Gaming Buzz

Now, the problem with this game, is I haven’t played any of those that came before… and unfortunately, most people in India haven’t either… the good part is, I and many of us, like bashing things up. So then this game is good… very good.

The game is simple, fly around as any one of many many characters, and kick ass… what makes it interesting are the many objects you can pick up, and the lack the amalgamation of the multiple gaming universes and bash styles imaginable… so Mario versus Pikachu is going to be the norm, and what’s more you can use either a baseball bat, or throw a pokeball out to release something else…

I’m not too sure about the controls, but apparently, they’re completely customizable, and what more can be used in a variety of ways, basically if you go by what people say, they’re good simple enough for anyone. Another really cool thing, is that they aren’t many, or in fact any ‘special’ technically hard combos to do… so its an even playing field, in as  much as an experienced player wont have any know how advantage over a novice. Some people aren’t too happy about this…

Its interesting but the gaming community seems to take this game really serious, apparently, serious bashers, fight competitively, and vie for top honours, something they left undefined. But what’s cool is, if you don’t want to compete with the best in the world, but only with your friends, you can pull that off too, the game features, or more accurately is based on a really cool multiplayer platform. Also this multiplayer platform can be pushed online, so technically, you could play any one anytime… the good news is, the lag, is seen to be not much more than that experienced playing on a plasma TV, and wont be obvious to the casual gamer.

Also speaking of thing online, the game makes it possible to create full stages/arenas to combat in, which you can actually upload to the main Wii server, and have downloaded all over the world. So potentially there are unlimited stages to play, though the editor is far from up to the mark, and gives only the most basic options.

The next thing about the game which is cool, is the single player mode. Not really the USP of the game, it is still well done, and carefully developed. Interestingly, you’re not tied down to one character but switch between multiple Nintendo and Sega heroes, enjoying their games’ worlds as you battle. As the game comes to a head, the worlds combine, and you may find yourself fighting alongside a Pikachu as something like Sonic. Go team Rodents!

I’m not sure there’s anything bad to say about the game, if there is, I didn’t find it, and possibly no one’s said it yet. Perfect scores were the average for the game, and the projected playing time for it, is over 6 years… quite believable, considering the last game in the series, launched 6 years ago, is still being played.

Be the Super Villain take a break from the boring hero in you, and be a ridiculous little alien invader for a change… 30 years on from the original and you aren’t defending earth anymore, you want it flattened.

What’s interesting about this game, is not what you do, but how you do it. Basically you fly around earth, destroying people, killing buildings, and spreading despair. You appear like some kind of bully ship, with a bunch of lackeys handing around to do your bidding. Basically you can order other invader ships to do a variety of attacks, on buildings etc. the attacks vary from the general, to the bowling ball attack, where the ships become a single ball, and roll round, flattening everything. But the best is, if you ever feel you cant handle the heat from the earth defenders, then just call for mommy! Yup the mother ship comes in and deals devastating damage to everything, and then leaves, and leaves you to complete the mission. Pretty cool.

The way it works, is that you have a limited amount of time in each stage, and a certain mission to complete, everytime you get hit, by some sort of a earth defender you loose a lackey, and that means you take longer to complete missions. There are ways to replenish your time and ships lost… every building you destroy gives you a second back… but the best it, every COW you abduct gives you a whopping 15.

The opponents, the armies of earth, are pretty average, and beating them is barely a challenge, the challenge comes from the internet standings incorporated in the game. You do well, to tell about it. This makes the title a little more intense than it would normally be.

The biggest problem with the game is that you cant buy all of it, and need to download it from the net, and blah blah… basically not so much fun!

The game is the second in the ‘new’ Lara Croft series, and first things first, she looks hotter than ever. Developers have worked on her with more love and added detail, to the point where you can actually see her face contort as she says things.

