Legacy of Kain: Defiance -- Bloody Same Combat.

The biggest weakness to the Legacy of Kain series beyond the first game has always been the combat. In moving to 3D gameplay with the second game the combat was the most to suffer. The combat has always been base hack and slash. The problem is mainly in poor camera angles, and bad collision detection. It's hard enough to fight creatures when the camera is intent on showing you the corner behind you instead of the three or four enemies just off screen in the foreground. You have no control over the camera. You can't center it. LoK: D uses an entirely cinematic camera. Sure it looks great, but it makes playing it a tad tough. You can stop and go into a first person view to look around, but that won't help in combat. It's for exploration and puzzle solving. The other problem is in the collision detection. You'll be hitting creatures and it won't be registering as well as it should. You'll catch the edges of steps and other level height variance issues and stick in place when you shouldn't. It doesn't truly quite reach fully frustrating, but it gets to annoying. The overall combat is fun, it's just that the issues are there constantly enough to remind you it's not as good as it should be. This is the fourth game of the series that's been in 3D. It should have been worked out by now. The combat is also more pedestrian than of the Soul Reaver entries into the series. Gone are the great puzzle based boss battles. The boss style of the original game has been employed. Essentially they fight as normal enemies, with stronger attacks to avoid, and they have actual life bars. This aspect is a tad disappointing. Fortunately the Legacy of Kain series hasn't been about combat, it's been about puzzle solving and story.  

Next time will cover the puzzle and story element to Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance -- Initial Impression.

The next game I've decided to play is Legacy of Kain: Defiance for the Xbox. LoK: D is the fifth title in the Kain saga. Going back to the original PlayStation game, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, followed up by Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver on the PlayStation and Dreamcast, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 on the PlayStation 2, and Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. My initial impressions are of three things.  LoK:D offers the best graphics of the series. The production value is high, in that the considerable vocal talents of the series have all returned. Everyone is back. Kain, Raziel, Moebius, and the Elder God. And lastly, the game is steeped in history and story. It's obviously very well written from the start. In connection to events of the overall saga, and in the characterization. It will take some more play time to figure out what I make of the combat, the level design, the puzzle element, and where the story is going.  

Next up will cover the combat of Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Rumble Roses -- Final Opinion.

It should be rather clear from my previous entries on the subject of Rumble Roses that I've enjoyed the title immensely. You have a great looking game that actually succeeds in titillation where almost all others have failed. You have an exceptionally well made and playing wrestling engine. You have Konami going the extra mile in depth of gameplay and depth of game. By that I mean the gameplay is deep, and the game itself is deep. There is a massive amount of work to be done in unlocking everything.  The game kept me playing a lot longer than I ever expected any wrestling title to manage. They offer up four costumes for every single character and alter ego. Different character musical themes for each character and alter ego. Different character entrances for each character and alter ego. It's pretty, it's well made and deep, and it actually manages to pull off sexy. That last bit is actually a strange thing to say regarding gaming, but it's true. I am beyond pleasantly surprised with Rumble Roses. I'm going to give it a 9.0.

Rumble Roses -- Unabashed Tits & Ass.

Konami set out to titillate, and they've succeeded where others have failed. Why? First and foremost, the core game itself is exceptional. The wrestling is the real deal. It would be as a traditional wrestling game with WWE characters. Secondly, it's unabashed in its subject. It's unapologetic about it catering to the male desire to see scantily clad beautiful women beat the crap out of each other. Thirdly, it's very well done in that regard. Graphically it's about as good looking as you're going to see on the PlayStation 2. The character models are great. They're extremely detailed and animate very well. The jiggle in the breasts and ass are worth noting, on a technical level. They obviously spent a great deal of time perfecting that routine in the program. Konami also really covered its bases. Every female sexual archetype is represented. From virginal and demure to alluring and slutty. They again went out of their way in this regard. Each character having an alter ego of the opposite type insures you get to have it your way. They've made sure to have a type for everyone in the game. Within the wrestling itself, there is the jiggle of course, but there is also a flash of panty with most flashy moves. Not to mention the fact that they're slapping, punching, kicking each other, and rolling around on the floor, with a shot of panties or leather thong or barely clothed breast everywhere you look. Add to that the grunts, gasps, moans, cries of pain, and taunts of the vocal work. It's all enough to keep the thirteen year old boy in his room for a year. It's all very well done, it's unashamed of itself, and it's backed up by a really good core wrestling game. It works for me. Do I want ten of these a year? No. But this one is satisfaction enough. Rumbles Roses has a welcome home in my game library along with the Marios of the world.

