Speaking of Cold Fear, the game had quite a fun advertising campaign.
They might haven been heard a lot nor spread out that much like the viral marketing they were intended to be.
But it was quite a fun campaign nonetheless.
Want to know to what kind of lengths Ubi went to advertise the game? They even officially enlisted the help of Mega64 to produce Cold Fear-themed videos!
(videos after the jump, I'll leave you with one of those creepy viral marketing ads I mentioned in my review)
The problem with these kind of videos is that they work too well.
You see people only remember "dem funny parodies by Mega64" and forget the random game that was behind it.
Anyways, here they are, enjoy!
Pretty random. And quite fun :P
Sort of officially approved parodies mocking the game/plot! You don't see those often!~
Showing posts with label PS2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PS2. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
VGR Cold Fear
Time for another review!
This one's another survival horror, one of these game from the previous gaming generation, and one that mostly got overlooked (is it me or were a ton of really good games ignored last gen, Psychonauts, Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, etc.?)
Mostly ignored in favor of Capcom's Resident Evil 4, this was Capcom's first foreway into the genre...
Was it good, was it that bad? And what was this one about?...
VGR: Cold Fear
From Darkworks/Ubisoft
Played on PCAlso available on Xbox & PS2
Type Survival Horror
Year 2005
Cold Fear is a survival horror that came on the previous 128-bits systems.
It was developed by Darkworks, an independent French studio based in Paris, already responsible for the well-received Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare.
While Capcom reimagined the genre for that generation with a Resident Evil 4 leaving behind the cinematic camera angles and the slow paced gameplay for a more action-oriented 3rd person "over the shoulder" styée. Cold Fear went ahead with a sort of mix of both gameplays.
The game really feels like the missing link between the old classic survival horrors like the classic Resident Evil games and the modern action ones like 4 and 5.
Cold Fear runs on the RenderWare engine (used in other games such as Ubisoft's Rayman 2 or Sega's Headhunter Redemption and Sonic Heroes), it uses both a behind the character 3rd person gameplay and the classic cinematic overviews.
But what is it actually about?
The story starts out with Tom Hansen.
Member of the U.S. Coast Guard who is dropped along his team to investigate a mysterious Russian frigate - the Eastern Spirit - that lost contact with the authorities.
A certain Barnett sends this crew on a rescue mission since nobody's responding.
Quickly the rest of his team disappear one by one or end up brutally murdered near our main protagonist.
What happened on this boat?
As Hansen, you are left alone aboard this ship to find out what is going on.
Hansen will try at first to help the crew and rescue the members that were left behind, but he is quickly met with defensive forces.
Meanwhile, the night is only starting out, and Tom will have to survive a dangerous storm, somewhere in the middle of the ocean.
But don't worry! You won't be alone for long.
Hostile Russian men, who seem to be succumbing to fear and won't recognize a rescue mission, will try to shoot Hansen!
And did I mention those alien creatures?
A strange form of parasites, called Exocells by the scientists, are seemingly using human bodies and other creatures as hosts and to feed themselves.
Like Aliens from the movies, they seem to take over people and use them to expand, survive and reproduce.
The boat is literally invaded by them!
They will attack Hansen either inside these "zombies" or outside hosts.
While investigating this mysterious ship, Tom Hansen will discover that a lethal cargo was being transferred from the ship to an oil platform, the Star of Sakhalin, not far off the boat.
It seems some pretty unethical experiments were being conducted over there. Thanks to a bunch of logs found here and there throughout the game, the full story will be revealed bit by bit.
A certain Dmitri Yusupov from the mafia used that platform as a place for smuggling when the exocells were originally discovered.
He had the Doctor Victor Kamsky brought over to study and try turning these creatures into bioweapons.
Another scientist Pavel Bakharev started working by his own, just in case....when suddenly Viktor went insane, became crazy with those monsters and let them all roam around the platform, infecting everyone voluntary!
Gameplay-wise, the game seems like a natural progression of the survival horror genre.
You "can" sort of choose between a behind the shoulder camera like in Resident Evil 4 or alternate with fixed angles.
Not actually choose, but when aiming, the camera will go over the shoulder for the more action-oriented gameplay. And you can actually move while aiming your weapon, allowing to play whenever you want with that perspective.
Or just let the more moody cinematic angles show you around.
All in all, it does make Cold Fear seem like the missing link between Code Veronica and Resident Evil 4.
Another specific element from Cold Fear to mention, is the conditions of the environment.
Alongside the health bar on the HUD menu, Tom Hansen also has a stamina bar that depends on the actions.
Like running, which will take a bit of stamina out. Hansen needs to rest to replenish it.
The conditions on the deck of the ship will affect the character.
A huge part of the engine was used to play with the environment and make these conditions part of the gameplay.
The ocean and storm can affect AND harm Hansen.
