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Fri, Dec. 7th, 2007, 12:18 pm
No More Sorrow
Ratchet & Clank: Tools Of Destruction
Ever since the very first Ratchet & Clank, Insomniac Games has been garnering a fan-following that very few platform game creators barring Miyamoto-san has achieved. Insomniac's last Ratchet & Clank offering was Deadlocked way back in 2005 and therefore has come back to its beloved series in the form of Tools Of Destruction. It has reverted to its original formula of action with dollops of platforming for the fans who had complained of not enough platforming elelments in its last venture, Deadlocked.
At the very beginning we find Ratchet and Clank being called by Captain Qwark who claims to be attacked by an army of robotic warriors, who are then identified to be the minions of Emperor Percival Tachyon, the last remaining member of the Cragmite species. In amidst all of the chaos Ratchet finds himself to be the target of Tachyon, bent upon eliminating him, the last known member of the Lombax species. The game is about Ratchet, escaping the clutches of Tachyon and finding out more about himself and his species in the process. Not to be left out, Clank is also being affected by little alien creatures called the Zoni, whom only he can see. The story tries to delve in the history of Ratchet and Clank, who find out more about themselves and learn to trust each other more deeply than before. However, the story ends on a disappointing note (read cliffhanger) and refuses to play out more than to a certain point. This of course, leaves us anticipating for the sequel.
The game itself is played out in the Third Person mode and the core of the gameplay revolves around shooting and platforming. A very healthy balance of these two elements make R&C a very fun and immersive experience. The strength of R&C has always been the weapons, the crazy arsenal with which you wreck havoc on the thousands of enemies that you encounter on your adventure and even this time around, Insomniac delivers with its insanely creative mind. Though, Ratchet starts out with the basic blaster, grenades and his wrench, as he explores and advances into the game he collects more weapons and gadgets which he can either purchase or exchange for help given to other NPCs (Non-Playable Character). The currency used in the game is still the very familiar bolts which Ratchet can earn by destroying enemies, boxes and crates and other objects encountered. The biggest change introduced into the game is the customisable weaponry, that is, you can modify or upgrade the weapons with attributes you would like such as more power, blast radius, ammo etc. Also, the more you use the weapon, the better it becomes, it is just like Character/Object level up system with experience points found in role-playing games. This new feature lends a nice touch to game.
Clank remains more of the same using his fists and controlling "mini robots" to help him out in his segments. These segments are more of platforming and puzzles which is great way to complement the non-stop action in the Ratchet segments. There are also segments where you would engaging in space battles with the scum of the galaxy, namely the space pirates. There are also segments where Ratchet rolls up into a Gyro-Cycle, which is sphere like vehicle which the player has to navigate through a series of obstacles. What is exceptional is that all this variety does not tend to tire the player and enforces the feeling that Insomniac wanted this game to represent all that could be done to entertain us. It is worth mentioning that TOD probably has the best usage of the Six-Axis motion sensing. Whether you be guiding your fall from a HALO jump, gliding past obstacles using Clank's new found wings or riding the Gyro-Cycle, the motion sensing is spot on. The only disappointment was the Tornado Launcher, where it becomes really hard to control tornadoes using the motion sensing.
One of the most entertaining factors about R&C is the humor. This is probably what makes R&C games stand out, the efforts at humour, unpretentious and omni-present. Whether you would be making your enemies do the disco with Groovitron or turning them into lovable penguins or probably taking a dig at the hardware failure rate of a competing console, R&C does it all. My personal favourite is the Pirate dance, where Ratchet has to dress up as a pirate and do a dancing mini-game.
