Winding Down

I didn't get terribly deep into Monster Hunter Tri. I figured out that it just wasn't for me. The game is my no means bad, but it's an experience that is so far removed from anything I'm into. Check out the rest of my thoughts on the site.

I've been getting the need to dive into a new Castlevania recently. I really got into the series in a big way when Dawn of Sorrow came out. I had played one or two of them before, but never payed much attention. But now there's a whole mythos behind the series to explore. Koji Igarashi's creative vision give the franchise depth and incredible vitality.

To quell my thirst, I put together a timeline for the series. And if you've never played a Castlevania game, I'd suggest starting with Aria of Sorrow for the GBA.

My main issue with contemporary vampire dramas (Twilight, True Blood) is that they ignore many of the rules. For fuck's sake, they go walking around in the sunlight. To be fair, they get severe burns and burst into little spots of flame in True Blood, but I'd like to see some show or film go back to the roots of vampire rules: not being able to cross running water and having to be invited into a home and such.

Let the Right One In was a fantastic vampire flick.

Wes Craven's Dracula 2000 was a pretty shitty movie, but I love the idea of Judas Iscariot becoming Dracula. If I were to make a vampire film, it would revolve around that premise (the Judas from The Last Temptation of Christ).

Those two films would make a hell of a double feature.

Hunting Monsters

I've been busy plugging away at Monster Hunter Tri while simultaneously preparing our new house for move-in. It's a pretty pleasing experience so far. Clearing the "tutorial" section takes a couple of hours (at most) but does not involve intense text, mostly gameplay (killing a relatively harmless monster for meat, going on a multiple-monster hunt, mining for ore in a cave, and learning to swim and harpooning fish). Overall, pretty fun for a tutorial.

I have no complaints thus far, save one. Monster Hunter is supposed to be the next great epic on Wii. A sprawling epic adventure with dangerous creatures, intense fights, and superb graphics. The game is mission based, and upon completion of the tutorial missions, a "mission shop" opens to give you assignments. The first of which: collect mushrooms. Way to capture my attention early, Capcom.

And still, I have faith that this will be one to remember. Look for a more detailed thoughts (that may or may not take the form of a review) after the weekend.

If you have not yet joined the debate on the artistic legitimacy of games, check out Roger Ebert's latest comments here. The main problem with the debate is that there is no clear, universally accepted definition of "art". To me, that renders almost every argument mute.

But, I'll throw in my two cents on the debate soon. Now, I am collecting my thoughts on the matter and trying to present them in the most clear, concise method possible.

But, I'd like to end with something a bit more lighthearted.

Found this little bit of awesomeness as well. If anyone has this game, or can find it at a garage sale somewhere, I will accept any challenge!

Retro Revival 3

In 1994, gamers were treated with a new brand of shooter/platformer. It did not have the furious run-and-gun of Contra, the ludicrous speed of Sonic, or the enchanting power-ups of Mario, but it did have a unique, zany charm that made it a game to remember.

In a few short years, Earthworm Jim took the world by storm, spawning a couple of sequels, loads of merchandise and a Saturday morning cartoon. Much of the hype and fanfare was, of course, deserved. The first couple of games were fantastic because of their unique style and gameplay.

To keep reading, click here.

There's also a review for Sakura Wars up on the site. I love when games try something new or blend genres in a unique way, and this one definitely does that.

Leader Rematch

Carlos and I have been balls deep in pokemon for weeks now, with no signs for slowing down. But I have been able to rip myself away long enough to put in some time with Sakura Wars. Long story short, it's really cool.

For those unaware (as I was) Sakura Wars is a Japanese dating sim and strategy RPG hybrid. This unlikely matrimony begets pure awesome. It's difficult to define a Japanese dating sim, but I'll try. For the first hour or so of the game, you never have a battle, but instead playing through a text adventure and picking from multiple lines of text when cued. Picking the most appropriate response for the character you are speaking to results in a strengthened bond between the two. The bond has implications in battle. Look for the review tomorrow night.

The extra surprises Game Freak put into the little changes here and there really make the game a treat. I'll only spoil this one right now (you've probably already heard): you can arrange rematches with the gym leaders later in the game. You could do that in Platinum version as well, but as an old school Pokemon fan, It's really special to be able to register these leaders in my phone contacts. I feel like a big shot. I put a guide up for getting a rematch with the gym leaders in Gold and Silver, which you can see here.

Now for Something Different

There's a new article posted on the site.

But there's a whole lot of text filling up the page here on the blog, so here's a little video for your personal enjoyment, if you have not yet seen it. It's not exactly new, and it's a little fan project, so don't get too excited.

Some Thoughts on Grinding

You’ve done it, I’ve done it, we all know what it means. Grinding: crawling through the tall grass, searching for those random battles until you’re compelled by your depleted power points to return to the pokemon center. It’s almost a requirement of all JRPG’s, and the ferocity of Lance’s dragons that anchor the elite four makes some extra seasoning for even the most hearty of pokemon a must.

But that grinding seemed to pay off as I breezed through the gym leaders in Kanto and ascended Mt. Silver only to be met by Red’s level 88 Pikachu and five others with a minimum level of 80. Which meant, back to the tall grass. (Note: it is absolutely not necessary to match Red’s levels to best him. I managed to defeat him with a few level 65 pokemon.)

I don’t mind the grind, but after defeating the elite four a second time around, I find myself sitting on a group of level 70 pokemon with nothing more to show for it than several hours added to my play clock and their stats augmented by some almost insignificant (at this point) numbers. I feel like my Oakland (Ampharos), Garrity (Umbreon), Sawx (Typhlosion), Prof (Alakazam), Dixie (Farfetch’d) and Dusty (Dragonite) deserve more for all their hard work.

