Reviews 4 (Nintendo Power)

(More continuation). First up, Ninjatown, for the DS. Although the game has cutesy graphics and seems to be for kids, it actually is a real-time strategy game, and also is fairly complicated. Also, even though the single player is very fun, there is no Wi-Fi, no level creator, but it's still a fun game with some great humor. This game got a 8.0. Next, Away: Shuffle Dungeon, for the DS. This game is an interesting new idea for top-down dungeon crawlers/RPGs. The dungeons are divided into two screens, and one half of the dungeon switches with a different half every few seconds, and overall sounds like a fun and interesting game. It got a 7.0. Lastly, Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, for the Wii. So...another fighting game made after an anime...how original. Anyways, most fighting is done by moving the Wiimote and Nunchuck around, and also new moves, abilities, and combos. The game also has new characters and a new story, but no online. The game got a 8.0. Huh...no similarities. Weird.

Reviews 3 (Nintendo Power)

(Continuation of last post). Brothers in Arms: Double Time, is finally available on Wii. Was that waiting worth it? Yes and no. The game contains both Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, and Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood, so it's a good deal, but the AI is fairly bad and there is a lack of multiplayer. Overall, the game got a 7.0. Next, Lego Batman: The Videogame. Even though it's very similar to Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones, there are a few noticeable differences. For starters, this game does not follow any specific story, unlike the others, and thus loses some of it's charm. Also, the game is still slightly redundant in it's gameplay, although it's still and fun and simple game that most will enjoy (at least for a while). The game got a 7.0. Lastly, Dragon Ball: Origins. This game, out of the three, I can relate to the most, because I used to watch Dragon Ball Z. This is an action-adventure game that looks pretty good, and has lots of combos and skills to make the game more interesting. The game got a 7.0 also. Huh...all 7.0s. Weird. 777

Reviews 2 (Nintendo Power)

Now, reviews from the next issue of Nintendo Power. This month, there wer a lot better games coming out for the Wii/DS than last month. Starting off, Kirby Super Start Ultra. Kirby Super Start Ultra is the remake of Kirby Super Star for the SNES. The original game had eight total games all featuring Kirby, some mingames and some full games. This new remake has added seven games, four full ones and three minigames, and got a 9.0. Next, Wario Land: Shake It! Wario Land: Shake It! is a action/platformer for the Wii that is very similar to the original Wario Lands but were new gameplay mechanics and updated graphics. Playing through the game, there are many times were you will have to tilt or shake to Wii controller to do various actions, including getting treasure and doing a ground-pound. Overall, it's not anything startling and new, but it sounds like a fun and simple game that got a 8.0. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, is a new concept for Sonic games, straying away from the traditional platforming and high-speed areas, and moving into the RPG genre. This game is made by BioWare, a famous group and from what I can tell, they have done a great job with the game. The battle system has touch screen inputs reminiscent of Elite Beat Agents, and seems like a fun addition, albeit slightly annoying. Overall, a somewhat annoying but very good game that got a 8.0. Overall, a fairly good month for gaming on Nintendo systems.

Reviews (Nintendo Power)

(Something new this time. Instead of talking about articles I will talk about the review scores and main points about them.) First, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia scored 8.0 and main points are that the game has a new battle system, which is summoning "glyphs" instead of using normal weapons. Another game, much less nice, got a 3.0. The game is called Spray and is a terrible puzzle game, and has a bad camera, uncooperative controls, and clunky gameplay mechanics. Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ is a game that is a terrible as it's name. The game is clunky, the touch screen does not always accurately detect what you are trying to do, and it's just plain weird. Shaun the Sheep...hehe he heh. In this "game" you're supposed to find Shaun's other sheep friends, and the whole gameplay composes of only guessing games. Overall, a bad month for DS and Wii games, with only a few good ones such as Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and Ninja Town.

Video Game Heroes

(Going for some pity here. I spent four hours working on this Thursday, and was just about done but had to go to school, so I could not save and and then my computer was shut off by my step-dad. Then, Friday, I spent five hours doing everything again, and then before I could save it, my internet stopped working and I lost everything. AGAIN. So, what you are now reading is the third time I've done this project.

Video game heroes. We see them all the time. It used to be just the basic heroes who were trying to save a girl, but now heroes in games have developed into real characters with tons of depth, leading to a better gaming experience. When I think of video game heroes, I immediately think of Snake from Metal Gear Solid, Tidus and Auron from Final Fantasy X, and Sora from Kingdom Hearts I and II.

Note - There will be spoilers for the following games:

Note 2 - I cannot provide a full summary for all these games, because it would be hundreds of pages long, but I will try to provide some back story for the following games:

• Metal Gear Solid 1


• Final Fantasy X


• Kingdom Hearts I-II
  

Metal Gear Solid:

Metal Gear Solid is a stealth action game directed by Hideo Kojima. The story of Metal Gear Solid follows Solid Snake, a retired soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons disposal facility to neutralize the terrorist threat from FOXHOUND, a renegade special forces unit. Snake must liberate two hostages, the head of DARPA and the president of a major arms manufacturer, confront the terrorists, and stop them from launching a nuclear strike. The series/game is famous for its exploration of the nature of politics, warfare, censorship, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, loyalty, reality, subjective vs. universal "truths" and other philosophical themes.

