That was the year it was: 2016

And so we reach the end of another year of Game Tumour. The festive season has come around again and it's time to step away from this blog.

2016 has been a quiet year for this blog - although some of the cynically minded would say that 2016 for Game Tumour ended months earlier. I guess Real Life got in the way for a bit there. Still, at least I can say I beat Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. And by playing Don Bradman's Cricket I've gained a new appreciation for the sport. Oh and Xcom. Xcom Enemy Unknown is an excellent game.
So in the end, a quiet year is not without successes.

However, maybe a quite year may pave the way for a more active year in 2017.
So, in that sense, Game Tumour is done for 2016 and I hope to speak to you all again in 2017

Just a little Dota

I learned something new this week: The letters in DotA actually represent something! It's Defense of the Ancients!

Well it's new to me: I thought DotA was just some random letters thrown together, that represented nothing and nobody bothered to wonder what they represented or to question it XD

Back to the store Wii go

Recently, on a bit of a whim, I decided to fire up my aging Wii and see if the store is still going.
And much to my surprise, it still is. The games are still there and even the Wii points I have attached to my account.

I suppose this would come to a surprise to me as I've lost track of Nintendo in recent years. I figured the services provided by the Wii would've been cast by the wayside with the advent of the Wii U but no: Apparently, the Wii Shop Channel is still going - seems that whilst the Wii U offers backward compatibility in the form of Wii Mode, not all games featured in the Wii Shop Channel are also on the Nintendo eShop. Hence the Wii Mode acts as a method of taping into those missing games.

It does seem amusing to me to have this service still providing games when it has been, to some extent, forgotten by Nintendo. Nevertheless, considering the divided nature of the Nintendo's online services, as described above, there seems to be something of a time limit attached to the games available to the Wii Shop Channel. Will they be eventually be absorbed by the Nintendo eShop or will they discarded for good? And how will this work with the looming Nintendo Switch?

It may be a romantic idea that I will continue to use my Wii to play the games I want but, like most thing's it has an expiry date. And the question rests on what Nintendo, who are the type to reluctant to admit that there did exist people purchased the Wii for the Virtual Console, will do once that dates rolls around....

There's no U in Wii

Recently it has been announced that Nintendo will cease production of the Wii-U. No doubt it is to make room for the upcoming Nintendo Switch.

Speaking as someone  who had little attachment to the Wii-U, this news is meaningless to me. But in retrospect, it does however inspire some mixed feelings. On one hand, the sales of the Wii-U, especially when compared to those of it's predecessor, seem poor by Nintendo's standards. But on the other Nintendo were forging their own path independent from the trends Microsoft and Sony were cooking up. And whilst Nintendo should be commended for trying something new with game tech, the outcome wasn't really that successful. And whilst there were some resurrected franchises (hello Bayonetta) rubbing shoulders with the familiar, one of them really pushed the boundaries like they did before.

It seems likely that the title of defining game for the console would bestowed to Super Mario Maker. It was a clever idea and certainly made a lot of YouTube videos (even if Nintendo didn't take too kindly to it) but did it arrive at the right time? Was it several years too late? Or was it just the act of a company throwing in the towel and demanding players make their own creativity as they themselves couldn't be arsed?

Ultimately though, I do admire the Wii-U for what was trying to do. It was offering a duel screen and a new way of playing games. True the tech wasn't as well utilized to it's full potential as it should've been but the heart was in the right place. By way of comparison, would we have used optical disks if it wasn't for the Mega CD's attempt at it?

But what interests me is what Nintendo are going to do next. The success of the Wii gave them a necessary shot in the arm and saved them from oblivion. So what did Nintendo follow up such success with? A console that wasn't that big a deal and an obliviousness towards the current trends in gaming. And so, as the Nintendo Switch rolls around, along with Nintendo's furtive steps into mobile gaming, it remains to be seen whether this would mark a success strong enough for the company to continue hanging on.

Warcraft is over if you want it

Well Blizzard have announced that they aren't interested in doing a remaster for both Warcraft 1 and 2 purely because they feel that the games are dated and "not fun" (Source).

I find this reaction somewhat puzzling from Blizzard. On one hand, they acknowledge their past works and have previously made them readily available (ie Lost Vikings and Blackthorne) but on the other hand, any game that's on the Battle.net launcher and isn't Diablo 3, World of Warcraft, Overwatch or Hearthstone, doesn't have a hope in hell.
The latter is a particular sore point for me: What, I can't use the Battle.net launcher to play other Blizzard games? Well then you're not much competition for Steam or GoG Galaxy then are you? Sorry but I like my Game launchers to, you know, launch games.

But I digress.
I maintain that there is value for games to be preserved and make them accessible, both for historical and educational purposes. After all, without preservation, history is but a fading memory. This is why I value GoG so much.
You'd think Blizzard might be better off handing off Warcraft and Diablo to CD Projekt but nooooooooo.....

Granted I will admit that Warcraft 1 may have aged the worst of the lot but I have played Warcraft 2 all the way through and still think highly of it - even when this was back in 2002 and everyone was going nuts for Warcraft 3. It has a lot of charm and a humorous tone that unfortunately Blizzard seems to have forgotten about (seriously, where were the bi-intelligent Ogres in WoW?).

But hey as long as Blizzard still keeps pumping out updates for WoW they can do whatever they want, amirite?

The Magnificent Seven Ride

As was promised earlier in the week, the trailer to the sequel of Red Dead Redemption:

Original video located here. Accessed 21st October 2016

Well, like pretty much every teaser trailer ever made, this trailer doesn't say a lot about the game. It just has enough scenery shots and brand recognition to generate buzz. Sure Rockstar could do with the buzz but buzz won't mean a lot if there isn't a game to go with it.

At the present time, popular opinion suggests that this game will be a prequel and focus on John's days as a member of Dutch's outlaw gang. All I can say is that I hope this does turn out to be true as a) that's pretty much the only direction you can go with this sequel and b) with everyone favoring this option it would a disappointment not go down that path.

One last shot at redemption

Well it's official: there is a sequel to Red Dead Redemption on it's way.
I'm actually surprised that Rockstar actually manged to get a sequel out of the original seeing as the original was about the end of the Old West. Unless of course, this game turns out to be prequel - which is pretty much the only route Rockstar can take with this new game. And the notion of a prequel seems suggestive in this image:

 Original image located here. Accessed 19th October 2016

From the looks of it, this new game does seem to resemble a prequel and it looks like it will focus on Dutch's gang. The four men from the left resemble, in order, John Marston, Javier Escuella, Bill Williamson and Dutch.
I like the idea of a 'Magnificent Seven' vibe Rockstar have got going here and it would be interesting to see the background of these characters (not to mention the three newcomers) but would it be enough to sway me back to the console camp........?

But of course, all of this is speculative. As always, once the trailer is revealed details may become a little clearer. But knowing what trailers are like, they might not.

Expelled from the Academy

Been having a go at the Don Bradman's Cricket 2017 demo that turned up on Steam.

As it turns out, characters made in the 2014 Academy can be imported into the new one. The bad news is however that the characters at this stage are frozen as is. They can't be altered in any way - which is a shame that no one can be assigned to appropriate roles that are now available (ie Batsman, Bowler, Wicket Keeper, Opening Batsmen).
Still this is a demo so this problem should be sorted out...hopefully.

Still not sold on the character designs though. Compared to 2014, these new designs look lifeless and freaky - which is kind of the same problem i faced when making the transition from Rock Band 2 to Rock Band 3.

Be still my beating heart

Here's the box art for the latest iteration to the Kingdom hearts series:

 Original image located here. Accessed 10th October 2016

Proof that the trope of Walking in a Line will never get old 

Sinnertwin

Some time ago, I made a contribution to a Kickstarter campaign - a campaign to get Divinity Original Sin 2 made. And recently, the first fruits of this move have emerged with the beta access being released to backers. This means that backers like myself have access to the first area of the game.

