Elder Sign: Omens takes place in the Miskatonic Museum. The museum is stocked with encounters called adventures, each consisting of one or more tasks. Some adventures need to be resolved quickly because they cause widespread negative effects. For instance, the above screenshot show us looking at the koi pond adventure in the upper left. But let’s see what’s going on with that pulsing red circle in the administration office, down there in the lower right.
After the jump, we need to find help Continue reading →
If you’ve played Fantasy Flight’s Arkham Horror cooperative boardgame, some of Elder Sign: Omens will be familiar to you. This is basically a dice-based iPhone solitaire version of Arkham Horror (available here for $4). It plays a bit like Clue, where you align several pieces on the board for one of the adventures, which consists of rolling dice and matching them to the adventure’s component tasks. For instance, Sister Mary the nun in the North Wing with the dynamite against the Medusa exhibit. Then you roll the dice and see how she fares.
The overall goal is to accumulate 14 elder signs, which are rewards for beating some adventures, before you accumulate 12 doom tokens, which are penalties for failing some adventures, as well as occasional draws during the dreaded midnight phase. I’ve played three games, each with a hand-picked group of investigators. In all three games, the world was devoured. Oops. Maybe I’ll have more luck this time with a random party.
After the jump, meet the boys Continue reading →
The Old Republic has the same sense of morality that’s present in the other Bioware games. The choices you make often give you light or dark side points. These points are combined, light subtracting from dark, etc, to give you an overall score. For instance, Willy has 3,900 points towards the dark side because I have 250 light side points and 4,150 dark side points.
Morality has never been so easy!
After the jump, diplomatic immunity… revoked Continue reading →
I’ve saved the most unique for last. I have a love-hate relationship with Square Enix’s games. I’m not a huge fan of their bread and butter Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy series, which fall into the category of typical JRPGs. I enjoy when they do something different, such as Chrono Trigger or Kingdom Hearts. In fact, the only reason I tried Final Fantasy 12 was because I read that all the hardcore fans hated it. Turned out it was one of my favorite games that year.
After the jump, Square Enix gets trippy Continue reading →
Each day I wake up, put on my Sith dress and get ready for the party I’m about to crash. After scratching, yawning, and using the bathroom, it’s time to jump in the pilot’s seat and wreak some havoc. Space havoc. But first, I do my “I’m about to murder” dance (pictured above).
After the jump: space Continue reading →
Demon’s Souls has had one hell of a story. The game was originally set to be published by Sony who dropped it because they felt it wasn’t going to sell. It turned into one of the must-have games for the Playstation 3. In fact, Demon’s Souls was the first game I bought for the Playstation 3 from word of mouth alone. And I bought it three months before I actually owned the system.
After the jump, the wonderful world of constant death Continue reading →
In The Old Republic, there aren’t any big spooky caves full of monsters. Or hell, maybe there are and I haven’t seen them yet. I’m cave-free at the moment. Instead, in this game, there are flashpoints. Which sound suspiciously like flash mobs, but with less dancing. Note that I said “less”.
After the jump: the neutron dance Continue reading →
Etrian Odyssey 3 is really the cop-out on my list. It is the most classic RPG design. When the series was first announced, the lead designer said in an interview that he wanted to bring back classic design, and that he looked at the Wizardry series for inspiration. However, while the game’s design came from the past, it featured several major renovations to the formula that make it stand out.
After the jump, a retro role playing game revival Continue reading →
Yes, that’s a scene from an RPG.
A typical role playing game asks the player to stare at a list of commands, deciding which one he wants, followed by the same animation playing out each time. Resonance of Fate asks the player to run straight at an enemy, shooting it so he goes flying into the air, then jumping after it shooting it some more so that he slams into the ground doing additional damage, and, yes, this is still an RPG.
After the jump, turn-based bullet-time Continue reading →
The first group of levels in the Old Republic is what you’d expect from an MMO: familiarization and training. To that end, instead of discussing the academy in depth, I’m going to show you a letter my character wrote to his parents towards the end of his stay on Korriban.
After the jump, the epistle Continue reading →
Pictured above is the boss “Fiend Matador”. While he isn’t the most recognizable demon, or the most frightening, he made gamers scream in terror at his sight. He is a punch-in-the-face introduction to the world of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.
After the jump, the perfect combination of demons and Pokemon Continue reading →
When it comes down to video game morality choices, I usually skew towards the bad guys. Not because I’m the kind of guy that wants to go on a killing spree, but because I like the freedom evil affords. If someone is a dick to you and you’re a good guy, you usually turn the other cheek. A Sith will stab you in the face. Which would you prefer to deal with?
After the jump, you’re going to deal with the Sith face stabbing Continue reading →
The stakes are fairly low in Suikoden V. The whole game is about a botched coup in a single country. Godwin’s forces don’t even look like Death Knights. They look like some third world army with their fruity berets. And like other Suikoden titles and real world wars, it’s clear the Godwins are going to lose near the end. The final battles are more like suicide by protagonist. Though in keeping with JRPG tradition, the final boss always ups the stakes in the last battle by transforming into a monster. Suikoden V is kinda like Hamlet, because you duel the usurper’s son before going on to kill the usurper. If King Claudius turned into a dragon for a final boss fight at the end of Hamlet, they would be even more similar.
After the jump, the prince and Lyon: will they or won’t they? Continue reading →
Getting a headquarters for your army is a Suikoden series tradition. The HQ is where all the recruits hang out, each with his own one or two line spiel that reflects his personality/backstory and changes in the plot. As you see your army grow, the HQ always goes from an empty warehouse to a bustling town, with new sections added in stages. All the non-combat recruits earn their keep here, even if their only job is to be an inn keeper. Each game has a recruit whose only function is to — no joke — install an elevator.
After the jump, what Suikoden characters do in their downtime Continue reading →
From a gameplay perspective, saying there are 108 characters in a Suikoden game really means there are 60 to 80 benchwarmers once you subtract non-combat, non-support characters who are just there to serve as shopkeepers and other RPG jobs for your army. Some have common jobs like innkeeper. Some have uncommon jobs like elevator bellman, gardener, or the orchestra conductor who’s the music playback menu in disguise. Some such as series vet Jeanne do double duty as party member and vendor. Though Jeanne was already doing double duty as rune vendor and sex object. Story wise though, every character contributes at least a bit part. There are quite a few characters with subplots and character arcs. Everyone else at least has unique dialog and portraits, making this one of the few RPGs where the merchant peons have personality. The merchants that are part of your army, that is.
After the jump, why I love the beavers Continue reading →
