That was the year it was: 2014

And so we reach the end of another year. So what can I say about 2014?

For me 2014 is defined by Elder Scrolls Online. It's the game I spent the most time on this year - although one could argue that the monthly subscription may have had something to do with it. I never thought I would return to MMORPGurs following my falling out with WoW and whilst ESO has never quite generated the same enthusiasm I had for WoW, it is still a lot fun to play and a great way to get together with some friends and have a bash.

Elsewhere, I did knock off more games off my Hall of Shame. And two of which I am particularly proud of beating: Jade Empire and Planescape Torment. Which goes to show that, in my book, RPGs still rule the roost. Also of note is that Jade Empire was a console game, thus proving that I haven't abandoned that field completely.

And speaking of consoles, the eighth generation has yet to make it's move. Nothing has reared it's head to pique my interest and pull me away from my PC. And considering that my PC is based largely around Steam and heavily modified PC games, that's a very tall order. Still, this generation has only begun and it would be interesting to see what happens next....

And with that, this is the end of Game Tumour for 2014. Okay so I may not have had much to talk about this year but I have no intention of abandoning this blog yet.
So thank you to everyone who has visited this blog over the past twelve months - and I look forward to speaking to you all again in 2015.

R.I.P. Ralph Baer

Today I was saddened by the news that Ralph Baer had passed away at the age of 92.

Who was Ralph Baer you may ask? He is largely credited as being the inventor of the game console, having worked on the first gaming console the Magnavox Odyessy. And at the time his passing, he had 150 patents in his name.

It's a funny thing with the gaming industry: We don't really recognize the efforts of the pioneers that came before us. Indeed, many of them are in their twilight years yet when one passes on, it usually goes unnoticed. Which is a shame as these were real people, like you and me, and they put in a lot of hard effort into the gaming industry and bring us where we are today. And that surely is worth more than some lines of text in some newspaper obituary column.

Still, you can't deny with the efforts of Ralph Baer, we wouldn't be using the gaming consoles as we know them - and gaming today would be a much different place.

And for that, Mr. Baer, I salute you

Fade to Black

Last weekend was the infamous 'Black Friday', where Steam enjoys it's biggest sale of the year. I'm not sure why it's called Black Friday or why that particular weekend is such a big deal but no matter: Any sale on Steam is as good as the next one.

Strangely I didn't buy a lot: I did buy Long Live the Queen (largely due to the hilarious trailer that promoted it) and Mysterious Cities of Gold Secret Paths (because if you were a kid who grew up in the eighties you watched the show that inspired it).

I did buy the Steam version of Elder Scrolls Online as well - that may seem pointless seeing as I already have it but it's nice having a game linked to your Steam account.

Not so super

Last weekend I was presented with an opportunity to play Superman 64 - a game infamous for being one of, if not THE, worst game ever made.

I tried it and.... yeah it was pretty crummy.

Why, I'm pretty sure Superman's ability to fly has never been THAT awkward.....

The Lost Art of the Box Art (no.4)

And here we go again with another look at some stellar box art - even as the form disappears further and further into obsolescence.

Does anyone remember a game called Schizm? No? Neither do I. But what does it matter when the box art that accompanied it was this:

Original image located here. Accessed 28th November 2014

Truly an ominous setting if ever there was one.

And yeah that's all I got. I may have never played the game but I will always remember this artwork.
And that pretty much says it all really.

Patched up

Another week, another huge update required for ESO.

I swear, I've spent more time waiting for this game to update than actually playing it....

Cracking some heads

Hitting the ...er.... elf on the head:

The Lost Art of the Box Art (no.3)

And here we go again with this serial, celebrating games with awesome box art.
For today, let's head into the vault and dust off a classic: The Chaos Engine!
I've talked about this game before. Some of you may remember it from the glory days of the 16-bit era with it appearing on the Amiga, SNES and Megadrive and some of you may have encountered it through the recent re-release on Steam.
Whilst this games merits may be questionable (the tough difficulty being one), it takes one look at the box art to see that this game has, to the newcomer, some potential:

Original image located here. Accessed 21st November 2014

One would think, from this artwork that The Chaos Engine is a character-based game. And they are correct: The whole point of the Chaos Engine is to build a party of two mercenaries from a team of six and shoot stuff.
And as the characters are the driving force of the game, it is therefore no surprise that they take center stage: There is no indication what kind of game this is; there's only the vaguest idea of it's steampunk origins; the connection to the title is only left up to imagination and presence of the legendary Bitmap Brothers is used as a selling point.
And somehow it works! Based on their portraits alone, these characters have plenty of personality. True none of them may speak and each of them only have a slither of a background but it is telling that twenty years on and I still remember the names of each of them - Navvie, Thug, Mercenary, Brigand, Gentleman and Preacher. And that says a lot in these times when games are populated with named characters with their own dialogue and story arcs.

Perhaps there is something to be said for characters with adjectives for names?

One common criticism of the Chaos Engine is that there is a compelling setup behind the game that sadly isn't utilized at all. And despite my championing of this game, I feel compelled to agree. I do indeed feel it a complete waste that these characters offer a lot of personality and none of which is capitalized upon. If anything this game may make for a compelling remake in an age where scripts and fully-voiced dialogue are increasingly commonplace.

Still, the game promised six Hard-Nailed Mercenaries and, in a way, it delivered. So I can't argue with that

Losing the Bennelong Point

Hang on, when did we arrive in Sydney?!

Come on in....

Foreboding much?

The Lost Art of the Box Art (no.2)

And here we go again with this serial, celebrating box art of gaming history.
 Today I want to talk about a game some of you may know. A game from the PlayStation 1 era simply known as D.
Now that may sound like a dumb title for a game but all laughter ceases once one takes a look at the box art:

Talk about ominous. The single letter title is large and in red. And it's encircling the bottom half a of a tear-stricken face.
You know, I think this might be a horror game.

Seriously: I never played this game but even seeing this box art in the store I could tell this game's intent from a mile away. 
However what makes this game interesting to me is that this is an age of digital distribution and gaming stories are losing ground to online services - and at the same time, the horror genre is enjoying widespread success. D may have looked down right shocking in it's day staring from the shelves next to it's brightly colored contemporaries but now it looks quaint next to genuine shockers like Amnesia and Five Nights at Freddy's.
Maybe that's why the horror genre has taken off with online distribution: Seeing a box art like the one above wouldn't have worked in the stores as it may scare off potential customers. But online distribution, conversely, presents the notion that anything can be found - even that which lurks within the deepest darkest corners....

Bottom of the Barrel (no.5): Wild Pilot

It's been a while since I last did one of these so here we go:

Does anyone remember an arcade game called Wild Pilot?
I do. And I hated it.

First a description: Wild Pilot was one of the shooter arcade game where the player controlled a cross-hairs and shot things. Wild Pilot's gimmick was that the players were situated in an airplane the targets were all forms of aircraft. And the ultimate goal for each area was to hunt down some criminal, also in an airplane, and bring them down to claim a bounty.

However, what annoyed me about this game was the airplane the players were using was a World War 1 Biplane.
Yes you heard me: A biplane.

This annoyed me on two levels: Firstly, I was confused by why the PCs were using a biplane. Didn't they have enough money? Is that why the PCs were resorting to bounty hunting - because they really needed the money?
And secondly, the odds here are just absurd:
Your foes range from Harrier Jump-jets, Helicopter Gunships and F15's. You have a biplane.
Your foes have the best military aircraft hardware. You have a flying crate.
Your foes have the best weaponry they can find. You have something that will be shot out of the sky in mere minutes.

Granted I'm just irate that I was never any good at this game - I would rather shoot the target then the aircraft in front of it (because that was the aim of the game right?) - but looking back years later, this is not a game that has aged well. Never mind the near impossible odds, the visuals don't look that crash hot either. 

True this game may have it's fans but I'm not one of them.
Dammit, just talking about this game makes me angry.
Just look at this video and draw your own conclusions (dig that crazy scaling!):

Original video located here. Accessed 12th November 2014

Megaton of fun

Recently I saw Duke Nukem 3d: Megaton edition on sale on Steam. needless to say I snapped it up quick.

