The Diabolical Box: Day 4

Yep. It's been four days since I got Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box - and four good ones to say the least. Honestly, I haven't made as much progress in the game as I'd expected to, but I blame the fact that I'm making the guide for it. As of writing this I have 47 puzzles completed, which is about one third of the total puzzles in the game, and I've still got a lot more to go. Instead of posting these daily(as you can see there was no day 3 update) I'm just gonna post these whenever good progress is made in the game or the guide. Tomorrow's looking like it's gonna be busy, and school starts Tuesday. I also have a Game Theory I've been working on planned to go up tomorrow. This time it's about level design, so stay tuned.

The Diabolical Box: Day 2

Another day of Layton has passed and a lot more progress has been made this time around. Now that I'm up to 34 puzzles completed and have at least had a chance to try all three of the minigames I feel I can have more of an opinion on the game. And thus far, my opinion is nothing less than great. Seriously, I feel like improvements have been made in every aspect of this game. Not only are you exploring more areas, the story seems to pick up much earlier and the puzzles feel harder. Although I have encountered a few puzzles that have been poorly presented(involving intricate details in small pictures on the already small DS screen), overall the game seems to be an improvement on the series.

Vote in the Damn Poll!

Only 4 days left, and I know a lot more than 4 people read this blog. If you haven't voted in the poll yet, please do so!

The Diabolical Box: Day 1

Well, who would have thought that writing a guide for a game takes more time than playing the game itself? Because of this, I've only been able to complete 12 of the puzzles in the game so far. But to be honest, I haven't have very much time to play today and the time I had I spent setting up my guide and trying to figure out an exact solution to a slide puzzle(grrrr...).

In other news, Level - 5 announced that the fourth(yes fourth, not third) Professor Layton game will come with the additional game, Professor Layton and London Life, an RPG with supposedly 100 hours of gameplay that was developed by the company that made Mother 3(Earthbound 3). I don't know what to say, because I'm just in awe. Layton has just become the best modern gaming franchise.

The Diabolical Box: Initial Thoughts

So far, I have just barely scraped the surface on the new Professor Layton game, having completed the prologue and just begun chapter 1. With only 7 puzzles down, I feel like for the most part I have no idea what's in store, but there are some things I can say for sure:

First off, this time around, Professor Layton puts you far more into the story far earlier on. I've noticed that there seem to be more cutscenes also, meaning more of their grade A voice acting.

Second off, pretty much all of the features from the old game were kept in this one. This includes the play style, the interface, the music, the graphical style and the menus. While this sounds like a complaint, I'm glad they stuck to something that works. The only things I wanted to be different going into this game were the story and the puzzles.

And my last and final of the initial thoughts is that the puzzles feel much, much harder this time around. As early as the fourth and fifth puzzles I found myself using hint coins and still making mistakes.

Be sure to check back every night where I'll be posting my daily progress as well as progress I've made in the walkthrough I'm writing that goes with this game(and wow who would have thought writing a walkthrough makes playing the game take infinitely longer.)

Just Got the New Professor Layton!

I'm pretty excited to play this. Not only am I going to review this when I get done with it, but I'm considering writing the answers to each puzzle down and submitting a solution FAQ to gamefaqs, seeing as no one else has done so yet. We'll see how that goes, though. Check back tomorrow for my initial thoughts on the game.

[Top 5] My Top 5 Favorite DS Games

I'm having a little bit of writer's block, and I don't want to have 4 game reviews in a row, so I'm doing a short little blog about my 5 all time favorite DS games. Also, it seems appropriate to do this in celebration of the new Professor Layton. By the time you're reading this, I'll be playing it.

5. Pokemon Pearl Version
Recorded Game Time: 214 Hrs. 03 Min. Honestly, I barely have any recollection of this game at all. When I first saw this I was more surprised than you probably are right now.

