Andrew Passafiume

Rock Band 3

October 31, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

You would think after so many years of music games, the genre would be practically dead at this point. But time and time again Harmonix has proven that they know what they are doing when it comes to this genre, and Rock Band 3 is definitely no different. Taking everything great from Rock Band 2 and The Beatles: Rock Band, improving upon it, and also adding plenty of new features, I can honestly see this being the last main game in the series. It is also easily the best. 

The career mode has been changed for the better. There is a career in the strict sense of the term, giving you road challenges to play and complete, each one taking you to new locations as your band rises to the top. There are also plenty of goals to complete, but those are far from the stopping point. Everything you do in the game, assuming you are signed into your profile, goes towards your career goals as you earn fans for each song you play, which is probably one of the best changes made in Rock Band 3.

The majority of the song choices exemplify the band experience that Harmonix has had down for years. The game still plays exactly like you would expect it to. Guitar, drums, and vocals in their most basic form have generally remained the same, but this is far from a bad thing. If you just go into Rock Band 3 only wanting more Rock Band, you’ll still be in for some amazing stuff. 

There are two major additions to this game, both of which change things for the better. The first is a new instrument: the keyboard. Not only is the controller itself very well designed, it adds a whole new level of enjoyment to the songs and is very accessible for those who have never played a Rock Band or Guitar Hero game before. The track list features plenty of songs that work perfectly to show off just how fun playing keyboard can be. 

The second big addition is Pro Mode, which brings this game to a whole new level. You get pro guitar, pro drums, and pro keyboard, and when set on the highest difficulty are just like playing the actual instruments. Pro drums (with the right attachments) is usable for all songs, including the expansive back catalog of exported songs and DLC, but both pro guitar and pro keys are only for songs in Rock Band 3 and DLC released this point forward.

Every single instrument, the basic instruments and pro mode, include their own tutorials that teach you what you need to know to learn how to play. Although you won’t learn how to play keyboard or guitar from them, you will learn enough of the basics that will get you started on playing and truly appreciating each song. 

While I never had a chance to try out the pro guitar stuff, with the keyboard you are pretty much playing the songs exactly as they would be played. The pro mode is probably the most challenging thing found in any music game, but when you get it down it is also the most rewarding. Being able to play the keyboard parts in your favorite songs on pro mode is one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve ever had playing a game. 

Vocals have also received some changes, adding the vocal harmonies option taken from The Beatles: Rock Band. You can have up to three people singing a song at once, and it, like the keyboard, really helps bring in people who aren’t very familiar with the genre and get them into the music. 

Also improved is the menu system, which is incredibly streamlined and user friendly. Each player has their own pause menu, and through it you can change instruments, difficulty, settings, turn on modifiers, and even swap profiles on the fly. It also lets anyone jump in and out of songs at any time, something that was first shown in Guitar Hero 5, but is truly perfected here.

Harmonix has also nailed the presentation of the game. Not only is the sound quality top notch, as expected, the actual characters themselves look even more lively than they did before. During your career, there will be different scenes that play showing your band’s rise to fame, which are all very entertaining. The character customization is improved as well, giving you plenty of new options and ways to create your very own rocker. 

Rock Band 3 is a groundbreaking success and easily the best music game I have ever played. I honestly cannot see Harmonix topping themselves after this. It really signifies the fact that this is much more than a game, it is a platform, a point the team has been trying to get across since day one. Well Harmonix, bravo, you’ve finally done it. 

Pros: Excellent track list; pro mode adds a lot of depth to the game; the keyboard controller is well designed and is a lot of fun to use; great streamlined menu system and career mode; amazing presentation

Cons: Absolutely nothing

 

Dead Space: Ignition

October 17, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Dead Space: Ignition is a downloadable prequel to Dead Space 2, taking place right before the events of that game and showing what happens to the spaceship that protagonist Isaac Clark is sent to investigate. This prequel is created purely for the story, and is almost an interactive comic with a “choose your own adventure” style of storytelling. It’s a shame that the actual game is full of tedium and frustration. 

