Wi-Philes

Let's see if this becomes a running theme here.

Recently there's been some controversy over the review score that Famitsu has handed out to Final Fantasy XIII. The controversy basically amounts to a lot of people crying because the game didn't receive a perfect 40/40, and instead received a deeply cynical and hateful 39/40. Why this matters is strange, especially since only one Final Fantasy game has ever received a perfect score from the magazine in the first place. Stranger still is why anyone would be angry over a 39/40 anyway. Let's see if the sensible, native Japanese speaker that 1up.com quotes in their news story can help us understand the frustration:

"I figured they were just giving perfect scores to all the triple-A titles these days, but now this means they gave a perfect score to Monster Hunter Tri because they actually thought it deserved it. Famitsu's reviewers are drifting away from my viewpoint; I really can't trust them anymore."

Whaa????

Wouldn't the conclusion that Famitsu simply hands out perfect scores to every big release invalidate their method of grading titles in first place? So why does anyone care anymore? Or does it not matter as long as everyone's Favorite Game Series gets a perfect score? And what would that mean, anyway, if everyone's Favorite Game Series automatically got a perfect score anyway? And how can they really be drifting that far from one's viewpoint if the game tallies only one mark shy of 40? And how does anyone even know what their viewpoint is on a game they haven't touched yet?

I know review scores can be a touchy subject and that people like to cling to them to justify the unequivocal greatness their preference of a certain console or developer, but thoughts like the one quoted above are just strange. Maybe Famitsu should give every Big Game a perfect score. Then they can gradually start giving all games perfect scores, and then all media outlets worldwide will follow in their bold footsteps, and every game ever would get perfect scores!

Then, when perfect scores don't mean anything anymore, maybe people will actually think about why they like something rather than turn their brains off as soon as they see a number.

Bob Mackey over at 1up.com is dismayed because he thinks that Kingdom Hearts' appeal is shrinking because it takes itself and its story too seriously. In a kind and rational world, this series' appeal would have shrunk soon after the original title was released and people realized it was a hackeneyed piece of trash, but alas, people actually bought it in droves. So, that leaves us here: living in a world where despite not having released a home console sequel in four years or so, Square-Enix continues to move impressive amounts of copies of the franchise's spin-offs.

Any shock over this franchise's consistent descent into the deeper levels of dreck is actually kind of strange to me, because this was probably the least surprising trajectory for the series to take. If the soil of Kingdom Hearts was ripe for anything it was for fetishism and for taking itself too seriously. Nevermind that fundamentally the game was a mess and executed almost nothing well (I swear I make sense even though in hindsight I sound like a raging maniac). Sure, it could have realized that it was about a kid running around Disney World with furry animals that talk and big yellow clown shoes and a giant key which is used for a sword, but come on. This is an industry that took Sonic the Hedgehog and gave us this and this.

For some inexplicable reason, videogame fandom has pressured more and more developers to take their projects into more "serious" directions, which usually means that we end up with schlock. Kingdom Hearts was already guilty of this before its sequels, and since Sonic the Hedgehog became a safe haven for furry fantasies it has done the same. It doesn't stop there, though, because we need Super Mario and Zelda to have deep, substantive stories as well. What's interesting is that most of these titles had better and more powerful narratives before strange cut-scenes involving large cartoon hedgehogs interacting with realistically-rendered humans got thrown into the mix. Fanbases began clamoring for things like "depth" and saying things like "Game X was cool but I hope they take it in a darker direction next time!" People seem to care more about referencing an archetypal trope than if that reference is actually executed well. I don't know if some people are just scared to be seen playing a colorful videogame that doesn't involve some kind of existential breakdown or what, but if some of this stems from a need for this hobby to be validated in the eyes of the wider public, I don't really think this is the way to do it.

I feel like I played a lot more games at this year's E3 than the one back in 2006, and yet I still managed to miss out on quite a few. I pretty much refused to wait in line forever, so that left me unable to check out titles like Uncharted 2 and Zelda: Spirit Tracks, but I still managed to play quite a few that left me hankerin' for more. Here are the ones I felt were most impressive.

After making a pit-stop in Okami's mythical Japan, Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe director Hideki Kamiya is back doing what he does best: kicking extravagant amounts of ass. Bayonetta is pure, completely over-the-top action involving guns, weapons, demonic hair, sexual overtures, and more guns. There's a definite Devil May Cry influence here when it comes to the basic mechanics, but what Platinum Games has done is basically use those mechanics to go batshit insane with everything else. Combo chains can end with Bayonetta standing on her head and shooting enemies in the face. You can dodge at the right time to free yourself up and whomp on someone in slow motion. You can summon a guillotine to chop their heads of, or you can juggle them in the air with melee attacks and the guns attached to your body. And, of course, you can also form Bayonetta's hair into a giant boot and crush them into the ground. Amazingly, her hair is probably her most dangerous weapon.

