WRUP: What Are You Playing This Weekend ?

Having finished Persona 3 last week, I'm now on Persona 4 ! And i'm really, really enjoying it. I like the pacing, the daily mini-stories, the relationships, and most of all, the characters. One thing's for sure, I'll never forget that little "Everyday's great at your Junes !" Aside from Persona, I was tired of having no space on my PS3 so I went and purchased the new 500GB model with 1 year of PS+. Time to download ! I installed it all this Thursday and I got everything I couldn't get from my past Playstation Plus subscriptions. SF4: Arcade Edition, Payday: The Heist, Ratchet & Clank 4, Quantum Conundrum, Guardians of Middle-Earth, Retro City Rampage, Dungeon Defenders, and King of Rage XIII. Also, a friend of mine let me borrow Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) and Ico/Shadow of the Colossus and Rayman Origins. I will proooobably not be able to play all of those games this weekend, but this is what I'm going to play for the next few weeks.

VG OST Pick Of The Week: Diablo II - Caves

A regular in my phone's music player rotation, Diablo II had such an amazing soundtrack. The guy went on to score Torchlight II and that game had great music as well. I think this one is my favorite among the D2 tracks, with Tristram.

Greg Zeschuk on leaving Bioware - "The fire wasn't there".

Greg Zeschuk made the news this week after an interview on Polygon, explaining some of his reasoning for leaving Bioware, along with Ray Muzyka, whom he spent over 15 to 20 years working with and co-founded the company.

There are excerpts from the interview I personally found interesting.

While the studio, now a subsidiary of EA, thrived, Zeschuk began to feel his passion for gaming wane.

"I just wasn't as into it as I was originally," he said.

"Everything's a factor," Zeschuk tells me. "There's nothing that's not a factor, but there's no single one thing. I think the best way I can describe is: Do the same thing for twenty years and it's very, very intense. It's very high pressure. It's very high stress. It's challenging. It's sometimes rewarding and sometimes it's not. And you just get tired of it after awhile. That is probably the easiest way to for me to describe it. Sometimes you just need to change things.

"One of the few things I find kind of funny is the responses of the fans, because they sort of respond that they are kind of mad at us for leaving because they think we owe them more games. You know it's sad I wish I could deliver on that, but I don't think I would be as good as I was in that space historically. Like I said, the fire wasn't there."

Emphasis mine. Is it me or it's a funny coincidence this happened some time after getting bought by EA ? I know it's a common thing on the Internet to hate EA for everything, but in this case, the "the fire wasn't there" comment really seems to drive that point across.

WRUP: What Are You Playing This Weekend ?

Lanarchy: I'm still not done with Persona 3, I think it'll take quite some time to finish. I heard it can take up to 100 hours. Damn. I also started The Walking Dead series recently. When they released the first episode as a free download on Xbox Live, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to play what so many gaming websites declared as their Game Of The Year. And I'm glad I did. That game...I won't spoil anything, but there are very hard decisions to make, and sometimes, you're like "NO ! No no no this did not happen !" And you go online to see if there's any way to reverse what just happened, and nope. Nope. It did happen. I will play Episode 5 this weekend, the conclusion. I fear what I am going to experience. I know it'll be heartbreaking.

VG OST Pick Of The Week: World of Warcraft - Howling Fjord

I remember that day. I had received an email from Blizzard, saying I was invited to the Wrath of the Lich King Beta. I double checked to be sure it was actually a legit invite, and it was. I was so excited. Remember, this was back in Burning Crusade, when WoW had so much potential. I couldn't wait to discover the new zones, the new talents, new skills, and everything else. My guild was so jealous. They thought I got it because I was the guild leader. Maybe, maybe not. But I remember... I decided to sleep early, so I could wake up a few minutes before the beta server came online.

I woke up, and as expected, I could log in a few minutes later. I took the boat to Howling Fjord, and then this music started playing. I will never forget. I spent hours leveling, and discovering the dungeons with other people playing on the test server. It was just.... so amazing.

Easily, one of my best WoW moments.

WRUP: What Are You Playing This Weekend ?

