Have we another Chernobyl on our hands? What divine ending have we fallen on ?
Or is it that we're all to busy to boon...
Death becomes us in the summer.
Revitalize us for the fall.
Reviews will come.
Boon will live again.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Tragedy - The Death Of Boon?
Have we another Chernobyl on our hands? What divine ending have we fallen on ?
Or is it that we're all to busy to boon...
Death becomes us in the summer.
Revitalize us for the fall.
Reviews will come.
Boon will live again.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Dilution of what?!
Lately I've been reqaing and hearing some scary talk amongst gamers. Gamers have always been some of the more reclusive people you will ever come across. Hell, at one prospective college last summer I was informed of a reward system for the Computer Tech. students when they actually left their rooms to socialize. Still, when I began reading post after post, dissing the Nintendo Wii for its supposed "dilution of the gamer way" by "marketing to the soccer moms and elderly" I wasn't easy to calm down. Like....Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper talk? I thought people were beyond this.
Starting from the beginning, I'm 19 years old and attend an art school. I make no claims to be a future programmer or the biggest gamer on the planet. I can, however, assure you I have played a LOT of games. Not only have I played a lot of games, but I have reviewed them, written basic mods for PC games, and owned a majority of the consoles since NES. In this way I feel I represent somewhere between an experienced gamer, to perhaps even an excessive one.
That being said, to tear into Nintendo for trying to develop games that appeal to the masses is to insult the very premise of gaming: having fun. If you've ever tried to convince your non-gamer friend, parent, girlfriend, or grandparent to play with you, it should be obvious why gamers shouldn't feel threatened by these new releases. Its fun to play with everyone, not just your usual gamer friends. The truth is Nintendo was straightforward about it intentions from the beginning: gaming is for everyone. No one was lied to, betrayed, or mislead. Unlike 360 and PS3, the Wii has never focussed on graphical superiority, processing power, or a first-person based "system champion". Instead the Wii relies on a much older and more tried theory: having fun is for everyone.
For those who felt betrayed right from the beginning I say, quite frankly,lighten up. There is no such thing as "dilution" of gaming culture due to the Wii. This is exactly what the Wii is all about, allowing multiple types of person to have their own personal experiences with the system and with games in general. Worry not, little extremists, you are safe from the evil normies. You will not change your gaming lifestyle just because theres a hundred soccer moms out there playing Wii sports, and trust me they will probably never buy a 360 no matter how much they enjoy playing Wii. For now my advice to all those who feel Nintendo left them at the altar: instead of shooting down games designed to appeal to everyone, go buy one and play. My prediction is you'll have fun, and might even get a chance to convince someone other than your usual friends to hop on board and play a round with you.
Starting from the beginning, I'm 19 years old and attend an art school. I make no claims to be a future programmer or the biggest gamer on the planet. I can, however, assure you I have played a LOT of games. Not only have I played a lot of games, but I have reviewed them, written basic mods for PC games, and owned a majority of the consoles since NES. In this way I feel I represent somewhere between an experienced gamer, to perhaps even an excessive one.
That being said, to tear into Nintendo for trying to develop games that appeal to the masses is to insult the very premise of gaming: having fun. If you've ever tried to convince your non-gamer friend, parent, girlfriend, or grandparent to play with you, it should be obvious why gamers shouldn't feel threatened by these new releases. Its fun to play with everyone, not just your usual gamer friends. The truth is Nintendo was straightforward about it intentions from the beginning: gaming is for everyone. No one was lied to, betrayed, or mislead. Unlike 360 and PS3, the Wii has never focussed on graphical superiority, processing power, or a first-person based "system champion". Instead the Wii relies on a much older and more tried theory: having fun is for everyone.
For those who felt betrayed right from the beginning I say, quite frankly,lighten up. There is no such thing as "dilution" of gaming culture due to the Wii. This is exactly what the Wii is all about, allowing multiple types of person to have their own personal experiences with the system and with games in general. Worry not, little extremists, you are safe from the evil normies. You will not change your gaming lifestyle just because theres a hundred soccer moms out there playing Wii sports, and trust me they will probably never buy a 360 no matter how much they enjoy playing Wii. For now my advice to all those who feel Nintendo left them at the altar: instead of shooting down games designed to appeal to everyone, go buy one and play. My prediction is you'll have fun, and might even get a chance to convince someone other than your usual friends to hop on board and play a round with you.
