jamz92
Leave it to Capcom to release the definitive version of the second best 2D Street Fighter game exclusively on the PSP. This version of the game has everything you could want. All the characters from the arcade version are here, as well as the World Tour mode from the Playstation and Dreamcast ports. In addition, they cleaned up the game's audio, added Yun, Maki, Eagle from Street Fighter 1, and even included Ingrid, the one shining point in the otherwise dismal Capcom Fighting Evolution. It also added 100 made vs. mode, a dramatic battle mode, a mode where you can just fight the final boss, and so much more. What's preventing me from giving it a perfect score is that it's stuck on PSP to this very day. But if you play it on emulation, you're in for a real treat.
2005
I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me and smoke weed and fill our bellies with diet soda and play Burnout: Revenge for the PS2?
Eleven years is a long time in any industry. In the period between American Mcgee's Alice and its sequel, Alice: Madness Returns, we had an entire console generation, the birth of Steam, the collapse of Sega as a first party developer, the rise of Microsoft as a first party developer, and the near collapse and resurrection of Nintendo.
We had Grand Theft Auto III and IV, Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Pokemon solidifying itself as more than just a fad, Call of Duty, and many amazing titles. How would a sequel to Alice, which was a game full of innovation, hope to compete in this climate?
The answer apparently was backslide. Set one year after the events of Alice, the titular character, while out of the asylum, is still being treated for her illness by a psychiatrist named Dr. Bumby. While she is thankful for being out the asylum, something doesn't feel right in her mind. Like she is forgetting something important. It is then that she is drawn back into Wonderland, to discover that an outside force called the Infernal Train is wreaking havoc. The rest of the game is trying to stop the train and to reclaim Alice's lost memories. The story carries this game, if I'm being completely honest. It takes things that were merely implied in the first game and extrapolates on them to a great degree. Without spoiling too much, this game is even darker than the first in terms of subject matter and it really messed with me at times. The dialogue and writing is even more polished than ever. It's a good thing the story is as well told and crafted, because the gameplay is objectively worse.
Before I write about that though, I want to give mention to graphics and sound. Most of the cast returns from the original game and continue their spectacular work. While the music of this game can't compare to Vrenna's work on the original, Jason Tai and Marshall Crutcher do a good job (though Vrenna did contribute one track to the game, and it's admittedly one of the better tracks).
Graphically this game uses Unreal Engine 3, and it's a great representation of what the engine could do when it wasn't being a slave to brown. The excellent art direction shines through. That being said, it pains me to say that this game has serious performance issues. I have an AMD Ryzen 5600G processor with 16 GB of RAM. I shouldn't have this much slowdown, especially from a game that runs on Xbox 360. And if you have an older system, the only thing that solved my stuttering problem was playing the game 640x480.
In terms of gameplay, this game is a bit of a collectathon in the vein of Banjo-Kazooie with the combat of a Zelda game. While it is fun, the camera's lock on feature has some difficulty targeting what you actually want to attack. There's a lot of variety in stages to spice things up, too. The problem is there's not a task in this game that doesn't repeat itself multiple times. I lost count of how many Mario 64 style slides I went down. It got to the point where if I had to solve one more sliding block puzzle, I was going to puke. As soon as the story begins to pick up steam, it feels like the game pulls you away to do some non sequitor. The result is a 7 hour game stretched out to about 15 hours of content. By the time I got to the game's final (and only) boss, I just wanted it to be over. Which is a shame, because the ending sets up a sequel that will never come. Thank you for that, EA.
It's worth one playthrough, at least. But I don't see myself coming back to this one the way I did the first game anytime soon. That being said, if by some miracle we ever get a third Alice game, I'll be there with open arms. There are few game series with as much untapped potential as this one. As I mentioned in my review for the first game, buying this game is the only surefire way to get the first game. So I say pick it up. And who knows? You may fall in love with it the same way so many cosplayers have and goth subculture has.
We had Grand Theft Auto III and IV, Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Pokemon solidifying itself as more than just a fad, Call of Duty, and many amazing titles. How would a sequel to Alice, which was a game full of innovation, hope to compete in this climate?
The answer apparently was backslide. Set one year after the events of Alice, the titular character, while out of the asylum, is still being treated for her illness by a psychiatrist named Dr. Bumby. While she is thankful for being out the asylum, something doesn't feel right in her mind. Like she is forgetting something important. It is then that she is drawn back into Wonderland, to discover that an outside force called the Infernal Train is wreaking havoc. The rest of the game is trying to stop the train and to reclaim Alice's lost memories. The story carries this game, if I'm being completely honest. It takes things that were merely implied in the first game and extrapolates on them to a great degree. Without spoiling too much, this game is even darker than the first in terms of subject matter and it really messed with me at times. The dialogue and writing is even more polished than ever. It's a good thing the story is as well told and crafted, because the gameplay is objectively worse.
Before I write about that though, I want to give mention to graphics and sound. Most of the cast returns from the original game and continue their spectacular work. While the music of this game can't compare to Vrenna's work on the original, Jason Tai and Marshall Crutcher do a good job (though Vrenna did contribute one track to the game, and it's admittedly one of the better tracks).
Graphically this game uses Unreal Engine 3, and it's a great representation of what the engine could do when it wasn't being a slave to brown. The excellent art direction shines through. That being said, it pains me to say that this game has serious performance issues. I have an AMD Ryzen 5600G processor with 16 GB of RAM. I shouldn't have this much slowdown, especially from a game that runs on Xbox 360. And if you have an older system, the only thing that solved my stuttering problem was playing the game 640x480.
In terms of gameplay, this game is a bit of a collectathon in the vein of Banjo-Kazooie with the combat of a Zelda game. While it is fun, the camera's lock on feature has some difficulty targeting what you actually want to attack. There's a lot of variety in stages to spice things up, too. The problem is there's not a task in this game that doesn't repeat itself multiple times. I lost count of how many Mario 64 style slides I went down. It got to the point where if I had to solve one more sliding block puzzle, I was going to puke. As soon as the story begins to pick up steam, it feels like the game pulls you away to do some non sequitor. The result is a 7 hour game stretched out to about 15 hours of content. By the time I got to the game's final (and only) boss, I just wanted it to be over. Which is a shame, because the ending sets up a sequel that will never come. Thank you for that, EA.
