Game Update!

Woah! So I got sidetracked looking for a Master System yesterday and found out there was a store that sells old games nearby...so I went...I was looking for systems and ended up with two new games that I need to add to the list.  But I do have a really cool idea for second play through that might be pretty neat, so make sure you read (or at least scroll past the pictures) the whole post. (spoiler: I'm writing a story)

The first game I picked up is Bionic Commando for the NES. This game came out in '87 and did alright for Capcom, but was never as big as Mega Man was, and though it's similar, the big gimmick was that instead of a jump, you had a robot arm and you had to grapple things. This mechanic(al arm) is actually pretty fun and though it takes a few tries to get the rhythm down, it's not too hard to be flying around at the speed of robot arm. Speaking of robot arm, this game did have an unfortunate sequel in 2009, but instead of talking about that, I'm going to mention that it was Re-armed...er booted for the XBLA and PSN before that horrible game in 2008. (it was called Bionic Commando Re-armed...obviously.) I managed to get it for cheap and it just so happened to fall perfectly into the game queue, saving me from the actually really frustrating Super Mario 2 for another game so that'll be next on the playthrough.

The second I managed to find was XIII for the original Xbox. This game came out in 2003 and made some waves because it was based off a comic book of the same name and also cel shaded which people seemed to rave about (though they hated Zelda...interesting). I still need to do some more research on this game, but it seemed to do decently well and I had heard that it was a really interesting story (though I've never read the comic it's based off of). I'm pretty excited to play this, hopefully I'll actually get to it...(only 16 years worth of games left!).

So the real big announcement is that I'm going to be adding to the idea of 2nd Play-Through. I like the idea of reviewing these old games, but that's not really that interesting or that different...so I figured, in addition to a standard review I'm also going to write a little story with each game that I complete, where this will take me, I have no idea...I'm not saying it will be good, but hey I could use the practice...I don't know if it will be continuous or just a single story involving my experience with the game or what. Who knows. Anyway, that's all the news for today. I think Bionic Commando might take me a couple days, so keep on the look out for new posts (or you could follow me on twitter where I send out like one tweet about my new post when I post it eh? @ThatdamnnickR ? eh?? follow?)

A big thank you to the few people that have checked the site and read this dumb stuff. I really truly appreciate it and seeing that I've had visitors from around the world makes me very, very excited to keep doing this.  (Though I wish Dave would stop by some more and give his opinions on some things...the wank)

One to the Next of things,
Nick

2nd Play-through

     We're back. Well...I'm back...maybe? To everyone (Dave and myself) who reads this...I'm starting a new project where I play through my library of games, many of which I haven't beaten. I'm calling this project the 2nd Play-through...you see, I moved recently, and while moving I found myself looking at all of my old games and wondering how I've never beaten most of them. I have so many!

   This summer (the other day) I figured it was time to organize my game library. I sat down, pulled out all of my games and started to put together a list of every game I had. After about four games in (none of which I had beaten) I thought "Damn, I have so many of these games, and if I had to guess...I think I've beaten only about 40% of them...perhaps I should play through these. Some of them even deserve a...2nd Play-through." 

     And so I added a column to the list for if I had beaten the game or not. Looking at this I thought to myself  "Dang, this list is looking pretty legit...I wonder how I should go about beating these games...Some of these are classics that I never got around to...perhaps I should beat the older ones and then catch up to the newer ones...so hopefully by the end of the year I could finally get a new game guilt free." So I added another column to the list. I went and looked up the year each of my games were released and I'm now on a quest to beat all of the games I own...hopefully before I add too many more to the list. 

     When I finished the list I took a second and looked through it. I have 153 different titles, and I've beaten about 62 of them. which if you do some calculations is 40.5% (called it). It certainly looks like I have some work to do.

     Now I figured this might be an awesome project to share with people (mostly myself and Dave), so what I wanted to do was do a video blog/review column/ lets play/ commentary about the games that I play while I play them. Now, I know what you're saying,

"This idea is great! There are no foreseeable problems that will arise during the undertaking of this project."

