My first true next-gen jrpg experience unfortunately fell a bit flat.
Reviews of Eternal Sonata for the XBox 360 indicated that it had a excellent story that was uniquely bound to true events from the life of composer Frederik Chopin. Neat concept for a story that did have it moments, but I found the execution to be dreadful. The characters were entirely 1-dimensional, and the writing--especially for the evil king and his cronies--was beyond dreadful. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I need a bit more subtlety in my villains. By the time I lost interest, there were some hints of a plot twist involving a Yoshimo-style betrayal. But it just wasn't enough to keep me going.
The other aspect of the game that was touted by the reviews is the new take on a jrpg combat system. Like the louded (and, in my view, overrated) Tales series, Eternal Sonata's combat system incorporates action elements that many reviewers found to be a breath of fresh air. While the Tales series is essentially a cross between a fighting game and a rpg, Eternal Sonata does incorporate a bit more strategy into its system. There is a neat special attack system, and a cool concept in which enemies and abilities change depending on whether they are in the dark vs. the light.
Unfortunately, at least for my taste, combat was still too twitch-based. In fact, it becomes more and more extreme in this regard as you progress through the game due to their "party level system," which, for me, made the combat progressively less and less enjoyable.
So, my take on it is that Eternal Sonata is a game that had a bunch of cool concepts underlying its design, but was executed with a lackluster story and unenjoyable combat. It does look pretty, but that again just wasn't enough. I give it a 3 out of 5 in recognition that others may enjoy the combat more than I did. Selling it on ebay.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wii Micro-Reviews
Here are some reflections on titles I've played in the past year. I'll use a 5-star rating system analogous to that used by X-Play.
Mario Kart Wii (*****)
Easily my favorite Wii game, this is a raucous arcade racer with a surprising amount of depth. The tracks are colorful, varied, and each has its own little tricks that you'll need to learn if you're to compete and do well in this game. The single player Grand Prix events are good training, but it's the online play where the game really shines. The item system helps balance the odds and keep poorer players in the race. But they also help better players recover from an accident or an unlucky assault of items. I basically plateaued right around 8000 multiplayer points, and I don't think I can get better unless I get really serious. And that's where I draw the line, as this just doesn't seem like a game that one is supposed to get that serious about. :)
Super Mario Galaxy (****)
As platformers go, this has to be about as good as you'll find. Incredibly imaginative level design with a physics system that is both absurd and intuitive. It was a lot of fun, especially over the first 10 hours or so. The game's downfall, for me, was that despite the creative and highly variable level design, the game started to feel repetitive. You go on a mission, get a star, and then return to your home base. Repeat 60 some-odd times. The return to base was so anticlimactic, and the missions often so easy (to a gamer who's not much of a platformer!) that after the 25th or so star that I acquired, I really didn't feel much desire to continue onward. After all, it's not like anything interesting was going to happen in terms of the story. The level design is the heart of the game, but unfortunately it's also about all the game has going for it. For me, at least, it just wasn't quite enough. Never finished it.
The Sims 2: Castaway (**)
It's a sims game on a deserted island. So, you start with no resources, no friends (except monkeys), etc. In other words, you have to do a fair bit of work before you can even begin to do any activities that make Sims games fun. I gave this game an evening of my time and then stuck it on a shelf. Maybe if I didn't have other games to play, I would have kept going with it. But I did have other games to play. I sold it on ebay a few weeks ago.
