Up Next: Kingdom Hearts 2

 

Alright. Kingdom Hearts. I've been playing a lot of shorter games lately and I thought it was time to throw in a big one. The first game captured gamers' imagination with the combo of Final Fantasy and Disney characters. Many skeptics thought the game would fail, but it turned out to be a wildly successful game which grew into an enormous franchise. 

Why I Never Finished It: I adored the first game's story and gameplay, aside from a few gripes, but the second one...ehhh. I initially planned to start from the beginning when I started playing it again last night, but I had already put in 9 hours, and I wasn't forfeiting that time. From what I remember, the first five hours is EXTREMELY slow and tedious. By the time I got to the nine hour mark, I had no reason - gameplay or story - to continue. So here I go. This is gonna be painful. Well, not painful...annoying. Like sitting on your wallet for a long car ride. 

Kingdom Hearts 2 for PS2. Let's do it.

Review: Doom

Doom. The godfather of First Person Shooters. Call of Duty and Halo owe everything to id Software's romp through hell. But Doom came out in 1993 - eighteen years ago. So it can legally buy lottery tickets and cigarettes, but can it still entertain this generation of twitch happy gamers?

Design & Gameplay

Doom is for all intents and purposes, the blueprint for a First Person Shooter.  While it may look awfully rudimentary today, the design is still remarkably unchanged in these past eighteen years. 

The basic idea is that you are an unnamed green clad Space Marine sent to various Moon bases that have been overrun by demonic monsters; shoot everything. You start out with a simple pistol, but will quickly find upgrades such as the shotgun, chaingun, plasma gun - and everyone's favorite - the BFG 9000. 

BFG (bee-eff-GEE): noun - The first initial is Big. The last initial is Gun. I'm sure you can figure out the middle one. 

The one thing about this that did give off the antiquey feel was that you could hold six guns at once. This sounds nice, but without a keyboard to map a specific gun to a specific key, I was stuck SLOOOWWWLY cycling through my arsenal with the D pad. Modern FPS games usually only allow you to carry two guns, and now I see why that is the stronger design choice. 

On the other hand, the thing that gave me the most pleasant surprise was the level design. While the "this all looks the same" pixelated environments ended up getting me lost from time to time, the levels overall are masterful creations. Once within the second episode especially, the levels become HUGE monstrous beasts to overcome, sometimes more diabolical than the enemies themselves. Lava and poisonous liquid provided hazardous "no no" areas that could only be accessed with a shielding suit, while hidden doors and elevators satisfied my search-and-collect gaming instincts.

Each level also came with a set of goals: upon completion, you were shown the percentages of the total enemies which you killed, items you found and secret doorways you uncovered. There was also a "Par" completion time for each level which were ludicrously low - most are sub three minutes, while my first playthrough averaged me about 20 minutes per level. Regardless of how impossible the goals were, it was cool to see your numbers after a specifically difficult triumph.

Pfft. Get outta my face.

Crap crap crap!

The enemies range from possessed pistol shooting guards, to huge, demonic, fire flinging Satan spawn. And each enemy requires a different amount of bullets to be in them before dying. This sounds silly, but it really adds a ton of weight to the gravity of your situation when you've unloaded 15 shotgun blasts into something that has yet to show a single sign of pain. Which leads in perfectly to my next point: scavenging.

We've seen this design tactic in games as recent as 2007's Bioshock - where you are given just enough ammo to squeak by, but are essentially forced to seek out bullets and health on your own. It works, especially in a game with scary overtones, it adds a sense of desperation and panic from time to time. When you only have 3 shells left, you better effing make sure they hit their target.

Presentation

This is a tough one to judge. I don't remember it clearly enough from back in the day, but I'm sure the graphics were impressive when Doom was first released. My problem here is I'm playing it on XBOX Live, which usually upgrades old games into high res remakes. And while I'm glad they kept it pure, the game could have benefited from a little polish. I mentioned above that a lot of areas get that samey feel to them, and that was really my biggest gripe with the game. It was far to easy to get lost and lose track of where you have and haven't been. 

