So I said I was going to post more, but I haven't been posting as much as I've wanted to. I've been too busy following #GamerGate.
It's just so entertaining, practically as entertaining as any AAA Game coming out these days, if not more. Half the time I'm looking through the hashtag all like:
And a lot of the time I'm listening to a video or stream from Sargon of Akkad or Oliver Campbell, either of which I could listen to for hours, and a lot of the time do so.
This comes as no surprise to me. I've been saying as much for years, though I don't recall if I have on this specific blog. I've been saying that I don't like the term "Metroidvania" as the game is clearly neither, it's Zelda II.
Granted, there are a fair amount of similarities between Metroid and Zelda to begin with. I noticed in a recent playthrough of Metroid Prime (still my favorite of the three) that it felt an awful lot like playing a Zelda game. Not just in the fact that you explore and you get health/armor/weapon upgrades by finding them, not by "leveling up," but in the almost zen-like experience when I was in the thick of the game, it felt almost Zelda-ish. The 3D Zelda game that was never made.
It then occurred to me that talks of a futuristic Zelda started around the time Metroid Prime came out. I can't be sure of that, since I first remember hearing it not long after Twilight Princess came out, which would put the conversations around the release of the 3rd Metroid Prime game, but I can't help but wonder if it was a result of Metroid Prime creating a hunger for Sci-Fi Zelda-ish-ness that the rest of the Prime series didn't satisfy.
So a week ago I decided I needed some new music, and found that Dragonforce came out with a new album:
Their second album since the sad departure of ZP Theart, It continues the tradition of being frickin' amazing! I have to admit, their new guy, Marc Hudson, is pretty dang good.
The first three tracks: The Game, Tomorrow's Kings, and No More continue to be what I call "standard Dragonforce."It's fast, it's loud, it sounds pretty much like all the rest. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and the songs are growing on me like they usually do, but with a new album, I expect something new.
Fortunately the next few songs of the album deliver the "new." Three Hammers, while not nearly as awesome as Cry Thunder from their previous album, is still fantastic.
Symphony of the Night (no, really) just made me all sorts of squee. First of all, it's got harpsichord and organ (which won me over right there) and has a fairlyRhapsody of Fire feel to it, and a definite "Castlevania" feel, while still being very much Dragonforce.
The Sun is Dead gets the award for "If you hadn't told me this was a Dragonforce song I wouldn't have guessed it was." It's not bad at all, it just has more of a Progressive Rock feel than Heavy Metal.
Defenders, while having a similar feel to "Standard Dragonforce" gets a special mention for having a chord progression extremely similar to Heart of the Storm from the previous album.`
The other complaint you'll hear about Dragonforce other than "it all sounds the same" is that it's "video game music." Now this is usually said in reference to the fact that playing the songs is "impossible" outside of a studio. Not only is this blatantly untrue (Twilight Dementia might have something to say about that) but it's insulting to dismiss it out of hand.
Anyway, my point with all this is that Extraction Zone at one point during the bridge literally turns into video game-esque beeps and boops. It's hilarious.
City of Gold is actually another song that sounds pretty much like any other Dragonforce song. Not much else to really say about it.
Ring of Fire is pretty much everything you would expect from Dragonforce doing a cover on the Johnny Cash classic. It's not like when Blind Guardian does Surfin USA or when Hammerfall does My Sharona, it doesn't even try to imitate the original. It's very much the Dragonforce version of Ring of Fire. It's also the first Cover Dragonforce has done on their non-"Special Edition" albums.
Speaking of: I did buy the Special Edition for this album. I don't really have anything to say about any of the bonus tracks; nothing really that stands out, other than You're not alone being very much the "rock ballad" of the album. And the fact that Galactic Astro Domination may seem familiar:
So yeah, if you're a Dragonforce fan, pick up this album. It's worth it.
I suppose I'll make a blog post on this debacle, considering I'm blogging again and this is still somehow something that's being talked about after a month. A month, that's like 30 years in internet time.
(I love how he's looking at the cat)
If you've managed to get this far and haven't heard about Zoe Quinn and #gamergate, I suggest this video as a primer:
So, Zoe Quinn, the unattractive troll who slept her way into recognition and lied her way onto Steam. What is there to say that really hasn't been said already? You can follow the video to its Youtube page where there are many, many videos about the issue.
So the game industry and journalism is corrupt?
I've seen game after game get 9s and 10s for no conceivable reason. Games that are terrible in a great many senses of the word. I guess one thing to say, if you're going to take something away from this, is always, always, always look at the negative reviews. And look at the user reviews, ignore the industry stooges.
