Lovely and spot-on! :'3
Showing posts with label parkour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parkour. Show all posts
Saturday, June 30, 2012
#AwesomeCosplay Pics of the day: Mirror's Edge's FAITH
The game was already awesome, but this cosplay just plain kicks ass!!
Lovely and spot-on! :'3
Lovely and spot-on! :'3
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
#E3 NEWS! 1st day recap part 2
E3 2012 continue!
Let's have a look at what Ubi's showed this year!
First, Assassin's Creed!
I'm trying to avoid spoilers and watching too much, but this new Assassin's Creed 3 is shaping up quite nicely!
Here's an all-new CGi trailer:
...and because Ive got so much hype for it, here's another more cinematic and less spoiler-y trailer:
It seems the game will be oustanding!
It will include some new elements such as naval warfare and a complete and realistic weather system. (the weather in past games was more locally and settings generated, to set the mood during the story).
And here's some gameplay just for comparison, to see how more improved and realistic it is now:
And accompanying this title there will be a 2nd Assassin's Creed game, on a portable system. Like with much of the previous titles.
This time something more original though.
Assassin’s Creed III Liberation will be an exclusive episode for the Vita.
But unlike past PSP and DS game it won't feature Altair or Ezio, or bring Connor from the main new episode on a portable adventure.
Instead it will have new story that takes place in New Orleans and stars the series’ first ever female heroine!
How cool is that! I've been hoping to see some more new characters and original protagonists on portable episode. And now I see it will have this kickass lady as main character - something I'd have even preferred in a main episode.
Anyway this looks like 1 definitive good reason to get this console! (like I wrote here in the past, I need at least 5 good reasons to wanna invest in a new system)
Sony already announced a bundle with the game, something that will sell some consoles no doubt!
~
Meanwhile, the new Rayman gets explained and new infos.
Rayman Legends seems to be confirmed for almost all possible systems. (Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, etc.)
But only the Wii U version's been showed, as well as it's Wii U exclusive aspects, such as using the screen-gyroscopic controller, etc.
A new returning character from Rayman 2 named Murphy.
And more!
The game is a direct sequel to Origins and will sport more of the same kind of gorgeous 2D graphics. I'm not a big fan of the new shading. But it looks great nonetheless!
Check this out, there's some mix of 2D and 3D here and there, and it looks fantastic!
~
But WAIT!
That's not all!
Some other ips have returned, such as Sam Fisher!
Splinter Cell Blacklist looks simply amazing!
It seems it will have a new engine, and spotlight the best gameplay elements of the franchise so far.
I hope for more Conviction that Double Agent personally.
Also a core element from the series has been announced integrated into the gameplay now. What could it be...?
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist will be out next year.
It will bring some more Assassins Creed element to the series, with more walls and buildings being climbable!
Welcome to Forth Echelon...
Can't wait to see Sam back in action!
~
And that is not all!
Ubi also announced some new ips unlike many others.
Such as Watch Dogs.
It will be an action thriller that plays like an open-world "superhero" game. With tech and gadgets at your services.
Here's a trailer:
No systems yet.
It does look great though.
~
And if that wasn't enough for ya, there's also a more simpler and mindless fun game, ZombiU for Wii U!
Don't disregard it due to its title though.
Looks legit to me!
It seems this one was built from the remains of Killer Freaks from Outer Space, Ubisoft's former Wii U horror exclusive -shown at E3 last year - which has been canned and recycled it seems.
This could well be a nice surprise for next year!
It looks like a Dead Island meet Dead Rising mix. And it is being developed at Ubi Montpellier!
~
And that is all for this post!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Gamin' NEWS! New Assassin and some Virtua in my DoA
This' just in!
Here's some cu-raaaazy news regarding some upcoming games.
And what I mean crazy I mean "What the...!?!?"-crazy.
First up, Ubi released their first trailer for Assassin's Creed III.
Introducing their all-new assassin, Ratohnhaké:ton.
I kinda warmed up to this news since the original announcement though.
I'm actually liking this idea now.
I can't wait to scalp some "Americans" as well as some Brits. All in all, if you really think about it, this is exactly the kinda game the US would never make themselves.
Glad to see Ubi, a French/Canadian company, making this bald move!
Can't wait!
~
Meanwhile, Tecmo released a new trailer for Dead Or Alive 5.
A game I had kinda forgotten about honestly.
Though I do love the series, believe you me!
It showcase the all new improved engine, revamped graphics and art direction as well as....
Akira Yuki!!! From Sega's Virtua Fighter!!
Awesome! Awesome!
I do love the VF series so very much!! What a random but epic idea!!
Though at heart, I always hoped we'd get a Tekken X Virtua Fighter crossover at some point, this is equally awesome to be honest.
The new DOA graphics look great, love the new chara design, more realistic and all.
The new engine does look a bit more VF than DOA-ysh, from the square arenas to the gameplay, more focused and counter balanced.
But now I can't wait to instead have an all new VF on consoles!!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Gamin' NEWS! first info on Assassin's Creed III
So after lots of rumors concerning the upcoming Ubisoft title Assassin's Creed III, with a concept rumored to be an actual design for new character leaked on the internet...Ubi finally came forward and confirmed the news!
So apparently it will feature the American Revolution this time around.
UK and US sodliers fighting in the background 'n' all.
Honestly?
My opinion? Well I find it kinda sad. And boring.
I mean, sure, I can imagine over-patriotic random gamers and cliché Americans on the internet crying glory and all that stuff...