 

Awwgh! This looks just like that other room with the floor pentagram. Now I'm lost.

Overall though the game achieved the scariness it was going for. Especially toward the middle of the game, there are some areas that are covered in demonic symbols, which in general makes people uncomfortable but couple that with rooms where the power goes out and screaming, fire breathing demons, and you've got yourself a survival horror experience going on. 

Stuff I Loved: 

• Solid level design
• Variety of weapons
• Legit scary at points

Stuff I Hated: 

• Rooms all look the same sometimes
• Clunky, old design at points
• Slow weapon swap

Overall, Doom still lives up to its legend. It is a great, well crafted experience that should be played by anyone who's currently "pwning newbs" in CoD or Halo. I can't say I recommend the XBOX version, I think the PC version probably plays better, and more than likely you can get it for free. I think it's public domain at this point.

Review in Ten Words or Less: 
The godfather of FPS games still holds up

Alright, You Know What? No. I'm Done. FINISHED: Doom

Completion Time: About seven hours

Level: Hurt Me Plenty (Normal)

So here's the story. The original Doom had three episodes. Ultimate Doom, a version that was released a few years later, and is the version they released on XBLA, has an additional episode created by fans that is "extra hardcore" and "For Doom experts only." Well they weren't effing kidding. Episode four is nigh impossible with my FPS sensibilities. I spent an hour playing the first level only to get through one room. So screw it.

I beat Episode Three. I killed the Spiderdemon with the BFG. I saw this ending:

I proved too tough for Hell to contain. You're damn right.

As far as I'm concerned I beat the damn thing. And the fourth episode is simply bonus levels.

Done. Next. Review coming shortly.

Still Playing...DOOM

Oh yes. So I did a little research into this game and thought I'd share my findings. Doom is broken up into four episodes with nine levels each. The first episode was released as "freeware" by id Software to anyone who wanted it. This is the reason behind the game's massive penetration and in 1993, Doom was deemed "the number one cause of decreased productivity in businesses around the world". Seeing that it was pretty much the coolest game on the market, and the first game to bring online deathmatches to the mainstream, the title was definitely earned. 

One of the other cool things about Doom was the fact that the developers allowed anyone access to their development tools - allowing anyone to create levels for Doom, or to create entirely new games based on the game's engine with the ability to share their creations online. Many amateur and professional games were developed using id's tools - games based on South Park, Aliens, and Pokemon were some of the fan creations, while Chex Quest - a professionally developed "advergame" was quite popular, garnering an underground fan base. 

Chex Quest

As far as my experience with Doom, it started off fairly sour, until I adjusted my thinking to that of a early 90s PC gamer. For example, there are zero checkpoints within levels. You die, you are sent back to the beginning of the level and stripped of every gun and armor upgrade you acquired. But you can save anywhere at any time. So I simply had to force myself to save after every minor victory to make sure I didn't end up in frustration-ville. The other big brain retrain was the fact that you cannot look up or down. If an enemy is above or below you, you simply have to aim your X axis at him and the gun will automatically shift up or down to compensate. A minor, but important thing to remember. 

Overall, I'm absolutely loving this game. I've never gotten as far as I am now (halfway through Episode 3), and I'm excited to see this thing through to the end. Hopefully you are too.

Up Next: DOOM

Oh snap. 90's PC gaming. Even though I'm playing this on XBLA, its still as nostalgic as ever. 

Doom is one of those games that I have really fond memories of despite never owning. In fact, I didn't even own a computer until 1996 or so...This would be the first thing I ask to play when going over to friends houses though. We would take turns or one guy would move and the other guy would shoot. Good times. 

For years, too, I would always call any new first person shooter game a "Doom game". I mean, could you blame me? I know Wolfenstien was the first major one, but Doom brought it to the mass market. Everyone on earth has played Doom. I heard a story last week on NPR that those kids in third world countries who are getting those donated laptops are using them to play Doom. 

