DAY 341 / GAME 341
Panzer Dragoon 2: Zwei
One of the greatest (and few) games to grace the Sega 32-bit console the Saturn, Panzer Dragoon was nothing short of a masterpiece. From it's stunning orchestral soundtrack, it's impressive (at the time) visuals and it's overall unique gameplay, Panzer Dragoon was a must-have for any Saturn owners. Rolling forward with it's success, Sega powered forward with an even better sequel, Zwei.
Essentially a rail-shooter, where you have very little control over your direction and rather, concentrate on shooting oncoming enemies; Panzer Dragoon 2 still manages to be both engaging and exciting. Since the journey is both yours and the coolia's (the dragon) it seems fitting that you are not choosing the flightpath, but rather assisting by attacking those trying to stop you. Zwei, however, expands on the original title by fleshing out the experience. More of a prequel, Zwei finds you raising your coolia from a pup. In the initial stage you ride on the ground like some kind of scaly Chocobo, but by the end you are forced to learn to fly as you chase down an army who destroyed your home.
Unlike the first game, Zwei offers multiple paths within the levels, providing you with a bit more choice. Your coolia also evolves each level depending on your performance, until you end up with a formidable beast of battle.
Though it may not seem like it now, Panzer Dragoon 2 was an honestly beautiful game. With nothing else quite like it, any remote mention of this series brings on a full force of nostalgia like little else.
Though I'm glad Panzer Dragoon pushed through with this sequel, an RPG sequel for the Saturn (Which is impossible to get a hold of but apparently very good.) and a great fourth title for the original Xbox, I'd love to see a more recent adaptation of the series. It's long overdue. There was a small mobile game developed for the Windows Phone platform, but it was riddled with microtransactions which drove me from excited to disappointed quickly during my playthrough. I thought I heard someone recently mention the series making a comeback on the new Xbox One console, but I can't find anything about it online. And though, if true, I'm not sure I would buy the console for that game alone. But I might..
DAY 340 / GAME 340
DiRT 3
Also known as one of the finest racing game trailers ever made. DiRT 3 was the next step in a racing series I absolutely adored. Unfortunately Codemasters took a step in a direction somewhat away from what made the first two games so fantastic. At the same time though, they did try to change the game up a bit in an attempt to make it fresh and not just recycle the same rally franchise. Even if that's all I really wanted to see.
Dirt 3 needed a new face. And whereas the previous games were actually extensions of the existing Colin McRae Rally series, after his death between the release of Dirt 1 and 2 it seemed like Codemasters needed to switch focus. I'm not sure why exactly, but the jump from a Scottish WRC champion to an American showoff seems odd to me. Maybe they just couldn't get Sebastien Loeb on board, or maybe the growing popularity of the American Gymkhana just made X-Games champs Travis Pastrana and Ken Block more obvious choices. (Ken Block's 43 Ford Fiesta flagshipping the game, as seen above.)
This also explains the big focus on Gymkhana over some of the other rally disciplines in Dirt 3. Gymkhana being the rally sport, or more a drifting sport really where the driver 'shows off' in an arena; earning points for style like some kind of tarmac-ballet. In concept I was really excited for this, but in play I found it got frustrating and boring quickly. And unfortunately it just took away from the other elements of the Dirt racing series that I was so fond of. On the upside, Dirt 3 has once again topped it's predecessors graphically and in game engine performance overall. It was still more rally and some fantastic cars that are a blast to drive in easily my favorite rally racing series of all time.
Truth is I still need to go back and give DiRT 3 some more time. I got stuck during a lot of the Gymkhana sections and it really turned me off playing the rest of the game. I still prefer the choices of disciplines from the previous two games, but sitting down and playing any Dirt game is like putting on a well-worn hat; it just feels right and I can jump into these games at anytime and it comes back to me like anything else I do naturally.
DAY 339 / GAME 339
MediEvil
Does anyone else remember this creative PlayStation 1 title where you control the skeleton of a resurrected and cowardly knight, Sir Daniel Fortesque? One of the more visually impressive and unique titles of the time, MediEvil was released in 1998 --later on in the PS1's life-- and was developed by one of Sony's European studios. A hack-and-slash title, Sir Dan swung swords, clubs and even his own arm at hoards of raised zombies, skeletons and other horrific beasts. It's mix of dark humor and brawling combat feels as if it may have inspired games like Fable and Overlord.
MediEvil was certainly a game that deserved credit for both originality and visual design. Though it has become quite dated, with the PS1's lack of reasonable draw-distance, texture warping and other visual issues that came with some of the first fully 3D games, it still has a distinct style that could easily be picked up and resurrected if someone put the cash behind a remake. There was a direct sequel and a PlayStation Portable title, both which were quite nice, but still pushing their age compared to more modern games. MediEvil certainly could use the popular HD remake treatment we've been seeing a lot of lately. Though, being such an old title, it would likely take more than just some simple upscaling.