One of the strongest features of R&C is its graphical prowress and how! The game shines through and through with its extensive use of vibrant colours. The lighting sets the game ablaze and whether you are in the very first planet or the last, the visuals amaze you with its attention to detail. The explosions, the enemies, the animated background does give that feeling that probably the Playstation 3 has achieved what was promised for in the Playstation 2, real-time graphics which reflect the quality of pre-rendered Pixar movies. There is quite a bit of activity going on the screen, from multiple enemies to multiple vehicles moving in the background but there is never a time where you feel that the frame-rates have dropped. Insomniac's effort is a cut above the rest as it has proved with successive games that consistent frame-rates are their forte. The game's audio is also solid, whether be it the voice-overs or the sound-effects or the back-ground music. The music suits the situation and has that "Platformy" feel to it.
Despite all of this, R&C is not flawless. The first complaint is the lack of difficulty in the game. It's not that games need you to throw the console or the controller out of the window with its difficulty but games should provide a sense of challenge to the player. This is probably where R&C fails. Apart from the last few planets, the game is very easy. Also, there are so many gadgets and weapons in the game, it will be such that some of them are almost useless and hardly convincing. Later in the game, you will find yourself usingh only a few of them. Lastly, Insomniac can be accused of not trying too hard to change the R&C formula. They have put in all the best features of the previous games and added a few to come up with Tools Of Destruction. But is this really a point for criticism? We need to ask ourselves this question. In this era of the next-gen where every game takes itself too seriously, with its hues of grey and white, R&C is a breath of fresh air. It is all about having a thoroughly good time and is very old-school in that respect. It is very hard to hold this against Insomniac as they have yet again delivered a game which celebrates next-gen while making you oblivious of your day-today worries as you pick up that controller one more time to rid the galaxy of the scum.
Visual: 9/10
Audio: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Gameplay:9/10
Tilt: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Now Playing: Uncharted - Drake's Fortune Sun, Sep. 30th, 2007, 07:21 pm
In Between
Heavenly Sword - My Review
There are times when you feel - Why do we play games? Is it because we want to fulfill our fantasies in the form of a pixelated character on screen or is it because we want to hear a new story, the desire to learn more by playing the game or is it because of that visceral satisfaction we get out of beating the characters on screen either in wits or in battle. Because if we do play games for any of the aforementioned, Heavenly Sword is one of those games that lets you do it all.
Heavenly Sword starts with the premise of the death of the protagonist, Nariko; a female warrior who is shunned by her clan because she is the failure of a prophecy, which of course leads her clan-mates to believe that she will be the downfall of the clan. All of this while her clan needs to safeguard an ancient, mythical and powerful weapon, the Heavenly Sword from the clutches of those who seek to misuse its power. This of course leads to the introduction of the antagonist, King Bohan, who is as unscrupulous as any videogame villain can get and is out to get the Heavenly Sword by any means. This is the basic story with which the game begins.
The first thing you will notice about the game is the graphics. The magnificent backdrops which immediatly transport you into a fantasy world; the immaculate detail in the surroundings and beautiful colours, all of which leave you in awe. Though there are times when the game suffers from frame rate drops and lags a bit, though none of it bothers too much. The character models in the game are rendered with absolute detail, the most noticeable of which is the facial textures. The facial textures are probably one of the high points of the game, so visible by the natural sheen on the face of Nariko. Every emotion ranging from anger to frustration to triumph is well exhibited in the character models. Another reason why you feel this is because of some excellent voice-overs in this game. With one of the industry stalwarts in the form of Andy Serkis leading the Dramatic Direction you cannot expect anything less. For people who are unaware of who Andy Serkis is- he is the person behind the voice of Gollum (Lord Of The Rings) and that of King Kong. The combination of the emotion, the facial motions and voice overs almost makes this an action movie which you are playing out in your living room. The story is full of humorous moments which are so well played out that you are almost chuckling to yourself, particularly those that involve King Bohan. The music in the game also allows for that cinematic mood. The music ranges from moody to dark with dollops of Indian classical. Nitin Sawhney, the man responsible for the music direction has done a very competent job in his very first venture in videogames. The mood of this game is indeed so heavy with the audio and visuals that you tend to forget that this is actually not a movie.
