Old Fashioned

A trip to the doctor’s office today resulted in some further examinations required to figure out exactly what’s bugging The Wife.  In the meantime, in order to make herself feel a little better, we’ve turned to something sorely lacking in the current generation of consoles and made a surprisingly late purchase of what, for us, has always been a Must Have Game:

While I’m extremely happy with our Playstation 3, the one thing about this current generation of consoles I find truly worrying is that after 2 years of availability on the market, I am STILL buying one of my all time favorite genres of games–that being turn based Japanese role-playing games–for the Playstation 2 (it’s just a good thing my PS3 plays PS2 games.  Yay for backward compatibility) because aside from one truly horrible port from the 360, there are NO games in this genre available for the PS3.  It’s been a concern of mine for some time now because it seems like in an effort to appeal to “casual gamers” (defined as people that prefer more action oriented titles that require less thought and/or dedication to play or finish) turn-based JRPGs are being pushed to the side in favor of more action-y titles like Kingdom Hearts because publishers feel there’s a larger audience for that kind of game.  Turn-based JRPGs, it seems, are now considered a little too demanding of today’s audiences, and as a result, the newer consoles are shying away from them, whereas the Playstation 2, is in fine shape since its a console that’s famous for being a haven for the genre.

This kind of bugs me for two reasons.  One is that it IS my favorite genre of console gaming and I’ve been a devoted fan of these games for years, so obviously I’m sad to see them becoming more and more rare.  The other is that it’s one of the few genres of games that the Wife is unabashedly enthusiastic about–since, being turn-based and thus, more like chess–it doesn’t demand crazy reflexes honed through years of gaming just to enjoy the experience.

Arrived

Jet lag in full effect.

Packing

Because the plane leaves at 9 am tomorrow.

It’s pretty doubtful that we’ll get any sleep between then and now, and also unlikely that I, at least, will manage to sleep on the plane (I can’t seem to sleep in sitting position, no matter how much the chairs recline), so it’s going to be the usual half-way disconnected, confusion-fest upon arrival in… European Country X.

Done

Resident Evil 5 has been finished and it was tons of fun.  It didn’t always necessarily feel like an RE game, which was a little sad, but it was a well crafted experience, if a bit cheap towards the end.

Nerd Party

What else can you say?  Streetfighter IV and people screaming over Resident Evil 5 makes for an incredibly embarassing get together if you’re not similarly geeky yourself.  Fun had by all.

Working On Elite

And by that, I mean the hardest difficulty level of Killzone 2.  Not being an ace First Person Shooter guy, I’m finding it difficult in the extreme at some points, but nothing totally impossible yet.

More Friends

Or friend, to be more precise, as yet another old aquaintance from university dropped by Toronto for a visit.  Walks along Bloor, perusing of various shops and yes, more Rock Band 2 occurred.  Also we took the cats to the vet for a check up.  Zero ain’t doing so hot, he’s bleeding some in his urine, but we’re still not sure what the cause is until some blood work is done.  Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.

Ragnarok Cometh

Or at least in this case, it means the end of the Norse Gods in Viking: Battle for Asgard since the game is done.  My initial opinion still stands; a somewhat decently entertaining game let down by an enormous lack of polish and some repetitive pacing issues.  I don’t think the game could EVER have been a serious competitor for God of War but it could have been more entertaining than it was.

80's Nostalgia-O-Meter Activated

I admit it.  I’m getting excited.

Back To The Tombs & Being A Jerk

E3 has come and gone and it was a pretty good run for all the consoles.  While the Wii (as usual) is probably the weakest of the lot for hardcore gamers, it managed to acquit itself to some degree from the Wii “Vitality Sensor” (it’s a finger sensor that measures your pulse.  Seriously.  No, they didn’t even show what kind of software this would use, they just showed it off and said it’s coming) with a new Metroid and Mario game, Sony and Microsoft basically went nuts.  Microsoft now has that Project Natal thing that the mainstream media is doubtless going insane over, but I remain skeptical.  Particularly in light of the fact that actual tech demos were dodgey at best and the bulk of the presentation consisted of carefully prepared concept videos that show what the thing is supposed to be like.  Sony probably came the best off since they simply steamrolled a ton of games including God of War III They also unveiled their own motion control system, and, while it was an actual working tech demo that seemed incredibly precise, it’s still motion control, so, like Natal, I remain skeptical.

Other than that, Tomb Raider:  Underworld got patched for trophies so I’m playing it again.  And enjoying it a lot.  When I’m not tearing my hair out over trying to solve the puzzles since I’ve completely forgotten them and refuse to consult the internet.  The other addition is another of those “games I’ve been meaning to get around to one of these days” titles, which, thanks to eBay, I managed to find brand new at half the retail price.

Overlord came out last year, and the basic premise is that you play… an Overlord.  An evil one, who has been beaten by a hero and is now slogging back up the hierarchy of power to be supreme bad guy.  The premise alone is an interesting one, but the game, at least so far, fails to fully reach its potential, although it’s actually a reasonably fun experience (just not $60 of fun).  A few rough technical spots (wonky camera, some frame rate issues here and there) are pretty forgiveable, especially since it’s an older multi-platform title from the days when developers were really struggling to understand how to code for the PS3.  What ultimately disappoints is the way the game neuters its own premise.  It has a difficult time really living with itself and the idea that it’s encouraging you to be bad.  For example, when you encounter a town filled with peasants, the game actually tasks you with helping them from the “halfling siege” (who all look suspiciously like Hobbits and live in similar dwellings) led by a former halfing hero who is now corrupt and even MORE evil than you.  Another example is when the game tasks you with killing a unicorn, but then it’s revealed that the unicorns have also been corrupted and are now bloodthirsty killers in need of killing to protect the forest.

At every opportunity the game presents you with a seemingly evil act that it turns upside down so that you’re actually doing good.  In that sense it seems like the developers liked the idea of playing the bad guy, but were afraid it might be too controversial, and so changed to it “mischievious guy that does some questionable things but ultimately acts for the greater good despite calling himself evil.”

The game (and rightly so) got called out a lot for this when it first shipped, and even as I’m playing this game now, the sequel is already on the way, with a demo available to play.  I gave that a shot and could see that the previous criticisms were addressed.  One of the very first things the new game has you do, with no apology, or rationale for ultimately being a good act… is to club baby seals.  Lots of them.

That’s already off to a good start.