October 2009

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 Commander’s Challenge

October 20, 2009

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Commander’s Challenge is far and away the largest XBLA game I have ever downloaded. It weighs in at a huge 2.1 GB because you are downloading not only extra mission for RA3 but all of the art and music assets needed to play Commander’s Challenge. Such is the tradeoff for an expansion pack that does not require the base game to play. If you played RA3 then the aesthetic and units will be familiar to you. If you didn’t then you’re in for a treat. RA3 was gorgeous, and in keeping with previous installments of the Red Alert sub-franchise RA3 features some out there units that are exceedingly fun to use. Most of that fun comes from saying things like “yeah I totally sunk those submarines with my laser dolphins,” but I will take any chance I can get to use the term “laser dolphins”  without getting looked at like I’m crazy.

Commander’s Challenge, in case the title was not obvious, features no real story. The game is a series of standalone missions that are all connected by a central hub. You can tackle missions in whatever order you choose, but don’t be surprised if you try one and end up thinking “there really ought to be a unit that solves this exact problem” because there probably is and you just haven’t unlocked it yet. Certainly, the game could come right out and say “this mission is locked until you have unlocked fighter planes that magically transform into war mechs,” but that starts you down a strategic path and robs the player of any sense of satisfaction for figuring out the scenario on their own.

Commander’s Challenge uses the exact same control scheme that Red Alert 3 did. Personally, I found the controls serviceable, but wished they were a bit closer to Halo Wars. Regardless, after a few rounds you won’t be fighting the controls. There’s no denying that keyboard and mouse are easier to use here, but EA did a bang-up job piling RTS commands onto the 360 pad in a way that makes sense.

Commander’s Challenge is an expansion pack. Yes, it can be played standalone, but in terms of difficulty the developers assume that you beaten RA3, know what the units do, know their rock-paper-scissors relationship with other units, and don’t really offer you a playground to figure stuff out. Commander’s Challenge features 50 missions, all of the base RA3 units, and a few new ones to sweeten the pot for those that played through RA3 already. Oh, and Commander’s Challenge is skirmish only so there is no competitive multiplayer. You can and should tackle the missions in cooperative mode though as the coop design philosophy stays in the spotlight in Commander’s Challenge just like it did in Red Alert 3. For a scant $10 Commander’s Challenge is a great value, but be prepared for the game to beat you up and take your lunch money for a while.

Pros: Huge amount of content for $10, new units
Cons: Difficulty ramps up quickly and early
Plays Like: Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, Halo Wars
ESRB: T for blood, mild language, violence

Brutal Legend

October 20, 2009

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Brutal Legend is a metal-inspired action/adventure game that has a lot of the same humor you’d come to expect from the lead designer and writer, Tim Schafer. The game blends several different elements together, and it does so rather successfully, but it is not without its problems. However, it is safe to say there are a lot of things to like about this trip into a new realm of fantasy. 

Speaking strictly about production values and the script writing, this game is truly brilliant. The world itself is very immersive, and has a look that is one you will not see anywhere else. It brings together many elements of rock music history, and even if you are not a fan of the genre, you can still appreciate just how beautiful it all looks. The voice acting matches the hilarious script brilliantly, with the included talents of actors such as Jack Black and Tim Curry, as well as famous voice actors such as Jennifer Hale. Each character fits into the world perfectly, and there is never a dull moment in the game’s story.

The story itself is not only funny, but very compelling as well. Although the entire game begins as what appears to be a parody of some sort, by the halfway point certain events happen that actually show a more serious side to the story. There are a lot of moments that are incredibly epic and truly make you care about these characters more than you thought you would. And then, the final piece of the puzzle is the soundtrack, which fits perfectly into the game. Once again, you may not be a fan of heavy metal, but you can at least appreciate the time and effort that was spent to bring together all of these songs and bands, which truly completes the experience.

There are three major parts to the game: the basic hack n’slash action, the driving, and then the real time strategy portion. All of these blend together rather well in an amazingly detailed open world environment. It is wide open, and there is a lot to do and explore. There are plenty of things to unlock and collect throughout. There are also side quests, which can be fun at first, but tend to get a bit old after a while. You do wish there was more variety, but the handful you get can be fun. 

The first basic element, the core action gameplay, works well. You have your regular axe attack, which is your melee weapon, and then your guitar. The guitar uses long range attacks, kind of like magic, to do some major damage. And in some of the larger scale battles, these guitar attacks can come in handy. There are also several guitar solos which can be collected throughout the world and performed during battle. One you get early on is the Facemelter, which literally melts the faces off of any enemies that are within a certain range, killing them instantly. It all controls well and feels rather satisfying overall. 

