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GAME ON!
By Ian Bonds
March 17th, 2006
Well folks, after a late column last week and a dearth of games reviewed therein, this week should make up for a few things…namely, we’ve got lots of games for ya this week. From beat ‘em ups to RPGs, Next-Gen to Old School, this week is packed. Enough blabbing, let’s rock and roll.
DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME
Don’t you hate it when they say they’re ending a series, only to have yet another uncalled for sequel pop up? Usually, you fear for the worst, and usually you’re right, but in the ONIMUSHA: DAWN OF DREAMS, out now for PS2, that thankfully isn’t the case. For the fourth game in the series we’ve got news heroes, new challenges, and no need for familiarity.
Now I must say, I was a big fan of the original trilogy, and I didn’t think anything could top the evil of Nobunaga Oda. Well, with this latest entry into the series, I’m happily mistaken. Not that players will need to know who Nobunaga is. DAWN OF DREAMS takes place a full 15 years after the original story arc ends, so no prior knowledge of the former is necessary. This time around, Nobunaga’s normally benevolent successor, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, becomes mad with power after a mysterious planet passes over Earth. Players take on the role of Soki, the Oni of the Ash, known simply as the “Blue Demon”, and try to reclaim the land from the Genma demons that have once again claimed the countryside.
Along your journey, you’ll meet and work with other characters, such as Jubei, the young girl with a warrior’s heart, and as you progress, you’ll be able to actively switch between these extra characters on the fly as well as the ability to issue commands to your comrades. These are especially helpful in certain areas, where those character’s abilities can best be utilized, such as one character’s use of guns to shoot down flying enemies.
The story is beautifully told through the series long-standing tradition of jaw droppingly gorgeous CG cut scenes. The voice acting is also once again top quality, and the whole production is exceptional. The gameplay is separated into stages, rather than one continuous mission all the way through. This helps break up the action a bit and gives you an opportunity to save and collect yourself before heading out and slicing and dicing demons. As for the demon slicing itself, the battle system is once again tweaked and improved to allow more freedom for combos and power hits with which to dispatch your foes. This title forgoes the series’ usual fixed camera (in most sections) to allow free reign to observe your surroundings while attacking, in order to get a better fix on where your assailants are coming from.
The adventure is a long one too, spread out onto two discs. With quite possibly the most epic story for the series yet, interesting characters, great control, stunning sound and visuals, this one is another winner for the series. It’s fast paced, fun, and has something new to offer fans of the originals, while not keeping it tied down to it’s former stories so that newcomers can have something to enjoy.
One Gamer’s Opinion:
FULL ON FUN
If you’re into something a bit more, shall we say, shallow, then look no further than FULL AUTO, out now for the Xbox 360. Now, I don’t say shallow in a bad way, mind you, I just mean “light on plot”. This title may not be as deep as most out now, but it’s certainly not short on fun.
Apparently, there’s some sort of cult in the near future where drivers race and shoot at each other, blah blah blah. No one really cares about the story, they just want to get down to the vehicular carnage. Well, FULL AUTO brings it in spades. One could call it BURNOUT meets TWISTED METAL, but that would be an unfair comparison to those two games, though one could certainly see the things they have in common with this title. You select your fictional vehicle, outfit it with weapons, and take off. Here, you not only have to come in first in the race, but you also have to take out your opposition…with big fucking guns. This means diverting your attention between hairpin turns and avoiding shotgun fire and landmines dropped by the shiny (yet deadly) sports car to your right. It’s an interesting mix.
As you speed and shoot through the levels diverse race types (point-to-point, circuit, etc) you build up boost. As you DESTROY everything along your route (other racers, the landscape, etc) you build up your “Unwreck” meter. These two meters quickly become the most important points of any given race. The boost will help you (albeit briefly) to zoom ahead of the opposition (and often, out of the line of fire) while the unwreck does exactly what it sounds like. IF you happen to take a turn to sharp and drive headlong into a gas tanker, get blown up from behind by a rival, or just happen to drive straight into a wall, unwreck will rewind time, PRINCE OF PERSIA-style, and set you back a bit in the race so you can try again, avoiding your mistake the second time around.
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While most will think this feature is a cheap gimmick, it helps a good deal in the harder races, and certainly adds a new flavor to the typical driving genre. The graphics here are all shiny and next-gen bright, with amazing particle and destructions effects littering the screen. The audio rings out with general engine noise but a plethora of weapons and explosions sounds.
There’s of course a decent helping of multiplayer options (both online and off), but sadly, during these, the unwreck feature is taken out. I understand why, but it still would have been a nice addition. Still, all in all, it’s a fun ride. It may not have much substance, but what is there is a shitload of fun, and pretty damn addictive.
One Gamer’s Opinion:
DAWN OF A NEW DAY
If you’re like me, and you’re hesitant to play a GUNDAM game simply because you’re not up on the series’ huge history (and also for the fact that most of the games are usually lackluster fighters) then I have a treat in store for you. MS SAGA: A NEW DAWN for the PS2 requires no prior knowledge of the TV series, nor does it require that you even have the slightest hint of how the other game’s play, as this title not only sets itself away from the main saga, but also places it into a brand new genre for the series: an RPG.
