Assimilation Update

What's up everyone? bojjenclon here with an update on Assimilation! This won't be a super long post, but slap on your seat belt and we'll take a ride through the world of game development.

In order for this post to even make sense, I have to give a little background information. Assimilation has gone through a number of revisions. It started with a cheap mock-up in Python. Then moved to C++ with SFML. After that development went to libgdx, a great Java library.

I still think libgdx is a solid library, but there were some issues with it. A personal issue is my own desire to move away from Java altogether. But more importantly, libgdx currently only allows free deployment to desktop, HTML5 (which is still imperfect), and Android. The iOS port requires MonoTouch, a product developed by Xamarin Studios. The Indie license for MonoTouch is $299. Now, Assim is our first game; our first chance to break out onto the scene. As such, pouring all our funds into a MonoTouch license with no guarantee of making that money back is a risk we can't really afford to take.

That's where Haxe NME comes in. Haxe NME is a language and compiler (well, set of compilers) that can allow you to write one set of code that runs on multiple platforms. It's based on Flash/ActionScript3, which makes sense as Haxe was originally a flash alternative. It supports Android and iOS compilation without extra strings attached. There are some quirks, and certain things will take some effort to port over, but overall I think it will be worth it.

In addition, since Haxe was originally mostly used for Flash, compiling to a Flash game is supported. This means that we should be able to release a web based Flash demo of Assim for people to try out. This is great news, as it will allow players to get a feel for the game before it's released, as well as allow us to get input on how we can improve things.

Assuming nothing goes wrong with the porting process, this will be the language/framework we stick with. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. As of right now, I don't see any reasons why it wouldn't.

I have most of the game logic ported over, meaning technically the levels are playable right now. However, the UI still needs work. One of the most important (and most daunting) tasks will be porting over the in game map editor logic as well as getting it to work with the new and improved UI. The new map editor will look something like this:

The buttons in the bottom left are for movement around the map and more than likely won't be displayed in the actual editor. As you can see, it's relatively compact and leaves plenty of room for the user to make a map. This is the same editor we use in development, so the user can literally make anything they see in game. The panel holding the various tools can be hidden to allow access to that area of the map.

So that about sums it up. I'm going to keep trying my best to get this port finished so I can work out the things that need to be done in general. Then we can finally get this game shipped! Hope you all enjoyed this update, we'll post more as we get closer to release.

Game Review: Bioshock Infinite

Whaddup my little cupcakes? It's the Awesomecake here, FINALLY bringing you another review.

I've been waiting to review Bioshock Infinite ever since it came out, but there were complications that meant I only got hold of it recently. Crying shames and sleepless nights aside, I can finally give my review for quite possibly my most anticipated game of 2013.

This review WILL contain spoilers. Not too major ones, but there are spoilers. You've been warned.

The First Hour

The first hour is somewhat slow, but it sets the scene perfectly. You are taken to the floating city of Columbia in search of a certain girl. The city's inhabitants have a strong religious following towards their leader, a man known as the Prophet, and they all seem to worship the “Lamb of the prophet”, who just so happens to be that girl you're after. Immediately it's clear that this game is nothing like the older two games. Instead of a dark, dingy underwater setting, you're on a bright, vibrant city. Instead of the only people there being crazy murderers who want to eat you, there are perfectly normal citizens living perfectly normal lives. At least as normal as living on a flying city gets.
You also see something I haven't seen for a long time in a video game. Political accuracy. You see black people, and Irish immigrants being treated like dirt. Right at the start of the game, you win a raffle of some sort, are handed a baseball, and get to choose between throwing that ball at a couple in shackles, one white and one white, who are there for being an interracial couple, or the guy who hands you the ball. Naturally I threw it at the guy who gave me the ball. Or tried to at least. This is very accurate to how people were treated in that time period. Most games avoid any kind of racism, but it's a crucial plot point in Infinite. I love how they dared to do, and it payed off in spades. Many people criticize the game for being overtly racist, but I just see it as being incredibly accurate, and very well placed.
You get to grips with using weapons and Vigors (This games version of Plasmids) pretty quickly, but the Vigor you start out with is pretty useless in combat. You also get to play with the Skyhook, and new tool used to glide around Columbia's plentiful sky rails. My only real qualm at the early stage was that there is slightly different sensitivities for the X and Y axis (On the Xbox at least), and you can't change it. Took me a whole to get used to that, but it becomes tolerable.

The Story

The game has a pretty good story. For some mostly unknown reason, you have to find a girl, Elizabeth, and she happens to have these strange powers, involving “Tears” in space-time. As soon as you arrive in Columbia, it's like they expected you, and you are thrown into a battle against just about everyone. You are named as the “False Sheppard”, and for some reason, just about every living thing except Elizabeth wants you gone. It builds up to the finale quickly, and always keeps you guessing. The locations you visit, characters you meet and history you find out about is great, and it works very well. The story behind Elizabeth is well presented, and works well with the game.
Now then. The ending... (Because that's where the good stuff is)
I never thought any game could beat the ending of the first Bioshock. But then again, when you look back, the actual end was pretty silly. Fighting some bulky Red Hulk-like dude jacked on seaweed steroids showed that they almost didn't know what to do with the end, and just thought “screw it”. The gold lays in the “Would you kindly” twist. It was a work of pure genius, and almost made me facepalm at how glaringly obvious it was when you looked back.
It would be only normal for you to assume Infinite has a twist like the first game. Does it? Kind of. Is it as good? I didn't think so. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a good ending. In fact, It's possibly the best ending to a game I've ever seen. The thought that went into it was incredible, and everything falls neatly into place. But at the same time, questions are left open, and at one point, it even had me raising questions about the past Bioshock games. I couldn't even begin to describe the ending either, so don't worry about any spoilers there, just know that it's well worth it. I also recommend playing the first two games before Infinite. They have nothing to do with Infinite in any way, but when you watch the ending, if you have a good understanding of the events in 1 and 2, you can appreciate it just that little bit more.

