I have never played any of the previous Street Fighter games so I have nothing to compare it to, but from my personal experience, this is not a game for noobs. The controls are extremely hard to manage and often times they have to be executed at the precisely right time. So if you miss by half a second or don't do the combination the exactly right way, it will not work.
I tried to learn the fight with C. Viper and Cammi and the result is a blistering thumb. The game is definitely made for more experienced players.
But other than that, the graphics are beautiful, the intro is extremely sophisticated, and the music is still rolling in my head.
Perhaps, after I get over my frustration and buy a healthy supply of band aids, I can give it another shot.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Dragon Age: Origins
One of the coolest and my most anticipated games of 2009 is Dragon Age: Origins. It creates the choices/consequences game play in a dark and Gothic fantasy setting. The characters' "origins", or where he or she comes from, plays a crucial role in the way the game is going to turn out.
The choices/consequences is certainly nothing new to the role playing genre. I definitely like that idea because it creates a realistic atmosphere and makes me pay the price for being a jerk to other characters in the game. The idea of origins also creates a nice twist and gives a certain uniqueness to each character. I like the fact that there are only 5 characters which makes it easier to decide whom to pick, instead of the gigantic roller coaster of character customization that I had to go through in some other games. Personally, I prefer a variety of choices that dictate the outcome of the game play instead of choosing from a million different classes/factions/religions and so on.
This is going to be a multi-platform game. As a PC user I've experienced my share of bugs and random system crushes in other games, some of which I actually liked. BioWare is known for producing quality games, and since they delayed this one until the second half/end of 2009, I'd like to think that it will be released as a finished product, and not a beta lookalike.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Pregnancy in Video Games
I read an interesting article on kotaku.com by AJ Glasser called "Knocked up: A Look at Pregnancy in Video Games". It presents different takes on pregnancy in a variety of games and how they differ from one another. Pregnancies vary from the very realistic presentation in Sims, where the belly grows and the mother-to-be shows the usual symptoms most pregnant women do, to the comical take in Harvest Moon where the baby one day just appears out of nowhere in the mother's arms.
Glasser says that Sims has the most accurate version of pregnancy. And I agree. The whole game is designed to emulate life in the virtual world. Even sex is designated into the two categories of "safe" sex aka "whoo hoo" and "try for baby" which will get the female character pregnant. And after the pregnancy has been successfully achieved, the little woman goes through the usual 9 months, which get compacted into mere days, of a series of morning sicknesses, constant fatigue and other wonderful byproducts of pregnancy.
Harvest Moon doesn't display pregnancy in such detail. Glasser argues that it is "bizarre that when playing as the girl character you're pretty much farming, fishing and horseback riding all the way up until the point of labor." I certainly agree with that. But then again, Harvest Moon is not designed to replicate life. It's more of a fun farming simulation where you have an option of courting and marrying the locals, but you don't really have to. Although, the female in Tree of Tranquility definitely does look strange running around with farming tools in her last trimester. The designers probably decided not to pay too much attention to pregnancy since realistic life is not the point of the game.
I think that the realistic view of pregnancy is essential to games like Sims. The whole game revolves around copying life as realistically as possible, save for a few ghosts. If it wasn't the case, then how would the game look if little Sims could go to the bathroom but couldn't have the morning sickness? And as far as Harvest Moon goes, I don't think the pregnancy theme fits into the game even though family life is a part of it. Maintaining the farm is the most vital component. And if you don't water your crops and feed your animals everyday, they will eventually die. However, if the main character is female, it wouldn't hurt for the game designers to make it a little more realistic. Why not switch responsibilities from the main female character to her NPC husband or at least share some of them? Or better yet, dump all of them on the man while she is hormonal. Hubby seems somewhat of a dead beat, doesn't he?
While the Sims games stay faithful to reality and have their Sim parents pass on their virtual genes to the Sim babies, Sims 3 is taking procreation to a whole new level. I almost fell off my chair when the end of Glasser's article said that ghosts will be able to have babies too!
"Ghost babies? GHOST BABIES!"
Works cited:
Glasser AJ. "Knocked up: A Look at Pregnancy in Video Games". Kotaku.com. Feb 9, 2009.
www.kotaku.com
Glasser says that Sims has the most accurate version of pregnancy. And I agree. The whole game is designed to emulate life in the virtual world. Even sex is designated into the two categories of "safe" sex aka "whoo hoo" and "try for baby" which will get the female character pregnant. And after the pregnancy has been successfully achieved, the little woman goes through the usual 9 months, which get compacted into mere days, of a series of morning sicknesses, constant fatigue and other wonderful byproducts of pregnancy.
Harvest Moon doesn't display pregnancy in such detail. Glasser argues that it is "bizarre that when playing as the girl character you're pretty much farming, fishing and horseback riding all the way up until the point of labor." I certainly agree with that. But then again, Harvest Moon is not designed to replicate life. It's more of a fun farming simulation where you have an option of courting and marrying the locals, but you don't really have to. Although, the female in Tree of Tranquility definitely does look strange running around with farming tools in her last trimester. The designers probably decided not to pay too much attention to pregnancy since realistic life is not the point of the game.