It's worth one playthrough, at least. But I don't see myself coming back to this one the way I did the first game anytime soon. That being said, if by some miracle we ever get a third Alice game, I'll be there with open arms. There are few game series with as much untapped potential as this one. As I mentioned in my review for the first game, buying this game is the only surefire way to get the first game. So I say pick it up. And who knows? You may fall in love with it the same way so many cosplayers have and goth subculture has.
American McGee is from what I've seen a pretty cool and down-to-earth kind of guy. With the exception of Sandy Peterson or possibly Tom Hall, he's one of the Doom 1 and 2 team that takes themselves the least seriously. After being fired from id shortly after Quake II finished development, he was quickly scooped up by Electronic Arts. This game was the first game he had full control over. It is also his best work.
Set in 1870s Britain, Alice, the sole survivor of a fire that killed her parents (and sister, as the sequel relates), is left catatonic. When exposed to the rabbit doll from her childhood, her mind drags her back into Wonderland, which has become a distorted and demented place. To save Wonderland and reclaim her sanity, she must find the Queen of Hearts.
There must have been something in the air with game developers in the late 90s and early 2000s, as many games from this era delve into the psychology of the characters. Few do it as well as Alice. The story is an intriguing mix of horror, character study, and fantasy that shouldn't work, but does. There are some excellent lines in this game, and if you've ever experienced depression or some from of mental illness, you might find comfort in what this game has to say. It is a story that'll stick with you for years to come.
This is in no small part to Susie Brann as Alice and Roger Jackson as the Cheshire Cat. Though the entire voice cast does an excellent job.
In fact, the whole sound design of this game is great. Besides the voice acting, the sound effects are punchy which is important for this kind of third person shooter. Special attention should also be given to Chris Vrenna's soundtrack. Many people know about Trent Reznor composing the music for Quake 1, but not as many people know Chris Vrenna's work on Alice. And they should. His work really heightens the mood of some these levels. This game is downright sinister in places thanks to his music.
In terms of graphics, this game uses the Quake III engine to great effect. In a time when video games were beginning to veer towards brown and realism that would come to dominate the industry, American McGee's Alice shows just what the Quake III engine could do, with its greens and blues and reds. But the major heavy lifting of the game's graphics come from the art style, which Tim Burton absolutely ripped off for his Disney movies. Though it could be argued that American McGee was imitating Burton's style. Either way, you're gonna get Hot Topic merch.
So good story, good music, good characters, and good graphics. How's the gameplay? While admittedly the weakest aspect of the game, it's still excellent. Alice controls great on the ground, and all of the weapons are fun to use and you can really bring the pain. My personal favorite weapon is the ice staff. It's a good thing the weapons are so good, because you'll need all the help you can get. This is a hard game. Fortunately, you can quicksave, and this game seems to be built around it. Alice has some of that old Doom and Quake DNA and it's better for it. Unfortunately, this game relies on a lot of platforming which just isn't that fun to control. Banjo Kazooie this ain't. However, it never bothered me to the point that it made me want to stop.
Sadly, this game can be awful to get running on modern hardware. Not that modern computers can't run it. Merely that EA has decided not to sell it. Thankfully, you can access it still if you buy a copy of Alice: Madness Returns on Steam or the EA app. I'll have a link at the bottom of this review with instructions on how to set it up.
You might have to jump through a few hurdles to get it working, but it's worth your time. American McGee's Alice is a work from a real auteur, which is quite rare in this medium. The fact that it was published by EA makes it all the more unique. I say give it a shot.
How to get American McGee's Alice working on modern systems:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2881785983
Set in 1870s Britain, Alice, the sole survivor of a fire that killed her parents (and sister, as the sequel relates), is left catatonic. When exposed to the rabbit doll from her childhood, her mind drags her back into Wonderland, which has become a distorted and demented place. To save Wonderland and reclaim her sanity, she must find the Queen of Hearts.
There must have been something in the air with game developers in the late 90s and early 2000s, as many games from this era delve into the psychology of the characters. Few do it as well as Alice. The story is an intriguing mix of horror, character study, and fantasy that shouldn't work, but does. There are some excellent lines in this game, and if you've ever experienced depression or some from of mental illness, you might find comfort in what this game has to say. It is a story that'll stick with you for years to come.
This is in no small part to Susie Brann as Alice and Roger Jackson as the Cheshire Cat. Though the entire voice cast does an excellent job.
In fact, the whole sound design of this game is great. Besides the voice acting, the sound effects are punchy which is important for this kind of third person shooter. Special attention should also be given to Chris Vrenna's soundtrack. Many people know about Trent Reznor composing the music for Quake 1, but not as many people know Chris Vrenna's work on Alice. And they should. His work really heightens the mood of some these levels. This game is downright sinister in places thanks to his music.
In terms of graphics, this game uses the Quake III engine to great effect. In a time when video games were beginning to veer towards brown and realism that would come to dominate the industry, American McGee's Alice shows just what the Quake III engine could do, with its greens and blues and reds. But the major heavy lifting of the game's graphics come from the art style, which Tim Burton absolutely ripped off for his Disney movies. Though it could be argued that American McGee was imitating Burton's style. Either way, you're gonna get Hot Topic merch.
So good story, good music, good characters, and good graphics. How's the gameplay? While admittedly the weakest aspect of the game, it's still excellent. Alice controls great on the ground, and all of the weapons are fun to use and you can really bring the pain. My personal favorite weapon is the ice staff. It's a good thing the weapons are so good, because you'll need all the help you can get. This is a hard game. Fortunately, you can quicksave, and this game seems to be built around it. Alice has some of that old Doom and Quake DNA and it's better for it. Unfortunately, this game relies on a lot of platforming which just isn't that fun to control. Banjo Kazooie this ain't. However, it never bothered me to the point that it made me want to stop.
Sadly, this game can be awful to get running on modern hardware. Not that modern computers can't run it. Merely that EA has decided not to sell it. Thankfully, you can access it still if you buy a copy of Alice: Madness Returns on Steam or the EA app. I'll have a link at the bottom of this review with instructions on how to set it up.
