Got it for my birthday and I’ve got about four to six hours in. This review is by no means complete, however I feel like I’m far enough into the game to understand most of what it’s about (IE, as far as I can tell, there aren’t any unopened aspects of the game, nothing is ‘grayed out’).
I’d like to start off by saying a few words about the beauty of games. In general I couldn’t care less about the graphics of a game. As half of my avatar or whatever doesn’t get swallowed by a wall, or the color scheme isn’t blinding me with a terrible palette, I’m usually cool with it. I like well-controlled games that are intuitive and require my brain. However, there are a few games that I can think of off the top of my head that scream “Masterpiece!”. These games were masterpieces the day they were released and will never ‘age’. Sure, Final Fantasy VI may not look great today, but when it was released it was a masterpiece to me, and always will be. Others on the list of masterpieces are Metroid: Prime, and Metroid: Prime 3, Super Castlevania and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night are graphical masterpieces as well. I’ve got a good dozen or so on my mental list.
The first thing you notice about the game is that it’s beautiful. Graphically this game is a masterpiece. And I will play it because of this almost regardless of any faults. Much like King of Fighters and a few other games, this one is hand drawn. Everything about it is hand drawn. It is gorgeous beyond belief. I need to find some good component cables just for this game (and some more Metroid: Prime) to see it at its best. (go Amazon.com!)
Okay. The first choice you get is how you wish to control the game. Do you want the game to pretty much take care of you or would you like full control over your actions? This is the only distinction between “Easy” and “Hard” mode. I decided that I could handle the responsibility of all the buttons myself and went with the harder mode. I did not expect it to actually be hard. It’s a very difficult game. The easy enemies really aren’t all that difficult, however they are holding swords and still quite dangerous. The game seems to try to keep it real in that no matter how much life you have in total, it still doesn’t amount to much. If you get slashed/stabbed by a sword it’s going to A) hurt, and B) bleed all over! Every level you gain is maybe another pop, shot you can take. Earn three levels and we’re talking maybe surviving just one more boss onslaught. The game is tough.
The controls are solid. Your character does exactly what you ask, when you ask. The asking has been made simple. You use combinations of the d-pad and attack button. Another button is designated your special attack (secret attack) button. Hold attack to guard. It could easily be renamed “sword” button, or even “pointy/sharpy” button. You want to go up, press up. You want to slash up, press attack and up, you get the idea.
Each character carries three swords all over the place. Each blade has its own secret attack and some have special abilities such as increased strength or more experience earned. There are two types. Long Blade, and blade. Long blades are slower, more powerful, and have greater reach. In general I’ve found that long blades are basically suicide. Some enemies are so fast that only the short blade can win, and with the exception of a few bosses, the long reach isn’t too useful.
In combat the blade is unsheathed and you can cycle blades with the press of a button. If you’re properly powered up, then you’ll unleash a quick draw attack across the screen. Blades also have “soul power”. This is used up by blocking attacks, deflecting objects, and using the secret attack. When the soul power is gone the blade breaks and looses almost all its power and reach. Switch to a different blade and the broken one will repair over a short time. However, you’re in the thick of battle so you won’t want to worry about that. Switch and try not to get hit!
The game keeps track of combos. They don’t need to be completely contiguous and I cannot for the life of me figure out why there is a combo system. Damage is not increased as far as I can tell, there are no perks granted, and you don’t get any extra experience. Maybe I’m missing something. The only real advantage of the combo count is to know that you got x hits in for their zero.
One thing that you’re warned to do early on is to keep a large stock of healing items. You’re going to get hurt and you need to heal. There are basically two types of items. Food, and not food. Food gives you health and more spirit (for forging swords). Not food gives you health but doesn’t add to your fullness meter. If you’re too full your character isn’t going to choke down a rice even if he’s got two points of life left and it’d save him from the ninja army ready to slice what’s left of your mangled body into low-grade taco meat.
