Game On: Defense Grid: Awakening

Today's Game is Defense Grid: Awakening. Why? Because I just beat it, that's why! 'Course, since this is a downloadable title, and a rather old one, this review will be a bit shorter than my others.

In a Nutshell

Assisted by an AI, you must stave off waves of aliens by placing defense towers to prevent the aliens from stealing power cores. 

 

Story

Surprisingly, this game is not just a series of maps with spots to put down towers and impede an alien horde, there is a story that is told while you play, and it is surprisingly good, considering the type of game. Basically,your AI partner was a person whose consciousness was put in a computer to help people defend the planet from aliens. The characterization is solid and likeable enough and the story itself never detracts from the gameplay and, in fact, adds a lot of character to this game.

Gameplay

Well, it's a tower defense game. You have spots where you can build towers, an entry point and an exit point, a place with your power cores and enemies walk through the map, using the shortest route possible and try to grab the cores before exiting the map. It's fairly simple. What's nice is that there is a good mix of maps, ranging from simple maps with one exit from which enemies come and go from, tower spots on both sides of the road and your power cores at the other end to more complex maps where you must build towers to create a maze to prevent the enemies from getting to the power core straight away.

As far as challenge goes, this game has a nice learning curve, starting with simpler levels and adding in new towers and features every level until you're given the full set and then adding complexity to the maps with several sub-areas of free tower placement linked by bridges, multi-level maps or maps with two streams of enemies simultaneously. Around the end, it ends up being quite challenging and every map has several challenges to be complete. For example, completing a map without using certain towers or with a limited budget or even with completely different rule sets. Add in leaderboards and there's a lot of incentive to play through again, if only to beat your friends' scores.

Presentation

The game's graphics are nice. There's definitely a nice stylization with each tower looking distinctly different, enemies looking like the role they're filling up, etc. The maps themselves also look very nice and they each have their own background, which really helps set the mood of the game and map. From giant dams to frozen facilities to the heart of the alien invasion, there really is a nice variety for the visuals. The music is okay, it's not particularly memorable, but it's not bad either. I can't say I really ever paid attention to it, it's not very loud or a very big part of the game, it's just there for mood.

Verdict

This is a very entertaining title that might not reinvent tower defense games but certainly puts its own spin to it. If you like tower defense games or are just looking for a nice strategy title for $10, you might want to look at Defense Grid. I give it a Quite fun rating. It's a must buy if you love Tower Defense games 9though, you probably already have it if you love them.)

Game On: Final Fantasy XIII-2

Yes, I'm still alive, i was just a bit busy lately with stuff, like this new game.

Today's game is Final Fantasy XIII-2 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. I've been cooking this review a bit more, thinking about the game. I got the platinum trophy, so i think I'm ready to give my opinion now.

Surprisingly, those are a man and a woman.

In a Nutshell
History changed right as FFXIII ended and Lightning's survival from the ending has been rewritten. Her sister and friends decide to go on a magical time adventure to find her, fixing the timeline where they can.

Should you travel through time and space?

Story
Okay, I'm gonna keep this as spoiler free as possible, i want these reviews to be useful without giving away too much. In a word, the story is adequate, in my mind. It hits some good points, some not so good points, sadly the ending is very... unsatisfying.

Now, of course, I'll have to admit two things. First, i really liked Final Fantasy XIII, it's characters and setting and those are still there, so I kinda started knowing I'd like at least some parts of it, namely the setting and, if they show up, the characters from the previous game. Secondly, i have a soft spot for Final Fantasy and JRPGs in general, so those kind of stories usually hit higher notes than for some people who despise those.

That being said, I think this game has competent storytelling, although it has some plot holes and things that are possibly left unexplained until some DLC drops. Without the DLC, though, I guess I'll have to say it's a definite con for the story. Basically, it's about time travel, resolving paradoxes and trying to find their way to Lightning, but getting embroiled in a plot that threatens the world. You know, because otherwise the stakes aren't high enough.