Lanarchy: Now that I've finished both Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, I'll answer last week's question as to which one I preferred. I will have to say Twilight Princess. Skyward was better in terms of gameplay and dungeon design, but Twilight was actually in Hyrule (Skyward wasn't) and I cannot forget the amazing Midna. Her duo with Link was one of the best in the history of gaming, plus Twilight's gameplay wasn't bad by any means. Just Skyward's was a tad better due to the Motion Plus controls. Now that that's answered, this weekend I'll be playing Persona 3 (image above) and Street Fighter IV. Probably some Borderlands 2 as well. And yes, Persona 3, a PS2 game. I had never played the Persona series but a friend of mine really recommended them, she was like "OMG YOU NEED TO PLAY THIS OMG" and I'm glad I did. I'm enjoying it lots so far. The characters are so interesting and likable. I'm probably going to place this series into my Top 10 RPG Series. It's that good, and I haven't even played Persona 4 yet.

Andre: I had a crazy week. Can you believe that on Thursday, I didn't even have time to play any game...? The next few weeks will bring lots of changes as well and it might lead to a blackhole on my writing for GBV during this period. This weekend, we are receiving a bunch of friends to play poker... yeah Analog Poker if I may call it that. No remotes, real cards. Despite my rebellious week against video games, I'll still play some PS3 for sure. Dust 514 is on the map as well as some NBA Jam.

VG OST Pick Of The Week: Parasite Eve - Intro (Primal Eyes)

Mitochondria Eve. Chrysler Building. Melissa Pearce. If you remember those 3, you played Parasite Eve. One of the best RPGs from Squaresoft, Parasite Eve was released in 1998 for Playstation. It was a departure from the usual Japanese fantasy fare, instead opting for a more modern America setting. It was amazing, and this intro soundtrack still gets played at least once a week on my playlist. The 1:00 part still gives me chills to this day. Also, the box came with a demo for a little game called... XenoGears.

WRUP: What Are You Playing This Weekend ?

Lanarchy: After completing Twilight Princess early this week, I'm now on Skyward Sword. I am not sure which will be my favorite between the two, as I have a lot of fun with Skyward, but Twilight was absolutely wonderful and Midna is, in my opinion, the greatest Zelda character ever made. We will see when I'm done with Skyward. I'll probably answer that question next week. If I manage to complete Skyward Sword, I'll probably fire up Borderlands 2 and/or continue my Persona 3 adventures.

Andre: This weekend will be pretty busy, my son starts his dance class and we get the family coming on Saturday. I might have some time to play some games (read here: I'll find some time to play some games). On my beloved PS3, I'll get a little multiplayer action on Max Payne 3, a franchise I like very much. I'll also go build up some funds in Dust 514 and spend time trying to make good combat vehicles with that hard-earned cash. On the PS Vita, I'll continue building levels in Little Big Planet and I'll probably play a bit of MGS3 as well every night before going to sleep.  Finally, I might watch an episode or two of The Walking Dead.

VG OST Pick Of The Week: Super Metroid - Prologue Theme

The first time I played Super Metroid, I was completely blown away. For many reasons. First, it had VOICE ! Who can ever forget "The Metroid is in captivity. The Galaxy is at peace". Also, it was the first 24Mb SNES cartridge ! Hearing this track for the first time was captivating. Then the intro. Oh man. Creepy. Then you fight some sort of boss, he leaves, and everything starts exploding everywhere, the base will self-destruct and you must haul ass out of there ! This game will forever be a classic and some 20 years later, it is still very much playable. A truly timeless masterpiece.

Nintendo's Fire Emblem Awakening DLC: Gamers Are Divided

I knew this day would come the minute Nintendo started to mingle with DLC. That didn't take long. You see, Nintendo's Fire Emblem: Awakening was released in Japan on April 19th, 2012. Between that and the upcoming US launch on February 14th, they released a few DLC missions, again in Japan only. Those missions will be sold as DLC for the American audience, and this raised a lot of eyebrows. Gamers are currently divided on this situation.

On one side, some are saying that Nintendo does not owe anyone anything, that businesses are made to make money, that the Japanese had to pay so it would not be fair to them if we got it all for free, that regardless of whenever the game was released in Japan, it cost resources to create this content and we should pay for this and that the main game itself is well worth the 40$ price tag.

