tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51434385256873105912024-02-06T17:52:27.131-08:00Joseph Asphahani's BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-34394865149163122872017-03-27T14:33:00.000-07:002017-03-27T14:37:14.101-07:00Me, Uncharted 4, and the Uncanny Valley<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End took me to the edge of that state
of mind known as The Uncanny Valley and left me there longer than any other
video game has ever managed to do. This was a good thing. Dare I say, an </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">excellent</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> thing. An astonishingly </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">immersive</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> thing the likes of which I
have never experienced before. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6y0Bwq34XgEjHAbTagrbuA9oy1AJuVEmKC0Dg3xFr3yZx7slmcWbobd0MKkid3AQZorNxniFD0AuROjaaIaCo6MyVibgZA_zXpDAWhzKV8C7c2rbB1cwGjvrmuXeq9aPAdx2UEzAl0hc/s1600/Uncanny+Valley.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6y0Bwq34XgEjHAbTagrbuA9oy1AJuVEmKC0Dg3xFr3yZx7slmcWbobd0MKkid3AQZorNxniFD0AuROjaaIaCo6MyVibgZA_zXpDAWhzKV8C7c2rbB1cwGjvrmuXeq9aPAdx2UEzAl0hc/s320/Uncanny+Valley.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obtained from wikipedia, after <span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.8px;">I'd </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.8px;">already typed up my definition... </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Before I explain why my experience was so sublime, I first
need to ask: Do you know what The Uncany Valley is? It’s a chart. A line-graph,
more specifically. On the one axis you have immersion, suspension of disbelief,
whatever you want to call it; this is the measure of how </span></div>
<a name='more'></a>enthralled you can get
in a particularly simulated experience. And on the other axis you have the
human-ness of the characters, objects, and concepts in that simulation; in
other words, you’re measuring how ‘real’ and ‘relatable’ (i.e. ‘canny’) those
things are, as objectively as possible. The lines go up, then plateau for a
bit, then suddenly drop way the hell off… That’s because the more and more
human something gets, and likewise the more and more your mind starts to
believe it’s human, the more immersed you get, until suddenly, your mind reels
because <i style="font-size: 12pt;">something just isn’t quite right</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.
A character’s eyes or teeth are too white, or she never blinks, or her hair is
perfect except for that single strand that’s clearly digitized. Welcome to the
Uncanny Valley.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHXHWukNSAp9LybK-ZqX-rgbpuzcjBy-UB_n4uwFVabZ6eBIaTQZXkQKl0nWLsJEcWlws_XvoMnnpPZNkqitBS3YxNWoSvvTcbRXfmhrOMRZ4PDHRMFRekr574HJX1WEjQXQNWDGrGi0/s1600/Assassin%2527s+creed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHXHWukNSAp9LybK-ZqX-rgbpuzcjBy-UB_n4uwFVabZ6eBIaTQZXkQKl0nWLsJEcWlws_XvoMnnpPZNkqitBS3YxNWoSvvTcbRXfmhrOMRZ4PDHRMFRekr574HJX1WEjQXQNWDGrGi0/s320/Assassin%2527s+creed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A [meme-famous] glitch from Assassin's Creed Unity, and<br />
a perfect example of how you can plunge over the edge!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">A lot of games take you there. But, getting back to my main
point, not a lot of them do it quite the same as Uncharted 4. And it’s not just
the astoundingly detailed character models and animations that brought me
there. It’s the voice acting. It’s the script itself. It’s the emotion that
emerges as all those elements become one. It’s so utterly beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oUod1VZ9QG_pAXhL3c8vEXTT5UsZsjjlwOcILoCjbc6Eg79KmuxGEEJSU9ZjU4iy4IKMhVZ7GsQXm4XMCPP7W4WinhOIPT0uzebXT-BLtLsq_a7GGx7IV7aF1ULF1McY0xKk0vI88xg/s1600/U4+Emotion+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oUod1VZ9QG_pAXhL3c8vEXTT5UsZsjjlwOcILoCjbc6Eg79KmuxGEEJSU9ZjU4iy4IKMhVZ7GsQXm4XMCPP7W4WinhOIPT0uzebXT-BLtLsq_a7GGx7IV7aF1ULF1McY0xKk0vI88xg/s320/U4+Emotion+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the best scenes in any video game ever.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I approached Uncharted 4 pretty much the same way I
approached all the other Uncharted </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">titles: I heard about it, scoffed, said to
myself and anyone who would listen that no doubt they finally sold out their
quality storytelling for a quick cashgrab, didn’t actually care, and ultimately
avoided playing it. In brief, I’d written the game off. The only reason I
actually decided to play the thing was because I saw it sitting on my local
library’s shelf (a rare occurrence since the thing had obviously been passed
around like a virus in a daycare). On a whim, I picked it up and checked it
out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRgKgLr3JNUr3Rk7j79ATLiEiVukSOz5CjWrOFKDB8e2nvGL6uuSTwDYJQpXz7H9Pf_qx20vDfh3z3T96pALvqVTQrV_YZdxXeOqLqmy0W8io0dQYNW8-dX4vwO8jv9bDLq28TS0x85w/s1600/U4+Emotion+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRgKgLr3JNUr3Rk7j79ATLiEiVukSOz5CjWrOFKDB8e2nvGL6uuSTwDYJQpXz7H9Pf_qx20vDfh3z3T96pALvqVTQrV_YZdxXeOqLqmy0W8io0dQYNW8-dX4vwO8jv9bDLq28TS0x85w/s320/U4+Emotion+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Shot" like a movie. Acted like a movie.<br />
As gripping, if not moreso, as a movie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">It was probably the best decision I’ve made in the past
several months. Certainly the most rewarding. This isn’t a ‘review’ of the
game. If you’re reading this and wondering if I’ll recommend you play it, I can
answer that already: YES!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">But here’s the thing: I quickly lost interest in the GAME
that is Uncharted 4. Whenever the Brothers Drake found themselves in yet
another gun battle or throwing out a grappling line and then eerily and
instantaneously drawing it back in after swinging and leaping over impossible
fissures and slamming their heads against cave walls and suffering gunshot
wounds and murdering countless fellow humans and laughing it all off… Well, the
GAME broke my immersion, and I think, for once, it seriously damaged my
immersion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">You see, the game is so realistic – it doesn’t just LOOK it,
it FEELS it, in your heart – that it would take me right to the edge of the
uncanny valley and leave me there, and I felt the world fall away, and it was
breathtaking. But then the game would assert itself because I think the game
felt it kind of had to, and that would send me reeling over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiILKer6JifKb6p-_1jvOXbhdh2IR-WXKf3IuFRWYX3ZZtrgR5SI5O4RJrt_U7eBy83vHyv0czZwA5N78YOOFkCUv8OHmmLeFcBNgbdVA38dWVBVEZVsnt7fuHBBuAOerczH68C_rj1Qw/s1600/U4+Gonzo+Action+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiILKer6JifKb6p-_1jvOXbhdh2IR-WXKf3IuFRWYX3ZZtrgR5SI5O4RJrt_U7eBy83vHyv0czZwA5N78YOOFkCUv8OHmmLeFcBNgbdVA38dWVBVEZVsnt7fuHBBuAOerczH68C_rj1Qw/s640/U4+Gonzo+Action+shot.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">....Maybe TOO MUCH movie. Realistically, how many times can a human daredevil expect to swing to a ledge<br />
while being shot at, grab a hold firm enough to hold his weight, and scramble to safety? It breaks immersion.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />What could Naughty Dog – oh, brilliant frikkin’ Naughty Dog
– have done? Should they have cut out all the combat and exploration and
platforming and dared to sell it as an Uncharted game? No. I understand. They
couldn’t have done that. I am left wondering, however, if there could have been
a way to evoke the same excitement during a chase, a shootout, or a standoff
WITHOUT the gratuitous violence and gonzo unbelievability. I think so. But who
can say whether re-writing the Uncharted formula in such a way would’ve broken
my immersion in another way.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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</style>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-28474692943275216102017-02-22T13:24:00.002-08:002017-02-22T13:27:57.910-08:00Sinkholes in Time<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx6J1J4loySRgUpXTD1uzAykNnfxEUZP35_a_RJ4MqO2-OfHAkImGry2Z3MmvnyhgUg5j54mYOobSHqjLU9STS69CXJATUcICxK_nOV0LToMin7qQVhGSXR9f2V-0R6JyTiqRFUFZ564/s1600/The_Animal_in_Man_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx6J1J4loySRgUpXTD1uzAykNnfxEUZP35_a_RJ4MqO2-OfHAkImGry2Z3MmvnyhgUg5j54mYOobSHqjLU9STS69CXJATUcICxK_nOV0LToMin7qQVhGSXR9f2V-0R6JyTiqRFUFZ564/s320/The_Animal_in_Man_cover.jpg" width="213" /></a>A sinkhole is the only term I can come up with when I think of why I haven't written anything in over a year. Just this gaping wide chasm, a parabola of the horizon's fading light skirting around the far edge, deep and dark as it gets. Can't see the bottom. Only my shadow way off against the far wall...<br />
<br />
...Sorry. I got lost in that image for a sec. I should clarify: I've BEEN writing - throughout what remained of 2016 - but I just wasn't writing HERE, on this blog. This blog, as I mentioned, is like a sinkhole at the moment, and I gotta start filling it up with some content. I plan to do so at least once a month for the rest of 2017. In the meantime, let me at least catch us all up to speed with the writing that kept me busy for the rest of 2016.<br />
<br />
I WROTE A NOVEL! Like, a WHOLE novel. <br />
