This.
 |
| http://shop.capcom.com/store/capcomus/en_US/pd/ThemeID.1944700/productID.252962100/Street-Fighter-25th-Anniversary-Chess-Set.html?resid=UOCkxgoHArEAACOUsa8AAAA9&rests=1356899526177# A Street Fighter chess set. |
HHNNNNNGGG.
Sunday 30 December 2012
My Life is Lacking One Important Thing
Saturday 29 December 2012
Happy Holidays!
I hope everybody had fun and got what they wanted and enjoyed spending time with their families ^_^
I'm happy to report my brother got an Xbox 360 - but I will be the main holder of it given that he is only 4. Right now we only have a couple of Kinect games, but anyone who wants to, feel free to add my Gamertag: Bekabekabek.
I'm happy to report my brother got an Xbox 360 - but I will be the main holder of it given that he is only 4. Right now we only have a couple of Kinect games, but anyone who wants to, feel free to add my Gamertag: Bekabekabek.
Friday 21 December 2012
I Need to Stop Hiding Under a Rock
Why did nobody tell me about this!?
It looks amazing.
Absolutely can't wait xD
Thursday 20 December 2012
Merry Christmas!
The festivities are keeping me pretty busy at the moment, but I have just noticed this on Amazon, screamed like a girl, flailed my arms, cursed myself for having bought the 3DSXL on release and thought screw it I need a Christmas present for myself and then changed my mind. jkbg;uivagbjk rq.
I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE.
I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE.
 |
| http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A3Q1FSC/ref=s9_newr_gw_d63_g63_ir04?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_r=09GQ8510ZDM8T1EGYN0Y&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=317823447&pf_rd_i=468294 £169.99 |
Saturday 8 December 2012
The Games that Time Forgot Vol. 3: Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts is a reasonably little-known RPG published by Aruze (Midway for everybody outside of Japan) and released for the PS2 in 2001 (as quoted from my "What's Your Favourite Game?" post). In its series technically the second as it is the spiritual successor of the PS1 disappointment Koudelka and is succeeded by Shadow Hearts: Covenant and Shadow Hearts: From the New World. I remember when my dad took me to the local game store, Virtual Games, and he picked this up for himself. As a kid, I loved watching my dad play games -especially ones I was too scared to play myself - so I duly sat and watched as he pressed that blue wedged button and the PS2 obediently opened that noisy-ass disc tray.
And from the moment he started I was hooked.
The series for me is a bit hit-and-miss; I loathed Koudelka, loved Shadow Hearts, loathed SH: C and loved SH:FtNW. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the first and third games, they just don't tick the right boxes for me and I can't quite put my finger on it. To be honest, they are all worth a look-in, I just feel that these two games are a bit more "marmite" than the second and fourth titles. Anyway, on to the review.
What a difference a year can make in the gaming world. Everything about Shadow Hearts is better than the first title in the series (although it does have the advantage of being on a 'new' console). The main points I'll be looking at in this review are the battle system, mainly because it is my favourite feature of the game, and the story.
The story essentially follows the template boy (Yuri Hyuga) meets girl (Alice Elliot)l, boy falls in love with girl, boy falls in love with girl and protects her until the end. But it has fantastic twists and turns along the way, and despite this story being the main one, there are plenty of other stories in the game to follow that are just as in-depth as the main plot. Sacnoth - the company who developed the game - really did fantastically with the amount of story content in this game. Even the minor supporting characters have a detailed plot and they all link into the story so seamlessly. The game is set in the early 20th century in Europe and Asia, and is historically accurate in most places to my knowledge. The game also features a couple of cutscenes which are narratives performed by relevant characters which are optional but really enhance the context of the game. The amount of story in this game is definitely reflected in the amount of content - there are countless hours of things to do if you choose to follow sidequests. And even if you don't, there is still at least 30+ hours including the level grinding. The only issue I have with the sidequests is that most of them you have to look for them to find them. The game is split in to two halves, and once you progress, you cannot go back. If you want 100% completion, you will need a walkthrough.
Without giving away the plot, I will mention that Yuri is a harmonixer. That is, he can fuse with the souls of demons to become an awesome demon-human thing. There are many of these to unlock in the game (some are part of side-quests) and the final one is as cool as anything. There are 5 other controllable characters; Alice, the Adept Li Zhuzhen, the spy Margarete G. Zelle (who is named after a real accused spy, Gertrud Margarete Zelle), the woken vampire Keith Valentine (whose story is continued in the more recent games) and Hally Branckett (whose story is continued from Koudelka). Each of these characters has an element with a related special moveset, and each of them also has their own strand of sidequests, an ultimate weapon, armor and accessory, and a unique introduction into the story. They are also well-supported by the minor characters and it is just amazing seeing all these strands come together so perfectly. I can't say much more without giving parts of the story away, but I will say that this story is one that will put your feels through their paces, and then some.
