Thomas Was Alone (Vita)

It isn’t often that I invest in indie games, mainly because I’m not only interested in a lot of big budget titles, but I also have a large backlog of games in my library that I could potentially review at any time. I also don’t see the need to invest in every single indie game that people praise because, again, my priorities are different. For these reasons, I mainly obtain indie games cheaply through Humble Bundles or for free via my PlayStation Plus subscription, although occasionally I’ll gladly invest fully in a title that I really want to play such as Journey. It was my PlayStation Plus subscription that allowed me to access the critically acclaimed Thomas Was Alone on both my PS3 and Vita, though I opted to play it on my Vita due to having a lot of time on a recent trip. Within the couple hours it took me to play through all 100 levels, I could see how it would be heavily praised, but at the same time I didn’t feel as connected to it as others did and I felt unsure that I would have spent $10 on it.

Thomas Was Alone is about an AI named Thomas who finds himself alone in a test chamber. As he keeps going up and to the right, he runs into more AIs, including Chris, who doesn’t like that Thomas can jump higher than him. As the AIs meet each other and eventually form a group of seven, each with their own personalities and abilities, they all find out the truth about their situation and learn about a world outside of their own.

Thomas' story is also self-referential.

The story is what is most heavily praised about Thomas Was Alone and I can see why. It does a very good job of giving unique traits and characterization to a group of minimalist rectangles. Danny Wallace’s narration certainly helps in keeping the player interested in what the story has to say and can add a humorous tone to the script. However, I didn’t really find myself completely invested in the characters throughout the game, though I did find myself caring more once the game took a tonal shift in the latter half in a story that seems otherwise unconnected to Thomas’, like a sequel that never got made but was put in anyway to get the level count up to 100. I thought about why this was for a minute and I think I’ve figured it out. One part of it is that minimalist games about isolation and companionship, mostly on the theme of love, are so prevalent on Kongregate that it’s become a running joke in both comments and even game titles. As a result, it felt a little like I was playing a game with similar themes, except that developer Mike Bithell was asking for money.

The other aspect is the humor, which sometimes felt like it was trying a little hard to be funny by way of including what I saw as a list of things that would make geeks laugh, including references to Transformers and Nathan Fillion (not Nathan Fillion in any particular role, just Nathan Fillion the actor (maybe that reference is aimed at Browncoats?)). To me, these references also took away from the game’s ability to be timeless. To clarify, I loved it when South Park: The Stick of Truth made references to pop culture icons like Facebook/Twitter and Skyrim or timely references to current events like Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Tacos and the infamously faulty Obamacare website (I’ll stop right there) because South Park has pretty much always been timely about what they have commentary about, so it felt natural for the game to also be a product of its time. With Thomas Was Alone however, I felt that because of the nature of the game, it should have been more timeless, but because they decided to try and get geeks and hardcore gamers to laugh at their references, including two for dead memes, the game became an unintentional period piece and will thus be more of a time capsule that won’t be as appealing to newcomers down the line. But this is just my opinion and you do not necessarily have to agree with it.

While the story didn’t draw me in as much as it did for others, the gameplay is what really kept me going. Each of the seven-plus characters has a unique size and special ability, which may need to be used in tandem in order to reach the level goal. As the levels get progressively complex, it’s good that they keep things fresh every so often, like introducing a new character or gameplay element such as floating colors that can change someone’s power upon touching it. Though a level from time to time felt a little annoying to complete, I liked having to keep thinking about the world around me to find a way to the exit. The platforming is very solid and tight, although I did run into a couple of technical issues. The Vita version presents multiple ways to switch between characters, since you can use the L and R buttons, hold your finger or thumb on the bottom right corner of the screen and scroll between available characters or tap the touchscreen in the general direction or exact position of the character you wish to use next. I ended up using all three options at some point or another, since the levels can get really complex, but personally I found the touch screen to be a little sensitive, since I would occasionally lightly tap the screen by accident and end up controlling a character I hadn’t planned to use at that moment; In the wrong situation this would end up undoing a bit of progress. I’d blame this more on how the controls were applied to the Vita as opposed to the Vita itself, since this does in a way show off just how responsive the system’s touchscreen is. In any case, try to keep your thumbs away from the Vita screen if you can unless you plan on playing that way anyway.

One of the game's more complex puzzles (it's a little harder than it looks).

As more of a side note, there is a bit of replay value present in the form of collectibles that are very well hidden throughout each chapter of the story. If you miss one, you can simply select any of the 100 levels at will from the main menu. This would also help a player if they are shooting for a particular score on the leaderboard.

I suppose the last thing to mention would be the graphics and sound. For a minimalist game, the graphics are very good with a great color choice and incredible lighting and shadow work. On a couple of occasions however, the shadows actually worked against me since a combination of specific background colors, character colors and shadows could actually cause the darker colored characters to become nearly invisible. On the subject of sound, the effects were well-chosen, though I did recognize some sounds from other games, and the subtle score was a good choice, as it enhances the mood without drawing too much attention to itself.

Thomas Was Alone is a game worth trying out, although I didn’t like it as much as other people did. The story is interesting, though not thoroughly compelling, and the jokes may be funny to some but end up turning the game into a time capsule instead of aiding its potential timelessness. On the other hand, the platforming is very good at stretching the mind in figuring out how to make characters with more specialized abilities work together to reach the end goal. If you’re curious about trying it out, then by all means do so, but I would recommend trying to get it through a future Humble Bundle if able or for free through PlayStation Plus (as of this writing, it’s still one of the free titles in the Instant Game Collection). It’s a game that will appeal to many, but the $10 price point may not feel completely worth it for everyone.

Minerva's Den (DLC) - There's Something in the Sea

Following the release of BioShock 2, two bits of Single Player DLC were released, known as The Protector Trials and Minerva's Den. While I did not purchase the former, I was interested in and purchased the latter, as it was to be a stand-alone campaign taking place in a new part of Rapture with a new protagonist. When it came out three years ago, I eagerly dropped $10 on it to see if it would live up to my expectations. This was another of my early DeviantArt reviews, in which I reflected positively. Now that I've played it again recently, I now feel that not only is this single piece of DLC better than the main game, it is able to elevate itself to be comparable with the original BioShock.