<a name='more'></a>The first draft comes in at just around 210,000 words. It's hard for me to believe that I really strung that many together into a cohesive story, that I really had it in me to do that. But I did, and I do. When times get dark, at least I'll always have this accomplishment to look back at to brighten up my day.<br />
<br />
The book is called "The Animal in Man", and <a href="https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-animal-in-man-7699" target="_blank"><b>you can check it out for yourself over at Inkshares.com.</b></a> In addition to writing the actual novel, I always scribbled out a dozen reader updates along the way, some of which featured some amazing character concept art. It's all on the book's project page. Go look and see!<br />
<br />
But wait, don't leave just yet. Let me ask you "Have you ever heard of Hotline Miami?" Yeah, I hadn't heard of it either until just after putting Bloodborne down in mid-2015 (which was very, very hard for me to do, and still very much is). The first time I decided to pick up Hotline Miami, I entered a kind of warp that instantly shot me forward through time, maybe two whole months, right up until the next time in my life I could actually blink my eyes. ...I'm trying to creatively express how that video game held my every waking thought hostage. And it wasn't just the frenetic gameplay or the pulsing soundtrack - though those certainly helped the hypnosis. No, it was the STORY. Or rather, the LACK of story. There were so many fascinating pieces of the narrative puzzle, but no way to see how they all came together.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UWkzONCTx1mEeEL2R4_w7yz9jUOAOH4IQPzTYIDU8T8vNhq_l7EqbKZhWg8VyVk14f8BKEw-Fvwe4cDk1Pxm4IrTlKPIC2ZP4bfJRlSE5-HvpwGujtMPXdPJc9jlTxmePHlTdTreQ4g/s1600/Hotline_Miami_cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UWkzONCTx1mEeEL2R4_w7yz9jUOAOH4IQPzTYIDU8T8vNhq_l7EqbKZhWg8VyVk14f8BKEw-Fvwe4cDk1Pxm4IrTlKPIC2ZP4bfJRlSE5-HvpwGujtMPXdPJc9jlTxmePHlTdTreQ4g/s320/Hotline_Miami_cover.png" width="219" /></a></div>
<br />
Well... I decided to fill them in. I put down the gamepad and picked up a pen and between the months of May to about August, 2015, I wrote a 100-something page screenplay based on Hotline Miami. Personally, I think I did a fantastic job of capturing the game's themes and atmosphere. I had a blast depicting the gratuitous violence - and yet I worked within the constraints of the screenplay format, which ruthlessly calls for a concise writing style. I'd urge you to <a href="http://joseph-asphahani.squarespace.com/hotline-miami-screenplay/" target="_blank"><b>check it out on my portfolio site </b></a>if you haven't done so already.<br />
<br />
I've been busy, it seems, everywhere else except for this blog. I plan to stay busy, and to extend some of my work back here. So please follow my blog here, look me up on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/joseph.asphahani" target="_blank">facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.inkshares.com/joseph-asphahani" target="_blank">inkshares</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/49643448-joseph-asphahani" target="_blank">goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-asphahani-9884239a/" target="_blank">linkedin</a>, or send me an email.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-56712120409422600512016-03-07T11:42:00.000-08:002015-03-08T19:44:51.781-07:00How I See Games<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRk26p8GWfzgWR-Eu-9dVAQqu3Cm0FOgW_uoCF6qj1SDE4PDsU1yXnb1EVnEqrPtvKLOs-L5O9fOzQbVH-ZOsDwsnQBGMRoX1hWOW2GXPdGUbt9zeDLUTBhSx7d28VqjdRzDh1LTn2Whk/s1600/0C420b3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRk26p8GWfzgWR-Eu-9dVAQqu3Cm0FOgW_uoCF6qj1SDE4PDsU1yXnb1EVnEqrPtvKLOs-L5O9fOzQbVH-ZOsDwsnQBGMRoX1hWOW2GXPdGUbt9zeDLUTBhSx7d28VqjdRzDh1LTn2Whk/s1600/0C420b3.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
I’ve played a thousand games in my lifetime. I’m planning on
playing a thousands more. Just like any consumer, the more time you invest in
it, the more natural analysis starts to happen. Impressions, criticisms,
opinions. I grew up reading multiple video game publications, and even though
their review breakdowns were different (some were by stars, some number scales,
some had criteria for replayability, etc.) they were fundamentally the same.
There are ingredients that go into making a good game. I used to agonize over
what those were, exactly. “What criteria does every great game need to nail
dead-on in order to transcend to perfection, right?” What a waste of time.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<br /><o:p></o:p>
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And then I listened to Randy Pitchford simplify the ingredients
of a video game on the Nerdist Podcast, and he simplified the way I see games.
Games are made of story, style, and design. Each of these elements feeds into
and off of the others. No game can exist without one of these. A triangle needs
all three sides to stand; without one of its edges it’s just a flat-line. Story
inspires a game’s style, its style aids its design, and the game’s overall
design informs the flow of its story, and so on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When I write game reviews for this site, I won’t bother
assigning a numerical score. That’s not to say I don’t see the value of a
quantifiable scoring system (is there a pun there?). Instead I will focus
qualitatively only on these three criteria to determine if the game is
ultimately engaging, pleasing, and fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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Writing game reviews can be difficult. I did it before,
years ago. (Shout out to Doug Flowe and gameculturemag.com! Wherever you are!)
This simplified system of looking at a game’s story, style, and design gives me
a much clearer direction. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If you want a further breakdown of Randy Pitchford’s game
philosophy, I urge you to listen to the <a href="http://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/nerdist-podcast-randy-pitchford/" target="_blank">Nerdist Podcast, episode 378</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-87219696698002595352015-04-23T14:43:00.005-07:002015-04-23T14:43:48.238-07:00Review - Bloodborne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYzhVjJJpvchbpIjdJe6Y-NeM9f4tFdPs8nN4mHJSGibkwpJ6eQURP9X-M1RshYA6rusSvm8tfcO3XTgktApwd0ONb38L9y_lkz6BiflPgWUlhSiwk6FcCZK5TTo-XmbEK_kr0hs7L4o/s1600/bloodborne_wallpaper_by_dralucard-d7ltb1r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYzhVjJJpvchbpIjdJe6Y-NeM9f4tFdPs8nN4mHJSGibkwpJ6eQURP9X-M1RshYA6rusSvm8tfcO3XTgktApwd0ONb38L9y_lkz6BiflPgWUlhSiwk6FcCZK5TTo-XmbEK_kr0hs7L4o/s1600/bloodborne_wallpaper_by_dralucard-d7ltb1r.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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It’s impossible for me to review my experience with From
Software’s Bloodborne without constantly holding it up to my experiences with their
Demon’s and Dark Souls games. Almost every moment of playing it, a thrill of
being immersed back in that developer’s unique worlds and narratives was constantly
buzzing in my head. </div>
<a name='more'></a>At almost every encounter, I couldn’t help but think how
different - and in many ways how much better - Bloodborne handled combat than
its predecessors. What themes remained constant? What moods? What mechanics? It’s
impossible for me to separate how I played Bloodborne from how I played Souls
games, so this review - I’ve got to say up front - will focus primarily on
comparisons.<br />
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Having completed Bloodborne two and half times by now - and
diving fairly deep into its randomly generated Chalice Dungeons as well - I
have yet to find any environmental or story clues that link this world to the
worlds of the games with “Souls” in their titles. It’s perfectly clear,
however, that they are linked in tone (maybe not so much theme). Every world in
the series so far has been built on the premise of “something bad happened
here,” and part of the joy of playing these games is figuring out what went
wrong and how you can become the wrench thrown into the gears that have kept some
cycle of degradation going, bringing the whole thing to an end and, possibly, a
rebirth.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioQZEhGrFLwoqEgD3E2Ucqpe8qHYHWzZc04eswksuyHNr7LF87rdczB_TL39-gZZ0JZh23c1QUa2_Nv9zQMzFS4RJwfZW_VVp8t9bRpvtyxl0SfAg9iI5Ji-gL2Z_G49y0Wt58xwmuDg/s1600/images+monster+moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioQZEhGrFLwoqEgD3E2Ucqpe8qHYHWzZc04eswksuyHNr7LF87rdczB_TL39-gZZ0JZh23c1QUa2_Nv9zQMzFS4RJwfZW_VVp8t9bRpvtyxl0SfAg9iI5Ji-gL2Z_G49y0Wt58xwmuDg/s1600/images+monster+moon.jpg" /></a>In Bloodborne, that cycle is the hunt. You play as a
nameless outsider who comes to the city of Yarnham to join in on the hunt. You’re
a hunter of beasts. As you venture forth into the world (which from the very
beginning you’re warned might all just be a bad dream) it quickly becomes
apparent that you’re running a little late. The Yarnham citizens have already
strung up and set fire to the beasts they caught roaming the streets, and as
you approach, they inexplicably turn their pitchforks, hatchets, muskets and
ire in your direction. What drove me onward during the early hours of the game
- all the while bloodying myself as I slayed these people left and right in
self defense - was simply wanting to know why. Why turn the hunt upon a hunter?
