I’ve been playing videogames for about 20 years now, and in that amount of time I like to think that I’ve become a pretty darn talented player..

I finish all my games, hunt down secrets and power-ups, and generally wipe the floor with would-be opponents. Admittedly, most of my opponents over the years haven’t been true gamers; for some unfathomable reason, most of my friends just haven’t been into videogames. So - as you can imagine - when one of the poor bastards picked up a controller and challenged me to a round or two, the results were pretty much invariable: Joey would reign supreme.

Although it’s arguable how fun these challenges truly were, one thing is certain: they led me to believe that I was some kind of gaming legend, unlike other gamers, unlike other men. Whispers were heard of my prowess the world over. I was great and I knew it.

Hell yeah, bitches.

Now, you should know I’ve never really been into online gaming. As a huge fighting game fan, most of my early online experiences were focussed on these types of games, which are utterly ruined by lag. With a bad internet connection at the time, I abandoned my online adventures. I have since upgraded my internet, but with the unpleasant taste that was left in my mouth by a laggy Soul Calibur IV, I was hesitant to try out the online arena again. Until recently that is.

It was a regular Tuesday night at home, nothing particularly out of the ordinary. I got home from work, made myself a ham sandwich and sat down to enjoy some quality gaming time. As I flicked through my collection, and deliberated what my game of choice for the evening would be, I found the whimsical sideway looks of Ryu and Ironman to have a particularly charming glow, and popped Marvel vs. Capcom 3 into my PS3.

My love for comics and fighters is well known here on GGTL, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that I’m still playing the hell out of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. However, I hadn’t really jumped into the online experience of the game. I'd tried a fight or two, but normally signed out quickly, as soon as a hint of lag reared its ugly head. That Tuesday night, however, things were different. The internet and I were getting along brilliantly, and I was ready to take some noob kids to school. My first challenger - we’ll call him 'ScoobyNoob23' - did wonders to rouse my spirits. I stepped into the ring with She-Hulk, Trish and Captain America, and as I realised that 'Scooby' had chosen Sentinel, Iron-Man and Ryu, I simultaneously felt intense feelings of both relief and dread. Relief because the cheap Sentinel–Iron-Man combo is oh-so-popular amongst noobs, and dread because with his cheap characters, this noob might just beat my legendary skill down with some dumb luck.


'Scooby' never knew what hit him. I walked out of that fight with my three characters intact, and Scooby declined a rematch. 'Who’s next?' I thought, feeling like Daniel-san, post Mr Miyagi training. My next challenger popped up soon enough.

We’ll call him 'SoulCrushingRealityCheck85', or just 'EgoKiller' for short.

'EgoKiller' walked into the ring with Dante, Akuma and Zero, against my She-Hulk, Trish, and Captain America trio. She-Hulk is my heavy hitter; I start off most fights with her, and then leave her in reserve to deal out some heavy punishment if my other characters are taking too much heat. I blinked twice and she was down. As I felt the cold sweat travel down the back of my neck, I paired my Trish against his Dante, and after some grueling fighting, just as I was about to take that cocky, white-haired douchebag out, 'EgoKiller' switched him and came down on me with fury as Akuma. Poor Trish never stood a chance. Captain America was my last hope. A few charging stars and shield throws later, Cap’s lifeless body lay on the ground, looking up at me. I had failed my fighters, and I was pissed.

'I’ll get him on this rematch', I thought. Five rematches later, I had managed to take down one or two of his characters, but hadn't won a single match. At the end of my fifth utter defeat, a message pops on my screen: "Your utter incompetence is no longer amusing. You are no legend. Thou art nought but a noob".

Okay, what he actually said was "Good fights" as he signed out, but I knew what he really meant. I now had a personal vendetta. An arch-nemesis.

I watched YouTube videos of MvC3 during my lunch break at work. I stayed up until 2am, polishing my skills in the challenge and practice modes. And, three gruelling days later, I was ready. I had added 'EgoKiller' as a friend, waited for him to show up and challenged him to a game. As he accepted, my hands were shaking, but I walked into that fight feeling like Bruce Lee; this was a wild jungle but I was Stallone. Sure, this guy was my own personal terminator, but I was Sarah freaking Connor, and I was ready.


I cannot even begin to describe the utterly humiliating asskicking that followed. Nothing I tried worked. Those perfectly timed combos I had mastered? I couldn't even manage to set them up. As the fight ended, I pondered for a moment whether or not I should even attempt a rematch, but only for a moment. I was seeing red, and as our second fight started I attacked this guy with a fury. I used every cheap move I could think of, recalled every combo I ever learned, switched characters in and out quicker than I ever had. It came down to Zero and She-Hulk, and as that beautiful green lady delivered that final punch, the sheer elation of victory that filled my body was overwhelming. I jumped up and down like a two year old, and not even the soul-destroying pain I felt when I stubbed my little toe on my bedpost was enough to bring me down. I had won. I was legendary once more. This was what gaming was all about.

EgoKiller beat me to a bloody pulp in all of the next three fights.

I’ll keep fighting online, though. I’m craving that feeling of elation like a junkie. I’ve discovered online gaming and there’s no going back.

Labels: 2011, Columns, Joey Núñez, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, RePlay

It's an exciting time to be a fan of Marvel's Merry Mutants, the X-Men.

In the pages of the X-Men comics, a major overhaul is in the works for the team as the Schism event, a story arc centred on a team-dividing clash between Wolverine and Cyclops, comes to an end. This summer, X-Men First Class helped 20th Century Fox prove that there was still hope for the X-Men film franchise. And, just recently, gamers around the globe were able to get their hands on X-Men: Destiny, the latest game to feature Marvel’s super-powered outcasts.

Developed by Silicon Knights, X-Men: Destiny is an action-RPG that allows you to step into the shoes of one of three original mutant characters. Although the game doesn’t allow you to create your own characters, there is a heavy emphasis on power customisation, so your mutant of choice will have the abilities which suit you best. Likewise, you are free to determine your allegiance, as the game allows you to choose to side with the stubbornly heroic X-Men, or the Brotherhood of Mutants (a.k.a., the bad guys). Now, although my status as an X-Men fanboy is undisputed, the sad truth is that if I had to sum up Destiny in one word, it would be disappointing. Lackluster graphics, repetitive combat and uninspired characters rob the game of all of its potential.

But I promise you gamers, Marvel's Merry Mutants have seen better days. Don't believe me, yeah well i came prepared. I leave you with the definitive list of the very best X-Men games of the past; basically just the games I liked the very most.

X-Men Arcade

If part of your childhood was spent frolicking in the savageness of the early 90s, chances are that you, like me, spent a considerable amount of time at the arcade. Everyone has that single arcade game that they remember the most, the one that swallowed the most coins and incited the simultaneous feelings of excitement, rage and love. For me, that game was the X-Men Arcade. It’s both the first arcade game I can remember playing, and the one I played the most.

A classic 90s beat-em-up, X-Men Arcade was basically a side-scroller where you hit everything that stood in your way. Refined gameplay it wasn't, but man, was it fun. The game featured six beloved X-Men in playable roles – Wolverine, Cyclops, Dazzler, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Storm are all present – and they all look great (all things considered), with big and detailed character sprites. I’m a huge fan of Storm, and some of my fondest gaming memories involve kicking Sentinels to the curb with everyone’s favourite weather witch. Though, in all honesty, I never did understand why Storm was packing a wand.

Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge

A SNES game featuring both the X-Men and Spider-Man was almost too much for my ten-year-old mind to compute. The sheer incredible awesomeness of the concept was too much to bear. That’s probably why I never finished the game. Or maybe it was because the game was so freaking hard, even by old-school standards.

This nineties gem had Spider-Man rushing in to save Storm, Gambit, Wolverine and Cyclops from the menace of Arcade. You don’t need to know much about the guy, just that he’s constructed a fun little theme park called Murderworld; Disney World it is not. As with many SNES platformers of the day, the controls were a challenge unto themselves, the platforming was torture, and deaths came cheaply, but these hang-ups made getting through a level all the more rewarding. It was no masterpiece, but Cyclops shot his optic blasts and Gambit threw his cards, and at the time, that was enough.

