A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that Mass Effect was one of the games that I was looking forward to. Mass Effect is the next RPG from Bioware - one of the premier developers of western style RPGs and my favourite RPG developer by far (I've played all of their RPGs except Neverwinter Nights).
After having played Blue Dragon, which I blogged about last week, I am especially looking forward to Mass Effect. Although Blue Dragon was good, the problem with JRPGs in general is that you don't really feel like you are the protagonist. In JRPGs, the protagonist is always a well developed character (assuming the developers did a good job!) and has his own personality etc. You go through the game and the only thing which you really control is how he levels up.
However, in WRPGs, the character and quests are generally designed to be a bit more open ended. This means that the protagonist in most cases, acts the way that you as the player want him to - you get to decide what you want to do and how you want to repond in different situations. Not only does this give you more replayability, but for me, it also increases the empathy I feel with the main character. Considering how long an RPG can last, this is quite an important "feature".
This is the reason that I tend to prefer WRPGs although I do still enjoy playing JRPGs for the storys which are generally quite good.
Anyway, as I said, Mass Effect is the next RPG from Bioware and I can't wait to get my hands on this. Historically, I have played each of their RPGs at least 2-3 times so I have a lot of expectations for this one. Just to share my enthusiasm, I have provided below some recent trailers and clips from the game. If you are interested, check out the games website here. I'm also not the only one looking forward to this game as it was recently awarded Best Console Game and Best RPG of E3 2007 by game critics!
The first trailer you see below is an in-game trailer shown at the recent E3. It primarily shows some of the combat mechanics and some of the back story to the game.
The next clip below shows an in-game conversation between Shepard (the protagonist) and Liara, one of his crew. As you can see, it looks like the schmuck is trying to chat up Liara (go Kirk!). The conversation mechanic in this game looks awesome and I really can't wait to check it out when the game comes up.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Blue Dragon - completed
Well, I finally completed Blue Dragon. After over a month of play, 70+ hours of sitting on my couch, I have finally completed Blue Dragon.
My final impressions of the game are definitely positive. It has a good storyline with an interesting twist at the end which I wasn't really expecting. Having said that, the twist wasn't completely unexpected as it does answer a few questions about one of the characters I had but which I initially dismissed as being bad writing on the programmers. Basically, I had noticed a few "discrepancies" in the story and wrote them off as discrepancies without giving the writers their proper due. Not the first time its happened which I guess is indicative of my opinion of writers for games!
The highlights of this game for me were definitely the story (I've always been a sucker for a good story - or even an average one!!) and the combat. More specifically, the fact that the combat doesn't have random battles. I mentioned this in my first post and I can tell you, when you near the end of a 70+ hour game, sometimes you just wanna get through the rest of the story without being distracted by plebby monsters who die with 1 hit!
I haven't got all the achievements for this game yet so I will be continuing to play. However, once I get all the achievements, I can see me putting this game on the shelf. The problem with Japanese style RPGs is that, although you get a good story and some good cinematics, the style of the game doesn't really lend itself to replay. If I play through the game again, I know exactly how the storyline and how the side quests will play out.
Still, it was a good game while it lasted. And considering I've already gotten over 70 hours of gameplay from it (which will rise as I go for the last set of achievements), it was value for money.
My final impressions of the game are definitely positive. It has a good storyline with an interesting twist at the end which I wasn't really expecting. Having said that, the twist wasn't completely unexpected as it does answer a few questions about one of the characters I had but which I initially dismissed as being bad writing on the programmers. Basically, I had noticed a few "discrepancies" in the story and wrote them off as discrepancies without giving the writers their proper due. Not the first time its happened which I guess is indicative of my opinion of writers for games!
The highlights of this game for me were definitely the story (I've always been a sucker for a good story - or even an average one!!) and the combat. More specifically, the fact that the combat doesn't have random battles. I mentioned this in my first post and I can tell you, when you near the end of a 70+ hour game, sometimes you just wanna get through the rest of the story without being distracted by plebby monsters who die with 1 hit!
I haven't got all the achievements for this game yet so I will be continuing to play. However, once I get all the achievements, I can see me putting this game on the shelf. The problem with Japanese style RPGs is that, although you get a good story and some good cinematics, the style of the game doesn't really lend itself to replay. If I play through the game again, I know exactly how the storyline and how the side quests will play out.
Still, it was a good game while it lasted. And considering I've already gotten over 70 hours of gameplay from it (which will rise as I go for the last set of achievements), it was value for money.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Another successful season?
