Sony has decided to release an episode of Qore, it’s “interactive gaming lifestyle program” (it’s an interactive magazine) for free! It’s pretty interesting, with some content on Skate 2, Bionic Commando, Flock!, and Damnation, as well as a little documentary/plug for Sony in New Orleans and a minigame named “Blast Qore” that’s a combination between Asteroids and Super Stardust HD. It also includes a free Killzone 2 theme.
It’s pretty interesting, and the price couldn’t be better. Qore subscribers also get access to a demo of the upcoming PSN title “Flock!”.
Now while that may make many people happy, there is one thing that made me very, very angry.
Nickelodeon has invaded Rock Band. Not only did they release a Miranda Cosgrove song for free, they actually expect people to want to pay for *gag* Naked Brothers Band songs! *cringes* I, of course, will not actually waste my money on the latter, I did download the former (hey, it’s free, and another GS).
Two words. This sucks. Not only does the song have literally a copy-and-pasted drum beat from beginning to end, the song is literally PAINFUL to my ears. And it’s easy. How easy? Gold star, full combo, first try, sound all the way down. I started with the sound up, but then my ears bled after about ten seconds, and I turned it down and restarted.
So, yes, it may be free, but no, it’s is NOT worth the 28 MB of hard drive space. Not by a long shot.
Fear and the Top 5 Games that Induce It
December 3, 2008
Scary games. You know you have at least played one, and they are hella fun. Nothing’s like hearing your radio scream in Silent Hill, being jumped by a zombie in Resident Evil, or flipping up your camera to find a ghost right there in Fatal Frame. Games like this make the long, sleepless nights spent after playing them totally worth it.
5. Bioshock
There’s nothing quite like heading on your merry way, then hearing the cackling of a splicer as he taunts you. This in addition to the eerie Great-American-Songbook-esque setting and music creates the illusion of normality covered with insanity. The splicers are never quite in the same spot two times through, so each and every playthrough will yield a new, different, and scary experience.
4. Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4 isn’t scary for the first four hours or so. For about four to five hours, it’s just another third person shooter combined with an escort quest. However, as you get through the village area and enter the castle and military base areas, the utter claustrophobia and knowledge that an enemy could pop out from behind any corner really begin to combine to create a tension that never really lifts. Even the boss battles create an atmosphere that includes pervasive fear.
3. Silent Hill 3
Silent Hill 3 is the combination of everything Konami had learned to that point about what scares people. Crackling radio? Check. Blood-stained, grungy, dark environments? Double check. Disgusting, elusive, scary enemies? Check, check, check. The fear behind Silent Hill three comes not only from the claustrophobia that the previous pair of Silent Hill games perfected, it also includes something that the previous two Silent Hills attempted, but ultimately failed at: personality. The characters from the first two games were about as interesting as a cereal box. Silent Hill 3’s characters all have interesting personalities, and the environments really feel like dilapidated, down-trodden real world environments with a perverse twist.
2. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
The Fatal Frame series has always penned itself on its environmental fears stemming from the fact that you can only damage the enemies using the special Camera Obscura. Ghosts are plentiful, and film can be a little on the short side. Enough simply cannot be said for the creepy environments, fear induced by sometimes-invisible enemies who can sneak up on you at any moment, and the sheer vulnerability felt by being almost entirely defenseless against an onslaught of less-than amicable ghosts.
1. Silent Hill 2
While there is something to be said for Silent Hill 3’s relatability, Silent Hill 2 is simply more disturbing on every level of human fear. The characters, while less interesting, are a dozen-fold more disturbing than any cast of any other game on the market. The environments, while less believable, are more gruesome, dark and literally emanate fear and hopelessness. The coup de grace, however is the section where you are literally followed around a maze by Pyramid Head, the game’s giant butcher knife wielding fear machines. There’s nothing like running along, only to hear the scratching of that ever-ominous knife along the ground, then running into a wall and realizing you are at a dead end.