Second element is the driving, which is how you easily travel throughout the open world. Eddie Riggs, the main character, has a vehicle which can be summoned at any time using a simple guitar solo learned early on in the game. Sadly, the car does not handle too well, and all too often you find yourself flipping over completely just for hitting a small bump in the road. This can lead to some problems during certain missions as well, where timing and accuracy are needed.

Both your basic attacks, guitar attacks, and your vehicle can all be upgraded in the Motor Forge. There are several of these you can find scattered around the world, and you spend fire tributes (which you earn for completing story missions, side missions, or finding other things in the world) to upgrade your abilities, weapons, and your vehicle. Some of these upgrades are essential for later parts of the game, mainly ones that add new weapons and armor to your vehicle.

The third and final part of the game deals with major battles that happen several times during the main story. It is here where all of the gameplay elements are combined. These RTS set piece events can be truly fun and engaging, but at the same time, they do not work as well as one could have hoped. You have several different unit types, a main stage that you can upgrade, and your main resource are “fans” which can be brought to your side by creating merchandise booths. But unlike any RTS, Eddie is very useful and actually incredibly crucial in combat. If you play it like any other strategy game, you are bound to lose, which is how Brutal Legend is able to bring in gamers who have no experience with RTS games into the experience easily.

The main problem lies with the controls. Commanding individual units or even trying to organize your troops in specific ways can lead to a lot of frustration. You need to go up to a specific group to command them separately, but otherwise you will end up commanding the entire army, and it could lead to many problems. And it is hard to keep up with a lot of the things happening during these major battles, and sometimes the enemy just gives you no time to think. There really is not that much strategy involved as long as you keep Eddie in the battle and not just commanding it.

And this is where the multiplayer comes in, which is two armies pitted against each other. Your main goal is to destroy the other player’s main stage, and the multiplayer can be a surprising amount of fun, but thanks to the control issues, things can become more tedious than enjoyable at times. With the right person to play against, you could get a lot out of the multiplayer; just don’t expect to come back to it too much in the long run.

Brutal Legend is a love letter to metal music, and there is nothing wrong with that. Even if you do not consider yourself a fan of the genre, you can still find a lot to enjoy with Brutal Legend. The core gameplay is solid, and even with its flaws, the game makes up for it with its amazing story and hilarious script. If you are looking for a fun action title to pass the time, you’ll be hard pressed to find one better than Brutal Legend. 

ESRB: Rated M for mature; rated for strong language, violence, blood & gore, and plenty of face melting

Pros: Consistently funny writing and acting; compelling story; amazing soundtrack; immersive and beautiful metal world; plenty to do and collect; basic hack and slash gameplay is great; blends a lot of different gameplay elements successfully

Cons: Driving controls are a bit weird; the RTS portions of the game can be annoying due to some control problems; side quests tend to get dull; multiplayer is a bit underwhelming

Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days

October 18, 2009

PSP / Reviews / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days is a lot of things. It’s long, it’s rewarding, it’s almost infinitely replayable, and it has a good sense of humor. Like Disgaea before it, D2 started out its life on the PS2 where it was met with critical acclaim and player love. The item world was improved upon from the first game (now it has pirates!), the character class roster is bigger than before, and the witty writing makes a return for the series’ second installment. Dark Hero Days is more than just a port. Following in the footsteps of Afternoon of Darkness (the up-port of the original Disgaea), Dark Hero Days adds a few things to the PS2 classic to entice you into buying it again. Your biggest enemy here will not be any of the bosses but the battery life of your PSP because Disgaea does one thing very well – it eats free time.

Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days is the story of Adell, the last human in the town of Veldime. Adell is on a journey to defeat Overlord Zenon, the Overlord of all Overlords, whose fault it is that the world is currently overrun with demons. The story moves on from there, and if you haven’t experienced it yet then I don’t want to spoil it for you since humor is never quite the same if you know what’s coming.

Disgaea, Disgaea 2, and Disgaea 3 are the embodiment of “hardcore” gameplay. Units don’t reach a level cap until 9,999, the Item World is randomly generated so no trip into an item will be exactly like another, and multiple endings mean that the story can be replayed without feeling stale as well. And if that weren’t enough, Dark Hero Days features extra chapters where you can play as Axel, the former titular “Dark Hero.” Magichange is also a new addition, but if you’ve played Disgaea 3 on the PS3 then you’ll be familiar with the concept. In a nutshell, Magichange lets you transform a friendly monster into a specific weapon (Prinnies – little evil penguins, for example, turn into guns) that another friendly unit can use to perform an especially strong attack. The rub is that transformed monsters only stick around for two turns which leaves you with fewer units to clear the board.

Gameplay is standard SRPG fare. Your units all exist on a grid, and depending on range and position each attack can affect one enemy or multiple grid squares of the map. If you’re standing next to a friendly unit then you both (or all three/four if you have a second/third sidekick) can all team up for one big attack. If you and three friendly units have an enemy surrounded you can all attack individually at the same time. And if you happen to be all alone you can whip out an SP maneuver and dish out the punishment solo. Moves are weapon dependent, and weapon proficiencies are class dependent. Any unit can hold a gun, but thieves will do a lot better with them than warriors will.

