So while watching Snakes on a Plane, it occurred to me that I haven’t made any New Years resolutions. But rather than do resolutions that I’d never get around to completing, like losing weight and watching what I eat, I’d rather start off with what should be some easier goals for the year. Let’s give it a go.
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Usually, holidays overseas are a good chance for me to take a break from gaming because, at times, it does feel like a part-time job on the side, except I don’t get paid for it (unfortunately). After the 8+ hours in front of a computer at work, I often top it off with another 4-5 hours of screentime at home. Not entirely healthy, but since when were gamers concerned about piddly things like one’s corporeal self?

This holiday, however, I’ve been investing a bit of time into my (mate’s) Nintendo DS. After stuffing my face and seeing sights, it’s refreshing to cap off a day with a brief session of hand held goodness. Here’s what’s on my playlist right now:

Meteos - okay, I’ll admit it: I had a couple of Meteos dreams. In one dream, I was controlling the movement of the tiles using my mind instead of the stylus, and I was progressively step-jumping until I was moving all the blocks at once. Then I thought, “fuck this, I can just move the lot off the screen”, and I cleared the screen using my God-like will. (I think the opposing planet was Favoom, or something. I felt a bit bad for killing a planet’s worth of creatures, but that’s what they get for fucking with a guy that can fire a screen’s worth of little blocks whenever he damn well pleases.)

Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney - I’ve always wondered who that guy was in all those 4scrape wallpapers, and I decided to give the actual game a go. It’s incredibly linear and progressive, but such is the nature of point-and-click adventure games like this. And besides, it tells a few good yarns while giving you the satisfaction of unravelling a witness’s phoney-baloney story. That’s right, I called their testimony a piece of processed meat that lacks credibility. Also, you have the chance to scream out “Objection!” in real-life at your DS. (Not recommended.)

Trauma Centre - Under The Knife - Again, I’ve read a bit about Trauma Centre but never had the chance to actually give it a proper go. The Asuka-like NPC was a nice touch, but for me it had to be the ability to, er, slow down time by drawing a symbol that is eerily reminiscent of a Pentagram. That would be a much more interesting game, in my opinion - Trauma Centre - Pagan Wing. “Get me 2 pints of goat’s blood, the ox-skull axe and a virgin for Baal, stat!”

Legend of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass - I’ve been trying to finish this game for a while on my train trips to/from work. Do you know the two things that held me back? One was wandering around the ocean trying to figure out where I was meant to go; the other was “shouting as loud as I could” to get that salvage arm. I think I ended up cupping the mic and humming as loud as I could into it. I think I got fewer weird looks doing that than if I screamed out “JUST GIMME THE DAMNED SHIP PART YOU CREEPY OLD MAN” at the DS, but I guess I’ll never know. Well, I have no excuse to leave it hanging like that, so I suppose I’d better get the thing over and done with.

This morning I was flicking through the first issue of GameInformer while, erm, “processing” a rather heavy Hong Kong buffet from the previous night. The main feature for the inaugural issue was on Dead Space 2, which was enough to get me all frothy at the mouth.

But the producers of Dead Space discovered something surprising - people were “too scared” playing the game. They could only manage 30 minute sessions before feeling overwhelmed by the stressful scenarios the game presented. Executive producer Steve Papoutsis says:

“They were always on the edge of their seat 100 percent of the time…they never felt badass: they never felt like they could just walk into a room and waste guys.”

Wait, what?

Isn’t that the whole point of “survival horror”? Aren’t horror games meant to take away the very things that make you a “badass” and force you to be more mindful of your resources, surroundings and opponents? I mean, that’s the whole reason why I play these games in the first place - to experience the thrill of fighting for my life.

I’ve quietly disapproved of the departure from truly scary titles such as Fatal Frame in lieu of more action-oriented games such as F.E.A.R and, to some extent, Left 4 Dead. We’ve been desensitised to gore since the days of running through Imp-infested, portal-filled moon bases. Throwing more of it at us isn’t going to get us recoiling in wide-eyed horror with our mouths covered. Honestly, I still get chills thinking about the scene in Silent Hill 2 when you have to reach into that hole in the wall.

Then again, the mainstream gets what the mainstream wants. Not everyone wants to hear the stomach-churning click of an empty gun chamber. Nor do they want to be clicking cameras wildly in the dark trying to catch a ghost. (Damn, that really was a scary game.)

I’ll still be buying Dead Space 2, though.

A couple of days ago, there was heavy snowfall in Beijing. It was the heaviest snowfall recorded in 60 years. A vast majority of flights out of Beijing International were cancelled, and passengers were waiting in terminals for hours only to be turned away for de-immigration and baggage reclaimation.