And so another season ends in Football Manager 2006 (the 2014/15 season for those who are keeping track). In some regards, it was a good year as I won another Premier League title and another FA Cup. However, I lost 1-0 in the final of the Champions Cup to Betis and that left a bad taste in my mouth as my team really didn't play well in the final.
This is a real shame as I was really hoping for a consecutive Champions Cup win. Chelsea managed to pull this off a couple of seasons ago and it is one of the few records that I haven't broken in this game. As a result, although I got some silverware, I am hesitant to call it a successful season.
Anyway, the last time I blogged about FM2006, I mentioned that the core of my midfield still comprised of Gerrard, Alonso and Sissoko. This remained true for 2014/15 although Gerrard played a lot less games (hey, the guy is now 35 years old!). Alonso is now 33 and Sissoko is 30. Although relatively old, Alonso and Sissoko have been playing really well.
Alonso managed to get an average rating of 7.64, scored 17 goals and got 9 assists. Sissoko also managed to get an average rating of 7.64, scored 10 goals and also got 9 assists. With stats like these, you can understand why they are still playing in my first team!
Anyway, the lows of this season. Anthony Vanden Borre, my key central defender, decided he wanted a new challenge and requested a transfer. This is a real bummer as he was a central lynchpin in my defence and one of the reasons why I had the best defence in the league. I managed to sign a younger player (a regen called Roberto Castillo) to replace him although I have no idea how well he will do.
The second bummer is Fernando Genro. I signed him from Barcelona on a free transfer at the start of the 2013/14 season and he has been doing brilliantly in terms of scoring goals (26 goals in his first season and 23 in this season - could have been more though). The problem is that Genro has always been a bit of a prima donna. In the current season, although he was getting more games than any other striker, he was still unhappy and wanted more first team football.
Initially, I was going to let this slide as he is a really great player (even though the git went to the press). However, he decided not to show up for training one day. I immediately gave him a formal warning for unprofessional behaviour which he felt was unfair. Then, a couple of weeks later, he was absent from training again. Being absent again so quickly was a blatant challenge to my authority and I wasn't having it. I fined him 2 weeks wages (which he accepted as being fair strangely enough).
However, despite what he said, he clearly wasn't happy as his profile said that he wanted me to show him more respect (rich considering this is from a guy who decided not to show up for training). And then, he went public again - saying that I should either play him or lose him.
Adios amigo. No one is bigger than the team. If you can't be part of the team - then so long. I put him on the transfer list (no offers yet though). This is a real shame as he really is a very good player and was on track to be the top scorer this season. Naturally, after I put him on the transfer list, he never got another game for me. I don't need prima donna's in my team.
Still, considering I got him on a free transfer, selling him for any value at all will be a straight gain.
:)
This is a real shame as I was really hoping for a consecutive Champions Cup win. Chelsea managed to pull this off a couple of seasons ago and it is one of the few records that I haven't broken in this game. As a result, although I got some silverware, I am hesitant to call it a successful season.
Anyway, the last time I blogged about FM2006, I mentioned that the core of my midfield still comprised of Gerrard, Alonso and Sissoko. This remained true for 2014/15 although Gerrard played a lot less games (hey, the guy is now 35 years old!). Alonso is now 33 and Sissoko is 30. Although relatively old, Alonso and Sissoko have been playing really well.
Alonso managed to get an average rating of 7.64, scored 17 goals and got 9 assists. Sissoko also managed to get an average rating of 7.64, scored 10 goals and also got 9 assists. With stats like these, you can understand why they are still playing in my first team!
Anyway, the lows of this season. Anthony Vanden Borre, my key central defender, decided he wanted a new challenge and requested a transfer. This is a real bummer as he was a central lynchpin in my defence and one of the reasons why I had the best defence in the league. I managed to sign a younger player (a regen called Roberto Castillo) to replace him although I have no idea how well he will do.
The second bummer is Fernando Genro. I signed him from Barcelona on a free transfer at the start of the 2013/14 season and he has been doing brilliantly in terms of scoring goals (26 goals in his first season and 23 in this season - could have been more though). The problem is that Genro has always been a bit of a prima donna. In the current season, although he was getting more games than any other striker, he was still unhappy and wanted more first team football.
Initially, I was going to let this slide as he is a really great player (even though the git went to the press). However, he decided not to show up for training one day. I immediately gave him a formal warning for unprofessional behaviour which he felt was unfair. Then, a couple of weeks later, he was absent from training again. Being absent again so quickly was a blatant challenge to my authority and I wasn't having it. I fined him 2 weeks wages (which he accepted as being fair strangely enough).
However, despite what he said, he clearly wasn't happy as his profile said that he wanted me to show him more respect (rich considering this is from a guy who decided not to show up for training). And then, he went public again - saying that I should either play him or lose him.
