HAPPY 51st POST, A BOY AND HIS BLOG!!

In the haste of my Daigo Umehara fanboy-loving I completely missed the fact that it was my fiftieth post. Partner in crime Selina then told me it was, so not to miss out on the fanfare, I shall celebrate 51 posts in A Boy and His Blog: Adventures into Blogolonia.

So why make a blog? Well blogs are cheap and efficient. As a wise man said:

"Talk is cheap, and everyone wants to be heard."

Actually they cost nothing, and it's a good area to post up opinions about issues and stuff, like gaming. I like gaming, and I like voicing my opinion, and blogs are cheap, and I like things for free, so it was the perfect match.

What was the first post in A boy and his blog? Well the very first post was just me introducing myself to the internet, it wasn't very interesting. But my 2nd post detailed my gaming life up until December 26th 2009, which I guess was a lot more interesting.

So what has happened in 51 posts in this blog? Well there's been numerous opinion posts on issues that have plagued the gaming industry, some reviews, some previews with Colin Firth (he's alright) and even the inclusion of a second member: Selina, who provides a second opinion to gaming in general. She also made me jealous when she got the Phoenix Wright Artbook.

And has anything changed in 51 posts in mine or Selina's gaming life?

Well since the inception of this blog, I've realised that the industry is full of surprises, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I hyped God of War 3 like a motherfunker but failed to really grab me the way I thought it would (still a good game though). On the other hand, I played through The World Ends With You for the first time, and heard it was really good, but didn't think it would be THAT good! How good you ask? One of the best games I've ever played-good. I've also realised that I'm missing out on computer gaming, because my internets/computer sucks. Well that's not really a change more

And what about Selina? Well here's what she has to say:

Well yeahs i guess you could say that i sorta inched myself into arcade gaming, now that a lot of moolahs into it...got the ps3 which is like a new gen console addition for us. I've also had to give up my online gaming because of school commitments. And just the level of gaming design has changed i guess...like its 2010 nows...compare it back to 2000 and our era then yeahs a LOT!

So where to now? Well we continue of course! If we can do 51 blog posts, who says we can't do another 51? Or 101? A Boy and His Blog isn't going anywhere, we're loving it too much.

If Street Fighter was a Religion, Daigo Umehara would be God

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to direct your attention to Daigo Umehara.

Daigo Umehara plays Street Fighter as a profession. And he's really good at it.

Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7cW2nMf1gk&feature=related

This is devotion and this is skill. Watch it. Be amazed.

Gaming addiction discussion

A few days ago, my school held a Pastoral Day for Year 11. They sat us down and talked to us about some issues involving adolescents. One of these issues was Gaming Addiction, and with a hall which was nearly full of students calling themselves gamers, it was probably the most involving topic of the day.

It was clear from the outset that the teacher's knowledge of gaming was quite limited, with her only sources of information probably coming from a 7pm Project report about addiction a few days earlier and numerous COD groups on facebook.

She showed us two reports about gaming addiction. The first one was horribly narrow minded in it's documentation, only showing the stereotyped gamer of today, that is a person who is 'fat, wears glasses and spends their time infront of a computer in a dark room'. The second report was one recently shown on the 7 pm project, which was better in its research; interviewing gamers and professionals in the field of addiction.

She then opened up the discussion to the students; asking us some signs of addiction. Here are two telltale signs of addiction to video games courtesy of some students:

1. When you can't live without it.
2. When you start talking in real life like you would in the internet.

Really? When I can't live without it? Now I can't live without food, am I addicted to food? I can't live without breathing, am I addicted to breathing?

It made me angry, because some of the apparent signs of addiction were just absurd generalisations. At the end of the discussion she said put up your hand if you answered yes to any of these signs mentioned. At this point I had to object, saying that some of the signs mentioned in the discussion were not indicative of what addiction is.

Is addiction a bad thing? My computer defines addiction as 'great interest in a particular thing, to which a lot of time is devoted'.

So by this definition, Roger Federer is addicted to tennis. He has a great interest in it and has devoted a lot of time to the sport. Look where it's got him, it hasn't ruined his life in any way, but he is now the greatest tennis player of all time. Because he was 'addicted' to tennis.

The biggest mistake the teacher made was that she failed to define 'addiction', and through this, everyone automatically got the perception that 'addiction' is a bad thing. The excerpts she showed us only depicted the bad side of 'addiction', when in fact, the term probably belongs in a gray area.

What's my view of the whole thing? Addiction takes a turn for the worse when it leads to negative things.

