Dark Souls (2011)

We're gonna take a trip down ye olde nostalgia gaming lane for a moment, bear with me:

Remember in the olden days when RPGs did not come with a map, or they came with a rudimentary one and you couldn't expect a full map from Nintendo Power for a few months?  When a game seemed to actively work against you to the point where you thought the game hated you, and you alone?  Secrets and hidden prizes were the reward for exploration and exploitation on a second play-through?  You had to grind through  mobs just to hoard whatever meager XP and GP they dropped just to get an advantage over the next dungeon?  Imagine a time when you didn't have to wait for load screens.  Imagine a RPG system you couldn't instantly nerf.  Remember when death brought a tangible cost to your character, not just in L33T perma-death mode?

Well, dear readers.  I think that I might have found such a game. Dark Souls kept me playing from around 2AM Saturday 04/20/13 to 5AM 04/21/13 - sober  (I played a couple hours of Puzzle Quest waiting for Dark Souls to download) and I think I've barely scratched the surface to this beast. I have checked no FAQs, no cheats, no hints (except for in-game), no game manual, and no one I know has played it.  

Dark Souls is not a loot'n'run, it is not Skyrim, it is not going to kiss your boo-boo when you fall off your training wheels.  Dark Souls doesn't give a fuck if you like it.  In fact, if you don't like it then you weren't gonna hack it anyway, so take a walk down wash-up lane.

Dark Souls can be summed up very simply, "Do it again and do it right this time."  But in a very Kafkaesque way, you are lost and somewhat scared  of what you're doing.

Do I have your interest?

I remember reading about Dark Souls on a couple of "hardcore" gamer and RPG junkie sites back in '11 but I got distracted by Skyrim and all that folderol.  It just slipped through the cracks until Saturday evening, while I was looking for a game to download and play.  For $19.99 I figured, "Fuck it.  Worse comes to worse it's an RPG I can tear through and review."

Load up, character class selection, etc etc, yeah I got this...

During the beginning of the game, what sparsely is a tutorial, I died.  Okay, not a big deal.  Wait, I died again?  Okay...learning a new game, it's a little different than Skyrim and Dragon's Dogma.  Ah ha!  Got the bastards that were killing me!  Huzzah!  What's down this hall way?  FUCK.  I just got one shotted in the "tutorial"?  A peculiar combination of rage and fascination came over me, the likes of which I haven't felt since my early days in EVE.  Okay.  I took a sip of my water and rolled the kinks out of my neck.  Then got killed again.  And again.  And again.  And again.  At one point the rage set in and I stormed in...and got killed again.  And then, the rage turned into, well if you've seen me hardcore game and bulldog a problem, or if you've seen me when I'm past anger and into calculation shut-down mode...that time I didn't die.

Then after I got through "the tutorial" I found myself in a land where everything hates me.  There are no mission markers, no map, no nanny NPCs, no explanations, and no crutches.  In a strange way DS immerses you in the game the same way Ico did.

I could write more about my experiences with Dark Souls but that would take away from yours.  What I have to say is that I haven't been this challenged by a game in a long time (besides some platformers which I suck at anyway).  I have a few problems with the mechanics but I can't tell if that's because of my character class choice (Thief) or just having a gaming experience that won't allow me to be comfortable.

Here's one thing I will tell you.  Every time you use a Bonfire - which acts as a hub for leveling, inventory control, etc, etc - all enemies (except for big bads) respawn.  Bonfires are few and far between, so a route you may have just barely cleared is now repopulated.  It's actually kind of brilliant and I figured out one nerf trick (figure it out for yourself) because you need to not only grind but practice survival.  I'm almost at lvl 35 and can one hit some foes, if my timing is right, but I got careless and swamped and died in no time flat.

Do I love Dark Souls?  Well, the game looks good and the voice acting is excellent.  Inventory control sucks.  For an action-RPG that focuses so heavily on combat I wish I had a few more moves in my play book.  Weapon shifting is awesome though and feels really natural (and vital in combat) between left and right hands.  I normally have a shield equipped on left hand with a bow in a secondary slot, sword and spear in right.  The maps are "small" but dense with exploration and enemies, you'll do a lot of running around/backtracking but through exploration and survival you'll discover links between areas to diffuse the backtracking.

Do I love Dark Souls?  Maybe yes, maybe no.  It is the first game in a long time which almost made me smash my controller into the TV.  I feel totally lost in some areas and it's only adrenaline, luck, and a touch of skill that has allowed me to survive.  I may not love it yet but I will dominate it.

p.s.  Remember in Fallout 3 the first time you beat a Deathclaw?  That satisfaction?  Imagine that feeling every time you defeat an enemy.

p.p.s. It took a strong force of will to write this post and not just play Dark Souls.   