The movements of the ship might throw him out overboard, you will need some stamina and/or to grab something to not fall over.
It will also provide other sources of danger, like throwing you off while aiming or just being hit by cargo and other environmental hazards (like electric wires or crates hanging, etc.).
You won't be truly alone all the time though.
Hansen will find a woman, Anna, who will tag along, much like other characters did previously in the classic Resident Evil games. (Sherri comes to mind)
She won't fight alongside Tom Hansen, and is one of those that needs helps and being protected to stay alive. Thankfully, she doesn't throw herself into danger and usually manage to keep her health intact by avoiding enemies. Also, these segments are usually short and dispersed enough.
Cold Fear is quite an atmospheric survival horror, where the inhospitable boat really make this experience a true "survival" "horror".
There's a lot of "monsters jumping out of closets" moments. The very well done storm is realistic, there's rain and wind and all. Perfectly rendered.
The various realistic weapons only contribute to the experience. A handgun, an AK, a speargun, a shotgun, grenades. You will also get a flamethrower and a little "surprise" later.
The savegame can be annoying, specially if you're new to the genre.
It's a "survival horror"-style difficult save system to manage, like in Resident Evil 1.
Here, you will get automatic checkpoints after each mission objective completed, most of the time in rooms you need to reach, people you need to find or before bosses/difficult situations. It's alright if you're ok with replaying little segments when you die. I, personally, never had a problem with it. You only need to assure you have enough ammo/manage well your weapons/health when you reach a save. (you also get various saveslots)
Anyway, it's a fun, entertaining and long enough game for the genre.
Let's also mention the flaws, which can't be ignored.
It's a pretty classic plot and game.
You unlock bonus martial in the form of art, screens and concepts, but no other mode. So the experience feels a bit lacking at the end of the day. You can just replay harder settings if you want.
The game got a fun marketing viral at the time in the form of fake scientific websites and news report, which ended up doing more negative damage for the game than selling copies. Some people still think those are actual real pictures.
It's still a great art direction anyway.
The beautiful cover art of the game is just proof of that, the lead art, concepts and characters were the work of Aleksi Briclot.
The fantastic score is quite epic. The great main theme will haunt you, and you'll hear lots of it and its variations throughout the game.
Finally it gives the whole experience a sort of serious B-movie tone.
Cold Fear is a survival horror that came on the previous 128-bits systems.
It was developed by Darkworks, an independent French studio based in Paris, already responsible for the well-received Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare.
While Capcom reimagined the genre for that generation with a Resident Evil 4 leaving behind the cinematic camera angles and the slow paced gameplay for a more action-oriented 3rd person "over the shoulder" styée. Cold Fear went ahead with a sort of mix of both gameplays.
The game really feels like the missing link between the old classic survival horrors like the classic Resident Evil games and the modern action ones like 4 and 5.
Cold Fear runs on the RenderWare engine (used in other games such as Ubisoft's Rayman 2 or Sega's Headhunter Redemption and Sonic Heroes), it uses both a behind the character 3rd person gameplay and the classic cinematic overviews.
But what is it actually about?
A biohazard occurence...
The story starts out with Tom Hansen.
Member of the U.S. Coast Guard who is dropped along his team to investigate a mysterious Russian frigate - the Eastern Spirit - that lost contact with the authorities.
A certain Barnett sends this crew on a rescue mission since nobody's responding.
Quickly the rest of his team disappear one by one or end up brutally murdered near our main protagonist.
What happened on this boat?
As Hansen, you are left alone aboard this ship to find out what is going on.
Hansen will try at first to help the crew and rescue the members that were left behind, but he is quickly met with defensive forces.
Meanwhile, the night is only starting out, and Tom will have to survive a dangerous storm, somewhere in the middle of the ocean.
A resident evil lurks behind each corner...
But don't worry! You won't be alone for long.
Hostile Russian men, who seem to be succumbing to fear and won't recognize a rescue mission, will try to shoot Hansen!
And did I mention those alien creatures?
A strange form of parasites, called Exocells by the scientists, are seemingly using human bodies and other creatures as hosts and to feed themselves.
Like Aliens from the movies, they seem to take over people and use them to expand, survive and reproduce.
The boat is literally invaded by them!
They will attack Hansen either inside these "zombies" or outside hosts.
While investigating this mysterious ship, Tom Hansen will discover that a lethal cargo was being transferred from the ship to an oil platform, the Star of Sakhalin, not far off the boat.
It seems some pretty unethical experiments were being conducted over there. Thanks to a bunch of logs found here and there throughout the game, the full story will be revealed bit by bit.
A certain Dmitri Yusupov from the mafia used that platform as a place for smuggling when the exocells were originally discovered.
He had the Doctor Victor Kamsky brought over to study and try turning these creatures into bioweapons.
