Day 15: Video Games on the Horizon

I'm in a bit of a lull with video games at the moment (playing Battlefield 4, DBZ: Attack of the Saiyans, and X-COM: Enemy Within only intermittenly). The future, however, has several titles that I am very much looking forward to. In an unusual move, I'm going do this in order, starting with what I'm most looking forward to:

inFamous: Second Son

PS4 - 3/21

This series was the reason I picked up a PS3 and I'm very excited for a new protagonist, a new setting, and a new range of powers. From the few videos I've seen, this looks very promising and will make me very happy (finally) to have picked up the PS4 when I did.

Want all the things!

It's an open-world superhero game, set a bit in the future of a world I've already come to love. And I'm excited to be picking up the Collector's Edition so I can add Delsin's beanie to Cole's backpack that I got from the inFamous 2 Collector's Edition. Also looking forward to the prequel DLC that shows what's happened since Cole's run.

The Wolf Among Us: Chapter 2

PC/360/PS3 - First Week of February

While I don't care for the obscure release date, I suppose it doesn't matter since I can simply download it and play as soon as it is finally out. I enjoyed the first chapter, have gotten much farther in the Fables comic series, and look forward to looking with new eyes at all the coming character interactions. THEN I look forward to doing a new run through both episodes, back to back. Which is something I'll repeat every time another episode is released...

I'm sorry, a story-driven, tactical game with VIKINGS? Take my money!

Banner Saga

PC - 1/14

Ok, this one already came out, but I just heard about it. I need to do some more research before I take the plunge on it, but it seems perfect -- a Norse setting with grid-based combat and a story telling method that seems as if it might be similar to soThe Wolf Among Us (speculation, I haven't done more than watch a teaser video, but either way the art was gorgeous.). After a bit more research (and probably waiting for an eventual sale), I think this game will hit a lot of my favorite genres. If most of them somewhat well, it's a shoe in for one of my favorite games of all time...


We'll see.

Titanfall

XOne/360/PC - 3/11

While I don't have an XOne and am unlikely to pick this up on PC, I am incredibly interested in this shooter. FPS action AND giant mechs? Infantry vs Infantry vs Piloted Robots? Yesyesyes. Only reason I want an XOne at all, to tell the truth.

I'll be watching this one with more than a little interest when it eventually launches.

Final Fantasy X/X2 HD Remaster

Vita/PS3 - 3/18

One word: Blitzball. I've missed it and wished they'd done more with it (a perfect spin-off, if you ask me), but I'll settle for replaying it on my Vita.

Always room for more Blitzball.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

PS4/XOne - 1/28

I didn't pay much attention to the previous release of the game, but after stumbling on a few videos, I think I may have made a mistake in ignoring this title (and all my friends who raved about it). I'm glad their releasing it on the PS4 now as well -- I've been a bit unhappy lately by all the games I've forgone playing until I re-purchase a PS3/360, which isn't something I plan on doing any time soon. At least this title won't be on THAT list.

Namely, I've always associated Tomb Raider games with adventure games. Several of the videos I've seen of THIS one, however, make it seem as if it has a much more action-oriented bend, and it seems to have been done very well.

Maybe more co-operative than I care for, but it could work.

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z

PS3/360/Vita - 1/28

First, this game looks like a Tenkaichi game with multiple fighters on screen at the same time. A DBZ battle royale, if you will, that should have happened
ages ago. I doubt I'll actually enjoy the game play of this title, but the concept is something I'd love to see worked on more. Also, I sincerely doubt I'll be able to fully enjoy this title on my Vita (fighting games and handhelds are NOT my preference), so it might be something I follow more than pick up, but I like the idea and could be convinced to change my mind. Maybe.


...And, eventually, the new DICE Star Wars: Battlefront that was teased at E3. No real chance to see it this year, but it's out there...

Someday.

Characters in Video Games

You though I forgot, didn't ya! ... oh, crap. It's after midnight.

Ok, fine, I forgot.

Same style as Monday, only this time we're talking about my favorite characters in video games. I realize this is probably going to be more difficult, simply because I normally play games for their stories, which does NOT always mean they have good characters -- for example, Bioshock's character is a silent protagonist who literally makes maybe one choice for himself the entire time (and even that's debatable). So... Well, here we go.

