TGWTG User Blogs

12.30.08

Yo,




A little bit of a rehashing of this middle-of-the-road Year for you all today. 2008 was an....interesting year, for lack of a better term. There certainly wasn't as much comedy fodder, although that didn't stop people for looking for it. The privatization of space travel reached new heights with the completion of a British Billionaire's first commercial shuttle, Russia rose again to near super-power heights, globalization cost millions more people to lose their job with no hopes of re-immersion training, and Michael Phelps gave America hope that we could actually do something right in the eyes of the World. We elected our first black President, our Congress stupidly bailed out companies that far from deserved it, a couple of mainstream shows fell far off the quality wagon, and we lost some truly great people while discovering the talents of many more. All in all, the year rings out as being one of progression, not in the liberal sense, but of the directional sense. The year seemed to be indicative of things to come, and sowed the first few steps in that direction.

Personally, this was the year I transferred to a new school, entered heavily into the blogosphere, witnessed a friend get into the deepest personal trouble I've ever seen a single person in (worst part is, he still doesn't know the depth he is at,) the year I got heavily into following gaming, and got further away from following films. I got my most sexual satisfaction out of this year, my cultural knowledge expanded significantly, and my writing talent really developed thanks to writing for the newspaper and for you. So, thanks to all those that read, commented, and helped me better myself. This year didn't really end up on the best note for me, but here's hoping 2009 could at least be as personally fulfilling as this year....maybe with a bit more idiotic news stories to laugh at.





The official Holiday Season for the Winter-based celebrations is over, and with that comes worries over New Year's resolutions, sorrow at gained weight, and immediate nostalgia like no other. Like many people in the United States, I spent my secular holiday break of 2 1/2 weeks with family. Aside from the flight troubles (remember them here) and other issues that arose during the Yule festivities (told here), it was a pleasant holiday, and the best way I could think of to round out the year. I would have been literally penniless if I had stayed down in Southern California, but that's a point best not made in the afterglow of Secular Christmas.



I say Secular Christmas because a religious, Judeo-Christian Christmas doesn’t exist anymore. The average family doesn't actually properly celebrate Christmas, most likely because they don't know what Christmas actually is. Like many seasonal celebrations, this Holiest of Christian holidays actually comes from the manipulation of several generations of Pagan traditions. During the Roman, Norman, and Viking occupations of Celtic Scotland and Ireland, one of the main goals was to acclimate the Druidic cultures with Christian control for political dominance of the region, and the easiest to do that would be to assimilate them to Christian dogma. The most efficient way to ease the native Nature-worshippers (or any different cultural mythos, really) was to combine the less 'heathen' aspects of their religion with Christian lore. The mixing of the two cultures occurred across the board, Testaments, and rituals.



Recently in the news, a group of astronomers dictated their findings: that, based on current data and star-charts, the only star to have shone bright enough for anyone to be able to plan a course (as the Three Kings of fable did) during the 1 A.D. period was during the earlier, Spring months. This fits along with earlier Biblical drafts that Jesus of Nazareth was born between March and June, nowhere near his current birthday of December 25th. Why the move? Well, in order to indoctrinate the Celtic tribes, Christian scholars moved their savior's birthday to correspond with the birth of the ‘pagan’ Sun God Mithra of both Ancient Rome and Briton. 'See, we have a sacred day like yours! But ours is more righteous, why don't you drop those silly rituals and come and worship with us?' Funny thing is, the modern Christmas contains less Christian rituals than a visit to a KFC.



For one of many instances, where in the Bible is a Tree of any significance? Sure, there is the burning bush, but specifically tied to the birth of Jesus and the earlier days of the Christian Lord and Savior, where the fuck are all the trees? The many acts of modern Christmas are actually decried in the Bible as the act of heathens, because the Tree is an incredibly strong Celtic symbol encapsulating the breadth of nature within a single organism, acting as a microcosm for their worship. In Rome, it was a metaphor for the everlasting powers of the god Baal-Berith, hence the use of the evergreen, lush fir trees. The god was born from his mother after she was transfigured into a tree. Christians incorporated the symbol, and the decoration thereof, into the celebratory rituals of their holiday in order to ease the religious transition. Kissing under the mistletoe was also a Druidic tradition with origins in Babylon, stemming from the sacred nature of the branch as told in one of their legends (it was the sole object that could kill the nigh-immortal Balder in Scandinavian lore), being known as ‘the tree of pure gold.’ Standing under the tree and kissing was an act of pardon and reconciliation of crimes against man, as those that kiss are beneath a branch so sacred it was believed to be connected to the Gods.



The Roman celebrations of the Yule season, pre-Christianity of course, was a celebration of nearly everything Christianity despises, called Saturnalia. The Winter months brought a less stringent work day and, depending on the City-State, less Senate rituals and days of worship. This free time lead to the creation of a 5 day celebration, spent in the best way possible, pure and unadulterated gluttony. Roman 'Christmas' celebrations were day – sometimes multiple days - long orgies of excess. Literal orgies both hetero and homosexual sex, an overeating of all delicious sweetmeats available (for the upper class anyway), and complete laziness and intoxication for the 'down' periods of the day. One day of feasting and sex covered the majority of the Seven Deadly Sins. I'm not going on any historical backing here, but I'm pretty sure the early Christians bearing witness to this were probably inspired to write the more close-minded portions of the Bible.



Why go through all this? Because celebrations that have those gaps in logic get me to researching. Especially with ancestors in the Celtic regions of the world, I want to know as much as possible as I can about the periods that lead them from 'pagan' Nature worship to conservative Man-God worship. ....ok, maybe I don't really have an overall point, but I do like pointing this little facts out to people for some damned reason I can't really think of.


It was an extremely light gift season this year, with my main haul being a new MP3 Player (thankfully without a lower case I in front of it) and a couple of PS3 games. Most of my list was composed with the understanding that I would be spending the rest of the money I receive from family abroad in getting my ass a Playstation 3 unit when I return to Southern California. My little brother got himself a copy of Guitar Hero III for the family's 360, so I played a career or two with that before my arm gave out.



Thankfully my step-father took it upon himself to find a damn copy of Fable II to rent, and we succeeded under our combined efforts and I have been plugging away at a playthrough ever since. Perhaps I'll include my thoughts on the IP during the new year after my proposed articles have been put up. Around the same time my aunt and uncle had sent up the clothes I had left up at their house over this past Thanksgiving, and upon opening the box, I had discovered that they had purchased new socks as well, so add that to the pile of swag.

Yesterday was a belated gift day, as my Mum and I went out and did the yearly clothes purchasing on my behalf. It's one of the lone positive side effects of having a mother with entirely too high moral standards, I never measure up with my current clothes, and thus must be given new ones to rise my supposed societal level. Along the way we picked me up a new laptop bag and rolling luggage bag to take home, as - again - the ones I was using did not live up to standards, and for the more logical reason that I needed a non-black bag to stand out in the damn baggage claim at the airport to save time.