This slot could easily have been taken by a few other games. The only reason I picked this one is because of the obscene amount of time I spent playing it. 214 Hours spent playing it seems like a pretty reasonable tie-breaker. I'm not going to bother explaining a pokemon game, though. Everyone should already know what to expect, aside from a few new features included and online battling/trading with voice speak(on the DS fuck yeah!)

4. Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Recorded Game Time: 137 Hrs. 07 Min. A lot but not surprising. One match of Advance Wars can easily take over an hour. Damn turn based strategy games.

Advance Wars is just one of those franchises that seems to take the same game and reinvent it every few years. Not that this is a bad thing, of course. If you haven't played an Advance Wars game, it's a turn based strategy game on a grid(similar to chess), and you have different units that can move different lengths and use different attacks. All in all, it's a very complicated game with a lot of depth and strategy.

3. Geometry Wars Galaxies
Estimated Game Time: There is no actual counter in the game that keeps track of how long you've played, so I'm just going to have to make a real vague guess of about 40-60 hours. With this game, it's just too easy to lose track of time.

I've often referred to this game as Asteroids on crack. Check out my review of it here.

2. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Recorded Game Time: 17 Hrs. 04 Min. (w/ 2 extra puzzles left) Granted I haven't spend as much time playing Professor Layton as these other games, I feel it just has so much to offer in the time it takes to play it.

I just reviewed this game here.

1. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Recorded Game Time: 212 Hrs. 25 Min. This is actually 1 1/2 playthroughs of the game. My first playthrough was 159 Hrs. 32 Min. and the one I've been lazily working on for the past year is at 52 Hrs. 53 Min. Once again, another damn turn based strategy game.

I love this game so much. Even the story(which is often complained about). Another turn based strategy on a grid here, except this game is an RPG making it more like Fire Emblem than Advance Wars. Part of why I love this game so much is because it is by far the most immersive game I've ever played, with the highest quality of content throughout the entire game. In terms of immersion and quality, it feels like a high budget MMO only it's not an MMO. I would compare it to Oblivion more than anything in this aspect. Deep gameplay and immersion with hundreds of hours of gameplay to be had, only on a grid. And I dig grids. There is a good chance I will review this game in the future and when/if that day comes I'll add the link here.

Making this only a top 5 list was kind of hard, and there were some games that really just barely fell off the edge for me. Mario Kart DS, Yoshi's Island DS and Phantom Hourglass come to mind, but honestly you should try all these games if you have a DS. Also, I didn't want to put Kirby Super Star Ultra on here because it's just a remake with some new content.

Please keep in mind that this was written July 24, 2009, meaning Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, Phantasy Star Zero, Mario & Luigi 3, Golden Sun DS and many other future hits haven't come out yet. These are all games that have a good shot at making this list, and I might even make a second list sometime in the future.

[Game Review] Mega Man X (SNES)

If you haven't figured this out already, I've been doing a lot of retro gaming as of late, reliving some of my old favorite childhood games. And man, do I have some great memories playing this game(and probably a few busted SNES controllers.)

Storyline

I honestly have no clue what the story is. For all I know, this is just a hobby for Megaman. And can you blame him? Just look at all the cool weapons he gets every time he's in one of these games! But really, if you want to know the full story you have to have the instruction booklet that came with the game. And that's a real letdown.

Score: Average 6/10

Gameplay

Megaman X is very similar to its predecessors, only being the start of a new series in itself you can expect it to introduce new features, such as the dash boots. But other than that, you're still that little blue man going around killing robots with your buster in order to gain new abilities. The only other thing I need to say is that THIS GAME IS HARD. Really fucking hard. Unless you're some sort of Megaman expert, which I know there are a lot of you out there, you're probably going to spend a lot of time repeating the same levels. Especially if you want to get all the upgrades. Then you have to repeat some of the levels. And good luck beating the final boss without save states. You're going to need it.