Let’s start with the presentation, which is, at best, pretty poor. The comic-book style looks awful, and the “animation” does not look proper at all. Sure, it’s a motion comic, but the terrible look of the characters does not work well with how everything moves. The voice acting is equally as bad, with cringe-inducing performances that really take you out of the “horror” experience. The story itself is decent, but the “branching paths” don’t offer anything new or interesting from one another.

The gameplay is a collection of three hacking minigames, none of which are at all compelling or well-designed. They feel more like chores than anything else. If I were an actual engineer on this ship and playing these minigames (or performing these hacks) was my job, I probably would have quit after the first day.

The first minigame is “Trace Route,” which has you guiding an electrical signal through a fast moving obstacle course. It’s almost like a race as you try to get to the end before the other signals do. You have access to power-ups as well, some that speed you up and others that slow down your “opponents,” but most of them are never worth using. The game itself controls rather sluggishly; you never feel like you have precise control, which leads to plenty of frustration, especially considering how fast it all moves.

“System Override” is the second minigame, and it is the worst of the three. It’s not at all challenging or fun to play. Think of it as a reverse tower defense game, as you are sending out viruses to destroy the protective anti-viruses and get them from one end of the grid to the other. You have four different “unit” types, but there is absolutely no strategy involved. I found myself spamming two very specific units until I won, and I usually did without much trouble.

The final, and best, minigame is “Hardware Crack.” This one is definitely the most traditional of the three and feels like an actual puzzle. You have two (sometimes three) different colored lasers and you redirect these various lasers into their respective exit points before the time runs out. It can be challenging, but like the other two, it’s pretty dull and never actually gets that interesting. Once you get to the later puzzles, you just stop caring altogether.

This downloadable prequel is only $5, but even that price is too high. You get some unlockables for Dead Space 2, including a new suit for Isaac, after you finish the game, but they are just not worth the frustration. Even if you are the world’s biggest Dead Space fan, it’s hard to recommend this poorly-designed mess of a game.

Pros: Decent story

Cons: Awful presentation; none of the mini-games are compelling, only frustrating or boring

 

New Game+: The benefits of DLC

October 12, 2010

Features / New Game+ / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

With the announcement of Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, there was a huge uprising in the interest of downloadable prequels (or sequels) to upcoming games. Later on, THQ announced one for the upcoming Red Faction game, and EA was soon to follow with a game that pre-dated Dead Space 2. The promise of additional content for the full game was enticing enough, although some claimed that these were simple marketing ploys to get people to pay for what were essentially demos. 

The release of Dead Rising 2: Case Zero was a huge success for Capcom, leading up to the announcement of Dead Rising 2: Case West that would be released soon after the full game. With the right price point of $5, it was hard not to be interested in Case Zero. It gave the player a taste of what to expect with Dead Rising 2, a little background on the two main characters, and a chance to find out if the Dead Rising experience was right for them.

I completely find the claims, at least in the defense of Case Zero, that these are glorified demos to be completely wrong. The basis of these products can be described as a demo, sure, but it more or less gives the player more of a background on the story of the full game more so than any demo might, and feels more like a full product. Plus, the ability to transfer your character’s level to Dead Rising 2 is a nice addition, offering something else you will never get from a demo.

These products, if priced correctly, show a new way to approach downloadable content. They offer a full product at a small price that can connect with an upcoming, high profile release. They allow the player to get the basic experience of a demo, but with situations that won’t be found in the main game. It’s not a product you will find yourself playing again, but it’s not one that needs to convince the player otherwise.

DLC is often used to expand upon a game after its initial release, either offering improvements or just giving the player more to do. Allowing the player to enter this world (in one way or another) before the game is out and giving them extra incentive to do so is one way developers can reach out to their communities and find problems before it is too late. 

