A mature blending of anime and gaming in the curvaceous Catherine
Catherine blends awesome animation, addictive and challenging puzzles with conversation trees that will determine the outcome for poor old Vincent. Known more for their niche and hardcore RPG’s it’s great to see publisher Atlus putting out a true, next-gen, HD title that is so different and rewarding. Anime fans will be craving a games free version of the haunting tale while gamers will spend hours solving similar puzzles with new and deadly twists. So what’s this love triangle of Vincent, Catherin and Katherine all about? Let’s take a look.
Gameplay – One game and story with three distinct presentations. Vincent is a 32 year old not really sure where he’s going with pressure from his girlfriend Katherine to marry and a chance encounter and relationship with the young, vibrant and seductive Catherine. On top of these relationships and issues Vincent is losing sleep as his dreams are haunted with puzzles, towers he must scale before the bottom drops out and he … well what’s next he has no desire to find out. He chats about both of these issues with his buddies and friends at the Stray Sheep bar where he engages in various conversations with different choices to pick and can even send email and text messages to change relationships. Life is not easy for Vincent and he’s also wondering what the recent rash of male deaths in their sleep is about, does it relate to the odd dreams with sheep and puzzles he keeps encountering?
So the tale is about Vincent and he has three types of gameplay, well two really. First are the very nice animated story sequences that deserve their own DVD treatment while there are large conversation pieces where the choices made determine the story outcome, the morality scale means good or bad choices. The final and meatiest piece of gameplay are the puzzle sequences where Vincent must climb. These are challenging but lack true variety in appearance. It’s a lot of trial and error mixed with some skill so expect frustration. It’s a mix of three very different experiences that works as weaved around Vincent and his ladies. One note is on the puzzles the controls and camera can get very annoying but it just takes a bit getting used to … just hate dying so much while learning.
Graphics – The in-game graphics, conversation pieces are polished and solid but not spectacular. Motions are robotic and the overall feel is just a bit off. This is the polar opposite of the gorgeous animation sequences that move the story along and will drive gamers to solve puzzles to see what’s next. Each character comes to life and these sequences make the connection with Vincent and the preferred lovely lady all the easier to establish. The puzzle sequences are well done but can’t be admired in any sense as gamers will be frantically trying to climb to avoid falling so pause to check out the detail, it’s quit good and Vincent’s character sports decent detail down to his boxers.
Sound – The soundtrack is a mixing of almost house tunes and remixed classical pieces (included CD is ok, not great, just ok). As gamers work to solve the puzzles the music will blend into the background so it’s not a huge loss but those few quirky tunes will stand out. The voice work is great as there are some very recognizable gaming and anime talents at work here (official site will clue in names, check it out). Each primary and secondary character deliver their roles spot on with the right levels of enthusiasm, sarcasm, experience, anger and rage. It’s quite tasty especially as the story and situations escalate but some of the best lines have to be from the sheep … you’ll see.
Design – The mixing of three unique experiences works and does so very well. Telling a story via text based choices, animated scenes and challenging puzzles is quite an accomplishment as it’s not just a puzzle or text game or anime for that matter it’s a mixing of three. The puzzles are brutal in their challenge so gamers really need to pay attention to conversations and tips to advance. It’s like a hardcore workout where the puzzles get gamers pulse up and sweat going while they then cool down a bit during the conversation, relax with the anime then ramp back up in the puzzles again. Well designed indeed, unlike Vincent’s love life.
Miscellaneous – The bonus content is to die for. Soundtrack, boxers and that pillow case, good luck explaining that to your wife or girlfriend (or boyfriend, wait he won’t mind).
Overall Catherine is a unique gaming experience that anime fans should dig for its slick content and story as well as accessible puzzles while gamers will enjoy the frosted side of a challenging puzzler with mature content, an adult story. It’s quite a mixture and fun to play, only question is which C(K)atherine would you choose?
A new app that helps fans aggregate the best of their Facebook feeds, but is it any good?
Many gamers and anime fans follow their favorite series and games on Facebook from Angry Birds to Deus Ex: Human Revolution to Bleach but while content is always ever flowing from publishers into Facebook how can fans keep up? One answer looks to be Alert; an app available on iPhone that takes content from Facebook and puts forth that user’s content, non friend content, into an easy to use and digest feed. Why should Facebook users, gamers and otaku alike, look to use another app when they have Facebook? Let’s take a look at what makes Alert special. (Please note this app was brought to my attention by an acquaintance from the creative company behind Alert to which I’m looking to see how practical it is to my interest.)
What is Alert? Without repeating the websites or App Store, it’s an app that pulls users Facebook content into a new interface. There are four tabs/pages.
News – List of top trending and most recent post from pages users like, have interest in. Similar to the feeds being sorted on Facebook where users can like and comment on content. This looks and feels very much like Facebook but being able to sort by categories, and create categories starts to show the potential. Gamers could create genre of games they follow, or blogs on games they follow while anime fans can group their favorite series and pages on Facebook. This layout and flexibility is worth the price of admission for Facebook users tracking the latest on a Facebook heavy content such as an Angry Birds or a game running a contest. Full of potential, yes, but only limited by how creative the user can get.
Events – A list of weekly, monthly and future events for users likes? Very nice especially for conventions as Alert shows the dates, times locations and of course offers the options to add to calendar and check out location on maps. Sometimes the best events happen and users have no idea, this helps to correct that and will make users start to narrow their focus on upcoming events. Real bonus is that it urges content providers, companies, to really promote their content on Facebook knowing that Alert is going to, well alert their fans.
Menu (Table of Contents) – A fairly quick and easy way to search for content on Facebook and add it as a ‘like’ to the users Facebook page. The tab is called Menu but it’s more a Table of Contents of the users information. Users can create a new page list (category mentioned earlier) and add pages. The search works well and the summary page of search results looks great and is easy to navigate. A nice feature is the ability to click on a link and be taken to that link within the Alert interface with the option to jump into Safari if desired. Love this feature as clicking on links on iPhone can be a pain when it just opens Safari on its own. Once a page is liked users can then view photos and video content in this area also. Deleting is done via the tried and true hold down finger on icon-click X to remove, so familiar and friendly also.
Account – Final and most boring tab as it contains a tutorial (use it) and ability to send feedback.