Early impressions create a game that is showing a lot of promise. The character creation is much more diverse with races, more appearance options and, interestingly enough, back stories. The back stories are of particular interest as they can result in certain options being available in the dialogue trees. In addition, certain combinations can result in a fixed character - one that can later appear as a party member in the game itself.

As for the game itself, I'm enjoying it so far. The combat operates in similar fashion to the first Original Sin. I also see that, compared to the first game, a party is built up more quickly with characters who have their own agenda to content with the plans of the player. The settings are beautiful to behold and certainly painstaking in their detail.

Needless to say, I'm keen to see how the finished product turns out...

T-20

They say that nostalgia happens in chunks of twenty years. If that is the case, then the nostalgia goggles will be aimed at the the mid-to late nineties - also known as the Fifth Console generation.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: This was a great period for the PC Gamer with them being spoiled for choice with the likes of Baldur's Gate, Doom, Warcraft, Command and Conquer, Deus Ex, Plansescape Torment and System Shock 2 among others. Sure, there was some shlock when Windows 95 rolled around but once that nonsense was sorted out, there were some real games to be found. Sure there were some interesting things happening in the console camp but they have not aged well as their PC counterparts. I remember at the time, console games of this era were being marketed as 'cutting edge' but looking at them now, they have naturally aged the worst.

This in turn presents an interesting opportunity for someone keen on nostalgia: Take a brand, fix some glaring issues with it and you'll have a certified hit. Why do you think so many have been clamoring for a remake of Final Fantasy 7? When you have a hugely successful game you have a hit guaranteed purely on brand recognition - but when you fix some of the problems the critics have pointed out, you win on both a commercial and critical level.

I myself aren't really that interested on nostalgia as, for me, it stifles progress (how can you move forward when you have eyes on the past?). But I will admit, however grudgingly, that there's something to be said for making classic games readily available, accessible without dragging some aging tech out of the deepest corner of the bedroom cupboard and in a state of preservation.
That being said, has anyone tried to resurrect some of the lost classics from the Saturn? Someone must've played the likes of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Shining Force 3 - So surely they must've been hit with inspiration strong enough to make something similar so what they enjoyed two decades ago can be enjoyed by people of the present. If anything, I'd rather play a RPG that involves traveling across on a desolate, post-apocalyptic world with minimal NPCs atop a flying, customisable beast, encountering Moebius-inspired monsters and discovering lost ancient tech than a retread of Advent Children any day....

The Magnificent Seventeen

Following on from an earlier post where I was singing the praises of Don Bradman's Cricket 2014, it would therefore be somewhat inevitable that my attention would turn towards it's inevitable successor. It would seem a demo of Don Bradman's Cricket 2017 is available on Steam.
So may as well take a look....

So what the demo is offering is a WIP of the Academy.  This time however, there are a lot more options on offer. Any player wanting to build a new cricketer can choose their gender, team role (ie Bowler, Batsman, Wicket Keeper, Opening Batsman) and race. There is a lot more detail in assigning attributes for the player's defined roles. So generally, I've found, in comparison to Don Bradman's Cricket 2014, there's more options and more freedom with building players. Not sure i like the player likeness though. Looks too freaky to me...

With regards to the player lost it seems Red Ant are doing the same thing they did before: provide a list of generic names and invite players to replace them with genuine players. I must admit it's a bit odd seeing the list of generic names again, having grown so used to the shared players from the original Academy. Therefore, I will hold off making new players until the game's released and some familiar faces re-emerge. Apparently there will be some sort of backwards compatibility (just don't quote me on that). 
But somehow, this new list looks bigger than that in Don Bradman's Cricket 2014. It makes me wonder if Red Ant payed attention to the creations that wormed their way into the Academy the first time around - and whether they noticed my addition of some local (however not widely known) heroes.

.....probably not, but I can always dream.....

Run Out

Lately I've been playing Don Bradman's Cricket 2014. It's game I started playing some months ago and one that I've been returning to since.

This may seem like an odd choice seeing as I've had little to no interest in sport games over the years. I have played cricket games over the years but none have come across as something special. So why play this one? Firstly it's made by an Australian developer. Secondly, a lot of Don Bradman's Cricket 2014 hinges on the rather cunning way the developers worked around the licensing issues. This takes form of the the Don Bradman Academy where players wanting to include famous teams and current teams are encouraged to create them in the Academy and share them with other players. They even have soundbytes for famous names and nicknames!
As such, this cunning navigation was enough to secure my interest.

Based upon my own experience with Cricket games (ie the primitive One Day Cricket and Graham Gooch cricket on the C64) this incarnation is head and shoulders above them all. The controls are accessible and there's a decent training section. There's a lot of freedom in match customization and never once does the game seem overwhelming to a newcomer and/or someone unfamiliar with cricket. For the first time, for me at least, cricket comes across as being fun to play and never once a slog to get through. In fact, the fact that I keep coming back to this game is proof enough that this game is a bonafide success.

And as for the Academy I had some fun in building up the Tasmanian Best XI (which was announced earlier this year) and seeing them go against the other teams. And hey, where else could you have  Charles Eady getting Jack Hobbs out for four runs?

Half a world away

I find a fascination with gaming in the Eighties. History will declare that the decade was defined by the Great Gaming Crash that took Atari under and created an opening for Nintendo to storm in with the NES. Nintendo becomes a big deal and Mario, Link, Samus, Mega Man and Simon Belmont all become icons beyond reproach.

But this scenario, which has been told many times before, is viewed from the perspective of the U.S. - and as they say, history is only told by the winners. Coming from the perspective of someone outside the U.S., a different story is told and the contrast between within the U.S. and without the U.S. is astonishing to say the least.

To begin with, being in Australia, places one riding off the coattails of what was happening in the U.K. and Europe (as is often the case in Australia). If there was anything happening in the U.S. it had little to do with us - which is surprising considering the geographical location of Australia places in between U.S. and Europe. But I digress.

So yes, the choices of we Australians made was a replication of what was happening half a world away. Thus, whilst having a NES was commonplace in the U.S., that wasn't the case in Australia. Indeed, at the time, I remember more people I knew at school had a Master System than a NES and I noticed at the local toy store that the Master System had a more prominent place than the NES (indeed, that's a funny thing to look back on when one considers how things turned out for both Nintendo and Sega). So when the SNES finally showed it's face, there was indeed a sensation comparable to descending down from atop Mount Sinai and a sign that Nintendo suddenly was a big deal. Hard to imagine I know, right?

But the true victor in the Eighties gaming arms race in Australia was neither Sega or Nintendo. Nope: It was Commodore. I've lost count on how many people had a Commodore 64 when they were young and/or knew what one was. They were more commonplace than a NES or a Master System and many people point to it as being a starting point towards their interest in computers. And, much like the U.K., the Commodore 64 had a long and fruitful life in Australia that lasted well into the 16bit era.

This, in turn, would seem strange to the those in the U.S. as we in Australia (and the U.K.) had our own gaming culture develop separately. Whereas they had a rivalry between Sega and Nintendo, we Commodore 64 users had our own mortal enemies with the Spectrum users. When they were exchanging password codes, we were applying cheat codes. When they had Mario, Link and Samus, we had Armakuni, Turrican and Rockford.

Funny thing how cultures develop independent of each other. Naturally you wouldn't have that now when everyone and everything is linked online but looking at the same era from two different perspectives is an eye-opener to say the least.

25 + 25 = 50

Recently I've been having a crack at Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Edition.

It seems fitting that I do so seeing as it this year marks the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. And I'm acknowledging this milestone by playing a game that bears the words 25th Anniversary in it's title. Go fig.

