Alpha Flight:

I recently picked up an almost complete first run of Alpha Flight comics.  Alpha Flight is a rather un-known or un-loved series of comics starting in 1983 and running till 1994.  The original run thru issue 28 was done completely by John Bryne the creator, both story and art.  The original series focused on the Canadian characters Guardian, Northstar, Aurora, Sasquatch, Shaman, Snowbird, Marrina, and Puck.  There have been a couple of attempts to resurrect the series to limited success.  I have always wanted to read the series and since I enjoy starting at the genesis of a story until recently that was not possible.  Marvel in their infinite wisdom (though financially prudent) has only released a trade paperback of the original series collecting # 1-8.  I stumbled upon a local ad for an almost complete set and snapped them up ASAP.  I am falling in love with a series that started when I was no more than a toddler.  Being a Canadian myself the settings and characters are tickling my Canadian Shield soul to its granite roots.  A couple of covers recently jumped out at me out at me as I was placing the set into bags and boards (shout out to Rebel Comics – Innisfil for their help and excellent prices).  Thought I would share the cover art with all of you.  They are just fantastic in their design, I love the simplicity.  I must admit I prefer the Alpha Flight title font that trademarks the series from issue #18 forward, regardless fantastic.  I highly recommend the Alpha Flight read for those that enjoy Silver-Age marvel and obscure team oriented comics.

I know.  Late to the party right?  I am glad I kept Mirror’s Edge on my radar and pulled it out of my pile of shame, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  As my girlfriend Andreia aptly described Mirror’s Edge “So it’s a parkur game”.  Mirror’s Edge attempts to capture the thrill involved in participating in the French developed brand of urban assault acrobatics.  The first-person vantage point immerses you in moment, the thrill of just grabbing that ledge just before the fall. 

The first-person perspective also comes at a cost, mostly at the expense of fluid combat.  The combat is most akin to Namco’s Breakdown (Xbox), right down to the slide kick, consisting of mostly first-person brawling.  The only time I bothered to use a fire-arm was during the final mission where it is unavoidable.  I believe there is an achievement for avoiding combat ala Metal Gear.  The combat is clunky and the definite low-point of Mirror’s Edge.  The control scheme doesn’t help matters, it is quite unusual.  It takes a good chunk of time to acclimatize to the button layout.  Although it does finally click I still found at times pressing the wrong button and plummeting to my death.  The worst part was that over several hours of game play the reliance of the triggers and shoulder buttons caused by fingers to become quite sore.

The roof top traversal is what kept me coming back.  Fleeing from the blues (Cops/Security) from roof top to roof top is simply amazing.  There are some interior spaces with level design elements that remind me of platforming puzzles.  They tend to slow down the games pacing and can quickly become frustrating.  I spent two hours during Chapter 8’s atrium section, on one jump! The last time I was so frustrated by a videogame was during the aforementioned Breakdowns final boss fight.  For those that require replay, Mirror’s Edge is not a long game, well under ten hours.  There are runner packages to collect to which red graffiti tags suggest when you should be searching a nice touch.  There are also various speed-run challenges for those that enjoy punishing themselves.  Part of me is reminded of N+ while playing Mirrors Edge but in 3D from a first-person perspective.

What Mirror’s Edge has got in spades is style.  The overall presentation is superb.  Every aspect just drips with care and love, from the menus to the cut-scenes.  I am in love with the art design.  The color choices or palette of Mirror’s Edge is an integrated game play element.  You follow the color red as you navigate through the environments. The cut-scenes have a very distinct look akin to rotoscope animation with a motion comic overtone.  They are well done and where most of the story is presented.  The story is neither lackluster nor gripping.  It is serviceable and gives you motivation.  I must admit I never really cared for the characters or what was happening around them. 

The music is first rate, a cut above the pedestrian videogame techno soundtrack.  It is in line with the techno genres greatest artists: Squarepusher, Underworld and Autechre.  The music feels alive, akin to the moment you are experiencing.  The ambient audio is also well crafted.  My favorite moment involves leaping from overhead crane to crane, the ambient audio dies away putting emphasis on the this leap of faith (The main characters name is Faith. Sigh…I know.)

