Another post from Kotaku. This one was prompted by the announcement that the game House of the Dead: Overkill was being ported from the Wii to the PS3, complete with 3D and Move functions.
So House of the Dead: Overkill is coming to the PSMove.
While I have absolutely no problem with Overkill coming to the PS3, is anyone else concerned about how many PSMove games are nothing more than ports of games from other consoles or simply existing PS3 games with really basic Move features thrown in?
On the ports side we now have Dead Space: Extraction, HotD:Overkill, No More Heroes, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath (forthcoming), The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest, The Sly Collection and Time Crisis: Razing Storm.
(And yes, I'm aware Aragorn's Quest was a multiplatform release, but it was delayed to add Move functionality to the PS3 version, so I'm counting it.)
On the 'enhanced' side we have de Blob 2, Heavy Rain, Resident Evil 5, Tron Evolution and Toy Story 3, to name but a few.
Like I say, I've not much of a problem with this happening, but shouldn't the advent of the Move have been about creating games that genuinely needed the Move, like Sports games (Top Spin 4, for example), keep fit titles (like Zumba Fitness) or just fun stuff like Heroes on the Move (I refuse to call it PS Move Heroes, which is just clunky)?
If the majority of titles released that use the Move are simply going to be enhanced ports of Wii games, then why bother releasing them on the Wii in the first place? Ok, the Move wasn't announced when the games I mentioned were released, but is it really worth digging them up and converting them just for a few precious more pennies? Will they even break even?
And if you're going to enhance existing games with Move functions, do they have to be so token? Toy Story 3 was particularly bad, with one measly shooting minigame, and Tron Evolution wasn't much better with its brief Lightcycle sections... and nothing else.
Again, games that genuinely use the Move to fully enhance a game, like Sports Champions or Top Spin 4, I can fully support. They do a great job of pulling you into the game and if I could just be arsed to play them I'm sure I'd lose loads of weight, which'd be nice.
And games that are built around the system, like Heroes on the Move or Zumba Fitness, I can also support. Heroes is... well, it's entertaining enough, and it makes good use of the Move, as do the keep-fit titles.
But when a game is simply a port, that's when I get concerned. Because if you already played them on the Wii or whatever (and if you had a Wii, then you definitely did play them, because what else was there to play?), then what's the point of getting them again?
Finally, I note that a lot of the ports or upgrades don't actually need the Move. Most of them are fully playable without needing the Move at all. Which begs the question of why bother porting them if you're not going to make sure people play the game the way it was designed?
First Thoughts on Lego Pirates OT Caribbean
The demo for Lego Pirates of the Caribbean came out on the XBox 360 today, and I played through it, taking notes as I did so. Here's the end result. Enjoy!
Standard Play
- Blimey, there's a lot of cutscenes. One before the title screen and one before the level even begins! What is that, five minutes before I actually get to play? Was Star Wars this long? Was Indy?
- They changed the sound for picking up studs! it sounds more like jingling coins now. More appropriate, but it just doesn't feel right!
- Is it taking longer to build things or is it just me? I think it's taking longer. I like how you can knock the pieces around the floor before building the item in question, that's kinda nice.
- Well, the combat's interesting. It's like you take turns doing a four-hit combo on each other. Hope it's not like that for every enemy, that'd get old fast.
- A CHARACTER SELECT WHEEL. Oh thank god. Six games too late, but better late than never.
- Oh, Captain Jack's run just looks silly. Also, nothing like the way he moves in the movies. They didn't even get his swagger-while-walking right.
- You can run along narrow ledges? That's a neat idea.
- Barrels! Wait, how many of those were in the movies? Oh who cares, it's fun to jump on one and roll it around the level. Wee!
- Oh good, the combat's much more straightforward on standard enemies. Guess the whole take-it-in-turns thing is for bosses and such. That works pretty well, when I think about it.
- That pirate I just rescued did a little jig as thanks. I probably shouldn't find that as entertaining as I did, but I don't care. Dance, Lego Pirate man, dance!
- Using Captain Jack's compass to go on scavenger hunts might be more fun if he moved faster with his compass out. It's a bit tedious at the moment and makes the whole exploration aspect really slow the game down.
- Will that dog drop his sodding bone already! (This really shouldn't irritate me as much as it does)
- Hey, they made the minikits little boats in glass bottles! Nice.
- Heh, Jack's wearing a seashell as a hat. That's silly.
- Ok, slight problem. If you knock all the pieces away, where do you need to stand to start building stuff? That might get a bit frustrating if you accidentally walk through a buildable object and knock half the pieces into the water, as I just did.
- Wait, you have to hold your breath while underwater now? And if you run out of air you die? That sucks! And you hardly get any time at all! I could hold my breath longer than that!
- Oh wait, you can climb in a barrel and just walk on the bottom of the ocean. I remember that from the movie.
- Wee! Sliding down ropes is fun!
- You can use your sword to activate certain switches. For some reason I find this thoroughly awesome.
Free Play
- Nice of them to include this in the demo.
- Wow, the character selection in Free Play is somewhat awkward. Lemme try to explain. Y'know that Character Select screen that normally appears before each level in the other Lego games? When you hold down the Y button, that's what appears on the bottom half of the screen. Slightly cumbersome, I think you'll agree. Still, at least you don't have to keep pressing the trigger buttons to swap characters.