So far, I have mixed feelings about this game. When I started playing this, I was really excited to do so: A game based around a series of adventures that play out like a lost season of the original series! A reunion of the original voice cast! (including, notably, DeForest Kelley's final performance of Dr. McCoy) A chance for the Original Series to do something beyond the confines of a TV budget!

Yet whilst all of the above are well and truly on offer, some problems are arising that I can't ignore. I don't like the ship combat, the puzzles aren't really that hard and the scoring system is odd - why it would seem that to garner a 100% success of a mission, Kirk needs to say the correct things. But such things make him out of character: Thus Kirk ends up acting less like his impulsive self and more like Picard.

Still this is only the beginning: It would be interesting to see what happens from this point on....

Five will make you get down

Whilst I haven't touched World of Warcraft in a considerable amount of time, it doesn't mean however that I am unaware of developments in that camp. And what do you know: Someone played the newest expansion Legion and got to Level 110 within five and half hours.

Well someone's keen.
I guess as long as there are people who are willing to speed-run through their game then there are records to be set.

Split the Atom

Here's something i came across on YouTube: A classic game from the Amiga, called Atoms!

 Original video located here. Accessed 29th August 2016

History will decree that the Amiga folded with the collapse of Commodore circa 1994. But what people may have forgotten is that the Amiga actually had a lifespan beyond Commodore: For a few years afterwards, it proved to be very accommodating that amateur developers, giving them a platform to come up with games of their own - much like how Steam does for amateur developers today. It was an interesting time and one that sadly gets overlooked by gaming historians.

And Atoms was one such game. It was a relatively simple game but damn, if it wasn't a lot of fun. It required players to place atoms in the grid and build up groups of them. Get enough atoms in a box (two in a corner box, three in a side box and four in the rest) and an explosion would trigger sending the atoms in corresponding boxes. The object of the game was to turn all the atoms on the board into the player's respective color. Again, this was a simple game and admittedly it took a while to get going, but once the players had enough atoms, it was possible to send off tremendous chain reactions in attempt to achieve victory. There was fun to be had, especially with multiple people, and it was hilarious to see a colossal chain reaction play out. It may have been brief but it never ceased to function as an entertaining party game.

Looking at this game through the perspective of modernity, there is no reason why a game this simplistic would ever work. It might work as part of collection of mini-games (ie Mario Party) but not as a standalone game. So why does this game so simple work?

The zany music? Yeah lets go with that

The Sky is Empty

Well No Man's Sky has touched down. But instead of arriving from up above on gilded chariot, it has generated a poor response from both people and critics alike. People are grumbling about it feeling empty and Steam are even refusing refunds.

Well i suppose this shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, considering the buildup, was there any hope of the game living up to the rate of expectation? Of course not.
Remember Destiny? That was supposed to be a big deal but it didn't go anywhere.That being said, you'd think everyone would've wised up and not be duped into such a marketing campaign. But no, we never seem to learn do we?

No me of course: I'm still stuck in my cocoon and refuse to acknowledge the changes of the world happening around me. But hey: At least my wall, built from bricks of skepticism, keeps the unwanted out XD

Where are you going?

Earlier this week, I posted some musings about a vague game called Sorcery. This in turn triggered memories of another vague game I played during the C64 era.
Behold: Quo Vadis!

Original video located here. Accessed 24th August 2016

This game is interesting on a technical stand point. As is my understanding, it was the first game in history to boast over 1000 screens! It was so enormous it took some sizable effort to squeeze it into the C64's memory! And it even was doing the Metroid shtick before Metroid was a thing!
And I will admit, from someone with an interest in traditional dark fantasy, there's something appealing in seeing a Crusader knight (as evidenced by the Christian cross on his shield) descending into an underground cavern to fight a horde of monsters.

But I didn't make much progress in the game itself - mostly because I had no idea what i was supposed to do. This may have been my first exposure to free-roaming gameplay but my young mind didn't realize it at the time. As such I was baffled as to where I supposed to be going and what I was supposed to be doing. And even now I admit this game was vague: Why, that ending message that appeared at the end of the game is indeed unclear whether the player had successfully completed the game or not.

But what was particularly frustrating with this game was the stiff controls: If the PC slipped and fell, he would plunge straight down with the player being unable to do a thing about it. The worst part of it was when the player slipped up on the rope and fell a long way down to the lava pit below. It was a long fall and the player was helpless to prevent seeing the PC plummeting to his doom. It was agonizing to watch and very punishing to the player's mindset (like the computer was saying: "Look what you've done you jackass!")/ Needless to say, I eventually gave up on this game and never looked back - until now of course.

Some good ideas but in the end, vague and frustrating.

What foul sorcery is this?!

 Here's something i came across during my travels on Youtube: A complete playthrough of the Commodore 64 game Sorcery:

 Original video located here. Accessed 22nd August 2016

You hear people of today describe the 8-bit era (or the 3rd console generation if you prefer) of gaming as being populated by games that are of brutal difficulty. People talk of the Mega Man games and the original Castlevania as being really tough, much like how Dark Souls is described today.
Mind you, that kinda does make sense from a designer's perspective because whatever the game may lack from a technical standpoint, it makes up for in offering a challenge. Make the game too easy and people won't have any reason to play it beyond the first successful completion.

Which now brings me to Sorcery. I played a lot of games on my C64 as a kid and this was indeed among the hardest I've played. This down to two factors: Firstly, this game was nothing short of vague in exactly what is trying to convey. Looking at the video over two decades later however and it seems clear: The player is required to pick up certain objects and use them in a particular combination. And, naturally, there are numerous red herrings abound which makes success in the game more a case of trial and error.
Secondly, there is a time limit that is nothing less than punishing: As established above, the player would need to apply trial and error to find the successful path to victory but the time limit does not allow for such experimentation. Thus it would seem multiple attempts would be required to find the successful path.
Make no mistake: there is little room for error. As indicated by the video ab0ve, the player would need to rush through the game and have their health drained with the dangers lurking at every turn. There are potions that can restore the player's health but they are more a hindrance when the greatest enemy is the clock. If anything I'm surprised someone actually managed to beat this game.

Mind you, when I originally played this, I figured that the vial of poison would be the item that would secure victory. I tried to persuade my brother but he was unconvinced.
Now, years later, it seem that I was right :)

Soon you will call me remaster

Rumours are circulating that a Mass Effect remaster could be in development. And this isn't just the first game: The entire trilogy could be getting this treatment.

I do welcome the idea of revamping the graphics of ME1 so they are more in line with it's brethren and having some of the weak points in the game(s) ironed out. But at the same time, this is EA we're talking about and it's hard to distinguish what they say from a money-grabbing ploy. So far, there's been no GOTY release of the games that make up the trilogy and no hope of playing ME3 outside of Origin.

But for me? Will remaster be enough to sway me back to Mass Effect? Well, I'm still put off by the fracas over the ending. And whilst the modding community coming up with a solution may be enough of an enticement, I'm still not sold. And the fact that people are still grumbling about that notorious ending is still off-putting.
Still, next year will make the tenth anniversary of Mass Effect. So maybe that would be a good enough as any to go back an revisit this game. And then maybe finally finish the trilogy...

Agonising

Apparently there's a new game in development called Agony, which will signal a new entrant in the survival- horror gaming genre.

I'm going to go out on a limb and theorize that the finished game will have little to do with owls:

 Original video located here. Accessed 17th August 2016

Godlike

Here's a blast from the past: The classic Amiga game Gods:

Original video located here. Accessed 15th August 2016

I remember this being a big deal in the day, garnering loads of critical acclaim. A large amount of the praise came from AI: It adapted to the player's progress and adjusted itself depending on whether the playing was doing well or poorly. Looking at the video above, it may account why the player, at several points, seemed swamped by continually spawning baddies.