Super Paper Mario (****)
Despite the rpg elements, this is mostly just a platformer. And it's a good one, as I actually finished this game. The items make for a nice addition to the platforming action, with healing items to make precision a bit less important and attack items to provide some new ways to kill things. The story is barely tolerable in its absurd cutesiness and predictability, but as a (mostly) 2D platformer this was a lot of fun. Bonus points for nostalgia here--someone who didn't grow up playing Super Mario Brothers on the NES might not have the same reaction.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (****)
This, perhaps like Galaxy, was a great game that just didn't do it for me. It's wonderfully imaginative with absolutely brilliant art and sound design, an engaging combat system that elevantes my adrenaline without being overly twitch-based, and a surprisingly compelling story. The problem, I think, is that it's so focused on puzzles. I like puzzles now and then, but I guess I'm not into platforming- or adventure-style puzzles enough to really enjoy this game. I had a good time playing this game, but I ultimately saw my progress slowed to a tremendous degree simply because it was taking so long to solve some of the puzzles. Toward the end, I found myself playing with my laptop open to a walkthrough. And that was pretty much the end of the line for me--if you're interested, I'm in the monkey dungeon after getting the wind boomerang thing. I might pick this up again, but probably not for a while.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (***)
I thought that the gamecube Fire Emblem game (Path of Radiance) was absolutely brilliant, and played it last Fall on my Wii. Radiant Dawn still has the excellent turn-based combat system, with an interesting mix of classes and characters like we saw in PoR. But in crafting RD, I think the designers tried to get a bit too fancy. First, there are essentially three unrelated stories that take place in the game. As a result, you change party composition often, and don't get the opportunity to become as emotionally attached to your characters via cutscenes and combat as you did in prior games. Similarly, battles almost always include massive numbers of respawning enemies that will flank your team. As a result, I found the battles less immersive than in PoR--they were really just an exercise in trying to predict what the designers would do next. All of this made battles longer, more intense, and less fun than they were in PoR. It's a shame, because I really like this series and was looking forward to playing this game. I'll probably finish it someday, but for now I've put it on the back burner.
Rayman Raving Rabbids (****)
Sort of like Super Mario Galaxy, this is one of the more creative games I've played. While essentially a long series of mini-games, the art and sound design are so brilliantly inventive (and funny) that it stays fresh in game after game. The on-rails plunger-shooting is the best part of the game, but most of the other games are a riot to play in short doses as well. My only real complaint about the game is that, despite being a collection of mini-games, it just isn't a very good party game. Most of the games (except the shooting and dancing games) can only be played by one person at a time. For this reason, we usually bust out Super Monkey Ball instead of Rayman when people are over, despite the fact that Rayman's a much more enjoyable game. Trading off the controller with my wife during the single player campaign, however, has proven to be much more enjoyable.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (***)
More than a year ago, I wrote up a full review of this game here. But the short story is that the single player game seems outrageously hard and unfun, and so the multiplayer party games is where it's at. And of the 50 or so party games, I'd estimate that at least 5 are broken beyond all repair, and another 10 are extremely not fun despite working "properly." But the other 30 work well enough, and 10 or so are extremely enjoyable. Most seem to be best-suited for 2 players, but many will allow four players to play at once. The bird flying game continues to be my personal favorite--best use of the wii-mote I've seen to date. Seriously. Overall, it's a good game to have for a party, but if you're like most of us and don't have Wii parties every weekend, you're unlikely to get much use out of this game.
Trauma Center: New Blood (***)
Neat idea here and good execution. The graphics are beautiful, clear, and are stylized to a degree that they don't bring any kind of grossness factor (to me at least). And the Wii-pointer controls are extremely well done, with a more responsive cursor than any other game I've seen thus far. The story is also engaging, with good tension provided by good ER-style voice acting. I'm not the most skilled of twitchy-type gamers, however, and I found the game to be virtually impossible to continue by about the 15th or 20th mission. The multiplayer offers the opportunity for a really neat experience with a friend on the couch and the possibility to complete the more challenging surgeries. But for it to work well in the more complicated surgeries, you'll need a partner who is as dedicated to learning to do these pretend procedures as you are. I can imagine that there are couples out there who are practiced enough that surgeries become an unspoken and well-coordinated dance--it'd be fun to watch in person. But for most of us, one party is likely to just get stuck on epinephrine duty, and that gets old fast.
Dr. Mario (***)
I'm torn about only giving this one three stars, because to be honest, this, along with Mario Kart, is the game that my wife and I have enjoyed the most. There's not much new in this version compared to prior versions. There is a new dragging-based virus buster game, but we didn't find that very fun. Basically, we just start up a traditional game and play in flash mode, which makes for shorter and more frantic games (you only have to kill 3 specific viruses, rather than clear the whole board). What makes it work so well is that we're pretty evenly matched, and with the quick games that flash mode permits, we can tear through 8 or so games in just 20 minutes. Nice way to close out a night before going to bed. Ultimately, though, while it's very good at what it does, it's "just Dr. Mario"--this is the same game that has been available for years on Nintendo consoles.