Score: Above Average 8/10

Sound & Graphics

The sound and graphics for this game are pretty good for the most part. Each level has its own theme with its own song and graphics style, and for the most part the artistic quality of this game is pretty good. In fact, much better than its predecessors. Though, I still have problems enjoying music on the SNES. It just always sounds artificial. A little too artificial. Even for a Megaman game.

Score: Above Average 8/10

Final Thoughts

If you do decide to play this game, don't come into it with very high expectations. A lot of people overhype this game(and Megaman games in general), and I have to admit I am one of those people at times, but it's still a great game nonetheless. Especially if you just want a few hours of platforming goodness and you're getting sick of Mario.

My overall score is: 7.8/10.0

[Game Review] Metroid Fusion (GBA)

I remember playing this game when I was younger and having trouble with it. It always seemed so hard at the time. After replaying it a couple weeks ago, I guess you could say my opinion has changed a bit. Regardless, I still love the game.

Storyline
While on her way to planet SR388, Samus is attacked by the parasitic life form X. As she returns to the station, she becomes unconscious due to the effects of X and her ship drifts into an asteroid belt. She is then rescued by Biologic's team and transported back to Galactic Federation HQ. After receiving a vaccine created from a metroid, Samus learns of an explosion on Biologic's ship, and rushes to the scene. And thus the adventure begins. Throughout the game Samus uncovers more of the mystery behind Biologic characters and certain plot elements are introduced through Samus's thoughts. The story definitely isn't the greatest, but it's the best I've seen from a Metroid game yet.

Score: Slightly Above Average 7/10

Gameplay

The gameplay of Metroid Fusion is very reminiscent of Super Metroid, although there are very distinguishable differences. The most important of these differences probably being the tremendously crippled exploration in comparison to Super Metroid. Aside from the fact that there are far less bugs and glitches that allow you to sequence break in Metroid Fusion, there are 4 colored lock doors that must be opened in order to advance in the game. This essentially makes it impossible to go somewhere you're not supposed to be. In my opinion, the exploration element isn't missing in this game. I just feel that the developers implemented a little more control over the sequence of events throughout the game. The only other thing I want to mention about gameplay are the SA-X events. Throughout the game there are a few rooms that when you enter, a clone of Samus Aran formed by the X parasite, known as SA-X, will be looking for you. This clone has all of your old equipment from Super Metroid and will demolish you(especially in the earlier parts of the game) if it sees you. In most of these instances you can actually avoid SA-X if you are careful, and this adds a sort of stealth element to the game that's worth appreciating. But if SA-X sees you, you'd better run like hell.

Score: Almost Perfect 9/10

Sound & Graphics

For a Gameboy Advance game, I feel Metroid Fusion excelled in both of these departments. Particularly graphics, with it's vibrant colors and detailed environments. Aside from the main area in the game, there are 6 themed areas which you explore. While playing this game I got a sense that each area had it's own identity. Not only were the backgrounds and sprites different, but certain gameplay elements were also incorporated to achieve this sense of identity(underwater areas, lava, etc.) And the music truly represented these areas as well. My only complaint was that some areas you can easily spend over an hour in, and the music doesn't change very often aside from boss battles and occurrences with SA-X.

Score: Above Average 8/10

Final Thoughts

Metroid Fusion is a pretty good game. It has it's flaws and is very short(my completion time was like 5 hours, though, I was missing many of the upgrades when I beat the game). If you were one of those people who played Super Metroid and loved it, then you should probably give this game a try. I don't know for sure if you're going to like it as much, but chances are you'll get something out of it. Even if only a few hours of exciting 2D Metroid action.

My overall score is: 8.1/10.0

1's, 9's, Everything in Between, and the Elusive 10 out of 10

My biggest fear with game reviews is that I will be misunderstood. To someone a 7 could mean, "This game is worth picking up, but it won't be the best game I've ever played." While to others, a 7 implies that there are many 8's and 9's I could be playing, so why even bother. This is something I really want to clear up for those of you making decisions based off my ratings.