What the hell is going on here? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wMZabxuO6X5gwAlFjQe408MxEW5V6ylgYZtou7hG5HTsvXIQuLqIrNp2FvTFG8B-MgotxVc0G3EJ2PGLEHGt8j51KALEmgNWdlRalWPlqG6gHWe5B6J25lURail4d-CJQbvUCORKKPk/s1600/images+combat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wMZabxuO6X5gwAlFjQe408MxEW5V6ylgYZtou7hG5HTsvXIQuLqIrNp2FvTFG8B-MgotxVc0G3EJ2PGLEHGt8j51KALEmgNWdlRalWPlqG6gHWe5B6J25lURail4d-CJQbvUCORKKPk/s1600/images+combat.jpg" /></a></div>
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Little by little, as you move through new
areas, find new items, and learn new things, you delve deeper and deeper into
the complexities of such a simple question, and the answers you find are quite
otherworldly and truly horrifying. Needless to say, by the time you reach the
second half of the experience (which as a whole took me roughly 40 hours to complete),
and as long as you’ve been perceptive enough, the story behind Bloodborne
changes directions entirely. There’s much more at stake than just a hunt, and you
can be far more than just a hunter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Although there are plenty of areas to explore, plenty of
exceptionally challenging bosses to encounter, I found that the world of
Bloodborne seemed a little smaller than previous games in the Souls series. I
was expecting more, sure, yet I realize I may just be bitter because there wasn’t
more to play. (It’s true that I missed two optional areas entirely during my
first playthrough, but even if I counted those, which I played through during
New Game + , the world is still not very large.) I realize that this is by
design, as Bloodborne just feels more cramped on purpose in order to achieve
the game’s mechanical and aesthetic goals that set to be apart from the other
Souls games. Gone are the wide-open castle courtyards and Cliffside pathways,
replaced with claustrophobic alleyways and decaying Victorian-era structures. I
can’t help but stop and marvel at the intricate architecture and grotesque
statues that line practically every inch of Yarnham and the surrounding
environments, from cathedrals to caves, forests, academies, clinics,
graveyards, and nightmare landscapes (literally). And yes, there is still a
castle, but not exactly how you’d expect it. One of the greatest strengths of
the Souls series has been the level design. Each path, each doorway, each
corner fills you with hesitation and dread. What lies at the end or on the
other side could be the unexpected enemy or situation that kills you, or the
narrowly won challenge that rewards you. The true genius of the game’s design
emerges when you turn the former into the latter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsagjHT7eco5BYiOk058FhVGAS7OLAOXKLXnLrWEKcz-XM58MNV8nPSgLpLcWJJgLoQicxahdGYi7tbk4m_j6TGcNyCIKtaoIlaGiGFC9gIVL4NAsuBJTBSELqp1KFMii3Mlqb0yY4QW8/s1600/imgres+dream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsagjHT7eco5BYiOk058FhVGAS7OLAOXKLXnLrWEKcz-XM58MNV8nPSgLpLcWJJgLoQicxahdGYi7tbk4m_j6TGcNyCIKtaoIlaGiGFC9gIVL4NAsuBJTBSELqp1KFMii3Mlqb0yY4QW8/s1600/imgres+dream.jpg" /></a>The redesign of the environments was needed to achieve what
I believe is Bloodborne’s greatest strength over previous Souls games: the
combat. The tighter spaces and treacherous spots only make running up against a
monster or madman that can end your life with a single hit that much more
intense. Because of the close proximity, ranged fighting is no longer a viable
option. There are no bows with ranged stats and various arrows to shoot as
there were in previous Souls games. There are no more magic missile type spells
to cast while back-pedaling away from charging foes. In Bloodborne, you may be
able fire a few quicksilver bullets at an enemy within lock on range, but the
damage you’d deal is pitiful, even if you’ve buffed the stat that enhances your
gunplay. You might want to keep your bullets handy anyway, because firing your
gun at the exact moment an enemy is winding up a powerful attack is how you’ll
deal significant damage in what’s called a visceral attack, making you feel
like a truly powerful hunter. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgKw_ITPhdGMtQB8t6AHnimWF2dhds2iX73AONjLCZ_hTIwcw76HjgP48Rg_YmpsGnqC-b8rEMAh6ksRthdzS0otxvteUi05M9ZQjEv8R_CpA3HcgSd9WnqLwg6aYxjzHg8JZSmjNYs0/s1600/images+combat+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgKw_ITPhdGMtQB8t6AHnimWF2dhds2iX73AONjLCZ_hTIwcw76HjgP48Rg_YmpsGnqC-b8rEMAh6ksRthdzS0otxvteUi05M9ZQjEv8R_CpA3HcgSd9WnqLwg6aYxjzHg8JZSmjNYs0/s1600/images+combat+2.jpg" /></a>Bloodborne is much more a game of quick adaptation to fights
than anything else I’ve ever played. There has always been a formula by which I’ve
(literally) lived and died by in the Souls series: Encounter a new enemy, hold up
the shield, retreat for better footing, hold up the shield, absorb a few hits
to learn the attack pattern, hold up the shield, and then - only when I’m
satisfied I know how it all works - will I take some swipes of my own. From
Software set that formula on fire with Bloodborne. Now more than ever, you’ll
find yourself dodging directly into an enemy’s personal space to strike first,
and then either fire a shot to catch them before they can retaliate or dodge
directly out and find the next angle of approach. This beautiful dance of death
is the base strategy for success, but there are a million varieties to disover
depending on the weapons you find and upgrade, the items you toss out, and - as
ever - your own level of personal recklessness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Still, no matter how you handle Bloodborne, you’re going to
die. Many times. Still, just like in other Souls games, there is a checkpoint
system where you’ll begin again upon death. However, there’s no more
teleporting between these bonfi… I mean lanterns. In the first Dark Souls, the ingenious
level design of the entire world made sense because you were constantly finding
paths that led back to the central hub, therefore making traversal from one
corner of the huge world to another a relatively quick task. Dark Souls 2 gave
its world a slightly grander scale, so teleporting between checkpoints in major
areas made better sense than constantly running back to a central hub. In
Bloodborne, though, there’s a hybrid of these checkpoint systems that may work
well on a story level (no spoilers here!), but keeps players from getting
quickly back into the action. A disembodied area called The Hunter’s Dream is
the central hub in Bloodborne where you’ll do all your leveling up and upgrading,
but don’t expect to do any of that very fast. The time you spend warping back
and forth from the hunter’s dream can really add up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfE_7RYHF0MrP10Gc-Sj5rNoxJxO8Owp0VHUjutxeQkF4tFuMtBoxJice0XV3UPKqVxHLjvNSgNzZeZq5TiyIv-cdL0JNOYgnG_0nzGlXjiya8lpZEavYRgEIUXtzm_JFAo_HgmmKHB3Y/s1600/images+lantern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfE_7RYHF0MrP10Gc-Sj5rNoxJxO8Owp0VHUjutxeQkF4tFuMtBoxJice0XV3UPKqVxHLjvNSgNzZeZq5TiyIv-cdL0JNOYgnG_0nzGlXjiya8lpZEavYRgEIUXtzm_JFAo_HgmmKHB3Y/s1600/images+lantern.jpg" /></a>This tedious turning of the clock is only compounded by the
load time as you travel there and back. Or upon every death, which, in case you’ve
never heard about the Souls series of games, is quite frequent. Each time the
game loads a new area or sends you back to the last lantern checkpoint, you
wait nearly a full minute while the game loads. I get that the intense
graphical drain hungrily eats up the system’s memory, but I wish From Software
had spent a little extra time and polish finding workarounds to improve the
loading speed. (As of this writing - April 23rd - they’ve released a
patch that’s done exactly that!) On one hand, the presentation of the world
really goes far to immerse me there, to make me feel like I’m a real hunter,
part of a real hunt, but on the other hand the long periods of time I must wait
with nothing between periods of play do a lot to take me out of it all. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It sounds to me like there may be more complaining than
comparing at the heart of my review of Bloodborne, or perhaps it sounds like
the complaints are born out of not living up to what’s been done before. While
it’s true I feel there are plenty of problems with the system that holds the
game up (the most glaring issue being the load times), Bloodborne is every bit
as enthralling as all the previous Souls games. Although a lot of the core
themes, mechanics, and overall feel of the game remains the same as its
predecessors, Bloodborne is different enough in some crucial areas to earn its
own identity and stand on its own as a truly unforgettable game. <o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-69975862557669993052015-03-27T12:02:00.000-07:002015-03-27T12:11:49.116-07:00Review - TouchTone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wjuxSvzDx1m1GcMcKgGM-4Zm-RdJF4HSTfzu2X_nypqEFIHO3Lfq4xzc2OXHAGPc8RUqzvqqE3-z2BpVn1Z5CYnminXTc7l1Bpu8Q9nHhiTONKQE-myfGc372SKmXN7o6P8CfH90TUs/s1600/IMG_2692.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wjuxSvzDx1m1GcMcKgGM-4Zm-RdJF4HSTfzu2X_nypqEFIHO3Lfq4xzc2OXHAGPc8RUqzvqqE3-z2BpVn1Z5CYnminXTc7l1Bpu8Q9nHhiTONKQE-myfGc372SKmXN7o6P8CfH90TUs/s1600/IMG_2692.PNG" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">TouchTone is an important game. In the post-9/11,
whistleblower world in which we now live, there have been several attempts to
communicate the immorality of the surveillance state. Every news story in print
or on TV that follows in the wake of the latest release of classified documents
by Edward Snowden chips a little more of the veneer away. Admittedly, I don’t
follow the trail as far as I should, and I believe </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaD90J7vIKyl0Dx8V0cR0SlIL4xoIcB61TzypM7YocWN86m2XXV9kzl2btWWBGJCETpmznmaXcdAo52vXup5sPsxJkPfUfYQCvs5q_w0X1vZ4qGr7qa-N1pnIJTWTs0SIYptGC0AfaXrg/s1600/image2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaD90J7vIKyl0Dx8V0cR0SlIL4xoIcB61TzypM7YocWN86m2XXV9kzl2btWWBGJCETpmznmaXcdAo52vXup5sPsxJkPfUfYQCvs5q_w0X1vZ4qGr7qa-N1pnIJTWTs0SIYptGC0AfaXrg/s1600/image2.PNG" height="320" width="180" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">the vast majority of my
fellow American citizens are with me on that. That’s why playing TouchTone is
so critical for me. It is a game with something very important to say about the
world we live in. It motivates me to seek the truth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">At least, it seemed to start with that most noble of
intentions. Somewhere along the way, it might have lost its direction.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In this incredibly affordable mobile-platform puzzle game
(for <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touchtone/id962133182?mt=8" target="_blank">ios</a>), you play the role of, well, yourself. You are a common
citizen charged by a clandestine element of your government to observe private
communications between your fellow citizens and simply mark them as pertinent
or impertinent to the interests of national security. To decrypt these private
messages - which could be emails, SMS exchanges, or even recorded phone