Why I Never Finished It: I got this on XBLA a couple years ago, playing only through the first half of episode one. I found myself getting frustrated with the old game design. For example, the games many buttons and levers open doors or new passageways, but you're given no indication as to which passageways were opened. In games of today, you hit a button and you get a cutscene showing you not only which door was opened, but often, the easiest route to get there. Couple the mystery doors with rooms that all start to look the same and you have a recipe for a rage quit. 

Not this time though. I'm going into the heart of Hell to rip out Satan's awful heart. Let's do it!

Review: Shadow Complex

 

For the most part, XBOX Live Arcade games are quick-hit, scoreboard competitions. Very rarely was there a game released with depth and story and significant length - but Shadow Complex was one of the rare exceptions. Within the five to six hour adventure, players will find a huge underground, explorable base, tons of upgrades, a well written story and a sackful of white-knuckle action. 

But at $15, is this worth your precious Marketplace Points?

Story

You play Jason Flemming, a dude who is hiking in the mountains with his babe, Claire. The game starts with an innocent round of "hide and seek" where Claire runs off and - uh oh - she's captured by scary paramilitary  dudes. This sets up the initial goal of rescuing your girlfriend - pretty standard plot device. But as you explore these mountains, and discover the high-tech, weaponized base housed within, your second goal becomes clear: uncover the plot of these nasty dudes and eventually prevent them from achieving their ultimate goal. 

Your first objective: rescue your girlfriend

The story has definite tones of Metal Gear and Tom Clancy stories but without all the heavy exposition and triple crossing. There is a group of bad guys, they stay bad throughout the whole thing, and barring one slight surprise at the end, the roles are pretty much what you see.

All in all, the story is serviceable. It provides enough reason to finish the experience - and while I'm not gonna run out and buy the book, Hidden Empire which is said to be a companion to the game, it worked well within the experience.

Design & Gameplay

Shadow Complex's design is flat out based on Super Metroid. The design team spent the first few months of development playing the SNES classic and identifying what worked and what should up changed or updated for a modern market. And for the most part, they nailed it. 

Similar to Super Metroid, Shadow Complex is a 2D, side scrolling game based within a large, explorable map. Added to this though is the fact that you're interacting with a 3D environment - so enemies will appear in the background and foreground from time to time. This creates challenges, however, as you'll need to use the right analog stick to point your gun into the background and this can often be imprecise and lead to frustrating deaths.

The real treat of the design, however is the explorable environments and hundreds of treasures hidden in the game world and upgrades that not only feel significant, but look significant. You start out as a guy in a T-Shirt and jeans and end up in a super suit with a gun that rivals that dude's from No Country for Old Men. At the end of the game, you will feel like you are a hundred times more powerful than you were at the start.

Bosses are frequent, yet don't pose much of a challenge. Most have a weak point that is given away by a pop up "hint" and can be destroyed without your character even taking a hit. I am in no way a competitive game player, but there was only one boss I had to try multiple times to beat, and once I figured out how to do so, he went down within seconds. It's far too easy to spam your high powered weapons and just "spray and pray" to get through the bosses.

The game's first of many mechanized bosses.

The common enemies pose the same problem. While there are a few that pose a challenge until you upgrade a little more, most can be taken out with the one-hit-kill melee button. I often ran from one end of the screen to another, with three or four enemies firing on me, and got right up next to each one and punched them out. It just seems a little unbalanced. I mean, imagine being able to just walk up and punch a Metroid to death. Ain't gonna happen. This feature should have come with a gamble - like it only works 50% of the time and the other 50% they counter your ass.

Enemy Artificial Intelligence (AI) was also on the short bus. Metal Gear guards these are not. And its a shame too, because the game encourages a bit of sneaking, and when you can bump into a guard from behind, or fall 300 feet and land in front of a guard without them even noticing you, it gives you more license to be sloppy.

Stupid guards.

I am being fairly critical, and while these flaws are valid, the overall experience is much stronger than its faults. It is a fun game with tons of boom and fun.

