BC Interview Update, Three Reviews, and Persona PSP
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Games: Just confirmed my PAX credentials. Who's going?
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Also, I just wrapped up my interview with Dan Eriksson, producer of GRIN’s Bionic Commando. I liked the game so much, I just had to ask the guy a few questions. I’m putting the polish on it right now, so look for it within the next few days. In the meantime, here are a few tidbits to tide you over:
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My official Bionic Commando review
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And…
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The Fallout 3 review turned in by guest writer Simon J. R. Holmes
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The Ninja Gaiden II review by brand-new GC staffer Richard Naik
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Both of these pieces are pretty great reviews if I do say so myself. Check them out and let me know what you think.
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Finally, Atlus put out a press release today about the upcoming Persona remake for PSP. Here’s what it had to say:
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"Each and every copy of the game will be a premium boxed set and will include the game's full 2-disc soundtrack. In addition, we are able to confirm to series fans that in addition to the all-new localization, the 'Snow Queen' quest, game content never before available in North America, will be included in this new release."
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And…
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"Offering a second opportunity to experience the beginnings of the acclaimed Persona series, this remake boasts a fully relocalized script, revamped user interface, faster battles, expanded soundtrack, and new in-game movies with voice work added just for the North American release."
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Sounds pretty good to me.
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Posts
Thanks for telling it like it is with the Bionic Commando review. I'm just about to begin my second play-through since I finished inFAMOUS last night.
You know, I have to say, in the end I sort of warmed up to inFAMOUS a bit. I found the story incredibly thin for most of the game, but I was surprised how the final (post-last boss) plot twist explained what before seemed sort of random.
My main problem with the story is how nothing is really build up or given any context, but then presented as if you cared in cliff note cinematics. The one where Aldman (the old psychic guy) is introduced came right out of nowhere, with zero build-up, and then tried to pass off the following confrontation with him as if it were dramatic and character-driven. I was flabbergasted at how shallow these narrative beats were, and after a while I almost tuned out the story completely.
However, things got a little better towards the end, as the plot began to come together a little. I think it improves marginally when you team up with John, and although I never cared about Trish or Zeke I felt the role they played in the final encounter with Kessler make them at least feel like they existed for a reason.
Maybe it's because I wasn't paying much attention to the story for the most part, but I was genuinely surprised by the time-travel plot twist. Maybe it's just because my expectations had fallen so low, but I wasn't expecting an ending that would make Kessler into more than a random villain and actually explain Sasha's absurd sexual jealously. So I had to give the game credit there.
After I saw the ending, I suddenly became more interested in the story and wondered if there were subtleties I missed. I realized I had gotten almost none of the Dead Drops, so I got several more and realize that, clearly, *those* are what's meant to give the story most of its perspective and context. They provide an absurd about of narrative information that is not even hinted at otherwise. I'm not sure if Aldman would have felt so out of left field had I actually bothered to collect more of those along the way.
That said, the story still has a lot of problems. I think better writers wouldn't have been *so* insanely brief with the cinematics and then dropped so much important info into an optional side-quest. However, I do have to give the game credit for including it at all... since I was under the (false) impression for most of the game that the writers had simply forgotten to provide a backstory.
Hey Matt.
I definitely agree that the final third or so has more oomph than the first big chunk of play, but even with the final plot twist I didn't feel like it all came together. The right elements were certainly there, but the lines were never drawn and too many things remained only loosely connected.
You're certainly on point about how events in the story aren't built up or given context. The developers display a clear lack of understanding as to how to make a connection with players both in terms of emotional buildup as well as simple story cohesion… I wonder if they lost some crucial people when some of the Sucker Punch employees defected and started up Loose Cannon studios.
BTW, Sasha’s behavior and the character in general made little/no sense to me overall. Both she and Aldman (sp?) seemed like they were tossed in for the sake of having bosses, but their relevance and import and relation to the rest of the story felt weak and tenuous at best.
Looking at the issue of the dead drops, I actually collected about half of them. I picked up pretty quickly that they were going to be the main source of story, but I stopped when John started making appearances (since trying to find out what happened to him was my main motivator for collecting the drops) besides the fact that it was just annoying to scour the city looking for ‘em. With such vital pieces of information, you'd think that the developers wouldn't have made them so tedious to get.
Anyway, I'm sure there's a sequel coming down the pipe, so hopefully the developers will take these kinds of concerns into account. And hey, if anything, inFamous has a better story than Prototype does… = /