Another scientist Pavel Bakharev started working by his own, just in case....when suddenly Viktor went insane, became crazy with those monsters and let them all roam around the platform, infecting everyone voluntary!
Alone in the dark, and standing guard firmly...
Gameplay-wise, the game seems like a natural progression of the survival horror genre.
You "can" sort of choose between a behind the shoulder camera like in Resident Evil 4 or alternate with fixed angles.
Not actually choose, but when aiming, the camera will go over the shoulder for the more action-oriented gameplay. And you can actually move while aiming your weapon, allowing to play whenever you want with that perspective.
Or just let the more moody cinematic angles show you around.
All in all, it does make Cold Fear seem like the missing link between Code Veronica and Resident Evil 4.
Another specific element from Cold Fear to mention, is the conditions of the environment.
Alongside the health bar on the HUD menu, Tom Hansen also has a stamina bar that depends on the actions.
Like running, which will take a bit of stamina out. Hansen needs to rest to replenish it.
The conditions on the deck of the ship will affect the character.
A huge part of the engine was used to play with the environment and make these conditions part of the gameplay.
The ocean and storm can affect AND harm Hansen.
The movements of the ship might throw him out overboard, you will need some stamina and/or to grab something to not fall over.
It will also provide other sources of danger, like throwing you off while aiming or just being hit by cargo and other environmental hazards (like electric wires or crates hanging, etc.).
It's like an house of the dead abord the ship!
You won't be truly alone all the time though.
Hansen will find a woman, Anna, who will tag along, much like other characters did previously in the classic Resident Evil games. (Sherri comes to mind)
She won't fight alongside Tom Hansen, and is one of those that needs helps and being protected to stay alive. Thankfully, she doesn't throw herself into danger and usually manage to keep her health intact by avoiding enemies. Also, these segments are usually short and dispersed enough.
Cold Fear is quite an atmospheric survival horror, where the inhospitable boat really make this experience a true "survival" "horror".
There's a lot of "monsters jumping out of closets" moments. The very well done storm is realistic, there's rain and wind and all. Perfectly rendered.
The various realistic weapons only contribute to the experience. A handgun, an AK, a speargun, a shotgun, grenades. You will also get a flamethrower and a little "surprise" later.
The savegame can be annoying, specially if you're new to the genre.
It's a "survival horror"-style difficult save system to manage, like in Resident Evil 1.
Here, you will get automatic checkpoints after each mission objective completed, most of the time in rooms you need to reach, people you need to find or before bosses/difficult situations. It's alright if you're ok with replaying little segments when you die. I, personally, never had a problem with it. You only need to assure you have enough ammo/manage well your weapons/health when you reach a save. (you also get various saveslots)
The thing will kill you!
Anyway, it's a fun, entertaining and long enough game for the genre.
Let's also mention the flaws, which can't be ignored.
It's a pretty classic plot and game.
You unlock bonus martial in the form of art, screens and concepts, but no other mode. So the experience feels a bit lacking at the end of the day. You can just replay harder settings if you want.
The game got a fun marketing viral at the time in the form of fake scientific websites and news report, which ended up doing more negative damage for the game than selling copies. Some people still think those are actual real pictures.
It's still a great art direction anyway.
The beautiful cover art of the game is just proof of that, the lead art, concepts and characters were the work of Aleksi Briclot.
The fantastic score is quite epic. The great main theme will haunt you, and you'll hear lots of it and its variations throughout the game.
Finally it gives the whole experience a sort of serious B-movie tone.
Like a big budget 80s horror film. The Russian villains go a bit over-the-top to me, and almost ruin the dark and gritty mood sometimes though.
Overall, it's a great looking game.
A memorable experience, and easily one of the best of its time honestly. Visually, it's only missing some "next gen" effects like high definition and blut. But the textures are good, the models well animated.
Gameplay wise, it's perfect!
A memorable experience, and easily one of the best of its time honestly. Visually, it's only missing some "next gen" effects like high definition and blut. But the textures are good, the models well animated.
Gameplay wise, it's perfect!
The survival horror I always dreamt of playing!
The learning curve is easy to get your hands on, soon you'll be taking headshots like no tomorrow!
A great atmosphere built upon a great design and sountrack.
The exomutants are quite reminiscent of Carpenter's The Thing.
I also tried it on Xbox (until I had some problems with my own console...so I only played the beginning).
But even so, the PC version is vastly superior to the console one, hands down.
The graphics are a lot more crisp and clean on the computer port. On console it was a bit slower and blurry...which just goes to show how great the game was for its time.
The gameplay's a bit more fun on keyboard too, with this kind of cinematic-3rd person switchable view.
A real sgane this one got overlooked for RE4. I honestly preferred Cold Fear as a truer Resident Evil. I just wish Capcom had went this way back then...