The story opens in 1968 and follows Subject Sigma, a Big Daddy on his way to the titular Minerva's Den. On his way over, the tunnel is detonated and he falls unconscious. Some time later, he wakes up and hears a man named Charles Milton Porter speak to him. Porter knows what Sigma is trying to do and decides to help him regain control of a supercomputer called The Thinker, which has control over the automated systems of Rapture. To do this though, he must eliminate a man named Reed Wahl, the computer's co-creator and current controller who really wants Sigma dead.

Your best view of Subject Sigma.

While the campaign is only around four to five hours, it uses this time to tell a well-crafted story that doesn't need to try to tie in to the events of the core game. Subject Sigma turns out to be an interesting character, thanks in part to how he interacts with Wahl, Porter and Brigid Tenenbaum. While Sigma doesn't speak, what goes on as he makes his way to The Thinker is very engaging and manages to create the right amount of suspense as it builds up toward a rather shocking twist. Its climax is brilliantly executed and the ending was actually written well enough to make me cry.

On the side of gameplay, it remains largely unchanged from BioShock 2, with some exceptions. There is a new weapon, the Ion Laser, which uses one of three different types of ammunition to create a focused laser that fires upon the enemy. New enemy types are introduced, such as the Fiery Brute Splicer, Wintery Houdini Splicer and the Lancer Big Daddy, who's weapon of choice is the Ion Laser. In the same vein, there are also new types of security bots that can electrocute, shoot rockets or fire the Ion Laser. It is also possible to find a number of Plasmids and Gene Tonics, including the new Gravity Well Plasmid, which creates a vortex that sucks objects into its pull; it can be upgraded to be used as a proximity mine or even secrete acid on those unfortunate enough to come in contact with it. Finally, in lieu of Power to the People stations to upgrade weapons, upgraded forms of the weapons are now found lying around, which actually helps make things more expedient and acquiring all upgrades possible.

Both the Gravity Well and Ion laser in hand.

The aforementioned additions made to combat actually help mix things up and prevent enemy encounters from getting stale. Thanks to the new weapon and Plasmid at my disposal, I also felt more powerful and they felt fun to use, though I thought the Ion Laser drained a little quickly. On a final note, the graphics aren't much different from BioShock 2, but the voice acting continues to be really well done. It is thanks to the talent for the new characters that the story ended up being as emotional as it was.

A Lancer Big Daddy ready to blind Sigma.

Minerva's Den is what DLC should be. It offers a brand new campaign that has a pretty good length for the amount of money it costs and introduces new concepts to the combat to help it feel fresh, thus allowing the player to actually feel like a Big Daddy throughout its entirety. The real highlight however is the story, which felt more focused and better written than the game required to play it. If you loved the story of BioShock but weren't sure how to feel about the yarn spun for BioShock 2, then Minerva's Den will put your mind at ease. It is an excellent offering that BioShock fans should not miss out on.

Now that I've concluded my buildup to the soon-to-be-released BioShock Infinite, I'm ready to never visit Rapture ever again. I had some fun and experienced some incredible stories, but after a while it's clear that the franchise definitely needs to go someplace new. Hopefully I'll be able to get that by leaving the underwater city of Rapture for the open skies of the cloud city known as Columbia.

Cubixx - Not About Robots, But Still for Everyone

As of this writing, I am still playing Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, but the time the game shipped to my house combined with school has caused it to take longer than expected, and I may still be playing it by the time Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance comes out, a game which we plan to cover. As such, I have decided to write up a quick review of another game so that I at least still have something posted on this blog in the meantime. The name of the game is Cubixx, developed by independent studio Laughing Jackal. I became curious about this game while playing around with my PlayStation Vita, deciding to take advantage of it being offered for free in the Vita's PSN store. After playing it for a bit while waiting for Sly 4 to arrive in the mail, I took me a while before I could put it down.

The gameplay of Cubixx is similar to the arcade game Qix (which some of you may recognize as being the basis for the Art Class mini-game in Bully). The goal is to control a small point of light that cuts lasers on the outside of a cube, each cut further revealing what's inside until you reach a percentage goal of how much area you're supposed to erase (maybe this is the source of Peter Molyneux's fascination with cubes?). You must do this while also trying to avoid hazards such as squares of light that bounce around within each side as well as other points of light that will chase you along the edges of the cube, including where you are cutting. You gain points based on how much space you clear up at once, bonus points if you clear up a large area on more than one side at the same time. And don't worry if you cut off your only way back to the edge, for the remaining section you didn't cut will simply fall towards the edge of the cube so you can continue. It may not sound like much to a more complex-minded player, but even this simple task can be addicting as hell, especially for someone like me who enjoys a good puzzle challenge.

Navigating around the cube is very simple, in that you only use the D-Pad or the right analog stick. This is all that's needed for a game like this, although I will admit there was at least one moment where it seemed like the controls were acting up a little while I was on one of the cube's edges, costing me one of my lives. Despite this occasional hiccup, I had a really great time with this game, getting further with each try, and for a while I simply did not want to stop.

Cubixx is a great game for people who want something quick to play on the go. If you own a Vita and are looking for something simple and enjoyable, I would definitely direct you towards this game. It may even become your (next) Angry Birds if you get into it enough.

Gravity Rush - Shift This Game To Your Vita

As I had only received a Vita this last Christmas, I have missed out on giving reviews of certain games upon their proper release. However, since I'm a PlayStation Plus member, I was able to download a number of games for free on the system (have to be careful with space though, since I only have a 4GB memory card for now and Vita cards are expensive). Since one of them happened to be Gravity Rush, a game released in June 2012 that I had heard some good things about, I decided to give it a try while waiting for a replacement copy of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Since completing it, I think I can now consider myself a fan of this game, despite some burning questions I have left.

