StarCraft II

So StarCraft II is coming out, and I've been thinking about how to feel about it. I mean, I enjoyed the original StarCraft during its time, and I've been delighted with the improvements from WarCraft II to WarCraft III. Not to mention the fact that Blizzard hasn't made a bad game that I've ever seen. Logic says that the next iteration of StarCraft is going to be a hit.

So why am I feeling unsure about how this thing comes through? I think part of it is that I just don't have the same interest in the science fiction world as I do in the medieval fantasy world. I like the Star Treks and Star Wars, but I like the Lord of The Rings a lot more. A lot of StarCraft II's appeal for me is going to be dependent on how they handle the "interstellar" concept. Are there going to be space battles, or just battles in the air slightly above the ground? While I'm sure that'd be fun, it wouldn't really be any different from WarCraft III if you just changed the graphics.

That's what I want, I guess. I want a game that's truly different from what I've already played. I don't expect to buy StarCraft II when it comes out, but I'm happy to check out a demo before committing to waiting until it's $30 for the battle chest.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

I touched on Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Nintendo Wii about a month and a half ago. I wanted to expand on that now that I'm approximately 60 hours into the game.

Gameplay: I'm incredibly impressed with the controls. It requires the use of the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. The Nunchuk is used for movement, Z-targeting, and looking around in first-person mode. The Wii Remote is how you use items, select menus, point at objects with items (like shooting enemies with the bow when you aren't Z-targeting), and for swinging the sword. The sword play involves swinging the Wii Remote or Nunchuk (for the spin move). Its pretty basic, but it gets the job done without having to over exert yourself.

The puzzles range from being easy to kinda hard. Everything can be pretty easily figured out, though there have been a few times where I've gotten stuck and needed to "dumb myself down" in order to realize what I needed to do to progress. If you've played Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, a handful of puzzles will be solved in similar fashion. For example, shooting your bow at the diamond thing opens a door. However, there is enough new content to keep things fresh.

The overall timeline/plot of the game is pretty linear. The recent Zelda series have done a great job at giving players enough to do on the side that they don't realize they're progressing through the game plot exactly as planned. All in all, the puzzles, side games, and side searches for poes, golden bugs, and heart pieces give this linear plot a different adventure for each player. The plot is a bit confusing and hard to grasp. I'm not sure I've fully gripped what is going on. I have a better understanding now then I did when I started, so I'm hoping that everything clears up before I finish the game. The story is dark, though not as dark as Majora's Mask. I still find it entertaining.

Graphics: The unfortunate thing about the Nintendo Wii is that the graphics do not get any better than 480p. There are some Xbox games that do better than that. I know that's not the draw, but it definitely lowers a game's potential. For what the Nintendo Wii can offer, the graphics are done pretty well. Compared to other titles coming out for the Xbox 360 or PS3, it is going to always come up short.

Sound: The sounds are pleasant. Some music throughout the game can be recognized from Ocarina of Time. The quick song that plays when the sun rises or sets is exactly the same as Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. There is enough new music that it doesn't sound like they just stole an old score. I wish the voices were audible instead of read. I think it'd add more personality to each character. Characters will blurt out random onomatopoeias, like Link's, "Waaaaa," when he's surprised, but I want more.

Replay-ability: There is very little replay-ability. There is nothing different that you could do that would prevent you from hitting the forest temple first, then the Goron Mines, and so on and so forth. You could probably do it faster, get items sooner, or finish searches faster. The earlier you have those items doesn't necessarily make the game any easier. However, now that I'm on the verge of completed Twilight Princess, I'd be tempted to get a Virtual Controller, download Ocarina of Time, and replay that one. So let's put it this way: immediate replay won't be very exciting, but if you let some time pass, the game play and puzzles will bring you back.

Wrap-Up: For as poor the graphics and sound compares to other next gen systems, the overall game play is second to none. As far as Wii games go, I rate this as one of best, especially since most Wii games are party games.

Is World of Warcraft a reasonable investment for the casual player?

I think you'll find that most World of Warcraft (or "WoW") players would tell you that if you can't invest at least an hour or two on most days, you're wasting your money on a subscription. And sometimes I think they're right.

But recently, since I'm right at the end of my semester, I've only played for a total of maybe 3 hours over the past two weeks. I don't feel like I'm wasting the money I've spent on my subscription (which at $14/month is rather paltry when measured against a single meal at Outback Steakhouse). I have a few characters at varying levels of accomplishment within the game, and they each offer different opportunities for gameplay. If I have all day, I can play with my higher level characters and undertake long, group-oriented quests. If I've got a few hours, I can use a mid-level character and complete a few smaller quests or a single run-through of a low-level "instance" (dungeon). And if I've only got an hour, I can hop online with one of my beginner characters and do an early quest, or use any character to peruse the auction house for valuable gear.

