Archive for the 'Review' Category

REVIEW: “Audiosurf” is a Great Arcade Experience

Published
on March 7, 2008
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“Audiosurf,” released Feb. 15 on Steam, is a fantastic arcade-type game with infinite possibilities. Just pick a song and it generates a track on which to play its color-matching game.

The faster the song, the faster your track will go. Strong beats yield humps and intense guitar solos create more colored blocks for you to pick up and put together. The tracks fit their songs astoundingly well and are generated really quickly.

Here’s an example of one of the tracks, generated from a Daft Punk song, so you can get a better idea of how things work:

There are multiple game types and difficulties. Most use multi-colored blocks, but the simpler Mono type has you avoid obstacles and pick up blocks of a single color. There’s also a two-player mode where each player gets a side of the track.

“Audiosurf” comes with a scoreboard mechanic, so you can compare your top scores with local and worldwide players.

The game is a lot of fun, especially if you enjoy music, and it’s a great single-player alternative to games like “Guitar Hero.” Plus, it’s only $10. Highly recommended.

Reflecting on ‘Morrowind’

Published
on March 3, 2008
in Review
. 91 Comments

I stumbled on a fantastic piece of “The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind” fan-art whilst browsing the ever-time-consuming DeviantArt and it got me all nostalgic. The picture is titled “Morrowind Days” and drawn by DA user SnowSkadi.

Morrowind Days by SnowSkadi. Click for full-size.

And that about sums the game up. Everything that made “Morrowind” (and “Tribunal”) so utterly fantastic. Sure there were technical problems, things that could have been done better, unbalanced gameplay. But whatever, that’s life. And for every flaw, every inconvenience, there was something so real and lifelike about that world where you would get destroyed if you set one unprepared foot out of Seyda Neen and into that memorable cave of slavers.

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REVIEW: ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Has Immersive World, Bad Story

Published
on February 21, 2008
in Review
. 1 Comment

“Assassin’s Creed” is more than meets the eye. Behind the roof-jumping, sword-swinging medieval gameplay is a bizarrely science fiction explanation. The modern day setting — where bartending assassin Desmond Miles is kidnapped by a mysterious corporation bent on tapping his genetic memories of medieval assassin Altair (got that?) — not only explains the Holy Land gameplay but also more conventional aspects of the game, aspects normally taken for granted.

[Spoiler Warning: This review covers many aspects of the game's plot, but does not reveal the ending or anything really significant.]

For example, when you die in “Assassin’s Creed,” you revert back to a checkpoint. Sounds normal, but it’s not. Rather than dying, the game says that Miles becomes desynchronized with his genetic memory of Altair. What appears to be a health bar is explained as a synchronization count, and going back to a checkpoint is explained as going back to a previous memory to ensure proper synchronization.

All this seems semantic, but it has the effect of turning player death, which should be a jarring aspect of a storyline, into a fully rational occurrence. (Imagine it in a book: All the main characters just died because you read the chapter wrong, and now you have to read it all over again.)

“Assassin’s Creed” draws from the storytelling technique of its predecessor, “Prince of Persia.” Both games were developed by Ubisoft Montreal, and “Assassin’s Creed” takes the platforming model of “Prince of Persia” and plunks it in an open world with a very much expanded fighting mechanic. When you die in “Prince of Persia,” the Prince tells the story speaks up and says, “That’s not how it happened.” If the Prince plummets to his death during the game, it’s a failure on the player’s part to stick to his plot, just as dying in “Assassin’s Creed” is a failure to adhere to the memories of Miles/Altair.

This “memory” theme of “Assassin’s Creed” lends itself to other aspects of gameplay. Selecting from old assassination missions to replay, while essentially just a level selector, is disguised as a menu of genetic memories. Teleporting from one town to another instantly is fast-forwarding through the memory of Altair’s travels.

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REVIEW: “Rambo” Successfully Revives the Franchise

Published
on February 6, 2008
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[I wrote this for my college newspaper, which comes out Thursday.]

“Rambo” is awesome. Not in the ’80s sense of the word, but in the traditional, fear-the-wrath-of-God way.

Instead of watching it, you might as well just ask your local projectionist to shine it directly into your mouth. It is delicious, a visceral action treat infused with steroids, bullets and explosives that sticks to the roots of the franchise.

