Google Watches You Game

G4 evolves

Terminal Reviews: Darksiders II

Kickstarting a Dream

Diablo 3 Servers Maxed Out At Midnight!

Mortal Kombat Review

It is probably fitting I release this two days after the American ninjas of Seal Team Six delivered a pretty epic fatality to Osama Bin Laden; considering the way that videogames such as the Call of Duty  have risen to become the fastest selling  franchises,  I would not be surprised if Seal Team 6 is in fact comprised of robots with assault rifles controlled by nerds with itchy trigger fingers thousands of miles away.

Can anyone explain how it took a few good men took 40 (ahem, more likely it was 15) minutes to wipe out a whole compound while suffering no casualties and it was not  a videogame?

As for Mortal Kombat , the franchise has finally caught up.

Ever since the rise back to relevance of the fighting genre thanks to Super Street Fighter 4  , I have been waiting for MK to do the same.  I lived through the first real "fighting-game" era in the arcades when Street Fighter 2  dominated the market. Along came Mortal Kombat, a fighting game that brought a whole new emphasis to the conclusions of fights rather than the actual mechanics. The buckets of gore and endearingly fun fatalities served as a point of escalation in the fighting genre for years to come. Since peaking with Mortal Kombat 2 ,  the franchise slowly became a mockery of itself, maintaining it's stale combat mechanics of jump/ sweep/ uppercut while introducing more types of fatalities: animalities, friendships, babealities etc.

Beware - it becomes evident how quickly the animators ran out of ideas after the first 10 seconds:

After several sequels and forays into 3D, MK  has followed in Street Fighter's footsteps and returned to its roots. Like SF4, that aptly titled Miortal Kombat  is 3D rendered reimagining of the entire MK lore, while moving the fighting plane back to 2D and adding several new mechanics.

The MK lore as we knew it was already pretty flimsy. Back in the day, stories were patched together as quickly as new iterations of the arcade game were churned out. The new MK takes the overall framework and characters of those previous iterations and pulls a Star Trek  by allowing a younger Raiden to see the future of the original series' canon and thus try and change the timeline in the new game to avert tragedy. If this at all seems confusing, I should probably throw up the disclaimer that that STORY DOESN'T MATTER.

Honestly, if you enjoyed this series growing up - hell if you got a kick out of the first movie - you will enjoy this game. Every character has been reimagined with stunning graphical detail with voice acting that is as campy as the story. After playing through the story mode, I finally figured out what makes this series so nostialgic and relevant.

Frankly, it's not the fatalities. I spent the first 15 minutes of the game going through each characters tier 1 fatalities in the training mode, and actually kind of freaked out that my excitement had already peaked. It wasn't till I actually spent time fighting that I got it: it's the characters.

Sub-Zero and Scorpion have always been the pinnacle of cool, and pretty much skewed my perception at a young age of what ninjas were capable of; hell my mom even made my brother and I matching Sub-Zero and Scoropion costumes that we wore multiple Halloweens in a row, just because those characters were so badass (I was Scorpion of course). Even though the fighting mechanics in those old games were terrible,  the series never took itself seriously enough to warrant a decent fighting engine. It was all about cool characters ripping peoples heads off, and I was fine with that at the age of 9.

At the age of 26, I needed something a little bit more. Thankfully, Mortal Kombat  has finally adopted a decent, Major League Gaming  level of fighting engine. Now, those same awesome characters you used to love actually do equally awesome combos and moves. Though the tuning is not as tight as SF4,  there is enough variation and arial leeway with moves to create an infinite string of combos with the right precision. Thankfully, most moves are extremely easy to pull off - at least with the D-Pad.

Since the PS3 network has been down, I have been kind of dreading how some of my favorite characters will fair in online compitetion. The D-pad gives the player the precision and peace of mind to pull off any move, but really doesn't feel as ergonomic or fast as the analog stick. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, the analog can be damn near rage-inducing when trying to pull off some moves. I do not know if it was MK's design, but I find myself now instinctively switching back and forth between the D-pad and Analog stick, which can be quite cumbersome on the fly. I'll have to wait and see how important the online component will become to me, as that will determine if I take the extra step to go buy one of those damn arcade joysticks; hell, at least I can still use it for SF4 or Marvel Vs. Capcom .

