Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia -- Initial Impression.

What a horrible night to have a curse. But what a great night to start a new Castlevania game. What could be better night than Halloween? Next up for me is Castlevania: Order of the Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS. This game is yet another entry in the twenty-one year old series and yet another entry in the Metroidvania style which goes back seven games to Symphony of the Night. I began this entry with a quote from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, the game where the action RPG elements first appeared. I also used the quote because Order of Ecclesia is supposedly the closest thing we'll be getting towards a remake of Castlevania II. There is a great divide between Castlevania fans. On one side you have those who prefer the pure action of the original Castlevania represented by Castlevania, Castlevania III, Super Castlevania IV, Bloodlines, and Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. And on the other side you have those who prefer the action RPG titles represented by Simon's Quest, Symphony of the Night, Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and now Order of Ecclesia. There is technically a third group. Those that prefer the 3D Castlevanias. But they're very weird and they smell and we don't tend to discuss those people. I tend to belong to the action RPG group. I like the Metroidvania style more than the pure action style. So what am I expecting from Order of the Ecclesia? More of the same actually. The exact same even. Although the initial reaction by the Internet to this one seems to hint that there may be some surprises in store. And more than a few have complained about the difficulty in the game's boss battles. We'll see what all the fuss is about...

Fable II -- A New Combat Experience.

I've been playing Fable II in such a way as to essentially avoid doing anything with the main storyline unless the issue absolutely forces itself. I had been avoiding warping to locations and I was fighting every last creature every time there and back and there again. I had also been leveling up the Skill abilities exclusively. I liked the gunplay. I had become a marksman of the utmost skill, a true badass. I could continue on through the game at this point. Take the story through to its conclusion. But there is an achievement for being a completionist. And that achievement involves learning every expression and dog trick and ability. Which means mastering magic and sword fighting. I've decided to go for that achievement. So what does that mean for me? It means I get to abandon my guns for magic and swordplay. Fable II's experience system means you have to use them to build experience. Whenever you defeat enemies in Fable II orbs will pop out. The orbs will be different colors based on how you've dealt with the enemies. Shooting them means yellow, magic is red, and swordplay is blue. There are general experience orbs that are green. Roughly half of the orbs that pop out from any given fight will be green as they're able to be combined with the other three in purchasing new abilities. So I could in theory continue to use my guns, and purchase magic and strength abilities solely with the green orbs. But I'm not going to do that. I'm going to try to earn the best experience bonuses by using the specific weapons and hopefully that will speed the process along. Because I focused entirely on skill initially, that means I'll be having to learn the new weapon and magic abilities while fighting tougher creatures. I won't get to learn the sword off of beetles and bandits. I'll be learning off of highwaymen and balverines. It was tough going at the start of this process. But using the potions I had stored and learning on the go I've managed to earn abilities rather quickly. I have the two of three sections of the strength abilities at level four of five and the other at maximum. I have the shock spell at maximum. Seems I'll be playing Fable II over the next few days with combat experience in mind. Probably something that wouldn't have ever happened if there wasn't that one achievement...

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen -- Final Opinion.