X-Men (Sega Genesis)

When I finally managed to convince my parents to get me a Sega Genesis, this is the first game I bought. A 2D platformer at heart, the game allowed you to take control of Cyclops, Gambit, Nightcrawler and Wolverine. Several other X-Men were featured as assist characters too, including Rogue, Iceman, Storm and Archangel. As a kid, watching Jean Grey swoop in and save me from falling to my death with her telekinetic powers was probably the most amazing thing I’d ever seen – I didn’t get out much, but still. The graphics were all kinds of pretty, with detailed, colourful sprites, and the gameplay was as challenging as you would expect from a mid-90’s 16-bit platformer.

But what is the one thing that really sets this game apart? The one thing that every person who ever played it was unable to forget? The game was set in the X-Men’s Danger Room — if you don’t know what that is, honestly I don’t know how you’re still reading this — and the premise was that the X-Men’s training system had been infected by a virus. Upon defeating one of the bosses, the game would tell you to 'reset the computer' in order to clear the virus. Look all you want at the screen, you’ll find no reset button, or command prompt; you had to literally press the reset button on your console. Hold down on the button too long, however, and the system would reset like normal.

You can imagine my frustration the hundreds of time I held the button for just a moment too long. My controller, on the other hand, felt my frustration, as I threw it across the room. Again, and again, and again.

X-Men: Children of the Atom

Before Marvel vs. Capcom, there was X-Men vs. Street Fighter, and before that there was X-Men: Children of the Atom. It was a bright day in Valhalla when Marvel and Capcom put their heads and talents together to create a fighting game, and gamers have been thanking their lucky stars ever since. Children of the Atom was the first fighting game to feature the X-Men, created by the great minds behind Street Fighter; with a pedigree like that, it’s no wonder the game is still impressive today. In fact, if you look closely enough, you’ll notice that Wolverine and Storm use pretty much the same special moves today, almost twenty years later, in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Now that’s what I call staying power.

A few years later, Capcom would lose the rights to Marvel’s characters. Activision stepped in, and created three X-Men-centric fighting games (Mutant Academy and its sequel, and X-Men: Next Dimension), and although I played the hell out of those games, they didn't hold a candle to Capcom’s original masterpiece. I’m glad that the mutants are back in the hands of Capcom, and here’s hoping against hope that a Children of the Atom sequel might still see the light of day.

X-Men: Legends and X-Men: Legends 2

The X-Men are, first and foremost, a team, and although many games had let you control many different X-Men one-at-a-time, no game had ever put you in control of a team. Activision and Raven Software set out to solve that problem with X-Men: Legends, released for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. Featuring fifteeen playable characters, each with their own diverse power set, the game allowed you to create teams of up to four X-Men, and wreak havoc on multitudes of baddies. An action RPG, Legends almost felt like Diablo for X-Men fans.

How cool was it to hold a baddie in place using Jean Grey’s Telekinesis, and then blast him away with Cyclops optic blast?

About as freaking awesome as it sounds.

The cel-shaded character models of the game weren’t appreciated by every gamer out there, but regardless of whichever gripes you had over the graphics, the Legends games offered a definitive X-Men experience, with great storylines, a massive list of playable characters, and gameplay that was faithful to the comics. A greater X-Men game has yet to be created if you ask me.

Labels: 2011, Columns, Feature, Joey Núñez, RePlay, Silicon Knights, X-Men

Maybe it was all part of my hormone-induced post-puberty hysteria, but I remember a time when Japanese role playing games, or JRPGs, were the games to beat. If you owned a PS1 or PS2 back in the day – which seemingly every gamer did – each year you were bombarded by one JRPG after another. Fans of the genre, such as myself, poured hour after hour into these games, completing every sidequest, finding every weapon; inching ever closer to the elusive 100% completion. Back then, it seemed like JRPGs would always be the king of the gaming hill. Life was good.

So what the heck happened?

With the exception of Final Fantasy XIII, it has been years since I've been offered a decent JRPG for my PS3. The industry has undoubtedly changed, and so have the gamers who fuel it, but have we really reached the point where the classic JRPG has lost its magic? I refuse to consider Fallout and Mass Effect 'RPGs', regardless of their much-publicised role-playing elements. Where are my turn-based battles? Where are my goofy characters? Where is my melodrama?! Call me old-fashioned if you must, but if you’ve rubbed the soreness out of your eyes at 3:00 a.m. whilst trying to strategise just which party members to use and what battle tactic to implement, in order to get through that one final boss, then you know what I’m talking about.

With the barren JRPG landscape in which we currently find ourselves, it dawned on me that thousands of gamers out there might not have even had a chance to experience a decent JRPG. Really, the only viable solution for those out there wondering what is it about these 'Final Fantasy-type games' that makes old-school gamers go mental is to mine the classics. Well, consider me your guide.

If you’re a JRPG buff, you’ll find below a short but tasty list of some of my favourite games, that you might - but shouldn't have - missed out on back in the day. If you're a JRPG noob that can’t tell apart a potion from an elixir, do yourself a favour and check out one of these games ASAP.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

A silent, yet heroic, protagonist. A princess in peril. A buxom girl with the power of magic. A talking frog. If ever there were a JRPG that defines the genre, Dragon Quest VIII is it. Dragon Quest VIII was released in Japan in 2004, before making its way to North America in 2005, and finally to Europe and Australia in 2006, during which time the PlayStation 3 was looming overhead and the PS2 was slinking into the shadows. When all was said and done, Dragon Quest arguably ended up being one of the last hurrahs of the ageing PS2, a fitting swan-song for the JRPG on a console defined by the genre.

With DQVIII, Square Enix managed to take every classic element of the JRPG - random enemy encounters, a turn-based battle system, an open world map, item and equipment collection and the need to level grind – that reviewers had been criticising for years as tired and outdated, and make it all seem fresh again. For JRPG enthusiasts, DQVIII was like coming back home after a long holiday; nothing beats sleeping in your own bed, right?

Even now, more than six years after its original release, this game is easy to recommend, with a massive campaign - which can take you anywhere from 50 to 100 hours – and endearing cel-shaded visuals. If you want to find out whether or not JRPGs are for you, this is the game to try.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Shadow Hearts: Covenant is set during the First World War, and features a dark and tortured hero who has no need for wussy magic spells. Oh no, because he can turn into a demon. All types of demons, actually. If you’re wondering; yeah, he is badass. The cast of playable characters is certainly one of the most memorable and eclectic ever to be featured in a JRPG, including Gepetto, the doll maker, who makes use of his puppets to battle; Blanca, a white wolf; Joachim, a French vampire wrestler; and the one and only Princess Anastasia Romanov.

Oh, did I mention that Rasputin is actually one of the enemies in the game? And he’s not even the big baddie.

With two discs worth of engaging story, the most memorable aspect of the game is its battle system, featuring the Judgement Ring. Every action you take in battle is governed by the Judgement ring, a kind of dial. Whether or not your planned action succeeds depends on your ability to press the right button, just as the marker on the ring is crossing over the corresponding section of the ring. Each character's judgement can be customised and modified, making markers move faster or slower, and expanding the action areas. When you factor in combos and special moves, you end up with some pretty frantic battles, which require precise timing. Sound complicated? Well, it should, because it kind of is; just do yourself a favour and watch the video embedded above.

If what you see seems at all interesting, give this game a shot. You won’t be disappointed.

Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

The first JRPG I ever played was Final Fantasy VII on my PS1, and so began my obsession. The second JRPG I got my hands on was Breath of Fire III, and so was my obsession cemented. Breath of Fire has held a special place in my heart ever since.

Like the Final Fantasy series, the games in the Breath of Fire series have many elements in common, that carry over from one game to the next; primarily, the blue haired protagonist, Ryu, who had a bad habit of turning into a dragon. With Breath of Fire V, or Dragon Quarter, the fine folks at Capcom turned the series on its head. Forget the sprawling open worlds that the previous games were known for, filled with floating castles and magical forests; Dragon Quarter sticks you in a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity has been forced to retreat underground. Depressing and dreary scenery is the norm. The battle system was completely reworked, with no more random encounters; rather, enemies are fought directly in the dungeon environments, with a grid based battle system slightly reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics.

