Archive for February, 2010

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.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.