But I much preferred the Crusades, or Italy in the 15th century. These were much more exotic and original settings.
Do you really wanna see natives getting pushed out of their land and/or Americans taking territory, etc.
Americans owning slaves. Natives getting kicked out of their lands by both US and UK white dudes.
Whatever side the main character will be on, it will be quit a depressive era. Think about it.
Plus, come on, there's much more interest eras and places to see.
Also, the more I think about it, the more I'm guessing this time won't be much explored.
We might either visit various other places in time and space, and the main plot/game might take place with Desmond in 2012. The game's supposed to be the last of the trilogy, being released near the date the story's been taking place all this time.
We might either just glimpse over that period picture in the above cover or flash through various other moments in time.
Our new "ancestor" looks part Native America, from the looks of his outfit at least.
Poor guy won't be able to stop an invasion by both Britain and "so-called Americans" either. Poor guy..
I'm guessing if this new character is only briefly visited, either because of other visited eras or because of Desmond's plot, I'm pretty Ubisoft will feature him in various spinoffs, like Ezio and Altair before...
Anyways, this game will be released by the end of the year, in October 30 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
So apparently it will feature the American Revolution this time around.
UK and US sodliers fighting in the background 'n' all.
Honestly?
My opinion? Well I find it kinda sad. And boring.
I mean, sure, I can imagine over-patriotic random gamers and cliché Americans on the internet crying glory and all that stuff...
But I much preferred the Crusades, or Italy in the 15th century. These were much more exotic and original settings.
Do you really wanna see natives getting pushed out of their land and/or Americans taking territory, etc.
Americans owning slaves. Natives getting kicked out of their lands by both US and UK white dudes.
Whatever side the main character will be on, it will be quit a depressive era. Think about it.
Plus, come on, there's much more interest eras and places to see.
Also, the more I think about it, the more I'm guessing this time won't be much explored.
We might either visit various other places in time and space, and the main plot/game might take place with Desmond in 2012. The game's supposed to be the last of the trilogy, being released near the date the story's been taking place all this time.
We might either just glimpse over that period picture in the above cover or flash through various other moments in time.
Our new "ancestor" looks part Native America, from the looks of his outfit at least.
Poor guy won't be able to stop an invasion by both Britain and "so-called Americans" either. Poor guy..
I'm guessing if this new character is only briefly visited, either because of other visited eras or because of Desmond's plot, I'm pretty Ubisoft will feature him in various spinoffs, like Ezio and Altair before...
Anyways, this game will be released by the end of the year, in October 30 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Gamin' NEWS! The end of the world, puzzles everywhere and demons to kick the ass of!
It's time for a new rounds of gaming news!
First off,
Here's some actual gameplay of Ubisoft's post-apocalyptic survival game I Am Alive!
Lots of climbin' ahoy!
Seems pretty decent.
Of course, not fantasti-aweso-tascular-epic-HD like what most people are used to these days..but, hey! Ubisoft did cut off the budget for this title, making it digital only...so...what'd'you expect??
~
The guys at GiantBomb got a hold of this new PC "FPS" puzzle game, Q.U.B.E.
..and it's looking amazing so far.
Now doubt to please and occupy Portal fans (until the next one?)
~
On another note, there's a demo of Capcom's all-new original title (yay! Finally! a new IP!! I was getting tired of the constant rehashes over there...) Asura's Wrath!
So...what are ya waiting for? Turn on your Xbox/PS3 and go download it!
Try it!
We should all try helping out an original title for a change, your usual Uncharted/Gears of Wars/Halo/Mario games can wait, they already got enough money out of you, play the previous episodes instead.
And support ASURA'S WRAAAAAATH!!
Looking very nice!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Gamin' NEWS! Some Beyond Good & Evil 2 news!
Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still alive!
At least, that's what we can gather from this recent conference at Montpellier's Game 2011.
Michel Ancel was there, and showed some new footage of this long in-development title awaited by fans all over the world:
Concept arts, environment design and some more tidbits.
And in case you missed it, waaaay 2-3 years ago, here's some actual in-game footage of BG&E2, the only footage of this game so far besides on teaser (which seems to be running on the Assassin's Creed engine, the Anvil Engine);
Someday....
Someday, oh yes.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Gamin' NEWS! Previously on Assassin's Creed
Then new title Assassin's Creed: Revelations is out!
Here's a pretty neat recap Ubisoft put out:
Such a crazy nonsensical franchise... I love it! :D
Here's a pretty neat recap Ubisoft put out:
Such a crazy nonsensical franchise... I love it! :D
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Gamin' NEWS! Assassins in crisis!!
Here's one more round of game news!
First up, here's Crysis' Console's Launch Trailer!
This popular PC game will finally be released on consoles now, thanks to the success of Crysis 2 a bit earlier!
Looking badass! Though I'm kinda sad this won't get a disc release personally :/
And here's yet another Assassin's Creed: Revelations trailer!
This time it's a spotlight on Ezio Auditore da Firenze's life~
Awesome!
Though I'll be a bit sad to say farewell to Ezio at the end of this title. Hope they surprise us with a new face instead of going back to Desmond at the end :P
That would be a twist!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Gamin' NEWS! ASSassin's Creed shows some new toys, meanwhile the SHINOBI is back!
No that wasn't a misspelling :P
Here's some more gameplay footage of Ubi's latest entry from its well known parkour-inspired gaming series and Sega's Shinobi resurrected on the 3DS!
Ubisoft released two new trailers for Assassin's Creed: Revelations!