Bottom Line for Gamers – Games are a mainstay on smart phones with a large Facebook presence and consoles titles have moved the same direction. There are always contest and games going on, local events, fan sites and more on Facebook so for gamers to clean the clutter (friends content) seen in the tradition Facebook interface, well Alert shows it’s true potential here. Game videos, images, updates and news all sorted and easy to access with events also shown, it’s pretty solid and when the potential for exclusive content exist then the gamers will flock. This last piece is more a suggestion at this time as we’ve not observed exclusive gaming content but when looking at the landscape of exclusive and free content on Facebook now as well as content for pre-orders of games, well the imagination can run wild with what publishers could offer via Alert. It’s free and if gamers have liked all their favorites then it makes sense to download Alert and see how it gathers their content.
Bottom Line for Anime fans – Very much in the same arena as gamers, the anime fan can gather all their favorite content and keep updated on new content from their favorite pages. Replace the word ‘game’ with ‘anime’ and the bottom line for anime fans is the same as for gamers. It’s a chance to pull all the most recent content into one easy to use interface, but what else? Ah, a word to the …
A word to publishers/developers – These groups have embraced Facebook as most main games, anime, publishers and creators have their own Facebook page and serve up content along with news, images and videos. The field is crowded as ever so if a fan of say, Naruto, looks at their iPhone to read the latest news on Naruto there is a very good chance it’s buried under their friends post or their favorite music. Alert looks to, looks to, solve this by pulling this content and adding the categorization of content but it’s the exclusive content mentioned the Alert site that could really shine here. From the Alert site;
“Be first to get news, events and exclusives from your favorite brands. Then share in real-time back to Facebook.”
Publishers could promote an event and reward Alert users, die-hard fans, they could engage a more engaged audience tracking their content to get the word out. Download codes for episodes, avatar items and more could be offered to the first ‘x’ amount of replies. See this is where alert can become all that more valuable to both publishers, companies and their loyal fans.
Overall Alert is an app worth downloading for Facebook users with a decent ‘like’ list. The potential for more is there on the exclusive front but for now it really does do a good job of pulling in the content the user likes in easy to digest portions. As a gamer and otaku, Alert offers me the chance to stay on top of my uncluttered news and info from Facebook. I like it and see no reason others should not give it a try … and provide feedback, make this app evolve to serve you.
An old-school feeling action-RPG that lets gamers get in and play and do so with easy … gotta love Dungeon Siege III
The gap between action-RPG’s on PC vs. console has closed, not just gotten closer but closed. Want proof? Look no further than Dungeon Siege III from Square Enix and gamers will find a game as deep, engaging and fun ad any Diablo wanna-be, which DSIII is not (a wanna-be folks). The game is fun, easy to engage in and deep with hours of time just waiting to be spent. So what’s the hook, why is Dungeon Siege III so much fun not to mention a joy to play? Let’s take a look.
Gameplay – The more classic dungeon crawling action-RPG fare hits consoles and does so wonderfully. Gamers are provided with a choice of four heroes in the initial story each with their own tale tied around the restoration of the kingdom of Ehb. Actions in gameplay and conversations will impact the overall story arc but it is the action that shines. The action is third-person and ranges from castle and town battles to dungeons (thus the title folks). Fight solo or with up to three friends in online co-op while completing the story in two-player co-op in local mode. Dropping in and out of battle is very arcade reminiscent as the second player can do just that, drop in. The action is driven by the story but it’s enough to move the gamer along in killing many baddies. It’s a hack-n-slash adventure and pure fun to play with hordes of enemies swarming and bright and vivid special attacks and spells going off from a very customizable character.
It’s an action-RPG that takes place from a third-person perspective where gamers can customize their chosen character from arms to armor while tacking the main story, playing with friends and taking on a slew of side-quests. The multiplayer is fun but limiting in one main area; no co-op with same class characters so if jumping in with a buddy be ready to roll as Robin instead of bashing as Batman.
Graphics – Zooming in reveals a surprising amount of detail and each main character sports a unique look. Weapons are unique; the environment is solid with little details thrown in. The animations are smooth and the effects eye popping and pretty, yes pretty. The game looks and plays smooth but it’s not setting new standards in realism as its main goal, being an action-RPG is to take the formula Diablo rocked and make it look better, crisper, sharper and Dungeon Siege does this in spades.
Sound – If it’s got Square Enix on the cover then there’s a good chance the music is solid and so it is here. The background music fits the mood and sounds great and it’s evened out by a cast of less than enthusiastic voice actors. Not bad by any stretch but not fully engaged which is a shame given the dearth of talent doing games, anime, etc these days.
Design – Almost cookie cutter in the single-player campaign with levels to complete, quest to undertake and weapons to customize. The multi-player, online as well as co-op, add variety but there is nothing amazing or new in this overall package. A well designed game that will hook the gamer with its’ addictive and easy to get into gameplay which is an accomplishment in the every evolving, more complicated landscape of console gaming.
Miscellaneous – Ease of use; what this means is how accessible Dungeon Siege III is in that gamers can jump right in with minimal tutorials and ramp up time. Get to hacking and slashing in no time and it’s a ton of fun. Not the best game in any one category but one that captures what gaming is about and that’s the joy of playing.
Overall Dungeon Siege III offers up a very satisfying dungeon crawling action-RPG experience that PC gamers are spoiled with. The sound is solid, controls responsive and overall experience is a lot of fun and when a friend jumps in, all the better. Bottom line is unless you’re a franchise fanatic give this a rental first as the re-playability only goes so far as doing same story with new characters and playing with buddies.
Let the retro 3DS craze begin with two classics, Pac-Man and Galaga
Another collection of old arcade games? Another collection or revamped arcade games? Well, yes on both fronts but worth the price of admission people as Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions on Nintendo 3DS is all that’s great about both titles where the new truly outshine the old and some 3D is thrown in for good measure. It’s a trip down memory lane that shows just how far these titles have come from their first table top adventures. Gamers of all ages, get ready for a trip down memory lane and a trip to create your memory lane.
Gameplay – Six games, two newer and more unique with four showing the original and recent iterations of these two franchises. First is Pac-Man with three flavors from Tilt which is more a platformer where gamers tilt the 3DS to change the game, advance our chomping hero in an almost Sonic manner while Championship Edition shows off the recent revamp available for download and finally there’s the original coin-op version. All three are unique with the best easily being Championship Edition. Tilt is by far the biggest departure from the franchises origins.
Second is Galaga with its 3D tilting, targeting, shooting (first-person-ish) 3D Impact which just feels way to odd and off for this gamers enjoyment. The original Galaga shows its age with waves of aliens attacking while Legions is such a great an fresh take offering gamers a more free reign of movement and lasers firing all different directions. It’s more like an update to Asteroids than to Galaga but the waves of enemies brings it back to its roots.
