All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that it was vanity.

But the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.

This. I did.

T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935)

Two years ago, Naughtydog’s Uncharted 2 Among Thieves set a new golden standard for the Triple A Market, wowing critics and fans alike with its griping story, enthralling characters, phenomenal writing, and the absolute best production values in the business. It would go on to win a total of 32 Game of the Year Awards. As a super fan of Naughtydog since the hay days of the PS1, I cannot tell you how enthused I was that the company had received the recognition and praise it worked 14 years and 10 games to achieve. So of course, once the festivities of the 2009 award ceremonies died down, Naughtydog realized they had their work seriously cut out for them. So off they went to do everything in their power to make their third installment, Uncharted 3 Drake’s Deception, live up to every last bit of hype they received.

Drake’s Deception begins with Nathan Drake exploring the mysteries behind his latent ancestor, Sir Francis Drake, and his questionably long six month expedition across the East Indies. As the title suggests, Sir Francis deceived history in an attempt to hide his true findings in those six months: a voyage that would ultimately lead to a “Land of immeasurable wealth, destroyed by God for its arrogance.” Not one to let grass grow under his feet, our hero Nate sets out on a voyage to discover clues to this land, the Atlantis of the Sands, located somewhere in the heart of the Rub’ al Khali desert. Aided by his trusted mentor and father figure Victor Sullivan (Sully), Drake follows clues that take him from the back alleys of London, to the ruins of France and Serbia, and even the city of Yehmen, all the while competing against Katherine Marlowe, leader of a highly secret society that’s been hell-bent on discovering the secrets of Ubar for decades and exploiting it for their own pursuit of power and influence.

Before I go any further, I would like to say how much I wish I could sit here and simply review the game by it’s own merits: a masterfully crafted action adventure romp that blends gunplay, melee combat, puzzles, and platforming like a charm, all the while having a complex story with fun characters to go with it. I understand that some fans have been frustrated how so many reviews insist on comparing it to Uncharted 2, and how unfair that may seem. I get that, but at the same time, that’s just the standard this series has set for itself. Asking us not to compare this to Uncharted 2 would be like asking movie critics not to compare Chris Nolan’s 3rd up-coming Batman movie to The Dark Knight. Ain’t gonna happen.

What this means is that at least 90% of Uncharted 3’s biggest highlights are things that I already knew the game would have a year before I bought it midnight of its opening day. Voice Acting and Mo-cap work: No competition. Story: Epic in scale. Writing: Laugh out loud funny. Set pieces: Huge. Graphics: Honest to god, the best looking game I have ever seen, with cut scenes and gameplay flowing seamlessly with no load times in between.

I’d be lying if I said that Uncharted 3 didn’t add anything new from its previous installments. In fact, the very first chapter of the game is a bar room brawl, and it is specifically crafted to introduce the game’s revamped melee system, which has evolved in ways to make each encounter a surprise by having Drake interact with his surroundings mid fight and use any object he can find at his disposal. Another small but welcomed technique to weapon combat is the ability to intercept grenades thrown at you and rebound them before they explode.

For roughly the first third of the game, there is a much more significant emphasis on puzzles, which were actually very minimal and solved simply by looking in your journal in Uncharted 2. This time, they are a tad more clever than that, and while your journal will give you hints, they won’t just hand you the answer.

Character wise, while there are a few new faces, both good and bad, this is definitely a journey for our long-time heroes. Drake and Sully’s coveted bromance takes center stage with Elena filling in a very solid B-Plot. These three take up the bulk of the emotional depth in this game. Chloe, who was really big in Uncharted 2, shows up for a bit of fan service, but besides showing off that she no longer has that awkward green gleam in her eyes, she is more or less there to be the linchpin that connects Drake and co. to the late yet much appreciated addition to the cast, her [new] boyfriend, Charlie Cutter.

The one thing about this series that I’m no longer able to overlook is how often I repeatedly run into the same ten enemy models. Course, this isn’t different from any other game out there (hell, there is probably more enemy models in this game than half a dozen other shooters out there), but because of the amount of detail and life Uncharted breaths into their main and supporting cast, it makes the clone army I’m fighting look all the more uncanny. One case in particular involves this massive brute guy that I engage in Hand-to-Hand like five times within the course of the game. And it’s literally the same model every time, (with the exception of once when he’s wearing a turban). I suspended my disbelief by convincing myself that he was the exact same guy every time, and he just keeps coming back for rematches. I named him Tiny.

Little things like that, or the very few gaming glitches like when I roll with the circle button when I want to take cover, are pretty petty in the long run, are not really the problem here. What’s really wrong is that the heart that propels this game beyond greatness -as much as it pains me to use this cliché- is two years in the past. There are some truly epic action set pieces in this game: an escape from a burning building, jumping a plane, blowing up said plane, and a horseback ride chase after a convoy. While I’m not trying to say they are carbon copies of what happened in Among Thieves, they still feel like spiritual throwbacks to many of the things we did back then. Ironically enough, the one sequence of Drake’s Deception that actually does feel completely unique to anything we did before –that being the whole shipyard/battle on the waning cruse ship/escape the sinking ship quickly filling with water sequence- is the one part of the game that feels the most detached from the rest of the plot, meaning that this whole sequence could have been easily cut from the campaign, and we the players would have been none the wiser.

And therein leads me to the plot. Drake’s Deception begins with a lot of promise, setting itself up to be the biggest most highest stake plot of the series. Drakes ring is the key that leads to the city of Ubar. We see how Nate out-stole the ring against Marlowe’s society as a child, and in the process left both himself and her in a stalemate that has lasted twenty years. We also get to see how Sully jumped Marlowe’s ship in order to stick his neck out for a young Nathan, betting all his cards on this raw talented kid who would grow up to be not only his greatest disciple, but his best friend. Not only that, there is a darker sense of omission in this adventure. All the clues lead to the conclusion that Sir Francis did not want this secret of this city to be let out, and how there is probably a very good reason why he lied about what he saw. Elena tries so hard to point this out to Nate, yet his own need for the truth and lust for adventure won’t allow him to let go. To top it all off, we get to see Nate in his most vulnerable state ever, as his adversaries this time bring up the one thing that can really strike fear into Drake’s heart.

These are all epic, out there, big idea stuff, and they are exactly what we wanted to see in a third [possibly final] installment to Uncharted (PSVita spinoff not whistanding).

If only they were handled properly.

To begin, the villains, while being inherently and conceptually more interesting than the foes of the past two games, get very little time to fully develop and express themselves. The secret society Kate is a part of turns out to be centuries old, dating all the way back to the Elizabethan era. It all began as a covert group of spies working under the Queen, and of which one of their highest ranking officers was in fact sir-named “Marlow.” So there could be a really neat parallel between both Nate and Kate following the shadows of their supposed ancestors, the problem is that all that stuff I just mentioned never actually plays out in the game. I had to look it up.

Second is Kate’s lieutenant Talbot. From the get go, he is set up to be this badass that can be more than a match for Drake. He’s strong, resourceful, he’s quick and clever, and does a damn good job at one-upping our protagonist at every corner. Yet I can’t tell you for the life of me what his motive is in all this. For perspective, let’s compare him to the side villains of the last two games. Navarro from Drake’s Fortune started off seeming like any other hired gun, yet all along was a very crafty guy bidding his time. He waited for the absolute perfect opportune moment to betray Roman, pop a cap in his head, and make off with El Dorado all to himself.

“I am the only person on this Island who knows what the hell he is doing.”

Flynn from Among Thieves, however, was a complete moron only in it for the perks, and found himself stuck working under Lezarevic out of fear rather than any loyalty.

“Beats working against him, love.”

Then you have Talbot, who is not only very crafty and intelligent, but is still deathly loyal to Marlow, and we never find out why. Time and time again he shows that he would be perfectly capable of finding the city of Ubar all on his own. Where does Talbot’s loyalty to Kate come from? Is there a deeper connection between the two? Does he just have a strong sense of honor? I want to know these things. Also, what’s up with that special toxin of his that allows him to drug people and manipulate them? Where the hell did he get that kind of weapon, and why is it so similar to another toxin that’s found in Ubar?

Big Spoilers from this point onward. To avoid them, skip ahead to the next highlighted area…

The final two chapters of the game, when Nate and Sully finally reach Ubar/Iram of the Pillars/Atlantis of the Sands/Land that has WAY TOO MANY NAMES, that part in particular feels especially rushed. Unlike the Shambala section at the end of Among Thieves, I didn’t really feel like I got the chance to explore this land to its potential. Throughout the game, we get hints that Drake’s one big fear is this foreboding sense of isolation that plagued him as a child before he met Sully. Hypocritically, he abandons his attachment to Elena because his obsession with Francis Drake and this ring comes from his need for a sense of belonging and purpose in the world, when in reality, he may not really be his ancestor at all (yet another interpretation of where the Deception in the title comes from).

All these things are brought up toward the final moments of Drake’s Deception. There is a point when we are lead to believe that Sully is killed by Talbot and Drake’s fear of isolation is realized. The following gameplay really hits that aforementioned fear home and there is a real sense of anguish and distress… but then it disappointingly fizzles out after only 10-20 minutes as Sully abruptly shows back up in the picture and we find out that it was a fear inducing toxin in the spring water that caused Drake to temporarily hallucinate. Why didn’t they keep going with that? Those fire demons that Drake saw in that state were freaking awesome, and I thought a fire demon version of Talbot would show up and we’d have this big epic boss fight. Why did they have to end that development so abruptly? There eventually is a real final confrontation with Talbot, and while it is indeed visually satisfying, it just doesn’t live up to anywhere my imagination was taking me fifteen minutes prior.

To the game’s credit, I did appreciate the one element in the end where Drake does finally overcome this incessant need to follow in his supposed ancestor’s footsteps and is able to let the ring go, and how he finally realizes what a strong companionship he has in Elena.

End of Spoilers.

If this is starting to sound like a “Bad Games That Should Have Been Great” kind of review, please keep note that wasn’t my intention, and it most certainly isn’t the case. It’s more like a “Great Game That Should Have Been Legendary,” kind of deal. Naughtydog overshot themselves almost too far this time. One very reasonable solution is that the game should have been given a longer development cycle (it certainly deserved it.) Not only would it have allowed Naughtydog to take their time and really nail the strongest aspects of this game, it would have given us the fans more time to let go of our predisposed feelings for Uncharted 2, which was still way too fresh in our minds. If given another year, we’d be less anticipating something that would be the successor of Uncharted 2, and simply be more excited to see another Uncharted game entirely. I’m not quite sure if whether it was Sony pushing to get the game out in just under two years, or Naughtydog simply being way too ambitious for their own good, either way, the early release may not have been the best decision.

In retrospective, this is not much different from the results of the Naughtydog’s two previous trilogies. (Crash Bandicoot on the PS1 and Jak on the PS2.) In all three series, the first installment establishes a world and shows what the technology of the console is capable of. The second installment takes that world and the tech that surrounds it to its utmost potential and reinvigorates the entire genre of that generation. And the third installment is a technological marvel that adds maybe a few cool things to the already successful formula, but lacks a bit in the overall awe factor that preceded it.

