Retro Style!

So, in the course of my amateur hobby (which I am semi-serious about), namely writing about my other hobby (which I am VERY serious about), I try to push myself to play games from years ago that I never got to. I accept that the gaming world long ago got to the point that I would never be able to play EVERY game (there are over 10,000 for the PS2 alone, out of that I probably played 50, tops), but occasionally there are games that I feel bad about missing, so as part of A Step Behind, I try to incorporate those into my quota.


This week, I play 4 games from 2 different franchises from early last generation. One stands up quite well to the test of time. The other, well, doesn't. Read on!

Ratchet & Clank / Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando

 

• Platform: PS2
• Release Date: 10/14/2002, 11/11/2003 (8 years behind!)
• Playthroughs: 1 each @ 12-14 hours
• I compare it to: Invader Zim possesses Spyro The Dragon
  
  

If asked what longevity meant for a video game, I would have to give a very simple answer: If it's fun to play, regardless of how long it's been around. If the act of picking up the controller and running around is fun, a game will be relevant long after its run in the bargain bin and pawn shops. (see Super Mario Brothers) This is the case with the Ratchet & Clank series. 8 years after release, it's still fun to run around and jump on things. And shoot them with ridiculously overpowered weaponry.


Ratchet & Clank is based on this extremely solid gameplay mechanic, and it's no mistake that the series is still running strong after all these years with only minor tweaks in each iteration. This simple yet excellent mechanic was expertly crafted by developer Insomniac, whose Spyro the Dragon games were also infinitely playable. Add to this formula excellent graphics (that still hold up pretty well), a vibrant pallette & art style, a quirky sense of humor (inspired by in part by Invader Zim, a personal favorite of mine), character progression, and all the guns you could possibly shoot, and you have the formula for a franchise that will go on for YEARS. And it has.

This isn't to say that Ratchet & Clank is perfect, especially in the early games. Platforming in three dimensions is very difficult to get right, and it took a long time for games to figure out exactly how to do it. I still hate falling to my death , just because the camera was awkwardly placed and I ran off the platform in the wrong direction. This and several other frustrations are exacerbated by the truly awful checkpoint spacing. There's nothing that makes me switch a game off faster than having to replay the last ten minutes of a tough level, simply because my character walked off a platform in the wrong direction. (To be fair, Going Commando tries to rectify this, but does so unevenly.)

The thing that kept me going through frustrations like this, though, is the sheer variety in the gameplay. Almost every level has a minigame, or rail segment, or something to mix it up. Some of these are great, others border on godawful. However, it's this willingness to experiment that keeps the series going strong, with each entry combining the old, rock solid core gameplay with new twists.

A quick note for those of you thinking about giving these a shot on a backwards compatible PS3: Don't. The framerate staggers to the point of unplayability, and slowdown occurs at the drop of a hat (or additional enemy). I actually got out my old PS2 to play this, and I recommend you do the same.

It's nice to be able to play a game for the first time almost a decade after its release and still really enjoy it. On the other hand.......

Max Payne / Max Payne 2

 

• Platform: Xbox
• Release Date: 12/11/2001, 12/1/2003 (9 years behind!)
• Playthroughs: See Below. (aka Let's Talk)
• I compare it to: Film Noir takes a Bullet Time turn for the stupid.
  

Max Payne was a game that came very highly recommended to me as a breakthrough in gameplay, graphics, and storytelling in video games. I played about 30 minutes of it on a friends laptop, liked what I saw, a didn't play it again until a little while ago. What did I think? Well.....

While many games age well thanks to solid core gameplay, Max Payne's gameplay shows its considerable age quite roughly, and to be honest, it isn't much fun to play nowadays. The camera is awful, I mean really, really bad, requiring constant babysitting, and sometimes even that doesn't help. It's also terribly obvious that the controls were designed for a mouse and keyboard, and not a controller, making the vaunted bullet time combat a very clunky and frustrating experience on a console.