Clay-faced Sylvester Stallone, the greatest American actor of all time, reprises his role as ultimate badass, John Rambo, tortured by memories of Vietnam. “Rambo” is the fourth film in the series, following “First Blood,” “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” and “Rambo III.” If this naming sequence doesn’t make sense, maybe “Rambo” isn’t for you. John Rambo isn’t a fan of “sense.” He prefers to run in screaming with a knife, to stand in a hail of bullets he knows can’t hit him before blowing everyone away.

Even at 61, Sly Stallone still pulls off the muscled, mulleted action hero. You won’t see Rambo jump off waterfalls or climb up cliffs, but he’s great at running through rain-soaked jungles and disemboweling enemy soldiers with a knife as big as your head.

As for plot, nothing much has changed since the 1980s. Some whiny missionaries get in trouble while helping the Karen minority in eastern Burma; Rambo has to go save them and kill everyone else. They add in some junk about the human rights violations, but who cares? It’s really just an excuse for Rambo to vaporize faces. He jumps the political red tape and machine guns his way into our hearts.

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REVIEW: ‘Mass Effect’ Experiments In Sci-Fi Storytelling

Published
on December 3, 2007
in Review
. 1 Comment

[More updates soon -- the video project that consumed two weeks of my life is now complete.]

I probably should be commenting on Actiblizzard, the Gerstmann-gate or similar overshadowing news items, but I’m still so smitten with Mass Effect, the newest offering from my one fanboy passion, BioWare. Despite my awe, I have some criticisms.

Set in an original futuristic universe, Mass Effect combines aspects from nearly every science fiction franchise and icon into one daunting game. Interstellar exploration, automatons gone bad, hive-minded bugs, a struggling humanity, etcetera ad nauseum.

What impressed me most about the game is the degree of cinematic immersion it achieves through gorgeous graphics, a breakneck pace and a fantastic conversation system, which allows fluid conversation between Shepard and NPCs (if you haven’t played the game, you should really check out a video of the conversation system in motion). I felt like I was watching and participating in a thirty hour space opera instead of playing a game.

Now for the criticism.

The conversation system makes for a cinematic experience, but can be unintuitive at times. It uses a radial menu of heavily abridged topics that do not always represent the actual dialog. A few times I found myself choosing one option only to hear something I definitely did not intend come out of Shepard’s mouth.

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REVIEW: ‘Halo 3′ Ending Melds Gameplay and Story

Published
on September 30, 2007
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I spoke about using plot pressure rather than actual pressure to create compelling gameplay in a previous post, and Halo 3 provides a perfect example of such a device.

[Spoiler Warning: Details on the end of Halo 3 follow.]

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REVIEW: BioShock (Pt 2)

Published
on September 4, 2007
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Once immersed in Rapture, BioShock’s underwater city, the plot unfolds and twists in a way rarely seen in games.

The game reveals how things went wrong in the utopian Rapture primarily through the recorded comments of its residents. More convenient versions of the diaries commonly employed by games, these recordings provide background and insight into some of the more obscure plot points, such as the little sisters, without breaking the immersion of the first-person perspective.

This device works well in the complex locale of Rapture, but raises an interesting question: Doesn’t new technology allow for more creative plot devices than somewhat contrived journals and dialogue, so ubiquitous in games?

It’s unfair to bring this up in discussing BioShock, which takes many steps forward. The game’s scripted scenes are well choreographed and acted. The flashbacks and ghosts which pass through certain areas are a particularly clever ways of getting around the narrative limitations of first-person games.

I’d like to say more, but hate spoilers. Remaining as ambiguous as possible, BioShock does a near-perfect job of conveying a complicated plot and should serve as an example for game developers of how storytelling can be handled and improved.

REVIEW: BioShock (Pt 1)

Published
on August 31, 2007
in Review
. 1 Comment

BioShock has received nearly unanimous adoration from fans and critics during the course of its development and following its North American release on August 21, perhaps most often for its immersive potency. Incredible artistic design, roving enemies and monsters, haunting sound effects, and a fitting score all lend a hand in creating an experience which is intensely invigorating, enveloping and, to be perfectly honest, quite frightening.