The Gameplay

For what it is, the gameplay is pretty solid. It doesn't excel at much when you separate the individual parts of the game on their own. The shooting is kind of clunky, and there aren't many guns. Getting upgrades for said guns is a pain, and the enemies scale to a point where it doesn't feel like it was even worth the money. The Vigors aren't really too interesting, and the graphics, or more specifically, the rather low-res textures, aren't the best around. Even the story telling isn't as good as it could have been.
The Skyhook is a great toy to play with, but can get annoying sometimes as it does travel quite quickly. There are quite a few guns in reality, but they all felt similar, and some of them you didn't even need to use, so they seemed for the most part, useless. The upgrade system was expensive, and it didn't feel like it was much help upgrading them in the late part of the game. The Vigors are unique when compared to the Plasmids from the first two games, but lacking and limited. Perhaps if they had have added more in, or allowed for more upgrades, I would have used them more. Although, that being said, I did love using the one that makes you fly at an enemy with the Skyhook and bat them off the edge of Columbia.
That doesn't mean it isn't good though. Everything melds together wonderfully. Yes, there are some improvements to be made, but that almost adds to the charm of the game. Somehow, the developers have managed to make it not look like a Bioshock game, not make it feel like a Bioshock game, but yet, it's unmistakably a Bioshock game. It's hard to explain, but you'll understand if you play it.

The Graphics

The graphics aren't too great. The art style is something along the lines of an old cartoon that's been given an ultra-modern 3D HD remake. That being said, it works, because it fits with the retro-future style look of the game, which is something the first two Bioshocks were hailed for. The lighting engine is great, but it does feel at times – especially the start of the game – like they forced a lot of the lens flare effects and beams of light everywhere as if to make a statement of “Look! It's not underwater and dark and dingy anymore! Have some more light!”
There comes a problem with the textures at some points. There are quite a few things in game that look really low-res. I played on Console, so I don't know if the PC version has better textures. At some points I tried to look at something that seemed interesting, but it was impossible to read thanks to the low resolution of the textures. A shame really.
Other than that, it's a sound looking game, with pretty good graphics overall. The Vigor effects look cool and the city is downright beautiful. There isn't really much to complain about past the textures.

The Sound

One of the best parts about the older Bioshock games, was the retro music from the 1960s. In Infinite, you hear more retro music, but there's also a few little Easter Eggs that come with it. You see some strange red Tears sometimes, and if you get close, you can hear modern day music though them. The idea of hearing modern music though the Tears also plays  apart in the backstory, with one of the characters taking ideas from the music they hear, and creating retro songs based on their modern equivalents. These songs are well made, and sound great.
The music for the game is actually somewhat lacking. There isn't much that plays, and it only really plays at key moments. The sound effects, however, are great. You get a great feeling of ambience and immersion, and the little comments that the characters make all add to the effect. Even things like Elizabeth walking to a desk and making a quiet intrigued sound is great, because it gets your attention, and you usually find something in turn as a reward.

The Experience

I must say that I was incredibly disappointed. When we first saw the gameplay for Infinite, there was a lot more things going on. Massive scale battles against all kinds of things, including blimps that would come if you let enemies call for backup. There was a lot more interaction with Elizabeth. There were different Vigors to use, and you even had points where Elizabeth would combine her powers with yours, like make it rain and you shock it to kill enemies, or she would create a big flaming ball of pain and you would lob it at people. The environment was more destructible, or, at least, more prone to being destroyed in scripted events. I even think the HUD from the 15 minute gameplay from E3 looked better than it does in the final product. I absolutely loved the look of THAT game, but this one seems completely different. Almost like what we got to play was an early version, and that the game we saw at E3 was the final version. This backwards effect it took almost killed the whole game for me, because I was so excited to play through those parts of the game. I think the game would have been thousands of times better if they had have kept elements from those gameplay videos in. Especially the idea of Elizabeth using her powers in combination with yours. I recommend you give a quick search for the E3 10 and 15 minute gameplays shown in 2010 and 2011, and see what I mean.
With all that being said, the game is superb. I don't know how or why, but when everything comes together, it really feels like a Bioshock game. But at the same time, it doesn't feel anything like a Bioshock game. It's hard to explain, but the blend of everything just works flawlessly. The interaction between the characters never has a moment of silence, and you really feel like you're playing out a movie of some kind. The interaction between Booker and Elizabeth is great, and never feels like it's too much or overdone. I love the accuracy of the politics when it comes to the black and Irish people in the game. The developers braved to dance all over a very taboo subject, and it paid off for them. Perhaps in future games they will be a lot more daring to challenge taboo subjects from now on, following Infinites fine example.
Overall, the experience was brilliant. Everything blended together perfectly to make a near flawless game. Yes, it was lacking in a good number of things, but that hardly matters when you consider the bigger picture.

The Cake

A while ago I called Tomb Raider as being the best game I have played on the current generation, period. Bioshock Infinite is a game I've looked forward to ever since its announcement, and it lived far beyond my expectations. Does it beat Tomb Raider? Yes and no. Tomb Raider will hold the crown of best game on this generation indefinitely. At least for me. But it does win the crown for best FPS of this generation, knocking Portal 2 off of its very high pedestal.
The refined mechanics of a perfectly sound system let you walk through a new, vibrant world fans weren't expecting. On top of this, an incredibly well thought out story binds it all together in a neat package. While lacking in some respects, its masterful storytelling and fun gameplay give it a strong throne to sit upon.
I'm awarding Bioshock Infinite 6 slices of cake. The shortness and limitations, and lack of elements from the original gameplay shown at E3 were its reason for losing the 7th slice, but if I allowed myself, I'd give it another half in a heartbeat. No one cuts slices of cake in half though. Nobody. That'd just get weird.

