Seventh Heaven

And so the seventh generation of console gaming has well and truly rode off into the sunset. So where does this leave us? Well for me this may as a good a time as any to do a retrospective on this generation outgoing.

At first I had no interest in the seventh generation. At the time the seventh generation was dawning, I got off my arse and got a PS2. A bit late to the party true but I didn't care: I merely wanted to find out what the PS2 had to offer - as well as what I'd missed out on with the PS1. And the shaky start of the Xbox 360 confirmed the wiseness of this decision.
True I did eventually obtain a Wii but that was more for the Virtual Console than the actual games the Wii had to offer.

But it didn't take long before something came along that really piqued my interest. The game was Dragon Age Origins - and somehow it being marketed as a successor to the mighty Baldur's Gate  was enough to warrant more investigation. And then, seeing a friend play Mass Effect 2 furthered my decision to fork out for a 360. It seemed a dumb decision to get yet another console when I had a PC, PS2 and a Wii but I don't regret it one bit.

Now. Do I have any favorite games from this last generation. Funny you should say that: I've got a top ten list prepared!
So here's my favorite games of the last generation all arranged in order of preference. All of these games I may have, at one stage or another, already talked about at length on this blog so I'll try and keep this brief.

10. Cave Story
It was made by one guy but damn what a labor of love this was. True the last boss may have prevented me for beating the game (otherwise this will be ranked much higher) but Cave Story has plenty of charm that puts a lot of triple A games to shame.

9. Braid 
I found Braid bogged down by the pretensions towards artiness this game had. But then I remembered this game had fun puzzles, clever mechanics and a lovely art direction. Enough to save it? Damn right.

8. Dragon Age Origins
Say what you like about Bioware but somehow Dragon Age Origins feels like one of their last watermarks. True it is more enjoyable on the PC, with mods, than the Xbox, but there is still a lot going for this game with it's art direction, gripping plot and solid writing.

7. Bioshock
Before I played Bioshock I was feeling somewhat unhappy with gaming - but by playing Bioshock I got the kick up the arse I was needing. Compelling in it's narrative, inventive in it's ideas and a great game all round, Bioshock was all this and more. Now about System Shock 2....

6. Bastion
A lot of games seem to rely on spectacle and explosions - so any game that attempts the 'Less is More' approach is worth nothing less than my interest. Four characters, a glorious narration, and an art direction to die for, Bastion is nothing short of brilliant.

5. Spec Ops the Line
The slap in the face that military shooters needed. It's not a game I'd play for enjoyment but it's a game that is indeed worthy of my respect. It takes balls for a game to critique it's audiences and Spec Ops The Line has the biggest balls of them all.

4. Thomas Was Alone
If the seventh generation proved anything it's the time that indie games truly flexed their muscles. And Thomas Was Alone could well have been the best of the lot. It may have won me over on sheer personality alone but being a great game certainly didn't hurt either.

3. Rock Band 2
I hate to think how many hours i may have sunk into Rock Band 2 but I honestly loved every minute of it. The implementation of the music library was a masterstroke and I've gained a new appreciation for music I wouldn't have otherwise been aware of.

2. Mass Effect 2
Dragon Age Origins may have proven that the seventh generation my be worth my time but Mass Effect 2 truly sealed the deal. It seems to me that Bioware were taking the concept of the Dirty Dozen and putting into game form for the first time. And I personally wouldn't have it any other way, 

1. Red Dead Redemption
Game of the generation? Hell yes. Beyond that I can't really think of much else to say about Red Dead Redemption. It's the game I got the most out of in the entire generation and it looks set to be a favorite in the years to come. Can something top it? Now there's a challenge to rise up to.....

So where am I at the beginning of the eighth generation? Anything but confident.
I'm serious: Nothing has come along that has really grabbed my attention. Indeed I have found, like most people, the seventh generation being truly defined by the presence of indie games on XBLA & Steam. And in particular I've found, much to my surprise, that many of them are more substantial than the games available on the shelves of EB Games. It is indeed telling that the only game I've truly gotten excited over in the past twelve months is The Stanley Parable.