With the right ideas in mind and the right initiative to deliver a quality product, these low price, easy to access game prequels can really expand upon a game in more ways than ever before. This is a good thing for the industry and, if not abused, can lead to many new and creative ways to deliver quality content for fans of particular series. Demos can often be misleading, but these products allow the developers to give us a different experience that satisfies our need to enjoy a particular game or series while also rewarding us just for being fans. 

It may seem like a minuscule idea, but it is one that can further expand the use of downloadable content in our industry for the better. 

Atelier Rorona

October 12, 2010

PS3 / Reviews / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The Atelier series first gained a cult following here in the States with Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana on the PS2. Six games later (including Mana Khemia 1 & 2), we have Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland. This game, like the Atelier games before it, features a heavy emphasis on alchemy. This game is less about exploring a traditional RPG game setting (although there is some of that) and more about character interactions, creating things through alchemy, and completing jobs in a timely fashion. 

Atelier Rorona starts off with young Rorolina Frixell (Rorona for short), the apprentice of a master alchemist named Astrid in the land of Arland. They own a little alchemy shop that is soon passed down to Rorona. Also, one day, a knight of Arland, shows up to tell Rorona that the shop will be closed unless she can complete twelve assignments for the King. The story is fairly basic and there are no big surprises: the villains are obvious and the heroes are generally likeable.

The characters are very charming though, and they all stand out from your typical Japanese RPG tropes. Rorona herself is definitely an unlikely lead character, but she manages to play her role just fine. While the characters themselves are good, the English voice acting is not always as enjoyable. Some VAs are flat-out unbearable, while others are pretty nice. Luckily, the game provides the option to turn on the original Japanese voice acting, which is nice to see.

Aside from some problems with the voice acting, Atelier Rorona’s presentation is great. The game looks very gorgeous with a nice art style, and the music ranges from relaxing to incredibly catchy. The game can also be rather funny, which ties into the very charming cast of characters mentioned above. Despite the forgettable story, this game has a lot going for it.

The gameplay itself can be very hit or miss. At times, I found it quite addictive, playing for hours in a single sitting. Other times, I couldn’t wait to get back to the save point to stop after a frustrating hour of tedious grinding and annoying quests. The times when it works, which is generally during the very intuitive alchemy sections or the character interactions, you can easily see yourself looking past the flaws. But on the other hand, you will often find yourself bored of some of the things you need to do.

There is plenty to do in the game, so there is a nice variety available. Aside from the alchemy and social aspects mentioned above, you also can accept quests to gather certain items to help raise money and your popularity in the town (which brings in more quests, characters, and money in the long run). These quests are separate from the main assignments and are a lot easier to do, if not a bit more tedious.

Some of these quests involve creating things with alchemy (or just buying/gathering a certain number of items). Sometimes you need to go out of the city to explore and gather new materials, which is where the game falls into the traditional turn-based RPG gameplay style. You have a party of three characters (whom you can invite or remove from your party at any time) to go with you to defeat monsters and gather items. It can be fun, but you often find yourself exploring many of the same areas and fighting many of the same monsters. It can get pretty dull very quickly.

The last thing worth mentioning is that everything in the game is timed. Each assignment has to be completed on time, as do each quest. At first you will feel compelled to try and do every quest possible, but after a while you learn that you need to do only the ones you can in a timely matter while also trying to finish the major assignments. It gives you plenty to do at the very least. It’s a shame most of the quests repeat themselves very often.

This game definitely stands out from a lot of others, but sometimes the distinctness of it can lead to tedium. It is, at its best, incredibly charming and humorous with some very addictive gameplay elements, but a lot of that is bogged down by some very boring quests and plenty of unnecessary grinding. Still, it’s a solid game that has a lot to offer. If you’re looking for a lengthy adventure with something new to offer, or you are a fan of the series, Atelier Rorona might be the game for you. 