Final Fantasy Chronicles: My Life as King (**)
This game has potential and was fun for the first 5 hours or so. Graphics are nice (though rather unvaried in the stand-alone release), and the concept is interesting. But the game has a striking lack of depth, which becomes clear pretty early on. The result is that after you've built one of each of the main types of structures, and started on your way to building a productive town, the game basically succumbs to being nothing but a grind. Send out your adventurers, get your gold and mana (or whatever it's called), and ultimately build something else. I guess there's some sort of story, but I didn't last long enough to develop it much. Much has been made about the necessity of buying downloadable content, but I honestly don't think that would help much--new outfits and building types still wouldn't result in there being any kind of genuine strategy associated with this title.
---
Well, that's it for the Wii. Looking up, it seems as though I actually have gotten a fair bit of gaming in over this past year. But of all of those games, I only completed ... well, I'd probably say that I've only really "completed" Mario Kart. And even then, there are a few mirror races that I haven't finished yet, as I usually just play multiplayer. My gaming sessions these days tend to be short, and so with little sense of progress in titles I seem to lose interest. ...
I think it's also the case that I've been playing out of genre for the past year. My love is and always will be in rpg's, and that's where I intend to return now that I have the xbox...
Mario Kart Wii (*****)
Easily my favorite Wii game, this is a raucous arcade racer with a surprising amount of depth. The tracks are colorful, varied, and each has its own little tricks that you'll need to learn if you're to compete and do well in this game. The single player Grand Prix events are good training, but it's the online play where the game really shines. The item system helps balance the odds and keep poorer players in the race. But they also help better players recover from an accident or an unlucky assault of items. I basically plateaued right around 8000 multiplayer points, and I don't think I can get better unless I get really serious. And that's where I draw the line, as this just doesn't seem like a game that one is supposed to get that serious about. :)Super Mario Galaxy (****)
As platformers go, this has to be about as good as you'll find. Incredibly imaginative level design with a physics system that is both absurd and intuitive. It was a lot of fun, especially over the first 10 hours or so. The game's downfall, for me, was that despite the creative and highly variable level design, the game started to feel repetitive. You go on a mission, get a star, and then return to your home base. Repeat 60 some-odd times. The return to base was so anticlimactic, and the missions often so easy (to a gamer who's not much of a platformer!) that after the 25th or so star that I acquired, I really didn't feel much desire to continue onward. After all, it's not like anything interesting was going to happen in terms of the story. The level design is the heart of the game, but unfortunately it's also about all the game has going for it. For me, at least, it just wasn't quite enough. Never finished it.The Sims 2: Castaway (**)
It's a sims game on a deserted island. So, you start with no resources, no friends (except monkeys), etc. In other words, you have to do a fair bit of work before you can even begin to do any activities that make Sims games fun. I gave this game an evening of my time and then stuck it on a shelf. Maybe if I didn't have other games to play, I would have kept going with it. But I did have other games to play. I sold it on ebay a few weeks ago.Super Paper Mario (****)
Despite the rpg elements, this is mostly just a platformer. And it's a good one, as I actually finished this game. The items make for a nice addition to the platforming action, with healing items to make precision a bit less important and attack items to provide some new ways to kill things. The story is barely tolerable in its absurd cutesiness and predictability, but as a (mostly) 2D platformer this was a lot of fun. Bonus points for nostalgia here--someone who didn't grow up playing Super Mario Brothers on the NES might not have the same reaction.The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (****)
This, perhaps like Galaxy, was a great game that just didn't do it for me. It's wonderfully imaginative with absolutely brilliant art and sound design, an engaging combat system that elevantes my adrenaline without being overly twitch-based, and a surprisingly compelling story. The problem, I think, is that it's so focused on puzzles. I like puzzles now and then, but I guess I'm not into platforming- or adventure-style puzzles enough to really enjoy this game. I had a good time playing this game, but I ultimately saw my progress slowed to a tremendous degree simply because it was taking so long to solve some of the puzzles. Toward the end, I found myself playing with my laptop open to a walkthrough. And that was pretty much the end of the line for me--if you're interested, I'm in the monkey dungeon after getting the wind boomerang thing. I might pick this up again, but probably not for a while.Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (***)