Disgaea 2 looks great, but it looked great on the PS2 as well and scaling down the viewable area makes everything look crisper. Environments are detailed, character models are great, and the anime cutscenes (static, sadly, but that is not a downgrade from the original) look wonderful on the PSP screen. The text is clear and readable, too. You really couldn’t ask for a better visual treatment.

If you can only afford to buy one PSP game, then make it Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days. It will be a good long time before you run out of things to do, and you’ll be having fun all along the way.

Pros: Nearly infinitely replayable, beautiful aesthetics
Cons: Lots of grinding
Plays Like: Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
ESRB: T for language, mild fantasy violence, mild suggestive themes

Halo 3: ODST

October 18, 2009

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Shawn Vermette Make a comment! / Tweet it!

For the last eight years, Halo has been synonymous with Microsoft consoles. Every release has been a top seller and some of the most played games for years. Can Halo 3: ODST compare with the games that have come before it in the Halo universe?

Halo 3: ODST takes place during the events of Halo 3, but from the perspective of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or helljumpers, who drop into the city of New Mombasa on the orders of Navy Intelligence. Unfortunately, the drop goes wrong and the team gets scattered across the city. Upon waking up after the crash, you’ll be sent out to look for your missing squad mates, but not before being tasked with some minor objectives which teach the basics of your equipment. When exploring the city you’ll be faced with groups of covenant forces that will need to be dealt with while searching for your team. Flashbacks placing you in the shoes of a squad mate will be launched when searching areas teammates have previously visited. Throughout the game, you will continue to change characters and gain new perspective, but for the most part you’ll play as the newest member of the squad.

This mechanism for telling stories is fairly uncommon in games, but it works well here. You’ll eventually play as most members of the squad and it really gives you more of a connection to a fairly disparate group of soldiers. The writing and story that went into Halo 3: ODST are top-notch, as one would expect of such a big budget game. It feels as if you are acting out a story carved from a Halo novel. Unfortunately, the campaign is fairly short, even by Halo standards. While Halo 3’s campaign took anywhere from 6-10 hours your first time playing through it, Halo 3: ODST’s campaign will take you anywhere from 4-6 hours. This really is a bummer because the storyline was much more compelling to me than the storyline of the first couple Halo games.

Since you are not playing as the Master Chief you are much less damage resistant. The most important difference to note is you will not rejuvenate health anymore. If you lose health, finding a medkit is the only method of replenishment. Also, there isn’t a shield to prevent damage anymore, instead you have stamina. It will guard you from taking damage for a short time; however, it is not as powerful as a shield. Unlike previous Halo games, you will take damage when falling from heights.

 You also won’t be wearing the Mjolnir armor, and as such, you will have a slightly different HUD to use in Halo 3: ODST. Radar has been removed and replaced by a new gadget called VISR. VISR, or Visual Intelligence System Reconnaissance, gives you numerous upgrades to the HUD that the Master Chief never had. First, it gives you a night vision mode that also functions as a friend-or-foe recognition system. All friendly units get outlined in green, while enemy units are outlined in red. This makes it very easy to navigate the sometimes pitch black hallways and streets of New Mombasa without feeling like you are playing Doom. VISR also provides a secondary function that allows you to quickly switch through a 3D overhead map of your location, the current objectives, and the audio logs found on your search through New Mombasa.

The new multiplayer in Halo 3: ODST is, regrettably, a mixed bag. It comes with a disc featuring the entire Halo 3 multiplayer experience, including all the map packs. This is a nice addition and provides a lot of value to Halo fans who either didn’t own all the map packs or for some reason hadn’t purchased Halo 3 yet. Unfortunately, the Halo 3: ODST exclusive multiplayer mode, Firefight, isn’t quite as robust as we’ve come to expect from the Halo franchise. It seems Microsoft took a page out of Nintendo’s online book for Firefight, as you can only play it with people in your friends list. There is no option to play with random people, which is a shame because if you don’t have any friends online to play with, you’re out of luck. However, when you are able to play Firefight, it is a worthy addition to the list of multiplayer modes in Halo. Rather than being a competitive multiplayer mode, it is a co-operative mode similar to the Horde mode in Gears of War 2. You and your friends battle successive waves of Covenant troops in an escalating fight of attrition. Each round consists of five waves that get tougher as you go. At the end of each round your base will be replenished with new medkits and more ammo; however, a new skull will be activated as well. Eventually, if you and your friends survive long enough, you’ll be fighting off wave after wave of Covenant troops reinforced by every skull except for the Iron skull (which disables respawning). This will give the Covenant numerous bonuses, some of which are: shields that don’t get drained by bullets, increased health, and more grenades.