So, to bring this review back to the metaphor I established at the beginning, no, Naughtydog did not manage to cross the desert that was this game’s hype. If given more time to prepare, they may have had a chance. As it was, they jumped in far too anxiously and got way more sand than they bargained for. But you know what? They still got pretty damn far, even if they didn’t make it all the way. And the best part is they managed to survive this ordeal, and live to make another game. Like Jak 4. Please please please make Jak 4.

Also, if anyone tells you Uncharted 3 Drake’s Deception is a rip-off of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, tell them to shut up. Just because both stories have flashbacks to the hero’s childhood in his midteens, and there’s a fight on a rocking boat with crazy huge tides, and they find a clue inside a crusader’s coffin, and they escape a burning building, and they get tied up, and there’s a foreign friend that gives them horses so they can chase after a convoy to rescue a certain character who then goes on to die anyway but not really and then they all run for their lives out of a collapsing temple as the foreign friend shows up with the horses that they ride off on during the end of the adventure DOES NOT MAKE THEM EXACTLY THE SAME. Does The Last Crusade have online co-op where you and your friends fight off clowns? I think not.

[Sigh.] That was fun. But seriously, play this game.

Now, I don’t consider myself a regular gamer- I’m casual at best – but even I have a few go-to games for this kind of thing; Katamari Damacy and its sequel, We Love Katamari, which Chris has talked about some before, Megaman 2 and 3, and Tomb Raider 1 and 2 for the Playstation. Occasionally, maybe Jumping Flash 2 as well.

Even with all the graphic issues that plague the early Tomb Raider games, like the flickering and distorting textures, weird camera issues, blocky figures and stiff, weirdly rotating flat-plane background elements, there’s something that just puts me at ease whenever I pop the disc in and boot up Lara Croft’s world.

It’s not hard to believe the game is 15 years old now – the first game has aged really poorly and feels old – but in 1996 an all 3D environment with a 3D woman at the center of the screen (even if all you saw of her 98% of the time was a badly pixilated backside) was still a phenomenally risk-taking idea. In 1996 and 1997 Lara Croft was the virtual queen of the world- appearing in news media, television, doing commercials, comic books, theme park rides, and being idolized in fatuous coffee table books by Douglas Copeland – everyone was salivating over a few lines of code and texture wrapped over a 230-polygon wireframe. (Compare: the most recent version of the character model was counted at 32,000 polygons.)

Never mind that she was originally not even going to be female in the first place. That’s neither here nor there, now. Never mind that she was all triangles and her chest could scar you for life if you tried to hold her; never mind that geeky analyses of her body weight ratios to her chest done at the height of the media blitz said that she wouldn’t be able to stand upright, let alone perform complicated rolling dive maneuvers – CORE and Eidos had a monster hit on their hands- $14.5 million in profits in the first year of release. In 2006, in time for the ten year anniversary of the game, the Guinness Book of World Records called Lara the “Most Successful Videogame Heroine” of that year.

Why? If the game had terrible physics and a dodgy camera and texture mapping issues and seams in the levels big enough to make game-breaking exploits out of, why was Tomb Raider the insane success that it was?

There’s been tons of arguments about Lara Croft as sex symbol, Lara Croft as feminist icon – whatever. People tend to pick their side and then argue it into the ground. For me what works about Tomb Raider is the utter lack of competition and time-pressure – the freedom to explore at length, in detail, every nook and cranny of the artificial world.

Tomb Raider has only a few mechanics where time and speed are the issue in game play – mostly involving swimming in underwater tunnels and manipulating certain traps, doors and floor patterns – but by and large the game presents the feeling of a big world that you are free to explore at utter leisure.

Boss encounters and enemy encounters are not only sparse but incredibly easily controlled. Most boss and mini-boss encounters are quick and dirty. The game’ll throw you a handful of wolves, an unexpected bear, a couple of guys with Uzis. The game doesn’t punish you if you take a couple of hits, climb to higher ground and snipe at the dumb things from a safe distance – most enemies are incredibly sluggish, stupid and slow as thrown bricks, and Lara’s autolock function allows you to track them from across the room even if you can’t see them and autofire if they’re dumb enough to move back into a clean line of fire – or just plain run away to another part of the map to catch your breath, heal yourself, find new ground and regroup.

The enemies go down real easy, and once you take them out things get quiet again. Atmospheric. It’s just you and some eerie, low-key mood-setting music-that-isn’t-quite-music, the sound of your own footsteps, some wind effects maybe, and the sense that the world is yours. The game encourages intense exploration with a few ‘secrets’ planted per level. Most of the time these are just extra clips of ammo, health packs, and occasionally a stone icon. A lot of boss fights can be kludged around. In the Lost Lands level, when you’re supposed to be having a big, dramatic running gun battle with the T-Rex it’s just as easy to outrun them, make it to the bridge or a cubby hole in the level, and snipe and laugh. I pull the stealth-kill dickery all the time in TR and the game doesn’t deduct points, lower my score, or tell me I’m doin’ it wrong.

The relief of not having a ticking clock to beat or another player to fight against or any sort of major rush-rush element within the game is incredibly freeing. Many games include ‘beat-the-clock’ scenarios that feel hyper accelerated, thrown in just to be there. You can leave Lara standing out in the open in the middle of nowhere for 30 minutes and nothing happens.

And while it’s completely fair to accuse Tomb Raider of having ridiculously circuitous and pointless puzzles when you have to traverse a level seven or eight times in total to find four keys to open a doorway with four separate locks- what ancient civilizations are bored enough to rig up a stupid system like that? Didn’t the Egyptians have anything better to do? – the strange vistas that you open up, and all the tunnels and climbing and jumping somehow seem worth it in an indefinable way.

Even better, the game’s own glitches, including the legendary ‘corner jump bug’ where you can literally fling yourself halfway up the level by positioning yourself correctly and jumping just right to get to places you couldn’t normally get, actually adds value to the replayability of the game. It’s pretty entertaining to get up in a spot you’re not supposed to be in and stand there smugly looking down. It feels like you’ve broken a rule, and in a game where you already have permission to do pretty much anything you want to the environment, that’s saying a lot.

Tomb Raider’s one of the rare games where it really is about the journey, and I think that’s the secret of why, even now, the game holds a mysterious appeal. It’s completely noncompetitive, a private little world just between player and machine. I wish desperately there were more games like it out there.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to go take a nice long swim in the Cisterns. Just gotta snipe those alligators first…

Cassandra writes about media and randomness at her blog, and still gets a kick out of the Midas Glitch in Tomb Raider 1.

Want mroe Games You Should Have Played? Check these out:

-Games You Should Have Played: Golden Sun

-Smash Bros: A Retrospective

-Games You Should Have Played: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

What compels a perfectly intelligent person to act so foolishly?

As full disclosure should dictate, I might as well place my Nintendo badge visibly on my shoulder and reflect as to what has made me a Nintendo devotee for so very long. The short story is that I grew up with Nintendo as a system and a brand and everything with their name on it is something I understand and trust. The longer story involves a matching of my ideology with Nintendo’s. Want a clearer explanation? Alright, next paragraph for that.

I hate DLC for games. I hate even more that most games require an investment be made with the assumption that you will play both the single-player and the multiplayer modes, an aspect that costs developmental time to create both aspects of the game, as well as real money to support a good internet connection, a multiplayer subscription (I’m talking Xbox Live here), and generally $10 more as the price of a $60 game is a result of that extra multiplayer mode getting added. Nintendo games don’t have any of those aspects. Smash Bros, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Donkey Kong, etc were games that shipped as completed projects and delivered more than their worth of $50 to me. I favor fun over realism. I favor fun over graphics. And most importantly, I favor platforming and adventure over First Person Shooters. I am a gamer built for a Wii as I don’t have a huge gaming budget, meaning I can generally afford maybe two or three new games a year, which just so happens to be what people estimate the total of good games released per year on the Wii actually is. All things considered, I enjoy my Wii more than my Xbox 360.

When you provide me with a character who's been kinder to me than Mario, then I'll change my stance.

This isn’t to say that I hate my 360 or that the Wii doesn’t bother me rather frequently. But I’m going to be called a Nintendo fanboy and it’s going to be fairly accurate. I’m excited for the 3DS. I couldn’t give a crap about the PSP2. I think the Kinect and The Move were stupid ideas whereas the Wii was a fantastic step forward. My vision is clouded by the Big N far more than most people. But I’m aware of this fact, an aspect I don’t share with most diehards.

But why do diehards or fanboys even exist in the first place? That’s why we’re really here, isn’t it? As mentioned before with my example, the first reason falls on the perceived nostalgia or a sense of trust built by one particular brand. The other reason is more monetary in nature. Let’s talk about the first reason in greater detail before getting into money.

Nostalgia is a powerful thing, no matter what you’re talking about. A lot of this is because for something to be nostalgic, it has to have some deep connection to you, specifically. To a lot of Sony fans, Sony isn’t just some company that makes a video game console. They’re the company that got you through tough times. They’re a company that provided you with a game that made you cry, that made you laugh, that made you furious but ultimately content and proud of your skills. If you owned a Playstation when you were first getting into video games, the current generation of Playstation is nothing more than an extension of your youth, and for someone to come along and not only disagree with your system but favor a competitor’s product, well that can only be an attack on you and your youth.

And there are a lot of commenters who feel I've attacked their childhood in some way, believe you me.

It is hard to disconnect our lives with others. The universe revolves around us because we can’t conceive of anything otherwise. To this day, I still have a hard time believing anyone could ever prefer the recent incarnations of the Ninja Turtles over the cartoon I grew up with. But not everyone grew up with my life. This is what gets lost with so many gamers these days. Not everyone grew up with a Nintendo, or a Genesis, or a Playstation, and not every kid only had just the one system until he could afford the next iteration. My memories are mine and mine along, something I realize, but those hardcore fanboys I’m talking about? No, to them, by saying that you prefer a system other than the one they prefer is like saying their childhood, their memories, their feelings, are incorrect.

“Your childhood was wrong.”

When said out loud, it really does sound silly. But we as a community don’t typically take that necessary time to think out loud very often, unless of course what we’re thinking is angry and selfish. Were we to recognize that other opinions don’t negate our own, there would be no issue with fanboy rage whenever an attack is perceived.

Nowhere is this more prevalent that on popular gaming websites when a review is published. Take GameTrailers for example. Every time they do a review and give a good game anything less than a perfect 10 (something they’ve never done) swarms of fanboys come out of the wings to cry “conspiracy most foul!” If they give a PS3 game a 9.3, clearly, they must be paid by Microsoft to give a poor review. If a Wii game scores higher than an Xbox 360 title, obviously Nintendo has been bribing the reviewers.

Okay, disregard obvious exceptions.