The dialogue in the game is extensive - easily skipped for those who don't want to see it as it has no voiceover - and well translated and localised for the most part. There are a few errors in spelling and grammar here and there which do bug me to high heaven, but I'm willing to overlook them for the rhetoric quality. It is intelligent, emotive and satirical as well as being more obviously funny at times. Each character has a clear speech style and I think they have done really well to make sure you can tell the individual characters apart through their dialogue. The humour in this is broad enough to appeal to many audiences by being tongue-in-cheek, satirical, subtle, sarcastic, and shocking all in perfect moderation. Entertaining in every sense of the word.
The other feature I said I would discuss is the battle system. The system is turn-based, but not in the typical sense of the term such as in the Final Fantasy series. The outcome of your action is determined by your success on the "Judgement Ring". It's quite simple, but it really adds another dimension to turn-based gaming without having to incorporate a grid. You can choose to turn this feature off, but that removes the chance of a critical hit. It works by an indicator line sweeping around the ring which you have to aim to hit in the zones. There is the hit zone in orange and the strike zone in red which will offer you a higher chance of a critical hit. The ring can be modified with the help of Meiyuan, the (implied) homosexual acupuncturist. For melee attacks, missing a zone will simply remove one hit from your attack sequence, but in special attacks, missing a zone will completely negate the attack. For me, this feature is a total deal-maker. You feel totally in control of your actions. This feature is also used for the in-game lottery as well as some other situations like door-unlocking. It is like no other system I have come across before or since, and I think it is really well-implemented.
The level design in this game is striking, most notably in the dungeons which are both sprawling and plentiful. Graphically it isn't the best I must say, but it's a small price to pay for what you get from this game. One other thing worth mentioning is the soundtrack. Composed by Yoshitaka Hirota and Yasunori Mitsuda, it is an epic 2CD 70-song masterpiece. It is so atmospheric and very very well done. My personal favourites are ALICE and Vitamin Metropolis (both of which I have embedded at the bottom), but the whole thing is perfectly tailored to the game's environment. I really cannot speak highly enough of it. This game one was a life-changer for me and I have played it well over 10 times.
You can pick up a copy for around £30 which is quite a lot for a PS2 game, but given how rare it is nowadays it is worth getting if you can. I personally have 2 copies should one break. It is a must-play. In spite of its minor and sparse imperfections, I rate this game a perfect 10 and I believe everybody should play it at least once. Complete and total game-changer, and for me it set the bar for every RPG I have played since.
And from the moment he started I was hooked.
 |
| Left - Right: Koudelka (2000), Shadow Hearts (2001), Shadow Hearts: Covenant (2005), Shadow Hearts: From the New World (2007) |
The series for me is a bit hit-and-miss; I loathed Koudelka, loved Shadow Hearts, loathed SH: C and loved SH:FtNW. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the first and third games, they just don't tick the right boxes for me and I can't quite put my finger on it. To be honest, they are all worth a look-in, I just feel that these two games are a bit more "marmite" than the second and fourth titles. Anyway, on to the review.
Shadow Hearts
Rating: 10/10
What a difference a year can make in the gaming world. Everything about Shadow Hearts is better than the first title in the series (although it does have the advantage of being on a 'new' console). The main points I'll be looking at in this review are the battle system, mainly because it is my favourite feature of the game, and the story.
 |
| Yuri and Alice (This picture is actually from Covenant, but I couldn't find a decent one from the original game that wasn't the cover image on the packaging) |
The story essentially follows the template boy (Yuri Hyuga) meets girl (Alice Elliot)l, boy falls in love with girl, boy falls in love with girl and protects her until the end. But it has fantastic twists and turns along the way, and despite this story being the main one, there are plenty of other stories in the game to follow that are just as in-depth as the main plot. Sacnoth - the company who developed the game - really did fantastically with the amount of story content in this game. Even the minor supporting characters have a detailed plot and they all link into the story so seamlessly. The game is set in the early 20th century in Europe and Asia, and is historically accurate in most places to my knowledge. The game also features a couple of cutscenes which are narratives performed by relevant characters which are optional but really enhance the context of the game. The amount of story in this game is definitely reflected in the amount of content - there are countless hours of things to do if you choose to follow sidequests. And even if you don't, there is still at least 30+ hours including the level grinding. The only issue I have with the sidequests is that most of them you have to look for them to find them. The game is split in to two halves, and once you progress, you cannot go back. If you want 100% completion, you will need a walkthrough.