You might have to jump through a few hurdles to get it working, but it's worth your time. American McGee's Alice is a work from a real auteur, which is quite rare in this medium. The fact that it was published by EA makes it all the more unique. I say give it a shot.
How to get American McGee's Alice working on modern systems:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2881785983
2023
So, after finishing World Tour Mode, several of the characters arcade mode stories, and getting myself to Gold ranking online, I feel like I can comfortably say something about this game. And what I can say about this game is that it's a massive return to form for Capcom fighting games, which had been in a slump since I would say about 2012 or so.
This game is a love letter to fans of Capcom games. The World Tour mode is stuffed with easter eggs and references to past games. Heck, past games are baked into it. Players have access to several games from Capcom's back catalog just by playing Street Fighter 6. The World Tour mode builds on the RPG mechanics of Street Fighter Alpha 3's PS1 port, and it also lets you create and customize your own fighter, mixing and matching various fighting styles from the main roster. Just being in the world of Street Fighter, as a longterm fan of the series, was a real treat.
The Battle Hub attempts to recreate what going to the arcade must have been like back in the day. I was too young for those days, but if it was anything like Battle Hub, it must have been a special time.
In terms of graphics and art, these are some of my favorite versions of these characters. Capcom tastefully aged up the World Warriors, and I love the hip hop inspired graffiti art style. The balance and matchmaking are on point. Some rightfully complain about the game's microtransactions, but it's all priced in a comparative way to other fighters. I'm not sure how else you would get other fighters into the game other than doing what Capcom did in the past and do re-releases of the game, and I personally don't like the idea. Capcom has consistently refused to give away new characters. Nor should they be expected to give them away.
The game also sounds great. The hits sound really meaty, and when you land counters. it really sounds like it hurts. I also love the music. It's probably the second best OST in the whole series.
The storyline sets up for interesting twists that are sure to built on in later updates and entries, but as it stands right now, this is probably the best fighting game in a very long time. While I don't think it'll unseat Third Strike in terms of popularity, I think it could very well join its ranks and see tournament play well past its viability. The future is bright for this series.
This game is a love letter to fans of Capcom games. The World Tour mode is stuffed with easter eggs and references to past games. Heck, past games are baked into it. Players have access to several games from Capcom's back catalog just by playing Street Fighter 6. The World Tour mode builds on the RPG mechanics of Street Fighter Alpha 3's PS1 port, and it also lets you create and customize your own fighter, mixing and matching various fighting styles from the main roster. Just being in the world of Street Fighter, as a longterm fan of the series, was a real treat.
The Battle Hub attempts to recreate what going to the arcade must have been like back in the day. I was too young for those days, but if it was anything like Battle Hub, it must have been a special time.
In terms of graphics and art, these are some of my favorite versions of these characters. Capcom tastefully aged up the World Warriors, and I love the hip hop inspired graffiti art style. The balance and matchmaking are on point. Some rightfully complain about the game's microtransactions, but it's all priced in a comparative way to other fighters. I'm not sure how else you would get other fighters into the game other than doing what Capcom did in the past and do re-releases of the game, and I personally don't like the idea. Capcom has consistently refused to give away new characters. Nor should they be expected to give them away.
The game also sounds great. The hits sound really meaty, and when you land counters. it really sounds like it hurts. I also love the music. It's probably the second best OST in the whole series.
The storyline sets up for interesting twists that are sure to built on in later updates and entries, but as it stands right now, this is probably the best fighting game in a very long time. While I don't think it'll unseat Third Strike in terms of popularity, I think it could very well join its ranks and see tournament play well past its viability. The future is bright for this series.
1998
This is where Tekken really begins. Everyone got the lead out of their shoes, and compared to the first two games, Tekken 3 is blindingly fast. It's also really fun. It's stuffed with features that will have you coming back for more continuously. On Playstation, this game could actually hit 480i. Which is impressive for 1998. Every other Tekken has tried to capture the magic of this one, with decidedly mixed results. This game however is a certified classic. A game so good, it killed Virtua Fighter's relevancy outside of Japan. Even without the extra features of the PS1 version, it's a fantastic game. With Tekken Ball and the Beat-Em-Up side content, it becomes one of the greatest fighting games ever. Street Fighter 2, 3, 4, Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 1, Marvel vs, Capcom 2, and Tekken 3. These are the most important games in the genre, in my opinion. So what are you waiting for? Enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament. Enter the Tekken.
2016
With Gears of War: E-Day announced recently at the time of this writing, I have taken it upon myself to play through all the mainline Gears of War games, with Gears Tactics possibly being on the docket, as well. I played through Gears of War 1 through 3 in a marathon in 2016, but this is my first experience with the world and its characters as told through The Coalition, the studio that took over after Epic Games sold their soul to the devil to make Fortnite.
Overall, it was a pretty decent shooter. There were some decent innovations to the combat, such as grabbing your enemies out of cover and vaulting over cover. There were even some truly inspired set-pieces involving mech suits. The story itself seems to be progressing in a logical way from where Gears of War 3 left off. Humanity is 25 years removed from the Locust War, and while the newly reformed COG continues its regime, many live outside that society as Outsiders, scrounging off the remnants of the old civilization to survive. One such person is JD Fenix, son of the legendary Marcus Fenix, who has abandoned the COG. JD and his friend Del joined up with a group led by a woman named Reyna. One day, while scavenging with Reyna's daughter Kait and Reyna's brother Oscar, they learn that COG civilians and cities have been disappearing mysteriously. This creeping, dreadful presence, a pack of monsters similar to the Locust known as the Swarm, attack Kait's village and abduct her mother. So it's up to JD, Del, and Kait to save Reyna and avenge the village. Along the way, they'll encounter old friends and learn some pretty horrific truths.
It's such good setup, but unfortunately, that's all it is. It's set up for other games. Without spoiling too much, not much is resolved in this game. Hopefully, we'll get more answers in Gears 5. That lack of a resolution and the attention to worldbuilding results in uneven pacing in terms of gameplay sadly. The first two acts of the game are fighting robots, and while they are fun to kill, I don't think that's why people play these games. By the time we truly shift into 2nd gear in terms of action, the game is basically over, and we never truly get into third gear. Which is unfortunate. Insufferable MCU-like quips from JD, Del, and Kait aside, I still found them likable, and I genuinely want to know more about what's going to happen.