Next up will be the final opinion on Rumble Roses.

Rumble Roses -- Easy as One, Two, Three.

Why wrestling fans like wrestling games should be obvious. The question should be, why do the rest of us avoid them? Skipping the merits of so called sports entertainment itself, and sticking to gaming, the answers are slow gameplay, clunky and complex control, and poor collision detection. While not entirely perfect, Rumble Roses goes a long way toward fixing all of those. Rumble Roses isn't lightning fast, but it's far from ploddingly slow. It moves relatively fast for the genre. Fast enough to keep you on your toes. The collision detection is rock solid. Only every great once in a while will a move miss do to poor collision detection. It will happen, but rarely enough as to be easily forgivable. One area where Rumble Roses shines is in its ease of control. The left analog stick controls the character's movements. Tapping the stick in any direction makes the character step in said direction to avoid. The square button is to strike. The triangle button is to grab.  The X button is to dash. The circle button is for contextual action. Pressing circle near the ropes to climb in or out of the ring, over a fallen opponent to pin them, over a weapon to pick it up, and so on. R1 blocks. R1+ square to counter strikes. R1 + triangle to counter grabs. L1 for a lethal or killer move. R2 for a humiliation move. Right stick to taunt. It's extremely well thought out and simplified. You'll start out a match, you'll move your character within range. You'll hit square for a few strike attacks, punching and kicking your opponent. You'll press triangle to grab them. Now you have four options. Triangle + the left stick in any direction will cause a special move. Therein lies the simple greatness of the controls. It's one button plus stick direction. It works this way for strikes and throws. And the depth is in the conditions. You'll have four grab attacks while facing an opponent, four more while behind them, four more while standing over an opponent on the canvas. It's really simple to remember one button plus direction as your base control for the entire system. It's fun to just experiment what direction does what in any given situation. It makes it so you don't have to remember a massive move set. You can just go with it and watch what unfolds. The control scheme is a thing of beauty. It's a little deeper than just beat them up and pin them. There are a couple meters on screen. The main one grows with each attack. Once it fills up once, you can use a lethal or killer move. These are extra flashy and sometimes spectacular moves, and are often needed to push it over the line so as to be able to pin your opponent. The meter keeps going, so you can build up and store lethal or killer moves. You'll need that meter filled to be able to pull off a humiliation move. While you're wrestling with your opponent, you'll be doing certain moves that cause hearts to fly out of your opponent and fly up to fill in the heart meter. Once the meter is filled, and you have the lethal or killer move meter filled to level 1, you can hit L2 to perform a humiliation move. This is an especially damaging attack that also breaks the spirit of your opponent, almost always resulting in a pin fall or submission. While there is a lot to do in any given match, there is also a lot to do in the overall game. There is exhibition mode, story mode, gallery mode, and the vow system. Story mode is the heart of the game where you obviously play through each character's story. Completing a character's story unlocks her alter ego hidden character. In wrestling, there are faces and heels, good guys and bad guys. You'll unlock the opposite of whatever the originally open character is. So if you play as Reiko, a face, you'll unlock her heel alter ego upon completion of story mode. You'll also unlock her player two outfit, and her swimsuit versions one and two for use in exhibition and gallery modes. Completing story mode using all the face characters unlocks the first form of the boss for use in exhibition and gallery modes. Completing all of the heel characters in story mode unlocks the final form of the boss for use in exhibition and gallery modes. There are ten characters to start, with the story mode being six or so matches long. That's 120 matches through story mode without losing for completion. Exhibition mode isn't just the standard one off fight. It is that, and more. You can do the standard stuff, setting whoever against whoever, in whatever ring, with whatever outfits, with whatever match conditions. This is where the vow system comes in. You can set up to three vows per exhibition match. They are promises to meeting conditions. In exhibition mode, the characters start out at 50%. In the middle between face and heel. Successfully completing a vow will add points to whichever side the vow is valued for. So you essentially go through the list of vows and set zero to three of them for the following match. They're like, complete the match without going out of the ring for ten face points. Complete the match having used a killer move for ten face points. Complete the match having used a humiliation move for ten heel points. Complete the match having taunted five times for twenty face points. While you play, there will be gem symbols on screen letting you know how many vows you've taken. Once you complete the requirements for a vow, the gem symbol will light up and you'll get a message letting you know you've completed a vow. Once you get a character to 100% face or heel, they earn the right to challenge for the championship belt. If they become the champion, you will unlock gallery mode one for that character. Once they are champion, they can defend the belt. If they successfully defend the belt, you will unlock gallery mode two for that character. So to complete exhibition mode, you'll need to work through the vow system to earn the right to wrestle for the championship, you'll have to then defend the championship, along the way unlocking both gallery modes for twenty-two characters in all. The ten main, their alter egos, and both forms of the boss. Gallery mode is where you can set them in their outfits of your choice, and watch them as they either warm-up for an upcoming match, or lounging at the beach. Warming up includes stretching and bending, jumping around, and adjusting themselves and their outfits. You can check on their profiles. Get all the data on their measurements, place of birth, date of birth, blood type and all that sort of thing. If you don't do anything, you can watch an interview with them where they answer about their goals in life, favorite foods and colors and all that sort of thing. You'll also have control of the camera in this mode. So you can turn it all around and up and down and zoom it in and out to get the best angle while they stretch and adjust and lounge around. Rumble Roses has a great combat system that is streamlined and intuitive. It's fast and fun combat. It has a depth of play, and a depth of game. It's a really well done game all around.