The other big introduction to the series that has been a long time coming (every other popular fighting franchise has a varition of it) is the "X-Ray Power Bar."  Once filled, the character only needs to hold 2 buttons to execute a move that, if landed, is a cinematic exploration of how each character likes to shatter bones or smash internal organs. They are veritible game changers in combat, as some characters X-Ray moves can reduce an enemy's health bar by up to 40%. Yet, you can go another route with the bar, and use portions of it as you see fit to execute some enhanced super moves that do extra damage, or a one time combo-breaker. Definitely adds a much needed strategic aspect to every fight.

The final verdict: if you were at all a fan of Mortal Kombat at any point of your life, this game is the summation of it's greatest features, rendered beautifully with some much needed updated fighting mechanics. How it will hold up to the  test of time will probably be determined by how many friends you can convince to buy the game and duel online. In a world where there is no PlayStation Network, the single player was an enjoyable trip down memory lane.

****

Live Action Mortal Kombat Comes to the Web

If you aren't familiar with the original piece released last year on the web, a young director did a strikingly decent low-budget Mortal Kombat concept reel. The premise was, at that time, to ground MK back into reality; the short-flick  went so far as to even adapt and re-interpret extreme characters, like Baraka and Reptile, as real-world serial killers.

Check it out below:

The fact that they worked in Harlequin-fetus still blows my mind - as those mutant babies are the stuff of nightmares. Still though, the mood of the whole concept piece was very Seven. It played so well to the masses (mostly 26 year-olds like me who will argue with nostalgia-clouded judgement that there has actually been a good Mortal Kombat movie) that Midway, the company behind the storied game franchise, chose to fund the continuation of the series through weekly-released "webisodes" (what a lame word).

Here is Episode 1 of this new series:

This official series seems to have continued where the fan-made concept piece left off, but it's too early to tell (especially with official company money) whether or not the stories and characters will remain grounded with some semblance of realism, or if the webisodes go to further the official "canon" (I use that term loosely, because trying to understand the official canon would be like trying to understand this cat on LSD).With the new rebooted videogame coming out this month, it's hard not to smell an elaborate marketing ploy.

Personally, I hope this series remains true to it's original promise, rather than sell out to pimp the upcoming game.

     

(IRONY)

SWTOR: PAX East Gameplay Footage

Hopefully I'll get a beta key and check this thing out immediately.

I won't go out on a limb and say it will be the World of Warcraft killer, but I definitely think it easily has the best chance to become a solid and long-lived competitor. It's got the Star Wars name brand, the graphics look stellar compared to WoW's now dated look, and the gameplay looks 5Fast5Furious (don't hit me Vin Diesel) . It's probably best for the MMORPG industry that some new, viable blood is going to pumped into the mix.

I'm not saying there is going to be an arms race of gameplay awesomeness between SWTOR and WoW, but some friendly competition can't hurt anybody - hell, the players will certainly benefit.

Here is a 20+ minutes of nice gameplay footage from PAX: East to get you salivating (also a bonus cinematic below that!):

On Enslaved: Odyssey of the West

posted originally @ http://greyprince.wordpress.com/
 
I have often been told that the mark of a good storyteller is brightest when the audience is left wanting more. Whether it was the characters who swooned us into caring for them, the world that sprouted to life in our minds eye, or the conclusion that forced us to leave our imaginary escape and come back to reality, there is a delicate balance required to craft a tale that not just impresses us, but makes us believe in its existence.  These stories—and those who tell them—are seldom given the praise they rightly deserve because they never quite seem to find enough ears willing to listen. But for those few who do, oh how they are rewarded. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West marries unique and imaginative storytelling with brilliant dialogue spoken by original characters to suck us into a postapocalyptic world that is as beautiful and vibrant as it is sorrowful and morose for those who live in it.

