August 2008
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- Name: Terry Harjanto
- Location: Mississauga, Ontario
- Favorite Game(s): The Legend of Zelda, Metroid: Prime, Half-Life, Call of Duty
- Favorite Developer(s): Nintendo
Blog
Apr 1st, 2008Everyone's a pony. And they all eat rainbows. And...
Professor Layton and the Curious Village is an amazing game. Not just an amazing game, but an amazing DS game specifically.
Puzzle games for the DS have become all the rave to the point that they take up nearly all of the shelf space at EB Games. But even with the strength of some really great puzzle games from Tetris DS to Planet Puzzle League, I can't help but feel that it's all starting to feel a little... monotonous. Professor Layton actually deserves its shelf space however because it's a puzzle game that stops the DS puzzle game library from becoming stagnant and just plain boring.
One of the greatest things about Professor Layton is its amazing art direction which, I think, is one of the greatest draws of the game. Professor Layton overcomes one of the DS' greatest weakness by its use of a quaint, charming art direction which has its roots in European illustration and art. The full motion videos strewn throughout the game does an amazing job of showing you that great video game visual design doesn't have to be a) anime or b) super hero comic book art.
Another thing I greatly enjoyed about Professor Layton is how it incorporates a story. Because of this, the game doesn't feel bare like the Brain Age games. Sure, there are moments where it's very apparent that at the heart, Professor Layton is a puzzle game: "Look Professor! There's a hidden puzzle here!" But the characters are still amusing and the story still interesting and the game, overall, still compelling.
Now for something completely different. If you're a fan of animated movies and/or Doctor Seuss, I definitely recommend you go out and see Horton Hears A Who! Kids will definitely love it. If you're an adult with even the slightest bit of a child left in you, you'll love it, too.
Puzzle games for the DS have become all the rave to the point that they take up nearly all of the shelf space at EB Games. But even with the strength of some really great puzzle games from Tetris DS to Planet Puzzle League, I can't help but feel that it's all starting to feel a little... monotonous. Professor Layton actually deserves its shelf space however because it's a puzzle game that stops the DS puzzle game library from becoming stagnant and just plain boring.
One of the greatest things about Professor Layton is its amazing art direction which, I think, is one of the greatest draws of the game. Professor Layton overcomes one of the DS' greatest weakness by its use of a quaint, charming art direction which has its roots in European illustration and art. The full motion videos strewn throughout the game does an amazing job of showing you that great video game visual design doesn't have to be a) anime or b) super hero comic book art.
Another thing I greatly enjoyed about Professor Layton is how it incorporates a story. Because of this, the game doesn't feel bare like the Brain Age games. Sure, there are moments where it's very apparent that at the heart, Professor Layton is a puzzle game: "Look Professor! There's a hidden puzzle here!" But the characters are still amusing and the story still interesting and the game, overall, still compelling.
Now for something completely different. If you're a fan of animated movies and/or Doctor Seuss, I definitely recommend you go out and see Horton Hears A Who! Kids will definitely love it. If you're an adult with even the slightest bit of a child left in you, you'll love it, too.
Mar 5th, 2008St. Mystere
Professor Layton and the Curious Village is unique for a couple of different reasons. First of all, it's very nicely put together with excellent art and animations. The puzzles are excellent and though some of them are mundane and have been seen in many other places before, most are interesting, challenging, and refreshing.
What I'm really enjoying so far, however, is that some of the puzzles are more riddles than actual puzzles. It's not always about counting numbers, not always about fitting shapes together, not always about calculating or measuring.
Sometimes, it's about thinking outside the box. This game doesn't just test your intelligence, but also your insight and intuition. There are points throughout the game where you'll feel so tempted to take a guess at an answer and the feeling of getting it right is one that's fairly lacking from other puzzle games available which, frankly, feels like homework in comparison.
I've only played a few hours into Professor Layton and the Curious Village, but it's immensely enjoyable and would quickly recommend it to anybody else who's interest is piqued by the concept.
What I'm really enjoying so far, however, is that some of the puzzles are more riddles than actual puzzles. It's not always about counting numbers, not always about fitting shapes together, not always about calculating or measuring.
Sometimes, it's about thinking outside the box. This game doesn't just test your intelligence, but also your insight and intuition. There are points throughout the game where you'll feel so tempted to take a guess at an answer and the feeling of getting it right is one that's fairly lacking from other puzzle games available which, frankly, feels like homework in comparison.
