Well, alright! Folks like me who prefer physical product (hey, I hug my games every day!) can now add a really sweet mix of games to our collections without losing much shelf space. WB Games and Backbone Entertainment have released Midway Arcade Origins for the PS3 and Xbox 360 as noted above in the header, on an actual game DISC. Yeah, that’s right. You can boogie on down to your favorite game emporium, whip out that wallet (you know, the one embroidered with BAD MOTHERF*CKER on it), whip out some cash money and tip on out with that new set of oldies in an actual plastic bag. Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! Anyway, no matter which system you own (er, well, if it’s one of the two mentioned, that is, er hey, WHY isn’t this on the Wii U as a launch title OR on the Vita for the holidays?), get this collection, grab some friends and prepare to get schooled by some really awesome arcade hits, I say!
Yeah, yeah – I’ll get back to updates after the election is final. I still don’t know why this stupid country can’t postpone it for a short while so people who’ve been displaced by the crazy weather can go vote and come home to a place with lights and food, but ah well. Anyway, a few other things are going down around here, but we’ll see where they lead, bot good, not so hot, and interesting. Back in a bit. If Deadpool wins, I’ll probably jump out a window or something. But probably not – I’ve got WAY too many games to catch up on!
Even though the RPG Maker software has evolved over time, many XP, VX and VX Ace games I play leave me cold when it comes to the stock RTP visuals. Sure, the character line art and sprites are much more slick and detailed than the ones found in RPG Maker 2000 and 2003, but there’s often a really generic, SUPER clean look to these games that makes me want to skip them in favor of something a bit more… classic. On the other hand, a bit of custom fiddling and good writing has made many XP and above games truly wonderful, memorable games to play (Garden, Aetherion, Manifest, Exit Fate, Last Scenario and so forth and so on), which brings me to The Cartographer. Here’s a game that works wonderfully thanks to blending a great story, excellent use of music and some fine mapping work by developer Avedan that altogether make for a short but sweet RPG worth your time.
The game tells the tale of a young innkeeper named Rueben who finds himself thrust into the role of hero as he takes on his late father’s former position as Dragon Slayer. Toss in a Alina, a beautiful black mage (introduced in a musically flawless manner) Rueben falls head over heels for and Arcturus, an adventurer who needs the assistance of a Dragon Slayer (not an innkeeper) to complete a certain task, and it’s off to the races. While the game can be beaten in about five or so hours, it’s definitely something you’ll remember and probably go back to for the scriptwriting, humor and very likable characters. As for the mapping here, if you play a lot of RPG Maker games, you know that straight RTP maps tend to look very much alike game to game. Avedan has literally done some corner-cutting here, making maps that are far less blocky and almost organic in some spots. Of course, new players won’t notice this at all, but folks who play or make games using the software will find a lot to like here.
One cool thing about the game is all the work can be taken apart to see how it was done, enabling other users of VX to perhaps make maps just like (or better than) the ones here. Anyway, go check this one out and get ready to do a lot of smiling as soon as you start playing as there’s a lot here to love. There’s supposed to be a sequel in the works, but I’ll report more on that in the future once I get through the pile of games I have here…
With all the big games hitting this month for other consoles, it’s actually going to be Nintendo’s big Wii U launch that will probably be key to a huge part of this year’s holiday sales successes or failures. The system has a number of solid-looking launch titles from first and third parties with more on the way in enough different genres that almost all bases are covered. Granted, there are a few things that could spoil Nintendo’s financial fun from idiot speculators dooming the console prematurely to families simply not having more money to spend of a new system this holiday season in favor of buying cheaper Wii games or even another console. I know for a fact that NO ONE with half a brain will be buying a tablet or other device OVER a console, despite the fever dreams of those in the mobile industry sitting on the cheap games bubble about to burst and take a lot of them down to reality sooner than later. People want dedicated consoles because they want to play games that aren’t all short bits of pay to play addiction or clear clones of other successful casual games. That and hell, Mario isn’t coming to iOS or Android any time soon and Nintendo has him and a few other classic characters you won’t see anywhere else but on a Nintendo system (which is how fans prefer it). As always, we shall see what’s what soon enough – I think the console will indeed do well, but Nintendo needs to get people used to paying a premium for a replacement controller (the one thing that will make some rethink a Wii U purchase down the road)…
Bah. What with all this MAJOR bandwidth chugginess from everyone in the area basically hogging more time online thanks to all sorts of Sandy-related issues (hell, at least we have power up here!), updates are going to be a bit slow (well, slower than usual) in coming on some stuff. That’s good news in that I can take time to complete a few more games I’d started, but bad news for my post count, Which I wanted to keep going daily with a certain number of posts per day.