Complete Christmas / Birthday Haul



- 'Solo' leather messenger / laptop bag (black)

- 'Palm Springs: Ricardo' rolling luggage bag (burnt orange)

- 'Fallout 3' for Playstation 3

- 'Eternal Sonata' for Playstation 3

- Phillips 'GoGear' Portable MP3 Player (4gb)

- Box of Hershey Premium Chocolates

- Tin of Hershey Kisses

- approx. 15 pairs of socks (ankle-high and tube)

- pair of Jeans, three pairs of shirts

- Lazer Pointer

- various swag




For those that have followed my writing, the biggest public loss for me this year was the death of one of my idols, George Carlin. Like many of his fans, he spoke on a deeper level than most comedians, a deeper level than most people. His routines were mostly grain of salt musings and wicked syntax, but the man operated on a whole other level between the lines, for all of his rantings and bitchings, he actually had a foundational desire to see the world in better times. He was universally respected in the field of stand up, but his death really did hit people as hard as it did me. Sure, HBO blew up their schedules with documentaries about the man's life and work, but for me it was a wound that cut deep. I had grown up with this man's style and humor, from the 'Hippy Dippy Weather Man' of my youth the 'Uncle Dan' speech of his last tour. Perhaps its because I had missed the window of getting a ticket to see him in my former hometown, minutes away from where I used to live. My friend Ben got to go, and I sighed and told myself I'd catch him next time. I'll never get the chance now, and it was a missed opportunity that would have been a lifetime in the making. He missed his goal of living to his nineties, and the world of comedy and commentary will never be the same again.



Another fantastic person we lost this year was the more publicized death of Heath Ledger. Personally, with no fault assigned to the man, a lot of people are inflating his career due to his death, and assigning much higher praise to roles formerly garnering middling criticism. Its a common practice in Hollywood, but when his work in 'Four Feathers,' a film that made no critic's best of anything list, now being hailed, there is something curious going on. All post-mortem praise aside, I had fallen in love with this man's skill when I saw him in a lame teen remake of Taming of the Shrew, aka 'Ten Things I Hate About You.' He was so genuine, a word assigned to him often, and so relaxed within his character that enjoying him was as natural as keeping your eyes open. Like many of the film going public, I took little notice of his career moves, but certain roles caught my eye at times. His role in 'Brokeback Mountain,' now surely entertained in the annals of history, is a dissapointing turn for me. He was astounding of course, but the film as a whole faltered, and for him to remembered from such a bad movie is kind of a sour aftertaste. I'd much rather see the public and film historians remember him as the Joker, a role so deep and complex that he controlled the very time and energy of any room where the movie is shown. His portrayal of simple insanity is one for the ages, but I'm sure it will get the public recognition it deserves in time. For me, I'll always remember him as Patrick Verona, a loveable man completely intoxicating in his simplicity.




If this past Presidential Election proved anything to me, it’s how pathetic the field of political debate has devolved in the States. Reading Matt Taibi of Rolling Stone, one of my favorite magazine reporters, really drew a clear picture for me on how the media's focus on particular aspects of a candidacy has changed over the years. Whether it’s because we are getting more shallow and asinine by the day, or for some deeper reason, the most discussed and debated topics surrounding a possible President have gone from his ideals and his potential policy ideas to rumors and character attacks. Breaking down the candidacies leaves us with soundbites and mudflinging advertisements. McCain the 'Maverick,' Obama talking about 'change' more often than an alley way full of beggars. Obama is 'Hope,' McCain 'reaches across the aisles.' Obama might be a Muslim, McCain's old. In retrospect, I'm comfortable proclaiming that Obama's team didn't really have that strong of a focus on mudslinging, but what comes from the individual candidate teams isn't really the issue here. In the ever-constant quest for ratings, media networks leech off any possible tidbit of juice to milk for the shock value and viewership. Never mind were you stand on the existence of 'liberal media,' there is a constant influx of 'idiot media' that needs to be stopped.



Yeah, it’s annoying, and most people shake it off as lame deterrents that don't amount to much. But my issue with this media blitzkrieg is that it makes it more and more difficult to find out the necessary information to make educated voting decisions. I could honestly give a shit if Obama is a Socialist Muslim, what I need to know is his voting record and his plans for his administration, and when all MSNBC can provide me with is two hours of human interest reporting about his campaign stops, its incredibly frustrating. The placidity with this barrage of intellectual fluff coming out of the news rooms is one of the most aggravating flaws I find with the American public, and it makes me recite the infamous 'I'm as Mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!' speech from 'Network' in my head.



In terms of the campaign itself, I went into a lot of detail about my thoughts about it in my Blue November, but in summary it was a fairly predictable outcome to a humorously polarizing trail. With the economy sharply turning downward in the worst way in recent memory, it killed McCain's - who hold partial responsibility for it - hopes for any amount of victory. Although, I lost faith in the man when I saw what he had become. It would have been a much harder decision for me in 2000 (theoretically, as I was too young to vote then) if it was a match between Gore and McCain. I still would have chosen Gore, but McCain's left leanings on many of the social issues I cared about, and his strong fiscal conservativism would have made it a choice that would have taken serious musing. His 2008 campaign, however, was almost difficult to look at some times. First of all, he never held a stance for longer than a few months, which called to mind the much harder backlash John Kerry suffered for doing a lesser version of the same thing in 2004, and his voting record over the past 8 years really sealed the deal in terms of my vote. However, in this world of sound bites and video clips, I think it was the selection of Sarah Palin as his Vice President that nailed him in the coffin. Did anyone take that seriously? The party must have known they stood no chance for them to sign off on that deal. It was mind boggling to hear people arguing over her political stances, when I was wondering if the bitch could properly tie her shoes.

But, the election came and the proper outcome was achieved, so we can release a slight bit of tension and look forward to the next four years with optimism. Or we can learn from our mistakes this past 2 terms and stand next door to the Oval Office with all the necessary paperwork for Impeachment standing by.





Everything's going multi-platform!!! Square and Microsoft's big announcement started off E3 this year with a huge hit against Sony, and the convention never got close to equalling that reveal. But 'Final Fantasy XIII' leaping ship to the Xbox 360 is just one of many hardcore franchises ditching exclusivity with the Playstation brand, some even shipping themselves off solely to the Wii/DS without hopes of a release on any other platform. I'm sure you got a list already in your head, but for me the two biggest ones were the aforementioned Final Fantasy and 'Tekken 6.' It might not be the largest or most popular fighter on the market, but the series has always had a special place in my heart ever since I played the first one in the arcades. On the practical side, one might say that this means more people can enjoy it, and in that case, they are absolutely right. But that's not the whole deal. The universal concern is that a project formerly developed for a single system must now curtail its development time and money to build up a new version of the game, at least one version of the IP suffering due to the new constraints. But that's not the whole issue.

This consistent abandonment of exclusivity has stripped a lot of the Playstation 3's bargaining power, providing more and more reason to buy elsewhere for hardcore console needs. Although 2008 saw a lot of 3rd party power coming to the Playstation 3, these former exclusives going multiplatform speak of a lack of confidence in the system. The install base of the console is currently the worst of this generation, which forces publishers to develop alternate versions to cover their finances. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. You and I know that. Exclusive DLC seems to be the future of inter-console battles for superiority, leading consumers to select the machine with the specs and support more to their preference. But we currently live in an era of an expanding marketplace bloated with casual gamers (thanks Wii) who hold a near majority of the sales chart in their ignorant wallets. Their first console was the Wii, and now they are looking for a second, deeper experience. Do they research into DLC support or a system's tech guts? No, they fall back on the logic of a bygone generation, which console has the most exclusives that I personally care about. And in that case, Playstation is getting stabbed in the back. Before the branding of 'Playslave' or 'Sony Fanboy' are grilled to my flesh, allow me to just say that I want to see consoles get a fair shake, as long as they aren't the Wii. In this new consumer base, both Microsoft and Sony are scrambling to please an audience more temporary than snowfall in Vegas, and it leads to a lot of ill business practices. The worst part of this is that I don't have a solution, short of instituting a national education policy about the nature of video games (and starting a service were all the mistaken Wii purchases are bought and taken off the sales charts.)

