Boomboxhero

I had quite a laugh watching this. Recently a mod was uncovered for the PC version of Mirror’s Edge that let players control Faith with a 3rd person camera. While some say that a this camera would have made their experience more enjoyable, they sure won’t get their wish with this. It’s obvious this game was developed around the first person perspective and the mod shows it. Watching Faith walk and run awkwardly like some Paraplegic floating on air looks quite, well…awkward. Though it would be interesting to see how the game would play with proper implementation of the new camera. But thats for sequels and knock-offs right?

Lately I’ve had the insatiable need to keep looking at high level play of Street Fighter IV. A lot of the videos I’ve run across have been pretty crazy. It’s amazing witnessing the discipline and reflexes that some of these dudes have. I don’t know about you, but I would love to see these fighting game matches be shown publicly in some fashion. Not to mention the fact that these guys who commentate at the events are pretty insane…or drunk. See for yourself around the 3:00 mark.

This joint just put me in the best of moods.

As of late, I’ve been hearing a lot of negative criticisms of the PS3 in my circle of friends. Now as a PS3 owner, I could really care less about if everyone loves the machine or not. It’s been a fine addition to my trio of next gen consoles and am definitely proud of the purchase. The real issue that gets under my skin is when people bash the system with no real basis. I hear the cries anytime someone asks about upcoming or new releases. “What a disappointment” they say. “There’s nothing to play on it!” they scream. First off, let me ask those who purchased a PS3 after owning a Xbox 360 a question. What the fuck did you expect? You already own the leading console for the hardcore market. I’m sure  the price, online infrastructure, or exclusive titles were one, if not all of the selling points that probably drew you to purchase the 360. So why did you buy a PS3? Was it for the exclusive Sony franchises? Oh, you say you don’t like Socom….hmmmmm. Gran Turismo doesn’t get that heart pumping? God of War is ok huh? Thought Final Fantasy XIII was gonna be exclusive, ouchhh. Metal Gear is nothing but a movie…. sounds like someone wasted their $399.

Let’s face it, in an economy as shitty as this and with development costs rising with little chance for most games to turn a profit, multiplatform is the name of the game. Did you not see this coming? If you aren’t willing to try any of Sony’s exclusives (retail or PSN), watch Blu rays, download movies, or are turned off by their online service, I have a suggestion. Please go sell that Foreman grill of a system.

I sound like I’m trying to champion the system, but that’s not my intent. It does have some issues. Home is terrible, for now at least. Will it become something worth using? For some people, maybe. Exclusives are sparse. The PS3 is in dire need of a price drop even though they are on the brink of finally turning a profit on the system. PSN isn’t as elegant as an interface as Xbox Live is.

A lot of the issues they’ve had have been nicked and strides have been made towards some type of parity with the Xbox 360. Sony has finally mandated that all PS3 games from now on have trophies, so that at least appeases the achievement whores. Installs are becoming less rampant, or if they are included, take considerably less time than before. There’s less of a disparity in quality between PS3 ports of 360 games that are lead console. And Sony does have some good exclusives in Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, Resistance 2, Valkyria Chronicles, Little Big Planet, Killzone 2, and Motorstorm 2. Not to mention, the console sellers like God of War, Metal Gear Solid, and Gran Turismo. But with 1 of those games already out and the other 2 to likely be released in 2009, what else does Sony have to sell consoles? I sure as hell don’t know and am glad I don’t have to be the one in those meetings.

Which brings me back to my usual response when people talk about the PS3. There are some really good and unique games to play if you own a PS3. If you don’t own one yet, it’s really up to your own tastes on whether it’s worth that investment. If you own it though, stop shitting on the system every chance you get and at least try the games on it. If it’s multiplatform and single player, why not try it on the PS3? Why not try some of the more unique downloadable titles they offer? Hell, go rent a damn Blu ray. Point is, do something with the system.

Video games have always been my favorite form of media because of the ability to provide experiences that I’ll probably never get to or even want to try in reality. Anytime I get the opportunity to try something new in a game, I’m there. That’s one of the reasons I was so interested in the first-person parkouring of Mirror’s Edge. While it does provide for one the most thrilling feelings of running and platforming, it comes at the cost of some experience breaking issues.