And the most important thing about any game is the gameplay. Heavenly Sword is a third person action adventure game, where the protagonist wields swords as her main weapons. This inevitably brings about comparisons with other greats of the genre, including God Of War and Ninja Gaiden, and though it does quite not make that mark Heavenly Sword almost makes the cut. The combat system in Heavenly Sword primarily comprises of three stances - Fast, Ranged and Power. And as the name implies the three stances are for quick and fast close-combat, lashing out at enemies at a distance and dealing the enemy heavy damage respectively. You can also counter the enemy combat by properly timed button presses. The enemies also employ these stances and you have to beat/counter enemy in their respective stances. Though the game starts out fairly easy it quickly becomes imperative for you not to button mash and use the combos properly. The combos are vast and varied, right from aerial to super-special moves which quickly finish off the enemy with a short but beautifully rendered cut-scene. This is one of the drawbacks of the game where it is felt that you need not use all the combos and you are well entitled to finish the game with only handful of them. Heavenly Sword also puts heavy emphasis on the usage of Six-Axis. Every projectile motion in the game, arrows, cannon balls and even dead enemies, once shot can be guided to its destination by using Six-Axis motion. This is actually great usage of the motion-sensor feature and also gives a fresh angle to the game though it takes a bit getting used to it. The game employs two playable characters to keep things from getting tedious in the form of Nariko and Kai, her young adopted friend/sister. Playing with Kai is fun as she cannot deal out melee combat and only makes use of projectile weapons. Her character is well developed and makes a strong impact on the story. The game also uses the feature of Quick Timed Events, much like God of War, which involves deft button presses at apppropriate moments, these are generally used for style efffects. The camera is done well enough though at times you would feel the need of free-moving camera particularly when you want to focus on a particular enemy you want to finish off. There is lot of stuff that you unlock in this game right from concept art, movies, The Making Of Heavenly Sword and so on, which goads the player to re-play the game though he has completed it once.The game is not very difficult and an average gamer can expect to complete the game anywhere between seven to ten hours. That being said, the game falls on the short side and again aks the question - Are you willing to pay sixty dollars for a mere six-seven hours?
That question is for you to answer. If you want a game that provides you a cinematic story and a great audio-visual treat along with some fun gameplay to boot, this is the game for you. If you are of the type that likes to spend long hours with a game and want really deep gameplay, you would probably want to rent or borrow this. Either way, you should not pass up on Heavenly Sword because not often does a game make you feel that epic drama can also be experienced from videogames and not just books and movies.
Visual: 9/10
Audio: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Gameplay:8/10
Tilt: 9/10
Overall: 8.8/10
OceansAndEarth
Now Playing: Playstation 3: Ninja Gaiden Sigma - Chapter 18 Tue, Aug. 7th, 2007, 03:44 pm
In Pieces
It remains to be seen is who wins the console war. The consumer maybe. The race between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo leaves the gamer with a stock pile of games to feel happy about; the gamer, mind. Not the average Joe who would like to get one console and probably be content. There is no such one console unfortunately. If there is Super Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess and Metroid Prime Corruption in the Orange, there is Master Chief (as much as I hate him), Forza, Gears Of War, Mass Effect and Bioshock in the White; leaving Resistance, MotorStorm, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Heavenly Sword, Lair, Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy in the Green. So, before you start wondering who will take that blue wheel leaving everyone behind, happy and content, it is the guy who can spend the maxi-fucking-mum money. The sucker who is willing to indulge himself to the extent that feeling gratified with ownership of the "Next-Gen" console is more to him than his life.
No prizes for guessing who took the bait then. Again.