2008, like many years before it, suffered from a severe case of sequel-itis. Although somewhat redeeming itself with the most original content to be available for years, the heavy hitters this year were as predictable as the sales tax that came with them. 'Gears of War 2,' 'Resistance 2,' 'Metal Gear Solid 4,' and the latest from the Need for Speed, Burnout, and many other franchises. While not as bad as 2007 in terms of franchise-milk, 2008 continued to prove that the tired true staple of brand loyalty can still push millions of units in the marketplace. The horizon looks to be a lot fresher content-wise, but unless consumer tides change drastically, we can assume anything with a number beside it will sell.



The Playstation 2 has still been kicking ass, which just makes me giddy as all hell. Sure, it takes a bit of know-how into video game releases to know of anything good, but its still selling, which astounds me. It actually had a lot of releases relevant to me, and taking into account the porportional lack of disappointments found on the newer consoles across the board, the case can be argued that the Playstation 2 had one of the best lineups of the year. Sure, it’s dated IPs shipped from Japan, 3-D remakes, and sequels that should have made the console leap, but damnit, its great that the old timer is still ticking, especially after the immediate defeat of the Gamecube and Xbox. Especially now that the idea of players being unable to play their PS2 games on its shiny younger brother, units are being picked up for their bargain price (although a drop to 99 bucks couldn't hurt) and players are basking in the glow of one of the best back catalogs in gaming.

Another issue prevalent to this year is the sheer amount of franchises being 'toned down' for a broader appeal, the entertainment value for each series suffering as a consequence. This is most apparent in Nintendo's franchises, like 'Super Smash Brothers Brawl' and 'Mario Kart Wii,' but IPs across the board have willingly cut off their nose to spite their face. Handling the parkour elements in 'Prince of Persia' felt like your hand was being held the entire time, combat in 'Fable II,' while being easier to use, lacked any amount of complexity in comparison to its prequel. Its happened everywhere this year, developers somehow got the idea that simplier gameplay means higher sales, and so far, the gaming public has put up with it. While attempting to broaden a fiscal range is not that bad of an ambition, we can hope that developers instead later opt for an overall difficulty decrease, so the hardcore players can just get used to playing on 'Hard,' rather than feel that the game itself is beneath their abilities.



I originally had an entirely too long piece here about the Wii's year and my rant against it in nearly all of its forms. But, on insight, I have spared you the grief of reading it until I dedicate a full entry to it, and possibly the other consoles as well.





The ending of Mass Effect was exactly like a major action film. Not because it was emblematic of a rousing cinematic conclusion, but because it was the strongest setup for a sequel I have seen in a video game for a long time. The IP was planned to expand into a trilogy earlier on, but these plans ran a lot deeper into the first game's development than I thought. Although pre-production for the title has surely already begun, methinks we can take a look at how a Mass Effect sequel could turn out for the better, just for fun. I'll attempt to cover as many bases as I can, but I'm not a codex, so some references may go over the heads of those that have not played it, I have included hyperlinks to Wikipedia articles, so hopefully that will provide the information necessary to understand my point. Also, as I will be discussing the ending of the first game in some detail, spoilers will run rampant throughout this piece. I'll try to keep them soft and not to harmful to a first playthough, but be warned nonetheless.



The ending of the original Mass Effect was considered with Commander Sheppard personally dedicated her/himself to finding and eliminating the entirety of the Reaper threat after defeating the mind-controlled Saren and his controller, Sovereign. The Reapers are an ancient race of AI constructs so advanced, that their existence and purpose is inconceivable by any other race. They exist in dark space, the far reaches of the universe un-patrolled by the Council (the organized governmental organization of the game's galactic community), biding their time and saving energy as new races evolve and rise to power, only to be absorbed by the Reapers at their apex. Mass Effect ended with Sheppard walking away from the Council, who just entered the first human into their ranks, vowing to begin the search immediately for the regions of the universe where the Reapers reside. It’s safe to assume that the sequel can follow immediately or shortly after this ending, titled simply 'Mass Effect 2,' or with a subtitle such as 'Mass Effect: Dark Space.'



In continuing the storyline, we must assume that the proposed trilogy is the main plan for the series, so the tale of this middle game should not resolve all loose ends. Needless to say the main quest will concern the tracking of the Reapers, taking the player to new and old locations throughout the galaxy. I’d be nice to see the political side of 'Mass Effect' also explored in more depth in the main quest, possibly with the mission objective of getting representatives of each alien race on your side to organize a joint force against the Reaper threat, forcing the player to play through all of the discontent and inner-workings of each species. Its also to be noted that the entry of the first Human into the ranks of the Council after only 26 years of space exploration would make talking with some races (that have waited upwards of thousands of years for the same privilege) more difficult than others. Side missions would most likely include the same 'Save the Missing Survey Team from the Insect Threat' structure, with various versions of either saving or destroying people on arrival. Other extremely short side missions could revolve how many of the collected gases/rock material the player collected in the first game. Mini-games like opening a locker or decrypting a computer were simple enough to not be canned the second time through, but it would be nice to add a bit of variety to mini-games, like an unlocking doors mechanic similar to the one found in ‘Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.’



In terms of starting the game, players should have the option to either continue with the character specs they created in the first game, or create a new Commander Sheppard at the start of this one. A similiar option would probably be presented in the third game as well. Loading a Commander Sheppard from the first game will not only take their personality and stats into question, but the decisions the player made over the course of gameplay as well. For instance, if during the first game Sheppard set free the Rachni Queen, the second game will find the after effects of said rescue, whether it be a race of peaceful insect creatures making moral political choices, or whether it was a mistake to free her and the player must now exterminate the threat once more. In terms of the ultimate threat of the trilogy, it shouldn't really be revealed in full until the end of the second game - if that. But for a tangible bad guy, to be disposed of (or not) by the end of the second game, Bioware could take several routes.



They could use a character known from the first game and increase her/his power, or introduce a new character for the same purpose. Here's my idea: a Krogan Battlemaster, fed up with the failure of the galactic community to find a cure for his species' genetic disease, leads an assault against the Council Races in retribution, taking along other species fed up with the political unfairness their race has received, like a group of Volus, Hanar, or Batarians. The threat posed by the Krogan is not taken seriously until the Consort comes under his control, spewing propaganda for his mission and becoming deathly ill. Sheppard is commissioned for the project when the Krogan soldier reveals his intent: to offer the Council Races as sacrifices to the Reapers in order to gain their favor and avoid extinction. On the way to stop the Krogan the true baddie is revealed, and more is learned about the power of Prothean technology, the game ending with the entry into the final onslaught against the Reapers with Allied-Race Military. Hell, they could even discover a secret to fight against the Reapers if they explore the Necropolis of the Zeioph.There are many possible ways Bioware can either incorporate the previous game or shoot for a plot of completely new adventures, this was just one possible thought that occurred to me.



In regards of larger side missions, the ones that take hours and contain cut-scenes, the one thing I hope will be explored in the sequels is the identity and power of the Shadow Broker, an elite mysterious being (or beings) that have control over all of the most secret information across the galaxy, offering it for the highest bidder. If a player selected to get a favor from the Shadow Broker rather than payment - in the first game - that decision could come into play as well. Depending on which of the characters from the player's squad are left alive at the end of the first game, they could offer side missions to complete, and the game could fill out nicely with old and new NPCs that need stuff to be done.