Graphically, let's be fair and realize that this is an early Xbox game, and would have a hard time impressing anyone this generation. I can get past that. However, what I cannot forgive is the story. I was expecting a riveting neo-film noir story, a la Sin City. This game won a BAFTA award for writing, so I was expecting something more than what appears to be an attempt by freshman English majors to mash up Chandler and The Crow, and instead of being a classing video game mind bender, winds up being confusing and pretentious today.


I was having so little fun with Max Payne that I sent it back mid-way through the game, which as longtime readers know, is not something I do often, and never lightly. I was interested enough in the plot to look it up, (and was even disappointed by that) but not to suffer my way through the rest of the game. I sent off for Max Payne 2, just to give it a chance. The sequel, while prettier, suffers from the exact some gameplay and story issues. I quit after about an hour.

Max Payne 3 is coming sometime in the next year or two, and hopefully, with this generation's gameplay and storytelling advances, I may play it through to the end. As far as the first two, yes, I know some of you remember them fondly, but they just didn't age well. I really tried.

Next time! Prequel-icious!

Vault Over This!

So, last time I wrote one of these, I promised that I would have something next week. It's pretty obvious by now that I didn't deliver. Well, I've been busy, and you'll just have to get over it. Don't hate the player, hate the game, baby.

Moving on.

As a gamer, I like not having to pay a ton of money for games. I have a three-way (huh huh) approach to avoiding paying more than I have to, and I'll go into a little detail here.

1. GameFly. It may sound like a shameless plug, but there is no better way to save money on gaming than renting online. This is the primary reason I get to play so many games (and wind up playing the occasional stinker). Less than half the price of one new game a month.
2. Buying Used. Games that I don't absolutely love, or came to love through #1 are so much better when they're cheap(er). In general, I don't do Gamestop. I prefer to buy from individuals when I can, they get more and I pay less.
3. Careful Choices. When I do pay full price for a game, a lot has gone into that decision. Checking advance reviews, playing the demo if one is available, or taking recommendations from like minded friends. Usually new entries in a well loved franchise are safe bets, but not always (see Devil May Cry 2). Examples this year include God of War III, Mass Effect 3, and this little number right here:

My Borderlands Stats 

• Platform: 360
• Release Date: 11/27/09 (2 months Behind, or at least I was when I started playing)
• Playthroughs: 3+ @ 120 hours
• Achievements: 1500/1750
• I compare it to: WoW with guns
• Play it again?: Depends on what you're doing tomorrow.

Last year, I played Fallout 3 from January all the way to November. No matter how good a game is, that type of longevity is rare for me, and when I find a game the has that type of staying power, it's pretty easy for me to justify dropping $60 on it. Such was the case with Borderlands. It came highly recommended to me by some friends of mine (you know who you are) and I decided to give it a try.

Something you should know about me: I don't like World of Warcraft. I just don't. Now, this isn't because it's a bad game, not at all. It's actually a great game. However, the time investment involved is just ridiculous, (back when I played, it took something like 600 hours for me to level one character to 60, which was the cap back then) especially compared to console games. 

So, with that said, the most surprising thing about Borderlands to me was that I eventually found that it resembled nothing so much as a miniature, less populated World of Warcraft. The quest structure and loot absolutely has its root in Blizzard's criminally addictive MMO, but has something that WoW will never have, a pause button! In fact, Borderlands has a lot of things that I liked about WoW, such as new gear drops, an open quest structure, and RP character progression; and few if any of the things I didn't (massive required time investment, restrictive end-game content). 

Even apart from that, Borderlands definitely stands on its own merits as a great game. It's a very tight shooter (especially when you get the awesome end-game guns), and is a ton of fun to just pick up and play, especially with friends. The art style of the world and characters is unique as well, and along with it's awesomely sardonic sense of humor sets it apart from other entries in the genre.