The game has quite a few RPG elements. You gain levels, stats, items, you have to look for things, etc. Swords are made by the spirit of a great sword maker (in your menu screen). In order to forge new swords you have to complete a tree by finding special swords and collecting “spirit” and “souls” from defeated enemies. Before this game the only time I was ever remotely entertained by a food system was Gauntlet and Metal Gear 3. Muramasa makes faux cooking a desirable action. Everything is done with animated overlays and you just page through them, but I love them. Some food is made to save for later, the rest is more like a soup (hot pot) and is eaten immediately and generally grants a temporary ability boost. There are also restaurants that you can frequent. They’re a bit cheaper than cooking on your own (a stark contrast to reality) and restore a percent of what’s missing rather than a set number.
The story is spoken entirely in Japanese with subtitles. I’m not quite sure how I feel about the story just now since it’s pretty weak this early in. The guy has amnesia and the girl is possessed by a demon. That’s all I know, and those aren’t spoilers.
You’ll wander around a large 2D (think Rambo on the NES, you know you loved it!) map that covers a great deal of countryside. The 3D effects in the 2D world is astounding as things pass by in the background and the foreground. I haven’t seen a part of this game that didn’t make me say “Wow”. It’s that well done. When you walk around town there are people with whom you can converse but they rarely have anything of any consequence to say. Sometimes they’re looking for people but when I find them the character seems adamantly opposed to discuss the seeker with the seek… seek-ee? Sure. I do have a problem in that the map doesn’t help you remember where find merchants. You’ll see barriers (you need certain swords to bring down the barriers, think Metroid), anomalies (items you can grab) save points and boss fights, but no merchants!
Overall it’s been a great game to me and I can’t wait to pick up the controller next. If you forced me to put it on a scale I’d say it’s closer to a 9 than an 8. It’s not perfect, but it’s really good.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Murasame: The Demon Blade
My wife picked up this game for me for my birthday. I probably don't have time to play for more than an hour over the next few weeks but I can't wait to try it tonight.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Assassin's Creed 2
Awesome. Pure awesome. I'm about four hours in.
The game seems to fly by and I can’t get enough. The combat starts off both fluid and clumsy. It’s nice because you have access to all the abilities of Altiar had at the end of AC. However, you’re an unskilled fighter so you are clumsy as can be. The game starts with a fist fight and if you know how to grab, counter and all that then you’re free to do so. It’s set up so that you will lose, so you’re free to do whatever you like. Also, contrary to how the previews put it you are able to free run from the beginning. If there is more skill to be had, I haven’t found it.
Combat is also more interesting since you can hire mercenaries to help you. Big battles occur with some frequency and you usually have the option of helping out or continuing. When you’re fighting the big battles you have the opportunity to instant kill anyone who’s back is turned to you, which will save your allies if you choose to help out.
There are multiple weapons (22 in all, I believe). They are categorized so that you can only carry one of each type (sword, dagger, knives, etc) and the rest you store at your home base, which is far more extensive than the last time. The weapons all have different powers, speed and deflection ability. For instance the stiletto is terrible for deflecting attacks but extremely quick.
The streets are littered with doctors, tailors, blacksmiths, banks, and some other stands. As you go more things are unlocked for purchase. The doctors (so far) carry medicine for healing wounds, artists sell paintings and “treasure maps” that I haven’t tried purchasing. Blacksmiths sell armors and weapons, as well as repair them. The stronger your armor, the more life you have. When your armor breaks or deteriorates your total health is reduced.
Now there are groups of people you can just hire any time to help you get around. Thugs, “Courtesans”, and thieves can be given some cash to walk with you for portable cover or distract guards into leaving their posts. The system is very useful for getting rid of stationary guards. Or being ‘guided’ into a protected area.
New is that you can use the blend ability anywhere you want. Just find a small group of people (usually only works with 4 or more) and walk near them without interacting. You basically become invisible and so there are portable hiding spots everywhere. However, don’t pick the pockets of those in your hiding group because they’ll call you out or start a fist fight. Speaking of picking pockets. It’s very fun. You can also loot bodies. If people see you, they start to fear you even more.