Because of that lack of pacing, the game, while about as long as the other Gears games, feels longer, particularly around chapter 3 or so. It becomes a bit of slog. After about hour 4, the game stops introducing new enemies, and there's very little variation in the combat after that, save for those mech fights which were admittedly very fun.
Graphically, this game was top notch for 2016. A real chance for the Xbox One to flex its muscles. Music and sound and voice acting are sharp all around. Many characters from the first trilogy of games are back and still in top form, and I don't think Laura Bailey's ever turned in a bad performance, and her turn as Kait is no exception. Still sucks they killed Anya offscreen, though. I would be remiss however to say that during my time with the PC version, the cutscene sound would desync from the cutscene sometimes. It was like watching a badly dubbed Japanese monster film from the 1960s at times. Thankfully, restarting from the last checkpoint would fix it, so it wasn't that big a deal.
So the gameplay gets tedious and annoying at times, the story has great set up but no pay off, and the PC port has the odd glitch every now again. By rights, this should be a 3.5 out of 5, but I'm giving it a 4 because I really enjoy Gears of War 4's multiplayer. One thing you can never fault Gears for is its commitment to co-op. Horde Mode is excellent still, and there really is no other online multiplayer shooter like Gears of War. I've liked the multiplayer in all these games.
So, I say give it a shot. It goes on sale all the time on the Xbox games store, and it's on Game Pass, too. While it could have been better, The Coalition proved to me that they are much more competent as shepherds of Gears of War than 343 Industries are as the keepers of Halo.
Overall, it was a pretty decent shooter. There were some decent innovations to the combat, such as grabbing your enemies out of cover and vaulting over cover. There were even some truly inspired set-pieces involving mech suits. The story itself seems to be progressing in a logical way from where Gears of War 3 left off. Humanity is 25 years removed from the Locust War, and while the newly reformed COG continues its regime, many live outside that society as Outsiders, scrounging off the remnants of the old civilization to survive. One such person is JD Fenix, son of the legendary Marcus Fenix, who has abandoned the COG. JD and his friend Del joined up with a group led by a woman named Reyna. One day, while scavenging with Reyna's daughter Kait and Reyna's brother Oscar, they learn that COG civilians and cities have been disappearing mysteriously. This creeping, dreadful presence, a pack of monsters similar to the Locust known as the Swarm, attack Kait's village and abduct her mother. So it's up to JD, Del, and Kait to save Reyna and avenge the village. Along the way, they'll encounter old friends and learn some pretty horrific truths.
It's such good setup, but unfortunately, that's all it is. It's set up for other games. Without spoiling too much, not much is resolved in this game. Hopefully, we'll get more answers in Gears 5. That lack of a resolution and the attention to worldbuilding results in uneven pacing in terms of gameplay sadly. The first two acts of the game are fighting robots, and while they are fun to kill, I don't think that's why people play these games. By the time we truly shift into 2nd gear in terms of action, the game is basically over, and we never truly get into third gear. Which is unfortunate. Insufferable MCU-like quips from JD, Del, and Kait aside, I still found them likable, and I genuinely want to know more about what's going to happen.
Because of that lack of pacing, the game, while about as long as the other Gears games, feels longer, particularly around chapter 3 or so. It becomes a bit of slog. After about hour 4, the game stops introducing new enemies, and there's very little variation in the combat after that, save for those mech fights which were admittedly very fun.
Graphically, this game was top notch for 2016. A real chance for the Xbox One to flex its muscles. Music and sound and voice acting are sharp all around. Many characters from the first trilogy of games are back and still in top form, and I don't think Laura Bailey's ever turned in a bad performance, and her turn as Kait is no exception. Still sucks they killed Anya offscreen, though. I would be remiss however to say that during my time with the PC version, the cutscene sound would desync from the cutscene sometimes. It was like watching a badly dubbed Japanese monster film from the 1960s at times. Thankfully, restarting from the last checkpoint would fix it, so it wasn't that big a deal.
So the gameplay gets tedious and annoying at times, the story has great set up but no pay off, and the PC port has the odd glitch every now again. By rights, this should be a 3.5 out of 5, but I'm giving it a 4 because I really enjoy Gears of War 4's multiplayer. One thing you can never fault Gears for is its commitment to co-op. Horde Mode is excellent still, and there really is no other online multiplayer shooter like Gears of War. I've liked the multiplayer in all these games.
So, I say give it a shot. It goes on sale all the time on the Xbox games store, and it's on Game Pass, too. While it could have been better, The Coalition proved to me that they are much more competent as shepherds of Gears of War than 343 Industries are as the keepers of Halo.
Shin Megami Tensei V was one of my favorite games of 2021. I'll be updating this review a little later once I have a little more time under my belt in it and it might go up and down. But you know, it could just my imagination, but it seems like it's more optimized on Switch compared to vanilla. Much of the plot beats are similar in the new route, but it's much better balanced. So far, at least.
This remake completely massacres the graphics. It's a shame. This would have been a perfect score if it wasn't for that. Because not only does the remake make the game much more playable than the GameCube original, it enhances it by adding a bunch of quality of life improvements. Collecting Triforce pieces in the original is a slog and a chore. Anyone that tells you otherwise is lying. So this game cutting down on that, while also making sailing a little less tedious to control, is amazing. But even then, I feel like this game is missing something compared to to its immediate two predecessors, and no amount of HD polish could have changed that.
I'll admit this is probably my least favorite 3D Zelda game, but that still means it's a wonderful experience with a lot to say about what it means to grow up and let go of the past.