One can only wonder how such a thing would manage in today's climate of save states and detailed FAQs.
Not very well one would imagine

Handed the Bill

Seems the Sony Marketing Department keep coming up with gold:

Original video located here. Accessed 12th August 2016

I swear, those people aren't being paid enough....

Under the Sea

At the moment, Song of the Deep has been doing the rounds. However, upon seeing the gameplay to this game I reminded of Search for Dr. Riptide.

Original video located here. Accessed 10th August 2016

This was a game that came out on DOS in the mid-nineties. Interestingly enough, it was made by an Australian developer - which was kinda rare for the time.
One look at the video above and comparisons to Song of the Deep are immediate: The player controls a submarine that goes in the depths of the ocean to explore and contend with various dangers therein.

However, looking back at the game from the distance of twenty years, I have to admit this game hasn't aged well. There are a lot of garish colors in the graphics, some of the sound effects are grating, and there are some sprite animations look kinda dumb. Still, I do admire this game for it's technical accomplishment: I do recall at the time that it looked a lot better than a lot of other DOS games that were around and even now I stand by that notion. I liked the use of the JASON (that's the mini sub that follows the PC around) and i will even admit that the music is surprisingly moody for a PC speaker soundtrack.

That being said, one has to wonder if the makers of Song of the Deep were inspired by In Search of Dr Riptide when they working on their game.
Probably not, but one can only wonder....

Star Wars got NES'd up

My recent post about the NES game Kung Fu stirred memories of another game I saw being played out on the NES: Star Wars.

Original video located here. Accessed 8th August 2016

In the years since I first saw this game in action, I became aware that this game has built up a rancid reputation as being one of the worst Star Wars games ever made. So how does it some twenty years later?
Well, I am somewhat baffled by the hate this game gets. At first glance the game certainly looks impressive and certainly better than a lot of other NES games at the time.
My research has revealed that a lot of the hate seems to be directed at the gameplay: What, with falling damage, fiddly controls, and a lot of 'blind faith' jumping (that being jumping into uncertainty and hoping you land on something on solid). Those are legitimate points but nothing that differentiates this game from the tough difficulty that was so commonplace in games of the NES era.
One could say that this game still suffers from the 'curse of movie tie-in' but it does a solid job of both following the plot of the movie and adding some new additions on top. And hey, I welcome any creativity when following a movie tie-in - after all, Super Star Wars on the SNES had the Sarlacc from Return of the Jedi as the first level boss.

My recollections of playing this game weren't really that spectacular: I didn't get very far largely due to the difficult nature of the game. And years later, I tried the adore-mentioned Super Star wars and I found that just as, if not more, frustrating.

So at the end of the day, this game may look impressive but the hatred it gets is still baffling to me. Granted it's not best Star Wars game but it certainly isn't the worst.
But if the hate of this game is down to the difficult nature, it must look odd now when people are getting beaten down by Dark Souls.

Colonels. Colonels Everywhere

Still trucking through XCom Enemy Unknown.

But I have recently enjoyed some success: Nine of my soldiers have all reached the rank of colonel.

All together now:

Original video located here. Accessed 5th August 2016

Five Against Eight

Here's something I came across recently that gave me pause for thought: Is the current Console Generation, the 8th, a repeat of the 5th Generation?

Of course, this means little to me seeing as I've given up on consoles for the greener pastures of Steam, but the comparisons are nothing less of intriguing:

Firstly, Sony seem to enjoying success with the PS4: They are offering a game console (first and foremost) which can accommodate developers wanting the make they game they want. But Sony's true success is by capitalizing on the missteps of the competition. Much like the PS1.

Secondly, there seems to be parallels between the Xbox One and the N64. At the time, many developers were getting tired of Nintendo's rigid policies and Nintendo's insistence on using the outdated medium of cartridges was creating even more cracks. Compare that to Microsoft's dictating how gamers can use their games.
Another parallel is how the N64 did enjoy some success despite it's limitations and Microsoft winning back some credibility by scrapping it's original plans. But Microsoft is no more lagging behind in sales and developer support than Nintendo did.

And thirdly, Nintendo may be making missteps that mirror that of Sega. Whereas Sega enjoyed success with the Megadrive/Genesis, in particular with an older audience, Nintendo had a big hit with the Wii, gaining interest with people who previously wouldn't have anything to do with gaming. But Sega took this consumer goodwill and dropped it with crummy add-ons and a fumbled Saturn launch - much like how Nintendo's release of the Wii-U failed to recognise the changes in the field e.g. mobile gaming.
And when the Saturn proved to be too expensive, hard to develop for and unnecessarily complicated, Sega took a tremendous hit, painting themselves as not knowing what they were doing. This hit eventually cost them dearly in the terms of money and respect. Doesn't that sound much like Nintendo's current position?
But not is all bad news: Both the Saturn and the Wii-U enjoyed/enjoys success with their unique first party library and whereas the Saturn had a solid 3rd party range (well at least in Japan), the Wii-U has become something of a home to independent developers.

(Source)

It's an interesting theory to be sure. I personally believe that we've reached the point where graphical tech isn't going to get any better (and no amount of motion controls or headsets will ever replace the humble controller) so seeing things reverting into a loop is hardly surprising. But if there is a loop in progress, then the stage is set for a massive shake-up. The question is what it's going to be...

...But I'm not going to hold my breath. I might turn blue and expire.

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting!

They say that you always remember the exact point when you encounter something new. Whilst, I do recall my first encounter with a console being the humble Atari 7800, whether it is Nintendo or Sega who got to me next is sadly lost to me. But I do remember my first encounter with a NES: My brother brought a friend around to visit and he brought this thing called a Nintendo around. And the very first game I witnessed being used on this device? A game called Kung Fu.

Original video located here. Accessed 25th July 2016

Looking back at this game, I have to admit that it's definitely not one of the brightest moments on the NES. My recollections of playing it involved a lot of cheap hits and insta-kills. Still, from a technical perspective, the graphics look impressive and the use of digitized speech is admirable. I will even admit that the in-game music is also kinda snappy.

But I think this game stayed with me because this was my first encounter with the 'rescue girlfriend as motivation' trope that gaming has relied on for countless times. And when compared to other instances that use this trope, ie Super Mario bros and Legend of Zelda, I think I had a greater investment in wanting the Player Character, Thomas, being reunited with the girlfriend, Sylvia. This may be attributed to that cutscene that appears in between levels commanding that Sylvia be rescued from Mr.X (man who comes up with such imaginatively named characters?!). Well, as a motivation, it certainly is effective.

Watching the video, I did finally get to see Thomas reunited with Sylvia - thus ending years of wondering XD But the ending text insists that this reunion will be short-lived. So what happened? Was there a sequel to this game? Do I even care?

Castlevania: Ten Years On

Lately I've been playing a lot of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It's a classic game I played to death back in 2006 during the glory days of my PS2 era but now I'm enjoying it on the XBLA and in full HD.

So how does the game look from the distance of ten years since I first played it?

To begin with, let's establish what Castlevania: Symphony of the Night meant for me: As you may have guessed from the years listed, I came to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night nearly a full decade after it was released. My reasoning was simple: I finally got a PS2, it could play PS1 games so why shouldn't I indulge in games that passed me by the first time around?
But really what I can say about Symphony of the Night that hasn't been said already? It completely revamped the series, it took steals from Metroid, it was a definitely 2D platformer when everyone was heading into the realms of 3D, and it boasts, without question, one of the finest game soundtracks ever conceived.