Very few games have a great final sequence.  Mirror’s Edge’s finale is as compelling and well-crafted as any game I have ever played.  The music all the way through the final level is excellent, concluding with a perfect choice of outro-cinematic/credit roll track.  How the final encounter plays out is just how I imagined it would end.  I can’t ruin it for those who have not yet experienced it.  To those gamers that have, totally awesome right?  You just knew that was coming and it still paid off big time!  The cinema pans back across the city skyline closing out the game cementing Mirror’s Edge a place in my gaming memory forever.

Now I mentioned in an earlier post I was going to post some pictures of my “Piles of  Shame”.   Well here is the collection, well most of it anyways.  It makes me ashamed really. To own such a bastion of un-adulterated consumerism in my life.  Must less how much space it takes up in my house.  I don’t even want to get into my music collection, which is probably worse.  I always seem to be running out so shelf space, I need more book shelves.  But every time I think about selling the collection my wife just looks at me with horror “Now how many times have you sold a Genesis and bought one again?  Six or is it Seven.  Do I need to remind you how much it bothers you that you sold your 3D0 collection a couple years ago.”  She’s always right, it keeps me up at night that I don’t have Lucienne’s Quest anymore.  Collecting really is a sickness.  But then again I have been playing Vandal Hearts and a recently acquired copy of 7th Saga and loving every moment.  I fear the age of the total digital download.  Crap quality, band-width costs and hard-drive failure.  I love leasing games that look, sound and control worse than the originals.  Sigh, but I do love the idea of not having to store and move this stuff.  Then again nothing beats listening to vinyl (FLAC is not the same and you know, just fooling yourself if you think otherwise).  Just picked up some audiophile Windhill record pressings, I will take it to my grave the sound of Vinyl.  Though I do love my audio-only blu-ray’s so choice (thank you NIN and Haydn 5 disc set).

Rogue Trooper: 

I had picked Rogue Trooper up years ago, clearance for under $5.  Decided to give it a go I was in the mood for something that would almost certainly turn out to be bad.  That would not nag at me to be finished.  Back on the shelf you go, you piece of shit.  Never to be tempted to pull it down again, something disposable.  Well I was wrong.  Dead wrong.  RT pulled me through right to completion.  Have not been this taken with a game in years.

Rogue Trooper is developed by Rebellion (always a good sign) and published by Eidos. The original AVP developed by Rebellion for the Atari Jaguar, yes I own a Jaguar, was awesome.  AVP was the reason to own a Jaguar a shining beacon in a sea of shit.

RT gets off on the right foot with an amazing opening cinema.  The camera pulls out from a propaganda video to the battlefield.  All the cinematics are excellently directed with first class cinematography and editing. 

The voice- over work is bad, really bad.  The script though is well written.  The sound design is top-notch for the time period.  Playing on the Xbox there is good of use of the Dolby 5.1 mix.  Your weapons sound like they should; the heavy slow breathing during sniper shots is a nice touch.  The ambient audio is immersive always changing depending on the levels intent.  Cityscapes a buzz with traffic and urban noise or lonely wind and loon calls while isolated.  The music is bearable and fits the games overall tone.  RT’s music is usually only present during combat, otherwise muted and ambient audio fills in the acoustic space otherwise.

The character design, especially the main protagonist “Rogue” is not my cup of tea.  I would go even so far as to say ugly.  The enemies you face are more interesting having a Killzone-esque Helgan quality.  The games graphics are clear and crisp, no chop or slow down.  The controls are also very tight and well mapped to the controller.  Checkpoints in RT are well spaced and placed surrounding important mission objectives.  The user interface is also worth mentioning.  It is extremely easy to use, no menu frustration, and seems well thought out. 