In the first one, we get a look at Ezio's brand new toy in Revelations..
Love this new hook-mechanic. Looks pretty fun :)
In the second video, we get a look at how the combat will be like:
I still love AC's amazing combat mechanic! So much fun than most brawlers/beat 'em all these days.
Plus it's completely QTE-less which is quite rare these days :P
And here's a look at the upcoming new Shinobi 3DS coming from Griptonite Games.
Will it keep the standard kept on the series by Sega? Will it be as hardcore, fun and arcade as past titles?
Check it out!
SHINOBI 3DS - Streetpass par SEGA
It does look much better than what was shown earlier, originally.
You will be able to collect coins in the game it seems, you will be able to spend those to unlock new challenge maps or even play as the original hero from the 16-bits Shinobi games, Joe Musashi! The game will be released on Nov. 11.
Looks pretty fun!
That makes one games I might want to get. More reasons like that and I might end up thinking about getting a 3DS :P
Ha!
Here's some more gameplay footage of Ubi's latest entry from its well known parkour-inspired gaming series and Sega's Shinobi resurrected on the 3DS!
Ubisoft released two new trailers for Assassin's Creed: Revelations!
In the first one, we get a look at Ezio's brand new toy in Revelations..
Love this new hook-mechanic. Looks pretty fun :)
In the second video, we get a look at how the combat will be like:
I still love AC's amazing combat mechanic! So much fun than most brawlers/beat 'em all these days.
Plus it's completely QTE-less which is quite rare these days :P
And here's a look at the upcoming new Shinobi 3DS coming from Griptonite Games.
Will it keep the standard kept on the series by Sega? Will it be as hardcore, fun and arcade as past titles?
Check it out!
SHINOBI 3DS - Streetpass par SEGA
It does look much better than what was shown earlier, originally.
You will be able to collect coins in the game it seems, you will be able to spend those to unlock new challenge maps or even play as the original hero from the 16-bits Shinobi games, Joe Musashi! The game will be released on Nov. 11.
Looks pretty fun!
That makes one games I might want to get. More reasons like that and I might end up thinking about getting a 3DS :P
Ha!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Gamin' NEWS! Assassin's Creed: Revelations - Exclusive Multiplayer Trailer
And here's a look at Assassin's Creed: Revelations' multiplayer mode:
Granted, the multiplayer modes' more like a bonus mode of sorts. It's not the main objective in the game.
I only tried once or trice the multiplayer in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood during my playthrough. And the only times I went back to the game after that was for the solo missions and never the multi anymore.
It is a nice distraction to breath in-between the main game. It was a solid mode and well done.
But it's not today that this will bring in those "hardcore multiplayer gamers" from their Gears of War or whatever.
Anyway, the new one looks pretty decent and it seems to improve some ideas and details from the past game.
I liked it in Brotherhood. I just hope they fix the way the online worked. It always took me several minutes if not a full hour to join in a game. They should have a lobby-kinda system. I'm sure it worked great in dense areas like those big cities in the US. But in Europe the game always took a lotta time to start. (but once it's go, it wasn't laggy at all)
Granted, the multiplayer modes' more like a bonus mode of sorts. It's not the main objective in the game.
I only tried once or trice the multiplayer in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood during my playthrough. And the only times I went back to the game after that was for the solo missions and never the multi anymore.
It is a nice distraction to breath in-between the main game. It was a solid mode and well done.
But it's not today that this will bring in those "hardcore multiplayer gamers" from their Gears of War or whatever.
Anyway, the new one looks pretty decent and it seems to improve some ideas and details from the past game.
I liked it in Brotherhood. I just hope they fix the way the online worked. It always took me several minutes if not a full hour to join in a game. They should have a lobby-kinda system. I'm sure it worked great in dense areas like those big cities in the US. But in Europe the game always took a lotta time to start. (but once it's go, it wasn't laggy at all)
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
VGR PoP Forgotten Sands [Wii Version]
The Sands of Time Trilogy might have been closed with Two Thrones but with a new interest in the series thanks to a movie adaptation, Ubisoft thought it was a good commercial move to bring the series back in an all-new episode just for this time.
The game was released amongst most systems. In what I like to call the "Forgotten Sands chapters" (which would have made a much better title for this game IMO).
Like Untold tales or Missing chapters, all these games across the different consoles aren't the same but instead different episodes taking place in the 7 years gab between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within.
This is a review of the "Wii version" available exclusively for the Wii system.
VGR: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
From Ubisoft/Ubisoft Quebec
Played on Wii
Also available on /
Type Parkour/action platformer
Year 2010
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands on the Wii system is another "interquel" episode in the Prince of Persia series taking place in the time gap in-between Sands of Time and Warrior Within.
It is unrelated to the other Forgotten Sands game on the HD systems and can be seen as yet another separate adventure with no clear ties to the main series.
I would consider this one to take place right before the HD version, as the Prince seen here as clearly never seen such strange creatures or magic at work on this scale. (in Sands of Time, things were much simpler as well so were creatures confined to mostly human-sized revived sand creatures before Warrior Within and Two Thrones introduced more fantastic elements)
And the motivations behind the Prince in this game could tie-in easily in the reason why the Sultan sent him to see his brother Malik in that other game. (to learn leadership)
With this game not developed by the usual Ubisoft Montreal, it was up to Ubisoft Quebec to bring this original entry to the Wii system.
