Time to get lost in space

I finally got my copy of Bioware’s space shooter RPG Mass Effect 2 today, for my Xbox 360. I will tell you what I think of it as soon as I’ve gotten around to play it properly. I have heard lots of great things about this second installement, so my anticipations are rather hight at the moment.

I did enjoy the original Mass Effect, although not everything was superb to my taste. I hope for a better menu system, a better planet exploration system without a unmaneuverable moon car, and more of the interesting characters.

It would also be nice with a storyline that doesn’t suck this time around.

Well, I am off to explore the world of Mass Effect once more. Wish me luck!

I want Heroes of Might and Magic on Live Arcade

Some games are just legendary, and one of those games is Heroes of Might and Magic; once released by New World Computing ages ago. Me and my friends spent countless hours playing this in hot seat mode: an intimate and sexually confusing experience.

Heroes of Might and Magic would be perfect in a console format. And, being an Xbox 360 cheerleader, I would be most happy to see it on Live Arcade. A remastered version of the classic fantasty strategy/role playing game in high definition, that is my plea.

The gameplay in Heroes of Might and Magic is rather quick paced, excellent for an Xbox Live multiplayer experience. The rather simple strategic concept makes it great for casual matches. This is a true winner, and I would love to see it made.

Ubisoft, if you still possess the rights to this masterpiece, please make this happen!

Oh no, now we’re going to feel stuff again

In a recent press conference about Mass Effect 2, it is obvious that emotions play a crucial part in Bioware’s upcoming deep space RPG shooter. This is according to statements from CEO Ray Muzyka.

There will be memorable and emotional moments, emotional connection to the Mass Efffect storyline, emotional characters and simply a down-right emotional gmmeplay.

There are a lot of emotions going about, not doubt about it. Someting that makes a bitter taste in my mouth. Not because I’m an emotionless bastard (I do actually cry sometimes, like when my little brother accidentally pulled out the power plug as I had just finished off King Bowser in Super Mario Bros. 3 for the first time and was finally going to watch the ending).

I just don’t… care… about video game characters. And it’s just that I can still recall the last time I heard a developer brag about emotions in his awsome new game.

That’s right, Peter Molyneux. I did not enjoy having to keep my spouse happy when I’d rather kill hobbes, and I did not fall in love with your dog. In fact, I killed your dog.

How’s that for emotional, eh?

Good story! Got anything else?

THE WAY: Along with a Blurred Line, Laxius Power, Phantasia and Alter A.I.L.A., this epic console style RPG is known by connoisseurs as one of the great “must have played” games crafted using Enterbrain’s RPG Maker 2000/2003 game creation software. The Way is in many ways an exceptional game, but does not come without its shortcomings. The game is split into six episodes, and this review will focus on episode one.

The introduction leaves the player rather puzzled, and this is clearly what the creator has aimed for. It is obvious that Crestfallen Studios has a vision of telling an intriguing story, and to tell it well.

You start out with little knowledge of who the hero is and where he is heading. You only know that he has a broken heart and that he is travelling along what is only referred to as the Way. A lost love is his motivation, a riddle is his character. The hero, Rhue by name, is pursued by an unknown shadow killer whose identity and intentions remain a mystery. Rhue encounters a few interesting characters along the road, with stories to tell and secrets to keep. People are seldom who they appear to be.

Writing good characters is perhaps one of the biggest challenges for anyone who wants to tell a story through a video game. It is debatable whether the video game is an ideal medium if the purpose is to tell a story, rather than simple entertainment (perhaps the basics are, after all, what video games do best). However, many of my fondest memories were video games that were also storytellers, so the question might rather be what sort of player the game is aiming for; who the target audience is. In other words: players, who would never open a book that is not in the curriculum, should keep away. However, if that was the case, you would probably have stopped reading this review by now.

No more trees for Diablo 3

According to recent speculations, the well tried and well experienced skill tree is pretty much out of Blizzard Activision’s famous (or infamous) dungeon crawler. This comes from a twitter message posted by the game’s lead designer Jay Wilson himself, who states that the skill system revision is in full force. Trees begone! I think it might be a winner.

An action role playing game without a skill tree? That’s almost like eggs without bacon!

The wonderful thing about a traditional skill tree, is that it’s so simple to understand and get into. The intuitive way of presenting the possible character progression is eye candy to most players who don’t want to dig themselves into some complex manual.

Diablo pretty much set the standard for most role playing games with it’s skill tree system. It was further developed in World of Warcraft, which all must agree on has been quite a success, and adapted by most action RPG developers and many traditional RPG developers. Even the hardcore role playing game developer Bioware used this very traditional system in their latest RPG Dragon Age: Origins.

However, Dragon Age: Origins does draw a lot of inspiration from games like Diablo and World of Warcraft, although most harcore Bioware RPG fans probably will refuse to acknowledge this fact. There is a lot of World of Warcraft in Dragon Age: Origins gameplay.

Anyway, where is Blizzard going with this? Are they trying out a more way of dealing with skills, like the system in The Elder Scrolls games? Or have they invented some new incredible skill sytem that is even more intuitive and easy to understand? Final Fantasy XII had its chessboard stystem. Is that a possible source of inspiration?

At any rate, it ought to be something interesting, since the developers obviously had allready worked out a traditional skill tree system in Diablo 3. Maybe they actually found some kind of meat that actually goes better with eggs than bacon does!