conversations - you must solve puzzles through a simple, rubik’s-cube-like grid
interface. After successfully realigning the angles of colored wavelengths by
bouncing them off of reflectors, you’re rewarded with a pat on the back from a
faceless government entity in the form of an expertly crafted (obviously
right-wing leaning) aphorism, which I must admit almost made me excuse the invasion
of privacy I’d just enabled. It’s a testament to the other side of the argument
that we don’t often consider.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3MMKm622qux-vEijyDvOlvVOP8AWImND6cFncrCFEkt36obb9klo-N_4GKEuAEIZWJ9WbZ8LQQkJKrlCzn83-WTrNekIdfsJHEmFHnIZcDikhqOdtHbdr8pf8SgcQautfGXrc7BRZrE/s1600/image3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3MMKm622qux-vEijyDvOlvVOP8AWImND6cFncrCFEkt36obb9klo-N_4GKEuAEIZWJ9WbZ8LQQkJKrlCzn83-WTrNekIdfsJHEmFHnIZcDikhqOdtHbdr8pf8SgcQautfGXrc7BRZrE/s1600/image3.PNG" height="320" width="180" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I’m not about to describe my personal stance on government surveillance,
but I will say that, without a doubt, the actions I took in TouchTone exposed
my own beliefs on the subject, some feelings I didn’t really know I had until I’d
played the game for a while. It was a very powerful experience.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But then the “actual story” began, and this profound feeling
was lost.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The core puzzle-solving mechanics of the game did not
change. As I worked along a set path of puzzles, unlocking new branches and
observing more communications, new wavelengths and new reflectors appeared on
the grids. Some of the new arrangements posed more of a challenge than others. The
gameplay didn’t change significantly. What changed was the motivation for
solving the puzzles. Before , marking things as pertinent or impertinent was a
judgment call that allowed me to understand how my position in the debate on
national security it. All of a sudden, the examination of emails narrows down
to a point where you are only following one man. A government operator, calling
himself “patriot,” takes over your steady stream of decrypted content and
orders you to mark everything pertinent from now on, clearly in order to frame a
target individual.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibir2FrPSb6kCS021oh8okScOip6-q3mGIV5JVeBSdmMqRgUFYZBd5CnAy9-gtSV6Zczsw_08srjaflGqijZLugWWjatx6LC5ChKPudBGUut4MVDG5gCRolaNsmfevjvTGZ94PBEl1IEc/s1600/image1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibir2FrPSb6kCS021oh8okScOip6-q3mGIV5JVeBSdmMqRgUFYZBd5CnAy9-gtSV6Zczsw_08srjaflGqijZLugWWjatx6LC5ChKPudBGUut4MVDG5gCRolaNsmfevjvTGZ94PBEl1IEc/s1600/image1.PNG" height="320" width="180" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">All of a sudden, the argument many Americans have against
government surveillance - the very important lens that this game places over a
vital issue in this country - changed in such a way that I started to think
every decrypted email ever became less about maintaining security and more
about some anonymous jerk seeking revenge on someone who’d done him wrong. As
you solve more and more puzzles and chip away more of this personal story - all
the while trying to dig up dirt on a man who may be sympathizing with terrorist
cells - patriot’s identity and motives become more clear. Whether or not the
target is a terrorist is no longer a decision you, the player, gets to make
since the game stripped your ability to judge. At this point in the game, you’re
just along for the ride.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">At least that ride has enough substance to make every turn
interesting. For instance, the first few decrypted communications had me thinking
patriot was a total jerk simply abusing his NSA-granted powers, while the
target was truly an innocent victim of government spying. As I completed more
puzzles and the story progressed, the tables turned by degrees, until I started
to sympathize a little more with the operator and less with the target. Then a
new message would be uncovered that had me swinging my perception back the
other way.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-YZwg_9sck5DQhNTMQ62cML-UYaPAITeYA7jrMblG0OgJLa4MVe5U4NcL7xECcNAlDXbl-n17YNG4JwN1M40zJhhuxGpSghjxuSWASTKqs64I41RlNyD222KdKXuf3nLgM_fpDkCQg4/s1600/image4.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-YZwg_9sck5DQhNTMQ62cML-UYaPAITeYA7jrMblG0OgJLa4MVe5U4NcL7xECcNAlDXbl-n17YNG4JwN1M40zJhhuxGpSghjxuSWASTKqs64I41RlNyD222KdKXuf3nLgM_fpDkCQg4/s1600/image4.PNG" height="320" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="180" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I still wish that TouchTone had kept its focus on the bigger
picture of government spying. This is one instance in which I think that
bringing a more focused narrative into the experience has taken the power away
from a very important commentary on our world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Despite this feeling, playing TouchTone should not be avoided.
The story that is there - the direction that developer MikenGreg chose to
pursue - is very engaging in its own right. The puzzles are cleverly designed
and can be extremely rewarding when a particularly tough one has been sorted
out. The looping music track and pleasant digital sound effects don’t get
tiresome. I highly recommend taking part in the experience that is at the heart
of TouchTone. My fellow Americans, it might just help you cast a brighter light
on a shadowed side of the nation in which we live.</span></span> </div>
<br />
<img height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-YZwg_9sck5DQhNTMQ62cML-UYaPAITeYA7jrMblG0OgJLa4MVe5U4NcL7xECcNAlDXbl-n17YNG4JwN1M40zJhhuxGpSghjxuSWASTKqs64I41RlNyD222KdKXuf3nLgM_fpDkCQg4/s1600/image4.PNG" style="left: 531px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 1463px;" width="54" />
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-pZvL-pNUV5E%2FVRWohVs8llI%2FAAAAAAAAAMg%2F6_mV_MHjHZI%2Fs1600%2Fimage4.PNG&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-YZwg_9sck5DQhNTMQ62cML-UYaPAITeYA7jrMblG0OgJLa4MVe5U4NcL7xECcNAlDXbl-n17YNG4JwN1M40zJhhuxGpSghjxuSWASTKqs64I41RlNyD222KdKXuf3nLgM_fpDkCQg4/s1600/image4.PNG" -->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-86224951982863639672015-02-13T14:23:00.000-08:002015-03-08T19:58:54.362-07:00Evolve (First Impressions)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwx2es1xE5vKVcJogz2qi54JmOhbQHFabVcXnvLRC8efgPpbk2338TsaUvCy2dertY1pqLHrbxkWX_Mpp-x2EZavIEWyaSFbSc_LkIciV3-Wh15PJsaZBKbZy8lPgCqTAsUVA-dF88IvA/s1600/images.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwx2es1xE5vKVcJogz2qi54JmOhbQHFabVcXnvLRC8efgPpbk2338TsaUvCy2dertY1pqLHrbxkWX_Mpp-x2EZavIEWyaSFbSc_LkIciV3-Wh15PJsaZBKbZy8lPgCqTAsUVA-dF88IvA/s1600/images.png" height="56" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">IN THE JUNGLE, THE MIGHTY JUNGLE, THE
MONSTER LURKS TONIGHT… MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF EVOLVE.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p>
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<span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">I’ve been waiting to sink my talons
into Evolve ever since it was first announced. Being a huge fan of the cat and
mouse multiplayer modes in the Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed games, I was
convinced that the experience was practically made for me.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">The opening cinematic does a
fantastic job of setting up the context for all the action that follows. You
are shown the desperate conflict between the monster and hunters. The violence
is pretty evenly distributed to both sides, and there’s no clear victor as the
scene ends, highlighting the important gameplay theme of balance that informs
every design decision throughout the experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">After navigating through some
brightness settings, tutorials, and menus, I was treated to another cutscene
before being set loose into the fray. I inwardly groaned at the idea of having
to sit through even more exposition, but the incredibly straightforward,
well-made introduction to the hunters and their agenda was a nice touch to
immerse me even deeper. (Basically: “We messed up thinking we could colonize this
world called Shear, so now you gotta get in there and clear everything out!”) I
thought maybe the dialogue and mandatory minimal screen time for each character
seemed a little forced. Why do I need to know how these characters are
different? I don’t care about them as “people,” I said to myself. But I soon
realized how differentiating the hunters and giving them unique characteristics
could only add to the experience, taking nothing away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">In my first live match, I set - and
got - my preference as Goliath, the monster. This wasn’t like the tutorial,
however, in which I naturally felt my place as predator, god of Shear’s food
chain. No. When the tables were turned, the feeling of being hunted drove me to
make some impulsive decisions. I ran through the jungle, terrified of what was
on my trail. I left huge footprints, crushed every tree, every creature in my
path and stopped to snack on their life-giving flesh. You can’t evolve into the
next stage on an empty stomach, after all. As soon as I hit the evolutionary
requirement, I eagerly entered my ten second metamorphosis. But my membranous
sac wasn’t enough to guard against the hail of bullets that suddenly slammed
into me. In my rush to gain new power, I hadn’t realized how important it was
to hide before leveling up. Right there in the center of the trail, I was no
longer a colossal, alien hulk of destruction, I was a sitting duck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBgfSban7T_M4Tim7bfIiRP7ZDrBv9c7GJMJj_Wg8gD0vAPUJo5XlYtfIdQCqp7953K5PyrRRwuZ4B00BYXzsedk-BRlRzDvzEHEbTrXTAH5PFyNi0zZjapKhpJdeTbDCnY9FAT1dD2s/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBgfSban7T_M4Tim7bfIiRP7ZDrBv9c7GJMJj_Wg8gD0vAPUJo5XlYtfIdQCqp7953K5PyrRRwuZ4B00BYXzsedk-BRlRzDvzEHEbTrXTAH5PFyNi0zZjapKhpJdeTbDCnY9FAT1dD2s/s1600/images.jpeg" height="197" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">So the hunters found me. Their ten
seconds of free shots weren’t enough to kill me though. I emerged, furious, and
took the fight to them. Now it was my turn for some payback. The puny humans
put up a good fight, eroding my armor, diminishing my health, leaving my rough
hide visibly slick with blood and gore. None of them stayed still for long,
expertly firing their jetpacks at the right moments, weaving away and dodging
my attacks. It became clear just how important my peripheral vision was. I
should have kept a closer eye on the HUD to see when my ability cooldowns
reset. I realized a little too late that I couldn’t rely on melee strength
alone when four hunters surrounded me, weakening me, tethering me, leading me
into mines and traps. Those powers are there for a reason. Use them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">I panicked. I turned to run. I
tried to get away. Then the blue dome went up, trapping me. I died like a
coward, shot in the back, fleeing from battle. But I learned plenty of lessons.
