Gamesugar

December 29, 2009

Demo Report – Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! 2

Filed under: News Feed — Tags: , , , — Jamie Love @ 9:13 am

Badman 2
It’s a good snowy day to check in on NIS’ recent demo release for (I’m only going to type the title in its entirety once) Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! 2 – Time to Tighten up Security!

The demo revisits the expected experience, inviting me in for a nice cup of tea with its superbly simplistic layout and interface, promptly frustrating me to no end with scenarios worthy of NIS serving as the publisher – this isn’t a bad thing, I just have zero patience and need a game like this to remind me to chill out every so often. At times this is slightly soul-crushing, but I believe there’s something important in the lesson.

Part of me would like more time to layout a perfectly planned dungeon, but the game finds its mark in presenting an imperative to dig furiously before the heroes arrive, therein watching well laid plans turn to waste and delivering a slap in the face to think harder while working faster. I’m sure there’s plenty of people providing strategies far greater than the Swiss cheese dungeons that keep failing me, but I’m determined to figure this out on my own.

(more…)

December 24, 2009

Sin and Punishment: Successor to the Earth

Refresh Rate 01
Sin and Punishment: Successor to the Earth
Runtime – 7:52
Developer – Treasure
Publisher – Nintendo
System – Nintendo 64 / Virtual Console
Released – November 21, 2000 / October 1, 2007

*Text transcript available after the break

(more…)

December 21, 2009

Review – The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , — Jamie Love @ 9:26 am

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
My first GDC glimpse of Link traveling into view aboard a train provoked a knee-jerk reaction that caused the word “gimmicky” to slip passed my lips. And though the impulse was earnest, it was a poor descriptor considering that the industry is at least 90% gimmick, with the remaining 10% left to fight it out between inspiration and other mysterious elements.

It was also an inadequate word to describe the way Nintendo is altering the legacy earned by The Legend of Zelda to date, which isn’t changing simply because new installments involve different modes of transportation in Hyrule, but because the emphasis on that concern shifts the entirety of the experience along with the significance of one of the industry’s most treasured franchises.

But let’s start out on a more solid footing by restating the obvious and acknowledge that The Legend of Zelda is the industry’s example of the oldest story in our possession. For the most part, each new entry to the series is a retelling of the hero’s story, told to new generations with subtle variations regarding the how and why to represent evolving sensibilities and ideas, but always anchored by a idealized image of human development. Though Spirit Tracks deviates with a more specific attempt at placing itself within a timeline, the game still takes advantage of the formula that furnishes the series with this reputation, failing to recognize the burden of responsibility and expectation the brand carries.

(more…)

December 16, 2009

Aya Brea On My Mind

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , , — Jamie Love @ 8:34 pm

Parasite Eve
Two teasing bits of video and a few scant comments about the direction for Square-Enix’s PSP title, The 3rd Birthday, have had to serve as morsels to feed my appetite for a continuation of the Parasite Eve series. While good things come to those that wait, my patience for more details is at the boiling point, because the franchise has always been the good horse to bet on. The original title emerged during a period of legitimate experimentation for Squaresoft, and remains one of the most intriguing and potentially important deviations in the company’s development catalog.

Side-stepping the typical Square-speak of the day about the first cinematic role-playing game, Parasite Eve presents layers of possibilities, which make the physical game as much a mutation as the creatures running loose within the world coded to the disc that carries it. And from a company prided on pushing visuals, narrative, and occasionally the mechanics underneath those fancier concerns, Parasite Eve is a series that represents an evolutionary experiment, finding a strange and peaceful balance of those elements where one so often overshadows the others. Deviations and changes in the continuation of the franchise are not risks, but instead the very means of staying true to the inherent nature of the game and its narrative heartbeat.

Parasite Eve represents the chaos of change and evolution in a way that isn’t simply confined to narrative concerns, but is also a potentially continuing mutation of design and style.

(more…)

December 15, 2009

PSA – Check Your Gamesugar Often!

Filed under: News Feed — Jamie Love @ 1:07 pm

Check Your Gamesugar!
Being a fan of Kyattsuai’s hypnotic cat drawings and other strange creations, I asked about the possibility of creating a drawing to commemorate Gamesugar’s first week online.

This morning I received a message back, asking if those Wilford Brimley commercials aired in Canada along with the following image that offers some wise advice, which you can catch after the break.

Thanks to Kyattsuai for making my week!

(more…)

December 14, 2009

Capybara Art – Clash of Heroes Edition

Filed under: Archives — Tags: , , , — Jamie Love @ 9:35 am

Capybara Art
I really want the Refresh Rate to be a category worth the special place in your heart I insist you give it. Ideally it should be less about re-writing prspeak and more about being a Zen garden of all things noteworthy and composed of awesome-ite, which I assure you is a real element, so don’t go grabbing the periodic table hoping to prove me wrong.

Back to the point, this taste of concept art from Might & Magic Clash of Heroes that Capybara Games offered us should help set my lofty goal in motion.

If you’re wondering whether or not you should care about Clash of Heroes, you can catch my review of the game here. Otherwise you can catch the goods after the break.

(more…)

New Super Mario Bros. Wii – The Jerk Factor

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , , — Jamie Love @ 9:18 am

The Jerk Factor

Like most fragile and mentally fragmented individuals, I’ve developed a few strange rules to regulate my life and make for interesting conversations over the years. I don’t eat seafood because fish have sex in the water, I buy fattening treats and leave them unopened to bother others, and I refuse to play a Super Mario Bros. game when fellow gamers are in the same area.

That last point should be a golden rule of thumb, because if you’ve grown up playing from the earliest block busting beginnings through to the Yoshi riding bliss, you are a Mario expert. It doesn’t matter if you agree with that generalization or not. The truth is that there may be no other series as personal to those that grew up playing it as side-scrolling Mario titles. As a result, turning any of these games on while surrounded by other gamers is inviting backseat gaming and controller grabbing as everyone in the room feels more capable than whoever is in control.

This touches on the frustration of the series throughout my childhood, the dreaded two-player option that forced me to watch someone else play while my fingers itched for a turn and I tried to not act excited when the other player died.

(more…)

« Newer PostsOlder Posts »

Powered by WordPress