I’ve been too busy working on some other projects to keep track of every game I liked from TGS, but Soul Sacrifice is one I’m adding to my long list of wants. It’s not only a great-looking game and a new IP (another one in a bunch coming exclusively to Sony platforms this year and next), it’s yet more proof to the naysayers that the Vita doesn’t get any worthy titles. Of course, it’s usually only those who don’t own a Vita or do, but skip over games for it because they’re unwilling to expand their horizons who are complaining. Me, I say keep it up, Sony!
Sony really has 2013 wrapped up in a nice bow with too many first-party releases to count, but as far as Quantic Dream’s and Naughty Dog’s instant classics, the worldwide appeal for these is clear, no matter what console is your favorite. These are two title that non-PS3 owners will wish they could play while the pure Sony fanatics will have more ammo to whip out when they need to make the case for the PS3’s staying power after so long. Without a doubt, Sony’s NOT going out of this console cycle with a whimper, nor by rendering their console obsolete before its time.
Even though I own all three originals, like a lot of gamers, I’ll be shelling out for Killzone Trilogy for one reason: the chance to replay the first Killzone game in HD (thank you Sony!). That said, where’s Killzone Liberation? That excellent (and under appreciated) PSP exclusive was quite a solid chunk of side story action that, despite the third-person viewpoint and bird’s eye view camera angle, still looked and felt like it belonged in the canon (which it does). I’d have added it as a free PSN download if there were somehow no way to fit it on a disc, but we’ll see if Sony decides to give the game a proper fit somewhere as part of this great collection set to land on October 23 (October 24 in Europe). Between this and the massive God of War Saga, Sony is certainly making sure its main franchises remain in the minds (and libraries) of gamers who can’t get enough of them…
I wouldn’t exactly call this soon to be released instant classic something that’s going to make the hardcore shooter fans fall away in droves from the games they like, but you can clearly see all the work that”s gone into making The Unfinished Swan a game for the ages. Of course, it’s another PSN-only game, so it’ll be seen as disposable by those who dislike digital releases. Hmmmm… I really do hope someone is preserving all this game code that goes up on these download sites for future reference, as physical media is still important to the industry (and will be for a while). Hell, they still need to transfer digital movies to 35mm film stock for proper preservation purposes all while the movie industry is rushing into dropping film pretty much entirely within a few years due to the cost of shipping heavy film reels around to theaters (for starters). That’s going to be one frightening time indeed, especially if all that digital data starts disappearing. Eh, maybe I’m worrying too much… but I don’t think so….
Edward Kienholz was an artist you may or may not have heard of (depending on your level of education), so if you know his work and happen to be a gamer, you’re smiling right now. For those of you who are scratching your heads, I’ll let you Google him and more of his work up at your leisure. Before that, take a peek at that image to the left. Go on, it won’t bite (I think)…
OK, maybe this should be ART Appreciation 101, huh?. It’s from Roxy’s, an environmental installation piece from 1960-61 (and the artist’s first large scale work) based (loosely, I hope) on the artist’s memories of a visit to a Las Vegas bordello in the 1940’s. Long story short, I’d seen this image years ago in an art book and it bugged the hell out of me for weeks. As in seeing that figure hovering around in a nightmare or two and maybe wanting to dig my eyes out with a cold spoon after waking up bugged…
Ha and ha ha. I recall telling some folks from thatgamecompany a while back at a press event that an art book on the making of their groundbreaking PS3 exclusive Journey HAD to be released along with the game on a physical disc at some point and guess what? both are happening. Awesome, especially for those of us who KNOW that this medium NEEDS both a digital and physical means to archive milestones like this particular game. It’s too bad that the pressure of making the game has broken up the team, but it looks as if everyone had landed elsewhere and at the end of the day, the game is still an incredible experience not to be missed.
Anyway, buy this book if you’re a fan of the game and hell, if you’re not a fan of the game and own a PS3, get the Journey Collector’s Edition when it hits stores and this book so you can see what all the fuss is about. Hmmm… Now I know what I want for Xmas (or a late birthday gift for myself, or an early retirement present, or whatever)…
Packing in a lengthy quest mode, a real time battle system focused on combos and contact, up to four player co-op via ad hoc or online, lovely visuals and some nice connections to the popular MMO series, this one could be an instant classic when it’s released. As someone who liked Ragnarok DS quite a lot and knows this game is going to be a whole lot better, I can’t wait to see how it turned out. My Vita’s getting hungry for more dungeons and drooling denizens determined to drop doom on my poor party. Fat chance, demon-spawn, fat chance, I say, grrrr!
Specifically, the eternally quirky “Animal Day” off 1981’s excellentDark ContinentLP. Well, that’s the sone I’d pick if I were working in SCEA’s marketing department. That and hey, this was on a Blu-Ray in Japan, but it’s only getting a PSN release here, grrr. If i were running things out west, or at least had a say in matters, I’d have done a release through PSN as well as a double-game disc with this and Papo & Yo or rain on it plus a few demos of other PSN titles and yes, added a PlayStation Plus discount voucher to the game case so more people could play both games. I’m just saying, the MORE people that can access this content, the better in the long run for SCEA (and gamers, too!)
I’ve been having an interesting conversation with a friend about the “need” for this sort of AAA mascot platformer in these days of more gritty games and less humor in too many major releases. We’re both not against the idea of this genre and yes, there are plenty of fun (and funny) indie games to fill the gaps should the mascot platformer just about vanish from the next generation of consoles. That said, outside anything “new” Nintendo has been doing with the Mario franchise, I’m seeing a bit too much by the numbers programming where deja vu takes the place of actual innovation and true creativity. Or hell, perhaps I’m getting too jaded about thing (which isn’t a good sign). I think not, though – I’m just old enough to know when a game is going the rote route.
Maybe it’s developers trying too hard to recapture what made many classic platformers great or maybe it’s just that we’re seeing the genre finally winding down after so many games from great to terrible. Either way, it’s looking as if Sanzaru’s upcoming Sly Cooper game will be part of a dying breed unless we start seeing a resurgence in the genre that features new and equally memorable mascots and gameplay that’s worth buying a new console for. Then again, you don’t need a new system to play the best platformers (or mascot games) ever made, right?
Well, it looks as if since R & C All 4 One, Insomniac is cutting out any chance of this series being as “edgy” as it once was. Of course, that’s to be expected with the franchise running for so long across two console cycles (and soon to be two portable ones). Granted, if you think about it, the visual style has always been that of a modern CG cartoon influenced by many classics from days gone by now geared to kids. I’m also betting that the dev tem members with younger kids are making a game they can play with them as opposed to cranking out yet another game made for the fans who want nothing to change, ever.
That’s one BIG reason for new IP folks – it keeps stuff like this from dragging out into the land of diminishing returns. Bring on Overstrike, I say.
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