On the other side, some are saying that if the game now includes all of these added missions, they should come with the cartridge (similar to "If it's ready, it should be on the disk" recent DLC controversies with Mass Effect 3 and Street Fighter X Tekken). Also that most GOTY editions of games released in the past always come with the full DLC included, especially on Steam. Then there's also the fact that if the DLC advances the main storyline, the game is incomplete without them. The thought for this camp isn't that Nintendo shouldn't get paid for the additional content, it's that the content should be included with the game, and not sold separate.

What side are you on ?

Review: Uncharted Golden Abyss (PS Vita)

Platform : PSVita 
Developer : SCE Bend Studio / Naugthy Dog
Price :39,99$ (Free for PS Plus members)
Type : 3D Platform / Shooter
Completed on Hard

**NOTES** Pictures taken from the game using the PS Vita Screen Capture option seem more pixelated than the game itself. Those pictures are the ones with the 2011 Sony Copyright on the bottom right.

Uncharted is one of the most successful franchises exclusive to the Playstation. Every games follow the adventures of Nathan Drake, an unfortunate treasure hunter. In Golden Abyss, Drake is called by an old friend, Dante, to help him and his partner, Marissa Chase, investigate on an excavation site in Panama where 400 Spanish soldiers were found dead. The site, however, is straight in the middle of the territory controlled by a rebel group led by Colonel Guero. Of course Dante does not hold his part of the deal with Guero, leading to a conflict between you and them.

Dante, on the right, looks like the trustworthy kind.

You soon learn about Chase's interests in the background story involving the death of those Spanish soldiers. The storytelling is great and, in Uncharted fashion, could stand on its own as a Hollywood movie.

The environments are breathtaking though the graphics aren't really at their best for the console. You will go through the usual scenery, like jungles, guerrilla camps, temples and the likes. The water effects are especially well made. You will see nice ruins and the artfully crafted world is well designed. The team behind Uncharted really showed their experience with the 3 previous games even if they were only foreshadowing SCE Bend Studio.

The breathtaking imagery you will encounter during the game.

Just superb art style

The game plays like other Uncharted and could be divided into two distinctive parts.

First, much of the action happens when you encounter enemies. You usually go sneaking, going from cover to cover, and killing enemies one by one until you're noticed and start a shooting spree. You can carry one small weapon (pistol or submachine gun) and one big weapon (Rifle, Sniper, Shotgun, Rocket launcher ...) at a time. You get a decent variety of weapons any Uncharted veteran will be familiar with. Adding to that are the trusty grenades, helpful for getting enemies out of cover. The mechanics of shooting are similar to other games: you can shoot from cover without exposing yourself, you can shoot from the hip and run at the same time, or you can aim for greater accuracy, while losing speed. You can aim using the analog joystick or enable the motion sensor to aim by moving the Vita around. Throwing grenades requires the touch screen and it can sometimes be tricky to get to that special spot.

You can also fight enemies by hand. Melee combat consists of touching the enemy on the touchscreen when a fist appears on them. After a few hits, they will hit back and that is when an arrow will appear on screen. You must swipe your finger in the direction of the arrow to avoid the enemy attack and swipe a second time to make the final blow. The two and only boss battles are melee fights and are done entirely by swiping your finger around on the screen, following the indications. That will probably be the easiest boss fight you will encounter in your life (although I must admit that War Hammer 40k: Space Marine final boss was as easy).

The second part of the gameplay consists mainly of puzzles. The main goal of those are to get from point A to point B. Most are simple paths you have to find. It often requires you to climb dangerous rock walls, ruins, ropes, and cutting through walls made mostly of branches. They added the touch features, though mostly optional and feel useless at best. For example, when climbing a wall, instead of using the joystick, you can just draw your path on the screen and watch Drake move that path.  You can use the back touch pad to climb ropes like your fingers were your feet, swiping down alternatively the left and right sections of the touch pad. Every time you are going to cross a log or narrow bridge, you will stop halfway through and rebalance yourself using the tilt control of the console. Yet again, it feels unnecessary and just a gimmick of the game.