I thought that the gamecube Fire Emblem game (Path of Radiance) was absolutely brilliant, and played it last Fall on my Wii. Radiant Dawn still has the excellent turn-based combat system, with an interesting mix of classes and characters like we saw in PoR. But in crafting RD, I think the designers tried to get a bit too fancy. First, there are essentially three unrelated stories that take place in the game. As a result, you change party composition often, and don't get the opportunity to become as emotionally attached to your characters via cutscenes and combat as you did in prior games. Similarly, battles almost always include massive numbers of respawning enemies that will flank your team. As a result, I found the battles less immersive than in PoR--they were really just an exercise in trying to predict what the designers would do next. All of this made battles longer, more intense, and less fun than they were in PoR. It's a shame, because I really like this series and was looking forward to playing this game. I'll probably finish it someday, but for now I've put it on the back burner.Rayman Raving Rabbids (****)
Sort of like Super Mario Galaxy, this is one of the more creative games I've played. While essentially a long series of mini-games, the art and sound design are so brilliantly inventive (and funny) that it stays fresh in game after game. The on-rails plunger-shooting is the best part of the game, but most of the other games are a riot to play in short doses as well. My only real complaint about the game is that, despite being a collection of mini-games, it just isn't a very good party game. Most of the games (except the shooting and dancing games) can only be played by one person at a time. For this reason, we usually bust out Super Monkey Ball instead of Rayman when people are over, despite the fact that Rayman's a much more enjoyable game. Trading off the controller with my wife during the single player campaign, however, has proven to be much more enjoyable.Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (***)
More than a year ago, I wrote up a full review of this game here. But the short story is that the single player game seems outrageously hard and unfun, and so the multiplayer party games is where it's at. And of the 50 or so party games, I'd estimate that at least 5 are broken beyond all repair, and another 10 are extremely not fun despite working "properly." But the other 30 work well enough, and 10 or so are extremely enjoyable. Most seem to be best-suited for 2 players, but many will allow four players to play at once. The bird flying game continues to be my personal favorite--best use of the wii-mote I've seen to date. Seriously. Overall, it's a good game to have for a party, but if you're like most of us and don't have Wii parties every weekend, you're unlikely to get much use out of this game.Trauma Center: New Blood (***)
Neat idea here and good execution. The graphics are beautiful, clear, and are stylized to a degree that they don't bring any kind of grossness factor (to me at least). And the Wii-pointer controls are extremely well done, with a more responsive cursor than any other game I've seen thus far. The story is also engaging, with good tension provided by good ER-style voice acting. I'm not the most skilled of twitchy-type gamers, however, and I found the game to be virtually impossible to continue by about the 15th or 20th mission. The multiplayer offers the opportunity for a really neat experience with a friend on the couch and the possibility to complete the more challenging surgeries. But for it to work well in the more complicated surgeries, you'll need a partner who is as dedicated to learning to do these pretend procedures as you are. I can imagine that there are couples out there who are practiced enough that surgeries become an unspoken and well-coordinated dance--it'd be fun to watch in person. But for most of us, one party is likely to just get stuck on epinephrine duty, and that gets old fast.Dr. Mario (***)
I'm torn about only giving this one three stars, because to be honest, this, along with Mario Kart, is the game that my wife and I have enjoyed the most. There's not much new in this version compared to prior versions. There is a new dragging-based virus buster game, but we didn't find that very fun. Basically, we just start up a traditional game and play in flash mode, which makes for shorter and more frantic games (you only have to kill 3 specific viruses, rather than clear the whole board). What makes it work so well is that we're pretty evenly matched, and with the quick games that flash mode permits, we can tear through 8 or so games in just 20 minutes. Nice way to close out a night before going to bed. Ultimately, though, while it's very good at what it does, it's "just Dr. Mario"--this is the same game that has been available for years on Nintendo consoles.Final Fantasy Chronicles: My Life as King (**)
This game has potential and was fun for the first 5 hours or so. Graphics are nice (though rather unvaried in the stand-alone release), and the concept is interesting. But the game has a striking lack of depth, which becomes clear pretty early on. The result is that after you've built one of each of the main types of structures, and started on your way to building a productive town, the game basically succumbs to being nothing but a grind. Send out your adventurers, get your gold and mana (or whatever it's called), and ultimately build something else. I guess there's some sort of story, but I didn't last long enough to develop it much. Much has been made about the necessity of buying downloadable content, but I honestly don't think that would help much--new outfits and building types still wouldn't result in there being any kind of genuine strategy associated with this title.---
Well, that's it for the Wii. Looking up, it seems as though I actually have gotten a fair bit of gaming in over this past year. But of all of those games, I only completed ... well, I'd probably say that I've only really "completed" Mario Kart. And even then, there are a few mirror races that I haven't finished yet, as I usually just play multiplayer. My gaming sessions these days tend to be short, and so with little sense of progress in titles I seem to lose interest. ...