The greatest change, however, is the difficulty. It is insane. Why’s that? Well, when you die, you actually die. That 'Game Over' screen is not just there for kicks; the game is very much over and you must start again from scratch. Why the hell would you even play this sick, sadistic game, churned from the minds of Japanese madmen? Well, each time you die and start over, your keep your abilities, items, equipment and level; not only that, but as you die and restart the game, your D-Ratio increases.

What does this mean? A higher D-Ratio will give you access to areas, cutscenes, and plot points which were previously inaccessible. Long story short, in order to experience the whole game, you need to die and play through it more than once, with the bright side being that each time you play, things will be different. This makes up for the relatively short 10 hour campaign.

This is as about as hardcore as hardcore gets. Man up and get on it.

Chrono Trigger

What happens when you take the game developers behind Final Fantasy, pair them up with the character designer from Dragon Ball, and throw in an epic story featuring time-travel and the fate of the world?

Epic awesomeness, beyond compare.

Forget Final Fantasy VI; if I had to pick one JRPG out of the Super Nintendo catalogue, Chrono Trigger would be it. Extremely innovative for its time, nowadays Chrono Trigger’s mechanics are classic. The battles are typical JRPG turn-based affairs, but the Active Time Battle system - in which each character gets a turn to strike once a specific timer bar fills up – has rarely been so well implemented. First of all, enemies are fought right on the environment map where you encounter them, with no separate battle screen required. As for your combat options, things get quite tactical, with area-affecting spells and the possibility to combine two characters' moves for combo specials, with devastating effects.

What truly makes this game timeless, though, is its story. Heroic feats, magic spells, and time-travel are the things childhood fantasies are made of. Many JRPGs create worlds with rich histories and fantasy-filled futures, but Chrono Trigger lets you experience the history and future of its world, and it’s quite a ride. Couple that with some incredibly endearing and memorable characters, and gorgeous animation, and you have a truly timeless game. Chrono Trigger is already available on the Wii Virtual Console, and should be hitting Xbox Live soon, so there is really no excuse. If you haven’t played this game yet, get it as soon as you can, and stop bringing shame to yourself and your ancestors.


If one of the games listed above doesn’t tickle your fancy, then JRPGs really aren’t for you. Which, sadly, makes you not quite as awesome as I had hoped.

...I should get over it with time.

There are plenty of other classic JRPGs that could stand tall next to the games featured here. Don’t be shy; sound off with your favourites in the comments below.

Labels: 2011, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, Chrono Trigger, Columns, Dragon Quest VIII, Joey Núñez, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, RePlay, Shadow Hearts: Covenent, Super Nintendo

Well, boys and girls, it's certainly been a trying time for those of us loyal to Sony’s black beauty. With the PlayStation Network down, every PS3 around the world was digitally neutered; floating like plastic islands in a digital ocean, Sony consoles were cut off from one another and from the precious PlayStation Store, home to countless downloadable goodies. Luckily, Sony has finally managed to get the PlayStation Network up and running again, and - like the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel - it seems like the return of the PlayStation Store is imminent.

Hey, it might even be up by the time this is published. A fanboy can dream, right?

So, what should you do once our lovable and cuddly digital store is back up? Well, besides telling it how much you missed it and showering it with gifts after it promises you to never, ever, ever go away again, there really is only one thing to do: get down with the downloads.

Last week I shared a list of some of the best PlayStation 1 classics available on the Playstation Store, and hopefully some of you will find it useful when sifting through the digital riff-raff. But, I know lots of you out there just can’t bear to game like its 1999, and the idea of revisiting a decade-old game is far from appealing. Well, here’s looking at you kids.

Aside from offering gamers some very sweet PS1 classics, the PlayStation Store has its share of great digital titles just waiting to be downloaded onto your hard drive. The task of choosing just a few titles from the hundreds available can be truly daunting, so I’m here to lend a helping hand. If you ask me, here are a few must-own downloadable games.

Flower

Flower was the first game I ever downloaded onto my PS3, and it’s probably one of the games I return to the most. This game isn’t quite like anything else you’ve played before, which automatically means it’s not for everyone, but it is definitely something that everyone should experience at least once.

Here’s the gist: you are a flower (or group of flowers) sitting on a windowsill in a busy city. As a flower you dream of the wild, open fields, filled with the greenest grass sprawling out under the bluest skies. You, as the player, get to play through those dreams. Trippy, huh? You will start out each level with a single flower petal, which you control with the motion capabilities of the Sixaxis controller; the petal will respond to your motions, while a press of a button will create a gust of wind to propel the petal forward. Your mission is to fly over wild flowers which haven’t blossomed and get them to do just that, bringing vibrancy and life to sometimes barren lands.

Simple as the game is, the colours, sounds, graphics and music of Flower combine in such a way that the experience is quite ethereal and very relaxing. When playing Flower, you lose yourself in the breeze. Trust me, that’s a very good thing.

Trine

A wizard, a knight and thief traverse a magical kingdom filled with an army of undead creatures and deadly traps, leading up to an epic confrontation, as the fate of a kingdom hangs in the balance. The catch? The souls of our three heroes inhabit a single body. Oh yeah, things are about to get awesome.

Part side-scrolling platformer and part puzzle game, Trine is visually inspiring, with gorgeous graphics and a lovely colour palette. Gameplay is immensely satisfying, as Trine forces you to be smart about traversing its levels. You see, each level will require you to constantly switch between the Knight, Thief and Wizard in order to access their unique abilities. It can be rather cumbersome at first, but with time this body-swapping mechanic will feel all too natural. Couple this with the Wizard’s abilities to literally create boxes and planks out of thin air and telepathically move them around a stage, and you’ve got yourself some truly epic platforming.

Trine is a blast to play alone or with a friend, via local co-op, and I wholeheartedly recommend you download it as soon as the Sony gods allow.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game

Retro is in. It seems like every game developer is keen to ride the nostalgia train all the way to money town, and that means tonnes of old-school games for us. Look no further than the new releases of Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, X-Men Arcade, and the new 'old' Megaman games if you want to see what I’m talking about. Sadly, it’s hard to pull off a good old-school game without having it feel outdated. Luckily for us, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World pulls this off with flying colours. Seriously, colours will literally fly whilst playing this game.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is based on the comic series of the same name, and will put you in the shoes of Scott, your run-of-the-mill deadbeat Canadian hipster. Scott bites off more than he can chew when he falls for the lovely Ramona, since - in order to get the girl - he will have to defeat Ramona’s seven evil ex-boyfriends, in a battle royale of love. Cue nineties MIDI music.

A classic side-scrolling beat-um-up brawler, this game has metric tonnes of personality and is filled to the brim with nostalgic goodness, with winks to classics such as Streets of Rage, Super Mario 3 and Street Fighter. If you're a child of the SNES age, you won’t be able to keep from smiling at the old-school feel and references of the game. With four characters to choose from, you can pour hours of gameplay into this game, as you master each character’s skills with a levelling-up system similar to that you'd expect from an action-RPG.

Let the pixellated awesomeness begin.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Tomb Raider games are known as over-the-top adventure games, in which the lovely Lara Croft gives you the opportunity to explore huge, open 3D environments; these are single player experiences, which are more often then not light on the gunplay and heavy on the puzzle solving.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light turns this formula on its head. The game gives you a fixed, isometric view of the action on the screen, doing away with the free-camera that the series is known for. And when I say action, I mean action. This downloadable title probably has more gunplay than all of the previous Tomb Raider games combined. A large part of that is due to the option of having a friend join in on the fun (via local or online co-op). Through the co-op option, Lara can be joined on her journey by the aforementioned 'guardian of light' - double the damage, double the fun.

Although the game will feel initially foreign to Tomb Raider fans, once you get into the groove of things you’ll find that the essence of the series has been retained. Each level is essentially a giant puzzle for you to solve. The developers made the stellar move of tailoring the puzzles to accommodate your single player and co-op experience, making sure that the world around changes slightly when you’re accompanied by a friend.

With an excellent gameplay experience, swathed in great production values and incredible graphics (for a downloadable game), it’s hard not to recommend the Guardian of Light for a download.