But then again I have no patience for the eighth generation - not while my Hall of Shame continues to exist anyway.

Fit for a King

Another post, another game struck down from my Hall of Shame. Once again, it was something I played over my Christmas break: Kings Quest 6.

Once upon a time, Sierra had a substantial reputation for their Adventure games. They had several series that featured over numerous installments and enjoyed much success during their heyday. I myself never really bothered much with them. Yes I played about two installments of the Leisure Suit Larry (keep in mind I was ten/eleven at the time), and I had seen the first Police Quest being played but was largely unfamiliar with the Sierra adventure games.
In the years since, time has not been kind to the Sierra adventure games with most of them being dismissed for obnoxious difficulty, game-killing puzzles (one slightest slip up and it's game over), cheap deaths and solutions to problems that make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Still I was interested to take a look so I may as well try one of the best: King's Quest 6.

Now coming into Kings Quest 6 I had absolutely zero knowledge about the series beforehand - thus leaving me with little idea as to what to expect. And the first thing that struck me about this game was that it was genuine attempt to build a fairy tale within game - something that doesn't happen very often. Okay so the Super Mario and Zelda games may have taken their inspiration from fairy tales whilst Braid and Shadow the Colossus seek to deconstruct them, but for me King's Quest 6 feels genuine in it's attempt to present a prince going around a fantasy world to rescue a princess.
But at the same time, one feels this was trying to deconstruct the fairy tale genre whilst celebrating it. Thus the prince, Alexander, comes across as committed to his quest to the point of tunnel-vision that one starts questioning his mental state. Likewise the princess, Cassima, is revealed to be practical and hardly the type to sit around waiting to be rescued.

In fact a lot has to said for the writing: The characters are well written and likeable, there are some interesting allusions to other fairy tales, the puzzles actually make sense, the humor is well handled (ie the Chess Piece queens) and the climax is actually really exciting.Okay the amount of deaths were stupid but the setting and characters that inhabited it were compelling enough to see me through.
Also, I particularly enjoyed the voice acting - I'm still trying to wrap my head around Alexander being voiced by the same guy with did the Beast from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. And special mention must go to that guy who voices Saladin - He's great!
But I'm not quite sure what to make of the ending theme though ("Girl in the ToWAAAAHHH!!!").

Now considering Sierra's reputation this game didn't cause an epiphany to inspire me to check out more Sierra games. Still, I enjoyed it a lot and its fun to see a genuine fairy tale in gaming - I mean you can't keep shooting zombies forever....

Braid Damage

Earlier this week I had the satisfaction of striking another game from the Hall of Shame – this time it was Braid. But what made this victory particularly satisfying was for two reasons: a) it was the endpoint after numerous frustrations and b) the achievement for completion of the game was enough to reach the ten thousand mark in my XBLA achievement total. Whilst Specs Ops the Line may have contributed heavily to this goal, beating Braid was enough to cross the finish line (that and saying both games in the same sentence makes me laugh).

So about Braid: To be honest approaching this game has always carried a weight of intimidation: It is one of those games that has lauded with praise so much that one would think there may not be a lot left to say about it and saying something different may come across as treason. So did I think of Braid?

Well I enjoyed it: There is indeed a lot going for this game that certainly deserves the praise.  The game mechanics are clever and inventive, the music is great, the puzzles creative and the art direction mind-blowing. All of which sound like great but, as there always seems to be, a problem raises its head. You see, many people regard Braid as the go-to game for the ‘Games as Art’ proposal but I’m not getting it. Where Braid works for me is a deconstruction of the whole ‘rescue the princess’ gaming trope and it there it works best: Thus adding all this stuff about the atomic bomb seems …well…unnecessary. To me it comes across as tacked on, convoluted and dropping an actual good idea. In fact the title of ‘Art Game’ continuously bestowed upon Braid seem more a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card so its problems won’t have to be explained – but I’m not so easily fooled.