Sigh. The only way I can console (hah!) myself is that the price had dropped by INR 5000 and on top of that another discount of INR 1500; and then there is the copy of Ninja Gaiden Sigma looking oh-so-tempting. And then suddenly I find myself with my credit card maxed out. Yeah, I just bought the Playstation 3 for a wholesome sexy whopping INR 33,500. Yeah, that's a five digit figure starting with a 3, closely followed by another 3. Yeah, I have just screwed myself in the ass without any lube.Yeah, I am gonna go without food for the next coupla months; oh, I am exaggerating. But yes, it's gonna be tough for the next few months, financially that is. That aside, What.The.Fuck.Am.I.Gonna.Eat.
Coming to the sweeter side of affairs, Ninja Gaiden never looked urm, sweeter. No need to cry myself to sleep just 'cause I missed out on NG:Black for XBOX. The people who say that it's just a port deserve to be fucking shot; motherfuckers all. The gameplay is so solid that it makes games with high production value like God Of War look amateurish. The difficulty so high that it makes you weep, in joy. Yosuke Hayashi makes Itagaki look like a fool with his own child, running like a charm on a God-fucking Playstation. The same Itagaki who has no regard for the Playstation. The same Itagaki who has gone on record with his "Tekken Sucks" and "Heavenly Sword looks half-assed" comments. I am in a giggling fit right now. What with Lair, Heavenly Sword, Ratchet & Clank: Tools Of Destruction and Drake's Uncharted waiting to be released in the coming days.
How does the Sony ad go, again? Oh yeah. LIKE NO OTHER.
Right back atcha' motherfucking maggots.
Now Playing: Playstation 3 - Ninja Gaiden Sigma
I think I am going through what I call a Mid-Gaming-Life-Crisis. I am not fucking with you, I seriously think I am going through one. Since the last couple of months I have shifted from one game to another without completing a single one. Fuck that. It all started with the completion of Final Fantasy XII. After it, I have started so many games only to leave them in-between. Final Fantasy X, Resident Evil 4, God Of War, X-Men : Legends, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the list goes on and I have no fucking clue about what the fuck is wrong with me. I have let down both Square-Enix and Konami together. I am so ashamed to call myself a gamer. Maybe I’ll go for counseling. Yeah, maybe that’s what I need. And to top that, I have playing Formula-1 2005 on the PSP, on the World Championship Mode and I simply couldn’t qualify for the Starting grid of the Monaco Grand Prix. I had to “Skip Race”. I am so embarrassed to admit this. Can you fucking believe that? I have so lost my skills. Five years without gaming does that to you, maybe.
So, I have decided. I have started with Devil May Cry 3 and I am gonna complete it. Before you snigger, I have got information for you, bitches. I am playing on the Default difficulty mode. Yeah, that would be the mode you couldn’t beat without getting your ass handed to you. I have spoken.
Have I told you abou the fucking awesomeness, that is Linkin Park? Eh. I have? Screw it, maybe I have. Can't blame me for it. They are good. No, correct that, they are excellent. And with their new album, they have proved that they are willing to break new ground with their music. Minutes To Midnight displays the versatility of this band. They have experimented with everything they can and have come up with a sound so unique, that all you can do is nod and acknowledge the fucking brilliance of this album. For those interested in the evolution of this band, just listen to all their albums in chronological order. The maturity in their sound is out there for everyone to see/hear. Hey, with Rick Rubin by their side they can’t go wrong.
Now Listening: Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
Now Reading : Nothing in particular
Now Playing : PSP - Formula-1 2005
Now Watching: Nothing In Particular
Tue, May. 29th, 2007, 06:38 pm
Minutes To Midnight rocks.
Anyone who says otherwise is in denial. Motherfuckers.
Now Listening: D'uh
Now Reading : Nothing in particular
Now Playing : Playstation 2 - X-Men:Legends
Now Watching: BattleStar Galactica Season 3
Wed, May. 16th, 2007, 12:31 pm
Heck of a lot has happened since my last post. Firstly, I am not in Capitol city anymore, the land of hot babes, fast cars, great roads and the way of Jugadh (that’s discounting bookshops with great er.. discounts). But I made sure that I bought as many books as I can before I left for those interested in my bibliophile ways.