But what I will say is that game has aged remarkably well - and that's a statement I do not give out lightly when discussing the fifth generation. Symphony of the Night's 2D nature has served it very well: Whereas many 3D models of the fifth generation look blocky and hideous nowadays, the 2D graphics of Symphony of the Night look simply beautiful. And that certainly was a HD revamp highlights: Why, thanks to the HD graphics, I'm now picking up I never noticed before: I'm noticing just how detailed the animation for the Swordmaster power (Iron shield+Shield rod) is. And to apply such detail in a 'blink and you'll miss it' animation is something to be commended.

Other than that, the game is still as fun as ever and the soundtrack is still fantastic. Not much else i can add expect to say I guess this would be a textbook example of how to make a game that lasts.

Cut up

Last night I was playing XCOM when I was hit by a power cut.

Fortunately however, I had saved my game shortly before hand so i lost little of my progress.







What, you were expecting me to lament about losing so many hours of game time?

Out of Steam

Well the Steam Summer Sale is done for another year - But that means little to me as I live in Australia and I can tell you it certainly isn't Summer down here.

But anyway, I didn't buy anything this year. Strange I know, right? I could rely on the old excuses like 'I have too many games' or 'I couldn't afford anything' or 'I've only finished small amount of the games on my Steam account' but that type of thing would inspire accusations of BS.

But it is true. Maybe this is what happens when you have a Steam account for a certain amount of time and the initial thrill dies down. Maybe this is what happens when you realize that you have so many games attached to your Steam account and they aren't getting played. Myabe this is what happens when you have a real life and other things that require money.

But who'd believe that?

Bottom of the Barrel (no.6): Ghostbusters 2

Well we have a new Ghostbusters movie coming out soon so before it becomes the fandom's punching bag, let's talk about the previous claimant to that dubious honor: Ghostbusters 2.

Or to be more precise, the game I played that called itself Ghostbusters 2.

This was a game I played when I was a little tacker alongside my brother (more on that later) on the venerable Commodore 64. Unsurprisingly, this is yet one more title in the dubious field of 'movie-tie-in-game'. So naturally, we can expect the following: Not much of a game speak of and what little there is restricted to following the plot of the movie.
Of course, many of you younger tykes may scoff at the notion of playing an ancient Commodore 64 game but I can assure you that a) the Commodore 64 was capable of far better games than this and b) the problems that befall current 'movie-tie-in-games' existed back in 1989 and have since been never properly solved.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Observe, if you will, a longplay of the full game:

Original video located here. Accessed 4th July 2016

As you can see, the game consists of three sections that follow the movie closely: First, we have a Ghostbuster (Ray?) descending down the shaft into the Van Horne subway tunnel to retrieve a slime sample. Next, we have the Statue of Liberty striding through New York with it's flame torch defeating swarms of ghosts and finally we have the Ghostbusters themselves confronting Vigo at the museum.
It's certainly a creative and varied approach to game design yes but does it work in practice?

Of course not.

You see, the biggest problem with this game is that the gameplay and controls are a disaster. You, the player are expected to use both the joystick AND the keyboard at the same time!
In the first section, the single-button joystick is used to control the Ghostbuster but the keyboard is used to select the right item to use. And good luck choosing the right item when things are getting hectic!
Later, in the second section, the joystick controls the fireball but the keyboard is used to control the direction of the New York populace who are collecting the slime of the defeated ghosts. That may sound easy in practice were it not for the ghosts marching on the ground and killing off your dudes! And good luck keeping track of everything happening on both the ground and the air!
As for the third section, I didn't see it that often: That second section was more or less a killer for me.

With controls like that you really needed a second person to play this game. And that's where my brother came in: We joined forces to play this game with him on the joystick and me on the keyboard.
We never succeeded in beating the game however. Our attempts were dogged by the tough difficulty, the frustrating gameplay and the unreliability of our gaming partner. That Second Section in particular was really an exercise in frustration even with a second person helping out. Example: I needed to catch the slime form the defeated ghosts. But kept missing big batches of it because of the ground ghosts blocked my path. Could I get my brother to help out and shoot the ground ghosts? No, because he was too tied up shooting the ghosts in the air....
In addition, on the few times we did make it the the third section, I relying on a guide, tried to convince my brother that Janosz (the first enemy) with the slime gun/pack, Vigo (the second enemy) had to be defeated with the Proton Pack. But my brother never believed me.
Still, watching this video I take comfort in the knowledge that I was right.

Of course, this is just one more addition to massive pile of 'movie-tie-in-game' that plague gaming history. Mind you, I will concede that they all can't be the 'lightning in the bottle' success that was Goldeneye but they could at least try and put some effort into it.

Quaking in my boots

Another announcement emerging from this year's E3 is that the Quake IP is being dusted off and being revamped as a new game. I suppose all 90's IP's are having that done to them so such news shouldn't come as a surprise. But such news would be a good enough excuse to talk about my own experiences with Quake.

I will be blunt: When I first came across the first Quake in the mid-nineties I wasn't thrilled. Far from it: I HATED it. At the time, I played Doom a lot and was impressed by Duke Nukem 3d's pushing the envelope of what a 3d shooter could do. That being said, Quake looked old and tired.
Growing with games, I learned a vital lesson from a early age: Amazing graphics can't make a game on it's own, for it needs engaging gameplay to back it up. And that was the problem I had with Quake: It just looked like Doom but with a new coat of paint. But this new coat of paint wasn't that remarkable what with drab colors and an overdose of green. Furthermore, it was baffling as to why people talked up the graphics when the character designs looked dull and hideous. Therefore I never could grasp why people were ecstatic about this game.
Eventually my hostility towards Quake softened in three fronts: 1) I discovered the mod Navy Seals Quake and found it much more enjoyable, 2) I played Quake 2 a lot and found it a much more tense, exciting and satisfying experience next to it's predecessor and 3) One can't disagree with the thrill of playing Quake deathmatches on a LAN. Still, why people revere Quake like they do is something that still eludes me.

So unlike Doom or Duke 3d, I have no real attachment to Quake. Will I pay any attention to this new game? Well, I would be interested to see if something new will be done - if anything.
But most likely I will see this game becoming yet another faceless shooter in an ocean of them and dragging the name of a once glorious IP down with it.

Australian Rules

So a new iteration of the Forza racing franchise is rearing it's head in the form of Forza Horizon 3. I will admit that whilst I have had little interest in racing games I ham interested in this new Forza game on the grounds that will be based entirely in Australia, with recognizable Australian locations.

But will this include Tasmania?

Flight of the Valkyrie

Still pushing through XCOM: Enemy Unknown (new one).

Funny thing is, I seem to have an abundance of female soldiers. I know the gender of the soldiers is randomly determined (well, as far as I know) but so far, out of my soldiers only one in four is male.

Guess the sisters are doing it for themselves.

Enemy Known

Things uttered while playing XCom: Enemy Unknown:

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Bullshit you can't make that shot!"

"Oh no, not these arseholes again!"

"Come on! You can more damage than that"

"Great! Now my guys are going to die because YOU missed!"

"You sure picked a good time to run out of ammo!"

"Reload!"

"We're not leaving this mission until I get all my guys out alive!"

Solider: "That did not just happen!"
Me: "You're telling me!"

I'm Stranded

So....this has been doing the rounds recently:

Original video located here. Accessed 20th June 2016

Okay, so who took Hideo Kojima's crazy meds off of him?

Yeah I know I keep breaking that cardinal sin of not 'don't get excited by trailers, wait for the game to come out instead', but this......this...is something.
If anything this is a mixture of the puzzling and the ominous. The images of the handcuffs, body scars and floating objects (humans?) are effective but on the other hand, the dead sea life and the baby makes me wonder what is going on in Hideo Kojima's head.

But having said that, I don't think I want to know.

Scorpion Wins Fatality!

