Video Game Review: Tales of Solaris

My new addiction: Tales of Solaris (formerly known as Tales of Laputa), a MMORPG. Usually these things aren’t my thing. I don’t play well with others, and I don’t like the idea of depending on strangers to help me accomplish things in a game.

The game is in an anime style, and as a person who likes anime it makes me smile. The game is designed to be a little more kid-friendly. I personally don’t mind the kid-friendly-ness of the game, although in general I’m not attracted to the hard-core mature games.

I guess one of the things I like is that I don’t have to be dependent on others. I have my own character and I have my pets. Yes, I have pets that fight along with me. Currently I have a dragon. It’s pretty awesome. Anyway, I can choose to team up with other people or I can play through the game myself. I like the flexibility.

The basics of this game are really easy to grasp. All you do is fight things and go through the main plot of the game. This intricacies of the game are (shockingly) harder to grasp. I constantly have the feeling that I’m missing some key aspect of the game while I’m playing it. It makes me very insecure in what I’m doing whilst playing. And I don’t like not knowing exactly what I’m doing.

However, as much as I am enjoying this game, it is the biggest time suck on the face of the planet. I guess since this is the first MMORPG I’ve ever committed to, I didn’t really know what I was getting into. I’m a competitive person when it comes to gaming. The more you put into an MMORPG, the more rewards you get out of it. And as one of those people who wants to get the most out of their gaming experience, it means I put in more time than I probably should.

And while I really haven’t interacted with a lot of people, I can tell right off the bat that the other gamers are a bunch of nerds. I’m the Chairman of the guild Fairy TaiL (by default when other people quit) and I constantly see other people with nerdy names. So if you are looking for Internet friends, this may not be a bad place to start.

So if you have the time and have any level of interest, I’d say check this game out. If you don’t, then this game is not going to be worth your time.

The Good, The Bad, and Then There’s Sony: An E3 Summary

Just as soon as it started, E3 has come to an end, leaving us with fantastical highs and long side-glances of apprehension. But what was good and what was bad? Certainly I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ll give my opinion on the games that I think should be watched with much interest.

Unfortunately, my fears about Microsoft and the Xbox One were not alleviated, but neither were they exacerbated. It seemed like there was a general sense of hopelessness about the whole conference, and really, not too much stuck out to me. At least nothing that made me want to buy the damned Xbox One. Though the controversies I brought up last time weren’t exactly mentioned, they were more than content to make some new ones. During a play demo of the upcoming re-vamp of Mortal Kombat, one of the female developers, who was losing the match (playing a fighting game on a touch pad against someone using an arcade stick isn’t exactly a fair playing field), was told to “just let it happen” because “it [would] be over soon”. Something I absolutely do not watch game expos for is rapey side-comments about women losing games. It was gross, and it was clear that the developer wasn’t having any fun—which, when people already don’t like your system, is not the best way to go. All around, Microsoft came off as extremely unsupportive of their female playerbase. No one is amused.

However, Microsoft did have a couple good games at their showing. The ones I’m most excited for are Sunset Overdrive, a Borderlands-esque shooter which takes place in a futuristic setting that almost reminds me of Jet Set Radio, and Titanfall. People are already getting excited over Titanfall for two reasons: it’s developed by a sect of people that left the Call of Duty camp (people who were the good part of that camp, some would argue) so it’s clear they already know their way around the genre—and it stars a non-sexualized female in a position of power. Unfortunately, from the gameplay it doesn’t seem as though she will be a playable character, but I’m happy that she’s there, at least. In such a male-dominated genre, baby steps are definitely the safe method to integration, but we’ll see if it’s more than just a novelty in the coming years.

E3 Has Me Shivering With Antici……Pation

Those winds are blowing again, my friends. The winds of a new generation carrying with them the remnants of fanboy and fangirl tears alike as brave gamers prepare their wallets for the blow that they’ll inevitably receive. Tomorrow, once more the doors of E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, will metaphorically open to the public and we’ll see what these big name developers have been hiding up their sleeves.