Wind Waker's story, at least compared to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, is on the surface, nothing special. But in many regards, it's the culmination of what the series theming was trying to be since the days of Link's Awakening on the Game Boy. It's a love letter and warning about nostalgia. One can never truly go back to childhood innocence once it's been lost. The characters of Wind Waker show why. The King of Red Lions, Link, and Zelda understand the old adage that you can never go home again, and Ganondorf does not. Life is going to change you, and you can either accept the change, or you can wallow in bitterness. Judging from what I see online in the Zelda community, it's interesting that so many fans cite this as their favorite, yet seem to ignore the game's central message that it was trying to convey. So in that sense, maybe there's a little bit of Ganondorf in us all. This is perhaps the best Ganondorf has ever been in terms of being a sympathetic villain. These ideas of love, loss, nostalgia, and family would be explored much better in Mother 3, so it's interesting to see that Nintendo as a whole was examining these themes even in other franchises. I just feel like these themes could have been explored further. Wind Waker's development cycle was rushed due to Nintendo losing the console war that generation badly, even as early as 2002,
and I think it shows in the final product. Excellent ideas that should have been given more time to breathe just sort of wither and die on the vine. Which is unfortunate. Given how emotional the previous two games were, a chance to explore what happens after the world moves on from the end and what that means for a person and life is there. There are hints of what could have been in the final product, and so it makes me sad knowing there was so much left on the cutting room floor. But what we have left is still better than about 90 percent of games.
In terms of combat, the series would arguably peak here with its QTE counter mechanic. Twilight Princess would innovate on it, but never truly surpass it, and Skyward Sword and the Switch games would veer off into other directions. While I personally prefer the other directions, I can understand why someone would prefer Wind Waker's approach. The dungeons in this game are a lot of fun, but again, due to the rushjob of its development cycle, there's obviously places where there should be a dungeon, but there isn't. Thankfully, what we got is still great dungeon design. Unfortunately, this game is also far too easy. Don't ask me what the game over screen looks like. I never saw it. I get that this game was designed with kids in mind, especially compared to even earlier games, but even when I was 10, I still thought it was really easy.
Musically, this is one of the series' better entries, and if you know anything about Zelda, that's high praise. The sound effects that the series uses even today would make their debut here, as well. As mentioned before, the remake butchers the graphics, but that's not because of the art style. I was one of those kids that wanted the realistic Zelda game. After the Lord of the Rings movies came out, 10 year old me wanted Zelda to look like that. But current year me now looks at the art style of Wind Waker with kindness. The game's art timeless. The characters are so expressive in this game. Link in Wind Waker especially has a certain level of sass that you don't normally see from him. It's in large part due to the art style, which as stated before, holds up remarkably well. If you boot up Wind Waker in Dolphin now and upscale the resolution, it could pass for a modern game. Graphically, it didn't really need any overhauls. The remake, with its overuse bloom effects, already looks dated in comparison.
That being said, I really, REALLY hope Nintendo puts this out on Switch before they call it quits with the console. Preferably with an option to turn it back into the old graphics. Wind Waker is a tower of good game design, and everyone should absolutely play it.
I'll admit this is probably my least favorite 3D Zelda game, but that still means it's a wonderful experience with a lot to say about what it means to grow up and let go of the past.
Wind Waker's story, at least compared to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, is on the surface, nothing special. But in many regards, it's the culmination of what the series theming was trying to be since the days of Link's Awakening on the Game Boy. It's a love letter and warning about nostalgia. One can never truly go back to childhood innocence once it's been lost. The characters of Wind Waker show why. The King of Red Lions, Link, and Zelda understand the old adage that you can never go home again, and Ganondorf does not. Life is going to change you, and you can either accept the change, or you can wallow in bitterness. Judging from what I see online in the Zelda community, it's interesting that so many fans cite this as their favorite, yet seem to ignore the game's central message that it was trying to convey. So in that sense, maybe there's a little bit of Ganondorf in us all. This is perhaps the best Ganondorf has ever been in terms of being a sympathetic villain. These ideas of love, loss, nostalgia, and family would be explored much better in Mother 3, so it's interesting to see that Nintendo as a whole was examining these themes even in other franchises. I just feel like these themes could have been explored further. Wind Waker's development cycle was rushed due to Nintendo losing the console war that generation badly, even as early as 2002,
and I think it shows in the final product. Excellent ideas that should have been given more time to breathe just sort of wither and die on the vine. Which is unfortunate. Given how emotional the previous two games were, a chance to explore what happens after the world moves on from the end and what that means for a person and life is there. There are hints of what could have been in the final product, and so it makes me sad knowing there was so much left on the cutting room floor. But what we have left is still better than about 90 percent of games.
In terms of combat, the series would arguably peak here with its QTE counter mechanic. Twilight Princess would innovate on it, but never truly surpass it, and Skyward Sword and the Switch games would veer off into other directions. While I personally prefer the other directions, I can understand why someone would prefer Wind Waker's approach. The dungeons in this game are a lot of fun, but again, due to the rushjob of its development cycle, there's obviously places where there should be a dungeon, but there isn't. Thankfully, what we got is still great dungeon design. Unfortunately, this game is also far too easy. Don't ask me what the game over screen looks like. I never saw it. I get that this game was designed with kids in mind, especially compared to even earlier games, but even when I was 10, I still thought it was really easy.
Musically, this is one of the series' better entries, and if you know anything about Zelda, that's high praise. The sound effects that the series uses even today would make their debut here, as well. As mentioned before, the remake butchers the graphics, but that's not because of the art style. I was one of those kids that wanted the realistic Zelda game. After the Lord of the Rings movies came out, 10 year old me wanted Zelda to look like that. But current year me now looks at the art style of Wind Waker with kindness. The game's art timeless. The characters are so expressive in this game. Link in Wind Waker especially has a certain level of sass that you don't normally see from him. It's in large part due to the art style, which as stated before, holds up remarkably well. If you boot up Wind Waker in Dolphin now and upscale the resolution, it could pass for a modern game. Graphically, it didn't really need any overhauls. The remake, with its overuse bloom effects, already looks dated in comparison.
That being said, I really, REALLY hope Nintendo puts this out on Switch before they call it quits with the console. Preferably with an option to turn it back into the old graphics. Wind Waker is a tower of good game design, and everyone should absolutely play it.
2010
It's fascinating what 10 bucks can buy you these days. That's how much I paid for this game at a retro game store about a week ago. What 10 bucks bought me on my trip this time is an ambitious but ultimately flawed God of War clone. People on youtube says it's more than a God of War clone. No offense to those wonderful people, but they're wrong, at least from a narrative standpoint.
Visceral Games aped God of War to a tee, right down to changing Dante's backstory from a poet to a warrior. True, the real Dante did participate in a cavalry charge when he was younger, but he wasn't a crusader or a warrior with some kind of murderous, tragic backstory. That was taken from God of War.
