Bonus Points Archive

Flower

Playing Flower will put you to sleep. That’s not an insult, it’s a testament to how relaxing the game truly is. I’ve never been so able to sit down with a game and simply unwind. And really, that’s the entire point of Flower. There’s no enemies, no death traps, no way to fail at the game at all. The story, what little there is, is an abstract allegory of the power of nature and how it can coexist with our modern world. At least I think it is. What’s presented can be interpreted in many different ways so each player will get something unique out of it, much to Flower’s credit.

Simplicity is the goal of Flower and that’s apparent in the controls. By merely pressing a button and tilting the Sixaxis, you guide your initial flower petal into other flowers to cause them to bloom. With each flower bloomed another petal is added to your train and by the end of each level can number in the hundreds to an impressive effect. As flowers are bloomed, more of the level is opened up until the end is reached. And that’s all there is to it. Flower is all about taking in the sights and enjoying the experience. Granted, the experience is only an hour or two long, but there is some replay value to the game. Each of the six levels have three secret flowers to bloom, some of which can be a challenge to discover. I’d also recommend going for the Trophies as they consist more of challenges than the standard ‘beat a level, get a Trophy’ variety.
It’s the visuals and sound design that make Flower what it is in truth. Every blade of glass is individually rendered and reacts realistically as the wind blows through. Colors pop off the screen especially as petals of all types swirl together in your train. It’s all beautiful to watch and sets your mind at ease. The scenes at the end of a level where everything comes to life is incredible to watch and is comparable to the same sequences in Okami. The music is all low key and adds to the relaxed nature of the game. Each flower bloomed also adds a musical note which is its own little reward. The effect is that even if you only watch the game, you’ll still be able to unwind and even take a nap.

If you prefer games that are action packed and keep you excited, Flower isn’t for you. However, if you want a unique experience or just a way to take things easy, it’s worth a look.

8.0/10

Pixeljunk Shooter

Pixeljunk Shooter is a lot like the classic arcade game, Defender. Both look like side-scrolling shooters, but the main goal is actually to rescue civilians. Pixeljunk Shooter goes one step further by adding a third element that I’ve never encountered before and makes the game stand out. The basic setup for the rescue mission is that it is hundreds of years in the future and mankind has begun excavating unknown planets for resources. On one planet, the excavation has accidentally unleashed a horde of monsters that have the team trapped. It’s a simple premise, but it serves the gameplay well.

There are three main aspects to the gameplay of Pixeljunk Shooter: rescuing civilians, shooting monsters, and solving the environmental puzzles. All three blend in together so it never becomes obvious that you’re being directed to do one or the other. The civilians are often guarded by monsters or a puzzle. Destroying monsters actually requires more precision than the average shooter. Stray shots could kill the civilians and though you won’t lose immediately, if enough die you’ll have to restart the level. The greatest challenge throughout the game is the environmental puzzles. Water, lava, loose rock, ice, magnets, explosive gas, and a black liquid all come into play and have different effects on each other. By discovering these effects and controlling how the elements flow is the only way to make it through each level with the challenge steadily increasing as the game progresses. These puzzles are the true star of the game and are a lot of fun to work your way through.

Precision shooting and element manipulation would be much more difficult without good control, something that’s no trouble at all for Pixeljunk Shooter. The ship can rotate 360 degrees and comes equipped with a blaster that can be charged for homing missiles. There’s also a grappling hook, which is used to grab civilians and items. Temporary upgrades are available and equip the ship with a lava or water cannon to further help with the puzzles. The only real problem with the game is that it is a short experience and can be completed in about three or four hours. What makes it worse is that it ends with a “To Be Continued.” It would have been great if the developers had extended the development time and make the planned sequel a part of the first game.

The game’s look is what will catch your attention before even pressing a button. It’s crisp and clear with colors that easily stand out. The style aids in this by making everything seem as if it was cut from felt. The pleasing look extends to the impressive liquid effects as everything flows naturally and reacts instantly to touching a different element. Water moves the fastest while the lava looks like it’s thicker and a bit slower. The soundtrack gives the whole experience a cool feeling. The music is upbeat and catchy, rarely slowing the tracks down though some do help set the mood. The whole game comes across as active and fun loving.

Pixeljunk Shooter is a fun and unique game that comes up short in terms of length. It’s so enjoyable that you don’t want to stop. There are collectibles to find and trophies to earn, but the freshness is gone somewhat after the first playthrough. It’s still worth a look though your mileage from the game may vary.