Shatter

Brick-breaking games have been around since time immemorial – or at least the last couple of decades – but this game shatters all of your expectations and everything you know about the genre. Forget about a simple paddle bouncing a ball onto a wall of bricks; multiple angles of movement and precise control are what this game is all about. The addictive gameplay will get to you, and breaking that high score will become more of an obsession than a goal

With awe-inspiring visuals and genre-defining gameplay, Shatter is something you have to see, not read about. Check out the video above and put downloading this game onto your to-do list.


The games listed above are but a tiny sample of the gaming gems you can find online. Keep your eyes open for the reopening of the PlayStation Store and make sure to check out the free games Sony is offering as part of their welcome package, which include some high quality downloadable titles. I’ll be sinking my teeth into Dead Nation and Wipeout HD, personally. What will you be downloading once the PlayStation Store is back up? Any recommendations for games I should take a look at? As ever, sound off in the comments section below.

Labels: 2011, Columns, DLC, Flower, Joey Núñez, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, PlayStation, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Store, PS3, RePlay, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, Shatter, Trine

This article contains information about PlayStation Store content relevant to the U.S. PSN region, but may not necessarily be applicable to other regions.

It's been a long wait, but the PlayStation Network is finally back. You can now sign in, message your friends, play games online, and return to purchasing. But, wait a second, the PlayStation Store isn’t up again yet, is it?

Nope. Oh balls.

The PlayStation Store is the thing I have missed most during the PSN outage, and although our online games shopping centre hasn't quite reopened yet, now that the PSN is back to running on most of its cylinders it’s only a matter of time before we can all begin a collective shopping spree. In celebration I've decided to guide you through my planned purchases, whilst simultaneously recommending some awesome games currently available on the PSN. Where do we start?

Well, with the classics, of course!

I have been clutching a PlayStation controller in my hands since 1997, so I’m pretty familiar with a lot of the original PlayStation's games, many of which I just can’t wait to replay. Now, I know there are many of you out there who missed the PS1 golden age, and given the virtual sea of PS1 classic games to choose from on the PSN (not all of which are worth your money), I’m here to help you out. There are a few real gems in the PS1 classics section of the PlayStation store; here are just a few that I'd suggest you take a look at.

Bloody Roar 2

If you like fighting games, and don’t mind stepping into some 1999 graphics, Bloody Roar 2 is worth a look; a 3D fighter (think Tekken), which gives you the opportunity to control eleven distinct fighters, in combo-heavy hand-to-hand matches. The major selling point? Like those lovable Autobots and Decepticons, these fighters are actually much more than what meets the eye. All the fighters in the game have been genetically altered, and can transform into a human/beast hybrid mid-battle. Wolfmen, bunny ladies and weird insect dudes; Bloody Roar has them all. It's easy to recommend Bloody Roar 2 over its predecessor, as it offers more characters and modes, as well as better graphics than the original, albeit first-generation PS1 graphics.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Simply put, Symphony of the Night is Castlevania at its best. If you have no idea what Castlevania is, then I weep for your soul. In a nutshell, the Castlevania series of games follows the Belmont clan of vampire hunters throughout the generations, in their seemingly eternal fight against Dracula, the vampire king. Unlike the recent Lords of Shadow, the classic Castlevania games are strictly a 2D affair, heavy on the plaforming and the battling. Imagine Megaman with a mediaeval vampiric gothic twist, and you’ll start to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Symphony of the Night is the central gem in the Castlevania crown. The game follows the story of Alucard, the son of Dracula, as he braves the dangers of Dracula’s castles. It's 2D platforming at its best, with just a smidgen of RPG-style character growth. With a great plot, gorgeous art style and pitch-perfect gameplay, how can you live with yourself knowing that this classic is just a download away, but you've never bought it?

Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped

Ever wonder what the guys at Naughty Dog - the developer famous for creating the Uncharted and Jak and Daxter games - were doing way back in the nineties? Look no further, my young padawan: Crash Bandicoot is what they were doing.

Sony’s premiere mascot and the PlayStation’s response to Mario, Crash is a cartoon-looking bandicoot – yes, they're actual animals – who wears jeans and has a liking for jumping on things. The Crash Bandicoot games were the best 3D platformers the original PlayStation ever saw, exuding all of the great production values that Naughty Dog is famous for. For a few laughs and some genuinely enjoyable platforming, Crash is the way to go. The third game in the series is easily the best of the lot, but you can go ahead and get all three - you certainly won’t regret it.

Final Fantasy IX

Back in the 1990’s, Squaresoft - now known as Square Enix - was on a roll. When Final Fantasy VII was rolled out on the PlayStation 1, no one could know that it was the game that would define that generation of gamers. Expectations were high for each subsequent game, and for the most part Squaresoft did not disappoint. The PSOne was home to three main-series Final Fantasy games, all of which were astounding. Now, we all know that Final Fantasy VII is an easy recommendation, but some of you might have overlooked the somewhat underrated Final Fantasy IX, which, looking back, is one of my favourite games in the series.

After the modern styles of Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Squaresoft decided to revisit its roots in Final Fantasy IX. Everything from the character design to the battle system is a throwback to the company’s SNES-era Final Fantasy titles; you can count that crystals, castles, airships, unlikely heroes and princesses will all make an appearance. The eight characters in the game mostly correspond to one of the classic 'jobs' that the series is known for - thief, white mage, blue mage, black mage, summoner, etc. - and all are compelling, unique and likeable. This is a Final Fantasy game, so - surely enough - the plot is epic and will have you in a battle for the fate of the world itself. A classic RPG through and through, if you can tolerate the classic sensibilities of the game, Final Fantasy IX is well worth your time.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

The original Resident Evil started it all. Resident Evil 2 is perhaps still the definitive game in the series for most gamers who played the classic titles. Resident Evil 3, however... well, it just was. The critics knew the game was great, but it simply wasn’t as successful as its predecessors. Chances are, you probably didn’t play this game either. I can guarantee you’re missing out on some of the best survival horror to ever come from Capcom.

In Resident Evil 3, you play as Jill Valentine, protagonist of the original game, as she desperately attempts to escape Raccoon City whilst it is being overrun by zombies. To complicate matters further, Umbrella Corporation has developed a bioweapon, designed exclusively to track and kill Jill, called 'The Nemesis'. Resident Evil 3 plays just like its predecessors, with the series' classic controls, but the Nemesis creature really adds something new to the mix; specifically, jump-out-of-your-seat terror. The Nemesis will show up repeatedly and unexpectedly throughout the game, and unlike the other creatures you face, it will follow you through every door and up every staircase, until you choose to face him. To put this simply, all these years later I can still remember how much Nemesis scared the shit out of me. Are you ready to be scared?

Metal Gear Solid

You’ve heard about those nifty action/stealth games called Metal Gear, right? Well, this is the game that started it all. Metal Gear Solid isn’t the first game in the Metal Gear series, but was the first of them to be infused with the cinematic style and stealth gameplay the series has become famous for since.

Like Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid was a console-defining game. At the time, nobody had seen anything like it, and its legacy is still palpable today. If you haven’t played this game, you should. 'Nuff said.


So, there you have it: my list of must-have PlayStation 1 classics. Make sure to download at least one of these classics if you can once the PlayStation Store is back up. And if you have any personal PS1 favorites that get you all teary-eyed, don’t be greedy: share your opinions in the comments below.

Labels: 2011, Bloody Roar, Castlevania, Classic Consoles, Columns, Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy, Joey Núñez, Metal Gear Solid, PlayStation, PS1, PSone, RePlay, Resident Evil, Sony

Last weekend I was spending some quality time with my Buffy and Angel DVDs^[1]. As usual, my lovely PS3, Polly, was in charge of the DVD playing duties. All was well, vamps were being dusted and Buffy was being as kickass as usual. But it seems Polly had had enough of those silly DVDs, and decided a strike was in order. She proceeded to shut down. Polly hasn’t turned back on since.

Yeah, my weekend pretty much sucked.