Keeping the player connected with the character of Commander Sheppard offers one bad side: you can only play as human. It would be absolutely amazing to select a race for your character from any of the ones available in the game, save for the non-combat capable ones. I would love to play a male Turian. Each race could have a set of pluses and minuses to their stats, similar to how Dungeons and Dragons divides different species' abilities. Unfortunately, if the player was to start out with an entirely new character, it would mean Bioware would have to develop multiple campaigns, with dozens of explanations on possible character backgrounds and various dialogue interactions with other races. It’s not impossible, but it would take a lot of time away from the main development. Although it would be cool to have played a male Sheppard in the first game and play as a female Sheppard in the next...wonder if Sex Change operations offer stat bonuses?



In terms of combat, the squad-based shooter controls of the first game were pretty solid. Bioware could probably add an augment system for the weapons to increase the RPG element to most battles, but in terms of aiming, movement, and firing, the game was spot on. Perhaps more in-depth control over your squad, with basic orders to give to them at different times, could broaden the appeal of the combat. Bioware might have to tweak the sprint toggle to make it easier to control during combat, but nothing too drastic would have to be changed in that respect. A short-range weapon would definitely switch up the gameplay and keep it from becoming monotonous, although I'm unsure how you can make a bladed/bludgeoning weapon using futuristic sci-fi technology without the inevitable comparisons to a light saber. Perhaps create a wrist device that contains a holographic shield that can be retracted? Or a futuristic gauntlet that has a high frequency lazer across the knuckles (lazer knuckles?)



The biggest change in terms of combat mechanics would probably come in the form of biotics, the game's 'spells.' The controls for each ability were fine, but the result in using them was too much time and effects we have all seen before. Levitate an enemy, push one back, lift one up, etc. Perhaps an expansion of the abilities, or a substitution with more varied results, could benefit the combat structure and make it more rewarding to play. I'd love to have my hand glow purple and see an enemy shake violently before their head explodes. In terms of actual biotics they could implement, maybe one that turns an enemy against his own kind? Maybe one that cuts off an enemy’s oxygen temporarily, enough to make him drop his/her weapon and gasp? There are tons of ideas out there; it just seems that Bioware didn't tap into them as much as they could. Although the Singularity ability was pretty bad ass.



One of the best things Bioware did with 'Mass Effect' was the way the dialogue helped shape and build relationships with other characters. It was the first game I can remember to truly dedicate good chunks of its story to creating strong romantic subplots without gratuitous sexual innuendo or over-developed character design. If they can further expand this mechanic to make it so every character one can talk to will have the option to later become a best friend, a rival, or a sexual partner, it would really go a step further into creating a living, breathing universe that Bioware already dipped their toe in with the first game. Don't know why, but playing a female Paragon (good) character and talking with Garrus made it seem that there was a lot of sexual chemistry between them; I kinda wanted to explore that.



Another big change Bioware could add to the sequel of 'Mass Effect' would be to make the Mako upgradeable. It was a damn good all-around vehicle in the original, but there were times when the map required me to drive vertically on a mountaintop that I had wished I had points to spend in 'traction' or something. Points could be won by battle victories and exploration of all of a planet's specific points of interest, and divided into such things as 'armor,' 'traction,' 'speed,' and 'weapons.' It doesn't need to be nearly as deep as the character experience spending, but it would be nice. In terms of main character points and reputation, there were times in the game that it felt like there was only a dichotomy of personalities that you could adhere to: good or bad. If the classifications of your heroine/hero could go beyond Paragon or Renegade, perhaps to reflect your loyalty to a specific racial or military cause, it would really serve to increase the personalization effect each choice in the game has on Sheppard.



Mass Effect may not be my favorite game of all time, but it did scrape my Top Ten RPGs. With the ending begging for a sequel, I thought it would be discussion-provoking if we went into some possible details on how the universe and plot could expand into a solid and profitable trilogy with new elements and revamped old ones. Regardless of how the sequels turn out, as long as they are true to the origins of the saga in the original game, it will be a quality experience for all that enjoys strong narrative and rewarding gameplay. It's just fun to play the Idea Guy once in awhile.



This was the first entry I've ever made for any site that took longer than a day's effort to complete, and I hope it was a worthy read to finish 2008 on. I hope all of you had at least a memorable year, and are looking forward to what 2009 could bring. It's been an oddly satisfying ride, starting out posting around here and seeing the comments of those that read, it really helped hammer out a decision of what I want to do with my life and how I can achieve it. I wish each and every one of you a future year of accomplishments and victories, hopefully with minimal depressions. I'll see you guys on the other side.

Till Next Time,
'Hawke

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Pirates Versus Ninja

I never really got the popularity of this argument, it never seemed a fair comparison to me. First of all, unless I am miles off, the plural of Ninja is Ninja. No fucking 's' required, you juvenile quasi-historians. Second of all, let's run through an analysis the two specimens up for comparison here and see if we can't figure some things out, hmm?



First of, Pirates. I pinpoint the resurgence of these guys being 'cool' with the 'Pirates of the Carribean' trilogy. Why? Two reasons. First of, the power of cinema makes almost anything that is shot well seem attractive and awesome to its viewers, and it acts still as a main determinant of everything 'cool' in our cultural lexicon. Can you think of anything that gained widespread popularity in this day and age without some help (in some form) from the cinema? .... Webcam cunts don't count, jerkwads. The main point I'm making here is that to attain some level of fandom, you usually have to have at least a slight footing in the movies. Taking away the 'Pirates of the Carribean' trilogy, at what point do you remember Pirate films selling well, or indeed being made en masse? In terms of what I can remember, before 'Pirates,' there was a nearly half century of a gap in the cinematic idolization of pirates. The last true, epic, and entertaining film retellings of swashbuckling adventures was with the Errol Flynn films earlier last century. That is a huge fucking gap here people! What happened in the meantime? Pirating devolved into parody, common cartoon villains and reference points. They didn't make movies of them anymore because they weren't cool anymore! Cowboys really took off between Errol Flynn and 'Pirates' and many other genres overshadowed the once great privateers of the sea. With the manliness of Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, and the plenitude of sexy male and female Film Noir leads, Pirates were fruity afterthoughts, in the immortal words of many Halo players, 'we don't care about that anymore, that's gay.'



Another huge factor in making Pirates cool again was Johnny Depp. Now, now, don't bullshit me into thinking you went to those horrid sequels for the effects or Stellan Skarsgard's performance, it was the Peppy the Pew and Keith Richards combination of Jack fucking Sparrow that took those flicks from average blockbusters to one of the highest grossing franchises in fucking history, don't deny it. But is this the first time Depp has solely lead to the genesis of a culture surrounding a trend? No sir. I ask you to remember this, what do you think started the wardrobe fads of the goth culture (and its posers), actual angst and stress building up to the point of depression? Or seeing Depp all made-up and emo as Edward Scissorhands in the early nineties? The art design for that movie alone inspired Hot Topic's first mega-selling fashion line. And with Johnny making them cool again, their presence in the Pirates vs. Ninjas argument went from a joke to an actual viability.