Friday, June 15, 2007
DS Browser
Finally, the Opera powered browser for DS Lite and DS are in. THats good news folks, finally facebook, email, etc all on our favorite portable system. More to come when I finally buy it.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Just started this game yesterday, and I've got some first impressions.
The storytelling aspects of this game are huge. The cutscenes, voice acting, and character development are so far very well done. The character code named "Snake" has the only noticeably cheesy voice but fans of previous games know this is more or less a staple of the series.
In this incarnation of the Metal Gear series, the focus is on outdoor jungle stealthing as opposed to primarily indoor scenarios. This new setting shifts focus of the game away from simply completing mission, to taking care of snake as a human being. This means finding food sources for health and energy.
I haven't dug in too deep yet, and I'll tell you why: the camera system.
The simplistic camera system hurts this game, for me, far beyond my ability to hunker down and "deal" with it. The truth is the camera system has essentially remained unchanged from the first two games, and it shows. While playing it, I felt like I was back on the first playstation. When you're constantly put in situations requring stealth and awareness, it seems like the first thing for an upgrade would be the camera system. Still, as we've seen over and over again, a lot of japanese developers tend to cling to game mechanics far past their prime. Instead of redeveloping a games camera system, the often attempt to cram mini-games, added features, and increasingly intricate stories into an old package and sometimes it shows.
Granted the system is not the death of the series, I began to get used to it and found little tricks for a better experience. Still, I don't think a stealth game like this truly simulates espionage. Rather, this game creates a puzzle game that is presented as espionage. A lot of you out there are saying "Duh." Maybe this is why I always loved Splinter Cell.
Other than that I can tell I'm going to have a blast playing the game. Its a gorgeous PS2 title, and as usual I'm playing primarily for the story. More details to come when I'm deeper in.
S\
The storytelling aspects of this game are huge. The cutscenes, voice acting, and character development are so far very well done. The character code named "Snake" has the only noticeably cheesy voice but fans of previous games know this is more or less a staple of the series.
In this incarnation of the Metal Gear series, the focus is on outdoor jungle stealthing as opposed to primarily indoor scenarios. This new setting shifts focus of the game away from simply completing mission, to taking care of snake as a human being. This means finding food sources for health and energy.
I haven't dug in too deep yet, and I'll tell you why: the camera system.
The simplistic camera system hurts this game, for me, far beyond my ability to hunker down and "deal" with it. The truth is the camera system has essentially remained unchanged from the first two games, and it shows. While playing it, I felt like I was back on the first playstation. When you're constantly put in situations requring stealth and awareness, it seems like the first thing for an upgrade would be the camera system. Still, as we've seen over and over again, a lot of japanese developers tend to cling to game mechanics far past their prime. Instead of redeveloping a games camera system, the often attempt to cram mini-games, added features, and increasingly intricate stories into an old package and sometimes it shows.
Granted the system is not the death of the series, I began to get used to it and found little tricks for a better experience. Still, I don't think a stealth game like this truly simulates espionage. Rather, this game creates a puzzle game that is presented as espionage. A lot of you out there are saying "Duh." Maybe this is why I always loved Splinter Cell.
Other than that I can tell I'm going to have a blast playing the game. Its a gorgeous PS2 title, and as usual I'm playing primarily for the story. More details to come when I'm deeper in.
S\
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Rainbow Six Vegas - Holy Shite
I have just recently graced my shelves with a copy of Rainbow Six Vegas for a wopping 54.95 used at gamestop with my good ol' pal Ian. I've played the demo probably a good 10-15 times before buying this game and i was very impressed with just the demo alone. I had just gotten my pay check for the first week of work so i decided to treat myself to a gift.