Evolution is more than gaining new traits and abilities over time,
strengthening your perch as predator at the top of the food chain. Evolution is
memory. It bonds with your very DNA. As I bled out there on the man-made trail
of my merciless planet Shear, I knew my offspring would carry these lessons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfRYVxWVahYwfTTHugnFXdMKSyJ924BnNVWqpJ-GRAMOqCCZdrlpMUdU9E9FB0eMWZFjh5TriRrmalcj5sA5dyi8Ww1jKX9tU4O8qzQoGEK22GWCi157KUcE3eaNhkRcmEk565XsB80wI/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfRYVxWVahYwfTTHugnFXdMKSyJ924BnNVWqpJ-GRAMOqCCZdrlpMUdU9E9FB0eMWZFjh5TriRrmalcj5sA5dyi8Ww1jKX9tU4O8qzQoGEK22GWCi157KUcE3eaNhkRcmEk565XsB80wI/s1600/images-2.jpeg" height="224" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">And so they did. I won my second
round. It might have been because the next team of hunters didn’t operate as
the same cohesive group as the previous ones, but I like to think it was
because I was moderate in my feasting, cautious in direction, selective in my
choice of hiding places, observant, and most of all patient. And quiet. I
evolved easily into stage two before I even saw my hunters. Remembering to use
the sneak ability, I hid in tall brush and watched them run right past me, one
by one. I pounced on the straggler of the pack, pinning him (or her?) to the
ground, completely thrashing the life out of this puny creature before its
pack-mates even knew to turn around. So then there were three. I kept a better
eye on my cooldowns this time, focusing all the power at my disposal on one
hunter at a time - starting with the life-saving medic - rather than flailing
around madly at the whole group. They had no space, no time, to recover with
this mad beast charging right for them, unrelenting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">There’s nothing quite like the
feeling of breaking out from underneath a solid mass of hunters that are trying
to pile on and crush you. I can’t remember any game I’ve ever played that has
captured this unique feeling of triumph so well. The feeling of victory in
Evolve is pure. The natural phenomenon when a predator takes down its prey -
diffused through a highly imaginative, sci-fi tinted lens - has never before
been captured in a video game so well.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #646464; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-11352945076653135952014-12-19T13:59:00.000-08:002015-03-08T19:49:10.674-07:00"Hunger" (Short screenplay)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This wrote itself out of nowhere. I just wanted to fire up the old screenwriting software and see if I still got it. After a round or two of editing, I think I wound up with a pretty tight little story. Good characters, good conflict, good structure, good dialogue... Good ending? I'll let you be the judge.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-7318082802129353842014-11-12T19:18:00.000-08:002015-03-08T19:45:10.729-07:00Review - Wolfenstein: The New Order<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was among the crowd of skeptics in the gamer community
every time new screenshots or details emerged prior to the release of Machine
Games’ “Wolfenstein: The New Order.” Like so many others, I felt that the 2001
release of “Return to Castle Wolfenstein” was the high point of the venerated
series and that every release since simply failed to capture the same great
experience. Despite this feeling, The New Order started to gain some critical
and commercial momentum, so I decided to give it a try. It has definitely left
a fantastic impression on me, and I am looking forward to seeing it all
continue in some form after the revitalization The New Order has bestowed on
the Wolfenstein series.</div>
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When I say impressions, the most literal – and arguably the
most impactful – sense of it comes through The New Order’s visuals. The art and
architecture of the game is simply breathtaking. A truly creative visual design
team with vast imaginations turned in some of the finest work I’ve ever seen in
a videogame. Throughout the game’s diverse locations – from sewers and prisons,
to lunar research labs and Nazi work camps – players can’t help but think about
what the world of the 1960’s would resemble if the Nazi’s had won World War II.
Towering walls of concrete and the sprawling infrastructure of Berlin give
players the sense of choking confinement, a visual tone that carries over to
the story as well in order to solidify the impression that the Nazis control
the world with a tightening iron grip. There is no escaping it. Besides the
visual sense of confinement and control, the design team further immerses
players by re-imagining popular 60’s culture with a German-influenced twist.
For example, players can find albums in the world from a fictional band called
Die Kafer and play their hit-song “Mond, Mond, Ja, Ja” from the pause screen.
(The band’s album jacket is eerily similar to a famous photo taken along Abbey
Road.) While the audio-visual presentation has no bearing on the core gameplay
overall, the loads of subtle details in The New Order really show the
development team’s dedication to crafting an immersive experience, and it truly
pays off.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As with other noteworthy first person shooter games, the
main attraction often involves pointing guns at enemies and squeezing the
trigger, and The New Order fully satisfies this essential gameplay demand. The
gunplay feels smooth and responsive, easily on par with FPS greats like Call of
Duty: Modern Warfare and Halo. Adding to those series’ winning formulas,
however, Wolfenstein also offers alternate fire modes for every weapon – which
range from simply attaching a silencer to a pistol or selecting the rate of
fire on an assault rifle all the way to loading incendiary shells in a shotgun
or blasting rockets from an underslung launcher attached to your machine gun.
Throw in the option to dual-wield two guns of the same type and The New Order
lets you experience some truly brutal gun battles. There aren’t many games that
let you barge into a room full of Nazis, shouldering two fully loaded machine
guns, and tear everyone to shreds in a tornado of bullets. If you get a little
too in over your head, however, thankfully The New Order has a useful cover
mechanic reminiscent of the Killzone series’ combat design which lets you pop
out and shoot safely. (Just don’t stay too long as enemy fire will wear cover
away in time). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If stealth suits your play
style more than running and gunning, The New Order also has some mechanics
built in to reward sneaky players. By infiltrating a zone full of guards
undetected, players can knife officers so that alarms will not be triggered
once all hell inevitably breaks loose. There is no pure stealth option to
gameplay, however, as I don’t think it would match the hero’s penchant for
Nazi-slaughter. The designers at Machine Games have a way of guiding every
action scene back to the gun, it seems.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAsk7NYqkMiraifQYYICtl2sPYEBWOwRfKwuOlnR0ZLL2AqcFNZrOAakAh96FqK2K4RFXHX-jVJOvNrczJjKPhYhy71T79h5Q0VKQAypGgNowLTCGYCaTbxjSdvBfosB9BWljhNSHjYw/s1600/Unknown-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAsk7NYqkMiraifQYYICtl2sPYEBWOwRfKwuOlnR0ZLL2AqcFNZrOAakAh96FqK2K4RFXHX-jVJOvNrczJjKPhYhy71T79h5Q0VKQAypGgNowLTCGYCaTbxjSdvBfosB9BWljhNSHjYw/s1600/Unknown-1.jpeg" height="224" width="400" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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Unfortunately, one of the guns featured prominently in the
game ended up feeling the most useless and unnecessary. About 1/3 of the way
through the story, players receive the Laserkraftwerk (which we’ll just call
The Laser), which comes in handy for cutting through fences and crates to
reveal secret areas and items, and by finding upgrades for the Laser, it can
also become a very powerful weapon. But there’s a catch. Apparently the Laser