I think it's also the case that I've been playing out of genre for the past year. My love is and always will be in rpg's, and that's where I intend to return now that I have the xbox...
Monday, November 3, 2008
What I've been up to...
Been a while...
Looks like the last time I posted was January. A lot's happened since then. Finished my Ph.D. this summer and got a great job at a small college in Central Pennsylvania. I'm currently in my first semester here, and I'm really enjoying it. It's been a LOT of work, but teaching has long been my main professional interest and I'm very happy to have the opportunity to focus so heavily on it.
In order to get all of that accomplished--the Ph.D. finale was particularly demanding (exhausting?), especially while also teaching adjunct in the evenings--I largely had to drop all of my hobbies and put all my focus on RealLife(tm). And so I haven't really been doing much gaming this year, at least compared to prior years.
What little time I have had for gaming has mostly been devoted to playing Wii titles. But recently, I decided to give myself a belated graduation present and bought an Xbox 360. With that decision, I've pretty much decided to convert entirely over to console gaming. Several reasons for this:
1. Most of the games that I've been wanting to play--Mass Effect, Fallout 3, Fable 2, Final Fantasy, etc--are designed with a console in mind. I think only Dragon Age is clearly a PC game that is on my "looks interesting" list, and even then there's the possibility of a console version (how that will work, I have no idea) being released sometime in the future.
2. I get to play on our "big" 37" LCD in the living room. And I get to sit on my couch.
3. Consoles are cheap! And they're so much more powerful than they used to be, with a lot more crossover between PC and console titles. Today, I could buy all three of the console systems ($250 Wii, $400 PS3, $300 Xbox360 = $950) and still pay less than I would to buy a new PC rig. And they have a comparable lifespan. And I probably won't buy all three systems, at least not at the PS3's current price tag.
4. Along those lines, my job provides a laptop for my use. Ditto for my wife's job. Which means that the home PC is now strictly a gaming machine. $1200 (my typical machine cost) is just too much to pay for a gaming rig,
5. I don't have to worry about hardware compatibility any more. And I don't have to worry as much about updating drivers and maintaining my rig's condition. Games are designed specifically for the hardware I'm running. Now that I'm in console-land, I think this is a bigger deal than I realized when I was primarily into computers. Crashes are RARE.
6. It turns out that I really like racing games. And racing games on consoles are better, I think.
7. You can sell used versions of your game much more easily. I recently sold a bunch of gamecube games on ebay, and got $15-25 for each. In some cases, I got more than I paid for them, which is insane.
Anyway, that's enough for now. As I think about it, I have a lot of other things to talk about... reflections on (the few) games I've played this year, the reason I bought an xbox instead of a ps3, thoughts about the recent spat of releases, etc. But that'll have to wait for another day. :)
P.S. How is it possible that Mysteries of Westgate still has not been released?!?
Looks like the last time I posted was January. A lot's happened since then. Finished my Ph.D. this summer and got a great job at a small college in Central Pennsylvania. I'm currently in my first semester here, and I'm really enjoying it. It's been a LOT of work, but teaching has long been my main professional interest and I'm very happy to have the opportunity to focus so heavily on it.
In order to get all of that accomplished--the Ph.D. finale was particularly demanding (exhausting?), especially while also teaching adjunct in the evenings--I largely had to drop all of my hobbies and put all my focus on RealLife(tm). And so I haven't really been doing much gaming this year, at least compared to prior years.
What little time I have had for gaming has mostly been devoted to playing Wii titles. But recently, I decided to give myself a belated graduation present and bought an Xbox 360. With that decision, I've pretty much decided to convert entirely over to console gaming. Several reasons for this:
1. Most of the games that I've been wanting to play--Mass Effect, Fallout 3, Fable 2, Final Fantasy, etc--are designed with a console in mind. I think only Dragon Age is clearly a PC game that is on my "looks interesting" list, and even then there's the possibility of a console version (how that will work, I have no idea) being released sometime in the future.
2. I get to play on our "big" 37" LCD in the living room. And I get to sit on my couch.
3. Consoles are cheap! And they're so much more powerful than they used to be, with a lot more crossover between PC and console titles. Today, I could buy all three of the console systems ($250 Wii, $400 PS3, $300 Xbox360 = $950) and still pay less than I would to buy a new PC rig. And they have a comparable lifespan. And I probably won't buy all three systems, at least not at the PS3's current price tag.
