sounds.
 
I played the Palestinian campaign for my first play-through and achieved victory within the space of an evening. And I was impressed by how such a simple game can have such an effect on me as the player: Often I found myself bearing witness to some setbacks and thinking 'What Do I Do now?'. And the unpredictable nature of the decision outcomes often left me in a state of nervous anticipation/dread in seeing how they'd play out. And such was this effect that each small step of progression felt like a victory and winning was an ultimate triumph.
The game is billed as being inspired by real-life events and it shows with use of real-life footage and images. Indeed, I felt like I had learned a lot about the Middle East conflicts from the exeprience - perhaps more than any news program could ever hope to. And having played Peace Maker, it really seems that a peaceful resolution between the Israelis and the Palestinians can be possible - now if only the right people will listen....
Mind you, one thing Peace Maker makes clear is just how difficult being a Politician is when you have to please everyone and the rest of the world is watching. And for a gem to do that is indeed something.

So to wrap this up, I enjoyed Peace Maker and for a game to reach me to some degree of an emotional level is indeed an impressive feat. I have wondered in the past if peaceful solutions could work in a strategy genre, where guns and blood dominate, and it would now seem possible.
Needless to say, I've always wanted games to be able to convey ideas and possibilities beyond shooting people in the head so Peace Maker is indeed a step in the right direction.
Now if only more people would put down that  sniper rifle long enough to play it....

Last Man Standing.

Rithendal's companions are dead, his pet has been killed and there is only a fraction health left (not shown) but he's the one still standing when the foe is dead.

I think we've all situations like this: A group takes on a foe who defeats them all only to lose out in the slimmest of margins. Thankfully, we have screencaps to prove such instances :)

Planet of Sound (no.7)

Name: Chloe
Birthdate: 7th July 1986
Instruments: Lead vocals / Guitar
Affiliations: Tension Heads
Bio: Chloe is a cousin of Jasmine. Through the familial connections, Chloe and Jasmine often sung and played together. Thus, when the collective was building up, Jasmine brought Chloe to Spike’s attention and she was welcomed in to jam. After several visits, Chloe became friendly with the collective. So when Spike wanted to form a new band to work on a new batch songs he'd been developing, he invited Chloe in as the singer. Chloe accepted and quickly developed a working partnership with both Spike and Alison.
An experienced musician on all fronts, Chloe made the transition to the microphone with ease and certainly enjoys working the crowds up at live performances.
Chloe’s greatest contribution to the Planet of Sound collective is conflict resolution. Whilst a decent performer on guitar & bass and a singer of solid capacity, Chloe is perhaps at her best when it comes to resolving conflicts within the collective. Fulfilling the role of diplomat, Chloe speaks with experience, world-weariness and, amazingly for a front-woman, without ego. As such she’s come to be regarded as a go-to person should an argument or a fight erupt.

Ladies Man Luigi

I've always had a soft spot for Luigi. Whenever I played a Super Mario Bros. game with my brother, I always somehow ended up playing as Luigi (and still do) - a situation that many younger brothers would somehow find familiar...

Anyway, there are plenty more ramblings by other people here on the Internet about Luigi being eternally in the shadow of his brother so here's some thing I've been pondering on: Is Luigi a ladies man?
Much has been theorized about Mario's relationship with Princess Peach - Peach has been kidnapped so much to a point where it doesn't her at all and she seems hardly adequate as a head of state whilst Mario goes through so many dangerous areas in order to rescue her for the rather flimsy promise of cake - but what about Luigi?  He's always being dragged into his brother's quests so how does he feel about this? What does he think of Peach? He may have been established as being of a cowardly nature but that at least suggests he may have some degree of common sense.

I heard that Luigi may have some degree of attraction to Princess Daisy but he's too shy to act upon it. But I'm not buying that - Instead, I like to think that whereas Mario seems willing to play the hero, perhaps to the point of obsession, Luigi is of a more easy going nature and far more interested in enjoying his surroundings than getting into danger.
Sounds like a bizarre scenario yes but somehow I find support for it in this image:

Original image located here. Accessed 4th July 2012

This was the title screen to the NES golfing game NES Open. I remember seeing this as a kid and even it kinda struck me how Luigi looks relaxed and Mario seems intent on striking a pose - the faces of their retrospective female companions - presumably Peach and Daisy - supports this theory. As exemplified here, Luigi seems to appreciate the company of (maybe) Daisy whilst Mario seems uninterested in (maybe) Peach in favor of being heroic and doing heroic things leaving his companion looking shocked/appalled.

Whilst Mario's relationship with Peach may be a subject of speculation, sometimes I wonder about Luigi. Is there something we're not being told? Is he doing things unbeknownst to everyone else when his brother gets all the glory? Is Luigi more a ladies man than Mario?
It's always the quieter one's you gotta watch out for...

I Need a Hero!

Thanks to my new best friend Good Old Games, not only have I've been able to play games I've enjoyed in the past but have discovered some titles that I missed out on previously. One such title was Heroes of Might and Magic 3.

I've a soft spot in my cold jaded heart for Heroes of Might and Magic 2. I played it for hours during my college years and it never got dull once. I never got around to playing it's successor so to finally have it within easy reach is an open invitation to do some exploring of unfamiliar territory. So I handed over the dosh, downloaded the game and then....?

To be honest, I'm not sure.

To begin with, this game is up against some stiff competition: I wasted countless hours on it's predecessor and thus HoMM3 has got to pull off something incredible to grab my attention. Still i was willing to give it a chance and see whether or not it could step out of the shadow of it's older brother.
First there's the graphics: whereas everything previously looked bright and colorful, everything now looks unwelcome and drab. Sure the sprites look well designed and animated but definitely looks a world apart from HoMM2.
And then there's the cities themselves: No longer are there hero-centric castles - now, they're all based on regions. It makes for some variety true but somehow the change is rather puzzling and disarming to say the least - once soldiers in opposition are now working alongside each other which certainly brings up a great big WTF,
The resource system is also puzzling as I'm not entirely clear how much I'm getting and where it's coming from. Thus I have often been left drained and helpless as some git storms in and claims my castles.

Ultimately though, this is the first impressions - There is still the possibility that HoMM3 may win me over yet. And whilst I may have come with from HoMM2 with a 'If it ain't broke don't fix it' perception, that is not going to do me any good - HoMM3 needs to stand on it's own two feet and I really should give it a chance.

So where do we go from here? Stay tuned...