The game is also back to using the more familiar JadeEngine from Ubi's last generation of titles, making this game feel and look a lot closer to the Sands of Time trilogy. The gameplay is also back to a more traditional 3D platformer vibe over the free running and lose control of the next gen version.
Enters a familiar face in an unfamiliar place..
The game follows our unnamed Prince one more time as he travels throughout a mystic lands to conquer a kingdom, with the help of a genie-like being acting as sidekick.
The story starts "in medias res" as our Prince is seen escaping some collapsing ruins. The Prince follows the lead of a djinn named Zahra. She guides him through a jungle to escape the perils. Finally they arrive at an oasis where she offers a deal to the Prince through a mystical pact. The Prince kisses Zahra by the way of a statue she possesses which grants him magical abilities and she promises him a Kingdom.
With the dialogue being played as the game progress, we understand the Prince was able to get this djinn in a market.
With this magic pact in effect, their union permits the Prince to see what Zahra sees. The Prince finds his way to a gateway leading to the "Kingdom of Izdihar". But once there, he discovers only ruins and desolation. This once fantastic realm his now a deserted place, filled with posonous vines and decay everywhere.
The Prince sees a sword stuck on stone, pulls it out....which frees a sort of Witch.
Then as quickly as it took the Prince to find this place, another monster pops up. The Prince stabs it, but the blade breaks and gets stuck on the giant monster, who flees the scene with the impaled weapon.
She just wants to make out with the Prince that much.
Zahra explains to the Prince was has just happened.
It seems Izdihar had been invaded by corruption called The Haoma a long time ago.
That sword was used to contain the poisonous spread of those vines, taking it off released the Haoma.
The genie wasn't obtained by coincidence by the Prince, she allowed herself to be captured and to be found in a marketplace on the path of our hero so she could trick him into helping her out. The Prince himself was seeking a Kingdom of his own, a Princess and mastery over death itself to impress his father.
A long time ago, there lived many djinns in these mysterious lands, but only one survived the Haoma.
Now the Prince has to find back that monster, regain the sword and forge it to save Izdihar.
Most of the game is spent chasing the giant creature from place to place.
Spoiler:
The game surprises the player by taking him back through a familiar scene.
The Prince is seen escaping some collapsing ruins... The Prince follows the lead of Zahra... She guides him through a jungle to escape the perils....
Spoiler:
Gameplay!
The game plays mostly like you'd expect a modern Prince of Persia from Ubisoft to play like.
It was built upon the series' last gen engine, so it feels exactly like past games.
Despite the Wii's own original controls, after some getting used to in the earlier easier levels, you'll pretty much get a hang on this game very fast.
The game's your typical "action adventure" game (as they call it, but I really dislike this classification since such games never feature any real "adventuring" in the classical sense of the term).
So this means, a 3D platformer with puzzle elements and some combat.
But unlike the lesser good entries of the franchise combat's role mostly that of a background.element. The core gameplay is all about exploration, using the Prince's acrobatic moves to make you way through the mazes and ruined kingdom and lots, and I mean a lot, of puzzles.
As a matter of fact, platforming is also turned into a puzzle element, making your way across the rooms requires a lot of thinking and planning through.
In this way, the game feels nothing like the HD version of Forgotten Sands which emphasized combat.
(with its "free play" combat control)
The game will have you go from place to place, clearing zones of puzzle.
Monsters will often ambush you in small rooms/zones or spawn as you will least expect them to...but they're often pretty easy to dispatch.
Replacing the "stealth kills" of earlier game but serving the same purpose as making your way through the combats quickly to move along, there's a new "leader" mechanic to group of enemies. Some monsters will have a sort of blue aura to show who acts as leader in a group of foes. Kill the leader and the rest of the enemies will scatter. (though you will gain less "energy", which is used to either replenish your lives/health/abilities progression/or unlocking stuff)
There's also a light "co-op" capability in this game, making it the first occurrence of such in the entire series.
But it's really limited, a second player will be able to "freeze" enemies around controlling a kind of djinn/touch-screen feature. Nothing to write about, really..
The "main meat" of the game is in the creation powers.
Zahra offers the Prince the ability to manipulate the environment, making this game the less linear Prince of Persia to move around, environment-wise.
You will gain these powers progressively.
But the Prince will be able to affect the world around him, the way you will "parkour" your way around the rooms/spaces.
There's a Spirit Hook, which allows to wall-grip your way around surfaces, which will deeply affect the way you explore the areas.
The power to create Whirlwind Pillars, which serve as platforms you generate to elevate yourself or jump around.
And finally you will be able to make Spirit Spheres to either avoid falling or combined with Spirit Hooks will provide you a way to fully explore levels.
These powers are to be carefully alternated since you won't be able to duplicate them until these "spirits" regain the Prince's body.
It's all pretty easy to use, just point and click with the Wiimote directly. But the puzzles get pretty clever and some later parts pretty though to clear. (specially around the "Challenges of the Gods")
The game's fairly long.
Not huge mind you, but long enough for this type of game. Specially since some parts will get tricky and quite challenging. (intellectually moreso than platforming-wise)
The game offers a lot of unlockable content.
From developers diaries to concept arts.
There's also some skins to unlock to play as the Prince from a past game.
Various challenges, some based around ideas seen briefly at some point in the game, including my favorites a labyrinth and a whole mini-game played with a sidescrolling point of view (which happens at some rare points in the actual game) making it a very nice reminiscence of the original Jordan Mechner game or the PSP Forgotten Sands as well. (more on that in the later Forgotten Sands-PSP review!)