8.1/10

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Before its release, Heavy Rain was viewed as a noble experiment; a game that had potential but was unlikely to create an enjoyable playing experience. Most gamers have grown annoyed at quick-time events and few buy games for the story alone. By all rights this concept should have failed, but it doesn’t. The formula works well and crafts one of the most memorable gaming experiences I have ever encountered. If you own a Playstation 3, you owe it to yourself to play Heavy Rain.

Much of that glowing endorsement comes from the story itself. While I won’t spoil any of it here, I will say that the hunt for the Origami Killer is as riveting as any movie. The fact that the choices you make as you progress affect the outcome makes it deeply personal as well. I’ve talked with several others who have completed the game and all of them have had a slightly different experience. The story isn’t perfect by any means though. There are several plot holes and the opening hours can be slow. Compared to the overall story, these are just minor gripes. If the plot wasn’t as strong as it is, the game wouldn’t be nearly as good. The story’s true strength is in its characterization. All four playable characters are likable and realistic. It’s incredible how quickly you become attached to each one. You care about their well-being and try to help them survive the entire game. It wasn’t readily apparent just how connected I felt with them until a certain choice later in the game. The outcome wouldn’t affect the character’s physical health but rather his emotional state, and I couldn’t make a decision. Moments like this are peppered throughout the game, and you come to invest a stake in these character’s lives.

Though the game has been labeled one long quick-time event, the description doesn’t exactly hold water. If anything, the game most closely resembles classic PC adventure games. The button prompts come in three forms which I’ve come to call exploration, classic, and twister. Exploration allows you to freely move around an area and interact with objects. It’s the simplest but adds the most to the immersion of the game. When you’re following prompts constantly, it quickly becomes second nature. The classic prompts work the same as quick-time events from games like God of War and Resident Evil 4. You must hit the right buttons in order for a scene to continue in an advantageous way. Finally, the twister form is completely original to Heavy Rain. In it you must hold down certain buttons until the prompts disappear. While it starts you with two or three, eventually you’ll hold down up to five and be continually switching between buttons. It’s easy to get your hands twisted and perfectly simulates the effort to do the action. The prompts will sometimes shake or rotate to show the mental stress of the action as well. All three forms come together to create a completely immersive experience that likely couldn’t have been done any other way.

Beyond the prompts the only control you have is walking, which is handled by holding R2 and aiming the left analog stick, and seeing a character’s thoughts by holding L2. It’s not a necessary feature, but it gives you insight into the emotional state of characters as well as give clues to options you might not think of yourself. Unfortunately, the walking controls can be wonky at times and often found myself going in the completely opposite direction. It’s not a huge problem but can ruin some of the immersion. The worst problem I encountered was that button presses wouldn’t register at times which didn’t bother me until the end when it really mattered. I pushed a button, it wasn’t recognized, and my character died. It was frustrating to say the least and though I could have replayed the chapter, the experience wouldn’t be the same. Multiple playthroughs are encouraged for the game to see all the possibilities but only the first one will give you emotional impact. The others feel like reading the other endings of a choose your own adventure novel.

The graphics try to sell you on the immersiveness of the game, but they only work about half of the time. The character models and environments are extraordinarily detailed. Each character looks like a real person down to the hairs on their arms. Environments impressed even more with every product in a story labeled and the smallest debris rendered convincingly. The game can look truly impressive at times. However it’s when characters, especially the playable ones, begin to move that the cracks begin to show. Sometimes the movements can look good but most of the time the motion is so stiff that it can be distracting, especially when everything else looks so good. Even worse is when items are picked up and hover a few inches away from the hand. Graphical glitches happen occasionally as well where objects will get stuck in the air. The game is still one of the best looking on the Playstation 3, but it makes these hiccups all the more apparent.

Sound design in Heavy Rain is another hit or miss. The music fares the best with most tracks being unobtrusive and usually heightening the tension or excitement of a scene. The main theme is memorable and every song adds to the experience. Voice acting is hit or miss with performances that stand out as really good and others that are almost laughable at times. Certain scenes are read with little to no emotion when there obviously should be. All four main characters are spot-on though with side characters often pronouncing things strangely or lacking the emotion needed. The sound is good overall and enough to get you invested in the story.

It’s easy to nitpick a game like Heavy Rain. The developers at Quantic Dream made a bold move and it paid off for the most part. The game isn’t perfect but it’s well worth experiencing. I guarantee that the flaws won’t matter as you become enraptured by the story. Don’t miss this game.

9.1/10

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The Professor Layton games are a lot like curling up with your favorite book. It’s comfort food for the gamer soul, striking the perfect balance between casual and hardcore gaming. As long as you enjoy puzzles, anyone can get into the world of Professor Layton. His newest adventure, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, is something that all ages can enjoy. It doesn’t talk down to kids as the central mystery revolves around a murder. That central mystery is also puzzling enough that veteran gamers won’t be able to discern the answers immediately. Unfortunately, like any great mystery story, the Diabolical Box can only be solved once and have you be truly surprised.

