Up late talking games & writing? You're...

Games: So, it's no secret that I am a big fan of Monster Hunter. Although the series does have issues (being inscrutable to newcomers or running the best version on the missing-a-second-analog-nub-and-no-true-online PSP to name just two) I am a true believer in the franchise and I think it has much to offer. Sadly, it's only been able to carve out a very small niche for itself here in the United States, but there’s now an opportunity -- maybe-- to help change that.


The good people behind the Monster Hunter Podcast and the Well-Done Podcast have gotten together, and with a little help from Capcom, they’ve launched “Operation Cherry Blossom”

You can check out the video right here, but the gist of it is that fans of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP) and Monster Hunter Tri (Wii) have to band together and let Capcom know that there are people hungry for the next installment of the series. The goal is to convince the House of Street Fighter, Resident Evil and Mega Man to localize Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for an English-speaking audience. If enough people show support, there is hope.


Now, I know what you're thinking... Capcom hasn't exactly had the best track record of listening to their fans lately, and that's a fact. However, making some noise and letting them know that the fanbase is desperate for more is better than doing nothing at all, and let's face it, if we do nothing at all, then it's pretty much a guarantee that there won't be any more Monster Hunter games in the states or Europe for the foreseeable future.

One final note on the subject: if you've never played a Monster Hunter and you're wondering why you should give a rat's about this, I would strongly recommend picking up either Freedom Unite or Tri since they are both dirt cheap these days, and see what you've been missing.

Granted, these aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I suspect that if more people gave it a chance, the fanbase would be at least double or triple what it is now. Buy a copy and sit down with an FAQ or scan the message boards over at GameFAQS before you start… Hell, you can even feel free to ask me some questions right here at the blog and I will do my best to get them all answered. If there's anything I can do to help grow support for the game, I'm going to do it.


Knowing that there is another full installment of a series that I love so much sitting around with no plans for localization just breaks my heart. Let's get together on this one, people. Let's make it happen.


Games: I finished Catherine on PS3 (also available for 360) last night, and it did not disappoint. Although there are certainly some rough edges to it and a few things I would have touched up, in general it's another brilliant, bold and extremely provocative title from the master craftsmen at Atlus.

Kristin Taylor (one of the up-and-coming reviewers at GameCritics) will be handling the main review so look for that soon. In the meantime, I do think it's important to say that despite the titillating advertising campaign, the game is not really about sexual situations and flashing skin. Instead, it's about a man's self-examination and how he decides to live his life in relation to women and commitment.

(...It's also about some balls-hard block puzzles, but hey.)


Very few developers are even scratching the surface on stuff like this, but Atlus consistently finds ways to add depth to their stories, and their characters are frequently some of the most memorable in gaming. Catherine is most certainly an unusual experience, but it's one that's well worth getting into, if for no other reason than to see how such subject material is approached in a medium that is not generally known for deep commentary.

… And if you do get into the game, it's worth knowing ahead of time that the “cheater” ending is a hell of a lot more entertaining than the “lover” ending. It's not the one I earned for myself during my playthrough, but after having watched it on YouTube, I kind of wish that I had gone that direction.


TV: The wife and I finished up Season 3 of the UK’s Being Human tonight. It's been a favorite of mine ever since the first episode, and although this latest batch of episodes took a few twists and turns that I didn't expect, it still ranks as an excellent collection of characters and character-driven writing.


For those of you who've never seen it, the gist is that a ghost, a vampire and werewolf become roommates and the three discuss what it means to be something other than human, for both good and ill. Mostly ill. I know that hearing that description seems more like the setup of a bad joke then something that would make for quality viewing, but I swear by the program and I think the writers have done a spectacular job with it.

I won't get into any discussion of the season for fear of spoiling things for those who have not gotten into the show yet, but I do want to say that if you are a fan of science fiction, fantasy, and especially urban fantasy, you owe it to yourself to at least watch a few episodes and see if it clicks.

My suspicion is that it will.

Games: So, it's no secret that I'm not exactly the biggest fan of moving towards a download-only, no-physical-copy future. There are a billion reasons for that, but one of the main ones is that I'm not very keen on trusting some corporation to be honest and honor the "purchases" I've made.

Call me paranoid if you like, but I have yet to see the corporation who genuinely has their consumers’ interest at heart. It's not like my fears are completely unfounded, either. I had a lot of difficulty getting access to some of the Xbox Live Arcade games I purchased when my original 360 unit RROD’d, and now I'm having an issue with Sony...