Graphics – Let’s start at the beginning. The originals have never looked so old and slow due in large part to the layout of the screen, its size and positioning. They are spot on what they were in the past but still dated. Both Tilt and 3D Impact look solid with expected more to date graphics but the thoughts and images of both Sonic and Starfox kept coming to mind. The middle children again take the cake as Championship Edition for Pac-Man looks and plays great with tons of great on-screen effect while Legions is just as impressive looking a visual fest. The entire package of games runs the gamut of looks so it’s a mixed bag overall.
Sound – From old to new, the signature sounds are all accounted for and updated in later titles. These are the sounds, the music and effects, which will bring back so many memories.
Design – Tilt and 3D Impact being the new kids are more tech demos for what the 3DS can do and, while fun, take a bit getting used to. For portable games just a bit too much moving needed. The originals suffer from constrained screen space so poor design choice there but the middle children, now they look good. Legions and Championship Edition are the two titles that make this cart worth purchase and play outstanding on the 3DS.
Miscellaneous – Seeing such three very different ages of the same game is a nice history lesson in game development and design. From the originals to their revamps to new 3D targeted adventures it’s amazing to see how such iconic games change over time yet remain true to their roots.
Overall Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions make this 3DS cart a must-buy. The original games pale to the updates while the 3DS targeted Tilt and 3D Impact are fun but overall not as addictive. A solid outing from Namco Bandai but if only 1 more game could have been squeezed in, and then we’re talking.
Own a 3DS? Like sports games? Go now and get Dual Pen Sports.
Dual Pen Sports is a nice fit on the Nintendo 3DS with its mixture of quick to play games, variety of game types and use of the 3D features in the system. It comes with two stylus but note only one can touch the screen at a time so gamers may prefer to stick with one as this gets the job done in most of the sports. So how well does this new sports outing perform and why should fans of both quick to play sports games and Nintendo’s handheld pickup a copy, well, let’s take a look.
Gameplay – Create an avatar, pick it’s outfit then get to competing in touch screen sporting events where score and accuracy count and the competition gets tougher as you go. Events range in variety from Rank match to Score Try (a daily event and practice mode) and multi-player using the local play functionality. Soccer, archery, baseball, boxing and skiing shine while parachuting and basketball get a bit frustrating but player choices will vary. With daily challenges and quick gameplay there is much for gamers to enjoy.
Graphics – Gamers have a limited number of options when designing their avatar but as they proceed in-game more costumes, outfits and rewards are unlocked making characters unique in look and feel. Being a 3DS game the third dimension aspects vary from event to event and do enhance gameplay but not by much as turning 3D off takes nothing away and actually makes it easier to hit goals in some instances. The depth in the archery game for instance is neat at first but unneeded as gamers get more serious about reaching goals. The look reminds very much of Wii Sports and it’s on this audience for whom this game was designed, in both look and feel. No grand textures here, just good ol bright and vivid avatars that are both simple in look yet functional in design.
Sound – Sport sounds are good and crowd, clapping is ok but overall this is not a spectacular sounding game … just has sound as it’s needed but nothing more.
Design – The 3D features add nice depth to the various sporting events but this very easily could have been just a DS game with no 3D. Good launch timeframe title but not groundbreaking. Not every game is rock solid but the boxing, archery and soccer interfaces and functionally offer great fun and challenge.
Miscellaneous – The inclusion of dual stylus is intriguing but ultimately just novelty. Since the screen can’t use two at once and to use two gamers much place the 3DS down, well this just ain’t that portable. That being said if games don’t try to innovate then gamers get nothing new, so there is a bright side just not a selling point right now.
Overall Dual Pen Sports offers quite a few enjoyable sports games that are quick and accessible with a variety of gameplay modes showing off a bit of what the 3DS can do. The sound and graphics are not winning any awards but for a newly launched system this is not a bad entry by far to take a stab at for 3DS owners.
In a bleak future where the masses struggle, a simple game, a grand hunt, holds the key to riches, fame and a better life. Are you Ready Player One?
Ernest Cline has crafted and epic adventure with Ready Player One that is part game, part fantasy, part sci-fi and wholly awesome. In a fairly believable future a grand game left by a deceased genius holds the key to vast riches and control of the one system, Oasis, which governs just about everything. This online utopia is an escape for all of civilization and when its ownership is put up for grabs with just a few puzzles to solve, well then who’s going to win? Mr. Cline, you have created a grand adventure that was a true joy to read and brought back many fond memories from the 80’s and 90’s but what is it about Ready Player One that was so enjoyable? Let’s take a gander shall we …
The Story of Wade Watts – Just another high school student living his life in the stacks (stacked up mobile homes, trailers, etc), a life of poverty that leaves little hope for much more than indentured servitude once graduation approaches. Wade attends a virtual high school, one located in Oasis, an online world, a universe of worlds, created and owned by the genius James Halliday. Everything is done in Oasis, which began its life as a game but grew to more than anything every anticipated outside of Halliday’s head. Upon his death the mysterious Halliday left a video, a message to society, a message of hope that begins a grand game … which stalls for five years. Halliday has created a game that lives in Oasis and is based on his love for 80’s pop culture. A new culture, gunters, springs to life and these hunters are obsessed with Halliday’s riddle, his easter egg, but in five years since it’s announced nobody can make sense of the first clue, nobody can find the first of three gates needed to receive the ultimate prize and for five years the hunt begins to simmer … until Mr. Watts becomes very, very famous. Wade deciphers and solves the first riddle, his name appears on the online leader board and its go time all over again and with every avatar in the world and a massive, dirty, corporation on his heels will Wade win the prize or die, literally, trying? The prize is grand, his friends are few and Wade must stay one step ahead of an entire world to win this game. Only one thing to ask, are you ready player one?
So main plot line is the solving of Halliday’s puzzle and core character is the fairly normal Wade Watts. There are plenty of supporting characters, four other really main gunters as well as an evil corporation and some other cool folks who join the fray. The evolution of Wade is fun to follow and the pacing is well done setting the stage, stepping up the action and slowing it down when needed for explanation. There are points where the reader will think they know what’s coming next, but boom, Cline blows it up but good and it’s this change of pace that keeps the pages turning. Wade is also a character with flaws which makes him strong and relatable while the overall world of 2044 is pretty freaking depressive so this ultimate lottery anyone can win is very intriguing. The most impressive and enjoyable aspect of Ready Player One is all the references to the past, the little history nuggets. There are sights and sounds, smells even the reader who grew in the 80’s and 90’s will recognize. Pizza parlors, games on coin-op machines, movies and music, oh yeah, this is the true joy of Clines creation and that icing that makes this cake a delicious consumption.