The new notoriety system is, in my opinion, pretty poorly implemented. Like every game where you have a public opinion about you, word spreads instantly of your deeds and wanted posters appear out of nowhere, even if you knock off a completely unsuspecting guard. This is the only real complaint I have about the game. To ‘clear your name’ you can either bribe the heralds, kill officials (which somehow doesn’t create more notoriety), or remove wanted posters (if you’re seen, you don’t lose any of your notoriety, though, and guards will attack you). But seeing as the pace of the game (being that you don’t hang around for weeks) doesn’t allow for the people to casually forget who you are, it’s a forgivable problem.
Guards are now smarter. They'll take a moment to notice you and the game helps you out with this. There are chevron-shaped indicators. If they fill with yellow then you have been recognized. Red means you'll be attacked. It's fight or flight, however you'll have to act all non-chalant. Blend, casually walk away, turn a corner and high tail it. If you don anything 'suspicious' like, say, climbing a wall or jumping in a cart of hay, then they'll be onto you and you're going to have the same choice. Fight, or flight in hopes of becoming anonymous.
Your options for going anonymous depend on how high your notoriety is at the time and what your offense was. While “notorious” you have to haul ass out of their search zone, find cover, and wait. They'll search beyond the zone and if they don't find you, you're free, but while you're still in that bubble they won't give up at all. They'll walk up to the hay bale and say something like, "He could be in here!" and start stabbing away. Ezio will escape just as the swords begin the stabbity and get wounded and be discovered. Lower notoriety and offenses will have a smaller bubble and the guards won’t be as interested in locating you. They probably won’t probe for you as much.
Unlike the first game AC2 actually encourages you to collect all the goodies. This time, however, it’s not flags. Now you’re looking for relevant items that either unlock weapons or part of the story. For instance, you must find pieces of a codex, each piece is translated by Leonardo da Vince. These allow you to get new weapons or attacks. However something with that system too seems off. You don’t seem to be able to just find one and carry it off to Leonardo. However, that may be something that I haven’t found at this time.
Gone, too, is being assigned to kill specific people and the main quests are more story driven. Ezio chooses (you don’t) his targets and how you go after them is your business. Charge right in or gather intelligence, whichever you prefer. There isn’t ever a wrong way to do anything, more like a ‘hard’ way. The story just flows.
The graphics seem to be about the same as the first game. However the draw distances have been modified slightly so when on the peaks of buildings. The buildings themselves are a bit plain, with the focus of the details being the background and countryside. Not sure how I feel about the trade-off. However, the game doesn’t suffer due to it and it’s not something you need to notice.
So far I’d say that AC2 is about as close to a 10 as any game I’ve played. I don’t foresee any reasons to reduce this except, perhaps, if it glitches out, or I can finish the main quest in under 12 hours of dedicated play. The missions are a bit more open. I’ve intentionally left out a lot of elements so that you guys will be able to enjoy the game more completely. It truly is a sequel that is leaps beyond the first in a series.
The game seems to fly by and I can’t get enough. The combat starts off both fluid and clumsy. It’s nice because you have access to all the abilities of Altiar had at the end of AC. However, you’re an unskilled fighter so you are clumsy as can be. The game starts with a fist fight and if you know how to grab, counter and all that then you’re free to do so. It’s set up so that you will lose, so you’re free to do whatever you like. Also, contrary to how the previews put it you are able to free run from the beginning. If there is more skill to be had, I haven’t found it.
Combat is also more interesting since you can hire mercenaries to help you. Big battles occur with some frequency and you usually have the option of helping out or continuing. When you’re fighting the big battles you have the opportunity to instant kill anyone who’s back is turned to you, which will save your allies if you choose to help out.
There are multiple weapons (22 in all, I believe). They are categorized so that you can only carry one of each type (sword, dagger, knives, etc) and the rest you store at your home base, which is far more extensive than the last time. The weapons all have different powers, speed and deflection ability. For instance the stiletto is terrible for deflecting attacks but extremely quick.