I have completed Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen for the Nintendo DS. This is my first time through Dragon Quest IV. I had originally played the Dragon Quest series as rentals on the Nintendo Entertainment System when it was called Dragon Warrior in 1989. I played through Dragon Warrior II in 1990 and Dragon Warrior III in 1992. I tried to make it through Dragon Warrior IV in 1992 but just couldn't do it. Do you want to know what it was that prevented me from finishing the game? Dragon Warrior IV didn't allow you to have direct control over the other members of your party. You could only set tactics as basic guidelines as to what the AI should do with those characters. And to put it bluntly, the AI sucked big time. A simple heal would have saved the day, but more times than I could count the AI controlled characters wouldn't do what they should obviously do in said situation. I'm glad to say that Dragon Quest IV on the Nintendo DS fixes this fatal flaw and I was finally able to see the game through these sixteen years later. So was it finally worth it? Yes, it was. Dragon Quest IV retains the charm the series has always shown. The classic and streamlined Dragon Quest battle system is in full force. Dragon Quest IV's battles scream by feverishly fast. Especially with the battle speed set to one. The standard non-boss battles last roughly fifteen to twenty seconds in total. And they rarely see the need to reach three rounds. By comparison, some Final Fantasy summon spell animations last upwards of ninety seconds alone. The Dragon Quest IV battles are filled with lots of incidental animation in the creature attacks and spells, along the lines of Phantasy Star II. They're great to watch. The graphics are very good. They're easy on the eyes for a Nintendo DS game using 3D. Far better looking than the 3D in Final Fantasy III on the Nintendo DS. The sound and music are classic Dragon Quest and the Nintendo DS does a good job with them without too much loss in quality. The story is definitely from the 8-bit era. Although it's greatly spiced up by an excellent translation that features over ten dialects along the lines of Australian, Cockney, Irish, Scottish, and Romanian. The story is also rather bizarre at the core. It's a strange take on religion and evolution. I truly enjoyed Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen and I can't wait for Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VI to make their debut in the west later next year. I'll be there for them. I'm giving Dragon Quest IV a rock solid 8. Here are my finished stats...

Time Taken Till Ending: 30:55
Battles: 1,362
Monsters Defeated: 3,601
Total Gold from Battles: 162,427
Victories 1,348
Times Wiped Out: 0
Times Fled: 13
Maximum Damage in One Hit: 317
Clear Level: 39
Title: Anti-Resurrectionist

Fable 2 -- Initial Impression.

Next up for me is Fable 2 for the Xbox 360. Fable 2 is the Microsoft Game Studios published and Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios developed sequel to Fable. I do have to say that I did not like Fable. I did not like Fable to the point of never being able to complete it. There might have been some extenuating circumstances that played a part in my disapproval of the original. I bought Fable as a pick up bargain bin title late in the Xbox's life cycle. My particular Xbox was on its last legs. The drive would be extremely picky about what discs it would and would not load. I was getting disc read errors left and right. Cut forward to the arrival of the Xbox 360 and Fable hitting the backwards compatability listing. Now I had a drive that would load the game, but now there were a whole new set of glitches and audio bugs and the like tied to the emulation. And I had great issue with the ranged combat of Fable. Suffice it to say I never got far in Fable. So why am I here with Fable 2? Well, the promise of something new. Fable 2 is supposedly redesigned to the point of being an entirely different beast. And the promise of choices. Cause and effect taken to some grand level. I don't fancy myself an idiot. I'm well aware of Mr. Molyneux's history with promises left unfulfilled. The hype leading up to Fable and the post release reaction is one of the industry's most well known soap operas. And the build up to Fable 2 has been no less dramatic. With talk of promises and extravagant limited editions being neutered in the eleventh hour and drama over the will it make it on time for release day co-op. I've spent a few hours with the game so far. I can say that it's a good looking game. And the biggest surprise so far is the level of humor in the game. There is a lot of it, and it's actually genuinely funny and charming. And I already love the voice acting. We'll see where it goes...