The coolest thing about the title, by far is the new combat system. The adrenaline system thingy, is sort of like Max Payne 2’s bullet time, crossed with the Matrix’s force moves. It does the standard slowing down of opponents, and greater effectiveness of the you, but what is really cool, are the moves you can do with the full meter, pretty much one shot kill moves, and they look good too.

The other cool thing about the game, is the visuals, the maps are huge, and beautifully designed, really breathtaking material on some levels. Other can be a little drab and boring, but nonetheless it keeps you going. Another really cool thing about the maps is that in the puzzle levels, they’re usually at least two ways of going through it. Basically what that means, is that there is no one single solution to a puzzle, and you can do it your own way.

I didn’t play the first game in the series, didn’t like the reviews enough. But… the second game, is  a plane must have. It is a little long, and can get boring, in some ways, but it just has to played, because…

Well for starters, its an FPS that actually lets you make some decisions, and doesn’t have a fixed plot. You don’t HAVE to do all the missions, you don’t have to say yes or no to everyone, you don’t even have the same missions every time, you can actually play the game, on your own terms. Think of it like GTA meets any of the more famous fps… but its better.

Its better because of the amazing detail in the surroundings for one thing. They are simply immense, the maps, and what’s more, they are beautiful, in everyway. The weather stands out, as by far the best bit of the environment, but riding along a road, in a jeep with antelope, is a whole different idea to the usual fps arena, of constant gun wielding activity. Here you can catch your breath.

You have friends in the story, that actually are friends, they’ll come save you, or they may not, its not important, they seem fun, and you can stick with them, as long as you want.

Another really cool thing is that you never loose the fps perpective, everything is like you were real, you check maps on your lap, buy things without skipping to irritating little computer screens. When I say all fps, in this case I mean all fps…

As usual the types of guns are amazing, but the other thing that also is, that you can use any kind of weapon to complete any kind of mission. So when you feel like it, you can be a ninja, stealth assassin, or a Rambo style m60 weilding desperado, and it’ll still work.

The downside of the game, is its repetition, missions tend to seem similar, also it’ll require some hardware set up, and it never seems to end. Some people might like that, some may not.

The game though, is fantastic, and a hundred percent must play material… I’m going to be busy for a bit.

Anyway, when I think about it, I realize one thing, mother does not actually dislike mindless violence that much… she used to beat my brother and me often enough as kids. It was pretty intense at times, with bruises and the rest, so I guess violence isn’t completely out of the picture.

She also likes movies about assassins. Agreed, that was largely cause it had Sly in it, oh yeah! She liked Rambo too… hmmm… but still, I doubt she would like to be wielding a gun herself, in virtually… a broomstick may be, but I am sure not a gun.

She likes anther kind of violence too, the whole tom and jerry type, and quite a few cartoon too, I mean she doesn’t mind toons falling onto beds of nails… or the Mahabharat for that matter… so…

Well anyway, she isn’t the violent type by nature. I mean I doubt she’d ever feel good about violence, unless she knew very well that she was pretty far from it… to actually pull triggers, or swing clubs I think is not something she’d like.

Unless she was hitting us…

Now that is what is giving me an idea, she likes hitting kids, hmmm… now  a game with her chasing me around with a broom stick, might be right up her corner. In fact I think she’d enjoy it, quite a bit.

Okay now I’ve got to make sure she doesn’t read this blog, because she doesn’t need a game to do that…

I guess then, come to think of it, she isn’t going to play a game after all, not while I’m around.

My mother’s Favourite game…

Now my mother doesn’t ever play video games, shet thinks they’re a waste of time, etc. the standard reasons a ‘grown up’ would give for not liking/wasting time on VGs. Of course what she doesn’t realise, is that gaming, like surfing, is much more than a waste of time.

I’ve already done a blog on gamers as sportsman, and this isn’t about that, its actually about an idea. An idea of my mother playing a game. Now it cant be one of those button thumping, sword slashing, super fast, thriller games. Nor can it be one of those platforms puzzle solving games. Nor the interesting, for us, sports games… except may be tennis pro, or something like that.

