Sonic Generations demo impressions

"Why don't they just do a Mega man 9?"

So yesterday was Sonic the Hedgehog's 20th birthday! Kudos to the franchise on that one. I'm certainly not as bigger Sonic fan as I was back on his 10th birthday when Sonic fans were all flying high on the Dreamcast and the release of Sonic Adventure 2. Since then we've been treated to a variety of Sonic installments as they try and work out how to get Sonic in 3d right. Sure Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were fine in the Dreamcast generation, but my Sonic Adventure 1 review told me how much these games have aged. The question that sticks in my mind from the recent Sonic games however is: what happened to the chao garden? Hopefully we'll see this in some form within Sonic Generations as it pioneers to take the best elements of each Sonic form and package them on one disc.

The Sonic Generations demo is certainly there only to appeal to the long-time fans, as the game revolves around playing levels both with the 2d Sonic and 3d Sonic, however in the demo we are only treated to 2d Sonic's incarnation of the Green Hill Zone. Upon first starting the demo I could see me playing it every day until the demo is taken down on the 12th of July (So grab it whilst you can!!!). I felt the Sonic atmosphere that everyone has been craving since Sonic & Knuckles on the megadrive - or Sonic Advance 1 on the GBA if you grabbed it. The music is a fantastic remix of the original Green Hill Zone theme, and gameplay felt like traditional Sonic, for the most part. Now, this is a real shame because Sega is so close to pinning down the mechanics of their own game, Sonic plays fine, until you notice he is constricted by his animations - ala Assassin's Creed - This means that Sonic has to finish a certain animation before he can start another, and this leads to Sonic feeling alot - for lack of a better word -"heavier" than he should, Sonic on the megadrive feels relatively loose in relation to control, you press left he starts movement left, then immediately press right he'll move right unless you've gained some momentum - it's very complex and hard to explain on my part, to put it into a simple phrase "it just feels off".

Now this brings me to my main question, why doesn't Sega just do a Mega man 9? By that I mean release a game based on the exact mechanics and a similar graphical style to the games in the series considered to be the best? My ideal Sonic game for example would be one in the vein of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, this had a similar "epic" feel to it that Sega has trying to inject into recent Sonic games through annoying companions and fmv cut-scenes whilst keeping the traditional Sonic gameplay. Sonic 4 was not this game unfortunately, but this is why Sonic Team is ultimately just confusing - they're trying to get closer and closer to the original formula and yet it's right there for them to use at their will - and nobody would punish them for doing so - in fact Mega man 9 was one of the most successful Mega man games in years - so why not just release a Sonic game that is an old one instead of releasing a Sonic game thats "like" an old one?

These are just some thoughts I've had upon playing the demo through a few times, I'm still highly anticipating this game, and I'm sure they have time to iron out a few things as it's an early build. Look forward to further news and a full review when the game is released later this year!

- Serde out! ;p

The 3DSamination - June 2011

So The 3DS has been out for around 3 months in the west at the moment. It's now that I'm finally thinking of taking the fall and picking one of the li'l consoles up (and not only because of the price drops everywhere). This is mostly due to Ocarina Of Time 3D, the fifth re-release of one of the most famous games of all time. Now, I'm not a fan of the amount of times Nintendo has re-released this game, and the idea of a re-release being the main reason to own a console is slightly off putting, so I thought to myself. Why not see what else Is out there?

So, without further ado! Here is the first:

To start out with, let's look at the price of the console itself! Fellow British Internet explorers that hopefully don't use Internet Explorer can nab the 3DS today from Amazon.co.uk for the the cool, cool price of £179.99, nice! Amazon.com didn't offer the same courtesy however, with the asking price stuck at $248.99, saving you a whooping dollar! But that is also a dollar you could use to buy THIS TRACK from DjEphixia! Job done. It's certainly better than the Gamestop online price with 3DS' currently being sold for $249.99, full asking price? Fuck off! Sadly I'm less savvy on American retailers, so cheaper deals for your US region 3DS would be appreciated at the comments in the form of links! So here are Junes best 3DS console deals!