Why Should Gamers Care? – The journey, it’s as great as any RPG tale out there and it’s just great storytelling which is now at the core of what makes a great game. The references to old games, Pac-Man, Adventure, etc is fun and refreshing and readers will find themselves wanting to take part in this epic quest. Like any great MMO, RPG, adventure game or movie Ready Player One manages to hook the reader and bring them into a grand world just as any great game does. There are so many references to games of days gone by that I’ve no doubt readers will find themselves revisiting some on their free time, just a great ready for gamers and adventure novel fans alike.
Why Should Otaku Care? – While the amount of anime references are not as large the sheer pop culture volume and gaming hook will makes fans of otaku also as it’s all about great story and in this aspect Cline delivers. Imagine this tale as an animated features, say about 12 episodes with all the cultural references and music in place, it would ROCK! My heart fluttered at the mention of 2-3 specific giant robots and the MMO angle bridges gaps in Eastern and Western game making. It’s a great read folks (I said this a few times already right).
Overall, Ready Player One is one hell of an enjoyable read, so props to Ernest Cline. I mention I numerous times above as I’m first a fan of games and anime and as such I loved this novel. Few books work their ways into my heart, make me want to continue to adventure with the protagonist and this is one of them. We could all be Wade Watts from his depths of despair to his peaks of triumph and the memories his adventure stirs are worth the price of admission. Now, when do we get that mentioned anime series???
Looks like anime. Taste like anime. Is it anime … almost. Say hello to Remnant Knights anime fans, it’s time to play
UPDATE: August 16, 2011- GameSamba announced today that its free-to-play MMORPG, Remnant Knights, is entering open beta. Servers will be made available for play starting at noon PST on Tuesday, August 16th. All players who create accounts at www.remnantknights.com will gain immediate access to the open beta. During this final phase, players will be able to reach level 60. In addition, all zones will be made available for players to enjoy and explore.
GameSamba’s online game Remnant Knights sports a very unique, anime look and feel and follows many of the known story conventions found in RPG’s and fantasy anime in general. They’ve partnered with anime publisher FUNimation to form a strategic alliance that will promote a game with content in line with the anime FUNimation puts out, so totally worth brining up as it’s go time folks. Beside the anime roots found in Remnant Knights why else should anime fans and gamers care? Let’s take a look.
What is Remnant Knights – It’s GameSamba’s flagship title that’s anime inspired in look and feel. It’s an MMORPG (massive multi-player online role-playing game) which just ended its beta but will soon (when?) enter it’s next phase. From GameSamba, “created by Min Communications, the game will feature a story by Eisner Award winning Marvel Comics writer Jim Krueger” so it’s got that going for it, which is nice. It’s also a free game where money is made by micro-transactions (buying equipment, etc). Choose a character class and get to adventuring. Yeah, not much more is known beyond this and what is available on the site but having the cajones to hook up with FUNimation means they are in this for real.
Why Should Anime fans care? – FUNimation is making an effort to bridge gaps in the anime/gaming communities with GameSamba and if they think it’s worth investing time in so should fans of anime. Sounds lemming-ish but this is no walk off a cliff. As otaku we’ve seen successful franchises go bye-bye thanks to the closure of anime/manga companies so any business venture for anime is risky and must be researched. As fans of FUNimation and anime in general and knowing the companies track record, well I’ll be blunt in saying we owe it to ourselves, to the industry to take a look at what looks to be a promising crossover.
Why Should Gamers care? – It’s another online MMO offering that’s ‘free’ yet from the screenshots and video has promise to be solid. Nobody is claiming this is WoW or even WoW lite but if they are partnering with FUNimation (they are) then the content will not be all kiddie either. More to come from why gamers should care as we delve into the game a bit more.
Overall Remnant Knights has promise from a variety of angles. Time will tell how well it does but as gamers and anime fans there is zero reason not to jump on board. The fare is light and you can get off anytime.
From time-to-time there are games and pre-order bonuses that need to be mentioned and this is one of them. GameStop is hooking upModern Warfare 3 pre-orderpeeps with chances to win early pre-order items. Some opportunities have expired, just check out the site but there are still two more chances so GO NOW!!!
Who knew watching a blue macaw could be this much fun and that flinging him (and other birds) could be even better
Rio is the tale of a blue macaw heading back to his homeland where he discovers his roots long since forgotten while Angry Birds Rio takes the same macaw, named Blu, into a world where flinging birds is a joy and necessity to save those he cares for. Sounds odd but don’t think too much about this latest crossover of feature film and mobile game. The film is superbly animated while the game takes the Angry Birds formula and creates a unique take on the films story. Let’s take a closer look at the film then chime in on some Angry Birds.
Story – How does a blue macaw, the last of his kind, end up in Moose Lake, Minnesota? Illegal smugglers is how and this is how the last of his kind blue macaw named Blu ends up with Linda, his owner and friend since the time he was a wee little bird. After fifteen years a Brazilian ornithologist named Tulio visits explaining Blu is the last of his kind and he, along with Linda, are needed in Rio de Janerio to help bring back the species with the last female macaw named Jewel. Before things can ‘happen’ Jewel wraps Blu into her escape plan and a group of smugglers target the duo for their value. Nigel, a psychotic cockatoo helps in the abduction and the hunt is now on. Both Linda and Tulio search the city but the crowds for carnival impede their progress while Blu and Jewel must navigate around without Blu knowing how to fly. Will the two be freed? Will the smugglers win and will Blu ever learn to fly? All answers will take place in Rio.
Kills not being able to tell more of the story but that would be to spoil it. The intro to Rio sets up Blu’s back-story quite well and gets viewers to know his relationship with Linda fairly quickly. This smoothly transitions into the trip to Brazil where the bird napping happens and the story kicks into gear. Relationships are developed and a fun cast of characters makes it all click. Rio is fun and happy mixing comedic bad guys with likeable avian.
Animation and Art Style – Animated films such as Rio have become the norm replacing the days of hand drawn features and the level of detail has skyrocketed. Rio offers a blending of humans and animals that most films avoid as the focus is on one or the other. Rio adds a level of detail that is amazing to see from the detail of Blu’s claws to the individual feathers. The birds sport realism yet have personality as Blu is an awkward bumbling shut-in while Jewel is feisty and independent. The slums of Rio also sport realistic details and the humans living in this world come in all shapes and sizes and remind very much of The Incredibles in design. Besides the characters and slum settings the actual carnival parade is amazing to behold with vivid colors and amazing music that is just so Brazil. The character design style is familiar but the merging of detailed and personality driven humans and animals really makes Rio shine (the flying scene around the Jesus statue, very cool and shows great detail and scale in the city of Rio de Janeiro).