Gravity Rush follows a mysterious young woman who has woken up in the cloud city of Hekesville with a case of amnesia. She sees a strange cat and decides to follow it, only to have to rescue someone. In desperation, the woman gains the ability to shift gravity from the cat and saves a boy, at the cost of losing his house. The woman then runs into an officer named Syd, who gives her the nickname Kat because of her cat, who she decides to name Dusty. She then learns of a woman named Raven, who has similar abilities thanks to a crow. As Kat goes around Hekesville, she comes to realize that there are many mysteries surrounding the town, but has yet to realize that she is a part of something much bigger than herself.

I enjoyed the story, which has plenty of twists and turns that have some sort of emotional impact. Mysteries are introduced at moments that make you wonder what will happen next, essentially driving you forward to try and learn the answers. It presents itself through initiated dialogue and cutscenes, which come in the CG and paneled varieties. The latter is in an interactive comic book style, where turning the Vita will change the viewpoint, albeit in a limited fashion, and swiping the screen provides one way to advance the scene. Naturally each panel contains a hand drawn representation of the events, complete with written sound effects, and they look fantastic. Presenting the next mission this way is more expressive and I'm glad that they decided to go this route, especially since I can easily read the speech balloons.

As I said in the last paragraph, the story presents mystery after mystery to keep the player going. While this is an effective narrative device, I came to a realization as the credits rolled that I don't think a lot of these got answered. Some of my burning questions are: "Who exactly is Alias?"; "What are the Nevi and where did they come from?"; "Who or what exactly is Kat?"; "What did she see in her vision and what is in the photo the man is looking at at the end?"; "Where did these animals come from and why can they bestow gravity shifting abilities?"; and "Is there a larger significance to the Creators?" All of these and more will likely be brought up in a sequel if that ever gets made, or hopefully (yet doubtfully) in the available DLC. I sometimes enjoy complexity in a story, but I also like it when these plots wrap themselves up in the same span of time or even save one of their bigger mysteries for a sequel hook. This doesn't mean I don't care about the plot in Gravity Rush, but it does mean that I would have liked to have more closure on the events.

The various story missions are designed very well for the most part. While the objectives vary, they usually involve going to a specific location in the area to interact with something, defeat enemies or carry someone somewhere. There is always a marker telling you where to go in space, which is actually extremely helpful due to the gravity shifting mechanic potentially occupying all 360 degrees. The main mechanic of the game is extremely easy to handle and brings a large element of satisfaction from its use. Gravity Shifting is triggered with a single press of the R button, with access to related abilities depending on what you press next, such as using another press of R to "fall" in an intended direction or Circle (O) to pick things up in a small circular field. The length of time you can do this for is represented by a blue gauge, which can be increased through upgrades. Pressing L will reset Kat to normal gravity, which has an added advantage of letting the gauge recharge. Sometimes while flying somewhere I would juggle between usage of both buttons to keep the gauge full for my purposes and it worked out really well.

By using the Vita's gyroscope functionality or the right analog stick, you can aim Kat in midair to determine where you'd like to fall. This also allows you to aim a Gravity Kick, which is an alternative to holding X to fall quicker as well as a move to use in combat. It is also essential to use the gyroscope to aim when performing a Gravity Slide, which requires pressing opposite ends of the touchscreen to activate; taking a thumb off the screen while doing this will allow Kat to slowly drift in one direction. While it takes some getting used to for the Gravity Slide to be any fun, the initial curve when figuring out can put you off using it for a bit and stick to your regular gravity powers.

Combat in Gravity Rush is also a little hit and miss. Aside from Kat's main move of kicking, just about every gravity power has some application to fight against Nevi, a species of indeterminable origin. I had a bit of fun with this, especially when I used certain special moves to get rid of them quicker, but in the later missions I started to get a little annoyed with it. Eventually the Nevi decide to spawn in increasingly larger numbers to drag the encounters out as long as they can, getting bigger and stronger each time; this isn't something to complain about too much, but that also means more points to try and hit on the Nevi each time, which becomes a little frustrating when you consider that they mostly have an odd geometry that requires you to constantly aim in different places while a bunch of red orbs are being fired at you. What also didn't help was that the enemy variety eventually sort of stopped outside of bosses. New Nevi are introduced at a pretty good interval, but then at the end the stronger ones are introduced as brand new enemies except now they have some kind of bone armor of sorts protecting one of their weak points. It felt a little uncreative and just made fighting them a little more tedious. Sometimes the special attacks didn't do what I wanted either, with the Spinning Claw, the one I leaned on the most, sometimes spiraling away from the action when it clearly hit once rather than continue to another weak point. Basically, the hit detection seemed a little off at times, but overall the combat system isn't broken and is tolerable to some degree.

Gravity Rush also has some RPG elements, at least in the form of leveling up your skills. You do this by collecting Precious Gems and purchasing upgrades at will. Precious Gems can be found either in the game world or by completing unlockable challenges. These challenges are unlocked by using some of the gems you have collected to repair some function of Hekesville, which can even serve as a means to get to parts that are much further away. I enjoyed this aspect and actually used the upgrade screen whenever possible to get more competent in combat. I'd even go around Hekesville just to see if I could find even more gems that I had missed by exploring even the underside of the city.

In terms of appearances, Gravity Rush is a very beautiful game. The art style is fantastic and really gives the game its own identity, down to the environments. I like the way the characters Kat and Raven are designed, straying away from stereotypical anime female designs and actually letting them be attractive while still wearing clothes that seem appropriate for the world. The cat Dusty was also designed in a way that it looked cute to me, even with the star pattern composing its body. Other characters that are important to the plot also have memorable designs without feeling out of place; everyone seemed to naturally fit in. I also liked the score and minimal voice acting, which actually felt like an interesting combination to keep the player fully involved in the setting.