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen -- The Chapter Structure

I have put in roughly thirteen and a half hours into Dragon Quest IV and I am saved just into the start of Chapter 5: The Chosen. This obviously comes from having completed the previously mentioned first two chapters as well as Chapter 3: Torneko and the Extravagant Excavation and Chapter 4: Meena and Maya and the Mahabala Mystery. I made a point of listing the chapter names as a means of heading into the topic for this entry. And that's the gimmick behind Dragon Quest IV being the chapters as storytelling device. Dragon Quest IV starts you off in a prologue that does nothing but essentially allow you to name and choose the sex for the chosen one. It also establishes the character in an ideal and secluded village. You're then whisked away into chapter one and introduced to an entirely new character. You'll play this character through his introductory story that lasts a few hours. You'll do all the RPG standards. You'll level up and explore and seek information from non-player characters. You'll shop for weapons and armor and items to assist you on your quest. And you'll complete the chapter with the death of a big bad boss. And you'll again be whisked off somewhere else in the world and introduced to another new character. And you'll play through their introduction. Even starting anew at level one. And so on for four chapters. And then you'll come to chapter five where you'll be reintroduced to the hero and begin their quest in earnest. You'll obviously go on to find and join with the previously played characters from the earlier chapters. So you might be saying big deal. Well you need to remember for 1992 (1990 in Japan) this was a major bit of mind-blowing originality. And I have to say that in 2008 it remains charming. Thanks in no small part to the great translation. Now I'm not saying the game is some masterpiece of storytelling and the epitome of high art. It's not. In fact it never escapes its 8-bit and 16-bit storytelling roots. It's filled with every Japanese RPG cliche you've seen a hundred times over. But it's charming like all the other Dragon Quest games I've played. The earnest and straightforward storytelling that's filled with good humor and brought to life by a strong translation really makes the game simply joyous fun.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen -- Initial Impression.

Next up for me I'll be moving over to the Nintendo DS for Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen. The game is a remade port of the PlayStation remake of the original Famicom title. It's the first entry in what is often referred to by fans as the Castle In the Sky Trilogy or the Zenithia Trilogy. Said trilogy comprises the Famicom Dragon Quest IV and the Super Famicom Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VI. The game's creator Yuuji Horii actively denies any intended official connection between the three games but sees how the fans could interpret it in such a way. They all share the same floating castle of Zenithia. This all probably stems from the fact that the first three Famicom entries in the series are an official trilogy commonly referred to as the Erdrick Trilogy. Anyway, that's what's next for me. The game itself still has the same three creative elements at work. Yuuji Horii handling the overall design and the story and scenarios. Akira Toriyama handling the character and monster design. And Koichi Sugiyama handling the score. What am I expecting from the game? Classic Dragon Quest gameplay with all the extra trimmings. The battle system should be the same old Dragon Quest, and all of the things like mini-medals and the monster book and the like that came after should be placed into the game. I'm expecting a good looking game with a bunch of enemy animation in battle. And I'm hopeful that the Nintendo DS can handle Sugiyama's classic score without too much quality loss. I'm also expecting a high quality translation on par with that from Dragon Quest VIII. I've spent a couple hours with the game. The game contains the full five chapters of the original title and adds in a new prologue and a bonus chapter six. I've completed the prologue and Chapter 1: Ragnar McRyan and the Case of the Missing Children. I'm saved at the start of Chapter 2: Alena and the Journey to the Tourney. Hopefully this 3D gussied up remake of an 8-bit game will contain all the charm the series is known for. And hopefully it will be a sign of great things to come when Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VI hit the West for the first time ever later next year on the Nintendo DS.

Silent Hill: Homecoming -- Final Opinion.

I have completed Silent Hill: Homecoming and unlocked all the achievements in the process. Yes, that means I completed the game enough times for the five endings. I played through the game three full times and then used a save right before the first major choice that determines the ending. I used another save right before the second major choice. So it took roughly forty minutes to achieve ending four, and another twenty for ending five. I do have to say that overall I'm very impressed with Double Helix's take on Silent Hill. As stated in a previous post, I loved the combat. It's just much more intense and feels far more like a fight to survive than previous games. The graphics are a mixed bag on a technical level. Some of the character facial models are just bad. But at other times they look good. The environmental graphics also range from bad to great. The bad is a water texture that fails to pull off what they were going for. And the good being anything having to do with the Otherside aspects of Silent Hill. The fog effect is good and it becomes awesome in Otherside segments. The creature designs are what I would call the overall best in the series. The Feral being the only one that fails to impress. And that's more from how it animates than the concept. Its animation allows for some cheap hits. The other creatures are all great. The creatures of Silent Hill have always been closely tied to a character's psyche and Homecoming's are exceptionally well done. The bosses in the game are the best the series has seen as far as execution is concerned. And they're conceptually among the best, if not the best. The final boss is easily my favorite of the series. The voice work in the game is exceptional all around. And good voice work always helps with a story. The story of Homecoming is also a highpoint. While not as impressive as Silent Hill or Silent Hill 2, the story is great. And it's easily the most coherent of the series. Every last thing makes perfect sense. And the story gets more impressive as you play through it a second time. Seeing all the little hints and knowing exactly what they mean this time around. The game manages to take bits and pieces from all over the Silent Hill series and still manages to feel fresh. It's interesting to note how much inspiration comes from the movie. Not only in the flip to Otherside but in the designs of certain characters and the look of the town itself. The score is what I would call a subdued Yamaoka classic Silent Hill score. All the elements are there. Everything sounds as it should. I really enjoyed Silent Hill: Homecoming. I hope it sells well enough to see another in the series from Double Helix. They've done well with the series in my opinion. I'm giving Silent Hill: Homecoming a 9.

