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February 21, 2010

Lazy Sunday – Production I.G To The Rescue

Halo Legends
Last night I took time out to watch Halo Legends, because despite my dickish reputation I am, in earnest, a fountain of eternal optimism. Thematically and structurally Legends is chasing after The Animatrix, no surprises there, and while it misses that mark it is also littered with sequences and ideas that make the work hard to dismiss entirely.

Rather than a focused and stylish effort, Legends is more like a sloppy bomb that leaves just enough shrapnel embedded in the subculture it wants to wrap itself in to find extended life, not unlike the Skeksis. Repeated viewings turn up interesting pieces, but it’s clear from the first run through that Production I.G is in many ways without peers, with The Duel easily standing out from the pack both for its visual challenge and narrative focus.

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February 14, 2010

Lazy Sunday – Valkyria Chronicles Is Still My Valentine

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , , — Jamie Love @ 10:05 am

Lazy Sunday
So it occurred to me while slurping the necessary amount of coffee to spark my bones to life for another day that I spend quite a bit of my Sunday morning half-mindlessly checking out websites, and that perhaps I could make a thing out of that. Time will tell if this continues or not I suppose.

Anyway, it’s Valentine’s Day, which would be incomplete without some game related cardness in Japanese, so says I, and the girls of Valkyria Chronicles 2 have me covered via Famitsu. Famitsu also has a very sweet page for 100mt, or Patchwork Heroes for those of us in the land of poorly named NA PSP games.

As always the good Rebels at 4cr have the best Valentine’s Day Cards. Though Mitch didn’t have time to do it up right and proper this year, the choice between Snake’s two greatest admirers from MGS is much appreciated – though a third one with Liquid might have been an additionally nice touch.

In other news, and to wrap this up so I can get back to my coffee, I came across yet another comparison between game box art releases in different regions, which is entirely important because I had no idea that the Japanese cover for Batman Returns was so incredibly awesome – so much so that I have to use the word awesome. Near the bottom of that same page you’ll also find Shadowrun, where the Japanese cover definitely feasts on a rich Blade Runner vein to really capture how I thought of the game back when it released.

Happy Valentine’s Day, if only so that I can offer much love from a guy named love.

February 2, 2010

The Comment That Nearly Killed Me…

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 5:20 pm

Metroid
I wouldn’t have thought that a post about a teaser site would get me so fired up, but Nick Rumas’ 4cr post about Other M had the ability to stop me dead in the water, and not because he is more optimistic about changes to the Metroid series – if we all thought the same life would be far too bland to go on living.

Rather it was this particular comment attached to the post that stuck me like a needle –

It reminds me of the Metroid Manga, which was fairly good, This game is conveying emotion, which is a great thing I feel, for this game will bring the series to new places, by mixing a great story in with great action. They are just trying to give this series depth, rather than a regular old sci-fi shooter. when you think about it, your still going to be shooting giant space pirates and collecting new upgrades, but this time around I’ll feel the anger and pain of loss, suffering that they’ve caused, and really get enjoyment from killing space pirates and whatnot

Now it’ll seem like I’m singling this comment out to simply pick on it, but I believe it’s an incredibly important talking point that needs some examination. Neither is it my intention to tell you how you should feel about potential changes to the Metroid series via a game we know very little about.

Rather, the inference of where depth emerges from in this comment touches directly on whether the medium of gaming is one we as gamers actively engage with, because without that level of active engagement we’re merely pressing buttons to watch longer movies.

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January 20, 2010

Catching Up With Phantasy Star Zero

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , — Christina Wilson @ 1:58 pm

Phantasy Star Zero
My first exposure to Phantasy Star came during University when I stumbled out of my room from an essay filled stupor, only to be pulled in by roommates who were huddled around a GameCube. Even though we were playing after the online access had been discontinued, the game still offered a memorable co-op experience that quickly became a ritual.

The single player campaign left more to be desired, and it feels like the challenge for Phantasy Star is finding a balance between a fleshed out single-player game that also offers the co-op experience I found so addicting.

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January 15, 2010

Catching Up With Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 7:13 pm

Disgaea 2 - Dark Hero Days
Many moons ago, or last September, Disgaea 2 made the move over to the PSP, at which time I had every intention of reviewing the game. I remember being in a state I’ll call endless rush review mode, which I wouldn’t recommend not only because it stretches the limits of one’s sanity, but also because it opens a dark dimension where every game can be condensed into a few paragraphs of cohesion and then be done with – not a fun place to be for the writer, the reader, and more importantly for the gamer.

As it turns out that review never came together anyway, mostly because trying to take it all in and sum the experience up with some clever lines made me cry. And though that sounds like a bad thing, it really has been good for me and my relationship with the game.

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January 14, 2010

Bayonetta – Taking My Sweet Time

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 5:02 pm

Bayonetta
Given the number of times I’ve thrown words to Bayonetta during the game’s development, I fully expected to have joined the conversation she’s stirred about sex, audience reactions, sex, female identity, and more sex by now. The reason I haven’t is straightforward enough, and provides a chance for you to say I’m biased.

If I am indeed biased, it’s because I love videogames, and Bayonetta loves being a videogame – enough that we’re a good match and someone should go book the chapel by the time I write a proper review.

As for avoiding the extensive conversations going around the net, my problem is simple – talking extensively about any of those aspects would mean that I’d have to stop playing the game long enough to do so.

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January 6, 2010

Being The Boss – MGS Peace Walker

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 1:55 pm

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker
I recently took a run through the English demo for Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker – English being the key draw since I’ve already run through the demo released during the Tokyo Game Show a few times. For all the talk of control schemes, the demo offers two – shooter type and action type – which switch camera controls between the directional and face buttons of the PSP to allow for left or right handed controls.

I went with shooter type, not because it necessarily fit my grip better, but because switching the hand responsible for the camera really isn’t that big a deal to me. Negotiating 3D space in any game is a bitch with no ideal solution on the horizon, especially on a handheld and with a game that involves stealth and taking in as much of your surroundings as possible. MGS is a tricky beast to design controls for, but a certain amount of patience makes it workable – though I’m not sure how quick I’ll ever be at it.

Having already played through the obstacle course, and eluded men wearing bright jackets in the jungle, my return visit was entirely about the English translation of the cinematic sequences.

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