Gravity Rush is a very strong title for the Vita. Its story is very engaging despite the lack of complete closure, the characters and setting are unique and interesting and it takes advantage of the system's capabilities very well without getting in the way of enjoying the experience. Combat may not be the best, but its actually quite fun and even a little tense when the setup is right. Although I downloaded it for free off PSN, I would still actually buy the game since I feel it really is worth the money. If you own a Vita and want a good start, make it Gravity Rush. Its setting will really draw you in and I can almost certainly guarantee that you'll have a good time.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors - Your Hopes and Dreams are Still On-Board

Due to lack of an American retail release, here's the European box art.

If you have delved into the world of anime/manga at any point, chances are high that you may have come across the title, One Piece. For those who don't know what the series is, or simply don't care for this type of medium, One Piece is a highly popular Japanese manga created by Eiichiro Oda, that has been running in Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan for around 15 years. The story tells of the misadventures of a boy named Monkey D. Luffy, who dreams of becoming King of the Pirates and is after the legendary treasure known as the One Piece. As a child, Luffy accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, which turned him into rubber and allows him to stretch his body, at the cost of being unable to swim. However this doesn't deter him from his goal, as he sets sail on (initially) a raft, gaining many friends and foes along his journey.

The series was serialized in the American Shonen Jump Magazine before the publication became the digital Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha, where the manga continues to run in English. The manga has also been adapted to anime form, where it has received about a dozen movies (only one of which is officially canon), several video games (none of which I have played except for the one I am about to go into), and tons of other merchandise (in Japan it's gotten popular to the point where recent volumes not only outsold the Harry Potter books, but also themselves on many occasions). The anime has also been dubbed into English for American consumption twice, first by 4Kids before being taken over by Funimation (whose dub I have only begun watching), the first of which seems to have contributed to the problems One Piece has with finding an American audience due to the company's shoddy work overall (I have only read about this dub online, which makes me glad I initially actively avoided the series as a child). In light of the manga's 15th anniversary, Namco Bandai Games has recently published a game developed by Tecmo Koei and Omega Force, titled One Piece: Pirate Warriors, earlier this year. A few months ago the game was released in English, but retaining the Japanese audio, although American players must download it off of PlaySation Network while European audiences have the option of retail. After one of the most expensive purchases I have ever made for a download, I can safely say that the game is totally worth the money. If you are a One Piece fan.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors follows the same story as the manga, with the framing device for most of the game being the current members of the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy's crew, telling stories to each other (I'm going to give it to you straight: Just telling you the names of every member that's not Luffy automatically creates massive spoilers). While the game does a pretty faithful retelling of 60+(!) volumes of manga, a number of bigger and smaller (often important) arcs have been cut from the story. Though there's several animatics and text recaps to accompany the story levels, or the Main Log, you are still not getting the full account of what happened during the Straw Hats' voyage, since some events are not even mentioned or are simply glossed over (including an entire story arc that was reduced to a sentence or two), which the game actually pokes fun at near the end. This means you are better off reading those 60+ volumes before playing the game; I have personally been reading the manga up to the ending point of the game and beyond, one way or another, and I can assure you that such an investment is definitely worth your time and money.

Omega Force is known for developing the Dynasty Warriors series, one that you may have at least heard of. I myself haven't played any of the Dynasty Warriors games, but from my experience with Pirate Warriors, I think I have a good idea of what the series is like. As you progress through the Main Log, you encounter three different types of levels; one is a straight-up platforming section where you occasionally fight enemies while solving puzzles that take advantage of Luffy's Gum-Gum powers, one is based around capturing territories while completing objectives to advance, and the other is more or less focused entirely on a boss fight. During the levels you are able to collect a variety of power-ups by hitting chests, which gave give you a temporary boost or refill your Life and SP Meters. The SP Meter is an orange bar that's divided into sections, which increase when you level up enough, which can be used to pull off special attacks based on how many meters you use. You can also collect Coins, either by opening special chests or completing certain objectives, which can be used to enhance your character's stats. Each Coin represents a character, symbol, or item from the One Piece universe, and they can be equipped to a character by accessing a special menu, in sets of up to three, again depending on how much you level up, and grant special enhancements depending on the Coin; if you arrange the Coins in certain sets, you can also unlock a special enhancement that is applied to the character as long as you maintain that set. During certain encounters, you are also tasked with completing a Quick-Time Event(s), which I compared to Asura's Wrath, that represent an intense moment as Luffy triumphs over his enemies. During the territory missions, you are able to initiate a Crew Strike by pairing up with another character, allowing you to switch over to another character after performing a specific combo in order to dish out more damage to enemy swarms.

Throughout most of the Main Log you play as Luffy across the various arcs included, but you are also sometimes able to briefly play as another character, which is than unlocked for use in Another Log. In Another Log, you can play as one of the characters unlocked through the Main Log to play during missions from the story; if you use certain characters on specific missions, you can also play through their own story, increasing the replay value, but you do have the option of using completely different characters for those missions if you want to have some fun with it. Each character plays a bit differently from Luffy, though I ended up getting bored while testing out each character, since the only levels I could play were territory-based, which can become a bit monotonous after a while. However, there are certain animations that perfectly display the quirks of each character, which brings some entertainment to this mode, but not enough to keep me going personally.

As far as extras go, there is also an option to play Another Log missions in local co-op, which I tried out, but the split-screen for this mode is a bit awkward and I quickly stopped using that mode. Aside from a rather difficult Challenge Mode, there are also glossaries and character bios to help fill you in on the world of One Piece (from what I've read of them, they're actually pretty accurate). However, even with all this extra information, you're still better off catching up on a bulk of the manga prior to playing this game.

Onto the technical side of things; let's begin with the graphics. The character models are, put simply, amazing, perfectly capturing Eiichiro Oda's current art style and remaining faithful to where it looks as if the manga came to life. Some of the cutscenes before and after each mission actually use these models to perfectly recreate panels from the manga, albeit sometimes with an art style more advanced than before, but the execution still works really well. Some of these cutscenes are also fully animated, also faithfully recreating enitre manga sequences, making it the closest you can get to a CG One Piece anime. The level designs also expertly use the designs of each locale on the Straw Hats' voyage to their advantage, taking many creative liberties while still creating a sense of immersion.