Voice work and Music – Samba never sounded or looked so good. The sounds of carnival, the music of the land, samba, is alive and well and hooks in the viewer which is a good thing. Why? Because the character driven songs are forgettable. There are some interesting fusions of hip-hop and South American sounds but overall the music is so-so. The voice acting is quite solid with famous names such as Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway and George Lopez. Nobody really stands out but it’s an overall group that knows and performs their roles quite well. Jamie Foxx and Will i Am are good together but just not on screen enough.
Angry Birds – Angry Birds Rio takes the bird flinging action and replaces pigs with monkeys and birds in cages waiting to be freed. There are six levels composed of 90 stars each with hidden awards and trophies. To date there is Smugglers’ Den, Jungle Escape, Beach Volley and Carnival Upheaval. Each brings in the look and feel of the film with both Blu and Jewel helping out with unique dynamics to themselves. The signature Angry Birds look meshes with that of Rio for a unique Angry Birds experience. Great sound also accompanies this package which could have cashed in with a clone of the movie but instead went that extra few miles to create a solid gaming experience that is on par if not surpassing both the original Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons.
Overall, Rio delivers the goods. It’s a great family film that mixes incredible animation, a great story and characters with solid music and a game tie-in that expands the experience. Rio and Angry Birds work well together, or separate, it’s a can’t miss.
A look back at DS, 3DS and PSP for the months of April, May and June 2011
A true crossroads in the handheld space; Q2 2011 is seeing a big shift as the usually solid lineup presented on DS shifts to 3DS while the PSP is rocked by one sweet E3 announcement leading to even slower (?) game development on the platform. Yes, handheld gaming is in flux as two systems begin their swan song and the third is just getting ramped up. How did handheld gamers fare in these three months, let’s take a look.
Nintendo DS – Sound the death bell, the DS will fade folks as developers look to take advantage of the 3DS. The death will be seen in quality titles, not volume, but this has been the case for a long time on the DS as the great entries are few and far between.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus – The formula remains the same and having an annual tournament dependant on this title helps. Yu-Gi-Oh! may not get the fanfare of Pokémon but dang it’s fun and addictive and not going anywhere.
Emily The Strange – Comic fans will know this strange broad and her puzzle adventure looks and plays great, very true to the source material. Under the radar, no doubt, but original and fun.
Nintendo 3DS – First quarter just saw the release of the 3DS so this is the first round of true launch titles and it’s really not a bad offering as many show off what the system can do while offering good if not great gameplay experiences. Price of the system is still an issue but finally getting the store and browser up and running help.
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D – An expansion of a mini-game experience that fans will love but casual gamers, not so much. For true RE fans.
Dead or Alive: Dimensions – As Street Fighter delivered the goods so does Dead or Alive with an excellent fighting game entry on the 3DS.
Dual Pen Sports – Not every game works great but ones, like archery, are addictive experiences that will bring gamers back to the simplicity games on Wii created. It’s a great use of both screens, 3D features and multiple stylus.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – A remake that warrants buying the 3DS all by itself. Don’t know about Ocarina of Time? Shame, shame on you!
PlayStation Portable (PSP) – New system on the way but same lack of support. Love the PSP but it just never gets the love this little powerhouse should have. Graphically updated ports of PS and PS2 titles would have been a great gameplay .. oh well.
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II – Awesome fighting game with tons of unique, perfect-for-anime characters. Portable gaming is all about fighting games folks (and RPG’s).
Patapon 3 – Best franchise on PSP continues to beat to its own drum
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection – Another re-release, remake, but one that works yet again and brings together all the various IV pieces, good times.
Overall, 3DS gets an A thanks to Zelda moving up the grading curve while PSP and DS get C and D respectively. Just not enough on the DS to warrant a passing grade while PSP just does what it does with remakes and sequels. Second quarter of 2011 was a difficult one for handhelds but with 3DS on board and new PSP on the way things will get better … right?
A look back at PS3, Wii and 360 for the months of April, May and June 2011
As E3 floats by and events such as Comic-Con are upon gamers it’s time to take another look back at what was the second quarter of 2011 for the PS3, Wii and 360. Each system is fighting for gamer’s dollars and with no major holiday in sight, the months of April, May and June are truly the beginning of the dogs days of summer … or are they? It’s been said many times over the past few years that the trend of no top notch titles in summer is gone, headed the way of the dodo. Good games do indeed come out in spring and summer and this year is no exception. Now the realm of exclusives has shrunk but overall gamers must be pleased with the offerings below as well as solid downloadable titles such as Beyond Good & Evil HD, Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls and Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury. So let’s take a look at those sweet games that hit in Q2 of 2011.
Multi-platform – Another solid quarter for those cross-platform games and the differences are really minimal with download content being the exclusive flavor-of-the-month. A truly nice mixture of new titles and return appearances.
Dungeon Siege III – A very classic feel to the DS franchise where gamers pick a class and get unique adventures to share with buddies or solo. There are times this feels like the great grandchild of Gauntlet. Overall fun and solid, not a game of the year title, but a solid rental and/or purchase.
Red Faction: Armageddon – The first-person struggle continues on Mars but this time the big bad aliens make an appearance. Solid entry, again not spectacular but does most everything right.
Alice: Madness Returns – Alice is the star in a twisted tale of Alice in Wonderland. She’s older and still not all there but with as great as Alice is, in looks and controls, her overall setting could have used a bit more work.
Shadows of the Damned – A mature game for the gamer looking for an immature experience that’s fun, funny and just plain out there. Junk references are everywhere and it’s hard to surprise with demon and underworld settings given recent games in this broad genre but Shadows still pulls out a few ‘did they just say/do that’ moments.
F.E.A.R. 3 – Alma is one creepy little girl who worked her way into gamers dreams with the first F.E.A.R. and by part 3 she will be haunting their waking moments. Twisted and sporting a true story, no some contrived fluff, part 3 is a rock solid horror, psychological first-person romp in a time of somewhat stale military only FPS’s.
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 – Another one? Yup and it plays like those before and like all the Dynasty Warriors before and … well it’s just a guilty pleasure at this point. A good game; read my lips, guilty pleasure here!
L.A. Noire – It’s not a GTA clone or a CSI wanna-be but rather a truly unique crime thriller that works and works well. Not many games, if any, out there that doe what L.A. Noire does and its mixture of action and puzzle solving is awesome. A different gaming experience.
DiRT 3 – Off-road racing in HD that rocks online.