The production values of Halo 3: ODST are top-notch, as would be expected of any game from Bungie. The sound design is one of the best I’ve heard. When you are exploring the deserted streets of New Mombasa, it is eerily silent. Conversely, when you are in the middle of an intense battle, it sounds like a full-scale firefight is going on around you. The soundtrack for Halo 3: ODST is similar to that of the other Halo soundtracks, but is different enough to warrant mention as another nicely composed set of music. The graphics are also a slight upgrade to the series, as everything is sharper than in Halo 3.

One feature I really liked was the addition of Achievement progress bars. A majority of the achievements in Halo 3: ODST require a certain number of kills in a specific manner, and when you get a kill that works toward any of the achievements a bar will pop up on the right side of your screen telling you which achievement it is good for and how close you are to getting it.

One last addition to Halo 3: ODST that merits a mention is the inclusion of access to the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta that will be launching in a few months.

If you are a Halo fan who somehow never purchased Halo 3, then Halo 3: ODST is a must-have, as it includes all of Halo 3, (minus the campaign) along with the Halo: Reach beta, and the Halo 3: ODST additions and improvements. However, if you don’t play much Halo online, or you don’t have a lot of friends that do, then you’ll probably want to wait for a price drop on Halo 3: ODST, as the campaign is too short to justify a full-priced purchase.

Plays like: Halo 3

Pros: Achievement progress bars on screen; Controls are same; Comes with Halo 3 Multiplayer and all map packs; Great sound design; Great, fitting soundtrack; Gives automatic access to Halo: Reach beta; Firefight is a ton of fun

Cons: Short campaign; Firefight can only be played with friends

ESRB: Rated Mature for blood, violence, and language. If you can play any of the Halo games, you can play ODST

The importance of music games

October 18, 2009

Features / Opinion / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Music and rhythm video games have existed for quite a while, and they have made a permanent place in the video game industry. They are a very important part of not only bringing a new audience to video games, but managing to combine two completely different industries into one.

This becomes more apparent with the more recent popularity of games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. These games stand out as some of the few that can bring a new audience to games, and ones that are incredibly valuable for the growth of the industry.

It’s safe to say that, in the United States, music games really became popular with the release of the first few editions of Dance Dance Revolution. Over in Japan, Konami’s popular series of dance and rhythm games included several other game series that brought together many different music styles and instruments that all appealed to the Japanese market. Not only do they have DDR, but they also enjoy Beatmania, DrumMania, Pop’n Music, Guitar Freaks, and even ParaParaParadise. These are franchises that are widely popular in Japanese arcades, and also have found small success here in the States as well. DDR is easily the most popular of the bunch, and it started a genre of games that dramatically changed the industry.

But it was not until the release of the original Guitar Hero, and eventually Rock Band, where most gamers really began to take notice. These games branched out and reached an entirely new audience of non-gamers, and managed to be successful in an industry where many similar games have failed. While Dance Dance Revolution may have a huge following here, it has never reached the same level of popularity as Guitar Hero or Rock Band. These games forever changed the way gamers and the industry as a whole views music games, and successfully brought together two industries unlike any other game or genre has before.

These games can be just as challenging as any other kind, and they have a lot of replay value, so what is it about them that makes them appeal to the casual audience? The music itself. Many people playing these games enjoy them simply because of the music involved. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with being able to play a song or selection of songs you have only been able to listen to before. It is that sense of interaction you never get with any other form of media that makes them more successful.

And publishers have profited greatly from them, mainly Activision and MTV Games, the two big publishers behind the biggest franchises in music game history. Although analysts are predicting that the market is now over-saturated with music games, with so many Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles coming out each year. Those who do not play games regularly may not be able to afford a new game every other month or so, and even so, limiting the appeal of these games by dedicating them to specific audience may be a reason why. Also, with the increased expense of making the peripherals and controllers that go along with the games, like the guitar and drum controllers, it is hard to tell if these games are here to stay, or they are just a fad.

One exception is The Beatles: Rock Band, which manages to bring one of the most popular and successful bands in history to a video game, and manages to branch out to even more audiences than ever before. Those who never care about these games before might be interested in trying to play their favorite Beatles songs; it might just once again spark the interest in these games. Bands like Van Halen, Metallica, and even Aerosmith do not have as widespread an appeal as The Beatles.

With the different genres and types of music out there, and with downloadable content becoming bigger than ever, it’s hard not to find songs you enjoy in music games now. Although it has both managed to grow the gaming audience and branch the gap between games and audience, there still may be a long way to go before these games can reach their full potential. Or are their potentials limitless? Will they even be around and popular long enough for us to find out? It’s hard to tell at this point, but right now, music games will be around for a little while longer. 

 

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