My point is that, as video game players, you are only restricted by the limitations you place on yourself. If you refuse to have any lower level characters after you've built up other characters, then it's your own fault that you have to set aside 5-hour blocks in order to enjoy playing.

We casual players are those who you stumble upon on your way to the top who don't know all the ropes, and maybe we take things a little more slowly, but we're the best teammates you could have. Because to us, it's just a game. So we joke and ask questions and maintain a level of politeness, because we know there's a person on the other side of that computer.

We also usually don't make the stupid mistakes like pulling aggro in an instance when we're underpowered. We are smart enough and sensible enough to be scared when we see that "Elite" designation for the first time. And we're happy to help when we can.

See you in Azeroth.

Guitar Hero II

I never played the original Guitar Hero, but I heard good things. Then my younger brother went to a birthday party and played the second installment, and the next day asked me to swing him out to the local electronics store to buy the game. I was a little skeptical, but I see now that he was right on.

The whole package of the PlayStation 2 version of the game and the guitar is a little pricey at $79.99, but apparently the new guitar is compatible with the original game, so if you decide to buy both games, you only need to buy one guitar. The game is also playable with a normal PS2 controller, but really, if you're playing with the controller, you're missing the point.

When we brought home the game, my brother immediately set it up and created our band, "Silica," so named for the gel packets that came in the plastic wrap with the guitar. (On Saturday, Mark, Mike and I created the band "Cold Knee" after I placed my milkshake on Mark's knee). We hopped right in and started to play a few songs on "Easy" difficulty.

It was fun, but you don't get the sensation of actually playing the song when you play on Easy. It's sort of like in Perfect Dark, if you set the bots' AI to very low, and they'd shoot one bullet every five seconds, and half the time would be shooting it straight up into the air. It's fun to win and kill things, but you don't really feel like a secret agent.

We bumped up the difficulty to Medium, and it was definitely more gratifying. More challenging as well, but that makes it all the more sweet when you complete a song. As a member of "Cold Knee," we began to play through the Hard difficulty level, and I'll tell you, there's a definite jump. But getting the hang of things and playing Woman by Wolfmother and Monkeywrench by Foo Fighters was a real thrill. My wrist ached this morning, but I don't regret the rockin'. What I do regret were those last four wings. Oooh.......

Tony Hawk 4

I bought the Xbox version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 the other day, for a cool $4.99. I've been pretty satisfied with my purchase, it's exactly what I expected it to be.

However, it's almost too close to what I expected. Maybe I didn't get far enough into the third Tony Hawk, but does anybody else think this is like the same damn game? Same levels, same interface. The graphics are probably better, but I don't know that for sure. It's just a testament to the fact that video game producers don't have to blow the doors off once they've got a franchise people like. EA Sports has been rolling in money because of their sports franchises, specifically Madden. Sure, they add features every year, but I wonder how much they really have to do to generate the new game.

Not like I care, though. I'm not one of the guys who buys every subsequent copy of a franchise. I pick one, roll with it for a few years, then occasionally buy a new one. And I even more rarely buy new games. My instinct for saving money leads me to eBay or the used game section of EB Games more often than not. Why pay $50 for a new game when you can get 4 games for the same amount, giving you a better chance of buying a game you really enjoy? Maybe I'm behind the times, but I don't play video games to see the latest technologies. I play to entertain myself. As long as I'm having fun, I don't care if the game is new.

So if you'll excuse me, I'm off to play some Contra.

FIFA 2006

I've played FIFA '07. I've watched it played. I appreciate that the graphics are very impressive. It's got a lot of nice features, and I'm sure it's enjoyable for those who've decided to make the switch, or for whom the 2007 version is their first soccer game.

But for me, it comes up short in enough key areas to prevent me from spending the money to get the new version. The manager mode offers far fewer teams and leagues to choose from, when part of the fun of '06 was being able to join all sorts of obscure leagues and bring the very worst teams to international dominance. Since when is it a good idea to reduce the complexity of a game in its next iteration? Also in the manager mode, the roster limitations aren't designated graphically. So when you're deciding whether to pursue someone in the transfer market or putting a player out there for transfer, you are held to some obscure number of required active players (which by the way seems to change depending on your league), not represented anywhere in the game that I can find. Thanks a lot, EA.

So you can take your FIFA '07. I'm riding '06 into the grave, me and 1 FC Saarbrucken. Me and Hadji and El Idrissi.

Chip, you were right the whole time. FIFA '06! FIFA '06! FIFA '06!