All Aboard the Flagship! F13's MMO Recap 2008 http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=789 Field of Dreams where Kevin Costner's farmer goes bankrupt and has to sell the farm because he'd cleared valuable cropping land and built an expensive baseball diamond following a whimsical voice when he should have just harvested corn. Or maybe that's stretching an analogy.

Regardless, let's look at the "highlights" of MMOs across 2008, month by month.

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]]> News Fri, 2 Jan 2009 09:42:42 -0700 Persona 4//Atlus - Review - PS2 http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=788
Let's talk about Persona 4. It's a game that I've been anticipating with excitement since I first heard of its announcement, and that is a rare thing because any gamer that follows release announcements knows that anticipation is so often the kiss of death for fun. I'm happy to report that Persona 4 did not disappoint and that I have been playing it with a fervor that no Japanese RPG has left me with for quite some time.]]>
The dungeon crawling segments are based in worlds brought to life by the Shadows of story-line characters that represent the dark and repressed sides of their personalities. These culminate in disturbing and climactic boss fights with powerful, gorgeously designed monsters. And did I mention most of this takes place INSIDE a television at a local supermarket, and your guide is a giant, hollow bear mascot. Named Teddie.

The other 50% of the game involves you helping navigate the main character through a year of Japanese high school, developing friendships and social bonds that will help enhance the abilities of the monsters that you fuse during your dungeon crawling. The people you meet in the world are invariably well-designed and fleshed out, and the sub-quests to befriend them are one of them most enjoyable aspects of this game.

As with many the many other games to bear the Shin Megami Tensei label, Persona 4 can be likened to an adult Pokemon where you wield demons(Personas) instead of cuddly monsters. After winning fights in dungeons you discover some which can then be fused together in countless ways to create more powerful creatures that inherit the abilities of their sires. The creature design here is especially excellent and I find myself spending almost as much time in the fusion menu as I do increasing my social status at school.

The graphics and sound are worth mentioning (as it’s a PS2 title) – they are superb. Like its predecessor, the original soundtrack is catchy and enjoyable to the point that many of the tunes might become stuck in your head. I have already mentioned the creature design, and I would also like to extend a tip of my hat to the level designers. Although the dungeons are randomly generated each time you enter, the atmosphere of each area is excellent and tied directly into the theme of each character's Shadow. The level art is far superior to Persona 3's, eliminating one of my few criticisms of the series.

In fact, I find it very hard to think of criticism for this game. It is certainly long, but is paced exceptionally well with the school and dungeon segments never being too long. You can finally control all of your party members directly unlike the previous game. The worst I can come up with about Persona 4 (if we’re fishing for problems) is that it can be frustratingly difficult on rare occasions, but nothing that can't be fixed by an hour or two of grinding or the use of a different Persona. In fact, most of the game's difficulties can be solved by clever applications of Persona fusion and the right mix of elemental resistances.

Persona 4 is simply an all-around excellent game for any JRPG fan.

Buy this game or else you might end up in the TV yourself, and no one wants to see what YOUR Shadow is like. Finally, I suppose it’s worth mentioning that it’s one of the highest rated games of all time – and deservedly so.

-By Phildo
[discuss]
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]]> Reviews
The dungeon crawling segments are based in worlds brought to life by the Shadows of story-line characters that represent the dark and repressed sides of their personalities. These culminate in disturbing and climactic boss fights with powerful, gorgeously designed monsters. And did I mention most of this takes place INSIDE a television at a local supermarket, and your guide is a giant, hollow bear mascot. Named Teddie.

The other 50% of the game involves you helping navigate the main character through a year of Japanese high school, developing friendships and social bonds that will help enhance the abilities of the monsters that you fuse during your dungeon crawling. The people you meet in the world are invariably well-designed and fleshed out, and the sub-quests to befriend them are one of them most enjoyable aspects of this game.

As with many the many other games to bear the Shin Megami Tensei label, Persona 4 can be likened to an adult Pokemon where you wield demons(Personas) instead of cuddly monsters. After winning fights in dungeons you discover some which can then be fused together in countless ways to create more powerful creatures that inherit the abilities of their sires. The creature design here is especially excellent and I find myself spending almost as much time in the fusion menu as I do increasing my social status at school.

The graphics and sound are worth mentioning (as it’s a PS2 title) – they are superb. Like its predecessor, the original soundtrack is catchy and enjoyable to the point that many of the tunes might become stuck in your head. I have already mentioned the creature design, and I would also like to extend a tip of my hat to the level designers. Although the dungeons are randomly generated each time you enter, the atmosphere of each area is excellent and tied directly into the theme of each character's Shadow. The level art is far superior to Persona 3's, eliminating one of my few criticisms of the series.

In fact, I find it very hard to think of criticism for this game. It is certainly long, but is paced exceptionally well with the school and dungeon segments never being too long. You can finally control all of your party members directly unlike the previous game. The worst I can come up with about Persona 4 (if we’re fishing for problems) is that it can be frustratingly difficult on rare occasions, but nothing that can't be fixed by an hour or two of grinding or the use of a different Persona. In fact, most of the game's difficulties can be solved by clever applications of Persona fusion and the right mix of elemental resistances.