The game mechanics in RT actually have rhyme and reason.  They give an explanation for auto-aim! This attention to detail just struck me as clever.  I have spend hours playing games where you never question basic game conventions.  Your skills are gained through installing the Bio Chips of your fallen comrades into your helmet (Captain Helm), back pack (Bagman) and gun (Gunner).  I know the names are terrible, but their skills and funny banter are worth overlooking their terrible names.  They also assist you Cortana style through out the game.  All weapon upgrades and ammo are created by collecting salvage scraps around the environment and on fallen enemies.

The combat is a third-person shooter at its core.  RT shares a similarity to Kill-switch in its cover based blind fire combat.  It seems Gears of War took some notes from the grenade throwing mechanic being it is almost identical.  The sniper rifle is great probably my go to weapon for most of the game.  It feels similar to the rifle in the original Killzone but not as quite as loose or maybe the scoped weapons from Prey (360).

The game revolves around a two sided conflict for control of New Earth the South fighting against the Nort.  It is a big downer to watch all your brothers in arms get mowed down but here you earn your namesake as you disregard your military command “Milli-Com” and set out after your captured commander “Helm”.  I thought the female troopers were over-sexualized but the Nort Doctor Kaptain Natashov is just ridiculous.  She has the biggest tits I have ever seen in a game outside of Stretch Panic for PS2 (just have to love Treasure).  Natashov murders Helm by injecting him with some strange Toxin.  She gets hers in a nice little cut-scene and you rescue Helms Bio-Chip.  It is hinted that there might be a deeper seated enemy than just the North, a traitor perhaps?  The female trooper Venus also comes into play.  Sent out to hunt you down she becomes your only ally.  Big tits, great ass, a cool mohawk and always coming to my rescue, what else could a blue man want in a blue woman?

Rogue Trooper throws game mechanics at you left and right stealth, AI  turrets, multiple grenade types, Holograms (total recall style) etc.  Fixed turret sections of RT are entertaining and the turrets have a realistic weight to them.  The death animations of your enemies are a real treat depending on how they are dispatched.  It is always a nice touch when movement behavior changes depending on how an enemy has been shot. A small annoyance I found was that every cut-scene skips and freezes on more than one occasion.  I own a brand new copy of Rogue Trooper, right out of the shrink wrap.  A number of times the game locked up causing me to have to replay large sections, this is unacceptable especially right at the finish.

Rail shooter segments breakup the standard third person shooter fare.  They are usually well directed and enjoyable though some later in the game tend to be quite a trial on your patience.  The train rail shooter sections are a particular low point, yawn inducing.  The level design is quite good the fallen satellite station being a personal favorite, very vertical.  The gun silo also stands out with varied architecture that is great for sniping.  The silo also contains some very close quartered stairwells that scream for the use of your shotgun.  The Petrified Forest continues with the excellent level design bringing to mind the intro level to Halo 3 with lots of snipers, twisting paths and changes in elevation.

The Elite sniper commando enters the picture as your main physical adversary.  The first sniper fight is awesome.  Tons of tension though not very difficult if you have some rockets and can dispatch the attack Hoppa.  Oxark Mountains is reminiscent of Tomb Raider: Legend.  Cliff climbing platforming is fun and a nice change of pace that flows right into the Base section.  This level has it all platforming, tight spaces, great sniper lines, enemies bunched together with aggressive AI that is more likely to rush and flank, just a blast.

Rogue Trooper grows to its finale, “Rogue” finally meets up with Colonel Kovert from Milli-Com at the docks for an assault on a bombed out cityscape.  Cover is essential snipers pick you off in the open.  There are tanks, turrets and crowded corridors with piles of enemies wielding shotguns and throwing grenades.  Venus returns to help with the second Sniper Elite commando fight.  The sniper death cinematic as he falls to his death is highly rewarding and well executed.  The final boss battle gets a 10/10 implementing every skill you have learned a very fulfilling finale to a great game.  The tremendous ending cut-scene is the best of the game.  In the end you refuse Milli-Coms offer and take off into the war torn sky heading for a black hole warp gate.  The credit sequence is fittingly quiet and subdued; “Rogue” sits alone among some battle-scared building ruins. The final game extras are a nice touch. Collectable encyclopedia entries shine some light on the back story.  The black and white comic panels show the care and time that went into the universes design.  Rogue Trooper was a great surprise and a top quality single player experience.  I was looking for a disposable way to kill a couple hours but in the end I am glad Rogue Trooper was not the throw away pile of shit I had initially hoped it would be.