Without giving away the plot, I will mention that Yuri is a harmonixer. That is, he can fuse with the souls of demons to become an awesome demon-human thing. There are many of these to unlock in the game (some are part of side-quests) and the final one is as cool as anything. There are 5 other controllable characters; Alice, the Adept Li Zhuzhen, the spy Margarete G. Zelle (who is named after a real accused spy, Gertrud Margarete Zelle), the woken vampire Keith Valentine (whose story is continued in the more recent games) and Hally Branckett (whose story is continued from Koudelka). Each of these characters has an element with a related special moveset, and each of them also has their own strand of sidequests, an ultimate weapon, armor and accessory, and a unique introduction into the story. They are also well-supported by the minor characters and it is just amazing seeing all these strands come together so perfectly. I can't say much more without giving parts of the story away, but I will say that this story is one that will put your feels through their paces, and then some.
The dialogue in the game is extensive - easily skipped for those who don't want to see it as it has no voiceover - and well translated and localised for the most part. There are a few errors in spelling and grammar here and there which do bug me to high heaven, but I'm willing to overlook them for the rhetoric quality. It is intelligent, emotive and satirical as well as being more obviously funny at times. Each character has a clear speech style and I think they have done really well to make sure you can tell the individual characters apart through their dialogue. The humour in this is broad enough to appeal to many audiences by being tongue-in-cheek, satirical, subtle, sarcastic, and shocking all in perfect moderation. Entertaining in every sense of the word.
 |
| The Judgement Ring |
The other feature I said I would discuss is the battle system. The system is turn-based, but not in the typical sense of the term such as in the Final Fantasy series. The outcome of your action is determined by your success on the "Judgement Ring". It's quite simple, but it really adds another dimension to turn-based gaming without having to incorporate a grid. You can choose to turn this feature off, but that removes the chance of a critical hit. It works by an indicator line sweeping around the ring which you have to aim to hit in the zones. There is the hit zone in orange and the strike zone in red which will offer you a higher chance of a critical hit. The ring can be modified with the help of Meiyuan, the (implied) homosexual acupuncturist. For melee attacks, missing a zone will simply remove one hit from your attack sequence, but in special attacks, missing a zone will completely negate the attack. For me, this feature is a total deal-maker. You feel totally in control of your actions. This feature is also used for the in-game lottery as well as some other situations like door-unlocking. It is like no other system I have come across before or since, and I think it is really well-implemented.
The level design in this game is striking, most notably in the dungeons which are both sprawling and plentiful. Graphically it isn't the best I must say, but it's a small price to pay for what you get from this game. One other thing worth mentioning is the soundtrack. Composed by Yoshitaka Hirota and Yasunori Mitsuda, it is an epic 2CD 70-song masterpiece. It is so atmospheric and very very well done. My personal favourites are ALICE and Vitamin Metropolis (both of which I have embedded at the bottom), but the whole thing is perfectly tailored to the game's environment. I really cannot speak highly enough of it. This game one was a life-changer for me and I have played it well over 10 times.
You can pick up a copy for around £30 which is quite a lot for a PS2 game, but given how rare it is nowadays it is worth getting if you can. I personally have 2 copies should one break. It is a must-play. In spite of its minor and sparse imperfections, I rate this game a perfect 10 and I believe everybody should play it at least once. Complete and total game-changer, and for me it set the bar for every RPG I have played since.
ALICE - Alice's theme song
Vitamin Metropolis - London location theme song
Thursday 6 December 2012
Sorry
Hey there. Sorry about the lack of posting again. I've come down with a stomach bug and it's rendered me pretty lame (not to mention exhausted). I haven't been doing much in the way of gaming over the past couple of weeks, but I'm looking at posting a review in the next two or three days ^_^
For now, I just wanted to post the good news that I am applying for game-related courses at university, mostly programming orientated, and I'm pretty excited. I'll post more news about this as soon as I get it :)
For now, just sit tight and watch the posts roll in in a few days.
For now, I just wanted to post the good news that I am applying for game-related courses at university, mostly programming orientated, and I'm pretty excited. I'll post more news about this as soon as I get it :)
For now, just sit tight and watch the posts roll in in a few days.
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