This new tale begins with Professor Layton receiving a letter from his friend and mentor, Dr. Schrader. The letter tells of how the doctor has acquired a mysterious item known as the Elysian Box, which is said to kill any who open it. Layton feels uneasy and goes to visit his friend but discovers him dead and the box missing. With a blank train ticket on the Molentary Express as the only clue, Layton and and his apprentice, Luke, set out to solve the mystery. The story does not confine the player to a solitary town this time. Players will be able to explore the Molentary Express as well as the towns beyond which helps keep things fresh and gives the sense that progress is being made. The mystery itself is quite good and even though I was able to guess many of the revelations, the central question was tricky enough to elude me. The answers are also doled out at a more even pace than the Curious Village, which had all the solutions piled on at the very end. The story is well worth experiencing and helps guide you from puzzle to puzzle.

Gameplay hasn’t changed much from the previous game. It’s still a puzzle adventure where you explore your surroundings and talk to various people. Each will give you a classic brain teaser to solve with the difficulty measured in Picarats. The more Picarats you can earn, the more difficult the puzzle will be. Picarats are also worth earning because the total collected at the end of the game determine what bonuses you unlock. Hint coins are also hidden around the locales and can be spent to unlock up to three hints on a single puzzle. The puzzles themselves can range from simple and easy to mindbogglingly frustrating. Despite that, a little patience and alternative thinking is all it takes to get through most puzzles. Perhaps the greatest improvement to the game is how puzzles have been implemented into the game. Rather than having most puzzles thrown at you have little to do with what’s going on in the story, Diabolical Box’s puzzles usually have something to do with what you’re experiencing. There’s a greater sense of satisfaction when the puzzle you solve feels like it actually had an impact on what is going on.

There’s more to do beyond the standard puzzles though. As the game progresses, you stumble upon a broken camera, an overweight hamster, and a tea set. Solving certain puzzles gives you items to use in the completion of these sidequests. The broken camera acts as a variation on a jigsaw puzzle. Exercising the fat hamster is all about using items to maximize how far he can walk. The tea set focuses on trying every combination of ingredients and serving the correct flavor of tea to the right person. None are that difficult to do but each provide tangible benefits to finishing them. The only real problem is that even with these extras, there’s not much replay value to the game. There’s especially difficult puzzles you can unlock and you can retry puzzles at any time, but once you solve a puzzle, the challenge is gone. That’s not to say you won’t get a lengthy main game with a healthy 12-15 hour experience.

Much like the gameplay, the graphics of the Diabolical Box hasn’t changed much. It still has the French influenced character designs that give the game its unique flair. The style lends itself well to immediately recognizable and memorable characters. The location design is also top-notch, starting out normal and getting more abstract as the game goes on. The use of animated cutscenes has also been expanded and are great fun to watch, often setting the mood for the next section of gameplay. The voice acting, which has also been increased, is excellent and serves the alternate Britain setting well. The music, while using many songs from the first game, is fantastic with some of the best tunes in the second half. It’s difficult to really expect anything more of the sequel when the original established such great presentation already.

If you enjoyed the first Professor Layton adventure, there’s no reason you won’t enjoy the Diabolical Box. It has more puzzles, more sidequests, and a better mystery. If you’re new to Professor Layton, he’s still worth checking out. The game’s stories are independent enough that you can still understand almost everything that’s going on. Personally, I cannot wait until the third game is released on our shores.

8.3/10

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Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to actually beat a game this week so instead I decided to make list of the top 10 games in my collection.  It was tough narrowing it down from the over 200 games I own, but I think the list is an excellent sample of the type of games I enjoy.

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It always felt like Kingdom Hearts was developed just for me. I am a massive animation fan, and there’s no greater animation house than Disney. To combine their classic characters with the Final Fantasy aesthetic, it was like my dream game had been made. While most thought it was destined to fail, I saw the potential of the game. The final product exceeded even the possibilities I imagined. Square-Enix tapped into the darker side of Disney stories while still keeping it accessible to kids. Unlike Final Fantasy, however, the Kingdom Hearts series strives for continuity between games. 358/2 Days (pronounced 358 Days Over 2) is perhaps the greatest victim to this due to its specific placing in the timeline. That’s not to say it’s not an excellent game. It just isn’t the best jumping-on point for new fans.