Oh well..
A great gameplay that really captures the tension of the old survival horror genre with a mix action.
(Darkworks was the studio that was originally working on Ubisoft's recent I Am Alive...until they shut down and the production was carried over at Ubisoft Shanghai and the game changed from an actual full retail release feature to a simpler digital arcade title)
The learning curve is easy to get your hands on, soon you'll be taking headshots like no tomorrow!
A great atmosphere built upon a great design and sountrack.
The exomutants are quite reminiscent of Carpenter's The Thing.
I also tried it on Xbox (until I had some problems with my own console...so I only played the beginning).
But even so, the PC version is vastly superior to the console one, hands down.
The graphics are a lot more crisp and clean on the computer port. On console it was a bit slower and blurry...which just goes to show how great the game was for its time.
The gameplay's a bit more fun on keyboard too, with this kind of cinematic-3rd person switchable view.
A real sgane this one got overlooked for RE4. I honestly preferred Cold Fear as a truer Resident Evil. I just wish Capcom had went this way back then...
Oh well..
A great gameplay that really captures the tension of the old survival horror genre with a mix action.
(Darkworks was the studio that was originally working on Ubisoft's recent I Am Alive...until they shut down and the production was carried over at Ubisoft Shanghai and the game changed from an actual full retail release feature to a simpler digital arcade title)
I give it:
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Deleted Scenes - "Rayman 4"
I'm currently still playing through Rayman: Origins!
And loving every bit of it~
But before Rayman returned to his former glory in this all new mdern 2D hand drawn/animated sidescrolling platformer, the poor lil' guy was getting forgotten thanks to all those Ravin' Rabbids party games...
And the actual reason why Rayman reverted back to his roots to get back a bit of his former groove was mostly because how far had the apple fallen from the tree.
Now, everybody knows the first Rayman: Raving Rabbids game to be minigame collection for the Wii (and other systems since then), but originally it wasn't always gonna be this way.
The game actually started out as the real Rayman 4.
Right after Rayman 3, the production was launched at Ubisoft Montpellier.
The game was going to be another pure 3D platformer, this time around featuring more action and a free-roaming environment.
According to Michel Ancel, Rayman's creator, the foes would have been this time around these weird stupid rabbits that had been planning their revenge on Rayman & co since the first game, hence the revisiting areas from the past games as pictured around here.
The Rabbids would have been these antagonists who had planned an invasion since the first game ("decades before").
But then Nintendo started to show great interest in this project.
Ancel sketched out a quick concept for Nintendo's upcoming Wii, then titled "Revolution". One thing after the other, the experimenting went along, gameplay styles changed and every aspect of platforming was removed and replaced with minigames...
The final product ended up pretty far from its original design, but most was kept around and lived through the Gameboy Advance Raving Rabbids.
As you can see from all these concepts around, the game would have been a big mix of original new settings, moody atmosphere like Rayman 2 and 3's, and old levels reimagined from the 1st game.
The story would have seen Rayman facing off against The Emperor Rabbid. a brand new enemy who had kidnapped Rayman's girlfriend:
And there's a baby Globox above as well! (from Rayman 2!)
According to Michel Ancel, "Rayman will have to save the world, his girlfriend and the girlfriend of his old enemy and his old enemy too!"
Here's more on the game:
The Rabbids design was more sinister-looking.
All different in shapes and sizes. Furrier. Bigger. Meaner.
Rayman would have gotten power-suits à la Mario instead of the power upgrades he gains in all the other games usually.
Anyways, it looked good on the concept.
Here's a trailer released by Ubi around an E3:
The game would have been released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, PS2 and PSP probably.
Anyways, in the meantime we'll still have the fantastic gorgeous Rayman Origins! :/
Though with Rayman back at the front scene, Ancel said he still planned on releasing another 3D Rayman platformer.
Last December he even went as far as confirming he would like to use this scrapped Rayman 4 as basis for the new game. Though I wonder how much will be kept, since Ubisoft is currently trying to keep the Rayman and Rabbids franchise apart for the foreseeable future.
And would that make now this scrapped game Rayman 5, will it be released some other day?
And loving every bit of it~
But before Rayman returned to his former glory in this all new mdern 2D hand drawn/animated sidescrolling platformer, the poor lil' guy was getting forgotten thanks to all those Ravin' Rabbids party games...
And the actual reason why Rayman reverted back to his roots to get back a bit of his former groove was mostly because how far had the apple fallen from the tree.
Now, everybody knows the first Rayman: Raving Rabbids game to be minigame collection for the Wii (and other systems since then), but originally it wasn't always gonna be this way.
The game actually started out as the real Rayman 4.
Right after Rayman 3, the production was launched at Ubisoft Montpellier.