Silent Hill: Homecoming -- Kicking My Ass And Loving It

I'm a huge Silent Hill fan. A very methodical Silent Hill fan. And I play Silent Hill in a very specific way. I kill everything. And I mean every last thing that can be killed in the game. Every last random enemy. And I do it with melee attacks. I almost never use firearms unless it's for a boss. I tend to end the game with ten health drinks and ten med kits. Playing through Silent Hill: Homecoming with this method has made for a new experience as the game's new combat engine has proved brutal. The game had been kicking my ass. It had me midway through the game with one health drink and one med kit and fearing that I might actually be wiped out and unable to proceed through the game. Every single encounter proved to be a massive struggle of life and death for one mistake and you could be done for. The combat proved far more intense than any other Silent Hill before it. The creatures in Homecoming are vicious and very capable in dealing out death. Not only that, but they're some of the coolest creatures in the series as far as concept and design are concerned. And for the most part the creatures are extremely well animated. The famous nurses of Silent Hill look the best they ever have while shuffling along better than they ever have before. The game's combat has a few new factors that added to this new experience. Being able to roll when not in a combat stance is one. The new camera and the environmental interaction added more to it. You had to be aware of your surroundings more. What kind of creature and how many there are plus what are your surroundings all added in to it. Almost any single creature can be taken out with relative ease in a wide open area. It's not so when there are more than one. And a single relatively harmless creature like a nurse can be exceedingly deadly if you're trapped in a corner or a small hallway with it. And holy crap if there are more than one. If you can't roll away, you'll have to dodge the attacks. And you'll need to be precise. You'll need to get the timing exact. If you miss on the first one you'll be hit and go into the hit animation while the nurse is swiping away again with the knife. She can effectively combo juggle you to death. Homecoming doubles up on the feeling of not wanting to go down that dark hallway. Because you're worried about what you might find there, and now you're also worried that it'll take you out. It's compounded further by the save points being few and far between. The game may sound like a bit of a struggle. And it is. But guess what? It feels great. It is survival horror after all. And Homecoming really makes you feel it. Really makes you earn it. I loved the sensation brought on by the combat. I do realize that the less dedicated will not. And that a great number of people who play the game will not likely finish it because they won't like being slapped around by the title. I wonder what that says about me...

General Update

Internet issues sure are fun! No, of course not, they're misery. We all know that. I've been experiencing them since last Saturday. My ancient modem from Verizon went out and took my Linksys router with it. It took hours of tech support calls with both companies to confirm this. I ended up getting a new modem and router in one combination device from Verizon. Apparently my old modem did not want to give up the ghost as it took another hour with tech support to sort that all out. So my computer was up and running again. Verizon made it clear that the video game systems would work with the new device but that they're not able to provide any tech support in such issues. I asked them where the port forwarding was in the new device so I could figure it out myself. They said that was an area for premium tech support. In other words, they wanted to charge me for just pointing out where the port forwarding application was. Not even for walking me through it all. To hell with that. So with some wandering around and further fiddling with everything I've gotten all the systems back online. Ports open where they should be. At least with the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. The Wii is connecting and accessing the Shopping Channel just fine. I'll have to wait until later on to see if I can actually connect to someone in a game. You know how the Nintendo Wi-fi Connection is. At least there was some good news in all of this hassle. My Nintendo DS is now connected to the Internet. Which means I'll be there online for Phantasy Star Zero. My old setup wouldn't have allowed for that. Now, if it'll just stay working through the generation...