It’s after “The Great Fall” and a Young man named Tristan is out to avenge the destruction of the Orphanage where he grew up, brought on by the hands of a few Mobile Suits (aka, the giant robots of the series). With his own Mobile Suit at his command, he and various party members will traverse the land, upgrade their mechs, and engage in turn based battles for the salvation of the world. Pretty standard RPG fare, despite the robots and such.
There’s a decent amount of customization here, as many fallen foes have salvageable parts, which you can add to your own Mobile Suit. Pay attention to slot space, however, for as cool as certain things may be (such as the Iron Axe or that massive bazooka) you’ll limit what you can carry WITH those items, since they take up so much space in your grid. Still, it’s cool to fiddle with and tweak each Mobile Suit, and you can even upgrade it’s power displacement or exhaust capacities too, like you were modding a car in MIDNIGHT CLUB or something. Call it “Pimp My Mech”.
Sadly, beyond that, the game plays out like a typical RPG, which is to say, a typical old school RPG. Simple battles one second, insanely one sided slaughters the next, with you being the slaughtered. I’m all for diversity in the fights you pick, but sometimes it just ain’t fair. There also seems to be a large amount of patience one needs to handle the attitudes of certain party members (like Tristan’s brother, Fritz). Thankfully, the voicework is limited (never thought I’d say that much) so he only grates occasionally.
The graphics are a bit of a mixed bag. While some cut scenes are quite nice, the opening one is a bit misleading, what with it’s cell-shaded graphics and sweeping score, found NO WHERE ELSE in the game. Many times there are size issues, with your Mobile Suit (shown mostly in Super Deformed style) either towering above a city one moment, then only appearing the same size as a small house the next. There also tends to be some jagged edge issues with some of the graphics, but it’s not horribly noticeable.
All in all however, it’s a pretty basic affair. You have your revenge mission, your anime characters with their love-torn dialogues, and of course, giant robots. All this surrounding some deep Mobile Suit customization options and a simplistic RPG turn based battle system. It’s not a FINAL FANTASY killer, but it is fun…basic, but fun.
One Gamer’s Opinion:
RIDERS ON THE STORM
The SONIC series is apparently still trying to find its niche in the 3D setting. They tried some standard adventures with the little blue guy blazing paths, but found that the game worked best only when it came to the insane speeds the Hedgehog is known for. They tried focusing on a new “dark” character, but brought in those “guns” the kids seem to like in their games, but once again, it wasn’t fun when you had to slow down to shoot stuff. So since speed tends to push the series, Sonic Team tries again, and almost makes it work with SONIC RIDERS, out now for PS2, Xbox and Gamecube.
The plot is paper-thin, but apparently, since Sonic has once again found yet another Chaos Emerald, Dr. Eggman wants it, and challenges him to a grand prix of hoverboard races for it. Yeah. In what amounts to a weird hybrid of MARIO KART and the SSX snowboarding series, SONIC RIDERS takes elements of both and comes up with a simple, basic racer.
Players choose from a variety of series characters with which to race, and set out on a variety of courses, each with special sections depending on the kind of racer you choose. Each racer has a special ability for their race type (speed, flying, etc) that can be utilized in certain sections of the courses, such as jumps or the occasional rail. When catching big air, all one has to do is simply move the left analog stick around to perform a series of tricks. Land safely to gain a point grade. Simple enough.
There’s your typical boost meter, but use it up too much, and you’ll have to refuel your air at one of the various pit stops set up on the course. This is both strange and highly unnecessary. One of the coolest effects, although, is the ability to ride your opponents slipstream turbulence. Just catch the cone of air behind them, and you’ll sail along on their path. Again, there’s a downfall to this ability, however, as you can just as easily set your controller down and let your opponent do all the racing for you, with you just hitching a ride.
While the control and playability is fairly basic, it still doesn’t quite achieve the same rate of speed we’ve been accustomed to for the little spiky blue ball. I mean, he’s Sonic…what does he need a hoverboard for? Still, it’s a fun distraction, if a bit hallow.
One Gamer’s Opinion:
CRAPTACULAR GAME OF THE WEEK
Sigh. What is it with game developers and urban culture? Why is something so popular and yet NEVER works in games. Take FINAL FIGHT: STREETWISE, for example. Here we have a previous existing series “updated” for the new style. Unnecessary swearing, unneeded “street culture”, and just a general sense of crappiness are prevalent throughout this title. Sure the combat is actually pretty fun and controls well enough, but once again the camera is your worst enemy in a game, making the fighting engine useless by swinging wildly and blocking most of the action with your shoulder in the way. The storyline is awful, and despite the appearance of familiar series characters, offers no redeeming value. The graphics are muddy shades of brown and darker brown, and the voice acting (despite featuring someone who sounds an awful lot like Spike “Cowboy Bebop” Spiegel) is atrocious, peppered with expletives galore and groan-worthy dialogue.
Sure, you can unlock the original game, but you may as well just buy that for $20 from the CAPCOM CLASSICS COLLECTION instead. I’m all for updates of old favorites, but add something worthwhile, don’t just use language and culture as an excuse to churn out a mature rating. More often than not, it’s unnecessary and just ends up being no fun.
One Gamer’s Opinion:
Whew. We made it. After that barrage of games, I wonder what goodies we have in store next week. Only one way to find out, friends…see you next week.
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