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Friday, July 29, 2011

‪Let's Play BIT.TRIP FLUX‬‏ - YouTube

‪Let's Play BIT.TRIP FLUX‬‏ - YouTube

How dare a man call himself as he claims to be when he just passed by and go?

Didn't he realized that he touched people’s heart as he passed by and all he can say that “I’m just a man”?

How roles such as that can hinders our attention?

How can a person leave such an affect in our lives?

How dare you break our hearts?

How dare you force us to shed tears for you?

You said that you’re just going back….home.

Is going to die part for your plan on going home?

Yet this tune clams me as I watch you die slowly…it calms me as if it saying that everything will be okay.

A melody from the pain I feel, like a mother hushes her crying child to sleep.
Hold her tight and her hands brush her child’s head.

Quietly she whispers to the ear and say “hush now my child, it’s going to be all right now. Sleep now my child. He is going home and will watch over us from the eternity”.

Then I calm, I hush myself to sleep knowing that tomorrow’s a new day to live and smile.

He may be just a man, but he will be a man to be remembered in my life

To infinity…and beyond.

(in memories of Commander Video, Me and your fans will remember you for life, thank you for the memories)

~Mookie-Mookie~

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Bit.Trip Beat & Bit.Trip Runner Review (PC version on Steam)





Developer(s)                 Gaijin Games

Publisher(s)                 Aksys Games

Platform                       PC (though it’s also out on Wii, iOS and Nintendo 3DS)

Release date                 Nov. 2010 (Bit.Trip Beat), Feb 2011 (Bit.Trip Runner)

Genre(s)                       Indie games, Retro, Action, Platform (Runner)

Mode(s)                        Single Player, Multiplayer (Beat)

Rating(s)                      ESRB: E PEGI: 3
                                   
The other day I had a chat with an old gamer friend who mentioned me something that she likes to play mindless games and just to kill time. From that moment she said the word “mindless” it reminded me back to the two indie games from Gaijin I bought from Steam. Bit.Trip Beat and Runner, bothe are priced on 10US$ each so I took liberty on buying them less than 5$ during Steam’s annual event called Summer Camp Sale       

 And here's the hero in the game:
                                    


Presentation:

One word that came from my mind when I first saw both games and that is “Retro”. The Beat version reminded me of Atari’s “Pong” with a mix of beat music with colorful effects while Runner is like an 8bit version of our today's Doritos Crash Course on Xbox 360 and also both moves as accordingly from the beat of the music. Both are representing a retro feel in the game and that’s actually where it shines. A nostalgic feel will attack old gamers with a modern charm mix that also welcomes the new era of gamers.

Graphics:

Basically a beat down 8 bit element doesn’t take a lot of efforts on animations but it works perfectly well given to today’s society in promoting the old back to make it anew. Mixing it up with colors will not bore the eyes and will appeal you with the environment.

                                Bit.Trip Beat: from a black & white screen that bring you the oldies...
                                To this modern theme and catchy tunes.

Gameplay:

On Beat version you control a paddle like Pong, but the movement of each blocks changes when you’re dealing with them and each behaves differently depending on their colors and shapes. The more you successfully hit the blocks the better beats you will receive and that’s where one of the charms of the game comes from. In Runner however, it plays like a platform as you control CommanderVideo (although you control him also in Runner version and the rest of the Bit.Trip games) through the obstacles. like the Beat version, it also plays accordingly with the beat of the music, everytime you initiate and action to evade an obstacle you will hear a tone that will register to the beat to form an appealing sound to the music and when you get a certain "plus object" the beat will evolve from a retro chiptune version to a catchy tune that most likely will stuck in your head for a while. Both games are simple to play however they’re hard to master. Precision is essential for both games, fortunately the tune keeps you motivated enough to each an extra mile and possibliy push for perfection. Note that the Beat version controls on a mouse and Runner controls on a keyboard but plays swell on a gamepad.

                              Bit.Trip Runner: easy in just running round through obsticles
                               Better tunes comes in as soon as you get those Rainbow on your back

Audio:

Aside from the retro environment of game, the tune helps in to create a nostalgia aura which then in my case, re-invented the wheel of retro gaming in me. However, the tune will get catchier as you play it overtime. It’s no joke that when I reached to that point It put a smile on my face.