Next time will cover the other successful aspect of Rumble Roses, titillation...

Rumble Roses -- Initial Impression.

Rumble Roses was developed by Yuke's, and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2. Konami had Yuke's use their well established and considerable wrestling engine to create something very specific. An all female wrestling game. Konami wanted titillation. And Yuke's apparently has delivered on first impressions. The game seems to play very good. It's readily apparent that the foundation of the title is in real gameplay, and not just the arousal of teenage boys for easy sales. That the titillation aspect to the game is successful is also readily apparent. I'll get into full details in further entries, of course, but it's clear from my initial reaction that this title is going to be a knockout.

PSO:BB -- Take Your Points And Shove 'em!

After a month of dogged determination and effort, we have arrived at our goal of 5,000 team points in PSO. We have the points to unlock the dressing room, and the right to display our team flag. The flag Magus worked so hard to create. We'll be able to alter the clothes and hair of our characters. Which is certainly a welcome change after looking at the same ones since May. Now we have the free time to resume hunting specific rares, and leveling in the best of possible locations. No more The Fake in Yellow.  We also have the time to put in on Maximum Attack 2. Collectively we've killed 13,893,636 creatures. We've all won the 10,000,000 kill prize of a Yahoo MAG. Magus and I have also managed to win the rare Black Gear shield available from risking the Lucky Tickets in the lottery spin within the Seaside Festival quest. I still haven't been able to replace the Caduceus, but now that we have the free time, it hopefully shouldn't be long.  Hopefully...

Sonic Gems Collection -- Vectorman 2 & Final Opinion.

Vectorman 2 was released at the very end of the Genesis's life span in 1996. It was once again created by Blue Sky Software and published by SEGA. Vectorman 2 is the same game as Vectorman.  It plays identically. It has the same end of console graphics and sounds. It has the identical control scheme. It has the same character move set. It has the same level design. It has the same art and musical style.  It has the same weirdness to the bosses and level progression.  If you liked the original game, you should come away from it feeling identically in having played Vectorman 2. As for the whole of Sonic Gems Collection, I'd have to say I'm quite impressed with two of the three main games. Sonic the Fighters and Sonic CD are worth the price of the disc alone.  Sonic R won't provide much beyond the frustration in the control. The Game Gear games would be welcome to those who didn't destroy their thumbs in pulling off what it takes to unlock them in Sonic Adventure DX. The Vectorman games are a good bonus.  For me it was great to finally remove them from the list of missing Genesis titles. The museum aspect is cool, but flawed. There is a lot of content to unlock.  There are 320 items, in fact.  Mostly consisting of artwork, but also including movies, end boss battles / ending collection for 16 Sonic games not on SGC, newly created music, and images of rare Sonic related arcade machines. The flaw is in how you go about unlocking them. There are some cool puzzle based methods, but most of them involve how much time you've spent playing the games. You have to play Sonic Drift 2 for 140 minutes, as an example. For those of you who've ever played Sonic Drift 2, you know just how much effort Sonic Team is asking of you. Overall though, there is a massive amount to do in this $29 disc. It's a must for fans of Sonic,  and or those looking to complete their collections.  I'm going to give it a 7.5.