The music of Pirate Warriors is also fantastic, ranging from lighthearted to intense depending on the situation. It matches each situation nicely and sounds like it fits in with One Piece (I am not intimately familiar with the anime soundtrack). As mentioned above, while the game has translated all Japanese text into English, it still retains the Japanese language track, though this might have been influenced by the progress of Funimation's dub of the anime. While I don't mind the Japanese acting that much, I think it still would have been nice to have an English language track.

Aside from the omission of arcs from the story the game is trying to retell, I only really have one major complaint. I was playing on Easy (because it was the very first thing the game asked me when I began and I'm not familiar with Dynasty Warriors gameplay), and even then I had one hell of a time against Admiral Aokiji in the Main Log, due to heavy spamming of attacks and me not being able to actually land a hit for quite some time, even when using the full extent of Luffy's SP Meter, which made the fight very frustrating. The fight just felt a little broken, and it took me a few tries before I was actually able to win.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors is a good game for any fan of One Piece who is essentially caught up with the story. It perfectly captures the spirit of the story and faithfully recreates key moments for the optimal One Piece video game experience. If you have only just begun to get into it or haven't experienced the series at all, I would suggest either holding off on this game until you have read those 60+ volumes or simply skip it altogether if you are not a fan of Japanese media for whatever reason. However, if you don't care about knowing all the details and are a fan of Dynasty Warriors gameplay, I would suggest downloading this game, so long as you keep in mind that it doesn't contain everything.

The Unfinished Swan

While I do enjoy my fair share of complex or lengthy games, I am also the type to appreciate games that have good artistic qualities (see my reviews of Thatgamecompany's library for evidence). As such, I became interested when I first heard about The Unfinished Swan, especially with its main gameplay mechanic of throwing balls of paint. Recently this game saw an early release for subscribers of PlayStation +, so naturally I decided to take full advantage of it. What I can say is, this game is good news for people like me who appreciate the artistic side of gaming.

The story, as described by the opening cutscene, is that a boy named Monroe had a mother who passed away. She was always painting, but never got around to completing any of her projects. Upon her passing, the orphanage allowed Monroe to keep only one of his mother's pieces, and so picked her favorite, the titular unfinished swan. One day, Monroe saw that the swan had mysteriously disappeared from its canvas, and enters through a door that wasn't there previously.

The core mechanic of the gameplay, as mentioned above, is the ability to throw balls of paint at the surrounding environment. The first level of the game, discussed in pre-release material, uses this in a rather interesting way, wherein you throw black paint in order to reveal more of a completely white world, sort of like painting a blank canvas. The visual appeal of this level comes from the contrast between light and dark, especially when you throw just enough paint to imply an existing form. Over the course of the game, you can also find hidden balloons within each level, which can be used to unlock toys that can grant you certain benefits, one of which allows you to more easily find said balloons. When you find all of the hidden balloons, you can unlock a sniper rifle, though it sounds more like something you can get long after it's needed. You can also uncover small bits of the environment that reveal more of the story within the game.

The graphics of the game are visually appealing no matter what the setting, even as the game introduces more detailed environments. The design of the game looks and feels like a children's story book, which is also how the game's chapters are divided up. Each of these environments, along with the respective music, creates its own atmosphere, ranging from light and quirky to dark and scary (and I actually did feel scared at certain points). On the visual side of things, the game succeeds at creating a unique environment.

The game features little voice acting, in that there's only a handful of speaking characters, but even with what little there is, the voice actors do an amazing job. The narrator has a calm voice that would fit perfectly in an audio recording of a children's book, and Monroe sounds appropriately like a child, though it thankfully isn't annoying. Going further would mean spoilers, but what I did not talk about is equally impressive for such a short game.

While the game is solid, I did encounter a very, very, very minor bug in the first level: While exploring a small portion of the first level that I had revealed, there would be a small glitch with the paint I threw. What I mean by this is that when I walked over a paint splatter, that particular splatter would disappear while I was on top of it. Surprisingly, this only happened to the one specific splatter within a level that is otherwise consistent with your progress.

Something else that should be addressed is the game's length. Though I didn't play the game in a single burst, The Unfinished Swan is noticeably short, lasting just over two hours. This may not seem worth $15, but on the other hand, the balloons in each level add an incentive to replay each chapter in order to unlock more extras. While there may not be much meat to this downloadable title, I think it's the experience that truly counts.

So, is The Unfinished Swan worth a purchase? The answer is yes, particularly for those who want something short and are able to appreciate the artistic side of things. If you want something longer and more complex, you'll probably be more tempted to look elsewhere. If the premise of the game doesn't entice you, I'll give you this: The ending is much more satisfactory than that of Quantum Conundrum.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

The first time I heard of Arkedo Studios' Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit was through a trailer Sega released all the way back in March. From this alone I got excited for the title, my anticipation growing as the later announced September 25 release date approached. Over the last week I used whatever free time I could get in front of my PS3 to finish it on time. While I did enjoy my time in the depths of hell, I think it also could have been polished a bit more to make the experience even more fun.

Hell was once ruled with an iron claw under King Hare, but upon his death, his duties were passed down to his son, Prince Ash. Ash ruled over hell through tyranny, but also harbored a love for rubber duckies. A paparazzi found out about this and took pictures of him playing with Ducktator, Ash's favorite duck, in the bath. The photos were then posted onto the Hellternet, pissing Ash off as he sets out on a journey to recover the evidence and kill the 100 monsters that had seen the incriminating photos.

Beyond this premise, the story is pretty much paper thin. We barely see any character development from Ash, or anyone else for that matter, besides that he wants the photos and hates it when monsters say that he's naked. Plot threads are found few and far between, though every boss encounter hints at something bigger in store that keeps interest up enough to continue. I'll admit that I really didn't see the associated twist at the end at all, so kudos there.