Polly’s fate is still unclear, but if you’re wondering how I’m holding up, the answer is surprisingly well. Complete and utter chaos has not erupted, and work has kept me busy enough, so I haven’t had much time to fret. Still... even though it has only been a few days, the absence of my PS3 is already painfully noticeable. Polly is, without a doubt, the pièce de résistance of my bedroom, and in her absence it took me all of about two hours to dust off my PS2 and start revisiting some of my old favourites. The whole ordeal has revealed to me that a couple of days without gaming is a couple days too many.

As I bemoaned the painful, hopefully not permanent, loss of Polly to some friends, I found myself once again having to defend my hobby. I can’t deny that as I have grown older I have taken a hard look at my hobby of choice. Not too long ago the consensus was that I was getting “too old for those kid games”; but as the next generation consoles (and also the Wii. See what I did there?) have made gaming much more mainstream, that opinion has died down considerably. But the naysayers aren’t all gone.

For what seemed like the fifth hundred and thirty second time I had to illustrate to non-gamers on the glories and values of the video game. The result was somewhere between a rave and a rant, but by the time the dust settled I once again felt validated, the intrinsic value of my past time proven, and walked away with the certainty that my hobby kicks every other hobby’s ass.

Since a) you guys will probably find yourself in a similar “Defense of Gaming” situation someday; and b) you crazy kids just love lists, I’ve summarized my ranting and raving on the awesomeness of gaming into the four points below.

So, without further ado, this is why I game:

1: Fun things are fun

First things first: video games are fun. Can most of you remember the first time you put your hands around a video game controller, or set your fingers down on a keyboard? Back when we were all gaming virgins, and had no idea the relationship we were getting ourselves into, or what that guy on the screen was supposed to be doing, there was only one thing we could do: wing it. You jumped and ran around with no other goal but to jump and run. There were no trophies or achievements to hunt down, no urgent need to complete a level, no “noobs” to be “owned”. You were gaming to enjoy yourself, and nothing more. The important thing about playing a video game was having fun.

Games have become more complex, and gamers seem to take their hobby more and more seriously each day, but we should never forget, in the end, gaming should always be about enjoyment. Today your average gamer is tech-savvy enough to ask about frame rates, textures and level design, but even they have to admit, there is one key requirement that any good game just has to meet: one way or another, it must be fun. Good games are fun to play, period. What better way to spend a couple of free hours in a day than having fun?

2: Gaming is a social experience. No, seriously.

Sometimes it’s planned, and sometimes it happens spontaneously, but more often than not when Sunday comes around my significant other, my friends and I find ourselves huddled around Polly, controllers in hand. We mess around in the user-created levels in Little Big Planet 2, bash each other’s heads in for a while in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, or take some guided tours of Renaissance Italy in Assassin's Creed 2. No money is spent, no gas is used, but fun with friends is had none the less.

Contrary to what some people would like to think, we gamers are perfectly capable of having normal social interactions, and video games can prove to be an extremely useful tool to that effect. When you’ve got yourself a nifty gaming console and some good games at home there’s no need to cook up some lame viewing party or movie night to have your friends come over - all you need to do is obtain enough controllers to let everyone hang out and play.

I’m pretty sure that if every world leader had a PS3 in their office, diplomacy would be a much simpler affair. Who needs war when you’ve got co-op and death matches?

3: An easy way to go through the looking glass.

Forrest Gump had it right: life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. We have all had less than stellar days, weeks, or months, when nothing seems to be going quite right. It is during times like those that you would give anything to be able to step out of your life, if only for just a second, and forget about everything that’s going wrong. It has been my experience that gaming is just the right way to do that.

It is true that movies and books also provide escapism to a certain degree, but I don’t think they come close to what video games have to offer. Sure, you could watch Frodo and the gang bring it to Sauron in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I’m sure that will provide some distraction; but better yet, why not jump into a world which is just as detailed as Middle Earth and be the characters on their epic quest for just a little while, making the tough decisions and guiding the heroes in their journey by your own hand? If that sounds good to you, then Final FantasY VI through X are highly recommended.

As a kid I used to be mesmerized by the Indiana Jones films. I always wondered what it would be like to go on one of those dangerous adventures and discover the mysteries of an ancient tomb. As a teenager the Lady Lara Croft gave me a taste of that anthropological brand of adventure. I led Ms. Croft through perilous traps and labyrinthine halls, and with her I discovered prehistoric treasures and forgotten civilizations I'd never dreamed of. When I was playing Tomb Raider I didn’t have to dwell on the fact that my parents were getting divorced - not when I had an ancient temple to explore.

With the technology available to game developers today, even complete historical cities can be recreated for us to explore (Assassins Creed anyone?). Essentially, through technology, the entire world becomes our playground, and when created properly video games are nice little vacations from our lives. Let’s face it, we can all use a vacation now and then.

4: Gold stars, blue ribbons and shiny trophies.

A few days ago Greg Mengel talked to you guys about the wonders of Mega Man X. I, like Greg, am also a huge Mega Man fan, and as I read his article the other day I started reminiscing and pinpointed just what was so great about the Mega Man games: the extraordinary sense of achievement that seems to overwhelm you when you churn through one of those levels and crush its boss. It’s no secret that Mega Man titles can sometimes seem impossible to conquer, which is exactly why you feel so empowered when you eventually see those end credits roll. The experience of starting up a game, mastering its intricacies, and eventually plowing through its challenges is something every gamer loves.

Before Polly decided it was time for a break I was able to, after hours of practice, complete every single combo challenge for Phoenix in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. I felt like a freaking god (and yes, a lame victory dance was involved). Does that make me a complete and total nerd? Well, yeah, I guess it does, but hell, I felt great doing my victory dance. I'd earned it.

So there you have it, a rock solid defense for gaming, feel free to pull out this list, or some variation of it, when you find yourself having to prove you’re not an antisocial hermit just because you like to play video games to your family or friends.

In any case, chances are if you’re reading this now you don’t need convincing, you know gaming is awesome. So tell us below, why do you game?

Footnotes

[1] That’s right, in addition to being a gamer I’m a card-carrying, browncoated Joss Whedon fan. I’m awesome, deal with it.

Labels: 2011, Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy, Joey Núñez, LittleBigPlanet 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Megaman X, Polly, PS2, PS3, RePlay, The Gaming Experience

In 1992 I was not much to look at. A below average height 7 year old boy with questionable social skills and an apparent lack of talent for anything involving a ball, bat, glove, or set of wheels, I was not what you would call an imposing young tyke. There were, however, a couple of things I was pretty good at during that young age. Very good at, actually. The first was remembering the name, power set and origin story of every character featured in my favourite Saturday morning cartoon: X-Men. The second was the ability to execute a flawless DOWN + DOWN-FORWARD + FORWARD motion on my SNES controller, culminating in the most glorious battle cry of all time... Hadouken!. These are talents that I have kept ever since.

Over the years my love for the X-Men evolved into a full blown Marvel comics obsession. While Stan Lee tended to my love for comics, Street Fighter nurtured my love for gaming. To this day I’m still a sucker for a good fighting game; everything from Tekken to BlazBlue - you name it, I’ve played it. So you can imagine my reaction all those months ago when Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds was announced by way of that geektastic trailer featuring the likes of Ryu, Morrigan, Chris Redfield and Wolverine.

The doctors said I was touch and go there for a while, but since first watching that trailer I have fully recovered my eyesight and the use of my left arm.

Yes, I was pretty excited, I mean wasn't everyone? Fans of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 had been clamouring for this game for years, and when Street Fighter IV came around and proved that the fighting scene in gaming was most definitely not dead, the clamours only got louder. So why on earth do I find myself writing up a piece in defense of Marvel vs. Capcom 3? The reviews are in, and the game is good! Haters, however, are gonna hate.

If you haven't followed it, let me describe the different camps who have problems with Marvel vs. Capcom 3. On one side of the bunch you have the hardcore fans who are disappointed in the apparent dumbing-down of the control scheme, and on the other side you've got casual players who love to scoff at the mere 36 characters, compared to the 56 featured in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Surely, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is not the second coming of Christ; and no, it is not the perfect fighting game, but I’ll be damned if I stand by idly and let you fine readers allow a couple of naysayers turn you off of this fine game.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is the fighting game equivalent of a bowl of cool beans bathed in awesome sauce. Let's discuss why.

