DAY 236 / GAME 236
Final Fantasy VII
I feel as if there are a certain group of people, like myself, who's first introduction to the world of Final Fantasy was with the much different take on the already-aged property, released for the PlayStation in 1997. Trouble is of course, that there never was another Final Fantasy game quite like it, nor was there one before it and so if it was the one title that hooked you into the series, you may have walked away disappointed.
I remember I hadn't heard of the series at all until my brother was trying to make a decision between purchasing this and one other PS1 title. FFVII was reviewed as offering a considerable of hours worth of gameplay and so at a time where both of us were trying to get our 'money's worth' it seemed that Final Fantasy was the obvious choice.
Final Fantasy VII was an interesting game for me. Whereas there were a number of titles that were primarily played by my brother while I simply watched, most of those I eventually got around to playing for myself. But with Final Fantasy I'm fairly certain I have never played it for even a second. I've watched my brother play countless hours of this game and enjoyed it immensely and yet I've never gotten around to experiencing it on my own terms. Which also means I've only ever seen bits and pieces of the entire game. Since it's such a long game I've simply gotten a very shattered idea of the entire story and it's extensive characters.
Final Fantasy VII captured my attention so well with it's incredible steam-punk atmosphere. It's fantastic pre-rendered video cutscenes, which were gorgeous and seemingly advanced at the time, it's beautiful pre-rendered background and it's incredible soundtrack. FFVII was simply unlike anything I'd ever seen before and really unlike anything I've seen to date. It was yet another game that was released at just the right time and inspired me to pursue a career in computer based art and animation. Even though I took a slight detour, this certainly drilled a hole in my brain where all kinds of other great 3D animations sat and dwelled and pushed me to spend my spare time during high-school tinkering in TrueSpace and 3D Max to try and replicate some of the stuff I saw.
So in the end, I may not have actually played Final Fantasy VII, but I felt like I experienced a nice chunk of it. And even thought it was only a portion of the whole game, it was potent enough to stick with me for years, inspire me and even started me playing some of the other games in the series. Though I haven't successfully played many aside from Final Fantasy Online.
DAY 235 / GAME 235
Super Mario 3D Land
I didn't wait that long to purchase a Nintendo 3DS handheld console, but when I did it seemed as if there were are ton of fantastic games out for it already. Of course, not only did it play the extensive library of Nintendo DS and DSi games from the older generation which I never owned or played, but Nintendo had already published a great list of 3DS titles that I couldn't believe I missed. This includes one of the finest Mario games I've ever played up until the release of Super Mario 3D World on the Nintendo Wii-U, Super Mario 3D Land.
I was extremely happy when they released a sequel to this on the Wii-U because this was easily one of the most fantastic Mario titles I've ever played. It made the effort to combine the gameplay of the newer 3D titles such as Super Mario 64 with the gameplay of the older titles like Super Mario World on the SNES. The overall effect is much nicer than their attempts with the New Super Mario Brothers series which instead tries to recreate Super Mario World with a 3D engine but stuck to a 2D plane. For me, something about the overall controls and lack of tight-tight pixel accuracy you found in the older games felt sloppy overal. Though perhaps that's something that only bothered me.
Instead, Super Mario 3D Land eliminates the idea of a full free-roaming world like in Mario 64 and sticks you on a more linear set of levels like you'd find in the older games. The gameplay and level design however take full advantage of the idea that you are moving in 3 dimensions and the end result is a set of levels that are fresher, newer and possibly more creative that any of the previous sets of games. This is exceptionally apparent when you use the stereoscopic 3D mode the console provides. The enhanced depth perception means certain platforming puzzles are much more visually coherent and the whole thing simply looks that much better. This is really noticeable when you've first played 3D Land and then purchase and play 3D World and find yourself wishing for that 3D slider on your screen.
All this and Super Mario 3D Land contains some of the best elements of all the Mario games in terms of controls (wall jumps, etc.), music (some great remixes of the best tracks) and items. 3D Land was the first (that I know of) introduction of the Boomerang pickup which is extremely handy as both a weapon and for reaching switches and other pickups. Overall, I simply can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this game. If for some reason you own a 3DS and don't own this game I'd say you are silly and then I'd say 'purchase it already'. Unless you hate Mario, but who hate's Mario?
DAY 234 / GAME 234
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout 3 was something special. In fact, I've just recently started it back up again and simply cannot put it down. Fallout New Vegas follows the same rules but now with a new location and is equally difficult to part with. Fallout is just this special kind of game, an RPG with a FPS point of view and an inbetween kind of pacing. You can truly take any moral stance on the matters you become involved with and use whatever means suit your desires. The missions you come across can be dealt with by a wide range of solutions each which may cater to the kind of character you choose to be. You can talk, sneak, confront, shoot, lie or muscle your way though most scenarios each of which can dramatically change how the world sees you and what you walk away with.