Star Wars Demolition: Dreamcast.

I don’t even remember picking this game up.  I think it came in large lot with a boxed Dreamcast a couple years ago.  I definitely don’t recommend it.  The music and sound effects are a high point.  It uses the Star Wars license well there.  But that is about all I can say that is positive.  This game is terrible.  I find it similar to 32-bit/64-bit arena style car combat games from this era like Vigilante 8 and Twisted Metal.  Yet unlike these classic Star Wars Demolition is devoid of fun.  The loose and generally terrible controls make this game a trial in frustration. 

Tokyo Extreme Racing 2: Dreamcast

            Tokyo Extreme Racing 2 has some great looking car models.  All of my import 90’s favorites as a car buff.  If you love Honda’s this game has you covered.  TER2 has some great camera choices for driving viewpoints.  I appreciate the bumper camera when ever I can get it.  The tracks are well designed and nice too look at though mostly dark.  The cars control extremely well and the tuning options are well implemented.  You can both see and feel the modifications you make to your car.  The Quest mode while interesting is a bit time consuming.  The same complaint I have about Burnout: Paradise.  Sometimes I feel a directed experience works in a games favor. 

EEG – Elemental Gimmick Gear : Dreamcast

            Great art style overall.  I really enjoyed the cinematic’s.  Well put together for the time period.  This era experienced some pretty brutal FMV and early computer animation cut-scenes.  The music is exceptionally good though being midi-electronic.  There is voice-acting which is well acted and recorded, though very sparse.  The combat/play-style of EGG reminds me of Zelda: A Link to the past with a slightly off-axis isometric top-down viewpoint.  But the combat and controls are no-where as refined.  The enemies feel like they can get a bit too close.  EGG just ends up feeling a little cheap.  I hate the 3D boss battles.  They ruin the art aesthetic the rest of game is shooting for.  It is really jarring and pulls your right out of the experience.  The 3D is just terrible.  It looks similar in style to Guardian War on the Panasonic 3DO and that is no compliment (not a bad game, just looked horrendous).  Also the 3D makes the already dodgy controls even worse.  I really wanted to like this game.  But it just falls a bit flat with some bad design choices.

The pile of shame. This is a reference or expression made famous by the contributors of the golden era of EGM/1UP podcasts.  I can’t remember who first coined the phrase but I always found it applicable to my life.  These last few months I have been trying to make a dent in my seemingly insurmountable pile of shame.

Like most aging gamers it seems I am falling into the habit of collecting games more than I was actually playing games.  I find this practice to be just stupid and materialistic.  Not that I am not materialistic.  I believe that it really should be about the art first (Now we don’t need to get into the “games as art” debate. I tried to cover my thoughts on that in an early post).  But there is also a similar debate in Hi-Fi which is my other great passion.  You should always spend more on your media than what you play your media upon (CD’s/Vinyl/Digital Download over Speakers/Amps).  

There is nothing wrong with being a videogame collector per se.  Except when you stop play the games and just look at them upon the shelf collecting dust.  Yes I have some games I will never play, sealed copies and such.  But they are the exception to the rule.

I am trying to make a concerted effort to finish an array of games that I started and never quite made my way through.  So the next few posts should be related to those experiences.  Now some games have been years since I booted them up so if I can’t fill you in on the beginnings, oh well.  It’s still my experience.  Some games you just have to make the decision to start over.  Re-starting a game is always a hard decision but sometimes can be worth while and over-all for the best.  I found restarting Splinter Cell (Xbox) and Fallout 3 (360) to be quite rewarding.  But restarting Persona 3 (PS2) or X-men Legends 2 (Xbox) to which I already invested 50 plus hours was just not something I was prepared to do.

