Category Archives: Game Over

A look back on the games and the industry of past. From the memories of the incredible games of yesteryear, to a look back at what we’ve lost.

50 Games in 2012 – #3 Saints Row III [PS3]


50 Games in 2012 – #3 Saints Row III [ PS3] (Completed January 30th)

Saints Row and over the top go hand in hand

Thanks to a Boxing day buying spree my library of games was full of titles to choose from heading into my 3rd title of the year. Having played a puzzle fps and puzzle platformer I was still looking for an outside the box gaming experience and Saints Row stuck out as a sore thumb choice to continue. Up until this year I’ve never touched a Saints Row title but with the positive reviews the game got in the fall I decided it was finally time to try out GTA’s zany cousin. Having a soft spot for sandbox games I decided to take Saints Row for a spin and in return I was treated to great time.

One of the greatest features about Saints Row III I felt right out of the gate was it’s inherent ability to make you feel like a bad ass. Whether your skydiving out of an exploding airplane or parachuting onto a penthouse roof guns blazing Saints Row makes sure that your in for a ride. This is largely why Saints Row III main story shines as the game will give you insane missions to accomplish that truly feel unique and fun. Mix these Michael Bay action sequences with over the top tongue and cheek humour in an open world and you start to grasp what Saints Row III is all about.

Being a sandbox game I misconceived Saints Row to be a GTA equivalent but it really differs itself greatly in it’s own charming way. Saints Row pays homage to GTA but where it differs is in how the whole city of Steelport feels. With an open world to explore, missions and activities are abundant if not at some times repetitive. The game will offer you ample opportunity to roam the city in search of things to do. With Stores, side missions and rival gangs to take down you won’t find yourself wanting if your looking for more content outside the main story.

When it comes to gameplay Saints Row delivers good solid fun with easy to learn controls and outrageous weapons (see photo). The main story will run you around 10 hours but with an open world, co-op play and side missions the game holds enough replay-ability and fun to keep you coming back for more. Whether roaming the sand box or playing the story Saints Row III delivers mindless fun that few games try and it works.

Game Summary:

Date Finished: 1/30 | Saints Row III (PS3)
Pros: Loose story with fun missions tied into a zany experience.
Cons: Lacks polish and main story suffers from pacing issues.
Conclusion: It doesn’t take itself seriously and that’s the best part about it. Overall fun game.
[8/10]

-Bryden

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A Treasured Past: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars


The era of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) brought the gamers of the 90′s many amazing titles and memories to be held as they progressed into the new millenium. There was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the Donkey Kong Country series, and of course Super Mario World just to name a few. None of these titles were quite like what we received when Square Enix (Square at the time) and Nintendo joined forces to deliver a Mario/Final Fantasy hybrid in Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars (SMRPG:LotSS). Unfortunately due to it’s release date being near the end of the console’s life cycle in 1996, just months before the Nintendo 64 (N64) was released, a lot of people missed out on this classic title.

The adventure starts off with a cutscene utilizing beautiful pre-rendered 3D graphics in which Princess Toadstool is whisked away from a flower garden just a short distance from Mario’s Pipe House. As the hero he is, he leaps into action as the prologue begins. The plot starts off with the typical storyline of nearly every Mario game, rescuing the damsel in distress. Later on in the game it is revealed that it goes much deeper than that and the fate of the world’s wishes is at hand. Throughout your experience you encounter many new characters and species that are relative to both the Mario universe and the Final Fantasy universe, with some surprise appearances in between.