(oh, and FYI, don't pay any attention to metacritic. People haven't taken it seriously for like 6 years, and I never did.)
Gaming journalism is part of the marketing arm of the games industry. This should be obvious. There are a great many games being made that are outright terrible, but they have graphics, so they get sold. They're like Michael Bay movies. Yes, they look pretty, but I'm not wasting my money on them because they're not good Sure, every now and then an average quality game comes out and people (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻, butthat, unfortunately, is the exception, rather than the rule.
Anyway, back on topic:
I think the real reasonfor the madness of #gamergate stems from gamers' reaction from feminism's intrusion into games. People are extremely shocked to see the lies, cover-ups, and just plain corruption rampant in the world applied to something they are invested in.
And yes, I mean feminism, not non-whites, women, or other minorities. People with claims of "mysogyny" and other deflecting, like claiming that everyone who opposes the corruption is a virgin straight white male neckbeard troll spawned in 4chan are the exact reason that #notyourshield was born.
Anyway, I've talked enough about this, and I've hopefully given you enough resources for a starting point to gather your own facts and come to your own conclusions. (please, don't take my word for anything, I'm just some random blogger on the internet.)
In case you haven't heard in the past Month and a half, this movie is flippin' fantastic.
I just got back from watching it, and wow, I say WOW! I'm just completely blown away by this movie.
If you can't tell by the poster, trailers, or anything else you may have seen about the movie, This is a complete and utter 80's space opera science fiction popcorn movie blast. In fact, the trailers and promotional material will probably tell you everything you need to know. If anything about this sounds like something you don't want to see, then by all means skip this movie. If you think the concept of a walking tree and a talking Raccoon is completely dumb, then by all means skip this movie.
If, on the other hand, this sounds awesome like it did to me, or even if you just find it mildly interesting, I'd suggest seeing this movie. Several times. With friends if possible.
It's not a perfect movie, but This is easily the best movie I've seen this year (granted, there's not a whole lot of competition in that regard) and easily the best Marvel movie I've seen yet. (Better than the Avengers. Yeah.)
Remember that: It's a Marvel movie. It's not Inception, It's not The Dark Knight, and it's not Watchmen. The story is predictable, (I don't think there's anything that happens that I didn't call ahead of time,) it's not (remotely) cerebral, and there's nothing really new about it, and it's not breaking into any new territory.
The thing is, the movie is good enough that I just don't care about any of that.
Also, bear in mind that all of the criticisms of this movie can also be said of Star Wars: A new hope. A movie which, unsurprisingly, this movie feels a lot like, and obviously lifts heavily from (the inside of the main character's ship, The (Alyssa) Milano seems awfully similar to the inside of The Millenium Falcon for example.
In short, (TL;DR) this is by no means a perfect movie, but if you think you might like this movie, go see it. If you are merely interested, go see it. Heck, even if you think you won't like it and you just want to see what all the fuss is about, go see it anyway so you can annoy everyone you know by nitpicking it to death.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a strange urge to watch Spaceballs again.
We interrupt this silence to give you this special report:
Hoe. Lee. CRAP!
This game looks like it will actually be good. I mean, of course it does, because Nintendo's not making it. The more I learn about this game, the more I think that it might actually be worth the $300-$500 to buy a Wii U. Just for this ONE freakin' game.
I can only hope that this game outsells that other game coming out with the Zelda IP, because this is far, far closer to what people have been asking for.
I don't care if it is just a Dynasty Warrior game with a Zelda skin; Still a Better Zelda Game than Spirit Tracks.
Just imagine my surprise when a game comes to my attention, a game based in 16-bit/Snes-era graphics and gameplay, a side-scrolling Shmup that has all the markings of the classics like R-type and Gradius.
Which is tricky, because it in many ways it is the game I want to make. Hydorah is the trap that I fear falling into, and that I must be wary of if I am to make Gravitus a reality.
This game is too hard. While I applaud any difficulty, and love the feeling of a challenge, I simply don't get that with this game. All I get is frustration.
Total props go to the design, (back)story of the game, and other obviously well thought-out aspects of the game. The problem that I have is the type of game that it tries to be.
I don't want the dying-in-one-hit super hard arcade-like games, I want the SNES Console type games. I want games that have leeway for error (because they don't get money by making you put in more coins) and that allow you to play your way, to some extent.
