Eternal Sonata Demo Impressions

Okay, it is a horrible fact that this game is going to be the game this fall that everybody should play yet nobody will. The reason? Because it is not going to get the advertising that it deserves and it will be buried by the 20 other established big name releases coming out in the surrounding months. This brakes my heart because Eternal Sonata is shaping up to be one of the best RPG’s to hit the current generation systems yet.

This game takes place in the famous composer Frederic Chopin’s dream world as he lies on his deathbed. Eternal Sonata is a traditional Japanese role playing game and some people may hate on it at first glance for not offering anything new. Although it looks like a number of RPGs from the past in terms of combat, Eternal Sonata needs only one chance to change your mind.

The combat system is an evolving entity of its own. It begins turn-based, then as the player gains experience it starts taking elements away so that eventually the combat is much more real-time. For the demo the player is at level two and this allows a nice mix of turn-based and real-time combat for someone who has never played Eternal Sonata.


Another factor in battles is that areas of the arena are shrouded in light and dark. Depending if either a party member or enemy is situated in the light or in the shade, different abilities are at their disposal. For instance, each party member has a special move, one for light and one for dark. Depending on where he/she is in the arena depends on which move is available and thus not only do players need to be mindful of which abilities each party member has, but also mindful of the character’s positioning as it will effect battle strategy. The same goes for enemies, which can even be physically altered by the shade/light. This seemingly minor twist to combat is just enough to switch things up while retaining some of the familiar.

I totally love the look of Eternal Sonata (OMG I TOTALLY LOVE IT!). From the character designs, environments, visual effects, coloring, and polish, Eternal Sonata has a style of its own. The game is hauntingly linear, but I don’t really mind this while exploring massive areas/dungeons. The cut-scenes are shot well and animations look great.

Since this story takes place in Chopin’s dome I figured that the music has got to be worthy of such an association. From the few areas that the demo allows the player to explore I can say that so far the score for Eternal Sonata is top quality.


While the relatively short demo spans only a small village and a few forests, there are not many negative things I can say about Eternal Sonata. Plus there are enough elements that have me wanting this game even more than I did last week. Personally it has been much too long since I got to play through a quality JRPG and I miss the nostalgic style of gameplay and presentation. If you fancy yourself an RPG this fall, check out Eternal Sonata on September 17th.

Stranglehold Demo Impressions

The demo for John Woo Presents Stranglehold came out this Wednesday on Xbox Live, along with a demo for Eternal Sonata (which I will have impressions posted shortly). But for now let us take a look at Stranglehold shall we?

Stranglehold is a cool idea with big ambitions and I was on the fence as to how this game would turn out. It has all the ingredients to be a third-person shooter rivaling the brilliant Max Payne, but if not executed perfectly Stranglehold may just be the game that COULD have been better than Max Payne. After playing the demo, which consists of the games first level minus the boss, I am still undecided.


This demo is fun. It is a tad easy for my taste but from what I have heard Stranglehold eases you into the game and then punks your skills by ramping up the difficulty significantly. The harder difficulties are unlocked after beating the demo and I enjoyed the frantic pace and more challenging areas. The player has access to two of the four “Tequila Bombs” which are his special moves. Heal does what you think it does and Trueshot allows the player to zero in on an enemy and pull off a one hit kill. Beat the demo a few times and you will eventually have access to all of the Tequila Bombs. These include Barrage, which turn Tequila invincible and ramp up the strength and firing speed of your weapons, and a smart-bomb type attack that kills everyone in the vicinity in a cinematic full of flying doves and shot up thugs.

A brainchild of John Woo and Chow-Yun Fat, it is no surprise that Stranglehold is very cinematic. Long cut-scenes have the player feeling like he is watching a movie and the gameplay lends to the notion that this game could be a feature film. The player also gets a taste of another gameplay element called Standoffs. Twice in the demo Tequila enters the Standoff mode which is when he finds himself in a situation surrounded by bad guys. The camera becomes fixed and cycles through each enemy who is actively trying to gun down Tequila. By using the right stick to aim and the left stick to avoid incoming bullets, Tequila can take out each threat and ideally come out unscathed.