The major reason for this is because the main character has changed from series mainstay Sora to a Nobody, a being with no heart, named Roxas. 358/2 Days is essentially Roxas’s life story and covers the 358 days between a certain event in Kingdom Hearts to the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 2, which also means that parts of it coincide with the events of Chain of Memories. Because of this, the only way to get the complete story is to play Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories. That caveat makes it great for fans of the series but a difficult starting point for new players. It is entirely possible for new players to enjoy the game. They just won’t get the full picture.

With that said, the story is excellent and one of the best parts of the game. It takes a lot of cues from Crisis Core in that it isn’t about saving the world; it’s a personal journey for Roxas to discover who he is. His tale focuses on friendship, sacrifice, and what makes up the heart. Refreshingly, the Disney worlds featured in the game center more on giving Roxas an idea of what makes up the heart than retelling the plots from the movies. The story follows the same structure of previous games where an overall mystery and character development take up the first two-thirds of the game with the final third providing all the major payoffs. It’s a slow build but one that works. The only real problem is that it references plot points of the other games but never resolves them since they were resolved in their respective stories. 358/2 Days is designed to provide a greater insight to Roxas and the rest of the Organization while showing the backstory of some elements of Kingdom Hearts 2. That’s what makes it such a hard game to break into plot-wise.

Even though newcomers may have some trouble with the story, they’ll have no problems getting into the battle systems. For the most part, it’s the console experience of Kingdom Hearts on the DS, which is an impressive feat. A new move was even added in that Roxas can perform Limit Breaks when his health gets low. The major difference for 358/2 Days is that everything is dictated by panels. Every action Roxas can take and all of his stats are linked to panels. These panels can be found in chests, dropped by enemies, and bought or synthesized in shops and can be everything from potions and ethers to keyblades and even levels. As you complete missions, you collect slot releasers that allow you to use more panels. The more powerful the weapon, ability, or magic, the more panels it takes up. It’s a brilliant system that allows for a lot of customization and strategy. No two players will have the exact same set of panels and game plan.

358/2 Days also changes things by getting rid of the natural flow of past games and opting for a mission structure instead. It’s a perfect fit for the handhelds as you can jump in, play a few missions, and go about your day. The missions generally focus on taking out Heartless but there’s a few where you must explore the worlds or collect emblems in a timed challenge. Surprisingly, a few of the bosses can be difficult and I scraped by on a few battles with the smallest of health. Death doesn’t really derail you as you’re brought back in before the battle with full health. Even if you do become stuck, it’s possible to withdraw from the mission and train in the holo-missions of previous days. As much as the mission structure has going for it, by the end of the game, it’s just too repetitious. You’re doing the same missions over and over again except with different enemies and in a different world. Even by the end, you have likely seen every world three times over. Fortunately, by that point, the plot really kicks into gear and helps drive you forward to the end.

The game also boasts a Mission Mode where players can take part in missions as any member of the Organization as well as a few secret characters that can be unlocked. Each character feels unique and can be a lot of fun to play as. Then there’s the option to play through the missions with up to three of your friends. Unfortunately, I was never able to try this feature out so I can’t say how fun it is but if it works like the rest of the game, you’ll likely have a blast. Even without access to the multiplayer, the game provides a 25 to 30 hour quest depending on how much you try to unlock. It all adds up to a game that plays like its predecessors but has enough new features to stand out on its own.

It’s become expected at this point, but it’s still impressive to see the handiwork of the artists at Square-Enix. 358/2 Days is one of the best looking 3D games on the DS. The character models can be quite detailed when viewed up close but the clarity dissipates the farther you are from them and often some characters have no face. That’s not a huge issue especially since they somehow found a way to squeeze entire worlds from the Playstation 2 games into it. They are faithfully recreated even though the resolution isn’t as high. The tradeoff is that there are very few worlds to visit, seven in total with a few smaller areas in-between, and few characters to interact with. It makes sense for the Organization to avoid most characters, but it’s still disappointing.

The art of the game truly stands out in the enemy design. While many are rehashes or reappearances by old enemies, there are plenty of new ones with fantastic designs. There are even some sections of the game where the screen is filled with enemies, though of the simpler variety, and there’s not a hint of slowdown. It’s quite the impressive display. The sound design also has great quality but there aren’t any new tracks in the game. If you’ve played any of the other Kingdom Hearts games, then you’ve heard these songs. It’s not bad but I wish more effort had been put into it. The voice acting mostly consists of battle grunts, laughs, and sighs though the voice acting in cutscenes is top-notch. I never would have imagined listening to Christopher Lee in a DS game.