- Oh, what? When you do use the trigger buttons, you can only select between the characters the level normally use and the last character selected from the great big list! Well that won't get old, will it?
- There's a wall-jumping feature now. Don't expect to use it too often though, I think it's only on certain walls.
- My god, the model for Elizabeth Swann looks wrong. It's like they couldn't think of any animations for a woman in a dress.
- Ok, so I went swimming and a shark ate me. I don't think I lost any studs though. Oh, sorry - I don't think I lost any 'treasure' though. About time they stopped punishing me for exploring.
- I never noticed til now, but the jump attack sounds really vicious. A nice big 'CLANG' when you hit something. It's great.
- Who the hell is Hadras? Is he in the new film, or did I just blink and miss him from one of the other films? Either way, I totally need to unlock him in the full game to get anywhere. Able to walk underwater, travel through mushrooms(?)... Thanks for telling me, demo!
- Oh hey, there's that shark again. Can confirm that you don't loose studs- TREASURE if he swallows you.
- The thing that normally unlocks cheats (Red Bricks, Parcels and the like) is now replaced with Captain Jack's Compass. If you find all 8 of his scavenger items, you're given the Gold Brick (and, presumably, the ability to purchase a cheat) at the end of the level.
- ...and now I know exactly how to get all the Minikits in the first level. Again, thanks, demo!
Ok, so to briefly summarise - it's a Lego
Or should I say, the World's End?
...I'll get me coat.
Standard Play
- Blimey, there's a lot of cutscenes. One before the title screen and one before the level even begins! What is that, five minutes before I actually get to play? Was Star Wars this long? Was Indy?
- They changed the sound for picking up studs! it sounds more like jingling coins now. More appropriate, but it just doesn't feel right!
- Is it taking longer to build things or is it just me? I think it's taking longer. I like how you can knock the pieces around the floor before building the item in question, that's kinda nice.
- Well, the combat's interesting. It's like you take turns doing a four-hit combo on each other. Hope it's not like that for every enemy, that'd get old fast.
- A CHARACTER SELECT WHEEL. Oh thank god. Six games too late, but better late than never.
- Oh, Captain Jack's run just looks silly. Also, nothing like the way he moves in the movies. They didn't even get his swagger-while-walking right.
- You can run along narrow ledges? That's a neat idea.
- Barrels! Wait, how many of those were in the movies? Oh who cares, it's fun to jump on one and roll it around the level. Wee!
- Oh good, the combat's much more straightforward on standard enemies. Guess the whole take-it-in-turns thing is for bosses and such. That works pretty well, when I think about it.
- That pirate I just rescued did a little jig as thanks. I probably shouldn't find that as entertaining as I did, but I don't care. Dance, Lego Pirate man, dance!
- Using Captain Jack's compass to go on scavenger hunts might be more fun if he moved faster with his compass out. It's a bit tedious at the moment and makes the whole exploration aspect really slow the game down.
- Will that dog drop his sodding bone already! (This really shouldn't irritate me as much as it does)
- Hey, they made the minikits little boats in glass bottles! Nice.
- Heh, Jack's wearing a seashell as a hat. That's silly.
- Ok, slight problem. If you knock all the pieces away, where do you need to stand to start building stuff? That might get a bit frustrating if you accidentally walk through a buildable object and knock half the pieces into the water, as I just did.
- Wait, you have to hold your breath while underwater now? And if you run out of air you die? That sucks! And you hardly get any time at all! I could hold my breath longer than that!
- Oh wait, you can climb in a barrel and just walk on the bottom of the ocean. I remember that from the movie.
- Wee! Sliding down ropes is fun!
- You can use your sword to activate certain switches. For some reason I find this thoroughly awesome.
Free Play
- Nice of them to include this in the demo.
- Wow, the character selection in Free Play is somewhat awkward. Lemme try to explain. Y'know that Character Select screen that normally appears before each level in the other Lego games? When you hold down the Y button, that's what appears on the bottom half of the screen. Slightly cumbersome, I think you'll agree. Still, at least you don't have to keep pressing the trigger buttons to swap characters.
- Oh, what? When you do use the trigger buttons, you can only select between the characters the level normally use and the last character selected from the great big list! Well that won't get old, will it?
- There's a wall-jumping feature now. Don't expect to use it too often though, I think it's only on certain walls.
- My god, the model for Elizabeth Swann looks wrong. It's like they couldn't think of any animations for a woman in a dress.
- Ok, so I went swimming and a shark ate me. I don't think I lost any studs though. Oh, sorry - I don't think I lost any 'treasure' though. About time they stopped punishing me for exploring.
- I never noticed til now, but the jump attack sounds really vicious. A nice big 'CLANG' when you hit something. It's great.
- Who the hell is Hadras? Is he in the new film, or did I just blink and miss him from one of the other films? Either way, I totally need to unlock him in the full game to get anywhere. Able to walk underwater, travel through mushrooms(?)... Thanks for telling me, demo!
- Oh hey, there's that shark again. Can confirm that you don't loose studs- TREASURE if he swallows you.