Initially i knew this game was going to be great but actually owning makes it that much better. There are alot of improvements that this game has made that will hopefully be building blocks for future first person shooters. First thing is the remarkable cover system. Unlike Gears Of War this game uses the left trigger as its engage and disengage cover system. At first this had felt awkward because of the transition from Gears to this, Gears of course assumes third person action shooter while Rainbow Six is a firstperson shooter. What rocks about the cover system is that when you hit a wall or a car or any random debris you hop out of first person and into third. This gives you a layout of the area behind you and around you. A reticle comes up that looks like a squished plus sign.
The reticle is key for dead on shooting. With your character safely in cover you can line up the shots by moving the cursor over the target and when you pop out you will have the perfect shot. Also in third person if you inclick the right analog stick you can prepare a scoped shot. Say for instance you have a terrorist up on a bridge about 100 yards away and you have a really nice 12x scoped sniper rifle. Well if you inclick that analog stick and pop out of cover you'll have him directly in yer sights then its just a matter of getting it nice and pretty over his head and pop.
Now back to the cover system because thats probably the best feature of the entire game. Aside from a couple of little treats that ubi put in the game for some kick ass action sequences. The cover system is a really fluid and smooth coversystem. Unlike Gears, and i'm not bashing Gears because i will not deny that games awesomeness how ever Gears was not without fault. Now here is a basic overview/comparison of the two games cover systems. For Gears the player can engage covering manuevers by holding down the A button which either sticks the character to a piece of cover or begins a action handheld chase camera sequence where when the character makes contact with any structure he will stick to it. Now the sticking is key to this definition of cover. Since the character his now stuck on the wall it leaves him open to use his weapons and pop in and out of cover by using the left trigger. This can at some times be a pain when you have a person coming at you from the front, because you are stuck to cover it sometimes gets a bit chaotic trying to move out of it. There is also a bit of a delay of action that the character experiences when getting off the cover.
The way Rainbow Six succeeds in this sense is the use of a very fluid and seamless cover system by the use of the left trigger. The characters stays in cover as long as his/her finger holds down the trigger button, this allows a real time response where the character is given a seemless transition between cover and movement. Also Rainbow Six has a very simple but yet very impressive team tactic to it. The player is able to command 2 fellow soldiers while in battle by using the A button they can call out locations that they want the 2 to go. This can prove helpful when slowly crawling up a terrorist infested street or building.
And FINALLY the AI in this game is actually good. It's not as amazing as some of the games i've played but it definitely stands out. Over all i think this game deserves a high 9 like it got. Definately a must own if you are a 360 gamer and a first person shooter lover.
With games like this coming out i find it almost impossible for halo to compete if it doesnt offer a cover system. And bullocks to that stupid shield bullshite.
Cheers!
-alex
Initially i knew this game was going to be great but actually owning makes it that much better. There are alot of improvements that this game has made that will hopefully be building blocks for future first person shooters. First thing is the remarkable cover system. Unlike Gears Of War this game uses the left trigger as its engage and disengage cover system. At first this had felt awkward because of the transition from Gears to this, Gears of course assumes third person action shooter while Rainbow Six is a firstperson shooter. What rocks about the cover system is that when you hit a wall or a car or any random debris you hop out of first person and into third. This gives you a layout of the area behind you and around you. A reticle comes up that looks like a squished plus sign.
The reticle is key for dead on shooting. With your character safely in cover you can line up the shots by moving the cursor over the target and when you pop out you will have the perfect shot. Also in third person if you inclick the right analog stick you can prepare a scoped shot. Say for instance you have a terrorist up on a bridge about 100 yards away and you have a really nice 12x scoped sniper rifle. Well if you inclick that analog stick and pop out of cover you'll have him directly in yer sights then its just a matter of getting it nice and pretty over his head and pop.
Now back to the cover system because thats probably the best feature of the entire game. Aside from a couple of little treats that ubi put in the game for some kick ass action sequences. The cover system is a really fluid and smooth coversystem. Unlike Gears, and i'm not bashing Gears because i will not deny that games awesomeness how ever Gears was not without fault. Now here is a basic overview/comparison of the two games cover systems. For Gears the player can engage covering manuevers by holding down the A button which either sticks the character to a piece of cover or begins a action handheld chase camera sequence where when the character makes contact with any structure he will stick to it. Now the sticking is key to this definition of cover. Since the character his now stuck on the wall it leaves him open to use his weapons and pop in and out of cover by using the left trigger. This can at some times be a pain when you have a person coming at you from the front, because you are stuck to cover it sometimes gets a bit chaotic trying to move out of it. There is also a bit of a delay of action that the character experiences when getting off the cover.