And remember, these are five of my favorites in no specific order other than the fifth slot is the best of the best.

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Cole MacGrath

inFamous 2 Cole. I've already got the bag...

(inFamous series)
Cole is a bit of a gruff hero, even when following the canonical light side path in the two games. He's on this list for three reasons:

Lightning powers are awesome, and the way he gets them is beyond interesting.

His reactions to events in the world around him are interesting, if not always unique. And he gets put through a lot of crap that would make many characters get all emotional. He just keeps zapping away, but it doesn't feel as if the game lacks emotion; it's simply fueling something more. And his drive to become stronger is a multi-faceted one that I respect, which isn't something I can say about a lot of characters.

If I ever do make it out to San Diego Comic Con, this is who I will most likely cosplay as. Word.

Yu Narukami

(Persona 4)
Ok, technically this character is only awesome because he's a composite of his relationships with the other wonderful characters in this game but, since I can't pick all of them (it's the [arbitrary] rule), I'm sticking with Yu.

He's forced to live with his uncle and cousin during the school year while his parents are away, and he is thrown into a new school, a new social climate, and a new mystery at every turn. Even though the player chooses Yu's responses, any number of them make for a slick, cool character that is in control and a focal point for the lovely supporting cast.

Maybe not my favorite looking character, but that's ok.

His family, Dojima and Nanako, is a strong bond in particular that really helps to articulate an otherwise silent character. Special note: most of his cast, while falling into an anime-style harem, is made up of some pretty badass female characters, which this list is severely lacking.

Link

Silent(ish) but deadly.

(Zelda series)
Link is the only silent protagonist I think fits on this list for me. Yes, he's quiet, but in this case it feels like he's
a man on a mission more than a stand vessel for the player's reaction. Link gets shit done like a dutiful soldier in his perpetual battle to defeat the darkness and save Zelda. Or Hyrule. Or Midna. Or...

His iconic tools also add to this character, and he was a personal favorite in the Smash Bros. games.

As a deep character, Link comes up a bit short, but not every character needs to have a psych profile hundreds of pages long. The strong silent type works for the man in green.

Minsc & Boo

Crazy made corporeal.

(Baldur's Gate series)
This is a duet because they wouldn't have it any other way. Having recently played some Baldur's Gate for the first time, I was immediately thrilled to meet Minsc & Boo. Minsc is an insane tank-style warrior. Boo is his "miniature giant space hamster" and is a plug for the craziness that can only arise in a pen and paper format.

Minsc... is another character that lacks depth. That being said, he's the most batshit insane character you never want to leave your side, which really does reflect on any good D&D group.

This is also the only example of a non-player character on this list, which is intentional -- if I was to dig
through supporting casts, you'd find a lot of Bioware characters up here, me thinks.

Darth Revan

(Knights of the Old Republic series)
If you haven't played the first KotOR game, there are MAJOR SPOILERS in the section below. You've been warned.

Darth Revan is awesome on many levels. When you first learn about him, he's a badass looking Sith master who, along with his apprentice Malak, almost took over the entire galaxy. Of course, he apparently went down in a blaze of glory when Malak betrayed him, but that's not important because, before that, Revan was able to discover dark side secrets and mysteries of the galaxy that gave him incredible power.

That you later learn that the player character IS a mind-wiped Revan, the awesome factor is kicked up to a scale of eleven. And what does the newly reminded Revan get to do? Bring some lightsaber-to-the-face revenge against his Mr. Clean looking former apprentice.

As a plus here, Revan has decently flushed out Light and Dark choices (even if the darker ones are NOT Bioware's best work), meaning the character can grow into two distinct personalities, both of which are awesome in their own right (though only the Light side is canon).

Revan as seen in The Old Republic MMO.

The Revan mythos has been expanded in comics, novels, and The Old Republic MMO. These additions generally detract a bit from the badassery of Revan, but not enough to dethrone him from the spot as my favorite video game character to date.

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So, I found an even bigger problem than I thought in doing this list! Most of the games I play are strategy games, which don't always have to have interesting characters! And the RPGs I've played, unfortunately, didn't have any standouts for me. I have a strong feeling I'll love Cloud and Sephiroth from FF7, but I haven't gotten far enough in the game yet!

