Gears of War 2 Thoughts.

So last night the first game play footage of Gears of War 2 was revealed. How was it you ask? Well calm down and I'll tell you.

First off all that talk of the Unreal Engine 3 looking way better for Gears of War 2 is really kind of non sense. While it is true the graphics are better they are only slightly so. That's not a bad thing as Gears is still one of the best looking games out there.

What is impressive is the amount of things going on at once without even a hint of slowdown. I think that's where Epic has truly gotten the Unreal Engine to shine. The video depicts an area of the game in which you are aboard a armored walker of sorts heading into Locust infested territory. What results is absolute chaos. Looking off the side of the Derrick as the armored vehicle is called you can see 20-30 locust running around trying to take the vehicle down. Also multiple Brumacks and Seeders firing those nasty exploding missile pod things. Oh and yours is not the only Derrick entering this fight. So as you can see a lot is going on and there wasn't even a hint of slowdown anywhere and that's very very impressive.

As far as game play goes there are a few interesting things to take note of. First it seemed as though there may have been a new weapon, an automatic pistol of sorts. Second there was the ability to use a downed Locust as a living shield. Third was of course the chain saw duel. Basically how it looks like it pans out is that if both players chain saw at the same time they will mash the B button and the one who does it faster wins and gains the kill. It will be interesting to see how that works out in Multi-player as the animation takes a bit and if the characters are invincible during the animation it may become a bit unbalanced.

Before seeing this video I wasn't at all excited about Gears 2. I thought it would be simply a rehash with new missions and that's it ala Unreal Tournament. However I was pleasantly surprised and am now excited for the games release. I'm anxious to find out what other changes and improvements Epic has in store. If you've yet to see the video you and find it at GameTrailers.com or on the Xbox Video Marketplace. Go check it out.

Mirror's Edge.

I never thought I would find myself looking forward to a EA game. Maybe it's not so much that I'm excited about it but more that I'm hoping they pull it off. For those that don't know Mirror's Edge is basically a First Person action game somewhat like Breakdown in which the movement is far more realistic and you will see your body as if you really are the person you are playing. You will see your arms when you running full speed just as if you are really pumping your arms and you will see your legs as well. If you perform a roll when landing from a jump you will see you torso just as you really would. Immersion is the name of the game here. Some are worried that motion sickness will even take hold of players as they get into the game.

Now graphically the game looks great if a bit to shiny. What I am really wondering is if the game play will be able to handle the concept well enough. I'm hoping EA DICE takes the Breakdown concept and runs with it. If they can pull it off it will easily be one of the more innovative games to come out in a while. I'm hoping the game doesn't devolve into a run of the mill shooter in which you just happen to be able to see your arms and legs. I want the game to really immerse you in the character and make you feel as if you are really there in the game fighting enemies and jumping from building to building as if you are a street runner.

It will be interesting to see how EA DICE handles the game and I'm anxious to play the final product. Let's hope they can deliver.

A Journey worth getting lost on.

Lost Odyssey was described as Hironobu Sakaguchi's masterpiece and now that it's here is it safe to say that it is? Yes it is within certain bounds.

Lost Odyssey is somewhat of a mixed bag. While the story is certainly a masterpiece is every way the game is riddled with little technical glitches. However I will say this before we go on that those little problems should not stop you from playing the game as the positives more then make up for the negatives.

As many may know Lost Odyssey is the epic story of a man named Kaim Argonar. What do I mean by epic? 4 disc's and a incredible story thats what. The game starts at the Wohl Highlands during a war and by the end of the battle everyone is dead. Everyone except Kaim who is a Immortal and can not die and has lived for 1000 years. However Kaim doesn't remember much about who he is, where he comes from, or why he is here. Over the course of the game Kaim will slowly begin to regain his memories and discover why it is that he is immortal and why he is here. The story is full of Heart ache, Political intrigue, War, Murder, Love and there is even a bit of comedy here and there to. The great thing about Lost Odyssey is that it nails all of the emotions. This game will make you cry and if it doesn't you may not have a soul.

The real treat in Lost Odyssey is A Thousand Years of Dreams. When ever Kaim remembers something about his past it comes to him in the form of a dream which are presented as short stories. These stories all of which were written along with the entire game by acclaimed and award winning Japanese novelist Kiyoshi Shigematsu. These stories recall a specific event from Kaim's past and they are the most emotional stories you are likely to read in a long long time. Some tell of a lost loved one, some tell of a war that Kaim fought, while others are about the differences in the way people think in different parts of the world. Each will move you in some way shape or form and thats not a easy thing to do when each of them had to be translated.

