SeeInBytes – Page 12

The independent game store

It’s weird where I usually find independent used game stores. Usually they’re on the decrepit main drag of a small town. The best one I’ve been to being in Green Bay when I was stuck there for a summer.

There’s only one that I know of in any metro area I’ve lived, and it’s at a half deserted upscale mall in Minneapolis. I usually pick up some obscure super Nintendo game while there (last time it was Flashpoint), but this time I found myself digging through the loosie disks that at the counter. Because I was buying some normal priced games, the girl working there offered the discs to me for a dollar.

With nothing to lose I picked up anything that even sparked the slightest interest. I bought Onimusha, Rise of the Dragon on Sega CD (even though I’ve never owned a Sega CD), and a PS2 disc called Namco Trans | Mission (V 1.3). Is it a racing game, a rave inspired tech demo, or just a collect of Namco has-beens? A quick google search probably could have told me, but its not often that I have a chance at a total mystery.

Game Difficulty – A Rant

I noticed recently that there has been a lot of talk about difficulty in games. Good, perfect, I think that’s a topic that needs to be addressed. The problem is that in most cases people reference the success of Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls as proof, but somehow end up missing the point. The most obvious example came from here http://www.gamespot.com/news/games-have-become-easier-gears-of-war-designer-6383598, an interview from Cliff Bleszinski, the design director for the new Gears of War game.

The article basically talks about how games have become too easy, and to counter this change the new Gears of War game will be more difficult… unless you play it on casual. While it’s probably true games have become too easy, how is this setup for the new Gears game any different than what currently exists? You can crank the difficulty up to impossible on most games that exist today, but that doesn’t make them better. As my experience with Max Payne can contest, it usually makes them a drag.

Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls were successful because they were built around their difficulty. There’s no difficulty slider when you first start playing, it’s just tough as nails, but it’s designed that way and as a result can be fair, which limits frustration. Any game can be difficult. A successfully difficult games leaves you feeling responsible when you die, and therefore keeps you in a constant state of suspense. The opposite form of difficulty is rote memorization.

The diagnosis is correct, it’s just the treatment that seems wrong.

The return

So with a few hours to spare before my return window ran out, I was able to return Dragon’s Dogma. I actually considered turning around and giving the game another chance, but decided if I was to ever do that it would be when it’s at least half the price.

So as not to be a total jerk, I agreed to pick out new games instead of cash back. It always amazes me how much you can get for fifty dollars if you’re not being too picky. I ended up with 4 titles: Darksiders (a game I’ve never had the desire to play, but felt a strong obligation after the store clerk acted out the assorted death blows from the first level), Killzone 2, Bioshock, and Deus Ex Human Revolution. I felt pretty good about the decision on the walk home.

Dragon’s Dogma Review (or why I’m returning my first game)

Title: Dragon’s Dogma
Company: Capcom
System: PS3
Cost: $55

I’ve never actually returned a game before. Usually when the shop keeper describes the 7 day window to return a used game it glosses over me because I know I’ll hardly take the time to go back and claim $15. But after six days I’ve decided to return Dragon’s Dogma. Why you ask? Well a long list of reasons, but at least partly because it was the rare game that I bought at release price and so it seems like a waste to let it sit on the shelf.

I’m not going to pretend that I’ve played enough of the game to give an unbiased review. I haven’t, but that’s because I have a small feeling of revulsion whenever I start it up. First the bad, everything is voiced. Why is this bad? Because the dialogue and the voice acting are unmitigated disasters. They will suck you out of the story at every turn. The graphics aren’t rough, but that’s also the problem. They’re shinny and artificial, like an iOS game. And you realize not only are the graphics ugly, they completely run against the tone of the story. And finally the grind. There’s a story here, but it’s lost behind relentless asinine quests that also constantly pull you from the story.

But I would be lying if I said there are things here that I really enjoy. The pawn system is flawed, but it’s not the huge determent that people make it out to be. It can be enjoyable playing ring-leader to a party of powered up morons. But the things I really respect are the details. For missing the mark so far on the big things, it follows through with intricate care on the small things. The way you design your character matters, the way you assemble your party matters. The amount of items you carry and what they are also matters. And the biggest strength is the combat. While the graphics aren’t pretty, at least during combat everything is amazingly fluid. The moves your perform, the animations, it all works well. It’s simple yet strategic, and taking down the large beasts is really the only reason to play Dragon’s Dogma. In combat, the game accomplishes everything that it set out to be.

