JOURNAL: Fizziks

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  • 2010-03-21 20:53:36 My new AMV:
    I've recently released my latest AMV. It’s a simple, no-effects video using Eureka Seven, as well as one of the most addictive songs I’ve heard it a while. I hope you enjoy it!
    http://www.animemusicvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=99054


    Gaming:
    Yay! I just finished Final Fantasy 13. It’s a great game, and I hope to get a full review up in the next week or two. I probably would have finished it sooner, but I decided to do most of the Pulse missions before completing the game. However, even though I beat the game, I’m still not done with it. I’ve decided that FF13 is going to be my first (and likely only) real attempt at acquiring a Platinum trophy. It’s not really “hard” to get the Platinum trophy for this game, it’s just ridiculously time consuming.

    However, before I really start this trophy hunt, I’m going to set aside some time for God of War III. I got the game on the day of its release, but I didn’t start playing it until yesterday because of FF13. However, now that I’ve beaten FF13, I’ll devote more time to God of War 3. 
  • Heavy Rain (PS3 game review) 2010-03-07 20:16:57 **Warning: Some spoilers ahead**

    Heavy Rain probably won’t go on to sell millions of copies, but I honestly believe that this game is a true landmark for the entire gaming industry. When the first tech demo for the game was displayed back in E3 2006, I had really high hopes for this game, and I’m happy to report that my expectations have not only been met, but completely surpassed. From the absolutely astounding graphics, the unique gameplay, to the fantastic story, Heavy Rain is a game that simply must be played.

    The overarching story of Heavy Rain centres on the Origami Killer, a serial killer responsible for the murder of several young boys. The hunt for the Origami Killer is told from the perspective of four different characters: Ethan Mars (a man who lost his oldest son in a car accident), Scott Shelby (a private investigator and former police officer), Madison Paige (a journalist conducting her own investigation into the Origami Killer), and Norman Jayden (an FBI agent sent to assist the local police with tracking down the Origami Killer).

    If you’ve read my review on Mass Effect 2, one of the main things I liked about that game was the ability to make choices that can affect the game’s outcome. Heavy Rain takes this “choice” mechanic, and easily brings it to a whole new level. For example, in one section/chapter early in the game, Scott Shelby is in a convenience store that’s being held up by a robber. I tried to talk the robber down, but it didn’t work, so I was forced to punch him to the ground. However, a friend of mine also played that chapter, but was able to get the robber to leave peacefully by saying the right things to him. I should also note that depending on what you do in the game, any of the four characters could potentially die. But this does not stop the game, and the story will adjust itself to the missing characters. Honestly, more so than any game I have ever played so far, your actions in the game (no matter how obscure they may seem) can have a real impact on how the story plays out, and I absolutely love this.

    The control scheme in the game is fairly unique. Fight or chase sequences, are essentially a series of quicktime events, where you are required to push the corresponding buttons that appear on screen. For example, in a fight, if a person is about to punch you a triangle symbol will appear, and if you push the triangle button in time you’ll dodge the blow (and conversely, you’ll get hit if you’re too slow pushing it). It may seem simple, but trust me when I say that these sequences can get incredibly intense as you struggle to keep the characters from getting killed. When you’re not in a fight or chase, you’ll be exploring areas such as crime scenes, houses, police stations, and various other places. While moving around in these areas, if your character notices something of interest, a symbol will appear over the point of interest, telling you how to interact with it (e.g. press up to look a picture or pick up the phone). The only problem I had with the controls was the fact you had to push and hold down the R2 button in order to walk forward, and that posed an issue when the camera shifted to different angles, making me walk around in circles accidentally.

    Another real high point of the game is the highly detailed graphics, particularly with the character models. From the way that the rain water falls on a character’s face, to the very realistic skin textures and facial animations, this is the closest to photo-realistic looking people we’ve got so far this generation. The soundtrack is also well done, and appropriately fits the very sombre mood of the game. The story itself is very well written, but to be honest, while the voice acting is good overall, it is a bit spotty in places. The characters are supposed to have American accents, however, at times the actual accents of the voice actors show through, which breaks the (for lack of a better term) illusion of the game.

    Heavy Rain is the kind of game that likely won’t appeal to a mass market audience, and Quantic Dream has taken a big risk in creating it. That being said, I really do hope that more people choose to try this game out. We need more developers like Quantic Dream out there, creating truly original gaming experiences, and it would be a shame if a game like Heavy Rain gets ignored.

    I give Heavy Rain 4.5/5 stars. 
  • Mass Effect 2 (PC game review) 2010-02-21 22:57:12 Absolutely effin epic! That was my only thought after completing this phenomenal game. I loved the first Mass Effect, but Mass Effect 2 improves upon the experience in almost every respect. This game came out in early January, but even at this early stage, I’d dare say we have our first real contender for the best game of 2010.

    Mass Effect 2 takes place just after the first game, opening with the Normandy (the ship that players travel around with in the first game) being attacked by an unknown enemy, and its commanding officer, Commander Shepard, seemingly killed in action. A person called the Illusive Man, who heads the pro-human organization known as Cerberus, orders the retrieval of Shepard’s body. After two years, Shepard is revived and is asked by the Illusive Man to find out why human colonies (and the colonists themselves) are disappearing all over the galaxy.