Now, onto the Ninja. Anyone with a brain can easily determine the cultural origins and significance of the stealthy assassins, so I won't bother to retell them here. ... ... ... Ok, yes I will. Legends of Ninjas stretch back far beyond anything the Pirates lore can lay claim too, practically as long as there has been a stable culture in the Far East, rumors of ninjas abounded in one form or another. History is now telling us they may have never existed, but we know better. Although tales of this tight-wearing fuckers have gone back many generations, the true cultural penetration of the ways and awesome-ness of the Ninja came about in the Western world around the same time as the Samurai (to my cultural awareness.) Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece 'Seven Samurai' made the more aggressive Asian death machines popular, but even then the seeds of the Ninja were planted in the minds of film-goers, granted they had to find the very sparse releases of films covering the Ninja around that time, but it was possible! Give it two decades, and we see the spirit of the Ninja entering Popular Culture with the barrage of Hong Kong, Korean, and Chinese action films the 1970's cheap-o theaters saw. The 80s had a VHS collector's culture that is still unmatched in terms of dedication and collection size, and the same chop-socky action flicks from the East had at least a single shelf of space in most tape collections. I mean, if these fuckers have Napster, Corporate America would have sued the internet down to porn sites and product registration hubs. In contrast to Pirates, Ninja haven't really gone too much out of style, it just took them a long ass time to get here in the first place, and to build up 'cool' steam. Needless to say that the thousands of books detailing the exploits of both Pirates and Ninja have prodded the fire of interest and acted as the bedrock to the now-pervasive argument.



Now that we got some background going on both of these bad-asses, let's take a look at their abilities. Here is where the argument trips me up. If accounted for strictly ability, Ninja are the clear victors. Hell, take into account which each sect must have been like personality-wise gives the Ninja a clear victory in that regard as well. What are pirates? Gaudy bearded men fearing the presence of any female on their ship, spending months to years away from civilization amongst at least 20 other sweaty, hairy men, decorating themselves in pimped out jewelry that they took without permission, and keeping themselves drunk and dying from lack of proper dietary produce through most of the daylight hours. Sure, if this is to be a recipe for the greatest Gay Cruise in recorded history, we have a fucking winner! But in terms of giving these guys any amount of street cred, it does not. Sure, the ideas of lawlessness and shifty morality is incredibly appealing, but as my friend has said, Cowboys embody many similar aspects of Pirate coolness without the flamboyant hazards. Most people in the Pirate line of thinking say that it is the swashbucklers mastery of the singular element, water, and they absolute domination of combat on ships as marking their superiority. But even this isn't true if you think about. Ninja are trained to personally withstand as much pain as possible - I should now, my friend went through Ninjitsu as I grimaced and whimpered at his stories of it - certainly some part of the curriculum had to be 'do not drown?' And in terms of ship-bound combat, well, all Ninjas really need is stable footing to gain momentum, and unless the Crown Marie is in the eye of a fucking hurricane, ships run pretty smoothly.



Now, Ninja aren't all good, and Pirates aren't all bad. There are a lot of aspects that the Ninja requires to be efficient, and Pirates can most likely exploit that to their advantage. For example, usually a bit of darkness/shadow is needed for Ninja to make the kill, on a boat in most hours of the day, they are at a disadvantage. Ninjas need speed, Pirates have speed-interrupting power... .... unless they are busy fucking cabin boy. A lot of the Ninja creed is particularly unattractive too. Discipline, Honor, Servitude, CHASTITY?!?! Hmm....are they anthropomorphic turtles? No? Then FUCK THAT! The one-hit kills, accuracy, and stealth are a sexy counterpoint, and make up for some of the flack, but not all.



A main irritant in this argument for me is the underlying value comparisons here. In terms of dichotomous relationships, you always want an opposite pair to compare and contrast against, right? White versus Black? Tall versus Short? Anal versus Blumpie? The problem with the Pirates versus Ninja argument is that, though they have a lot of opposing aspects to differ on, they are the same on at least one level. They have the speed versus power, quasi dark versus quasi light, stealth versus blunt, quiet versus vocal (seriously, how many fucking Pirating songs are there?), they got a ton of antagonistic values to but heads with. But on one level, gender, they are too similar. I'm going to have to explain, aren't I? Ok, think of it this way, I am comparing with age-old (and very sexist) associations, but this is what we have to work with here.



Women? Sleek, stylish, not as strong, so we can associate a lot of the feminine way of homicide with the Ninja. Men? Built stronger, more aggressive, and emotionless. You'd think that Pirates fit this creed perfectly, but take a look again. Yay, the rampant materialism and accessorizing really doesn't bode too well for their masculinity, does it? Don't try to pull any metrosexual bullshit on this, yeah, they can make themselves look pretty, but they still can't clean themselves worth shit. If the inventors of this argument wanted a truly masculine counterpart to the Ninja feminine, my instincts would have lead me to Vikings. No gaudy-ness on the person, but in the hold for bargaining and hording. And they still have the rough and tumble attitude, the macho bods, and the lawlessness and shifty morality. Another thing that's different, no piddling the oar master. These fuckers waited until either shore leave or pillage, and they made a point of raping and capturing as many women as they could carry. And they weren't pussies, women stayed on the fucking boat sir! Hell, if it was Ninja versus Vikings I'd be hard pressed to come up with an answer, wouldn't you?

...no....wait, I'd probably still go with Ninja.

Comment (4)

12.23.08

Yo,



Name:Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4



Genre:Role-Playing Game / Simulation

Developer:Atlus

Publisher:Atlus (North America, Asia, Japan) Square Enix (Europe) Ubisoft (Australia)

Rating:M for Mature

Release Date:December 9th, 2008

Platforms:Playstation 2




Moving away from the portside urban sprawl of its prequel, Persona 4 sets itself up in the rural Japanese town of Inaba. Rumors circulate about the local high school and hangouts of something called “The Midnight Channel,” which can be accessed during the midnight hour of rainy nights. A broadcast of “The Midnight Channel” directly corresponds with murders happening within the town proper, two of which are tied to a local celebrity’s infidelity. The main Protagonist (named by the player) has recently moved into the countryside and roomed with a police detective named Ryotaro Dojima and his daughter, Nanako. Immediately after the move the town is shrouded in a mysterious fog, during which the two aforementioned murders occur. The Protagonist learns of and discovers “The Midnight Channel,” and his special abilities surrounding Persona, a skill allowing its user to summon apparitions of various parts of his inner being and command them in battle, and rounds up a team to investigate the murders about town.



Among your squad mates, and friends, are; Yosuke Hanamura, a clumsy son of a local merchant, Chie Satonaka, a student of martial arts, and the calm inn-hand Yukiko Amagi. All of your squad mates learn of their Persona abilities, and vow to enter “The Midnight Channel” through various television sets across town in order to track down the one murdering the citizens of Inaba. Once inside the world of “The Midnight Channel,” your team comes across a friendly creature guised as a weird teddy bear, appropriately named Teddy. Your team will later inflate to include bike gang leader Kanji Tatsumi, Rise Kujikawa, a former teen idol posing as a student to avoid the press, and a young recruit of the local police, Naoto Shirogane, all of whom also lend their skills to your quest. As your skills and relationships with other characters grow, you slowly come closer to figuring out the mystery of the deaths of Inaba’s citizens, and a philosophical plotline revolving around humanity’s true nature.