You control a runner named Faith. In a totalitarian world where all information is tightly controlled and regulated, runners are used to transport messages between other members of underground groups. This is where Faith and her friends come in. Most of the story is told through animated cutscenes between chapters. The problem with this is the fact that while Faith is a visually appealing character because of how unique she is for a female lead, she isn’t very deep. Neither is the rest of the cast, which leads to a very tired plot with not much reason to care about what is happening.

While the story won’t be holding your attention, the visuals are top notch. The developers chose to use a limited color palette which really drives home the totalitarian theme of the world. It really is unlike anything you’ve seen in a game recently. The first person perspective helps make the experience even more immersive. When Faith is running you see her arms flail and during long leaps you’ll see her legs kick out in front of her. It really sells the sense of speed and motion. I only wish that the cutscenes were done in engine. The e-surance style doesn’t do any justice to the action scenes and makes the acting even less bearable.

But here is the real killjoy of the experience, the gameplay. As much as the perspective of the game draws you in, the inconsistent gameplay does nothing but pull you out of the experience. While Faith is a very agile character, she isn’t your super soldier that you control in most games. Two or three shots and she is going to hit the ground, so the key to most encounters is to just avoid the enemies. At certain points though, you’ll be stuck in a room with enemies you have to dispose of before advancing. You have three options when this happens: disarm, shoot, or engage in melee combat. None of these work the way you want them to. Disarms require split second timing which is really hard to nail consistently or, in my case, you’ll be whiffing a great deal of them due to the animations of Faith and the enemy not synching together. Gunplay is very boring and seems to be so at the developer’s choice. They want to discourage you from playing it like your conventional shooter. Wielding a weapon impairs your movement and disables your ability to jump and slide. Melee combat is the worst offender though. It often takes too many hits to incapacitate an enemy and it ends up turning any fight into a bout of hide and seek. Platforming works for the most part. The first person view is visually amazing, but makes some jumps hard to guage. You’ll miss your marks sometimes while you’ll think that you should have made it. All of these issues will account in numerous deaths which may or may not be the breaking point for you.

The campaign is around 5 to 6 hours and completing it will let you attempt time trial levels and a speedrun mode through the campaign. If you can get into the time trials, it’s where you will have the most fun. You don’t have to worry about the clunky combat and it’s not as punishing if you miss a jump which leads to more experimentation in the levels to find new paths to shave seconds off your time. It focuses on what makes this game such a unique experience, the constant motion in parkouring.

In the end, Mirror’s Edge is a divisive game. There are a lot of aspects that will click with some gamers and enrage others. There is no denying that there are some real issues here, but this still is a game that everyone should at least try for the incredibly original experience that DICE has created.

This song goes hard… for a Christmas song at least.

Only a few hours in, and Midnight Club LA is growing on me to possibly become my favorite racer of the year. The game offers one of the most fun driving engines I’ve played in recently. The physics aren’t ultra realistic but the cars still feel like they have some weight to them so it doesn’t feel like a toy. There’s something about getting in the cockpit view and racing around this beautifully rendered city that really drives home the frantic pace of the races. I haven’t run into the horrible rubber banding and difficulty issues that many reviewers knocked the game for, but I am playing after the recently released patch and am pretty early in. If everything keeps up though, I’m going to have to put the crown on this one.

As the release of Street Fighter IV continues to creep up on us, more footage and details continue been released. This time via one of my favorite podcasts, The 1UP Show. They drop some knowledge on some of the gameplay additions and show what has to be one of the coolest arcades ever, Keystone II. This place was constructed in what seems to be a garage by someone who was just a fan of fighting games and wanted to indulge in the pastime with some friends. Although the arcade looks pretty simplistic by design, it’s official nonetheless. Legit arcade cabinets with what appear to be Sanwa arcade parts with all the Capcom 2D fighters that most fans consider go-to’s for the genre. Not to mention the founder seems pretty cool dude. Anyone who uses the word “bombest” is a stand up guy in my book. Dope music and fighting games go together amazingly well, which makes me wish there was something like that around here. And with that, it’s time to put on the 93 ’til Infinity album and hit up some Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix.

This record is slowly growing on me. I was a rabid fan of everything chopped and screwed around 2000 and maybe that’s a little bit of my old tastes coming back. The lyrics are kind of silly but I really dig the chorus which makes for the first T-Pain record I find listenable.