The Future

Honestly, after the ending of the game, I don't see any sequels being anywhere near as good. A follow up story would be great, or one diving deeper into the idea of the Tears, but I don't see any of them being able to hold to the same standard. Then again, I didn't think they could beat the ending of Bioshock 1, and they did. Ideally, I'd like to see another story set in a completely different place. Perhaps some sort of underground city using lava as power sources. Perhaps some kind of moon base. Perhaps even a story set in the far future. I'm not sure how they would work in the “Retro Future” look into any other locations, but whatever they do I'm sure it'll be great.
Personally, if they want to use the same setting, I'd want to see them make a game where you play out the story from the original gameplay videos, and the story intertwines with the original Infinite at some points though the Tears. I just really wish they had taken the elements from those original videos, because the version we got to play feels like a stripped down version of those. Who knows, with the ending, that idea is more than possible. That's all I say on that.

Bioshock Infinite was well worth the wait. It's fast paced, great fun, and will remain a timeless classic in my heart.  I do want to stress though, that you can far better appreciate the game if you play the other two games first. Just sayin'.

Thanks for being patient for the long wait between my last review and this one. I do apologise. Anyways, I'm off. I hope my princess isn't in another castle again.

Game Review: Tomb Raider

Sup noobs. Awesomecake time. Deal.

Today, I'm bringing you my review of the new Tomb Raider game. I've been waiting a long time for this game, and even longer for a game this good.

The game is a complete reboot of the franchise. Changing the somewhat platformer and puzzle solving style gameplay to a much more hardcore, gritty survival game.

The reboot came as a surprise on two levels. One is due to the fact that they were completely changing the gameplay, namely combat, and a new open world style environment. Two is because the reboot came from Crystal Dynamics, which have made a good number of Tomb Raider games themselves, the latest of which was Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. This latest game made nearly everyone give up hope for Tomb Raider. The past games were subpar, and this new spin was seen as taking it in a direction it was never meant to go. I was very excited when they announced it, and I have to admit my expectations were high.

Please note, if you are offended by the over-usage of the word "great", turn away now.

Please keep arms and feet inside the review at all times. We don’t want a repeat of what happened last time, do we now?

The First Hour

The first hour of the game perfectly sets the scene for the new reboot. Your ship has crashed, there is clearly some strange cultish stuff going on, and you need to get out. You have a good amount of platforming, which gives you a nice feel for the controls. You also have some brilliant moments of blind panic where there are cave-ins, and you have to use button reaction sequences to escape. The atmosphere immediately goes from sombre to intense, and you really do get a sense of suddenly being completely isolated and alone, and clearly in danger. I got it wrong a few times, and you get to see some pretty grim deaths in surprisingly gory detail. You also get to grips with Lara’s new signature weapon: the longbow.
Once you’re out of the cave at the start, the real survival aspect comes into play. You have to hunt for some food, and Lara’s first kill of an animal is incredibly emotional. You get a great sense of just how out of her own element she is. The first hour had me hooked, and it was gonna be a long time before I put my controller back down.

The Story

The story is based around a young Lara Croft, and shows how she went from a timid girl to the hard-boiled adventurer she is known as. It gives an excellent atmosphere that shows all the highs and lows flawlessly.
The story is very well presented. In most games, you start getting a good idea of what’s next around halfway though. With this game, however, I found myself making a guess, and seeing that what actually happens is miles better. There weren't exactly any major twists or anything, but it always kept me guessing, and you always want to carry on playing to know what’s next.
The backstory is done very well. You are on the island because one of Lara's friends, Sam, has an ancestor who was a Japanese queen of the island, and you are looking into the mythology surrounding her rule. The cult who inhabit the island capture Sam because of her blood relation to the ancient queen, and Lara sets about rescuing her. Along the way, you learn of the history of the island, learning not just about it's ancient past, but also that the island played a part in World War 2 too.
The game handles the emotional side of loss, isolation and other survival themes brilliantly. The part that really got me though was when Lara is forced to kill a man. The scene is intense, and the way it was handled is deserving of an Oscar.
It all looked so... I guess... real? Certainly the best ‘acting’ within a game I’ve ever seen. The timing was perfect, and there’s a noticeable lack of clichés. No big speeches about the master plan, no 10 minute long death of a good guy. It all played out like it would have in reality, and I love how it worked.
Magic has always been an integral part of Tomb Raider, and as the game progressed towards the end, I became somewhat weary. In my mind, it was either gonna be some crazy magical stuff and ruin everything, or be some Scooby-doo style trickery, and ruin everything. To my amazement, they actually hit a happy medium. The magical aspect felt like it was still in tune with the realistic aspect of the rest of the game. Many mysteries were left unexplained, and yet it felt right. You understand as much as Lara finds out, and thanks to the lack of cliché monologues, you don’t learn too much past the actual story.

The Gameplay

The first thing many people say about the gameplay is that it rips off Uncharted. They dismiss it then and there as a clone, and are done with it. In my eyes, this is unfair. You have to remember that Uncharted took a majority of its gameplay aspects from the older Tomb Raider games. I see Tomb Raider as taking its most refined aspects back from Uncharted.
The gameplay itself works brilliantly. The movement system feels very tight and easy to use. I found myself effortlessly running though levels, and at points I actually stopped to jump off a ledge just to make sure it wasn't scripted, and that I was actually controlling it. The smooth transitions between different kinds of movement works very well, and the events where objects you are running on are getting destroyed, and the environment is shifting tie in very well with the movement system.
The combat has something missing. I'm just not sure what it is yet. They have managed to work in the stealth aspect very well, and I found myself actually restarting checkpoints at times to try and get the best angle on enemies before they spotted me. I like the bow and pistol as weapons, but the rifle and shotgun felt somewhat cumbersome. They handled pretty realistically, but I feel as though they should have been a little lighter.
The enemies are pretty good. You can either jump in all guns blazing and risk them calling for backup, or wait out their conversations. It felt very situational  and I had to make judgement calls with every encounter. Sometimes it did feel too scripted with where they go, but other times it was a case of wait and hopes to be lucky, or strike now. The AI is pretty good, and they were tough opposition. I found myself having to rethink my game plan after a death, rather than just trying to push harder next time.
You get all kinds of equipment as you progress, and while it all seems very convenient, all the equipment fits in nicely. It all looks like the kind of stuff you would end up finding and using because it’s all you had. The upgrade system involves collecting scrap as a form of currency, then spending it on the upgrades. I thought it worked nicely, and it helped with natural progression. At some points it feels somewhat like the Batman Arkham games. The way you acquire new equipment feels vaguely similar in the timing of it all, and things like the rope arrow, and the accompanying rope pulley thing that lets you quickly traverse the rope, remind me of Batman.
Throughout the game, you come across hidden tombs. Don’t get me wrong, they were pretty good. Each had their own challenge, and every one was unique. The problem was, I wanted actual puzzles. Most of them are simply cases of setting fire to the right stuff, or lobbing heavy stuff onto weighted stuff to make stuff go up and down. Stuff. I wanted to see more classic Tomb Raider style puzzles. Things like moving pillars around, and pressing buttons in the right order. The puzzles that were there fitted perfectly with the gameplay, but I couldn't help but reminisce about older games and the puzzles they had. They were also pretty small scale, and the rewards upon completion were negligible.
The gamplay was very tight and well put together. There were some classic Tomb Raider moments where you see Lara in her classic confident pose, and you get to use her trademark dual pistols at one point.