Early yesterday, I was going through my purchase history on the PSN store. I recently got a brand-new PS3 and traded in my old model, so I was looking to re-download some of the games I had on the other machine. Everything looked fine at first, but I was keen on getting Super Rub-A-Dub installed again because it's a family-friendly one I planned to play with my son.

I scanned my purchase history in order to re-download and didn't see it. I assumed I must have overlooked it, so I went over it more carefully the second time and... still didn't see it. I went over it a third time, and confirmed that it was not there.

I went into the PSN store to make sure that the game was still offered for sale, and it was.


Being the detail-oriented, obsessive-compulsive list maker that I am, I then crosschecked the list of games that I know I bought and compared it with everything that was listed in my online PSN purchase history. For the most part it all matched up, but there were two omissions – Super Rub-A-Dub and Locoroco Cocoreccho.

Now, I realize that both of these games are low-key, older offerings, but that's not the point. The point is that I paid real money to "own" these, and through no fault of my own, Sony somehow forgot that I bought them and now I no longer have access. It doesn't matter that each one costs only a few dollars, what matters is that I paid, and that as a consumer, I expect that purchase to be honored.

(And really, if it can happen with small games like these, what's to stop it from happening from a $20, $30 or even higher-value “purchase”?)


I sent an e-mail into Sony customer service earlier today asking for a resolution to this issue, and I am quite curious as to what the response will be… However, regardless of what their answer is, I can't help but think that this problem wouldn't even exist if I had a disc on my shelf instead of relying on an ephemeral e-system outside of my control to grant me access to things I've “bought” with my hard-earned real-world money.

More to come.

Games: The mystery title I mentioned in the last update can now be revealed, and it was Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet from Fuelcell Games right here in Seattle. The review embargo ends tomorrow and I've just submitted my full writeup, so look for that soon. However, I don't think it's spoiling much to say that it's one of the best games I've played all year.


It definitely receives my highest possible recommendation, so if you are at all interested in playing a metroidvania-style game that's packed full of great art, awesome puzzles and neat situations, do yourself a favor and check it out when the game is released on August 3 -- It will not disappoint.


In other games news, I finally got my copy of Catherine and started it up about 30 seconds after it arrived.

At this point I am at exactly the halfway mark and I'm really, really enjoying it. Atlus once again proves that they have some of the best writers around, and their style is second to none. This tale of an unintentional philanderer is having no problem whatsoever keeping my interest... in fact, one particular cutscene had me literally on the edge of my seat.

No, not this cutscene.

The gameplay is quite good as well, though it will likely be most appreciated by those players who have an affinity for puzzles. I get a great deal of enjoyment out of scaling the towers myself, but I will admit that I do find it quite challenging at times. A few people in my Twitter feed have been saying that it wasn't nearly as difficult as they expected, and I'm jealous of them. The standard stages aren't too bad, but when the bosses show up, my fail parade begins. Thankfully, the developers have included plenty of opportunities to earn continues... because I needs them.


Portable-wise, I'm taking a brief break from Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. My oldest son spent about two months here with me for the summer (he's returned home now) and during that two months, we did at least a couple of quests each day. Sometimes more. That was pretty intense, so I felt like a little time out would be nice though I do plan to come back to it in order to finish up all of the high-level content that I haven't touched yet.

Anyway, I decided to dig into my backlog and came up with The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the DS. I'm not the biggest Zelda fan (mostly because I feel like Nintendo is running the series into the ground) but I was in the mood and it was on hand, so there you go.


After spending somewhere in the neighborhood of three or four hours on it, I'm finding it to be pretty pleasant so far. The dungeons have been fairly simple and driving the train around has a sort of I’m-bored-but-I'm-not-really-bored appeal to it. The touch controls aren't too annoying, and I do enjoy having princess Zelda along as a companion.

I can't say that it's so good that I can't put it down, but I'm chipping away at it a little each day, so that's something.


So... Approximately 25 days until PAX Prime. Tickets have been sold out for a while and the crowd will be huge. I'm going to be there. Will you?

Games: So, I find myself playing another XBLA game that's currently under embargo. However, this is certainly a title that deserves much praise from what I've seen of it so far...


