This is a blog for Thumbmonkey's staff members to write about gaming, music, movies, the internet, what we've been up to lately, and whatever the heck else we want. Enjoy!
Thanks to one of my fellow Thumbmonkey bloggers, I am now completely addicted to WoW. It’s my first shot at a MMORPG, and i’ve got to admit, I’m thoroughly enjoying the experience. If you’ve been on the fence about whether it’s worth the money, I can assure you, it is. The real question is: do you have time to accommodate another addiction (that is, assuming you already have some, and yes, T.V. counts).
Here I am (in WoW!):
Yeah, this is for reals my real WoW toon!
Awesome.
I’ll update at a later date with more impressions of the game, pros & cons, that kind of thing.
The way my schedule in life works, I don’t have access to my home consoles a majority of the week. So a majority of the time I play handheld games. Which is great, because handheld games are great. But sometimes I want that console experience in the palm of my hands…and that’s where PSOne classics come in.
The PlayStation Store offers old PlayStation One games up for download, and I couldn’t be happier with the service. I can download these games onto my PS3, and then transfer them to my PSP! I grabbed a cheap 16GB memory stick off of Amazon (only $65, which isn’t bad considering a lot of them go for well over $100), and currently have the original Metal Gear Solid as well as Final Fantasy VII on my PSP, available to play whenever I want.
Practically the actual size, all the actual awesome.
Now of course there are some minor issues. The PS1 controller featured two analog sticks, and four shoulder buttons. The PSP has only one analog sick, and 2 shoulder buttons. That’s where the restrictions come in: Dual-Shock only games will never be available for PSOne play, and older games have modified control schemes. The L2 and R2 buttons are delegated to left and right on the analog nub, with up on the nub designated to L2 and R2 pressed simultaneously. That fix aside, though, it’s awesome.
And you still get the complete package. You can change discs and controller input from the home menu (so you can complete the classic Psycho Mantis boss fight in Metal Gear Solid), and you can view the entire manual, as well as front and back art. Nothing’s been scraped and it plays great.
On top of that, due to the greater resolution of th PSP screen and the superior sound system, these old classics look and sound BETTER than the originals! Not by much, but Final Fantasy VII is sharper by comparison, and Metal Gear’s cutscene dialog couldn’t be clearer.
Ever since Sony had to kick it up a notch at E3 this year, they’ve put attention and care into everything they do. The PSOne lineup before then was awful, with a handful of mediocre titles. Since then, though, we’ve seen Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Tekken, Syphon Filter, Tomb Raider, and many more coming in the very near future. It’s great to see so many classic titles readily available, and for so cheap! Titles have yet to exceed $9.99, and considering that Final Fantasy VII goes used for upwards of $40, that’s more than a bargain.
For anyone looking to get extra use out of their PSP, or looking for fun things to do with their new PSPGo, I highly recommend the underappreciated PSOne classics library. It’s one of the best ways to get a full on console experience in the palm of your hands.
Tim Schafer is a genius. With point-and-click adventure classics like Grim Fandango and the Monkey Island games, as well as the much ignored 2005 action adventure Psychonauts, no man has been better known for funny, fun, addictive, and charming video games. It’s not often the games industry has a single man behind a game like so many films have directors, but Schafer is in a small group of people alongside Will Wright, Hideo Kojima, and Shigeru Miyamoto who are sole visionaries for gaming classics. His new game, Brutal Legend, is out soon, but the demo is available for Xbox Live Gold members until October 5th. And you need to download it.
Brutal Legend is a game all about heavy metal culture. If you were ever into heavy metal bands, especially in the 80s, this game is a tribute to it all. With environments ripped from Iron Maiden covers to characters voices by metal legends such as Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy, this game is not just a love letter to heavy metal culture, it’s a part of it. The game stars Jack Black as Eddie Riggs, a roadie for a terrible nu-metal band, as he gets thrust into an alternate dimension full of characters, enemies, bosses, and environments all inspired heavily by this culture.
The game stars Jack Black, someone who I can’t stand. Even as a performer on Mr. Show, one of the greatest sketch comedy shows of all time, he managed to annoy me to no end. On top of that I am someone who is strongly against the use of actors as voice actors in games and animation. And yet, somehow, Jack Black manages to do a fantastic job in this game. He’s quiet, down to Earth, friendly, and funny in this game. He’s not the loud and obnoxious Jack Black people are normally used to seeing. The writing, as well, is absolutely fantastic if the demo is any indication, with great jokes and dialog. Writing is very important to me in all mediums, and this game does a fantastic job.