The old original 1992 SNES port of Prince of Persia is also unlockable!
The game's music was composed by Tom Salta (Red Steel, the Tom Clancy's: HAWX series).
It's simple. It get the mood and the atmosphere right but isn't that remarquable really.
(I'm usually a fan of the series' sountrack though!)
Not really generic, just not that epic. It gets the job done I'd say.
Overall, I liked it.
It is a much better game than main Forgotten Sands game.
It simply feels a lot closer to the originals while proposing innovating gimmicks. (the "creation powers") Which gives a fresh breath to the series mechanics and offers quite a lot of challenges in later parts of the game.
It is a much better game than main Forgotten Sands game.
It simply feels a lot closer to the originals while proposing innovating gimmicks. (the "creation powers") Which gives a fresh breath to the series mechanics and offers quite a lot of challenges in later parts of the game.
The game is a great entry in the series, despite one might think from the Wii motion controls. It only takes some getting used to. (but it isn't that hard, really)
The only part that kinda annoyed me was to have to use the motion to swing the sword around. But even that, thanks to the "leader" element, enemies never took that much effort.
It is also the first Prince of Persia (Ubisoft and otherwise) to actually introduce a life system mechanic to the Prince.
(people often unjustly bring this point up against the 2008 game, but let's be honest, life has never really mattered in a PoP game, even the original one with its limited one hour-limit)
You start the game with 1-2 lifes. Losing them will GAME OVER you back to a fountain where you can save/replenish your health.
So without a time-rewinding system you have to be careful, take your health into consideration, try to conserve it through the fights.
Later one you will be able to obtain additional lives which make the later harder parts easier.
The game is quite puzzle heavy. And combat barely existent. (thing the Prince will refer to in some of his funnier quotes/breaking the 4h wall almost)
There's some great segments you'll play through a 2D plan, sidescrolling. Easily my favorite moments of the entire game!
At first I didn't like the plot that much, but the more was revealed about it through dialogues and cutscenes, the more I got invested and interested in finding out about this mysterious Kingdom.
The problem is perhaps that it feels so unrelated to the main SoT series it makes you think why this wasn't a new Prince or the 2008 one instead. (but this could be said from all of the Forgotten Sands game)
You kinda wish it had at least some mentions to that storyline (the Dahaka's debut?) rather than being such a self-contained plot.
The only part that kinda annoyed me was to have to use the motion to swing the sword around. But even that, thanks to the "leader" element, enemies never took that much effort.
It is also the first Prince of Persia (Ubisoft and otherwise) to actually introduce a life system mechanic to the Prince.
(people often unjustly bring this point up against the 2008 game, but let's be honest, life has never really mattered in a PoP game, even the original one with its limited one hour-limit)
You start the game with 1-2 lifes. Losing them will GAME OVER you back to a fountain where you can save/replenish your health.
So without a time-rewinding system you have to be careful, take your health into consideration, try to conserve it through the fights.
Later one you will be able to obtain additional lives which make the later harder parts easier.
The game is quite puzzle heavy. And combat barely existent. (thing the Prince will refer to in some of his funnier quotes/breaking the 4h wall almost)
There's some great segments you'll play through a 2D plan, sidescrolling. Easily my favorite moments of the entire game!
At first I didn't like the plot that much, but the more was revealed about it through dialogues and cutscenes, the more I got invested and interested in finding out about this mysterious Kingdom.
The problem is perhaps that it feels so unrelated to the main SoT series it makes you think why this wasn't a new Prince or the 2008 one instead. (but this could be said from all of the Forgotten Sands game)
You kinda wish it had at least some mentions to that storyline (the Dahaka's debut?) rather than being such a self-contained plot.
I give it:
2 / 3 Bruces!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
VGR PoP Forgotten Sands
The Sands of Time Trilogy might have been closed with Two Thrones but with a new interest in the series thanks to a movie adaptation, Ubisoft thought it was a good commercial move to bring the series back in an all-new episode just for this time.
A new game was released amongst most systems. In what I like to call the "Forgotten Sands chapters" (which would have made a much better title for this game IMO).
Like Untold tales or Missing chapters, all these games across the different consoles aren't the same but instead different episodes taking place in the 7 years gab between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within.
This is a review of the "Next Gen-version" available on Xbox 360, PC and PS3.
Warning though, this is in no-way a continuation of the 2008 installment, The Tree Of Life, which has been put on hold for this episode and the Assassin's Creed franchise taking all the resources and time at Ubisoft.
VGR: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
From Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Singapore
Played on Xbox 360
Also available on PS3 & PC
Type Parkour/platformer
Year 2010
With the Sands of Time series closed in a perfectly circular and well rounded ending in Two Thrones, this chapter of the Prince of Persia franchise was supposedly perfectly sealed away and closed on a fitting final note.
But due to the movie production gaining such a tremendous momentum, Ubisoft had to release something and make some profit out of this new light shining on the series.
This Forgotten Sands game saw a multi-platform release on most current systems.
Each depicting a one of four separated storyline.
The main Forgotten Sands was developed for the much more powerful systems. It was built over the Anvil Engine, the same one powering up the 2008 Prince of Persia game and the Assassin's Creed series. Though instead of making a similarly built huge freely explorable open world with the same type of nervous and fast gameplay, they adapted it to mimic the original Sands of time/Warrior Within/Two Thrones episodes.
engine PoP2008/Assassin's Creed
How did this game far off, rushed under a year worth of development and trying to be reminiscent of the old Gamecube/PS2/Xbox games?