I want a game where making one mistake doesn't mean I have to start over, but that still punishes me if I'm acting stupid.
I understand the reasoning for the save feature, but I feel that a game like this would do far better to have a password system instead. (ideally, neither will be found in Gravitus)
Anyway, my somewhat-makes-sense-rambling will have to wait for another time. I'll post more on this later (if I feel like it ;p)
Sometimes I think Nintendo is purposefully trying to troll me.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Have you ever been abandoned by your childhood hero? Have you ever seen what was once great fall from grace so completely so as to become almost unrecognizable as the greatness it once was?
I have been struck by a perverse apathy as of late. I feel it is only fitting that I mention what has, at least temporarily, shaken me out of it.
It's in the mail, so we have yet to see if the purchase was remotely worth it. I happend upon this find while wondering why on earth Amazon thinks I would want to purchase this abomination:
I hate this thing. I despise all that it represents, and I loathe everything about what the series "The Legend of Zelda" has become.
I still feel a deep, burning rage every time I remember that the current producer of the Zelda series is the guy in charge of the infernal Water temple from Ocarina of Time. A man who has admitted to not only never finishing the original Zelda games, but being unable to kill the octoroks. This is the man in charge of the future of the series. This man, whose experience of video games comes from Japanese PC 'adventure' games.
I must admit that Skyward Sword actually managed to be not terrible, though still vastly undeserving of its name Although, every time I see its art style, I am always reminded of something.
Nonetheless, The Legend of Zelda and Theology looks promising, and I hope to post again soon with my thoughts on it.
I've posted this song before on this blog, it's probably my favorite one out off all my music. It's been incredible how much help it's been, and how it's almost been prophetic in my life right now. I post this in the hope that maybe one of you reading this might also be helped by it.
For the 25th anniversary of the Zelda series, Nintendo has released the "Hyrule Historia," a book detailing development, official art, and most importantly, the relation of the games to one another.
Every fan of Nintendo should be rejoicing. Every non fan of Nintendo should be rejoicing. Every cynical, jaded, former Nintendo fan should be rejoicing.
I made a post earlier about Gravitus, a video game currently in development. You may be wondering, what is Gravitus?
Gravitus is a 2D side-scrolling space-shooter. I describe it as "Starfox, but in 2D," though in reality I draw inspiration from many different shoot-em-up games (shmups).
While still very early in development, I do have an exclusive super-secret-special-pre-alpha gameplay screenshot!
It's not much, I know, but I do wish to improve. I've got actual plans for this game. I don't want this to simply be something that I run out of steam halfway through and ends up not happening. I want this to be a complete and full game, and I plan on actually trying to sell this thing. For money. To this end, I've actually written down my ideas for what I want to do with this game, and have included them below. This list is extremely tentative and subject to change on a whim.
Goals for Gravitus
blue for alpha, red for beta,black for final
Ship
-new sprite
-fix physics
-Shooting mechanics
--bullet sprite
--'fire' sound effect
--as many as you can fire when you hit the button, but slower fire for holding down button
-death event
--sound
--animation
-'Do a barrel roll'
Level 1
-Background
--New image
--scrolling
-Music
-enemies
--More enemies, better sprites
--Yet More enemies, better sprites, and more variety
While the 25th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series had a prominent presence at the beginning of Nintendo’s E3 press conference, Skyward Sword was barely mentioned. Due out this year, we haven’t heard much lately on the progress of Link’s next adventure
Oh, of course not, that would ruin the "surprise."
Sorry, please continue.
While the 25th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series had a prominent presence at the beginning of Nintendo’s E3 press conference, Skyward Sword was barely mentioned. Due out this year, we haven’t heard much lately on the progress of Link’s next adventure. Despite the lack of updates, the upcoming Wii title was playable on the show floor in the form of a new demo. I got a chance today to try out three different sections of the game - a bird riding race, a dungeon area, and a boss fight.
Bird riding was a fun segment that featured Link out of his standard adventuring garb. He resembled the farmer version from Twilight Princess, and was participating in a high-flying race for a trophy. It starts with the four participants diving off a cliff, followed by grasping and mounting a giant bird. Shaking the Wii remote makes the bird fly higher into the clouds, and the A button activates a speed boost system not unlike Epona’s carrots from previous games. Your objective is to reach a bird that’s carrying a trophy before any of your opponents, and they’ll eventually get more aggressive. After my first win, my fellow riders started shooting eggs back at me in an effort to slow my progress. Upon catching it the second time, I was treated to a cutscene of Link and an impressed Zelda flying off atop the bird.