Let's stick with the previous example of a 7(I like this one because it is often the number that gives me the most trouble in reviews.) Most people wouldn't bother with a game lower than a 7, and most people agree on games given 9's. But with 8's and 7's especially, there seems to be a little bit of grey area. Personally, I've always felt this was an issue with ratings so because of this I've introduced some word association(listed below).

Game Review Scale

10-perfect
9-almost perfect
8-above average
7-slightly above average
6-average
5-slightly below average
4-mediocre
3-below average
2-disgrace
1-atrocious

Regardless, things can still be confusing.

Generally, I try to make my reviews as objective as possible. I don't give numbers just because I enjoyed aspects of the game. Some things in a game have to subjectively appeal to me in order for me to enjoy it. For example, if I were reviewing a game that had a combat system was well made, even if I didn't enjoy it I would still give it a good rating for the most part. God of War comes to mind. The games are very polished and well made, but I'm not personally a fan of linear exploration neither am I a fan of quicktime event bosses. So when it comes to 7's and 8's, my suggestion would be give the game a try if it sounds like something you would like. Chances are you'll enjoy it. But if I give something lower than a 6 and you still decide you want to play it, don't say I didn't warn you.

Another issue I want to talk about is giving games a 10. Lots of popular magazine and internet reviewers give out perfect scores all the time. I haven't done this yet, not only because I haven't reviewed a game I felt worthy of it but I'm also a little afraid of the implications giving a 10 would cause. One implication being that as soon as a game earns a perfect 10, where is the room for improvement? I can't think of a single game that can't be improved upon. Although, part of me thinks it is possible for a game to earn a 10 in my eyes. There's actually one game that comes to mind I've considered giving a 10 to already. And because of this, I've held off on reviewing it thus far. It's probably my favorite game of all time, and most people I know who've played it share similar feelings(although maybe not to this extent). Maybe I'll do it for my blog's 1 year anniversary or something cool like that, because I'm going to need a lot more time before I decide what score it truly deserves. But don't worry, I'm actually in the middle of writing several reviews, as well as closing in on finishing a few more games I plan to review. I've just got a little catch up to do.

8.15.09 update

Well, it's been awhile since I've written anything for this blog(other than finishing up part 2 which was actually posted a few days ago despite the blog saying it was posted August 2nd, because August 2nd is actually when I started writing it. Kind of said when you consider it's about half as long as part 1, but I've been occupied with a number of things in these past few weeks. It's funny how in the summer I seem to get the least done, despite having all the extra free time. Hopefully with school coming up I can use this blog as an excuse not to do my homework. So to the few readers I have, expect more content in the upcoming months. Which leads me to another thing. What kind of posts do you guys like the most? Part of my reason for not writing so much lately was because I wasn't sure what you enjoy reading, and I don't want to write if no one is going to read it. By now there should be a poll to the right so either vote or leave a comment if you want to be more specific than the poll. Now, time to get back to writing...

[Game Theory] Risk, Reward and the Perfectionist's Wet Dream Part 2

In part 1 of this series I discussed the archetypes of gamers and the games that attract them. I talked about the behaviors they display and their personal obsessions. Now in part 2, I'm going to talk about specifically what it is that game developers do to appeal to these archetypes, and possibly get into some related ethical issues.

While it is true that these archetypes are labels I made up, proof of their existence can be found within their corresponding game elements and genres. One key thing to remember, though, is that even though archetypes can often be attributed with several genres and vice versa, someone belonging to an archetype does not always match up with each genre attributed to the archetype. Often times this is because people generally do not fall into one archetype, and that archetypes are incredibly vague. I think that in order to make specific implications based off of a gamer's archetype, many sub-archetypes would have to be defined and attributed as well. I've tried figuring out what these sub-archetypes would be, but so far every attempt has been unsuccessful. And although all of this sounds really confusing, it can be explained with what I believe to be a perfect metaphor. Think of gamer's mind as being a genome in which these archetypes would be the chromosomes and the sub-archetypes would be the individual genes. If this metaphor confuses you even more then refer to this. With that said, lets continue on to examine what it is the game developer does with this information.