The demo begins with Bayonetta demolishing some angelic-looking Greek-statue-monsters before pitting you against one the size of a mountain. Afterwards, it takes you to a more intimate cathedral setting where you can run along the walls and fight against a character who is more your own size. This is the portion of the demo I played, and despite all the ways I learned to style my hair, I just couldn't quite come out victorious. The game seems to play and control very well, however, and after watching Derrick and others have a go at it I can safely say I'm even more pumped for this than I was before.

I mean, at one point Bayonneta enters "Climax mode," her hair lunges outwards, transforms into a giant, rabid monster and in a matter of seconds chomps the fuck out of a boss you just spent ten minutes or so fighting, all the while the words "GIGATON" flash across the screen. Because in this game you don't just have special powers, you have Gigaton power.

Bayonetta is going to rock.

I almost didn't even play this game. I was strolling by Nintendo's booth sometime during the day when the person in charge of the demo just kind of forced the controller into my hands. I'm glad she did, though, because this game is surprisingly fun. The graphics have been Muramasa's hook ever since it was announced, and it definitely looks beautiful, but beneath its tranquil-looking backdrops is a fast-paced action game that was just as fun to play as it was to look at.

Muramasa is basically played with four buttons. Running, jumping, and gliding through the air is all done with the joystick on the Wii nunchaku controller, basic attacks are done with the A button and special attacks with the B trigger. You can cycle through three different kinds of weapons, and each one has its own special attack, which can be used to dole out devastating damage. Overusing one weapon can cause it to break, so it's important that you keep cycling through to make sure they'll all be there when you need them. It's a fairly straightforward 2D action title, but there are many ways to keep a combo chain alive as you dart around the screen, knocking ninjas into the air and slashing them to pieces as you slowly glide yourself back to earth. Bosses, one described by Adam as a giant, retarded Ninja Turtle, take up huge portions of the screen (as they should, mind you) and require some quick swordplay and effective management of your weaponry. The presentation and swift combat made this the most fun demo I played at E3.

I haven't played much of Tim Schafer's work. I thought I'd really like Psychonauts, but even though I really liked the concept I found myself not motivated to keep playing more than halfway through. Brutal Legend surprised me by feeling like a more polished game. The controls felt tight, the game was funny, and the voicework seemed to be pretty good. The action involved beating down on a bunch of skeletons with a giant axe (always awesome) and rocking out so hard on an electric guitar that enemies literally burst into flames (even more awesome). The gameplay was more standard fare than say, some combocentric, sex-crazed dominatrix-inspired game that happened to be on the show floor, but it mixed things up by allowing you to team up with your AI-controlled partner to perform special moves. Since the game will probably be breaking up the action with various other scenarios (the demo included a driving sequence that culminated in a boss fight also requiring the car), Brutal Legend looks like it's shaping up to be pretty good.

I've been looking forward to this downloadable Playstation Network title since it was first announced and caused a ruckus with some uptight feminists, so seeing it playable on the show floor was pretty exciting. Fat Princess is essentially a capture the flag game, except instead of a flag you have to retake your kingdom's kidnapped princess. The game supports up to 32 players online, 16 on each side, and allows you to switch through a number of classes on your quest to gather resources, upgrade weapons, and defeat your opponents in surprisingly brutal battle (blood is sprayed everywhere in this game despite the cel-shaded and cartoony look), all in an effort to bring your princess back to safety.

But wait! Those dastardly foes of yours are cunning and devious, and they're determined to keep your princess even if you manage to break through their defenses. By searching the forests for cake, of course a natural inhabitant of these environments, players can feed the kidnapped princess so much that she becomes fatter and fatter, therefore requiring more players to break through and carry her home. She has the potential to become quite a husky character, so it's easy to see how teamwork and planning will become important. Although multiplayer wasn't working at E3, I still enjoyed the demo, and I'll more than likely be playing this when it's released.

Another PSN game I've had my eye on, PixelJunk Shooter let up to two players explore underground areas and navigate through the lava and water-filled mazes to find and rescue people that have been stranded there. The vehicle you use to explore tends to overheat and explode when it stays near lava for too long, so it's important that you shoot through the rock under the earth to make water flow and crash into the pools of lava. The lava then cools, becomes rock, and can be destroyed further if necessary. Caution is necessary since you don't want to drown or burn up the people you're trying to rescue. And since some of the enemies explode into bursts of lava when destroyed, you always have to be keeping an eye on the stranded humans. PixelJunk Shooter looks like it's going to follow Monsters and Eden by being another quality title from Q-Games.

Some games aren't really made to be played in an environment like E3, and Demon's Souls for the PS3 definitely seems like one of them. The graphics look gorgeous, the combat is slow, heavy, and has a quality crunch to it, and I feel like its atmosphere will shine greatly once in a less insane setting. Running gung-ho through the environments lead to my death pretty quickly, but you learn quickly in a game like this. There's not much room for error, and subsequent attempts had me walking through with my shield up constantly. Multiple classes are available to try out, but their abilities are not one-note. Knights will be able to use magic and vice-versa. Once your character dies, you need to control his spirit and lead him back to the bloodstain that remains at the point you died, similar to Garcian's role in Killer7. If you die on your way, however, you lose all your experience and goodies.

