108 Stars, gotta catch em' all

First impressions are very important for games these days. Back in the day, you didn't really have much to go on as a consumer. Usually word of mouth about how good a game was basically, all we had. And if it was a new game, we had no idea what to expect other than what the box tells us what to expect. That being said I've got two games that I've been playing and I'm going to share my impressions with you. These two games have a rich history and dating back to the mid to late 90s. The original games are also considered classics of the role-playing genre.

The first game is Suikoden: Tierkreis for the DS. This game is not a numbered sequel to the famed PlayStation series, but shares many of the story elements from the series. For example, you still have to find the 108 stars of destiny who are actually people you recruit into your army. The reason for doing this is to defeat a villain known as "The One King". The story so far is more kid friendly for a Suikoden game. You can tell that Konami is looking to expand this franchise into a more casual gaming experience. As of right now in my play session no major characters have died and the games combat is for the most part easy. A big change from the original.

That being said the story is fun and enjoyable. It also has an amazing visual presence. This quite possibly may be the best looking game I've seen on the DS. The 2-D artwork is vibrant. The actual game play screen is also strikingly beautiful. Something else that is amazing is the music. The Suikoden series has always been known for their great soundtracks, and this one does not disappoint. In fact I would say that this soundtrack is the best of the series. When I bought the game, it came with a CD that has artwork and the selection of the games soundtrack. That was a little bonus I wasn't expecting. If there was One thing about the game I did not like it was the voice overs for the characters. The story itself is not of a serious nature but the voice overs make it seem worse than it actually is. The main character that you play is by far the worse and defiantly detracted from the game experience, but is not enough to stop me from playing. With that said, Suikoden: Tierkreis is a fun diversion to the numbered series and has enough going for it to recommend.

First Impression rating: 4/5

The second game I'm going to talk about is Pokemon: Platinum. This directors cut of Diamond & Pearl has a new 3-D distortion world, some new Wi-Fi components, and little story tweaks. The first thing I'm going to tell you is if you already have Diamond or Pearl, and you are not a DIE HARD fan, then there is nothing here for you. Really this is pretty much the same game, so your not missing much. BUT, if you never picked up Diamond or Pearl, This IS the game to get. The gameplay is simple to learn, and stragety for defeating other trainers is just as fun as ever. They did add something like 50 new Pokemon to collect. I do wish to see more risks being taken, but Nintendo clearly knows how to make a game that can print them money. They are going to have to change the formula sometime but not now. As first impressions go i enjoyed this one too. I recommend this one only if you dont own Diamond and Pearl, unless your a fan. If your a fan you have it already.

First Impression rating: 5/5

Shadows in the East: The coming RPG Storm

Role-playing games have been a style of games that, as a child, was hard to understand. My brother always played Dungeon & Dragons with his friends and I watched them but could never play. This was mainly because I was a dick, but also because I could not wrap my head around pyramid shaped dice with 3 numbers on each side. When your 10 shit like that just don't make sense. So for a long time I was left in the dark until my family got their first computer in 1988. This is when we got our first computer role-playing game, Ultima IV. You got to hand it to Lord British, Ultima finally allowed me to experience what my brother was doing for years. And because it was on my computer it was way cooler. With amazing 4 color CGA graphics and sounds that sounded like a electronic fart, Ultima IV was gamers wet dream. The story, a environment that you could literally do anything in, and most importantly...umm the story, yeah, the story was deep and well thought out. New RPGs today still don't have the ability to create the things that Ultima did. I mean you had to use water on flour to make dough, witch you baked for bread. What other game had that kind of interaction. That was my first taste of interactive role-playing and it would not be my last.

The Role-players Game System

The Dark Spire------------ Pokemon: Platinum

Now lets fast forward to the present. Consoles as well as PC's are still making RPG's but as of late they have been few and far between. The PC has Fallout 3, the 360 has Fable 2, the Wii has Fire Emblem, and Sony has Valkyria Chronicles. These are all good games. The Nintendo DS on the other hand has the largest selection of classic as well as new games role-players can get behind. First on the list is Pokemon: Platinum. The RPG and monster collection game published by Nintendo. Platinum adds a new distortion world, online connectivity, and a slew of remixed content from Diamond & Pearl. No word on whether It will be compatible with the Wii-ware Pokemon Farm. This one comes out March 22 and is on my pre-order list.

Next is a awesome game from publisher Atlus called The Dark Spire. This one brings us back to the days of Ultima with old school game play and graphics. You have to roll virtual dice to set your characters attributes. The game is presented in 1st person in two modes, remixed witch is what you see above and classic witch is old school black and white screen with wire framed environment. This game comes out April 14. Check out more at http://www.atlus.com/darkspire/.