According to Michel Ancel, Rayman's creator, the foes would have been this time around these weird stupid rabbits that had been planning their revenge on Rayman & co since the first game, hence the revisiting areas from the past games as pictured around here.
The Rabbids would have been these antagonists who had planned an invasion since the first game ("decades before").
But then Nintendo started to show great interest in this project.
Ancel sketched out a quick concept for Nintendo's upcoming Wii, then titled "Revolution". One thing after the other, the experimenting went along, gameplay styles changed and every aspect of platforming was removed and replaced with minigames...
The final product ended up pretty far from its original design, but most was kept around and lived through the Gameboy Advance Raving Rabbids.
As you can see from all these concepts around, the game would have been a big mix of original new settings, moody atmosphere like Rayman 2 and 3's, and old levels reimagined from the 1st game.
The story would have seen Rayman facing off against The Emperor Rabbid. a brand new enemy who had kidnapped Rayman's girlfriend:
And there's a baby Globox above as well! (from Rayman 2!)
According to Michel Ancel, "Rayman will have to save the world, his girlfriend and the girlfriend of his old enemy and his old enemy too!"
Here's more on the game:
“It’s a real pleasure for me to be back working on an all-new Rayman,” said Michel Ancel. “After wrapping up my last game, the team here in Montpellier sat down to talk about having some fun with Rayman and his universe. We are running into a bit of a problem, though, because our game has been invaded by thousands of raving mad and vicious bunnies, who have apparently been preparing this assault since the very first Rayman game. We are now sending an SOS to all motivated gamers to help us get rid of them as fast as possible!” Here are a list of features you'll find in the new game!
- Combat the Ultra-Crazed Evil Rabbits – Take control of Rayman and his knack for attack to help save his world from the raving rabbids. They are mischievous, insane and completely out of control. There are several types of rabbids each with its own mischievous characteristics.
- Master and Ride Creatures – Tame and control various creatures such as sharks, eagles, rhinos, spiders and angelfish. Rayman can master each animal’s unique capabilities to help in his battle against the devious rabbits.
- Dress to Impress – Customize and disguise Rayman. Go punk, pop, rock or hip hop to infiltrate the bunnies and foil their devious plans.
- Explore the Colorful Fantastic World of Rayman – Explore amazing free-roaming environments and beautiful epic landscapes that mix real and fantastical styles to create a visually stunning experience.
The Rabbids design was more sinister-looking.
All different in shapes and sizes. Furrier. Bigger. Meaner.
Rayman would have gotten power-suits à la Mario instead of the power upgrades he gains in all the other games usually.
Anyways, it looked good on the concept.
Here's a trailer released by Ubi around an E3:
The game would have been released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, PS2 and PSP probably.
Anyways, in the meantime we'll still have the fantastic gorgeous Rayman Origins! :/
Though with Rayman back at the front scene, Ancel said he still planned on releasing another 3D Rayman platformer.
Last December he even went as far as confirming he would like to use this scrapped Rayman 4 as basis for the new game. Though I wonder how much will be kept, since Ubisoft is currently trying to keep the Rayman and Rabbids franchise apart for the foreseeable future.
And would that make now this scrapped game Rayman 5, will it be released some other day?
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Deleted Scenes - Daredevil: The Video Game
Did you know, at some point, there's almost been a Daredevil game?
It was back in what I call the early "128-bits era".
Marvel had just released a pretty successful 3D Spider-man game (on the PSX, N64, PC and Dreamcast). With the success of its early 90s cartoons still behind them, expanding their catalog to others characters was a no-brainer.
Making video games based on comic book proprieties was an obvious step, from a marketing point of view. But besides a little Silver Surfer on the NES a decade earlier, most of those adaptations were always based on the big mainstream popular names. Batman, Superman, Spider-man? Sure.
Daredevil? Now that would have been quite something!
The task to realize the impossible was let upon developer 5000ft under Encore's publishing.
Not much was known about this game, apart the fact that it seems it would have been pretty similar to that Spider-man game mentioned above. (using Tony Hawk ProSkater's engine as well? I doubt it since it was an entirely different crew making and editing the game)
I can imagine it would have used a little HUB/open world. The whole Hell's kitchen to patrol over in a non-linear way. Maybe DD would have had to protect his neighborhood, look out for criminals/stop criminal sprees.
I can imagine they would have put an alert system in the form of a progression bar on the HUD menu.
Here's a screen at the game:
From the looks of it, it probably started production in the late 90s/early 2000s. Probably on the PS1/PC/N64 as well. It might have been published on the DC as well I can guess.
But the game was taking a lot of time, too much time for this kinda project.
Then at E3 2002, some in-game videos surfaced showing the project was still alive:
Love that "blind vision" mode.
Slated now for a Q4 2004 release.
The game was now on the then-next gen systems, meaning the PS2 and Xbox.