The way Rainbow Six succeeds in this sense is the use of a very fluid and seamless cover system by the use of the left trigger. The characters stays in cover as long as his/her finger holds down the trigger button, this allows a real time response where the character is given a seemless transition between cover and movement. Also Rainbow Six has a very simple but yet very impressive team tactic to it. The player is able to command 2 fellow soldiers while in battle by using the A button they can call out locations that they want the 2 to go. This can prove helpful when slowly crawling up a terrorist infested street or building.
And FINALLY the AI in this game is actually good. It's not as amazing as some of the games i've played but it definitely stands out. Over all i think this game deserves a high 9 like it got. Definately a must own if you are a 360 gamer and a first person shooter lover.
With games like this coming out i find it almost impossible for halo to compete if it doesnt offer a cover system. And bullocks to that stupid shield bullshite.
Cheers!
-alex
Monday, May 28, 2007
Dragon Ball Z on the Wii
IGN gave Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi an 8.3. They called it "the best Anime fighter ever". I call it a solid fighting game period.
I got a chance to play the game at my friends house and was skeptical at first. Like many others, I'm sure, my basic opinion of franchise games derived from TV shows (or movies for that matter) was pretty low. I also thought to myself, how could a video game and my feeble human reaction time actually do a Dragon Ball Z style duel ANY justice. The truth is, this game delivers on multiple fronts to create a unique, and overall faithful DBZ experience.
First things first, this game is a fighter but not in the traditional sense. Like old 2 joystick mecha fighters developers have attempted to recreate the feeling of epic 3D battles that take place over a huge amount of ground. To do this they allow characters to remain locked on or not. This means you can run from an enemy just as easily as you can attack. In this version of the game the ability to dash close has been improved but also developers have added the ability to "phase", that is disappear and reappear to deliver amazing combos just like the series. Punch a guy, send him flying and appear behind him to hammer him down to the earth: badass.
Further more, the game was smartly designed using the actual buttons on the WiiMote for attacks. This might seem obvious to some, but more than a few games have fallen prey to lame motion detection. This way the motion sensitive aspect of the game can be reserved for "power moves". Thus, the regular punchs, blocks, etc are very easy to pick up and learn in the beginning. The power ups moves, however, use the motion sensitivity that adds difficulty to producing attacks such as "kamehameha". Add to that the need to "power up" before doing moves and you have combos that are hard to execute, but oh so rewarding when you finally pull them off. This might seem lame to the "fighter game" elite, but it makes pulling off combos more strategic and less about quickest button mashing. This basic truth creates some interesting tactics. For example, I held off near death for a long time but engaging my enemy constantly rather than running from him!
The character models are nice, and cel shaded. This means you feel as if your playing in the tv series. On the downside, the levels are pretty lame. Graphically they're weak (practically sub gamecube) and the terrain is more or less useless. I've had combos pulled on me THROUGH a wall, tree and rock. This would be okay for energy attacks, but some of these issues should be worked out in a game where the terrain should be crucial (for those that saw the show, they know this is true). The next game, slated for a 2007 release will at least deal with the graphical issues (probably? hopefully.)
Overall, the game is really fun and actually offered some more in depth game play once you got deeper in. With over 70 playable characters, their will be a lot of opportunities for those "what if" style showdowns, and a lot of the same ole same ole Goku Vs Vegeta. If the levels graphics are revamped, and minor glitches are reworked 3 will be badder than ever, but 2 still holds up very very strong on its own and probably deserved much closer to an 8.5. If you're not a fan of the DBZ series, hwoever, you might not get a huge kick out of the game.
I got a chance to play the game at my friends house and was skeptical at first. Like many others, I'm sure, my basic opinion of franchise games derived from TV shows (or movies for that matter) was pretty low. I also thought to myself, how could a video game and my feeble human reaction time actually do a Dragon Ball Z style duel ANY justice. The truth is, this game delivers on multiple fronts to create a unique, and overall faithful DBZ experience.