The wait wasn’t too painful for me (although having to de-immigrate was a bitch) mainly because of Meteos.

I’ve been trying to figure out what makes Meteos so addictive. It’s a devilishly simple concept in the same way that Tetris is simple to grasp. The primary action is just moving blocks up and down the stacks of Meteos in order to match them in rows or columns of three or more matching images. Successfully doing so propels the blocks towards the top of the screen - if the blocks break through the top, they are “launched”. Blocks can be matched in mid-flight to further propel the stack towards the top of the screen. As the game progresses, the speed of the falling blocks increases, and the user is pressed to scan the field more quickly, match the blocks, and manage their stacks of Meteos.

The concept was so simple that it almost turned me off during my first game, initially fuelling fears that the game lacked depth. How wrong I was.

What really captures the player is how the game manages to support such a simple concept. Special items can drastically change the playing field. Versus modes between 4 players can become long, bitter and stubborn affairs as opponents compete to clear their screens and push their Meteos onto their opponents screens. Different “planets” yield different images and playing conditions, resulting in different experiences every time. Launched Meteos can be used to create new planets, weapons, sounds and rare metals in an experience / reward mechanic.

It’s a combination of simple concepts fused together into a game that rewards persistence but doesn’t punish casual play. You are likely to get as much out of the game from a 5 minute session as you are from an hour long session, and as time goes on you move on from simple single launches to complicated step jump chains.

I guess waiting for cancelled flights are good for something.

As I type I’m waiting for a taxi to take me to the airport, where my Hong Kong / China / Singapore trip will kick off.

I’ll be bringing the notebook with me (of both paper and silicon variety) so I’ll make some posts as time affords.

Hope you’re all enjoying a great Xmas break. While I’m at it, have a prosperous and happy new year. (It’s the Year of the Tiger, for all you Chinese Astrology fans and Sagat players out there.)

I had some of my brother-in-law’s baked ham, BBQed some chicken thighs, drank plenty of grog, and finished off with a nice session of God of War 2. I just ripped Euryale’s head off. Good thing she’s immortal.

I wanted to write about the Dante’s Inferno demo earlier, but felt that I was ill prepared to do so. My rationale was that I didn’t have enough background experience on the game’s format, since it plays remarkably like God of War. Regretfully, I hadn’t yet played God of War at the time.

Luckily for me, my God of War Collection arrived a few days ago.

I’ve spent most of my spare time going through the two God of War titles (after finishing off Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 - it’s been a busy holiday) and I’m a bit divided on its style.

On one hand, it’s a very well executed game. The separate moves offer enough detail to promote learning, but are not difficult to the point where it’s impossible to pull off combos. The savagery of Kratos’s attacks are a guilty pleasure, from jamming a blade down a Minotaur’s throat to ripping the wings off a Harpy. Magic complemented the action well, even if it was a little neglected in favour of the Blades of Chaos. The puzzles weren’t too brain-bending, and served their purpose as an action break, rather than a silent chastisement of the player’s problem-solving skills. Even the Metroid-like revisiting of previous areas was tastefully done.

On the other, there was a lack of…finesse. By the time I hit the later stages, my preferred weapons were so overpowered I felt like I was cheating the game. It was an odd feeling. (I guess the game got back at me by presenting some horrendous camera angles so I would consistently jump to my death, but I digress.)

I guess I should explain.

I was raised on Devil May Cry (and by saying that, I mean every title in the series except DMC2). I was brought up on progressively difficult gameplay that bordered on being unreasonable in the final stages, but made me a better man in the end. Enemies would attack suddenly and without warning, and the giddy thrill of evading multiple scythe strikes by a hair’s breadth was truly palpable. I’m used to preserving every sliver of life I could get. I’m minimalist with my support items and methodical with my combos and weapon use, rather than spamming attacks and hoping that something comes out.

God of War wasn’t like that. I wouldn’t say it was dumbed down - it was just more accessible, and it was all very unfamiliar. Even little things like the attraction distance of the orbs threw me off a bit. And all that QTE business? That’s your Pandora’s Box, right there.

That said, God of War was a great production and ages well. Devil May Cry makes you raise one eyebrow, whereas God of War has you raising both. I’m working through God of War 2, and the gameplay tweaks really make it stand out from its predecessor.

Oh right, I was meant to talk about Dante’s Inferno. Erm…it’s a lot like God of War. But in Hell. And with more breasts.

(Well, probably about the same amount.)