(feel the power of the spoilers)
I'm currently borrowing Gears of War. I'd heard such great things about this game: it was awesome, really fun, and a brand new franchise. Though lately if a game is released that doesn't become a franchise it tends to be looked down upon (but that horrible trend is another post).
I was very excited when I started Gears of War. Yea the characters look weird and steroid-pumped, but it's a style. I like games that have a style and don't just try to emulate real life. I live in real life; I want to play somewhere else. The story seemed very thin at first. It's a war. I'm in prison and some guy got me out. Okay. Well, wait, who am I? Fenix? Oh god that's lame. Am I going to rise from the ashes now? But whatever, it's not as bad as it could be.
So I walk around and the controls seem okay. Tutorial time seems to go okay, until the firefight at the end.
I like fps games, I just like them single player. I don't have the desire to go online and fight against other people for points; I want to be in a story, experience it, and then move on to another story. I like Half-Life, and Prey, and most PC fps's. I'm not the best, but I can strafe and get a head shot occasionally. But console games tend to not have strafing, most of them have auto-target and lots of armor.
Gears of War doesn't. You hide behind a bit of rock, you pop your head up and it feels like it takes forever to target the bad guys. I haven't yet increased my control stick speed, but I'm not sure it will help. I crouch behind a rock, poke my head up with makes me completely vulnerable, and have to maneuver this little target to the bad guys. I'm very slow with a control stick and I miss my mouse/keyboard. It feels slow and if I speed it up it will just get harder to pinpoint anyone.
After many deaths I finally am getting more used to it, but I still feel a little frustrated. It's more about me growing up on mouse/keyboards instead of console controllers than the game I think. I read a gameFaq to get some tips and got a sad review from the writer. He described shooters as games where you stand there and shoot and try to kill the other guy before your health is gone. What? I would hate a shooter like that. Maybe that's why I can't get into Halo very much. This writer said that Gears of War was so good because you had to hide and shoot the bad guys, instead of standing there and shoot them. If this is the philosophy that people have now regarding shooters, then I don't really want to play any of the new shooters. That isn't fun to me, which might be why it's hard for me to get into Gears of War.
But it is getting better, easier, less cheap feeling. I have so much experience with games, yet I have no patience with this. A lot annoyance: Why can't I swap out my pistol? I don't want to use it, please let me drop it on the ground. Every time I have to swap a shotgun for the Hammer of Dawn I swear loudly, because I could keep it on me if I could just drop this stupid pistol.
I've finished Act 1, and I've been playing the whole game on Hardcore.
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Persona 4 review
I've been thinking about posting reviews, and I think that sometimes you just want to tell a friend what the game is about and whether they would like it. So the first part of this is a rough summary, which is a short preview of the game, just to try to see if you would be interested in this game. Very little personal thoughts, mostly just if it's fun and what kind of battle system it uses.
It's such a nice feeling beating a game, knowing that I completed it. Sometimes I think I just like the feeling of completing more than the game, but that's way too deep for today. I have now played through Persona 4 completely, and in only 89 hours! That is about the same that I took for Persona 3.
Rough, spoiler-free summary:
Story: Is good. Anime-ish and serious and funny sometimes too. Interesting with some nice thoughtful and philosophical themes.
Battle: A riff on standard j-rpgs. Turn based with four characters per battle, some are meant to be AI controlled. Battles rarely felt unfair, dungeons are random but still fun. Spell names are odd (bufu = ice, agi = fire) but doesn't take too long to get used to. Stats are determined by your persona (a little like GFs from ff8). Slight pokemon collect-them-all feeling, but usually you can combine your personas to make a new stronger one, so you don't drag one along the whole game.
Social: You spend time building relationships and gaining 'Knowledge' and 'Courage', while juggling school, midterms, and of course the fighting. It's put together well, and you don't feel like your playing a weird Japanese relationship game.
Longer, babbly spoiler-free talks:
Story:
Persona 4 has a pretty good plot, not bland and just a little confusion. We have some anime sequences sprinkled around, and you can make some personal conversation choices to define yourself. The game is divided into "I'm in a dungeon and I'm going to fight things" and something close to a life simulator. You have stats like Knowledge and Courage that you need to level up for certain conversations to happen. You can complete the game without improving any of these 'social' stats, but it's a fun component. For example, if you see something weird looking in the fridge and eat it, you courage goes up. Then you might end up going to bed earlier because your stomach hurts, but hey, maybe you were about to go to bed anyway.
