Why....what's this?

To me, that looks like a screenshot of some crafty individual about to get himself some Sonic Adventure on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

This excites me. The first game was obviously the high point of Sonic Team's many attempts to translate Sonic in 3D, and with a pretty decent cast of characters aside from himself featuring gameplay types ranging from pursuit to fishing(?!) to round out Sonic's breakneck speed (and it DIDN'T interfere with Sonic's quest, they had stories of their own), it was actually...good. Imagine that.

I know I can't wait to play this. Even watching it makes me feel like I'm 13 all over again. I loved Sonic's gameplay. His was nothing but breakneck speed across a variety of stages filled with shortcuts, hidden paths, and ridiculous setpieces like running down the side of a skyscraper, or escaping the jaws of a killer whale on a bridge being reduced to splinters by the second.

As far as 1999 was concerned, they were the coolest things I'd ever seen in a game.




Sega, please announce this soon. You've already been caught with your pants down.

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Dante's Inferno.....of War?

I know imitation's the sincerest form of flattery, but c'mon, guys.





Dante's Inferno, Visceral Games' take on the infamous novel, -is- God of War. Yes. I just said it.

I'm not sorry either. Honestly, if Noriko from Heavenly Sword was dabbling around in the "How to Make An Epic Action Game" bullet point list made by the GoW series, then Inferno has gone to Staples, made a copy of it, and dared to stuff it into a decent looking folder instead of laminate it.

I understand the symbiosis of the industry and how we must take an idea or two from each other and expand on it in order to survive, but this is a bit much, even for me. The controls have been copy pasted, the boss battles and enemy encounters are similar right down to the finishing QTE events, and the graphics, while running at a rock solid 60 frames per second, have obviously taken a hit due to this fact.



I almost played the game in a state of utter disbelief, unable to fully enjoy it because I knew where it was all coming from, and unable to hate it because what was on display was very polished. The demo was actually very long and involving, taking me from the beginning of Dante's quest to rescue his love Beatrice, to his entry into one of the many circles of hell he's supposed to endure. It's a concept that is interesting, having been built upon the framework of The Divine Comedy, but it ends up being more unintentionally funny than dramatic. This however, just builds upon what I said earlier.

Everything this game ultimately would like to be, it just falls slightly short in my eyes due to a lack of a tangible soul. The combat is visceral, but lacks that extra oomph it would need to be satisfying. The sense of scale is played up well with convincing camerawork and explosive setpieces, but doesn't feel grand. The game's general design feels so much like God of War and every other action game inspired by it, that it makes me wonder why I'm not playing them instead.

This isn't to say that DI is not a good game however. It's just so blatantly running off of Sony Santa Monica's (the team who created God of War) ideas that it's difficult to justify playing it when the real God of War 3 is merely months away, and even an actual month away from this title's release. There is literally NOTHING I saw in this demo outside of its concept that I found terribly interesting or original, and I don't know if a novel story is enough to warrant a full on purchase. It actually bothers me because I want to see Visceral Games' vision of hell (if the demo's any indication, they've got some things up their sleeve), but I don't know. While Dead Space was a sleeper hit, actually outdoing the series it built its framework upon (Resident Evil 4), this just feels like an impressive knockoff more than anything else. We'll see when February rolls around.



I'll be damned if some of those kills weren't cool though.

No pun intended.

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Looking back in time -- GoW Collection Review

Nostalgia is quite the rose tinted lens, and the games I’ve played in my younger years often look better in my mind’s eye than they actually did when I played them. Times change, technology changes, and especially in the case of 3D gaming, it isn’t something that ages well. Indeed, as much as we try and deny it, graphics do matter, and I’ve run into my share of dismay when trying to relive the glory of my past favorites. What looked amazing in my head suddenly doesn’t in front of me on my HDTV. Textures get muddy, animation is stilted instead of smooth, and what used to be sharp was actually a jagged mess. Paradise lost.

Time is much kinder to 2D games.