Persona 4 is simply an all-around excellent game for any JRPG fan.

Buy this game or else you might end up in the TV yourself, and no one wants to see what YOUR Shadow is like. Finally, I suppose it’s worth mentioning that it’s one of the highest rated games of all time – and deservedly so.

-By Phildo
[discuss]
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]]> Tue, 9 Dec 2008 14:44:22 -0700 Overlord - Triumph Studios - PC http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=787
I discovered this game via the free demo in the Steam store a while back.  Initially held off on buying it at$40, but when it hit $10 this past weekend I couldn't say no.  Now that I've gotten to play more of it, I wish I'd bought it earlier at $40 so I'd have more time for L4D now.

--

Buy it.

[discuss]

]]> But is it Fun? Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:07:28 -0700 Mirror's Edge - DICE - 360 http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=786
The Good
- Cityscape is beautiful
- Soundtrack, when played, fits the game perfectly. Has an open air feel to it.

The Bad
- There's not enough good about this game
- Combat is clumsy and almost impossible to manage which would be a problem if...
- They didn't force you to fight in 3 - 1 or 5 - 1 battles.
- Mastery of the moves is necessary otherwise...
- Lack of fluidity in the game because sometimes thinking on the fly isn't possible
- What I've come to call load-kill. Loading at key points can really break up the pacing and kill the intensity of a chase
- Elevators. Did you hate Mass Effect's Elevators? Even Stormwaltz could make fun of Mirror's Edge elevators.
- Hidden QTEs. Remember disarming in training? It's a masked QTE necessary for certain "scenes" in the game.
- Too much time spent inside buildings, sewers and tunnels. Layouts are bland.
- Some things thrown in just to make you use the moves.

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]]> But is it Fun? Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:03:26 -0700 QWOP - foddy.net - PC http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=785 http://www.foddy.net/Athletics.html

Have you ever watched a toddler take those first few halting, tottering steps before faceplanting into the carpet and thought 'Ha ha, what a doofus!  Walking is easy.  You are so dumb, baby'.  Well now the joke's on you, you insensitive prick.  Imagine having a button for each major muscle in your legs and having to press them with the correct timing to walk.  Now imagine that instead of just walking, you're having to run a 100 meter dash with a long jump at the end at the Olympics.  Well, you just imagined QWOP.

QWOP is more toy than game, but so was SimCity, and that did well.  You will inevitably break your avatard's neck 20 or 30 times before you figure out how to even take that first step.  Then you will do so 100 more times before figuring out how to make that first 10 meters.

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]]> But is it Fun? Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:24:56 -0700 Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Konami - DS http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=784
I really enjoy the different weapons in this game and the way that you obtain new weapons by absorbing glyphs. Different enemies require different weapons but because you can rotate between three active sets there isn't a lot of futzing around in menus. For the most part the proper set of 3 weapons is more than enough for a given level.

If you like 2D action/adventure games this is an absolute no brainer. One of the most fun games I've played this year.

Verdict: Buy it.

[discuss]

]]> But is it Fun? Sat, 8 Nov 2008 17:03:13 -0700 Saints Row 2 - Volition - 360 http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=783 Well, this should be a simple BiiF.
It's more of the same, but a ltitle better looking and a little crazier. New side missions with only 6 levels of each instead of 8 and the addition of motorcycles are nice. There doesn't seem to be a talk radio station anymore unfortunately. Lots of fun though. Online players are still 90% gangsta-wannabe mouthbreathers.

I'd sum it up this way.



Since I answered yes to the first two questions, my answer is Buy It.

[discuss]

]]> But is it Fun? Fri, 7 Nov 2008 21:54:57 -0700 On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two - HotHead Games - PC http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=782
Episode 2 is um, more of that + the ever pointless addition of higher difficulty modes and achievements. Whoopie.

Basically take Super Mario RPG and swap the turned based system for a Final Fantasy style real time system. Tada, that's it. Mini-game button pressing events for special attacks, timed blocks, simple combat. The combat is still boring to say the very least. You find out what your enemies are weak against, be it team-attacks, basic attacks, special attacks, or a weapon type, then you use that until they're all dead. If you're really itching to get it over with you can use some of your never ending supply of buff/debuff/attack items to speed things up.

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]]> But is it Fun? Thu, 6 Nov 2008 21:12:21 -0700 Amerikkka: The RPG http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=781
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]]>
The other 34 months, the game, called Amerikkka, laid dormant, waiting for a drunken Sunday and bit of sticktoitiveness that neither Drake nor I typically possess. The game, until today, had gained mythical status among our friends; the people who knew about it did from the beginning, and hardly a month went by when someone didn't rib me about the game that never was. And if this process taught me anything, it taught me that designing games, even stupid tabletop RPGs about a future where Ted Kennedy is the Pope and Ted Turner patrols Atlanta on a giant cybernetic buffalo, is really, really hard.