During the day you attend school, and afterwords you have friends to talk to. If you spend time with your friends, it will help you in battle, and if you spend so much time that your 'social link level' with that person maxes out (10 levels) then you get access to something special. It's a pretty good system, and I enjoyed juggling my friends and trying to become closer to all of them.
Battle system:
The battle system is semi-standard j-rpg. You stand there, they stand there, you all wait and take turns to bonk each other on the heads. Some of the differences are that Persona 4 emphasizes that YOU are the main character. You name him, he never speaks, and you are always in control of him. In fact, if he dies, then the game ends. Immediately. Doesn't matter if you have a zillion revival beads in your bag, the game is over. Now this isn't as horrible as it sounds, it's just another strategy point to consider. The battle will have 4 people total (one of them always being the main character) and there are a variety of AI options for the other people. Default is AI (and I thought it was rather good and left it almost all the time, unless it was a boss fight) but there are specific types of AI and direct control also. The dungeons are random (almost completely) so every time you go through a level it will look a little different.
There are magical elements that enemies are weak or strong against, and this is where most of the strategy for the game comes in. If an enemy is weak to Ice, then if you cast ice on them they fall on their ass. It doesn't really slow them down, but if you manage to knock over all the enemies you get a chance to have everyone run in and have a big brawl against everything. It will causes (usually) massive damage to all enemies, and generally will win the fight. Sometimes it will be insanely easy to knock them all down, and sometimes not. Some enemies don't have a weakness, but there is always a chance to knock them down with a critical attack. This makes the battles much more interesting, since you have to think about more than just 'i hit them and they die, uh-huh'.
The other side of battles are Personas. You equip them and they give you almost all your stats and attacks. You can switch to a different one during your turn, which means you can go from a hardcore ice-magic user to a strong man in a second. It's a little like a pokemon collect them all game, because you can take personas and combine them to make a new one. There are tons of them in the game, and in fact I only had 85% of them when I finished. All your persona's are saved and you can spend money to bring back old ones whenever you can afford it.
Personal impressions (spoilers be here):
I liked it. I usually dislike games with random dungeons, because I feel like I'm grinding and I hates the grinding. But I also love themes, and each dungeon had a cute little thing. Plus even though I'd seen some of the same monster models in Persona 3, there were enough new ones to entertain me. They had less of the "we can cast insta death spells so we will, MWAHAHAHAH" stuff in this game, because there were some levels in Persona 3 that had tons of that and it was nerve-racking. It was rare that I was nervous about getting insta-killed. The final battle was WAY too easy though, my strategy was have everyone hit and while one person just healed. I mean, there wasn't anything else. I keep comparing it to Persona 3, because that final boss battle was HELL. I almost didn't think I had beat it, since it was only 2 forms with simple strategy.
Now I did beat the game 'early', since I had days in the game I could have used to improve social stuffs and instead I just beat it. I'm considering going back to improve more links and then beat it (plus game faqs told me there is a secret boss I can access!). Next time I play through the game (which will be in awhile, since I've been playing this since the end of April) I will load up my new game + and play it on expert. So, hmm, I don't really want to go back and fight the secret boss, but I guess new stuff unlocks if you do... but I don't wanna, I finished it, I don't wanna go back! I can't decide.
Story-wise, the game was great. Philosophical sometimes, and sometimes with standard anime wackiness. Plus I was really sad when they almost killed a certain character, even though I totally knew they were gonna at least kidnap, I didn't think they would kill her. But of course she came back. And talking to NPCs while time passed was interested, and of course all my social links were interesting too. The weapon shop was kinda weird, but it worked a little more smoothly than in Persona 3.
Overall, I liked Persona 3 more. More interesting story and dammit, shooting yourself in the head to cast spells is just amazing. But Persona 4 was almost as good. I was surprised how interesting the story was, and how the game juggles persona-collection, social leveling, and random dungeons. Very good, and highly recommended. And I totally want a Teddie Plushie.
Well, there's my first try at a review. I babbled too much. :(
It's such a nice feeling beating a game, knowing that I completed it. Sometimes I think I just like the feeling of completing more than the game, but that's way too deep for today. I have now played through Persona 4 completely, and in only 89 hours! That is about the same that I took for Persona 3.
Rough, spoiler-free summary:
Story: Is good. Anime-ish and serious and funny sometimes too. Interesting with some nice thoughtful and philosophical themes.