MediEvil contained this fantastic dark humor that I am such a fan of. Though I can't remember much of specifics, I seem to recall a lot of Fable-esque writing and of course, the story itself is quite good. Sir Dan, as it happens, regaled the king of the land with tales of great dragon slaying and other fantastic knightly duties. When the kingdom came under attack by a great wizard, the king sent Sir Dan into the frontlines only to find him slain by the first arrow fired in battle. The king, twisted the story in Dan's favour, exclaiming that he had indeed slain the wizard. But the truth is known by all resting alongside Dan in Hall of Heroes. So of course, when Dan is resurrected, he intends to prove his worth to rest honorably in the Hall.
As I said, I'd love to see MediEvil rebuilt, ground up. A fantastic creation which was apparently created from a team fresh to this kind of work and a director who's usual work was edutainment. Even if it's just to see the one boss fight where you thrash it out with a monster made from stained glass. That part always stuck with me as being particularly fantastic.
DAY 338 / GAME 338
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
Possibly as underrated as the movies themselves, Escape From Butcher Bay and it's sequel, Assault on Dark Athena, were some spectacular games that feels to me like not a lot of people either played or even heard of. Taking place before the events of the movie Pitch Black, Escape From Butcher Bay was created by both Vin Diesel and David Twohy with the desire to flesh out the Riddick character by explaining some of his past. In this case, his capture and imprisonment in the maximum security prison planet Butcher Bay.
Escape From Butcher Bay was certainly a unique game. Starting you out getting a feeling for the penitentiary, making friends and enemies and eventually breaking out using your skill as a master hunter/killer. Developed by Starbreeze and Vin Diesel's own company Tigon Studios, Butcher Bay takes influence from Goldeneye, Splinter Cell, Half Life and even Punch-Out!! There were even RPG elements involved originally that were removed after testing. Pitch Black director David Twohy alongside Diesel both helped write the game and it's dialogue, pushing to keep the entire game as authentic to the property as possible, which is something I always respect and admire within a game's development. And Butcher Bay certainly shows it.
All this and the game looks fantastic. At the time it included tech that pushed the visuals beyond most games at the time and I recall it specifically being a great show of my computer and what it was capable of. Even better, Vivendi recently released a sequel, Assault on Dark Athena, which includes a remastered version of Butcher Bay that really stands the test of time, especially with it's new HD graphics. This is definitely a game I've been meaning to go back and spend some more time with. But I'd like to finish Dark Athena first.
I'm not sure if these games are only great if you're a Riddick fan, but it's bound to help. It does a fantastic job on fleshing out the Chronicles of Riddick and both the visuals and the atmosphere are certainly on key with the films to date. I guess as far as I'm concerned, you can always use more Riddick.
DAY 337 / GAME 337
Batman: Arkham City
After how much I enjoyed Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum, I was particularly excited for their next installment in the series: Batman: Arkham City. Arkham City, which had begun development before Arkham Asylum was even complete, takes the level of detail and quality of gameplay that once took place within a single prison and expanded it into a city sized prison. I saw incredible footage of Batman using a combination of his grappling hook and cape to fly across this slum-turned-prison and became completely sold.
Arkham City follows the same rules as the Asylum: Design and gameplay are key. Considering the absolute scale of the city the amount of little details, the individuality of the buildings, city streets and the overall complexity of the city is incredible. All this is tied together with one of the most smooth and fluid brawlers that simply speaks to the Batman legacy as it rolls in the use of his skills and gadgetry.
Put this together with a world which is full of missions, puzzles, easter eggs to find and a solid overarcing story which commands your attention and you end up with one of the finest combinations of an established character property and an incredible video game to date.
To top it all off, Warner Brothers was able to, as they'd done in the previous game, convince some of the finest Batman voice actors to reprise their roles in Arkham City. Not only is the story penned by Paul Dini, but we get Kevin Conroy to play Batman as he did in the 90's animated series (easily my favorite Batman), but we also get one of the finest Joker's voiced by Mark Hamill as he did once before in the animated series as well. Voices of course are one thing, but the character design is fantastic. Both gruesomely dark and equally unique, (Though, I hear some of the designs are based on particular comic series'.) Arkham City does not feature your usual Harley Quinn, Joker or Penguin. The Penguin design of which I am particularly happy with. (What with his broken glass bottle-monocle.)
Batman: Arkham City's only problem with me was that it was simply too big and too full of stuff to do. I wanted to experience a story in one flat go through, but it's sandbox-style world stops you at every turn begging for a hero's help. You could spend so many hours exploring and completing each of the little side-missions that pop up that you begin to loose sight of the main story. Likewise the main story is fleshed out with some of the side-stories. With this in mind I ended up putting it down and never finished it. Though I seriously plan to before the release of Arkham Knight, because really, this was a fantastic game that I do not want to leave incompleted.