- The thing that normally unlocks cheats (Red Bricks, Parcels and the like) is now replaced with Captain Jack's Compass. If you find all 8 of his scavenger items, you're given the Gold Brick (and, presumably, the ability to purchase a cheat) at the end of the level.
- ...and now I know exactly how to get all the Minikits in the first level. Again, thanks, demo!
Ok, so to briefly summarise - it's a Lego
Or should I say, the World's End?
...I'll get me coat.
Update
Just a quick update on the last post I made.
Turns out they are getting James McCaffrey to voice Max, they're showing Max age gradually (from his MP2 look through to his modern, bald appearance) and the plot will show how Max got from New York to... wherever the hell he is now.
Still not sure, but at least my mind has been put to rest on a few of my main problems with the game. I'm more cautiously optimistic than before, but I've yet to be convinced this is a true sequel.
Turns out they are getting James McCaffrey to voice Max, they're showing Max age gradually (from his MP2 look through to his modern, bald appearance) and the plot will show how Max got from New York to... wherever the hell he is now.
Still not sure, but at least my mind has been put to rest on a few of my main problems with the game. I'm more cautiously optimistic than before, but I've yet to be convinced this is a true sequel.
The Man Formerly Known as Max Payne
Another post from Kotaku. This one was kickstarted by the appearance of two new screenshots from Max Payne 3, which brought up old feelings I'd forgotten I had.
Until proven otherwise, I maintain, with every breath in my body, that this is not a Max Payne game, in much the same way that Conviction could be thought of as not being a Splinter Cell game (that's a rant for another day though).
Oh sure, it may bear the name of Max Payne, but if the gameplay is completely different (one of the developers mentioned a cover system), the plot is completely different (it's taking place in São Paulo, as opposed to New York), the lead character is completely different (Max is now fat, bald and bearded, and not voiced by James McCaffrey) and the developers are completely different (Rockstar Vienna/Vancouver as opposed to Remedy Entertainment), then it's a completely different game.
Call it a Max Payne game if you want, but that's nothing more than a lie. This is not a sequel, it's an original game in an established franchise. It's the Halloween 3 of gaming, and until Rockstar realize that Halloween 3 failed for a reason, the game is most likely doomed.
I brought up Splinter Cell Conviction earlier, and I'll bring it up again. Conviction is a Splinter Cell game in name only. The gameplay, possibly the most important thing in a game, is so radically different from the rest of the Splinter Cell series that it hardly bears any resemblance to it at all. The originals were slow paced, stealthy games. Conviction is most definitely not. I'm not saying Conviction is a bad game, but it just doesn't feel like a Splinter Cell game.
That last sentence is also my defense at other franchises where 'everything is different'. Bioshock 2, for example, had different developers and a different lead character, but because it took place in the same city (albeit areas we hadn't seen before), had some of the same characters (Little Sisters, Tenenbaum, Andrew Ryan and Fontaine, even if the last two were just through audio logs) and recreated the feel of the original game so well, it didn't matter if things were a little different. It felt like a worthy sequel.
Fallout 3 and New Vegas are another set of sequels you could say goes counter to my argument, but again, for everything that's different, there's a counterargument that says otherwise. The Fallout series has gone through several different styles (pre Fallout 3, there were the original 2 games, plus Tactics and Brotherhood of Steel), so why should a change to an FPS be any different? And despite them being a lot like Oblivion, there's enough changes and hangovers from the earlier games to make the two games feel like Fallout. The settings were well realized, the stories was appropriate and at times felt like a callback to the first games, the characters were well characterized and compelling... They really did feel like Fallout games.
The fact that something is by a different developer doesn't automatically make a new game in a franchise a bad thing, but when they change every little thing about a game, then you have cause for concern. And that's my problem with Max Payne 3. They've changed everything. That's why I don't think of it as a true Max Payne sequel, and why many others feel the same.
Maybe if Rockstar realize this and make Max look like... well, MAX, we might be more forgiving. As it stands, he just looks like someone from Kane and Lynch, which I think says it all!
Classic Achievements (Article)
Another article from Kotaku. This one posed the question "What achievements would you like to see for classic games?", and I went a little overboard. Here's the first two I did.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Spider-Man
Collected all 100 Gold Skulltuta tokens
Touch of Gold
Obtained the Golden Gauntlets
(alternate name: I Keep Ma Pimp Hand Strong)
Swimming with the Fishes
Obtained the Golden Scale
You Got the Thing!
Obtained every single heart container
Bigger is Better
Got the fixed Biggeron Sword
Shot to the Heart
Scored 2,000 points in the Gerudo Valley Target Range
Full to the Brim
Collected, and filled, the largest sized Wallet
Get the Point?
Collected, and filled, the largest sized Quiver
Boom, Baby!
Collected, and filled, the largest sized Bomb Bag
Young Troublemaker
Collected, and filled, the largest sized Deku Seed Bag
It's Magic
Obtained both Deku Nut upgrades
Stick it to 'em
Obtained both Deku Stick upgrades
Practising for Later
Unlocked all 8 masks
Bean Counting
Planted all 10 Magic Beans
Earth, Wind and Fire
Obtained all 3 Magic Spells
Ghost in the Shell
Collected all 10 Ghosts
- Hidden Achievements -
Stabby Time!
Found the Kokiri Sword
Knight of the Round Table
Obtained a Hylian Shield
Engaged? To be MARRIED?