The Metacritic score is in on "Mass Effect 3"

and the reviewers from IGN to Destrucoid are making happy noises (It scored an average of 92).  For some reason I'm not thrilled or motivated to play the game.  I apparently enjoyed Mass Effect back in 07 and Mass Effect 2 in '10.  This time around I just don't have the charge for ME3 that some of my friends do.  I played the demo and while it was cool to see humanity getting the dick kicked out of it I just couldn't bring myself to be interested.  The shift in gameplay towards an action 3ps might have something to do with my disinterest.  It plays like Gears of War or Binary Domain, which for you fans of those run and gun and cover and gun and run and cover games.  There's a multiplayer co-op shooter part of the demo that was pretty fun but really was the same as any other multiplayer co-op survive waves of enemies.  Bioware once again has the same conversation wheel that it's been using since KOTOR.  The voice work is still good but the character models have a weird plastic sheen to them that was really distracting (a piddly gripe I know).  The regular cast shows up but here's where I kind of stumbled in the demo and realized I wasn't particularly thrilled:  I didn't care who they were and I didn't remember what the fuck was going on.  Looking back at my reviews I commented that I like the story but frankly I have little to no recollection of what happened.  I remember the "very model of scientist Salerian" and having to fight a shit ton of Reavers and Garrus shot some stuff and there was that idiot savant weirdo alien assassin and I banged everyone I could (including the idiot savant weirdo alien assassin).  Martin Sheen smokes cigarettes while looking at a sun and talking to some hot chick (who I ended up banging).  Oh and there's a cliffhanger, again.

I think my boredom with SWTOR bled over into somekind of Bioware & EA = Meh, been there done that malaise.  Come to think of it - it's very similar to the way I feel about the Final Fantasy games (since VII).  Part of it might be game fatigue as well.  I played the wheels off Skyrim and ended up feeling like, "Is that all there is to Skyrim?".  SWTOR has ended up on the back burner.  Alan Wake was a disappointment and turned out to be a Silent Hill knock-off.  I worry that the next three titles I'm actually excited for are gonna be flops as well.  Sigh.

Other things I like about "Borderlands" and other FPS/RPGs

One thing I really dig about the FPS/RPG crossover is the lack of JRPG random attack screens and thumb numbing menus. Being able to whup a target then and there, loot, and move on makes grinding easier.

I also like being able to avoid enemies that aren't worth the time fighting, in the case of "Borderlands" you can simply crush them under the wheels of your vehicle (once they are unlocked). The vehicle control is a little wonky at first but pretty smooth once you get used to it. They are more tank controls than traditional press A to go.

I'm about to enter the second section of the map, completed all missions in the first part and it took me longer to complete that part than all of Brutal Legend. Hopefully I'll be playing this for awhile. Even better is there are three other characters to play with.

"A Song of Ice & Fire" interactive rights optioned! Huzzah!

Thanks to Amanda for bringing this to my attention.

My favorite fantasy series, George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice & Fire, has been picked up by a French video game studio - Cyanide Studio - that plan to create a RTS and RPG based on the books/verse.

Looks like Cyanide also does a Blood Bowl - a football game set in the Warhammer Fantasy realm - so they aren't a complete hack/fly by night studio.

I'm pretty excited about this development - more excited by the prospect of what the RPG will bring more than the RTS. I have to wonder how many are going to be playing as Crows. Personally I would lean towards a supporter/resident of Winterfell but we all know their track record. Maybe a Lannister if I was feeling Lawful Evil. Hands down, if I can play a character i am picking Sandor Clegane.

Persona 4 (2008) Atlus Games PS2

A few weeks ago, I literally dusted off my PS2 after picking up a copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. I debated about even purchasing Persona 4 simply because it wasn't for the 360. Stupid, I know. The large number of glowing reviews swayed me though and I'm glad I bought Persona 4.

The long and short of it - Persona 4 is one of the best JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games) I have played in ages. Yes, even better than Fallout 3. If you still own a PS2 I suggest picking up this game ASAP.

The game takes place in modern day Japan. The plot revolves around the main character - a high school transfer student moving from the big city to a small town - and his group of new friends and family attempting to solve a series of grisly murders. Of course this is the bare bones and since it's an insane JRPG the game goes sideways pretty much from the get go. Granted there's no tentacle porn or fan service or assorted naughtiness but there are: an alternate dimension filled with Shadow monsters, "Persona" you can summon to fight for you, some weird characters, and references to Japanese culture that may leave some players confused.

All the elements of game play are solid. Menus are easy to navigate. Combat can be tricky at times but if you use your noggin and balance your skills it gets much easier. The balance between exploring/detective work/building friendships/and going to high school is a little tough to get a grip on early on but manageable.

For me there is one major element that makes Persona 4 such a compelling play for me - you ready? - the story. Yes, Persona 4 has a compelling story filled with characters that I ended up - shock and awe - caring about. Even characters I thought were useless or pointless had great story lines that developed. Example: The main character is staying with his uncle Dojima and his daughter Nanako. Dojima is the head detective working on the crimes happening in town. Nanako is a little girl who basically runs the household while Dad is constantly at work. At first she's kind of an annoying, pathetic character and Dojima is pretty much a jerk. As the story progresses you learn more about them, their relationship, what happened to Nanako's mother, and I ended up liking both characters. A lot. Those are only two out of a huge cast of characters.