I'll have to do another round of these with supporting cast, or possibly play some of the many suggestions I have for games with great characters (looking at you, Metal Gear Solid!), but for now, I'm happy with this list for the first (to-be-annual) Character Week!

Best and Worst Video Game Endings

So the academic semester has kicked off; working at a school and taking grad classes mean I'm kept fairly busy. Recent changes in the work place have also effectively doubled my work load... and there's no guarantee more changes won't occur, so if I'm posting a touch less frequently, my apologies!

I'm also trying to work on a blog related to my creative writing -- since I'm already having to write for my classes, it shouldn't take too much more of my time and, by the end of the semester, I'm really hoping to be close to finished with my first novel (well, a draft of my first novel, I suppose).

That being said, I'm here to talk about some of my favorite video game endings. As a bonus, I'll post my top three least favorite.

The trick to this is that I've actually had to FINISH the game, which is not something I always do...

Oh, and in case you were wondering... HOLY SPOILERS, BATMAN!

The Good

Red Dead Redemption I'm a fan of Westerns and found that Red Dead Redemption was an amazing homage (or addition) to the genre. The ending fits in very well: our hero, John Marston, goes through heaps of trouble to save his family. He succeeds  only to be killed in an epic shoot out (very Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) by the government men he'd been working with. He manages to save his family one last time and, like any good western, it doesn't end all rosy. Then we even get a nice epilogue mission set a few years later, in which we play his son getting revenge, which, besides allowing the game to continue indefinitely, gives a good amount of satisfaction when you finally hunt down the man responsible for John's death.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Being a Bioware game, there are of course multiple endings. The canon one is the light side story (shocker!). A climactic final battle with Darth Malak (for the fate of Bastila) rounds out a wonderful game. Due to the history you learn, the fight feels that much more climactic, and at the end there's even an award celebration (similar to the end of A New Hope). It's got a nice Star Wars feel and you feel as if your time with your companions amounted to something. There's a sense of accomplishment some games leave you without...
inFamous I saved inFamous for last because, while the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, I really enjoyed the way the story comes to a close: you find out that Kessler is actually you -- Cole's powers evolve so much that he's actually able to travel back in time to try and prevent the Beast from destroying everything. The fact that Kessler put Cole through so much is amplified by the fact that it's all preparation so that things don't end the same way. And the way it is unveiled  as a complete surprise during one of the artsy comic book cut scenes was perfect. It's dark and deals with an interesting time travel twist -- that has my name all over it.

... I had a really hard time completing this part. There are a lot more games who have endings I enjoyed, so I distilled this into games that I really enjoyed, were different, and had relatively unique endings. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker JUST missed this list, simply because of the moment where you get to plant a sword in Ganon's head... Maybe I'll do a boss battle in the future.

Now, for my least favorite endings. These aren't necessarily bad games (I DID play to the end), but the resolution just wasn't worth the effort.

The Bad

Mass Effect 3 I can't imagine anyone would argue with me about this one, but for those that do, my reasoning is thus: You play three long games, cover a lot of ground both in the universe and with your many relationships, and all you are rewarded with is an array of endings (three, to be exact) that are NOT that much different at all (even though you could play the games VERY differently) and, worst of all, didn't even bother to give you an information as to what happens to your companions or, really, the universe at all. And then wrapping it all up as a story being passed from grandfather to grandson was just cheesy. Three games. TONS of choices you can make, and in the end they really didn't matter. That's an issue I actually had with the series, in the end, but it is especially felt at the end of the third game. I've seen people praising them doing something unexpected... but it would need to be a much higher quality to satisfy the thirst they built.
Bioshock I loved this game, the story, and the major unviel that Atlas and Ryan are the same person. The game really should have ended there. That it didn't was its first mistake, and pretty much everything post that continued to detract. It wasn't terrible, per se, but sometimes you just need to know when it's over, when you've reached your peak. The foolish final boss and ending cutscenes weren't worth it, in the end.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords This is another popular one to be despised. Similar to the first one, you have a sweeping story with multiple interesting characters that you develop relationships with over the course of the game. The scope is a bit less sweeping than the first, but that's ok -- the characters are a bit more interesting to compensate. Until the ending, that is. You fight with Kreia, who's been your mentor/guide for the game, because she turns out to be the last Sith lord. The fighting is nowhere near as interesting as the fight with Malak, but that's not even the worst. By way of closure, Kreia narrates the future of your companions before she dies. It's all text, no scenes thrown in to underline the events to come. Then Kreia dies and it's over... As a writer, I really can't support any medium that "tells" instead of "shows" important story elements, much less a visual medium such as a video game.