Me meet again, Prince...
The story sees the return of the previous hero, the Prince from the Sands of Time series.
This episode is an "interquel", it takes place during the seven year gap between Sands of Time and Warrior Within.
The Prince is back!
The story opens with the Prince arriving from the desert on a horse.
He was sent on a quest by his own father to learn from his older brother Malik leadership and how to act as such.
But once there, the Prince finds this Kingdom under attack by some army who wants to reach the treasured buried under the Palace...
He finally meets up with Malik. Malik also wants to get in the treasure vault, believing some mystical artifacts stored there to be able to free his people from their wrongdoers. Malik convinces the Prince they have to rely on the Army of King Solomon as a last resort to save themselves. They break a magical seal...which summons creatures made of sand all accross the Kingdom! Both keep half of the the seal.
Trouble arises!
The unleashed army is uncontrollable...quickly the whole population is turned into sand and the Kingdom overruled... Malik and the Prince are immune thanks to the protection obtained from the seals.
Both get separated once again from each other... The Prince finds a strange portal to the magical lair of the Djinn Goddess Razia. The Prince discovers it wasn't Solomon's army but merely the foes that were originally sent to kill him in the first place.
To stop this madness, the Prince then must reunite both sides of the seal.
Razia gives him special abilities to face his opponents. Meanwhile, Malik's turning slowly into a pawn for the real enemy here. He thinks he wants to destroy the whole army, enemy by enemy, gathering more and more power...but he's actually being slowly becoming the demon Ratash, the real leader of Solomon's Army.
Ratash pursues both our main characters who each have part of the seal. Malik and the Prince think they were able to kill him..but Malik's under his control and becomes the host for his new body.
At this point, the objective his clear, the Prince has to defeat his possessed brother to get rid of the monster.
New locations! New characters! New abilities!
At first glance, this game's storyline seems pretty simple or even non-existent. But fact is, there's a lot more to it than it seems.
The story is clearly more Arabian Nights than past PoP games.
Djinns, King Solomon, magical artifacts and seals... The atmosphere is pretty far from Sands of Time yet fitting in that series.
Graphically the game might look good at first eye, specially the beginning around the exteriors of the palace. But once you get inside, most backgrounds look similar and kinda boring. (and with a noticeable weaker attention payed to detailed)
To be precise it's in "details" that the game seems most rushed. Human foes, which in previous games never disappeared unlike mystical creatures, disappear as well like a last-gen video game, enemies are repetitive and not that interesting, there's also so few types of them...
The Queen Razia offers some interesting mechanics to the series that keep the player in pretty familiar ground yet bring in new nice gimmicks to play with.
The game feels and plays kinda similar to Assassin's Creed controls or the 2008 PoP episode. Meaning it's more in the lines of parkour rather than "classic" acrobatics. Yet they made so the gameplay would feel "similar" to Sands of Time. Read that sentence as it tries to imitate but it isn't as tight and the same as SoT gameplay was. It doesn't feel the same, it tries to be so.
Everything got simplified to.
From platforming to combat.
No need to keep a button pressed to run over walls, little details are made automatic (others are "fixed", like jumping from a place like a column, no need to turn around it to face your objective, just press the direction stick). Combat is made "free style", you can face armies of dozen or more foes without a guard button, it's made faster and more agile, thanks to a melee system which takes some getting used to though.
Why is it always corrupted people turned into giant monsters...
The seal makes the Prince able to absorb the power of the enemies once defeated (or inside jars you can break around, never saw as many breakable jars in any past Prince of Persia game for that matter..).
It helps the Prince regain energy for the special abilities or his health bar.
Razia powers at first only serve to regain the time control ability from Sands of Time (from a plot perspective, bringing back the ability he couldn't have outside the Dagger of Time/Warrior Within storyline) but quickly this water Goddess gives the Prince new powers. Like the ability to "stop" water (freeze it really) or bring back elements from the past. Which is mostly used in the environment to progress, featuring in later parts some real smart puzzle elements.
The gameplay is kinda too simplistic at first due to the new Engine. It never quite feels like the Sands of Time trilogy, but some update to the gameplay doesn't annoy me much.
It's the over simplification that is kinda too bad.. Walls you can climb into or walk across are heavily marked.
The game doesn't feature a proper classic HUD, and is usually void of any indications (the lightly charged HUD menu disappears) like most current next gen games. So they tried to make things relevant and obvious in-game instead.
There's a sort of RPG-ysh system to manage your progression. Besides Razia's mystical powers, the game features 4 core elemental abilities which serves as power-ups during the playthrough. Fire, Ice, Wind, Earth. You can purchase abilities like shields or offensive upgrades, which all branch out in a chart. You buy those with the experience aquired.
The game is sort of linear, like the original Sands of Time rather than the open world 2008 game or the huge island explored in Warrior Within. But it isn't much of a problem since you'll spend your time going all over the palace in a natural progression.
There's some big giant bosses like the series often features. The game takes full use of the new engine by bringing in up to 50 foes on screen at once.
You'll have to mast the new combat system sort of inspired by the way Altair or Ezio fight in Ubisoft's other acrobatic franchise.
There's some QTEs again, back as finish moves during the bosses like in past games.
The game is mostly about platforming.
Warrior Within fans worry not, combat is still plenty, the fighting sequences will have you on your toes since it gets harder if you do not embrace the new system.
On the puzzle aspect, they're well thought, some later ones gets pretty impressive, it really shows Ubi's got used to it after all these Prince of Persias.