Adios amigo. No one is bigger than the team. If you can't be part of the team - then so long. I put him on the transfer list (no offers yet though). This is a real shame as he really is a very good player and was on track to be the top scorer this season. Naturally, after I put him on the transfer list, he never got another game for me. I don't need prima donna's in my team.
Still, considering I got him on a free transfer, selling him for any value at all will be a straight gain.
:)
Sunday, July 15, 2007
E3 2007
As you know, the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2007 just wrapped up in the US. This was the first year in the new E3 format and, as far as I'm concerned, there hasn't been much difference. Anyway, the point of this post is to blog some random thoughts about some of the demos and trailers which were released over Xbox live during E3.
Warning - these will mainly be my random thoughts and I am assuming you are familiar with th games mentioned within. If you aren't, you might want to pop over to a game review site to get some basic info first.
Ace Combat 6 demo
AC6, as the name suggests, is an arcade style flight simulator. Having recently mucked about with the Project Sylpheed demo, I was kinda looking forward to trying this one out. In a sense, the 2 games are very similar. However, where Project Sylpheed is a space opera, AC6 uses real planes in a realistic environ.
And boy is it realistic! The graphics in this game are mindblowingly photorealistic. They really have to be seen to be believed. If I was to nitpick, I could say that the buildings don't look that good close up (the fact that I saw a building up close tells you how well I was doing).
The only downside is that, with me being a sci-fi fan, the setting of Project Sylpheed is more interesting.
Assassins Creed trailer
Another game which looks to be more awesome than it has any right to be. In this game, you play the role of an assassin in the middle ages.
Based on the trailer, one of the big draws of this game seems to be the open environment that you will be able to explore. It very much looks like you will be able to eliminate your target using any means that you can creatively come up with. What is especially interesting is the free running aspect of the game where you can see Altair (the protagonist) running and jumping around the rooftops. Again, the movements are so smooth that it has to be seen to be believed.
Mass Effect trailer
The next RPG from Bioware, who are far and away my favourite RPG developer. With this game, Bioware continue on their recent trend of developing their own IPs but go back into Space (the theme of one of their most popular RPGs - KOTOR).
Considering Biowares history, I have no doubt that the storyline in Mass Effect will be awesome. However, what really makes this game stand out (potentially anyway) is the conversation system.
The conversation system in this game is meant to be real time. Basically, while people are speaking, you will have the option to choose a response even before they finish speaking. This basically allows you to interrupt their speech midway through especially if you don't like what they are saying. This opens up whole new avenues of roleplaying as well as looking bloody cool when you see it in action!
Can't wait to get my hands on this and start trashtalking my way across the galaxy!
Warning - these will mainly be my random thoughts and I am assuming you are familiar with th games mentioned within. If you aren't, you might want to pop over to a game review site to get some basic info first.
Ace Combat 6 demo
AC6, as the name suggests, is an arcade style flight simulator. Having recently mucked about with the Project Sylpheed demo, I was kinda looking forward to trying this one out. In a sense, the 2 games are very similar. However, where Project Sylpheed is a space opera, AC6 uses real planes in a realistic environ.
And boy is it realistic! The graphics in this game are mindblowingly photorealistic. They really have to be seen to be believed. If I was to nitpick, I could say that the buildings don't look that good close up (the fact that I saw a building up close tells you how well I was doing).
The only downside is that, with me being a sci-fi fan, the setting of Project Sylpheed is more interesting.
Assassins Creed trailer
Another game which looks to be more awesome than it has any right to be. In this game, you play the role of an assassin in the middle ages.
Based on the trailer, one of the big draws of this game seems to be the open environment that you will be able to explore. It very much looks like you will be able to eliminate your target using any means that you can creatively come up with. What is especially interesting is the free running aspect of the game where you can see Altair (the protagonist) running and jumping around the rooftops. Again, the movements are so smooth that it has to be seen to be believed.
Mass Effect trailer
The next RPG from Bioware, who are far and away my favourite RPG developer. With this game, Bioware continue on their recent trend of developing their own IPs but go back into Space (the theme of one of their most popular RPGs - KOTOR).
Considering Biowares history, I have no doubt that the storyline in Mass Effect will be awesome. However, what really makes this game stand out (potentially anyway) is the conversation system.
The conversation system in this game is meant to be real time. Basically, while people are speaking, you will have the option to choose a response even before they finish speaking. This basically allows you to interrupt their speech midway through especially if you don't like what they are saying. This opens up whole new avenues of roleplaying as well as looking bloody cool when you see it in action!
Can't wait to get my hands on this and start trashtalking my way across the galaxy!
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