Unfortunately, they made finding the paths easier than in the console versions of the game. First, the path is pretty linear and it's hard not to see where you should be going. Second, the path is painted gold from start to end. If there's a path that is not painted, it will lead you to a treasure for sure. Here are two pictures to better explain what I mean:

Should I jump  on those golden tiles there?

Should I climb that golden ledge?

You also stumble onto the puzzles themselves. In the console versions of Uncharted, those puzzles were never too complicated to begin with. But in Golden Abyss they are at an Elementary level my 4 year old son could probably solve by himself. They mainly consist of tear-down papers you have to put back together. The outline of the puzzles are already there and if your piece is near the spot, with about the same angle (you can be 25 degrees off) it will automatically lock on the right spot. On harder puzzles, where things don't lock themselves automatically, you will have a sound and verbal feedback from Chase every time you put the right piece over the right spot. The fun part of the puzzle is the explanation that comes with it, unveiling a bit more of the story of the ancient civilization you are about to loot. You are a treasure hunter after all.

One hard puzzle.

There are also some extra features worth mentioning. The game is linked with the new Uncharted Card: Fight for Fortune game. Finding treasures not only gets you closer to getting PSN trophies, it also raises the power of the cards you have in Fight for Fortunes. This adds a replay value to those who own, or plan on owning the game in the future. The "Near" feature of the PS Vita also lets you use the "Black Market" to send and receive those extra bounty (treasures dropped by enemies) you did not receive during gameplay.

Conclusion

While the replay value of the game is weak unless you want to get all the treasures for your PSN Trophies and boost all the Fight for Fortune cards, the game remains a good single player game. It really shows Handheld console can handle high quality games. The lack of multiplayer features (No Online Pass) makes this game a hassle-free second hand purchase, and I strongly suggest that you actually buy the game that way. The small issues do not make the game a pain to play; they mostly feel useless, but you can easily cope with it. The blend of classic gameplay you find on traditional consoles, with the small handheld features makes it a nice experience that feels familiar. The graphics and the environments, while not the best the system can handle, are beautiful and bring the ambiance that the Uncharted series has been praised for.

WRUP: What Are You Playing This Weekend ?

Lanarchy: I finally completed Demon's Souls. Man... I feel like a soldier coming back from Vietnam. I've seen shit, son. Seriously, no game has ever had that effect on me. I feel like, now that it's over, I'm a war vet or something. Weird. Anyway, this weekend I'll continue my Zelda: Twilight Princess, Dragon Quest: Swords and Persona 3 schedule. These are the ones I'm trying to complete right now. P.S.: Yes, i know, Dark Souls. It's on my soon list.

Andre: Hi guys and girls, I've been on other things during the Holidays, I couldn't even play that much.  But now I'm back writing and playing and what should I be playing this weekend? I got friends coming over so we should be playing a bit of Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Wii and/or NBA Jam on the PS3. For myself, I'll be keeping up with some Vita games like Uncharted Golden Abyss and MGS HD Collection (MGS3). On my PS3, I just got my Turtle Beach headset and I'm going to try it out on Max Payne 3 and Dark Souls. I'll be watching some Walking Dead with my girlfriend as well. Now that I've completed the game, I'm ready to start the series.

And You ? What are you playing this weekend ?

VG OST Pick Of The Week: Goldeneye 007 - Facility

Goldeneye. The mere mention of this game brings all nostalgic gamers together. This game single-handedly made FPS on consoles a reality. Halo has nothing on Goldeneye. Every gamer I knew back in the day played this on 4-player splitscreen like there was no tomorrow. Goldeneye. What more needs to be said ?

Gaming Addiction: What's Your Story ?

Who knows me knows I'm an addicted gamer. Every time someone asks me why I do not play WoW, EVE Online, Guild Wars 2 and other MMOs, I simply have to admit to them that I have an addiction problem.

Last MMO I really got into was FFXI. Probably not the best MMO and that was just fine because it helped me quit it. Before that, I played UO, way back. That is when I realized I spent several months trying to become a master blacksmith, a feat I would have probably mastered in real life... or at least I would have gathered skills that I would still have today. Last one I tried is EVE Online with a free 60 days trial. I almost bought a subscription to bypass the trial restriction. Glad I didn't.