Lastly I'm going to talk about Dragon Quest IX which is published by SquareEnix. This game in the venerable series is exclusive to the DS and boasts impressive visuals for a handheld. This game is still in development and might not see stateside this year. I am a big fan of the Dragon Quest games mainly because of the game boy versions. You see I never had a NES back in the day. My first console was a Sega Genesis, not exactly a RPG powerhouse. My first into the world of Japanese role-playing games came from the Gameboy and Dragon Quest 1&2. The game was simple but effective and started me on my quest to find all the other Japanese games I missed. You know like Final Fantasy. So when a new Dragon Quest is announced I get excited but then I don't read anything else about it. I want to be surprised. So ill just leave you with this screenshot. Thanks for reading.

The Lord of the Games: The Return of the PC

For the last few years, journalists, publishers, and console fans are saying that the era of the personal computer as a viable gaming platform is over. NPD numbers which show console hardware and software sales always beat out anything on the pc other than World of Warcraft or the Sims. Lets be honest to the fact that if all you take in is the hard data from the NPD's which only shows what retailers are like Walmart and Bestbuy are selling, PC gaming IS looking bad. If you take a look at the whole picture things start to get interesting.

The ability to go online and buy a full game on a download service such as Steam or Impulse started to look good to game publishers worried about piracy and DRM issues. The publishers no longer had to worry about getting their physical product out to the stores shelves. Consumers just pay, download, and play, and the games are tied to customers account which make piracy a thing of the past. Also, games are updated and patched automatically. I do believe this is the future of gaming on the pc and it is picking up er...umm.. STEAM, so to speak.

Lets walk down this road of PC gaming in 2009 shall we. For strategy fans there are alot to look forward to. First off is Warhammer 40K Dawn of War II. This game developed by Relic is a graphical powerhouse with beautiful art direction and superb physics. On top of that, DoW2 has a unique style to its game play in that it you have hero characters that can pick up loot like a RPG. Its like they spilled some Diablo game play into this real-time strategy powerhouse. Worth checking out the demo, and is very much recommended by this site.

Empire: Total War is the latest game from developer The Creative Assembly and also highly recommended here. Blending turn-based empire building and managing diplomatic with a real time combat engine that can have thousands of soldiers on the battlefield. The game take place in the 1700's and charges you as a ruler of one of seven world powers to conquer your neighbors and expand your empire. This game is truly and amazing experience with attractive graphics. When you see a line of soldiers fire off a volley you'll understand that words cant describe how beautiful war can be. You can download the demo off of Steam right now. Give it a shot and I'm sure you wont be sorry.

Lets look at some Role-Playing Games shall we. This year the PC is finally getting a new game from Bioware that is not a port of a console game. Dragon Age: Origins is coming out in September. Other than whats been posted on sites like 1UP and IGN I don't know or have anything to add other than it looks cool. On this blog I wont take what other site have done an copy it here. Lets just say these sites have the resources and inside scoop that a unemployed steelworker just dosen't have. I would put Diablo 3 on this list but I am pretty sure that it wont be till 2010 before we get our hands on it.

And finally I am going to talk about a Adventure game. No, no, not Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. I'm going to talk about Grey Matter. Developed by a German company, Wizarbox. This games story and character are being written by Jane Jensen. Now I know what your saying, "Who the Fuck IS Jane Jensen?" Well Jane Jensen is a game designer from the old school Sierra On-line days. She helped out on Kings Quest VI and hen ventured off to start her own game, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. That game spawned two sequals, The Beast Within, and Blood of the Sacred Blood of the Damned. These games, or at least the first two, are considered true classics and the very best at interactive storytelling. So lets look at Grey Matter and see what the story is all about:

"Ever since losing his wife in a terrible car accident many years ago, neuro-biologist Dr. David Styles has become a recluse, leaving his English mansion Dread Hill House only on rare occasions. One day student and street artist Samantha Everett shows up on his door step unexpectedly, at a time Styles just happens to look for a new assistant. Her first assignment involves finding six volunteers for an experiment planned by Styles at Oxford University. The experiment begins harmless enough, but soon strange things start happening. Styles is visited by his beloved, but deceased, wife. Now it is up to Sam to solve the mysteries of Dread Hill House."

This, over any other game this year is what I am most looking forward to. I hope you enjoyed this post. I'm still new at this whole blog writing thing so please bear with me. Also, please send any comments on how I could improve my site. Thank you.