I did play Duke 3D during my high school years but I never really completed it. I did attempt it recently via the XBLA edition but I found some bugs that prevented me from going all the way.
But I have the Megaton edition, along with the bonus of the expansions, so this will no longer be a problem

Mind you I do refer to this recent purchase as the MegaTRON edition well, because it makes me laugh

The Lost Art of the Box Art (no.1)

As we move further and further into the digital age, it's becoming clear that game box art is becoming obsolete. Why buy a boxed game when you can easily get the same game online and subsequently save on shelf space?

But no matter: If box art is truly heading on the way out, I thought I might may take the time to pay tribute to this art form and talk about some of my favorites. After all, if the box art catches the eye of the potential buyer and convinces them to hand over their cash then the box art must've done something right.

So, to kickstart this series of posts, let's start with classic: May I present, all the way from the eighties, the box art to the Intellivision port of Donkey Kong!

One thing that looks hilarious with the passage of time is to see the box art to console games from the eighties: The box art is really putting an effort to make the game look exciting and inspiring the imagination. And so they had to: When your game is of limited shapes and sprites, one had to somehow sell their game and convince any newcomer to make a purchase. Indeed, one can only imagine the disappointment and frustration to see an exciting box art bear little resemblance to the game inside.
So with that in mind, let's take a look at the box art to the Intellivision port of Donkey Kong:

 I like this box art for two reasons. The first, and most obvious, being this box art is hilariously misleading. For starters, Mario has become muscular and ditched his cap to reveal a mullet haircut (!!!). And the setting has some how transformed into some weird landscape that would do MC Escher proud. But at the same time, Pauline is looking more desperate and Donkey Kong is looking more monstrous.
And the second reason why I like this artwork? It's misleading nature actually works! This game looks far more epic and desperate then the actual game itself! This in turn yields an angle that was never in anyway associated with the original game. Forget all the cute and cartoony charm of the original: Your girlfriend is looking desperate being imprisoned by a true monster!

And hey, the situation must be desperate if Mario is relying on (what appears to be) Mjolnir....

Calling in the Cavalry

Sometimes you have to work for a witty screencap and sometimes they just fall into your lap:

Feeling lucky punk?!

Touch Me I'm Sick

Some people just can't help themselves:

This is not Halloween

It's Halloween and do you know what that means? Aside from many little girls dressing up as Anna and Elsa from Frozen?
That's right: it's the beginning of winter! But This is meaningless to me as I live in Australia and am currently in the middle of Spring. Still, at time of writing, the weather has been schizophrenic to say the least.

Anywho, I was in my local EB games recently and noticed, in amongst the PC games, a whole rack of unsold Angry Birds Star Wars games.
I suppose that's what you get for selling out.

But, to save this post from being a exercise in complete cynicism, hopefully the recent publisher deal LucasArts have with GoG will make people realize there are more substantial Star Wars games available and within easy reach.

A New Hope

Well it happened: The new publisher that GoG has been teasing turned out to be LucasArts.

I was doubtful of this but it would appear any doubts are confounded. I don't know what kind of deal the GoG legal team did with Disney but it would seem they (the legal team) aren't being paid enough.

Not much else I can say except: Bring on TIE Fighter!

Counting down to...something

This weekend, GoG placed a countdown detonating how long until a new publisher is unleashed.

Who could it be? A likely candidate would be LucasArts but I'm not sure about that. As we all know, LucasArts are now owned by Disney - a company who is notorious for holding onto their IP with an iron grip. Thus it does seem something of a stretch that Disney would pay attention to a small company operating out of Poland.
Still, GoG's legal team have preformed miracles in the past so perhaps it would be wise not to to doubt them just yet.

I guess we'll all have to wait and find out...

Dead Eyes Open

Its Halloween next weeks so, in anticipation for this annual event, here's some nightmare fuel for you:

Stiff poses? Blank expressions? Opaque eyes? I look at this and I'm half expecting to start hearing an slow / off-key version of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Seriously is this game a rhythm game or a horror? If this artwork is anything to go by I really can't tell.

Highway to Hell

Not much to say for today so here's something I found awesome (where did Frank Klepacki get that guitar?!):

Original video located here. Accessed 22nd October 2014

War was declared but nobody showed

Recently I saw Crusader Kings 2 for sale on Steam. I was aware of this game - however that was largely through the mod available that transforms the game into a replica of Game of Thrones. No matter: That reason alone would be enough to fork over ten bucks for it - the fact that it was on sale was another damn good reason.

Make no mistake: I love me some strategy games - but at the same time I find them a daunting beast. A lot of strategy games have this complexity to them that can come across as intimidating. Yes there is a lot to the game that is just waiting to be unlocked by the player and yes they are the type of game that can ensnare hours of willing investment from the player - but it is not readily apparent. I find that strategy games can very unfriendly to the newcomer and the player is required to embrace the game on the game's own terms - even if such an undertaking is, more often than not, an uphill struggle.
I recall playing Civ 2 a LOT back in the day and being pretty good at it. Thing is, I can't recall how I got where I did: I can't recall when I found out one crucial piece of information that changed the game completely and made me rejig my playing style. True a lot of my information on Civ 2 came from playing Civ 1 but how I obtained that knowledge has been lost to me.

Thus to come across strategy games like Crusder Kings 2 and even Rome Total War, is to face a completely new challenge. A new challenge of unlocking a game that could be worth my time and effort but only after I get on top of it when it's beating me down into submission. The mechanics are waiting there to be utilized but only when I get into the swing of things. My foes aren't unbeatable but they still need to be crushed effectively. So to confront a new strategy game is to learn how the game works (in a genre not known for newcomer friendliness) and to build a new playing style to fit - it's pretty much building the wheel all over again.

Still I am interested in continuing with Rome Total War and Crusader Kings 2 - indeed there is something satisfying about facing down a beast and taming it.
Plus there's the Game of Thrones mod - how can one refuse? (I  fro one am interested to see what will happen if I send Joffrey to The Wall...)

Believe it or Not, I'm Walking on Air

Because glitches in MMORPGur's never cease to be amusing, here's one for my last session in ESO.

What are you doing up there?:

Horsin' Around

Recently I obtained a horse for my character in Elder Scrolls Online. It was, of course, the Palomino that is available for purchase - because there is no way, with ESO's insane economy, that I was going to all the trouble to save up so many thousands of gold coins to purchase one of in the game steeds.

Anywho, I do like the idea of naming one's steed as it adds to a personalization of the player character. Unfortunately, as anyone who knows me will tell yo,, I'm not very good at coming up with names.
So what did I call my steed for my elf Darthrain?

Kevin

Got Your Back

Sometimes, the perfect placement for a screencap just falls right into your lap.

I got your back!:

In need of some class

Yesterday I was talking with a friend who asked me what type of gamer I was. Because, according to her, there are three types of gamer. There's those who play retro games, there's those who mod the hell out of the games they play and there's those who buy up everything new (bling bling).

I wasn't aware that such classification existed but I don't really seem the need to. Really there is only one qualification to be a gamer and that is: you play computer and console games. Doesn't matter if the games in question are on tablet or from twenty years ago - you play games and that's it.

What is the need for such classification? Is it to introduce snobbery and a hierarchy within gamers? Such a thought pattern is bizarre considering that gaming has in recent years become more inclusive - it has become something anyone can do and not just the computer geeks. This is indeed a far cry from the original 'gamer' that spawned from the 1980s. Thus having 'gamer types' seems a far more regressive step.

And really the gamer types descried above don't make a lot of sense: I play a lot of retro games yes but at the same time, I'm very interested in modded games. So with a foot in two camps what does that make me? A freak?
Furthermore what defines a retro gamer anyway? Is someone who plays PS2 and (original) Xbox games a retro gamer? Does this also mean that someone playing the games from now in 2034 would be a retro gamer?

