| 30/12/2012 It's a good thing I re-read my previous entry detailing my thoughts on Assassin's Creed 3; just as with previous installments, I had left out some things. Nothing major mind you, and remembering them doesn't change my opinion of the game. First off, this game was littered with nuisance glitches, the most annoying being that sound sometimes completely disappeared (as if I had pressed mute by accident), the second most annoying being I sometimes got Connor trapped in bushes. I also noticed how detailed people's faces were, sometimes too detailed as certain cut scenes made Connor look older than he actually is. The other detail I left out is that, for some reason, major actions in the game are done within a cut scene. I suppose Ubisoft did this for dramatic effect but, the thing about a game is that, dramatic events leave a much bigger impact on you when you, the player, carry them out. I can't elaborate on this too much as, again, Nathan hasn't played this yet and I really don't want to spoil this for him, so the best way to explain this is by explaining the exact same mistake done in a much older but just as famous game: Resident Evil 4. In this game, a Las Plagas parasite has been injected into Leon, who you play as, and the fully grown parasite will turn Leon into a mind slave/kill him. During the game, you learn there is a way to remove the parasite, but it has been tested very infrequently and is very dangerous. It involves the use of a machine. The obvious thing to do here, in order to make the player more nervous, is to leave clues so that the correct components are gathered up. And since this parasite has also been injected into the President's daughter, who you have to save, she could be made to go first and Leon (so the player) will have to operate the controls just right to kill the parasite and make sure she lives. If the equipment is set up incorrectly, or the controls are not followed correctly, then she dies, mission fails, and the player will then have to solve the puzzle. Well...when RE4 was published, the procedure is successfully done, with little effort, in a cut scene -_- Way to remove the tension from the story guys... So yes, something sort of like that happens in AC3, but I won't say how or where. I just...I wish developers would learn what kind of actions work best in a cut scene and best as a player action. Some know the formula while others...don't. Anyway, as a sort of Christmas present for myself I've bought Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale. It's a lot of fun, and bizarre in the way that the game plays so differently depending on who you play as and your own playing style. The first character campaign I did was with Raiden, which I played on middle difficulty and found a little too easy. It made me wonder if I had made a mistake buying this. Then I played with Jak (and Daxter) and found the difficulty had suddenly shot up. It seems I love brutal super-fast aggressive characters too much, as Jak forces me to maneuver, defend and distance myself more. There is also something else that this game does, which makes me feel like this is the most fun I've ever had in a beat-em' up for a long time: NO HEALTH BARS! Whenever I'm playing Soul Caliber or Tekken, I find myself get tense or nervous as I'm watching the health bar half the time. The fun thing about Battle Royale is that, unless you're seriously keeping track, you really have no clue who's winning until the match finishes. Well, the exception is if you're playing with 'Stock Rules', which is basically a last man standing match and you have to die less than 3 times. Or on the flip side, first to 3 kills. But it really isn't easy looking on the number grid, remembering which player you are, seeing how many deaths/kills you've had then refocusing on the fight...it's nigh impossible, so I just don't do it and enjoy myself all the more. I also found myself thinking of which characters I want featured in the game. The key thing to remember is that the games have to be either Sony platform exclusive or heavily associated with Playstation in some way. I found it interesting to see which characters have been requested by fans already. 1. Crash Bandicoot - This one's obvious. For the longest time, he was Sony's platformer mascot and the fact he's not already in the game is an utter tragedy. I also agree Spyro the Dragon should be included with him. 2. Cloud or Sephiroth - I agree with some of the requesters that Sephiroth would be a more interesting choice as Battle Royale is still pretty dominated with heroes, rather than villains/antagonists. And hey, Final Fantasy 7 was only playable on the Playstation for the longest time. 3. Someone from the Resident Evil franchise - I really don't care who, honestly, but as the core cannon of the Resident Evil games were Playstation-exclusive for a while, the most obvious character to pick would be either Wesker, Jill Valentine or Leon Kennedy (who I referenced above). If I could pick anyone, I would personally pick Ada Wong, because she just always surprises you. (I also just realised that for a franchise with a focus on zombie outbreaks, there are a lot of damn characters.) 4. Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2 - Again, a franchise heavily associated with Playstation, and this guy is the most well-known character associated with Silent Hill. 5. Lara Croft - When she was first suggested by fans, my gut reaction was 'Tomb Raider debuted on the Sega Saturn'. But then I realised this wasn't common knowledge. Tomb Raider ended up being Playstation-exclusive during the 90s so Lara is actually a logical choice. And with the new Tomb Raider game out next year, this could be easy advertising. While still speaking of Eidos games, Raziel from Soul Reaver is also a logical choice. 6. Old Snake - From Metal Gear Solid 4. Eh, why not? This version of Raiden is from next year's Metal Gear Rising (Revengeance) so Metal Gear Solid is technically not represented. 7. Gitaroo Man - It was only yesterday that a realisation hit me like a ton of bricks that Gitaroo Man is a Playstation 2 exclusive (it was later ported to the PSP, but still Sony). I also think it important that he be included as many of the suggestions for future characters to be included are mature, human characters from adult, darker games. So we need more kid-friendly characters, who battle with their music. And unlike the 5 possibilities/suggestions listed above, NO ONE HAS SUGGESTED THIS ONE YET!!!!! (And why is it that I have seen no one suggest this game when people have rightly pointed out Folklore needs an appearance?) Superbot Entertainment and Sony: Include Gitaroo Man as a playable character in All-Stars Battle Royale. I don't care if I have to pay for this DLC, I really want to play as him. I also just want to quickly talk about the suggestions that don't make sense to me: 1. Sonic the Hedgehog - WHY!?!? He's a SEGA character and his games are (now) multi-platform, this suggestion makes no sense. 2. A bunch of characters from Assassin's Creed - No, this franchise has been multi-platform from the word go, so the inclusion of any character would make no sense here. But I have to admit, being able to play as Connor would be awesome. 3. Sam Fisher - From Splinter Cell?!?! Are you crazy whoever you are? This franchise started out as an XBox-exclusive. 4. The Origami Killer from Heavy Rain - I...guess? Heavy Rain is a damn good game, and Playstation exclusive, but...a bit too gritty and grounded in reality. Personally, I would be happy if Heavy Rain was featured as a level, using either the seaport warehouse or Blue Lagoon nightclub (with Driller Thriller playing in the background) as the level setting. I'll play the game some more before I critique it any. |