Sure, it wasn't the prettiest game around, was showing a bit of his old age, looking more like the 1999 Spider-man game with some acrobatic moves, than, say, Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
Here's a look at this game's boxarts:
Sadly, by then the an actual adaptation of Daredevil came out, the 2003 Mark Steven Johnson-directed Ben Affleck!Daredevil movie.
Long story short, they lost the license and all we got instead was this Game Boy Advance game:
Which was...huh...nice. But so far from what we almost had.
Funny story though, some website and stores still list that DD game like had it been released.
Thus ends another random history of something that might had been.
It was back in what I call the early "128-bits era".
Marvel had just released a pretty successful 3D Spider-man game (on the PSX, N64, PC and Dreamcast). With the success of its early 90s cartoons still behind them, expanding their catalog to others characters was a no-brainer.
Making video games based on comic book proprieties was an obvious step, from a marketing point of view. But besides a little Silver Surfer on the NES a decade earlier, most of those adaptations were always based on the big mainstream popular names. Batman, Superman, Spider-man? Sure.
Daredevil? Now that would have been quite something!
The task to realize the impossible was let upon developer 5000ft under Encore's publishing.
Not much was known about this game, apart the fact that it seems it would have been pretty similar to that Spider-man game mentioned above. (using Tony Hawk ProSkater's engine as well? I doubt it since it was an entirely different crew making and editing the game)
I can imagine it would have used a little HUB/open world. The whole Hell's kitchen to patrol over in a non-linear way. Maybe DD would have had to protect his neighborhood, look out for criminals/stop criminal sprees.
I can imagine they would have put an alert system in the form of a progression bar on the HUD menu.
Here's a screen at the game:
From the looks of it, it probably started production in the late 90s/early 2000s. Probably on the PS1/PC/N64 as well. It might have been published on the DC as well I can guess.
But the game was taking a lot of time, too much time for this kinda project.
Then at E3 2002, some in-game videos surfaced showing the project was still alive:
Love that "blind vision" mode.
Slated now for a Q4 2004 release.
The game was now on the then-next gen systems, meaning the PS2 and Xbox.
Sure, it wasn't the prettiest game around, was showing a bit of his old age, looking more like the 1999 Spider-man game with some acrobatic moves, than, say, Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
Here's a look at this game's boxarts:
Sadly, by then the an actual adaptation of Daredevil came out, the 2003 Mark Steven Johnson-directed Ben Affleck!Daredevil movie.
Long story short, they lost the license and all we got instead was this Game Boy Advance game:
Which was...huh...nice. But so far from what we almost had.
Funny story though, some website and stores still list that DD game like had it been released.
Thus ends another random history of something that might had been.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
VGR PoP: Two Thrones
Taking directly after the previous PoP Warrior Within, The Two Thrones is the direct sequel and the final chapter in the "Sands of Time" series.
Sure, Ubi decided to ignore a perfectly closed and well rounded series to offer fans more spinoffs/episodes (I blame the fanboys). But was TT a good closing act to a well loved trilogy of modern platforming games?
What's good about it, what's bad about it?
Brand new review, below!
VGR: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
From Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal
Played on Gamecube
Also available on PS2, Xbox, PC, PS3, PSP and remake on the Wii as "Rival Swords"
Type 3D Platformer/beat 'em all
Year 2005
It only took Ubisoft a year to produce another Prince of Persia.
But could you really blame for their haste? It seems everytime Ubi has perfected an engine, as a gameplay established like a well oiled machine and a series popular enough, they always try to keep the ball rolling as long as they can, while such series is popular enough to score high sales with new yearly. (see the current Assassin's Creed franchise)
The original Sands of Time had a fantastic reception but didn't sell enough.
Warrior Within met a great success commercially but is still considered a sub-par Prince of Persia due to its combat oriented gameplay and lack of any PoP classic features (besides SoT own time mechanic).
How could they please both camps and still make a good enough new entry in this world renowned franchise?
And the Prince is back for all-new platforming oriented adventures all over Persia!
The closing chapter to the SoT series takes place directly after the "real" ending of Warrior Within.
If you missed it, fear not, the game will both recap the true ending and even acknowledge the other one.
After killing the Dahaka, the guardian monster protecting the "timeline", the Prince escaped the Island of Time with the Empress of Time herself, Kaileena.
The Prince returns home, to the Kingdom of Babylon, only to find that a war seems to have erupted.
As soon as they arrive, Kaileena is made prisoner by the old Vizier who seems to have been brought back to life after the events of the first game. The Prince prevented the Sands of Time from being created in Warrior Within, so the original story never took place as well.
SAND! Lots of it! And here we go again!
Long story short, the Vizier kills Kaileena with the Dagger of Time which in turn releases the Sands of Time afterall... Then the crazy old man impales himself with the very same Dagger which makes him immortal now!!