Addicted to gaming? Fine. Addicted to gaming and it's destroying your social life? That's when it gets bad. I think I am addicted to gaming, but as with anything else, it's obviously detrimental to other aspects in your life when in excess.

YAY!

Well I'm pretty happy because my Bayonetta review on Kotaku got published haha yay! I really don't mind if I don't win, it's just something to add to my portfolio when the time comes. IM TAKING THE INITIATIVE!!

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2010/05/reader-review-bayonetta-2/

And that's about it for today!

When Kratos taught me a thing or two...

March 20th 2010, a date that I had been waiting for nearly three years. Ever since Kratos pronounced his revenge on Zeus and the rest of Mount Olympus in the climax ending of God of War 2, I’d waited for three years to find out how this trilogy would end. Hanging on every announcement, watching every video, the hype and anticipation was there. I told myself God of War 3 would be the game to wait for, possibly even better than Metal Gear Solid 4. This was the reason to buy a PS3.

March 20th – Arriving home with a new haircut and God of War 3, I pop the game into my PS3. Holding the controller in anticipation, three years of waiting had boiled down to this moment. The third and final part in this trilogy which had given me so many great gaming memories. Flashing on screen in his next gen form, I gasp for a moment. Choosing new game, Kratos states

“My vengeance ends now.”

Flash forward a couple of minutes and Kratos is riding a top Gaia as they ascend Mount Olympus. It’s the perfect opening for a game, picking up off right where the last God of War left off. Gaia is attacked throughout the opening, constantly shifting the movement mode for Kratos. He defends Gaia from repeated attacks by Poseidon, coming in the form of some horse-scorpion hybrid. It looks wonderful, even on my analogue television, and more importantly, plays like every God of War should. Without spoiling it, the end of the opening sequence is almost the perfect summary of what God of War is: complete destruction on the largest scale.

But then something happens, and Kratos is once again stripped of all his powers. Everything that God of War 2 built up to is somewhat lost in this event; Kratos doesn’t feel like the almighty powerhouse that he was in the opening sequence.

And as the game progresses, little evidence of this ‘almighty powerhouse’ Kratos should be is shown ever again. He chases a certain God at one point, and engages in some sort of rhythm mini game in another section. The last third of the game has Kratos escorting a little girl that reminds him of his daughter, and in the process is put through endless battle after battle. Rarely did I ever feel this sense of empowerment that God of War 2 spent a whole goddamn game building towards. Instead of jamming a bridge through a Kraken’s mouth, I was chasing the arse of some God who would repeatedly taunt me like a 6 year old child.

By the end of the game I realised that I was trying to make myself enjoy the game. I told myself and friends it was a great game, but in reality I thought differently. Why, deep down inside, did I not enjoy the game as I did with the previous two? Moreover, why did I try to convince myself that it was a really good game? I tried playing through it again, and haven’t finished it since. I racked my brain as to why it was like this.

Then I realised, there wasn’t anything wrong with God of War 3, there was something wrong with me. I built up this game to be so damn good, I would rant to my friends at recess and lunch at how awesome the ending of the God of War 2 was, and how God of War 3 would continue this trend. But it didn’t, expectation made it to be a better game than what it really was.

In truth it was the high expectation I had for God of War 3. There was no chance in the world this game would disappoint me, and somehow it did. But in reality, God of War 3 is a decent game; the only reason I complained a few paragraphs before is because those were the reasons I used to try to convince myself as to why it was a bad game. I couldn’t accept the truth that I had set my expectations too high, and with three years of expectations suddenly shot down, it’s kind of hard to accept the truth.

But accept the truth I did. I’ve left that experience behind me, admitting that my expectations ruined a game that wasn’t so bad. I’ve learnt to not get my hopes up too high and for that, I thank God of War 3 not for being a game but for being a worthy lesson in life.

For the rest of my life, I can safely say that I have been published in Hyper! Thanks to Selina's artistic input as well as her 1337 photography skillz, we were published in Hyper's 200th issue.

Readers were required to send in a collection of their Hyper magazine collection, along with a short bio about themselves. Selina and I rose to the challenge and sent a photo of me and my hyper collection. And to our surprise, WE WERE PUBLISHED!!



There it is! WE WERE PUBLISHED!!! IN HYPER!! YAAY!!!

The World Ends With You review

The World Ends with You starts off with unlikely hero Neku waking up in the iconic Shibuya crossing. With no memory of how he got there, it’s made pretty clear that from the outset that Neku is an individual who doesn’t want to anything to do with the world around him. However his unwanted entry into ‘The Reapers game’ forces him to join with other player or face erasure. You’ll be glad Neku was forced into this do or die game, because it results in a gaming experience that is immensely deep and satisfying; The World Ends with You is an experience like no other.