Battle: A riff on standard j-rpgs. Turn based with four characters per battle, some are meant to be AI controlled. Battles rarely felt unfair, dungeons are random but still fun. Spell names are odd (bufu = ice, agi = fire) but doesn't take too long to get used to. Stats are determined by your persona (a little like GFs from ff8). Slight pokemon collect-them-all feeling, but usually you can combine your personas to make a new stronger one, so you don't drag one along the whole game.
Social: You spend time building relationships and gaining 'Knowledge' and 'Courage', while juggling school, midterms, and of course the fighting. It's put together well, and you don't feel like your playing a weird Japanese relationship game.
Longer, babbly spoiler-free talks:
Story:
Persona 4 has a pretty good plot, not bland and just a little confusion. We have some anime sequences sprinkled around, and you can make some personal conversation choices to define yourself. The game is divided into "I'm in a dungeon and I'm going to fight things" and something close to a life simulator. You have stats like Knowledge and Courage that you need to level up for certain conversations to happen. You can complete the game without improving any of these 'social' stats, but it's a fun component. For example, if you see something weird looking in the fridge and eat it, you courage goes up. Then you might end up going to bed earlier because your stomach hurts, but hey, maybe you were about to go to bed anyway.
During the day you attend school, and afterwords you have friends to talk to. If you spend time with your friends, it will help you in battle, and if you spend so much time that your 'social link level' with that person maxes out (10 levels) then you get access to something special. It's a pretty good system, and I enjoyed juggling my friends and trying to become closer to all of them.
Battle system:
The battle system is semi-standard j-rpg. You stand there, they stand there, you all wait and take turns to bonk each other on the heads. Some of the differences are that Persona 4 emphasizes that YOU are the main character. You name him, he never speaks, and you are always in control of him. In fact, if he dies, then the game ends. Immediately. Doesn't matter if you have a zillion revival beads in your bag, the game is over. Now this isn't as horrible as it sounds, it's just another strategy point to consider. The battle will have 4 people total (one of them always being the main character) and there are a variety of AI options for the other people. Default is AI (and I thought it was rather good and left it almost all the time, unless it was a boss fight) but there are specific types of AI and direct control also. The dungeons are random (almost completely) so every time you go through a level it will look a little different.
There are magical elements that enemies are weak or strong against, and this is where most of the strategy for the game comes in. If an enemy is weak to Ice, then if you cast ice on them they fall on their ass. It doesn't really slow them down, but if you manage to knock over all the enemies you get a chance to have everyone run in and have a big brawl against everything. It will causes (usually) massive damage to all enemies, and generally will win the fight. Sometimes it will be insanely easy to knock them all down, and sometimes not. Some enemies don't have a weakness, but there is always a chance to knock them down with a critical attack. This makes the battles much more interesting, since you have to think about more than just 'i hit them and they die, uh-huh'.
The other side of battles are Personas. You equip them and they give you almost all your stats and attacks. You can switch to a different one during your turn, which means you can go from a hardcore ice-magic user to a strong man in a second. It's a little like a pokemon collect them all game, because you can take personas and combine them to make a new one. There are tons of them in the game, and in fact I only had 85% of them when I finished. All your persona's are saved and you can spend money to bring back old ones whenever you can afford it.
Personal impressions (spoilers be here):
I liked it. I usually dislike games with random dungeons, because I feel like I'm grinding and I hates the grinding. But I also love themes, and each dungeon had a cute little thing. Plus even though I'd seen some of the same monster models in Persona 3, there were enough new ones to entertain me. They had less of the "we can cast insta death spells so we will, MWAHAHAHAH" stuff in this game, because there were some levels in Persona 3 that had tons of that and it was nerve-racking. It was rare that I was nervous about getting insta-killed. The final battle was WAY too easy though, my strategy was have everyone hit and while one person just healed. I mean, there wasn't anything else. I keep comparing it to Persona 3, because that final boss battle was HELL. I almost didn't think I had beat it, since it was only 2 forms with simple strategy.
Now I did beat the game 'early', since I had days in the game I could have used to improve social stuffs and instead I just beat it. I'm considering going back to improve more links and then beat it (plus game faqs told me there is a secret boss I can access!). Next time I play through the game (which will be in awhile, since I've been playing this since the end of April) I will load up my new game + and play it on expert. So, hmm, I don't really want to go back and fight the secret boss, but I guess new stuff unlocks if you do... but I don't wanna, I finished it, I don't wanna go back! I can't decide.
Story-wise, the game was great. Philosophical sometimes, and sometimes with standard anime wackiness. Plus I was really sad when they almost killed a certain character, even though I totally knew they were gonna at least kidnap, I didn't think they would kill her. But of course she came back. And talking to NPCs while time passed was interested, and of course all my social links were interesting too. The weapon shop was kinda weird, but it worked a little more smoothly than in Persona 3.