The Graphics

The graphics are great. They are very realistic. The models are well made, and the textures are great. The animations are brilliant, and small things like Lara shivering in the cold aren’t overdone, and show the severity of the situation clearly.
The graphics overall are great. Everything adds to the ambiance. The right weather and right time of day at the right time ingame all adds to a great immersive experience. The locations are varied, and you get a great variety, from snowy mountains, to dense forests, to murky swamps, to shanty towns and gore filled pits. Everything looks great, and you could easily mistake them for real locations.
The whole ancient island ruins underneath war remnants with the islanders crude buildings on top of them is a great mix. It’s something that sounds like it doesn’t work, but actually works very well. It gives you a great feel of how long the island has been inhabited, and the parts it’s played throughout history.
I love how Lara is always getting cut and scratched. She’s almost always bleeding from some new cut, and it stains her clothes. If you went out in the rain, or under a waterfall, and it washes off. Her shirt does a Die Hard style change from bright blue at the start to dark green by the end, and major wounds stain her clothes permanently. It’s a great little effect that works very well. That being said, I have no idea how her ponytail stays intact throughout. The other characters look great, and there is enough deviance in enemy character models to keep someone as anal as me happy.

The Sound

The sound was very immersive. The effects were well timed and sounded very realistic. I was impressed at lack of ‘over-the-top-ness’. It helped add to the realism. The voice acting was also very good. The music itself only really played for things like chase scenes, and what I can only describe as ‘Epic moments’. Things like ascending a tall building and seeing the view, or approaching a stunning structure. There are also a few classic moments, like the sound that plays when you enter a tomb. You’ll have to play it to understand what I mean.

The Experience

In a word. Breathtaking. I’ve had many chats with my friends, and we all agree it’s one of the best games in years. Personally, I feel this is the best game I have played so far for the current generation Nothing is done to be over the top, and the action plays out like it would in real life. Every aspect has been given the full attention it deserves, and the fact that such a radical change to the franchise came from veterans makes it so much better. I can’t fully express in words just how good this game is. It takes the best aspects of various games, and refines them to a magnificent shine.

The Cake

 My head wasn't to be so critical it’s almost rude. My heart, however, can’t allow it. I usually save the seventh slice for myself, regardless of how good a game is. But I can’t, not this time. This time I have to share. Hell, I’ll bake a whole other cake if they wanted one.

Tomb Raider wins all 7 slices of delicious cake.

It blew me away just how well made the game was. It exceeded all of my expectations, and my expectations were extremely high. If you recorded the gameplay from start to finish, it would have been classed as a 5 star movie. The faults in the game can be overlooked due to the nature of the reboot, and are so small that it matters not regardless.

The Future

They will make another. The game was just too good not to. The real question is: “Will they do it right”? There are tiny little that needs changing, but not many and not by much. They could perhaps increase the open world aspect of the game, but they shouldn't go overboard. The combat could be worked on, perhaps adding in more stealth aspects, and better gun characteristics. A more in depth melee system wouldn't go amiss either. They also need to work back in the puzzle aspect the franchise is known for. Moving random pillars to unlock a door. Activated the right switches in the right order. Things like that. Heck, take a leaf from Uncharted’s book if you have to. I've no doubt if they did, they would be far better than any puzzle in Uncharted.
I can’t believe how good the game was. It’s been a very long time since I enjoyed a game this much. It is genuinely the best game I have played in years. If you like games like Uncharted, and to an extent, games like the Batman Arkham series, you will love Tomb Raider. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. If you’re sceptical, go ahead and rent it out for a couple of nights. All it takes is an hour, and it will have you hooked, and playing though the night. Make sure to stock up on your energy drinks on your way home.

Thanks for reading. I wish you safe ventures on your internet travels.
~Awesomecake

Game Review: Radiant Historia

What’s up everyone? bojjenclon here with a review for you. Today we’ve got the DS game Radiant Historia by Atlus. Atlus is pretty well known for intense, story driven (and somewhat grindy) RPGs. This game follows in that tradition. When I picked this game up, I’d only heard the name tossed around a few times in some obscure forum posts. It doesn’t seem to have gained a whole lot of traction. This is a shame, as it has quickly become one of my favorite DS games, right next to the Chrono Trigger remake.

First Hour:

Within the first hour of this game, I was hooked. It starts off a little slow at first, but then again, most RPGs do. Once it picked up, I quickly became addicted. The combat system was a fresh take on the traditional turned based style found in similar games. The story seemed interesting, and the characters had enough diversity between them to make me want to learn more about them as individuals. Overall, my first impression was very positive.

Story:

The story was gripping and at times emotionally stirring. I genuinely wanted to know what would happen next. The diverging timelines lead to many unique situations and surprises.

In particular, Kiel's sacrifice is incredibly stirring. The whole scene is brilliant. Despite the vast power of the White Chronicle, the scene manages to make you feel helpless; as if no choice is right. You want to save Rosch and Kiel, but you can't seem to find a way to do both. It's truly brilliant writing in my opinion, as most games are afraid to go to such dark lengths.
In fact, the game makes many decisions such as this. Perhaps the biggest is the fact that the main character dies. This is a decision most game makers are afraid to make. I feel it really added to the story.