I usually don't blog about a game until I finish it, sometimes a month or more after (hey, the blog is called A Step Behind after all) the fact, and I still have one DLC pack to play through. However, since it's been over a year since I got it, I figured I should write it up now. If you haven't played it, do so before the sequel comes out.

My Aliens Vs. Predator Stats

• Platform: 360 
• Release Date: 2/16/10 (6 months behind!)
• Playthroughs: 1 @ 10 hours
• Achievements:  525/1000 
• I compare it to: The first two, not as fun, but with fatalities!
• Play it again?: No, fun gave way to frustration

 It's easy to be a fan of some franchises. With consistent quality and better delivery with each iteration, it's no wonder they invariably develop a rabid, dedicated fan base. Alien Vs. Predator is not one of these. The PC games of 1999 and 2001 were engaging, well crafted, and a blast to play. However, the movies of 2004 and 2007 were forgettable at best, and franchise killing trainwrecks at worst. Lifelong Aliens and Predator fans like myself have had a rough go of it the last few years. I haven't seen Predators yet, but if  2010's Aliens vs. Predator is any indication, it doesn't appear that this trend is coming to an end anytime soon.

AvP takes the expected graphical steps into this generation, but it seems the gameplay has actually taken steps backward from 2001's AvP2.  On the other hand, maybe I've become spoiled with all of the excellent narrative based FPS's of this generation. AvP actually has a decent story, it takes place in the future Aliens timeframe (which is the setting I like best), and incorporates some of the newer concepts from the AvP movies. All in all, it's serviceable. Each of the three campaigns (Alien, Predator, and marine) are part of the same story arc, and occasionally intersect, much like the two earlier PC games. However, it just doesn't reach the same peaks as those games do, and occasionally wanders into the domain of the farfetched. (Yes, I know its a game about humans battling two species of terrifying alien monsters, but still.....)

The one standout that AvP has to its name are trophy kills. These awesomely gory finishers capture the spirit of the old school Alien and Predator that nothing in the last 9 years has been able to. Sneaking up behind an unsuspecting enemy and ripping their head off, or giving them tender little headbite was easily the highlight of this otherwise lackluster game.

I broke one of my rules with AvP and gave multiplayer a shot. This I chalk up to the old days of the PC game, which was one of my very first online multiplayer experiences. As expected, this one didn't live up to the great times I had back then, but that was mostly because when I got on, only 10 people were still playing it. >(  Another victim of the Multiplayer Effect.

I only recommend Aliens Vs. Predator if you're a diehard masochist, er, fan of the franchise. It's not as hard as sitting through the AvP movies or Alien: Resurrection, but it's still not Aliens, or even Alien 3. Keep the facehugging faith, my brothers, things will get better, eventually....(Prometheus, Prometheus........)

Mega HD Replay!

Metal Gear Solid 4 

• Platform:PS3
• Release Date 6/12/08 (Not Behind!)
• Trophies: None! Still! Damn You Kojima!
• Playthroughs: 6 to date
• I compare it to: Everything I've ever wanted from Metal Gear
• Play it again? When we get trophies!

Metal Gear Solid is one of gaming's most enduring, most endearing, but possibly least accessible franchises. Case in point, my darling wife's reaction to my attempt to sum up the story so far: "What? That sounds stupid!" Yeah, it's a male soap opera, but I still love it.

And Metal Gear Solid 4 is pure, pure fan service. It's wraps up the story of one of my very favorite video game protagonists with a nice neat bow, bringing back some of my favorite players from the whole series, and giving me the chance to do something I've always wanted to do in a Metal Gear game. (REX vs. RAY FTW!) And, even better, it stands on its own as an awesome game. If you're a MGS fan and you haven't played this, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU???? If you're not, it's still a solid game, but prepare to be confused, especially because this game has over 6 hours of cutscenes.

Oh, and it's gorgeous in HD.

That's this year's blog post, enjoy! Alright, alright, I'll try to post one next week. But no promises!