This logic even applies to my favorite titles. As amazing as I consider the God of War series to be on the whole, even it cannot escape the ever sprinting nature of technology. Even playing the originals on my PS3, smoothed out as they may have been, their hardware pushing nature was evident. The games were large, expansive, busy, lovingly textured, and the animation was excellent, but it came at a price. Resolution was as high as the PS2 could push without any anti-aliasing, the framerate was high, yet unstable, and video sync issues caused the odd torn image every so often. They're concessions we accepted at the time because NOTHING looked like God of War, but now, that just isn't the case. The games themselves have aged well, but their technology hasn't.

Enter Sony's plan to revisit and remaster the two classics, with the promise of eliminating the small technical issues they used to have, and letting us play them EXACTLY as the developers would've wanted.


(Click screenshots to see the original scenes, comparison shots courtesy of Bitmob)

The God of War Collection is finally here, and this means two of the best, genre influencing action games the last gen had to offer are now on display during the HD era. As if having both of these games on a Blu-Ray wasn't enough, they’ve been remastered as well, offering up a new 720p resolution with anti-aliasing, sharper textures, and a perfect framerate to match. To put aside the tech jargon and put it bluntly; they're much better than they were before. Much.

Oddly enough, the sound was left out of the remastering, and while it’s a touch disappointing to not be able to hear the original score in perhaps an uncompressed, dolby digital manner, it’s a small complaint because the sound is still impressive in it’s own right, and the score is still as appropriately epic and dynamic as it's always been.

In case you are somehow unacquainted with the God of War series, (and HOW did you miss it?), you are Kratos, champion of the gods of ancient Greece and all around ruthless soldier who is as mysterious as he is feared for his deeds. The first game has Kratos seeking revenge against Ares, the titular god of war who betrayed him. The second sees Kratos having fulfilled his quest, but due to some story elements I refuse to spoil, see him attempting to reach the Isle of Creation in order to ultimately change his fate. The results of his tenacity aren't pleasant though. Kratos isn't a hero, nor is he even an antihero, and his violent, ruthless methods may be a turnoff for some people. For the rest of us though, it's one hell of a violent, bloody path cut through ancient Greek mythology that takes its liberties where it needs to in the name of an epic story.



I played the originals to death, so my memory of them both, what I felt, I remember as vividly as if it were yesterday. This means it's no small thing when I say that thanks to the remastering, God of War I and II look exactly as I remember them. This is a compliment, because after all, I am talking about two last generation games being blown up way past their original resolution on an HDTV. They were literally the best looking games the PS2 had to offer, but are dated by this point, especially with games like Gears of War 2 and Uncharted 2 running amok. This is to say nothing of the massive setpieces and epic sense of scale for which the series has always been revered, but the fact that the conversion actually helps both titles hold up is a boon. The original game looks just as good as it did on the SDTV I had in 2005, and its sequel actually looks better, dare I say early current gen by comparison.



The only thing that didn’t make a next gen leap were the cutscenes. God of War makes use of three kinds of cinematic, in-game, prerendered, and full CG. While the full CG scenes still look stunning (albeit still in standard definition) the prerendered scenes look atrocious in comparison to the game itself. It’s unfortunate their resolution didn’t get the same upgrade the rest of the game did, because while the transition between the two was near seamless back in 2005, it isn’t now. Players will know exactly what I mean as the game makes the jarring shift from 720p, to a scene rendered in 480p, then back to 720p again.

Gameplay wise, nothing’s changed. The smooth, free flowing combat system is just as deep and visceral as it’s always been, the weapons are just as satisfying to use, and everything feels much more responsive and tight thanks to the improved framerate. Even the game’s platforming elements also feel more responsive because of this, cutting down on much frustration while moving around some of the trickier parts. The seamless integration of button pressing minigames into everything from combat to the puzzles feels just as fresh as it did back then as well, and mashing buttons to escape the jaws of a hydra, or to disarm other foes mid flight (has to be seen to be believed) is still intensely satisfying. Kratos has a no holds barred, visceral style that is as shocking to watch as it is empowering on the player's side, and the fact that the game now feels just as tight control wise as it does visually is excellent.



At the end of the day though, these are still two superb games being brought up to speed for existing fans and newcomers before we’re treated to the close of this trilogy with God of War III come March 2010. While certain bits of the conversion leave a bit to be desired, on a whole, this is essentially the definitive version of two of the best action games ever to grace consoles, budget priced, and with the added bonus of achievements to add a bit of replay value. If you've played through them already, the conversion and added accomplishments are in my opinion, well worth another go, but if you're a complete newcomer to the series, well..