Stranglehold is touting itself as having Massive D that is supposed to stand for Massive Destruction, but every time I read it I just think Massive Dick and start giggling childishly. Stranglehold is processing tons of destructible Havok objects in this game and rooms will be transformed for the worse after Tequila does his dirty work. Many objects are highlighted to bring the player’s attention to more effective targets that can cause chain reactions or change the environment in order to aid the outnumbered Tequila.

I played through the demo three times and enjoyed it more during each playthough. The harder difficulty is a better challenge and after becoming familiar with the areas the player is really able to create some fabulous shoot-outs. Hopefully the full game can keep bringing fresh ideas and fun levels throughout the final build. If you like guns and Massive D(ick), check out Stranglehold either now with the Xbox Live demo or when it releases on August 27th.

Fall Preview Part 2

I decided that my Fall Preview of the games in my previous post was just not enough for this year, so how about ten more! With all three consoles becoming at least a year old in 2007, this translates into more solid games for us to enjoy. 2007 has the strongest line-up in a while and I could probably write a Part 3 with 10 more games. But for now check out these titles (some more PS3 and Wii entries since I neglected them last preview) which should all be on numerous people’s lists this fall.



Warhawk
PlayStation 3
August 2007



Incog Inc.’s newest IP (Intellectual Property) is Warhawk, an online multiplayer action game. Incog is responsible for one of the greatest PS2 titles, and the best Twisted Metal game ever, Twisted Metal Black. I played the shit out of Twisted Metal Black, which was a great multiplayer title that never got old in its own right. Warhawk looks to take the fundamentals that Incog nailed in Twisted Metal and rework them into a completely new and just as addictive game exclusively for the PS3.



Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Wii
August 2007



Metroid Prime 3 is a must-buy for Wii owners. My first time ever playing a Wii was at E3 2006 and the game was Metroid Prime 3 (which I had to stand in line FOREVER behind stupid Adam Sessler who sucked balls at it). The Wii Remote controls fit perfectly for this style of gameplay and from what I played almost a year and a half ago, Nintendo has integrated it so well that players will forget all about the lame non-motion controls of old. I didn’t get a chance to play Metroid Prime 2 but heard it was good. Even without a major graphical facelift, MP3 should blow the first two games out of the water.



John Woo Presents: Stranglehold
Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
September 2007



Following the main character Inspector Tequila from the 1992 action classic “Hard Boiled”, John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat bring us Stranglehold. While Fat stars in the game, both of these legends had a say in the game content in order to make it as close to a John Woo film as possible. Fully destructible environments along with promising environmental interactions during bullet-time result in some truly Woo-worthy moments. Will the gameplay be fun throughout the entire experience or will players get tired of it by the third level? The jury is still out.



LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
November 2007



The immensely popular LEGO Star Wars franchise is back and offers the ability to play through all six Star Wars Episodes in one game. I have never got my hands on a LEGO Star Wars title but older players seem to enjoy it just as much as the youngsters do. Even more new characters are being added from the franchise to bring the running total to over 160. Mix and match to create customize characters and use the Wii Remote for an all new experience. This will be a holiday title for both kids and Star Wars fans alike.



Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
PlayStation 3
October 2007



Another series that I haven’t ever played but always receives critical acclaim, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction makes its current-gen debut exclusively for the PS3. Insomniac games, along with Jak and Daxter developer Naughty Dog, have perfected the platforming genre with amazing animations and witty slapstick humor reminiscent of Pixar/Dreamworks animated films. From the video of the newest Ratchet & Clank offering I can say that it looks beautiful and has a slew of new gadgets which should be a riot to play around with. This is yet another title that is guaranteed to be worthy of your fall money.



The Orange Box
Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3
October 2007




Okay, so you are on a tight budget like me, there are way too many releases this fall to buy all of them, and you need to get the most for your money. You want value? Enter Valve’s The Orange Box. For the $60 price tag of a normal game you get they award winning Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal. It sounds too good to be true but it is in fact reality. The add-on episodic content contributes a solid amount of gameplay after Hal-Life 2 ends. Team Fortress didn’t have my attention at first but it is primed to become the best class-based multiplayer squad game yet. However, the main interest for me in this package is Portal. This tripped-out puzzle game has the player using portals to solve some surprisingly complicated objectives. If you like shooters, GET THIS GAME.