I think that the realistic view of pregnancy is essential to games like Sims. The whole game revolves around copying life as realistically as possible, save for a few ghosts. If it wasn't the case, then how would the game look if little Sims could go to the bathroom but couldn't have the morning sickness? And as far as Harvest Moon goes, I don't think the pregnancy theme fits into the game even though family life is a part of it. Maintaining the farm is the most vital component. And if you don't water your crops and feed your animals everyday, they will eventually die. However, if the main character is female, it wouldn't hurt for the game designers to make it a little more realistic. Why not switch responsibilities from the main female character to her NPC husband or at least share some of them? Or better yet, dump all of them on the man while she is hormonal. Hubby seems somewhat of a dead beat, doesn't he?
While the Sims games stay faithful to reality and have their Sim parents pass on their virtual genes to the Sim babies, Sims 3 is taking procreation to a whole new level. I almost fell off my chair when the end of Glasser's article said that ghosts will be able to have babies too!
"Ghost babies? GHOST BABIES!"
Works cited:
Glasser AJ. "Knocked up: A Look at Pregnancy in Video Games". Kotaku.com. Feb 9, 2009.
www.kotaku.com
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Rune Factory Frontier
They finally did it! (but some of you might already heard about it) The perfectly awesome Rune Factory Frontier is being released on Wii. But if you didn't know, Rune Factory is the RPG version of the Harvest Moon farming simulation series for Nintendo DS. You do everything you usually do in Harvest Moon - grow plants, animals, get married, expand your farm, etc. But there is also a story line which you need to follow in order to progress in the game. The RPG part requires players to fight monsters in various caves. You can also grow a variety of seasonal crops in each cave throughout the entire year. Seasons in caves don't change and each one has its own season. After the main storyline is finished, you can continue playing the game indefinitely just like regular Harvest Moon.
My reason for excitement is that I can finally see Rune Factory on my big screen TV in 3D instead of pushing the buttons on my little DS. According to GameSpy, Rune Factory Frontier promises to introduce different experiences for everyone and provides choices that set a certain direction for every player.
What I like about the Rune Factory series is that it combines simulation farming with RPG. My experiences vary between being a hardworking farmer to being a courageous knight who fights monsters and rescues damsels in distress. The farm is also easier to manage. Days seem longer and you don't run out of stamina that easily. It can also be replenished once a day by taking a bath at the local bathhouse. (Tree of Tranquility also has that feature where your little character can take a relaxing bath at the hot springs) There are also health and stamina bars which let you see how close you are to collapsing. The only Harvest Moon games I've seen with a similar feature are Tree of Tranquility and Island of Happiness. I haven't played any other ones except for Harvest Moon DS/DS cute.
Rune Factory Frontier is coming out on March 17th. I will write a more thorough review after I'll play it.
Julia
My reason for excitement is that I can finally see Rune Factory on my big screen TV in 3D instead of pushing the buttons on my little DS. According to GameSpy, Rune Factory Frontier promises to introduce different experiences for everyone and provides choices that set a certain direction for every player.
What I like about the Rune Factory series is that it combines simulation farming with RPG. My experiences vary between being a hardworking farmer to being a courageous knight who fights monsters and rescues damsels in distress. The farm is also easier to manage. Days seem longer and you don't run out of stamina that easily. It can also be replenished once a day by taking a bath at the local bathhouse. (Tree of Tranquility also has that feature where your little character can take a relaxing bath at the hot springs) There are also health and stamina bars which let you see how close you are to collapsing. The only Harvest Moon games I've seen with a similar feature are Tree of Tranquility and Island of Happiness. I haven't played any other ones except for Harvest Moon DS/DS cute.
Rune Factory Frontier is coming out on March 17th. I will write a more thorough review after I'll play it.
Julia
Hello and Welcome
Hello world,
After a week of procrastination I finally created my own personal blog. Mission accomplished. What's next? So many interests to sort through, so many topics to cover. What am I really interested in? Shoes, clothes, make up, dinning out...I'm such a girl. But wait, I also like heavy metal and video games. *gasp*
Video games are the biggest and the baddest entertainment industry in the world. It surpasses the movies and music and continues to grow. What used to be mostly exclusive to young men and teenage boys is now accessible to everyone. There are a ton of different genres and sub genres within those genres too. There is also a rating system which an occasional soccer mom will ignore and a variety of game platforms to choose from.
The beauty about video games is that you can be absolutely anyone in that world. You can devote 20 hours of your life to some quiet farming and courtship in the Harvest Moon series or hours and hours of intense raiding and getting phat lewtz in the MMO giant like World of Warcraft. I still can't decide what I like more.
After a week of procrastination I finally created my own personal blog. Mission accomplished. What's next? So many interests to sort through, so many topics to cover. What am I really interested in? Shoes, clothes, make up, dinning out...I'm such a girl. But wait, I also like heavy metal and video games. *gasp*
Video games are the biggest and the baddest entertainment industry in the world. It surpasses the movies and music and continues to grow. What used to be mostly exclusive to young men and teenage boys is now accessible to everyone. There are a ton of different genres and sub genres within those genres too. There is also a rating system which an occasional soccer mom will ignore and a variety of game platforms to choose from.
The beauty about video games is that you can be absolutely anyone in that world. You can devote 20 hours of your life to some quiet farming and courtship in the Harvest Moon series or hours and hours of intense raiding and getting phat lewtz in the MMO giant like World of Warcraft. I still can't decide what I like more.
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