Unclouded memories.

Posted : 2 months, 1 week ago on 2 August 2008 07:20 (A review of Final Fantasy VII)

Final Fantasy VII marked the first foray into 3D RPG gaming for Japanese giant Squaresoft. It was also the first of three hugely successful titles released on the PlayStation console. For many of us growing up in the digital age, it is fondly remembered as a first RPG game and the immense success of the sequels is almost entirely attributable to the solid fan base that this particular game garnered. There are very few RPG series' that can claim to hold such a monopoly over the genre as the Final Fantasy legacy, which is a title that enjoys moderate recognition amongst casual game players, rather than just RPG aficionados.

The game itself throws you straight into the action. The first time I ever played it I was amazed at how the graphics of the opening FMV were seemingly interwoven with the start of the game. You take on the role of a cocky mercenary in the midst of a mission to detonate a huge energy reactor in a dystopian hell-hole of a city. Your character is flippant and disassociated with the task at hand, making it clear that he does not share any of the environmental motivations that fuel his allies on this mission. The three characters you meet early on form the core of the party for the rest of the game. From this point forward the story escalates in scope, beginning with missions in one major city, to eventually embarking on a global campaign to defend the world from celestial obliteration.

The story is epic in scope, building an intense rivalry between the game's protagonist - Cloud Strife, and his former colleague and elite SOLDIER - Sephiroth. As the story unravels, your enemy is increasingly portrayed as a demi-god whose quest for total domination will casually result in the destruction of the civilised world. The rivalry that escalates is intense and believable, made all the more poignant by the personal and mental toll it takes on the emotions and mindset of the protagonist.



At the time of its release, the graphics were lauded as revolutionary and extremely detailed. Nowadays, with the game over ten years old, no player would honestly use those words to describe the visuals. That is why I think it's remarkable that people still pick up and get into the game, even today. The FMV's still hold their own and are vital in conveying highly detailed parts of the storyline, as well as giving you a welcome higher definition example of what monster you are fighting, or how your characters look when they are not pixelated blocks of colour. Each character brings a unique personality to the table, all adding quite substantially to the storyline. Even the two 'hidden' characters have their own moments in the spotlight, with one of the two actually divulging a huge plot twist.

The battle schematics are as good as it gets for a turn-based Active Time Battle system. The magic and weapon systems allow a massive capacity for different tactics and playing styles. Characters are not restricted to a certain type of play as they have been in other Final Fantasy games (e.g a white mage, a black mage, etc), which dispels the established roles of men and women in your party. In my opinion, the Materia system has not been surpassed in any Final Fantasy sequel to date. The complement of limit breaks enhance the unique characteristics of each party member and when dishing them out to an enemy, the feel well-earned and actually have real compassion about them. There are multiple methods, tactics and strategies that can be employed to beat the toughest of enemies and despite playing through the game at least five times to completion, I've never felt as if I've completely mastered and made full use of the system.

Ultimately, the reason I fell in love with the game was its story and its characters. Although some personalities are certainly clichéd, they are, on the whole, a very flawed bunch who struggle with their new expected roles as saviours of the planet. With an increasingly psychotic and almost mythical antagonist taunting them along the journey, you are taken to new weird and wonderful locations, constantly battling against a quite brilliant supporting cast of non-playable characters. The game itself spawned an entire universe of follow-ons and sequels, but my advice would be to ignore them all and take the game as face value. It's much more interesting and debate sparking that way.



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I'm a little busy here!

Posted : 3 months ago on 10 July 2008 02:24 (A review of Company of Heroes)

Company of Heroes is a World War II real-time strategy game developed by Relic Entertainment for Microsoft. There are two main gameplay modes to choose from as the player can either choose to follow the 'campaign mode' - following scripted and sequential battles roughly corresponding to the historical course of World War II, or 'multiplayer mode' - where skirmishes against the AI or online battles against friends and total strangers are options.

There are several aspects of the game which put it streets ahead of both other World War II based games and the RTS genre in general. The graphics are a major strong point, with extremely detailed troops and armoured units which you can zoom in and out from at leisure with the help of your mouse wheel. The terrain in CoH is also extremely detailed and utilising the cover opportunities that old stone walls and abandoned tractors can give you is essential for success. The level of detail and realism isn't just thrown in to look nice, the environment is dynamic and all the while your troops can find cover in newly created craters from artillery strikes, or behind the ruins of a recently destroyed tank. This means your tactics also change to suit the terrain. The dependence on cover in the game enhances the realism no end as you find yourself trying to outflank garrisoned buildings and artillery guns instead of assaulting them head on as you would in other RTS games. The audio soundbytes of each unit are also worthy of mention. The troops say some legendary things, and can often let you know what problems they are facing when under attack (even if you are not looking at them on the map).