So there's a new Xbox heading this way? And it's called the Xbox Scorpio?
Might as well get this over and done with then:

Original video located here. Accessed 17th June 2016

But seriously: An announcement is one thing but whether or not it has me sold is another. I have not upgraded to the XBone largely due to Microsoft's mystifying policy of 'no backwards compatibility' - Okay sure the XBone did get it eventually but in a, disappointingly, limited capacity.
And with the new Scorpio, things are getting even more puzzling on the Microsoft front as they are insisting that the console will only work with a 4k TV. That's all very well and good but what if you don't have a 4KTV? Well, Microsoft has no need for you

Which kinda suits me fine as these decisions leave me having no use for a new Xbox

God of War, I Don't Know

Well it's happened: The trailer of the new God of War game has dared to show it's face. It indicates a) an aged Kratos and b) a trek into Norse mythology.

I once remember reading that David Jaffe had plans for God of War as series in that Kratos, with each new game, would travel the world, storm his way into another mythology and slaughter all the deities within it. Now, it would seem that that plan is going ahead.

But a new iteration to the God of War series does nothing to sell the IP as a series to me. I enjoyed the first game but with each new game it is becoming difficult to connect with Kratos. Sure it may be some entertainment value to see him slaughter through anything dumb enough to stand in his way but that can only last for so long.
I've said it once and I'll say it again: My main problem with Kratos is that, as a character, there's not a lot you can do with him. As a result, with each God of War game that has followed the first one, Kratos' reasons for his rampaging has becoming increasingly flimsy and often makes him out to be a spoiled brat who would rather blame other people for his failings. Yes in the first game Kratos had the motivation for revenge but since then he's taken up slaying deities because Kratos was being jerk.
But now, the series is in a rather uncomfortable position of stagnation: the people who play the God of War series have become so accustomed to see Kratos make a bloody rampage that it's now expected. Anything less simply won't do at all.

I still stand by my declaration that Kratos needs a mirror character (hell, I've come up with even better ideas for future God of War games). Because, if anything, it's the only way I see that a God of War sequel has a hope in hell of succeeding.
So let's expand on this mirror character idea: Some nameless, faceless woman is cut down by Kratos as she was in his way. But the woman has a husband who swears vengeance. And seeing as Kratos has ascended to godhood (well he did at the end of the first game), this widower travels across Greece to try and obtain the means to slay a god. It may be a repeat of Krato's original journey but it provides a mirror - and makes the final confrontation with Kratos all the more engaging.
And better still, it provides an interesting angle on internet debates on whether Kratos can defeat anyone he is confronted with.

But sadly such idea may never be released: Why give depth to Kratos as a character when we can just have him punch out Thor and Odin?

Know Thine Enemy

Still playing Xcom: Enemy Unknown

I'm enjoying this game a lot. Much like the original, I'm finding a lot of atmosphere, the combat intense and myself getting attached to my grunts. And much like the original, I'm having a difficult time trying to micro-manage everything and finding it all going downhill rather quickly.

I know I tend to treat remakes with a degree of caution but in this case, I couldn't help myself but love this game. True it may have an uphill climb living up to the original but I'm finding some elements which are actual improvements. I like having the one base as it dials back the micro-managing significantly (not that I was any good at it in the first place). I like having an interface that actually explains what I'm doing. I like having a reduced number of soldiers to take out onto the field as it provides a degree of focus. I like the soldier customization. I like how this game is more welcoming to the newcomer and provides a clearer picture of what the hell I'm supposed to be doing.

It may be heresy to say so but I doubt I will returning to the original any time soon.
Unless, of course, I truly want a challenge....

A Walk in the Park

Lately I've been playing XCom: Enemy Unknown.

Much has been written about how the success of the original XCom relied on how the TV series The X-Files. It wasn't intentional of course: Both had similar themes through drawing from the same sources.
Having lived through the X-Files hype during it's original run, the thing I best recall is the soundtrack compilation/album, Songs in the Key of X. And in particular this masterpiece, which, I'm pleased to say, still holds up as the perfect soundtrack to alien hunting:

Original video located here. Accessed 8th June 2016

Summertime Sadness

So i was browsing through YouTube and I came across something that caught my eye: A video of a Lana Del Ray remix with a thumbnail of SHODAN from System Shock 2. Thinking it was a remix of Lana Del Ray with SHODAN's voice I clicked on the video only to be disappointed that it wasn't what I thought it was.

But know i want to hear Summertime Sadness being sung by SHODAN:

"I-I-I-I-I got that SUMMERTIME Sadnessssssssssssssssssssss...."

Fruits Basket

Hot on the heels of a Tetris move trilogy (I'm still can't believe I just typed that sentence out) come the announcement of a Fruits Ninja movie.

I....have nothing. Really, I don't. I could rant about this is a dumb idea and how Hollywood are running on empty but it doesn't seem worth the effort.

Still anyone can have an idea - but an idea still has to work.

R.I.P. Alan Young

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd May 2016

R.I.P. Alan Young

Pissed Off

Oh no! He's pissing blood!!!!

Blocked Up

So..... this is a thing...

You can't be serious. A Tetris movie may be a flimsy concept on it's own but an $80 million budget? And a trilogy?!

What more can I say except......DOA anyone?

Why Are We Waiting?

One of the most bizarre things happened these week: Gaming's favorite punching bag EA has announced that they are going to release a new 'action game' in 2020.

What will it be? What features would it have? No one knows beyond it being an action game, it being somewhat inspired by Assassin's Creed and it will involve a 3-4 year wait.

Ea must be feeling pretty confident if they're making us wait that long.

Or did they forget about the wait that (eventually) brought us Duke Nukem Forever?

Excessive

Well, here's a bit of news that quietly crept into the room: Apparently Final Fantasy X will be released on Steam, along with X2, complete with achievements and HD support.

Well I suppose this was somewhat inevitable seeing as many of it's older brothers climbed aboard the Steam train *badumtish* but I'm not enthusiastic - just cautious.

Don't get me wrong: I have fond memories of playing FFX. It was the first game I played on my PS2, at the end of a gaming drought, and I sunk many hours into it. I recall abusing the hell out of the sphere grid (my favorite part) and being really invested in both the plot and the characters. Okay, I will admit, with hindsight, that it does pale next to some of it's older brethren but FFX was a decent game.

However I still spent a lot of hours in this game. And to buy a new version of this game would mean to do it all over again. Remember that boss you found so irritating? Gotta do it again. Remember that careful planing you did with the Sphere Grid? Gotta do it again. Remember that difficult part you got past through sheer luck? Gotta do it again.
I've heard stories of people being so delighted at playing a beloved game a second time but strangely enough I've never had that: Usually it's a case of "Well, That's Done". Maybe it's because my approach to gaming is a thorough one but hey, I've played through both Mass Effect and Dragon Age Origins multiple times and you can only the same things over and over again before they get tedious.

Still, I have to admit that Steam achievements and HD support do look rather tempting....

Run a Good Race

Sooooo..... this is a thing.

Can't say this will bother me, what with me being outside of the U.S. but what I want to know is: Why hasn't this guy made headway down here in Australia?! We have a federal election coming soon dammit!

A New Dawn Rising

So.....this happened:

Of course this all looks very exciting but this being a trailer, it is impossible to base the eventual game around it. Yes it is nice to see the Space Marines, Orks and Eldar but they are pretty much 40k mainstays. Can we see someone else please?

Wait...is that a titan....?
We're going into Apocalypse territory?
Now we're talking!

Your New OS is Ready

Original image located here. Accessed 4th May 2016

Man the Guns

Recently something interesting came up on GoG: An announcement of a game, under development, going by the name of Man O'War Corsair. This game would be set in the Warhammer world based off an old Games Workshop game (as that company sure loves to hang onto it's trademarks).

