Pax'd Up

Last weekend I was in Melbourne - so I made an unplanned visit to PAX.
Never been to a PAX before but from what I gathered from those in the US, it's a major convention being one of the biggest and most important one's on the convention circuit and a nothing less than a big deal.

So I went in and the first thing that grabbed me was the stalls where various new tech was being plugged. The area all these stalls were in were in in poorly lit areas and featured lots of loud music and neon lighting - an experience akin to being in a rave.
But getting past that initial experience, I spent little time in the tech area. But what i did see were crowds of people gathering around to see what was on offer and snapping up free stuff where available. But strangely seeing what was new didn't interest me - I've been suckered into what was 'new' before only to emerge disappointed. Thus there is a wisdom in being cautious.

What really interested me however was what was happening in the area outside of the 'new' stuff: there were tables of DnD players, various stalls plugging non-electronic gaming wares, and a complete retro gaming section boasting a history of pinball display & games ready to pick up and play. Indeed, it is telling that i spent more time at this retro area than with all the new stuff.

Two things struck me as being of particular interest: One was an area where people can bring in their rig for a gaming at the con. I've been to several cons and have never seen anything like it before. Naturally, this area was under constant security but it's impressive that people will bring their rig to a con just for it - but hey, it's a gaming con, right?

The other thing was a live-speed run, where a guy sought to beat Super Mario World in 100 minutes with a) 95 exits unlocked and b) without the cape. And he did it! I've heard that speed-runners are super insane at their chosen games but it see it done live is something else. As such, the player drew a large crowd and had people cheering him when he performed particular feats.

But in the end, for a con meant to be about the glory of gaming I spent little time around the 'new' stuff and more time running around taking photos of the cosplayers. It may not have been the intent of the con but hey, it worked for me.

So in the end, I had a great time at PAX but it is interesting to note that enjoyment had, once again, nothing to do with the latest games and/or tech. Telling much?

Beginnings of a saga

Ive talked up Panzer Dragoon Saga a lot in this blog but I haven't; given much attention to the other games in the franchise. Recently however I decided to rectify this....

...by watching a LongPlay of Panzer Dragoon 1 and 2 (Zwei) on YouTube.

Seriously though, it's the only way I could ever see these games in action other than shelling out a fortune for a working Saturn and the games in question. I have memories of playing a single-level demo of Zwei in a store but that's pretty much my extent with this series. But considering how a dramatic change it was for Saga to be an RPG, there must've been something there originally, right?

Okay, so let's start with Panzer Dragoon.
From the looks of it, this game isn't that remarkable from a gaming standpoint: It's short, it's working off of an arcade mentality (as in it's longevity is based on how quickly the player can do everything required), it requires quick actions and reflexes, the player is running on a set path (such is the nature of a 'rail shooter') and success is measured by how well the player did by doing the same old thing.
But what truly got my interest was the aesthetics of this game. Oh. My. God. The Aesthetics. If the game part of it was kinda weak then it's the way the game is presented that makes up for it. We have fascinating settings with sunken ruins, deserts, caves, canyons and forests. There is a language made up especially for the game. There are mech devices and ancient tech. There are airships that looked like they came straight out of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. There is art based off of the illustrations of the French artist Moebius. There are bosses that collapse into pieces as they are destroyed. There are Sandworms that look like they came straight out of Dune. And the music is both atmospheric and brilliant.

But what strikes me the most about this game is the world in which it's set: It's intriguing yes but it's also very vague. The opening text makes clear that this is a post-apocalyptic setting, wherein human civilization has crumbled. But the humans are living in fear of 'cyber genetic warfare' (huh?). So the humans find, and excavate, an ancient Tower and turn the tables. This in turn makes all surrounding nations (Huh?) turn on each other while fighting a 'Dark Dragon'.
It's an intriguing setup that raises a lot of questions: How did humanity survive the many years since the collapse of civilization? What the hell is this cyber genetic warfare? Who is responsible for it? If civilization collapsed then what are the other nations? Who is in them? If civilization has long collapsed shouldn't everything be a lot more disorganized? What does the Tower do? And how does the Dark Dragon fit into all of this?
Of course none of these questions are answered over the course of the game but playing the game raises even more questions: Who was the original rider of the Blue Dragon? We get his mission was to destroy the Tower but why? Who was the rider of the Other Dragon that keeps reappearing throughout the game? What was his/her story? And as for the mission to destroy the Tower, did the Blue Dragon know? Did he even need the human PC?
With such questions, it's fair to say that Panzer Dragoon delivers half a story - and still, saying it's half still feels generous. There are some ideas that certainly have some potential but most likely it is confined to the restrictions imposed by fifth-generation gaming.