Received Zora's Sapphire
Blue is Better
Replaced Saria's Ocarina with the Ocarina of Time
Bishonen
Received the Master Sword
Phantom of the Opera
Defeated the Phantom Ganon
It Can't Rain All the Time
Learned the Song of Storms
Quit Horsing Around
Escaped with Epona
Stop! Hammer Time!
Gained the Megaton Hammer
That One Level
Entered the Water Temple
I'm Too Old for this Ship
Rode the Phantom Boat in the Shadow Temple
Boom! Head Shot!
Defeated Ganon
Prince of Persia (Classic)
So THAT'S What Happened
Watched the intro
Armed and Dangerous
Found a sword
Stabby Time!
Struck your first blow
Step Aerobics
Completed three levels
Mmm... Refreshing!
Regained health
Level Up!
Gained an extra hit point
Stronger Than I Thought
Flipped the world upside down
Someone Spiked the Punch
Drank poison
Feeling Gassy
Slowly fell to safety
Mirror Universe Counterpart
Jumped through the mirror
Two Halves Make a Whole
Re-united with your mirror self
Made My Way Up From Nothing
Reached the final level
Nothing Stands in the Way of True Love
Reunited with the Princess
Higher Than I Thought
Died by falling too far
Shish Kabob
Died by landing on spikes
Slice 'n' Dice
Died by getting sliced in half
Suicide-by-Cop
Died by being beaten in combat
Far Too Late
Ran out of time
Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Spider-Man
Collected all 100 Gold Skulltuta tokens
Touch of Gold
Obtained the Golden Gauntlets
(alternate name: I Keep Ma Pimp Hand Strong)
Swimming with the Fishes
Obtained the Golden Scale
You Got the Thing!
Obtained every single heart container
Bigger is Better
Got the fixed Biggeron Sword
Shot to the Heart
Scored 2,000 points in the Gerudo Valley Target Range
Full to the Brim
Collected, and filled, the largest sized Wallet
Get the Point?
Collected, and filled, the largest sized Quiver
Boom, Baby!
Collected, and filled, the largest sized Bomb Bag
Young Troublemaker
Collected, and filled, the largest sized Deku Seed Bag
It's Magic
Obtained both Deku Nut upgrades
Stick it to 'em
Obtained both Deku Stick upgrades
Practising for Later
Unlocked all 8 masks
Bean Counting
Planted all 10 Magic Beans
Earth, Wind and Fire
Obtained all 3 Magic Spells
Ghost in the Shell
Collected all 10 Ghosts
- Hidden Achievements -
Stabby Time!
Found the Kokiri Sword
Knight of the Round Table
Obtained a Hylian Shield
Engaged? To be MARRIED?
Received Zora's Sapphire
Blue is Better
Replaced Saria's Ocarina with the Ocarina of Time
Bishonen
Received the Master Sword
Phantom of the Opera
Defeated the Phantom Ganon
It Can't Rain All the Time
Learned the Song of Storms
Quit Horsing Around
Escaped with Epona
Stop! Hammer Time!
Gained the Megaton Hammer
That One Level
Entered the Water Temple
I'm Too Old for this Ship
Rode the Phantom Boat in the Shadow Temple
Boom! Head Shot!
Defeated Ganon
Prince of Persia (Classic)
So THAT'S What Happened
Watched the intro
Armed and Dangerous
Found a sword
Stabby Time!
Struck your first blow
Step Aerobics
Completed three levels
Mmm... Refreshing!
Regained health
Level Up!
Gained an extra hit point
Stronger Than I Thought
Flipped the world upside down
Someone Spiked the Punch
Drank poison
Feeling Gassy
Slowly fell to safety
Mirror Universe Counterpart
Jumped through the mirror
Two Halves Make a Whole
Re-united with your mirror self
Made My Way Up From Nothing
Reached the final level
Nothing Stands in the Way of True Love
Reunited with the Princess
Higher Than I Thought
Died by falling too far
Shish Kabob
Died by landing on spikes
Slice 'n' Dice
Died by getting sliced in half
Suicide-by-Cop
Died by being beaten in combat
Far Too Late
Ran out of time
Games I'd Like to See PS3-HD'd (Article)
Just a basic article I wrote on hearing the rumours of a Metal Gear Solid trilogy PS3-HD collection.
Ape Escape
The Ape Escape games are essentially platformers with one major difference - instead of using the right analogue stick to control the camera, you use it to swing a net so you can catch escaped monkeys instead. And this works amazingly well. The original game on the PS1 had two sequels on the PS2 (as well as a few spin-offs, but we won't look at those), and I'd love to see them HD'd, if only so I can once again chase after those naughty monkeys!
Crash Bandicoot
A pipe dream, I know, but it would be wonderful to see the first three games from the original PS1 remastered in glorious hi-res graphics. Failing that, the more recent titles would be nice. Maybe then I could be convinced to give the blasted things another go. Either way, fans would lap them up.
Dark Cloud/Dark Chronicles
Hey, I'd like to see them anyway. They were both great games, despite having practically nothing in common, and they could well do with a second lease of life. Given how busy Level 5 are at the moment, and their current focus, this may well be nothing more than a dream, but it's a nice one to have all the same.