Where Fallout 3 was set in Washington, New Vegas is set in, well, Las Vegas. The 'Strip' is the major center of the game and although I've never been there myself it feels as if some landmarks may have been represented here. Though some have been repurposed as gang hideouts, some remain as gambling centers and otherwise hubs for lewd conduct.
Though Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas seem very similar, they were different enough in terms of the overall story and environment that I found myself plugging in just as much time with both games. For me, New Vegas did very little different in terms of the gameplay. Though, the gameplay improvements were big changes, I was more interested in the big new story, the optional 'companion' (be it a dog, person or robot), new weapons, armor and a big new environment. New Vegas was less confusing to navigate than the rubble of Washington and had a wider range of areas that were restricted to you simply because you were to low-level to survive in them.
I'm not sure what it was exactly; maybe it was the characters, the less bland appearance of the location, the wider range of weapons or the kinds of missions available. But with New Vegas I spend a lot more time exploring the entire game whereas Fallout 3 I stuck mainly with the main story and missed out on a lot of the world on my first playthrough. Everytime I think back to Fallout I always find myself reminiscing about the New Vegas elements much more than the Fallout 3 elements. I suppose overall it simply struck a chord with me that much more. In fact, I may put down Fallout 3 very shortly to go back to New Vegas. Which is a terrible idea since I may never put it down.
DAY 233 / GAME 233
FarCry 3
FarCry 2 was a bit surprise for me. It turned out to be so good in my books that when FarCry 3 was announced, I was a little hesitant. Hesitant because I wasn't certain exactly what it was about FC2 that was so enjoyable. I mean, it all was, but I couldn't pinpoint why I just couldn't put it down and if I couldn't, who's to say Ubisoft could?
So with that in mind, my concern was simply that FarCry 3 could very well end up being FarCry 2 without all the fun. However, the initial response from people I trusted was that the game was easily comparable to the later one and if anything suffered only from being too short. (Which I am not sure I understand.) So, when presented with a half-decent sale price of $20 I grabbed this without a second thought.
I settled down into FarCry 3 just as I had in 2. It was like putting on an old pair of shoes, the whole thing just felt right. Ubisoft managed to make a whole new game that was comfortable close to the old one but still fresh and new. They added a new hunting and crafting element to the game which really expanded it. Now, on top of blowing up arms convoys, collecting an arsenal and lighting fields on fire, you were pushed to hunt certain animals during special missions which provide you with the resources to craft particular items. Items like improved ammo pouches, arrow quivers and rucksacks to help you out in your missions.
Ubisoft really just made this superbly enjoyable, free-roaming game set in a wild location that allows you do drive, hangglide, swim and walk through. Graphically it's impressive, the characters are fantastic (most of them) and overall nothing bad can be said about the general gameplay or controls. It another game that I couldn't wait to get back to and another game that I stayed up late playing because it's much to easy to just play 'one more mission' or unlock 'one more radio tower'. Ubisoft won be over with this series and I am very excited to pick up FarCry 4 when it's released in the near future.
DAY 232 / GAME 232
Mickey Mania
More proof that the Sega CD was essential add on for the Sega Genesis; albeit an expensive and unpopular one. Mickey Mania was one of many titles that were available as both a cartridge and CD-ROM, where the CD version was either significantly more feature heavy or graphically more impressive. So, owning one, if I had the choice I would always push to buy the CD version, which was also more convenient since they were priced cheaper, being on CD and all. Such was the case with the Sega CD versions of Earthworm Jim, Batman the Animated Series, Out of the World and amongst others, Mickey Mania. In this case, the Mickey Mania CD version featured slightly richer graphics and a few special levels special only to this disc release. Special levels that included what seemed like 3D elements which I suppose must have required the extra storage space.
Mickey Mania really was a fantastic game for Mickey fans. The entire game revolves around the concept of modern Mickey re-visiting his cartoons throughout the years. Each level is an homage to a specific classic cartoon from Steamboat Willy to the Mad Doctor to Prince and the Pauper. (The most recent Mickey cartoon at the time.) Mickey Mania was also yet another 16-bit title that actually featured classically animated frames from Disney animators. (Over 1500 of them, which could mean be anywhere from about a minute of animation and up depending on the framerate.) Of course, this made a huge impact on the overall look and fluidity of the game and it's characters.
Believe it or not this game was also primarily designed by David Jaffe who also directed the God of War and Twisted Metal series oddly enough. I guess it's no more bizarre than Warren Spector creating Epic Mickey after his major successes with Deus Ex and the Ultima series. But then again, that was in the opposite order.