I've put in a request asking to specify whether I can talk about it (or not) as long as no official review is published, but in the meantime, let me just say that [redacted!] is pretty friggin’ SWEET.

... seriously, nothing but love for it.


In case you missed the links on Twitter or haven't been to GameCritics in a while, I just had a couple of new reviews go up. Click on these to see what I had to say about Bastion, Akimi Village and From Dust.



Also, the most recent GameCritics Podcast (episode 56) is now up, and it's a real monster. Featuring a bunch of games, a little bit of movie discussion, and an event-filled interlude with a drunk-dialing @RichardNaik, there's a something here for everyone. You can download and listen to it right here.


My friend @PeterSkerritt is an extremely sharp guy and he has a lot of really on-target things to say about the gaming industry. One of his recent blogs talk about some of the mistakes that Capcom has made recently, and even though I'm someone who has a lot of love for the house of Mega Man, I certainly think Peter is preaching the gospel here. Check out what he has to say.


Finally, I can't quite remember what brought the subject up again, but I often think that it's a shame that a lot of older games don't get the appreciation they deserve. Or, more specifically, I think a lot of players lack an appreciation of history. [disclaimer] It's a bit of a complicated problem and I'm not sure that I am awake enough to do the entire subject justice at this particular moment [end disclaimer] but it seems to me that there are two main issues here:

The first is that many players trying older games for the first time lack historical context, and the second is that games, moreso than any other medium, suffer from the rapid pace of improving technology.

Still good.

As an example of the historical context problem, put Goldeneye 007 (N64) in front someone who's never played it before, and I guarantee that their reaction will be less than positive. However, people who are old enough to have played it when it first hit often speak of all-night multiplayer binges in reverent tones. The difference there is that people who have the proper context know what gaming was like at the time, and what it was like before Goldeneye made the strides in multiplayer that it did.

I'm not saying that current players must play the game and love it the way that older folks do, but I do think it's important to remember that particular games became milestones for a reason, and forgetting that means forgetting how we got to where we are today.

Still good.

The second issue, improving technology, is a fairly obvious one.

Anyone can go to the library and pick up a book from ten, twenty, fifty, or even a hundred years ago and appreciate what the author had to say. Oh sure, some of the language may be different, but the barriers to benefiting from such a work aren't really that high. The same goes for films. Anyone can track down a movie from the last few decades and watch it, and although special effects and production values have risen quite a bit, the quality of the performances and the message of the writing will still be able to be enjoyed. That enduring quality does not seem to hold as true for games.

I'm not trying to say that current gamers are shallow, but it's rare when I meet someone who’s interested and motivated enough about educating themselves on the medium to put up with the graphical quality and technical issues of a game from last generation, let alone two or three generations ago. That is, of course, completely putting aside the issue of the logistical difficulty of finding the games and hardware to play in the first place…

(For more on this, my friend and former E3 roomie @KyleOrl wrote a piece on his own journey of discovery here.)

I think there’s a lot of value in seeing where games came from and what they used to be like. Not only does it give a greater appreciation for the quality of games being made today, but it also shows which "innovations" are actually iterations on ideas previously put forth and provides a lot of insight into current design. I'm not even forty years old, but when reading certain reviews or talking with gamers younger than myself, it seems quite clear that many of them have large gaps of knowledge that, if filled, would increase their appreciation of the hobby, not to mention informing discussions and examinations of same.

Still good, but good luck convincing modern gamers of it.

What's the solution?

Well, I've certainly got a few ideas of my own, BUT I'm interested to hear the thoughts of my blog’s brain trust. So... if you've got some ideas, what say ye?

Apologies for the irregular updates lately.

Although I haven't mentioned it often here at the blog, my oldest son has been spending the summer with us, and whenever he's here, I notice that my productivity drops a little bit. Despite my best intentions of keeping on schedule and maintaining all of my obligations (self-imposed and otherwise) it's hard to avoid slipping behind on a few things and as much as I hate to admit it, the blog is usually one of the first things to be put on hold when free time is at a premium.

Anyway, I didn't want another day go by without posting at least a little something, so I better get to it...


Games: I'm currently playing From Dust, and I recently finished Bastion, both on XBLA.

From Dust

From Dust is still under embargo so I can't really say a lot about it other than the fact that I'm playing it, which I am. I've got the review half-written already, though, so my coverage should be up fairly soon after the embargo lifts.