Portal 2 – First Portal surprised and set very high standards to which part 2 delivers. A game where brain power really counts, awesome!
Mortal Kombat – Another re-boot for the franchise that rocks and hell, it has Freddy in it … Freddy!
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition – Oh my goodness gamers, it’s the arcade edition of an awesome game, I mean what’s not to love, like, want?
Duke Nukem Forever – Kidding, this game is poo.
PlayStation 3 – Most third-party titles are multi-platform now so it’s up to first part and first party owned companies to deliver the console exclusives and this quarter Sony kicked out three gems of different genre.
inFamous 2 – Assume the role of jacked-up Cole yet again in an adventure that builds on all that was awesome from the first inFamous.
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs – A move towards a more fictional setting does not detract from a solid third-person shooter. It’s a very accessible game for those new to the franchise and really pulls off some solid displays of graphical beauty.
MotorStorm: Apocalypse – Right up there with DiRT 3, Apocalypse is an amazing racer with wide variety of vehicles to control. Throw in some weapons and the feeling of Twisted Metal comes to mind.
Xbox 360 – Man it seems if there’s no new Halo or Fable that the exclusive stable is try for 360 but thanks to the Kinect gamers get one awesome if not short gaming experience and, well that’s really it.
Child of Eden – The movements, music and gameplay all collide for an engaging experience that engages almost every sense (sorry, no smell-o- vision). A game that must be experience by Kinect owners.
Nintendo Wii – Same as with 360, if there ain’t no Mario, Zelda or Samus, first party games, then the Wii struggles. Sega works hard for Wii and it shows with their one noteworthy mention.
Conduit 2 – A true Wii developed first-person shooter that feels similar to the first but makes enough updates and upgrades to warrant another purchase.
Overall, a trend becomes the norm when it just won’t’ go away, keeps happening and gamers are seeing this with fewer exclusive titles and great multi-platform releases. The PS3 clocks in with a solid B by offering up three good tiles while both Wii and 360 go the C+ route for lack of exclusive. All three systems can be bumped up by ½ a grade to B+ and B’s thanks to the solid multiple offerings so a good quarter overall on the console front with a few game of the year candidates emerging (Portal 2 and L.A. Noire).
Ignore its lack of length; the time Child of Eden gives gamers is pure visual bliss that shows why Kinect is needed by gamers looking for something new. In much the manner that Wii Sports (cough, bowling) made the odd named system a must have for casual and non-gamers, so too will Eden hook many a hardcore gamers with its mixture of solid gameplay and visual/audio fusion.
Gameplay – Familiar with Rez, a cult classic from creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi? Don’t worry if not because even as Child of Eden is the spiritual successor, Rez is not a needed prerequisite to truly enjoy Eden. It’s a shooter that utilizes Kinect in beautiful manners where gamer’s arms control weapons which in turn set the tone, beat and pace of the music. Yes it can be played with a normal controller but this is why Kinect is needed gamers, Child of Eden delivers gameplay that takes getting used to but flows once played for a few hours. Gamers move their body creating the beats while flailing about and destroying the baddies.
Graphics – Trippy and amazing in HD, the graphics match the music which matches the gamer’s progress and makes Eden a truly visual immersive experience. Some of the settings, backgrounds and ‘characters’ are plain entrancing and gorgeous. Showing off the power of both Kinect, 360 and what an HDTV can do, rock solid.
Sound – Get ready to play for the music as the beats rock and are truly worthy of a CD purchase. The music is hands down the main reason to play Child of Eden but only by a bit over the visuals and overall gameplay, it’s just a rock solid package.
Design – The use of Kinect is perfect and the manner and levels in which the story of Eden unfolds is enjoyable and well done. The overall game length is frankly too short so hopefully download content is on the way. A game that truly shows off what Kinect can do and how free gamers can be in a gamers game, not some casual offering. Yes the learning curve is a bit steep but when taking on a game where gamer’s body is the sole controller with various firing options, well it’s like stepping into that first game of Mario Bros. all over again, simple yet difficult.
Miscellaneous – The music is awesome and the use of Kinect is rock solid. What a great way to use a newer controller and have one hell of a fun time doing it.
Overall, owners of Kinect owe it to themselves to own Child of Eden. It’s a visual and auditory feast that, while short, will make gamers love their gaming choice and learn to move their body in new ways while saving Eden.
Catching them all, all them toys, on the Nintendo 3DS this October 24th
A new Pokémon game is always a major event and while Pokémon Rumble Blast is not a traditional Poke-RPG the fact it’s on the Nintendo 3DS is cause for notice and potentially celebration for Poke-fans. Besides the 3D aspects gamers can look forward to a number of social play features and of course over 600 Pokémon to game with. From Nintendo, here is more on Rumble Blast …
“An action-packed Pokémon adventure in 3D without the need for special glasses, the game lets players battle against waves of opposing wind-up Toy Pokémon, connect and play with friends, and collect more than 600 Toy Pokémon. As players advance through each stage in Pokémon Rumble Blast, their Toy Pokémon will face dozens of Toy Pokémon at once, creating fast and furious real-time battles. Players must also face off against giant Boss Pokémon, whose massive size and strength offer special challenges. Certain defeated Toy Pokémon can be added to the player’s team, and players may also collect special Toy Pokémon, each with its own unique stats and abilities. Players can collect more than 600 Toy Pokémon in all, including those from the recently released Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version games. Players can quickly and easily switch between the various Toy Pokémon they collect throughout the game.
Pokémon Rumble Blast offers two ways for players to wirelessly connect with each other. Using a local wireless connection, they can enjoy a cooperative play mode that allows them to battle through levels together and more easily befriend defeated Toy Pokémon. Using the Nintendo 3DS StreetPass feature, they can challenge the Toy Pokémon of players they pass in their daily travels and view other players’ Mii characters in the game.”
So it’s an action based adventure with a world and franchise that’s rock solid and the formula sounds great. Unlike Ranger and Mystery Dungeon / Rescue Team, Rumble Blast looks to create a fast-paced experience that is not an expansion on the RPG formula but an entry into a newer genre for the franchise. Risky yes, but high reward also. There is much to be gained and little to be lost in this venture so check back for more news and chime in on initial thoughts.
