I've made a small goal for myself. That goal is to blog about something every day for at least a month. There's always stuff I want to say about something so putting it down in a post should be no tough feat. Right? Well here we go.
Yesterday saw the announcement of Persona 4 Golden Edition for the PS Vita and a Persona Fighter for PS3/360. I'm a big fighting game fan so the Persona Fighter intrigues me. It's being developed by Arc System Works, the guys who made the Blaz Blue games (fighters I enjoy but am terrible at). This rerelease will include tons of new content and features such as new voice work, a new intro and theme song, and utilization of the Vita communication abilities.
Persona is a series I've always been curious about. The gameplay sounds interesting and I'm a sucker for anime cutscenes in a game. I also enjoy the visual style of the characters and That said, I've never tried any of the Persona games. It's always been in the back of mind to buy one and finally try it out, but I tend to forget these kind of things.
I have learned though that all the previous Persona games are already on the PSN, and Innocent Sin (the rerelease of P2) will be coming out in September. So now when I buy my Vita (and oh, I will) I will already have some games to play on it besides whatever I decide to buy on launch. From what I've heard, these Persona games aren't exactly short. It'll be nice to have a large series to sink my teeth into, considering I managed to finish Deus Ex: Human Revolution within three days.
So what do you guys think? Are you excited for the rerelease of Persona 4? What are your thoughts on the series in general?
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Tales from Comic-Con 2011: Silent Hill Downpour Impressions
Alright. Ladies and gentlemen, this is my final Comic-Con 2011 post. After this, I have nothing to post about... Okay that isn't true, but I won't have anything more to post on Comic-Con. With that said, let's dive right now.
There are few disclaimers I need to make before I begin though. The first was that the game was in 3D, so the graphics looked slightly stretched and pixelated. The second is that this is the same demo Konami had brought to E3 which I'd watched a few times over. Therefore, I knew (for the most part) all the puzzles and where to go, so I can't speak to the riddle difficulty.
What I can talk about is the combat, controls, and overall atmoshpere of the game. The demo starts with Murphy (the main character) just outside of Silent Hill. I'm assuming this is near the very beginning of the game because Murphy's goal is find different clothes to change into. For those who don't know you play as Murphy Pendleton, a prisoner on transport to death row. Like the Fugitive, your transport crashes and you escape. Unlike the Fugitive, Tommy Lee Jones is not chasing you, and you've landed your ass in Silent Hill.
Vatra Games (the development studio) has certainly nailed the look of the town. Everything looks like Silent Hill and for someone who hasn't played a Silent Hill game since '09s Shattered Memories, it felt so good to be back. The controls are much more consistent with the older Silent Hill games. Instead of being able to strafe and run all the time, you have to turn Murphy and then push forward on the analog stick in order to make him go forward. You also have to hold a separate button to run. These are all welcome changes from the last two games as it increases the difficulty and certain adds to the fear when you're being chased by something.
One thing I particularly liked about Downpour was the real time transformation from regular Silent Hill to the nightmare world. This was in Homecoming but it only happened once in the entire game (before you fought the first boss in the greenhouse). I'm hoping in Downpour it will be a more regular occurrence.
The combat in Silent Hill Downpour is a combination of the combat in Silent Hill: Origins and Shattered Memories. There are chase sequences like the ones from Shattered Memories, but there are also regular combat situations. The chase sequence also took place while Murphy has no weapons, so I'm wondering if there will be times when Murphy is unarmed or he's being chased by something too big to fight (or intangible, as the first thing chasing you was a red light.... sound familiar?).
The combat controls play out similar to the older games. You swing and hope you hit. From what I could tell, there wasn't a light swing or a heavy swing. Another thing I noticed was that the monsters I was facing were damn hard to kill. I don't know if at that point in the game I wasn't actually supposed to kill them, but I'll be damned if I could find a way out of the area I was in. After a long ten minute battle that mostly involved me running and healing, I finally died. It's worth noting that these particular enemies has a screeching ability that stunned Murphy whenever it hit. Very frustrating, but the difficulty is welcome as the last two Silent Hill games were way too easy.
Unfortunately I never found out what was past those enemies. There was a line behind me and it was continue until you die or finish. Even so, we all continued to make fun of Homecoming and how much better this demo was than that entire game. Good times.
Silent Hill Downpour is set to release (currently) on October 25, 2011.
There are few disclaimers I need to make before I begin though. The first was that the game was in 3D, so the graphics looked slightly stretched and pixelated. The second is that this is the same demo Konami had brought to E3 which I'd watched a few times over. Therefore, I knew (for the most part) all the puzzles and where to go, so I can't speak to the riddle difficulty.
What I can talk about is the combat, controls, and overall atmoshpere of the game. The demo starts with Murphy (the main character) just outside of Silent Hill. I'm assuming this is near the very beginning of the game because Murphy's goal is find different clothes to change into. For those who don't know you play as Murphy Pendleton, a prisoner on transport to death row. Like the Fugitive, your transport crashes and you escape. Unlike the Fugitive, Tommy Lee Jones is not chasing you, and you've landed your ass in Silent Hill.
Vatra Games (the development studio) has certainly nailed the look of the town. Everything looks like Silent Hill and for someone who hasn't played a Silent Hill game since '09s Shattered Memories, it felt so good to be back. The controls are much more consistent with the older Silent Hill games. Instead of being able to strafe and run all the time, you have to turn Murphy and then push forward on the analog stick in order to make him go forward. You also have to hold a separate button to run. These are all welcome changes from the last two games as it increases the difficulty and certain adds to the fear when you're being chased by something.