Sonic Gems Collection -- Vectorman.

Vectorman was created by Blue Sky Software and published on the Genesis by SEGA in 1995. The game came out towards the end of the console's life span. The game used the same advanced computer modeling techniques as Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country. In Vectorman you play as an orbot who is a sanitation worker that pilots a sludge barge transporting toxic waste to the sun for disposal. Humans have vacated the Earth and have left behind the orbots to clean up the planet for their eventual return. The lead orbot becomes self-aware and arms himself with a nuclear warhead. He sets about controlling the robots to facilitate his plans of destroying the returning humans and insuring his continued ruling of the planet. Because Vectorman was near the sun when the control orders went out he wasn't effected. When he returns to Earth, he takes it upon himself to make things right. That's where you come in. Vectorman can run, and jump, and shoot. That's pretty much it. In fact you just have the analog stick for the character's movement, and the A button to fire, and the X button to jump. You move through the levels with simple run and gun platform gameplay. You can duck while shooting, or fire diagonally, or straight up. You can also fire down and down diagonally while jumping. The game uses a point multiplier system. You kill enemies and glowing orbs shoot out. Collecting them gives you points. There are monitors around the levels. Destroying these will releases more orbs, new weapons, or point multipliers. The game gives you bonuses for points collected. The bosses in the game are easily some of the weirdest things you'll ever face outside a Treasure made game. In fact, that's what it seems like Blue Sky Software was going for. Let's be as weird as Treasure! One boss for example has Vectorman crawling on a giant bamboo window shade as it's unrolling, while having to blast and avoid two giant metal hands that are trying to smash you. Um, what? Yeah, exactly. Pretty much every boss after the first one is going for a WTF moment. The game, having come at the end of the Genesis' life span, is as pretty as it gets for the system. There are some great effects on display throughout the entire game. Musically, the game sounds great. The Genesis could really wail, for those who knew how to make it so. A fitting rock soundtrack for shooting action. The control is dead on. The emulation here is perfect. The emulation allows for you to save your game. It will record what level you're on, allowing to you start and stop. Something not allowed in the Genesis original. Also, the emulation allows for quick saving. Actual save states. So you can save right before a boss, die and reload, appearing right before the boss again. It will allow you to blow right through the game. It might be for the best, as the bosses can be near frustration levels. I don't know what I would have made of the game in 1995 having to truly earn the ending, but here on the Gamecube, I enjoyed my romp through the decidedly weird Vectorman.  

Next time will focus on Vectorman 2, and the final opinion on Sonic Gems Collection.

Sonic Gems Collection -- Sonic CD.