Bastion was a much more difficult game to come to a conclusion on.

I had intended to have my review up on the day of release, but I kept going over and over it and wondering if I had the right angle. It's not often that I'm really torn on a final decision, but I will admit that this one had me in a bit of a tizzy.

Bastion

In fact, I almost wanted to write two separate, concurrent reviews for it -- and if I had more time, I might be tempted to go back and do just that. However, I've already got three other things on my plate and I feel like the review I finally submitted did a good job of encapsulating my feelings.

Can't say I'm really looking forward to the comments, though...


Podcast: Fans of the GameCritics Podcast will be happy to know that we finally ended our long (and relatively unplanned) hiatus to record a chunky new installment.

PODCAST

It hasn't completed the editing process yet, but it will be up relatively soon. Topics include Ms.’Splosion Man, Bastion, Lost Odyssey, LA Noire, Transformers 3 and Black Death (films) and a few other random bits, including two surprise guests. Look for it soon.

Games: If there was ever any doubt (and really, there wasn't) then last night's Seattle Indie Expo has settled the matter for good -- the Pacific Northwest has got a serious surplus of top-notch development talent.

Taking place in an easily-missed, nondescript warehouse on the south side of Seattle's downtown, the event was hosted by Haunted Temple Studios (Skulls of the Shogun) and provided an up-close, intimate venue for gamers, journalists and developers to mingle without any of the usual middlemen to satisfy or hoops to jump through.

The turnout was strong, the mood was good, and the games were outstanding.

Here's a quick look at what I saw…


Title: Containment (working title)
Developer: Bootsnake Games
Platform(s): iOS, PC

A highly non-traditional puzzler that captured my attention immediately, Containment does away with colored gems or oddly-shaped blocks and replaces them with differently-colored types of citizens: orange vigilantes, blue police officers, green soldiers, and so on. The point of play is to isolate and surround zombies with a ring of humans all the same color. Once "contained”, the humans dispatch the undead with extreme prejudice.


There's a lot more to the title than a simple formula of substitution, though. For example, certain humans give certain bonus items when used to contain. When soldiers see action, they award grenades to be used to clear the field, nurses give a life item of some sort, and so on.

Other places Containment shows freshness are the setting and story. By combining interactive urban backgrounds and brief snatches of text as the player changes boards, the game provides a much richer, more holistic feeling overall. Throw in some boss battles and a few other features as well, and it's definitely one of the most interesting puzzle games I've seen in quite some time.


Title: Vessel
Developer: Strange Loop Games
Platform(s): TBD

Despite the event taking place in such a small space, I nearly walked out without some hands-on time with Vessel, and that would have been a big mistake.


A 2D physics-based puzzle/platformer, Vessel sports warm, appealing Steampunk aesthetics and displays an impressive array of ways to use the fluid that is at the heart of the story.

The game is currently at a very early state, but it was already looking like a knockout to me. You heard about it here first!


Title: Rook (working title)
Developer: Carbon Games
Platform(s): TBD

Most easily described as a beautifully updated version of the cult classic Herzog Zwei, this real-time strategy game featuring transforming robots and unit deployment was already looking stunning -- and according to the developers, it's only been worked on for a month or two!

Featuring a strong multiplayer focus (up to 4 simultaneously) the game seemed to strike a good balance between strategy and action -- the player is definitely asked to do more than sit back and amass units at home base. In addition, Rook features a streamlined resource scheme and a variety of characters similar to the Commanders in Advance Wars, each with their own abilities and special powers.

If the game looks as good as it does after just a couple of months, it's going be mindblowing by the time it's finished. Unfortunately, because it was so early in development, no screenshots were available. More to come on this one soon, though.


Title: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Developer: Fuelcell Games
Platform(s): Xbox 360

There's been a lot of early buzz for this title, and after having played through the demo, I can say that it's certainly warranted.


Launching soon as part of Microsoft's summer Xbox Live Arcade promotion, ITSP has the player piloting a nimble UFO through a series of diverse levels. It's a bit like a vehicle-oriented Metroidvania, only with slightly different sensibilities and an absolutely fantastic art style.

One thing that hasn't really been discussed with regard to this title has been the multiplayer aspect, which was on display at SIX for the first time, anywhere. While I'm not generally a multi-sort of guy, the modes available are quite intriguing and lend themselves well to team play. This one's got instant-classic written all over it.