Already this year things are a little bit different, and drama already arisen. First off, and most notable in my eyes, is that Nintendo isn’t going to be holding a conference in earnest. Certainly, they’re still going to have a presence with a Nintendo Direct panel—a more general panel encompassing more than just the new system—going on Tuesday and a panel dealing with the newest Pokémon games, X and Y, happening later on in the same day. However, I don’t know if it speaks more about Nintendo itself or its competitors that they don’t feel as though it would be worth it to hold a panel as normal.

If you’ve had your toes in the water of the gaming world at all in the past few weeks, you probably already know the other drama. Word’s out: no one is really overly impressed with the Xbox One. Especially with its lack of backwards compatibility, need to be hooked up to the internet more often than any gaming system, save for PC, should, and the seeming vendetta against used games and sharing games in general. The viral advertising against Microsoft concerning this, legitimate or not, hasn’t helped matters much either. Of course, words are cheap and for many, waiting until the One was shown at E3 would be Microsoft’s defining moment. However, it’s rumored that due to the widespread unfavorable opinion on the console (as well as an assumed inability to dispute said opinion) Microsoft has canceled their post-show media roundtable. As much as I’m side-eying the company right now, I sincerely hope that this isn’t true. Not only would this look poorly on the company and the system, it would also be confirming my worries that this system is not something worth investing in. And with titles like Banjo Kazooie: Grunty Land and Mirror’s Edge 2 tempting my spending, I’d really like there to be something redeeming about the One.

To the surprise of no one, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for any news about Dragon Age III: Inquisition and The Last of Us, but more than that, I’ll be looking especially hard for how this new era of games is going to present their characters. Of course, there’s still going to be our Halo’s and other series that have long since overstayed their welcome, but with the current release of Remember Me—an action adventure game staring a (hopefully) un-sexualized female character—and even the past release of the new Tomb Raider, I maintain the hope that females will overcome their tropes and companies will create more and more diverse characters that do more than just look pretty. (Although other aspects of the industry are continuously still trying to ignore that half the gaming audience is, indeed, female, which is a little disheartening.) With games such as Bayonetta 2 being listed—despite there being no confirmation if the title will actually make it to the E3 showroom—I think this is a good sign for progress on that front. It’s impossible to know for sure, however.

For Once Can We Have Nice Things?

If you’re interested in looking at the state of the union, so to speak, you can watch the IGN stream here or the YouTube stream here. E3 starts tomorrow, Monday the tenth, at 9AM PST (Noon EST), so to make sure you hit the video streams you want, make sure to check out the schedule. I’ll be liveblogging on my tumblr (tagged “E3pocalypse ’13), so feel free to drop me a message telling me your opinion, or simply leave me a comment here.

Trailer Tuesdays: Animal Crossing—New Leaf

I know this slot is usually used for upcoming movies and new seasons of popular television shows, but this week I’ve decided to use it for my own devious plans. Well, okay, it’s more like to pimp out the game that I’m super excited for.

After getting completely shafted at last year’s E3—don’t think we’ve forgotten or forgiven, Nintendo—the Animal Crossing fandom was sitting on the edge of their seats, foaming at the mouth for any mention of the long-awaited title. Or at least a goddamned release date. Many months we waited patiently (which is a relative term, I realize) and as the days passed, more and more information finally came to the surface. With the release date finally nearing—June ninth: two more weeks, only two more weeks—I feel that I can take a little time on this blog to gush about this game that I feel like I’ve been waiting for my entire life.

I love Animal Crossing. Seriously, it’s about my favorite game series (right under Dragon Age and Mass Effect) and why not? It combines the decorating/hoarding of The Sims and combines it with cutesy graphics and an easy-to-use interface. Its mechanics are simple to understand, so much so that my eighty-six year old grandmother, who is convinced that all video games everywhere are too high-tech for her, adores this particular game and plays it whenever she gets the chance. For a group of animals that follow the same six-ish base personalities, it’s strangely easy to get attached to them. (Some, instead, may be easy to hate and thus drive you to force them out of your town.)

Even though so much information has already been released, this trailer in particular does a rather good job at giving a brief synopsis of what a newcomer to the series can expect. Fishing, bug catching, swimming (a feature new to this game!), shopping, clubbing: truly you can spend hours, days meandering through your town and still find something entertaining to do.