I've only played a few hours into Professor Layton and the Curious Village, but it's immensely enjoyable and would quickly recommend it to anybody else who's interest is piqued by the concept.
Feb 21st, 2008Time and Space
Okay, so things have been a little slow lately. Why? 'Cause of school. Let's all blame higher education for getting in the way of everybody's favourite hobby: videogames.
I can't completely blame my lack of time for my recent lack of activity in video games however. I have to say that I'm very disappointed with the recent releases of DS games. Very little has caught my attention and, other then a month stint of Phantom Hourglass, the same Picross DS cartridge has been snugged in my DS Lite.
Looking at the new releases, it seems everything else has already been done: Ace Attorney, Advance Wars. Ooh! Didn't realize Professor Layton and the Curious Village was released though! Guess I'll be doing a bit of shopping soon.
The Wii's recent line up of games has also been looking fairly weak to me. Since Super Mario Galaxy, I've only picked up two other games: Endless Ocean and No More Heroes.
Endless Ocean is an interesting experience. To me it feels like, simply put, a budget game. But it's also unique in the sense that all the budget went into the only important part of the game: the fish. I have never seen more stiff, hackneyed, human animation. Anything that swims, however, is simply fascinating to look at! The interesting structure of the game itself also adds to the experience: you're not playing anything, you're just... swimming around... Which is strangely compelling in itself.
No More Heroes, unfortunately, I've only had the time to take the wrapping off but not pop into my Wii.
Damn it. Somebody invent a time machine.
I can't completely blame my lack of time for my recent lack of activity in video games however. I have to say that I'm very disappointed with the recent releases of DS games. Very little has caught my attention and, other then a month stint of Phantom Hourglass, the same Picross DS cartridge has been snugged in my DS Lite.
Looking at the new releases, it seems everything else has already been done: Ace Attorney, Advance Wars. Ooh! Didn't realize Professor Layton and the Curious Village was released though! Guess I'll be doing a bit of shopping soon.
The Wii's recent line up of games has also been looking fairly weak to me. Since Super Mario Galaxy, I've only picked up two other games: Endless Ocean and No More Heroes.
Endless Ocean is an interesting experience. To me it feels like, simply put, a budget game. But it's also unique in the sense that all the budget went into the only important part of the game: the fish. I have never seen more stiff, hackneyed, human animation. Anything that swims, however, is simply fascinating to look at! The interesting structure of the game itself also adds to the experience: you're not playing anything, you're just... swimming around... Which is strangely compelling in itself.
No More Heroes, unfortunately, I've only had the time to take the wrapping off but not pop into my Wii.
Damn it. Somebody invent a time machine.
May 12th, 2007Another Taste of Things to Come
A bit of a preview on some upcoming reviews. I like flying games, is it obvious? No? Well, I suppose I only did write one review on a flying game so far: Wing Island. However, coming soon is Heatseeker—which I thought was an absolute blast. If that's not enough planes for you, I also just recently bought Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII off of eBay and it should be arriving in my mailbox soon (hopefully, the seller has been acting... suspiciously, lately).
Unfortunately, I start summer school this week and I have the bad luck of taking classes that require lots and lots of reading. The Heatseeker review is just going through the tail of end of the whole process so it shouldn't be much longer till you find it on the front page. I can't say the same about Blazing Angels however.
In other news. I may be young (hmm, am I kidding myself?) but I remember the heydays of first person dungeon crawling games. Just barely. My older cousins played them, and I watched. I would have gotten into the genre myself, but at nine or ten years old, I didn't exactly have the same spending money that I do now.
But now that I'm rich—at least rich enough that I could afford a DS Lite, Wii, and the games to go along with them—I'll buy and play whatever damn get I want. Currently, my eyes are set on Etrian Odyssey which is due out for the DS around the 16th of May.
Essentially a stats based RPG game, Etrian Odyssey does things a little differently by focusing less on story and character development and more on exploration and discovery. Combat is similar to the usual turn-based systems found in other RPG games but the bulk of the game world is contained within a single dungeon (which is supposedly thirty levels deep). The most interesting thing is that as the intrepid adventurer, it's your job to map out the dungeon: the bottom touch screen is your map making tool as you draw out walls, pathways and indicate the locations of notable features.
For more information about the game, there's a list of previews over at GameRankings.com. GameTrailers.com also has a great video preview of the game. For more video goodness, you can find lots of footage (mostly from the Japanese release of the game) on YouTube.com.