Really there is no point to these gamer types. As stated above, a gamer is really defiend by someone who plays games. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Thus, the guy who spends thousands of dollars on a top-of-the-line gaming PC is no more a gamer than the guy who plays games on his iPhone.  Similarly, the woman who plays games because her boyfriend does is no less a gamer than the guy who invests many hours in hunting down that one XBLA achievement.

Red Alert indeed

This week I've tried to play Command and Conquer Red Alerts 2 on three separate occasions - only to have the damn game crash every time.

I'm not sure why this is so - but a likely guess would be EA drones being displeased that I'm playing a game that isn't one of their latest.

Blocked up

Recently news has emerged that a new movie based on a game will be emerging. And the lucky candidate will be the immortal calssic....

....Tetris.

It's an odd choice to be sure but how one earth can you make a movie out of Tetris?
I personally believe the only way you can do this would be to focus on the bizarre legal story that plagued Alexey Pajitnov in distributing the game. And that story has enough potency to make a fascinating movie.
But no, my opinion doesn't matter as I am a lowly blogger and nowhere near the Hollywood system. Still, if the Tetris movie does turn out that way, I will pay to see it (your move movie makers!)

This Looks Like a Job For Superman!

So a new Batman game is on the way for the eighth console generation so now would be a good time as any to talk about DC’s greatest hero – that’s right, Superman.

Superman may be the greatest of all superheroes and the wellspring that all others have come from but such a distinction can’t stop him from having crummy games. And it’s not just the notorious Superman 64 - the Superman brand has, throughout gaming history, has lent itself to flops like the Arcade game and the 2600 game.  And somehow the alleged Superman Curse seems no longer confined to actors.

Is it possible to make a Superman that’s actually any good? Well the first problem would be to overcome the inescapable truth that Superman is the embodiment of the invulnerable power fantasy. And invulnerability is a very hard thing to do in a medium where a player finds himself up against legions of obstacles all of which are life threatening. So how does one make a game around a character that is practically bullet-proof AND not make it boring?

One possible solution would be focus on one of Superman’s characteristics – that being the power of flight. Who wouldn’t want to be placed in a Sandbox environment and be given the ability to take off and fly with ease (or at least without the necessity of hijacking a helicopter)? I mean if Nights Into Dreams can prove that a game can be made around a flight mechanic then there’s no reason why a Superman game couldn’t work. Why, I’ve played the Commander Keen games with the jump cheat on (so sue me) and somehow I could easily imagine that working as a Superman game.

But making a game around a character who is bullet-proof is only half the problem – Superman is the ultimate good guy and doing everything to everyone may not appeal to the modern gamer. True being the good guy is never easy but it can work given a suitable risk/reward system: if the player, say, faces the task of rescuing people from a collapsing building caused by a bad guy, there lies a challenge of rescuing the people. If the player manages to rescue all of them, they will be rewarded but if one or all the people die they will be penalized. And such penalties could come in the form of populace reaction: If Superman does a bad thing the people of Metropolis will distrust him and will react accordingly. This in turns will inspire the player to try and work their way back in Metropolis’ graces. It may not be an easy undertaking but, given the right amount of reward, it may work (and hey, who can’t deny the appeal of being Superman and shifting heavy objects?).

But the ultimate question is whether or not anyone wants a Superman game. Which brings me back to Batman: In recent years Batman has been blessed with games and movies that have ultra-successful whilst Superman has had to contend with his once glorious name becoming toxic with the afore-mentioned Superman 64 and the polarizing Man of Steel. And thus who in turn, has the largest command of the nerd cash? Hint: Not Kal-El.

That is something I’ve noticed: The people who love Batman hate Superman with just as much vigor. Indeed, I heard that the recent Arkham games were made by people who loved Batman and wanted to do the best job possible. While such dedication is admirable I can’t help but picture Rocksteady being full of people who would fall over themselves to make Batman game but would be anything but enthusiastic to make a Superman game. It is also somewhat telling that the only way it would seem to save the Superman movie franchise is to do a crossover with Batman.  Yep, the only way to save your franchise is to get in someone else to do it for you.

I can see a Superman working providing the right amount of thought is put into it and is made by people both passionate about Superman and committed to doing the best job possible. The only problem is whether or not the appropriate numbers can be generated from those people who are far more enamored of Batman. 
And as a parting shot consider this: We may all laugh at movie producer Jon Peters and his complete misunderstanding of Superman but somehow I can’t help but think Mr. Peters has become something of an avatar for those who aggressively place Batman on pedestal whilst denouncing Superman.

The Saints Are Coming

I've never played any of the Saints Row games but hearing this has inspired me to hunt down no.2:

Original video located here. Accessed 1st October 2014

Too Tense

Not much to say for today so here's an amusing screencap from one of my recent escapades in ESO:

If I had a heart I could love you

So I visited my battle.net account on a whim and what should I find but one of Blizzard's earlier games, The Lost Vikings, being given away as a free download.

I remember the Lost Vikings from 1993-94. It was something of a big deal as everyone played and talked it up a lot. I (eventually) got around to playing it and was won over the game's charm, sense of humor and baffling puzzles. I never did quite complete the game but hey - at least having the game now within easy reach will remedy such a problem.

Looking back at this game twenty years later, I'm surprised just how well it still holds up: The graphics still look great and the humor still inspires more than a few chuckles. Indeed, with hindsight it is funny to see this game from a humble company that would eventually provide the monstrous behemoth that is World of Warcraft.

Funny how things turn out, eh?

Nothing worth talking about

Lets harp on about Quiet some more.
Sure her dress sense may be anything but practical but I find it funny in that she looks very much like characters I was drawing when I was in high school. Is Hideo Kojima constantly driving past my past in thought-reading surveillance van? But what happened to me is that in the years since high school I've grown out of the mindset of a teenager - unlike, it seems, the makers of Metal Gear Solid 5.
I do hope that Hideo Kojima may have something up his sleeve for Quiet (as he seems to claim) but  the more interviews I read, the more Hideo Kojima comes across as being incoherent.

Still I have to give Quiet credit: The game she's in has yet to released and already she's inspiring cosplayers. So she must be doing something right.

Roam Around the World!

Recently I've been having a crack at Rome: Total War.

Funny story: I purchased this game back in 2006 but it is only now that I've been actually playing it. Why the change of heart? Well I found out that if you enter retail codes of certain games into Steam, the games will recognized and added to your Steam account. And for a game a decade old (at time of writing) it is reassuring to know that Steam will make it work - as opposed to hunting down some patch.

Whilst not my first time playing Rome Total War, this is the first time I've tackled the Imperial Campaign. And I have found that this is the first time in a long time that I've been completely absorbed in a game - even to a point where I've lost track of time completely. Clearly I must be playing something good.
And the campaign itself (Julii) is a challenging one. I've made three attempts at it and each one has been different from the last. There have been unexpected developments and times when I have been going well only to have everything fall in spectacular fashion.

Needless to say, this is one game I shall be playing more of in future. Watch this space!

Enjoy the Silence

I've got nothing better to talk about for today so lets talk Metal Gear Solid.
Whilst I resent the presence of the Metal Gear Solid sequels, this is a series close to my heart and one I make an effort to keep tabs on.
So lets talk about The Quiet: She appeared in the trailer of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5 and has been creating a stir ever since.

Personally, as a writer who enjoys creating characters and seeing how they interact with each other, I like the idea of a mute sniper. As as my understanding, the role of a military sniper is one that is vital, dangerous and psychologically demanding - therefore a silent sniper has indeed potential. They can't express their thoughts about what they do or the people they kill so they just sack up and do their job regardless. And being unable to interact with their comrades creates a detachment from them - much like that of a military sniper itself.
And as the saying goes, constrictions inspire creativity (or words to that effect). A silent character then must rely on facial expressions and hand gestures to establish what they're thinking. And it would be a change for an NPC to be a silent character for a change.

But as for The Quiet's outfit, My God... Granted what I've typed in the last paragraph may sound like it has potential but somehow it is undone by the Quiet's odd taste for clothes. Would anyone in a war zone wear that - and in a desert?! Okay so maybe I'm treading ground that has been covered elsewhere but somehow the character designer could've done a lot better than this.

