By Griff Hoffmann If 98 percent of the Internet is porn, then of the remaining two percent, half are message boards and fan sites proclaiming which Final Fantasy is best. The other half is everyone else telling you how wrong they are. The eternal debate will never be resolved but what is solid fact is that people love Final Fantasy or at least liked a game or two years ago. Final Fantasy Theatrhythm exists to remind you that those games were pretty good. It plays on nostalgia most obviously putting unforgettable music front and center. Theatrhythm also revisits memorable locations and showcases beloved characters in what is a little bit more than a rhythm tapping game. Theatrhythm offers a Record Club’s worth of music and nostalgic nods but isn’t enough to validate adding to my game collection.
0 Comments
By Griff Hoffmann Games coming from Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacture have always had a unique flavor and Lollipop Chainsaw is no different. It does diverge in on major way that sets it apart from most of that team’s previous work: it’s actually fun to play. Lollipop Chainsaw takes the aesthetics of Western zombie horror, puts it into a high school teen sitcom setting, then stuffs it full of Japanese anime cheesecake. From the fetishistic attention given to Juliet’s wardrobe and wiggle to the prefect music selection that pops in at just the right moment, the game has all the right stuff as most Suda 51 games do. This time, the critical ingredient of solid gameplay is added to the alchemical mixture and out flows gold. Lollipop Chainsaw is an absolute delight just as much as it is unforgettably quirky.
By Griff Hoffmann FEZ is a puzzle. Well duh it’s a puzzle, it’s a puzzle game with hidden puzzles in it. But there’s more than the obvious. The initial attention it received was a mystery for me. When I heard about FEZ several years ago I never understood what the commotion was about, but then again, I don’t think the commotion knew what the commotion was about. I didn’t get why another Indie platformer was receiving so much buzz. After finishing it I get it…I think. FEZ has a mystique that few games offer, a pervasive mystery that constantly needles the player to ask, “What is this?” Even after fully completing FEZ there is a teasing suspicion that the enigma has not been completely deciphered and there might be on final puzzle.
By Griff Hoffmann Never has the ambition behind a video game been so grand as with the Mass Effect series. To make decisions that span a three game story as well as nearly five years in real time puts pressure on the developer to make the outcome of those choices meaningful and worth the wait. Mass Effect 3 is a battle against expectations. With the challenge of creating a game that has to simultaneously provide a welcoming experience to new players and fulfillment to returning players the flaws are brought into sharper relief and easily blamed on the need to appease both sides. Mass Effect 3 is an enjoyable improvement in many ways but the handful of blemishes detracts from the grand conclusion of Bioware’s epic space opera.
By Griff Hoffmann For lovers of crazy anime and Asian mythological cyborg demigods Asura’s Wrath will impress like a power level over 9000. The game is a uniquely structured interactive story mixed with hack and slash and rail shooter gameplay. There is little depth, skill, or sense to Aura’s Wrath but if you’re willing to just go with it there is some fun to be had.
By Griff Hoffmann Don’t play NeverDead. I feel bad coming out right and condemning a game but it just isn’t good. NeverDead addresses the perennial problem of fail states in video games the wrong way. Having to collect the fragmented limbs and torso by rolling a head around gets tedious very quickly and simply reloading a save becomes more appealing. Perhaps this is linking the player to the character by drawing a simile between wishing for death instead of playing Marco Polo for remaining body parts and the character’s eternal life wrought with loss and suffering wishing only to be put out of his misery. If so, that link was successful but I don’t want to feel miserable and annoyed for eight hours, especially when I don’t have to.
By Griff Hoffmann What may initially smack of an exploitative marketing gimmick, Sklanders: Spyro’s Adventure is an enjoyable solidly put together game. It plays like Gauntlet, offers very simple skill customization, and highly promotes additional content. Skylanders has received much criticism and has been frowned upon for numerous reasons that smack of superficial judgments. In reality Sklanders: Spyro’s Adventure can be prohibitively expensive to play to the fullest extent (over $300), this shouldn’t overshadow the surprising quality and completeness of the base game.
By Griff Hoffmann Rage is a technical powerhouse that is besmirched by its slight lack of diversity and seemingly rushed conclusion. The four years it took to bring Rage into existence were well spent by simply looking at the game. Jaw dropping detail and a frame rate that never lets up make for a visually stunning experience. The blemishes are an ever-present texture pop-in problem, though this becomes quickly forgettable since standing around doesn’t happen too much in Rage. The other problems are the half-baked multiplayer and sudden drop off of the main campaign. Rage is a surprisingly enjoyable game but just a few flaws keep it shy of perfection.
By John Stanhope The dictionary defines a game as an amusement or pastime amongst other things. Using that definition, it is difficult to view Dark Souls as a "game". With the overwhelming number of obstacles present, Dark Souls raises plenty of emotions, however amusement is not one of them. Yet why does Dark Souls continue to be so damn addicting and compelling?
By Griff Hoffmann The future past is colored with black and gold. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a reverent prequel to the seminal conspiracy riddled series of the early 2000’s. Eidos Montreal hits the sweet spot missed in most prequels by both improving gameplay without making the previous tech seem obsolete. Not to say Human Revolution is without flaw but the world crafted and the player agency in it make for not just a fun game but and unexpected masterpiece.
|
Archives
February 2014
Categories
All
|