Lair
PlayStation 3
August 2007



Lair is the first game to fully embrace the SIX-AXIS controls for the PS3. You fly around on your dragon and battle enemies both in the air and on the land. The idea of this game is sweet; who doesn’t want to battle it out in the skies against other dragons and their riders, only to land in the middle of a hand-to-hand battle and douse the opposing army in face-melting flames? If the controls are pulled off correctly this game could work. The graphics look good and the premise is quality; we shall wait and see.



Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Wii
December 2007



I have never been a big fan of the Super Smash Bros. series but a lot of people are. This newest entry supports full online functionality and new playable characters. The two highlights are Wario and, stunner when announced, Solid Snake. It has been stated by series creator Masahiro Sakurai that Brawl will feature the traditional GameCube controls since they found that too much Wii Remote motion control was ruining the gameplay. Get your friends together and prepare for battle in early December.



Folklore
PlayStation 3
October 2007



Folklore is a PS3 exclusive action/RPG game that has a lot of promise. The game looks fantastic with an awesome fantasy feel, great character design, and a heap of special effects. Being whisked away into a magical world, Folklore reminds me of a Spirited Away storyline mixed with some of the dark imagery from Pan’s Labyrinth. Not a whole lot of info has been released about this game so if you are an action/RPG fan keep your radar for this game on lock.




Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
November 2007



Another in-your-face game that I am pumped to see deliver is Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. One being a flawed mercenary and the other a medicated psychopath, these two bad dudes look like they are not ones to be fucked with. Little is known about this title too, but I do know how one of the levels flows and it sounds like good times. Starting on the rooftops dressed as window washers, Kane and Lynch (along with the rest of their team) prepare for their plan to unfold. After making their way down the side of the building they break through the glass and navigate towards the floor level. Making their way out to the city streets they are confronted by what seems to be the entire police force and a shootout the likes of Heat begins. Perfect. Created by the team behind the Hitman series, this game is a shooter with squad commands and hopefully we will learn more before it comes out in a few months.

E3 and Fall Preview

Well it has been a while since my last post. E3 was a non-stop flood of info as usual and I could hardly keep up with it myself let alone write a ton of blogs about it. Work has been busy lately too so I promise to try and get back into a routine here.

On that note, this post is a melding of my favorites from E3 as well as a Fall Preview so that you all have a heads up as to what I am excited for in the next five months. I am leaving out such guarantees as Madden 08, Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, and BioShock either because of their obvious ability to have every gamer’s attention already or them being previously highlighted on my site. Sorry for all the Xbox 360 love but this is gonna be a huge fall for Microsoft, and being an Xbox 360 owner I am finally pumped to expand my collection.



Assassin’s Creed
Xbox 360 and PlayStation3
November 2007



This game has been on my radar ever since I saw it at E3 last year and it is shaping up to be one of the leading games this fall. Assassin's Creed takes place during The Crusades and you play as Altair, an assassin in a secret guild who must gather information to take out targets throughout the game. I love the era this game takes place in while the art and environmental feel that Ubisoft Montreal has seemed to capture looks amazing. Gameplay involves a brand new control scheme that lets the agile Altair scale walls, trounce rooftops, and blend into a crowd with ease. I cannot wait to get my hands on this title.



Virtua Fighter 5
Xbox 360
October 2007



Already released on the PS3, Virtua Fighter 5 is finally making its way to the Xbox 360. With finer tuned gameplay and rumored cleaner graphics than its Sony version, VF5’s main draw over it’s own competition is that the Xbox 360 version will be fully online through Xbox Live. I am getting sick of the new trend in game sequels, but the Virtua Fighter series is my favorite fighting game and it is going to be a joy to get back into this near perfect fighter. Look for my customized Wolf to be clotheslining the competition all over Live this fall.



Super Mario Galaxy
Wii
August 2007



I don’t really know what to say about Galaxy. This is going to be the greatest Super Mario game since Super Mario 64 and possibly the best one ever made. Taking advantage of the Wii Remote in all its glory, Galaxy is going to clear even more Wii units off the shelf (like it even needed any help). In this game Mario travels from planet to planet visiting different fully 3D worlds with variant gravitational effects. Just go buy this game the day it comes out and toss it in your Wii. I wish you luck in trying to turn it off.