358/2 Days is a definite step up in quality over the last portable Kingdom Hearts game, Chain of Memories. Somehow Square-Enix was able to fit the console experience on the DS with only a few sacrifices. The game, while not essential to the overall plot of Kingdom Hearts, does provide some precious tidbits and backstory to the series. It’s a game about character development, and it succeeds on that front. However, I can’t see this game pulling in new fans. It’s more of a love letter to the existing fans. One that I’m sure they’ll appreciate.

8.8/10

MC Chris on Kingdom Hearts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v22vOmJzoCQ

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There’s something fascinating about historical fiction. The idea that our ancestors held long-forgotten secrets in artifacts and structures that still survive today excites the treasure hunting adventurer in all of us. That there might even be grand conspiracies behind it all is even more enticing. It’s why movies like National Treasure and books like The Da Vinci Code are so popular. The Assassin’s Creed series tries to tap into this genre as well by allowing players to see these grand conspiracies as they play out. The first game laid the groundwork and was mostly successful from a narrative standpoint. However, the gameplay was far too repetitious to make it a classic. Now Assassin’s Creed 2 is here with promises of a far better experience, and it delivers.

The world of Assassin’s Creed takes place in the year 2012 and focuses on a man named Desmond. He was taken captive in the first game and forced to use a machine known as the Animus, which allows him to relive digital versions of his genetic memories and see the lives of his ancestors who happen to be Assassins. The sequel picks up soon after the end of the first game with Desmond escaping his captors and needing to learn how to be an Assassin. He enters the life of his ancestor, Ezio Auditore de Firenze, and follows his story. Much of Ezio’s life centers on revenge and discovering the conspiracy behind his family’s fall from grace.

The story is much more confident this time around. Where the first felt meandering and unimportant, the sequel knows exactly what kind of story it wants to tell. The main plot focuses on Ezio’s revenge and his evolution into a true Assassin but gives time to develop his personality so you actually care about his quest. For those that want to dig deeper into the game’s mythology, there are codex pages to find and ready and scattered pieces of data that provide puzzles which lead to the “Truth.” This mythology can actually be quite entertaining for history aficionados, and the puzzles, at least at first, are clever and fun. How you react to the game’s version of historical events is up to your tastes. Personally, I found the information related to history fascinating, but the “Truth” video and the end reveal were a little weird.

Looking beyond the story and at the gameplay, it becomes obvious that Assassin’s Creed didn’t exactly have largest repertoire of abilities. There was the hidden blade, throwing daggers, sword, and that was about it. This has been corrected for the sequel. Several different weapons are now at your disposal with each type having different stats and kill animations. There are also two hidden blades now, which are immensely satisfying to use as well as poison and a hidden pistol. It’s entirely possible to beat the game without any of these, but they help allay the repetition that starts to set in as the game goes on. The free running returns to the game as well but it’s one of the few things that was done better in the first game. The camera occasionally wants to show off Ezio more than where you’re jumping, but it was the architecture of the Italian Renaissance that gave me the most headaches. Roofs tend to slope and hide other objects you can leap on. It challenges your perspective and jumps you thought you could make turn out to be farther away. I ended up with more frustration over free running than fun. Assassin’s Creed 2 also gives you the option of hiring groups to distract guards or keep you hidden. Swimming and piloting gondolas are available though neither are particularly fun. The same can be said of the much hyped but underutilized flying machine. It’s a diverse enough set of abilities to keep you occupied, but repetition still sets in during the last quarter of the game.

The greatest improvement to the game is easily the mission structure. Rather than having you collect intel by repeating the same actions ad nauseam, it adopts the Grand Theft Auto model of giving you a snippet of story and sending you on your mission. Most objectives are designed to bring you closer to the target until the inevitable assassination. This design helps the story move at a brisker pace even though the game is surprisingly long. The missions feel varied for most of the game and some even change in the middle based off unknown circumstances. But toward the end of the game, you’ll recognize each type of mission and the repetitious feeling sets in. The game tries to rectify this by adding sidequests, which do help but most of those grow tiresome as well with the exception of the hidden tombs and the “Truth” puzzles. The tombs are pure platforming at its best and some can provide a good challenge. I mostly enjoyed the “Truth” puzzles because of the alternate history they provided rather than the puzzles themselves. Some could be clever but most were either too easy or way too obtuse. They were all able to hold my interest though.

Then there’s the town that you can help rebuild. I had little interest in it at first, but I soon found myself addicted to improving the town. It acts as your home base throughout the game and is a physical representation of everything you’ve collected in the game. The money you earn from missions or in hidden chests can be spent to improve the town and eventually transform it from a forgotten mess into a thriving villa. All the weapons, armor, and classic paintings you collect is also displayed for your perusal. As the town grows more prosperous, the more money you are able to collect back. The problem is that as you get the town back on its feet, you have less uses for the money earned. By the time I beat the game, I was sitting on over 200,000 in cash.