Demon's Souls is a dungeon crawler that seems like it's going to focus on exploration and survival. Walking through the oppressive atmosphere and exploring these areas was definitely fun for me, and what's cool is that the game makes use of an interesting online system in which players can leave hints and messages for others to read. Some will try to help you through a portion of the game or warn you of a specific danger up ahead, while others may try to sabotage your progress. Playing online also allows players to enter your game and either help you explore or simply try to assassinate you and collect all your items. Demon's Souls was a surprise for me. It's looking really solid, and I'm glad Atlus decided to bring this over to North America.

When this was revealed at the Nintendo conference, I wasn't anticipating it too much. You get to play as Mario, Luigi, Toad, and... wait for it...

... blue Toad! I mean, really, does Nintendo not have enough characters in this universe to throw in here? It looks like Zelda: Four Swords only with Mario, I thought.

I forget, though. Four Swords is fun.

And so, this new Mario is fun. Yeah, it looks like a smoothed-out DS game. Yeah, the single player is probably not going to be that great. Still, I had a pretty good time playing it. There are a good amount of ways to screw over the people you're playing with, from simply throwing shells at them to finding Yoshi and eating other players only to barf them up right into a piranha plant *shakes fist at Adam* If you're feeling particularly evil, you can also pop their bubbles over a giant pit and watch them fall to their death.

So that was entertaining. The title still feels like it's missing that cooperative aspect of Four Swords that the game hinged on. You didn't just beat the crap out of each other; you needed one another to pass certain parts of the game. When I asked about this, I didn't get much of an answer, but I'm hoping the people there were just clueless. This game will still be fun as a race, but I think it'd be better if players need to somehow balance working together with competition.

Since I didn't get to attend the Sony conference due to an interview with Activison, I'm just now getting around to watching the trailer for Team Ico's The Last Guardian. I saw the early footage that was leaked on the internet a couple of weeks ago, and it looked nice enough, but I was surprised still at how much more impressive it looks now. It looks more alive.

I've noticed the title actually come under some scrutiny for looking too similar to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus stylistically. Yeah, it does look like the game takes place a similar universe, but it still manages to look completely refreshing compared to the majority of what's out there on the market. Though we don't really know a much in the way of concrete details about the game, the trailer does drop some clues suggesting it will play as a cross between the two titles that preceeded it.

Some people don't like this because they were looking forward to something drastically different, but I feel like that argument misses the point. Ico was pretty adept at forming a bond between the player and the girl he escorted around, and when talking about Shadow of the Colossus, Fumito Ueda said that he wanted to explore the relationship between the player and the boss character. One of the standout features of that title was how it was able to turn that relationship on its head and deepen it through the act of killing. The Last Guardian at first glance definitely looks like Ico and the Colossus, but not only do I think this is a logical step or evolution for Ueda and Co., but I also think it's a step worth taking and exploring. Obviously Ueda has more to put on display about the subject. One of the things I like most about reading multiple books by my favorite authors, or listening to my favorite musicians, is to try and see how they are growing, or get a hint as to what they're working and struggling towards conveying. I'm hopeful that The Last Guardian will be another revealing moment for Team Ico.

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Quickly again on the Sony side of things, like I said I didn't go to their press conference, but I was impressed with the line-up they put together on the show floor and displayed for the future. I thought they were starting to get there last year, and this year I feel like they're really rounding into form. Exclusives like God of War 3 and Uncharted 2 are obviously big news, but the lesser-known Demon's Souls also seemed really cool when I got to play it. They've held on to almost all the big third party games aside from Splinter Cell, and when you add Fat Princess and PixelJunk Shooter (both played really well on the floor) into the mix with Gran Turismo 5 and Team Ico's latest, suddenly there's a lot to look forward to.

... It looks like Yasumi Matsuno has shown up there.

The only game I've played by him is Final Fantasy XII (though I hear only good things about Vagrant Story and Tactics Ogre), but if FFXII is any indication then the man has ideas. I don't know if anyone remembers, but at one of these past E3's he showed up on a video reel saying he was interested in working on the Wii, and, well, I guess he sort of is now.

Apparently he's working on the scenarios for Mad World, which sometimes I think looks cool and similar to God Hand and other times I just don't feel interested.

I don't know if he's part of the staff at Platinum Games or if he's just helping 'em out on Mad World, but if he becomes a regular there then that studio's got some serious muscle behind it. Bayonetta looks crazily over-the-top and Shinji Mikami's still cooking up something fierce I'm sure. I know a lot of people feel as if many Japanese-developed games haven't really held up this generation, but if there's a studio in the country to keep an eye on it's probably this group of guys.

And Team Ico. Yeah.