Well, for those who don’t already know, I am in the Mumbai right now. The land of fast girls, crappy roads and Vada Pav. Oh, there are fast cars here too, only that it’s a shame to see crawl around in the shitty traffic at 10 mph.
Fast forwarding to the present, my gaming life is back. Yup. A PS2, PSP and an XBOX 360 ensures just that. It makes me remember what my school and +2 years were. Fracking awesome, that’s what my good friends, fracking awesome.
Coming to games, Final Fantasy XII is one fracking hell of a game. It simply re-invents the JRPG genre all over again with its new battle-system. The graphics make people wonder what the PS2 is actually capable of considering the fact that it is a seven year old system. That’s right, me hearties, seven years. The direction where Final Fantasy XII changes dramatically is probably it’s story and that’s relative to the high standards achieved by Square-Enix. It’s a breakaway from the regular mould of saving-the-world/crystal/girl/what-have-you and ends up being a political drama, which is neither too hard to follow nor too serious to be boring. Definitely a must-play game for all maggots claiming to be gamers.
Playstation 3 is finally in India. Equipped with the much hyped CELL processor its claims to be a super-computer on a chip and priced at 40,000 INR, I believe it is also priced as one. Much as I want to, my financial situation does not permit me to buy a PS3. My bank is laughing all the way to the, well, bank. Probably it’s the frustration of not being able to get it yet but I am mighty miffed at Sony for the incredible pricing. Though one can argue that it’s the cheapest Blu-ray player around, it’s way out of reach of the average person. The games themselves are not making me stretch my credit limits; no disrespect for Motorstorm or Resistance: Fall of Man, they are great games but they are not compelling enough for me to spend forty grand. Maybe, I’ll wait for Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Eheheheh.
Also, the drought of games for the PSP may finally see an end. The following games are making way to the most advanced handheld of our times (No, DS is popular but PSP technologically superior). The following names are definitely going make PSP popular amongst the masses:
God Of War:Chains Of Olympus
Final Fantasy: Crisis Core
Silent Hill:Origins
Final Fantasy I (NES remake)
Final Fantasy II (NES remake)
Sony’s little machine deserves attention. It demands attention! Frack you naysayers! And the day is coming when it will reign supreme. Muhuhahahaha.
By the way, I have booked my copy of The Deathly Hallows, have you?
Now Listening: Daughtry-Daughtry
Now Reading : Stephen King-Misery
Now Playing : Playstation 2 - X-Men:Legends
Now Watching : BattleStar Galactica Season 3
Fantasy has a way of ensnaring innocent (?) readers and I for once am happy to be the shlemiel. The story, the magic within the pages, thats what captivates me like no other genre ever can and perhaps ever will. From the very lightweight Harry Potter (arguable?) to the vast epic that is Lord Of The Rings, nothing has ever disappointed me. No, Garth Nix doesnt count. However, I was always reluctant to venture into the world of Stephen King, he of rabid dogs that jump out of closets and pre-menstrual angst driven telekinetic powers. Bah! It was probably the fall of 2002. I happened to see a trade paperback edition of Wizard And Glass. The cover art was compelling enough for me to ask ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) beatzo about it. Much later, I got to buy the first three books of The Dark Tower series from my friendly Guwahati book store Western Book Depot for a mere two hundred bucks. That, my friends, was the first step towards the world of Stephen King, a step which quickly transformed into a full blast marathon. And yesterday, I completed what is considered to be the pinnacle of his work, The Dark Tower saga.