The game play in Lost Odyssey is your classic turn based combat and I mean classic. The game goes back to the roots of Final Fantasy the series that Sakaguchi-san created all those years ago. While admittedly a bit slow by todays standards the game never feels dull. The reason behind this is that Lost Odyssey is turn based combat perfected. By midway through the game you will have 5 members active per battle and you will have various spells and abilities to choose from. Black Magic, White Magic, Spirit Magic and Composite Magic. Immortals do not learn skills and spells on their own like mortals do so you need to link a Immortal to a skill one of the mortals has to learn it. Immortals can also learn abilities by equipping items with skills attached to them. This system in essence allows you to customize your Immortals to perform how you like. The combat also incorporates a ring system. The ring systems allows you to enhance your attacks if your timing is good. Basically 2 rings appear on screen and you need to time it so they over lap for a bonus such as damage of a drain effect. Another nifty thing present in battles is that Immortals being just that can't really die. Sure they can get knocked out but leave them be and after a few turns they will get up on their own. Take caution though as if everyone in your party is reduced to 0 HP Immortal or not it will be game over.

So with all these nice things to say what is wrong with the game? Well game has frame rate stutters quite often even in areas where not a lot is happening. There is also a bit a screen tear every now and then but it doesn't happen to often. The graphics are also a mixed bag. The game uses the Unreal Engine 3. Some areas look absolutely stunning but for every area that looks stunning there are a few that look horrid. You can tell that the Unreal engine couldn't fully realize the artistic direction the game was meant to have but they did the best they could with what they had. Load times are also a bit to long and often. Also the game has somewhat of a slow start. The game won't really seem like anything special until the events that occur towards the end of the first disc about 7 hrs into the game. These events are what makes it almost impossible to not finish the game.

But like I said all the negatives should not stop you from playing Lost Odyssey. Had the game been kept in development for another month or 2 so they could iron out the bugs and frame rate issues the game could have been better. All the issues are superficial and should not stop you from experiencing one of the best stories gaming has seen in a long time.

Falling for the hype?

So I have been roaming around the net recently and have started to see something I don't know how I should feel about. Alot of the advance reviews for Grand Theft Auto IV are coming out and almost all are giving the game perfect scores across the board. Now granted I have yet to play GTA IV and once I do you can be sure to find my review right here. I just find it hard to believe that everyone is giving the game perfect scores across the board as if there is absolutely nothing wrong with it in anyway. We know as gamers no matter how good a game is it cannot be perfect it's just impossible. Now I have enjoyed GTA games in the past however I got fed up with the series after seeing the games were more or less rehashes of each other with minor upgrades.
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So this begs the question. Why is the game getting such perfect reviews? Have the reviewers fallen for the hype and are overlooking every little bad thing in the game as a result? Are they all GTA fanboys? Do they really like gangster stories? Or is the game really that good? It amazes me that a game like Bioshock that I and many others consider a masterpiece didn't get scores as high as GTA and Bioshock did alot of things games had never done before. Even if GTA IV is that good it's just another GTA it's basically the same game GTA has always been just with way more spit and polish that the power of next gen allows.

I don't know maybe I'm selling GTA IV short and if that's the case we will all know once I get my hands on the game for a reivew.

Kawaii Heart.

Well Kawaii means cute and that must mean I'm talking about Arcana Heart. Yes Arcana Heart is out. Is it the fighter that fans have been waiting for? It's that and so much more.

Arcana Heart is a very pretty game the animation is very smooth and the sprites are sharp and look crisp. It's right up there with Guilty Gear. Each of the 11 characters are somewhat varied so there are a lot of animations to see add on to that the 11 arcana and there is a lot to see.

Now when it comes to game play Arcana Heart is one of those fighters that a master will always destroy a button masher. The reason is the complex nature of the battles in Arcana Heart. Blocking is a big part of the game if you don't learn to Block effectively you will lose very quickly. One of the unique features of the game is called Homing. Homing allows you to launch yourself at your opponent no matter where they are on the screen allowing you to get close and start some big combos. You can cancel Homing as well so there is a bit of strategy in psyching out a opponent. There are also all kinds of cancels and counters that you can learn.

Each of the 11 characters has a Arcana that is native to them however the plus point is that the game allows you to change that Arcana. Which effectively allows you to customize how you fight and find a style that suits you. While each characters move set isn't huge that is a good thing as it allows you to remember most of the moves once you learn them instead of limiting yourself to one character that you wanna master.

Arcana Heart has a very charming look and feel to it which is odd for a fighter in which the characters are beating each other senseless however it never feels out of place. With a Arcade Mode and a Story mode the game will keep you occupied for a decent amount of time and if you have a friend to play against then you can keep yourself interested for quite some time. At only 30$ if you are a 2d fighting fan it's hard to pass it up. And as with most Atlus titles if you don't pick a copy up soon you will be paying for it later so go out and pick it up.