The fun stuff is easy. We had the premise for the game – Hillary wins the 2020 election, the right wing revolts and secedes, and in the resulting cataclysm every bizarre extremist group carves out a section of America, leaving the players in a world like our own but darker and funnier – set within the first hour. I'd sketched out a map on a legal pad five minutes into the off-color conversation we were having.

It's the boring stuff that's hard. The first 80 percent of the design process occurred in about three weeks. The remaining five were god awful: bug testing, typesetting, searching for typos and overhauling a few systems that were either overcomplicated or broken. No one wants to do this. The fact there are people out there willing to test games for a living, and to do it cheaply, is beyond me. I created my goddamn systems and I couldn't stand testing them. That's not to say it isn't fun trying to beat someone to death with a prosthetic leg you discovered in an abandoned public hospital, but try doing that when you're futzing your way through a combat system that inadvertently made it impossible to kill someone. Or try getting stabbed but forgetting to implement how healing works.

Eventually, you work this shit out, but it's hard and boring and makes you hate what you've created. Which is why it took us another two years to fix typos, typeset the PDF and sprinkle in some little stuff along the way. The fact people can do this 40 hours a week is beyond me; it borders on Herculean, and until today, I didn't know why they did it.

This morning when I began rendering the PDF to toss up on DriveThruRPG, when I created Amerikkka: The Game: The Blog to continue the joke into the intertron, I got why people do this hard thing. Because once you release it into the wild, you know you've accomplished something you can share with other people. Even my crappy tabletop RPG feels like something epic I've achieved; I've attempted to create, and I was successful. I don't care if you like it. I just care that I did it. And now that I've done it, I want to do it again and do it better.
[discuss]
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]]> News
The other 34 months, the game, called Amerikkka, laid dormant, waiting for a drunken Sunday and bit of sticktoitiveness that neither Drake nor I typically possess. The game, until today, had gained mythical status among our friends; the people who knew about it did from the beginning, and hardly a month went by when someone didn't rib me about the game that never was. And if this process taught me anything, it taught me that designing games, even stupid tabletop RPGs about a future where Ted Kennedy is the Pope and Ted Turner patrols Atlanta on a giant cybernetic buffalo, is really, really hard.

The fun stuff is easy. We had the premise for the game – Hillary wins the 2020 election, the right wing revolts and secedes, and in the resulting cataclysm every bizarre extremist group carves out a section of America, leaving the players in a world like our own but darker and funnier – set within the first hour. I'd sketched out a map on a legal pad five minutes into the off-color conversation we were having.

It's the boring stuff that's hard. The first 80 percent of the design process occurred in about three weeks. The remaining five were god awful: bug testing, typesetting, searching for typos and overhauling a few systems that were either overcomplicated or broken. No one wants to do this. The fact there are people out there willing to test games for a living, and to do it cheaply, is beyond me. I created my goddamn systems and I couldn't stand testing them. That's not to say it isn't fun trying to beat someone to death with a prosthetic leg you discovered in an abandoned public hospital, but try doing that when you're futzing your way through a combat system that inadvertently made it impossible to kill someone. Or try getting stabbed but forgetting to implement how healing works.

Eventually, you work this shit out, but it's hard and boring and makes you hate what you've created. Which is why it took us another two years to fix typos, typeset the PDF and sprinkle in some little stuff along the way. The fact people can do this 40 hours a week is beyond me; it borders on Herculean, and until today, I didn't know why they did it.

This morning when I began rendering the PDF to toss up on DriveThruRPG, when I created Amerikkka: The Game: The Blog to continue the joke into the intertron, I got why people do this hard thing. Because once you release it into the wild, you know you've accomplished something you can share with other people. Even my crappy tabletop RPG feels like something epic I've achieved; I've attempted to create, and I was successful. I don't care if you like it. I just care that I did it. And now that I've done it, I want to do it again and do it better.
[discuss]
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]]> Mon, 3 Nov 2008 20:08:49 -0700 Fallout 3 - Bethesda - PC http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=780
As a long-time fan of the classic Fallout games, my first impression of Bethesda's baby was: what butt-vomit did I just pay for?  It felt clunky, buggy and way too similar to a game that starts with 'O' and ends in "fuckyourself."  Yet soon after I stopped sleeping regularly. And I stopped caring about whether it was or was not truly Fallout.

Yes, this is Oblivion done right.  With guns.  Less fat, tastes great.  If you enjoyed TES4 for what it was, then you will enjoy this game at least twice as much because it has exploding baby carriages and 4000% more needless decapitation™.  VATS is truly awesome--take the work out of Max Payne's bullet time, add some (mostly) well-done random camera work and turn up the number of bloody jawbones flying around.

Bethesda has wrung every last drop of beautiful out of my computer, even shaking off the gross little hairs underneath.

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]]> But is it Fun? Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:51:17 -0600