By some imitating God of War in this manner, the game somehow manages to be more sexist than the actual 14th century poem. In the poem, it's Beatrice's intercession from Heaven on the behalf of Dante that allows him to have this journey. It's a very complex and lovely relationship. EA and Visceral took that and made her into a Damsel in Distress that needs to be saved from Satan or she'll cuck Dante in the afterlife. I expect this level of storytelling from Super Mario Brothers. The devs made Beatrice into Princess Peach, and for that, they should be truly and deeply ashamed.
They try to weave moral complexity into this game's story by letting you absolve or punish the damned Dante finds. This doesn't make any sense in Christian theology. If a person is in hell, that's that. No prayers can reach them there and they are damned for eternity. They lost their chance to be redeemed. To disagree would be to go against God's judgment. At least, that's what Dante argues in the poem, itself. As for punishing them, I'm still baffled what that even means. They're damned for all eternity. What else can you do to hurt them?
So we have a butchery of the source material in some regards and a backwards understand of the morality the poem espouses. So, narratively, it's weak. What redeeming factors can be found? Well, graphically speaking, it's a fantastic looking game. It's a marvel to behold. And what I mean by that it's disgusting and grotesque, just the way it should be. In particular, the interpretation of Cerberus is like a mixture of H.R Giger and Hieronymous Bosch' styles. Also, some of the Circles are really lovingly rendered, thanks in no small part to the work of Wayne Barlowe on the game. Go Google him. He does good work.
From a sound perspective, the voice acting, music, and sound effects are all top notch for 2010. Graham McTavish absolutely kills it as Dante, but special credit should also be given to Bart McCarthy and his turn as Virgil.
In terms of Gameplay, it plays very similar to God of War circa the Greek era of games. Light attack, heavy attack, block, dodge counter, use magic, get XP for levelling up skills, and QTEs galore. However, Dante's Inferno does innovate by having ridable beasts as well as relics that you can find that allow you to tailor your play style to your liking, making it much more of an RPG than God of War ever was in the Greek era. Unfortunately, the game has a lot of instant death traps that will get first time players that make certain platforming and puzzle sections more obnoxious than they needed to be. Also, it's clear that the team ran out of money at some point, because some circles are way shorter than others, with Geryon being reduced to a statue, and the 8th Circle, Fraud, being just a gauntlet of challenge rooms. As a fan of the poem, this is disappointing because I would have loved to have seen the flatterers, sowers of discord, Simoniacs, sorcerers, counselors of fraud, and hypocrites sections of the Malebranche rendered in this art style. There was also a missed opportunity to have a boss fight with the Malebranche.
I would be remiss to not mention the Trials of St. Lucia DLC. In addition to giving you an extra playable character in the form of St. Lucy (which is awesome), the game let you make your own levels and share them online. Sadly, the servers were closed in December 2023. Still, St. Lucy adds some much needed replayability. If you have an Xbox One or Series X, I'd say pick up that DLC. If I owned a newer Xbox, that's what I would have played it on, because on newer consoles, you can play in 1080p with 60 FPS.
Dante's Inferno sadly didn't sell well enough for a sequel. Maybe if EA didn't blow all their money on one of the most ridiculous marketing campaigns in the history of gaming, and instead gave Visceral the money they needed to actually finish the game, we'd be singing a different song. It makes the "to be continued" ending all the sadder. While the story is a wash, there were nuggets there that were interesting that would have motivated me to buy a sequel, not to mention seeing what Mt. Purgatory and Paradise might have looked like in this art style. In addition, the gameplay has some innovations on Greek era God of War that make it at least okay to play. It's definitely worth the 10 dollars or so it goes for in the year of our Lord 2024, but just be aware that it might not be to everyone's taste. Go and play it, and remember: "In His Will is Our Peace."
Visceral Games aped God of War to a tee, right down to changing Dante's backstory from a poet to a warrior. True, the real Dante did participate in a cavalry charge when he was younger, but he wasn't a crusader or a warrior with some kind of murderous, tragic backstory. That was taken from God of War.
By some imitating God of War in this manner, the game somehow manages to be more sexist than the actual 14th century poem. In the poem, it's Beatrice's intercession from Heaven on the behalf of Dante that allows him to have this journey. It's a very complex and lovely relationship. EA and Visceral took that and made her into a Damsel in Distress that needs to be saved from Satan or she'll cuck Dante in the afterlife. I expect this level of storytelling from Super Mario Brothers. The devs made Beatrice into Princess Peach, and for that, they should be truly and deeply ashamed.
They try to weave moral complexity into this game's story by letting you absolve or punish the damned Dante finds. This doesn't make any sense in Christian theology. If a person is in hell, that's that. No prayers can reach them there and they are damned for eternity. They lost their chance to be redeemed. To disagree would be to go against God's judgment. At least, that's what Dante argues in the poem, itself. As for punishing them, I'm still baffled what that even means. They're damned for all eternity. What else can you do to hurt them?
So we have a butchery of the source material in some regards and a backwards understand of the morality the poem espouses. So, narratively, it's weak. What redeeming factors can be found? Well, graphically speaking, it's a fantastic looking game. It's a marvel to behold. And what I mean by that it's disgusting and grotesque, just the way it should be. In particular, the interpretation of Cerberus is like a mixture of H.R Giger and Hieronymous Bosch' styles. Also, some of the Circles are really lovingly rendered, thanks in no small part to the work of Wayne Barlowe on the game. Go Google him. He does good work.
From a sound perspective, the voice acting, music, and sound effects are all top notch for 2010. Graham McTavish absolutely kills it as Dante, but special credit should also be given to Bart McCarthy and his turn as Virgil.
In terms of Gameplay, it plays very similar to God of War circa the Greek era of games. Light attack, heavy attack, block, dodge counter, use magic, get XP for levelling up skills, and QTEs galore. However, Dante's Inferno does innovate by having ridable beasts as well as relics that you can find that allow you to tailor your play style to your liking, making it much more of an RPG than God of War ever was in the Greek era. Unfortunately, the game has a lot of instant death traps that will get first time players that make certain platforming and puzzle sections more obnoxious than they needed to be. Also, it's clear that the team ran out of money at some point, because some circles are way shorter than others, with Geryon being reduced to a statue, and the 8th Circle, Fraud, being just a gauntlet of challenge rooms. As a fan of the poem, this is disappointing because I would have loved to have seen the flatterers, sowers of discord, Simoniacs, sorcerers, counselors of fraud, and hypocrites sections of the Malebranche rendered in this art style. There was also a missed opportunity to have a boss fight with the Malebranche.