     And you would be correct...except for two things...One of which, is that I don't have a Sega Master System, or a Genesis....Also my N64, PS2 and PS3 aren't here with me, along with a lot of my games for my newer systems...I also don't really have a way to capture any footage of me playing...yet. Eventually I hope to get a capture card or something that would enable me to do that, but for now I think it would be cool to perhaps just write about the games and maybe do a short video about whatever too. Also I don't know I'll be able to beat all these games before I go back to school...or get systems...hopefully that wont be an issue (alternatively if you know anyone that has and is trying to get rid of / sell a Sega Master System or a Sega Genesis (or if you could let me borrow it for a while) that could be a really big help). 

    So this is the future of 2P-erspective, at least  for now (at least for me)...because I want to beat these games of the past...either again or for the first time...but mostly because I can't afford new games.

 
 If you're curious about the games I have and the list I made (It is pretty awesome) I can try to link up some links for that shit. Also Dave, I would encourage you to take a look at your library and perhaps let me know what kinds of games you have and haven't beaten. I still have a few things left to sort out, but if all goes well I should be starting my journey with Super Mario Bros. for the NES very soon. 

Wish me luck,

Nick

Oh! You should also follow me on some media sites because why not, I'll keep you updated (I'm also hilarious and take good pictures)

Twitter: @ThatdamnnickR

Instagram: The_un_Ricotta

Vine: the same as twitter? Look up Nicholas Ricotta, it's the one with a dorky picture I guess...idunno

Youtube: Uh....I haven't decided yet...I think it will be.....somewhere...I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Tl;Dr - I'ma beat some old games and talk about them. 

A Look at Catherine (the Demo)

After playing the demo of Catherine, it left such an impression on me, that I had to write something about it, so here goes. The button layout for this game isn't innovative, but everything is where it should be. The in-game tutorial doesn't throw everything at the player at once, but instead paces it so the player only learns the mechanics as they become available or necessary. The difficulty levels (the demo only allows for easy) seem like they will be well-scaled. Even on easy, it offered a slight challenge. Hard will not be just a name. From what I hear of the Japanese version, it will be difficult.Speaking of gameplay mechanics, the morality mechanic offers an interesting twist. Our protagonist, Vincent, converses via text message, and depending on what you choose, Vincent's emotions will change throughout the game. No idea how much this will affect the story, but +points for innovation. At first the way the different things you can text seemed a bit tedious to navigate: pressing A, then B, then A again for a different message, cycling through with this method to see all of your options. But looking back at it, even I text like this -- writing something, erasing it, rewording it, repeat. The text message system allows a connection between player and protagonist, giving a realistic portrayal of life, rather than some Hollywood crafted drama.

The story itself actually seems rather compelling. This is definitely going to be a game unlike many others, if any others. Without more to go on, I can't really comment further (especially since the game has already released in Japan). The horror plays well into the story, by offering an uncanny, other worldly affect to it. Even during the demo, one specific part set my hairs on end. Combining horror with a puzzle-based, story-driven, platformer is something I don't think I've ever seen done. Integrating that many genres into one game can either lead to a masterpiece or a train wreck. Hopefully Atlus worked out a way to allow them to all compliment each other, rather than compete for the spotlight.

Sometimes the animations are beautifully rendered... but then something happens. The characters go off into a different art style. Maybe this has something to do with the contrast between dream and realty, but there is such a shift in the art design that it's almost overbearing. But since we're talking about graphics, they are shifty to say the least. There are no texture popping issues, but at points, the characters look more like cardboard cutouts than animations. The level of detail extends from "We just HAVE to get this crack in the brick right" to "Eh, it looks good enough... I guess." More important than graphics, though, is the grand color scheme and the aesthetics of the environments. This is such a welcome change from the brown-grey color scheme of all of the Unreal powered games out there today. If the full game keeps the pace of the demo, there's definitely a great title out there just waiting to be enjoyed.

-Dave