Pros: Gorgeous presentation with enjoyable music; very charming characters; addictive gameplay with plenty to do

Cons: Some of the English VA is awful; item gathering and quest completing can get tedious pretty quickly

 

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

October 4, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Taking the formula found in previous Spider-Man games into an entirely different direction, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is probably the most intriguing game in the web slinger’s series of games so far. A lot of the latest games involving him have featured a very prominent sandbox formula and plenty of side quests, but developer Beenox has decided to try something new. It doesn’t work all of the time, but when it does, it’s great stuff.

As expected, the story of Shattered Dimensions is not a compelling one. It follows the original Amazing Spider-Man as he is trying to stop the villain Mysterio from stealing an ancient tablet full of mysterious powers. The tablet gets shattered and somehow spread across multiple dimensions, with each one featuring its own version of Spider-Man. Soon enough, you find yourself playing as four different Spider-Men as you face a cavalcade of villains from the superhero’s past. 

The game has a unique style to it, with each of the four dimensions looking slightly different. It’s a good looking game, although there are some problems in the sound department. The voice acting itself is fine, but you often hear many of the same lines from both the different Spider-Men and from the villains you face repeated ad nauseum. It can get very old very fast. Aside from that, the presentation is great.

The overall structure of the game involves you selecting from one of four levels, each from one of the different Spider-Men and each one featuring a different villain. The four dimensions are: Amazing Spider-Man, Noir Spider-Man, 2099 Spider-Man, and Ultimate Spider-Man. Each would appear very different, but it isn’t long before you realize that they all are fairly similar in structure despite some differences.

The combat for all for is generally the same, with a few specific moves and abilities that are unique to each Spider-Man. Ultimate Spider-Man can enter rage mode, 2099 Spider-Man can slow down time, etc. The controls are solid for combat and for web swinging, and the combat is fast paced and enjoyable. The camera can be pretty problematic during certain sections, but it is much better than expected.

Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man are the two that are the closest in terms of general structure. They both play generally the same, despite a few small differences, and they are pretty solid overall. There are a few annoying quirks in each, but both feature strong gameplay and fun boss fights (for the most part). 

2099 Spider-Man is where the game falls apart. The combat is the same, aside from the time slowing ability (which is generally pointless and never worth using), but the structure of these levels is poor. None of the levels are fun, the bosses are always a pain to fight, and the free falling sections are awfully executed. This is where the game’s biggest flaws are exposed and they could have done better without this dimension at all. It looks cool, but it plays poorly.

On the other hand, the game truly shines during the Noir Spider-Man levels. These levels are unique because they focus heavily on stealth gameplay. And this is good stealth gameplay I’m talking about, with levels that are reminiscent of last year’s excellent Batman: Arkham Asylum. Sure, they offer less freedom, but they prove that Spider-Man and stealth is an excellent combination. These levels also feature the best boss battles, each one better than the last. 

Speaking of boss battles, they are generally good in three of the four dimensions. You do end up fighting the bosses two (or sometimes three) times during the course of a level, but they never overstay their welcome. Aside from the 2099 bosses, each boss is pretty unique and usually the highlight of the game. There is one small drawback though: some bosses feature a first person fighting section in which you use the two analog sticks to control your punches. It feels poorly implemented and just plain pointless. It never offers any challenge or reward, and these sections could have been taken out of the game entirely.

As a whole, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is a pretty fun game, but it really could have used some major improvements. 1/4th of the experience is tampered down by poor mechanics and terrible level design, so that alone really brings the entire game from “great” to “pretty decent.” This is a fun rental if you’re a huge Spider-Man fan, but everyone else should just pick up 2008’s Spider-Man: Web of Shadows instead for a much more enjoyable experience. 

Final thoughts? Noir Spider-Man needs his own game. 

Pros: Noir Spider-Man levels are amazing; solid controls and fighting mechanics; some really fun boss battles; plenty of ways to upgrade the different Spider-Man

Cons: Problematic camera; 2099 Spider-Man levels are underwhelming at best, convoluted at worst; first person fights are lame; voice clips tend to repeat way too often

 

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