Dragon’s Dogma is not your average game, but it deserves an average rating at best. That being said, Dragon’s Dogma 2 could be something special.

Score: 2 stars
Memory: The horrible J-Rock song at the main menu screen (sort of endearing, because it encapsulates everything that’s wrong with the game)

So, why did I buy a Capcom game?

I purchased Dragon’s Dogma yesterday. I was going to review Max Payne, but my go-to guy at the video game store recommended I play around with the online modes first. Fair enough, it certainly is a well made game.

I was strangely excited about Dragon’s Dogma. It seemed beautiful when I saw it before. My first impression are that it’s anything but beautiful. It could be the fact that I accidentally made a main character who towers over everyone. The game does one thing right though- it actually has the stature and sex of your character effect their abilities. It seems to take these types of often ignored details very seriously.

They keep coming

The credits for Max Payne 3 have been going on for 10 minutes. There must be over a thousand people involved in this project. The list for the motion capture alone stretched to over a 100.

It’s daunting to see something like this. How would anyone set about to complete a project like this? I assume in the early stages you just don’t think about it.

I just finished…

I just finished Max Payne 3, the credits and the Health song are playing as we speak. I realized about half way through that I was playing the game all wrong. I set the difficulty to hard. All that did was make it a grind. I only realized once I replayed levels on normal how fun the actual game can be. It wasn’t a game made for picking your way slowly across each set piece, hiding every second and using cover. But that’s how I had to play it. And its clear now, the enjoyment of this game wasn’t made to come from the challenge.

2 Disc Game! Cont.

If only to keep my hopes realistic for Max Payne 3, I’m posting one of those commercials which totally suckered me into buying the game.

Apparently quite a few people like DDS, but for it seemed glacial, and extremely disappointing coming after Nocturne. That first 5 seconds of this intro are cool as hell, and pretty much sum up the best part of the game. I bought DDS 2 a long time ago. I probably should add it to the list and see if my feelings have changed.

2 Disc Game!

Armored Core Master of Arena has humbled me. Maybe it was overly ambitious to try and tackle three nearly identical games without a different game to break the routine.

It is certainly a challenging game. Everyone makes a fuss about Dark Souls, but these bastards have been making tough as nails games for over a decade apparently. These are way more frustrating however. On the last airplane ride I almost smashed my already cracked PSP into my malfunctioning table tray.

I haven’t given up on reviewing Master of Arena yet, but my weakness got the best of me and I purchased Max Payne 3 today. I think it was the HEALTH song that plays in the background of the commercial that actually inspired me. Seems like a good existential time, but trailers are usually so misleading…

The song if you’re interested: http://soundcloud.com/rockstargames/tears-by-health

Armored Core: Project Phantasma Review

Armored Core: Project Phantasma

Platform: PSX
Distribution: Disc
Company: From Software
Publisher: ASCII
Cost: AC1 + $5

Project Phantasma- gibberish title, that sounds even worse when you say it out-loud. If you want to see the graphics for the game, just look at AC1, they’re the exact same.

Positives: There’s a more complete story this time, with actual characters and dialogue. The voice acting is still a joke, but it sets the stage for more interesting missions, like kidnapping VIPs. It’s a testament to the mission design, that very few missions have the typical “destroy all enemies” objective. There also is an arena, as they realized one of the best parts of the first game was squaring off against other Ravens.

Negatives: But the Arena also upsets the balance of the game by offering more access to cash early on, allowing a player to plow through early levels with a top-of-the-line AC. It’s also a short game, much shorter than the first Armored Core. And the story, while appreciated, is amateurish. There is the feeling of a quick turnaround throughout the repackaging. For example, AC1 had the occasional FMV, while Phantasma renders everything with in-game graphics.

The end result is a game that’s clearly a cash-in, but in many ways is better and more enjoyable than the original. It’s a gradual step, but nearly everything is an improvement.

Rating: 3 stars
Memory: Your ally pilots a pink AC