Kingdom Hearts
There's actually been three PS2 titles in this series - the main two, and the midquel 'Re:Chain of Memories'. Bringing all three to the PS3 in an HD collection would definitely appeal to fans of the series, and it would also help to alleviate Square-Enix's financial woes after FFXIV. I'm surprised they haven't already announced it.
Jak & Daxter
There's been five games in the series (Jak X IS canon, fanboys), and I am positive I'm not the only one who'd like to see them all with gloriously remastered graphics. Naughty Dog may have moved on to the Uncharted series, but that's no reason for them to revisit their earlier classics. Hell, I'd even accept the original trilogy, given how Lost Frontier was developed by High Impact Games. Just give us something, damn it!
Klonoa
Another dream, but there's been two core Klonoa games, the first of which was remade for the Wii a year or two ago, so it's not too hard of a leap to imagine them being HD'd and PS3'd. The games had a wonderful lightness of touch about them and a charm that most games lack these days, so I'd love to see the series return, if only to indulge my inner child.
Ratchet & Clank
This could happen, since the original developers are still working on the franchise. And what a collection it would be! The original four games (yes, that includes Deadlocked), remastered for the PS3, with online multiplayer for R&C3 & Deadlocked and Trophies as well as Skill Points... I guarantee it would sell like hotcakes. Why haven't Insomniac Games announced this yet? It's only a matter of time, surely?
Rayman
There's been a couple of Rayman games (well, four, not counting the Rabbids subseries) and I'd love to see them return. Rayman 2 is still one of my favourite 3D platformers, and seeing the PS2-remake Revolution in glorious PS3-vision, along with Rayman 3 would be amazing. Include Rayman M, with online support, and you're golden. Might want to turn down the difficulty of the original though, that was hard as nails.
Spyro
There's been two different Spyro series, but seeing either in HD would be nice. The originals preferably, but since the original developers have moved on (stupid Insomniac making Ratchet and Clank, grr) that's unlikely. It's also unlikely to see the new trilogy remastered, since the last of the three was made by a different developer then the first two. Still, I'd buy it. Maybe others would too.
Timesplitters
There's a fourth one rumoured to be in existence, so it's not too much of a stretch to imagine the original trilogy being remastered for the PS3. Throw in some online multiplayer and you've got one hell of a collection - certainly the closest most people will get to the original Goldeneye on the PS3, anyway. It'd be awesome.
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
A trilogy of actually quite fun platformers with a very Australian bent. The first was your standard platformer, the second had an open-world aspect and the third is an 'after the apocalypse' sort of game. They're all good, but they seem to have flown under the radar a bit, with the third not actually being released in PAL regions. This could be a good chance to rectify that.
Ape Escape
The Ape Escape games are essentially platformers with one major difference - instead of using the right analogue stick to control the camera, you use it to swing a net so you can catch escaped monkeys instead. And this works amazingly well. The original game on the PS1 had two sequels on the PS2 (as well as a few spin-offs, but we won't look at those), and I'd love to see them HD'd, if only so I can once again chase after those naughty monkeys!
Crash Bandicoot
A pipe dream, I know, but it would be wonderful to see the first three games from the original PS1 remastered in glorious hi-res graphics. Failing that, the more recent titles would be nice. Maybe then I could be convinced to give the blasted things another go. Either way, fans would lap them up.
Dark Cloud/Dark Chronicles
Hey, I'd like to see them anyway. They were both great games, despite having practically nothing in common, and they could well do with a second lease of life. Given how busy Level 5 are at the moment, and their current focus, this may well be nothing more than a dream, but it's a nice one to have all the same.
Kingdom Hearts
There's actually been three PS2 titles in this series - the main two, and the midquel 'Re:Chain of Memories'. Bringing all three to the PS3 in an HD collection would definitely appeal to fans of the series, and it would also help to alleviate Square-Enix's financial woes after FFXIV. I'm surprised they haven't already announced it.
Jak & Daxter
There's been five games in the series (Jak X IS canon, fanboys), and I am positive I'm not the only one who'd like to see them all with gloriously remastered graphics. Naughty Dog may have moved on to the Uncharted series, but that's no reason for them to revisit their earlier classics. Hell, I'd even accept the original trilogy, given how Lost Frontier was developed by High Impact Games. Just give us something, damn it!
Klonoa
Another dream, but there's been two core Klonoa games, the first of which was remade for the Wii a year or two ago, so it's not too hard of a leap to imagine them being HD'd and PS3'd. The games had a wonderful lightness of touch about them and a charm that most games lack these days, so I'd love to see the series return, if only to indulge my inner child.
Ratchet & Clank
This could happen, since the original developers are still working on the franchise. And what a collection it would be! The original four games (yes, that includes Deadlocked), remastered for the PS3, with online multiplayer for R&C3 & Deadlocked and Trophies as well as Skill Points... I guarantee it would sell like hotcakes. Why haven't Insomniac Games announced this yet? It's only a matter of time, surely?
Rayman
There's been a couple of Rayman games (well, four, not counting the Rabbids subseries) and I'd love to see them return. Rayman 2 is still one of my favourite 3D platformers, and seeing the PS2-remake Revolution in glorious PS3-vision, along with Rayman 3 would be amazing. Include Rayman M, with online support, and you're golden. Might want to turn down the difficulty of the original though, that was hard as nails.