I have to admit that I really hate the voiceover, though. Could you find someone to sound any more bored? I don’t think so. But, that’s just me being picky.

If this sort of game seems interesting to you, check out some of the sites talking about it! If you already have a 3DS, I’d highly recommend picking it up, even if you wait until the price drops. Or, you can be like me and just give Nintendo all your money for the 3DS bundle pack. Needless to say, when that glorious day arrives I’ll be glad to finally get my hands on the next game in this series I love.

Video Game Review: Sonic Dash

And the iPhone game saga continues.

Sonic Dash is a free iPhone game that is very similar to Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (if you’re playing as Sonic or Shadow), but you have a touch screen instead of controller. All you do is run through the course collecting rings and killing bad guys without dying. You can play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Amy.

There is extremely little I like about this game, but I will put forward that I might have set my expectations too high. I love Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle is one of my favorite games of all time. So when I say I had high expectations for this free game, I really did expect a lot from it.

But this game is a horror scene. Whoever thought that making everything the same bright colors is a moron. You can’t see some of the obstacles, and making some of the objects you go over and some you go under look the exact same makes the game play confusing. Additionally, the game consistently puts obstacles in awkward spots so you don’t actually see some of them before you need to avoid them.

The game does not respond quickly to one’s touch, so if you want to avoid something at the last second it will not work. I also don’t like that tilting the phone doesn’t do anything (unlike Temple Run 2) and that you have to use your finger to do everything; it’s really annoying.

The most irksome thing for me is how much the ‘free’ game relies on money. Unlike Temple Run 2, in order to advance in Sonic Dash you do need to spend real money. I don’t mind if people spend money on a game if they want to, but if you are going to have a free game don’t make buying things once you’re in it necessary.

In case you couldn’t tell I’m not recommending this game to anyone. It’s a wonder I haven’t deleted it from my phone already.

Video Game Review: Temple Run 2

If you are all wondering why I haven’t really written anything about A Song of Ice and Fire recently, it’s because I (finally) got a smartphone. And then Temple Run 2.

Temple Run 2 is a game for your smartphone where you are running from a giant monster thing. You also have to avoid all of the obnoxious obstacles and make sure you turn the right way. Along the way, you earn points, and can collect gems (to bring you back to life) and coins (that you can spend on power-ups). You also have side objectives (ex.: collect 1,000 coins) that you can complete to go up a level. Leveling only allows you to unlock more power ups, so it’s not the most important thing.

The actual gameplay is really simple, so you don’t have to be super-into-gaming in order to give it a try. All you do is drag your finger the way you want to go. It also really doesn’t require much thinking, which is why it’s so easy to play. There aren’t any complicated subplots or puzzles to solve; you literally just go.

This is one of those games where I’m not really sure whether I like playing it or I’m addicted to playing it. I was actually starting to wean myself off of it, and then they introduced daily and weekly challenges, which only drew me back in. I personally love games with checklists. It makes my job easier as a player because I know what I’m supposed to do and it also gives me something to strive for.

The only downside of this game is it can get glitchy. Almost every time I’ve played it gets stop and go (like it’s buffering) at some point. And if you get a text/Facebook notification while you’re playing the problem only gets worse.

Temple Run 2 is free for iPhone, so if you’re looking for a new game to entertain you, you should check it out!

Web Crush Wednesdays: Robot Unicorn Attack

Let’s get it started in here.

Robot Unicorn Attack is an Internet Flash game by Adult Swim (of all places) and it’s awesome. It’s your basic side-scrolling game; you play a robotic unicorn and you need to not die. Avoid the obstacles by jumping or swooshing through them (I’m not sure swooshing is the correct phrase but I like it better than whatever Adult Swim uses).

First thing’s first: the song that plays in the background is the shit. Lady Saika and I have rocked out/had dance parties with that song because it is amazing. It’s more of a so-bad-it’s-amazing as opposed to an amazing song. Just listen below if you don’t believe me.

I get a lot of enjoyment out of the premise of the game. I mean, who comes up with this stuff? It just makes me laugh while playing that I’m a robotic unicorn with a rainbow mane. It’s just so much fun.