4. Along those lines, my job provides a laptop for my use. Ditto for my wife's job. Which means that the home PC is now strictly a gaming machine. $1200 (my typical machine cost) is just too much to pay for a gaming rig,
5. I don't have to worry about hardware compatibility any more. And I don't have to worry as much about updating drivers and maintaining my rig's condition. Games are designed specifically for the hardware I'm running. Now that I'm in console-land, I think this is a bigger deal than I realized when I was primarily into computers. Crashes are RARE.
6. It turns out that I really like racing games. And racing games on consoles are better, I think.
7. You can sell used versions of your game much more easily. I recently sold a bunch of gamecube games on ebay, and got $15-25 for each. In some cases, I got more than I paid for them, which is insane.
Anyway, that's enough for now. As I think about it, I have a lot of other things to talk about... reflections on (the few) games I've played this year, the reason I bought an xbox instead of a ps3, thoughts about the recent spat of releases, etc. But that'll have to wait for another day. :)
P.S. How is it possible that Mysteries of Westgate still has not been released?!?
Monday, January 7, 2008
FRWCC lives on! ... Just not with me.
I posted this on the vault page for the FRW Character Creator, but I thought I'd post it here as well:
In the meantime, I will say that I've been continuing to actively follow and blog about baseball (if you look at the blogs for the Cinci Reds, you could probably figure out which one is mine). I've also been playing several games on the Wii when time permits. Personal faves include Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (gamecube version, haven't played Wii version yet), Guitar Hero III, Trauma Center: New Blood, and Raymond Raving Rabbids. Super Paper Mario was also fun.
I may post some reviews of these and other games on this site from time to time if the muse strikes me. I can see this blog eventually transforming into a more general interest gaming blog in the future. But for the time being, I just don't have the time to maintain two blogs at this point...and baseball has always been my deepest love. :)
-B
I wanted to thank everyone for their continued enthusiasm and kind words about this module! I've had a great time interacting with everyone and putting this utility mod together, and I'm very proud of how it has turned out to this point.I also wanted to thank everyone for continuing to pop by this blog every once in a while, and for leaving all those wonderful comments in my previous post. I really do appreciate it. Honestly, I do feel like I've abandoned a lot of friends in leaving the community, and I feel bad about it. My life has just become very busy (writing dissertation, applying for jobs, teaching as an adjunct faculty member, spending time with the kiddo, etc), and my interests have strayed away from NWN2. I may, someday, return to this community in some fashion or another, though my guess is that it won't be at quite the same level of involvement.
As you could probably guess from the lack of updates, however, my interests have strayed away from NWN2 for a while now. This module was always intended to be an actively updated "support" module for modules in the Forgotten Realms Weave group, as well as a Berliad-proof way to level up your characters and not have them overpowered for most modules on the Vault. So letting this module just fade away was not something I wanted to see happen.
Therefore, I have decided to turn over full control of this module to another member of the Forgotten Realms Weave, ladydesire. I know she has some great ideas about further additions to this module, especially on the scripting side (which is an area in which I have zero expertise!!), so I'm sure it's in good hands.
Best of luck to ladydesire, and thanks again to everyone for your support and continued interest in this module!
-Berliad
In the meantime, I will say that I've been continuing to actively follow and blog about baseball (if you look at the blogs for the Cinci Reds, you could probably figure out which one is mine). I've also been playing several games on the Wii when time permits. Personal faves include Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (gamecube version, haven't played Wii version yet), Guitar Hero III, Trauma Center: New Blood, and Raymond Raving Rabbids. Super Paper Mario was also fun.
I may post some reviews of these and other games on this site from time to time if the muse strikes me. I can see this blog eventually transforming into a more general interest gaming blog in the future. But for the time being, I just don't have the time to maintain two blogs at this point...and baseball has always been my deepest love. :)
-B
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Mysteries of Westgate
I wanted to send out congrats to Alazander, Hugie, Challseus, Tiberius209, Maerduin, and everyone else from Ossian about the recent announcement of their upcoming module, Mysteries of Westgate! It sounds like it's going to be nothing short of spectacular, and I'm looking forward to seeing materials from it. It must be incredibly gratifying for individuals in that company to finally have been able to produce something that will actually result in a cash return...especially in light of the premium module debacle of '06.
Also have to say that I much prefer the "adventure pack" descriptor to the term "premium module." :)
....