Spyro
There's been two different Spyro series, but seeing either in HD would be nice. The originals preferably, but since the original developers have moved on (stupid Insomniac making Ratchet and Clank, grr) that's unlikely. It's also unlikely to see the new trilogy remastered, since the last of the three was made by a different developer then the first two. Still, I'd buy it. Maybe others would too.
Timesplitters
There's a fourth one rumoured to be in existence, so it's not too much of a stretch to imagine the original trilogy being remastered for the PS3. Throw in some online multiplayer and you've got one hell of a collection - certainly the closest most people will get to the original Goldeneye on the PS3, anyway. It'd be awesome.
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
A trilogy of actually quite fun platformers with a very Australian bent. The first was your standard platformer, the second had an open-world aspect and the third is an 'after the apocalypse' sort of game. They're all good, but they seem to have flown under the radar a bit, with the third not actually being released in PAL regions. This could be a good chance to rectify that.
The Power of Starkiller (Article)
Another post from Kotaku expanded to form a full article. It's a good one though. Explains why I'm not really that much of a Star Wars fan these days.
Starkiller is, quite simply, one of the most powerful Jedi or Sith that we've ever seen. And this represents a problem. Because each and every single interpretation of the Jedi/Sith, be it in movies, TV shows, games or comics, has had the powers they command become more and more powerful as time goes on. And the reason for this is audience demand.
Essentially, people demand more from the Jedi/Sith. Basic lightsaber fights and characters barely moving a rock with their minds simply won't cut it. We want more, dammit! So that's what we get, no matter how ridiculous or absurd it is. That's why we get the Clone Wars, with Jedi doing stupid flips and blowing up entire buildings with a handwave.
And THAT'S why we get someone like Starkiller, who is so much more powerful than everyone else, along with the handwave of "oh, the other Jedi were this powerful too, we just never saw it".
Example time! In the original film (A New Hope), the only real lightsaber fight was slow and tension-filled, between a former student and his master. Each one took careful, well-placed swings at each other, much like real swordfighters would, trying in a serious manner to kill the other. It was a gritty piece of drama as much as it was a neat piece of sci-fi action.
The numerous saber battles in later films, say The Phantom Menace, were incredibly stylized but ultimately pointless ballet routines. They look like the combatants are more interested in showing off than actually killing each other. There's no tension, no real atmosphere. Just some awesome stuff happening with no real emotional depth to it.
This is actually one of the main reasons I've stopped being such a huge fan of the series. It's more about the spectacle of the fights and the flashy graphics then it is about the actual characters.
Well, that and they stubbornly refuse to make a new sequel to Jedi Academy. I wanna know what happens to Kyle Katarn, dammit!
Starkiller is, quite simply, one of the most powerful Jedi or Sith that we've ever seen. And this represents a problem. Because each and every single interpretation of the Jedi/Sith, be it in movies, TV shows, games or comics, has had the powers they command become more and more powerful as time goes on. And the reason for this is audience demand.
Essentially, people demand more from the Jedi/Sith. Basic lightsaber fights and characters barely moving a rock with their minds simply won't cut it. We want more, dammit! So that's what we get, no matter how ridiculous or absurd it is. That's why we get the Clone Wars, with Jedi doing stupid flips and blowing up entire buildings with a handwave.
And THAT'S why we get someone like Starkiller, who is so much more powerful than everyone else, along with the handwave of "oh, the other Jedi were this powerful too, we just never saw it".
Example time! In the original film (A New Hope), the only real lightsaber fight was slow and tension-filled, between a former student and his master. Each one took careful, well-placed swings at each other, much like real swordfighters would, trying in a serious manner to kill the other. It was a gritty piece of drama as much as it was a neat piece of sci-fi action.
The numerous saber battles in later films, say The Phantom Menace, were incredibly stylized but ultimately pointless ballet routines. They look like the combatants are more interested in showing off than actually killing each other. There's no tension, no real atmosphere. Just some awesome stuff happening with no real emotional depth to it.
This is actually one of the main reasons I've stopped being such a huge fan of the series. It's more about the spectacle of the fights and the flashy graphics then it is about the actual characters.
Well, that and they stubbornly refuse to make a new sequel to Jedi Academy. I wanna know what happens to Kyle Katarn, dammit!
Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley (Review)
Decided to rewrite my initial review, since it wasn't very professional. Or good. Ahem.
Comic Jumper is the third game from Twisted Pixel, and much like their other games, it is extremely silly, very funny, wonderfully imaginative and ultimately flawed.
The basic premise of the game is quite simple. You play Captain Smiley, a comic book character who's title is so bad it's almost immediately cancelled, and have to make guest appearances in other comics so you can earn enough money to relaunch your own. It's a little more complex then the other games by the developers ("Help an everything-eating creature to the end of the level" and "constantly blow yourself up to reach the end of the level" respectively), and the game does have a surprisingly strong plot, which is apt, given the subject material.
As you might expect, the humour in this game is brilliant. There's an awful lot for the game to make fun of, from the star on your costume being a pawning fan of your arch-nemesis 'Brad', to Captain Smiley complaining about how it's bad for his image to be shooting female robots, right down to mocking the people who write in to the 'Reader's Mail' bit of a comic. This is, without doubt, one of the funniest games ever made, and it's surprising how far the darkly-rich writing and snarky comments carry things.