projects so much energy through its beam that it can only fire once – twice if
you’re lucky (I could never understand this inconsistency, actually) – before
it runs dry. You better not miss! Thankfully, there are plenty of wall nodes
scattered throughout the levels to recharge its ammo for free, but I often
found myself unrealistically running away from firefights to recharge when I
felt compelled to melt Nazis with the Laser. In retrospect, the game would have
been more fun if I had just holstered the damn thing and use a more
conventional Nazi-slaughtering tool.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfbOxkRnIaWdImjqHMC2y503x9b505QPfm6-8TOuPCz4eaj32WhjLpCSAf-bwUN0mKlx3BMYN_KHw5HXtJhyphenhyphenBKXE6c9qiWU9tqWy_kv2NqS-e-vq1t47uNLCuE1qZxzPRiWgh87nsm4Gc/s1600/Unknown-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfbOxkRnIaWdImjqHMC2y503x9b505QPfm6-8TOuPCz4eaj32WhjLpCSAf-bwUN0mKlx3BMYN_KHw5HXtJhyphenhyphenBKXE6c9qiWU9tqWy_kv2NqS-e-vq1t47uNLCuE1qZxzPRiWgh87nsm4Gc/s1600/Unknown-2.jpeg" height="179" width="320" /></a>I was pleased to find that the variety of Nazis to slaughter
was fairly extensive, although a little sparsely utilized on the battlefields
themselves. What I mean is, while the artists were able to devise some truly
fierce opponents like the dog-tank hybrid “Panzerhunds” and the hulking, ironclad
Ubersoldats (meaning “super-soldiers”), the encounters with these monstrosities
were very limited. The Panzerhunds would attack in what felt like scripted
events rather than full-on action sequences, while the Ubersoldats would mostly
show up, unload their weapons in your direction while you ducked for cover, and
then politely stand in the middle of a room and wait for you to fire enough
shots at them from cover until they died. Most of the encounters in The New
Order involve variations of a single enemy type: the heavily armored Nazi
soldier. That’s it. While there’s no denying how fun it was to shoot them until
their corpses littered the world, it would have been nice if they posed more of
a challenge. Like the Ubersoldat mentioned above, I never once had to worry about
a squadron of Nazis chasing me down when I dove for fresh cover or retreated to
find my bearings and a stronger position. If players choose to approach the
gunplay in The New Order tactically, foregoing simply run and gun grit, then
this could lead to some serious disappointment. To truly enjoy the game, I
found it better just to dive headfirst into the battles like a true madman
would. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_pQBQHlatqRNYiCQGQ7S4lPa1hDWPQa4i-ulkRfUzb-77PczWa1OjGj51V9ZXvcNVVVz5wfdW3dtuNCddP2op5SoYDJ_xWmJnN8Ng8STcy99O28-_X_xSkQuQrCclxlvrr9_mCl9-R0/s1600/Unknown-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_pQBQHlatqRNYiCQGQ7S4lPa1hDWPQa4i-ulkRfUzb-77PczWa1OjGj51V9ZXvcNVVVz5wfdW3dtuNCddP2op5SoYDJ_xWmJnN8Ng8STcy99O28-_X_xSkQuQrCclxlvrr9_mCl9-R0/s1600/Unknown-3.jpeg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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The madman I’m referring to is none other than the
reincarnation of B.J. Blaskowicz, the long-standing hero of the Wolfenstein
franchise. The designers at Machine Games pay homage to the series roots by
designing B.J. as a beefy all-American boy who enjoys nothing more than killing
Nazis left and right. One might assume that he sounds like a caricature, and I
would agree to that assertion throughout every Wolfenstein game up until The
New Order. In this particular story, B.J. has been given a voice and a real
human soul. Throughout the story, he is often mumbling some truly dark and
existential ponderings. This is a man who has suffered and has witnessed
suffering and cruelty. His whole life has revolved around righting Nazi wrongs,
after all, and by the time players encounter B.J. in The New Order, he is
literally a broken man. Thankfully for B.J., though, he is not alone in his
struggles. He will encounter a wide variety of allies throughout the story who
share his desire to sever the Nazi’s chokehold on the world. These people
weren’t dropped in just to fill story roles. Every one of them felt human and
real, with their own desires and flaws. Every one of them had a clear
resolution and purpose in the narrative. (Even Max Hass, the strong
“Lenny-like” simpleton proved to be more than occasional comic relief. He had a
complete character arc, which – in the end – almost brought me to tears.) <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLYGb3_l7aOAmnosqL8TKVxNxFRlRpk7JthlD8cmAZ2jBQau0TfKk4WpkfhuaUEwV5Ld7leCwKD75iseTdVRro9xw9U7a_O6hlqjZaVRN9WbSolcEhQ0S0eAKfIo-J64TP5RjiUgRdGg/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLYGb3_l7aOAmnosqL8TKVxNxFRlRpk7JthlD8cmAZ2jBQau0TfKk4WpkfhuaUEwV5Ld7leCwKD75iseTdVRro9xw9U7a_O6hlqjZaVRN9WbSolcEhQ0S0eAKfIo-J64TP5RjiUgRdGg/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a>While it’s true that each character had their own gestures
and voices that made them memorable, I felt that The New Order’s antagonist,
General Deathshead, was truly among the devious villains I’ve ever encountered
in a game story. While I would never personally condone eugenics or wholesale
genocide, the dialogue of Deathshead was written in a way to make it obvious
that he truly believed in the purity of his own megalomaniacal cause. Lines
such as “In work like this it is easy to be tempted to sense compassion… we
must learn that this is pointless instinct not fit for the master race!” and
“Can you imagine the splendor of… the intelligence of the human brain
amalgamated with the efficiency and obedience of the machine!” really characterize
him as a man defined by his agenda, and the horrific acts players witness him
perpetrate on screen will truly create a driving need to bring him to justice.
Sadly, I wish Deathshead had more of a presence in the game. He is absent for a
significant portion of The New Order. Thankfully, while he is “off-screen” an
equally compelling sub-villain named Frau Engel takes over for players to
direct their anger. Machine Games managed to nail down the eloquent evil of the
Nazi high command. Frau Engel commits some of the most chilling atrocities with
the warmest of motherly smiles spread across her wrinkled face. The effect of
the game’s evil characters truly makes the experience memorable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9AZ66aNZuQ_Uh-V0k2zxFrfCSX8kS2KlDh2w6tj8JDj9TkBc0aGxzcWIssyLLVBZOFyW2rhawEf0okMQmH54VkYQ7U-MaAJ0CF9D1Oiv0QVPfvD5V57eTTM56AuHxg2FC93jc3hcjFs/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9AZ66aNZuQ_Uh-V0k2zxFrfCSX8kS2KlDh2w6tj8JDj9TkBc0aGxzcWIssyLLVBZOFyW2rhawEf0okMQmH54VkYQ7U-MaAJ0CF9D1Oiv0QVPfvD5V57eTTM56AuHxg2FC93jc3hcjFs/s1600/images.jpeg" height="224" width="400" /></a>Perhaps my single gripe with the experience overall is that
I could not accurately define the tone of the narrative. “Am I supposed to be
laughing?” is a question I had to constantly ask myself. There seemed to be a
bit of a disconnect between the heartfelt, soulful character interactions and
the on-screen, gonzo action. This confusion was only amplified by the constant
sense that I was somehow missing some deep meaning in the story, as if there
had been a big plot twist that was working beneath the surface throughout the
experience that was never paid off by the end, or maybe I was just too dumb to
notice. Either the game was trying too hard to have a deep meaning and it
became lost in its own ambiguities, or it was only pretending to have one it
knew it could not achieve. On one hand you’re a beefy Nazi-killing machine, emptying
mags full of ammo into a sea of Nazi soldiers, sinking throwing knives into
Nazi skulls from across the room, sneaking around and slitting Nazi throats
undetected, and then, after everyone’s dead, you stop to catch your breath and
survey the carnage before you realize: you are Nazi-death incarnate. This kind
of gonzo action, which piles literally thousands of Nazi corpses at your feet
throughout the game, makes the game feel downright silly… But then on the other
hand, you’re just a lonely man whose sole purpose in life was taken away.