This logic is so flawed that it hurts. What does a game reviewer stand to gain from a review that makes no sense? If they were to love a game that had clear problems, problems they just don’t address that everyone else has, then how do they expect to get away with it? It’s that fantasy notion that a difference of opinion than your own makes your opinion wrong. Just because someone else gave Red Dead Redemption a Game of the Year award doesn’t mean that your favorite game of the year, Super Mario Galaxy 2, isn’t still your favorite game of the year.

No one wants to feel alone. That’s the core of this strange fear. If enough people strike against your brand, perhaps you will be left alone, an outsider, a pariah, fit only to be friends with the rats and no one else. Once again, when said aloud it sounds silly, but too few fanboys take the time to say it aloud. “I’m never going to be alone with my favorites.”

But then comes the bigger problem: money. Gaming isn’t cheap, now more than ever. If you purchased a PS3 on Day One, you were looking at a $600 investment, plus $60 for a game and another $50 for a second controller. A Day One Xbox 360 would cost you around $500, plus a $60 game and another $50 controller, plus a year of Xbox Live, which was only $50 back then, and naturally, your Xbox would have borked, so you would have had to pay another $400 or $500 for another system. This all equals a hefty investment of real, tangible money. If you spend $1000 in a year on something and someone comes along to say that you made the wrong choice, man, I’d be pretty pissed, too.

But hey, at least it's still backwards compatable, right? Oh...

We’ve hit a point where we just can’t afford to be lax about which system we support. I don’t have the money to be a devoted PS3 fan, and were it not for an awesome wedding gift, I wouldn’t have an Xbox 360 sitting under my TV right now. Take a look at the Sony fanboy rage over Final Fantasy XIII. Squeenix told fans that, as usual, the next Final Fantasy game would not only be the Second Coming, but it would be exclusive to Sony’s new console. Fast-forward and your $600 Day One purchase is constantly justified by that promise…until Squeenix announces that they’re releasing FFXIII on the 360 as well. There is a real sense of betrayal there. For some, you would gladly have saved $100 or more had you known there were other options out there. But no, you were forced to align yourself with one specific choice, so the only way to justify your purchase is to attack any who would suggest you are a fool. “The PS3 version is still clearly superior to the 360 version! It is YOU ALL who are fools!”

Unfortunately, the only two ways to consistently avoid fanboyism are to either have the money to afford whatever you like, or be capable of stepping aside and seeing the situation for the silly bantering it really is, both options that aren’t reasonable for most gamers at this exact moment. And as such, we’re stuck with the world as it currently exists, a place where fanboys and fangirls roam online forums and lash out at anyone with differing opinions.

At least we can all agree that a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII is a bad idea, am I right?

But these are just my personal findings. What do the majority of you feel on the subject? Is fanboyism a real problem? Or is it actually a wonderful thing? Leave a comment and let me know. As for me, I have a Wii that’s calling my name, and screw your console for not having a Nintendo logo on it!

Want to keep Thinking Deep? Check out these articles:

-Let’s Think Deep: The Kinect and What It Means

-Let’s Think Deep: The Great Zelda Schism

-Let’s Think Deep: The Used Games Dilemma

Don't fret Crash, it can't be THAT tough, can it?

Make sure to read part 1 before reading part 2 today!

Crash Bandicoot 2 Cortex Strikes Back (1997):

Hey… I started with a Star Wars reference for a reason.

I have to come clean with you all. This was actually the first Crash game I played as a kid. When I went back and played the first one, it made me appreciate it even more. Yes, the title may not be that original, but that’s a small price to pay for a sequel that improves off the original in every imaginable way possible, while still keeping what made the first one fun. In the first game, Crash could run, jump, spin, and in one instance ride a warthog. In Cortex Strikes Back, Crash can run, jump, spin, crawl, slide, super jump, body slam, occasionally ride his pet Polar, a sea doo, and a freaking jetpack. Not only that, everything improved. The music was new, but still just as charming as before. The developers were now more comfortable with the animation software, and Crash and all the old and new characters were looking better than ever. There was now professional voice acting too, including Clancy Brown as Dr. Neo Cortex. Some of you might recognize Clancy Brown as the voice of Lex Luthor in the Superman Animated Series, or more recently, Hades from God of War 3, whom even Mr. Pranger will admit was awesome. (Note from Chris Pranger: “Awesome but totally a rental title.”)

Fortunately, the plot this time around wasn’t “Tawna gets kidnapped again.” In fact, Naugthydog axed the character entirely, stating that she left Crash to be with Pinstripe (figures), and then replaced her with another female bandicoot that was actually interesting: Crash’s little genius sister Coco. And no, she does not get kidnapped either. Instead, it shows us Cortex immediately after his crushing defeat in the first game, where he “crash” and burns into a mine containing a power crystal. After a year of research with his new assistant Dr. N. Gin (who has an unexploded missile lodged in his head, just thought I’d throw that out there), Cortex discovers 25 remaining crystals still on Earth are needed to fully power his space station, the Cortex Vortex. So he teleports Crash inside a warp room and tells him that he has changed his ways and needs Crash to find the crystals so he can save the world.

Even though it’s obvious you’re lying to me, I just can’t help it. Your game is too much fun. Besides, I’ll still kick your butt in the end.

The game also added the extra challenge of trying to find all forty-two Gems for N. Brio., who wants revenge against Cortex for replacing him after his failures in the first game. I’d say it’s up there with trying to find every last DK token in Diddy Kong’s Quest. Even I haven’t got 100% on this game yet. But once you do, I bet N. Brio gives you a hundred lives.

Just kidding. He needs them to power a laser beam to blow the Cortex Vortex to smithereens. Either way, this is a must play.

Crash Bandicoot Warped (1998):

And the plot thickens.

After playing the first two, you might notice Crash frequently had an ally by his side, a spiritual witch doctor mask named Aku Aku who would protect him from enemies by taking a hit for him. Well, turns out Aku Aku has an evil twin, named conveniently Uka Uka, who was trapped by his brother in a spiritual temple to protect the world. When N. Brio shot down the Cortex Vortex at the end of Cortex Strikes Back, the shattered pieces of the ship plummeted down from the sky and crashed directly into the temple, releasing Uka Uka from his prison. After scolding Cortex for failing him twice now, the evil spirit then summons the master of time, Dr. Nefarious Tropy (that’s right, N. Tropy, what you gonna do) to create a time machine to find Crystals lost in time.

Crash Bandicoot Warped plays a lot like the last game. Aku Aku brings Crash and his sister Coco to the Time Twisting machine to collect the Crystals before Cortex’s minions do, and you progress through the levels accordingly. A lot of people will say that there wasn’t a whole lot that was original here, but I thought the level design was very new (for the series at least). We escaped the jungle and temple terrain from both the last two games and now moved across unique landmarks from history. Including Jurassic swamps, Egyptian temples, The Great Wall of China, Arabian Nights, some WWII action, even a stylized version of the future in which Neo Cortex rules the earth (the main city is called “Neo York.”) There’s also a new soundtrack, and yeah it’s still awesome. The voice acting and lip-syncing is the best it’s ever been. You get to play as Coco in a few levels. Oh, and did I mention Dingodile?

There is honestly nothing you could say to convince me otherwise. Here’s the math: Dingo dog + Crocodile + Flamethrower + Australian accent = The most EPIC evil minion in all of video games! EVER!

Crash Bandicoot Warped is often hailed as the highlight of the series. It was the last platformer of the franchise Naughtydog made before making an awesome cart racer Crash Team Racing, then moving on with the Jak and Daxter series on the PS2. I know graphics aren’t everything, but for what it’s worth, I cannot think of anything else on the PS1 that looked better.

Currently, all three games are available for download on the Play Station Network for $6.00 each. That’s $18.00 for three awesome titles. If you don’t want to play all of them, I say skip the first one. The sequels are just all out better games. It’s hard for me to say which one is the best though. Cortex Strikes Back feels more like classic Crash, and is also the most challenging to get 100%. Warped is easier because you get even more abilities, but it does have the most unique cast (not just Dingodile, although he is a big one-up for me!).

I say play the second one. By the end, if it doesn’t make you want to play Warped, then maybe it’s just not your thing.

Whether I have enlightened you, or simply brought up some nostalgic fever, I thank you greatly for your time. And thank you to my dear friend Chris Pranger for the opportunity to share a bit of my childhood as I am on the cusp of graduation.

G’day Mates!

Roger Gus Townson Jr.

Gus Townson also writes for his  Avatar the Last Airbender fanfic site at: http://avatarleo.wordpress.com/

Gather around Children, and let me tell you a story. A story of the underdogs from down under, and their legacy of overlooked brilliance.

Long ago in a console war far far away, the dynasties of Nintendo and Sega were at a stale mate. Leading SNES was legendary jump man Super Mario, while the flag of Genesis was single handedly kept up by the demon of speed Sonic the Hedgehog. In their never ending battle for dominance, they monopolized the entire interactive entertainment industry with no sign of slowing down (and for Sonic, that was quite literally). As the VG Universe nears toward the verge of a whole new generation (the 5th one to be exact), Nintendo sought out the allegiance of Sony for the construction of a whole new disc-powered gaming device to combat Sega’s new machine, the Saturn. Sony agreed, and began the blue prints of what would become the Nintendo Play Station. But just as the technology was within their grasp and all their hard work was about to pay off, Nintendo pulled the plug. They had been secretly giving their money and characters to Phillips behind their backs to work on the same thing. With no one to turn to, would Sony let everything they worked for die in vain?

It was the dawn of a new generation. If there was ever a time to make a move to shift the course of the war, now was the time to do it. With all the odds against them, Sony went along with the construction of their Play Station on their own. But who would lead them? Who would be the face of Sony Computer Entertainment, and go head to head with the Italian Stallion and the Blue Blur?

Here’s a hint: He’s orange, has a Mohawk, and would pilot a whole new dimension in platforming.

Even to this day, the story of the high spinning marsupial known as Crash Bandicoot still amazes me. Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin were your two every day team of programmer and artist just making games for the fun of it in their home town of Boston. In an industry that was, until then, completely dominant in Japan, their creation became the very first video game console mascot made in the U.S. Now they are famously recognized as the founders of Naughtydog, the company that brought us 2009’s Game of the Year, Uncharted 2 Among Thieves. This is how it all began.

Crash Bandicoot (1996):

"I am fully aware Nintendidn’t invite me to this party. So I Crashed!!!”

Very immediately when I turned on this game, one of the first things I noticed was the music. The xylophone jingles were unlike any theme music I have ever heard. They were so catchy, and immediately made me want to dance in place. Then I noticed the character animation. Unlike his Japanese counterparts, Crash was full of vibrant emotions, conveyed with unique gestures like the subtle shifts in his eyebrows. The humor of the game was reminiscent of classic Warner Brothers cartoons. I also loved the setting. It reminded me of Donkey Kong Coutnry’s jungles and Aztec ruins, but instead of the African Safari, we were now in the Australian Outback, home of the Aborigines, and some of the strangest most vibrant creatures in the world. Trust me when I say they took full advantage of that setting.