The main problem with the game's story is that a lot of it seems like it was left behind so it could be sold in DLC later. Ignoring that, it flows well enough while still leaving you room to explore the sidequests that litter the game world, which actually tie in with the main storyline quite nicely. The Characters have understandable motivations in general, are well written and acted enough that I got attached to them and wanted to know more about their backstories and such. I never really felt like the story was particularly bad until the very end, where it just ends on such a bad note.

Sadly, there just aren't as many main characters and interesting backstory as in FFXIII, since it focuses mostly on Noel and Caius, the new characters for this game. Of course, at the same time, Square-Enix definitely seems to have responded to the fans regarding "annoying kid characters", so that's certainly something nice. A lot of the setting is still told through menus and is still completely optional, which I think is a nice feature, not boring people with world-building if they don't care, but still leaving that option open.

On the whole, even though this game has steeper odds than the previous one, it doesn't manage to hit the same sense of wonder through the story, doesn't have as many characters or as much setting information, but still manages to be competent with what it is. This isn't a story that detracts from the game, but not one that enriches the experience as much as the previous game.

Exciting numbers action!

Gameplay
This is where the game really lies, the Gameplay. This time, Square-Enix really addressed the main complaints of linearity by giving us a very complex "Time Map", more open areas, side quests peppered throughout the game, towns and such. A lot of care was put in making amends for what so many found outrageously bad in the first game, and they did it rather well.

What was praised from the first game was fine tuned. The battle system featuring paradigms, an abundance of automated commands with a focus on macromanaging over micromanaging is back and better than ever,  adding a monster taming and growing system, letting you pick 3 monsters to fill the 3rd party member spot and letting you fine tune your.paradigms, affecting how your party reacts to enemy parties.

As for the weapon upgrading part from the previous game, it's more or less gone, replaced by the monster upgrading system. there is now only one shop, a woman named Chocolina that shows up in every era and area, for no real discernible reason.

Sadly, not all has been as drastically improved as you'd think. The maps are reused between eras with changes in where you can go and where you can't go, enemy composition and quests, but they're still essentially the same maps. i found there was a distinct lack in dungeons. There are a few wide open areas, but only 2 or 3 areas you could consider similar to "dungeons", only 2 with any puzzle elements to them. Everything else didn't feel like closed spaces, which might have been what they were going for. Still, I like dungeons and thought a few more places, dungeons of some kind, labyrinthine and puzzle-filled, would've scratched an itch I have with RPGs.

The gameplay is pretty solid, fun, the battle system is extremely nice and it's great they kept it and fine-tuned it. The monster taming really helps with the replayability since you can raise a very wide variety of monsters to help you and experiment with a vast array of strategies. The main problems with the first game are also solved as well as they could, though it doesn't completely please me.

Visit exciting areas on the back of a giant bird!

Presentation
Final Fantasy games look and sound amazing, most of the time. This is no exception. The areas you explored are very well-crafted, the different time periods also look often very different, giving the same maps a different character entirely. From treacherous mountains plunged in darkness to a massive megalopolis, from the vast plains of Pulse to the cramped jungle of Coccoon, there really is a lot of variety in the places and times you explore.it's really a feast for the eyes whenever you explore a new areas or an old area in a new time period.

The music is very good as well, though some may... disagree with some tracks, such as the metal remix of the chocobo theme, which I found simply hilarious. But there is a variety of different themes for each area and for events of varying emotional impact. Surprisingly, a lot of the areas have vocal songs that serve to give some backstory to those who listen closely. One song in particular bathes an area in melancholy, really helping with the atmosphere of the world, while simultaneously linking it to a character. The way it comes together is nothing short of amazing.

Now, the character design is... Well, it's a bit as you expect from knowing this is a JRPG with designs by Tetsuya Nomura. The designs are not very practical, putting aesthetics in the forefront. i'm not a fan, and really, it's a bit silly to see Noel's clothes, his pants so baggy, they're basically a skirt, contrasted to Serah, who has two completely separate pant legs and a minidress. Of course, this pales in comparison to the main villain, Caius, featured on the box art. i'd say he's probably the most menacing villain with pink highlights. Sadly, the character design clashes with the characters themselves, which i found detracted a bit from the rest of the visual presentation. I guess nothing's perfect.