Reading through the Director's Diary and Localization Stories available on the game's website has put me through a bit of a nostalgia trip and I'm finding myself really excited about the game. Even better, something about Etrian Odyssey has sparked my creativity and I'm currently preparing a project for N-Philes regarding the game.
Below is a bit of a preview (thanks to MalevolentMaster for help with the title).
"I may be an old man, but I still know an adventure when I see one. Etria was such a quiet place until that day: when the sounds of thunder roared from the nearby forest. When the townspeople gathered enough bravery to investigate, they found a pathway had opened up into the depths of the forest. Their courage was not enough to coax them into investigating deeper though, but I knew that others will be overcome by curiosity... among other things. It's only been a few days but the adventurers have already begun showing up in town. I watched them in their excitement—their zeal. But watching is all this old man shall do from his bench in the town square."
Unfortunately, I start summer school this week and I have the bad luck of taking classes that require lots and lots of reading. The Heatseeker review is just going through the tail of end of the whole process so it shouldn't be much longer till you find it on the front page. I can't say the same about Blazing Angels however.
In other news. I may be young (hmm, am I kidding myself?) but I remember the heydays of first person dungeon crawling games. Just barely. My older cousins played them, and I watched. I would have gotten into the genre myself, but at nine or ten years old, I didn't exactly have the same spending money that I do now.
But now that I'm rich—at least rich enough that I could afford a DS Lite, Wii, and the games to go along with them—I'll buy and play whatever damn get I want. Currently, my eyes are set on Etrian Odyssey which is due out for the DS around the 16th of May.
Essentially a stats based RPG game, Etrian Odyssey does things a little differently by focusing less on story and character development and more on exploration and discovery. Combat is similar to the usual turn-based systems found in other RPG games but the bulk of the game world is contained within a single dungeon (which is supposedly thirty levels deep). The most interesting thing is that as the intrepid adventurer, it's your job to map out the dungeon: the bottom touch screen is your map making tool as you draw out walls, pathways and indicate the locations of notable features.
For more information about the game, there's a list of previews over at GameRankings.com. GameTrailers.com also has a great video preview of the game. For more video goodness, you can find lots of footage (mostly from the Japanese release of the game) on YouTube.com.
Reading through the Director's Diary and Localization Stories available on the game's website has put me through a bit of a nostalgia trip and I'm finding myself really excited about the game. Even better, something about Etrian Odyssey has sparked my creativity and I'm currently preparing a project for N-Philes regarding the game.
Below is a bit of a preview (thanks to MalevolentMaster for help with the title).
"I may be an old man, but I still know an adventure when I see one. Etria was such a quiet place until that day: when the sounds of thunder roared from the nearby forest. When the townspeople gathered enough bravery to investigate, they found a pathway had opened up into the depths of the forest. Their courage was not enough to coax them into investigating deeper though, but I knew that others will be overcome by curiosity... among other things. It's only been a few days but the adventurers have already begun showing up in town. I watched them in their excitement—their zeal. But watching is all this old man shall do from his bench in the town square."
--The retired Captain of the Etrian Town Guard
Mar 22nd, 2007New Game Smell
Buying (or getting) a new car probably doesn't compare to buying a new game for most of us gamers. But there's still one thing that new car owners and new game owners together can share:
The smell of new-ness.
I picked up The Godfather: Blackhand Edition for the Wii today. After spending a considerable amount of time ripping off two layers of clear plastic wrapping (EA, apparently, now includes separate French language manuals with their games for us Canadians) I finally opened up the white case...
And it hit me.
A whiff of air... A hint of... plastic.
I resisted the urge to take a deep breath. Unusual smells aren't often a good thing.
As the air within the Wii DVD case began to dissipate, a greater concentration of the stuff made contact with my olfactory epithelium.
Mmm... Plasticky
The smell of new-ness.
I picked up The Godfather: Blackhand Edition for the Wii today. After spending a considerable amount of time ripping off two layers of clear plastic wrapping (EA, apparently, now includes separate French language manuals with their games for us Canadians) I finally opened up the white case...
And it hit me.
A whiff of air... A hint of... plastic.
I resisted the urge to take a deep breath. Unusual smells aren't often a good thing.
As the air within the Wii DVD case began to dissipate, a greater concentration of the stuff made contact with my olfactory epithelium.
Mmm... Plasticky