You’re broken because you awaken in a world where the bad guys won, where you
must literally face the realization that everything you bled for in the war was
lost and all your friends died for nothing. It’s a pretty powerful foundation
for story, actually, and the game really does build something great on top of
it. In the end, however, I just didn’t know which tone to expect in the scene around
the next corner, and therefore I never quite knew how I ought to react emotionally
when it came.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My advice to anyone who begins playing
Wolfenstein: The New Order is to decide early how they plan on absorbing the
story. Create a solid interpretation of its tone – either irreverent or serious
– during the first mission and then let the world seen through that lens
immerse you. I wish I had because I believe an already stellar gaming
experience would have been made all the more enjoyable. (It would have saved me
a lot of head scratching.) Will I ever play The New Order again? While Machine
Games thankfully did not throw in a multiplayer mode, in order to focus on
crafting an engaging story (which they achieved), I am most certainly eager to
play again to see how one very important choice in the first mission could be
made differently and how that would flavor the rest of B.J. Blaskowicz’s
encounters in the visually stunning Nazi-controlled 1960’s world.</span><!--EndFragment-->
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-20822769662914167462014-08-13T13:52:00.000-07:002015-03-08T19:45:53.696-07:00Review - Transistor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytvPkoCh7iDKzec-lWicgvjNwMd24fwlYRxuumjanOP8Y9KX_IvNCFcCvIuHTuiCqf50NrSVCoJEty23CZGeZU1hnOgG2fyWqhBpjs1IgNKw9r0GROti3DRE9bGTVmElftOBb_jTxVTE/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytvPkoCh7iDKzec-lWicgvjNwMd24fwlYRxuumjanOP8Y9KX_IvNCFcCvIuHTuiCqf50NrSVCoJEty23CZGeZU1hnOgG2fyWqhBpjs1IgNKw9r0GROti3DRE9bGTVmElftOBb_jTxVTE/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div>
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I hesitate to label what Supergiant Games does with their
work as a “formula.” Both of their releases (Bastion a few years ago and now
Transistor) share the same “groove.” The ingredients that form the experiences
of both games are relatively identical. Whereas Bastion had a narrator to
describe the onscreen action, Transistor has a commentator to provide more
emotional weight.</div>
<a name='more'></a>The core gameplay loop of both games revolves around
combining weapons to suit dynamic combat situations, but the potential loadouts
in Transistor exponentially eclipse the simplistic style of Bastion. Silent
protagonists, end-and-rebirth themes, practice arenas… I could go on forever.<o:p></o:p><br />
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But this isn’t a compare contrast essay. You’re here because
you want to know if Transistor is worth playing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztCrKzxvROrv9kmC0nlN2bN9uIHBy0U2H0Gc4bCSHOGWopExTStdf4bHSbLTJUJieS3dGm9jzt0ZUW2lNyv9DuDBrMcNhfv3EYXkKmtfPQl8d9ugVZFJ3lAkGAd0rHArSXQQsBZCsjjU/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztCrKzxvROrv9kmC0nlN2bN9uIHBy0U2H0Gc4bCSHOGWopExTStdf4bHSbLTJUJieS3dGm9jzt0ZUW2lNyv9DuDBrMcNhfv3EYXkKmtfPQl8d9ugVZFJ3lAkGAd0rHArSXQQsBZCsjjU/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a>The game doesn’t tell you very much about itself. It plays
hard to get. Some of the basic questions the average story-driven game answers
within the first hour of play are simply not posed in the beginning of
Transistor. Who is Red? Where is she? What happened? Who is she fighting? And
most importantly: Why should I care about this? Transistor doesn’t force itself
to be likeable right off the bat. I admit, my first impressions of the story
were negative because I felt utterly lost. But then, after I found Transistor’s
groove, and by the time I reached the absolutely breathtaking conclusion, I
understood that the experience was designed this way on purpose. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSvLvnM0426slQz7AVjNRF95hMdKtHwRi0nJxs7hAcYy0s4s-yvv7KLI0LjojW7cOv8mnc_CH6yRDz4jtVNd9nL0ty6b_y9G3GDFarUlSJBkNBYqOVCwN-NzLAvwmwo06sp7iFdVPT1c/s1600/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSvLvnM0426slQz7AVjNRF95hMdKtHwRi0nJxs7hAcYy0s4s-yvv7KLI0LjojW7cOv8mnc_CH6yRDz4jtVNd9nL0ty6b_y9G3GDFarUlSJBkNBYqOVCwN-NzLAvwmwo06sp7iFdVPT1c/s1600/images-1.jpeg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
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The incredible story (which does answer all of those
questions) is told in a few different ways. The more immediate action is
punctuated by comments from the Transistor itself as well as from reading short
articles at various news-stand kiosks throughout the city of Cloudbank. Every
time Red and the transistor encounter a fallen comrade, the transistor acquires
a new power, called a function, accompanied by a chunk of that person’s
biography. More sections of his or her story unlock as Red levels up that
function. The amount of reading over the course of the short experience was
overwhelming, however. Pausing the flow of the action to access them after
every unlock distracted from what made playing the game fun. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSekA29fot_GsHOoSA6Wl_uls5y0G2edISrfYWqfLLchPkQwP7pEjHa7rCP2iGgjW_6-fj20yanC_o6e6L5lN4zd-j_YT3svh85lC4wya590T7-RWRWXXn-XYH2BSKLoy75U-CXg9IaQ/s1600/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSekA29fot_GsHOoSA6Wl_uls5y0G2edISrfYWqfLLchPkQwP7pEjHa7rCP2iGgjW_6-fj20yanC_o6e6L5lN4zd-j_YT3svh85lC4wya590T7-RWRWXXn-XYH2BSKLoy75U-CXg9IaQ/s1600/images-3.jpeg" height="199" width="320" /></a></div>
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Similarly, with 16 different functions that can be combined
into potentially 256 different loadouts (or more, considering I’m bad at math),
I was also distracted by the constant desire to stop and tinker with the
possibilities. Battles occur within specific zones that lock Red inside after
she passes into them. There is a good variety of enemy types, known as the
Process, and like the functions at Red’s disposal they can lend one another a
hand in unique and challenging ways, ensuring that the same battle will rarely
play out the same way twice. The transistor allows Red to pause time and plan a
string of moves, limited by her current loadout. Seeing a well-laid plan – with
functions that compliment each other – unfold on the battlefield is extremely
rewarding.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
So why did I start to lose interest mid-way through the
game? Everything sounds good so far, right? Transistor puts the real burden of
discovering its story on the player, and if you’re not careful it can become a
tedious task that disrupts the flow of the action. After I figured out the
basics – that Red survived an attempt on her life by a revolutionary group
called The Cameratta and acquired the control mechanism created by the
Cameratta (the Transistor) to control the Process that were dismantling the
city of Cloudbank – I outright began ignoring the character profiles and combat
options and just played. The game instantly became more fun and satisfying as I
worked to its conclusion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oYMM09LAvzoVXm_frCN58HPu_C9fCUNDyXw5NvCAEMdiJ8IB2A9Qq-ZVa8lc2oWmWghY_MwR4CmBicEiIICIXahALnw2U0Bksa3AT_HmPu7VtxuaLaNbvr5t9ryQTZaU84UcAPm-0k0/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oYMM09LAvzoVXm_frCN58HPu_C9fCUNDyXw5NvCAEMdiJ8IB2A9Qq-ZVa8lc2oWmWghY_MwR4CmBicEiIICIXahALnw2U0Bksa3AT_HmPu7VtxuaLaNbvr5t9ryQTZaU84UcAPm-0k0/s1600/images-2.jpeg" height="224" width="400" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I enjoyed Transistor so much that I decided it
would be worth a second playthrough. The game’s artistic visuals and rhythmic
soundtrack make it easy to get lost in the experience. So long as you don’t get
trapped in the quicksand of function swapping and character biographies and
just let the story unfold, Transistor is an amazing game.</span><!--EndFragment-->
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-55591429679121970202014-07-16T13:39:00.000-07:002015-03-08T19:46:06.981-07:00Review - The Banner Saga<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChv88DubsjjondE6BHlSejWT5iF3CWo7qtxNpgA2x8Xskx-WgACfVGPbIQsiXzX8N-5qHElg7XotUGXf4itI8KIVobmBTd2_nfpwn7YDRd4G4Sn2q69q0z_Xb2N5hjvAOH3vZmRmuV1E/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChv88DubsjjondE6BHlSejWT5iF3CWo7qtxNpgA2x8Xskx-WgACfVGPbIQsiXzX8N-5qHElg7XotUGXf4itI8KIVobmBTd2_nfpwn7YDRd4G4Sn2q69q0z_Xb2N5hjvAOH3vZmRmuV1E/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></div>
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Much has already been written about the unique art style of
The Banner Saga, so I will simply say, “It is breathtaking.” I did not even
notice that the character portraits were not animated (besides their shifting
eyes) until I was halfway through the game. I realized that the hand-drawn art
served to activate my imagination and fill in the action. In my mind’s eye, I
saw their struggles on the road and their battles in the field. Despite the
lack of voice-overs, I heard them speak. Despite the lack of animation, I saw
them march and fight, suffer and starve, smile and rejoice. The storytelling in
The Banner Saga is so strong that these characters were truly drawn to life.<br />
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlanBvGx2_sBFyh3hcoye8LV7xvyV0JOwSXs9tZvEzHgNEY5GpgWBXq6ewyAERbUXZLb9C1nM1EAl5F0a1Y97Me28CioSIDzAdkKznis4eQNqMllwIhW9nqAPPy2wbrVugjFKxZZNVcw/s1600/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlanBvGx2_sBFyh3hcoye8LV7xvyV0JOwSXs9tZvEzHgNEY5GpgWBXq6ewyAERbUXZLb9C1nM1EAl5F0a1Y97Me28CioSIDzAdkKznis4eQNqMllwIhW9nqAPPy2wbrVugjFKxZZNVcw/s1600/images-1.jpeg" height="210" width="400" /></a></div>
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The breathtaking portraits and wind-swpet landscapes aside,
I found that the captivating story of The Banner Saga became its main gameplay
mechanic. Players are thrust into the role of a leader who must guide his
people along seemingly endless roads of hardship that twist throughout a world
on the brink of collapse. A race of dark, statue-like creatures known as Dredge
have been spotted, active again after hundreds of years, encroaching upon the
boundaries of men and giant beings called the Varl. Forces of Dredge sweep over
villages and kingdoms alike, destroying everything in sight, but not everything
is as it seems, as these monsters are being driven by an even darker, more
ancient force. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJTh5IndZQFb2Uq0elz6nsBUnauj3FyZcvRuOjsbfIUT11GX_EjKc8oieQhDfiidSRdK-NRhl-AY1VWakFHXNBVwXGaPQJzQ-BMCr3Emi9zfk7gYpD1HzmJbosdKSLpuf0OG0tiaraVI/s1600/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJTh5IndZQFb2Uq0elz6nsBUnauj3FyZcvRuOjsbfIUT11GX_EjKc8oieQhDfiidSRdK-NRhl-AY1VWakFHXNBVwXGaPQJzQ-BMCr3Emi9zfk7gYpD1HzmJbosdKSLpuf0OG0tiaraVI/s1600/images-3.jpeg" height="133" width="320" /></a>The game unfolds mostly along stretches of travel that are
punctuated by about a hundred scenarios that revolve around player choice. A
drunk trips and accidentally sets fire to a wagon of invaluable,
life-sustaining supplies. How will you dispense justice? Your scouts report a
large force of Dredge is lingering just outside the village ahead where you had
hoped to rest and raise morale. Will you press on and risk lives? An enemy
soldier that you spared several days ago sprints toward your caravan, out of
breath, claiming his friends are under attack in a nearby forest. Is it a trap?