The resource system is maintained, but has one benefit in that all resources are infinite. It's up to you and your army to go out and secure strategic points on the map which generate one of three main expendables: fuel, manpower and ammunition. This feature forces players to think aggressively and seek to expand their territory rather than turtling up units in their base. Another benefit of this game is the population cap you have on your army, preventing massed units of tanks that steamroll everything in their path. You are forced to build a well rounded army and look after every one of your troops. The population cap expands gradually as more resource points are ascertained, though it never reaches a massive amount, leaving room for strategy over cataclysmic assaults.

The campaign mode follows the American army as it invades Normandy and beyond. Interspliced between and during missions are short cut scenes which introduce us to protagonists of the story. These scenes are often filled with some generic war time clichés, but they never detract from the fun and are, more often than not, ultra violent. By the time you complete the campaign mode, you may feel just about ready enough to take on the online multiplayer world. Although there are only two armies at your command, each has a very unique set of units, upgrades and unit type, which takes time to master.

The only negative aspect of my playing experience came from the ridiculous Relic-online registry system, whereby I had to download approximately 2GB worth of patches before I could even start the normal game campaign. The anti-piracy software is extremely over the top and even makes me thankful that Steam (which this game is now available on) isn't as infuriating as this. Other than that, I instantly fell in love with the game, which can provide moments of extreme hilarity and heroism. Having fun with a dozen Sherman Calliopes or spawning in twenty or so V2 rocket hits ends in unrivalled carnage.

But don't cheat until you've completed it!

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Mortal Kombat review

Posted : 5 months, 3 weeks ago on 19 April 2008 05:23 (A review of Mortal Kombat)

Without a doubt, the inferior fighting game franchise to come out of the 90's. For me, this would never compete with the mighty Street Fighter. There were never enough characters, never enough moves, the fighting was bugged (you could just sweep an opponent to death) and it felt far too choppy (even for the technological constraints at the time). They tried to make a game that was far too serious and compensated for a lack of ingenuity with shed loads of blood and violent finishing moves.

Who were they trying to kid!? The faux-3D graphics weren't fooling anybody, the music was sub par and the stages and arenas were nothing special either. The depressing/intense mood they were trying to convey always took the fun out of playing it for me when I was a kid, the lame character choices and complete lack of variety in the move lists made it feel like a very claustrophobic game to boot.

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Home Alone 2: Lost in New York review

Posted : 5 months, 3 weeks ago on 19 April 2008 02:56 (A review of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York)

It's unbelievable what the Super Nintendo used to get away with in terms of games. Looking back at these film-to-game conversions there's no reason why this one should stick out amidst the many that were released around the same time in a cheap attempt to cash in on a wave of cinema-going excitement. But for some reason, I played this game a lot. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it now, I don't think I'd ever be seen dead buying a game-of-a-film these days.

The gameplay was the most basic side-scrolling action you can ever imagine. All you had to do was dodge people walking around and of course dreaded stray appliances like hoovers and the like which would apparently kill you on impact. Thank God gaming has improved since then. I played it again recently on an emulator and was completely unimpressed.

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Command & Conquer review

Posted : 5 months, 3 weeks ago on 18 April 2008 05:06 (A review of Command & Conquer)

This is the game that sparked an interest in the RTS genre for me. I have so many fond memories of playing this around my cousin's house and thinking it was one of the most brutal and realistic games I'd ever seen! It literally amazed me how you could manage so many troops on the field at the same time and that they would all automatically fire at will whenever they came into contact with the enemy. Mind blowing!

As I got older I began to appreciate the story line a bit more. That in itself is epic and has spawned an entire new universe of sequels and fan fictions. The game was revolutionary at the time and isn't so bad these days. I wouldn't think twice about giving it a run through and I own it on the playstation as well. The almost cartoon-like battle FMVs and the legendary video conferences with Kane and General Sheppard look so basic compared with the hollywood stars they've drafted for the roles ever since then, but they're still inspirational. This was the great way to kick off the franchise.

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The King of Iron Fist

Posted : 5 months, 3 weeks ago on 18 April 2008 04:44 (A review of Tekken 4)

As Tekken made its way onto the PS2 I had huge hopes for the franchise. Tekken 3 was a superb game that truly pushed the limits of a the playstation console and delivered an immense fighting experience. Tekken Tag Tournament was the first foray of Tekken onto the Playstation 2 and I lapped it up. I loved the game in the arcade and spent considerable sums of money playing it until it was finally released on the consoles. As an update for Tekken 3 it had the same smooth running and rapid, smooth fighting style as its predecessor.

When Tekken 4 came out I expected even further improvement, but I was ultimately let down. They went for a drastic improvement in aesthetics but in turn this made the fighting more clunky. The environmental interactions ripped off straight from the Dead or Alive franchise border on the ridiculous at times and have the ability to completely ruin a fight. The new characters are almost entirely non-descript and I essentially lost faith as the franchise went for eye candy over gameplay. A tradition they continued into Tekken 5 - surely the end of the line for Namco.