Sonic CD was released on the SEGA CD in 1993. It was the third Sonic title released on the Genesis. Which means it played just like Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2. So what did they do to it to make use of the power of the SEGA CD? This was back when the disc format was brand new in gaming. They had all that extra space, so they used it to put in Redbook audio, full motion video, and best of all, they put in more game. Sonic CD is just massive. They took the classic gameplay, and just made it look a little better, and sound a lot better, and just gave you much more game. Sonic CD features the gimmick of time travel.  And it pulls it off much better than most games attempting it. The zones in Sonic CD are huge to begin with, but because of the ROM size limitations being destroyed by the disc format, they were able to triple them. You would start the first zone, Palm Tree Panic in the present. Sonic is out to save the animal victims of Dr. Robotnik as always, and to do that this time, he needs to travel back in time. In the present, Sonic searches the level for signposts marked Past or Future. After accessing one and hearing the past or future vocal chime, Sonic has a limited time to reach and maintain top speed. If successful, he'll initiate a time warp. So he'll need to go back into Palm Tree Panic's past, locate a machine Robotnik had set up that was converting animals to his robot henchmen and polluting the area. He has to destroy that machine to create a good future. He then can warp back into the present to warp into the future to get a glimpse of the good future. The timer is different for each era. You have to keep an eye on it. You have to create a good future in both act one and act two of a zone in order for it to take hold. Act three is the traditional boss battle with Dr. Robotnik. There is great aural and graphical incentive to seeing the past and future zones. Palm Tree Panic has a green and healthy look in the present, with the exception of Robotnik's robots infesting it. When you go to Palm Tree Panic's past, you'll see it is actually far more organic and healthy, with fewer of Robotnik's robots. If you were to go into Palm Tree Panic's bad future, you'd see a very polluted version of the area. The entire area would be in a dilapidated state. The graphics aren't all that reflects this. The level layouts are also different. You're not just running through the same courses with different graphics to show time.  The music deserves special note here. The music in Sonic CD is compositionally great, but they went the extra mile. They've remixed the tracks for each era. You'll get Palm Tree Panic's theme in four varieties. One for the past, present, bad future, and good future. It's a great touch. Sonic CD does away with the Chaos Emeralds this time around for Time Stones. If you complete an act with fifty rings, you'll get the giant ring at the end of the stage that serves as the doorway to the bonus round. The bonus rounds feature a 3D arena where there are UFO's floating around. You have to chase them down and smash into them.  Smashing them all earns you a Time Stone. Obstacles in the course cause you to lose time. It's one of the harder bonus areas in Sonic's history. To see the true ending, you'd have to get all seven Time Stones, and create good futures for every act. I haven't been able to ever pull this one off. You don't have to do any of this of course. you could entirely ignore the Times Stones and the time travel aspect and just play through the acts as if this were Sonic the Hedgehog 1 or 2. They added some replay value to the already huge main game. There is a time attack mode, where you're able to record your fastest times. Completing the stages in a fast enough total time unlocks some very cool rewards. The graphics in the game amazed me, playing it again twelve years later. They are still stunning to this day. The control is perfect. The gameplay is classic. The size and scope are massive. The production value is top of the line. Sonic Gems Collection is worth owning for this title alone. Especially if you've never played Sonic CD before. Sonic CD is considered by many as the greatest Sonic title ever created, and as of this entry, I'm not finding much argument against the idea.

Next time, we're going into virgin 16-bit territory. I'll be playing Vectorman.

Sonic Gems Collection -- Sonic R.

Sonic R was developed in Europe by Traveler's Tales. It was released for the Saturn on Halloween in 1997. The concept was simple enough, take beloved mascot characters and plop them down in another genre than what they're known for. This time being a racing game. Sonic R on the Saturn was one of the few games that made use of SEGA's 3D analog controller designed for Nights into Dreams. Your enjoyment of Sonic R was heavily dependent on if you were playing with the 3D controller or not. It made a huge difference in how the game played. It was near unplayable with digital control. It played just fine with analog control. Strangely enough, it feels like you're playing with the digital controller once again, even though the Gamecube controller has analog by default. You can barely turn in this game. You just move forward, barely turning, careening off the course walls. I don't understand what happened here. Something is amiss. The game wasn't exactly pretty in the 32-bit era. Primitive texture mapped polygons ruled the day. Looking at it now on the cusp of the post 128-bit generation, it looks absolutely hideous.  So if the game controls bad, and looks like crap, it sounds good, doesn't it? Well, that all depends on your taste. The composer went with pop vocals for every track. The composer is one of SEGA of Europe's best, Richard Jacques, of Jet Set Radio fame. I personally find the music to be acceptable, those of you with less tolerance for airy European pop vocals might not be able to stand it. So there's depth to it you're asking? Not really. It offers the standard time trial and grand prix modes. Reversed tracks. Character tag, and what amounts to an in race scavenger hunt for medals hidden on the course. You have the standard hidden characters to unlock.  Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic and the like. You need to complete the grand prix mode in Sonic R to unlock some artwork in the Sonic Gems Collection museum. So I have, and it took all of a half hour. This title hasn't aged well, but I don't think that's all there is to it. I don't understand what's happened with the control issues. That has something to do with how poorly this title comes off.

Next time will cover what some consider the best Sonic title ever made, Sonic CD.

Sonic Gems Collection - Sonic the Fighters.