I actually don't want to punch him.
The gameplay, of course, is what will make or break this experience, and it’s definitely there. While it’s not awesome or bringing anything new to the table, what’s there works great. Traditional hack ‘n’ slash gameplay domintaes a majority of the playtime, going back and forth between an axe and an axe. One of those axes is a guitar; the other, an axe. The actual axe slashes bad guys, whereas the guitar uses the power of rock to electrocute enemies. Doing the two together creates an earthquake that destroys enemies and the surrounding environment. The two used in conjunction create very satisfying combos.
There’s a bit of driving in here, too, with Eddie’s vehicle capable of running over dozens of bad guys at a time. It’s even used in the demo’s uninspired but artistically satisfying boss battle, as a way to remove the boss serpent’s giant fangs from the ground. But the best bit of driving comes just before the introduction of Eddie’s vehicle, where you drive a giant creature-ish vehicle down a hill made of skulls and bones. It gives you a look at the breahtaking scenery, something I couldn’t even come close to appreciating with my standard definition TV.
The demo gives you a solid feel for the game, and while it omits a demo of the strategy portion of the game that consists of Eddie overseeing an army to take on legions of foes, you get a great idea of how this game will be. The writing and character interactions are outstanding, the animation is Pixar-quality, the environments are wonderfully inspirted, and the gameplay, while, simple, should be able to stand the duration of the full game’s length.
Pop this demo up on your 360 while there’s still time, but if you can’t make up your mind even after that, this demo has proven to me that this game is a must-buy. Tim Schafer, you’ve done it again.
SPOILERS! All those who’ve not completed Fallout 3 please GTFO (or not – I don’t care).
So, guess who finished Fallout 3? Yeah, I did. All the way through the main quests, anyway. (I’m still working on some of the side quests.) Frankly, I thought the ending sucked. Don’t get me wrong, I am still thoroughly enjoying the game, but, really? I explode and/or die of radiation poisoning and that’s it? Sure, I love to feel all brave and heroic as much as the next person, but I was not having any of the whole sacrifice yourself for the good of future mankind crap. I wanna live!! Live, garsh darnit! I want to beat the crap out of Super Mutants for years and years to come! =(
But really though, the game ends, abruptly, and after not half as much of an exciting final quest as i’d expected (the giant robot does everything for you – can you say “wtf”?). Then, you’re left with nothing. Literally, as far as I am aware, nothing. You have to go back to a previous save point in order to continue playing the game. I know there are downloadable expansions, but i’m po’ and have not yet gotten to those. Anyway, my point is that the end was boring, and i’m not especially satisfied. Boo, Fallout 3, boo.
I’ve still got lots to do with the side quests and thankfully, i’d still consider myself to be a huge fan of the game overall. So… main storyline ending: dumb. Game all around: awesome.
I will continue to play until killing Deathclaws becomes all humdrum and such…
or Left 4 Dead 2 comes out. Which ever comes first.
I’m pretty late to the Dissidia party. I’m not even used to holding a PSP properly without cramping, I’ve only played the demo, and I’m failing miserably at it. But don’t get me wrong, I’m still very likely to buy this lovely piece of fan-service.
Ooooooh....
Aaaaah..... Guess who my favorite character is. Just guess. It's Cecil. No, really.
If there was ever a game I wished to be good at, it would have to be a Final Fantasy fighter — something the nerd in me has dreamed of (literally happily fallen asleep to the thought of it) since the early 90’s, because it would have clearly been the most awesome thing EVER. The official Dissidia site is pretty frakkin amazing to say the least, especially considering it is being met with almost 2 decades of, dare I say, fantasizing.
So about this demo. Either I will eternally suck at dealing with the game mechanics, or with enough stubborn practice I’ll eventually get the hang of it. Or *fingers crossed* it’s just a demo so maybe it doesn’t play exactly like the full game and I don’t have to go die in a fire.
I’m sure that the first thing anyone will notice is how gorgeous the game looks. All the swanky new character art, the backgrounds are actually pretty cool, and the in-game flow is surprisingly fast and smooth. But almost immediately, the camera movement and general holy-crap-3D-ness gave me the disheartening-sinking-lost feeling that I associate with the awkward flight missions of Drakengard and Drakengard 2.
Prepare to WTF at around 5:00. I love this game; I hated this mission.
I’m pretty embarassed to admit it, but I have a hard time following all the awesome once they really get going.