Enslaved is Ninja Theory’s sophomore effort in the video game industry, following their premiere title Heavenly Sword back in 2007. While brief in length and lacking in impact, Ninja Theory implemented motion capture technology to help bring the characters and cut scenes to more life. The result was, in some peoples’ minds, the first time a game has presented characters capable of physically showing complicated human emotions. Instead of relative sadness, anger, and fear, we see rage, terror, regret, desperation, and even love. Acclaimed actor Andy Serkis was hired to direct the cut scenes, and the quality of acting came through as impressive as if on the silver screen. For Enslaved, Ninja Theory smartly chose to keep this process sacred and changed very little. Serkis reprised his role and did motion capture for one of the game’s protagonists, Monkey. They also hired screenwriter Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine, The Beach) to develop the game script with the intention of crafting dialogue that was both believable and imaginative without trying to sound forced, artificial or too florid. Garland uses his gift of writing by infusing personalities to each character that are both starkly different from one another and yet relatable enough for them to form an emotional bond together. The environment and level design also impress by finding a harmonic balance between lush nature and crumbling urban sprawl. Unfortunately, rough patches of buggy design, frame rate issues, and slow combat mechanics prevent Enslaved from becoming a game of amazing quality and serve as noticeable distractions that take you out of the entire experience.

Set 150 years in the future, humanity hangs on the edge of extinction after a great war with a race of robots. Their origin remains a mystery much like the rest of history before the war, as those who survived simply try to move on and stay alive. Monkey and Trip meet aboard a slaver ship that malfunctions and crash lands outside the ruins of New York city. Trip, knowing her odds of survival are slim on her own, uses her affinity for technology by reprogramming a circlet used by the slavers to keep slaves from rebelling and places it on Monkey while unconscious. Trading one form of slaver for another, Monkey’s life will end if he gets too far away from Trip or if she loses her own life. This forced companionship, however unwanted, inevitably leads to a path of discovery for both characters as they new strength within themselves and each other.
The companionship also serves as the primary combat mechanic for the rest of the game as the two must depend upon each other’s talents to overcome various “mechs” they come across.  Hiding behind cover, Trip provides distractions for mechs to fire upon while you maneuver Monkey in closer for the real damage. Monkey’s staff is his only weapon in his arsenal, but it also carries the capacity to fire bolts of energy at oncoming enemies, something that plays a more important role as the game progresses. Combat remains relatively the same throughout the game, but it also means the flaws never improve. There is a noticeable lag time between inputting a command and Monkey performing the action, which throws off the dodge and counter attack facets of combat. This really starts to become frustrating in the second half of the game when enemies come in larger groups and require precise timing between attacking and dodging. Moreover, the camera tends to be a few feet too close to Monkey most of the time, narrowing the player’s view of the combat field which makes it very difficult to keep track of multiple enemies. Fairly often I would actually have to run around in a circle or two during combat just to find the next mech to destroy. The frame rate also stood out as on oddity as it was rock steady the entire game, yet felt as though is was always a tad too slow. There was never a point when too many things were occurring on screen at any one time, and considering Ninja Theory’s past experience with the PS3 hardware, I found it peculiar that they were not looking to test the graphical boundaries. It may have been an artistic choice slow the frame rate in terms of presenting a grittier feel to the game, or it may simply be laziness on the designers’ part.

As repetitive as the combat becomes, it is broken up by nicely varied set pieces thriving with action and unexpected intensity. From chasing after Trip to save her life (and your own) to climbing a rapidly deteriorating sky scraper, Ninja Theory serves up a healthy dose of adrenaline neatly packaged in various styles and methods. I was especially impressed when a certain set piece was able to deliberately slow down the pacing of the chapter but increase the brutality of the whole event. The culminating boss fight ends in a glorious shower of metal and oil that would make the God of War developers blush. Finally, the ending provides an extra science fiction twist on an already science fiction tale, but unsurprisingly leaves the world open for a sequel. The over arching story is certainly completed, but with the amount of care taken in breathing real life into these characters and their dilapidated existence, I hope the ending is also an indication of things to come. The companionship between Trip and Monkey evolved both naturally and believable, a feat rarely seen in modern gaming, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it grow in future installments.

It is difficult to say how Enslaved: Odyssey to the West should be approached in order to be fully enjoyed. As an action title, it serves enough to keep the buttons being pressed and the analog sticks moving, but lacks any real depth or customization that other titles have. As an adventure game, it spans several locations across a region, but the grander picture of the entire world is still left to be discovered. Rather, Enslaved rests in a nebulous middle ground that dabbles in both genres without subscribing to either. Part action and part adventure, Enslaved can best be enjoyed if you are willing to be a part of it’s world. Perhaps its greatest strength—one that sets it apart from its brethren—is its heart. What it lacked in physical power or mental capacity, it more than makes up in boldness of storytelling and emotional development, and those will always last much longer than a well choreographed explosion.


See you in the next level,

Gray