As much as I would like to say this game is just Mario 64 supplement for the PS1, The games actually play very different. While Crash Bandicoot did pilot the 3D platforming genre (Mario 64 releasing the following month), the level design was still very linear. The gameplay had the classic feel of moving through a hub map, selecting a level, then racing from the beginning of the level to the end. Some may say that sounds primitive compared to Mario 64’s exploration and open world innovations. I see it as a bigger focus on quick pacing and reflexes. The linearity of the levels also meant that we never had to worry about wonky camera angles that people familiar with the 3D Mario brand frequently had to put up with. (Don’t get me wrong Mario 64 was an iconic game. If you really want to hear about how good that game is, I’m sure Mr. Pranger would be more than happy to oblige.)

And don’t think that because this game was linear meant it was without its fare share of creative level design, like where you pitch a ride on a wild hog and steer it across the deadly terrain. Or the fact that this game practically invented Front-view Chase Sequences, in which the camera is aimed behind at the giant bolder rolling after you, and you only have an instant to react appropriately to the obstacles in front of you.

Let's talk plot.

Dr. Neo Cortex (criminal mastermind # Alpha-Nine-Delta) is experimenting with a device he calls the Evolvo-Ray, for the purpose of genetically mutating animals off the coast of N. Sanity Island, giving them primitive human intelligence and super human strength. Crash, an Eastern Barred Bandicoot, was meant to be the leader of his army for world domination, but ended up rejected by Cortex as being inferior and cast aside in favor of his other mutants. However while in custody, Crash had grown fond of his lady bandicoot cellmate Tawna. He goes on a quest to free her from the clutches of Cortex, and while he’s at it, he might as well stop this whole taking-over-the-world business. It’s not healthy. So… yeah, when you break it down, this is another simple case of Race to the end. Beat the bad guys. Save the girl. The End. But the stories of Crash games have always been more about the characters than the plot. All the bosses had such fun archetypal personalities. There was the fat tribe leader Papu Papu, the first three of Cortex’s other experiments: Ripper Roo a deranged Kangaroo in a strait jacket, Koala Kong the brute, Pinstripe Potoroo a trigger happy god-father weasel, and let’s not forget Cortex’s assistant, Potions Master Dr. Nitrus Brio (N. Brio for short).

In what was considered the Golden Age of platformers, while it may not be as lengthy, complex, or well known as other games of the same genre (particularly ones made by Rare), Crash Bandicoot was full of exciting moments, stark seamless animation, catchy and innovative music, and very colorful characters. Not a bad start for a couple of guys from the U.S. Needless to say, you should check it out as soon as possible.

To be continued...

Gus Townson also writes for his  Avatar the Last Airbender fanfic site at: http://avatarleo.wordpress.com/

Remember, Leon has proven that Kung Fu is an acceptable defence against zombie-ish villagers.

If you’ve been following me on Twitter (which you should), you may have noticed that I’ve been playing Resident Evil 5. I’ll have a full article on that tomorrow but for now I’m more concerned with its predecessor, Resident Evil 4. RE4 is without question one of the best games of all time and easily within my top 10, if not top 5. Why was that? Well hold on because I’m about to tell you since RE4 is today’s Game You Should Have Played.

A Classic By Any Other Name

The Resident Evil series is regarded by many to have begun the survival horror genre in video games. The games themselves, while being classics, aren’t exactly what you’d consider fantastic. Characters are stiff, the camera is a pain to deal with, and the dialogue can be laughably awful. Despite all this, the series pushed forward as an overwhelming success for years to come with a few sequels, some prequels, and more remakes than I’d care to remember. Problem was, after a while the formula became somewhat tired and dated. Enter Resident Evil 4 to change all that.

And enter this thing to make you hate your life again.

RE4 takes Leon Kennedy, last seen in RE2, and sends him to a rural village in Spain, tasking him with rescuing the President’s daughter, Ashley. It’s simple enough, but within a few minutes Leon has explained the needed backstory of the series and fallen into a heck of a lot of trouble involving the local villagers being possessed by something called Las Plagas. They are not zombies, though you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from a few feet away.

You don’t Need Much Backstory For a Game Like This

The story itself is nice since it takes the series and decides it doesn’t have to be in a mansion or Raccoon City at all. In fact, it doesn’t have to be anywhere near any of those things, nor anything relating to the Raccoon City Incident or the T-Virus. Wonderful. I went in to RE4 having no clue to the series’ story and that has made all the difference.

Sure it's cheap to use a rocket launcher against zombie-ish monks, but hey, they started it.

Also gone are the series’ rigid controls and camera. No more pre-rendered background to deal with, breaking way to allow Leon full roam of his space. The camera stays over his shoulder, a style used all over after RE4, and allows you to aim with a surprising amount of accuracy. This is where the series becomes less about survival horror and more about action horror, but I’m all in favor of such a shift. Let Silent Hill deal with the actual scary things; I’m fine with a gun that can do some damage if I need.

One of the other big contributors to the shift is the inclusion of Quicktime Events within actual Cut Scenes. You’ve heard me complain about Quicktime Events in numerous articles at this point, but RE4 was still early on in the use of such a game mechanic, especially in a Cut Scene. They were smooth and original for the time, and the knife fight scene is still one of the game’s highlights, but they never overstayed their welcome. They just ensured you were paying attention even when characters were talking.

No other game has completely reenergized a series the same way RE4 has. It was such a hit with critics and gamers, Capcom decided to break their promise with Nintendo to keep it a GameCube exclusive and ported it right over to the PS2. Naturally, as soon as the Wii showed up, RE4 found its way over to the new platform with updated controls and extras. There are even versions for the iPhone and the PC. Essentially, I’m telling you that you have no good excuse for not having played Resident Evil 4 unless you’re a kid since, yes, it is very gory. I had a heck of a time finding screenshots that didn’t contain extremely graphic violence, so thank me for that.

"Yes Ashley, please, step in that bear trap. That's real helpful."

Everything about RE4 is near perfect with everything it does. Sure, having to take care of Ashley is rather frustrating, especially when you get through a tough section only to accidentally knife her and get a Game Over. But otherwise the characters are enjoyable, the setting is eerie enough without getting too bogged down in itself, and you never feel cheated by the game at any point. Bosses are still fun and the difficulty is high but fair, plus there is heavy replay value due to unlockable weapons and such. Also, the Mercenaries mode just ate hours of my time.

I just can’t recommend RE4 enough. RE5 on the other hand…well that’s an article left for tomorrow.

I still place this above most other games. Can anything change my mind?

I love video games. I play them frequently (and sometimes write about them, as you may have noticed). I always get excited with every new Mario and Zelda game, or anything that seems to interest me beyond a simple, “Oh, that looks like a fun game to rent.” But when I get down to it I always inevitably say to myself, “Yeah, this is good, but it’s no Mario Bros 3/Ocarina of Time/Final Fantasy 6.” Why is that? I know I’m not the only one to think this way. We’ve got to a point where we’re demanding games replicate our favorites from the past, but when they can’t we throw a fit. Can we ever make a new “Perfect Game?” Let’s Think Deep.

The Problem With Perfection

A good recent game to use as a jumping point here is New Super Mario Bros Wii, a game that borrows heavily from the classic Mario games, specifically Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World. It seems almost like a “greatest hits” from the 2-D Mario platformers. I loved it. I wrote about this on more than one occasion. I stand by my statements. But I didn’t like it as much as Mario Bros 3. Why? Because it wasn’t Mario Bros 3. That’s not a very fair thing to say, but it just didn’t wow me like Mario Bros 3 did when I was a wee child. Perhaps the nostalgic aspect got in the way and forced me to find a qualifier somewhere, so that when I said, “This game is amazing!” it didn’t somehow, in some way, obliterate the memories of my childhood past. I simply can’t allow myself to like a Mario game more than 3, purely because I remember childhood as something wonderful and the world today as something bleak. How can something from a place that’s bleak outshine something from a world that was wonderful?

Can I ever separate this moment from my mind when playing new Zelda titles?

The same problem presented itself when I played through Twilight Princess. I thought Twilight Princess was one of the best Zelda games, let alone best games, I’d ever played. I’d rank it somewhere within my top 15 games of all time. But I couldn’t bring myself to like it more than Ocarina of Time. “Oh wow, this is so cool! Uh, but, Ocarina was better.” Was it really? It’s impossible to tell since at the time of its release, Ocarina of Time was the absolute peak of adventure-style video gaming. It was, to me (and many others), the perfect game. If you’ve never played it before and try playing it now, you might not really agree with that statement. In fact, you may think I’m crazy for ever liking the game in the first place. It just holds so much of my childhood in it that it becomes hard to separate it from what it is and how I remember it.

Retro Is In

There has been a big push from major developers as of late to search back through their “classic” games and find some gold to resell, either in a remake of the classic or in a straight port to one of the online networks. Nintendo hit on a great concept with the Virtual Console, an online marketplace devoted almost entirely to selling us out treasured memories back for a reasonable price. Both the Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network have gotten into this, even offering games from more recent past. One of my best friends is playing Final Fantasy VII for the first time now that he’s downloaded it from the Playstation Network. He’s so devoted to playing it that he’s selling me his other new purchase, Fable II, for $15. Is he liking it? Well, he’s found numerous gripes, of which I can agree with, but he’s still playing it for some reason. It just isn’t as amazing for him as it was for me.

You can download this right now on the Virtual Console for $10. Why haven't you?

Why is that? Final Fantasy VII is regarded as one of the greats, so how can anyone dislike it now? It all has to do with timing. I played it first when I was still relatively new to RPG’s. It was also the first game I played on my Playstation. I fell in love with the characters and really cared about what would happen in the story. The only commitments I had while playing it were to school (which was unimportant to me), and nothing else. I didn’t need sleep so long as I had a mission to do and a Sephiroth to defeat. I was able to look past all the flaws and see nothing but a fantastic game. When I try and play it now I can’t even get myself past the first disc, let alone finish the game.

So back to New Super Mario Bros Wii: People have a gripe with it for failing to be as good as its predecessors. I don’t think that’s quite fair. I especially hate hearing that it’s just a rehash of previous games since it’s a new freaking game with new levels and new power-ups and all that jazz. It’s a new game, just with references back to other games in the franchise. It knows where it’s coming from, but it’s willing to at least try to do something new within the established old. Why? Because fans love this sort of thing. That game has sold millions of copies –MILLIONS- and I have a feeling it wasn’t because people were just settling for whatever they could get their hands on. No, fans snatched it up by the mustache-loads because it was a good game that reminded them of something they loved from their past.

Is this the best selection of bosses you'll ever find? Hard to tell.

Capcom has been perfecting this for a while now, what with their final definitive release of Street Fighter II, a game that pretty much everyone who wanted to buy it already had. Still, it was a big success. They did the same thing with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. They also tried bringing Bionic Commando into the new age with a big-budget new entry in the series, which ultimately flopped. However, their HD remake of said game was a huge success. A while ago they released a new Mega Man game with 8-bit graphics and an 8-bit soundtrack. And people downloaded it like…well I’ll tell you what that analogy is when you’re older, kids. It did so well that Mega Man 10 has just been announced and will follow suit with the same style and everything. Retro is in. But why?

