Justin Last

Ar tonelico Qoga

April 12, 2011

Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel is exactly what nobody should want or need in a Japanese RPG. It is a step backwards in terms of equipment acquisition and random battles, the real-time combat is tedious, and it treats its female party members as sexual rewards rather than real characters.

RPG developers learned long ago that comparing equipment was useful to players. For some reason, though, Qoga does not feature a useful comparison tool. Other developers mastered this in the PS1 era or before. To miss such a necessity of the genre on a modern console is shocking and it makes the game a chore to play. After you’ve finally equipped your party, you see the only thing that Qoga does right has to do with exploration. The number of random battles in any given area is limited, and the game tells you when a random encounter might be coming up. Unfortunately, the estimator isn’t very accurate, and the maximum number of random encounters per area is so high that you will be done with the area before you’ve exhausted the random encounters that pop up every few steps.

Numerous random encounters wouldn’t be so bad if Qoga allowed for auto-play of unbalanced fights a la Earthbound, but every time a random fight pops up you have to take part in it. Your party is made of tissue paper, so you will spend a good amount of time in each fight tossing healing items at party members instead of playing the interesting part (i.e., fighting, casting magic, and devising strategies). Qoga‘s combat should be exciting and a breath of fresh air as compared to other RPGs. With music as a central focus of the magic and combat systems, the whole thing should feel like a more complex version of Patapon, but instead your time is spent slapping enemies for paltry amounts of damage while your caster’s song reaches its apex and unleashes a decent attack. At this point the whole process repeats and you get bored each time before the battle ends. 

Qoga‘s biggest misstep, though, is its treatment of its female characters. As you explore the world you will collect “talk topics” which can be used at inns to get to know your cohorts better. This sounds like a great idea. There is a tangible reward for exploring your surrounding, and you are encouraged to interact with your party members. In towns there are also establishments called “dive shops” where the player character, Aoto, can explore the girls’ subconsciouses. Exploring in this way will eventually make your party members stronger, but the game doesn’t hesitate to tell you that subconscious exploration also causes the girls to take their clothes off in order to be “more in tune with nature.” Good character interaction and in-battle upgrades are enough of a reward, and treating characters like this cheapens the whole game and, honestly, makes me feel like a cad for playing it.

Pros: random battle countdown

Cons: peep show rewards, boring combat

 

Rush’n Attack: Ex-Patriot scratches the same itch that Bionic Commando Rearmed does. It’s a nostalgia trip with beautiful visuals and the same classic gameplay scheme you’re already used to. Set after the Cold War, you play as Morrow, a Harvest operative. You’re sent to Russia to discover the secrets of Ulyssium – a rare element that can be used to create high-yield nuclear weapons, rescue captured operatives, knife Russians in the back, and crawl through the most dilapidated prison known to man.

Morrow is, and I’m quoting the game’s opening scene here, a “sneaky ninja badass.” There are a number of things wrong with this statement. One: Morrow is not sneaky. He’s loud, and he got captured. You start the game in a jail cell. Sure, he relies on stealth to knife guys, but he is given that knife by the operative who breaks him out of the Russian prison. In true video game fashion, this mysterious friend then sneaks away and communicates only by radio leaving you to take up the reins, but without him Rush‘n Attack would be a lot less exciting – unless you like simulations of the boredom that comes with spending your time in an eight-by-eight room with nothing to do – then I guess you’re disappointed at nearly every turn. Two: Morrow is not a ninja. No smoke bombs, no sword, no fancy black pajamas. Just one angry dude hiding in a darkened room slitting Russians throats as they walk by. Three: They got this one right. Anybody who can take out a rocket-launcher-wielding enemy with a comically-oversized knife is most certainly badass.

Rush’n Attack gets compared to Shadow Complex a lot, and that’s because both use the Unreal engine and both feature a grid map. Do not be fooled. Rush’n Attack is not a Metroidvania game. There are no missile expansions to find, no sword that can only be found in the upside-down clock tower, and there is very little focus on exploration. You will have to find your way to your objective, but things are fairly linear. If you veer off of the beaten path, you may find a health kit or a dose of Ulyssium (which can make Morrow stronger), but the impetus is always placed on moving forward to the next objective. Combat also is handled differently. In other games, the protagonist is some kind of Superman able to take on wave after wave of enemy soldier. That isn’t the case here. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and if you want to see the end of the level you’re going to hide a lot and follow guys around while crouched down. The point is to not be seen, to not trip the intruder alarms, and to not get stuck fighting multiple opponents. 