Silent Hill: Homecoming -- Initial Impression.

Next up for me is Silent Hill: Homecoming for the Xbox 360. It's been a while since we've had a console version of Silent Hill. A proper Silent Hill, if you will. But that's part of the debate about Silent Hill: Homecoming now isn't it? You see this is the second game not produced by Konami and more specifically Team Silent. Which in all honesty is a good thing. Because as much as any other fanboy out there I'd love to see a Silent Hill game from the members of Team Silent circa Silent Hill or Silent Hill 2. But here's the thing, Team Silent, they don't want to make Silent Hill games. In fact Team Silent doesn't even exist anymore. So that's why we had Climax's Silent Hill: Origins and that's why we have Double Helix Games' Silent Hill: Homecoming. Climax played it entirely safe with Origins. How are Double Helix Games going to handle things? The hardware of the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 are going to allow them to at least be a bit more bold than Climax and change some things. And from my initial impression they have done that. Most obvious being the game has a new 3D camera that changes up the dynamic considerably. They've also beefed up the combat skills of the main character, Alex Shepard. He's not as entirely plodding as the other main characters. He can dodge and roll. I'm not sure what to make of the combat just yet. The game starts out in the town of Shepard's Glen, a town just seemingly down the road from Silent Hill. Another subtle but interesting change is the main character dealing with characters he's familiar with. People he knows from his past and people from around town. The story itself has Alex seeking his brother and returning to Shepard's Glen from time in a military hospital where he ended up from injuries received in the war. He comes home to find things considerably amiss as you could imagine. So far the story is off to an interesting start. We'll have to see where it goes. I'm not sure what to make of the game's graphics as they seem a mixed bag. The sound is all around awesome though. Which shouldn't be a surprise with Akira Yamaoka returning to handle the score. I have to say that my initial impression of the game is pleasantly optimistic.

LEGO Batman -- Final Opinion

I have completed LEGO Batman for the Xbox 360. The game is exactly what I was expecting it to be. It's that same LEGO gameplay that's found in both Star Wars titles and Indiana Jones. Punch, shoot, and kick your way through the locales of Gotham City while trying to collect enough bolts in story mode. And then go back in free mode trying to collect all the canisters and red bricks which are hidden throughout each of the game's thirty levels usually behind some sort of mild puzzle based on combinations of the abilities of the characters. You know, using Mr. Freeze to freeze some water so you can jump across to reach a high ledge where you'll have to use Poison Ivy's double jump ability to access which leads you to a metal box where you'll have to use explosive suit Batman to blow it open to get the canister. Playing through the story will result in a decent sized game. Those willing to get one-hundred percent completion, and would you play it otherwise, will find a large game. The game's thirty levels are broken into a hero story and a villain story. The game looks great. Everything is clear and crisp and high definition. That's not to say the art style is complex. It's still very simple, and that fits the LEGO universe very well. Especially the LEGO Batman universe with its comic book look. I'm impressed with the visual styles in the game. Traveller's Tales have pulled from the wide range of Batman's history. You have Batman himself closer to the current The Dark Knight look and the Joker looks like Cesar Romero from the 1960's television show. There are some Tim Burton's Batman visual nods as well. And as I stated in a previous post, the music comes from that film. Batman proved to be a great addition to the LEGO video game universe. I'm giving LEGO Batman an 8.5. Now, I wonder where Traveller's Tales will take the series next...

LEGO Batman -- Initial Impression.