Here’s to my mountain of shame.  It stopped being a pile a long time ago.  Wish me luck.  I am looking forward to it.  Hope to post some pictures soon that will help you visualize the extent of what I am talking about.

For years I have heard reference to Kill Switch usually in the same breath as Gears of War.  Many have claimed Kill Switch is the genesis behind Gears famous cover based 3^rd person shooter game play.  I finally picked up a copy, how you can go wrong with a dollar.  Even if it was un-readable, much less terrible I could at least used the case.  Well to my surprise it was not terrible.  I would even go so far as to say Good.  It is a bit dated by 2010 standards.  Kill Switch is of the 2003 vintage. I played through Kill Switch on the PS2.  It also appeared on the Xbox and PC (apparently with improved visuals).

The visuals are good but nothing head turning.  Not a big fan of the art style, reminded me of Winback.  Anyone else remember Wingback?  Level design is good and allows for some very interesting fire-fights.  There is quite a variety in setting also from your standard bombed-out buildings, temples, naval vessels, and military compounds. The game is broken into some very distinct levels.  Sometimes the level just ends when you enter a room.  Like Whoa.  Really this room was what I was fighting towards.  Damn The AI is brutal and stupid.  But this is more the age of the game and my current expectations.  The AI will lay down suppressing fire, toss grenades to flush you out and engage in flanking maneuvers. 

Kill Switch is a perfect example of a limited story told well.  Kudos to Alvin Muolic who wrote this mind hacking yarn.  It is standard future mumbo jumbo out of Japan.  But I really started to be engrossed as the game progresses.  The story is revealed through short and sweet cut-scenes that book mark each level.  The memory flashbacks especially leave you confused at first, then as the second act takes off it all starts to fall together.  “Say my name” starts to have a really strong significance.  Ending is a bit of cliffhanger and opened yet not in an un-fulfilling way. 

Also of note the audio is quite good.  The presentation contains full voice-over which for the time period of Kill Switch’s release is a welcome surprise.  The music is written by Kevin Manthel.  This is videogame techno but stellar videogame techno.  There is even some dirty Drum N’ Bass.  Good stereo mix and variety.    

            The Crux of Kill Switch is in its control scheme.  Which is almost perfect for me, just feels right.  It is tight, responsive and well mapped to the Dual Shock 2.  This is where the Gears comparison resides.  The game has a slow pace.  You need to be in cover or you are dead.  The game is about moving from point of cover to point of cover.  You spend a tremendous amount of time leaning out of cover.  Also if you die, you start at the beginning of the level.  I liked this change from the constant check points in modern 360 and PS3 games.  This made every level more of a challenge or arcade experience.

            Final thought is that even if Kill Switch was not a dollar it would be a worthwhile play though.  Not just as a history lesson for the Gears of War fans.  Kill Switch stands on its own merit.  It is short and sweet about 4-5hrs to play through the campaign.  The last level is amazing, a perfect last level.  A test of all the skill you have gained through out the experience.  As a final note the Main Villain is voiced by “Adam Baldwin”.  What game can be passed up containing a B-tier Baldwin doing VO.?

So this is my first post in quite a while.  The genesis for this blog was originally started with my Blood Clot injury.  Thus the itsinmyveins manicure.  Having that much time on someone’s hands should hopefully lead to some kind of creative output.  Be it made of words or Popsicle sticks.  So I started making notes on the stack of games I was working my way through.  Then it grew into what you see now.

When I went back to work I went back full-bore.  I had to work as much and as hard as I could to get back to par.  I remember my first day back on light duty.  Hours drive into nowhere.  A twenty minute snow-mobile ride into the worksite pilled with tools and wire.  Then hours of pulling cable and drilling holes.  Light duty my ass.  I digress.  My blog kind of feel apart.  Well more accurately it came to a grinding halt.  Just too busy, long hours and a length commute. So getting back why I am blogging again is that it is part of me putting my life back together.  Getting down to the of my life basics.   Which for me is Music, Games, Movies and Books (comics and otherwise).  I have always been a media cat.  I guess this my attempt at trying to figure out where my place is in the greater world out there.  Putting some opinions too page.  Get my thoughts grounded.  Keep myself motivated and positive.