First things first, this game is a fighter but not in the traditional sense. Like old 2 joystick mecha fighters developers have attempted to recreate the feeling of epic 3D battles that take place over a huge amount of ground. To do this they allow characters to remain locked on or not. This means you can run from an enemy just as easily as you can attack. In this version of the game the ability to dash close has been improved but also developers have added the ability to "phase", that is disappear and reappear to deliver amazing combos just like the series. Punch a guy, send him flying and appear behind him to hammer him down to the earth: badass.
Further more, the game was smartly designed using the actual buttons on the WiiMote for attacks. This might seem obvious to some, but more than a few games have fallen prey to lame motion detection. This way the motion sensitive aspect of the game can be reserved for "power moves". Thus, the regular punchs, blocks, etc are very easy to pick up and learn in the beginning. The power ups moves, however, use the motion sensitivity that adds difficulty to producing attacks such as "kamehameha". Add to that the need to "power up" before doing moves and you have combos that are hard to execute, but oh so rewarding when you finally pull them off. This might seem lame to the "fighter game" elite, but it makes pulling off combos more strategic and less about quickest button mashing. This basic truth creates some interesting tactics. For example, I held off near death for a long time but engaging my enemy constantly rather than running from him!
The character models are nice, and cel shaded. This means you feel as if your playing in the tv series. On the downside, the levels are pretty lame. Graphically they're weak (practically sub gamecube) and the terrain is more or less useless. I've had combos pulled on me THROUGH a wall, tree and rock. This would be okay for energy attacks, but some of these issues should be worked out in a game where the terrain should be crucial (for those that saw the show, they know this is true). The next game, slated for a 2007 release will at least deal with the graphical issues (probably? hopefully.)
Overall, the game is really fun and actually offered some more in depth game play once you got deeper in. With over 70 playable characters, their will be a lot of opportunities for those "what if" style showdowns, and a lot of the same ole same ole Goku Vs Vegeta. If the levels graphics are revamped, and minor glitches are reworked 3 will be badder than ever, but 2 still holds up very very strong on its own and probably deserved much closer to an 8.5. If you're not a fan of the DBZ series, hwoever, you might not get a huge kick out of the game.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Ait
Oh man about to go for the 1,2 punch here. Two posts in one night...
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6065052062032555422
Blogger: Boon Taste - Create Post
DS Games I want, in order from most wanted to least wanted (but last on the list still means I want it...so get it for me.)
1. Final Fantasy 3
2. New Super Mario Brothers
3. Mario Kart DS
4. Nintendogs: Chihuahahahahaha edition
5. Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time
6. FIFA Soccer 08
7. Mario 64 DS
8. Advance Wars: DUAL STRIKE
9. Cooking Mama
10. Wario Ware: Touched
I need to finish up and beat Hotel Dusk because its actually very good...I've just been taken over by Pokemon.
Next...
Games I want...in general.
1. Super Papar Mario (Wii)
2. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
3. Final Fantasy 12 (PS2)
4. Madden 08' (Wii)
5. A decent fishing game for Wii...I mean COME ON THEY MADE COOKING MAMA!
4.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6065052062032555422
Blogger: Boon Taste - Create Post
DS Games I want, in order from most wanted to least wanted (but last on the list still means I want it...so get it for me.)
1. Final Fantasy 3
2. New Super Mario Brothers
3. Mario Kart DS
4. Nintendogs: Chihuahahahahaha edition
5. Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time
6. FIFA Soccer 08
7. Mario 64 DS
8. Advance Wars: DUAL STRIKE
9. Cooking Mama
10. Wario Ware: Touched
I need to finish up and beat Hotel Dusk because its actually very good...I've just been taken over by Pokemon.
Next...
Games I want...in general.
1. Super Papar Mario (Wii)
2. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
3. Final Fantasy 12 (PS2)
4. Madden 08' (Wii)
5. A decent fishing game for Wii...I mean COME ON THEY MADE COOKING MAMA!
4.
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