It would've been nice to have a design that reflected the character's occupation as a sniper and allow her expressions and actions to develop The Quiet as a character. But instead her character design seems more a desperate grab for attention.

All of this however is all speculative: The game itself has yet to be released. Granted it will be nice to see MGS5 defy the preemptive criticism and actually prove them all wrong by delivering a character of actual substance but what ate the chances of that happening?

Don't you love you any more?!

Following on from an earlier post, there is something I find strange about my attempt to uninstall Gothic 3- only to have it fail for some reason.
One can only imagine how this is.
Is the game really offended that I want to remove it?
Is the game annoyed that I want to remove it when it's no longer available on GoG?
Is the game insistant that I play it that it refuses to budge?
Or is it crying in corner burbling the words "I thought you loved me...."

Rise of the Goths

I recently obtained Gothic 2+3 from GoG - somehow having them both removed from the catalog for good seemed a good enough reason to grab them both.
However Gothic 3 has been giving me some headaches: Okay so there were some flaws on release? Well I'm all for modding so I don't mind hunting down some mods to fix this.
Okay so now there's some more quests? Well I'm fine with that.
And now there's some additional content? Well I'm willing to wade through some German to get there so why not?
And there's an increase for screen resolution? Well i have recently increased my RAM so hell yeah!

Oh wait the game doesn't work now. Damn. And after all the effort of finding and downloading these mods!

And and now I can't uninstall the original game?! FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

Cursed

Earlier this week, I managed to get the classic Pool of Radiance working again. I dug up my old save game from 2009 and reacquainted myself with the party I used for countless hours. Having spent so much time with these guys I certainly had a sense of attachment to them and it;s been fun seeing them progress.
That progression however won't be going any further: try as I might, I can not make Curse of the Azure Bonds work in Dos-Box. It is indeed frustrating but nothing i can do can make the game work. So I need to type out some complex commands? Pardon me but isn't that the reason why we originally abandoned DOS?

This is not the first time Curse of the Azure Bonds has failed me. When I played it on the Commodore 64, I kept getting stuck in the Fire Knives guild. When I revisited the game in 2009, I made significant progress before a software failure put an end to that. And now, the game has let me down again, meaning I am unable to see my party progress and see how they go facing tougher monsters.

How fitting it is then that I should such problems with a game that has the word 'Curse' in it's title.

Mech it so

I recently had another go at Mechwarrior 2 - only to be reminded of why I haven't played it in a long while: The graphics look bloody horrible!

True I've said in the past that it's the gameplay that makes the game, not the visuals or the sounds but at the same time I've also said that the more a game tries to look as what the time deemed as 'cutting edge' the more swiftly it will date. And that certainly is the case here.

I wonder who has the rights to the Mechwarrior series. Perhaps it is time to dust it off and give it the HD remaster that it so richly deserves? I mean if the likes of Shaq Fu and Night Trap can get a crowd-funded remaster then there's no excuse why classic games should be outdone by turkeys...

Why don't you come join my party!

Here's something I've been pondering on recently: At what point did RPGs drop the player being in sole control of a party of adventurers?

Granted I can understand that RPGs are designed to be purely played through the eyes of a singular character and people would rather prefer an investment (both time and emotional) into one character rather than having such an investment spread across multiple characters. But I do miss the days when you can create a bunch of characters and take them across a journey spanning many, many hours of game time.
It's just like being a father guiding one's children: You create characters, you stay with them through thick and thin, you get worried when they get knocked out, you grind your teeth when there's this one guy who can't hit a barn door (there's always one) and you cheer when your dudes complete the game triumphant. They are six guys you created who each need care and attention to get anywhere and it;s your job to get them there.

I can't think of when the idea was dropped. Baldurs Gate may be last game I can think of that employed the traditional D&D six man party and even that had a structure that required participation from NPCs - well you could create a complete six man party but only one will be required to carry the narrative all the way through.
And whilst there have been party-based games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age and the Final Fantasy games they don;t really count because you have a selection of party members available - if you don't like someone you can not choose to use them. Its not the worse idea but there's something satisfying about having a character start out useless only to eventually turn out awesome.

Considering the processing power of gaming machines these days it does raise the question of whether this idea will be revisited. Both MMPORGers and Divinity Original Sin has proven that RPGs can work with multiplayer and people will eagerly embrace such an idea.
Besides, who wouldn't want to create multiple characters and go with them on every step through an incredible journey?

The Doctor is In!

Seeing as Dr Who has been a big deal for the past ten years here's something from the classic era!:

Original video located here. Accessed 5th September 2014

This is Dalek Attack - a game that appeared on home computers in the early nineties. I never got to play it as I, much like a lot of games in that period, could only admire it from afar.
Watching this video it's hilarious though to see the Doctor implemented into an action game. The Doctor is, after all, a character who would rather use his wits than a weapon to solve a problem. So what do we have here? The Doctor is throwing grenades and shooting Daleks & Orgrons - and with the sonic screwdriver at that!
Still I do like the idea of the player being able to select one of the (at the time) seven incarnations of the doctor to use as a PC. Whilst I have little hope for future Dr Who games in the near future, I do hope that this idea is taken into consideration. Who wouldn't want to charge into the action as Jon Pertwee? 

Loops Horrific

Recently I've seen the footage of the new Silent hill game that has been floating around.

I suppose this is the next step in the evolution of the Horror genre of gaming. Whereas horror games have relied upon building the horror by sowing seeds of doubt within the player's mind, the new Silent Hill game expands upon this by forcing the player through a loop with small changes added with each run through and thus creating a sense of unease within the player that only increases.

But if this is the next evolution in horror games I wonder how long it would be before there's a horror game that builds up the tension but presents no pay-off. I can see it now: The player is placed in a situation where it's made clear that something horrible is going to happen but as they end up dreading what's around the corner nothing happens. As such the player is slowly going crazy trying to find something that ultimately won't arrive.

And like they say, it's what you don't see that's more terrifying....

Not as forgotten as we thought

I've heard that, in the wake of the success of the Baldurs Gate Enhanced Edition games, another game from the Forgotten Realms will be given the same treatment.

Now when I hear the words 'Forgotten Realms' I immediately think of the Gold Box - the RPG series that appeared on 8-bit and 16-bit computers in the late eighties and early nineties that pioneered D&D for the home computer. Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades, Hillsfar, Pools of Darkness - all associated with the Gold Box and very fondly looked upon by veteran gamers such as myself.
So could this be? Has someone decided that a revamp of Pool of Radiance and it's successors was in order? Did someone revamp these games so modern gamers can experience what their older comrades did years earlier? Does mean I play through this massive saga of games with the same party and complete it this time?

Oh wait, the game in question is Icewind Dale.
Oh well, never mind then.

Rise of the Guardians

Another game has been struck from my Hall of Shame: Guardian Heroes!

It's difficult to call this one completed: I may have unlocked five of the seven endings but I've unlocked all the characters so that's close enough.

So what can I say about this game that I haven't before? Well it's interesting to see this game from the perspective of time. I didn't play this game during the Saturn era and I am only playing this game for the first time and from a modern perspective.
And the game is a lot of fun: I did enjoy brawlers back in the day and I enjoyed the art style, multiple planes, and story mode. Of particular note is how Guardian Heroes does a lot of things differently with the brawler genre that one can only wonder why it hadn't been thought of before - or how you, the player ever got by without such changes.
Okay so some of the boss fights were annoying with them laying the smackdown without giving me a chance to fight back - but it is an amusing thought to think that whilst I'm spamming attacks, the guy on the other side of the TV screen is doing the exact same thing.

Also of note is how this game's DNA has been utilized with games that have come since. I see the gorgeous anime-style artwork (which still holds up really well today mind you) and I think of the similar art style in Guilty Gear. I see the then innovative use of branching paths and RPG elements and I think of Castle Crashers (I wonder of the makers of Castle Crashers made their game based on the annoyance of not having Guardian Heroes readily available?).