The first few days, I was thinking of what I needed to learn. Browsing the Internet to get info was not the problem. Bringing my laptop to work so I could send in a few actions once in a while was. Soon, I was checking my ship every time no one at work was looking. That is when I had to drop it or I'd probably get fired soon after.

Addicted a day, addicted for life.

While I am a gamer, I found ways to deal with it while restraining myself. One of the major parts of it is repairing consoles for the challenge, sometimes pushing it by experimenting hacks as well. Those are skills that are kept for a lifetime. Now you can throw rocks at me for killing the game industry, but that's not the point. At first, I didn't have any budget for games, so I either let my console die, or I'd get some games' ISO and review them on different sites.  My goals were, and still are, mostly experimental as it led me to find out a lot about consoles themselves. For my soul's sake, I have two PS3s, one untouched, one rebuilt from 2 defective ones. I buy my games, and sometime twice so I can play with my spouse (ie LBP, GTA). There, I could easily use the "I bought the game once, I hacked it for my second console" argument... but I don't.

Those skills though are really helping me out, and eventually others. I barely spend more than 100$ on my consoles because I can't afford the risk of getting a console listed as "broken".  My last risk was with yet another PS3 (I don't even have that much TV home). I expected to pay 50$ for a PS3 Slim with a broken Bluray drive. I planned on using this console to try the hacks that are out there. Well, first thing, I popped an old game... it read it. That debunked the dead drive. It did not read any other BlueRays, movies or games. I wanted to clean it up, unfortunately the security screws are a tad smaller than the "phat" PS3's. So I tried flipping it on the side to make gravity work for me. Maybe, the problem was just hair in front of the laser. Miracle, everything worked flawlessly. Someone just sold a working PS3 for 50$.

So now I'm at 3 PS3 consoles, 1 PS Vita, 2 NDS Lite, 1 Wii with broken video, 1 working Wii (that one I just got for 40$ as well). That is not to mention any first and third party peripherals and accessories.  Do I have enough ? I don't feel like it.

Subscribing to PS Plus helped me get a few games for free every month, is it enough? No. What I like is to compare gameplay mechanics, stories, art style, features, multiplayer experiences... If I could get paid (enough) to play all day, I would. I would play My little Pony just as I would play Halo 4 just to check it out, the gameplay, the inspiration, the maket it targets, how it does on each platform, why it's even a game...

The thing is that games inspire me. Not only the games, but the whole industry. I wanted to tell you about this addiction because I think many of you share it and sharing a passion is always liberating.

So what is your gaming addiction story?

Review : Gravity Rush (PS Vita)

Platform : PSVita 
Developer : SCE Japan Studio
Price :39,99$ (Free for PS Plus members)
Type : 3D Platform
Time played : Platinum trophy

Gravity Rush puts you in the shoes of Kat, a gravity controlling character. The concept and gameplay mechanics of the game are quite refreshing. Unfortunately, the experience is often tainted by painful game bugs and a weak story.  In fact, Gravity Rush might steal the award for not explaining anything from the Lost TV Show.

The game begins by having you unconscious, falling from the sky into Hekesville, a small flying city. You are then greeted by a black cat, Dusty, who gives you your gravitational powers. You spend the game asking Dusty questions and always getting "Mieow" as an answer. Because of Dusty, you receive the name of Kat by the townsfolk. The town is surrounded by gravity storms that have swallowed part of the town. You will soon meet Raven, another Shifter who got her name because her powers come from a raven (Yeah, it is that original).

The story unveils itself by a beautiful comic style cut scene and some other movies.  First, pretty much everyone is using you to help them out, raising awareness of your presence. You are soon considered the source of the mysterious Nevi (the enemies) appearances, as well as the gravity storms. The whole story is unveiling so fast and does not make any sense in the end. It does feel like they already knew they were making a sequel before developing the game. Most of the story revolves around Kat meeting people.

There's Syd, a gentle police officer who helps you out. The narration (Kat) tells that Cid does not know he will play an important role in the story... that role is only that he freed you when you get captured at the end...or maybe in the sequel, but meanwhile he was pretty useless. You help him out take out the city's arch villain "Alias" that spawns Nevi to help him rob the city. Once you kill Alias, two missions later, you see him again in a dream later on, he removes his mask, Kat goes "You!" but you never actually see who it was.