You Can’t Change The Past

As I said, people can’t let go of their childhoods. A lot of really good games have come out in the past year (Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2, Mario & Luigi 3, just to name a few), yet none of those will be on any “Best Games Ever” lists. The most recent “new” game to start appearing on those lists is Resident Evil 4, a game that Capcom ported from the GameCube to the PS2 and then the Wii since it had done so well. Final Fantasy XIII comes out in mere days, but will fans place it above all the others? Very doubtful. They’ll find something to gripe about, purely because it isn’t the game they first played and it isn’t the game they first loved. I want to say that Super Smash Bros Brawl is better than Melee, because it is, but I can’t force myself to say it. Something about admitting that the game I spent so much time and energy loving is now inferior is just something I can’t do.

I would gladly be forced to play this game for the rest of my life and only this game. I loved it that much.

And there may lie the problem of creating the perfect game. Companies will never be able to top their most successful games. Mario Bros 3 will still be Mario’s best side-scrolling adventure whereas Mario 64 will be the best 3D platformer period. Ocarina of Time trumps just about every adventure game out there. Final Fantasy 6 or 7 will always be favored over the new titles coming out. Even games that are similar to games in other series will always seem inferior. Shadow of the Colossus was and is one of the best game experiences I’ve ever had. Oops, someone at one point called it the “Zelda Killer.” Silly them, now no Zelda fan will ever love it more than their favorite Zelda title. I went out of my way to hate the game even before it was released on the grounds that it was blaspheming my beloved series. First Person Shooters keep getting touted as “Halo Killers” and so far there have been few to even come close to the mighty throne, with only Modern Warfare being the apparent rightful heir. It seems a surefire way to prevent your game from ever being considered one of the greats is to proudly proclaim that it already is. No one will allow that.

So can we create the perfect game? No, no such game exists. Even the mighty Ocarina of Time has major flaws. No matter what someone makes, someone else will always find a reason to dislike it. It seems to me that the best way to make something near a “perfect game” is to make something unlike anything that’s come before it. Sure, borrow attributes if you need to, but don’t do it so much that people are forced to compare it straight-paralleled to another game. If you can make something without any constraints then it might just excel to new heights. The task of doing that, though, is nigh impossible. You have better luck just staying with what works. Why is it you think Nintendo is so reluctant to create new IP’s in favor of new Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon games? Because people will buy the new games in the franchise no matter what, even if they don’t think it’ll be better than the games they remember. But they’ll always hope.

What do you consider the perfect game? I think Super Mario Bros 3 is as close as one can come to perfection. Ocarina of Time is clearly a favorite of mine as well, but I understand when someone isn’t interested there. But what are your favorites? Do you have a game that you’re certain is perfect? Do you feel that Mega Man 2 got it right and all the games afterward just couldn’t live up to it? Do you think that Modern Warfare 2 perfected the multiplayer standard in a game? Do you believe that World of Warcraft is the end-all for MMORPG’s from now until forever? I bet you know what comes next: Leave a comment. I can’t find out any insight if you don’t give me some. The button’s right there, so use it to enlighten me further. I implore you.

Stare into the face of the Uncanny Valley.

I am not a fan of hype. Any time I hear too much on a title I start to dislike the game on principle alone, so Heavy Rain was big on my skeptical radar. I had been hearing all sorts of things about the PS3 exclusive regarding the detail of graphics and the amount of engrossing story, but all this did was make me hope the game would be terrible. Finally, Heavy Rain is out, so are my instincts correct? Is Heavy Rain a flop? Absolutely not.

Original Concept; Tough Sell

Heavy Rain is very much unlike any game you’ve played before unless you’ve played Indigo Prophecy. The style of game is something I can’t quite pin down as everything is based off Quicktime Events and dialogue trees. The plot revolves around the murders of the Origami Killer, a serial killer known for his trademark origami mementos left on the victims. You’ll play through the story as four different characters all related to the murders in some way, such as the dull FBI agent, the father whose son has gone missing, the mother who’s already lost her child, and the really developed detective character that I’d prefer was the only character I needed to control.

The FBI agent on the left is not who I'd prefer to play since he's, well, boring.

Where Heavy Rain sets itself apart from other games is the structure of the game itself. There are no Game Over screens or checkpoints to get to. You’ll go through the story doing the best you can to make the right decisions and what have you with each action you do having consequences at some point. If your character takes a particularly bad beating early on, they will look pretty damaged for the rest of the story. It’s even possible to have a character die. The game won’t end, but it could result in you not seeing the end if that particular character is crucial for resolution to the game’s plot.

I do like the “Choose Your Own Adventure” framework in Heavy Rain. The whole game takes maybe under 10 hours to complete once through, but you could play it again and see a completely different result, assuming you’ve changed your decisions slightly. For example, the game’s demo has a scene where the detective is pressing an individual for information about the Origami Killer. You are given the option to be nice and not really force a response, or you can push for the character’s story. It is quite possible to learn something new in each playthrough.

In this scene, the father loses his son in a crowded mall. To some people that's straight-up terrifying.

However, the controls frustrate me to no end. This is a game only since it uses a controller. You are constantly asked to perform some random button press that represents an action in the game. Some of these make sense, like a flick of the control stick to the left to dodge a punch, but then there are times that you have to flick the stick to reach in your pocket. I don’t care about that amount of detail in my motions. Every minute action is required. Even walking, a task that should be a simple as “push stick forward,” is complicated by the need to hold down a shoulder button and then steer your character. Heavy Rain is a game I much prefer to watch rather than play.

Should you purchase Heavy Rain? It depends. If you would like to replay the story over and over, then yes, certainly buy the game. For most of us, a rental weekend will suffice.

Overclocked Remix turned 10 just recently. Have you been listening?

You may not know it about me, but I actually think myself a pretty avid music lover. I just don’t listen to what most people listen to. What I listen to most of all are video game soundtracks, so when I want to up the stakes a bit I listen to video game remixes, and no one does it better than Overclocked Remix. OCRemix is the best site for video game music recompositions on the web, so I figured I’d share my love with the world in the form of a list. Problem is, they’ll be hitting their 2000th remix this year, and at least 500 of those remixes are in my constant play cycle. I couldn’t limit myself to a top 10, so I extended it to a top 15 list with two restraints: no two remixes by the same artist or of the same game. So here they are, my Top 15 OCRemixes.

15. Fear of the Flava by McVaffe:

A remix of the Secret of Mana main theme right out of the gate? Dang this list is gonna be good.

Just the fact that I’m starting with a Secret of Mana remix, STARTING, is saying something about these remixes. While McVaffe’s remix is excellent in of itself, it didn’t have a difficult task as Secret of Mana’s source music is stunning to say the least. McVaffe though has a number of great remixes on the site with a number of wonderful Tetris and Yoshi’s Island remixes to take note of. This remix keeps things fairly simple, but sometimes that’s all you need to do.

14. Turd Surfers by chumble spuzz:

Gotta show my love for Turtles In Time, yo.

I argued with myself about this one by artist chumble spuzz since I really love this remix, specifically the phenomenal guitar solo that kicks in late in the track. I would have placed it higher if I was just going for face-melting solos, but that alone isn’t enough to push it to the highest spots. Still, such a great remix of Sewer Surfin’ in Turtles in Time for the SNES, my favorite TMNT game, I couldn’t pass up.

13. Sonic Gargles With Garden Marbles by GuitarBizarre, Prince of Darkness:

A good game, a great remix.

Sonic the Hedgehog is a series with a strong emphasis on great music. The games on the Genesis even challenged the SNES for great old-time tunes. This team-up of GuitarBizarre and Prince of Darkness gets me every time as it takes Sonic 3’s Marble Garden Zone and puts it to some smooth melodies that managed to mellow out any bad day.

12. DeathontheSnowfield by AmIEviL:

Who hasn't wanted to remix Terra's Theme, honestly?

However, if you’d prefer to engross yourself in a bad mood, or at least the moody aspect of it, AmIEvil’s remix of Terra’s Theme from Final Fantasy VI manages to nearly bring me to tears. Terra’s Theme gets remixes all the time on OCRemix, but this one keeps it at a sadder, more emotional level that I can’t get enough of. Hey, music isn’t always supposed to get your jazzed, right? Besides, AmIEvil has plenty more good stuff to check out if this particular remix isn’t to your liking.

11. TurksInPursuit by DJ Orange:

There ware a lot to choose from in terms of FFVII remixes, so take that as a statement to judge with remix with.

This one’s just cool in every sense of the word. It was inevitable that Final Fantasy VII was going to show up here in some form, but how did a remix of the slums outdo Aeris’ Theme or One-Winged Angel? Take a listen and you might figure it out. One of the key reasons for my love of these remixes hinges on how much the source material is reimagined and DJ Orange seems to have that skill down for TurksInPursuit. Think mood music for this one and you’ll get why I love it.

10. Mamacitas in My Valley by Diggi Dis:

Pff, of course Ocarina of Time was showing up somewhere.

Another one of the most remixed tracks is Gerudo Valley from Ocarina of Time. Diggi Dis raised the bar for style in regards to the all-favorite track with a mix that plays like a good song to dance to. Heck, I even had this song playing during the reception at my wedding, an act that my wife didn’t argue with, if that gives you an idea of how great I think it sounds.

9. Jade Catacombs by bLiNd:

Definitely one of the best SNES games and full of stellar music.

Beyond bLiNd being an amazing remixer on the site, part of my inclusion of Jade Catacombs comes from the story behind the remix. Other remixers on the site found out that bLiNd was sick, so they made him a get-well album of Metroid-themed songs. The album itself is worth a listen, but after all that, bLiNd not only announced he was all better, he announced he was engaged, so he did his own remix for the get-well album and named it after his fiancé. Even if the remix wasn’t incredible, that’s an awesome story. In this case we get both.

8. Super Mario Bros 2 Insomnic by Insomnic:

Totally puts you in the mood for fun.

Despite my love of some remixes breaking conventions with the source, I’m also rather fond of remixes that take the heart and soul of the source and add tons of energy. That’s what Insomnic does with his remix of Super Mario Bros 2’s overworld theme. It’s fast, it’s peppy, and it’s a must-listen for any fans of cool techno music.

7. Bowser is Pissed by PriZm:

Rocking Bowser with the best of the best.

Oh my goodness, this is some great stuff. Take something as simple as the Castle BGM from Super Mario Bros and try to come up with something better than this remix here. It’s intense but gives a nice moment to breathe in the middle before attacking your ears with awesome at the end. I wish this would replace the actual music in all further re-releases of Super Mario Bros.

6. Triforce Majeure by Disco Dan:

More Zelda? Dang right.

I couldn’t include a list of the best from OCRemix and not include Disco Dan. He has a remix of Snakeman’s Theme from Mega Man 3 that’s to die for, but for this list, his best has to be Triforce Majeure from A Link to the Past, specifically the music from Hyrule Castle. The only word you can really use here is “Epic.” It’s long, but give it a listen and let it sink in for a moment or three. Then listen again and try not to envision how cool this would sound in a Legend of Zelda movie.