Personally, I couldn’t ask for a better deal myself.

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Uncharted is a perfect name on several fronts.

When writing the review for this game, the graphic analysis will read as follows:

"..."

There are no words.

This is the best looking game of this generation.

I am delivering a straight kick to the chest of the frustration associated with posting here from my phone (picture resizing and all, click for dramatic effect) just to let you know that I am playing this game, and my mind is blown. Wow.

Just..wow.

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Digital Kid and The Dark Knight

Both this PS3 browser and my phone are swallowing up my posts. This is out of my control.

No more empty promises until I've got something concrete.

Though I will say this in passing, and damnit if I haven't typed this into the window and watched it get sucked into the abyss three times--

Batman: Arkham Asylum is amazing, not in that "Hey this is pretty good" comic book game sense, but as the most fully realized, authentic, nailed-to-a-tee Batman experience I've seen in a very long time, and yes, that is including the last two films, both of which were fantastic.


The setup is simple - The Joker finally gets captured (and it's a term I use lightly) by Batman and dragged to Arkham Island, no sooner than he is a few steps into the prison, the guards are down, the Joker's loose inside and taking over, and it's up to Batman to contend with every single loon he's locked up in that place.

The visuals are top notch and exude creativity, the voice acting is superb (What is it with the Joker ALWAYS stealing the show? Thank you Mark Hamill), the controls are fluid and intuitive, and most of all, it's FUN. What we have coming up is a Stealth/Action hybrid that not only manages to capture the essence of the world of The Dark Knight, but it looks like it's shaping up to be a damn fine game as well.

The best thing about the game is that it truly lets you FEEL like Batman.

Utility belt and all. It's almost like a Batman refresher course in case you've forgotten his abilities.

A superb multidirectional fighting system reminds you just how adept he is at hand-to-hand-combat, complete with impressively segued counter animations, should the need arise.

The grappling hook, batarang, prehensile cape are there to remind you what a great inventor he is. When was the last time you used a weapon or accessory in a game that felt less like a appliance, and more like a natural extension of the character?

Being able to scan an entire area with his "Detective vision" (with detailed, per-enemy information down to their moods) reminds you of his above average perception and situational awareness. You know, pretty much the answer to just how he takes advantage of all those shadows and vantage points you wouldn't have thought of.

A particularly fond memory of these realizations adding up to a cohesive whole:

I was faced with a room full of enemies. 5 to be precise. All milling about, minding themselves. A flick of my detective vision from the vent revealed 5 enemies, all aware, all armed. I set forward, crept behind the first one too dumb to check his 6, and knocked him unconscious. I'm wide in the open though, another flick of my DV reveals several stone gargoyles near ceiling high. I notice one right near two enemies making their rounds. Perfect. I grapple towards them and bide my time.

They're running a tight ship, heading in the same direction. I have to separate them. I wait until they've gotten closer to my vantage point and make my move. Quickly whipping out a batarang, I knock the first one unconscious. This startles the second one, leading him to panic and try to revive his partner. He got it the worst, making the mistake of running underneath the very same gargoyle I'd made my new home. A flick of the Y button, and he was yanked upward into the shadows, strung up like a defenseless pinata. I drop down silently and pacify the still unconscious thug from before.

3 down.

I'd apparently made too much noise, as one of them noticed and started making his way towards the site of my handiwork. A quick tap of RB ziplines me back into the shadows, prime for my next move. These next two are much too far apart for me to be effective. As soon as one's back is turned, I leap off the gargoyle with my trademark glide kick, and nail one right in the back, this makes enough noise to startle the other, so much so that I don't even have time to finish my target, I have to retreat. But they're both worried. My detective vision tells me this much. Hanging from yet another gargoyle, I yank his terrified friend skyward just to spook the hell out of the last thug, and it works. He is literally so flustered, he's taken to firing up at the ceiling. I know I have him.

Right in the middle of his best Rambo impression, I drop behind him without a sound, punch him in the neck and put him in a sleeper hold.

The Joker laments my victory with taunts and chagrin for the hired help.

I am Batman.

Great game. I can't wait.
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