This is my biggest problem, and it’s probably just because I’m doing it wrong. The other is that I’m also totally pampered by the simplicity of 2D fighters, where you can not only easily keep track of your opponent but also mash buttons at a more natural and frantic pace (ie. when you want to punch, hit the punch button).
Dissidia is structured so differently from what I automatically associate with a fighter; it has such similar-but-different button commands that I am at this point still confused, like if I move the analog to the left while holding R+O, it does something entirely different instead of just doing the same thing, but to the left. But to evade and actually move to the left, hold R+X and blah blah blah….this is going to take me some time to get used to, also for just doing it wrong. I think when I was envisioning an FF fighting game so many years ago, it was back when everything was more like this:
This I can handle.
Of course, while I may still play River City Ransom (which can be surprisingly fun when you treat it as a 2D fighter), I have a feeling that just wouldn’t do for 2009. For now, I can only hope that I haven’t gotten too old to play my personal ultimate fantasy game now that it’s finally here! (Ignore the horrible puns in that last sentence…they weren’t even intentional…I’d better get some sleep.)
Okami for the PS2 is one of the system’s best titles, right up there with Shadow of the Colossus, the Metal Gear Solid games, and the God of War games. A beautiful cel-shaded game about Japanese mythology featuring Zelda-inspired gameplay, it blew the minds of every single person that played it in 2006. Unfortunately, Clover Studios, the company who developed the game, went bankrupt shortly after the title’s release. But somehow, through the grace of the video game gods, there is a sequel coming out for the DS in 2010. And the main character is the most ADORABLE THING EVER. Check out its reveal scan in the latest Famitsu:
I WANT TO EAT THIS PUPPY
So this is basically confirmed to be the greatest game of 2010. Look at it! Its name is Chibiterasu, and it’s tiny and adorable. It takes place a few months after the original game, and features the same celestial brush techniques as the original. These techniques allowed you to pause the game and use a paintbrush to draw on and manipulate the environment. But with the DS and its stylus, it’s going to be a lot more natural and fun.
The game looks absolutely beautiful and should hopefully be out at some point next year. A trailer featuring small clips of gameplay footage was revealed yesterday, and it looks to be just as amazing as the PS2 original. The original took me around 45 hours to beat, so hopefully everyone will get dozens of hours of incredible gameplay on their DS come 2010.
I would rather spend my time navigating the Wasteland than doing most other things I can think of. What can I say? I’m in love. Being a first-timer to the Fallout series, and shooters in general (with the exception of L4D) is certainly not doing me any favors. I often panic when approached by enemies, my aim is terrible, I don’t carry enough ammo, and I die… a lot. Nevertheless, i’m learnin’!
To give you a feel for what i’m accustomed to, here are a few of the games i’ve enjoyed over the last few months: Sims 3, Spore, Left 4 Dead, Super Paper Mario, Bully: Scholarship Edition & Rock Band 2. Seeing a bit of a theme there? Lazy games for a lazy girl. Left 4 Dead requires a bit of on-your-toes-ness but I wasn’t even all that great at it. I just love zombies.
Here are a few things i’ve learned about Fallout 3 thus far:
- The game is HUGE! Holy-crap huge. I think you could probably wander forever and continue to find things you’d previously missed. It’s amazing.
- The enemies in the game are awesome. I mean, I hate them, but they’re awesome. There’s a wide array of different mutants, creatures, ghouls and humans who seem to thoroughly enjoy pickin’ on you. Because you created your character to be such a handsome devil, right?
- Just like in real life, KARMA matters. Maybe you don’t believe in that sort of thing, but perhaps you should start. =) From Wikipedia: “Beyond acting as flavor for the game’s events, karma can have tangible effects to the player, primarily affecting the game’s ending. Other effects include altered dialogue with NPCs, or unique reactions from other characters.” I can really appreciate this about the game. It truly gives you the freedom to be whatever kind of character you wish.
- This is the first video game i’ve ever played that makes me jump, out of fear, a lot. What it comes down to is this: Post-Apocalyptic Washington DC is dead quiet unless you find yourself in a battle zone or are amidst a populated area (of which there are few), and giant creatures pouncing on you from behind while it’s been near-silent for the last ten minutes is freaky. Very freaky.
- There’s a whole lot to be done. The storyline is just the beginning. There are 17 side quests in addition to the 14 main quests, so suffice it to say, this game is not especially short, and it is definitely never lacking in action. Did I mention there are DLC add-on quests, too? I haven’t even looked into those yet. Too much to do!
- Liam Neeson plays the voice of the player character’s Dad in the game, and Ron Perlman is the narrator. Oh silly.
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