DAY 336 / GAME 336
EVE Online
EVE Online is the kind of MMO game that I've always read about but took me forever to try. One of the few massively multiplayer games that has continued to run alongside World of Warcraft, EVE draws a somewhat different crowd of gamers. Gamers who are interested in what can be considered work with a sprinkle of large interstellar wars thrown in.
I used to read about EVE Online in gaming news all the time. Screenshots and trailers full of simply massive space battles involving hundreds of players at war with each other. Tales of real heists where content worth thousands of real-world dollars were stolen in-game. And among other things, basically a world that exists the way it does because of the players and not because of the developer. CCP Games created a virtual world where players can do whatever they please, so long as they are doing it within the game's context. Start a war, mine asteroids, get people to invest in a orbital platform and then sell it off and leave with the money when they aren't looking. It's full of good and bad and a whole lot of beautiful starship porn in between.
Most of the time, or at least, the time I spend in EVE, I was running tutorial story missions, exploring a little and mining a lot. Because I could raise funds for fighter craft by spending a few hours mining asteroids, I tended to do a lot of that. And usually while I was playing another game on my TV. A friend of mine who decided to jump in with me at the same time would run the odd exploration mission with me, which was always good fun, but I was surprisingly happy chipping away at the floating rocks in my mining ship. Dreaming about that new Gallente Catalyst destroyer I was going to purchase.
There was no real downside that I saw to EVE Online, it was slow and strategic but also didn't require too much dedication since training your pilot happens while you are offline. I simply ran out my 3-month subscription and didn't renew, for no good reason other than I was interested in playing other games. I am always tempted to jump back into EVE, it's scale is beyond fantastic and the whole game is strangely satisfying. I can't say EVE is for everyone, in fact, I'm not sure who I'd recommend it to. It just gave me the same sense of zenfull peace flying through space as Toyko Xtreme Racer does driving along the highway. And in a sense, I'm simply glad EVE Online even exists.
DAY 335 / GAME 335
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
I recently decided it would be a good idea to try out the controversially bad game from Sega and Gearbox: Aliens Colonial Marines. For years since it's announcement I was very excited for what would be the penultimate Colonial Marines game where you lay waste to hoards of bugs using the squad-based tactical action found in games like Bad Company and Rainbow Six. I imagined being backed into a room with a couple other marines, a few smartguns on turrets, issuing your teamate to weld the door shut and another to hack an exit. It could have been good. Instead it was the biggest piece of garbage I've ever played since Blacksite Area 51. Possibly worse.
So with that in mind, I'm thinking back to a squad-based shooter that did turn out good. Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. Of course, at this point they had the formula down pat; what with Ubisoft really nailing the series and turning it around with the first R6: Vegas. Part 2 was just more of the same great thing. A squad-shooter that looked fantastic and really pushed you to think hard about your actions, running and gunning get you nowhere in this game. Vegas, like the very original Rainbow Six, still pushes for the same elements. Observe your opponent, consider your team's possible actions, position yourself and your team for a strike and then advance tactically. Also like the first game, you can customize your loadout from head to toe. Though, it would be nice to have control over your team-member's loadout as well.
I got so much out of playing the first Rainbow Six Vegas, even the demo I played over and over again. It's just the one kind of shooter that I've yet to find duplicated anywhere else. The weapons have a great feel to them, the level layouts are like strategic puzzles to be solved and the cover mechanic is one of my favorites. Sitting in third-person for cover and then snapping to first person when going to fire is like clockwork. Allowing you to aim peaking from cover, so when you go into first person you aren't lost down your sight like so many other games.
Although I didn't feel R6:V2 offered much different than the first game, I still felt I got my money's worth. And with that in mind, I'm very excited to see Ubisoft working on another sequel, Rainbow Six: Siege. Built with the next generation of consoles in mind, it's going to be high on my list when it drops next year.
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Unlike the first game, Zwei offers multiple paths within the levels, providing you with a bit more choice. Your coolia also evolves each level depending on your performance, until you end up with a formidable beast of battle.-2.jpg)
Though I'm glad Panzer Dragoon pushed through with this sequel, an RPG sequel for the Saturn (Which is impossible to get a hold of but apparently very good.) and a great fourth title for the original Xbox, I'd love to see a more recent adaptation of the series. It's long overdue. There was a small mobile game developed for the Windows Phone platform, but it was riddled with microtransactions which drove me from excited to disappointed quickly during my playthrough. I thought I heard someone recently mention the series making a comeback on the new Xbox One console, but I can't find anything about it online. And though, if true, I'm not sure I would buy the console for that game alone. But I might..