Sonic the Fighters was released in Japan in 1996 for the arcades. It was on SEGA's Model 2 arcade board. The game featured polygonal characters from various Sonic games and some other SEGA games to round out the lineup. It was a 3D fighter based on the Fighting Vipers engine. Fighting Vipers was a serious fighter with a lot of depth that was designed as a counterpoint to SEGA's Virtua Fighter. Fighting Vipers featured walled in stages to Virtua Fighter's ring outs. Fighting Vipers allowed for trapping people against the walls, as well as slamming opponents into the walls. Fighting Vipers also allowed for running at the walls and leaping off of them into attacks. Sonic the fighters retains these elements. Virtua Fighter, Fighting Vipers, and Sonic the Fighters were all made by SEGA's AM2 division. AM2 knows fighting, pure and simple. AM2 took its Fighting Vipers engine and added some cute cartoon animals. They left in everything else. They've also added a shield system. Each player starts out with five shields. Shields will block lesser attacks entirely. Shields can be broken by strong attacks. Once you lose a shield, it's gone forever. Lose all five, and you're entirely defenseless. You can no longer block. It creates a great bit of strategy in deciding when and where to block. So you're left with Sonic slapping the crap out of Tails or Knuckles beating down Bean. Bean is from an early AM2 arcade game called Dynamite Dux for those of you who don't know. It was actually brought over here as a SEGA Master System game. It's great seeing cute cartoon animals slap the crap out of each other in a rather vicious fighting engine. The graphics in the game are classic Model 2, which means the polygonal makeup of the characters are entirely visible. You can sort of see the wireframe base beneath. You can see how they were constructed. The polygons are flat shaded. No real texture mapping. Despite being of ancient Model 2 standards, the game looks rather well nine years on. The controls are responsive, but do take learning the Fighting Vipers engine's timing. The learning curve is steep. The sounds are cartoon smacks and slaps. The music deserves special notice. It's awesome stuff. Easily one of my favorite soundtracks ever, and arguably the best fighting game soundtrack ever made. It's between this and Fighting Vipers 2. I have thoroughly enjoyed Sonic the Fighters. It was a long time coming. Sonic the Fighters was one of the great lost games in gaming history. One of those games that gets pulled out from under you at the last second. It was ported to the Saturn, but then never made it out. Canceled at the last moment for both the US and Japan. A game SEGA fans had given up for dead. Good to finally see it all these years later. Better still that it was worth the wait.

Next time we'll be seeing how Sonic R holds up.

Sonic Gems Collection -- Initial Impressions.

Next up is Sonic Gems Collection for the Gamecube. SGC is yet another Sonic collection, the third one for the Gamecube, and the fourth one in existence. The others being Sonic Jam on the Saturn, Sonic Adventure DX on the Gamecube, and Sonic Mega Collection on the current consoles. I'm including Sonic Adventure DX on that list because it collects every Sonic related Game Gear game. Fifteen Sonic Game Gear titles in all. Sonic Jam had Sonic 1,2,3, and Sonic & Knuckles, but included a 3D world to run around in. Essentially a mini Sonic game in itself. It also included movies never seen before or since, all the music from the entire series, and never before seen art. Sonic Mega Collection brought together Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, and 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis), Sonic Spinball, and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. It also included a wealth of bonus material, including movies, rare artwork, all the comic book covers, and hidden games. So why Sonic Gems Collection then? Because Sonic Mega Collection was missing a few notable games. Sonic Gems Collections contains Sonic R, Sonic CD, Sonic the Fighters, and six of the Sonic Game Gear games. The Game Gear games are Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Spinball, Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble, Sonic Drift 2, Tails' Skypatrol, and Tails' Adventures. It also has the Genesis games Vectorman and Vectorman 2 as hidden unlockables. I don't know why, as the Vectorman games have nothing to do with Sonic or Sonic Team. But I'm not complaining, as they're both from the very small list of Genesis games I missed. It's great to finally have them. Sonic Gems Collection also features more rare artwork, movies, newly created music, hidden demos of other games, and more. So, between all of these games, the Sonic fan has everything they could ask for, or so it would seem. There is still yet more room for another Sonic collection, as we're missing Sonic the Hedgehog (Arcade), and Knuckles Chaotix (SEGA 32X), and people are clamoring for Nights, Burning Rangers, and other Sonic Team games to be included. I will cover more about the main games on the disc as I play them.

Next time will cover the arcade game finally come home in Sonic the Fighters.