The streets are littered with doctors, tailors, blacksmiths, banks, and some other stands. As you go more things are unlocked for purchase. The doctors (so far) carry medicine for healing wounds, artists sell paintings and “treasure maps” that I haven’t tried purchasing. Blacksmiths sell armors and weapons, as well as repair them. The stronger your armor, the more life you have. When your armor breaks or deteriorates your total health is reduced.
Now there are groups of people you can just hire any time to help you get around. Thugs, “Courtesans”, and thieves can be given some cash to walk with you for portable cover or distract guards into leaving their posts. The system is very useful for getting rid of stationary guards. Or being ‘guided’ into a protected area.
New is that you can use the blend ability anywhere you want. Just find a small group of people (usually only works with 4 or more) and walk near them without interacting. You basically become invisible and so there are portable hiding spots everywhere. However, don’t pick the pockets of those in your hiding group because they’ll call you out or start a fist fight. Speaking of picking pockets. It’s very fun. You can also loot bodies. If people see you, they start to fear you even more.
The new notoriety system is, in my opinion, pretty poorly implemented. Like every game where you have a public opinion about you, word spreads instantly of your deeds and wanted posters appear out of nowhere, even if you knock off a completely unsuspecting guard. This is the only real complaint I have about the game. To ‘clear your name’ you can either bribe the heralds, kill officials (which somehow doesn’t create more notoriety), or remove wanted posters (if you’re seen, you don’t lose any of your notoriety, though, and guards will attack you). But seeing as the pace of the game (being that you don’t hang around for weeks) doesn’t allow for the people to casually forget who you are, it’s a forgivable problem.
Guards are now smarter. They'll take a moment to notice you and the game helps you out with this. There are chevron-shaped indicators. If they fill with yellow then you have been recognized. Red means you'll be attacked. It's fight or flight, however you'll have to act all non-chalant. Blend, casually walk away, turn a corner and high tail it. If you don anything 'suspicious' like, say, climbing a wall or jumping in a cart of hay, then they'll be onto you and you're going to have the same choice. Fight, or flight in hopes of becoming anonymous.
Your options for going anonymous depend on how high your notoriety is at the time and what your offense was. While “notorious” you have to haul ass out of their search zone, find cover, and wait. They'll search beyond the zone and if they don't find you, you're free, but while you're still in that bubble they won't give up at all. They'll walk up to the hay bale and say something like, "He could be in here!" and start stabbing away. Ezio will escape just as the swords begin the stabbity and get wounded and be discovered. Lower notoriety and offenses will have a smaller bubble and the guards won’t be as interested in locating you. They probably won’t probe for you as much.
Unlike the first game AC2 actually encourages you to collect all the goodies. This time, however, it’s not flags. Now you’re looking for relevant items that either unlock weapons or part of the story. For instance, you must find pieces of a codex, each piece is translated by Leonardo da Vince. These allow you to get new weapons or attacks. However something with that system too seems off. You don’t seem to be able to just find one and carry it off to Leonardo. However, that may be something that I haven’t found at this time.
Gone, too, is being assigned to kill specific people and the main quests are more story driven. Ezio chooses (you don’t) his targets and how you go after them is your business. Charge right in or gather intelligence, whichever you prefer. There isn’t ever a wrong way to do anything, more like a ‘hard’ way. The story just flows.
The graphics seem to be about the same as the first game. However the draw distances have been modified slightly so when on the peaks of buildings. The buildings themselves are a bit plain, with the focus of the details being the background and countryside. Not sure how I feel about the trade-off. However, the game doesn’t suffer due to it and it’s not something you need to notice.
So far I’d say that AC2 is about as close to a 10 as any game I’ve played. I don’t foresee any reasons to reduce this except, perhaps, if it glitches out, or I can finish the main quest in under 12 hours of dedicated play. The missions are a bit more open. I’ve intentionally left out a lot of elements so that you guys will be able to enjoy the game more completely. It truly is a sequel that is leaps beyond the first in a series.
Yes, because I can
I periodically make some long-winded write-ups of various games. So I figure, why not share them with anyone who cares to look? I'm pretty impartial and have some refined tastes in gaming and entertainment. I can be entertained by some crap games and find those "A+" titles to be pretty boring (ODST, anyone?).
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