Personally, I think the developers have a solid, though imperfect, grasp on level design. Each area of hell stands out really well in their aesthetic to create a balanced variety of settings while surprisingly averting the use of certain generic world types (ice, jungle, etc.), though a level containing lava is arguably justified since the game takes place in hell. It's actually quite interesting to see how the unique art style is used to create these areas, including the designs of the monsters that inhabit them. Some of these levels also contain gimmicks, including a slot machine to potentially gain more money and a level containing a gun that fires a liquid rainbow (no, I'm not kidding) that can be manipulated with the surroundings to hit enemies in tight spots to avoid instant death spikes. Navigation isn't that difficult, thanks in part to a radar to locate monsters and a (mostly) helpful map that can be brought up with a single button press. Know however that you may be forced to memorize the level layout to make your way through.

There are a couple of ways that Ash can engage in combat with the monsters of hell. Ash drives a wheel machine that can best be described as a jet pack/giant buzzsaw/drill combination helpful both for getting through levels, by way of drilling through some surfaces and ascending to higher spots, and attacking monsters. The more generic enemies can easily be squished by the drill, while the special monsters can sometimes have a force field, necessitating the use of the drilling function to damage them. This won't work on most monsters though, which is where the many guns come in handy. Among the guns you would expect, including a shotgun or flamethrower, there's also a holy water gun and a gun that I have described to my brother while playing as firing "rave lasers."

The guns of course deal different amounts of damage and have different ranges, makes them better in certain situations. However, I never found the need to use every gun, preferring to stick to a couple of favorites that fire in spread patterns. I'd also like to add that there's a helpful regenerating ammo meter, though sometimes I felt it drained a little too quickly. Switching between the guns can be done by pressing L1 or using the D-pad (a feature I discovered purely by accident), though either way can get a little tedious depending on how many weapons you have at your disposal. Since aiming is also dictated by the right stick, it can get a little difficult to move and aim simultaneously depending on your speed, resulting in wasted ammo especially if you can't see your target clearly.

Even after you deal enough damage to one of the 100 monsters by exploiting their weaknesses however, you will need to complete a mini-game to finally kill them with a finishing move. The mini-games are very diverse, which is a good thing, but it also creates an erratic difficulty curve, not helped at all by the fact that they get even more difficult to complete over time. A couple are very difficult anyway, including a sniper mini-game, and I felt annoyance when they came up. Some of the more involving ones are a lot more fun, like pressing buttons during a spinning kick or punch animation, and didn't feel like they disrupted the flow of the game as much. On top of this, some of the animations seemed pretty cheaply made, making me question at points how much thought was put into them.

The monsters themselves that Ash kills are all very original in design and are surprisingly memorable despite their numbers thanks to both their unique personality quirks and appearance. Each of them requires a different strategy to defeat, though some of them you can just shoot indiscriminately and I managed to figure out different strategy categories to approach the monsters, one of which I discovered purely by accident (zooming out to show the surrounding area, you're welcome). Until I stumbled across it, I thought that there must have been something I missed or some cryptic thing I overlooked. I didn't want the game to hold my hand in this situation, but I did want something to at least hint at using a feature I had long stopped using by that point.

Only a small batch of monsters, about two or three, are defeated through boss fights. Each of these fights span three stages, though the final boss has five, and have to be completed in their entirety from the beginning again upon your death. While I was able to anticipate certain patterns later, it gradually got more annoying that I had to cycle through every bit of dialogue and watch every animation again, which makes the replays more tedious than they ought to be.

In the in-game store, it is possible to buy not only new guns and upgrades with your money, but also many ways to customize both Ash's clothes and his wheel machine. In fact, these cosmetic upgrades take up most of the shop inventory and can get ridiculously expensive (up to 600 money). While I did stick with the default "naked" Ash with whatever wheel variant I was automatically given by the story, it's still good to know that people who like to customize their look will be busy with over 50 clothing varieties and several wheels.

One major complaint I have about the game is the health system. It's not that Ash doesn't have enough, he has plenty, but the fact that the ability to get it back is hard to come by. The only way to replenish your health is through a Fountaine location. There are two on each map and more often than not will be placed in areas that will require you to fight several enemies and avoid instant death traps just to get to them. What compounds this is that if you die after beating a monster, you'll respawn at a checkpoint with the health you had when the monster died. If it's really low, then your margin for error will be slim to none. I don't think I would mind the difficulty of the game then if health was more plentiful, such as being a random drop from enemies.

As far as replay value is concerned, there isn't a whole lot to draw you back in once you've beaten the game, though it could keep you busy for quite a while. Each area has at least three missions you can complete in isolated mission modes to earn extras for Ash to use, including clothes. There's also finding all of the hidden presents, which contain even more clothes he can wear. Otherwise, there's an element of monster management in a game mode known as The Island, where you can use the monsters you've killed as unpaid labor to grant you bonuses in the main game, ranging from money to health and even store items. I didn't get too much entertainment out of the exercise, but I did take advantage of the rewards that The Island offers.

So, in the end, is Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit a game worth playing? Well, I would say that if you're looking for a game with top notch gameplay and satisfying bosses, then I would tell you to deeply consider your options. On the other hand, if you want a game that's memorable, has a great sense of humor, a wicked soundtrack and a rather unique premise, then I would tell you to go for it. This is one of those titles where I actually want a sequel made so that the ideas presented can be improved upon to create an even better gaming experience.

[OLD] Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty

As time goes forward with Ratchet & Clank, so does the Future Trilogy. Following Tools of Destruction is the middle portion, Quest for Booty, released in 2008. Interestingly, this part of the trilogy is a download through PlayStation Network, at a price point of $15. This raises the question, is it worth it?

The story of the game is very simple here, taking place shortly after its predecessor. After Clank was taken away by the Zoni, Ratchet tries to find a way to track him down so he can get him back. The Lombax eventually does, through a machine created by a known pirate named Captain Darkwater. However in order to gather the parts to activate it, he must deal with a particularly persistent pirate named Rusty Pete, who's captain he defeated last time, Captain Slag. When Rusty Pete finds a way to bring his old captain back, Ratchet is forced to stop him so he can rescue Clank.