Gameplay-wise, the whole thing feels like Contra, with you spending most of your time running from left to right (or in the last few levels, right to left) while shooting in the direction you point the right control stick, occasionally switching from the standard 2D-platforming-rendered-in-3D to run through a short 3D-on-rails section. When you're not shooting stuff, and you're almost never NOT shooting stuff, there's a few incredibly basic fist-fighting sections, but these are brief and lacking in any real depth, and you'll quickly be back to holding down the right trigger and desperately trying to avoid the bad guys.
Which leads to the games biggest problem - the difficulty. This game is incredibly difficult, and not in a good way. Instead of challenging you with enemies that attack in different ways and with various strategies, the game just has the same half-dozen enemies throughout, and just throws more and more of them at you. This quickly becomes absurdly frustrating, as you are constantly trying to move left and right while jumping just to avoid getting hit by any of the dozen projectiles on screen at any one time while also attempting to shoot the enemies throwing the projectiles. You're moving in one direction and shooting in the other, and it's nigh-impossible to do this for long until you get hit. And when you do get hit, it inevitably throws you off and leads to you getting hit again, and before you know it you've lost a third of your health, which the game stubbornly refuses to let you regain without dying and going back to the last checkpoint.
This 'artificial difficulty' - ie: not creating a challenging and intelligent difficulty curve, instead just throwing more stuff at you in the hopes of simulating one - is the biggest problem this game has. It becomes even worse in the later levels, when the stages are in black and white, meaning that you can't even see the projectiles half the time. The end result is a game that will often have you putting the controller down and doing something else for a while just so you can calm down. It's that frustrating.
One of the other problems with the game is that it doesn't really take advantage of the concept as much as it could. The idea of 'jumping' into other comics is an intriguing one, but aside from your own, you only visit three other types of comic - a Conan-style adventure, a return to the Silver Age of comics and a backwards-running excursion into Manga territory - and these don't quite have the imagination to stay interesting across all three levels you spend in each. Two of the levels in both the Conan and Manga comics are almost identical, which is somewhat disappointing. While there's some clever ideas, the game really could have benefited from one or two more styles, or maybe just a little more variation in the styles they do have.
In the end, there's an abundance of ideas in this game. The problem is that they focused too much on the humour and story and not enough on the gameplay. The end result is a game that's mired down by repetitiveness and an unforgiving difficulty. It's still worth trying, but it could have been so much more, and that's one of the worst things you can say about a game. Still, Nordya was hot, right?
Comic Jumper is the third game from Twisted Pixel, and much like their other games, it is extremely silly, very funny, wonderfully imaginative and ultimately flawed.
The basic premise of the game is quite simple. You play Captain Smiley, a comic book character who's title is so bad it's almost immediately cancelled, and have to make guest appearances in other comics so you can earn enough money to relaunch your own. It's a little more complex then the other games by the developers ("Help an everything-eating creature to the end of the level" and "constantly blow yourself up to reach the end of the level" respectively), and the game does have a surprisingly strong plot, which is apt, given the subject material.
As you might expect, the humour in this game is brilliant. There's an awful lot for the game to make fun of, from the star on your costume being a pawning fan of your arch-nemesis 'Brad', to Captain Smiley complaining about how it's bad for his image to be shooting female robots, right down to mocking the people who write in to the 'Reader's Mail' bit of a comic. This is, without doubt, one of the funniest games ever made, and it's surprising how far the darkly-rich writing and snarky comments carry things.
Gameplay-wise, the whole thing feels like Contra, with you spending most of your time running from left to right (or in the last few levels, right to left) while shooting in the direction you point the right control stick, occasionally switching from the standard 2D-platforming-rendered-in-3D to run through a short 3D-on-rails section. When you're not shooting stuff, and you're almost never NOT shooting stuff, there's a few incredibly basic fist-fighting sections, but these are brief and lacking in any real depth, and you'll quickly be back to holding down the right trigger and desperately trying to avoid the bad guys.
Which leads to the games biggest problem - the difficulty. This game is incredibly difficult, and not in a good way. Instead of challenging you with enemies that attack in different ways and with various strategies, the game just has the same half-dozen enemies throughout, and just throws more and more of them at you. This quickly becomes absurdly frustrating, as you are constantly trying to move left and right while jumping just to avoid getting hit by any of the dozen projectiles on screen at any one time while also attempting to shoot the enemies throwing the projectiles. You're moving in one direction and shooting in the other, and it's nigh-impossible to do this for long until you get hit. And when you do get hit, it inevitably throws you off and leads to you getting hit again, and before you know it you've lost a third of your health, which the game stubbornly refuses to let you regain without dying and going back to the last checkpoint.
This 'artificial difficulty' - ie: not creating a challenging and intelligent difficulty curve, instead just throwing more stuff at you in the hopes of simulating one - is the biggest problem this game has. It becomes even worse in the later levels, when the stages are in black and white, meaning that you can't even see the projectiles half the time. The end result is a game that will often have you putting the controller down and doing something else for a while just so you can calm down. It's that frustrating.