I would be remiss to not mention the Trials of St. Lucia DLC. In addition to giving you an extra playable character in the form of St. Lucy (which is awesome), the game let you make your own levels and share them online. Sadly, the servers were closed in December 2023. Still, St. Lucy adds some much needed replayability. If you have an Xbox One or Series X, I'd say pick up that DLC. If I owned a newer Xbox, that's what I would have played it on, because on newer consoles, you can play in 1080p with 60 FPS.
Dante's Inferno sadly didn't sell well enough for a sequel. Maybe if EA didn't blow all their money on one of the most ridiculous marketing campaigns in the history of gaming, and instead gave Visceral the money they needed to actually finish the game, we'd be singing a different song. It makes the "to be continued" ending all the sadder. While the story is a wash, there were nuggets there that were interesting that would have motivated me to buy a sequel, not to mention seeing what Mt. Purgatory and Paradise might have looked like in this art style. In addition, the gameplay has some innovations on Greek era God of War that make it at least okay to play. It's definitely worth the 10 dollars or so it goes for in the year of our Lord 2024, but just be aware that it might not be to everyone's taste. Go and play it, and remember: "In His Will is Our Peace."
This is gonna sound harsh, but it's because I care. Know that what I say comes from a place of love. I love Thousand-Year Door. It's one of my favorite GameCube games. If you look here, you'll see that I named the original release my Eastern RPG of the Year for 2004:
https://www.backloggd.com/u/jamz92/list/eastern-rpg-of-the-year/
That being said, what a shitshow of a remake.
The more I play of this game, the less I like it compared to the GameCube release. Everything is so much SLOWER than the original. At the time I am reviewing this, there's no way to speed up the text scroll speed like there is in the original. Given how chatty this game is, that's a real problem.
Levelling up is significantly slower. When you levelled up in the original, your HP and FP were instantly filled. Now, it ticks up slowly. It acts like you were at zero, even if you were full.
The game runs at 30 FPS, whereas the GameCube version ran at 60 FPS. I assumed that better tech specs meant better performance, but I guess not. The graphics are way too glossy for the tone the original was trying to convey. I HATE the remixed music. Thankfully you can turn it off with a badge that is cheap, but I would prefer to have it in the options. So we have a worse looking, worse sounding, worse performing game that wastes your time compared to the original that costs more than the GameCube game originally did. I say wait for a price drop, or better yet, emulate the original. Don't incentivize Nintendo to cut corners like this with their own history. I haven't seen such a botched remake out of this company since the Diamond and Pearl remakes on Switch.
https://www.backloggd.com/u/jamz92/list/eastern-rpg-of-the-year/
That being said, what a shitshow of a remake.
The more I play of this game, the less I like it compared to the GameCube release. Everything is so much SLOWER than the original. At the time I am reviewing this, there's no way to speed up the text scroll speed like there is in the original. Given how chatty this game is, that's a real problem.
Levelling up is significantly slower. When you levelled up in the original, your HP and FP were instantly filled. Now, it ticks up slowly. It acts like you were at zero, even if you were full.
The game runs at 30 FPS, whereas the GameCube version ran at 60 FPS. I assumed that better tech specs meant better performance, but I guess not. The graphics are way too glossy for the tone the original was trying to convey. I HATE the remixed music. Thankfully you can turn it off with a badge that is cheap, but I would prefer to have it in the options. So we have a worse looking, worse sounding, worse performing game that wastes your time compared to the original that costs more than the GameCube game originally did. I say wait for a price drop, or better yet, emulate the original. Don't incentivize Nintendo to cut corners like this with their own history. I haven't seen such a botched remake out of this company since the Diamond and Pearl remakes on Switch.
1998
I have heard that many people say that survival horror and the roleplaying game genres don't mix. I heavily disagree. Sweet Home, arguably the first ever survival horror, was also an RPG. These two genres have been married since the beginning, but few manage to capture the best aspects of both genres the way Parasite Eve does.
Set in December 1997, the plot, which is a direct sequel to the novel of the same name, follows NYPD officer Aya Brea and her partner Daniel as they try solve the case of Melissa, a woman possessed by a mitochondrial entity known as Eve, who burns the audience of the New York Metropolitan Opera on Christmas Eve. What follows is a twisting tale that is one part hard science fiction, one part David Cronenberg horror, one part buddy cop film, one part kaiju monster film, and one part stat grinding RPG. It's a wonderful amalgamation the likes of which would never be made in today's video game climate.
Graphically, this game still holds up when it's upscaled. Character models, while low poly, have a certain charm and liveliness to them, in no small part thanks to Tetsuya Nomura's art style. Nomura, in my opinion, has always been a good character designer, despite his quirks, and Parasite Eve as a series is easily some of his best work. This is also some of Yoko Shimomura's best work as a composer. This was one of the first times she had access to disc based media for composition, and she made an extra effort to craft something special.
In terms of gameplay, it's a real time system where you pause and issue commands. It's very similar to a Final Fantasy game, but unlike the Final Fantasies of the era, all combat takes place on the field. It might seem basic at first, but there's a shocking amount of depth, especially when one gets into the gun modification aspect of the combat.
It was also one of the the first horror games to ditch tank controls. It proved that you didn't need tank controls to make a horror game. If I had a few complaints, it's that the game can a be a little unfair in its final segments. In particular, escaping the final boss after you defeat it is annoying, especially because if it captures you, it's game over, and you have to fight him all over, and this is from the era that you can't skip cutscenes. The translation of the game isn't the best either at times, but it's still better than what Capcom was doing with Resident Evil at the time.
There is no other game like Parasite Eve. Even its sequels play nothing like this game. If you like horror games, RPG games, or just sci-fi horror, you owe it to yourself to at least try it. I say pick it up off PSN before the PS3 store is taken down permanently, whenever that may be.