PSO -- Maximum Attack 2

Maximum Attack 2 has come to PSO.  MA2 is quite different from MA1. MA1 had you racing against the clock to kill as many creatures as you could, while trying to locate the hidden medals within the levels. The kills going toward the community goal, and the medals toward a shield you can only obtain via the MA1 quest. MA2 has you once again racing against the clock to kill as many creatures as possible. The more kills you get, the more Lucky Tickets you can earn. The kills also once again count toward the community goal. MA2 requires the players to split up and take their own paths, in order to maximize the potential number of kills possible. It takes ten Lucky Tickets to be able to take a shot at a lottery spin for one of four prizes.  A Monogrinder, a Scape Doll, a Material, and the real prize, the Black Shield. There are prizes available for what are called milestone kills. Every 100,000 kill is considered a milestone. Magus hit on kill 4,900,000. Arcee managed to hit on kill 6,900,000. They'll both be getting an Episode 4 rare called the Bamboo Spear. There is a community goal of 60,000,000 kills, with prizes at every ten million kills. The prizes are being kept secret until we reach the goals for them. Everyone who participates will receive the rewards earned. As of this entry, the community has killed 8,269,588 creatures. So this is what we'll be doing for a while. We'll be able to devote more time once we've collected all the points we need for the dressing room and team flag. We're still plugging away there. It's going rather well, we're ahead of schedule. Magus and I have been contributing 100 points each every day. Riddel has managed to help. As of this entry, we have 4,646 of the needed 5,800. That leaves 1,154 points. We should be reaching the goal in six days if we keep the pace. A full four days ahead of schedule.

Max Payne 2 -- Final Opinion.

I've already discussed how it's pretty much more of the same. How it's the same storytelling style. Still dripping with noir. The same hard-boiled deadpan vocal delivery. How the combat is identical to the previous game. How the visuals are not exactly pretty, but sharper, and cleaner, and somehow more solid seeming. So then, is it as fun as it was the first time around? Maybe just a little less so. It's still fun, it's just that the newness has worn off a little bit. It's really about playing with the ragdoll physics and getting a decent story. For Max Payne 3, they'll need something to freshen it up. Just being next generation visually and a decent story won't be enough.  But for this time around, it's worth the ride. I'm giving it an 8.0.

Max Payne 2 -- Routing Your Synapses

Max Payne 2 continues the story and style of the original. You have the same graphic novel comic panels. You have the same deadpan vocal delivery as if from Joe Friday of Dragnet fame. You have the same themes. Murder, betrayal, lust, greed, and conspiracy. All told with the same fatalistic bleakness of no hope. It's pure noir. How can you not like lines such as "They were all dead. Love kills. Did I love her? Was there a choice? The past is a gaping hole. You try to run from it, but the more you run, the deeper, more terrible it grows behind you, it's edges yawning at your heels. Your only chance is to turn around and face it. But it's like looking down into the grave of your love. Or kissing the mouth of a gun. A bullet trembling in it's dark nest, ready to blow your head off." If you like noir, then you'll love how the story is told, if not the story itself. Personally, it's just good enough. It's nothing special. Another thing continued over from the original game is the device of playing through Max's hallucinations. If this aspect bothered you the first time around, it's going to be just as bothersome this time around. Maybe even more so. They're also trying something that might bother some people. They're having you play through story elements. Levels designed just to advance the story. One for example has you wandering around a fun house. There aren't any enemies. There isn't any combat. It's just Max, talking to himself, expanding on the history and characterization. You have other levels where you're doing much the same thing, but having to do menial adventure like quests of talk to this person, and then this person, and yet another person to advance the story. If you're not into the story, that's going to seem like a complete waste of time. It works for me though.

Next time should be the final opinion on Max Payne 2, as I'm into the third and presumably last section of the game.

Max Payne 2 -- Slow Motion Dodge, Rinse, Repeat.

The combat in Max Payne 2 is identical to the original game. It's a third person action game where you control Max with the left stick, and aim a reticule with the right stick. The A button will make Max jump. The X button will make Max use an object, like opening a cabinet or flicking a switch. The Y button will make him use the secondary weapon. Which involve pistol-whipping someone, grenades, and Molotov cocktails. The B button will initiate prolonged bullet time. You can run around in slow motion and aim and fire at regular speed. The enemies move and fire in slow motion. The right trigger fires the primary weapon. The left trigger causes Max to dive in bullet time in whatever direction the left stick is pointing. You can click on the left stick to make Max crouch, therefore presenting a smaller target.  The D-pad is used to select the primary and secondary weapons. The controls are simple and responsive. It's not like you'll need them to be though. The game consists of running around from room to room, finding some enemies, diving out from behind cover taking them all out, and then checking all the corpses for new guns and ammunition. That's it. Over and over and over. Is that it then? Yes, and no. The game uses the overly exaggerated ragdoll physics that are all the rage with programmers these days. So the items and enemies go flying every which way when they die. Crashing into items and causing chain reaction scenarios of crashing corpses and debris. It's not deep. But there is some satisfaction to be had in trying to create these scenarios. Trying to make the bodies fold and fly in the most extreme ways possible. We'll see how it holds up by the end of the game. I've completed the first section, and am now just into the first chapter of the second section.