Mass Effect
Xbox 360
November 2007



This Xbox 360 exclusive title is being brought to us by the RPG masters over at BioWare. Mass Effect takes place some time in the future and, besides its gorgeous looking graphics, it promises to take us on an amazing journey with characters that we actually care about. A vast setting, fully customizable characters with skill trees, fun combat, and a seemingly endless amount of branching storylines are sure to please RPG fans to the fullest. With the possibility of each playthrough being drastically different in story and character development, Mass Effect is another one that I cannot wait to dive into.



Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
Xbox 360
October 2007



One of my favorite series is making its current-gen debut and exclusive Xbox 360 release this fall with Ace Combat 6. I played all the Ace Combat titles on the PS2 and I am heavily anticipating this newest effort from Namco. Photorealistic terrain and the arcade style combat that serves up some of the best dogfights around is back and also fully supported by Xbox Live for battles of up to 16 players. If that doesn’t sound like fun then I don’t know what does. Keep those formations tight and watch out for bogies!



Heavenly Sword
PlayStation3
September 2007



I was initially biased towards not giving a crap about this game because it looked like a female version of God of War (I know Matt, you can say “I told you so” in the comments). After watching more videos and developer commentaries about Heavenly Sword, the game just looks so damn polished that it is hard not to mention it. Plus the graphics are through the roof with production value. Look for this PS3 exclusive title to boost PS3 owners bragging rights in September.



Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Xbox 360 and PS3
October/November 2007



While Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction for the PS2 and Xbox wasn’t the greatest title to hit the market, I enjoyed the hell out of it and played through the whole thing. It was an open world GTA clone but it had its own image with some great gameplay ideas that seemed to be limited by the hardware at the time. With the new consoles able to handle much more processing power, Mercenaries 2 looks to be everything that the first game tried to be. Calling in air strikes to level both jungle and modern environments should have me smiling from beginning to end.



Eternal Sonata
Xbox 360
September 2007



Finally Xbox 360 owners are getting the RPGs that they deserve and Eternal Sonata has been slated as the sleeper hit of the fall. Taking place in composer Frederic Chopin’s head while he lay on his deathbed, Eternal Sonata has an original look and feel to it that instantly sucked me in. With a battle system centered around light and dark sections of the combat area, the changes to party members attacks and abilities adds a new dynamic to fights. With so many established huge hits coming out this fall, Eternal Sonata is destined to become buried in the commotion. But for the RPG enthusiasts out there, make sure to keep your ears open for this potential gem.



Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Xbox 360, PS3, and PC
October/November 2007



The first Call of Duty for the PC was one of the greatest shooters I had ever played. Not only did it have great visuals, pacing, and presentation, but the audio was blowing my room apart and had me freaking out due to the intensity and immersion that Call of Duty captured. But after, and even before, Call of Duty and its subsequent two sequels, the WWII shooter genre has become one of my least enjoyable gaming experiences. There are so many damn WWII titles out that I guess developer Infinity Ward heeded the complaints and decided to bring the franchise to the modern era. I have no doubt that Call of Duty 4 will finally bring the same awesome experience that the first title produced, and thrust us face first into this new setting. It is unbelievable that all the screenshots released so far are using the in-game engine.



Army of Two
Xbox 360 and PlayStation3
November 2007



It is hard for me to resist a good Co-Op game. I love the feeling of working with a partner(s) to beat the computer and let everyone know we were unstoppable. Electronic Arts new title Army of Two is becoming the ultimate two-player Co-Op game as you team up with a buddy in order to make a shit-load of cash as a well-tuned mercenary duo. Not many details have been released about gameplay mechanics, but if this game is anything close to what the screenshots indicate, then I am all for it.


So there it is, a small taste of things to come. I didn't even get to everything so maybe I will get a Part 2 up soon...

Halo 3 Beta Impressions

First off, big ups to B-Rad who hooked me up with a code straight from the guys at Bungie themselves so I could get my fragged-out paws on this beta. And yes, Brad does work on a little show called Family Guy that some of you may have heard about.