Side note, every time they said "mitochondria", I thought "It's the powerhouse of the cell" like I was some kind of sleeper agent and that was my killphrase. Thanks, American Public School System.
Set in December 1997, the plot, which is a direct sequel to the novel of the same name, follows NYPD officer Aya Brea and her partner Daniel as they try solve the case of Melissa, a woman possessed by a mitochondrial entity known as Eve, who burns the audience of the New York Metropolitan Opera on Christmas Eve. What follows is a twisting tale that is one part hard science fiction, one part David Cronenberg horror, one part buddy cop film, one part kaiju monster film, and one part stat grinding RPG. It's a wonderful amalgamation the likes of which would never be made in today's video game climate.
Graphically, this game still holds up when it's upscaled. Character models, while low poly, have a certain charm and liveliness to them, in no small part thanks to Tetsuya Nomura's art style. Nomura, in my opinion, has always been a good character designer, despite his quirks, and Parasite Eve as a series is easily some of his best work. This is also some of Yoko Shimomura's best work as a composer. This was one of the first times she had access to disc based media for composition, and she made an extra effort to craft something special.
In terms of gameplay, it's a real time system where you pause and issue commands. It's very similar to a Final Fantasy game, but unlike the Final Fantasies of the era, all combat takes place on the field. It might seem basic at first, but there's a shocking amount of depth, especially when one gets into the gun modification aspect of the combat.
It was also one of the the first horror games to ditch tank controls. It proved that you didn't need tank controls to make a horror game. If I had a few complaints, it's that the game can a be a little unfair in its final segments. In particular, escaping the final boss after you defeat it is annoying, especially because if it captures you, it's game over, and you have to fight him all over, and this is from the era that you can't skip cutscenes. The translation of the game isn't the best either at times, but it's still better than what Capcom was doing with Resident Evil at the time.
There is no other game like Parasite Eve. Even its sequels play nothing like this game. If you like horror games, RPG games, or just sci-fi horror, you owe it to yourself to at least try it. I say pick it up off PSN before the PS3 store is taken down permanently, whenever that may be.
Side note, every time they said "mitochondria", I thought "It's the powerhouse of the cell" like I was some kind of sleeper agent and that was my killphrase. Thanks, American Public School System.
2019
What a treat this was. I didn't think it was possible, but Capcom did it again. In my opinion, Resident Evil 2 Remake makes the original game obsolete. Immaculate controls, superb puzzle design, and graphics that hold up amazingly well, even 5 years after its release. What really impressed though was that it was able to take the plot of Resident Evil 2 and really got me to care about the characters in a way the original could not. It took the premise of the original and really built on it.
On top of that, the game is legitimately scary, which I know is a very subjective thing. While the scariest game in the series, in my opinion, is Resident Evil 7, this is a very close second. It's even better on a second playthrough. After beating Clair's campaign, I cleared Leon's in just one weekend, which is lightening fast for me. I can't recommend this game enough.
On top of that, the game is legitimately scary, which I know is a very subjective thing. While the scariest game in the series, in my opinion, is Resident Evil 7, this is a very close second. It's even better on a second playthrough. After beating Clair's campaign, I cleared Leon's in just one weekend, which is lightening fast for me. I can't recommend this game enough.
I have been playing this game off and on since 2011, and it's finally finished. What a great game. It's like Ocarina of Time mixed with the exploration of Metroid. A really interesting story about the illusion of free choice and fate. It was written and directed by Amy Hennig, and in my opinion, her prose here, while flowery, is way more interesting than what she penned for the Uncharted series. Graphics were unparalleled for the time. It technically shouldn't even be possible to have these graphics on the original Playstation, but they were able to push past the limitations of the console. I played on Dreamcast though, and in my opinion, it's the definitive version, at least until the PC port comes back to Steam and GOG. The soundtrack is incredible. One listen to the game's theme song "Ozar Midrashim", and it will be in your head for the rest of your life.
So if I liked it so much, why only 4 and a half stars? Well, there's no in-game map, and in a Metroidvania, that makes it really easy to get lost. Super Metroid figured that out in 1994, so there is no excuse. The combat, while fun at first, lacks depth, as once you've figured it out, it stops being engaging and becomes more of an annoyance. Outside of the bosses, which are more like puzzles than actual fights, the combat does nothing of real note to add variety to its encounters. The game relies far, far too much on block puzzles for its own good. And lastly, there's the matter of the ending, or lack thereof. Anyone that's beaten this game can tell you Soul Reaver doesn't end so much as stop, with all of the payoff reserved for the second game. The narrative was nothing but buildup for a climax that just isn't there. Thankfully, it was good buildup. Perhaps, if Soul Raver 2 manages to stick the landing, I might come back and revise this to a perfect score.
As it stands now though, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is a solid action/adventure game with an engaging story, well-rounded, tragic characters, a gothic setting and world that is fun to explore, both in-game, and with analyzing the lore, fine combat and puzzles, and music that will keep you coming back for more. Play it on Dreamcast, Playstation, or PC. Play it any way you can, but just play it.
So if I liked it so much, why only 4 and a half stars? Well, there's no in-game map, and in a Metroidvania, that makes it really easy to get lost. Super Metroid figured that out in 1994, so there is no excuse. The combat, while fun at first, lacks depth, as once you've figured it out, it stops being engaging and becomes more of an annoyance. Outside of the bosses, which are more like puzzles than actual fights, the combat does nothing of real note to add variety to its encounters. The game relies far, far too much on block puzzles for its own good. And lastly, there's the matter of the ending, or lack thereof. Anyone that's beaten this game can tell you Soul Reaver doesn't end so much as stop, with all of the payoff reserved for the second game. The narrative was nothing but buildup for a climax that just isn't there. Thankfully, it was good buildup. Perhaps, if Soul Raver 2 manages to stick the landing, I might come back and revise this to a perfect score.
As it stands now though, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is a solid action/adventure game with an engaging story, well-rounded, tragic characters, a gothic setting and world that is fun to explore, both in-game, and with analyzing the lore, fine combat and puzzles, and music that will keep you coming back for more. Play it on Dreamcast, Playstation, or PC. Play it any way you can, but just play it.
TBD
Real EA Hate Hours