Metal Gear solid Snake tribute [Hero]

Throughout the video, you can see the ways in which Snake is a hero. He defeats Liquid (the bad guy), saves the DARPA cheif, destroys the helicopter with a bad guy in it, etc.

Solid Snake: It's easy to forget what a sin is in the middle of a battlefield.

Even though some may view Snake as just a normal soldier, he knows the difference between right and wrong, even though it may be hard to differentiate.

Sniper Wolf: I finally understand. I wasn't waiting to kill people, I was waiting for someone to kill me. A man like you. You're a hero.

As she said, Snake's a hero. He mercy killed her even though she attempted to kill Meryl (the girl) and Snake himself, out of his own good will.

Solid Snake: A strong man doesn't need to read the future, he makes his own.

Snake knows that he is strong and powerful enough to create his own future, through his own actions.

Final Fantasy X:
For this game, I will be analyzing two heroes: Auron (who incidentally is shown in my profile picture) and Tidus (even though he is typically a whiny crybaby). Final Fantasy X is basically the story of the never-ending quest to defeat Sin, and Tidus' quest to go "home" to Zanarkand, which he was taken from. The group that goes after Sin is composed of the following: Yuna, Lulu, Tidus, Auron, Wakka, Kimahri, and lastly Rikku.

Auron telling Tidus about Sin

(Go to 1:50 for the part I will be discussing) (Warning: Tidus is a huge whiny crybaby for this part) Auron finally tells the truth to Tidus, and in doing so reveals that he has followed a promise to Jecht (Tidus's Dad) all this time. Tidus also finally realizes what he must do, becoming more heroic in the process.


"Outside the dream world, life can be harsh--even cruel, but it is life." -Auron

Auron knows that life can be terrible and horrible, but it must be faced, because it is all we have. This idea shows heroism in Auron.

"This is my story. It'll go the way I want, or I'll end it here." -Tidus


Tidus, still kind of a crybaby, can stand up to what others say and determines his own fate, which many view as a heroic quality.


"Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!" -Auron


Auron, even though he expects certain things to happen, allows others to choose their own path and story in life. This is a noble trait for people to have.

Sin

Sin is the monster of Final Fantasy X, an ever-present threat that (initially seems to) represents the evil that people commit. Everyone 10 years, people sacrifice someone to kill it, and every 10 years, it returns (at least, until the end of the game).

Kingdom Hearts I and II:

Kingdom Hearts I:

Kingdom Hearts is an interesting combination of Final Fantasy and Disney. The game stars Sora as the hero, trying to save the world from the heartless and trying to find Kairi his friend/girlfriend.

Kingdom Hearts II:

Basically the same, but in addition to fighting the heartless, he also has to fight the nobodies.

Sora's Sacrifice (Kingdom Hearts I)

Sora is such a hero that he unlocked his own heart (using the keyblade) to bring back Kairi, knowing what would happen if he did (by the way, he didn't actually die).



Sora Finds Kairi and Riku



After looking for Kairi and Riku for all these years Sora finally finds them, going through many hardships just so they could be together again. Overall, he is a huge hero, because he could just have left them on their own.


The World That Never Was and Kingdom Hearts (Kingdom Hearts II)

Though the picture may not seem significant, this is where the final battle against Xemnas is held. Sora could have left when Xemnas tried to enter Kingdom Hearts (the giant heart in the sky), but he strives and chased after him into Kingdom Hearts, yet again saving the world and being a hero.

Overall, heroes can be divided into a few categories. There are some heroes that feel they are not a hero at all (ex: Snake), and there are some heroes who are forced into it (Sora gets the keyblade because he is chosen, and same with Tidus). Also, of course, there are heroes by choice, like Mario. In conclusion, there are tons of heroes to be found in video games, all very different with many different stories leading to, typically, a good ending.

The Furious & The Fast (Nintendo Power)

Recently I read another issue of Nintendo Power in which there was a section about the new Sonic game, Sonic Unleashed, titled "The Furious & The Fast." The game is taking a very new, and also a slightly new direction for Sonic. The very new direction is the game is divided into two different forms of gameplay, the first being playing as normal Sonic, and the second being the Werehog, the altered and savage version of Sonic. During the day, Sonic is running full speed through different areas of the world, but at night, Sonic becomes the Werehog and the gameplay becomes more platforming and fighting. This game is a huge difference from the more recent failures (in the majority's opinions) and goes back to the older games. The first, original, Sonic games were all about speed, and just running non-stop. During the fourth generation of gaming (Dreamcast, Nintendo 64), the games became more platforming and puzzles, and less about speed. The games also had glitches, such as falling through floors and objects not working properly, which led to most of them getting scores like 6.5-7.5. Overall, this game looks completely awesome and will be coming to stores November 11th, for PS3, X-Box 360, and Wii (yay for plug-in advertisements!).