This wasn't as difficult, though I am pretty lenient with any game I was compelled to beat.

I have some comics I'd like to rush through in a brief Pull List Review (assuming I find the time), and maybe I'll do some favorite movie/novel endings soon too.

Also, I'd love to hear your favorite and least favorite endings in the comment section!

Lies!

Apparently, I have already finished the evil inFamous 1 playthrough, so I'll be skipping to 2, then go back and make both games my first platinum! I won't replay the evil story because I don't particularly enjoy it, I think Cole makes a much better hero.

Also, I changed the blog layout (finally). I don't love it, but it is Spider-Man and will do for now until I finish some custom images and can go on from there.

So, next time, comics. Seriously.

Now Playing, Opinions Included

Here's my now playing list as it stands:

360
Ghost Recon Future Soldier: I've never really been a fan of third person shooters, but with the advent of Starhawk and, now, Ghost Recon, I'm finding them to actually be enjoyable. I've only just started, but the mutliplayer can be tense and exciting (with a good team) or frustration (with no team communication). The game modes are lacking in my opinion, but I think I just want to see something different from shooters these days. The short time I spent in the campaign has me interested, which almost NEVER happens.

Deadly Premonition: Picked this up when I heard it was similar to Twin Peaks. Only played for an hour or so, but I can see this will be a game I enjoy. I think I might shelve it until I've finished Twin Peaks, though. The stories aren't related, I just don't want to over-saturate myself in the genre, that always burns me out.

Mortal Kombat: Played this for a couple days and was pleasantly surprised. I don't care for the online, but the story mode is easily the best story mode I've ever seen in a fighting game. DBZ games should take notes!

PS3
inFamous 1 (then 2): This is my favorite PS3 series. I actually haven't started playing them again yet, but I will. I got rid of Starhawk -- I enjoyed it, just don't enjoy PSN community and prefer single player games on PS3. inFamous 1 is my preference out of these 2, but I enjoy both of them and look forward to finally completing evil characters. Also, I wonder if 2 has gotten any interesting user created content...

3DS
Lent it to my brother who came to NY to help us move to our temporary apartment while ours is renovated. Was playing Chrono Trigger, but feel I need to focus more on that game than I am willing to at the moment.

Vita
Final Fantasy Tactics: Started again. God, I love this game. Strategy RPGs are my favorite genre, hands down, and this one holds a special place in my heart.

I also am considering picking up Mortal Kombat if I find it cheap. I enjoyed it enough on 360 and would like to finally own a Vita game...

PC
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Haven't been playing much. I enjoy it but, after guild drama, became guild leader. This caused undue stress when I wasn't looking for it. Mainly, it's an issue because we are on an unpopulated server with no room for growth, and playing with new/interesting people really fuels this game. There simply isn't enough varied content to keep me coming back without a decent crowd. For now this is on the back burner, though I will continue to play here and there.

Disciples 2: Enjoying this, but it is difficult and I find my time is spread a touch too thin to devote myself to it.

Board Game
Risk: I love Risk. I need to find people to play with around be, but don't have friends here in NY. In my senior year of college, I played almost every night with my MA friends. I also won every night but one, though that was due to Brandon back stabbing me and breaking our treaty. I'll never forget, Brandon! Main reason I want to play now is because I've picked up a Risk: Legacy board and it is an amazing concept but benefits most from a repeat group of players. The board is actively customized after each playthrough and that excited me more than I can say.



Next update will probably be comic oriented -- planning on picking up my Pull List this weekend. These updates tend to be far and few between due to my Comic Book store being in Jersey (shout out to Joker's Child), which is a bit far (have to go over the Tap and pay the toll...) to visit often/regularly. That being said, next comic post will focus on:

What's on my pull list and why.
What collections I have/am working on.
Why my favorite characters are my favorites.

Until then!