Overall, I liked Persona 3 more. More interesting story and dammit, shooting yourself in the head to cast spells is just amazing. But Persona 4 was almost as good. I was surprised how interesting the story was, and how the game juggles persona-collection, social leveling, and random dungeons. Very good, and highly recommended. And I totally want a Teddie Plushie.
Well, there's my first try at a review. I babbled too much. :(
Monday, August 31, 2009
GIST for 8/31/09
1. Making another version of 'throw cans in pot and make meal' that was a success
2. Not hating onions
3. I beat Persona 4, a game I started just after I got it, on my birthday
4. Fear of trademarks
5. Finding out there shall be another yummy japanese grill excursion soon
2. Not hating onions
3. I beat Persona 4, a game I started just after I got it, on my birthday
4. Fear of trademarks
5. Finding out there shall be another yummy japanese grill excursion soon
Sunday, August 30, 2009
GIST for 8/29/09
1. Random cooking experiment success
2. Wandering around Trader Joe's
3. Surprises in the kitchen
4. Finding a really good game deal on Amazon.com
5. Knowing I'm finally going to own Shortbus
2. Wandering around Trader Joe's
3. Surprises in the kitchen
4. Finding a really good game deal on Amazon.com
5. Knowing I'm finally going to own Shortbus
Friday, August 28, 2009
Juggling Games
These are the games I'm trying to play (get through to the finish) concurrently:
Persona 4 - PS2, probably about 75% through it
Kingdom Hearts - PS2, already beaten this before, I'm about a 3rd through it on expert
Eternal Sonata - Xbox360, its fun but I want to concentrate on Persona 4 more, only going to this when I need a break from Persona
Rhythm Heaven - DS, I'm just stuck on a lvl and its frustrating
Phoenix Wright - DS, started this again while out, will be fun to go through it
Starcraft - PC, I will totally beat this, finally!
Company of Heroes - PC, a friend installed in on my PC and its fun, but it made my computer blue screen in the past so I'm reluctant to play it very often, and it will be lost when I install Win 7 again in the near future, so I doubt I'll get through it
Clock Tower 2 - PS, old old school horror game, I got past lvl 1 but lvl 2 is all zombies, I don't want to give up on it though
Cursed: The Eye of Isis (I totally had to look up the title) - Xbox 1, neat old horror game, kinda lame but it has some atmosphere
Dementium - DS, awesome fps survival horror on the DS of all things, its hard and easy to get lost though
Eternally on the backburner:
Getting all the recipes with a gold score in Cooking Mama 1 and 2
Going through all the levels in Rez on xbox 360
Eventually starting up Kingdom for Keflings again
Getting past the last hardest level in Elite Beat Agents
Well.. I think that's it. So, yea, it feels like a lot when I look at it like this. I need to stop juggling my games and just go through one until I'm done. Or maybe just an RPG and another game, since I like to always have an ongoing RPG.
Persona 4 - PS2, probably about 75% through it
Kingdom Hearts - PS2, already beaten this before, I'm about a 3rd through it on expert
Eternal Sonata - Xbox360, its fun but I want to concentrate on Persona 4 more, only going to this when I need a break from Persona
Rhythm Heaven - DS, I'm just stuck on a lvl and its frustrating
Phoenix Wright - DS, started this again while out, will be fun to go through it
Starcraft - PC, I will totally beat this, finally!
Company of Heroes - PC, a friend installed in on my PC and its fun, but it made my computer blue screen in the past so I'm reluctant to play it very often, and it will be lost when I install Win 7 again in the near future, so I doubt I'll get through it
Clock Tower 2 - PS, old old school horror game, I got past lvl 1 but lvl 2 is all zombies, I don't want to give up on it though
Cursed: The Eye of Isis (I totally had to look up the title) - Xbox 1, neat old horror game, kinda lame but it has some atmosphere
Dementium - DS, awesome fps survival horror on the DS of all things, its hard and easy to get lost though
Eternally on the backburner:
Getting all the recipes with a gold score in Cooking Mama 1 and 2
Going through all the levels in Rez on xbox 360
Eventually starting up Kingdom for Keflings again
Getting past the last hardest level in Elite Beat Agents
Well.. I think that's it. So, yea, it feels like a lot when I look at it like this. I need to stop juggling my games and just go through one until I'm done. Or maybe just an RPG and another game, since I like to always have an ongoing RPG.
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