Characters

There is a reason Marvel is called the 'House of Ideas'. The stories and characters the company has produced over the years are some of the most memorable and iconic in all of comics. Featured in television, literature and cinema for decades, the characters of Marvel have withstood the test of time and proven to be near and dear to the hearts of many millions across the globe. The faces featured in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are a great representation of what Marvel is all about.

The necessary crowd-pleasers like Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America and Wolverine have all made a triumphant return to represent Stan Lee and friends, but Capcom spiced up the comic book roster by throwing in some great new additions like She-Hulk, Phoenix, Deadpool, X-23 and the almighty Thor. Some fans have questioned the inclusion of lesser known characters such as Taskmaster, Dormammu or M.O.D.O.K., and to some extent I can relate. I am definitely not a M.O.D.O.K. fan, and would have much rather preferred his slot be given to a competent fighter (did anyone at Capcom even hear about Iron Fist or Elektra? Come on now!). But I recognise that these 'unknown' characters add nothing but new personality to the game, and help therefore make the roster of characters that much more unique.

As for Capcom, well, where do I even start? You would think that Capcom would play it safe and draw heavily from their fighting franchises (Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, et cetera), but as usual the company seemed determined to represent themselves with characters from all over its diverse library of villains and heroes. Some standouts worth mentioning are the Resident Evil trio: Chris, Wesker, and Jill Valentine (the last available as DLC); Spencer of Bionic Commando fame; the devilishly awesome demon hunters of Devil May Cry: Trish and Dante; and Amaterasu, the god which is dog, but is still really a god, originally featured in the cult hit, Okami. Per usual the company managed to stick in some oddball characters, which actually works given the random context of the game. Most notable in this category are Viewtiful Joe and Arthur, of Ghosts n’ Goblins.

Now, if you are at all familiar with the characters I’ve mentioned above you may worry that this is a mismatched roster. I mean, how can you have Amaterasu (a god) fight Deadpool? How does that even work?! But that’s just the thing - it works perfectly! I will admit that there are some balancing issues to be dealt with (*cough* Dark Phoenix and Sentinel *cough*) yet for the most part Capcom managed to do something quite extraordinary with this game, as you can pit any of these characters against each other and for the most part have a fair and balanced fight.

You might be worried that the essence of your favourite characters have been abused in order to fit them into a fighting game paradignm ("Jill Valentine throwing a fireball? Blasphemy!"). You can lay those fears to rest. The greatest thing about this roster is that each fighter still feels like the character we know and love. Every character has retained his or her own signature fighting moves and styles, drawn directly from their respective games and comics. Yes, Amaterasu’s moves are as artful as you would expect them to be, and yes, Dante has access to basically all the weapons featured in Devil May Cry 3. The same goes for each and everyone one of the Marvel characters, with move sets that seem to have been pulled right from the panels of a comic.

Add to the above the fact that, unlike in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 no two characters really fight alike, and you’ve got yourself one of the most exciting fighting game rosters in years. Still scoffing at the mere 36 characters? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Fighting Mechanics

If you’re not familiar with the fighting mechanics of the Marvel vs. Capcom series, here’s the skinny: you pick a team of three characters, each with their own health bar. The first player who has all three health bars drained by their opponent loses. During a fight you can tag-out with either of your two available partners at any time, or you can call either one in for a quick assist move which you can integrate into combos using timing and planning. All characters have special moves (projectiles, grabs, etc.) and super moves (the flashy screen tearing end-all moves which every fighting game seems to feature these days). These super moves and hyper combos can only be used when your 'super meter' is full. The more energy available in your super meter, the stronger the move you can pull off. As an added twist, Capcom has thrown in an 'X-Factor' which can be activated once during a fight to give all your remaining fighters a considerable boost in strength, vitality or speed; the strength of the boost is directly proportionate to the amount of characters on your team who are still alive - the lower the amount of characters, the stronger the X-Factor boost.

There are other complex details to the game's design to master, but I can tell you’re headed towards an information overload, so we’ll leave it at that. Suffice it to say, the fighting mechanics are very cool, very stylish, and very awesome. Three on three fights featuring wacky Capcom characters and comic book superheroes make for grand affairs. The thing is, these fights are not always so easy to get a hang of. Like in any decent fighting game, they take practice.

Since I’ve been pulling off fireballs and dragon punches since the early 90s, it’s easy for me to forget that not everyone is gifted with Hermes' nimble thumb. This can make playing a fighting game with unexperienced friends a boring affair. The gap between experienced and amateur players was especially apparent back in the days of Marvel vs. Capcom 2; you could never really show off what the fighting engine was capable of unless you got two experienced players involved. This was something I was worried about while waiting for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 to hit game shelves; I wanted the game to retain its signature air combo-filled craziness, but I didn’t want to have to offer a free training course for my friends.

Capcom addressed my worries in two very cool ways. First of all the normal controls for the game have been somewhat streamlined; no, this does not mean dumbed-down. It just means normal controls are more accessible to new players. Each character has a light, medium, and strong attack, all of which can be chained together to pull off basic combos. On top of those, each character has a launch attack; with the press of a button you can hurl your opponent into the air and supplement your combo with some airbourne hits. It's when a fight takes to the skies that stuff gets really flashy. Previous games in the franchise gave each character specific launch moves which you had to know in order to even hope to pull off an air combo. Adding a generic launch button has made the process much simpler to learn, while still keeping enough complexity to make it difficult to keep things challenging. Just because you can launch your opponent into the air doesn’t mean you’ll be able to pull off a 25-hit air combo just like that. Trust me, I know. I hate to fall back on the 'easy to learn, difficult to master' cliché, but there really is no better way to describe the fighting mechanics of Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

The second measure taken by Capcom to reconcile varying player skill levels is a bit more straightforward. Before starting each match the game will give you the option to choose between the 'normal' control scheme and its 'simple' counterpart. The latter transfers all of your normal hits into a single button, while a second button will automatically launch a special move (no DOWN + DOWN-FORWARD motion required) and a third button will launch a super move. Yup, it’s just as simple as it sounds. The downside to this is that under the simple scheme you don’t have access to all the characters moves, and, if you ask me, you don’t really stand a chance against a skilled player using the normal scheme. That said, the ability to choose between control settings is nothing but an extra option which allows any fighting noob to pull off some of the flashier moves in the game without moving to Japan and finding a Marvel vs. Capcom sensei. And that takes me straight to my next point.

Fun Factor

Simply put, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a fun game. Sure, it's complex enough to be in in the fighting game tournament scene, but at the same time it's more than accessible enough to pull it out and mash some buttons for a while with a few friends. Virtually anyone you can sit in front of the TV will recognise at least a few of the characters featured in the game, and will get a kick out of watching them face off. Throw in the 'simple' mode, and I can guarantee even the most amateur gamer will find myriad reasons to love pulling off a show-stopping hyper combo filled with flashy colors and snazzy visuals while using their favourite characters from gaming and comics.

Even though the core gaming experience is a blast, I have to admit Capcom kind of dropped the ball on the content side of things. The game disc is somewhat bare when compared with other fighting games. Although there is a story which frames the setting of the game, and each character has a unique (albeit short) ending sequence featuring some nice comic panels, there isn’t really a story mode (à la Mortal Kombat). There are a 'Training Mode' and 'Mission Mode', and Capcom is constantly updating an online feature called 'Event Mode', in which the game asks you to complete the game under certain conditions (using only a single character, or a team pulled from the X-Men universe, et cetera.), but while these modes can be fun for trophy and achievement hunters, I really would have liked some more meat on Marvel vs. Capcom 3's bones.

Nonetheless, there is no denying that watching Thor, Captain American and Iron Man pull off a team hyper combo against Wesker, Doctor Doom and Akuma is pure entertainment, particularly for a comic fan like me. Avengers Assemble baby!

Stylish Visuals

Boot up Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on an HD television and you shall be impressed. Unless, of course, you hate all things awesome. Hater.