The platforming is kinda simplistic at first and gets more challenging during the game. But trying some earlier parts again, it was pretty weak at the start...seems Ubi tried to make this game a bit too much accessible (because of the movie no doubt.)
The music is easily the best aspect of the game. It was composed by Michael Bay's own favorite music composer, Steve Jablonsky no less!
It's sort of in-between Prince of Persia (2008) and the live Sands of Time movie. Beautifully orchestrated, epic. Simply amazing to listen to!
What more to say?
Purists will like the Prince being voiced once again by Yuri Lowenthal.
And fans will love Ubisoft's own "achievements/points", allowing through their own network, UPlay, to buy features like an Ezio skin.
Overall, I have to admit, I really wanted to dislike this game at first.
It seemed rushed, totally improvised. Plus Ubi put on hold the sequel to the 2008 game I loved.
But the fact is...the game was kinda better than what the marketing and general reception made me believe it to be.
It got generally undeserving bad receptions. When it is genuinely good.
Not perfect, sure. But playable and fun - which is more than enough to me.
The game was made for a more broad audience, mainstream and unfamiliar with the series in mind.
It is really simple, you'll almost never die even in huge unending combats against waves of enemies thanks to an incredibly strong and fast character. Plus, like all of Ubisoft's PoP, there's no real death impact or consequences. (life system, etc..)
It is meant to work as both part of the Sands of Time trilogy AND as a pseudo-sequel to the movie as well. Which explains the redesigned Prince. With a face similar to the SoT Prince of the darker WW Prince AND the live action Prince from the movie too. (he looks quite ugly and different on the boxart for some reason though...)
I see the game as a sort of reimagining of Warrior Within for the movie version. There's a big focus on melee combat with the new "crowd control" system. You'll go through various similarly remade environments as seen on the island in WW, from the clocktower to the gardens, ruins, catacombs and other similar places. And the color and tone is not that far from that game too. Also, the Prince is sporting his WW inspired battle armor again. (did he wear that throughout the 7 years gap up until WW??)
Rushed? Probably.
Not inspired? Sure.
But a nice game, if you're a fan, that deserves to be played through. Give it a try, you might like this addition to the series.
It seemed rushed, totally improvised. Plus Ubi put on hold the sequel to the 2008 game I loved.
But the fact is...the game was kinda better than what the marketing and general reception made me believe it to be.
It got generally undeserving bad receptions. When it is genuinely good.
Not perfect, sure. But playable and fun - which is more than enough to me.
The game was made for a more broad audience, mainstream and unfamiliar with the series in mind.
It is really simple, you'll almost never die even in huge unending combats against waves of enemies thanks to an incredibly strong and fast character. Plus, like all of Ubisoft's PoP, there's no real death impact or consequences. (life system, etc..)
It is meant to work as both part of the Sands of Time trilogy AND as a pseudo-sequel to the movie as well. Which explains the redesigned Prince. With a face similar to the SoT Prince of the darker WW Prince AND the live action Prince from the movie too. (he looks quite ugly and different on the boxart for some reason though...)
I see the game as a sort of reimagining of Warrior Within for the movie version. There's a big focus on melee combat with the new "crowd control" system. You'll go through various similarly remade environments as seen on the island in WW, from the clocktower to the gardens, ruins, catacombs and other similar places. And the color and tone is not that far from that game too. Also, the Prince is sporting his WW inspired battle armor again. (did he wear that throughout the 7 years gap up until WW??)
Rushed? Probably.
Not inspired? Sure.
But a nice game, if you're a fan, that deserves to be played through. Give it a try, you might like this addition to the series.
I give it:
1.5 / 3 Quacks!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
VGR Tron Evolution
With Tron recent revival, Disney decided to try capitalizing on this newly acquired fame for the series and make some profit out of this new mainstream appeal the franchise was getting.
Thus, they decided to make some tie-ins around the release of Tron: Legacy.
Both prequels.
Like Tron already had in the past - while there wasn't a movie around - a game and a comic.
This is a review of the video game that was released before the new Tron movie.
VGR: Tron: Evolution
From Propaganda Games/Disney InteractivePlayed on Xbox 360
Also available on PSP, PS3 & PC
Type Action/Beat 'em all/parkour platformer
Year 2010
For the release of Tron Legacy, Disney revived the franchise with new tie-ins.
The first original Tron game was a product of its time. A first person shooter. The FPS genre was on a boom, following Halo and the likes.
So it never came as a surprise to see the new Tron game being a Prince of Persia-like inspired Parkour/platformer. A genre that was getting pretty popular recently (Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell Conviction, The Saboteur...)
This story arc called "Evolution" aims to fill-in the gap of time between both Tron movies, following Jeff Bridge's character Flynn in the years following the liberation of The Grid in the original movie.
This game takes actually place after the comic book "Betrayal" and serves as its direct continuation.
Our anonymous hero finds out about Clu's evil intentions...
Tron Evolution tells the story how the now clearly evil program Clu-2 became in charge of the grid and software engineer Kevin Flynn ended up imprisoned inside The Grid.
The story opens with some video footage of Flynn's filming. He's just discovered Isomorphic Algorithms, original spontaneous life, growing inside the virtual world of The Grid he has now created under his old arcade room. He isn't responsible for these ISOs, but feels the need to help them evolve as new intelligent life. They're able of free will and are disliked by Basic Programs inside the digital reality.
Flynn suspects Clu from the recent murder of some ISOs, so he decides to create a new Monitor program to help him.