For all my gripes about the gameplay, Ubisoft Montreal nailed the setting. I’ve never been to Italy, but it certainly feels like that’s how it actually was. The graphics are aided by a database that provides background information on all the people you meet and places you see. It provides greater context to all the things you experience as you explore Italian cities and some of the countryside. It all looks amazing. However, the character models did not fare so well. They all have fluid animation, which is especially impressive with a city full of people, but the look of them is hit or miss. Some, like Ezio and Desmond, look quite good and almost realistic. Others look downright ridiculous. One look at their mouths and you’ll know what I mean. The worst offender of the entire game is actually the second character you meet. It leaves a bad impression that is eventually cast aside when you see the city designs.

One of the first things you’ll want to do when you start the game is turn on the subtitles. There’s a lot of Italian interspersed throughout the dialog and while none of it is vital to the plot, it provides some of the finer details. You’ll also learn how to swear in Italian which is a fun touch. The voice acting and music are excellent across the board though I think the musical accompaniment is a tad limited. Sounds bites from the crowds also repeat often, but that’s only nitpicking.

The highly repetitive nature of the original Assassin’s Creed forced me to play the game in small bursts. With the sequel, I had trouble putting the controller down. The game can still get repetitive toward the end, but the experience is much grander than before. The story drives you to see what’s next, and I found myself trying different tactics to see all of the combat possibilities. The team at Ubisoft Montreal did a great job of listening to fan complaints and creating a tighter game. I hope they continue the trend and provide a satisfying conclusion when the inevitable sequel arrives.

8.5/10

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I was unable to finish a game for review this week so instead I posted 20 questions.  In episode 3, I give my answers to my own questions.

1. What’s your favorite game in your collection?

2. What’s one game you wished you owned but don’t?

3. What’s the worst game you’ve ever played?

4. Is there a game that you hate that everyone else seems to love? What is it?

5. What’s your favorite movie of all time?

6. What song best describes you?

7. What’s your favorite gaming genre?

8. What is your guilty pleasure?

9. What is the greatest console of all time?

10. 360, PS3, or Wii? Which do you play the most?

11. What’s your longest gaming session?

12. What game would you turn into a movie or TV show?

13. What’s the best gaming enemy of all time?

14. Who’s the best dressed gaming character?

15. Would you like to see Pixar make a video game?

16. Which developer would you like to work for?

17. What’s the first game you ever played?

18. Which blogger would you like to meet most?

19. Booth babes: yay or nay?

20. Which game have you played the most?

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Epic storylines, menu-based gameplay, and deep characters; these are the hallmarks of the Japanese RPG. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story has none of those and I couldn’t be happier. The Mario & Luigi series makes sure to never take itself seriously and goes for that humorous tone much more than an epic one. If anything, it makes a great starter RPG that even genre veterans can still enjoy. Bowser’s Inside Story continues this trend by perhaps being the best of the series. It’s a funny claim to make since it’s Bowser that makes this one shine.

A disease known as the Blorbs have struck the Mushroom Kingdom. Citizens are ballooning up to enormous sizes and are unable to move. Meanwhile, Bowser is offered a mysterious mushroom that is supposed to increase his power. Instead, he inhales Mario, Luigi, Peach, and many Toads before losing his abilities. It turns out series villain Fawful is behind it all and quickly takes over Bowser’s and Peach’s castles. It’s now up to Mario and Luigi to explore Bowser’s body and power him up while he attempts to reclaim his castle and get revenge on Fawful. The story is ludicrous fun and serves to set up many of the new gameplay elements of Bowser’s Inside Story. It’s great to see Fawful finally be promoted to Main Boss status and get a full dose of his unique humor. He stands out from all the other characters just because of his crazy dialog. Bowser and Luigi also steal the show as the game progresses. Bowser comes across as a lovable dumb brute with an evil streak and Luigi livens up dull moments with his physical comedy. The best thing I can say about the story is that it’s guaranteed to make you smile.

If you’ve played any of the past Mario & Luigi games, you’ll know what to expect from Bowser’s Inside Story. Both brothers are controlled at the same time with Mario’s actions mapped to the A-button and Luigi’s to the B-button. Surprisingly, a full three-quarters of the time spent as Mario and Luigi is in 2D. It’s a refreshing perspective for the series though the battles are still handled the same. Players can get the jump (literally) on enemies for an opening attack although the reverse is true. Unlike other RPGs where you could push buttons in your sleep and still do well, Mario & Luigi is an active experience. Proper timing on your attacks yield damage bonuses, and it’s entirely possible to dodge every enemy attack or even counterattack them. The battle system works as well as ever, but there aren’t any significant changes until you play as Bowser.