    Quite possibly one of the best features of Mass Effect 2 is the ability to import your character from the first Mass Effect. This isn’t the first time this feature has been implemented in a video game, but unlike other games which may only import the character’s stats, Mass Effect 2 instead takes into account the choices a player made in the first game. And it’s not just the “big” choices you’ve made, but the little ones as well. There were a couple of occasions where I met someone in Mass Effect 2 and thought, “How’s it going? I remember deciding not to kill you in Mass Effect 1.”

    The core gameplay of Mass Effect 2 still remains that of a tactical, third-person shooter. In addition to using guns (and depending on what character class you play as), you’ll also have access to various biotic powers (similar to telekinetic or Force powers) and tech powers (which can augment your equipment, or interfere with the enemy’s equipment). The class I played as was the Adept, which specializes in biotic powers. It’s fun being able to hurl a shockwave of psychic energy at a target, or making enemies float in the air while I shoot them down. Mass Effect 2 also gives you the option to research and upgrade your ship and equipment through schematics you’ll find on missions or purchased at stores. To afford these upgrades, you’ll have to use minerals that are primarily acquired by mining planets that you encounter on your journey. Aside from the main quest there are many side missions you can partake in, and compared to the first Mass Effect, the side missions of Mass Effect 2 have much more variety in their design.

    It should be noted that there were several changes and tweaks made from the first game. For example, in Mass Effect 2 there is no more inventory system. Instead, there are only a limited number of guns you’ll find throughout the game, which can be selected on the character loadout screen. Personally I like this new system, as opposed to having to sift through dozens of guns like in the first game, and deciding which to keep or get rid of (which took more time than I’d like). Also, in the first Mass Effect your guns had unlimited ammo, but after firing them for a while they would overheat and you’d have to wait for them to cool down. In Mass Effect 2 the developers implemented a “clip” system, making you reload a gun like in a traditional shooter. Another change I should mention is the fact that there are not nearly as many skills and attributes to deal with when levelling up your character. These and other changes help to streamline the overall experience, and while more hardcore RPG players may have issues with these changes, I feel that it helps to focus the game onto its combat, character interaction, and story.

    The presentation of Mass Effect 2 is simply top notch. The first Mass Effect was already a really good looking game, but Mass Effect 2 provides even more detailed textures and lighting effects, as well as improved facial animations. The developers also took a lot of time and care in designing the various worlds of Mass Effect 2. My favourite world is the asari controlled planet of Ilium, which features vast, awe-inspiring cityscapes. Also, the voice acting cast is really good, with each actor/actress delivering solid performances for their respective roles.

    However, what is easily the highlight of this game for me is not the combat or the graphics, but rather it’s the interactions with your teammates, and your ability to make choices that can affect the game’s outcome. When you talk to your teammates, you’ll get to learn more about their background what makes them tick. Each of your teammates also have missions that, if completed, will increase their loyalty to you which (without spoiling too much) will be very important towards the end of the game. You’ll also be faced with plenty of moral choices. The choices you make will increase either your paragon (i.e. good guy) or renegade (i.e. bad guy) rating. High paragon or renegade ratings will give you access to new dialogue tree options, giving you ways to talk yourself out of a problem. Also, new to Mass Effect 2 is the ability to interrupt a conversation with a paragon or renegade action. For example, you could punch a reporter who is pestering you with question which increases your renegade rating, or stop a teammate from killing someone in cold blood which increases your paragon rating. These features help to make the story of Mass Effect 2 truly feel like YOUR story.

    Mass Effect 2 is nothing short of fantastic. The game does everything that it can to make you feel a part of its universe, and not just someone on the outside looking in. Between this game and Dragon Age: Origins, Bioware has quickly become one of my all time favourite video game developers. To say that I’m excited for Mass Effect 3 would be a total understatement. So do yourself a favour and run (don’t walk) to your nearest video game dealer, and buy this game now!

    I give Mass Effect 2 5/5 stars.  
  • Demon’s Souls (PS3 game review) 2010-02-20 00:12:00 Demon’s Souls has been touted as one of the most difficult games (if not THE most difficult game) to come out this generation. As such, I was honestly a little weary about investing a lot of time into it. After a friend of mine insisted that I play this game (and even lent me his copy), I gave it a shot. It is definitely a difficult game, but to my surprise, Demon’s Souls turned out to also be an incredibly enjoyable experience.

    The story of Demon’s Souls takes place in the kingdom of Boletaria, where the power hungry King Allant has awakened a powerful demon known as the Old One, covering the land with a demon infested fog. You play as a hero who has breached this fog, and has to fight the creatures that dwell within. Admittedly, the story is a little thin (especially for an RPG), and it only hints at a deeper mythology for the game world, which I would have liked to explore.