And if you’re wondering whether or not you need to be some video game aficionado to play, the answer is no. It’s super simple so you really don’t have to worry about being overwhelmed. There are only a couple of buttons involved and once you get used to it (which is not very long) you’ll have no trouble playing.

It’s really a great game, especially when you consider it’s on a TV station website. And even more especially when you realize it has nothing to do with anything on said TV station. The game is so widely popular, that it has several spin off games, none of which I’ve played but assume are fun.

So if you’re looking for a fun way to kill time, look no further than Robot Unicorn Attack.

Web Crush Wednesdays: OC Remix

We all have those video games whose soundtrack we can never get out of our heads. Whether it be the captivating wind instruments from the lost woods in Ocarina of Time or the simple 8-bit earworm that never dies from Tetris I think that it can be agreed on that  music has the capacity to not only set video games on different levels of greatness, but to make a game truly timeless. Today’s Web Crush explores the true impact of these memorable tunes on this generation’s composers.

I actually stumbled upon this site a very, very long time ago while looking for remixes of the ‘Serenade of Water’ from Ocarina of Time. Although my tastes in music have shifted from that time—I’m all about the Gerudo Valley these days—I’m still continuously impressed by the quantity and quality of tracks that find their way onto Overclocked Remix (shorthand: OC Remix). In fact, the rate that it has expanded in my nearing eight years of knowing of its existence is somewhere between startling and inspiring.

In terms of ‘startling’, I’m scolding myself for even thinking that. Looking at some of the more popular acts within the video game community, there’s a very strong group that utilize these games if not in name, but in samples and riffs within their own tracks. A good example of this is The Protomen, whose name is not only based on a character from the Mega Man series of games, and whose music takes cues from the plot of the games as well. Also, it seems now more than ever we have a large group of gamers that are endlessly yearning for satiation to their hunger for nostalgia. We have shirts in Hot Topic that feature 8-bit characters, at cons there are tournaments for older games like Pokémon Stadium and Goldeneye—although to consider the N64 era as nostalgic as say, the SNES, makes me feel really old—so to think that music wouldn’t also try to cash in on these trends is rather shortsighted of myself.

Luckily, at OC Remix you won’t have to “cash in” on anything as all the music is free for download. All of their music is neatly organized and easy to find. While you may not find a track for every game you’re looking for—I was a touch disappointed to find they didn’t have any Ganbare Goemon remixes—they’ll no doubt have at least one track that catches your eye. Or ear, rather.

Tsunderin’s Top 5 Side Characters of Mass Effect 3

While watching Game of Thrones a couple nights ago (yes, I’m late to the party, don’t judge) I had a startling revelation: I never finished my ‘Top 5 Side Characters’ series for Mass Effect. D’oh! But stay in suspense no longer, for I have returned after playing the latest DLC—Citadel—and my Mass Effect writing muses are ready and raring to go.

As in previous installments (found here and here) I defined a side-character as a character who is “not involved in the main quest in any way what-so-ever”. For Mass Effect 3, this standard becomes essentially impossible because even the hordes of stupid scanning side quests still directly affect the main quest. As it stands, the third installment of this series is so narrow (which is fitting since the galactic war is coming to a head)  that I’m going to have to say “influences the main plot the least”, but even then I can’t keep my own rules as you’ll see soon enough. Also, as this is the final installment in Shepard’s story, the cameos from past games are so numerous that many of my favorite side-characters are not from Mass Effect 3, but have made a return from the previous games. It also stands to reason that there aren’t that many interesting side characters unique to this particular game anyways.

Not like that stopped me from having way too many favorites to begin with—narrowing down the list was still difficult and I’m still not entirely happy with it, but I don’t think I’d ever be satisfied with a ranking until it became “Top 100 Characters” or something. No one wants to read that. If you think I missed someone or if you agree/disagree with me, leave me a message in the comments and let’s chat.

In Brightest Day: Warcraft’s Old Gods

Since World of Warcraft’s become the main source of most lore involving the citizens of Azeroth, most of the main plots have revolved around, in some way or another, the concept of the Old Gods.

In fact, I would argue that the Old Gods are one of the biggest threats, if not the biggest threat, to the stability of Azeroth. They also have shown over and over again that they have the ability to make even the strongest warriors of Azeroth go mad.