Bowser should not be as entertaining as he is. His battles are handled the same way as Mario and Luigi. He’s played from the overhead perspective, but he is the most invigorating part of the game. He’s filled with new abilities while the Mario Bros. stayed the same. Bowser also handles the DS better than Mario and Luigi ever did in their previous DS effort, Partners in Time. All of his special attacks are handled with the stylus, which is used in a variety of ways. And then there are the moments when Bowser grows to Godzilla-sized proportions. There’s only a handful of times when this happens but when they do, they are some of the best moments in the game. The DS is turned vertically to accommodate Bowser’s size and the stylus is used to control his punches while blowing into the mic controls his fire breath. The game would be nowhere near as fun without Bowser.

Beyond the basic gameplay, there are quite a few side missions that can be taken. Mario and Luigi have challenge rooms where they can challenge harder versions of bosses to earn extra coins. There’s also beans hidden underground all over which can increase their stats along with ten Attack Blocks that are scattered around certain areas which will grant the brothers new special attacks. Bowser has his own share of sidequests which net him extra coins, equipment, and attacks. While none of these are absolutely necessary to beating the game, they will increase your playtime and make the main quest easier.

However, the game does have its share of problems. The most glaring one is that there’s just too many tutorials. Every new action that is learned has a tutorial to go along with it. There’s a lot of moves in the first place but when you add the multitude of minigames that Mario and Luigi do to power up Bowser, it gets a little ridiculous. The first five or so hours felt like an extended tutorial mission. Now, they are all skippable but I couldn’t do that after a while because I was missing clues on the timing of attacks. That length carries over to the story as well. Conversations can keep going well after the vital information is said. Some jokes are pushed too far and stop being funny, but it also makes the game ill-suited for quick bursts of playtime. With save points spread out and story segments that could take upwards of fifteen minutes, it’s doubtful you’ll be able to go from save point to save point in a commute. Bowser’s Inside Story demands your attention and, unlike other Mario games, is perfectly willing to talk your ear off.

The world of Mario is one of the most colorful in all of gaming. That continues to hold true as everything in Mario & Luigi just pops. It’s very much a Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic but it fits perfectly. Everything is simple yet vibrant and easily distinguishable. The developers were also able to get creative with Bowser’s body. It’s definitely not like any other body you’ve seen but it provides unique areas and enemies to keep you engaged. The graphics don’t push the DS, but they don’t need to. The same can be said of the sound design. Everyone knows the classic Mario songs, and Nintendo isn’t shy about reusing or remixing them. That said, they are actually quite judicious about what songs were used. The game isn’t loaded with the classic tunes, instead using them in fitting moments including a tune I never expected to hear. All the other music is original and fits well with the settings. There’s nothing especially memorable, but it’s certainly enjoyable. The gibberish that Mario and Luigi speak is somehow always fun to listen to. It’s charmingly funny and interlaced with some phrases that continue the conversations. Bowser and Fawful also have some sounds associated with them but nothing like Mario and Luigi. The sound design is a good mix of new and classic but there’s nothing here that will blow you away.

Bowser’s Inside Story is as good as if not better than the original Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The Mario and Luigi segments have been perfected and Bowser brought many new ideas to the table to keep the series from getting stale. There’s nothing outright amazing about the game but it comes together to create an entertaining package. It’s hard not to find even a little fun in it and at 20-25 hours of gameplay, you’ll get your money’s worth. Come for Mario and Luigi, stay for the awesomeness that is Bowser.

8.8/10

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Hello and welcome to the first episode of Bonus Points.  Now you’re probably wondering what Bonus Points is, and it’s actually pretty simple.  Each week I will be critiquing a video game and posting my written review.  Bonus Points is a podcast where I go more in-depth with my thoughts and answer any questions or comments you may have on the game.  It’s a way to really get a feel for my review.

With all that said, let’s get to my first review:

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Insomniac had an incredibly difficult task ahead of them when they set out to make A Crack in Time. It is the seventh game in the Ratchet & Clank series in eight years and, unlike Quest for Booty, had to live up to the bar set by Tools of Destruction, which is arguably the best game to date. Unfortunately, it seems Insomniac stretched itself too thin over projects and the quality has taken a dip. A Crack in Time is still an amazingly fun game, but it uses too many resources from the previous Playstation 3 releases for my taste.