One of the most captivating features that draws most in and keeps them playing is the soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomura, Koji Kondo, and Nobuo Uematsu. Each and every track is so full of emotion that the music itself could tell a great story on it’s own. When you combine this with the fun battle system and isometric maps that you’re able to roam around on, as well as the witty humour the writers added in, it’s no wonder why this game is in held in such high regards by die-hard fans of both Nintendo and Square.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “since this game was so great how come they never followed it up with a sequel?” Many fans, including myself, ask this question as well. It’s known, however, that Square and Nintendo had a disagreement about evolving into using discs on future consoles, since the N64 was right around the corner and Sony was already using them. This isn’t to say that SMRPG:LotSS didn’t have an impact on future projects though, being the first RPG Mario starred in. It allowed Nintendo to expand on their ideas and produce the games we know and love today such as the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series. Since Square developed the game, all of the material used in the game that was new to the Mario series at the time belongs to them. Most fans still want some of the content, especially characters such as Geno and Mallow, to make an appearance in future games once again. At this point in time, 16 years after the North American release, it seems highly unlikely. For now we’ll have to continue replaying this title while they’re locked up in Square’s vault, waiting to be played with once again.

50 Games in 2012 – #2 Catherine [PS3]


50 Games in 2012 – #2 Catherine [PS3] (Completed January 23rd)

Vincent having a drink at the Stray Sheep.

Following up Portal 2 turned out to be an interesting experience. Still riding high on the lovable dialogue puzzle adventure that was Portal 2 I wanted to experience more of the genre. Straying from the beaten path seemed like a solid idea at this point and the puzzler I turned to was Catherine. I had heard good things about this game from reviewers in the summer of 2011 and considered that it could potentially be a sleeper hit for me to sink my teeth into.

When starting up Catherine I came into the title with reserved thoughts. To my surprise I found myself right off the bat enjoying the animated cut scenes which set up the story of the main character Vincent well. Simple in premise the games style of platforming was intriguing and entertaining. Although a little confusing at first you soon realize that Vincent is falling into puzzle platforming dreams each night he falls asleep.  In each level I was tasked with escaping Vincent’s “nightmare” by arranging blocks to reach the top of the falling tower. Outside of these nightmares is where most of the cut scenes take place and where the story of Catherine unfolds.

As Vincent during the daytime you get to learn more about the games characters and get to interact with them at Vincent’s local bar called “The Stray Sheep”. This is a really cool feature as you start to see how some of the other people at the bar are having the same nightmares as yourself. Without this there isn’t much context to why Vincent is suffering these horrible dreams but with each trip to the bar you start to unravel what’s going on which is quite rewarding. Outside of your bar visits the cut scenes also help piece together the story of Catherine with each night’s passing.

Vincent’s bar visits and his actual nightmares are all Catherine offers in terms of gameplay. In most games that would be a recipe for repetitive disaster but what made Catherine work was the innovation and difficulty that grew with each nightmare moving forward. As the story progressed I grew to enjoy the cut scenes and the bar visits more than the gameplay but the game never tired to the point that I wanted to put it down. More than anything these feelings came from my personal shared dread with Vincent for the coming night. Which in the context is awesome that the story made me feel that way. Overall Catherine took a simple game mechanic and made it work with great level design and cut scene storytelling. Not everyone’s cup of tea but a great title to pick up if you’re looking for something outside the box to play.

Game Summary:

Date Finished: 1/23 | Catherine (PS3)
Pros: Fantastic animation, compelling story and great level design.
Cons: Level linearity and mediocre in game cut scenes.
Conclusion: Incredibly unique which makes the title shine through minor flaws.
[8/10]

- Bryden

50 Games in 2012 – #1 Portal 2 [PS3]


At the beginning of the 2012 I had a craving for solving puzzles in the Videogame world and Portal 2 fit my needs perfectly. After sinking 40+ hours into Skyrim, experiencing the cinematic blockbuster of Uncharted 3 and racing through levels of Raymans Origins it was definitely time for Portal 2. My previous experience with the series stemmed back to the PC and the original Portal. I did not own the Orange box set but my friend Andrew raved constantly about the title. Taking his word I sat down and played through the experience at his place and quickly dug an interest for the series quirky dialogue and simple but fun level design.