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Medieval Total War: Viking Invasion review

Posted : 5 months, 3 weeks ago on 18 April 2008 04:31 (A review of Medieval Total War: Viking Invasion)

This is a superb expansion, not so much because of the new Viking campaign that it offers, but because of all of the new features it unlocks from the original game. It truly breathes more life into an already fully functioning game.

The expansion focuses on England after the fall of the Roman empire at the turn of the century. The generally useless tribesman are at war in different parts of the region and just like Medieval and Shogun: Total War, it's up to you to take over everything in your way to claim ultimate victory. As well as Welsh farmers and dirty Saxon drunkards, you also have to contend with vicious viking raids, or, if you felt that way inclined, you can play as the vikings and reign terror on the green isles of Britain.

If that's not your bag, and frankly, it does get difficult and less than interesting with the lack of advanced units in the tech tree (the most advanced units in the game are pretty much the peasantry in Medieval Total War), then you can just revisit the original game. This time, there are more factions unlocked, such as the Sicilians and even the Papacy, and lots of frustrating or buggy events from the original game are ironed out. One of the best games I've ever splashed out on, it made me fall in love with a game all over again.

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White Vaan Man

Posted : 5 months, 3 weeks ago on 18 April 2008 03:54 (A review of Final Fantasy XII)

I was really taken in when I first played this game. I was immediately impressed with the graphics, the cut scenes and the huge scale of the game that was about to open up in front of me. It felt like every inch the epic and I was not disappointed.

As I played further through it though, I did tend to stumble across things that bugged me or reduced my enjoyment of the game. My major concern was the repetitiveness of the dungeons. They can create a world with so many different landscapes and amazing unique features, but instead they've got lazy and reused the same format and textures for numerous dungeons. I still haven't completed this game yet, though I'm a good way through it and I think that if there is one more dungeon, I'm not going to have the energy to battle through it.

The battle system is revolutionary for the Final Fantasy series. It's still turn based, but you no longer have to input the battle commands. Initially I had mixed feelings over this as there is nothing less entertaining than clicking 'Attack' for several thousand random battle encounters. But when you come to a boss, it's good to think that your tactics are operating in real time, rather than just reliant on a pre-battle plan that you have in your head. Of course, you can change your tactics at any time but this is eventually more time consuming and usually fails to kick in before a major character in your party dies.

There are plenty of plus points though. The world map is huge and you genuinely have a lot of ground to cover on foot (I've seen it listed as a negative point, but I think it's much more appealing to have an expansive game than one that feels almost claustrophobic - like Final Fantasy X). The voice acting and characters in general are superb, with only the main character being frustrating enough to want to punch repeatedly in the face. Side quests are plentiful and entertaining, though there is the lack of a worldwide sidegame to take your mind off of things when the story gets too intense.

All in all this is a thoroughly entertaining game, but it is not 'the best final fantasy'. I would put it at third place in my top three. It's a step up from FFX and I anticipate another in the form of FFXIII. They will hopefully blow the power of the PS3 away with that one.

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State of Emergency review

Posted : 6 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 March 2008 03:09 (A review of State of Emergency)

One of the most mundane and diabolical games ever. This is a controversial game of course, but don't let that put you off of playing it, instead let the dire and repetitive gameplay sway you away from this utterly ridiculous kill fest.

The point of the game is to release hundreds of people into an 'arena' (shopping mall, cordoned off street etc) and watch them run around senselessly in no proper direction while you do your best to kill them all as quickly as possible. How do they get away with plots that are so abysmal and un-fun to play? Sometimes I just get the impression that they only make games for the negative media attention.

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Tomb Raider II review

Posted : 6 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 March 2008 02:44 (A review of Tomb Raider II)

Tomb Raider II was one of the first games I ever played on my spanking new PlayStation console back in the day. As a result, I have fond memories of playing through and completing this game as a child. You take control of super-heroine, Lara Croft as she plunders the globe in search of a mythical dagger to add to her mantle piece. Your third-person adventure takes you from the Great Wall of China to Italy, The bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, and even England as you attempt to beat a menacing Italian Mafioso to your prize.

The gameplay is action/adventure type, with you having to find your way through various levels and stages in order to advance through the game. You only have your guns and an impressive array of acrobatic moves with which to navigate the level, and you are regularly attacked by other criminal adventurers or wild animals as you go. The graphics by today's standards look incredibly dated, but it made the most of the PlayStation's limited capabilities and managed to create an extremely atmospheric game. The sparing use of music and sound effects often built you up or shocked you into an ambush or boss battle scene. An obvious criticism of the game is its dull repeating textures, but they're no worse than other PS games from the time.

Who could forget the training mission in Lara's house? Drowning the protagonist and locking the butler in the freezer were all staples of my childhood, as well as making her dive from the top floor of her house headfirst onto the floor below. Hours of fun.

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