    Demon’s Souls is an action-RPG played from a third-person perspective. You’ll get to choose from a wide range of classes to play, such as the knight, thief, hunter, and magician. The class I played as was the magician, which had powerful long ranged spells, but poor armor, meaning I wouldn’t survive long in close combat. That said, I still had to fight with my sword every now and then, and the close combat of this game really emphasizes proper timing of dodges, blocks, and strikes in order to win. After completing the tutorial stage, and the first part of the Boletarian Palace level, you’ll be able to access all the other areas of the game by touching Archstones located in a central hub location called the Nexus. When you kill an enemy in the game you’ll gain souls, which is essentially the game’s currency used to buy items, repair equipment, and upgrade your stats.

    Now, it’s this soul collecting that’s at the crux of the game’s difficulty. If you die (and believe me you will die a lot in this game) then you’ll lose the souls that you’ve collected, all the enemies in the level (aside from bosses) will respawn, and you’ll restart at the beginning of the level in “soul form” (which has less health than your “living form”). You will get one chance to get those souls back by touching your blood stain at the area you died. If you die again before you touch your blood stain, those souls are lost for good, which in some cases could mean losing more than an hour of progress collecting souls. As such, you’ll need a whole lot of patience to play this game. Eventually, as you progress through the game you’ll get used to the difficulty, and as your character becomes stronger (i.e. through increasing your stats, and finding better equipment and spells) the enemies will become much easier to defeat.

    The graphical art direction of Demon’s Souls has a very gritty, dark fantasy look to it. The design and look of the various worlds/levels are well done, ranging from massive gothic castles, to a rundown prison, and a dark, disease ridden cave system. It all look great, but admittedly, the graphical style of the game doesn’t do too much to really distinguish itself from other fantasy games. Still, one of the things I really liked about the game is the design of the game’s bosses. My personal favourite is a giant, flying manta ray that shoots giant barbs and launches smaller (yet still large) mantas at you. Seeing that thing fly overhead as I’d try to shoot it down was really awesome.

    The most interesting and fun feature of Demon’s Souls has to be its online component. There isn’t a standard multiplayer mode in the game, where you can just jump in and immediately play with other people. The way the online component works is that if you are connected to the Playstation Network, you can have the ability to “summon” other players to help you complete a level, or allow yourself to be summoned to help another player. However, you can also “invade” another player’s game (which is chosen at random) with the intention of killing that player and taking whatever souls they have on them. I’ve had a couple of players invade my game, and since the other player doesn’t appear right next to my character they had to search for me, which makes for a really cool cat and mouse scenario, and can give me time to set up an ambush. This online component is so seamlessly integrated with the overall game, that it’s hard to imagine playing Demon’s Souls without it.

    The only issues I have with the game are its controls, and the implementation of the game physics. Regarding the controls, the “target lock” functionality (which allows you to target a specific enemy), can be a little sketchy. My character can be close to an enemy, and facing directly towards them, but if there is (for example) a small hill or pillar in the way, then sometimes I won’t be able to target lock that enemy. Also, there are some occasions where I wanted to target an enemy in front me, but when I push the button to lock on this enemy, I would target the enemy beside me instead. This wonky target locking has got me killed on many occasions, but unfortunately it’s necessary in order to effectively fight. As for the game physics, it’s a minor complaint, but often when I walk onto the corpse of a defeated enemy, it would literally get stuck on my boots, and I would drag it for several metres before it falls off. Now, dragging the corpse doesn’t slow me down, but it just looks really odd, and it is a cosmetic issue that I feel should have been fixed.

    I have to give kudos to the developers at From Software for creating such a difficult, yet satisfying game. I’ve heard that Demon’s Souls sold much better than expected in North America, and it’s good to see gamers giving a new, relatively unknown title a chance. As for the rest of you who haven’t played this game: go play it now! It will be one of the most rewarding gaming experiences you’ll have.

    I give Demon’s Souls 4/5 stars. 
  • AMVs and Gaming 2010-02-09 23:25:43 AMVs:
    First off, huge thanks to everyone who voted for my Kawaii Girls video, and helped it to win Best Trailer or Commercial at the VCAs. I honestly did not think I would win anything going into the VCAs this year, and I really, really appreciate getting this award. I also want to congratulate everyone else who won at the VCAs, and especially my fellow studio member, ScorpionP, who won Best Collaborative video for Fragrance, along with Full Metal Sempai and SF_Phoenix.

    As for my AMV plans for 2010, I have ideas for about four AMVs simmering in the back of my mind. I would like to get to do all of them this year, but that will all depend on how much free time I’ll have available.

    Gaming stuff:
    I am currently going through two games right now. The first one is Mass Effect 2. Admittedly, I should be finished this game already, but I really want to experience everything this game has to offer and I’ve decided to do every single mission and side quest that I can find (including the DLC missions Bioware has released). However, I’m close to the end of the game now, so I should have a review up for it in the not too distant future.

    The other game is one that a friend of mine insisted that I try, and that game is Demon’s Souls for the PS3. I’ll be honest: I was a little reluctant to try this game out, because of the fact that everyone says it’s so freaking difficult. After many hours into the game (and I should note that I’m still nowhere close to finishing it), I feel that the game is not so much hard, but rather that it requires a lot of time and patience. Still, I’m finding it to be an surprisingly addictive game. 
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