Many parts of the story get rather dark. However, considering Atlus was involved with this game, this isn’t all that surprising. Personally, I’m a big fan of this. When going into many games, I tend to expect things to be on a level that kids can handle. This is especially true of DS games. Radiant Historia has an ESRB rating of E10+ as there isn’t any direct gore or sexual innuendoes, but had the dark nature of the story been taken into account, I think the game could have easily received a T rating. Don’t play this game expecting a light hearted adventure full of rainbows and unicorns; the story is definitely geared more towards the older crowd.

The Gameplay:

 > The Battle System:

Radiant Historia has a rather unique battle system. Battles are on a 3x3 grid. Enemies take up one (sometimes more, but usually one) spot on the grid. The closer the enemy is, the more damage they do. So you want to keep them back for that reason. But there's more. You can knock enemies into each other to attack multiple enemies at once. Plus, you get bonus experience for stringing together long combos. You get skills that let you knock the enemies in different directions. Another unique mechanic is it let's you switch the turn order. You can use the change command to switch your turn with another character or even an enemy. This makes you weak until you actually act though, so it has to be used carefully. Other than that it's your standard RPG turn based combat. It's a very cool system, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Most battles in RPGs of this nature tend to get boring after a while, but I liked the majority of the battles in this game. I didn’t really try to avoid battles until end-game, and that was only because I just wanted to see the ending.

You acquire various elemental spells throughout the course of the game. Unfortunately, the short combat tutorial never goes over them. I like short tutorials as much as the next guy, but this was a little too short. For a good portion of the game I just randomly picked a spell whenever I wanted one. Turns out there’s a skill to check for weaknesses (Weakness Scan), but the game just expects you to figure it out. This isn’t too big of a deal for an experienced RPG gamer, but I feel it would be a bit of a problem for someone new to the genre.

Instead of relying on random encounters like similar games, Radiant Historia opts for an “enemy on the overworld” approach. In other words, enemies roam around. You can either choose to run into them and initialize a battle, or try to run around them. In addition, you can try to hit them and knock them out to get a special “preemptive attack.” I personally am a big fan of this approach. Random encounters can be tedious. At the very least, this system allows you to know a battle is coming up and get an advantage by going for the first strike.

 > Time Skipping:

The time skip mechanic is brilliant. Overall, I love it and I think it’s done very well. However, there is one major flaw. (Warning, the word event is going to be used multiple times. Try to follow along) Every time you replay an event (i.e. return to a node), you have to read the dialogue again. Now, there is a skip mechanic in place, so this in and of itself isn’t that big of a deal. The problem is, sometimes when you change an event that effects another event, the text might change ever so slightly. The change usually occurs at the end of the dialogue. If you choose to skip it, you may find yourself in the next scene wondering why they’re referring to things you haven’t read yet. This was a bit of an oversight on the developers’ part, but it’s very minor in the grand scheme of things.

> Side-Quests

While the main quest is quite engaging, the game also features numerous side-quests. These usually involve jumping around the timeline. As such, they aren’t all open or solveable right away. This gives a kind of puzzle element to each side-quest. This is fun most of the time, but I did have to look up a walkthrough for a few of them. Most side-quests give equipment or gold. A select few reward you with special skills for your characters. Many of them reward you with story points you wouldn’t see otherwise. Plus, there are special cutscenes you can unlock at the end of the game by completing certain side-quests.

 > Levels, Experience, Skills, and Equipment

There’s a decent amount of equipment to choose from. Changing gear doesn’t change your sprites, but this isn’t too surprising for a DS game. The equipment does come with stat modifiers though. This is where things can get complicated. You’ll often have two or three pieces of gear that all effect slightly different stats. It’s up to you to decide how you want to configure your weapon, armor, and three accessory slots. This is one of those places where it’s hard to give a “good” or “bad” opinion. Choices are great, but it can seem a little overwhelming at times. Do I want more defense but less speed and health? Do I want more physical defense with a serious hit to my magic defense? Do I want high speed and magic but low attack power? These are the types of choices you’ll face with the equipment.

Levels come easily enough. Most of my characters were around level 55 when I beat the final boss. The majority of the game doesn’t require any sort of grinding as long as you don’t skip too many battles. However, this changes toward end-game. You’ll want to level up a bit before the final boss. This last grind can be a little annoying, but fortunately the battle system is entertaining enough to keep the grind from making you want to pull your hair out.

Each character gets a number of skills via leveling and side-quests. Some of the skills are repeated between characters, but each one has something unique about them. This makes experimenting with different party configurations pretty important. You’ll want to figure out what playstyle suits you best.

Personally, I stuck with Stocke, Gafka, and Aht. Stocke is great at knocking enemies around, Gafka can get a skill to pull all the enemies into the middle square on the grid (plus he does some major damage), and Aft has high damage traps as well as healing skills.

The Graphics and The Sound:

For a DS game, Radiant Historia had some really solid graphics. Everything was crisp and fit together nicely. There were a decent amount of unique sprites packed into the game, plus a number of palette swaps. The sound was also nice. The music fit most of the scenes very well. There’s no voice acting, but that’s to be expected with a DS game. The only qualm I had with the sounds were the footsteps. They should have been more subtle in my opinion. As it stands, the footstep sound playing every time you move gets annoying. Other than that, the sound was great.

The Experience:

Radiant Historia was amazing. DS games are usually just casual games I play when I’m looking for a simple way to pass the time. They rarely pull me in with amazing gameplay or compelling stories. This game breaks that stereotype though. I played this game nearly every day since I first picked it up. I wanted to know more about the story and to see what else I could do with my characters. It really pulled me in. If you’re looking for a solid RPG with an amazing, somewhat adult story, you have to get Radiant Historia.

The Cake:

I really can’t praise this game enough. I rarely get this worked up over a game, but Atlus really knocked the ball out of the park with Radiant Historia. I’ll admit, I was already a bit of an Atlus fan due to Persona 3, but this just made me love them even more. The few problems that exist are incredibly minor.