Okay, got that out of the way, now how did my two weeks of Halo 3 Multiplayer go? I had a blast suckas! There are some criticisms and that is always going to happen, especially in a beta build. We will get to those later. Let me just say that those who know me know that I am not the most knowledgeable Halo expert out there. I never had an Xbox so I couldn’t tell you where the Needler is on the Hang ‘em High map, but for someone who never owned the games I can confidently say that I have played my share of Halo. Longtime friend and fellow video game lover The Mike and I played Co-op through Halo during Christmas Break ’01 on his brother’s Xbox. Oh yeah, we beat it in one day. Throw in some GTA III on my PS2, some Super Monkey Ball (as I recall) on The Mike’s GameCube, some bomb ass Christmas dinner leftovers, and you have a recipe for one of the greatest days I have ever experienced. My skills improved with Halo 2 along side another old school homie that goes by the gamertag “Loves2Cyber”. You may have seen us on Xbox Live dominating. Little did you know that we were drinking 40 oz.’s of Budweiser each night and still cleaning up shop.


Sorry for that little diversion, the memories were just flowing through the old noodle for a second there. So Halo 3. What’s new, what’s different, what’s good, and what’s bad? Keep in mind that this is all from the Beta build and not the final Halo 3 build so changes will most likely be made. Let me start with the weapons. Weapon balancing has always been an issue for Halo players and there were changes between Halo and Halo 2 that turned some players off to the sequel. Well get ready for more new weapons and tweaks in Halo 3.

The new weapon that won a place in my black heart is the Brute Spiker. This little handgun is an adequate number at close range, though there are better weapons. However duel wielding the Spiker vastly increases the effectiveness, and enemies in your close proximity will turn into Swiss cheese (my favorite). These are no joke, just make sure to not attempt a Spiker attack on somebody half way across the map because of their limited range.


The other major addition is the Spartan Laser. This bad boy produces instant kills and will annihilate vehicles. The price you pay for raining down laser death is a long charge time between shots so make them count.

And oh yeah, how could I forget to mention that players can now grab mounted machine guns and rocket launching turrets from their positions and lug them around as a normal weapon! This vastly decreases mobility but the firepower is tremendous. Great idea.


Some special equipment types have also been introduced to mix up gameplay. The Bubble Shield grants a protective barrier for players to hide in. It is great to see this deployed as a grenade is coming in only to see the shield raise and have the damn thing bounce right off! But remember kids, if the enemy enters inside your shield it is game on again. The Power Drain lowers player’s shields allowing for some quick kills, the Grav Lift sets up a jump-pad wherever deployed, and the Tripmine allows for some nasty traps to be set.

We had one taste of a new vehicle called the Mongoose. This 4-wheeler could hold a buddy on the rear and was a quick and agile alternative to the Warthog. The tradeoff was almost no protection so don’t think that you and a friend are gonna be racking up kills with this vehicle. The Mongoose calls for a strictly in and out operation.


Three maps were available in the Beta and are known as Snowbound, Highground, and Valhalla. Highground and Valhalla vastly overshadowed Snowbound in both level design and fun factor. Highground runs from a beach up the hill to a base with some caves on the sides. Having the high ground in this level is key and both defending the base and attempting to attack it was a blast. Valhalla was the largest map of the three and played a lot like one of my favorite old maps Blood Gulch. Bases on each end, a river, hilly terrain, and a handful of vehicles led to an anything goes match every time. Snowbound had force fields at all the underground entrances which switched up gameplay, but nothing else really grabbed my attention in this level.

So now it’s time for some of the bad. Surprisingly the graphics in the Beta build of Halo 3 weren’t that much different from Halo 2. I didn’t really mind this because I would rather have solid gameplay over eye candy, but it still remains a fact that graphics are a large factor for people when they formulate their opinion on a game. I would like everyone to remember that this is not the final product so I wouldn’t freak out about it yet.


Weapon balancing tweaks were also still needed, but that is the whole point of having a beta so that problems can be noticed and addressed for such things. The beta ended on Sunday so players are just gonna have to wait until September 25th to play Halo 3 again. Until then check out the box art that just recently got released and I will see you all online in a few months.