All in all, Guardian heroes was a lot of fun and I sincerely hope Sega take notice to a point where they make more games from their catalog readily available.

Dragon Aged

A new Dragon Age game is on the horizon but I'm not exactly thrilled. This may be a far cry from previous posts on this blog when I was excited about Origins and no.2 but I am older, wiser and wary of EA's handling of Bioware's IP.

The string of announcements that have come about Dragon Age Inquisition seems that somewhat desperate, as if someone looked at bigger games and are trying to replicate their successes. An open world with detailed environments - because Skyrim wasn't enough. And now it has multiplayer - even though Divine Divinity Original Sin proved how it could be done within an RPG environment.

These changes do not sit well for me: With these changes to Dragon Age will there be anything left of the original game? Because I felt Origins did indeed have a personality and identity of it's own - therefore this radical changes that are being promised seem more like a dilution - it makes me wonder what will be left of that original identity when the next game comes around.

Still at least Dragon Age Inquisition makes a a welcome return to the subtitle....

Heroes of a new world

Recently I've been playing a lot of Guardian Heroes.

This is one of the many games that was ported to the XBLA from the Sega Saturn. It is my belief that buying such games will prompt more conversions of some of the other lost gems that were on the Saturn - a misguided belief to be sure but you never know...
What is particularly impressive that this is a conversion that actually enhances the original: Aside from the inevitable graphical update and the inclusion of achievements, the game keeps track of the branching paths that have already been visited, cutscenes are skippable, there's a better translation and the Versus multiplayer has been increased from six to twelve. Truly a shining example of how to make a game from the mid-nineties and making it better whilst staying true to the original (it makes one wonder how numerous other such games got it so wrong).

As for the game itself, this is one game I've come into completely blind - The only thing I knew was that was a Saturn game and one of the best games on the system (and considering the amount of trash that was on the system that's saying a lot). What I wasn't expecting was to seeing some superb anime-esque art - much of which still looks great eighteen years later. Nor was I expecting to a real entertaining brawler with RPG elements and branching paths - granted this is a common sight for brawlers today (Castle Crashers anyone?) but to see it being down in a game from 1996 was a revelation indeed. 

Not much else I can say except that has, so far, been something of a surprise package. I can't say that I'm one to go into a game completely in the dark but in this time I think it has paid off. How fitting it is then that finding a diamond in the rough should be a Saturn game.

How Divine

The recently released Divine Divinity: Original Sin is a game that intrigues me - chiefly because it is an RPG that actually accommodates for two players.

As any RPG connoisseur will tell you, RPGs are strictly a one player genre - it's hard to incorporate a second player when it is one player who builds a character and takes them all the way through the game, killing dudes and making vital decisions. How do you fit in a second player? Granted there have some attempts that have a second player but they are just confined to going along with whatever the first player does. And whilst that may work in some places it is dull in others. It may work from a narrative perspective (Final Fantasy X anyone?) but it must fell restrictive to play an RPG, a genre known for making decisions count, and not have a say in how things go.

Original Sin solves this problem in a clever way: It would seem that the narrative is shared between two players - when they have to make a decision the players are allowed to argue about it before coming to a conclusion through a minigame. That's actually really clever and proof that an RPG can work for two. Throw in the usual RPG conventions of killing monsters for loot and experience - only this time with someone else to back you up - and you have proof that an RPG can work for two. So much so, you wonder why no one's tried it before.

Now if only I had a cool forty bucks lying around....

Kick Start This

Lets talk Kickstarter: It seems that anyone can resurrect a long-forgotten franchise and give it a new lease of life through the backing of an enthusiastic audience. It seems that if anyone can update abominations like Shaq-Fu and Night Trap, then it seems anything is possible.

So why isn't there a kickstarter for Panzer Dragoon Saga?

True Sega are known for hanging onto their trademarks like any other company, true Panzer Dragoon Saga was a poor seller and true it was on a system that crashed and burned in spectacular fashion, but why not? If we are so intent on preserving games for future generations then this may be the way to go. Furthermore, one can;t deny that "the rarest and most valuable game of all time!" would make a decent selling pitch.
Come on, if there is a audience for Shaq-Fu and Night Trap then we can at least Kick-Start a resurrection of something...you know...good

Honour Among Thieves

I recently saw the trailer to the new Tomb Raider game (Rise of) and I still have no idea what the people behind the game are going to do with this game. Did they realize that having Lara constantly have the shit kicked out of her doesn't really present any long term franchise plans? Also, somehow the image of having Lara visiting a psychiatrist seems to be leaning on a parody direction.

And in addition, I see the trailer and, somehow, this comes to mind:

In fact why can't Kasumi have her own game?! I'll play the hell out of that!

Do the Evolution

Not much to say but I would like to draw attention to a new page I've created for this blog.
May I present: the Hall of Fame

This function of this new page is to home to a list of games I consider personal favorites.
But this list however is by no means set in stone: With the progression of time and more games being beaten, the list is liable to change and evolve with each passing year.
And for the sake of historical documentation, I will, at certain times, collect the data as it currently stands and preserve it in a new post. This will effectively replace the Hundred Post milestones I've done in the past (and save me coming up with new ides as to what to do for the occasion in future).
Needless to say, it will be interesting to mark a progression of taste with the passing of time.

A Few Good Games

And so, on last night's screening of Good Game, the list of 100 Best Games, as voted by the Australian public was released. And to the surprise of absolutely no one, Skyrim ended up on top. 

Sarcasm aside, two of the three games I voted for made the list (Metal Gear Solid at 52 and Baldur's Gate 2 at 46) so that's not a bad effort.
What is worthy of note though is that, looking at the list, it is dominated by 7th generation and 6th generation games. Granted that may be a product of a large number of gamers younger than me casting their vote but it is kind of interesting that Skyrim comes out on top whilst Super Mario Bros, without question one of the most important games ever made, is relegated to the opposite end of the list.
No doubt about it: Gaming is a platform that is continually advancing at an incredible rate - thus there is something to said about a game having staying power. True Ocarina of Time may exemplify that notion through being at no.3, but many games of the previous generation have been relegated to the first half of the list.
Indeed, one can only wonder if a similar list is done up in thirty years from now - and whether or not Skyrim will still be the king. ......

Fez the Music

And yet another game has been struck down from the Hall of Shame - this time, it is Fez!

The problem with assessing Fez is that one can't really escape the controversy drummed up by the game's creator Phil Fish. Personally, I'm sitting on the fence for this one: I've Seen Indie Game: The Movie and I can't deny the blood, sweat and tears Phil put into his game - but on the other hand, I can't deny that his use of Twitter has...not turned out too well.
Still I think now would be a good time to look at Fez and see if this game can stand up on it's own two feet. And much like Duke Nukem Forever, we should at least appreciate  that this game has seen the light of day after years spent in development hell.

Unlike Duke Nukem Forever, Fez is actually a good game.
I find there is a lot going for this game. I like the mechanic based around rotating the scenery. I like the environments and the moody music.I also enjoyed the retro styling and didn't find it intrusive at all - even to the point I actually found the graphics and sounds had more personality and variety than a lot of Triple-A games. I also really enjoyed the exploration element finding this the type of game one can divert from their original course and go in another direction - exactly the sign one is playing a compelling game.

I thought the ending was a bit weird though. That's the thing with these 'arty' games: They seem to have this need to lay on multiple depths and hidden meanings - as if in the hope that doing so would score big with the critics. But there is a fine line between the player being intrigued and the player being confused & subsequently frustrated.

Nevertheless, Fez is awesome and I hope it manages to have plenty of staying power in the years to come (although the difficulty in finding the anti-cubes may do just that).

Not so Keen

Another game has been cast down from my Hall of Shame - Funny how completing one game inspires you to beat some more.
Anywho, this time it's the Steam release of the Commander Keen Complete pack!