Flash forward to January of this year though and I pushed in my copy of Portal 2 into my PS3. This would be the first game of the year for me and arguably looking back now in May still the best. Right off the bat the controls of the title were great on console a long with the level design. The puzzles were fun to solve but most of all the characters of Wheatley and Glados are what drew me in. Hearing Stephen Merchant ramble throughout the levels was hilarious and the story overall really took shape where the 1st game didn’t. The level design for 6 or so hour experience didn’t tire as the game continually switched up it’s pawns at play on each level giving you new toys to play with. The reward of finishing each level grew as the games puzzle difficulty grew to the climax of the story. Near the end there were a few frustrating points but that may attest to my brainpower more then anything. Overall the game took the best of Portal and added even more to the equation. With a great story, fun online co-op and the potential for future level design on the consoles Portal 2 rounded out to be one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Game Summary:

Date Finished: 1/21 | Portal 2 (PS3)
Pros: Immersive story and dialogue with fantastic level platforming and fun co-op.
Cons: Small stretches of level frustration.
Conclusion: Portal 2 pushes nearly all the right buttons to make an extremely memorable story driven puzzle game.
[9.5/10]

- Bryden

Surviving Minecraft: Episode I


The sun is rising, I can’t seem to make out what’s happening. The world is literally creating itself in front of me. I was left with one objective, survive. I begin to gather wood from trees at an attempt to make a shelter for the night, you never know what hides in the shadows. I use the excess wood to make tools. A pickaxe, a shovel, and a sword, they aren’t much…but they’ll work. I start off making wooden planks, maybe to make a temporary cabin of some sort. The sun is high now, there isn’t much time until nightfall, I’ve got to hurry. I can see the animals retreating into the darkness, they’re definitely running from something.

The darkness is upon me, and all I have is a half-assed “house” and a wooden sword. I could explore and fight off the creatures waiting for me outside of my door, but I choose to wait instead. I hear them yelling out to each other..they know I’m in here. They seem to be afraid of the sunlight, I suppose that’s good enough for me. I’m getting drowsy, but I can’t fall asleep, they’ll get me if I do…what will they do with me? Who knows. But I’m not willing to find out.

The sun is beginning to rise. I need to find more resources. I head out and look around, next to my house is a lake, a couple of feet to the left there’s some stone in the ground. That’s where I’ll start. I head to the spot with my wooden pickaxe, it won’t last long, but it’ll get the job done. I begin mining, picking up whatever extra stone I can carry. Maybe I can make some better tools with this excess stone, maybe even a safer house.

I break through stone after stone, I see an unusual one in front of me out of random. It’s like the others, but it has black specs on it..what is this? I mine it anyway, my pickaxe is heavily damaged, I’ll need to replace it. As it turns out the strange stone actually contained coal, which is great. I’ve never been so happy to see coal in my life. You can burn coal. Burning something usually means light. I head out of my hole in the ground only to be greeted with darkness, I’ve lost track of time. Darkness is here. I see my house being shined on by the moon, the only light in this  god forsaken place. There’s only one problem. In between me and my house is some type of creature. It has what looks like it’s back towards me. Maybe I can sneak around this thing, I don’t want any extra attention.

I crouch and try to sneak around, but without any hesitation the creature turns around. There we are, face to face. What do I do? I run. Straight to my makeshift house. The creature is right behind me, I can hear him. I get to my house in time and lock the door. It’s staring at me through the door. I can feel its eyes on me, but after a while it falls back into the darkness. I MacGyver some torches out of some sticks and the coal I found. I put them up around the house, and attempt to get some sleep. I need food, weapons, so much more resources..who knows what I’ll find, but I’m not exactly excited to go looking again.

The Computer Adventure Era In All Its Glory: Beneath a Steel Sky

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Beneath a Steel Sky is set in an intriguing future Australia, full of people to meet and places to explore.

In a dystopian future of Australia, Robert Foster has been living outside of the city with a group seen as savages in a wilderness known only as “The Gap”. He has been here ever since he was involved in a helicopter crash as a child, when the man he now calls grandfather found and took care of him. Robert was the only one to survive the crash. The crew aboard? Dead. His mother? Dead. He is left here to live out his days in the wilderness, until a fateful day that changes everything.