Hell, I like the story and characters so much that I got one ending - the writers took a page from the Joss Whedon school of depressing twist the knife endings - and refused to end the story on that note and immediately started a new game.

Another reason why Persona 4 is awesome: starting a new game/continuing from the same file allows you to keep money, previously levelled stats, levelled Persona, and some storyline related items.

I could yabber on about Persona 4 but I recommend picking it up if you're looking for a game that isn't a FPS or blow shit up or an easy 360 forty hour RPG.

Fallout 3 continued initial impressions.

After restarting and recreating my character - Moxie the nerdy, treasure hunting, mechanical repair, and explosives expert - I have gotten myself to a good solid point for really getting into the rest of the game.

A piece of advice for starting - the ign.com beginner's guide is helpful. While some games favour well rounded, jack-of-all-trades characters it seems like Fallout 3 is a specialist based game. I really enjoy being able to have a character that has "useless" skills and still be rewarded for using them. In Elder Scrolls: Oblivion the main skill sets I chose - Speech and Alchemy - weren't particularly useful or helpful. I take that back - alchemy was useful for crafting some gnarly poisons. In Fallout 3 speech and a higher charisma can unlock dialogue threads and if used successfully award XP. I also chose the skill "Child at Heart" - unlocks dialogue options with NPC children - because I was hoping I could take care of a deceased NPC's kid. I thought about reloading the prior save to choose a different skill but I'm going to keep "Child at Heart". One kid gave me the combination to her Dad's safe. Kids say the darndest things.

I really enjoy the survival horror aspects of the game as well. Combat - depending on the critter - is pretty harrowing at times. Two pieces of advice:

1. Learn to use the targetting system ASAP.
2. Don't waste ammunition on insects. Use a melee weapon.

I also unlocked a house to use as a base of operations and am probably going to spend the next block of game time trying to get enough funding to furnish the place. It's just nice to have place to stash equipment I don't want to sell.

Other cool things about Fallout 3:

NPCs have different personalities and different voices. If you've played Oblivion for any length of time then you know how boring/annoying it became to hear the same three or four voice actors for every character.

Crap got to go to work. More ranting later.

Have a good weekend. Happy Halloween.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Do you like puzzle games like Bejeweled? Do you like old school styled RPGs? If you answered yes to either of these questions then you should download Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. It's definitely worth the 1200 points.

The basic premise of the game is land of blah, blah, blah is being invaded after years and years of peace by the living dead and orcs and assorted baddies. It's up to you to go from town to town rallying forces and teaming up with other characters and fighting the good fight. Build your levels to gain skills and buy better gear and all that good stuff.

The puzzle aspect comes into play during combat and in various mini-games. Variations on the "match 3" game makes for a pretty intense and difficult game. Trying to stay ahead of opponents and utilizing skills to the best of you ability is really challenging. There have been several - a bajillion - games I have lost simply because I made one mistake and the computer crushed me.

Puzzle Quest is a genuinely enjoyable game - being crushed by the computer aside - and as far as I can tell a really lengthy game. It also has online puzzle battle capability if that's your thing.

Summoner 2 (2002)

I borrowed this from the fine neighbour folks who said that it was one of their favorites. It's a pretty solid and enjoyable RPG.

As far as I can tell - I'm only about 8 hours into it - the story is good. It's a pretty standard prophecy tale with mumbo-jumbo and the Tree of and the Storm of Evil and the whatever whatever. I find with RPGs I often lose interest in the story even if I love the game. This may be for several reasons:

a) The game has large amounts of "crazy talk/gamer martian". Any readers who are familiar with RPGs are familiar with the, "But we need the Seedling of Light in order to grow the Tree of Remembering in order to gain access to the Temple of Shotput the Mighty and Fearsome in order to restore balance and order to the kingdom of Betamax!" Yeah, write out the plot of a standard RPG on a cardboard sign and stand outside the Greyhound station and you may find people who understand.

b) The main storyline/quest in no way shape or form can compare with the secret missions, hidden monsters, absurd side quests, puzzles, red herrings, and assorted time sinks that RPGs have become. C'mon, what would you rather do - restore order or kick the shit out a gargantuan optional beast with a weapon you master-crafted yourself? That's what I thought.

c) RPG stereotypes. From the scrappy little sister brawler/healer to the sexpot mystic to the gruff yet loveable mechanic/airship captain we've seen it all...mostly. Games like Disgaea, Summoner 2, and Final Fantasy Tactics broke out of those stereotypes and are great games.

Summoner 2 - so far - has a solid range of characters, not particularly ground breaking but a refreshing change of pace. The main character, Maia, is a headstrong queen with a take charge kick ass attitude. What really sets Summoner 2 apart is the voice acting. Most characters have a British or vaguely British accent which really helps. I'm from the school of British accents lending credibility and class to games and movies. Seriously - imagine Theoden, Horse King of Rohan with a stupid American accent. Dr. Who - the Time Lord from Minnesota. Yeah right.

All in all this looks like it's going to be a satisfying long range RPG with loads of secret and side quests - that I love. More to come as I progress.