You also meet Gade, a "Creator", for whatever it is, that is actually a man made of a Gravity Storm when he opesn his coat. This helps you get to other Time/Space dimensions where you rescue the swallowed city parts after defeating a boss (3 in total). Cyanna is also a kid creator found in a city way under the one from the start. A city where children were lost when their school bus drove out of the flying sky limits. There you learn that the other gravity controlling character was a lost children that made it out. While she grew up and became "Raven". It seems the kids are stuck in a different timescape.  No real word on how she got her powers.

This is kind of awkward

There are also a few comments heard that if there is a city under Hekesville, there might be one above. And then you remember falling from the sky at the very beginning. No real other words on the city above.

We can only hope to have some more information in the sequel.

The gameplay mechanics are also a bit flawed.  Flaws that can make it frustrating at some points.

While the PS Vita sensors are pretty accurate, some features, like aiming, can be turned on or off, while others rely only on the motion sensing. This brings one major problem in public transportation, some aspects of the game are almost unplayable. While you can complete the story, completing all the side challenges might be impossible in a moving vehicle.  

When you upgrade your Shifting Speed power, meaning you will fly faster, you start to experience loading times as well as travelingl faster than what the game can handle.

The gravity shift power will let you change gravity to any side. Unfortunately, the gravity will not stay in the direction you shifted. As soon as you hit a surface, Gravity shifts again in a way that the surface (ex: wall, tree, fence,...) you just touched becomes the floor. If you are shifting to a particular direction, let's say up, and you just touch the corner of the wall before the roof of a building, the gravity will shift sideways and you will find yourself "falling" towards the horizon. Adding to the fact that gravity shift is almost exclusively used as a mechanic for flying. Even in the cut scenes, Kat is flying, not climbing walls with shifted gravity.

Conclusion

Gravity Rush is not worth a 40$ price tag from my point of view, even if it's one of the best rated games on the Vita so far. While it does not offer any high class experience for a long time gamer that expects more from games with such high reviews, it does good thing for the mobile console future. The art style and the city scape are well detailed and they give this game a huge plus for it's beauty. The story feels thrown out at you and incomplete though, characters have no depth and you won't develop any attachment to them. We can hope for a better and more polished story for the sequel and a tweak to the gameplay mechanics as well.

Women In Gaming

There has been a lot of talk lately about women in gaming, how they're portrayed, the sexism they face, the dick pictures they receive, and so on. There was also a Twitter trend, #1reasonwhy. I'd like to give my opinion on that.

One of the biggest events of the year was Anita Sarkeesian, who created a Kickstarter campaign to study the position of women in the industry, and the challenges they face. She succeeded well beyond her dreams, but at the same time, ignited the flames of the Internet, receiving death threats, kitchen comments, and the likes.

Look. I'm all for more women in the gaming industry. That's a given. More and more people game nowadays, and I myself know quite a few hardcore gamer girls. They play the real games, no Facebook shit. They were SNES fans, played FF and Chrono Trigger, went on to Playstation and Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Tekken, then N64 with Zelda, Goldeneye, then Xbox with Halo, etc. The same path we've all gone through.

Where I take a stand though, is where things get ridiculous. Some women feel that we shouldn't have games like Mario, because it portrays the princess as a helpless woman, who needs to be rescued. Well, first of all, it is a fact that women like to feel secure with a man, it's in their genes. Second, us men LOVE to rescue our women. We enjoy feeling like we saved the damsel in distress. What is wrong with that ? There are games where women are powerful, and badass, and we enjoy them too ! Can't we have the best of both worlds ? And I remember games where the woman saved the man too ! Isn't it great ? We can all have our types of games.

But no. There is a movement right now. The Tomb Raider controversy, the Hitman controversy, the Borderlands controversy ! So many controversies, everywhere ! Though I will admit, the Hitman "small tits" promo was...what the hell were they thinking ? Anyway, moving on, there is a movement to ensure women are never "in need" and to me, that is stupid. Everyone needs help when they're in danger, be it men or women. And saving someone always feels good, whether you have balls, or boobs.

I am all for more women working in making games, they have a knack for emotional story (my personal weak point) but please, let us save women from time to time. We like to think we were that strong.