Resident Evil 5 (Electronic Gaming Monthly)

(As I said in the last blog, back to the gaming stuff.) Recently I read an issue of EGM in which there was an awesome article about Resident Evil 5. Some main points of this article are the history of Resident Evil, the changes in Resident Evil games, and the new co-op system in the new game. Resident Evil started all the way back on the PlayStation 1, slowly moved to the Gamecube, had a few spin-offs on the PS2 and DS/PSP, and now is finally moving to the seventh generation of consoles. Throughout all of this there have been some major changes, one obviously being the graphics. The old games, even though I liked/still like them, honestly looked like they were drawn by a 4-year old. Another huge change that occurred when Resident Evil 4 is the gameplay in general. It was from having a bird's-eye view camera to being in third-person perspective, practically only involved guns, and was much more combat-oriented. Lastly, the co-op system is completely new as someone else will be joining you through the whole game, and there will be new puzzles that require both Chris and Sheva's (the main characters) efforts. Overall, this game sounds completely awesome, and they were wise in going with the whole "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" idea.

Foxtrot (Not a specific book, but rather in general)

(Uh, I'm out of gaming magazines so I can't do something on that, but don't worry, they'll be back. So for now, enjoy the summary of... a comic.) Foxtrot is a comic book about a slightly dysfunctional and very funny family and their adventures. The family is a family of five, Roger Fox: the father, Andy Fox: the mother, Peter Fox: the older brother, Paige Fox: the sister, and Jason Fox: the younger brother. Also, the creator decided to semi-quit a while ago, and now only does Sunday strips. As for personalities: Roger is a not too intelligent but well-meaning guy. Andy is a writer for a paper and is typically nice but very strict on the kids. Peter, a sophomore in high school, is not too smart either, is obsessed with watching sports but is terrible playing them, and has trouble with girls. Paige, a freshman, is obsessed with clothes, really unpopular in school, and also has trouble with guys. Lastly, Jason is the nerdiest and smartest of all of them, is completely obsessed with video games, and online games like World of Warcraft. This family goes through many crazy adventures, some examples being: Jason and his friend Marcus trying to turn the garage into a spaceship, Jason making a new iPod called the jPod and selling it in stores, and Roger getting to close to the White House in Washington D.C and getting attacked by the secret service. The main thing that I like about this comic is that it's relatable on so many levels, almost everyone can find some similarity.

Return Of The Game (Nintendo Power)

Recently I read an issue of Nintendo Power in which there was an interesting article about how the iPhone could possibly have an affect in the industry for the handheld-gaming market. The main point of the article is how the iPhone's advances may create competition for the Nintendo DS and PSP. A new thing called the "App Store" will be coming out soon for the iPhone/iTouch in which there will be games created by third party deveolpers exclusively for the iPhone. Some reasons why people may prefer the iPhone/iTouch to the DS or PSP are that the iPhone has more than just games, and the games will be more reasonably priced. Personally, I think the people at Apple are getting a little overconfident, saying "I think it's pretty clear that this will be a better user experience than either the Nintendo DS or the PSP. If I were them, I'd be afraid" (Anonymous 44). This seems overconfident to me because even though the iPhone will start getting better-games, the big-name games will still be coming out for the PSP or DS. In conclusion, while the iPhone (most likely) will not dominate either the PSP or DS in sales, it has a chance of taking some profit from the other two main hand-held systems.

Hironobu Sakaguchi (Nintendo Power)

Recently I read an issue of Nintendo Power in which there was an interesting article about Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy (a famous RPG series.) Throughout the article he discusses the beginnings of Square for him and the beginning of Final Fantasy. Approximetly twenty-five years ago, Hironobu bought an Apple II and began creating software. Eventually he applied to Square, which at the time, only had five members before he joined, very tiny compared to the huge company that it is today. The first Final Fantasy game only had 8 people working on it and, unbwknownst to them, would become the first in a huge series (soon to be thirteen games.) At that point Squaresoft and Enix were big competitors, with Squaresoft having Final Fantasy and Enix having Dragon Quest, but eventually the two merged into what is now Square-Enix. Overall, Hironobu is a very famous and accomplished video game designer who is also an insperation to aspiring developers today.

The Rise And Fall (And Rise?) of Japan (Eletronic Gaming Monthly)

Recently I read an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, in which Yoshiki Okamoto discussed the the key points about the Japanese gaming industry. In it the article it discusses some landmarks, setbacks, and the workers in the gaming industry in Japan. Some examples of landmarks were the creation of the Nintendo, the creation of the Dreamcast, and the creation of the Nintendo DS. Some examples of setbacks were the Dreamcast failing quickly, and the creation of Street Fighter. Apparently though, most game developers in Japan know that Western development of games have evolved, but Japan has stayed pretty much the same. Yoshiki Okamoto even admits that, "when a company approaches us to do work, they'll always say something like, 'Let's make a game where you shoot zombies' or 'Let's make a fighting game' " (Okamoto 62). The point being that those are the kinds of games they make all the time. Lastly, recently, American games have become more like movies, and Japan is noticing an even bigger gap being created between the two.