5. Dark Matter by PrototypeRaptor:

Also, go play this if you haven't already.

PrototypeRaptor nearly got on my list for his Star Fox remix but I had to choose between that and his remix of Miracle Matter from Kirby 64. No contest. I don’t know why Miracle Matter doesn’t get remixed over and over and especially why it doesn’t get mentioned as one of the best video game tracks ever as it is, according to me, the best boss theme music I’ve ever heard. Dark Matter is fight music, through and through.

4. BTMNTBAMLOL by Danimal Cannon, Kbart, Stemage:

The box art does this remix justice, not the other way 'round.

Yes! Too much greatness is crammed into one little remix, taking tracks from TMNT 3 on the NES and mixing in some other Turtle themes from here and there. What this all equals is one heck of a face-melting rock remix. The opening has become my default ringtone, and I challenge anyone to stay seated or refrain from cheering at about 3:50 or so. It has what I’ll go ahead and say is the most powerful moment in any of these songs with a tone shift towards Beyond Awesome.

3. Just a Little More (Prime Edit) by DarkeSword:

I will always pause fora second whenever I get to Phendrana Drifts, just to listen to the music.

My favorite video game song is undeniably Phendrana Drifts from Metroid Prime, so when I heard DarkeSword’s remix of said theme, I couldn’t help but love it, too, especially since he’s manage to keep the essence of the track but added just enough to make it better. The harp solo gets me every time and nearly makes me weep with joy. I love it that much.

2. Intense Color by SGX, sephfire:

Wait, what? Mario Paint had music?

Do you remember Mario Paint? Okay, try and think of the music in that. It’s calm and serene, right? Just some chill background music. SGX and sephfire managed to take this, and turn it into something too cool for words. What makes it even better is when you can definitely hear the source material in the track, but only for brief enough moments to make you go, “They were able to make this hardcore techno track from that?” So what could outdo a remix as skilled as that?

1. Chekan Winter by Prophecy:

It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be dark, and it's gonna last a lifetime.

It’d have to be something else to make the top of my list. Sure, remixing the Mario Paint music is one thing, but Chekan Winter comes from the Northern Hemispheres levels in Donkey Kong Country. You will not be able to recognize the remix as coming from this. I love songs that build slowly, leveling track after track on top of each other until they culminate in an explosion of Scrumtrilessence in the end. This is one such example of that happening. I could listen to this one over and over again without stopping, something I’ve done before and will do again. Hence, it’s my Number 1 OCRemix.

So have you listened to anything on OCRemix before? Do you have some favorites that I didn’t hit on? Remember, these are 15 from nearly 2000, so there are a lot more to cover. I’d like to hear what your favorites are and why, or even just who your favorite remixer is. And heck, don’t stop with commenting here. Head over to Overclocked Remix and show them some love as well. They certainly deserve it.

You ready for another trip to Rapture?

If you’ve read my Bioshock review, you already know that I like Bioshock. If you read my preview for Bioshock 2, then you know I’m pretty psyched for the sequel. Well, the sequel’s out now, so did it live up to my expectations? There is some good, some bad, and some blah, but let’s save that for another day. Oh heck, why not, let’s do it now. On to Rapture!

Something Old, Something New

As you may remember, the world of Bioshock takes place in the doomed underwater city of Rapture. You got to see a great deal of it in the first game, so you’d think the second game is just gonna ramp up the amount of new areas, right? Uh, there are some new places, but to be honest, the first game sort of has this one beat in terms of atmosphere. Why? Because the first one completely set up a new world. This one just continues on, so there isn’t as much mystery to everything. It’s still great, but the effect of the city has somewhat diminished in a repeat visit.

You get to play as the very first Big Daddy here with all that goes along with that, such as a drill, the ability to walk underwater (which is completely under-utilized), and the choice to either harvest Little Sisters for Adam like in the first game or adopt them as your own Little Sister for a while, a new concept. It’s a good idea, but babysitting the Little Sisters for a while can get somewhat repetitive and, well, dull. Plus, the thought of a drill weapon is great, but it isn’t nearly as fun as it sounded.

Maybe if you were as cute as this doll, I'd have less to complain about.

Regardless of these faults, there is a lot of good to the game. It starts out slow but the later half hits hard and sweet, a good combo. This is an FPS, but the focus isn’t so much on reactionary speed and reflexes so much as just experiencing the world. Even if it doesn’t seem as vivid as the first outing, Bioshock 2 is still fantastic in the story department.

There are a lot of new Plasmids to play with and thankfully a completely new hacking system that happily replaces the monotonous hacking minigame from the first. There are also boss battles with the Big Sister, though it isn’t set up as the seemingly random encounters the pre-game hype lead on. These are scripted story events, but that doesn’t matter: Big Sisters are a welcome addition to Rapture.

The multiplayer, however, can just be done away with. No reason to play it after a single glance or two as it’s just like any other multiplayer shooter except with Bioshock as the backdrop. Forgettable, so just forget it and make this a purchase based on the single-player experience.

And it really is a purchase to make. I’m still big on the mythos behind Rapture, so any new storyline has high standing in my court. Go play this one after you play the first, at least as a rental title. Few other games are hitting this perfectly in the story department, so don’t miss out.

Everyone and your mother can play this game at the same time.

Here we go, we have another FPS to review. But this time there’s a catch. This time, we’ve also got an MMORPG, of sorts. Yup, talking about MAG this time, a First Person Shooter that’s big hook is the ability to play with 256 players at the same time. In fact, there isn’t even a single-player aspect to the game. Does this make it a deal breaker? Let’s find out.

Hope you Like Online Play

MAG starts you off with a choice between making a character in one of three factions. You need to choose well because you can’t change your faction and you can only have one character per PSN account at the same time. Personally, that sounds about as stupid as I’ve ever heard. You can finally change factions when your character reaches level 60, but that’s a big devotion there. If you’ve picked the wrong faction right off the bat without meaning to, you could find yourself really hating MAG.

Obviously, since online is the only way to play MAG, you better be ready to deal with everything that entails the online experience. If there is lag, the game is terrible. If there is downtime on the servers, you can’t play the game, period. Luckily there haven’t been any major instances of either of those quite yet. The controls work well, so you’ll never feel that they’re the cause of any of your failures.

If you suck, you'll have no friends. Just like the real world.

The actual cause of all your failures comes from the inability of your squad to work together as a team. You can’t be a one-man army here, no matter how much you’d like to be or how good you think you are. There are just that many players on the map at any time ready to pick you off. However, when your team’s working well together, there’s an amazing feeling of synergy that puts the game to the top of its potential.

Not Without Some Reservations

Still, the game isn’t perfectly balanced. There is one team (SVER) that will win far more times than they’ll lose. People will argue this back and forth, but the maps built for their defense are nearly impossible to attack unless the SVER team playing is beyond idiotic. What I’m trying to say is, you should choose SVER as your first faction.

I’m hesitant to get into MAG due to the limited time the game will exist. It’s an online only game, so when people stop playing the game, how will there be 256-player matches? If you want to play MAG at its high point, better play it now. The longer you wait, the higher the chance you won’t really be playing MAG as it was supposed to be played.

Just think how dull this would be without the max number of players.

It all comes down to how much you enjoy FPS’s and how happy you can be playing only with and against real players online. If so far everything sounds awesome you, then you’ll probably love MAG. If you hate either shooters or online games, pass. Just don’t rent it. If you want it, better buy it and be prepared to play it for a while.

"I will eat your face."

I am a huge fan of the God of War series. Or rather, I was until the very end of God of War II where Kratos waved at the camera and said, “See you on the PS3!” For those of you that haven’t played God of War II, I highly recommend playing it, but you probably won’t like the conclusion that DOESN’T HAPPEN. I cannot stand games that purposefully don’t resolve themselves, especially when the next installment is guaranteed going to be on the next console. Here we are in 2010 and God of War III is coming out very soon on the PS3, so a demo is out and playable at last.

To be fair, I didn’t play the demo but rather I watched one of my best friends play the demo. But you know what? This is one of those games that’s nearly as fun to watch as it is to play. God of War as a series is a total spectator-sport of a game since people viewing can be just as entertained due to the amount of action happening onscreen.

Short But Oh-So Sweet

The demo isn’t very long with Kratos only getting to hack n’ slash through roughly twenty minutes of gameplay, fighting random pitiful enemies, a few larger enemies, and some moments of “Press X to decapitate, please.” God of War was built around Quicktime Events, so they’re appearing in droves. Lucky for the franchise the results of a proper button press signals a scene of unrelenting awesome upon enemies.

This was my favorite part of the demo, despite Quicktime Events.

Everything considered, the game isn’t going into any new territory, according to the demo. The first game asks you to kill a god. You do that. The second game asks the same thing and you do that, more or less. The third game asks you to kill all the gods left. You actually get to kill one in the demo, though it doesn’t seem as difficult as I’d assume the higher-ups must be to take out, such as Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades. Still, there is one less soldier fighting for Olympus’ side before the demo runs out.

Maybe I’m the wrong person to ask about this, but graphics didn’t impress me, possibly because I was expecting to believe the whole thing was a documentary from what I heard the graphics were supposed to look like. Yes, the game looks absolutely great, but so do most games nowadays. Graphics mean nothing to me and this particular demo had some obvious graphical shortcomings, such as when Kratos slammed a guy’s face into a wall and as Kratos walked by this spot the blood from the guy’s face was hovering off the wall. It sounds strange, but I’m hoping the demo isn’t a finished build, otherwise the graphics angle falls apart.

Kids shouldn’t be playing God of War games anyway, but should you? If you have a PS3, yeah, this is a must-own when it comes out. If you don’t have a PS3, you can find stuff that’s just as good elsewhere.

Sometimes you've just gotta show your bro some love.

Who am I to decide what makes a good game and bad game? I’m about to tell you that Army of Two: The 40th Day is pretty unimpressive as a game.  But who’s to say I’m the correct person to say such a thing? It’s become pretty clear that I’m a Nintendo fanboy and that I’m very bad at First-Person and Third-Person Shooters (Army of Two is a Third-Person shooter), so why am I allowed to have a say on this particular game?

I’m Bitter and It’s Obvious

My opening paragraph may have given you some insight as to what I’m talking about and where I’m coming from for this game. I didn’t play the first Army of Two because it looked profoundly uninteresting and unnecessary. But I wasn’t the target demographic of “Yeah Bro!” I don’t like to play games with other people if I can help it, so when I get a game the first thing I consider is how much fun I can have playing it alone and how long said fun will last. The Modern Warfare games are good games for multiplayer, but the single player modes scream, “Rent Me” rather than “Day-One Purchase.”

Got a buddy? Hopefully they know what they're doing, otherwise they won't be your buddy for long.