I remember the Commander Keen games when I was a kid - Somehow if you had a PC you had this game (as in at least one of the installments of Invasion of Vorticons). Indeed, I recall being impressed that everyone had this game in one form or another.
It has to be said though that this game has not aged well: I recall the Commander Keen being a big deal because it provided platform action on the PC at a time when the PC was not known for such games - however more importantly, at least for me, was that the game had a sense of personality.
Years later, I see more than a few problems. The difficulty is tough, even to the point where the games commit the ultimate sin of bullshit deaths. Still the games are short and there are plenty of goodies to collect for points and build up many lives - maybe that's why the difficulty is tough but you never know...

Strangely though, I recall enjoying Keen 1-3 but never 4. Maybe there was something about the art direction that I found somewhat hideous. Did I find it glaring when I was used to something more simplistic? Perhaps - but it is funny that whilst I hated the graphics in 4 I did enjoy the similar graphics in Keen Dreams. Work that one out...

And speaking of which, where is Keen Dreams? And Keen 6 (Aliens Ate My Babysitter)? You call yourself a Complete Pack?!

I wanna hold your hand

Some time ago, I wrote a poem about Ico. I liked it enough to do a little video about it:

(all words and original imagery done by me)

Since making this video, it has been submitted to the Good Game Top 100 special.
Don't know if it'll make the show but one can always try...

Sour Grapes

On the weekend, i had the pleasure of striking another game from my Hall of Shame: Simon the Sorcerer 2!

 I have an odd history with the Simon the Sorcerer series: I first became aware of it during the bleak period between the end of the 4th generation and the dawn of the 5th (for me this was 1993-1996). As established before I had an Amiga during this period and found myself with little choice for games - thus leaving me unable to do much bar read the magazines and look lovingly at screenshots of games I could never hope to possess
This is how I became aware of the Simon the Sorcerer. It was a talked up a lot in the gaming press and one particular article revealed a sequel to be in the making. I never knew if this was sequel was eventually completed but apparently it was. And so, I got to play through a game I'd originally heard about twenty years earlier(!).

Unfortunately, as is often the case with sequels, this game seems to be something of a let down. First up Chris Barrie is absent and it is drastically felt - subsequently, Simon has a different voice and less charm. Matter aren't helped with the writing making Simon even more sarcastic than before and thus come across as being more of a complete douche.

Still there is much to admire in the game itself: The jokes are great, the writing is superb and, once again, it is the people that populate the world that makes the game. The backdrops are as gorgeous as ever and the quicker travel method is a welcome change - and one for the better.

But the ending was annoying: A cliffhanger ending? That (eventually) spawned sequels that were pale shadows of the original? And a breaking of the fourth wall that did nothing more than add nightmare fuel? Whoopeee. And considering that games are still doing this - even when there's no guarantee there will be a sequel, you'd think the lesson was already well-learned - but noooo....
Mind you, seeing the credits that followed, I couldn't help but think they came across as being half-arsed in their approach - which in turn adds to the rushed nature of the game's conclusion.

Ultimately, Simon the Sorcerer 2 had it's moments but I've always wondered why it isn't as fondly remembered as it's predecessor. Now however I think I know why...

A Space Big Enough For Any Criminal to Hide In

Lets not beat around the bush: I'm excited for Elite Dangerous and am looking forward to getting my claws on it.

One thing though: It's taken the form of an MMO - meaning I'll be sharing playing space with a whole lot of other players.
What I find particularly interesting about this is based on my experiences with the original Elite: As I recall, the player could build up a criminal record through trading illegal materials (ie slaves and firearms). And at the same time, the player could also make some money through hunting down criminals and claiming a bounty.

So thus lies in the potential for MMO players to engage criminal activities and build up a bounty big enough to gain attention from other players. It sounds like a clever idea to deal with troublemakers that MMOs always attract but then again, if you have a bounty then one would need the biggest, most powerful ship they can acquire (a challenge most people would see as one worth rising up to).

Of course, all this is just speculative so it would be interesting to see how it comes about in the finished product.

Doomed to Obscurity

Here's something I've been pondering on recently: Has anyone actually played Doom 2 all the way through?

The reason why I'm asking is that my experiences with Doom 2, at the height of it's mid-nineties popularity, is that everyone plays the first three levels before jumping straight into the death match. Whilst there was no denying death matches were fun - they are, after all, what sold Doom 1 and 2 - it does raise the question as to whether or not anyone did play the rest of the game all the way through.
Indeed, I played Doom 2 all the way through recently and saw many things that I did not recall originally - some of which I did not recall from my PS1 playthrough. Why is this so? Is there only so many Doom levels one can take before they all start looking the same? Did we all play the game for five seconds before entering in the cheat codes? Did we get sick of the bizarre level design that we resorted to a rage quit? Or did we just use the level skip just to get to that one Wolfenstein level with the Cyberdemon? (seriously, until recently I never knew there were two Wolfenstein levels).

Most likely it was the deathmatches that had such a powerful sway over gamers that it pretty much destroyed the rest of the game - still it wasn't called a revolution for nothing.

Jaded? Me? Never!

Another game has been cast down from my Hall of Shame. Goodbye…..Jade Empire!

It’s no secret that I love me some Bioware RPGs. Yes they all tend to be formulaic but they are compelling enough to see all the way through. And yet Jade Empire frequently comes across as being the lesser known middle child when compared to the likes of Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars KOTOR, Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
When playing this game I did get that impression but not in the way that one would expect. No, I found it the most difficult of Bioware RPGs. Remember how I mentioned previously that the advancements in the fighting styles are fixed and can’t be changed? Meaning that if you pick the wrong one, you’re stuck? Well that, in that sense, makes Jade Empire an unforgiving game: If you can’t progress then you have no choice but to start all over again – As I did.  That being said, I found the only way to success is to a) decide beforehand what styles you’ll use throughout the game, b) invest solely in those styles and c) most crucially of all, not spending all the style advancement points all at once. It prove successful but there were times when one particular style, the Jade Golem, maxed out turned to be a game-breaking one. Indeed, I found a maxed-out jade Golem, along with the focus sight, made the final battle so easy and so short it wasn’t funny.
I’ve never had this kind of problem with Bioware games since. Why even Jade Empire’s predecessor, Star Wars KOTOR, was more lenient. In fact, one common complaint I’ve heard against Jade Empire is that it is a short RPG – but considering the unforgivable nature of the game, perhaps it being short is merciful.

Still, I really enjoyed this game. It is indeed refreshing to pay an RPG set in somewhere that doesn’t resemble medieval Britain and to have the battles based around martial arts. I love the art direction, with the design of the game and a story with a plot twist I honestly didn’t see coming.

So yeah, Jade Empire is a winner in my book. Mind you, considering EA's love for brand recognition, it's kinda odd that a follow-up to Jade Empire has yet to be seen - but then again, perhaps it is best left that way

An Ode to Ico

Something I put together in anticipation for Good Game's greatest game special:

Favorite game? Ico. On the PS2
No joke: you’ve heard exactly what I’ve said
Not for me Portal, Halo and Wow too

No, give me a lad with horns on his head
Who meets a princess in a big fortress
Who can open doors and make black shapes dead

Both doomed to die: A fate to readdress
So an escape Ico and Yorda plan
Hand in hand through the castle they progress

Contending with: puzzles, solved as they can
And bashing, with a wood stick, black shadows
And, worse of all, Yorda’s attention span

Under bloom lightening the game flows
Showing Legend of Zelda how it’s done
Along with a loneliness this game knows

Oh Ico, you poor selling ball of fun
Father of Shadow of the Colossus
Now on the PS3 for everyone
Ico: Who does so much more with so less
Who proudly passes the ‘game as art’ test
And a real tear jerker I must confess

Yes, my favorite game’s Ico. It’s the best!
Mood, emotion: There’s nothing quite like it.
Even though it’s one big long escort quest

Knocked Back Down

Jade Empire update:

Alas my triumph over finally beating the Ravager was short-lived. Several fights later and one chapter later, I was trounced in a fight where not only was I knocked down but was completely trampled over.
Yep, it seems that I, once again, had invested all my skill points into the wrong fighting style.