The story of the final chapter of the Future trilogy picks up directly after the end of Quest for Booty with Clank captured by Dr. Nefarious. He quickly escapes and learns that he is the new caretaker of the Great Clock, a space station that’s home to the Zoni. Meanwhile, Ratchet and Captain Qwark have narrowed their search for Clank and must contend with Nefarious’s forces. The strength of the Future trilogy over the original games continues to be its stories. Where there used to be the thinnest of excuses to save a galaxy, the Future games give Ratchet and Clank more personal journeys where they discover more about their pasts that directly affect their future. The plots aren’t masterpieces by any means, but they are on par with movies like Ice Age and Shrek.

It’s amazing to me how, seven games in, the gameplay of Ratchet & Clank is still as fun as ever. You still start out with one or two basic weapons and slowly build up an arsenal of inventive instruments of destruction. This is the series greatest strength and potentially greatest weakness as is the case for A Crack in Time. The only real standouts are the Spiral of Death, the Rift Inducer, and the Sonic Eruptor. Five weapons return from Tools of Destruction, two of which have been upgraded from items to full-on weapons (the lovable Mr. Zurkon and the awesome Groovitron). As I played through the game, I couldn’t help but notice how much cooler most of the old weapons were compared to the new ones. Unfortunately, the older ones received virtually no upgrades to make them unique.

Insomniac tried to add more variety with the Constructo weapons, which could be customized with hidden kits. None were that exciting though as they followed the pistol, grenade, and shotgun mold. I know it seems like I’m harping on this but three standouts among seventeen is not a good average and fails to match the brilliance of past designs. However I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun the Hover Boots were. You can blast through completed areas so much more quickly and, best of all, are the source of much of the platforming. It’s thrilling to boost along panels, jump over pits, and grind along rails in a single section. The boots are also used in a particularly exciting boss battle. They would be the best addition to the game if it wasn’t for Clank.

In the past times you played as Clank, it would consist of either simplistic squad-based gameplay or Giant Clank taking on giant monsters. Neither of these comes close to Clank’s time-based abilities. He can now throw time spheres that slow down everything inside and has a staff that can repair objects by rewinding time. Most of Clank’s gameplay is based around puzzles where he must use recording pads to create copies of himself to stand on switches and make it through a door. It starts out simple enough but later puzzles really make you think about each move you make. I still haven’t beaten all the challenge rooms yet, each of which are especially devious. Clank’s puzzles are some of the most satisfying moments in the game.

The final new element to A Crack in Time is explorable space and moons. This is actually the first return of the spherical moons since Going Commando in 2003, and they are handled much better in this iteration. Before it was mostly an excuse to shoehorn Giant Clank into the gameplay, now the moons provide Ratchet with platforming and enemy challenges. Admittedly, the platforming is the more fun of the two but it the moons still gave a nice distraction with some actual purpose to it as you were always rewarded for completing a planet’s mission. Exploring space is okay but nothing great. There are a modest amount of missions to do and space battles had their charm, but I wouldn’t call this a great leap forward. I just merely enjoyed it.

One aspect that Ratchet & Clank has always nailed is the graphics. The game is absolutely gorgeous. There’s constantly something going on in the background and the creature designs are fantastic. The frame rate never falters, even when there could be up to thirty enemies all attack at once while you fire back with a rapid-fire weapon and bolts are flying everywhere. It’s extremely impressive. The only graphical hitch I ever noticed was that characters’ feet sometimes disappeared on uneven surfaces. Really it’s just the smallest of nit picks. The biggest problem though is the lack of variety. In past games, each planet had its own enemy set with a few carryovers from time to time. A Crack in Time had between ten and fifteen different enemies with varying weapons compared to previous games 30 to 40 enemies. It’s still not a major deal but a little disappointing nonetheless.

The graphics may draw attention to the game but the sound will keep you hooked. Every character, from the main ones to the NPCs to the cameos, is fantastically done with the standouts being Captain Qwark and Dr. Nefarious. Nefarious is better here than he ever was in Up Your Arsenal and strikes a perfect balance between being funny and legitimately threatening. The music is also quite good and never intrusive to what’s happening on-screen. The added radio stations while traveling through space is a nice touch and has a little something for most tastes as well as humorous commercials and cameos from past games. Finally, each weapon feels satisfying to use thanks to the topnotch sound effects, especially the buzzsaw whir of the Spiral of Death and the musical accompaniment of the RYNO V. The only real problem I had was when the radio chatter would sometimes fight with the mission chatter and make both unrecognizable. It never bothered me that much, but it’s worth noting.

In the end, A Crack in Time is a fun game that doesn’t quite live up to Tools of Destruction. More development time would have fleshed out the gameplay ideas and made each weapon unique. I’m not saying the game was bad by any means and it’s an enjoyable experience right until the end, but I just think it could have been so much more with time.

9.0/10

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