This bit of writing was recently spurred on by comments made on the 4 Guys 1up show podcast.  I have been giving some serious thought too the question; Are games art?  Are we painting ourselves into a creative corner?  It is a serious debate.  One I have been having with my peers and family for years.  Most of the time trying to convince a non-gamer that games are not a useless waste of time and money.  I was struck personally by the statement that comic books are a stagnant art form.  As a fan of those also I was taken aback.  I started thinking that I could at least hold up Maus, Concrete and Essex County as examples of true art.  I was hard pressed to think of even one game that would compare to them as art in a debate.  I am also a musician.  I recall having a recent conversation with another musician trying to explain my passion for games.  I felt like I was almost apologizing for my passion in this medium.  He just could not understand it.  Sometimes looking at the bulk of what is being produced I would have to agree with him.  Is Manhunt art?  Is Modern Warfare art?  Is Cooking Mama art?  Is Psychonauts art?  Why and Why not?

It was brought up that indie games are part of the tapestry of what makes games an art?  I don’t disagree but this seems a simple solution to a greater more complex question.  I don’t consider large corporate label rock musicians any less of an artist than the un-signed ones.  It could be argued that their music is compromised.  But that is another argument for punk purists.  I side with Lemmy from motor head.  He gets to make a living making music instead of working in a factory.  I wish had that same opportunity to be a so-called sell out.  The indie’s will always keep the big boys honest.  As does all independent ventures from film, music, comics, publishing, graffiti, and even sport.  Art that is straight from the heart with little filter or monetary interest to drive it.  Art for Arts sake.

Most great novelist are always poor.  Most great painters are dead before their art is respected it is a Catch 22.  The old adage of starving artist usually comes into play.  Perry Farrell recently did an interview on the CBC show the hour expressing his opinion on that subject.  He just did a Victoria Secret commercial.  Times are tough got to pay the rent.  Just don’t do anything you don’t believe in, to sell your soul.

But all this I think is missing the point or heart of the question?

Games are by definition not a passive art form.  I do believe games are art.  But the Art lies deeper than what is immediately on the surface.  It is deeper and involves the player as much as the game itself.  These virtual experiences can do more than just present us with a collection of other art forms in a new wrapper.  They are more than their Music: Halo/Castlevania.  More than their graphics or physical Art: Assassins Creed, Okami, They are more than their narrative: Fallout, Mass Effect, etc. 

It is what is taught to us.  What we do that is reflected back at us and through us.  How we play our games, how they can change us by the experience in return.

It is this interaction that wherein lies the key to the question.  I have read better narratives than what I found in Jade Empire.  But I have never found a novel that made me feel guilty.  Novels and all books are passive experiences.  You learn and develop while reading by an understanding of situations and information from a detached and removed standpoint.  You are never involved the art is presented to you.  The same can be said for music or paintings.  I am not saying these art forms can not inspire emotion but the key lies in the difference.  During the beginning sections Jade Empire I came across a hut with a chest.  Like in most RPG’s the convention is to loot, loot, and loot some more.  I took the gold without another thought.  Shortly there after I was confronted by the gold’s rightful owner.  I was asked whether or not I had happened to seen the gold I had pilfered.  I decided to return to gold to him.  I actually felt physically guilty.  This still stands as one of the few moments I can really attest that a game could approach an art form.  It is in these moments that the art of games appears.  I am not only talking of Bioware moral choices.  It is in all interactions with games.  The sense of peace I get from flow.  The frantic adrenaline rush from Pacman CE or Raiden.  The thought processes I have to unfold to solve dungeon puzzles.  The mental calculations and risk vs. reward scales I have to weight when buying and selling armor.  The hand eye coordination and skill developed from a finely crafted platformer in the Mario series.  The camaraderie and tactics of clan play in Halo or COD.  The Social interactions of MMO’s.   This should be the focus of where the art in games resides.  I hope there are many more examples that are yet to be developed.  Games do not follow the same rule set as other art.  Maybe because games are so new we are still trying to figure out the definition of what makes them an art form.  It makes it exciting experience and exciting time to be a gamer.  We are on the fore-front of a burgeoning art.  The renaissance has yet to start.  We are still drawing charcoal paintings on stone walls.  But those picto-grams are starting to look pretty good.  I am hopeful and compelled towards the future.