In the end, the presentation is top notch as usual, with great visuals and great music, only slightly marred by the character design that is typical of current JRPG trends.

Were the details from FFXIII that bugged you exterminated?

Verdict
This is a rather good game that has, as it's biggest flaw, in my mind, it's reliance on future DLC to tell the full story. Otherwise it's a very pretty game with a very interesting spin on traditional JRPG combat that goes further than it's predecessor. Now, should you buy it?

If you disliked the combat system from FFXIII, this game probably won't charm you back, but if you liked FFXIII even a little bit, you should probably check this one out, Square-Enix really tried to make amends and, in my opinion, succeeded to a good enough extent. This is Quite a Fun game, you might want to rent it and, if you like it, purchase it, as a lot of DLC is planned.

Movie Time: Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance

This week's movie is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Sigh.

Drive Angrier 3D: On Fire Edition

This movie was a complete disappointment, since I really, really enjoy Nic Cage in basically everything. I would go see Space Ass, Starring Nicholas Cage. But this? This was awful and disappointing, to an extent that even Nic Cage didn't save it for me. My dad thought this was Drive Angry 2, i wish it were Drive Angry 2.

In a Nutshell
In this reboot of Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze must save the antichrist from the devil or else... bad stuff will happen. Also Nic Cage is on fire and a skeleton. Thankfully, it doesn't prevent him from making crazy faces.

The Rant
Ooh boy, where to begin here? I guess I'll begin with the points from the movie I liked.

I liked the 3 or so animated featurettes for back story. They were really neat-looking and occasionally, a bit funny. They were a great way to pass back story, too, just narrated by Nic Cage with some moving comic book-style screens illustrating it, it was just so neat!

I also liked the scenes with the rider, the way he moved sometimes was just so nightmarish and pretty awesome, the CG work was pretty good and really sold the Rider as an evil demon-like entity. i just love how he moved and cackled and swung his chains like a madman, incinerating baddies. Those were neat scenes.

Lastly, there's a scene where Nic Cage drives a motorcycle really fast and spazzes out, making crazy faces. That was a highlight. Seriously. I think that says a lot about this movie.

And now, for a summary of the bad. I'll try to be concise because it's always better to focus on the good than the bad, but in this case, the bad vastly outweighs the good. Where to begin...

The main antagonist is completely silly-looking. It's like the people behind the movie didn't bother coming up with anything original and just stole their design for a bad guy off Stargate Atlantis. Seriously, the bad guy is a Wraith from Stargate Atlantis. Except he doesn't look as good.

The camera work. The shots were often weird, starting backwards then going forward again before panning, there was some shaky camera work at times, which is never pleasant in a 3d film. Speaking of which, the 3D was not mindblowing or, you know, necessary. At all. It wasn't noticeable, which is usally a good thing, but it wasn't really used except in a few scenes that were just silly. I did not feel like the extra money for 3D was well spent on my end, that's for sure.

Scenes were often extremely ridiculous, but not in a good way, because they were just loosely strung together. it felt kinda like those video games where you go from the Ice Stage to the Volcano Stage to the Graveyard Stage without any real transition. The movie starts with the kid escaping, then he gets caught, then he gets away, then he gets caught, then he gets saved, then he gets caught again. it's just a constant series of the kid changing hands.

There's a scene where a black Frenchman priest shoots up politicians who are actually satanists while reciting latin verses He's a one dimensional character and yet he shines the brightest in the film as far as characters go. He's black, French, a priest and he likes alcohol. Also he's an action priest because this is a superhero movie. That is the most well-developped character in the film, and he is still one-dimensional as hell.