Geez, this game is unforgiving eh? If you don't have enough points in the right fighting style you're completely fucked! And you can't go back and change it either! Nope, you have to go right back to an earlier point in the game and do it. All. Over. AGAIN!

To be honest though, once I completed the Arena guests, the fights that came afterwards (ie the Lotus Assassins Fortress quest) came across as being a breeze in comparison - a sure sign as ever that if I, the player, am growing complacent, then the rug is mere minutes from being pulled under me.
Still I've played Jade Empire enough that giving up now would come across as being a sign of weakness. I will beat you yet, you smug game....

Gateway to the Ravage Frontier

I've been playing Jade Empire a lot lately. Largely because I hit a brick wall that prompted me to abandon my game and start all over from scratch. It's not the first time such a thing has happened when playing a Bioware game but in this case I abandoned nearly 20 hours of game time.

But all in the name of defeating the Ravager? Totally worth it

We live in a digital world

In recent years, it has become clear that downloading games have increasingly become a standard - Why would you bother with a physical copy when one can legally purchase and download games from many providers like Steam and XBLA?

I however am viewing such a revolution with a degree of caution. My beef is that is increasingly become compulsory: Sure I can buy a game from a store but what I am ultimately purchasing is not the install disc I was after. The actual installation, so it would seem, involves downloading some monstrously huge exe that seems far bigger than the actual disc would hold. So a physical copy is thus no more than an installation code.

I'm not entirely against digital download - far from it. I would gladly pay for a game that is of a small size (ie Limbo's 98.9mb space) as opposed to some leviathan that chews up a large amount of hard drive space and takes forever to download (ie Dragon Age Ultimate's 23+ gig space).

Speaking as a survivor from the 8 and 16 bit eras, I recall there was a sharp divide between Computer and Console gaming. And one of the major advantages for Consoles was it it didn't have to contend with the load times that plagued the Computer camp - instead it provided games instantaneously. This the advent of the CD era struck me as kinda odd as it introduced load times to Consoles and was, to me, a regressive step from the Consoles' draw-card.
The reason I am bring this up is that people have been talking up the instantaneous nature of digital downloading. But for me, instantaneous does not mean spending more time waiting for the download to complete than actually playing the game.

And if I'm spending more time waiting for the game to download than playing it  then something has gone very wrong

Respect Your Elders

Today I returned to Elder Scrolls Online after a long time away - this was largely due to having trouble with the update agent. Thankfully this problem was overcome only for anew one to emerge: Waiting an eternity for the updates to get in step.
Finally they got all done and I was able to resume playing this game...

......only to be killed repeatedly.

I really suck at this game you know?

The British Empire

Recently I made a return to Jade Empire. And it's still a great game :D

One thing though: I had a look at the cast list and noted, much to my surprise, that John Cleese is credited as a voice actor. I was indeed perplexed by this: How, and where, can you fit the unmistakable voice of John Cleese into an Asian themed game?

Original video located here. Accessed 14th July 2014

Oh but of course...

Tower of Power

Whenever I play Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings it never ceases to amaze me just how determined the computer is at wanting to destroy my towers/keeps.

Never mind the Paladins, horse archers, war camels, spear throwing skirmishers, handgunners, crossbowmen, mongonels - gotta destroy that tower!

10 Best Intros of the 5th Generation

And here we are with this blog’s 600th post! Woot!
Well I did promise I’ll do a better job with my 600th post than I did with my 500th post so what do I have in store for today? Well I decided I’d do a follow up on one of my favorite posts in this blog. Remember the best intros of the fourth generation post I did? Well today we’ll be doing the best intros of the fifth generation!

To do a post like this presents a challenge and a half: My previous post lauded intros from the fourth generation largely through their ability establish mood, drama and intent largely through the limitations of the day – and having a particular attachment to that generation helped too. Not so with the fifth generation – with the increase of technology, more restrictions were broken down and the palette the game designers could work from grew bigger. But the removal of restrictions doesn’t always mean an increase in creativity. As such, I often find myself having little to no attachment to the games of fifth generation like I have to the games both before and once.

Nevertheless, a challenge has been set and it’s one worthy to rise up to. So here are my eleven best intros of the fifth generation.


11. Independence War (PC)

Let’s start this list with a game I’ve never actually played – hence it’s lowly positon on this list. It does seem unfair true but somehow I could not go past this intro.
And could I not? It may run for fifteen minutes making it easily the longest on this list but somehow it never feels like a chore to get through. Instead, a lot is established about the game and the universe it is set in. We see multiple planets. We see a conflict being set up. We see a background and history brought forth. We see political intrigue and the desperation with fighting a war. Indeed, I’ll go so far to say that this video does the whole establishing of its own universe so well that it puts a lot of modern games to shame.
Also pleasing is the look of this universe: It has a gritty look to it and some great lighting effects that really go a long way in establishing the mood of the game. This isn’t some gung-ho idealist space opera, this is a war being fought. Its more Babylon 5 than Star Trek and is all the better for it.
Actually, now that I watch this intro, maybe this game should be worth a look…


10. Lunar: Eternal Blue (Sega CD)

Okay so I’m cheating again here seeing as this game was originally released for the Sega CD but it was also released for the PS1 so it still counts!
Anywho, what I particularly like about this intro is the art direction: I ‘m impressed by the anime-esque character designs and the horrific image of a planet being bloodily destroyed by some demonic hands. But what really makes the intro for me is the place that Lucia is wandering through: We see wall carvings describing a story that is appears to be a mixture of both history and mythology. We see wars being fought, demonic beasts wracking destruction and instances of deities providing salvation.
Whilst I’m typing this from a relative newcomer (I’ve played both Silver Star and Eternal Blue but not long enough to complete them or form an idea about the game’s mythology), it is still impressive to see this ruined fortress and how it’s been abandoned by time. Also impressive is how it’s building on what appears to be clearly the game’s own mythology. Again, I haven’t the game enough but seeing this makes me feel inspired to play the game further and find out just what this mythology is. And that’s what a game’s meant to do right? Convince you to play the game it’s attached to? In this case it is a mission well and truly accomplished.

9. Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation)

If we could, for a moment, consider the landscape of gaming in a post-Sega CD world: Full Motion Video games have turned out to be a complete joke with pretentions to offering an experience akin to a movie – but instead presenting appalling acting and little to offer the ‘game’ side of things. CD storage suddenly looks significantly less appealing and the ‘movie experience’ looks best suited to staying with the movies.
That being said, Metal Gear Solid comes across as being a revelation. Finally, we have a game that actually has the look of a genuine movie (as opposed to something shot in someone’s backyard). The voice acting is superb. There are credits for both cast and staff members. And, most importantly, it still requires player participation – a balance that sounds absurd but works like a charm.
Unfortunately, with hindsight, it is sad that future Metal Gear Solid games continued going down the movie path with extended cutscenes that required little to no involvement from the player. But for one glorious moment, it all came together for the first Metal Gear Solid game.

8. Starcraft 2: Brood War (PC)

Whilst I may have shown some contempt for fifth generation graphics, I am somewhat lenient towards the PC crowd. Maybe it’s because I was using one at the time. Or maybe some of the graphics in that area hold up the best. Or maybe PC games have an ‘ageless’ quality to them largely due to the presence of the modding crowd.
But no matter: Let’s talk about this intro. Whilst I found the intro to the original Starcraft dull, this however is more compelling. It begins with the Terran marines fighting a losing battle through the Zerg and then goes onto to introduce two characters who become of key importance in the campaign ahead as well as their intent. So much of this works so well: The rain, the thunder and the mood of hopelessness that radiates throughout the intro. Also of particular note is the music that starts off with some rockin’ guitars, which had already been established as being tied to the Terran campaign in the original game, and then evolving into something operatic, as befit the UED campaign in Brood War. For any newcomer, seeing this intro makes one eager to have a shot at this campaign and find out who Alexei and Gerard are and just what they intend to do. Which is what any good intro should do.