The story of Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei series has always been distinctly Eastern in terms of aesthetics, but always retains certain quirks that appeal to its Western audiences as well. Not a light series, Persona 4 continues the trend of its brood by tackling some incredibly deep subjects, like a character’s battle with sexual identity and the tendency for people to shelter themselves, both publicly and privately, from who they truly are. The more hardcore plot points are buffered with the lighter, slice-of-life elements of the daytime gameplay elements, but the story as a whole digs deep and will hopefully make players think more in depth than they usually do.




Exceptional in the most literal sense of the word, Persona games have always had an undeniable sense of individual style, and Persona 4 is no different. Forgoing the dark – yet oddly non-controversial – motif of shooting yourself in the head to release Personas, characters this time around use various glasses to call upon their ethereal servants. The entire game substitutes the high fashion of city life for a more laidback and conservative design this time around, from the more comfortable looking character wardrobes to the idyllic level design of lived-in houses and lush, lower contrast color palettes. Partly due to the game revolving so much around a rain cycle, Persona 4’s surroundings are detailed with lush greenery and slick, wet surfaces, giving the game a moody, yet peaceful sentiment.



Menu designs are sharp and concise, with monster designs reflecting the game’s ‘inner self’ mantra with surreal imagery rooted in noticeably normal foundations. On the audio front, the game opts for a more retro pop-driven soundtrack than last year’s hip hop / rap tracklist, the softer sound cutting off some listener tension without relieving too much of the game’s intensity.



You only need to see a couple of gameplay videos to know if this design works for you. It’s incredibly otaku-centric, but the engrossing plot and addictive gameplay should come together to make it worthwhile for anyone not to excited about the very Japanese-inspired direction. Even if you fear being lost in translation, a fleeting glimpse can’t hurt.




Persona 4 comes in two flavors: RPG and High School Sim. Though it doesn’t sound appealing at face-value, especially with the proposed length of 70 hours, the combination eventually hits a rhythm and can become incredibly involving as the story progresses. During the day your Protagonist is a high school student, free to make and break friendships with various people across Inaga. Doing so creates and builds up Social Links, levels of attraction and camaraderie between the Protagonist and the person in question, which can be leveled the more you hang out with said person and affect the abilities of your Personas during the nighttime events. Players also have the options of attending a party time job or other various duties/activities to build up their basic statistics, which also have an in-battle effect come the moonlight hours.



When the moon rises, players will have the option of entering ‘The Midnight Channel’ and doing battle with various creatures called Shadows. Entering into the battle will trigger a turn-based encounter with the spell and attack trappings one can expect from a traditional RPG. The player can call upon her/his Persona in battle do either do damage, cast status effects, or heal party members. If an enemy is knocked down by either an exploited weakness or damage, your squad can pull together an “All-Out Attack,” an ultimate damage unison attack that uses all party members. The Protagonist having the rare skill to summon and hold more than one Persona, the player will later have the option to fuse, or combine, two or more of her/his collected Personas into a stronger single Persona with the help of the denizens of the Velvet Room, a mysterious older man and his female assistant with a subtle relationship to the outcome of the Protagonist’s efforts.



The timeline of the game is centered on weather forecasts, specific days of rain and/or fog indicative of boss battles. The player must also ‘save’ various people from the fatal nature of ‘The Midnight Channel’ by specific monthly deadlines. Dungeons within the Channel are randomly generated, their design indicative of the captured persons deepest fears and worries. Some weather forecasts also offer Fusion specials, fusing a specific Persona on that day will give the creature a specific bonus to certain abilities.



This is the most hardcore element of the Persona-universe, extremely focused style and gameplay may not appeal to the entirety of the gamer consumer base, but those that strive the extra mile will find the patented addictiveness of the RPG-cross-Sim gameplay that has given the series one of the strongest fan bases in the Playstation 2’s lifetime.




Much like Final Fantasy, Persona entries in Atlus’ “Shin Megami Tensei” line are not direct sequels per say, although they do share extreme similarities, and exist in the same world, as their prequels (which is not to say that playthroughs of the earlier games are necessary for a Persona 4 purchase.) In terms of the most recent entry, Persona 4 begins on April 11, 2011, one year and two months after the Persona 3 conclusion date of January 31, 2010.



Several characters from the previous iteration make guest appearances as well. President Tanaka, the ‘Devil’ Social Link and Host of a shopping show in Persona 3, has another show this time around, ‘Tanaka's Amazing Commodities,’ which airs every in-game Sunday. Edogawa-san, the magick obsessed nurse from last year, gives a lecture about the very plot-relevant Izanagi and Izanami.



Your squad will meet Chihiro, the shy treasurer of the Student Council and Persona 3 ‘Justice’ Social Link, and will have references made to Mitsuru (leader of your squad in P3 and the ‘Emperess’ Social Link.) Players will also visit previous locations such as Hagakure Ramen, Club Escapade, and the ‘romantic’ hotel used in one of P3’s boss fights.



- Official Wikipedia Page

- Official Japanese Website

- Official English Website

- Megaten Wiki Page


- Persona 4 is Metacritic’s “Best Videogames of 2008” selection for the Best Playstation 2 Game, with an incredibly high score of 94, in a 4-way tie (with Metal Gear Solid 4, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and World of Warcraft: Wraith of the Lich King) for the 3rd best reviewed game of 2008

- The manga adaptation of Persona 4, penned by the same artist as the manga of Persona 3, began serialization on September 19, 2008, in ASCII Media Works’ Black Maoh magazine.

- All copies of the game purchase-able at store-front contain the Side A of the game’s OST (Official Sound Track), Side B is available with amazon.com’s bundle of the game






You can’t get any more suave than Shin Megami Tensei, it’s the Cowboy Beebop of gaming: indescribably cool. It walks its own road, screw the consequences and the naysayers. Sadly, this game’s fate will most likely be to be buried under the wealth of content being picked up this holiday. If the cult following has any say to it, this will be one of the Playstation 2’s final Greatest Hit, like the surprisingly high sales given to its prequel earlier this year. Again, it won’t appease everyone, especially Gears Heads or Shooter nuts, but if you want to indulge in a living world of deep philosophical themes and amiable friendships, you can do no better than Persona 4.

Comment (0)

12.21.2008

Yo,

You just got a new article from me for the first time in a few weeks due to the Crashing issue, and yet I haven't amassed more than that since my article before that. Why? Read on.

The Fro is cold, mostly because he no longer has a fro; explanation slowly to follow. Since my last upload, I had encountered a severe blog crash issue on another of my hosting sites that rather left a bad taste in my mouth for the effort of it all. You don’t realize how much effort you put into your articles until you can’t upload them for an internal server error. I used my friend connection with the administrators to get into a somewhat one-on-one discussion with personnel on how to fix this, and unfortunately it wouldn’t be for another 9 days or so.



But that is not my excuse for not updating regularly despite the errors against me. On the 13th I made my yearly trek two states up to visit my parents for the holidays. They live in Redmond, Washington, a suburb of Seattle and the hometown of the Microsoft offices. I had gotten a ride to the airport via a roommate and made it in plenty of time to be delayed until two hours later. According to the speaker announcements made in 15 minute increments inside our gate, engineers couldn’t tell if the plane was suffering from a severe oil leak or an engine problem. Seems like a simple distinction to my layman ass, but apparently this discrepancy caused the flight to be canceled and us to be called up to be re-booked based on our seating arrangements (Alaska Airlines assigns seat numbers, making me feel like a Highschooler again.) Being in coach I feared I would not be able to leave the OC that day, but I was offered a choice to wait at John Wayne Airport (not a joke, that’s its actual name) with a food voucher or try to get taxied to LAX half an hour away for a sooner flight. Needless to say the action movie hero part of my brain took over and I chose the time-crunching taxi ride.