The Dark Tower can be labeled as the culmination of all King's work as almost (emphasis on almost) everything he wrote revolves around the minaret that is the Dark Tower. Never before has a book made me wonder and marvel at the author's capacity to imagine, and here vivid will be a very mild word for King. His epic fantasy is a mélange of worlds or rather universes. Roland's quest to see the Dark Tower indeed becomes your own, the itch to know what is at the top floor overpowers the fact that it is the journey that matters and not the end, as King very much points out to his Constant Reader at the end. However, such impuissance on the part of the reader can hardly be blamed as that is what initially draws the reader to Roland's journey. The ending made me stay up quite some time wondering how the story ended and yet it didn’t. The story was everything he promised it would be, yet it makes me sad to see it end the way it did. Make no mistake, it is the perfect ending and I personally would not like it any other way and yet it makes me sad.
To say that King is a storyteller would be an understatement; to call him a literary miracle would be an over. However statements such as these are unwarranted. The conflict between literary fiction and popular fiction has been around for some time and perhaps it will not die as gracefully as we would like it too. Here’s what Mr. King had to say at the National Book Awards being the Winner of the 2003 Distinguished Contribution To American Letters Award. When he says that he is not in it for the money, I believe him. I shit you not. I truly believe him. An author cannot last for three odd decades if he is in it only for the money. Yes, I know that John Grisham is an exception to the rule :). Mr. Harold Bloom might be devastated that King got such an award but when it comes down to it, it’s justified recognition of King’s contribution to the world of popular fiction. The very fact that he could create a multitude of worlds all centering upon a single object, and relate to it characters and emotion is feat not many can hope to emulate. Mr. Bloom I have very little to say and something to show you. Here. I hope you don’t mind but as the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. And for those of you who have reached this far and tolerated the ranting of a fan-boy for this long, I say thank ya. Long days and pleasant nights to you.
Here is something that I first saw on serioussam's blog.  Yeah, I know. I have been buying quite a few books lately. There is this wonderful bookshop in Nehru Place that sells books for hundred bucks only. Yup, thats right. Hundred rupees only. And mostly these are hardcover books in very good condition. So, I just couldn't resist buying a few. Also, the last time I went to MidLand I was looking for the new King novel, Cell in harcover (Yeah, I have this fetish for hardcovers :) ). Anyway, they didnt have it. I politely asked if they could get it for me considering the fact that they did stock it some time ago. They called up their Hauz Khas shop and confirmed that they could indeed get me the copy the next day. Needless to add, I got the copy. Here are the books that I got: 1) Jian - Eric Van Lustbader
2) Disclosure - Michael Crichton
3) Koko - Peter Straub
4) Cell - Stephen King
And this is what I am planning to get in the near future:  and this: 
Wed, Aug. 2nd, 2006, 03:00 pm
Books!
My impressions of Delhi changed by the time I heard of Midland bookshop from beatzo. Yup, a flat 20% discount on brand new books is hard to pass up on. Incidently beatzo was on a gloating spree (Yeah, I agree - when's he not?). The bastard got some er..interesting stuff from England, which includes a signed Terry Pratchett (Thud!) and a Sandman TPB, also signed by da man himself, Neil Gaiman. Somehow he managed to get the entire Lone Wolf And The cub series too. And the Buddha manga. And the Samurai Executioner.....@#$%!#$... Anyway, I got the following books- 1) The Eyes Of The Dragon-Stephen King (Hardcover) : I got this one for 100 bucks only from Nehru Place, many thanks to beatzo and serioussam. 2) The Dark Tower, Book6 : Song Of Susannah-Stephen King3) The Dark Tower, Book7 : The Dark Tower-Stephen King I have to finish this series. Stephen KIng is probably my favorite author and The Dark Tower is the best of them. 4) Maximum Ride : School's Out Forever-James Patterson (Hardcover) : This is my first James Patterson book. I hope I didnt waste my money on this one ;) 5) Anansi Boys : Neil Gaiman : Heard a lot about it. This is going to be second Gaiman book, Good Omens being the first, which of course was awesome. Also I am banking on serioussam to show me a few more places where I can get stuff, mainly a PS2. I mean its been quite a while since I laid off games. My last game was Knights Of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, which incidently is a great RPG if you havent played it yet. And till that time, I've got some books that'll keep me occupied.
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