Army of Two: The 40th Day returns with the same concept of the first; that of Salem and Rios (or whatever, it’s not like names mean anything to characters anymore for any game that has guns and grenades) are an army of two guys who must work together to be the biggest and baddest guys with guns in the entire world. Needless to say, they’re mercenaries, a profession that I also don’t see the fascination with since mercenaries are, by nature, hired guns with no emotion. If they display any emotion, they aren’t mercenaries anymore; they’re just chaotic one-dimensional characters with guns.

Obviously, I’m Still Bitter

Still, I’m digressing (perhaps something to talk about on a Let’s Think Deep article in the future). The point is, Stock Character 1 and Stock Character 2 must do…something that involves Shanghai. I don’t know, there isn’t a whole heck of a lot to keep my interest since, as I’ve said, I’m not big on these “Yeah Bro!” games. Anyway, the core gameplay mechanic revolves around the requirement of both characters being used while playing. The game is best suited for two-player co-op, but a single gamer can play along with a computer-controlled partner. A lot of the time it actually works better since the computer knows exactly what it’s doing this time around, so you can literally just sit back most of the time and let the game play itself. Naturally, I hate that, too.

Just shoot him and move on with the plot already.

Okay, so I’ll stop being grumpy for a bit and tell you what the game is doing well. Yes, it has made some major improvements over the first title in the series (good Lord it’s a series now). The multiplayer modes are still relatively forgettable, but the co-op campaign has some good stuff going for it. You will actually enjoy the story if this is your sort of game. I can step back and say that much with confidence: The campaign is enough to justify a rental rather than a pass. Just remember that you can rip through the game in one long sitting of six hours or so and there are few unlockables to keep you returning for more unless you want to get every mask possible for the duo or really like playing rock, paper, scissors during a tense fire-fight. Not kidding about that last part.

So yes, the game isn’t awful. You can find lots to like here, but can I stop for a moment and mention one of the big “features” Army of Two: The 40th Day is happy about? Okay, you ready? Morality Choices! Sigh. Sigh again, just for effect. I’m getting pretty sick of the morality choices in games since they seem about as stupid as “Punch this guy in the face or don’t, you have the choice!” These guys are mercenaries, since when do they have morals beyond “Highest Bidder Wins, Yo”? I’m still being unfair, and I realize this, but I don’t care about morality choices in a video game since that all breaks down to the level of what the developers feel is a morality choice and what I feel is a morality choice. Given the option, I would play the entire game without killing a single person, just because that’s what I would ATTEMPT to do in real life. I don’t have that option, so, morality choice denied. I can choose between shooting a tiger or not shooting a tiger, but not adopting the tiger or calling an agency that deals specifically with endangered species and having them deal with the choice. I’m a hired gun with a mission to do, why should I care about tigers?!

Okay, I’m a little all over the place here, aren’t I? You want a verdict? Parents, keep your kids away from this and all games like this as it will infect them with the worst case of Stupid that I can accurately identify. If you’re already past the age where you need to be protected from Stupid and Army of Two: The 40th Day looks fun, it probably is. A lot of people will find something to like here. The game plays well for as long as it decides to and if you enjoy it the first time around you’ll enjoy it again and again. If it sounded cool to you when you heard about it, then that’s all you need to know. It’ll be cool if you want it to be.

Move lady, get out the way.

No kids, this game isn’t for you. I haven’t even started talking about the game, let alone told you the title, and already you know the game isn’t for you. Adults, this one’s for you! I’m full of glee at Bayonetta (kids, you weren’t supposed to even read the title), a game that seems to do everything right but absolutely isn’t for kids. Have I established that this isn’t for kids?  Okay 18’s and olders, let’s move on!

Living Up To The Hype

So for far more of last year than I care to remember I found myself increasingly annoyed by seeing things advertising Bayonetta and hyping it before it was even out. I can’t stand publicity for the sake of publicity, especially if there isn’t any evidence beyond “But I heard it’ll be good” to go off of. A good game hype does not make. Knowing this, the developers apparently decided to just make a good game.

You see demons there? Those should not be. It's your job to fix that.

Bayonetta’s plot is, as usual, unimportant. You play as Bayonetta, a witch with all sorts of powers and guns. She has two guns that she uses, plus two attached to her feet. Hold on for a second and think, just THINK, about the concept of a witch with a gun on each limb. Does that sound like a good idea? Yes, of course it is. Bayonetta even allows you to customize which gun goes on which limb, so at times you’ll have shotguns and rocket launchers coming from Bayonetta’s ankles. I’m almost too happy to even continue.

Continue I shall! The main draw here is the fluidity of the combat. There are a lot of comparisons between Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, but just forget Devil May Cry for a while (especially Devil May Cry 4), and listen when I tell you that you haven’t had this much fun controlling a completely chaotic video game character in a long time. The controls just work. You’ll see gameplay footage and think, “No way, I can’t pull that stuff off,” but then surprise yourself by learning that, yes, you can indeed do exactly what the game would like you to do at a level that makes you feel quite good about yourself.

She can summon giant boots from portals! I have glee!

Of course the game isn’t just going to roll over and let you defeat it, though. The game can get tough, but the regular difficulty feels fair and the hard feels like a big step up. I like seeing games that have a very clear difference between difficulty settings since, you know, you don’t want the harder mode to be just another few enemies and the easy mode to just give you some extra health. After a while you’ll slip into your groove and rawk the demons in the game at whatever level you feel you can play at.

Bayonetta is just creative. It’s meant to be stylized. The main character should make this apparent enough by her ridiculous proportions and attitude. There’s no way Bayonetta would be a real person, nor should you expect her to be. Don’t believe me? How many people do you know that have a living suit made from their hair? Probably not too many people, and the ones you do know aren’t anything like Bayonetta.

The game is also great when it comes to pacing. Remember what I said about it being creative and stylized? You’ll get to deal with some really fun enemies and bosses, and later you’ll get to fight some boss characters as if they were just normal enemies. While that sounds like it’d be repetitive, it actually isn’t. The game switches things up just enough to give you a good grasp on the game while still adding in new things.

If you haven’t figured it out by my free publicity, Bayonetta is a game worthy of praise. We’re only a few weeks into 2010 and we have a game that’ll be brought up for Game of the Year in another 12 months. Would you like some negatives since I was too positive? Well, the camera can be a pain every so often (then again what game doesn’t have an unruly camera?), and the PS3 version is clearly inferior to the Xbox 360 version. Take a look at some side-by-side comparisions if you don’t believe me.

Dance she-witch, dance.

On that note, all I can do is recommend this game. As long as you’re over 18, I highly suggest you either go rent Bayonetta or pick it up to own and then let all your friends play. That’s what good friends do after all. But not me. No, I’m much too busy to lend people anything. Also greedy and selfish, but mostly just busy. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to figure out how to attach pistols to my ankles.

Don't forget to tell the man in red what you want for Christmas.

Do you have a loved one who’s into video games? Are you yourself into video games? Did you forget that Christmas is fast approaching? Yikes, looks like you could use a helping hand when it comes to what games to shop for. Lucky for you, I’ve compiled a handy little list here of some of the best games from 2009. I don’t have them all, mind you, but I have a good selection to choose from. So get those pens and papers ready and your wallets out and let’s go over my Holiday Game Guide.

Nintendo Wii Games:

The Nintendo Wii is always a good choice for the casual video game player. You’ll find a lot of family and kid friendly games on the Wii, as well as a very low failure rate for hardware or controllers (which is very nice). Also, the interface is about as simple as they come.

New Super Mario Bros Wii:

No, I'm not going to stop telling you to get this game until you do.

By now you’ve seen both my preview and review for New Super Mario Bros Wii, so you already know everything I could say about this one. This is the best title for the system at this point in time, either for one player or multiple players, though it will take some getting used to when you have two or more characters vying for limited platforming space. Basically though, this one is sure not to disappoint.

Rabbids Go Home:

Chaos is about to happen, you can be sure of that.

Ubisoft has been pumping out these Rabbids games for the past few years and unfortunately they come with the connotation of “Shovelware titles” since they’ve previously only been a collection of minigames. Well, Rabbids Go Home is an actual adventure game with a real plot, and the game handles itself really well to diversify the gameplay into great bursts of hilarious antics spliced with good fun. Kids will love this one.

Punch-Out!! Wii:

Get used to this view because you'll be seeing it a lot.

For those on your list with a Wii but an unquenchable thirst for punishment, Punch-Out!! Wii is probably one of the best titles you could get for them. I have a review article on Punch Out wii from a few months back that goes into my thoughts on the game, but I really can’t emphasize enough how brutally difficult the game is. But don’t misunderstand, that difficulty is a good thing. You want a challenge? A FAIR challenge? Punch-Out!! Wii is that challenge.

A Boy and His Blob:

Remember kids, cute alien blobs sound like a good pet at teh time, but they grow up someday.

Slightly less of a challenge is A Boy and His Blob (Hey, I wrote a review of that, too!), a game with hand-drawn artwork and just the right amount of difficulty for midcore gamers (which is somewhere in between casual and hardcore). Also, you might notice that A Boy and His Blob is slightly cheaper than some other titles on this list. Good for the more value-minded among us.

Metroid Prime Trilogy:

Can you handle the awesome power of the Power Glove? Samus totally can.

You want value? How about three games in one? Metroid Prime is a trilogy that I place great stock in as one of the best video game trilogies to date. Now that it’s been packed into one case, there is no better time to give the gift of Metroid. If you’ve heard a guy complain about the lack of “non-kiddie” games on the Wii, see if he’s played the Metroid Prime Trilogy, and if he hasn’t, bam- you win Christmas.

Muramasa The Demon Blade:

I don't know what the heck that thing is, but I'm pretty sure it needs to die.

Please don’t pass this one up because you haven’t heard of it. Muramasa The Demon Blade is another game with hand-drawn artwork in it and even though it pains me to say this, “It is important to support hand-drawn art in video games so that we get more of it.” Hacking and slashing your way through this game looks better than some 360 games, purely because of the amount of detail done with the art. Also, the game is great. It’s a bit on the short side, but it’s also not overly expensive, either.

Xbox 360 Games:

Most of you probably have an Xbox 360. The 360 has the best online system for play at the moment and the best exclusive DLC, usually getting things long before the PS3 does. If you’re looking for a good gift for a 360 owner, Xbox Live Arcade Points is always a good idea, as well as a Gold Subscription for Xbox Live.

Assassin’s Creed 2:

Just give up now; you're not getting away from this guy.

One of the newest games on this list, Assassin’s Creed 2 is a game for the murderous hitman in all of us (or at least every college male). The game sets about correcting most of the faults people had with the first game and does a rather good job of improving as a franchise. Stealthy kills and parkour over rooftops just makes for a great gift, wouldn’t you say? Also on the PS3.

Modern Warfare 2:

You better make your next move count because you're losing at the moment.

Assassin’s Creed 2 is a single player title, but Modern Warfare 2 is a game almost best played online. The only thing I can fault this gift idea with is the fact that most people already probably have it. If you have a gamer on your list that loves First Person Shooters, ask if they already have Modern Warfare 2. If they don’t then they’re just hoping to get it for Christmas, so make sure to right that wrong. Also on the PS3.