Presentation

I kept having to remind myself that this was an XBOX Live Arcade game.  The graphics, special effects, and voice work are top notch. Uncharted star, Nolan North, voices your character and the other roles are done with appropriate subtlety and craziness where appropriate. 

As you begin to uprgade your weapons and defenses, the presentation really sells the fact that you are becoming a war machine. New weapons pack the appropriate bang, special weapons like rockets and grenades wow with their explosion effects, and most notably the foam gun really impresses with its hindering capability. 

Again, an unprecedented effort on the XBLA - but one that was well worth the investment in time and money into the overall game.

Stuff I Loved: 

• You're basically getting Super Metroid 2 - well worth the $15 price tag
• Awesome upgrades with an unexpected level of feeling more and more powerful
• Fabulous voice acting and graphical presentation

Stuff I Hated:

• Low enemy AI 
• Pushover bosses
• 3D/background shooting issues.

All in all, I loved the game. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with a 360 and certainly to any Metroid fan. It is  solidly built game with tons to discover and plenty of incentive to play through again. Do yourself a favor and buy Shadow Complex [Online Game Code].

REVIEW IN TEN WORDS OR LESS:
Honors Metroid heritage but falters on a few flaws. 

Finished: The Bible

Completion Time: 1 year

Item Collection Rate: A billion percent.

Just a quick side note. Last night I finished my other adventure of reading the entire Bible in a year and blogging through the experience. 

You can check it out here if you're interested.

Finished: Shadow Complex

I did it...

Completion Time: 5:14
Item Collection Rate: 55%

Yes indeedy. Shadow Complex has been added to the completion list. All in all, a solid game. Certainly some flaws and annoying quibbles, but defintely something to spend those extra points on if you've got em.

Full Review coming soon.

Still Playing: Shadow Complex

I've been sick for the past couple days. This has pretty much sequestered me to my bed, which fortunately for me, is in the same room as my 360. I've gotten a good four hours into Shadow Complex and have had a relatively good time doing so.

Shadow Complex is based on the Super Metroid blueprint and the developers make no effort to hide their inspiration. There is even a subtle musical nod to the SNES classic in one of the levels. And while Epic Games put a ton of effort into letting Shadow Complex sing its own song, there's just something missing...it doesn't resonate the way Super Metroid does. I don't find myself thinking about the world after I turn it off, or humming the tunes from the game. It lacks that indefinable "sticky-ness" that so few games from this generation are able to achieve.

That's not to say I don't like it. It's certainly a finely crafted experience. It just fails to live up to its inspiration.

Up Next: Shadow Complex

Thanks to Mike for the suggestion.

Seeing that Shadow Complex is based almost entirely on the blueprint of Super Metroid it would be nice to see how the two compare to one another.

Shadow Complex is an XBOX LIVE Arcade (XBLA) title that was published by Gears of War house, Epic Games. It's a 2D Metroid style game which means lots of upgrades, huge map and lots of backtracking and exploration of previously visited areas. Unlike Metroid though, the game is set on earth, in present day, starring a normal dude. No power suit, no history of awesome bounty hunting, no parasitic life forms to eradicate. You're just a dude who is trying to find his girlfriend.

I'm excited for this one. From what I remember, the pacing is fairly strong, the gameplay smooth and well developed, and the story fairly interesting.


For the uninitiated, here's a little video of the gameplay:



Why I Never Finished It: My main reason for purchasing a 360 was to play XBLA games. I am an indie music fan and have always felt a bond with anything indie, or "below the radar" so XBLA was my drug for a while. Any well-reviewed game would usually get my points, and as you can see from my collection I bought those games fairly recklessly for a while.

Shadow Complex is certainly one of the better ones in my XBLA collection, but with the glut of well reviewed releases, it just got forgotten.

I'm excited to take it down and see everything it has to offer.

Shadow Complex for XBOX 360. Let's do it!

What's Next?

 Old ladies have no idea what to play...

Throwin it out to you dudes once again.

What should I play next? Take a look a my collection and let me know what you'd like to see in the comments below.