Alaska paid for the taxi ride (thankfully, as the final tab was 107 bucks) and I arrived in plenty of time to go through my second security checkpoint of the day and wait for my flight. Luckily LAX engineers can tell the difference in major Boeing 737 Airliner issues, because I didn’t encounter any issue until I arrived at Sea-Tac (Seattle-Tacoma) Airport and had to figure out whether my bags arrived on the flight I took from LAX or my original OC flight.



Since my annoying air-mishap days have been easy-going and family-centric, taking up most of the daytime this past week or so. The reason I am shaven is to appease my mother, who just loathes the idea of me in curly hair. They gave me food, clothes, presents, and shelter for two weeks, so I guess shaving off the beloved Fro (only for it to grow back two months later) is a small consolation. We catch each other up: me, my Step-father, my Mother, and my little brother, and just hang out whenever we run out of things to say. My brother is still an impetus ball of energy at his most positive, a whiny little snot at his worst, but whenever I spend enough time in a room with him, I somehow devolve back to my 14 year old and it’s difficult to tell the most immature one apart. Both my little brother and my step-father are gamers, sadly mostly of the World of Warcraft type, but it helps to have at least a semblance of conversation centered around my hobbies for once.



The weather up north has been incredible, especially paired against the ever-constant Sunny crap that festers in Southern California. It snowed my first day up here (the earliest in a while for the area) and has kept a coat of white on the ground ever since (the most in a while for the area.) Last night was a bit of an anxious one, as the wind rose up to around 40 MPH at our elevation (approx. 600 ft.) and was predicted to cause power outages in the area. So close to Christmas, that would just plain suck. Luckily we awoke to beeping lights and hums, so we are once again content.


My days are occupied with family, so why hasn’t the night been a time for me to write. The simple answer is my first constant access to an Xbox 360 and a copy of Mass Effect. I just recently ran through a solid playthrough (99% of the game’s side missions complete) after a week or so of dedicated playing, and have fallen in love with the universe Bioware has created. The 30 hours or so I spent in their Galaxy was quite intoxicating, with tons of detail into the alien species you encounter and the various worlds you explore.



Short to say I won’t bother with a personal review, as a look around the net over the past year would have given you all I could have said. Perhaps, if I gauge enough interest from you folks, I can give an impressions article later on. It was looking like I was going to spring for the 400 Microsoft points for the expansion pack, but the more I look at its details, I’m not sure I want to spend 5 bucks for what amounts to 90 minutes more content.



The near-future plan was to rent Fable II tomorrow in time for the expansion pack (definitely worth it, knowing Lionhead’s resume) but with it being delayed to mid-January I won’t have access to the 360 anymore. I will still give it a go, but its disappointing not to have the largest possible experience available. Oh well, I am confident the inevitable PC release will contain the expansion when it comes out – I predict – in early/mid Q2. As it seems I will have plenty to do over the last week or so of my break (I return on the 2nd), as a copy of Assassin’s Creed is available if boredom strikes hard enough.



That’s pretty much all I have to report at this point in time, rest assured I will return you to the lull of my third-person narration text of my usual articles soon. In terms of expectations of my future, I’ll have one last ‘Fro Recommends out before year’s end, possibly that impressions article,  and a personal take on Game of the Year Awards come early ’09 (because I actually like to wait before the year in question ends before saying anything.)

If I don’t read ya till then, have a happy Yule Holiday and a wonderful New Year’s!

Till Next Time,
‘Hawke



- My Birthday is Tomorrow!! ^_^ I am turning the hardcore number 21 this year. The achievement is somewhat dampened by the fact that I have been partaking of all the legal benefits of a 21-year old for some time now, but I won’t let little fact keep me from celebrating.

- I’m attempting to be accepted for the Sony Playstation Visa Card, which will allot me a $150 dollar discount on a PS3 purchased online. My idea is to net me a 160GB beast as soon as I get acceptance confirmation, as most of my Christmas wishlist is software for the system

- I have successfully infiltrated the ranks of the Staff Writers at my University Newspaper! Thanks to all that offered textual support, I am quite proud of myself, and hope to really challenge myself creatively through my work with them.

- My quarter was completed on the 12th, and my grades were released a couple of days ago. My GPA for this quarter was a damn fine 3.575; an A in my Film and Media Studies class on the Western (expected), an A in my English class on Love and Magic in Renaissance Literature (expected), a B in my Film and Media Studies course on the basics of Film Study (had to retake due to differing campus requirements, a bit lower than expected), and a B in my Philosophy of Psychology class (much higher than expected.)


- As always, check out my best friend for-longer-than-forever, Strayer's, pad on GT, or be checking out his funny stuff on Youtube or at his contributing position here, as ‘The Sage’

- Wanna see how hardcore my most anticipated game of 2009 is? Look here

Comment (0)

12.11.08

Yo,

Think I’ll ride this post-final wave of elation into some creativity, and bring to a delayed recommendation for all those gamers you have yet to narrow down a gift for.

EDIT: It seems that it is still impossible for me to edit this blog more than once without the site crashing on me, but thankfully now I am at least able to upload in the first place. The more astute among you may have noticed that the 11th of this month passed some time ago. I have been attempting to upload this baby daily since the above date, but I was among those hit hardest by the Blog Crashing Issue. Now that this has been resolved, I hope you enjoy my most recent masterpiece, as I return to my quasi-regular writing schedule.

Name:Valkyria Chronicles

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing Game

Developer:Sega WOW

Publisher:Sega

Rating:T for Teen

Release Date:November 4th, 2008

Platforms:Playstation 3




Chronicles takes place in a fictionalized version of 1930s Western Europe – Europa - in the fictional country of Gallia. Similar to modern Switzerland, Gallia has a policy of required military service, despite a stalwart position of neutrality in all outside armed conflicts. Despite this political stance, the country’s denizens are called into battle once the ore-rich nation comes under attack by the East European Imperial Alliance, a move of their larger war with the Atlantic Federation.

Players take main control over Welkin Gunther, a university student – comme – commanding officer over Squad 7, one of the many units involved within the Gallian army. His military heritage, along with his extensive knowledge of local fauna/flora, dictates his strategy in battle and over his squad-mates. Amongst those in his unit are Brigitte Rosie Stark, former bar dancer turned lead assault fighter; Alicia Melchiott, the game’s heroine with powers yet unknown; Isara Gunther, Welkin’s younger sister and the unit’s tank maintenance; Eleanor Varrot, Welkin’s superior and captain of the Volunteer Corps of Gallia; and Largo Potter, the eldest member of the team with severe anti-tank skills.



The story boasts at least 30 hours of content to those that wish to just roll through the main quest. Dedicated enthusiasts can most likely mine at least 50 hours of content through the game’s many side missions and battles. The main plot of the game is split up between battles, so those looking for stringing together a couple of battles right after another may be deterred with the bookending cutscenes. Exposition also occurs with several segments during the larger chapter sequences of the game, and some short scenes can be found in the thick of some choice battles. Without going into too much detail, Sega has promised a complex back storyline for each character, with a main plot of betrayal and a conclusion ranked among the highest in RPGs of this generations by several publications.