The player gets to play as Anon, the security program written by Flynn to investigate this conspiracy.
Clu gets partially in charge of The Grid alongside Radia, the leader of the ISOs. One day when Anon decides to follow a female program, Quorra, trying to get in to see her mistress, a virus named Abraxas attacks..only to have Anon interfers.
After this affair, Anon gets to see Flynn and Tron ambushed by Clu and some of his guards. They are "killed" while Quorra also saw this happening. Both become fugitives in The Grid.
Now armed with the proof of what Clu has done our anonymous hero has to explore the Grid to put a stop to Clu before its too late and all the ISOs are destroyed...
Simple "classic" modern platform. Why change a successful formula?
The game is a third person action game. It even contains some racing elements.
It's basically a gameplay focused around acrobatic platforming and combat. The platforming is quite parkour-like. With some dynamic combat thrown in, plus some (light) puzzles added in the mix once or twice, it does make this game feel a lot inspired by the (more successful) Prince of Persia games to which this game seems to be riffing off.
There's no "real" threat of dying here. Once Anon dies he's simply rebooted (some platforms away).
It isn't quite the no-death occurrence of the 2008 Prince of Persia, but it's no real danger either.
Also, there's no actual energy or health bar system. It gets empty, sure. But instead of recharging itself automatically à la Halo, you have to touch/jump over special marked elements of the level to charge it again.
Not quite automatic, and better in my eyes.
It's like they wanted to base this game's mechanics around that series, maybe bringing along the success they've known recently. And force a Tron-themed world around it by using minimalistic colors, tons of grey/black gradients and flashy neons here and there.
It makes the game look a bit boring and repetitive at first. (though you'll see some better more original levels near the second half)
The game, as the second "main" Tron video game, takes a bit from Tron 2.0 along the way.
(even if nerds will tell you it isn't canon anymore, etc.)
The way viruses look like and infect stuff is taken directly from Tron 2. So does some other elements from the design and even a bit in the gameplay aspect. (doors, HUBs, sounds..)
From the gameplay mechanic however, it is only lightly inspired by the much better progression system of Tron 2.0. There's a light RPG-like system where you can buy (in exchange for space storage units you'll gaing over the game) new aptitudes or follow your upgrades/levelling. New aptitudes for Anon/the defenses, his disk/attacks and even the vehicles you'll get to play with (a sin the classic Tron arcade game, the Light Cycles and the Tanks make both a comeback). Both the singleplayer and multiplayer modes (more on that below).
But weapons are only disks (variations of disks anyway). And it's pretty simple and doesn't offer much to play with (unlike Tron 2 software-inspired system).
The objective in the game is to "derezz" enemies and follow platforming sequences. It's sort of linear (moreso on the beginning, it gets a tiny bit larger later on).
You're never really lost since at first the game will show you the way to follow with "bits" laying the way. (after that, a tap of "select" will highlight 'em again in later parts)
There's a singleplayer mode, not too short and even kinda long for this kinda game, and a multiplayer mode.
The multi is pretty generic, thrown in this only to avoid people complaining it isn't present. Pretty basic, you can play various modes online. Light Discs/Combat focused modes and vehicle modes. (both the Cycles and the Tanks)
It's all pretty basic. Deathmatches, Capture the Flags... Up to 10 people!
I only played it once or twice. It wasn't bad per say..but note fantastic either. Generic.
Speaking of which, the light cycles make a comeback as usual. But you'll only play actual races in the mutliplayer. The Solo campaign makes use of the Cycle only to flee a scene/escape enemies/follow something, etc.. There's still the energy wall created behind the bike but since you aren't actually competiting in races it won't play a part in the gameplay...
The story is decent, if you're a fan of Tron.
Kinda strange to follow if you missed the movies I'd guess...
Good news, some actors from the movie reprise their roles for the game. (such as Olivia Wilde)
The music's easily the best part of the game. Pretty similar to Tron 2.0 overall. (in tone, in tunes...)
Classic Tron in some rare occasions and pure Tron Legacy in others.
It was composed by Sascha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco and Kevin Manthei, and some music was lifted straight from Daft Punk's Tron Legacy soundtrack. (including a new exclusive track)
The score works great during the game.
Overall, it isn't perfect, far from it!
But it was fun. And one of those rare case when a licensed game isn't complete garbage...
The first half of the game is easily the worst, most repetitive, most boring part. But once you'll get the hang of it, you might even have fun with it! (particularly once you upgraded all your 4 discs and will get used to the combat system)
It gets a bit long though...
It seems like beneath this whole tie-in game, behind the deadline Disney imposed Propaganda Games to coincide with the movie, lied actually a good game. But due to restrictions (time? budget?) it got sort of rushed. Some parts of the game, while you'll be wandering around the city before the action kicks in, it seems that at some point this was a much trued to Tron 2.0 "sequel".
Perhaps the "real" game we would have gotten would have featured a free-roaming open-world city to protect?
Not linear levels, but an actual story focused Tron sequel/prequel?
Some bits here and there do hint at a much larger project...
Specially the way the story jumps at you at various points while you'll be walking around platforms, from combat-heavy zone to another, with no hint at a storyline..then, Bam! Plot happens...
This game's unrelated to the Wii/DS game Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids, which is another prequel to the new movie. Featuring a completely different story and gameplay (and visuals!).
Anyway, I woudn't recommed this game to everybody, due to it being cheap, simple, boring and repetitive.
BUT I'd suggest checking this out if you're a fan. You might even enjoy it.
I give it:
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