Speaking as someone who was interested in Warhammer during the nineties (and in variable degrees afterwards), I do remember Man O'War. It certainly offered a different take on the Warhammer world and some of the miniatures were inventive. Sure it may have been a bit of a stretch for some races to have a navy (ie Skaven and Undead) but it was nice to have a Warhammer game set on a smaller scale. And on the ocean.

As for this new game? Well it's difficult to say at this stage because it's in development. But from the looks of it, the game seems to taking a leaf from the Sid Meier's Pirates book. And speaking as someone who really enjoys Sid Meier's Pirates this has potential. And having such a setup in the Warhammer world is better still. I do like the idea of taking a ship and sailing from one end of the Warhammer world to the other and visiting interesting locations like Ulthuan (only to be treated with suspicion by the High Elves), Lustria (only to be speared by the Lizardmen when you try to loot their gold) and Naggaroth (and no doubt ending up being sacrificed to Khaine by the Druchii).

On a Train, I Met a Dame

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the excellent movie Trainspotting. It also marks an interesting milestone for me: It has been twenty years since I first played the ace multiplayer game Worms.
So what's the connection between Worms and Trainspotting? Well, when I made my first squad of Worms fighters, I named them after characters in Trainspotting (keep in mind though that I, on the account of my age, never saw the movie in the cinema, I just knew the character names as they were displayed on the advertising poster).

And so my Worm team was made up of Begbie, Renton, Sick Boy and Spud. What's even more inane is just how well those names work as Worms fighters XD.

And it's a tradition I maintain to this day: Evey time I start up a Worms te,a it will always be the same four names - much to bewilderment of my opponents in Worms.

A New Quest

Recently I had the pleasure of striking another game from my Hall of Shame. Clean out your desk DLC Quest, you're outta here!

I'm not sure if this counts as a legitimate exclusion from the Hall of Shame as the game is short, cheap and doesn't even try to hide it's intent of being one colossal joke. But hey, I made it to the end and netted a whole a lot of achievements so that must account for something.

It's rare to find a game that's legitimately funny. It's rarer still to find a game that's legitimately funny which doesn't wear out it's welcome. So is DLC Quest one of these?
Well I did enjoy the jokes, I did enjoy the commentary on gaming culture and the short nature of the game means the game doesn't wear out it's welcome. But on the other hand, DLC Quest isn't something I see myself returning to. Yes DLC Quest was entertaining but once you've seen all the jokes there isn't really that much in the way of staying power.

Still DLC Quest works as an afternoon occupier. And I'll give it that much

Kiss Me You Fool

So far, this has been the only time my hapless blue knight has achieved a kiss from one of the princesses.

Still, at least I have a tonne of cash to go with it XD

Metal will live on

Not much to say for today so here's something I found on YouTube:

Original video located here. Accessed 6th April 2016

Ninja Musicology

Here's something of interest I came across recently: A kickstarter campaign based around the music of the Last Ninja trilogy.

Go fund this! It has a lot of potential! I did!

The Legend Lives on

And for the first time this year, a game has been cast down from my Hall of Shame. Goodbye Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (FC)!

Original image located here. Accessed 30th March 2016

It's been awhile since I last sat down and played a JRPG. True there's no shortage of them but I don't feel that such a thing is working for the genre. Allow me to elaborate: I personally feel that, as a genre, the JRPG is in a terrible state of stagnation. Nothing has really come along that has really changed the genre dramatically. In fact, I firmly believe that the genre peaked with Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7 and everything that has followed since hasn't reached such lofty heights. Instead, the genre has been reduced to repetition and formula. Thus what we end up with is so many JRPG titles, subsequently representing quantity over quality, and the challenge of any JRPG needing to do something really special to jump out from the pack.

So in that front, how did Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky fair?

I will admit that this game certainly adheres to the familiar tropes that are so common in JRPGs: A spunky, hyperactive female lead? Check. A sullen male lead that functions as a straight man to the female lead? Check. A lot of party members including a cute kid, a martial artist, a cocky grump, a genteel type, a pretty boy and a 'big sister'? Check. Airships? Check. A sequence involving cross-dressing? Check. Ancient tech? Check. A battle system involving super moves built up by taking so many hits? Check.

So getting past the trappings of formula, is there anything left to Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky? Yes there is: Heart. It may sound corny but there is clearly a lot of love put into this game. It has a lot of charm and personality that makes Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky's adherence to JRPG formula forgivable (it should also be noted that this was the same impression I took away from Skies of Arcadia).
I really enjoy the dialogue and often found myself laughing out loud at some points. I really enjoy these characters to a point where I found myself wanting to know what happens next. In fact I think this may well be the biggest selling point for this game: It is well-written. And that's saying a lot coming from a genre that's, as stated above, stagnated badly.

All in all, I really enjoyed playing Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky and I'm looking forward to the Second Chapter - which is already in my Steam account and ready to go. And considering the trials and tribulations the localization team went through, the fact that SC is here is a miracle and one to be savored.

The X-COM Files

Some of the regular readers to this blog may recall I was once interested the original XCOM. However, for some reason, I have gone off this game and have yet to revisit it. I guess a lot of other games kinda demanded my attention. Either that or I just found it hard to get to grips with as a complete newbie.

Nevertheless, I have been viewing footage of the recent remake on YouTube and I must admit that it looks interesting. Compared to the original, it certainly seems more accessible and the customizing feature for the grunts is welcome. So this new X-com does warrant some further investigation.

Mind you, for a while I did think that the voice of the council guy was none other than Peter Cullen himself. Imagine my disappointment when this proved not to be the case

Narrowing it Down

Still truckin' through Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

However, it is now that a major problem with the game rears its head and make's it's presence known.  I hate to say that I have a problem with this game as I've been enjoying it so far but this is a problem that has repercussions that are truly felt (and how!).

The problem is this: A lot of the side-quests have a time limit to have them done - and a very narrow time limit at that. If they aren't completed by a certain point then that's it! You can't go back and beat them at a later point - no, you either have to complete the side-quest within the time-frame the game demands or live with a black mark in your journal.
Naturally, this makes an annoyance for completionists like myself. And such was the case of me when I realised I couldn't fulfill a side-quest so i had to start all over from a certain point - and in my case, lose six hours worth of game time.

Still, I did pay $26.89 AUD dollars for this game so at least I know I'm getting my money's worth....

Didn't I see you in another game?

So.... this happened:

 Gotta love the Princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII vibe you got going there Joshie XD

30 Years of Zelda

This year marks a significant gaming milestone: It is the thirtieth anniversary of the Legend of Zelda franchise! Yes, way back in 1986, a game called Legend of Zelda touched down on the NES and introduced us all to a character who isn't the one in the title.

I myself am delighted by this. Whilst I may have been late to the Legend of Zelda party I still have many fond memories of playing Link to the Past (you never forget your first Zelda game!) and I still acknowledge it as a personal fav. I may have gone off Zelda in recent years but I still hold the series in high regard.

But here's a thought: The twentieth anniversary of the Zelda series, 2006, gave us Twilight Princess - and, in the player guide I got (don't judge me!), it's revealed that the Princess Zelda in that game is  twenty years of age. A little meta joke to be sure but it does raise an interesting question: Would that make the Princess Zelda, in the upcoming WiiU game, thirty?

It may make for a bold idea for a Legend of Zelda game having a non-teenage/young adult Link and Zelda but that seems doubtful: After all, this is Nintendo and Nintendo aren't ones to readily challenge their 'family-friendly' image.
I mean, on one hand having an older Link and Zelda may make for a more 'adult' game (witness the star of Red Dead Redemption John Marston) that may address some issues well beyond what the Legend of Zelda series has tackled previously - but the series is, and always will be, one for kids.

