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.