The design of BioShock’s setting, the underwater city of Rapture, alludes to the steampunk style of a ’60s future, with cold iron and glass walls, wood paneling, incessant curves and a hefty dose of neon. Resting atop this utopia are the decayed, debis-strewn and blood-splattered signs of Rapture’s steady decline into destruction and madness. Her residents are for the most part dressed in rotting clothes and wearing animal masks like Bacchic revelers. The Big Daddies, guardians of the Little Sisters who produce a mutative substance you need to advance in the game, look and move like giant old-fashioned diving suits.

BioShock’s sound effects are nothing short of incredible. Rapture’s crazed denizens mumble, cry, shout and scream as you approach, and Big Daddies moan an inhuman warning to stay away from their young wards. Ambient noises, such as the constant drip of the ever-present ocean and the creaking noises of Rapture, add to the terrifying atmosphere.

The orchestrated score, composed by Gary Schyman and available to download on 2k Games’ Web site, fits BioShock’s setting and style perfectly. Penderecki-like strings back the madness of Rapture’s residents and throbbing brass complement the protagonist’s struggle. It is supplemented by old ’50s songs and well-known classical music. Some of my favorite moments are when these light-hearted tunes are piped over Rapture’s loudspeakers and juxtaposed with the chaos and carnage of first person battle.

Atmosphere alone does not make a great game, but with BioShock it enables an incredible degree of narrative immersion. You feel the oppression and desperation of the protagonist which is so much a part of the storyline. It’s a level of personal immersion and investment possible only in games.

REVIEW: Baldur’s Gate I & Tales of the Sword Coast

Published
on August 21, 2007
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Yes, this game came out 10 years ago. Yes, I’m just now playing it. But that only means that there must be other people out there thus far uninitiated into a truly landmark RPG. The strange thing about my experience is that I’ve already played Baldur’s Gate II, and that it’s one of my favorite games.

Baldur’s Gate uses Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition rules. I know little to nothing about good old D&D (I was instead raised on Diablo and Heroes of Might and Magic), but I do know that this makes the character creation and combat system incredibly complex. Some people may enjoy the depth allowed in creating their protagonist. I just lower my head and bull-rush my way through it.

The game’s storytelling is incredible. It drops you flawlessly into the role of a self-created character, and guides you through a free-form and intriguing plot. The ability to chose between good and evil has since become a staple of BioWare RPG’s but was quite original at the time of the game’s release. Unlike many other ethics-testing games, Baldur’s Gate does a consistently good job of posing questions with no clear right or wrong answer and with tempting incentives to take each of the many paths.

The game’s graphics have aged pretty well, all things considered. The sprites still look smart and diverse, the animations well done. Many backgrounds look hand-drawn, distinguishing the dungeons of Baldur’s Gate from the cut-and-paste tiled affairs of her contemporaries. BioWare was prescient enough to allow untested resolutions and 3-D graphics, and load times have thankfully and substantially increased over the years.

Although it’s a strange way of looking at it, Baldur’s Gate has the foundations for everything which made the sequel great. The characters, graphics, sound and interface all set the stage for the excellent climax and conclusion.

REVIEW: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Pt 3)

Published
on August 7, 2007
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Twilight Princess’s final dungeons and climactic challenges are a blast, with well-designed and distinct levels and situations.

One complaint I do have is about the narrative. You spend the first half of the game pursuing Fused Shadows in three dungeons. This is sort of like Ocarina of Time, where you spent the first act as a kid collecting the three stones so you could get the Master Sword. Except after collecting the three Fused Shadows, you don’t get anything.

Zant, the game’s preeminent antagonist, knocks you down, grabs your Fused Shadows, calls you a dumbass and walks off. Meanwhile, your catty companion tells you to collect another fractured artifact and assures you that this one will in-fact work. You do get the ability to turn revert to a wolf at will after this point, but only because Zant wanted to punish you for being an idiot.

The Fused Shadows plot does eventually resolve itself and make sense, but initially it seems disposable and unnecessary. Completing this task progresses the plot in a way and provides an excuse for a bit of good old fashioned, and notably well-crafted, dungeon crawling. However, it does not come with the sense of accomplishment that is so important to video games, in which the viewer is responsible for keeping things moving.

I do love Twilight Princess despite this narrative flaw. The characters are likable, and the plot is very intriguing, especially at the end. The dungeons and the intermittent tasks are well-designed. It sticks with Zelda tradition while breaking new ground. And, most importantly, it’s a lot of fun.

So pick the thing up. Even if you don’t have a Wii, you can find a GameCube for next to nothing now, so there’s no excuse not to.