Since this will probably be my last post of the year, figure I'll run down everything that's up in my gaming world in one super post.
Castlevania SOTN - There's nothing I can't say here that isn't already known, so this is more of a declaration of love than anything else. Is there a scale with which this games awesome can be measured? More than a decade later this is still one of the best and most rewarding experiences a gamer can have. It doesn't require any concessions about difficulty, or plot, or gameplay, or community, or anything. SOTN stands on its own as a masterpiece of both tech and design and the entire Castlevania series and staff should be damned thankful they have its haughty coat tails to cling to. Hats off, Konami. Now do it again on a non-portable console (I'm looking at you, Dawn of Sorrows!)
Enslaved - Cut from the same "Journey to the West" fable that gave rise to Dragon Ball, Enslaved follows one man's harrowed journey across a post apocalyptic wasteland. The catch is that he'll do so leashed to a helpless and often irritating female companion. Enslaved embodies everything that is wrong with escort missions in general, but unlike most games that incidently fall in those trappings, Enslaved lavishes in them. Practically highlighting them as bullet points on the back of the box.
Outside of that, the game is basically Prince of Persia, which ain't a bad thing. Running, jumping and combating in linear episodes that appear open ended but really aren't. You get a few needless upgrades, and there's some a few ranged combat scenarios that feel almost like mini-games, but by and large its just a question of reflexes and intuition, figuring out what the devs want you to do, and do it fast.
The best part is that it actually feels kind of epic. There's the knowing comfort in the back of your mind that obviously the story doesn't conclude with you falling off a tree and plummeting to your death, but many times it seems like that's within the realm of possibility. The exhiliration of scampering about is often on par with the joy of scaling giants in Shadow of the Colossus. Too bad they went with The Matrix ending tho.
Fallout New V. . . nah I'm just kidding, if I haven't sold you yet, "what should I do?". Instead,
Final Fantasy XIII - I know, this again, right? Its weird, the same thought goes through my head every time I turn it on. Every time. Yet, I keep doing it. Even the wife is questioning it, now. Is it the endless promises that somewhere beneath all the stupid decisions and incomprehensible "game" design is a solid rpg experience? Does my fanboy blood still run final fantasy crystal blue after all these disappointments? Am I just bored? I can't say for sure. I promised myself I would never make the Rumble Roses mistake again, but it really feels like I'm getting there with this.
So what have you missed? Another 10 hours of nothing. Absolutely nothing. Every single thing I ranted about in that last post about FFXIII is still true. The character stupidity, the needless filler flashbacks, the single serving gameplay portions. Led around this great big world by a linear leash, then tied to a game play stop sign while my master goes off to do something that looks really fun. Why won't they just let me cut loose? Would it be so bad for a player to excel and see what this Crystarium really has to offer? And what the devil is an Eidolon anyway?! I swear, there are so many seat belts in this game, its practically impossible to drive the car.
Marvel vs Capcom 3 - My disdain for all things MvC2 is well known, but that obviously hasn't tarnished my love for the series as a whole. An high tech orgy involving my youthful nostalgia and marvel's marketing machine? Sign me up. I am absolutely unabashedly hype for this release and it can't get here soon enough. Now if only they would get rid of Crimson Viper.
Minecraft - Somebody bought it for me, so yes I'm playing it. I still don't "get" it, but that may be the hater in me keeping it away from my hype center. I don't know. There is an allure to building and just seeing what will or won't happen, for sure, I just wish there was a reason besides don't get murdered at night. Time will tell.
Mortal Kombat - Rivaled only by Batman Arkham City in terms of inciting raw fanboy excitement within me is MKs return to glory next spring. It's uncertain if the loss of Midway's incompetence or just the need for a "break in the norm" game like MKvDC is to blame for Netherrealm studios sudden interest in magnificence, but not one iota of information regarding MK gives me bad feelings, which is both bad and good because there's a criminal shortage of it. DO YOU WANT ME TO BEG LIKE A DOG FOR A SCRAP OF YOUR HYPER VIOLENT MASTERPIECE?
Super / Street Fighter 4 - My whole life is governed by competition. Every motivation from going to work to carrying out the garbage is based on the notion that I am better / getting better at something than somebody else. So there was only so long I could watch the entire fighting game community polish this knob before I'd give it another go, and so I did. First, I popped my SF4 disc back in and instantly remembered everything I hate about it. The only thing thats changed is me, now instead of wallowing or raging at the gameplay, online community, storyline, achievements, everything, I view it as a unique opportunity to make sport with Dan Hibiki, the best character Capcom ever ripped off.
But then Gamefly sent me SSF4, and while I won't say I've completely changed my spots, I can say I've actually had some fun with it. A lot more (on my own) than I did with "vanilla" sf4, thats for sure. Naturally, it's to be expected that after you release a game, make a ton of money, then retool it and rerelease a year later (at full price, mind you!) you're going to make some improvements. Simply put, SSF4 is the best SF4 could hope to get. The cast is diverse enough, the gameplay is facilitative enough, and the music is nostalgic (once you unlock the character theme option) enough that I can actually get into it.
Now that said, its still full of crap designs, crap decisions, and if you ever hear the words "I love / like / don't entirely despite ultra combos" come out of my mouth, you'll know I've been murdered and replaced with a cylon. But, I spent a few hours on saturday and a lot of hours on sunday making people respect Dan's mediocrity (say it like Cartman's authoritah for maximum effect), and slamming people face first into the floor with T. Hawk and I feel better for the experience. Will I be able to do this every day? Is it worth the 20 bucks gamefly is willing to let me keep it for? Probably not, but at least it has a shot. . . until MvC3 gets here.
-F.