7. Shining Force 3: scenario 1 (Saturn)

Again I’m cheating because this is another game I’ve never played. Yes I’ve played Shining Force 1 and 2 but not 3 – this is instead another game I am relying upon purely on the intro (as well as game footage on YouTube). But what an intro! This is packed to the gills with some great imagery, with the most significant being at the end where two swordsmen face off against each other in a fire-ravaged city as a giant mech approaches. The music is fantastic, certain characters are introduced and a lot is packed into this video to convey that things do indeed happen in the game attached to it. And with the presence of elves, centaurs, winged demons, magic spells, statues that come alive and steampunk this certainly ticks all the boxes for any fantasy aficionado.
Whilst I could’ve done without the inclusion of the sound effects, this is intro, like any intro, is designed to grab the player and to that end it succeeds with flying colors. Could it be enough to hunt down a Saturn, all three installments of Shining Force 3 and learning Japanese to understand all the dialogue? Some people have so one could say that this intro may have done plenty enough.

6. Tekken 2 (PlayStation)

I recall seeing this back in the day and the first thing that sprung to mind was; “I gotta get this game”.
I could end the story right there and then as it would sound very familiar and such a reaction is the exact thing an intro is made to do. The thing is, however, I wasn’t really impressed with the original Tekken (both in the arcade and the PS1 version), but seeing this intro was a key step in convincing me that the PlayStation may be worth a damn.
So what makes this intro so special? Well, compared to it’s predecessor it looks great: The graphics look pretty good, they are devoid of the ‘blocks’ that plagued fifth generation gaming graphics (they look dumb then and still do today). The character designs are superb. And the lightening effects are also a stand out - which astonished me back in the day as I didn’t think that thing would’ve been possible. 
As for the intro itself, we’re introduced to the characters, both old faces and new, and we see enough to establish their character and their role in the game. It may not sound like much but this intro does it so well that I’ve seen similar intros done for other games but they come across a pale imitation. So whatever this intro does, it does it right. 
(and I’ll rather have this intro than the one with Heihachi’s screaming mug any day).

5. Nights Into Dreams (Saturn)

It may be a short intro but within the space of forty-three seconds, the game’s intentions are established with ease. Bright colorful graphics? Check. A mood that is both mischievous and heroic? Check. A setting both over-worldly and grandiose? Check. Visuals that support the claims made in the title? Check. Indeed, I recall seeing this intro in the mid-nineties and I was hooked. So much so, I waited for well over a decade before I downloaded the HD remake of the game on XBLA.
Okay seriously: I’m always impressed by how this intro establishes so much within such a short space of time. Some may say it’s the limitations of the Saturn hardware but I feel this is a holdover from the previous gaming generation where developers had limits as what they could do – and subsequently had to work hard and work smart to navigate around such limits. And this intro shows signs of the developers putting in the same kind of hard effort.
And the fact that this was on the Saturn, a console now notorious for having some failures of games and a mishandled PR campaign, makes such effort worth it’s weight in gold.

4. Ghost in the Shell (Playstation)

I’ve certainly talked up Sega a lot in this post – and even I can’t deny that the fifth generation was not a good time for Sega. So, for the sake of balance, let’s talk about PlayStation.
Let’s not beat around the bush: I love me some Ghost in the Shell. I thought the original movie was great, I found Stand Alone Complex superb so it was somewhat inevitable that I would eventually track down this lost treasure.
Whilst not the sequel that many people longed for it was however a follow up to the movie and, as this intro indicates, it was true to the spirit of both the movie and the original manga. Plus you get to blow shit up as a tachikoma long before Stand Alone Complex came about (clearly the game was ahead of its time).
Without a doubt, the most striking thing about this intro is the quality of animation. One thing I recall distinctly from the mid-nineties is that with the increase in storage space offered by the CD-ROM, many game developers attempted to incorporate animation into their game, in an attempt to replicate Disney or even Don Bluth. This however felt like a game that truly walked the walk. The animation is incredible, easily on par with the movie and certainly exciting to watch. Indeed, whilst I may find the blocky graphics of many PS1 games hard to take seriously this however is a delightful surprise.

3. Soul Edge (PlayStation)

Remember what I said about how every fighting game that has an intro introducing every character is a pale imitation of the one in Tekken 2? Well Soul Edge doesn’t do anything to change that opinion but it has enough clout to stand proudly on it’s own two feet.
So what we have here is one of the most rockin’ intros ever. So where do I start? The theme music kicks arse; the singer, Suzi Kim, sings with a conviction that is entertaining; each and every character gets plenty of screen time and they appear multiple times (which is more that can be said of similar intros to other fighting games). And it is absolutely glorious from start to finish.
Also of note is that this intro holds up really well years later. Yes I’ve been critical of the lasting power of fifth generation graphics but this is one intro I can watch again and again and still find entertaining. Whilst my own experience with the Soul series is with the Soulcalibur 1 and 2 – both of which have a graphical quality that still holds up today - it’s nice to know the progenitor of the series still has something of its own to say and it still works years later.

2. Final Fantasy VII (Playstation)
All right, I admit it: This intro is nothing short of impressive. Yes I’ve been critical of Final Fantasy 7, yes I think FF6 is better, yes I’m put off by the fandom this game inspired but at the end of the day, one can’t deny this is intro is incredible.
Years later, this is still jaw-dropping to watch. It must be the zoom out of Midgar. Or it could be the graphics which still look great seventeen years later.
And with hindsight, one can see how this game made many people excited and pretty much made a lot of people forget about the NES and SNES incarnations of Final Fantasy. And considering the strength of it, one can see how such a recognizable scene was used as tech demo (but the less said about that better).


And my favorite intro of the fifth generation is…

1. Planescape Torment (PC)

In coming up with this list I had something of specific criteria: The success of an intro depended on a combination of how well it established the game in-universe, how it made me interested in a game, how it worked with the technology of the day, and how many times it made me rewatch it on YouTube (as you might imagine that last one may have been the deciding factor.
Thus, the video you see above this passage of text is the intro I felt fulfilled all these criteria.
Within this video a lot is established about the game and its universe. We are introduced to both the Nameless One and Deionarra. We also see locations that later prove to be of importance –and, as players of this game would know, it pays to pay attention.  We see key themes within the game being raised with the image of the Torment insignia and the army of zombies with fingers raised in accusation.
However, what I find most interesting about this video is what is known with hindsight because (SPOILERS) as anyone who’s beaten the game would know, it is never actually revealed what the first incarnation did that inspired him to seek atonement through immortality. Thus this video is pretty much the only clues we get. We see a woman (who clearly doesn’t share Deionarra’s appearance), a guy drowning, battles being fought and a glimpse of the Nameless One as a human. What does it all mean? We’ll never know and that, in turn, is a tantalizing detail that adds to this video’s mystique.
This intro adds so much to the game. Even after I’ve beaten the game, I’m still finding things if interest in the intro and seeing how it connects with the rest of this game – which is more than many other games can claim. It’s a unique intro and here at Game Tumour we celebrate the unique. So it gets the gold star from me.

So that’s it for the 600^th post! Thank you for taking the time reading it and here’s to the next 100 posts!
 

All for the Empire

I've recently made a return to playing Jade Empire.
I'm doing pretty well so far in that I have made it to Chapter Three in the narrative and I've collected a fair number of the NPCs. I've also maxed out the Dire Flame style and have my eye set on maxing out the Stone Immortal style (I could max out Tempest and Ice Shard as well but I have yet to receive them. Also there is wisdom in maxing out Martial and Weapon styles).

Funny thing is I'm finding that with a maxed out Dire Flame some fights are coming across as mind-boggling easy. One such situation is the Black Leopard school quest chain. Using the Dire Flame, I had little trouble in defeating the students that challenged me - so much so, I began to wonder how they managed to last for so long and whether there was wisdom in allowing Smiling Hawk to take over. Or is that kind of the point?

Still, Jade Empire is lots of fun and it's great to have an RPG based on kung-fu and having a setting ripped from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It's also pleasing to have an RPG that actually works with an Xbox controller. Needless to say it will be interesting to see what happens next in this game...