As for me.. Well, what can I say? I just haven't had much time or interest to devote to anything NWN2 related for a while now, except for a fairly brief return last month. This includes a complete lack of progress, very unfortunately, on my Vault review of Ryam Baco's module, which is pretty poor form on my part--first time I've ever really sat on a review, and I'm feeling like a pretty bad person for it.
I don't have the NWN2 expansion pack yet, and I'm honestly not really feeling the urge to get it. I'm excited to hear about some of the modules that have come out lately, and are coming out soon, but at the same time I'm not feeling much motivation to get out there and play them. Hopefully things will improve in a few weeks when the World Series ends (I'm rootin' for the Rockies, in case you're interested...After '04, Boston is now just another rich team from the northeast). But at the same time, I don't have a ton of free time, and I want to spend it doing things that I'm excited about. Lately, that's mostly been baseball, as well as a few Wii/Gamecube games (recently picked up Tales of Symponia used...not sure if I like it yet...story seems intriguing and the art is nice, but it might require too much twichiness to be enjoyable).
Anyway, I certainly wouldn't be surprised to find myself back in the den playing NWN2 modules sometime in the next few weeks. But at the same time, it also wouldn't surprise me for it to be a while before I pick it up again. We'll see.
Thanks for visiting. I will try to continue to keep this space active, whether I'm posting about NWN2 or otherwise.
Also have to say that I much prefer the "adventure pack" descriptor to the term "premium module." :)
....
As for me.. Well, what can I say? I just haven't had much time or interest to devote to anything NWN2 related for a while now, except for a fairly brief return last month. This includes a complete lack of progress, very unfortunately, on my Vault review of Ryam Baco's module, which is pretty poor form on my part--first time I've ever really sat on a review, and I'm feeling like a pretty bad person for it.
I don't have the NWN2 expansion pack yet, and I'm honestly not really feeling the urge to get it. I'm excited to hear about some of the modules that have come out lately, and are coming out soon, but at the same time I'm not feeling much motivation to get out there and play them. Hopefully things will improve in a few weeks when the World Series ends (I'm rootin' for the Rockies, in case you're interested...After '04, Boston is now just another rich team from the northeast). But at the same time, I don't have a ton of free time, and I want to spend it doing things that I'm excited about. Lately, that's mostly been baseball, as well as a few Wii/Gamecube games (recently picked up Tales of Symponia used...not sure if I like it yet...story seems intriguing and the art is nice, but it might require too much twichiness to be enjoyable).
Anyway, I certainly wouldn't be surprised to find myself back in the den playing NWN2 modules sometime in the next few weeks. But at the same time, it also wouldn't surprise me for it to be a while before I pick it up again. We'll see.
Thanks for visiting. I will try to continue to keep this space active, whether I'm posting about NWN2 or otherwise.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Maximus reports on his trip
Maximus has posted a report of his trip over to Obsidian a week or so back to check out Mask of the Betrayer. He also links to one by the tileset gurus at Robinson's Workshop, though I haven't had a chance to read that one just yet.
Interestingly, Rogue Dao studios also had a chance to demo their upcoming module at this meeting. I've long been a fanboy of the Planescape setting, and from Maximus's description, and everything else I'd seen from it, it really sounds amazing. I'm actually much more excited about playing their module than the actual expansion campaign... In fact, I'd probably be willing to hold off on purchasing the explansion to see if I could snag the expansion as a Christmas gift, except that Rogue Dao's module will require the expansion!
Interestingly, Rogue Dao studios also had a chance to demo their upcoming module at this meeting. I've long been a fanboy of the Planescape setting, and from Maximus's description, and everything else I'd seen from it, it really sounds amazing. I'm actually much more excited about playing their module than the actual expansion campaign... In fact, I'd probably be willing to hold off on purchasing the explansion to see if I could snag the expansion as a Christmas gift, except that Rogue Dao's module will require the expansion!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Night Howls in Nestlehaven
Below are my comments on Nestlehaven. It's clearly among the best modules yet produced for the Vault. If the sequel can fulfill the promise of this first effort, we could be in store for something very, very special. It's exciting to see content like this coming out for NWN2--it shows much of the tremendous power of this modding engine while living up to the rich history of story and setting than we have in the NWN community. It most certainly falls into the "must have" category of NWN2 mods, and I've only said that about one or two other modules...