Rush’n Attack controls well, but true to its NES-era roots, movements are very deliberate. You won’t be changing directions mid-jump or just hammering on the square key during a fight, because it won’t work. Despite the word “rush” in the title, Morrow moves a little slowly, which makes sense considering he’s constantly on guard and trying not to be spotted by search lights or patrolling guards. While walking upright, Morrow is loud, and you’ll be the first (though only barely) to know when you’re on a grate and too close to a guard. While crouched, Morrow is a bit slower but much quieter. You’ll be crouching a lot, if for no other reason than because it is very rewarding to sneak up on a guy and kill him with one button press. For a game with such a heavy emphasis on stealth, I can’t for the life of me find a quiet way to descend from a ledge. You’d think that crouching near a ledge would make Morrow grab said ledge, and then another button press would make him fall silently below. That doesn’t happen. Your only option is to walk off the side and alert the guard forcing you into a direct confrontation when a stealthy alternative is preferred.

Rush’n Attack is exactly what you want out of a revival game – it is true to the original in terms of gameplay mechanics but decidedly modern in terms of visual and sound design. Run-down Russian facilities have never looked better than they do in Rush’n Attack: Ex-Patriot.

Pros: Stealth and stealth combat are well-thought-out and well-implemented

Cons: …Except for when you want to silently drop from one platform to another

 

Top Spin 4

April 4, 2011

Top Spin 4 is a lot of fun. Top Spin 3 swung a bit too much toward unforgiving sim, and Top Spin 4 comes back with a much better compromise between sim controls and arcade controls. The physics are handled well, the create-a-player interface is top notch, and both the offline and online play are streamlined and fun.

Tennis is a game about endurance and timing, and both elements are present in Top Spin 4. As the match wears on, your player will get more and more tired. This is evident in run speed, shot strength, and for the AI, an unwillingness to chase a long shot across the court. What this means to people who play tennis is that the same tactics that work on the court in real life will also work on the court in Top Spin. It is worth your time to aim your shots and make your opponent run left to right for each shot, as eventually he will get tired and you’ll have an easier time sneaking a shot by him. The physics are realistic as well. Different court surfaces produce different ball performance and player speed. And the players can’t turn on a dime. You take off at full bore in one direction and there’s a slip and some slowdown when you try to turn 180 degrees for your next shot. Controls feel deliberate without feeling clunky and responsive without feeling unnatural. Regardless of whether you win or lose, you’ll feel like it was your doing that got you there and that you weren’t fighting the game along the way.

Create-a-player systems are an odd beast. They allow you to help develop the game you’re playing, and players who love them really, really love them. Top Spin 4 has an excellent create-a-player system, and it all focuses on one area – the face. It is amazing just how detailed an avatar I can make just be selecting preset facial features and then tweaking how the system has stitched them together. After you’ve created a face, there a decent selection of body types and swing styles to choose from as well. However you want your player to look and act, Top Spin 4 can accommodate your wishes.

Offline career is full of exactly what you want to do when playing a tennis game: tennis matches. Minigames governing training are gone, and Top Spin 4 is better for it. I don’t care that real tennis pros dodge barrels or go bowling or any other thing that makes them better at playing tennis. If I wanted to do those things, I would find a game about them. I want to play tennis. The folks over at 2K Czech get that and have filled Top Spin 4 with nothing but tennis matches. There are goals to be met, stat increases to earn, and tournaments to compete in. You still have a player to manage (the aforementioned stat boosts), but you don’t have to worry about things that don’t matter like finances and whether fans like you.

Online play closely mirrors offline play in that career and quick play are available. You’ll find yourself matched with players outside of your skill range, but the trade-off there is that matches are quick to find in the interest of allowing you to play matches instead of watching a search fail, expand its range, fail again, expand again, etc. until a “suitable” match is finally found. You’ll get better by playing better players, and everything feels good enough that it is possible to have fun even if you’re losing.

Top Spin 4 is a great tennis game. Everything should be so aware of exactly what it is, cut away the unnecessary bits, and present its core concept to the player so well.

Pros: Great physics, player stamina system, well-streamlined product

Cons: Skill level mismatches in online play

 

Hard Corps: Uprising

March 31, 2011

Hard Corps: Uprising is the spiritual successor to the Genesis’ Contra: Hard Corps. Contra: Hard Corps is true to its name, and is the most difficult Contra title ever made. Hard Corps: Uprising takes the essence of Contra: Hard Corps, gives it a flashy new paint job and a thrash metal soundtrack, and unleashes it upon the unsuspecting masses. 