I give Radiant Historia a full cake. Yes, 7 slices of cake. This is a rare event, I rarely ever give out high scores like this, but this game really is that good.

The Future:

The end of the game somewhat sets up the possibility for a sequel. However, I’m not sure if I’d want one or not. If Atlus could manage to make the sequel just as compelling as the first, then I’d be all for it. However, if it’d just be a cheap rehash, they’d be better off making a new game with a similar system.

Well, this has been my review of Radiant Historia. Hopefully you enjoyed it. This has been bojjenclon, signing off.

Thoughts on the Playstation 4 Reveal.

As you all likely know, Sony held a conference on the 20th revealing their next generation console. The PS4.

Well, lets start with the bad. There was no new Crash Bandicoot game announced. Not even a HD remake. If it doesn't turn up at E3, I'm out.

Now then. The good.

First off, I was simply flabbergasted at the live stream capabilities  It takes an idea like OnLive to a whole new level. They were saying that you can see a game you like, ANY game, and jump straight into a demo or preview of it. Then and there. No downloads, no waiting. Search, click, boom you're in. It blew me away. They also talked about how games in the past may not have had demos, but now even games that don't  will give you a limited time to play it, or some kind of interactive preview. They put a massive emphasis on try before you buy, which is a massive step for Sony.

They also showed the fact that the new friends hub is more like a social network. You can post status updates, share your accomplishments  and even record a video to show off your skills (Enter: 10 second CoD videos everywhere). They also showed that you can watch what your friends are doing in real time on their page, even while you are playing yourself. That already impressed me, but my jaw hit the floor when they said you can be invited to take control of your friends game. So if your friend is stuck, and you know what to do, you can simply take over for a but, get the job done, then they carry on. It's an amazing idea, and I really hope it's as full on as they promise.

Along with the theme of this live streaming everything idea comes backwards compatibility with games. They talked about how you can stream PS4 games on the Vita, and that in the future, they plan on allowing you to stream PS1, 2 AND 3 games, all on the Ps4 AND Vita. That's insane. They have confirmed that there is no CD backwards compatibility, and no download compatibility though, so any old downloads of games won't work. Emulation in the future is an option though.

The announcement games were an interesting bunch. I was almost annoyed that some games like Watchdogs and Destiny showed up, because they aren't new games. We've known about them for a while now. Although granted the Watchdogs gameplay was pretty epic, minus the fact that lots of the GUI and effects are lifted straight out of Assassins Creed. They had a new Infamous game on the list, which I thought looked pretty cool. I almost missed it because my stream crashed, and I'll admit I got my hopes up as soon as I heard SuckerPunch followed by Superpowers. They also showed this odd looking racing game, based around an active world of clubs, and it's all first person based. The graphics in it were insane, and I'm really interested in seeing what Gran Turismo 6 will end up looking like when it has to stand up against that.

I'm not sure why Square Enix even showed up. All they did was show the tech demo they showed last year at E3, and then say they'll announce games at E3 this year. Pointless. Here I was hoping to see Final Fantasy Versus XIII as a launch title. Mostly so that Team Kingdom Hearts can get to work with Kingdom Hearts 3.

The only game they announced that was on my list of expected announcements was a new Killzone. It's a far cry from the older games, with a whole new dynamic on things. The graphics were amazing, and I almost couldn't tell that it was a live demo. I genuinely expected to see an Uncharted title pop up, and I was waiting for a trailer for it all the way though. Perhaps at E3 instead.

The power of the system is great. 2 terraflops of computing power with the GPU, and 8GB of ram is awesome. They have a game suspend feature so you can hit the off button, then jump right back into the game later. They showed a cool demo where they summoned one million random object shards on a map. They all looked like glass, and it ran incredibly smoothly. The lighting engines look good, and the part effects in games like Killzone looked epic. They also showed a tech demo of some dudes head, saying it had the same amount of polygons as a full human model in a game like Beyond: 2 Souls, but only used a fraction of the power of the PS4. They said that now you can have such strong detail, that you can show tiny flickers of emotion on a face, and games in general will become far more emotional.

There is also a new focus on helping developers develop. While they didn't really say much about it, I'm assuming that they have made it far simpler to make games for the PS4 than it was for the PS3. The Xbox 360 has a massive Indie scene because of XNA. It lets you code for the console, and publish your games with ease. This lead to it being a hub for wannabe developers looking to out simple yet fun games. The PS3 was the opposite. It's near impossible to get any kind of indie game to the PS3. You need to have specific kinds of code they don't tell you how to write, then send it to them, and if they don't like it, you get rejected and put back in the massive queue. With the PS4, it's looking like they will take a leaf from Microsoft and have a simmilar system to XNA. That's great news, especaily for people like me who are trying to become developers, as it widens the market for us.

The new controller is pretty cool. Though not as cool as it could be. It's got a touch pad on the front, like on the back of the Vita, but I think they could have made it more dynamic as an actual screen. There is also a light bar on the back, and a new Kinect like camera to replace the Eye. Apparently you can store your profiles on the controllers, and the camera will see your colour, and auto sign you in. Nice idea, and ties in with the whole instant action thing they have going.

Everything looks good so far, but they didn't give us the whole story. We don't even know what the console looks like yet. It's dated as a "Holiday 2013 release, but my sources say late November worldwide, in time for the Christmas rush. I think they might drag out the announcements over the year until then. We have Pax coming up soon, and E3 later on in the year, so hopefully we'll know more soon.

Microsoft have a lot to do to keep up with Sony now. I know they have brought a Cloud based company like Sony did, but i doubt they will have any better services for live streaming than Sony does with the PS4. There isn't much they can do past what Sony has already done, so I'm interested in seeing where they will stand on the innovations front.

Tell me what you guys thought of it. Good ot bad? And what do you think microsoft will pull out of the hat to match Sony.

Till next time.
~Awesomecake

Game Review: Eternal Sonata

Ay yo waddup?! Awesomecake in da heezee!!!11!!1!one!!