And the Prince is infected but not turned into a Sand Creature!
And one of the creatures' weapon gets embedded in the Prince's own arm, which glows infected!
More twists than you can count all in a beautiful CGi sequence!!
The Prince steals the Dagger and escapes finally....
Supâ platforming action!
This time around, Kaileena narrates the events of the game (a return of the narrative as presented in Sands of Time, only not the Prince this time around).
The main objective in Two Thrones is to travel all over the city back to the Palace and kill the Vizier once again. Simple story once put down like this, but a similar plot didn't stop Jordan Mechner's original from being a classic. Speaking of which, he didn't come back on the production as he did for Sands of Time. (oooh...)
During the game you'll meet again Farah, the Indian Princess from the original Sands of Time whom The Prince never met since taking Kaileena alive from the Island of Time prevented the adventures in Azad from every happeneing. (and a funny dialogue will take place as the Prince remembers her anyhow)
The gameplay is much of the same anyone who's ever played any of the 3D Prince of Persia games has already seen before.
Which consists of lots of exploration, 3D platforming around and combat.
The game does a great job of combining the best element of both past episodes.
The platforming is part of (I'd say) 50% of the game. Lots of acrobatic maneuvers. Most moves are returning from past games (wall-running, climbing, jumping..) which will come quite in handy to avoid all the vicious traps and dangerous obstacles.
There's some brand new controls like sliding down close walls (Splinter Cell style!) etc..
The combat compose (like) 40% of the rest of the game. You can still grab & steal weapons left from your enemies. Using the Dagger of Time to attack/block or play around with the usual "time" powers. (rewinding, energy bursts...)
The rest of the game will be broken by some rare unusual gameplay sequences. Never dull, be it the surprising ending or the Chariot scenes..
A new side of the Prince is made palpable. The Dark Prince starts to emerge as soon as the Sands are released. He will first made his presence aware by speaking through an internal voice..but soon this evil form (first glimpsed near the end of Warrior Within) will manifest itself by taking the control of the Prince's body.
The Dark Prince help shake things up every now and then (in scripted sequences).
He has some different moves and doesn't play 100% like the classic Prince.
For one his health bar his always decreasing. Which forces the player to spend less time enjoying the background and make haste. It gives a much more stressful tension, not unlike the original Prince of Persia (where you had only 1 real hour to escape and defeat the Vizir).
He also uses a different weapon, the Daggertail (a chain-like sword) which is quite stronger than the Prince's own regular weapons. (apart from the final sword at the end of the game)
Which makes big dense fights pass by easier killing enemies fast (a positive point) even though there's a lot of fighting with him in this form (minus point here..).
Finally to restore health you have to collect constantly sand, by breaking stuff or killing enemies like before.
The gameplay is much of the same anyone who's ever played any of the 3D Prince of Persia games has already seen before.
Which consists of lots of exploration, 3D platforming around and combat.
The game does a great job of combining the best element of both past episodes.
The platforming is part of (I'd say) 50% of the game. Lots of acrobatic maneuvers. Most moves are returning from past games (wall-running, climbing, jumping..) which will come quite in handy to avoid all the vicious traps and dangerous obstacles.
There's some brand new controls like sliding down close walls (Splinter Cell style!) etc..
The combat compose (like) 40% of the rest of the game. You can still grab & steal weapons left from your enemies. Using the Dagger of Time to attack/block or play around with the usual "time" powers. (rewinding, energy bursts...)
The rest of the game will be broken by some rare unusual gameplay sequences. Never dull, be it the surprising ending or the Chariot scenes..
Introducing, the Troll of Time! Seriously though, look at his glorious hair!!
A new side of the Prince is made palpable. The Dark Prince starts to emerge as soon as the Sands are released. He will first made his presence aware by speaking through an internal voice..but soon this evil form (first glimpsed near the end of Warrior Within) will manifest itself by taking the control of the Prince's body.
The Dark Prince help shake things up every now and then (in scripted sequences).
He has some different moves and doesn't play 100% like the classic Prince.
For one his health bar his always decreasing. Which forces the player to spend less time enjoying the background and make haste. It gives a much more stressful tension, not unlike the original Prince of Persia (where you had only 1 real hour to escape and defeat the Vizir).
He also uses a different weapon, the Daggertail (a chain-like sword) which is quite stronger than the Prince's own regular weapons. (apart from the final sword at the end of the game)
Which makes big dense fights pass by easier killing enemies fast (a positive point) even though there's a lot of fighting with him in this form (minus point here..).
Finally to restore health you have to collect constantly sand, by breaking stuff or killing enemies like before.
Besides that?
The game still has a lot of fighting, enemies will protect spawn points you have to defeat large group of foes... Leftovers from Warrior Within, to please WW fans.