Speaking of characters, so often the characters just act stupidly. It's annoying when The Devil is outwitted by a stunt jumper and his drunk priest friend. It's annoying when a movie teahces rules at one point only to break them overtly later on as if to say "Ha! You thought that think i said a few scenes back still holds? Wrong, sucker!" It's annoying when a movie relies on a Deus Ex Machina for a happy ending. And this game? It does these three things several times, and it's awful for it.

And finally a minor nitpick: The order of ancient monks tattooed English bible verses on their faces. They lived in Turkey and were Catholic monks...

The Score
This movie is terrible, it's not terrible enough to really be funny, it's just awful. it has a few neat scenes, but it's just completely ridiculous, especially since it tries to be a serious, heavy film about an anti hero. I give this movie one crazy Nic Cage face out of 5.

Not the funniest face from that scene, but the only one I could find.

Movie Time: Chronicle

This Week's movie was Chronicle.

with the power of stable camerawork

Ah, another movie I enjoyed a lot, though i sort of expected to like it, seeing how I have a soft spot for found footage movies, superhero movies and such. I found it to be a very interesting take on a popular genre. Without further ado, the review.

In a Nutshell

Three high school students are given telekinesis powers, including one with a very crappy life who films everything.  The film is presented only with footage from cameras in the scene without resorting to "shakycam".

The Rant
Again, I don't have much to rant about negatively, this is gonna be a mostly positive rant. Although, I guess I can start with the negative. I felt uncomfortable about how Andrew, the main character and cameraman, was treated. I really empathized with him, I guess. Some scenes were a bit difficult to watch, even. It made the third act a bit heartbreaking, to see the character grow and then just go in the wrong direction...

First of all, I think the way the movie was filmed is great. Every camera is a physical camera, either operated by Andrew, Casey or just security cams at some points, to follow the action. It's a really neat way to present a movie, at any rate. It's sort of how they should've gone with District 9, all the way. Second thing about the camerawork is that there is very little "shakycam" and some scenes with what looks like standard camera work, framing and such, because Andrew uses his power to operate the camera and does it very well.

I really liked how the characters had nice arcs, were well played, interesting. This was a very good movie acting-wise, I thought.A movie with believable characters that grew, had motivations, were well-rounded... It was nice. There's not a moment where you think "Why would he do that?", everything is presented in a way that makes sense.

One of the problems with the film, though, is the CGI. It was a bit conspicuous at times. It didn't really fool me when they were moving some stuff or juggling. The flying, though, wasn't bad at all, it's mostly when dealing with small objects they had trouble, I thought. Maybe they didn't focus on those as much as the big stuff. It's not a very big flaw, at any rate.

Another thing I liked a bit less about the movie is how it ends, I thought the conclusion could have been a bit longer, a bit more explanatory, but on the other hand, it was well done nonetheless. It was an ending I was not satisfied with but worked for the movie.

Lastly, I think the powers were neat and the way they developed them was cool, it wasn't like you'd see in other similar movies where they basically master the powers off-camera and then use them to fight crimes. This was all about learning how to use them, what they could do, what they couldn't. It's not like other superhero films, and I liked that. It was original, it was really a "What if people really did get powers" sort of deal.

The Score

This is a very entertaining movie with believable, interesting and well played characters, and it's about super powers, something everyone fantasized about. I give it a "Very Entertaining" out of 10 and suggest you see this movie if you like teenagers with powers and don't hate found footage, even without the shakycam. Probably my favorite movie of the year so far.    

Game On: Catherine

So, my new year's resolution was to review every game i beat, so as to leave something behind, or something. I'm not sure why i decided on that, what I do know is that I'm doing it.

I'm making it happen.

Today's game is Catherine, on the PS3.

Totally not hentai, I swear.

In a Nutshell

Vincent Brooks is a 32-year old software engineer who's been going out with Katherine McBride for some time. Then Catherine, with a C, comes up in his life and he has an affair. While this is happening, he is plagued by nightmares in which he must climb an incredibly tall tower that crumbles below his feet.