So how about Panzer Dragoon Zwei?
Well clearly the game is like any true sequel: It offers more of the same but enough new additions to make it stand on it's own two feet. The graphics are better, the boss fights are just as gripping, the targeting system works better and the first two levels are ground based. There's also a berserk mode added and the PC's dragon can upgrade based on the progress the player makes.
Other than that, the game's aesthetics still prove to be the series' strength: the art direction is still beautiful, the soundtrack is still great the settings are interesting, the enemies are varied, and the designs are still as inventive as Zwei's predecessor.
Unfortunately, the setting is as vague as before. The opening text indicates that 'Many millennia have passed since the fall of the old age'. Okay, so does the old age refer to when human civilization was in flower? And if that was a thousand years ago as the first game declared, does that that mean Zwei is set so many thousand years since?
We are then told that people are living in terror of a weapon created from gene reconstruction and it's use is robbing the humans of their strength. Okay so is this the cyber genetic warfare that was mentioned in the first game? Did it replace the Tower? Is in any related to the Tower?
And speaking of the Tower it is then revealed that other nations are following the humans' lead and digging up ancient weapons to fight wars. Okay seriously, who are these 'Other Nations'? Are they humans? If they are populated by humans why are they fighting the....well... other humans?
But again, none of these questions matter because, once again, when the game gets underway, more questions arise. Why does this place hate dragons and kill them on sight? I can understand that different places may have different perceptions but the Dragons and humans were getting along so well in the last game. And for that matter, how did the PC get Lagi (the Dragon) out of the village?  Someone would've surely noticed a dragon of that size. Who destroyed the village? Why did they destroy the village? Who is this Empire? Are they connected to the 'humans'? Who is the Mecchania? Why are they after the ship?
And then there's the ending: ......I.....um....what? It was abrupt, bizarre and confusing - as if my head wasn't already loaded with enough questions. Once again however it does give the indication that the story the makers had wasn't the kind that could fit onto a single CD.

Confusion aside, the world that Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon Zwei clearly had potential. Potential that could not be confided to a singular game on a singular disc. hence we got sequels in the form of Saga and Orta. Indeed, it should be noted that Orta came with it's own encyclopedia resolving many of the questions inspired by this game series.
Still, none of these questions were actually resolved in-game - like how questions relating to the game should be. I can understand Saga going out it's way to resolve such issues but that game remains, alas, out of reach.....

Got lost on the way to Teotihuacan

You gotta admire the architecture in ESO. Here's something that truly stood out for me:

Closing up shop

The major piece of news that has been going around this week is the announcement that Nintendo will be shutting down the Wii Shop Channel. The proposed date for this will be January 30th 2019.
Until then, items already available can be purchased and downloaded until March 29 2018.

In a word: Disappointing. I purchased my Wii pretty much for the Virtual Console and I swear I spent more hours on the games I got off the Virtual Console than i did for regular Wii games. This is largely because the games in question are timeless and still hold up in today's environment - but that isn't the type of attitude that Nintendo will take kindly to. But this announcement seems like the ultimate act of revenge: The Virtual Console has yet to appear on any of the Wii's successors and many of the games currently on the Wii Store are unavailable anywhere else.

This could largely be laid at the feet of Nintendo having no idea how to handle downloading services but I can't help but think if this is a harbinger of things to come. While it's great we have the likes of XBLA, the PlayStation Store, Steam and GoG, one can only imagine how long they will last before the servers keeping them going breaks down completely and such wonderful and trailblazing games are lost forever.....