You're the Voice

Still truckin' through Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

I will admit I am disappointing that this isn't fully voice acted. Sure there are sound bites in the combat sequences but it is kind of frustrating that these characters otherwise only speak in text. Okay, so maybe there is a lot of dialogue in this game but some of it is real gold and it's shame to not hear it spoken.
Besides, considering how Stephanie Sheh seems to play a lot of cutesy/moe roles, it be hilarious to hear her voice say something like this:

Ten Years Gone

I was going through some old files recently and I came across this:

Ten years to the day....

Your Goose is Cooked

Still trucking through Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

A point of interest: I really enjoy the cooking mechanic this game has. For the uninitiated, it works like this: You obtain a food of some kind and when you eat it, the recipe on how to make it will be entered in your recipe book. Thus, by obtaining ingredients throughout the game, one can make any healing agents/buffs anytime and anywhere.
I've never seen anything like this before and believe you me, I liking it a lot :)

Castle has Crashed

Lately, in between my progress through Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, I've been playing Castle Crashers.

This is not my first time playing Castle Crashers - Previously it was something I played at my friend's place on his Xbox. But now, I have Castle Crashers on Steam and I'm going all the way through it.
Currently I am playing this with the same people I played ESO with. Funny thing to say: It's like we traded well realised, immersive worlds for cartoonish graphics and general absurdity.

Of course this only solidifies Castle Crashers' reputation as being one of, if not the, best multi-player games in existence. However compared to the previous multi-player games, Castle Crashers has been something of a change of pace: Previously, in this group, I have been the lowest leveled. I've lagged behind everyone else who are well ahead of me and, despite my best efforts, I can never catch up and/or keep the pace. But with Castle Crashers, it's the exact opposite: I am well ahead of everyone else in the leveling department. I suppose this can be attributed to the fact that I was the only one who started with a controller (as opposed to to a keyboard), but it does make a welcome change that the guy who was behind everyone else suddenly came out in front (Steven Bradbury anyone?).

Only drawback is that everyone tends to gang up on me in the Princess fights, making me the first one to go down but still.....

The Sky's the Limit

As promised, I've been playing a lot of Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky lately.

At time of writing, I'm eleven hours in and I've cleared the prologue.

This is going to be a long game.....

For Your Comparison

At the end of last year, I made mention of how, in 2005, I stumbled across a list made by IGN of the 100 Greatest Games. And how a new, updated list has arisen since.

This in turn got me thinking: With ten years separating these lists, how do they compare? What does this say about the games listed that have particular staying power? Is this truly the definitive list as it's made out to be?

So what I'll do for this post is to compare the lists: The 2005 original, the 2007 update and the 2015 iteration. Lets see if there are some common threads between them...

Firstly, the games that made both the 2005 and 2007 lists:

Alone in the Dark
Archon
Bionic Commando
Command and Conquer: Red Alert
Day of the Tentacle
Dragon Warrior
Dune 2: Building of a Dynasty
Fallout
Final Fantasy 4
God of War
Gran Turismo 3
Grand Theft Auto 3
Mafia
NHL '94
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Pokemon
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Quake 2
Rayman 2: the Great escape
Rome: Total War
Sam and Max Hit the Road
Secret of Mana
Shining Force 2
Sid Meier's Civilization 2 
Sonic the Hedgehog
Star Wars Arcade
Super Mario Kart
Syndicate
Ultima 7
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
Wave Race 64

~*~

Next, the games that made both the 2007 and 2015 lists.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Mega Man 2
Shadow of the Colossus
Silent Hill 2 
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness
World of Warcraft

~*~

And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for, the games that made all three lists:

Advance Wars
Baldur's Gate 2
Battlefield 1942
Burnout 3: Takedown
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Chrono Trigger
Contra 
Deus Ex
Doom
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 7
Goldeneye 007
Grim Fandango
Half Life
Half Life 2
Halo
Ico
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Mechwarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
Metal Gear Solid
Metroid Prime
Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
Ms. Pacman
Resident Evil 4
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Sim City 2000
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Starcraft
Street Fighter 2
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Bros 1
Super Mario Bros 3
Super Mario World
Super Mario World: Yoshi's Island
Super Metroid
System Shock 2
Tetris
Thief 2: The Metal Age
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
X-COM: UFO Defense

 ~*~

So there you go: Forty-one games, that provide a common link between the three lists. 
So what does this mean? One can imagine that these forty-one games have been influential and have proven to have considerable saying power - even compared to the more recent games listed in the 2015 list.

That's saying a lot when one considers that these games represent a nineteen year time period, with the earliest, Super Mario Bros, hailing from 1985 and the latest, Rome Total War, coming from 2004. Indeed, one can only wonder what the more current games listed in the 2015 list will look like in 2025....

Days of the New Republic

Happy New Year everyone! And here we go again with another year of Game Tumour.
So what did I play over my Christmas/New Years break? None other than Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic!

Okay so yes I did get sucked into the hype over the new movie and yes it is in anticipation for giving the oft-maligned KOTOR 2 a look (and with the Steam release promising restored content and achievements how could I refuse?) but I made it a point to revisit KOTOR 1 due to several points of interest.

Firstly, I last played this game in 2009 on the original Xbox. This time I played it on Steam and with a better idea of what I was doing. Seeing as it's been seven years between drinks, it is interesting to see the game from such a perspective. And I can safely say that KOTOR 1 still holds up well - it's still fun and engaging and I even encountered some content I missed the first time around. And even with the knowledge of the big plot twist, it still comes across as well-orchestrated that you never really see it coming.

Secondly, I am playing this game when the ownership of Star Wars has changed hands to Disney - and subsequently slit the throat of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. This move is something I have mixed feelings about: On one hand, the EU was nothing short of huge and could be intimidating to newcomers - so scrapping the EU and starting again does invite a tightly controlled, and more coherent, continuity. But on the other hand, the end of the EU does mean that some quality material will be left by the wayside - and KOTOR being one of them.
Which is indeed a shame as KOTOR is easily one of the strongest entrants in Star Wars and could certainly show anyone working on the new continuity how it's done. It manages to achieve that difficult balancing act of being new and familiar - something that eluded the grasp of the prequels.

Thirdly, it is interesting to see this game now that Force Awakens has descended down from Heavens in a golden chariot. Much has been made that how this Star Wars has gone out of this way to have plenty of diversity in it's cast (not least Finn and Rey) but somehow that attention may have been better directed at KOTOR who did it first. There's no shortage of diversity in your companions (Bastila, Mission, Juhani and Jolee) but there is a real freedom being offered in who the PC is and how the player creates them. In fact, I find it funny how people rave about Rey being the strong female character that the Star Wars franchise needed when my character, Nicst Elhob, did it first.
In addition, the new Star Wars films have the unenviable task of being new and familiar at the same time. Whilst I did find Force awakens to be both enjoyable and an apology letter for the prequels, it still seemed to be leaning on the A New Hope a lot - at the expense of having something of it's own to say (hopefully Episode VIII doesn't fall into the same trap and be a retread of Empire Strikes back)- unlike KOTOR who again, certainly had something to say and within the context of the Star Wars universe.

And finally, KOTOR still represents the prequels that should've been. It's been said that there was a germ of an idea in them that sadly got overlooked. But that wasn't a problem with KOTOR: So Anakin Skywalker was truly The Chosen One who was meant to bring balance to the Force? So what - Nicst Elhob did just that. Yep, within the field of a RPG, I had the freedom to be precisely the Jedi I wanted to be. I got to make decisions that swung in the directions both good and bad. An why wouldn't I? This is an RPG, where the players are free to mould their character in the way they seem fit. Furthermore, the lack of a Mass Effect conversation reel yields no indication of how certain conversation responses will go over - therefore it becomes impossible to do a 'pure' light side character and, to me, makes the game better for it.

Personally, if I was charged with making a new Star Wars movie, or even a reboot of the prequels, I would look to KOTOR - because it got so much right it wasn't funny.