Beneath a Steel Sky is a rare game. It comes from the lost era of computer-based adventure games from the 90′s. Launched in 1994, its now 18 years old, but still feels relevant to present day tastes. The game is fully voice acted, so you are every bit as engrossed in the story as with most modern games. However, Beneath a Steel Sky is written much more effectively than many other games. The plot dialogue is very well written and voiced, often changing the pace from mystery and intrigue to humor and more lighthearted moments in perfect rhythm.

Robert Foster is one day picked up by the city’s military, and is flown away by helicopter while watching his adopted family and friends die as a bomb is detonated. He is taken back to the city, until yet another crash takes place, which he of course survives. Foster meets every possible sort of person in the city, and uncovers a deep mystery of a council ran by a man who fused his mind with a computer named LINC.Along the way Robert also has his best friend with him, a robot named Joey. Joey is a sarcastic, humorous character that often lightens the moment, like many of the games other characters.

Robert posing as an inspector as security looks for him.

The puzzles found in Beneath a Steel Sky are always well thought out, and do a good job at balancing difficulty without too much frustration. Nearly every screen is filled with people to talk to and items to interact with, and the solution to most puzzles require real-world logic.

Beneath a Steel Sky is a great play, and lucky for you, its now free. Create an account on GOG and you will find it available for free download. Also, you can find an updated version with a few new features on iOS. However, if you’ve never played the game before I suggest playing it on your PC first, the iOS version takes away some of the thrill of the first play through, and is only a better choice for fans of the game.

Beneath a Steel Sky is one of the greatest adventure games made, and with a copy of it now available for free, there’s no excuse to keep you from downloading a great play. The game’s story and puzzles will certainly keep you busy, and the humorous dialogue will stick with you for a while. Beneath a Steel Sky is truly a classic.

Dude, where’s my game?

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Motocross Madness 3

A few years ago, it seemed like every week there was a “new and improved” game of the 4 wheel breed hitting the market and finding its way into PlayStations and Xboxs (even a few PCs) all over the world. There were so many different franchises finding their way onto the shelves it was almost impossible to keep track of them all. So I decided to ask, “what happened?”.

Now there are quite a few quality, blockbuster racing games out there, but nothing like before. In the years past a racing enthusiast had no shortage of quality games to choose from. However, now they find themselves waiting long months, even years (GT5 anyone?) until another quality game hits the market. Even some of the best and brightest games of before, such as the Need for Speed series, have lost huge chunks of their fan base and see plenty of lackluster reviews. Why? Because the other games are just too good.

In a recent comparison of last gen and current gen games, Game Informer found that the average racing game review score is much higher than before (remember they mostly review only games with much hype, so many of the others were most likely left out). If that’s the case, then shouldn’t racing games become more popular than before? Store shelves should be overflowing with new racing games, right? Well, in case you haven’t noticed, they’re not.

Forza Motorsport 4

Playstation has Gran Turismo, the 360 has Forza, and other than a few exceptions, they are the only ones most people care to own. The technology of the current generation allows these games the ability to be closer to perfection in their pursuit of complete simulation. From incredible graphics that perfectly recreate the cars, to amazing controls that allow the cars to behave the way they should, these games are just too good to be dealt with.

Take a look at Gran Turismo 5. Sure, we waited forever for the PS3 exclusive racer and it never became as popular as once expected, but there are very few people who call it anything but the best racing game in every aspect (except for the Forza series which holds in own on the 360). The thing is, while we now have the technology to make racing games of this caliber, the production time and costs get out of hand very quickly, and it keeps many smaller studios from producing games of the same caliber as their competitors. Think of the amount of work it takes to finely craft and tune hundreds of cars to behave and look realistic, not to mention the dozens of tracks, A.I., and even make realistic damage both visually and mechanically.

Racing games aren’t exactly on the endangered list yet, but the glory days of seeing PS2 store shelves lined with racers have past, and a new generation of games are finding their niche. Unfortunately, its going to take a long time and a lot of work to knock the current leaders off of the throne, and it doesn’t look like anyone is really trying to.