That's what the kids say nowaday, right?

Anyway, you’ll have to forgive me, as it’s been a while since I last played this game. I did try and get my hands on it again, but it’s surprisingly hard to get hold of around these parts. I’ve always loved the game since the first time I played the (limited) demo, and it’s always stuck with me as a hidden gem. I’m now awesome and blogging awesome things and stuff, I thought I’d start with this.

So, without further ado, here is my review of Eternal Sonata. The game is for both PS3 and Xbox 360. The PS3 version has some extended content, letting you play as a few additional characters at one point. I played the Xbox version. Shame really.

The First Hour

Probably the most boring thing I have ever done. It simply doesn’t give the game justice. The first two or so hours is part monologue, part tutorial and part introduction to the main characters. You get a good feel for the battle system, but not much else. The locations don’t show off the true face of the game too well, and if it was all I played, I probably wouldn’t recommend it. But, after you push though the long winded introduction, it becomes well worth it.

The Story

It’s not great. In fact, at times it’s downright creepy. Right at the start, you end up playing as a 14 year old girl following a random 40 year old man into a forest in the middle of the night. Seems legit.

But getting past that, it’s a very generic story. A rag tag group of people team up to stop the bad guy, and have a few hiccups along the way. Same stuff, different dev.

The story feels like it’s just there to compliment the rest of the game. It’s not great, but it works. There are a few things that weren’t really expanded on that should have, like the idea that Polka can use magic, and thus has a limited life span. They didn’t really show her using much magic, and the magic attacks you can use are so pathetic it’s a wonder they added them in. They could have made her a stronger character, making her use different kinds of magic and that in turn affecting her health, but beyond the idea that she can use it, and will die, it seems to have been overlooked.

Other characters, however, were really strong. People like Jazz, Falsetto and Claves had a great story, and it almost felt like a whole game in itself playing as them in their small chapter. It seems like they created the overall story before the characters, and when they made the characters, they gave them massive back stories that they couldn’t work on enough.

Although simple, it is still a good story. There are some interesting twists , some of which I expected, but not at the points they were at. There were also several points where I felt the conclusion was nearing, but they pressed on, which helped keep the interest up.

The Gameplay

The battle system is simply brilliant. But it seems like it was unrefined, and left unfinished, which is a sore disappointment.

It revolves around using time as a form of currency. You spend time making moves, and everything you do costs time (except using items). It adds a creative strategic edge to the battles. You can get a tiny bit more time by attacking an enemy, but it seems like a system that was only added to lengthen turn times while attacking, and doesn’t account for much. Later in the game, you also unlock a meter that charges as you attack. You can then spend these “Echos” on special attacks which cost loads of time, but have massive areas of effect and deal huge damage. The more Echos you charged up, the better the special you could use. There is a trick to it though. If you used a special right at the last second, even though they costed over 2 seconds, you could still use them. It’s not a very good idea in the long run though, as most simple combos became a string of normal attacks with a special finisher, and things became rather repetitive.

Another cool thing is the idea of light and dark attacks. Every battle stage/arena had light and dark areas, and each enemy casted a shadow. If you were in the light, you did light attacks, and in the dark, dark. Every enemy had an affiliation and a weakness, so you really had to plan where to stand before you attacked an enemy. This system also applied to the special attacks, and with some characters, you would have a light attack with low damage and massive range, or a dark attack with massive damage and low range. It’s a simple idea made into a very clever and engaging system.

The problem is that it all changes later in the game. You have a system of levels called “Party Levels”, and you level up at certain parts in the story. Each time you level up, you gain one thing, and lose another. But the problem I had, was it never felt like I wasn't gaining anything past Level 2. You earned 1 more second on your timer, and the Echo system for special attacks, but from then on, as soon as you made your first move, your timer would start going down. You lost the ability to stop and think, and instead had to start rushing in. It made the game become far more hack/slash than it needed to be. On another party level, you lost time, dropping it to just 4 seconds, and the timer started as soon as you turn did. It felt like I was being punished for working my way though the game and it outright ruined the battle system for me by the end of the game. I feel like the system could have been one of the best out there if it had had a little more love and attention.

All of the characters feel different. Each has their own weapon, and each weapon has its own style of play. I found myself constantly mixing and matching characters to suit the situation, which is a great thing, as in most games you end up sticking with the favourites and dumping the rest.

Grinding was almost a challenge. The enemies in the field feel very well balanced with the level of your characters. In most battles I found myself actually trying to win. It wasn’t a case of simple button bashing to get the job done. Every enemy was tough, and while the AI wasn’t the best, it did feel well made.

The menu system is abysmal. Everything is all over the place, and it seems that the only thing worth getting is equipment from the shops. The system for stacking items both in and out of battle is a mess, and overall it feels like the entire menu system was an afterthought. The only time I ever really used it was to save, which took forever to find the right tab and option, or to change my skills, which was a chore in itself.

The field gameplay is rather standard. There are a few trivial puzzles here and there that aren’t worth mentioning, and there is more than enough collect and return missions around. The side missions aren’t too interesting, but some are worth playing.

The Graphics

They aren’t great. But they don’t need to be. The graphics have a sort of western animation meets Japanese kawaii anime feel. They didn’t try once to make anything even slightly realistic. Instead, it feels like the music makes it feel. You walk around, and everything is bright, beautiful and magical. Everything also has a theme of music. Sometimes its instrument shaped plants. Sometimes it’s animals with little bells on them. Everything around you makes a sound, and the creators have taken that idea and pushed it as far as possible.

The animations are pretty smooth, and each character has a completely unique look. The style of the characters also keeps in tune with the musical theme (pun intended). All of the characters have music related names, and each carries an instrument of some kind as a weapon (besides a few characters). Overall they are well placed and well designed.

As I said, the graphics aren’t great. It’s seems too bright, and almost looks like a failed cell shading engine. But when it all comes together, with the effects, and the music, it’s simply amazing to watch.