Ever had one of those nights? Waking up next to an attractive stranger...

Story

The story is one of the strong points for this game. in fact, about half the game is set in the Stray Sheep bar and consists of mainly talking to people, having a drink, putting some tunes on the jukebox or playing the arcade. The characters are rather interesting, I certainly was interested in each of the characters' problems and troubles. The story is interesting in that your actions affect it, the choices you make actually matter in this one, even though it uses a simple bar for your "moral choices". Taking a page from Persona, the side characters' issues are interesting and develop as you get acquainted with them, and their fate is in your hands.

The actual plot itself is not standard fare, not by a longshot. This is a story about relationships, it's a game about choices, and about people and their everyday challenges.it's actually very well handled, making for a very different game story. Of course, that's one half of the story. The other half is the supernatural side of things, which was handled a bit more badly. Around the end of the game, at least, following the path I did, the disconnect between the mundane and supernatural was very jarring. Catherine is a strange game with a plot and gameply that could be separated and made into two distinct games, one about relationships, one about the supernatural. It simply is a bit jarring how the two connect, but at the same time, it makes for a very interesting mix. The frontier between the two is constantly blurred as the mundane and supernatural sides of the story constantly meet each other.

Another point of note is how your choices affect the story and ending. This is a game with quite a few different endings, depending on your choices throughout the game, and not one with a single good ending, a bad ending depending on whether you were baby eatingly evil or puppy pettingly good.

All in all, the story is something I didn't see before and it was handled in a very interesting, compelling way. The characters are interesting and draw you in while the supernatural and mundane world have their frontiers blur and move the story forward.

Exciting bar action

Gameplay

Catherine is both a bit of a "visual novel" style game and an action-puzzle game. I'm mostly going to focus on the action-puzzle part because, well, Visual Novels may be fun, there's not much gameplay-wise to really talk about. Basically, you have to climb towers of blocks, that slowly fall, forcing you to hurry up. Those tower segments could be compared to Jenga, in that you have to push and pull blocks, without toppling the whole thing and making progress impossible.

The game starts off easy, but difficulty ramps up as you're expected to come up with various climbing techniques, deal with various special blocks and examine situations over pulling random blocks. The result is a rather challenging game, one that always sends new situations your way and is never lacking in challenge or variety. Completing each stage nets you a rank, from Bronze to Gold, which adds a reason to return to each stage, consider also the fact that there is an "Arcade" Mode featuring randomly-generated towers, and a puzzle mode, the Arcade Game Rapunzel, which gives you levels that have to be completed a certain way, with limited moves and you have a puzzle game with all the trimmings, one that doesn't lack replay value. Especially when you compound the various different endings, the trophy/achievements and leaderboards... This is a well-rounded game.

As for the visual novel-style parts, they succeed in developing characters and story alike and making your choices feel like they have weight, like they matter to the storyline. Plus, it's nice to see how people answered the various questions asked throughout the nightmare levels.

In general, this is a fun game that feels fresh and doesn't lack meat around the bone.

"Fucking blocks, I'm gonna climb the shit out of you!"

Presentation

Over all, the game has a very typical Atlus look, upscaled for the new generation of consoles. The characters all have very nice designs that don't look too much like the Persona games, which is a nice change of pace. The nightmare levels, however, give off a very nice vibe of mysticism, with symbols and metaphors everywhere. The blocks themselves are crafted with sigils and columns and statues giving the appearance of a veritable tower of Babel. The various special blocks all show clearly what they do, from the unmovable dark blocks to the moving monster blocks, adorned with a toothy mouth.

Musically, we can recognize Shoji Meguro's work, who gives us a very nice soundtrack that mixes jazz with classical music depending on the situation. To be perfectly honest, i was a bit too preoccupied by the puzzles to really pay attention to the music, but it never felt out of place.

One thing I liked about the presentation was the nightmare levels showing you a map of the tower, with Vincent running in place as the stairs were drawn, in a way very reminiscent of Ghosts and Goblins. Even the first movement of the music for quite a few levels sounded like a jingle that reminded me of the Ghosts and Goblins music. It was a very nice little reference I quite enjoyed.