UK - £179.99 from Amazon.co.uk

US - $248.99 from Amazon.com

Now let us delve deeper into the 3DS scene, what are the games to own on the console right now? Where can you get them for the best price? Well, we should start out with the only game you should be clamoring for in the 3DS library right now: The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D, which is ironic, because it's always been in 3D, but this time it's in 3D AND in 3D! Awesome?! Amazon.co.uk Is giving us the goods cheap once again with OOT3D costing you £29.97 instead of the £39.99 asking price, however it's pretty much this price everywhere right now, so... Go buy it anywhere! For the US fan base we once again have a small selection of highly priced product. Both Gamestop and Amazon offer you OOT for a glorious $39.99, Gamestop does offer a bonus $20 off other 3DS games on purchase however, so that'd be the way to go!

UK - £29.97 (ANYWHERE!)

US - $39.99 + $20 off another 3DS game (http://www.gamestop.com)

Now the only other game that appeals to me, and has come out relatively recently is Dead Or Alive: Dimensions. It's funny that every game on a Nintendo console must contain a pun or something that relates to the name, be it DS, 64 or "Wii"... Anyway on the UK front we get the short side of the stick as Amazon, this months reigning champions apparently offer the game for £28.99, with everywhere selling it for around £30 anyway, reductions ftw!!! The US amazon store wins also with the flabbergasting price of... $27.99!!! Good on the currency exchange front for UK gamers, an okay price for people paying with pure dollahs!

UK - £28.99 (http://www.amazon.co.uk)

US - $27.99 (http://www.amazon.com)

Well, that covers Junes 3DSAMINATION! I'll be back next month to tell you the price of Resident evil: the mercenaries and maybe a sleeper hit? Hell, I might even OWN a 3DS by then!?? Only time will tell! Be sure to tune in next time!

- Serde

Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 - Review

Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 – Review

Magic Casts Quite the Spell

Let's start off with some full disclosure: I'm not a Magic: the Gathering player. I had never played Magic before playing Duels of the Planeswalkers, and, in fact, I've still never touched a single one of its colorful and beautiful cards. Taking all of this into consideration, however, I come to the game with an open mind and a complete lack of understanding with the fleeting hope that I might discover (as millions of others already have) a deep and intriguing strategy card game experience. Let's just say that I was not disappointed.

For those out there who are as in the dark now as I was then, Magic: the Gathering is a collectable card game, one of the first, released in 1993 and competitively played in the nearly 20 years since. Notable not only for its longevity, Magic is known for its level of complex strategy and for its innovations in the then new market of collectible trading card games. I vaguely remember a dim awareness of Magic when I was dabbling with derivative and inferior games, years ago, but I had no formal introduction to the game until a day or two ago, when I discovered Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. Magic has been adapted into a number of video games in the past, Duels 2012 is a follow up to a similarly named 2009 game.

Cards in Magic: the Gathering are divided into 5 colors: White, Black, Red, Blue, and Green. These distinctions are vitally important because blue spells may only be cast if you have played blue land cards. Land cards limit the number of other cards you can play, so it's very important to have the right amount and right type of land cards in your deck. Starting off, with no knowledge of these mechanics, I was grateful that building a deck wasn't required to start off with. The game provides you with a variety of different sets of cards, mostly based off of one or two types of land. When you become more familiar with the game, though, you can tweak certain elements of each deck, adding and removing cards, including the 16 unlockable cards that every deck has to offer. This isn't an amazing level of customization, granted, but it at least gives you some control over how your deck will play.

The game's interface is smooth, and the card designs are, without exception, beautiful. It would be a bit of a stretch to call the game a graphical wonder: the animations are limited and there's certainly nothing here to stress out your graphics card, but the game is nonetheless appealing. I'm a bit of a sucker for high fantasy, and if that's your thing too, the game's artwork certainly won't disappoint. While the motifs may tred the well-worn and familiar grounds of dragons, knights, and mages, it's all high quality and there's nothing appreciably out of place in the nicely drawn menus and loading screens.

The game provides several gameplay modes with just about any combination of team sizes you could reasonably hope for. The campaign mode features a host of opponents and battles, and even if you've beaten every battle with each deck, there are countless hours to be had in the fully featured online multiplayer. There's certainly enough here, if you enjoy playing the game, there's a lot here to keep you busy. After working your way up through the three levels of AI difficulty, there's a world full of challengers out there on the internet, and while it's impossible to tell how many people are going to continue to play the game for long periods after its release, there are currently thousands of players online.