Once more into the world of hard molded plastic we go. Next up for me is LEGO Batman for the Xbox 360. This is the fourth entry in Traveller's Tales' LEGO series. Batman follows hot on the heels of Indiana Jones and the two Star Wars titles before it. This is the first time the series isn't based around a LucasArts license. So what am I expecting with Batman? The same exact thing as the previous titles actually. The same great gameplay and humor, only with the not too dark Dark Knight. From my time spent with the title it seems to be just that. I am very pleasantly surprised by the music though. I wasn't expecting to hear selections of Danny Elfman's awesome Batman score coming booming out of the surround sound. So I can already tell you the music will be awesome. Now, hopefully it just won't take too long to complete...

Wario Land: Shake It! -- Final Opinion.

Just like with Viva Pinãta I'm not entirely complete with Wario Land: Shake It! but I'm offering up my final opinion. I think I've done all I'm going to do with the game for now because I just need to at least make some sort of attempt at getting out on top of this avalanche of seasonal titles before suffocating entirely. I've completed the main game with one-hundred percent treasures and challenges complete. That leaves the extra hidden levels mainly untouched. Shake It is an exceptionally pretty game with its cartoon level high quality animation. But that's not a lot if the gameplay isn't there. The gameplay is there. It's backed up with perfect controls, even with the Wii gimmickry taken into account. The game has been getting some criticism for its uninspired linear level design. Given how the challenges are set up and how they're actually to be considered the main course of the game, I have no problems with the level design. I don't need the freedom to explore to nowhere in Shake It. The game features an amazing soundtrack that walks the wonderfully bizarre line between '70's exploitation film score and '70's after school special  and or movie of the week. The game barely has a story. Wario is greedy, so he's tricked into doing something, the end. Wario is fun in the old fashioned way. It feels like a 16-bit game, in the best possible way. Again, I hope this one will get strong word of mouth and generate the slow burn sales to being a hit. Somehow I doubt it with this one though. And that's a shame. We need more of these types of games. Wario Land: Shake It! is a successful return to the 16-bit era. I'm giving it an 8.5.

Viva Pinãta: Trouble In Paradise: Final Opinion.

While I haven't completed every last thing there is to do in Viva Pinãta I'm going to give my final opinion on the game. I've made every last species of pinãta resident in my garden. That's the equivalent of catching them all from that other game. I'm not finished with the game as of yet. I'll be putting in a little time each day knocking out the challenges and chasing the more obtainable achievements in the game. As for the game itself. It's still very much the same game as the original only expanded with new pinãtas and co-op online play and some interface improvements and a means of dealing with any sort of glitches that could have happened in the first game. Trouble in Paradise is an infinitely more stable game in that regard to begin with. The game is still great looking. The art direction is still so very Rare, which means you'll either dig it or it will annoy the hell out of you. The Rare humor is also very prevalent. As they're British you get a very cheeky bastard sort of humor throughout the game. The voice work is great. The music while seemingly sparse is also very well done. I say seemingly because you're not hearing a lot of it for most of the tending of the garden. But there is a lot of it when you consider the romance dances for each of the eighty-eight pinãta types and all of the incidental themes. The core gameplay is still based on experimentation and reward. You'll change your garden around causing all kinds of six degrees of Kevin Bacon like chain reactions. Having this many bluebell flowers in the garden attracts such and such a pinãta which causes something else to react in the chain in a wonderfully interconnected way. Once it gets going you'll often find yourself blissfully lost and off your intended path with all the new coming at you. I wanted to work on those Walrusk but this came up and that led to this and before I knew it days had gone by and the Walrusk were still waiting. Viva Pinãta offers truly addictive gameplay. The kind where you'll be thinking about it when not even playing the game. It stays in your thoughts. Viva Pinãta is an all around improvement over the original. I'm giving Viva Pinãta a 9. Hopefully, like the original, strong word of mouth results in a slow burn of good sales and we'll get a third game in the series. I want more.