One thing I particularly liked about Downpour was the real time transformation from regular Silent Hill to the nightmare world. This was in Homecoming but it only happened once in the entire game (before you fought the first boss in the greenhouse). I'm hoping in Downpour it will be a more regular occurrence.
The combat in Silent Hill Downpour is a combination of the combat in Silent Hill: Origins and Shattered Memories. There are chase sequences like the ones from Shattered Memories, but there are also regular combat situations. The chase sequence also took place while Murphy has no weapons, so I'm wondering if there will be times when Murphy is unarmed or he's being chased by something too big to fight (or intangible, as the first thing chasing you was a red light.... sound familiar?).
The combat controls play out similar to the older games. You swing and hope you hit. From what I could tell, there wasn't a light swing or a heavy swing. Another thing I noticed was that the monsters I was facing were damn hard to kill. I don't know if at that point in the game I wasn't actually supposed to kill them, but I'll be damned if I could find a way out of the area I was in. After a long ten minute battle that mostly involved me running and healing, I finally died. It's worth noting that these particular enemies has a screeching ability that stunned Murphy whenever it hit. Very frustrating, but the difficulty is welcome as the last two Silent Hill games were way too easy.
Unfortunately I never found out what was past those enemies. There was a line behind me and it was continue until you die or finish. Even so, we all continued to make fun of Homecoming and how much better this demo was than that entire game. Good times.
Silent Hill Downpour is set to release (currently) on October 25, 2011.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tales from Comic-Con 2011: Street Fighter X Tekken, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and Street Fighter Third Strike Online Impressions
Though the title may be long, the fact of the matter is that I didn't get a lot of hands-on time with UMvC3 and 3SO. I spent most of my Comic-Con game time playing Street Fighter X Tekken. Therefore, the impressions of the last two games will be short, and not worth their own post.
Third Strike Online is... Third Strike plus an online mode. It's literally a perfect arcade port with online functionality and replays. There are additional challenges as well that earn you points that I believe you can spend on "things". Not too sure what they mean. They could just be for bragging rights or maybe to unlock costumes/stages. The game itself is a bit of a bore. Everyone uses the same four characters because they're considered top tier. That gives little variety to the game. The art style is bland looking and the graphics options only help it a little. I'm going to pass on this one, but for those interested the game is supposed to launch at the end of August.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 only had four of the twelve new characters. At the time those four were the only ones revealed, but the other twelve leaked later on. The four available were Ghost Rider, Strider, Firebrand, and Hawkeye. I only got the play the game twice - the line was huge - and the only new character I got to try in that time was Ghost Rider. I believe he has the farthest reach in the game now (over Super Skrull), but this chain counts as a hitbox, meaning if someone strikes the chain Ghost Rider will take damage (kind of like Dahlsim from Street Fighter). There are a ton of balance changes coming with it as well. From what I've heard, Phoenix is now the most useless character ever. She has even less health and does less damage. Plus, lvl 3 x-factor doesn't last as long. Ultimate MvC3 will be available in November.
The game I got the most hands on time with was Street Fighter X Tekken. At first I didn't like the game all that much. I think this was because I wasn't used to playing on a fight stick. I eventually got the hang of it though and the game because rather enjoyable. The game is super dependent on not over extending yourself. If you combo too fast and your opponent blocks it, you've opened yourself to a juggle between both your opponents characters. It's a frustrating balance that's tough to learn quickly. SFxT is definitely a game that requires precision timing in order to "work properly" for the player.
So that's all I can think of to say about these games. If you guys have any questions for me, please feel free to ask them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them!
Third Strike Online is... Third Strike plus an online mode. It's literally a perfect arcade port with online functionality and replays. There are additional challenges as well that earn you points that I believe you can spend on "things". Not too sure what they mean. They could just be for bragging rights or maybe to unlock costumes/stages. The game itself is a bit of a bore. Everyone uses the same four characters because they're considered top tier. That gives little variety to the game. The art style is bland looking and the graphics options only help it a little. I'm going to pass on this one, but for those interested the game is supposed to launch at the end of August.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 only had four of the twelve new characters. At the time those four were the only ones revealed, but the other twelve leaked later on. The four available were Ghost Rider, Strider, Firebrand, and Hawkeye. I only got the play the game twice - the line was huge - and the only new character I got to try in that time was Ghost Rider. I believe he has the farthest reach in the game now (over Super Skrull), but this chain counts as a hitbox, meaning if someone strikes the chain Ghost Rider will take damage (kind of like Dahlsim from Street Fighter). There are a ton of balance changes coming with it as well. From what I've heard, Phoenix is now the most useless character ever. She has even less health and does less damage. Plus, lvl 3 x-factor doesn't last as long. Ultimate MvC3 will be available in November.
The game I got the most hands on time with was Street Fighter X Tekken. At first I didn't like the game all that much. I think this was because I wasn't used to playing on a fight stick. I eventually got the hang of it though and the game because rather enjoyable. The game is super dependent on not over extending yourself. If you combo too fast and your opponent blocks it, you've opened yourself to a juggle between both your opponents characters. It's a frustrating balance that's tough to learn quickly. SFxT is definitely a game that requires precision timing in order to "work properly" for the player.
So that's all I can think of to say about these games. If you guys have any questions for me, please feel free to ask them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them!
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