I wonder what she would play. She’s not really into machoism… feminist? Maybe, something along the Tomb Raider chain of thought, except I get bored playing tomb raider, what how long it takes to get anything done, and the number of tries it needs. Perhaps a Princess of Persia kind of game, that would be cool… Actually, I’d like to play one too, I mean a woman is just that much hotter than a stupid black hearted, or play boy prince. Hmmm… actually mother likes kicking butt, so may be she’d prefer one of those fighter games, you know Tekken 3 types… except that would fit into the whole, mindless violence bit.

Yup, even though she likes kicking butt, I doubt she’d by any of the mindless violence games… that rules out pretty much anygame I enjoy, or could enjoy.

Except may be racing games… but somehow I don’t see my mother spendnig hours going round the same circuit, again and again and… well you’ve done it, it can be irritating.

So what does that leave? Not much.

The game is interesting, and pretty much the expected outcome of a controller system like that of the Wii, unfortunately, its also a bit disappointing. Though to criticize the game is a bit unfair, because after all, the system is new, and you’re bound to get it wrong, the first few times.

That being said, its not that ‘wrong’ either… in fact its quite fun, specially if you play in multiplayer mode, which is what this game was designed for. The single player mode, is slow and repetitive, and because of the opposition requires you to do specific, repetitive combination… until you get bored… with a friend in the fray, it becomes pretty interesting, because you will both be free wheeling, in a way. While the opponents in the single player mode, can parry, almost perfectly and so fights get longer and longer…

The controlling, which is what you really want to know about anyway, isn’t all that expansive either, literally… there are just four basic moves, slashes and stab. And they involve not majestic swishes but mere flicks of the wrist to get right… once you’ve mastered the skill of slashing, you really cant do much more. The fights as I said before are all pre-meditated on ‘combo’ lines, limiting the effect of free slashing.

But because the game has a decent story line, and fits in seamlessly with Star Wars story, its fun. All the environments are brilliantly done… and the fights have glorious cinematic effects… making them look a lot like the movies.

Another thing I’d really like to see, is the dialogue. Apparently they’ve dubbed separate lines for each character facing any other possible fighter in the pack. So Obi Wan and Anakin taunt each other, as though it were a practice session, while Obi says considerably worse things to other fighters. That sort of attention to detail, will go a long way to preventing the game from getting stale… specially if you play it the way its meant to be… against your friends, because once you establish your favourite characters, their having their own personality goes a long way.

The other thing that I should mentions, is that while its not evident in the single player mode, each fighter in the game has his own special kind of fighting style, something which is very evident in multiplayer mode. Personally if there’s anyone I want to kill, I’d introduce him to this game.

Well, the first thing you need to know about this title, is that its not the old transformers… in fact it barely transforms. Bad jokes apart, its true, the game has significantly reduced the amount of ‘transforming’ you do. Rather a let down!

Well anyway, the game is designed to please kids, and I mean real kids here, not the average pre-teen, but the true inner child, we are told to get in touch with. There’s very little violence, and mostly obstacle courses.

The characters to have been changed, with Prime and the others not quite as strong, or serious as they used to be… in fact to anyone familiar with the older games, it would be quite disturbing.

The game play is based on a side scrolling, multiple character platform. You play as one of the triad of bumblebee, optimus and bulkhead. Each one has his own special skill, bulkhead can break things, bumblebee jumps, and optimus can grapple on walls. Not quite what you expect these grave characters to do. But if its any consolation, they’re not quite what they used to be either.

The game play however is good, and the visuals are slightly better, and in keeping with a cartoon feel, on which the game is based. It’s a licensed game after all. The controls are smooth, and combined with the good graphics, it makes for a fun, sure play game. With the violence levels low enough… its all good for a kid brother’s birthday present or the equivalent, though the chances of you enjoying it, are fewer.