The game overall is very short, lasting only a few hours, and as a result some things are more condensed. For instance, there is a much smaller arsenal than in previous games, and since you can get ammo regularly in crates there is an absence of any sort of vendors. There are also only a few locales this time around, consisting of a couple of islands and an armada of space pirate ships. Also, the only time you actually get to use Bolts here is when you are negotiating with a smuggler that you meet in Tools of Destruction. These are actually not negatives, but rather positives since they aid the game in working with its short length.

The level design is pretty good for a game like this, though one section got particularly annoying due to it consisting of plank walking and one pirate taking what seems like a cheap shot from afar. Regardless, it was interesting to see how it allowed you to go the whole time without Clank and still be challenging. In this case the shortness of the game is probably a good thing since in a much larger game you likely wouldn't be able to do much without your robot buddy. To compensate for this, a new game mechanic is introduced where you can crouch with your wrench as if about to throw it, then extend it to latch on to special objects in the level to manipulate them with the analog stick. I found this feature rather interesting, and I wonder if this will show up in the third part of the trilogy when I get to it.

Speaking of new features, this is also the first Ratchet & Clank game to feature a difficulty setting, contrasting with all previous games where there was no option. I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing, though given the nature of the game this can be seen as a way to get more mileage out of your purchase.

So is it worth the money? I would say yes, since even though it is a more condensed Ratchet & Clank experience, it still manages to hit all the points of a full-length installment. The characters are enjoyable, there is still some humor thrown into the dialogue, the gunplay is really well-done, and there is a good amount of challenge in the level design. I would recommend this game to anyone who has played Tools of Destruction, and especially to ratchet & Clank fans in general. In fact I would say it's a must-play for anoyone who wants to experience the full Future Trilogy, due to it filling in story gaps and an intriguing scene at the end, seeing the return of a rather nefarious enemy.

Second Opinion - Journey

If you've ever played Flower, you should have a pretty good idea of the work that developer Thatgamecompany can provide. Placing more emphasis on generating an emotion in the player, rather than building a game around its mechanics, they have managed to create games that may be considered much closer to art than anything else. However, this route isn't all that bad, as demonstrated by their latest release, Journey. As a PlayStation Plus subscriber, I was able to play this early, and I believe my $15 was very well spent.

Journey is all about the journey taken by a cloaked, genderless figure as the player makes their way to a mysterious mountain in the far off distance, while also learning about their past, present, and even future. Along the way, you may come across a companion that may accompany you to the goal, as well as help you solve various puzzles across a handful of levels. While communication is key most often in co-op plays, the difference here is that there is no way to talk to anyone else other than through a wordless shout, and even then you can't identify them in any way until after the end credits. Isolation is the main aspect of Journey, and these qualities help to create that feeling, along with a sense of comfort once you find someone else in the lonely world.

While the levels are minimal, they are also large and absolutely beautiful. I'd have to concede that along with having a gorgeous graphical style, the game sports physics that can outdo even Uncharted 3's sand; sand is to Journey what grass was to Flower. Traversing the environments is also as easy as it could possibly get, since literally anyone could grasp the controls and the two or three buttons needed. Floating like a petal in the breeze is invigorating, as is the perfectly cued music used throughout. Mentioning any specific moment would make this review spoileriffic, but I would like to mention that I could easily have cried at one point or two in awe.

While Journey can be completed in roughly a couple of hours or so, it's the experience that really counts. It's a masterpiece that impressed me to such a degree as to tempt me to press Start immediately after the title screen came up again. Putting emotion over gameplay is something that resonates well from the game, but I'll admit that it isn't for everyone. Potential players expecting it to go the other way may not find it as thrilling as those who will no doubt fall in love with this adventure.

Journey

Soon after the release of Flower, Thatgamecompany began work on a new game called Journey. Having enjoyed the company's last game, I was so excited by the announcement that I recently went back and played Flower again as a lead-in. I wasn't sure what experience to expect as the release date got closer, but this question was answered after getting to see for myself. (This game was released a week early to PlayStation + subscribers.) Having played this game twice already, I can't wait to do it again.

In Journey, you are a mysterious hooded figure travelling through a desert with a mountain in the distance. Along your way to this distant goal, you solve a series of puzzles as you learn more about the world you inhabit. During your journey you can also meet and travel with other players online, however there are no indicators at all as to who they are, and your only form of communication is a wordless shout. All this helps to create a sense of isolation in this vast, awe-inspiring landscape, with a feeling of closure when you are near another traveler.

The controls to this game are very easy to grasp, since there are very few, allowing absolutely anyone to pick them up and begin a new journey. Early on you obtain a scarf that allows you to fly for a brief period of time, which can be refueled by either going near flying pieces of cloth or by touching cloth creatures or other players, and can be extended by touching special symbols hidden across each level. Performing your shout not only allows you to communicate, it also allows you to rejuvenate tattered pieces of cloth spread across the desert and activate statues and small pieces of tapestry that tell you more about the game world's past, present, and even future.

The graphics of this game are simply stunning, putting itself up there with many current Triple-A titles out there. However, Journey surpasses them all in terms of the detail in the sand, even one such as Uncharted 3 which features a desert prominently. The physics for the sand and cloth here, much like Flower with grass, also surpass every other modern game I've seen. I enjoy the way the robes of the travelers flap in powerful wind, rivaling the dress physics in Alice: Madness Returns, and especially how movements from the player and their shout affect the sand in very subtle ways, again beating out Uncharted 3 in this fashion. Equally amazing is the music accompanying the actions onscreen and the layout of each locale, perfectly setting up the game's atmosphere and the emotion it wants from the player.

Journey isn't just simply a game, it's an experience. And while it may be a short experience that lasts under two hours, it is most certainly one you will want to go through over and over again. If you own a PS3, this is absolutely one download you do not want to pass up for any reason.