So there you have it. The games that define interactive fear. Some may be controversial, others industry standard. Tell me what you think, what games should have made the list and what games on the list you played through in the dark with the sound up without batting an eyelash; heck, even give your own list.
Review: Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1
December 2, 2008
Version: Playstation 3
Penny Arcade Adventures is a new game for the PC, XBox 360, and PS3 based on the wildly popular web comic of the same name. It features the comic’s two protagonists Gabe and Tycho in a 20’s-style detective spoof.
The Good:
- Comic-style graphics really pop
- Some genuinely funny moments
- Priced right
- Combat system
The Bad:
- Music is endlessly looped
- Difficulty is uneven
- No voice acting at all
- Unclear objectives at times
- The humor can be an acquired taste
The first thing you will notice when you power up the game is the game’s utter dedication to paying homage to the comic that birthed it. From the utterly vulgar comedy to the comic-style graphics, the game seems ripped right out of Penny Arcade lore. The main problem with this ideal, however, is that it is an utter turn-off to people unfamiliar with the comic or for those who don’t find it funny or interesting.
The game presents itself as a pseudo-RPG from the get-go. While the game has a battle system that involves waiting for meters to fill, selecting an attack, and selecting a target, it involves a great deal of skill not seen in many RPGs. Each character comes with a special attack that triggers a five- to ten- second minigame that power up their attacks. You can also counter enemy attacks by pressing R2 at the “correct” moment. However, the timing is suspect at best and usually involves guessing when the game thinks point of impact will be, rather than where it actually is.
The graphics, for the most part, are pretty good. The graphics have a cel shaded look that fits well with the light, jaunty mood of the game. The animations are generally good, with just a few standing out as especially sub-par. However, you will see the same animations a lot. The game has an utter lack of enemy types, with each area containing about three unique enemy types and a boss character. After ten or fifteen battles in the area, you will basically be countering every move with little or no effort.
That brings up yet another issue with the game, it’s utter lack of any pacing. The game moves you quickly through some of the more interesting areas, then makes you slog through through endless drudgery of overly-long conversation trees and battles that just last too long. Compounding this fact is the difficulty, which has unexpected mountains and valleys at the most seemingly obscure times. You will be doing perfectly well in an area, only to encounter a new enemy type and be utterly destroyed by over-powered and impossible to block attacks.
The sound is below average as games today go. From the incessantly looping background music to the utter lack of any voice overs at all, the game seems half-finished in the sound department. The only thing that makes this acceptable is support of custom soundtracking, allowing you to play good music while the game only plays the sound effects and drops the music out of the mix.
The story starts with your house being smashed by a giant robot, triggering a cavalcade of events including playing music for a fortune-telling machine and fighting Cthulhu dressed in mime garb. The story is well written, but the pacing issues mentioned above really destroy any sort of interest that the story could have compounded throughout the game.
Another issue found increasingly as the game progresses is the generally unclear mission structure. You will get a hint telling you the general area to look it, but as for who to talk to to start the actual case you are often left high and dry, talking to every character and trying every dialog option until something clicks.
The game includes support for trophies, making it among the first to do so. The trophies are appropriate and well thought out, providing incentives to do things you otherwise might not have the drive to do. The only problem here is the lack of a platinum trophy for completing all of the other trophies, which themselves are occasionally too difficult.
The game is around 8 hours long on the first playthrough, reaching up to 12 if you try to get everything without a guide. For $15, it’s a pretty good deal. Replay value is incredibly reliant on whether or not you enjoy the humor of Penny Arcade, as there’s a fair bit of humor hidden throughout that you might not pick up on the first time through.
Overall, the game provides an interesting diversion for a weekend. If you have 15 bucks burning a hole in your pocket, go ahead and pick it up, but approach it with a little skepticism and be ready to look past its minor flaws to see the rough diamond underneath.
