Anyone who knows anything about the gaming market these days can tell you that the Nintendo Wii is the unrefuted winner in this generation of gaming consoles so far, at least as far as sales go, having sold over 67 million units worldwide, compared to the 360’s 39 million and the PS3’s 33.5 million. The Wii’s motion control combined with some good casual games has allowed it to reach out to a whole new demographic of people that were never considered gamers. Many would argue they still can’t be called gamers, but that doesn’t change the fact that Nintendo struck a gold mine, and as such are raking it in big time. With the unfathomable amount of success the Wii has seen, Sony and Microsoft both decided they wanted a piece of that pie. Sony took a pretty straightforward approach, coming up with their not-so-cleverly named “PS3 Motion Sensor Controller”. It’s basically a stick like the Wiimote, but with a purple orb at the end that the Playstation EyeToy can track. Microsoft however took a much more ambitious approach. Entitled “Project Natal”, Microsofts motion sensor incarnation touts an entirely controller free gaming and entertainment experience. Not only that, but an unparalleled level of not just motion sensory, but the ability to sense just about anything else that goes on in front of that camera. Many people, unsurprisingly including Microsoft themselves, have called this the future of gaming. I thought I would give my thoughts on this claim, as well as the Natal itself
As I mention fairly frequently, I am an RPG guy. I spent most of my life playing almost exclusively RPG games, FPS games were the furthest from my spectrum. Of course these days I am much more open minded, there is far more that defines a game than what genre it is classified as. In fact I would almost say that action/RPG hybrid games like the Star Ocean series, the Tales series or even Diablo can be even better than straight up RPGs. The marriage of the RPG character building elements and the action combat can make for some real good times. One of the less common forms this takes however is a shooter. When I first heard about Borderlands, it was described to me as what World of Warcraft would look like as an FPS, and I was intrigued. Top it all off with the fact that the game is cel shaded, and I knew I had to have this game. I just love cel shading, what can I say. My one line review of this game: “While there are parts of Borderlands that are as dry and empty as the desert world it takes place on, Borderlands does a superb job of hitting both the RPG and the FPS nerve simultaneously”.
Heavy Rain is a game that has received a whole lot of buzz over the last few months. While it isn’t a traditional game by any means, it’s one of those games that are one in a million. It isn’t a game everyone is going to be excited about, and indeed it certainly won’t be a game everyone likes. I mentioned it briefly a little while ago when I discussed the merits of story vs. gameplay, but the abridged version is that Heavy Rain tries to be something of a cross between an interactive movie and a choose your own adventure book. It’s unique in that, this PS3 exclusive title puts the vast majority of it’s efforts into building a cast of characters with unparalleled emotions, as well as a deep, compelling story which unfolds differently based on your actions. The question is, does this make for an enjoyable video game? Well this Thursday just past saw the release of the Heavy Rain demo on the Playstation Network, and here is what I thought:
The first Assassin’s Creed game was one that had a lot of hype, but never really lived up to peoples’ expectations. Certainly there are those who love it, and it did some things really well, but it has several gamebreaking flaws that prevented it from reaching it’s true potential. The story was lame, the gameplay was astoundingly repetitive, and the sword combat that was frequently forced upon you was quite weak. With a horrible cliffhanger ending, a sequel was inevitable. People were understandably skeptical of Assassin’s Creed II, but all that doubt came to naught once the game was released. Assassin’s Creed II essentially took everything that was bad about the first game and either fixed it or ditched it. Then, they took everything that was good about the first game and kicked it up a notch or three. What we’re left with is a very solid game that puts it’s predecessor to shame. My one line review of this game: “Assassin’s Creed II is everything the first game should have been, and much much more.”
Anyone who read my post about RPGs on the PS3 and/or follow me on twitter are well aware that White Knight Chronicles is a game that I have been pretty eager about for a while now. I’ve been craving a new traditional RPG, and the Dragon Quest games I’ve been playing aren’t exactly new. With Final Fantasy XIII a month away still, White Knight Chronicles serves as an excellent distraction until that time. Beyond that though, it is a game that I have been looking forward to on it’s own. White Knight Chronicles has been in the making almost as long as Final Fantasy XIII itself has, though it came out in Japan a year or so ago. Created by the masterful (and imo- under appreciated) minds at Level-5 inc. White Knight Chronicles finally came out in North America yesterday. Of course since it’s a JRPG not called Final Fantasy nobody cares and my local EB Games didn’t get a copy until today. None the less I’ve been playing it, and will continue to play it ravenously. It’s Wednesday night though, and so in order to avoid thinking I present my first impressions of White Knight Chronicles.
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