Hmm. Well, I guess THIS counts as one of those posts, huh? Oh well. Off to take a nap, as I just cam back from the airport a little while ago and am WIPED out. I’ll probably dream of some games I need to finish, most likely…
As the kids say, “Now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about!” – or something like that. While this super new update to Valve’s stellar first-person physics puzzler may LOOK the same at first, the changes made to get the game PlayStation Move compatible will add new challenges to the familiar while also proving how well motion control can be done when you have a team that can do it correctly. Sixense just may have a lot of people who’ve played this one to death doing it all over again. I’d be one of those people if this wasn’t DLC only, but I guess I’ll have to hold out hope that Sony’s console gets an Orange Box version of Portal (or even better ALL the Left 4 Dead games!) that has this on it. Ah well… PSN users will be pleased, that’s for sure.
OK, I missed posting this news yesterday thanks to a REALLY chuggy connection (and today is actually WORSE, but here goes nothing… again!), but here it is if you haven’t yet seen it. One of the best (and most polarizing) Xbox 360 sleepers, Deadly Premonition, is finally hitting the PS3 next year with all new content (roll that press release!):
New scenario from the game’s director, Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro
HD graphics
Reworked control system allowing for an even better combat experience
Downloadable content to expand the mystery beyond the original game
Hmmm. I was hoping the ENTIRE game would be on the PS3 disc (as in NO new DLC), but I’ll certainly take this update for a spin anyway, as I know it’s going to be completely crazy, completely weird fun just as the original was. According to publisher Rising Star Games’ website, Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut should be available in March 2013. If they keep it close to the same budget price point, I predict it’ll be even more of a winner than it was on the 360. As always, we shall see…
Another key Vita game hitting stores and PSN at a prime point in a pretty busy year, Ragnarok Odyssey is one of the better JRPGs on the handheld thanks to addictive, fast-paced gameplay, plenty of tough enemies in offline single and online multiplayer modes and lots of lovely visuals and sound to groove on as you play. The game clicks in just about every area and fans of Ragnarok Online and the under-appreciated Ragnarok DS will be pleased to know that the game has enough familiar elements that it feels like a natural extension of those games that can be enjoyed on its own merits. The game is so good that the only major flaws here are some lock-on issues and the lack of a PlayStation 3 version or the ability for Cross Play functionality. The PS3 could use a decent new MMO/Action RPG experience and this would have been superb had GungHo Online and developer Game Arts seen fit to bring the game to that console.
We’re still cleaning up from this stupid hurricane here (well, “we” meaning the city and surrounding areas) – I’m up late packing boxes to ship stuff out (some books I sold on eBay for not a lot, boo!) as the darn post office is FINALLY back in action (but closing a few hours early). I have an airport trip coming up this weekend that should be a fine and dandy adventure what with the MTA trying too hard to get some things back before they’re ready (and screwing up the JFK bus earlier this year so folks who can’t afford their STUPID Airtrain now need to walk about a good half-mile from the new bus stop all the way at the end of Terminal 5 to where they need to drop off or pick up people). Feh (and Double Feh!) for actually having the nerve to resume charging fares even though the damn service isn’t even back to 100% (the tunnels are STILL flooded).
But that’s another story for another time (or another blog, as this one’s about video games)… Oh, I’ll get around to the new banner tomorrow or on the weekend. It’ll probably be Halo 4 just because it’s on the way and probably going to be the “big” game this month.
Sony’s version of Ten Little Indians (minus two) meets SAW and a few other things is looking pretty nifty and yes, it also gets a nice Halloween trailer to ogle. I’m hoping the game is great, as it’s tough to do a good horror game these days because no matter how amazing it is, there’s going to be some jaded jackanape who starts griping that the game either isn’t scary enough, or is too familiar to something they think they know all about, or has someone cursing in it (hey, it’s a M-rated game, silly – what are you supposed to say when there’s a crazy man coming at you from out of nowhere with a knife?). I want to see this succeed because the Move works well enough (and hell, a LOT better than Kinect in terms of a 1:1 gameplay experience) and could use a many new titles that take advantage of the peripheral as possible. OK, I think that may be the last post for the day, as the connection here is crappy and I still need to get a few reviews done and posted later, PLUS, get around to changing the banner to November on the blogs. Back later… or sooner if I can find time for a quickie post.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 