If I were to make one serious complaint against Duels 2012, it would have to be the game's difficulty. Granted, once you learn how to play, you're probably safe against most of the challengers, but whether you win or lose often seems to be determined mainly by chance. All the powerful cards in the world aren't going to help you if you can't get the land cards out to power them. Most decks have a handful of really powerful cards that whose attack and defense values are increased exponentially, but you're pretty much sunk if you can't get those cards into play while an opponent can. Additionally, the 3 vs 1 “Archenemy Mode” introduces scheme cards that drastically change the way the game is played. A scheme may allow a player to destroy cards, steal cards, and perform a litany of other moves that completely imbalance the game.

All things considered, though, Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 is a solid virtual card game, and can easily support hours and hours of repeated play. If you're a fan of Magic, it's an obvious choice, but even if you're not familiar with the game, Duels can still be enjoyed. The game is available on Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and PC (via Steam). A demo is also available for download on Steam, and if you're not quite sure about whether you should purchase or not, the demo is very nicely featured. I heartily recommend that you take a look.

--Tom

Images courtesy of Valve.

The problem with L.A.Noire

For those that don't know, L.A.Noire is a game that was released mid-may for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, published by Rockstar and developed by Team Bondi. The game became an instant hit, becoming the fastest selling new IP in recent history. This is mainly because of the games innovative graphical technology and gameplay mechanics. You play as Cole Phelps a detective in 1947 Los Angeles, faced with a variety of crimes to investigate and determine the cause of. The gameplay spans across 4 distinctive styles - driving, pedestrian, investigation and interrogation. The first two take heavy inspiration from previous rockstar titles such as Grand theft auto - working in much the same way. The investigation and interrogation styles however, feel very unique to the game. The investigation entails with you walking around a crime scene looking for clues which you can manipulate to find names, addresses etc. The interrogation uses the new facial tech bondi has created to let you determine whether someone is lying or telling the truth. Faces look stunningly realistic, and subtle motions are easy to read. It all works well together - but the interrogation sections are a spectacular fault in this otherwise gripping game.

The interrogations consist of you asking the perp a question and then listening to their answer, upon completion of this you can decide if they were A. Telling the truth, B. Doubt their story and press them further, or C. They were Lying - although this must be backed up with evidence. The problem with this is - you and the writers behind Cole have different brains. That sounds silly because of course it's true - but hear me out. You, the player may pick up one piece of a large assortment of evidence and think "this guy was destroying this shirt because there was a snag of the same sort of shirt left at the crime scene - therefore he was there", but when you pick that evidence - Cole says something entirely different, Sometimes outright ignoring the evidence you propose and just accusing the suspect of murdering or what have you. At this point the game feels unfair, and frustrating - at which point I usually switch it off and on again.

Heavy Rain had the same sort of issue where symbols would lead you to think you were going to do one thing - when in fact the game is making you do something entirely different. Perhaps this is just a general issue with games that have sprawling narratives - you have more outcomes of a situation available than the game - so things that make sense to you haven't been put into the final cut. This will happen to you numerous times throughout L.A.noire, most likely when you doubt what someone says and want Cole to say "well, you say you were out, where were you?" but instead he shouts "you murdered your wife!" At which point the suspect closes up and you loose some possibly vital information all because Cole reacts the way he is programmed instead of how you operate him - responses are so sporadic from Cole which doesn't help. The only easy fix is to tell the player what Cole will say before they pick an option -then the player will know what they need to pick.

That's my two cents right now - I just want to say that I am largely enjoying the game and the fun gameplay it has to offer. It's just a shame that it has one of the most frustrating mechanics in recent memory. Also, for those that say this is "cheating" or that the "noire" atmosphere is meant to be unfair etc. I think you've missed the point of the complaints - I agree with those two points entirely when people are switching off every question because they need to get everything perfect frist time - thats just silly. I am only complaining about the momments where I feel cheated by the game itself - not the narrative.

- Serde out

Image credit: rockstarbase.com and botchweed.com respectively