The Sound

The music is the absolute first thing that hits you in the game. It’s simply magical how the music seems to work with everything around you. As the music gets higher, flowers bloom, lights shimmer, and birds sing. When the tone turns gloomy, everything slows down, the wind stops, and the birds are silent. It’s a wonderful tiny thing that makes the game feel so pleasant to be in. Almost every song is a huge classical symphony, with each note matching every moment ingame. I remember being completely mesmerised by one part where you are simply walking up a long path in an open field. As you start, you see some wind blow, and the music is very calm. As you progress, the music picks up, and near the end of the path, it’s like you’re sat in a grand hall listening to a magnificent piece of music. There are gusts of wind carrying petals, birds flying around, and everything just felt so magical.

The story is based around a man by the name of Frédéric François Chopin, who was a brilliant composer and musician  The music draws inspiration from his works, and if you compare the two, you can get a true sense of the love and thought that went into every piece of music.

They made a game based around music, and they pulled it off flawlessly. They nailed the key idea, and that’s something hard to find nowadays. Many companies will spend lots of time telling people about the key idea, but never really refine it to its maximum potential.

The Experience

For me, the game was a breathtaking experience. If you separated everything, save the music , and put them in other games, they would be subpar at best. But they didn’t, and everything works together flawlessly. Alone, everything feels like it would be a small part of a far more grand design, but when they all mesh together, it feels like you’re watching the grandest of undertakings unfold.

I’ve played games that made me smile, and I’ve played truly immersive games. But no game can compare to mesmerisation Eternal Sonata created for me. I just wanted to sit back and watch everything unfold. You need to look past the things like the unfinished battle system, and the terrible menus, and see the game as a whole to fully appreciate it.

If you can, I urge you to try the demo. It doesn’t give the best feel for the game, but it gives you a nice feel for the battle system, and lets you understand what i mean by saying everything works together beautifully.

The Cake

The game is well a baked mix (lol i’m so punny) of great visuals, a grand story, and epic music, that all combines into one amazing game. It’s often overlooked because of the small studio it comes from, and the fact that the game is based around music more than anything else, but I think it’s well deserving of its pedestal.

If the battle system had been refined just a bit more, and the visuals made slightly better, the game would get top marks. But, all things considered, it still gets a great score.

I’m going to award Eternal Sonata 6 slices of cake.

Don’t eat it all at once.

The Future

There isn’t really anything I can put here. The game wasn’t really open ended, and I feel like it ended in a nice, peaceful note, which is hard to come by in today’s AAA game dominated market.

The only real thing I see going anywhere is the brilliant battle system. If it was refined a bit more, it could certainly become one of the greats. Saying that, it already is in my heart, and it’s inspired a battle system you’ll end up seeing in one of my own games.

All in all, it’s a great game, and well worth a play. Thanks for reading. Until next time.

~Awesomecake

The game review format

Below is what we will be using as our game review format.

Most reviews will likely contain spoilers of some sort. We'll do our best to hide them from you, by using this wonderful little button:

SUPER SECRET SPOILER STUFF LOL

Although that button may be useful, it could become a slight problem at some points. Sometimes key spoilers are part of the whole point of the game, and so not reading them may take away from the review and not give you the clearest picture.

The reviews will be broken up into several parts. Below is a list of the sections that will appear, and what will be talked about within them.

The First Hour
The first hour of a game is essentially it's first impression. While it lets you get a good idea for the game, it's not the whole story. Things could go either way, but normally you'll know if you like a game or not from the first hour of gameplay. I'll be talking about pretty much everything here, from the visuals, to the music, and what story we can get in the short space of time. Gameplay elements are key this early. They can make or break a game for me, and if the controls can't be mastered within that time, the game goes downhill quickly.

The Story
Some games don't need a good story. Some do. Some have terrible stories with great gameplay. It's a mixed bag of tricks that demands careful attention.  Here will will give a broard, spoiler-less overview. After that, we will include a detailed analysis of the whole story (or at least what we know of it.) Inside you can expect to see our reactions to events, and what we thought could have happened. we may even go into conspiracy-level-over-analysis mode. Who knows.

The Gameplay
The gameplay is the meat of the game. If the gameplay doesn't  match the story, you've got yourself a flawed game. Equally, if you've got great gameplay but not story to complement it, it can ruin the whole thing. Here will will cover most everything, from how easy the menus were to navigate, to the combat mechanics and minigames. Everything that you do, we will look at and analyse.

The Graphics and The Sound
Sometimes a game demands good graphics, based off the presentation of the story or gameplay. Sometimes, it doesn't need anything to make it work. Sometimes you need an epic soundtrack to compliment the game, and sometimes it can work just as well silent. Here we will talk about everything. From the design of the characters to the narrative of the story. Anything that is heard or seen.

The Experience
This is how the game as a whole felt. If there was anything stood out, or felt special. Everything adds to the experience, from the tiniest detail to the biggest plot twist. we will write how the game truly made us feel while playing it, and what it was like to play. Some things can add, and some things can take away from a truly immersive gaming experience. This is where the games biggest strengths and flaws will show, and should help give you the best impression we can for the game.

The Cake
The Cake is our rating of the game. When normal people rate things, it's usually out of 10. But we are not normal. Or people. Or normal people. We use a rating system out of 7.
We like to think of our rating system as a fair one. It's an odd number on all accounts, but hear us out. When you rate out of 10, there is no actual middle number, unless you start using decimals. But, when using one out of 7, there is a middle. Having the smaller amount of numbers also leads to a more critical rating system. If you pick a 6 out of 10 on a conventional rating scale, it's almost the same as picking a 5. But if you pick 7, that's suddenly a really high number.
From what we see, it's a fundamentally flawed system. With a system out of 7, there are no values meaning the same, like with 5 and 6 out of 10. Having the fewer options also leads to a far more solid rating, rather than one that can be perceived to be good by some people, and bad by others, like 6 out of 10.
The cake is there just because we're cool like that. Stars are too mainstream. /dealwithit

The Future
Here we will talk about what we would like to see in the games future. Some games don't need a sequel, and some do. We will talk about what things could work in the future, and what would best be avoided.