But thankfully, Ubisoft thought about bringing in a brand new feature to the series, which made the game so much more pleasant.
Since the series became more like a brawler in the hands of Ubi (the original was more duel-oriented) you can now perform all new stealth kills to avoid combat!
A very fun and useful feature. It's sort of like mini "Quick Time Events" where you have to press a certain button at the right moment, either killing the foe or continuing the sequence. Boss QTEs will result in death but enemies QTEs will break the attack and you'll have to go by the usual way, through hordes of creatures to fight. It's a great stealth system which is a nice addition to the series.
The game is all about this duality, be it the Prince and his alter ego.
The fans of SoD or the ones from WW.
The funnier full of life charming Prince and his gritty emo-ysh Troll-haired Dark opposite.
Platforming and combat.
Water (which reverts the Dark Prince to his normal self) and Sand.
The story is pretty good actually. It ties the plot nicely back to the original Sands of Time in a very well thought way, a perfect story coming full circle, closing the series on a good final chapter.
Side note: the game made me think a lot of the original 3rd Prince of Persia, Arabian Nights.
Be it stylistically or content wise. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't made on purpose by Ubisoft, it just happened.
Like PoP3D, this "SoD3" see the Prince not trying to escape a foreign place or dungeon (PoP1, 2, Sands of Time, Warrior Within) but his very own palace because of a trap that closes upon him.
In both PoP3D and TT, the Prince gets thrown of his own palace at the start, as to make his way from the bottom of the palace, travelling across the local town, the streets, the docks..ends up in catacombs/caves. And the final lap is run across thousand of stores high over the city.
I was glad to also see the much needed Persian/Arabic theme brought back to the series.
Visually the game looks splendid, though more so in exteriors and the palace than the boring city and dull caves.
The music is done by returning composers Stuart Chatwood and Inon Zur. Splendid. Magical. Much more epic than SoD and trued in spirit than WW. Quite fitting for an Arabian Nights-esque tale.
(and to bring that above point back, pretty close to PoP3D fantastic score in a way, particularly some early themes like the streets)
It brings back elements from both Sands of Time and Warrior Within.
It closes the tale of this Prince.
"Most people think time is like a river, that flows swift and sure in one direction. But I have seen the face of time, and I can tell you, they are wrong. Time is an ocean in a storm. You may wonder who I really am, and why I say this. Come, and I will tell you a tale like none you have ever heard."
Overall, it's a pretty darn' good game!
There! I said it! And I didn't even think I was going to like it a first...
It's sort like a "best of" both past games.
It takes the best of Sand of Time along the best of Warrior Within and works as well by itself as the closing chapter of this trilogy.
Two Thrones keeps the fun Arabic theme and the classic platforming the series' known for
plus
There! I said it! And I didn't even think I was going to like it a first...
It's sort like a "best of" both past games.
It takes the best of Sand of Time along the best of Warrior Within and works as well by itself as the closing chapter of this trilogy.
Two Thrones keeps the fun Arabic theme and the classic platforming the series' known for
plus
The combat and a bit of the angst of the former game.
But it is not without its own problems.
By bringing half of its foundations from Warrior Within it also brought back its combat focused, hordes of enemies, tricky combos (with enemies that either respawn or never seem to die) and half-assed boss fights...
It gets also a bit boring, repetitive and almost painfully difficult by the mid-point. But if you survive past that it gets better near the end. And the story and pace picks up for an incredible final act.
The game was still made on the Jade Engine (by the by, I want to recommend you play it on the Gamecube, the system it was designed for, for the best experience). The graphics look great and the acrobatic/parkour-ysh gameplay was pretty well tweaked by this episode to be smooth and easy to master.
Two Thrones was ported on various system, most ports pretty identical. Apart from the PSP & Wii remake Rival Swords which tweaked elements of the game, fixed and changed the gameplay a bit and added some zones.
Great game, not perfect but a must play for PoP fans and platformers aficionados alike!
But it is not without its own problems.
By bringing half of its foundations from Warrior Within it also brought back its combat focused, hordes of enemies, tricky combos (with enemies that either respawn or never seem to die) and half-assed boss fights...
It gets also a bit boring, repetitive and almost painfully difficult by the mid-point. But if you survive past that it gets better near the end. And the story and pace picks up for an incredible final act.
The game was still made on the Jade Engine (by the by, I want to recommend you play it on the Gamecube, the system it was designed for, for the best experience). The graphics look great and the acrobatic/parkour-ysh gameplay was pretty well tweaked by this episode to be smooth and easy to master.
Two Thrones was ported on various system, most ports pretty identical. Apart from the PSP & Wii remake Rival Swords which tweaked elements of the game, fixed and changed the gameplay a bit and added some zones.
Great game, not perfect but a must play for PoP fans and platformers aficionados alike!
I give it:
2 / 3 Quacks!
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