Loving some Dark Knight pre-order, special edition goodness
What’s not to love gamers? Joker, Riddler, Catwoman, (a cool) Robin, Two-Face and of course Batman are all making it into Batman: Arkham City which will hit stores this fall and in addition to a prequel comic from DC Comics gamers now get to see the sweetness that is the special edition. Let’s take a look at what true bat-maniacs can look forward to direct from the source …
The package will be available in limited quantities for $99 beginning Oct. 18, 2011 in North America for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows PC. The Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition will include the following extensive bonus content:
Custom Batman statue produced by Kotobukiya
Collectible art book
Early access to the Iceberg Lounge Challenge Map and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns skin
Batman: Arkham City album from Water Tower Music including original songs by hit artists, available via digital redemption
Bonus DC Universe animated original movie, Batman: Gotham Knight
Four collectible cards
Batman: Arkham City builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players soaring into Arkham City – five times larger than the game world in Batman: Arkham Asylum – and the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds. Set inside the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City, this highly anticipated sequel introduces a brand-new story that draws together a new, all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience as the Dark Knight.
Will kids be entertained or turned off by these two new iPhone Apps?
Oceanhouse Media has put out some very enjoyable apps including The Lorax and Dr. Seuss’s ABC and they are at it yet again. Two recent releases bring children’s literary joys to user’s smart phones yet again with more than just reading to be done. These interactive books will engage the young ones in a user’s life and help them learn new words and sounds. What are these apps all about, let’s take a look.
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss – Ah, the wonderful sounds Mr. Brown can do from Moo Moo to Coo Coo. Hear the sounds the Mr. Brown can do, see them leap off the screen and come to audio life. Kids can hear and see how each word is say, how each sound sounds in a very interactive tale. Have the story read to you, read it yourself or put it on auto where the pages are turned as the tale is read. The narration is solid and the overall experience is very straightforward and in line with previous Oceanhouse releases. A solid entry for a well known tale of sounds.
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree by Eileen Christelow – Most kids have heard the tale of a group of bad little monkeys jumping on a bed but what about those sitting in a tree? In this second tale of monkeys gone bad, mama monkey takes her five little ones out for a picnic by the river only to see her little ones hang from a tree teasing Mr. Crocodile. The ending is not as gruesome as it may sound, it’s actually quite fun and the vivid artwork comes to life in the same manner as Mr. Brown with text read to or by the viewer and solid narration throughout. While not as recognized as Dr. Seuss’s works the series of Five Little Monkeys books are fun and enjoyable for kids.
Overall both of these newer additions by Oceanhouse continue the trend of solid smart phone and tablet offerings that fill a gap needed for kids these days. Interactive media that teaches and entertains without rotting the brain. Rock solid and highly recommended at about ½ the price of the print books.
Horror reaches the perfect first-person peak in F.E.A.R. 3 as writer Steve Niles details
F.E.A.R. 3; a true horror gaming experience, a bloody thrill ride that’s perfect for the proper age group. A tale of twisted terror crafted by Steve Niles who took time to reveal his thoughts on working on F.E.A.R. 3, the franchise, working with John Carpenter, his view of 3D and more. Sit back and enjoy a trip inside the mind of Niles.
Q: Did you have a chance to go to E3?
Niles: I didn’t go this year but I went last year when they were doing the big F.E.A.R. 3 promotion. I actually went there with John Carpenter as well. It was nuts; I thought Comic-Con was crazy, nothing compares to these game shows. The thing they do at E3 that they’ve been doing for a while Comic-Con is playing music so every booth was thundering their own music so on top of the crowd you can’t hear anything. It was really fun and fun seeing fans react to John Carpenter because he does not do that many public appearances. Having him there to sign video game posters was pretty cool.
Q: How was it working with John Carpenter?
Niles: I have to admit I was really nervous. It’s one of those things where whenever you meet your heroes you want them to be cool because basically if they’re not, that’s my entire childhood destroyed. So I was really nervous meeting him and he turned out to be the nicest guy in the world and really generous. A lot of directors and filmmakers don’t like to talk about their old work very much but I was able to ask him questions about Dark Star, Halloween and The Thing and he was completely open talking about that. It was really great and just working with him was like sitting around with one of my friends who I’ve collaborated with for years and just jamming on story and having fun. It was definitely one of those situations, working with him; it was a sin to call it work because I was having a lot of fun.
Q: How were you approached to work on F.E.A.R. 3 given you’re having played the original F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2?
Niles: It was really boring. What ended up happening was John and I had been working on a movie that didn’t happen for either of us, me as a writer and him as director, we both ended up not participating in the movie but we got along really well. We talked about video games and I know we talked about F.E.A.R. as we both played every single game. Then my rep calls me and says do you have any interest in writing this video game called F.E.A.R. 3 and it was just this perfect timing and everything where I said yes on the spot and I said would it be ok if I invited a friend? They were like who is your friend and I said it’s John Carpenter. The whole thing fell together in about a week. I’ve never had a project fall together quite as easy as this and it helps so much as me and John had both played F.E.A.R. 2 which ended very strangely. Our first question was do we get to work with those characters and that storyline; it was just one of those things that was perfect timing.
Q: How did the established story help or hinder your creativity with F.E.A.R. 3?
Niles: For me it helped. It’s different from when I write my own comics or if I work on Batman. You’ve got a whole toolbox full of stuff to play with and what Warner Bros. and Day 1 Studios really wanted from us was, they wanted you know to not really wrap things up but kind of start bringing all the threads together which really you know as a fan playing the game was a sense that I had. There’s all these characters that have sprung out of these events from a long time ago now, how do we make them all come together and sort of form a semi-conclusion to what could be a trilogy. That’s what they wanted us to do so honestly it was a challenge like anything else but I already had the curiosity there especially. The F.E.A.R. games were one of the few that I did actually finish. What winds up happening towards the end is that one of the characters that we’ve been introduced to somehow manages to impregnate Alma so we’re talking about a ghost now possibly having a human child and that’s what John and I were given to work with so I was thrilled. We talked to everyone for a while on what we were going to do and everybody just agreed that the core characters that everyone cares about are Alma, Point Man from the very first game and then Becket from game 2. So what we did was end up just finding a really good theme and the theme is family. All these people whether they’re created in a lab or not, are related and as twisted as it is it’s still a family. That was very much the theme we pitched and like I said Warner Bros. and everybody was really great and open about the whole thing.
Q: Alma was one of those characters that felt pulled from a Japanese horror film like The Ring or Ringu with that creepy long haired girl. How do you take a character like that and make the gamer care enough to get that emotional involvement with the game?