The game’s graphics engine, Sega’s CANVAS, has given the game a well-crafted world of cell-shaded characters a slightly washed out color palette, giving the feeling of a moving water-color painting. The game’s motion cutscenes employ a slightly more polished look, with slight CG overlays that give the game an extra sense of dimension and depth. Universally praised, regardless of how any other aspect of the game was received, the IP has been named one of the best looking titles in the current PS3 library, eclipsed only by powerhouses like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. The rag-doll physics are convincing from a far angle, but closer shots may reveal more than a little clipping, and slightly over-done limb flailing. The most kitsche cosmetic attachment to the game’s visuals is the smatterings of comic-book style text supplementing some actions in game (a knock at a door comes with the word “knock” bouncing around the doorhandle, gunshots come with “ratta ratta” appearing next to the shooter’s arm, etc.)



The game features both the English and Japanese voice-over track, both of which are suitably dramatic and poignant. It is worth noting, though, that the lip synching on the English track more than slightly off, an aesthetic quibble, but one that gets under the fingernails of many gamers. The soundtrack is suitably epic, with a few tracks rising head and tails above the rest. The majority of the orchestral pieces, however, are well implemented and paced in the battle and story sequences; however, those that take longer to get through a single in-game scene may suffer a repeating song track. The full presentation package is one of great refreshment, not the blinding contrast of Mirror’s Edge’s stark city-scape, or the muddy browns and grays of yet another Gears of War frag-fest.




Chronicles lies halfway between the overhead movement of chess-like strategy games from the Tactics Ogre era, and the third-person gun slinging like any one of the many modern shooter releases. Battles begin with an overhead view of the entire map in focus, enemies and allies represented by color-coordinated iconography. Each squad member has a specialty and a weakness, designated in a sort of rock-paper-scissors mechanic of military expertise (including engineer, medics, assault infantry, etc.) Once a specific unit is selected, the game zooms down into the battleground, fixing the camera over the shoulder of the soldier in question. The player then moves the character around the battlefield according to action point meter that depletes as movement/attacks are taken. Players can take cover (and are recommended to by the depletion of the action point meter) to avoid enemy retaliation. When attacking an enemy, the game closes in to a closer angle to allow the player to target an enemy’s weak points and attempt direct types of attack. Once each character’s action meter has been exhausted, the game shifts into the enemies turn, where the placement of the player’s characters and cover affect the damage received. Battles are won, as per usual, by either defeating the breadth of the enemy units or an alternative motive such as flag capture or destruction of a specific unit/item.



The many types of arms and other material within the game can be purchased and upgraded through money received at the end of each battle, or completion of side-quest. It can also be used to upgrade a character’s stats and level up. The player has a roster of soldiers to select for battle, later including cameo appearances by a couple of characters from Skies of Arcadia.




- Wikipedia Page

- Offical US Page

- Official Japanese Page



- Two manga adaptations of the game have already had a Japanese release; one developed internally at Sega following a looser version of the main storyline, and another called ‘Valkyria Chronicles – Wish Your Smile’, following two original characters drafted into the Gallian army.

- An anime is scheduled for a 2009 release in Japan, developed by Aniplex’s A-1 Pictures. News updates for the series can be found here

- On a personal note, reviewers and fans alike have been toting this game’s art style as ‘original,’ to which I disagree with most vehemently. Despite the overall appeal of the visuals having a certain unique charm to them, the cell-shaded, washed-out aesthetics of the character designs are practically equivalent to those we saw on last year’s portable remake of Final Fantasy Tactics. As evidence, you will find a character picture from Chronicles here, and a character picture from Tactics here. Filter and thinness aside, am I the only one that sees the similarities here?




All too often these days, RPGs have to tack on the Action – prefix in order to sell well. It’s nice to see an effort to return to the days of the thinking gamer, where battles were won by strategy and intellect rather than anything else. If this is up your system-owning alley, you shouldn’t be without it. Even if you aren’t sure, wait silently for a moment. If you don’t spasm from the lack of adrenaline, you could probably stand to give this one a shot.

Comment (1)

11.30.08

Yo,

Another review for the campus newspaper, my final freelance project for them before I can get the interview for a permanent Staff Writer position. Wish me luck! With the 650 word limits, I'm going to need it.




Somewhere between the Westerns of the 60s and the Melodramas of the 30s lies Baz Luhrmann’s original vision for “Australia.” The outback native’s fourth film strays far from his close-up happy, slingshot camera to give a sweeping epic view of both the breath-taking Aussie landscape and the epic romance he created for it. Nicole Kidman plays Lady Sarah Ashley, a prim and proper model of British circumstance, who leaves her comfortable life to investigate her husband’s extended stay at their cattle ranch in Northern Australia. There she becomes aware of her husband’s death and her inheritance of almost 2,000 head of cattle on the only land not owned by a vicious beef-market monopoly. She enlists the expertise of the rough-and-tumble Drover, Hugh Jackman, to help herd the cattle down to the wharf in the nearby city in time for a huge deal with the hungry military. As Australia’s rainy season comes, so does the tail-end of World War 2, with the Japanese bombing of the continent splitting the pair, and their adopted Aboriginal child Nullah (adorable newcomer Brandon Walters, the film’s most genuine actor), apart.



The story as a whole is a predictable one, key plot points can be seen miles away with anyone with a romance novel fix. The actors know this, their characters dancing in stereotypical line when appropriate. Kidman is amiable and sweet as the oh-so-proper English girl that finds her rough and unwomanly side in the saddle, and Jackman is incredibly comfortable and magnetic in a role likely envisioned for him by his female fans with the least amount of personal romantic satisfaction. Some subplots are original and absorbing, but we’ve heard this tune before, the script drips with enough sap to make Shirley Temple projectile vomit. As much as that is a bad thing for most films, the tired narrative shines here. Luhrmann’s “Australia” is like an old photo album, more nostalgic than cliché. Although you know what’s going to happen, you can’t help but be engrossed in the characters and world. Kidman and Jackman are noticeably enjoying themselves as they imitate – and flatter - film convention, so much so that watching them throw themselves headfirst into the cheese makes us cringe less when we hear that same line of undying affection for the millionth time in our lives. The entire film falls together this way, the soaring, varied orchestral score and gorgeous zooms over cragged Australian canyons are more than enough to make you forget how CG those cows across the plains are.



However, knowing the film’s plot points may make you realize how long the movie takes to get to them. Like the classic romances it emulates, “Australia,” nears the three-hour mark closer than most audience members will stand, especially with the many subplots; Nullah’s narrative tradition of the Walkabout conflicting with his new mother’s protective wishes, the racist nature of the local Church Missions and their breeding of local Aboriginals for subservience; taking up more than a fair share of what could have easily been edited into a director’s cut, despite their dramatic and heart-wrenching intentions. When the film slows down from cattle wrangling or corrupted meat industry inter-politics, the scenes can drag on until a watch check, and it happens more than anyone with a “300”-sized attention span will be able to take. Those that can weather the dry periods, however, will be glad they did.



Like the continent of its namesake, “Australia” is a frontier of endless visual splendor, and with many stories scattered across its acres. The film’s noticeably long, with enough slowdown to make you wonder how much you really like this first-date of yours, but when we’re galloping alongside 2,000 head of cattle, it feels like “Gone with the Wind” was released yesterday, and we’re still in the era of Big Stars, Big Sets, and Big Stories.



One Word Review: Gargantuan

One Sentence Review: “Australia” faithfully recreates the feeling of the corny romances of Classic Hollywood; audiences will have to determine if that’s a good thing.

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