Title: Skulls of the Shogun
Developer: Haunted Temple Studios
Platform(s): Xbox 360, PC, iOS

The final game on my list, Skulls of the Shogun is a turn-based strategy game that draws much inspiration from both Japanese iconography and classic SRPG games like Sega’s seminal Shining Force series.


Taking advantage of a void where simpler, more approachable strategy games should live, SotS seeks to capitalize on the middle ground that's been largely unpopulated in recent years. Featuring both a single player campaign and multiplayer options, players of either flavor should find something to chew on here. It’s also been recently picked up for publish by Microsoft, so 360 players will have it to look forward to soon.


Although I usually try to keep a level head and avoid hyperbole wherever possible, I've got to admit that the quality of games on display at the Seattle Indie Expo was through the roof. Every single one I looked at was great, and it was doubly impressive that so much quality software was generated by people right here in my own backyard.

I'm not much of a sports fan so I can't say that I've ever spent a lot of time "rooting for the home team", but that's definitely going to change... with so many great developers like these (and many others) in and around Seattle, I've gotta get some jerseys made.

Games: A couple of my reviews have gone up at GameCritics recently, and here are the links in case you missed them. The first is for Alice: Madness Returns, and the second is for Ms. ‘Splosion Man. As always, comments welcome!

TV & Film: A while ago I was asked what my opinion is on the Netflix price increase, so I figure I’ll post it here and kill a bunch of birds with one rock.

So: although I think they could have done a little better in terms of communication beforehand, I think the end result is that the price of Netflix (if you opt for both streaming AND discs in the mail) is still a total steal for a pretty amazing service.


I heard a lot of people grousing about the price hike, but I have a hard time feeling sympathy for them. I myself am on a ridiculously tight budget, and even I can manage to squeeze out another few bucks here and there. For streaming and one disc, it's something like $16. Compare that to what cable costs in my area (between $80-$100/month) or pay-per-view movies of $3-$5 apiece and there’s no contest. Besides, if you’ve got consoles and play games or check in at iTunes regularly, it’s pretty likely that you’ve got at least a little discretionary income for video.

Bottom line, skip one (maybe one and a half) cups of Starbucks a month, and you’re all set. Otherwise, pick streaming OR discs, and the price actually goes down. Not much to complain about, in my opinion.


Games: Quick Monster Hunter update: I'm closing in on fully completing the upper ranks of what Freedom Unite’s got to offer -- I hit Hunter Rank 8 yesterday, and it caps out at 9.

I'm certainly no slouch when it comes to beast-slaying, but the rapid progress has been thanks to having my son along as a constant quest companion. He may be 9 years old, but he kicks some serious monster ass. However, once he goes back to his mom’s once summer’s over in another week, I’m gonna be stuck without someone to help mitigate the steep difficulty.

He won’t be back until the fall, so if you’re interested in playing MHFU multiplayer between now and then, drop me a line!


Games: The good people over at Mommy’s Best Games have sent me an alpha copy of the upcoming Serious Sam Double D and I’ve played through the first world. Despite being at a very early stage of development, the game is coming together very nicely.

For those that haven't heard of it, it's basically a side-scrolling 2D version of the Serious Sam FPS games slated to hit PC and the 360. I can think of few developers I'd rather see handling it other than Mommy’s Best thanks to their deep, deep love of 2D action, and from what I've seen so far, it appears to be a perfect match.

Look close and you'll see the gun stacker in action.

Apart from translating the sort of action one would expect from Serious Sam, Double D’s big hook is the “gun stacker”. This device looks a little bit like a wrench, and it does exactly what it sounds like – it stacks guns, literally.

Sam starts off with a peashooter, but by the end of the first world I had that peashooter on top of a Tommy gun on top of some other sort of machine gun on top of a grenade launcher and the whole mess was bolted on top of a chainsaw. The gun stacker is a little bit silly, a little bit crazy, but it's mostly awesome.

More to come on this one as I make my way through it.


Food: Although my wife and I agree on about 99.5% of the foods we like, there are a few things we part ways on. One of those? Rice pudding. Another? Raisins. As such, she finds Kozy Shack Cinnamon Raisin Rice pudding to be nauseating -- but I think it’s pretty damned delish.

Yum!!!

If your taste buds align with mine, do yourself a favor and check it out. Creamy, raisiny goodness ahoy!