Niles: With this one, using the example of J-Horror, the Japanese horrors, is perfect. Trying to get any sympathy for a monster or ghost it can be pretty tough especially when we have two games of massacres behind them but what we found was that Alma is a ghost because something horrible happened to her in life and it happened to her when she was a child so one of the things we did in F.E.A.R. 3 was underline what made her what she is, and like Frankenstein’s monster as much as you’re afraid of them you have a lot of sympathy for them. The same things works for The Creature from the Black Lagoon, he’s killing people but he wouldn’t have killed people if these scientists hadn’t messed with him, or King Kong, where he’s taken out of his element and turned into a monster. Alma is very much like that as she’s a horrifying ghost with really terrifying powers but at the very core she’s a little girl who suffered. I think that’s something we can all have sympathy for.
Q: Did you find it easy working with the game developers; were they receptive to your ideas?
Niles: The toughest thing is I took the first couple weeks to figure out; I was very confused about the technical stuff. I would have to learn how a video game was built from the ground up and what we finally decided to do was John and I just wrote a screenplay. We wrote a screenplay about F.E.A.R. 3 and the technical guys took what we did and figured out how to work it into the scope. I didn’t have to sit around worrying about stuff like that. The worst it got was I wrote in a character that I first came up with on the spot, I’m used to writing like that. In a comic book it doesn’t matter, you write a character and they just draw it up but with this they had to call me and tell me “well you can’t just create new characters because you have to build new assets.” So once we functionally understood each other then things went really smooth and if anything they kept pushing me for more and more.
Q: You mention screenplay. Do you see the F.E.A.R. franchise and video games in general going in that direction as a movie or direct to TV movie like on SyFy?
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Niles: It is an entertainment medium in that it’s very interactive but the line between interactive and a movie are blurring every day. I honestly believe video games, as the writing improves, as the story, as they learn more ways to tell story, I think that video games themselves are a vital way to tell stories in the future especially as we move forward. I can see us having basically movies that we interact with like video games. As for F.E.A.R. 3, yeah I do, I think that especially, I hope now, that we clarify what the F.E.A.R. 3 universe is and who are the active characters and then there’s some stuff we came up with, I think it’s a really viable story for any medium. I could definitely see a F.E.A.R. movie and I did a mini comic for this.
Q: What about technology such as 3D and motion controls? Did these technologies come into play with your writing?
Niles: We didn’t work on that with this. My own personal opinion on 3D is I think it’s something people want people to want. We’ve been here before, we were here in the 50’s and I think at the end of the day, for video games 3D makes a lot more sense than for movies. When I’m in a movie theater the only thing I want flying in my face is a good story, that’s it. If things are popping out of the screen it just seems like a separate experience. 3D is something for an amusement park not a movie, but for video games, yeah. I didn’t have to deal with that on this and as far as the technical issues I did, it was really great because I would just call Day 1 and describe what I wanted in very pedestrian terms and they would tell me what the technological solution was. We did have a few situations where I came at them with ideas. There’s a couple inherent problems with horror video games, one in particular that really bothered me which was one of the first things I brought up with them and they solved it immediately. It had been something they were really worried about and all that is, horror works when you’re really surprised so if you play a level through and the monsters always in the same place, how’s it going to scare and surprise you? That’s what I knew from playing Resident Evil and old games like that is once you memorized it the fears were gone because you know they were coming. Day 1 came up with some really, really interesting solutions for that by randomizing certain events within the game so that nobody knows when stuff is going to pop up. I love, it’s a great simple solution to the problem. When I played that game (Resident Evil) I would sit and wait and edge up trying to trigger it (dogs through hallway window) because I knew it was going to be there as opposed to the first time I played it and threw the controller into the air. NOTE: This randomization system is called the Degenerative System.
Q: What is it about horror and the supernatural that inspires you? How did you get into this genre of writing be it personal interest or an event from your past?
Niles: It’s just a personal thing that I love. I love watching horror, I love being scared so very early on when I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to scare other people the way I’d been scared. The thing I constantly love about horror is horror I get to do …you can play with any themes you want to and you really do have a captive audience. Everyone is sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see what you’ll do. There’s no particular reason. I’ve always tried to figure out but for me it’s just the genre that I’ve been able to do the most in. I’ve tried comedy, super heroes, all that kind of stuff and have fun with it but the horror stuff I do is just from decades of enjoyment of it, how much fun I have watching, reading other peoples work and it’s just really fun to participate in.
Q: Did the video game medium allow you to do something scary, gruesome, just twisted that you would not be able to do in comics or movies, anything just way out there?
Niles: There are things that are added elements. With comics I kind of can do what I want. Movies, not so much. I can write you a grocery list of things you can’t do in movies that I was able to do in the video game, it’s just much more wide open. The other thing about video games is because there’s a good rating system that people actually pay attention to, parents are savvy to it and people know where to look, we don’t have that hesitation about putting stuff out there. When you do a movie, even an R movie, they judge it as if children are going to watch it, it’s very strange, which is why now you can’t even have smoking in a movie. Smoking makes it an R, automatically. We just don’t have those censorship rules for video games right now and I hope that’s something that stays because I do stuff for adults. The stuff in F.E.A.R. 3, the whole thing, it’s a bloody scary ride and there’s a lot of stuff in there that might be questionable for little, little kids but for older teens and adults it’s perfect.
Q: How would you sum up F.E.A.R. 3 for someone unfamiliar with the franchise and the horror it entails?
Niles: One of the things I love about F.E.A.R. the most is that it does this great job of combining something that we’re very used to in video games and, the first-person shooter dealing with a bunch of military conspiracies then it gets really weird. What I really like about it is it plays with a very standard comfortable situation in games, which again is a great thing to do with horror, and this it slowly just starts to get stranger and stranger. I just think that F.E.A.R. 3 is one of the most honest, up front, straight forward horror experiences you can get in a video game right now. There’s always that safety with games like Resident Evil because you’re standing away from the character. With F.E.A.R. 3 you are in the nightmare; you just can’t beat that
On this one I’m noticing as I play it that the soundtrack is exceptionally fear inducing. They’ve changed up the soundtrack a little bit and there’s a couple things they do that just get your blood pressure up so much, the way it would watching a horror movie, I’m really impressed with it. There is one of the simplest things I don’t have in comics that I wish I did; the ability to have sound and music to set the mood and bring tension up to the surface. It’s amazing and in this game I meant to ask about that as its noticeable better in this game. NOTE: Composer is Jason Gravesfrom score to sound effects and he also worked on Dead Space.
Q: How do you like final product?
Niles: I got my copy and I’ve been playing it through. If I didn’t like the game I wouldn’t be here talking, I love it. I’m really enjoying it and I’m so glad I was a fan of the first two games so I have something to compare it to and I just think this is the next logical progression for this game. If I had nothing to do with this game then I’d be buying it tomorrow.