While I do not believe my theory's have been formally taught to game developers throughout the country(it's not as if I'm a conspiracy theorist), I do believe that most game developers have a general idea of what it is I am talking about. I just have a different and more specific way of looking at things. After all, it's not just a coincidence that games have gotten better over time; and it's not just technology that governs progress in the industry. A good deal of psychology is involved, and this is most prevalent in a more recent gaming trend: the MMORPG. What is now becoming an industry in itself, MMORPGs are becoming more and more popular among gamers and the internet. In fact, if you are reading this article on my blog there is a good chance that the banner to the right is linked to an MMORPG. But enough chit-chat because I've got a few issues left I want to touch down on in this article that I wasn't able to in the last.

The MMORPG is many things. Some see it as an escape from a miserable life. Some see a cure to their social anxieties and a chance to make real friends. But most either see it as a big waste of time or a way to kill some time. The truth of the matter, however, is that the MMORPG is all of these things and much, much more. The MMORPG can be whatever you want it to be, and that is where lies the problem. Though I guess it's only a problem if you want to look at it that way, but it really depends on your personal philosophy on life. But now I feel like I'm getting a little ahead of myself, so allow my to put things into perspective. All complex archetypes fall victim to the MMORPG at one point or another. The strategist has a marketplace, a player vs player aspect and an entire population of gamers to manipulate. The character has the power to shape his or herself and the freedom to live out any sort of gaming fantasies they desire. And when it comes to the perfectionist. Well lets just say that the MMORPG is the perfectionist's wet dream. There are endless goals that are mostly unreachable within the human lifespan for the perfectionist to strive for. And game developers know these things. Why do you think MMORPGs and online gaming in general have grown in popularity exponentially over recent years(aside from the fact that internet connections have excelled and become more accessible.) Bottom line is that it's the game developers who decided to program the customization capabilities and freedom in these MMORPGs, and it's the developers who also decided to put easy learning curves and elongated growth curves on these games. Their jobs are very similar to those of cigarette company CEOs. They need to hook you quick and make sure you're going to stick around for the long run. Whether it be subscription based, in which you pay a monthly fee; expansion based, in which you pay for expansion packs that provide you with enough content to last until the next; or the ever more popular "cash shop" method of payment, in which you are rewarded with incredible features for small amounts of money that usually add up to much greater amounts than what you would pay for a subscription of a year's worth of expansion packs. Either way, the one thing MMORPGs have in common is that they need you to keep playing. It's not enough for you to just play for a summer or play until college comes and you need to focus on the real world. They want you, and they want you for good. And I have to admit, they even had me for awhile. And they might get me again someday. Just not today, because I've got too much to look forward to.

8.2.09 update

Just a few things again:

1. I know I've already announced some reviews that I plan on doing, but honestly I'm really slow when it comes to completing games(especially since I usually play more than one thing at a time), so I plan on doing more articles like the Game Theory one I did a while back to fill in the gaps. I don't want this blog to be just reviews, because there are plenty of other(better) sites you could go to for just reviews. I want this blog to be a place where I can display my gaming opinions and ideas and hopefully discuss them with my readers. So definitely keep an eye out for more gaming related articles.

2. I'm unsure what direction to take my youtube account in at the moment. If anyone liked my stupid ass Mario Party videos let me know, otherwise I don't plan on making those kind of videos anymore. At the moment I do have a few ideas on what I could do with my youtube account, but I'm not sure which is best.

3. ToP, the game I was working on has been indefinitely canceled. I might work on it from time to time but being only one person(and someone who lacks any sort of artistic or musical talent) I find it very hard to make any sort of real progress. Starting shit and not coming through makes me feel sort of like a failure, but whatever. I've already got enough shit I'm trying to do and trying to make a game like ToP is a full time job for more than one person.

Expect another Game Theory and possibly a short review later today.