Mickey Mania really ended up as one of those solid platformer titles of the mid-90's. Unique enough to stand out from the hoards of other side-scrollers and yet not so off-track that it didn't catch on. It also struck at just the right time for me, back when, as a young teen I was primarily concerned with games that were based on cartoon properties I was already familiar with. Which was a fine place to be at the time since there were a ton of great games like this one hitting the 16-bit platforms regularly.
DAY 231 / GAME 231
Vanishing Point
Unrelated to the movie by the same title, thought they do both center around driving, Vanishing Point was a unique racing title that seemingly came out of nowhere and then disappeared without a sequel. I was, in fact, at EB looking for an entirely different game; Metropolis Street Racer I believe, which turned out to be delayed, or I got the date wrong or something. This was when I saw Vanishing Point on demo; a title I had never heard of but was completely entranced by.
It looked genuinely spectacular, boasting virtually unlimited draw-distance and therefore no pop-up whatsoever. Which some of us can recall was a big issue with early racing titles, especially the likes of Cruisin' USA and even the first Gran Turismo and Wipeout games. Though more of an actually detriment for some than others.
So as the story goes, I shrugged off my disappointment and bought this game instead. Vanishing Point turned out to be not only a visually stunning racer, but also a very challenging game that I poured hours into without question. VP was not your typical race title. Instead of your standard trophy races where you complete a circuit or point-to-point map against other AI players, you were always racing against time. Even on tracks where there were AI players, they really were only there to get in your way; time was your real opponent. Since that was the case, unlike other racers you had to learn to run the track perfectly. Simply pitting a lead opponent's car, then leaving him in the dust as your claim first won't do. In order to place podium, you have to do so under the strict set times. Which was frustrating at times as there was traffic in most maps that could easily throw of your perfect lap.
Vanishing Point also featured a very unique stunt mode. This was where all the replay value was at. The time restrictions on laps in the tournament mode was one thing, but the stunt mode was a whole new level of difficult. With dozens of challenges to play and unlock, stunt mode has you crossing tracks full of jumps, dips and bumps in various vehicles between point A and B error free. You have to learn how to position your car to land a jump perfectly, perform that clean drifting U-turn and master the slalom or risk losing too much time to complete the challenges. Most of the challenges require you simply try them over and over and over again until you nail it with perfection. This was easily where the majority of my time was spent and I've yet to find a game that offers a mode that was quite as much fun and still skill testing.
Vanishing Point was definitely one of those one-offs that I would love see return. It still stands on it's own over a decade later as offering unique racing gameplay and some well designed fictional tracks. The short car list offered a great range of licensed cars that included everything from a BMW 3 series, Volkswagen MiniBus, Lotus Esprit, Toyota Supra and a Ford Ranger. It was great fun and I still can't understand why anyone hasn't picked up this property for a sequel.
DAY 230 / GAME 230
Devil May Cry
During the development process for Resident Evil 4, Capcom ended up inadvertently creating a completely new IP that has since seen quite a bit of success. Apparently this original version of RE:4 was such a departure from the original series of games, but still a great design in and of itself; so rather than tossing it out altogether it became what we now know as Devil May Cry. A fast-action third person shooter, Devil May Cry puts you in control of Dante, a stylish demon hunter who wields two pistols Ivory and Ebony alongside a sword. In the end, there is very little to connect what we now see as Devil May Cry and what we now see as Resident Evil 4. The closest connection would be the setting since both take place in European castles at one point or another as the dev team initially traveled to Spain to research castle settings for the original concept.
When Devil May Cry was initially released, there was nothing out there like it. Although I was never clear on exactly what was going in the game I was overjoyed by the fresh new design, tight, fun gameplay and the unique style of it all. As Dante, you make your way through what was I believe to be a modern day setting; only you do so as a descendant of a god, or a demi-god or something of the like. You are powerful, but also a sulky emo kid or something who is exterminating demons on a path to avenge your mother's murder. I think there are a number of books out there that explain it more fully.
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Devil May Cry introduced this fantastic blend of shooting, slicing and powerful special attacks set in a tight, third-person perspective with some cinematic cameras thrown in as needed. You are rewarded for stylish attacks and combos as you leap into the air, firing down at your enemies and otherwise take on groups of demons like some kind of Cirque du Soleil performer that also trained under John Woo. The settings are full of atmosphere and the enemy designs are really well done. It really is yet another title from Capcom that sets itself apart from the rest.
Devil May Cry is another one of those special games that tried something new and got it right the first time. This is one of those few titles where I wasn't actually more impressed with the sequel. In fact, I've only ever completed the first game and up until the release of the new re-envisioned part 5, I haven't had any interest in any of the games in the series after the second one. Games for me aren't like movies; sequels aren't so often a guaranteed failure. With games, there is so much room to add polish and quite often the second game is where it truly comes into itself. That is, if the IP is strong enough to make itself so far as a sequel.
I really should pick up a copy of the latest one. Now that I'm particularly in the mood for it.
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