For starters, I hate that my pokemon can still be afflicted with status ailments. After hours of training, you’d think that these ultra-powerful pokemon would develop some sort of immunity to poison or paralysis. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a pokemon at level 70 to be afforded the courtesy of insomnia.

Every pokemon has a single ability when caught or hatched. Allowing pokemon to learn additional abilities in (for argument’s sake) increments of 10 levels would not only give additional incentive to level grind, but also to catch pokemon at low levels. Perhaps even pokemon bread could start with an ability of both parents. Each pokemon could have a set list of abilities (maybe a set of ten) it has the ability to learn when trained (much like a set of moves). So a pokemon caught at level 4 could learn every ability in its set.

Let’s take Charmander as an example. An ability set for a Charmander and his evolutions could include: Blaze, Flame Body, Flash Fire, Anger Point and Intimidate; as well as Immunity, Limber, Insomnia, Own Tempo and Oblivious (the latter 5 are abilities that every pokemon should have, the other 5 should be abilities appropriate for the pokemon’s type). Note: for a description for each ability, visit Serebii. Every level that is a multiple of 10, you could teach Charmander a new ability from the set. The developer could even get the creative juices going for some new extremely powerful abilities that can only be learned in the later levels as an added incentive for level grinding. For example, it could pick up an ability around 60 or 70 that makes its own fire moves super effective on other fire-type pokemon.

As an extra incentive for level grinding, Game Freak should allow the player to break one of the cardinal rules of Pokemon: the rule of 4 moves per monster. For grinding up to high levels (like 60, 70 or 80), the pokemon should be awarded more slots for additional moves. Then all it would take is a heart scale to pick up a move you needed to ditch but would like to have back or remember a strategic move that was abandoned for a more powerful attack. HM’s wouldn’t be quite so burdensome with an extra slot for a move. I don’t know about you, but I hate having to cart around a pokemon that knows a useless HM like cut or whirlpool. Or, for the more daring of trainers, you could grind a single pokemon high enough to open enough slots to teach it most or all HM’s.

Furthermore, in Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver in particular, it seems like there are only one or two suitable places to grind. If there were more places that players could fight different pokemon, it would encourage more exploration and break the tedium of crawling through the same patch of grass beneath Mt. Silver.

Grinding is an aspect of RPG’s that is not going to go away. At high levels, 2 or 3 bonus points to stats are insignificant; and the dozens of battles to earn then are tedious. Instead of ignoring the issue, developers should reward it.

Crash of the Titans

I didn't expect much from Clash of the Titans. I didn't even expect to see it. That's not to say I thought the projector would malfunction before rolling the reel, but I didn't think I'd make an effort to go to the theater to watch it. I found myself in a Regal with my free small soda on an impulse.

The film had everything necessary for an epic journey: a maiden in distress, various environments and locations, strange creatures and many obstacles to overcome. It had everything except direction. The protagonist, Perseus, wanders about, only knowing his next nearest destination. As soon as he arrives at any of his destination, he is promptly directed to go elsewhere. With a hearty, "Ok, let's go!" his party is off to the next stop, where they will again receive new instructions for the next leg of their journey.

The trip is held together weakly by young Perseus's desire to avenge his adopted family's incidental death at the hands of the lord of the underworld, Hades who punishes some men who toppled the tower of Zeus. In order to exact his revenge, he must kill the spawn of Hades, the Kraken, which will weaken Hades just enough to kill. Yeah...

Equally as weak as the plot is the arc of every character in the film. Not only is Perseus a novice fighter, but a novice leader as well, but a group of soldiers accompanies him on his journey. They despise him at first, but like him later for some inexplicable reason. He leads them into certain death time and time again and they certainly die, handfuls at a time. His fighting skill improve considerable after one lesson, and improve exponentially when he wields the sword that Zeus leaves for him. Zeus's actions in the film require more explanation. At first he wants Perseus's quest stopped, but his fatherly love for his bastard son causes him to aid Perseus on his mission. This sentimentality is understandable, but it grew by leaps and bounds without much visual or narrative ques to Zeus's arc.

It's not visually stunning in the same way Lord of the Rings or The Fall (which, if you have not seen, you must) took an audience's breath away. Most of the locations are uninspired. The entrance to the underworld is pretty cool though. It's mostly a "been there, seen that" movie. I'd like to advise you to give this one a rent when it comes out on DVD. But really, you wouldn't be missing much.

Keep 'em Coming

So far, 2010 has been a great year for gaming no matter what platform you pledge your loyalty to. April will be no exception, with Splinter Cell Conviction (4/13) and an expansion to Street Fighter IV (the first of an unending stream, no doubt) (4/27) for the HD consoles.

Capcom's much anticipated Monster Hunter Tri (4/20) arrives on the Wii this month, and I'll be personally reviewing that one. Carlos is going to try to tackle Dementium II (4/20) for the DS, but he's been a little unreliable as of late. Hopefully calling him out right here will get him back in gear. You can't only play Pokemon for the rest of the year, Carlos!

Again, nothing for the PSP. Shocking.

We'll be recording the podcast for March tomorrow. A little late, I know, but mid terms have been kicking both of our asses recently. It'll be the all Pokemon show, so tune in. It'll be a good time. We'll also debut a little project we've been working on for a few weeks now. Keep your ears peeled.

Also, make sure you download us on iTunes and give us a high rating.