This game is a feast for the eyes without ever sacrificing clarity for style, this is a very good mix of style and substance, a game that feels like it should, with a good dose of graphical flair. This is certainly on par with other Atlus games.

Should we follow the herd on this one?

Verdict

All in all, this is an entertaining game that tackles themes you rarely see in video games, and does so much more tastefully than you'd expect by just looking at the box art. It's a very interesting, deep and somewhat addicting puzzle game wrapped in a story that can be played out in several different ways. This is a game that's easy to learn, but hard to master. It's more than a novelty and i'd go so far as saying it's a Very Fun Game out of five. I would suggest buying it.

Movie Time: The Grey

This Week's movie was The Grey, starring Liam Neeson.

Taken, now with wolves!

Don't you just love it when you go see a movie with certain expectations, and then find out you were wrong about the movie? I do, especially when the movie exceeds my expectations. I was kind of expecting a regular old "people stuck in the wilderness, they survive on grit and courage alone", but instead, I got The Grey, a movie about Life, Death, Redemption and with wolves somewhere, but they're only important as a framing mechanism. And it's great, it's really working great, it's a tense movie that explores themes very well, with characters that feel real, even if sometimes the wolves don't.

In a Nutshell

Liam Neeson works for an oil company in deep Alaska to kill wolves while the workers toil. He has lost his wife, is alone and without a will to live. However, a plane crash he survives changes all that, putting the lives of the few survivors in his hands as wolves attack the intruders in their hunting grounds. Leading the survivors towards what he feels might be salvation, they are picked off one by one, all the while, the themes of life, death, their meanings and consequences are discussed candidly by men about to die, alone and cold in the Alaskan wilds.

The Rant

I don't have a lot to rant against here, i really enjoyed this movie, and the only real flaw is that, in some scenes, the wolves looked really fake. i don't know if they were CG, enhanced by CG or what, but they seemed fake. On the other hand, the wolves are often not seen at all, but merely made their presence felt, which was very unsettling. I liked the parallels between the wolves and the survivors, how it was made clear that, in order to survive, they needed to become wilder, more like wolves, but still clinging to their humanity.

I liked that no character was safe, that from point one, people died. in the crash, from wolves, characters were often developed and killed off without warning,either unable to go on or succumbing to an accident or their own failings. And yet, the movie did not feel distastefully morbid, the way death was treated in this film was very interesting. The way we see so many people die on screen, and yet it never felt gratuitous. It's always foreshadowed, the survivors are all, in a way, dead men walking.

There were a lot of very nice, unexpected scares. At some point after the plane crash, there's one obvious jump scare building, it's the only one you get in the movie. Every other scare is unexpected, or, rather, not telegraphed. A lot of times, you feel like everything is going to be more or less okay, but then BAM! everything goes wrong so quickly, it's startling, and it's something I feel we don't see often enough in movies. It's like in conventional American cinema, startlings and jump scares need to be telegraphed. Not in The Grey. After all, wolves don't announce that they're going to maul you beforehand.

Lastly (I shouldn't have waited this long before reviewing), I guess I liked the ending, even though a lot of people may find it unsatisfying. I feel that it really worked amazingly, it really, in a way, summarized the entire movie, and without really showing anything, just letting us understand how it ends while the credits roll. A sort of... natural ending, I guess i'd call it? One that doesn't need to be shown to be understood, one that really summarizes the whole film by itself. And the scene after the credits really makes it seem like the credits covered the rest of the ending, letting us play it in our heads. Like I said, some might find it unsatisfying, I found it perfect. 'Course, it's not a good ending, but it's the one the film needed.

The Score

The Grey was a very entertaining, surprisingly deep movie where the titular wolves are not the main attraction but a framing mechanism, a means to have the story move forward. it's a movie about people, not wolves. I give it a "Surprisingly deep" out of 10.