Every choice has a consequence. Your people will live and die depending on your
leadership. The true enjoyment of experiencing The Banner Saga is found in
these choices. It was hard not to be emotionally impacted when my caravan’s
supplies ran out, but I knew we had to press on despite starvation to escape
the Dredge that chased us. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL12jZlYXI18cdnvLLnQP-BhTJubiWT2BjQlvJVONk-SHi_-ovZBizsr6G3JtLjx1PB0iYAoR78XQlaXGCrMyZpDnzjwGxh0QOXQulF2D5muumbvhPIdcEgzmdyTHZqfujdDsNinpe4j0/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL12jZlYXI18cdnvLLnQP-BhTJubiWT2BjQlvJVONk-SHi_-ovZBizsr6G3JtLjx1PB0iYAoR78XQlaXGCrMyZpDnzjwGxh0QOXQulF2D5muumbvhPIdcEgzmdyTHZqfujdDsNinpe4j0/s1600/images-2.jpeg" height="169" width="320" /></a>The battles that unfold when the Dredge (or human opponents)
finally do clash with your caravan play out on a tactical, turn-based
battlefield. Unfortunately, the battle system (the other half of the gameplay)
is not as engaging as the choice-driven story. Every choice you make on the
battlefield – movement, positioning, attack – is informed by every unit’s
simple numerical values: strength and armor. If players don’t first chip away
an enemy’s armor, they won’t survive. Additionally, without reducing an
opponent’s strength, your heroes are in for some serious hits. There are
special techniques that your heroes can unleash, but they don’t lend themselves
to tide-turning strategies very well. I rarely used them. It was much more
beneficial to spend a unit’s turn attacking armor or strength than using a
special technique. While the battles are very challenging and ultimately
satisfying when you can achieve victory against nearly impossible odds, they
become tedious move-and-attack actions without any dramatic flair. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While there is no fear of perma-death in The Banner Saga’s
tactical battles, there are definitely dramatic moments in the story that will
leave you gasping for breath. No one is safe from betrayal. The game’s narrative
will truly test your ability to trust others. The game examines the human
condition in a thought-provoking way. Characters you grow to care about can be
destroyed in an instant as a result of your actions and choices, or turn on you
when you least expect it. Yet at the same time, unbreakable bonds will be
formed with reluctant allies through acts of valor. It’s these unexpected
twists that give The Banner Saga’s story its true quality, in the same way that
George R. R. Martin is revered for killing off his fans’ favorite characters at
unforeseen moments throughout his novels. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Of course, all of my impressions of The Banner
Saga are based on a single playthrough, in which I tried to adhere to the role
of a cautious, compassionate, and merciful leader. As a result of my choices,
many people died because I could not bring myself to make some truly difficult
decisions. I am eager to experience The Banner Saga again and again to see how events
will be different when I choose to be a little more tyrannical and impulsive.
Despite its minimalist strategy gameplay, the core reason to experience The
Banner Saga is its story, and for that I highly recommend it.</span><!--EndFragment-->
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143438525687310591.post-52324256710330966602014-06-11T13:34:00.000-07:002015-03-08T19:46:20.399-07:00Review - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUDHuLmTNQQu2GXlguoQdPwj-YtrXaAT8QA5p7wfoFTHnQjkXVEJ3O7M_J1DaduK65tiCiY0-os2LQSgo6eI8hN0dg85O8Hnks7yxvtheCcu_SlFiXzSJHpbQrq02vgmF3sCauS64hx4/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUDHuLmTNQQu2GXlguoQdPwj-YtrXaAT8QA5p7wfoFTHnQjkXVEJ3O7M_J1DaduK65tiCiY0-os2LQSgo6eI8hN0dg85O8Hnks7yxvtheCcu_SlFiXzSJHpbQrq02vgmF3sCauS64hx4/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div>
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After the mind-bending closing cinematic of the first LoS, I
waited years for details about Gabriel Belmont’s second coming, imagining what
it would be like to stomp around Mercury Steam’s gloriously reinvigorated
Castlevania world in the legendary vampire’s boots. His prowess is certainly
felt in the challenging combat, but the addition of unneeded stealth gameplay
really detracts from the enjoyment.<br />
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rlFzl5pYAiY3p1QfqmqYRts_j2LDb2hodtt7H58MHg4Hhf2V4X84RIjhZp-NoBFUGp2Q0BPFf67AuZn8HYi15g7IOULCitSG0TqO1BCDHyoSwYAdPNNs8jjdSkWn5n_XY9uABitK4bQ/s1600/Castlevania-Lords-Of-Shadow-2-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rlFzl5pYAiY3p1QfqmqYRts_j2LDb2hodtt7H58MHg4Hhf2V4X84RIjhZp-NoBFUGp2Q0BPFf67AuZn8HYi15g7IOULCitSG0TqO1BCDHyoSwYAdPNNs8jjdSkWn5n_XY9uABitK4bQ/s1600/Castlevania-Lords-Of-Shadow-2-3.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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A tutorial segment catches us up on Dracula’s history
between the Ressurection DLC and the ending cinematic of LoS1 which showed him
emerging in a modern world. The castle is under siege, and players control Dracula
at the height of his vampiric powers, blasting apart soldiers like soggy paper.
An apocalyptic light clears away the invaders, and Dracula is left to face off
against the last man standing, his son Alucard. Just as things start to get
interesting with that scene, the game abruptly wrests control away and launches
into a narrated collage to dump backstory (and summarize Mirror of Fate in case
you missed it like me) which completely breaks immersion. The story picks back
up when modern-day, decrepit Dracula awakens and seeks to reclaim his lost
powers in order to stop Satan from returning and destroying the world. This
true start of the story felt like recovery after being thrown from a cliff.
There were too many threads left untied, too many unanswered questions about
how and why Dracula slept for millennia. Thankfully, as the rest of the story
plays out, there is a well conceived plot twist that satisfies all curiosity,
but I was scratching my head in confusion for the first 2/3 of the game leading
up to it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHv3Jm6N14GzvGAFYzsZstvgyGy3bxxnJabpqa4TTVDJKvWw5c7UQ4FMgI3aGFMgVo2m6RbD0pLxGdUQFKJ3QfcR28gWO8hYiRSXdCPrm9EPsk5FCUfq-0s6yN4n882CEi83BSFZY106w/s1600/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHv3Jm6N14GzvGAFYzsZstvgyGy3bxxnJabpqa4TTVDJKvWw5c7UQ4FMgI3aGFMgVo2m6RbD0pLxGdUQFKJ3QfcR28gWO8hYiRSXdCPrm9EPsk5FCUfq-0s6yN4n882CEi83BSFZY106w/s1600/images-1.jpeg" height="223" width="400" /></a>The quest to regain Dracula’s power will take him through a
mostly abandoned city built upon the ruins of the massive vampire castle from
the first game. The environments are designed well enough, and I found myself
stopping to take in the breathtaking art and architecture that’s strewn across
practically every wall. It may be beautiful, but it’s not vibrantly so. The
city feels lifeless. There is no compelling reason to explore the environments
besides collecting shards to increase health or mana or to find scrolls that
explain the history of the city, but I found myself drawn to doing so anyway
simply to see every corner of the artistic levels. Thankfully, not all of
Dracula’s time is spent amidst the cold stones of the city, as there are plenty
of flashbacks that carry him through portals into the hallways of the immense,
titular castle that defines the series.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The combat is where Lords of Shadow 2 really shines. The
fast-paced, challenging encounters that made the first game so enjoyable have
returned. Gone are the light and shadow magic combos that were added to
Gabriel’s whip, replaced with entirely new weapons in Dracula’s arsenal. The
vampire killer whip has been ditched in favor of a congealed cord of blood that
can be summoned at will. Light magic is replaced by Dracula’s icy Void Sword,
which can steal life. Shadow magic has become the fiery Chaos Claws that
deliver slow but devastating attacks. Players will still have to spend points
earned in combat to unlock combos for these weapons, but a new experience
system boosts the power of the preferred weapon. The more you use it, the more
powerful and vital the weapon becomes for defeating the tougher foes later on. All
in all, the developers maintained the feel of the game’s core combat mechanics
with just enough tweaks to keep it fresh.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51tiZxAwRbp5FJMGcTliC5j8POxGwlwG0L6DE0TjTorKcyLYloWKTNawo42Qm2NIhiHOp4KhAYeav6L39bJoRWbwuNv2tsiuIIowiSEI1Gunk9hgeUEpsHGCCnhDo09pIcs5L0dnoG7I/s1600/lordsofshadow2-115-610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51tiZxAwRbp5FJMGcTliC5j8POxGwlwG0L6DE0TjTorKcyLYloWKTNawo42Qm2NIhiHOp4KhAYeav6L39bJoRWbwuNv2tsiuIIowiSEI1Gunk9hgeUEpsHGCCnhDo09pIcs5L0dnoG7I/s1600/lordsofshadow2-115-610.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a>If the game had simply stuck to what it does best – tell an
engaging tale punctuated with periods of thrilling battles – Lords of Shadow 2
would have been a well-rounded experience, but by adding a frustrating stealth
element to some of the modern city’s environments, the developers went a little
too far experimenting with the formula. These sections thankfully don’t last
very long, so long as you can perfectly time the awareness of invincible guards
that can kill the prince of darkness in a single shot. This instant death might
have made sense in the beginning of the game, when Dracula was starting to
reacquire his powers, but the ridiculousness of it sets in later when he is at
or near full strength. If Dracula is strong enough to kill Satan, then why
can’t he take out a couple of Satan’s test-tube soldiers? Implementing the
stealth sections of the game only served to frustrate me from time to time, and
they really broke immersion with the rest of the game which was just fine as
is. I respect Mercury Steam’s desire to add new gameplay, but the stealth
elements were too poorly designed and implemented to be any real fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite this minor grievance, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
provides a satisfying conclusion to the arc of Gabriel Belmont. Had the
developers simply stuck to their whips, tweaking the already fun combat in
minor ways only, rather than force an unneeded and frustrating stealth
component, the overall experience of Lords of Shadow 2 would have benefited greatly.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660969045603077573noreply@blogger.com