Still I did enjoy Braid and am glad to have played it.
As a side note though, I am now imagining Tim being drinking buddies with Wander from Shadow of the Colossus.

Bastion your head in

As some of you may have noticed, there is a XBLA tenth anniversary currently going on (at time of writing). I myself used this to pick up, at half price, something that I've been wanting to play for a while: Bastion!

Beyond that though, there's not much I can say about Bastion that hasn't already been said before. I like the setting, the art direction, the narration and the idea of rebuilding a world. I guess I'm getting the same feeling I got when I played through Braid: Much has been said about this game that's not much room for something completely new. I'm going through the same experience that many people before me have already been through so what more can be said/experienced?
Still I haven't made a lot of progress in Bastion so it would be interesting to see how this turns out....

Braid Tumour

Not much to say for today: I was hoping to have beaten Braid by today so I would have something to talk about but it wasn't to be. I got to the last level but was unable to complete it as I got to an impassable part where I have to jump over some of those Goomba lookalikes - those who've played Braid would know exactly what I'm talking about.
I hate it when games do that: Luck need not play a major part in beating a game.

Still I do like the 'pin' feature that came with the latest update of XBLA. I hope the person who suggested it in the Microsoft think-tank got upgraded to a new office.

Princess Peach vs Yorda

It's been established many times over in this blog that I'm a big fan of the game Ico and I'll be first in line to defend it to the death. And so, for lack of a better segue, this is what I intend to do for today's post.
One common complaint I've heard about Ico is the ineffectual nature of Yorda - so I would like to address this aspect through inviting comparison to another gaming damsel in distress. That's right, I'm talking about Princess Peach.
Now much has already been written questioning Peach's mental state and how greatly she contributes to the Mario games so rather than go over well-trodden ground, I'm going to compare Peach and Yorda together in several areas. Hopefully I may be able to provoke a rethink to all the Yorda haters - and maybe Anne Hathaway will turn up on my doorstep demanding sex from me.

The Damsel in Distress
Yorda: Like Ico, Yorda is a prisoner in the fortress - this is immediately apparent through the first time we see her being in the predicament of being confined to a cage suspended up a tower.
Peach: Right from the very first game, Peach has provided something of a goal to the player in rescuing her from the clutches of Bowser. But since then, the same scenario has been repeated a gazillion times and yet she oddly doesn't seemed that fazed at all. This seems to present the rather unsettling suggestion that Peach may not be all right in the head....

The Setting
Yorda: Throughout the game, it is established that the fortress is the only world Yorda has known and the outside world would be a horrible place to be. But when the fortress is a monstrous creation towering above Ico and Yorda and seems to be one step ahead of their escape plan, getting away from it sounds like a damn good idea.
Peach: Is Princess Peach really a head of state? We never see her parents, the king and queen of the the Mushroom Kingdom, she doesn't seem to take on board any responsibilities as a ruler and the only interest she shows towards her subjects is getting them to do work for her! It seems she is far more content to have loads of money and little no responsibilities (insert obligatory Paris Hilton joke). So it begs the question: is this really a princess worth saving?

Appearance.

Yorda: Right from the word go, it is made clear that Yorda looks completely different form Ico - The deathly-pale skin was a dead giveaway and she's a world apart. Yet the ethereal quality is compelling enough.
Peach: Maybe it's me but this character design does little for me. I've seen faces that have kick-started many a damsel-in-distress saving quests but this isn't one of them. And those wide, vacant-looking eyes speak volumes. One would think Mario, a man of Italian nationality, would know a better-looking woman when he saw one.