Next up will cover hard-boiled storytelling.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne -- Initial Impressions.

I've decided on Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne for the Xbox as my next game. Graphically it looks as if the game is cleaner. It's slightly more solid seeming. The storytelling style of noir and graphic novel panels are still in place. The gameplay seems unchanged. The control seems unchanged. It really looks like just more of the same, in a slightly better looking package. Is this a good thing? The original was on par with a summer popcorn movie. Just a fun time. No real depth. If they can recapture that aspect, then it very well should be. We'll find out...

PSO -- Time for Points.

Magus and I have been plugging away attempting to earn fifty team points a day in an effort to reach the 3,000 it takes to open the dressing room before the September rollover. You see, the game resets your team points each month. Those you've accumulated during the month become spendable.  We've managed the points for the dressing room within two weeks of trying. That leaves us two weeks in which to earn the next goal, the team flag. We'll need 2,800 points for that. That means we're going to have to pull in a hundred points apiece, each day for the next fourteen days. If we don't make it by September, then we'll have to wait until October. We both just want to get it done and put the points behind us. So we're going to make the attempt. In earning today's hundred points, I happened across five Pal Rappies. Numbers 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 respectively in my hunt for their drop, the Agito (AUW 1975). I didn't get it. My luck with this one just seems obscene. Magus has managed two of his Pal Rappy drops already, and I don't believe he's seen as many Pals as I have. We share the same 1/22 odds, as far as the actual drop is concerned. They've added the Endless Nightmares 1-4. They're great means of experience, and they offer new best odds scenarios for certain creatures. As far as the missing items from the last entry are concerned, I've managed to replace the Hildebear's Cane and the Hildeblue's Cane. The Hildeblue's Cane is thanks to Riddel, who intentionally set out to get it, and like pulled it off on her first run. I am still missing the Caduceus, but as that is my Mil Lilly drop, I should actually see it again.  I've also managed to replace the Elysion, which was lost in the Melinda Incident. 

 

Next up should be me starting in on a new game alongside the continued PSO reports. 

PSO -- The Ultimate.

Ultimate mode has come to Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst, and what a welcome addition it is. It's not in full though, as it's missing the very important Gallon's Shop where you're able to spend those Photon Drops. Ultimate brings with it a new difficulty level, new creatures, graphically tweaked Episode 1, higher experience values, and most importantly new rares. The new rares are plentiful in number and spread across the section IDs and locations rather thoroughly. It means we'll be spending a lot of time in all the areas, once we've leveled enough to be able to survive hunting there that is. The best thing about ultimate for me at the moment is the experience. We're back to actively seeing ourselves gain levels relatively fast. The challenge is also welcome. The creatures have more hit points, move much faster, hit much harder, than their counterparts in Very Hard. You really must be on your toes at all times. You also really must be aware of what's spawning, and where it is, at all times. The Ob Lily is the best example of this. It has a ranged Megid attack. So if you're fighting a group of Vulmers, which is more than enough to keep your attention, and you don't notice the Ob Lily that spawned all the way across the room, you're likely to die from its blasting Megid your way. But that would be too easy. They'll have you fighting those Vulmers, and four Ob Lilies spawn in the four corners of the room, having you in their crossfire, all the while trying to avoid a Crimson Assassin's freezing breath or an invisible ice trap or three. The experience loss system makes dying far less a casual risk. You're apt to do whatever it takes not to die this time around. We had taken a break from PSO just for having played it for nearly a couple months and not much else. Coming back, and coming to ultimate, I at least am feeling revitalized and ready to plug away for those rares and experience. On a side note, some sort of weird glitch happened and I've lost a few of my rares. I lost the Hildebear's Cane, the Hildeblue's Cane, and the Caduceus. The Caduceus is my Mil Lily drop and should prove easily replaceable. Same holds true for the Hildebear's Cane, it will just take a little time in VH Forest. The Hildeblue's Cane on the other hand, that one's going to prove rather difficult, and will likely only come about from trading.