And it’s what the RPG market needs, all those turn based battles and random encounters were starting to feel stale. TWEWY avoids the same old game play by introducing a new battle system that is, while daunting at first, turns out to be one of the most rewarding systems to play in a long time. As Neku is partnered with another individual, a battle takes place on the two DS screens; partner at the top and Neku at the bottom. Neku is given pins with special abilities, and the player must perform different manoeuvres with the stylus to activate these abilities, from drawing horizontal and vertical lines on the enemies to tapping the screen repeatedly to fire projectiles. Later pins may also require the player to shout into the mic to activate a soundwave in game, the louder the shout, the more damaging the soundwave.

So while all this is happening on the bottom screen, Neku’s partner is busy attacking at the top of the screen. The player is required to use either the directional pad or face buttons in order to attack. Take into account that there’s already a fair amount of action going on in Neku’s screen and it makes for a pretty hectic battle. While a bit overwhelming at first, it soon becomes a frantic battle to defeat the ‘noise’ quickly and with as much efficiency as possible, the player given a rating at the end of each battle that determines the amount of experience they gain for Neku’s pins. It’s a refreshing change from the usual turn based battle seen in JRPGS, and makes grinding a lot of fun. Yes, grinding a lot of fun. In fact it won’t even feel like grinding, you’ll feel like repeatedly scanning for enemies to level up your pins to its maximum capabilities.

It’s important I spend two paragraphs on the battle system, because it is one of the most unique and enriching systems seen in RPGs. Why should such a crucial element of this genre be such a bore? If it’s integral to the experience, make it interesting and fun to play. TWEWY passes the test with flying colours.

The game also takes its setting and heavily integrates it into the gameplay. Set in Shibuya, the ‘trend capital’ of Japan, TWEWY takes the tried and true factor of armour in RPGS and not only modernizes it, but makes it a crucial element to success. As Neku and co. pass through several districts, the popular trends in clothing changes accordingly and directly impacts on the effect it has when entering a battle. Wear clothing that is popular with the district and you’ll be guaranteed an attack boost, conversely, wear something that is ‘not in fashion’ and expect to do less damage. It also applies with pins too, so there is much more planning required when facing a large scale battle. Thankfully, there are plenty of shops spread around Shibuya so there is never a shortage of what to wear. In short, it’s a system that goes beyond the normal ‘armour and weapons’ used in other RPGS, rather it takes into account it’s setting and story.

Speaking of which, the story in TWEWY is simply put, amazing. As mentioned before, Neku is not one to associate with the world around with him. Playing in a game that forces him to make pacts with other players in order to survive presents an interesting theme about trust and reliance on others into the game. It also deals with identity and the dichotomy between individuality and conforming to social stands in order to survive, evident with the aspect of wearing clothes that are ‘popular’ to gain an advantage. While Neku may appear to be the same amnesiac, emo grouch used in the last 50 RPG games, he slowly grows into an enjoyable character, one that you won’t resent for his qualities, but rather admire for the way he is portrayed as the game progresses. His allies and enemies are also central to the story, representing parts of the themes mentioned above, and subsequently making the story all the more involving. And while the title of the game may sound cryptic at first, it slowly becomes that it is the most fitting title for such a deep and involving game.

I haven’t even talked about the art and sound design in this game, which along with the rest of the game, is amazing. Art design takes its cues from an influence of Anime/Manga and graffiti culture, resulting in a highly stylised game that fits in with the Shibuya setting. Districts differ greatly from this style, from the skyscrapers of the 104 building to the rich greys of the Station underpass to the tagged walls of Udagawa. They all help to avoid the game ever feeling boring or stale; it almost feels like each district in Shibuya has its own character and emotions, with the only similarities being the same animation sprites used for the commuters of the city. The music is also quite memorable as well, with tunes ranging from pop to rock to rap all crammed into the game. And they sound great, with each song that plays throughout the game never growing old. The great thing is that the songs can be bought from various shops in the game and listened to in the menu.

There’s a lot of passion put in this game. From the unique art design to the battle system to the deep and enriching story and beyond, The World Ends with You speaks of devotion and dedication from a team that attempted to make their game stand out in a genre that is growing a bit stale. The end result is one of the best DS titles out there, and possibly one of the best RPGS in recent memory. In short, don’t miss it for the world.

PROS
- Deep, involving story
- Gameplay with plenty of depth
- Unique and fitting art and music

CONS
- Text can get a tad repetitive when repeated game overs are experienced

Resulting in a score of:

9.5/10