Overall:

Retro gaming does not come often nowadays but it’s an amazing how they catch a gamer’s attention such as me on the right sport and music. It made me remember my times with the Atari 2600. Both games are a nice time wasting games and to add that the Beat version can also allow you to tweet and/or share your progress on Facebook for a price of 10US$ each, it’s worth every penny (unless if it’s on sale from steam again then go buy it/them without hesitation). I am proud to say that Gaijin is one of those rare game devs that surprisingly restructured the essense of retro gaming. I hope to God that they will last longer to be in the gaming industry to infinity...and beyond.

Score    9

Pro(s)
That 8 bit nostalgia
Catchy tune
Simple gameplay

Con(s)
Hard to master gameplay
Sometimes colors can be a little bit flashy for those who has eye conditions (Beat version)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Review: Dungeon Siege 3





Developer(s)     Obsidian Entertainment

Publisher(s)       Square Enix  

Platform             Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Release date     June 2011

Genre(s)            Action role-playing game        

Mode(s)            Single, multiplayer

Rating(s)          ESRB: T, PEGI: 16
                                 
I only had a day before its official release, so I took the advantage on buying this game with free previous two titles via STEAM. So I bought 3 of them for me to understand what’s the fuss about this long awaited franchise and took liberty on trying the previous titles.
A lot of changes have been made to the franchise though the story did not differ from the original.

Presentation:

Overall it’s a beauty, well crafted on the graphics, voice acting, character details and sound tracks.
At first you’ll have a short brief on the backstory and then choose a class of four main characters with different backgrounds. The conversational system looks pretty much like a Mass Effect/ Dragon Age which is cool and some choices you make will also affects the character’s morale and their companion’s reactions as well; combine that with a compelling storyline and you’ll be asking to know more of what’s going on.

Graphics:

Surprisingly the game dose not ask too much hardware demands in order to make a lush environmental and character details (not to mention good and sexy looking female characters with their sexy Russian accent). Overall, I can’t complain much on the graphics, a job well done here.

                                          Four Heroes with their own class and style

Gameplay:

Similar to Diablo, it’s a loot game; you’ll also spend a bit more time on collecting money just to get the good stuffs out of your character’s gears. The bad side though is, it does not control anything similar like Diablo or Torchlight; you control the movement with a combination of mouse and keyboard although if you have a gampad (so that's a downer just to know that you have to spend extra for better controls), it runs smooth as butter. Battle system controls are tough and needs to get used to at first, among of my main major complains are the blocking/dodging system that can get frustrating and confusing sometimes because both of them are activated with the same key. Another downside is the lack of using Potions which can be a bothering factor at first (it cost me to replay the game and choose a knight over my personal choice as the male wizard) but as you progress and learn the ropes of healing and combating you’ll find the game rewarding after every battle. Online co-op is personally one of my dislikes, as I set to multiplayer for the first time; my partner was playing impatiently as he moves on too fast to the next end without me and not picking up the dropped items! That time I realize that it’s essential to play this game with someone who’s patiently cooperative and communicates with you throughout the game.

Audio:

I can’t complain on this category; the music is perfectly done based on the game and also has believable voice acting.

Overall:

It can't be well appreciated unless if you open to understand where it's trying to take you. It’s not a game for the fans of the franchise, it fell short on the co-op and online gameplay (best to play solo), linear and it is a very short knowing that i finished the game with all the side quests for almost ten hours. Aside from its imperfections, it shines as a one player campaign, runs excellently well on gamepads/console controls, even though battle system can be tough it’s rewarding at the end. This is a good collection for the collectors, loot/dungeon crawling gamers out there. But for those who expect, multiplayer, online gaming, or a diehard fan of the franchise, you might get a bit disappointed. For a new comers out there, it’s a 50/50 you should check it out first by renting it and see. Personally the price tag did not justifies it's worth in terms of depth in gaming and gaeplay hours for an action RPG game.



Score                         7.5/10

Pro(s)
Great Graphics
Compelling storyline which relates a bit from the past two games
Challenging battle system though rewarding at the end
Lot of loots and grinding
Convincing voice acting
A “Mass Effect” like conversation system that also effect morale of your companions
Aside from its imperfections, it’s a pretty good game


Con(s)
Tough with no potion use
Liner plot as you go far
Camera angle only gives you limited views to see
Too short for an RPG game
Co-op and online multiplayer is a joke