And then they break out into song!
I can show you the woooorld...
Yes, I've missed impressing an non-princess Zelda by flying around on a bird. I haven't done that in a Zelda game since...
Wait, what?
Second on the agenda was the dungeon demo. This allowed me to experience more traditional Zelda gameplay, with a focus on finding keys, using items to solve puzzles, and defeating enemies. Like in Ocarina of Time’s Deku Tree, giant Skulltulas drop down from the ceiling if you get too close. Unlike those, however, there’s no immediate way to attack their weak spot. Destroying them is a mini-puzzle in itself, and it first requires you to snip their line of web with the flying beetle item. Once they’ve fallen to the ground, they’re still protected by their hard shell. Thanks to the added control afforded by MotionPlus, you can hold the sword near the ground and pop the enemy up to expose their weak point. A few stabs and a dramatic finishing move later, and they’ll be defeated.
You read that right, folks, flip it over and attack it's weak spot for massive damage!
Giant Enemy Spider! Actually happened in ancient Hyrule
After disposing of several of these Skulltulas, I started searching for a key. Flying my beetle around exposed a switch that opened a door, leading me to another puzzle. A gate guarded a treasure chest, and three ominous wall-mounted eyes watched me as I got close. They’d follow the movements of my sword like a haunted house portrait, but would quickly shut if I aimed at them with my bow. Looking around the room, I spotted a box hanging from the ceiling. I cut it down with the beetle, shoved it near the eyes, and stood on top. Now that I was close enough, all three eyes were open and following my sword. I still couldn’t shoot at them, so I spun my sword around in circles. After a few rotations, the eyes got dizzy, turned red, and disappeared. The gate opened, and I received the key I was looking for.
Such innovation! I haven's seen something like this since...
since...
Mario 64!
And it was obvious then, too!
The final section of the demo was a boss battle that relied very heavily on directional sword swipes and well-timed blocks. It was a ghostly white female, although it wasn’t clear what species in the Zelda universe she was. Rather than the immediate action of many Zelda boss fights, this woman slowly made her way towards Link. Her hand followed the movements of my blade, and she would catch it whenever I attempted to strike her. I learned that I had to get her hand set in a specific location, then quickly alter the direction of my swipe and get the upper hand.
Okay, first things first.
That's a dude. I know because in Japanese media there's generally two indicators of gender. Usually rather large, round, and obvious indicators.
Secondly, I assume the 'species' is the same as the sword-fairy-master sword-girl from the concept art.
After striking her numerous times in this manner, she started backing up and throwing projectiles at me in lines of five. I initially dodged them by jumping to the side, but you can also deflect them with your sword if you swipe accurately enough to hit all of them at once. The boss started charging me, and I got another chance to get some hits in after parrying with my shield as the strike approached. When she finally fell, it felt like I had played an entirely different boss fight than any of the dozens I’ve encountered before in the Zelda series.
See, this sounds fun, and it very well could surprise me, but really it just sounds annoying and boring. Why can't I have more than one way to attack enemies?
Gamers have complained for years that Zelda is a franchise content to rely on an age-old formula. You may be collecting keys, taking on bosses, exploring dungeons, and pushing blocks again in Skyward Sword, but the 1:1 MotionPlus swordplay really does make a difference. Many encounters with standard enemies feel like miniature puzzles in their own right, as you have to perform actions like flipping the spider on his back before you can take it out. With a new take on enemy encounters, a visually pleasing art style, real-time weapon switching, and fantastic motion controls, Skyward Sword looks to be a great addition to the Zelda lineage.
Why would I want enemy encounters to be miniature puzzles? I don't want puzzles, I want mechanics. Like raid bosses in World of Warcraft. Like a good boss fight.
Why is it that people complain about the boring dungeons, (because they're full of boring, tedious puzzles) so the solution Aonuma comes up with is to make the overworld like one giant dungeon? To make the boring puzzles into enemy encounters?
Why is it that the solution to 'you only use items once' is to make that stupid flying Beetleborg morpher used for everything? It's like the seagulls in Wind Waker, and I didn't think that those were worth revisiting.
I really don't think motion controls will impact the gameplay that much (considering how most of the complaints about the formula aren't centered around pushing B to swing your sword) and I sincerely hope that this game bombs just as bad or worse than the atrocity known as Spirit Tracks.
I don't know if I should be screaming in rage or laughing my head off about this game. At least Spirit Tracks made that distinction obvious.