My Vote: 9 - Outstanding, A Must Have
Character: lv. 9 human neutral good cleric from Keep on the Borderlands, advanced to lv. 13
Module Version Played: jul20a6
Night Howls in Nestlehaven borders on groundbreaking, at least for the still-young NWN2 modding community. The crowning accomplishment of this module is the realization of Nestlehaven as a living and breathing town. Jackyo123's Nestlehaven has a rich history dominated by two ruling families, the Boroldi (who wear blue) and the Bellerose (who wear red). The two families are evenly matched and have an arrangement to share power within the city. But it is an imperfect arrangement between two very proud houses, and the result is a history of tension that periodically boils over into genuine feuds. Now is one of those times, and the player character is invited by Nestlehaven's constable to help solve the mystery behind a series of gruesome murders that nearly have the ruling families at each others' throats.
The Capulet vs. Montague-esque split between the families dominates almost every aspect of the town of Nestlehaven. Most residents are allied with one of the two families, and they wear their affiliations on their sleeve--literally--by wearing their family's colors. In fact, in what I thought was a masterful stroke by the author, the citizens go so far as to paint the roofs of their homes to match the colors of their chosen families. The result is a town that feels divided, yet at the same time, tied together by their richly intertwined history.Much of the first half of the module has the player exploring the streets and buildings of Nestlehaven, which feel alive thanks to a tremendous amount of detail. Commoners, many of which are customized well beyond the level we typically see in modules, move about the city muttering their opinions about current events. Many, if not most, buildings are enterable despite being unrelated to any of the various main quests and side quests (as an aside, while my character felt right at home in this mod, I think it would actually be best played as a chaotic mercenary-type, rather than a do-gooder, so that one would feel liberated to explore/plunder all the various private residences that one can explore). And there are wonderful variety of interesting minor encounters, both violent and pleasant, that one can experience while one explores the town. There are only a few modules for NWN1 that were able to create such a palpably alive city for you to explore...and they often were among my favorite modules, including Cormyrean Nights, Threat of Dreams, and Almraiven, among others. And there's nothing else like it available for NWN2, official campaign included.
All that praise actually leads to my primary critique of the module. While the setting of Nestlehaven is fabulous, and sets up a wonderful opportunity for political intrigue and espionage, it ultimately felt a bit tangential to the main storyline. In fact, while the first half of the module will have you exploring the many interesting locals within the city, most of the second half of the module has you either fighting baddies in the surrounding forests or trudging through the many dungeons underneath Nestlehaven fighting all manner of demons and undead. The only time one has a serious encounter with the leadership of one of the ruling families is during a bizarre mandatory fetch quest, which felt a bit tacked-on. Furthermore, what starts as a very open-ended module becomes almost railroaded in its linearity near the end. The main story itself isn't bad by any means, and is generally well-executed, but it seemed a bit generic...especially when laid in contrast to the potential richness of the feud between the two ancient houses. It's not the case that main story has nothing to do with the families. It's just that it feels like more could be done to take advantage of the fabulous potential conflict that the author created.
There is a LOT of fighting in this module. It's not really repetitive, because the author does a brilliant job of creating customized enemies--not just his customized and creative monsters, but even the various "thugs" and "guards" that you'll meet have individualized equipment, looks, and character descriptions, with few duplicate individuals to be found. However, I thought that most of the encounters "felt" like boss battles, often with 6-7 foes that one has to cope with at once...and this resulted in my party spending a bit more time in combat than I found enjoyable, especially during the last hour or two of gameplay. Furthermore, many of the actual boss battles felt a bit anticlimactic, probably because of the elaborate fights against the various squads of minions.Fortunately, my party of 5 was always up to the task. I found combat to be well-balanced for my lv. 9 cleric, though I did play on normal difficulty most of the time to offset her low level. Blasting away with lightning and fireballs without friendly fire may be cheesy, but it makes combat a lot more fun for me--and makes fights go by a lot quicker. There were only one or two times when it probably made the combat easier than the author intended.
Critiques aside, this is a fantastic module. And as first modding efforts go, this is among the most impressive I've ever seen. The attention to detail here is mind boggling, the setting is fabulously realized, and I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel. After all, this is just the first chapter in the story, and the author clearly has a plan for where this is going. Many of the encounters in this mod, for example--especially those with the ruling families--clearly foreshadow more interesting encounters and plot development still to come. I'm really looking forward to it. Thanks for the great module!
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