 So I am a console gamer.  I also find individual consoles more compelling. I reminisce fondly about my NES and Genesis.  I have only bad memories of swapping floppies on my old Tandy.  I really enjoy some of the modern trappings brought forth by this generation of consoles.  I really, really, really enjoy surround sound as I install home theatres for a living.  I love the HD visuals and a proper controller.  I much rather be completely immersed in my game experiences.  Dead Space is a great example of a game that does sound design  so well that it draws you so deep into the experience.  With these big grand console experiences maybe something has been lost.  They can forgo the simplicity of old game design.  I can appreciate Nintendo’s approach to gaming currently (though I personally hate them for it).  Things have stream rolled out of control.  The amount of investment into learning how to operate a modern 3D game is quite steep, thus the Wii’s success.  Then there is the game itself understanding the depth of a game like Oblivion or Half-Life (two of my favorite games) can be a bit much for some people. 

Now to digress, I have found my path back into enjoying gaming through my handhelds this week.  I enjoy my handhelds but much too often they are given second class citizen status in my home.  I have started to gravitate to certain games on them.  I prefer enjoy 2D platformer’s and traditional J-RPG’s while not being tied to my home theatre.  I dusted off my GBA SP and started on Yoshi’s Island.  I haven’t played it in years.  Picked it up a couple of weeks ago and I am glad I did.  It’s a nice little port.  The control scheme is functional though the limited amount of buttons makes it more awkward than the SNES version I forgot how much I loved this game.  Yoshi’s Island has stunning sprite art, scrolls galore, great music, spot-on controls, and tons of challenge.  I also decided to jump into the Mario & Luigi series.  The newest Mario & Luigi game was just released for the DS and as Paper Mario super-fan I needed to see where this series started.  It’s surprisingly good.  It’s got all the charm, witty writing and turned based battles of the Paper Mario series.  What sets it apart is the more compelling over world.  The puzzles and character navigation remind me more of Golden Sun which I loved. 

My PSP also got a work out this week when I returned to new go-to game Final Fantasy: Crisis Core.  I would still be playing it if my battery hadn’t died.  It’s so good.  The mechanics of this game are pulling me through.  It’s really designed to be a portable experience broken into bit sized chunks, action filled side-missions, and constant save stations.  It has that just one more mission attraction.  I wish I could remember more of FF7.  I played through some of it with my university roommate.  We tagged teamed it for a week straight downing bottle of wine.  I miss that guy.  He’s now living out his dreams in Japan.  Go James.  I believe super fans would be head over heels in love with the story.  To me it just feels like cardboard fan service with the trademark ridiculous cut scenes.  The music should also be noted.  It is guitar heavy and wears its rock influences on its sleeves.  It is awesome.  What worried me most about FF:CC game was the combat at first.  But as FF:CC opens up I find the combat to be the most enjoyable part.  These quick well-honed portable gaming experiences brought me back to a time when I truly loved games, back to my ten year old self sitting in my parent’s basement playing Shining force or Secret of Mana.  Sometimes it is nice to go back and remind yourself to not take things so seriously.  To leave twenty years of accumulated rage at bad controls, un-skipable cut scenes, terrible VO, anti-climatic endings, Xbox live douche bags, lazy half assed design, and annualized franchises behind.  To remember why you are a gamer in the first place, to remember the most important part, to remember it’s supposed to be fun.