Back in the Saddle

So this has been doing the rounds recently:

Original video located here. Accessed 2nd October 2017

It's the first real taster we've been given of this game. And, unsurprisingly, the rumor mill is in full flight. Is that guy towards the end Dutch? Is that guy in front of the burning building Bill? Who is this Arthur Morgan? Is he the PC? And where is John in all of this?

I, however, am having my reservations: Aside from the fact that this is too early to call and speculation can only last until the game is, y'know, actually released,the thing is that this game looks to be well and truly a prequel. And the only problem with prequels, is you know how it's going to end. It doesn't matter how big a role Jon, Dutch, Bill and Javier will play in this new game because, as we all know, they will appear in the RDR1. And if Arthur Morgan is indeed a previously unnamed member of this outlaw gang, then somehow his fate is already sealed.

Still, for the moment, call me curious....

Leagues ahead

Earlier this week, I got talked into having a shot at League of Legends.

This is not unfamiliar territory for me however: I have played the original Defense of the Ancients mod for Warcraft 3, thus giving me a fair idea what to expect and how the game works. I was also aware of the extreme popularity of the game but it didn't bother me too much.

And as it turns out, I had some fun with this game. Sure there were some frustrating moments with both my inability to take out enemy heroes and me constantly getting curb-stomped by said heroes, but once I got the hang of the game there were some moments of gold. I felt the satisfaction of every progressive step towards the enemy base. I relished each moment when everything went in my team's direction. And I felt the satisfaction of a hard-fought victory.
And suddenly the wide popularity of this game makes a whole lotta sense.

I don't see myself becoming regular player of this however: It all hinges on whether my compatriots can find the time to spare. But still, it's always there.....

Can you hear the lambs Clarice?

Another game has been struck down from my Hall of Shame. Clean out your desk Nights Into Dreams - you're outta here!

Original image located here. Accessed 27th September 2017

And thus ends a journey that has been twenty-one years in the making. I still remember seeing the trailer for this game in a store and being really excited about it, what with me being a Sega fanboy sympathizer. But it is only now, when Sega's heyday as a hardware manufacturer is long gone that I'm able to play Nights Into Dreams - on the XBLA. Irony eh?
Of course, I'm not playing the Saturn version: I'm playing the HD enhanced version. I could play the original version by why would I want to do that?

Okay, sarcasm aside, this game would still have to rank as one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. And the HD Enhancement does just that: Enhances the graphics into one of the most brightest and most colorful games around. Indeed it certainly shows up a lot of modern games - and this was a game released in a the middle of a decade people tend to look back on as being full of grittiness and edginess.
I remember one of the first reviews I saw of this game the reviewer noted that the game looked like it been made by a graphics department who'd had too much red cordial - can't say I disagree.
The music is also a treat too.

Now that we have the aesthetics out of the way, how does the gameplay come across?
I like what this game was trying to do, with it's flight mechanic but the prospect of flying is hindered by the knowledge that what the player is ultimately doing is flying along a fixed path. Sure there are alternate paths but they don't seem that different. And there's no denying that the game is short - but the difficulty makes up for it. For therein lies the challenge of reaching the 'A' rating - a challenge that, naturally, seems difficult in getting. And I will admit that i was putting a lot of hard effort in only to get anything but an 'A' - to a point where I was starting to take it personally.

One interesting observation is that, given how there is a loud call for more female representation in gaming, I actually found Claris' dream easier than Elliot's dream. True: I breezed through Clari's levels and got some high scores but Elliot's dreams were more tricky and more demanding to get higher scores - so much so, I was baffled that i did really well only to get hit with  a lowly 'C' grade.
So what, playing the female character means an easier time? Clearly this game was thinking way ahead of it's time.

But at the end of the day, this game had a lot of charm and I liked it a lot. It has great ideas, great art direction and the HD enhancement really help the game. It may have been a diamond in the rough when it was first released but, when compared to a lot of it's Saturn stablemates, Nights Into Dreams is a game that truly comes across like it was made with heart and a passion to be the best game the makers could produce.
And HD enhancement gives Nights Into Dreams the greatness originally worthy of it.