One of the other problems with the game is that it doesn't really take advantage of the concept as much as it could. The idea of 'jumping' into other comics is an intriguing one, but aside from your own, you only visit three other types of comic - a Conan-style adventure, a return to the Silver Age of comics and a backwards-running excursion into Manga territory - and these don't quite have the imagination to stay interesting across all three levels you spend in each. Two of the levels in both the Conan and Manga comics are almost identical, which is somewhat disappointing. While there's some clever ideas, the game really could have benefited from one or two more styles, or maybe just a little more variation in the styles they do have.
In the end, there's an abundance of ideas in this game. The problem is that they focused too much on the humour and story and not enough on the gameplay. The end result is a game that's mired down by repetitiveness and an unforgiving difficulty. It's still worth trying, but it could have been so much more, and that's one of the worst things you can say about a game. Still, Nordya was hot, right?
Comic Jumper (Review)
Another review. This one's really short, but that's because there's not a whole lot to say about it.
Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley - 7/10
This is, without a doubt, the funniest game I've played all year. Bar none. Sorry Telltale, Sam & Max came a good second, but Comic Jumper has the most wonderfully childish yet dark sense of humour I've ever come across in a game.
Unfortunately, the whole 'game' aspect is where the problems lie. It's basically a 2D sidescroller where you move with one control stick and control which direction you shoot with the other stick. Which is fine in practice, but the game decides that 'increased difficulty' means 'more enemies with their projectile attacks that are nearly impossible to dodge'.
So while the demo level (the first one) gives you a good example of how the game plays, it utterly fails to give you a grasp of how difficult it is. And it is difficult. Especially on the Manga levels, where everything's in black-and-white and you can't even see the projectiles half the time. This is not conducive to good gameplay. This is just clusterf**king.
When it's good, it's brilliant. When it's not, it's an anger-inducing smorgasboard of frustration. And that's how I'd sum up the game in three words. A hilarious clusterf**k.
Also, the 'He Ain't Even Married' achievement can go f**k itself.
This is, without a doubt, the funniest game I've played all year. Bar none. Sorry Telltale, Sam & Max came a good second, but Comic Jumper has the most wonderfully childish yet dark sense of humour I've ever come across in a game.
Unfortunately, the whole 'game' aspect is where the problems lie. It's basically a 2D sidescroller where you move with one control stick and control which direction you shoot with the other stick. Which is fine in practice, but the game decides that 'increased difficulty' means 'more enemies with their projectile attacks that are nearly impossible to dodge'.
So while the demo level (the first one) gives you a good example of how the game plays, it utterly fails to give you a grasp of how difficult it is. And it is difficult. Especially on the Manga levels, where everything's in black-and-white and you can't even see the projectiles half the time. This is not conducive to good gameplay. This is just clusterf**king.
When it's good, it's brilliant. When it's not, it's an anger-inducing smorgasboard of frustration. And that's how I'd sum up the game in three words. A hilarious clusterf**k.
Also, the 'He Ain't Even Married' achievement can go f**k itself.
Update
Hey ho, another update.
I haven't had much free time as of late - work has been manic, and I suspect will continue to be for the next couple of months - and what little free time I do have is spent on a couple of projects that don't leave much room for anything else.
One of these projects is a series of new in-sleeves for my PS2 games, as the old ones are getting on a bit and I've been able to come up with some much nicer ones. Basically they're just a wallpaper that's been stretched across a DVD cover that I've just slapped a template over, but you'd be surprised how well that works sometimes. I'm about halfway through those ATM, and the hardest part has been finding decent images/wallpapers/fanart/whatever to use. I've had to get a bit inventive at times, but overall it's coming along quite nicely.
Another project has been with my PS3. You may have noticed the gamercard on the right side of the website with all my trophies on it. Getting as many of those as I can has certainly been part of it. The other part is transferring videos, music and wallpapers over to the system. I'm really not sure why I've been doing this - it's not like I don't have the files on my PC - but sometimes it's nice just to be able to watch Doctor Who on my TV without worrying about having to put them onto DVD first.
Finally, I've been sleeping. A lot.
So anyway, that's been my life as of late. Nice of you to ask. :)
I haven't had much free time as of late - work has been manic, and I suspect will continue to be for the next couple of months - and what little free time I do have is spent on a couple of projects that don't leave much room for anything else.
One of these projects is a series of new in-sleeves for my PS2 games, as the old ones are getting on a bit and I've been able to come up with some much nicer ones. Basically they're just a wallpaper that's been stretched across a DVD cover that I've just slapped a template over, but you'd be surprised how well that works sometimes. I'm about halfway through those ATM, and the hardest part has been finding decent images/wallpapers/fanart/whatever to use. I've had to get a bit inventive at times, but overall it's coming along quite nicely.
Another project has been with my PS3. You may have noticed the gamercard on the right side of the website with all my trophies on it. Getting as many of those as I can has certainly been part of it. The other part is transferring videos, music and wallpapers over to the system. I'm really not sure why I've been doing this - it's not like I don't have the files on my PC - but sometimes it's nice just to be able to watch Doctor Who on my TV without worrying about having to put them onto DVD first.
Finally, I've been sleeping. A lot.
So anyway, that's been my life as of late. Nice of you to ask. :)
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