Relationship to the player character
Yorda: Whilst Yorda does rely heavily on Ico, she is however bonded to the fortress and can open the sealed doors to other places that Ico would be otherwise been unable to access. Thus the relationship between Ico and Yorda is less an escort mission and more co-reliant.
Peach: Exactly what is the relationship between Peach and Mario? He goes through so many levels of danger and is constantly putting himself at risk but for what? The promise of cake?! Their relationship isn't really properly defined in the game and for all we know, Mario could be doing all this for having nothing better to do. In addition, considering Peach's afore-mentioned unfazed reaction to her abductions, brings forth the possibility that maybe Mario's efforts are going unnoticed and to waste. Seriously, is the promise of cake really that big a deal? (insert obligatory Portal joke)

Helpfulness to the player character
Yorda: This scene:

Peach: Apparently she does play a more helpful role in the Mario RPG with her being part of Mario's party and taking on a healer role. But I haven't got that far in that game yet so I can't comment. But if she truly is capable of self-defense then why doesn't she do it more often?!
But alas, nothing since has come of this change of pace and apparently the Mario RPGs are considered non-canon. So close and yet so far....

Facing a legitimate threat
Yorda: Yorda's role is ultimately to serve as a vessel to the Queen/Witch. The evil bitch intends to do this as her won body is nearing it's end and possessing her own daughter is as good excuse as any.
Peach: Whilst Bowser does present a threat, and indeed an imposing presence, it is however suggested that all he wants is some lovin'. One would wonder why don't Peach and Bowser hang out together (Stockholm Syndrome anyone?) but no, she still summons Mario to come to the rescue to save her from..... something that isn't really that big a deal.

Role in gaming
Yorda: Yorda is the product of a reinvention of the whole damsel-in-distress scenario that has been with gaming for nearly forever (a reinvention that, may I add, predates Braid).
Peach: Peach pretty much started this whole damsel-in-distress scenario - nowadays it's all played for laughs but honestly? The joke has pretty much been run to the ground....

Well I've said my case. But at the end of the day this my opinion and here on the internet differing opinions run rampant. I know there are some people who will put in the boot into Ico but you know what? I'm really not that bothered by it. I know I like Ico and that's all I need. And besides: Just because someone has a different to me doesn't mean it's the end of the world (very good advice that is).
Still, I shall expect the flames arriving in three....two....

Remake it so

For today I thought I'd share my thoughts on the thorny issue that is remakes.
Everyone has an opinion on this don't they? More often than not it is groans of disgust that old ground is being worked over, memories of childhood pleasure being irrevocably ruined and no one has the balls to come up with something new.

Personally, I can see both sides of the remake debate. On one hand, it presents a good opportunity for gamers to discover something that may have slipped their view the first item around: Older gamers can find something they didn't previously know about and younger gamers can something that made their comrades turn cartwheels over. As long as a formula works (and isn't tampered with too much), it can still keep working. And indeed, as long as there is a graphical upgrade, any old game can give any newer game a run for it's money.
On the other hand, game developers want something that can sell: Like any other project, making games is certainly not a cheap venture (how Jonathan Blow happened to have 250,000 lying around to make Braid is beyond me) so what you need is something that will return the investment. And that is no easy task seeing as gamers themselves tend to have attention spans that last no longer than five minutes.



So what do I think is a successful remake? The remake of Sid Meier's Pirates on the Xbox and Wii. I did try Pirates on the Commodore 64 back in the day but I found it stiff and unimpressive. On the Xbox however, I found it heaps of fun and quite easily to get lost in. As is my understanding the changes have been minor other than a complete graphic upgrade. But what does it matter? I've enjoyed playing Pirates and it is interesting to note the remake getting through to me when the original didn't.

A remake can work if the people understand what made it work the first time and not touch it further. A remake can be ruined by people adding too many changes and/or trying ever so hard to please fans of the original. But what I'd like to see is a remake done by the original developers who feel that they could've done a better job the first time around. Alfred Hitchcock did such a thing with the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much so I would like to see someone in the games industry with that kind of balls.

Ultimately though, I feel time spent on remakes would be better spent on developing new franchises to muck around with. Which is why I'm glad I'm playing Dragon Age Origins on my Xbox 360 and not some Baldur's Gate Redux (or something).