The game features very appropriate 3D cell shaded graphics which match the tone of the game perfectly. Most matches look like they were pulled straight from a comic book, and that is a good thing. A very good thing. The character animations are fluid, which is necessary when you’re pulling off 50-hit combos, and each and every fighter looks great while in motion. Capcom made sure to have each character move exactly how you'd expect them to. The effort shows.

Building on the style developed in Street Fighter IV, Capcom places these 3D characters on a 2D plane; however, the stages in the game feature a lot of visual depth, so although your fight will occur only on the foreground, there will be a lot of stuff going on in the background behind you. The stages featured in the game are pulled from both Capcom’s iconic games and Marvel’s most celebrated stories, and all are filled to the brim with crisp, colourful details which are sure to make any fan smile.

In short, the game looks good, flashy and stylish.

I could go on and on about this game (...well, I kind of have already), so I’ll leave it here. Feel free to bash or praise the game in the comments section below.

Until next time, true believers. Excelsior!

Labels: 2011, Capcom, Joey Núñez, Marvel, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, RePlay

As gamers, we can all get a bit passionate about our favorite games. It is true that at times we can get a little bit too passionate, and often come off sounding like antisocial uber-nerds, but I’ve come to think there is no way around it. Obsessing about our favorite games is part of the gamer package; frankly, you learn to live with it. I, for one, have accepted the uber-nerd inside and am ready to share a little piece of him with you today, which is why I present my defense of 2008’s Prince of Persia. That’s right Sands of Time loyalists, I’m going there, so suit up and have your counterarguments at the ready.

I’m well aware that defending the merits of a game is not always a friendly affair. Truly, there are few things more rabid than a gamer on the defensive. Normally you can expect a tirade of one-liners and unintelligible outbursts of useless information, normally devolving into an exchange of lovely and unimaginative insults, including fan favorites such as 'noob', 'fanboy', and other more colorful words not suitable for a PG audience. You’ve been there, as have I. It can be sad. I will steer clear of these traditions, and try to be as objective as possible. Hopefully I can convince those of you who wrote this game off to give it a second chance.

Or you can side with the noobish Sands of Time fanboys. Your loss.

Prince of Persia was a re-imagining of the already re-imagined classic series. Ubisoft ended the Sands of Time trilogy back on the PS2, wrapping up the story quite nicely. When the next generation of consoles hit, fans were curious as to how Ubisoft would pull off a revisitation to the franchise with a fresh approach that wouldn't make a mess out of an already convoluted plot. It was quite the gaming conundrum, so the guys and gals at Ubisoft took some time off, made a little game called Assassins Creed, and came back to the drawing board. Once the developers got their creative juices flowing they decided that the best way to inject a breath of fresh air into the series was to completely re-imagine it (again). Long story short, they would keep the core gameplay style of the original Prince of Persia and basically throw out everything else, including the old Prince. Oy.

Hesitant as I was to accept this new Prince, who was kind of a jackass and sounded an awful lot like Nathan Drake, of Uncharted fame, I ended up loving the game. And even though a lot of hardcore Prince of Persia fans will dismiss this game based on its “extremely low difficulty” and “lack of challenge”, I’m here to tell you differently. Prince of Persia rocks, and here’s why.

Visual style and art direction

Slide Prince of Persia into your console of choice and the first thing you’ll notice is the game’s distinctive cell shaded art style. Look up any trailer for the game and you’ll see what I’m talking about (in the above trailer featuring the song “Breathe Me” by Sia, goose bump action is guaranteed). Although the game starts out with a very grayish pallet of colors, as you progress the world around you comes to life as colours jump out at you. These colours are complimented expertly by great animations for both the Prince and Elika (more on her in a bit) and lots of smooth texture work on the environments. The use of light and shadow, particularly when Elika uses her powers, is extremely well done, and little details such as the butterflies and petals which float over flowers and grass should not be missed.

All these graphical bells and whistles wouldn’t amount to much if the environments and characters were bland or unimaginative, but fear not, both characters have very distinctive designs imbued with tons of personality, and the world they inhabit is equally aesthetically pleasing. The world is split into four main areas, each of which has its own visual and architectural style ranging from a somewhat medieval European setting to an Arabian Nights-style aesthetic. Once you get knee deep in these environments they leave an impression on you which is not soon forgotten.

Level Design

I’ve had a game controller in my hand for roughly 20 years now, and in that time there have been very few moments during which my grip around that controller loosened as I stood in awe of a game and simply say 'Wow'. Running vertically up the surface of an air balloon and then magically bouncing to another, repeatedly, whilst every structure around me collapsed, was one of these moments. If you’ve played this game you know I’m talking about the aftermath of the Prince’s and Elika’s final battle with The Alchemist in the Vale. If you haven’t played this game, you really are missing out on some outstandingly creative and ingenious level design.

As is tradition in Prince of Persia games, the titular character is quite a nimble fellow, with wall-running being his preferred method of travel (hey, I’d run on walls to get from everywhere too, if I could). With this game Ubisoft kept the Prince’s trademark movement and maneuvers, but this time around they’ve given their protagonist a much more interesting playground to move around in. It’s quite obvious that Ubisoft primarily focused on the platforming aspect of this game, with combat taking a comfortable seat on the back burner; wall jumping, wall running, roof crawls and pole swinging are combined with some nifty magical assisted flights of fancy, all in such a perfect way that at times you just have to sit back and ask yourself 'did I just do all that?'. I can only imagine how painstaking designing a functional and attractive level in which all this craziness can happen fluidly was. The end result is pretty awesome, and watching the Prince move around this vibrant world is really a thing of beauty.

The Story

A beautiful and tragic Princess, with a destiny to fulfill. An unlikely hero who may be more than meets the eye. An epic battle between a God of Light and a God of Darkness. The Prince of Persia story is mostly a by-the-book affair, but I’m a sucker for these classic tales of good versus evil; there’s a reason we see so many of them in film and literature - they work! And even though the story is clichéd and formulaic, I still believe Ubisoft deserves praise for successfully cleverly creating a deep mythos in a single game. See, throughout the entire game you can make the Prince and Elika begin conversations with the press of a button, this normally results in charming and funny banter which is immensely helpful in fleshing out their characters, allowing you to care for and relate to them, but more importantly these conversations also normally include interesting tidbits of information on the enemies you will face and the world they inhabit. Trust me - there’s a lot of information. If you find yourself wondering what motivated the grotesque thing you are fighting to become the monster he is today, or why the larger than life environments around you seem so abandoned, I can assure you the details are there, if you’re willing to listen.

I enjoyed the story of Prince of Persian more than that of most games. Surely, it was somewhat simple compared to the complex plot which Ubisoft crafted in the Sands of Time trilogy, but who’s to say that’s a bad thing? The game’s characters made the tale of this Prince of Persia shine, and speaking of characters, I think it’s time we tackle Elika.

Elika

I loved Elika. I loved her character design and her characterization. I loved the way she interacted with the Prince. I loved her kickass magical powers. I loved... all of her.

Elika is a rare breed in the current videogame landscape; a useful AI partner. If you’ve played games with AI partners before you know they can oftentimes be lots more trouble than they are worth (Yes! I’m talking about you Sheva!). This is not the case with Elika, who is nothing but helpful and never gets in the way of your progress. Think of Elika as the magic abilities you would normally acquire in other action games of this nature, only instead of the Prince learning new spells (à la God of War) Elika will become stronger and gain access to new abilities which you can access with the press of a button. For example, despite all his talents, the Prince can’t perform a classic double jump, but if necessary Elika will assist him in the middle of a jump by giving him a boost that makes sure he goes the distance. The same rule applies for battles; if you need a little extra support of the magical kind you can integrate Elika into your combo with a single button press. The system works and does a great job of making you feel like you’re actually controlling two characters with none of the extra hassle normally involved.

What I love most about Elika are the small interactions which occur naturally between her and the Prince. If Elika falls on you after a landing, she’ll sometimes apologize; if the Prince and her walk into each other while sharing the small space on a beam, they will hold hands and switch positions with a nice little turn, at times eliciting an uncharacteristic giggle from the normally solemn Princess. It’s in these interactions that the figures on the screen become more than avatars, growing into actual characters which you learn to care for.