Halo 3: ODST:

Still delivering the spank to alien scum after nearly a decade.

The Halo franchise is still going strong this year with Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST. The star of the franchise, Master Chief, is gone from ODST, but surprisingly that doesn’t turn out to be a terrible thing. ODST is a good gift for anyone you know that can’t get enough Halo, but hasn’t been given enough Halo recently. Also, it makes for a good alternative to online play if you’re tired of Modern Warfare 2 kicking your butt.

Borderlands:

You know, I don't think those bird things should be up there. Better take them down just to be safe.

First Person Shooters and Role Playing Games don’t typically sound like things that go well together, but Borderlands proves the theory spectacularly incorrect. The art style (man am I talking about art styles a lot lately), is pretty fluid and the controls work as good as you could hope, but the selling point here is the sheer amount of guns you can collect. All the weapons in the game are randomized, making for constant switching and swapping to take place to find the gun that works best for you. Also available on the PS3.

Guitar Hero: Metallica:

I said it before and I'll say it again: No one can destroy The Metal.

Hardcore Guitar Hero fans, this is the game you wanted to play since Guitar Hero first came out. The entire tracklist consists of Metallica songs (gee, didn’t expect that), as well as a few selected songs from bands that toured with Metallica. The basic Guitar Hero format doesn’t change, but Metallica is the perfect band for causing yourself endless strife attempting some truly epic guitar parts. Also on the PS3.

Batman: Arkham Asylum:

Who doesn't love a good Joker choke?

I played through Arkham Asylum twice in one week. I don’t do that very often, but in this case I made an exception. In fact, I have nothing left to do in the game since I did everything possible. That’s how addicted I was to Arkham Asylum. It has the best combat system in any game I’ve played in recent years and excellent pacing to go along with it. Any Batman fans, this is the best gift out there. Actually, anyone with an Xbox 360 should have this one. Also available on the PS3.

PS3 Games:

The PS3 has recently dropped its price down to a reasonable $299.99, making it a decent option as a video gaming platform at last. And to go with that, it started getting some excellent games this year. But keep in mind that it’s still one of the best Blueray players currently on the market, so anyone you know with a PS3 is fair game for Blueray movies as well.

Uncharted 2:

Why does everyone insist on shooting you when you're running across dangerous bridges?

The best exclusive Sony got on the PS3 this year was without question Uncharted 2. I gave my review already, so you’re well aware of its system-selling qualities. It’s a game that plays like a movie, and a fun movie at that. It improved over the first game, making sure to fix everything fans disliked about the previous installment. Support companies that do this. It’s hard to find a video game developer that actually listens to its fans.

Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time:

Ready to waste more enemies Ratchet & Clank style? You should be.

While Uncharted 2 may be a bit violent for the younger crowd, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get an equally amazing game as well. The Ratchet & Clank series is solid all the way through, and A Crack in Time only continues this trend with great platforming and fun characters. Basically, Ratchet & Clank is the Mario for Sony consoles.

The Beatles Rock Band:

Remember kids: Don't do drugs.

Oh The Beatles, how more iconic can you get than the band that just about everyone respects? Somehow through some deal with demonic forces, Rock Band was able to make a version filled out entirely with Beatles songs (a feat I find difficult to imagine considering how tough it can be to get those rights). You can even buy instruments that look like replicas of The Beatles’ actual instruments. And the game adds harmonizing to the vocalists among us, a welcome new feature that should have been in Rock Band from the start. Perfect for Beatles fans, obviously. Also available on the Xbox 360 and Wii.

Killzone 2:

This is the reason you don't typically sleep at night.

Sony’s been looking for a worthy combatant to Halo’s crown, and Killzone 2 does a fine job of letting PS3 fanboys know that they have an awesome First Person Shooter as well. Killzone 2 was a long time coming, but it was well worth the wait. Don’t listen to any hype surrounding the game. Just be aware that the game is good and needs to be played should you own a PS3.

InFamous:

Yeah, I'd do about the same thing if I got electrical powers.

While it sounds a lot like Prototype, InFamous did its own thing with a sandbox-style game involving a character with crazy electrical superpowers that let him shock people, heal people, and even fly. That makes sense, right? Ah who cares? InFamous is a great gift for fans of super heroes that have to make many moral decisions between helping people and shocking people. The correct answer? Always shocking people.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2:

Man, being a ninja must be rough.

I was pretty bothered when I saw the ads for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 since Ninja Gaiden 2 was SUPPOSED to be a 360 exclusive and I just can’t stand lies such as that. But then I found out that Ninja Gainden Sigma 2 isn’t just a port to the PS3. It’s actually a completely retooled game with extra characters and features. The game even got a little easier, which makes it accessible to a whole wider audience than the 360 version. They also scaled back the blood a little bit, but that doesn’t mean the game isn’t still meant for mature audiences only, since it absolutely is.

PSP Games:

The PSP is a powerful little handheld system, but it does have trouble coming up with solid titles to call its own. This year, Sony released the PSP Go, a new version of the handheld that eliminated the UMD drive altogether and does everything based on an internal memory system. Beware of this new system as it is incredibly limited in what games are available to download for it. Rest assured though, these three games are among the downloadable titles.

Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny:

Dang Kratos, why you gotta be like that?

I reviewed Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny already and mentioned how it is a perfect transition of the Soul Calibur series from consoles to handhelds. The big selling point is the inclusion of God of War’s Kratos as a playable character, but beyond just that the game is an excellent choice for fans of Soul Calibur that own a PSP.

Little Big Planet PSP:

Parents, better learn who Sackboy is now before it's too late.

Little Big Planet is a strange game. It’s a platformer that relies entirely on the player to generate content, forcing you to create levels to play after you complete the single player mode. This is the strength of Little Big Planet. The content is endless and the amount of things you can create is staggering. If you know someone that wants to get into designing video games and has a PSP but not a PS3, then Little Big Planet PSP is the gift to get.

Final Fantasy: Dissidia:

I can't even begin to explain this one.

Final Fantasy: Dissidia is a love letter to the fans of the long running series. It takes heroes and villains from every numbered Final Fantasy title and throws them into huge battles against each other. The gameplay is very similar to Kingdom Hearts and looks utterly confusing when viewed from the outside in, but once you get used to the mechanics of the game everything works great. This is a game that every Final Fantasy fan wants to have if they don’t already own it.

DS Games:

The DS is the cheaper of the two main handheld options, but it’s also the less powerful of the two. Typically that doesn’t stop it from pumping out some memorable titles as often as it possibly can and this year we got a nice selection. The DS in general is cheaper than the PSP or the three consoles mentioned earlier, games included, so it makes for good gift ideas such as cases or fancy styluses.

Scribblenauts:

Oh how delightfully absurd!

I gave a preview of Scribblenauts a while back (it should count as a review as well), in which I said you should buy Scribblenauts. I stand by that statement as the game came out and put me into shock with the kind of things I actually got to do. This game is for the creative puzzle solvers in your family and seeks to push them to think up new items to write in as much as possible. Yes, there are some control-based hiccups that can become downright infuriating, but overall the game is a great option for casual gamers looking for short play sessions.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars:

Seriously kids, don't do drugs.

The Grand Theft Auto series is usually only console-based, but Chinatown Wars burst out on the DS and showed that it can be just as good on a handheld. The style harkens back to the pre-GTA III days when the perspective was top-down but the action remains fast-paced and fantastic. However, this is GTA, so it’s not for the young kids out there. There is violence and theft and drugs and all sorts of bad things, but if the gamer is old enough to play, they’ll enjoy themselves here. Also recently released on the PSP.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story:

Please, just listen to me already. Why won't you just listen to me?

I’m just a Mario fan, and I’m guilty of telling everyone to go play the Mario & Luigi games more than I probably should, but I haven’t overdone my telling of you to buy this game for people you know and love. Bowser’s Inside Story is an RPG with Mario and his crew. Battles are turn-based but you constantly have to press buttons at the right time to either increase your attack or dodge an enemy, which keeps things from getting boring. Plus, the writing is as funny as ever. Great for kids and people that enjoy having fun while playing games.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks:

A great way to end the year.

On December 7th Nintendo will release The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks to a nation of people that so sorely need a new Zelda title. After giving a preview of the game, I got a chance to see a lot more in terms of what the game is about and how it’s played. At this point I’m happy to say that Spirit Track is infinitely better than Phantom Hourglass, making it a great experience for DS owners and Zelda fans. I want this game for Christmas, but I know I’m not the only one.

Obviously, this list isn’t entirely complete. My goal was to find a handful of good games for each system that show off the best the system has to offer in terms of everything. But I couldn’t include every single game that came out this year.

What games do you want for the holidays? What games are you buying for your loved ones? Do you have some suggestions or questions about any of these games or others? Post a comment and get the conversation going.

You'll be seeing a lot of her for a while.

You know that Final Fantasy XIII is on its way, right? It’s been quite a few years in the works, but we’re finally getting rough release dates for the game of games. Currently, Final Fantasy XIII is scheduled for a December release in Japan, which means an early-mid 2010 release for the US (expect those dates to change like crazy). But what’s all the hype about?

We’ve Only Been Waiting for 3 Years

For starters, any new final Fantasy title is a big deal. Wait, let me rephrase that; any new NUMBERED Final Fantasy title is a big deal. That’s because we don’t get them very often, and when we do the games are polished down to such perfection that we can’t but either nominate them for every award possible or desperately search for the problems so that we may properly scorn them (not possible).

Final Fantasy XII met with a lot of praise and a lot of indifference (I have a copy but I never bothered to open it, for example), so the next installment has some high hopes.

From what everyone has seen and played of the game one thing has become clear: This game is going to win every award it can for the year after it’s released. There’s no arguing that. The only chance any other game has is if it’s a sleeper success, but that’s not likely against this one. Just go to any major gaming website and find some trailers for the game. The game looks huge, interesting, and super confusing… but in a good way.

This will be one of the best looking games up till this point in gaming, whether you like it or not.

I’ve been going out of my way not to find out what the plot of the game is. Most of my reasoning comes from my desire to just play the game fresh and without any expectations in terms of what the plot has to offer. I can assume from the things I’ve seen that there is a future with a governmental system that needs to be overthrown by a rag-tag group of rebels lead by a snappy leader and a new character that magically has abilities no one has never seen before, but that’s just me assuming things again.

A PS3 Exclusive Leaves Wii out to Dry

If you can figure out what's happening here, you know more than I do.

The biggest news for us in the US concerns which system gets this beast. Originally it was going to be a PS3 exclusive. Now it’s coming out in the 360 as well. That’s a major hit to Sony, but a major boon for all 360 fans. Doesn’t matter which system you have or support; the important thing is that EVERYONE (except Wii owners), now get a chance to experience THE game. Yes, this will be the biggest game to (maybe) hit stores next year even if you don’t like RPGs or Final Fantasy or Square-Enix.

As I said, expect the game sometime next year, though probably by late this year we’ll be able to hear from Japan exactly what we can expect from the title. Plop down a preorder and keep some vacation days open for this one.