Hard Corps: Uprising is not merely difficult. Shank is difficult until you get a feel for the combo system and what weapons work against which enemies. Hard Corps: Uprising, in the vein of all Contra titles before it, has only one weapon that you actually want to use – the spread gun. Everything else pales in comparison, and once you pick it up you manage to get hit, drop the gun, curse loudly, and then curse some more as you try in vain to make it to another spread gun while using the standard rifle.

The game is developed by the fine folks at Arc System Works, who are best known for Guilty Gear games and the recent BlazBlue. Whether you like 2D fighting games or not, there is no denying that the sprite work in both is exquisite. Hard Corps: Uprising is no different. Gone are the days of blocky sprites held back by the platform they appear on. Hard Corps‘ sprites are beautiful, lovingly hand-drawn, and you will marvel at them until you get shot by an enemy and drop your treasured spread gun.

Hard Corps: Uprising is for the same set of people that bought and love Bionic Commando: ReArmed and Capcom’s Mega Man retro revivals. It takes a long time to make it through any given level, but just like the Contra games of yesterday, there are few things that can’t be overcome with a little memorization and a spread gun. Hard Corps: Uprising isn’t for everybody, but for those who love hard retro shooters and playing through them with a friend, Hard Corps: Uprising is not to be missed. It’s hard, it’s gorgeous, it’s cheap, and it’s been far too long since I played Contra with a friend, and now I can do so over PSN or in the same room.

Pros: beautiful sprites, cooperative multiplayer always makes Contra better

Cons: Too difficult for most of today’s gamers

 

Torchlight

March 18, 2011

Having played the PC version of Torchlight, it is difficult not to draw comparisons between the two products. So I won’t. Torchlight on XBLA is in direct competition with Torchlight on PC. The game is best described as Diablo II with no multiplayer and a WoW-like aesthetic. With that in mind, Torchlight does some things that really set it apart from its predecessors, and it’s a better experience for it. 

First, Torchlight heroes all have a pet. Not only does this make combat better, but it makes the entire game more convenient. My dog fights along my side like any good dog in a fantasy world would. He can also take quite a beating. Where my dog beats the ever-loving crap out of the warhound from Dragon Age: Origins, however, is his magical ability. Fido (because I am a creative namer of dogs) can heal himself when he needs it. Also he can summon skeletons to fight alongside us. Not bad for an animal that can’t talk. It’s best not to question the skeleton-summoning dog anyhow. Fido also lets me obsessively pick up everything without penalizing me for doing so. Even if Fido couldn’t summon horrible undead armies to do his bidding, he’d still be the best polygonal dog ever because he’s willing to run up 30+ dungeon floors (I assume he slaughters everything along the way, like any good boy would) sell the detritus from my recent troll genocide, run back down (more assumed slaughter) and give me the money. And he’s quick about it. A better AI-controlled companion I could not ask for.

Second, there are only a few classes. Some people might see this and think it’s a bad thing, but the classes are different enough from one another that there is very little overlap in play styles between them, and each class can be customized through gear loadout to create different play experiences. I don’t need or want to choose between three different kinds of casters. One is enough. Similarly, I only need one guy whose sole ambition in life is to lift heavy clubs and bring them crashing down upon the heads of his enemies, and one kind of lady who is better with a bow and arrow than anybody else. It’s nice to have choices, but it’s even nicer when the choices are both meaningful and easy to make.

Third, dungeon floors are randomly generated. Boss floors are the same from trip to trip, but the Torchlight mine is otherwise a wonderfully amorphous place. If you delve deep enough, you will even find that floors are configured differently on your trip up than they were on the trip down. And after you’ve completed the main story, a random dungeon is unlocked, so your character won’t be forced into early retirement.

Torchlight on XBLA differs from the PC release in two key ways. First, you have direct control over your character. I absolutely love this. I move the stick, and my dispenser of death moves in that direction. I press the attack button and he beats the snot out of whatever monster is unfortunate enough to be situated in front of him. This direct control is better than the Diablo-style controls found in Torchlight PC. I never accidentally keep running when I mean to beat up a goblin. Never. This happened to me all the time on the PC, and I’m not sorry to see it gone.

Torchlight XBLA falls short of its PC counterpart in the mod department. I’m sure that this is inherent in the platform and not in Runic’s treatment of the console audience, but it makes me sad that I can’t alter my play experience in the same ways on the 360 as I can on the PC. I miss my summoned skeletons with no dissolve timer and the ability to craft with no chance of ruining my favorite weapon. Torchlight on XBLA is a great game, and I love playing it. I miss my mods, but I don’t miss them enough to give up direct control.

Pros: Tons of randomly-created content, great and useful pet, direct character control works really well

Cons: None of the mods you’re used to playing with on the PC are available on the 360