As you have probably deduced by now, Elika is a constant companion who always has your back; oddly enough most of the criticism surrounding the game is based on just this aspect of her character. Elika is so helpful that she will never let you die. That’s right, you can’t die. If you miss a critical jump, Elika will lunge after you and use her pretty, glowy powers to lift you to safety. If an enemy is about to land a killing blow our girl will put on a particularly painful light show and get him off your back. I know how this sounds, but in all reality it is not very different from the checkpoints which are currently employed by most games, and makes a lot more sense, too. I mean, get killed in God of War and all this means is you’ll have to look at that unattractive 'You Are Dead' screen, push a couple of buttons, and Kratos will be miraculously appear, wound-free, just a few steps back from where he 'died' just moments before. Way to take me out of the game experience. When you think of Elika as your automatic checkpoint, the whole 'no challenge' argument becomes a bit moot.

Now I know this game is not perfect, and it is clearly not what some fans of the series were expecting from a new entry into the franchise, but I still firmly believe the 2008 Prince of Persia survives on its own merits. Anyone who sees it in a bargain bin or the dusty shelf of a used bookstore should pounce on the chance to play it.


Well enough from me, I’ve already told you what I think. Now it’s your turn - have you played Prince of Persia? If so, what did you think of it? Sound off in the comments section below, fellow gamers.

Labels: 2011, Columns, Joey Núñez, Prince of Persia, RePlay, Ubisoft

It's happened. After years of waiting, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is finally here, and it rocks. I know the masses of faithful fans are somewhat divided on the pros and cons of its new game mechanics, but I don’t think anyone can deny that the game is loads of fun (especially for a comic fan like yours truly). A big part of the fun factor in this classic series is the opportunity to see iconic and disparate characters clash in visually stunning over-the-top battles.

Simply put? It's fanboy heaven.

Yup, there is definitely a special appeal to any 'vs.' series, and contemplation on this subject got my brain gears grinding. Once the resultant massive headache subsided, I was left with one very distinct thought: "I want more". If Marvel and Capcom can somehow put all their characters into one single awesome fighting game, why can’t everyone?! Sure, the logical non-fanboy half of me immediately started blurting out some nonsense about character rights and copyright infringement, but in grindy-gear-brai-fantasy-land there's no room for naysayers. So, after I shut him up, I thought it’d be a good idea to share my little wishlist; nay! My list of demands.

Videogame industry? These are the 'vs.' fighting games I want. Get on it!

1: Marvel vs. DC

Go ahead, call me obvious. Scream to the top of your lungs about my lack of originality, and see if I care. Sure, any gamer who’s ever glanced sideways at a Spider-Man comic or a Superman novel has at one point or another dreamt of a videogame crossover. It’s a cliché, guilty as charged, but it’s one of the awesomest clichés in awesometown. I’ve been dreaming about this game since I was six years old, and I’ll be damned if it isn’t made in my lifetime.

Our chances of playing a Marvel vs. DC are not as low as you might think. The comic publishing giants have collaborated several times before upon comic book crossovers, and the commercial success of a product pitting the two sides against one another is practically guaranteed. Marvel’s characters are back in the fighting game spotlight thanks to Capcom, and the DC catalogue wet their toes in the arena with the lacklustre, yet still undeniably fun Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. There is no reason why both companies can’t have another go, only this time against one another. Superman vs. Thor... Batman vs. Captain America... Wonder Woman vs. Ms. Marvel...

Tell me you’re not excited.

I’d hand over development of the game to Capcom, as they are the undisputed masters of fighting games and have proven that they can recreate the out-of-this-world battles that go hand-in-hand with superhero comics. The tricky part will be to get DC’s parent company, Warner Brothers, to sign off on this. But, hey, we can all just share the money... right guys?

Make it happen!

2: Mortal Kombat Vs. Killer Instinct

I am hoping that most of you out there remember Killer Instinct. The original Killer Instinct was released on the Super Nintendo way back when, in 1995. With crazy characters, insane one-hundred-hit combos, and finishing moves pulled straight from the Mortal Kombat editing pile, this game managed to have a voice all of its own. A sequel was produced for arcades in 1996, but home consoles have been left wanting and waiting for a Killer Instinct title since the release of the original.

Granted, the franchise is pretty obscure. Though originally developed by Rare, various other studio heads have expressed interest in revisiting the franchise front time to time, perhaps via a release on the XBLA arcade. As of today, we fans haven’t heard anything but rumours. So why pair up this game with the MK franchise?

If you're the one asking that question, you probably haven’t played Killer Instinct.

Killer Instinct was a brutal game - the only fighting game I remember playing which evoked the same gore and brutality as Mortal Kombat. The two franchises are a perfect fit. The creators of Mortal Kombat at Midway actually published the original Killer Instinct, so the necessary relationship is there. All signs point to a return to form for the Mortal Kombat franchise later this year; if Rare can get Killer Instinct out onto XBLA sometime soon, I can see enough positive buzz being generated to give this prospective crossover a concrete chance of coming to fruition.

Make it happen!

3: Capcom vs. Sega

Oh, Sega, I truly do miss your glory days. Once a company leading the charge against Nintendo in the console race, you've now dropped out of console development and dedicated yourself to publishing games. Even though your golden age may be behind you, your catalogue of characters is more than suited to take on the Capcom bunch.

I remind you, first and foremost, that the guys and gals at Sega are the ones behind the Virtua Fighter series, and that alone gives them a slew of characters worthy of taking on Ryu or Chun Li. And let’s not forget that hasty blue hedgehog, Sonic, and his supporting cast. Just the thought of Sonic and Tails wailing on Megaman and Roll gives me goose bumps. For those of you that have played Valkyria Chronicles, can you imagine Welkin, Alicia and Selvaria taking on the S.T.A.R.S. team, of Resident Evil fame?

The main reason this game needs to happen is that some day, before I leave this mortal world, I need to see Dante take on Bayonetta. This fight needs to happen, and I need to be at the controls. 'Nuff said.

Make it happen!

4: Namco Bandai vs. Capcom

One of the first games I ever played on the original PlayStation all those years ago was Tekken. It was the first 3D fighting game I had ever played, and I was in awe. I vividly remember thinking to myself "Huh. So this is the new Street Fighter...". Tekken was the fighting game to beat for a few years in many respects, and Namco has made quite a reputation for itself in the fighting game arena, having also created the excellent Soul Calibur series.

Granted, Tekken x Street Fighter is going to happen (haven’t heard? Look it up, people!), but why stop at making a Street Fighter-esque game featuring the Tekken characters, when you can create a crazy, over-the-top 'vs.' series featuring all of Namco’s characters? The Soul Calibur roster is just itching to get out there, and seeing Kosmos from Xenosaga ripping on Zero (of Megaman fame) is one of my more awesome recurring dreams. Seriously.

The two companies have already come together twice in the past to create the quirky RPG Namco x Capcom, and the aforementioned Street Fighter x Tekken, so what's the hold up? Let's take it the whole nine yards!

Oh, and remember that Namco merged with Bandai a few years back? You know Bandai, the guys behind the Power Rangers... it's morphing time, amigos!

Make it happen!

5: Square Enix vs. Capcom

Have you played Dissidia Final Fantasy? You haven’t? Let me boil it down for you. Turns out Final Fantasy characters in a fighting game are downright unbelievably fun. This is really a no-brainer. Square has a great catalogue of characters, and can call on anyone from Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest fame, arguably the company’s best-known franchises.

Capcom has long-since established that it has the talent necessary to put a great 'vs.' game together, and Square has the roster it takes to make what could feasibly be the most epic game in the 'vs.' genre. Ryota Niitsuma, the Capcom developer behind Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, has already stated that he would love to work with the Square Enix characters.

This could actually happen.

Wait a second... Square Enix is publishing Tomb Raider now. Does this mean a Square vs. Capcom game could have me pitting Lara Croft against Jill Valentine?

...please excuse me whilst I go to the corner and nerdgasm.


So that’s it, guys: my wish list for 'vs.' games that need to happen. Any great ideas of your own? Sound off in the comments section below.

Labels: 2011, Capcom, DC, Joey Núñez, Marvel, Namco, RePlay, SEGA, Square Enix