Flower - Elegance At Its Finest

Thatgamecompany (also written as thatgamecompany) is an independent game company known for creating games that are unlike any other currently on the market, with the intent to influence players' emotions. Their first game, Flow (stylized as flOw), was incredibly well-received and is, as of this writing, currently on my list of games to obtain in the future. Their last game, Flower, also got high ratings, and is among one of my top favorite PSN games. The company currently has another game called Journey on its way soon, so as a lead-in I have decided to re-play Flower and give my opinion here. Returning to this game after a few years, it has yet to lose its place as an amazing work of art.

The story of the game is very simplistic, in that you are a potted flower dreaming by a windowsill. As it dreams, you are the wind guiding a flower petal as it picks up other petals from blooming flowers, forming a long trail of petals as you go forward. To move forward is very easy: all you have to do is hold down almost any button you like, and you can change your course at any time using the Sixaxis functionality of your PS3 Sixaxis or DualShock 3 controller, and all you need to do to bloom a flower is to touch it with your trail. This makes the game accessible to anyone who wishes to play.

If there are any words I can use to describe each level, "beautiful" is not enough. This game has quite possibly the best grass effects I have ever seen in a video game, even to this day. The music in each level helps set the tone of each dream, which helps to get the right emotion from you at any given time. For instance, when my trail ran into electricity during a later stage, I felt genuinely scared as I tried to avoid any petals getting shocked. The stages aren't all like this though, as all the others help you feel very calm and relaxed. As a bonus, there are also a few secret flowers hidden within each level, encouraging you to explore every field at your leisure.

Flower is a game that is very simple, yet elegant in its design. It is a game I find to be very soothing and relaxing, to where I believe it can possibly help people recover from something such intense warfare or heavy depression. This game is nothing short of artwork and to me stands high as an example of how a video game can be treated as such. I would recommend this game to absolutely anyone who owns a PS3, as it is something you will find yourself playing over and over again. If you play this and enjoy the soundtrack, you can also get it separately on PSN; this soundtrack alone is able to get a good feeling out of you and you will not want to let it go.

Infamous: Festival of Blood - Worth Sinking Your Teeth Into

As it is the month of October, it seems only fitting that a company would release a Halloween-based title around this time. For Sucker Punch, it is Infamous: Festival of Blood. At first, I remained cautiously optimistic about the concept of Cole interacting with vampires in New Marais, let alone the fact that he would have vampire powers anyway. Once it was released, I decided to download it and found myself enjoying it a lot more than I thought.

In this story, Cole McGrath explores the catacombs underneath the city of New Marais, only to be captured by vampires. As he is a Conduit, his blood is more than enough to awaken Bloody Mary, who sucks enough of it from his neck to regain her strength and youthful appearance. In exchange, Cole becomes a vampire and must defeat Bloody Mary by sunrise if he wishes to become normal again. This is all I really can say, as I don't want to give away too much of the already thin plot. Despite this I found it rather intriguing once they brought up the issue of Cole's morality as a vampire affecting his morality as a human.

Speaking of morality, the Karma meter is absent from this game, replaced instead with a circular Blood meter that fuels his vampire-based abilities. Refilling the meter is done through not only the classic method of sucking blood from a human, but also through staking vampires and breaking canopic jars, which also increase the meter's maximum size. One ability grants Cole a vampire sense that allows him to locate hidden vampires and jars, along with glyphs that reveal more of the history of Bloody Mary. The only other ability to speak of is the power of flight, which is actually really fun to use and feels like a natural step up from Cole's electrical flight powers.

Speaking of Cole's electricity, he can still use them alongside his vampire abilities since the HUD still contains the electrical nodes. Unlike the other Infamous games however, you cannot manually upgrade these abilities. Instead they get upgraded automatically by completing certain objectives, which is thankfully an easy task in itself.

As for the enemies, the vampires thankfully have a lot of variety to them. Since they can teleport around like Cole and they all have a different strategy to them, the fights become just as intense as any regular group of enemies from Infamous 2. The only disappointment may be in the last one, since it boils down to fending off enemies until Zeke does something. Even after that though, the ending is still satisfying.

For a game that costs only $10 ($8 if you're a PlayStation + member) and takes about half that in hours to beat, it's a pretty good one. It's short and sweet and introduces some fairly interesting concepts that I would like to Sucker Punch expand on in the future. I would also like to see more self-contained "What If?" scenarios in the future and see if they can use some of these ideas in a potential Infamous 3. In fact, owning Infamous 2 is not required to play this since it doesn't read your save game. I would recommend this title to anyone who likes the Infamous series or anyone who wants to see Cole do something exciting and new.

Digger HD: A 1980's Classic Gets An Upgrade

In 1983, the Canadian company Windmill Software released a popular game called Digger. It was a game similar to Dig Dug where 1 or 2 players would dig tunnels to collect gems and gold while avoiding and killing monsters. On October 1, 2009, Creat Studios released an HD remake on PlayStation Network simply called Digger HD. The concept of the remake stays true to the original computer game, while adding some new features.

Within the main game, Arcade Mode, not only can you collect gold and use falling coin bags to kill monsters, there are also some power-ups mixed in with them. One of these power-ups resembles fire when dropped and allows you to move faster for a period of time, while another resembles a magic hat, and allows you to temporarily go through the environment and collect gems without even digging. Like in the original, you can also fire the Digger's eye to kill an enemy, at the cost of moving a little slower. On top of this, there's also a Survival Mode in which players go through as many levels as possible before dying (normally you have 3 lives). Both the Arcade and Survival Modes also have separate Co-Op Modes, allowing 2 local players to play at the same time. For those that have played the original Digger, this remake also comes with a Vintage Mode, in which you can play the original game in all its glory.

There's not that much to say about this game, but I would wholly recommend it to casual players, and especially to fans of the original Digger. This game is simple in concept, yet is challenging and addicting to play. Whether by yourself or playing with a friend, you'll have a great time with this game.