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Four in February – Week 4 Final Update

Posted on March 1, 2015 by

Just joining us? Catch up with the previous posts: intro, week 1, week 2, week 3.

The month of February is over, my time to complete the challenge has come to a close. I started the month with the goal to complete four games from my Pile of Shame: Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Shadow of the Colossus, FTL, and Infamous: Second Son. Coming into this week, I had finished FTL and Infamous and had started the other two. So, did I finish? Well, not exactly. I did complete the challenge, just not how I originally intended.

Last week, I did not want to talk too much about Uncharted: Golden Abyss because I felt I was at a point in the story that would color how I discussed the game. I thought that I was just at the turning point and I needed to see the story resolve to give a fair read on the overall experience. It turns out I was only partially right. The story was at the beginning point of the resolution of the narrative. Unfortunately, seeing it through to the end did not improve my opinion of the game.

As I said in week 2, Uncharted: Golden Abyss had a lot riding on it as a launch title for a new handheld device from Sony at a time that the Nintendo DS was simply printing money and dominating the market. Even with a less-than-stellar launch of the 3DS, Nintendo was outselling Sony’s handheld in 2012. Sony was hopeful that a launch title from a flagship series would help boost sales. While the developers at Bend Studios deliver a solid gaming experience with Golden Abyss, I cannot help but feel that it falls a bit short of the series it was representing.

My earlier enthusiasm for the polish of the game waned as I continued my adventure with Nathan Drake. Golden Abyss lacks any real of the action-movie style, jaw-dropping set pieces that the Uncharted series is famous for. There is probably a bit of cinematic magic necessarily lost going to the smaller screen of the Vita, but that does not account for everything. Indeed, the two main battles of the game are little more than extended quick time events using the Vita’s touchscreen capability. Add on top of that sections which lock the camera in a less-than-ideal angle (and occasionally completely reversing perspective as you are trying to escape) leading to more accidental deaths than normal and a story that never quite captured my imagination, and the whole experience is a bit flat.

The pacing of the story is probably most problematic. In a couple of spots the flow of the narrative is completely derailed or the game experience is interrupted by a lot of narrative catch-up work. There are two sections of paddling a canoe using the touch screen, the entire purpose of which is to cram in a bit of exposition. It is jarring and feels forced. I would have rather just had a cinematic than this attempt to gamify the story telling.

While the plot is a bit lacking, in my opinion, the characterization is a strong point. The voice acting, as it has always been in the Uncharted series, is top-notch. The dialog is engaging and tried valiantly to get me interested in the plot. However, in the end, it just made me care about the characters, but not so much about what they were doing, nor why. Also, in terms of character development, this game is meant to be a prequel in the chronology of the series, yet I come away from the game with no new real insights into the characters that appear in other Uncharted games.

I do not mean to be overly critical of the game. I enjoyed my time with Uncharted: Golden Abyss, but if it were not for this challenge, I easily could see myself being distracted by another game. As it was a game I did not pay money directly for (I got it as part of the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection), and because I am a fan of the series, I am glad that I finally played the game. I had an enjoyable time. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is like that movie that you will stop and watch when you are flipping channels on the television without any real plans. It is not good enough that you would watch it instead of what you were planning on watching, but it is good enough that you will watch it all the way through. However, if you are not already a fan of the series, I am not sure playing this game would make you interested in seeking out what are some of the finest adventure games of the last console generation.

The final game left between me and completing this challenge was Shadow of the Colossus. I had every intention of beating this game and reveling in completing the Four in February challenge. However, by Wednesday and defeating the eighth colossus I faced another quandary. I was playing the game wrong (some may say “cheating”) in order to complete the challenge- I was using a walkthrough.

If you are at all familiar with Shadow of the Colossus, you should recognize my problem. The entire game is about exploration and discovery. It is a sparse, beautiful world in which you have very basic tools to accomplish a relatively simple task- find the colossi and figure out how to beat them one-by-one. In many ways, the game is a puzzle game. Using a walkthrough is like simply looking up the solution to the puzzle. I did not want to complete the game like that, so I made the decision to stop playing.

However, I was not ready to give up on the challenge. I made this decision on Wednesday, which put me in a bit of a bind. I needed a game that could be beat in three days and regardless of the challenge I could stick to. Luckily, one of the newest additions to my Pile of Shame fit the bill perfectly: HarmoKnight for the 3DS.

If you have never heard of this game, that is not too surprising. It released in 2013 as a Nintendo eShop download only title. It is published by Nintendo, but the developer might be a bit of surprise. Game Freak, the developer most known for its mega-franchise Pokémon, created HarmoKnight basically as a side project for a small team of developers. It is a rhythm action-platformer in which you play as Tempo, a young apprentice who must use the power of a magic staff to help save the kingdom.

I am a sucker for rhythm games. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat? Sure. PaRappa the Rapper? I will even play the very flawed PSP version. Boom Boom Rocket, Every Extend Extra, Lumines? More please. Ouendan 1 & 2 are the only games I have ever imported. I own every incarnation of Rock Band and backed the Amplitude Kickstarter. Heck, I own DJ Hero 1 & 2. There is just something about the genre that works for me.

HarmoKnight takes the rhythm core mechanic and adds in 2.5D platforming and is a lot of fun. There is not a huge song list in the game, instead each world is based around a specific rhythm- rock, march, baroque, etc. – with variations of the main song through different levels and challenges. This approach is very successful in the game. The changes in tempo and time signatures presents a great challenge even to rhythm game veterans. There is enough variation in the stages that it keeps you going.

The main story is fairly short. 8 worlds, approximately 45 stages, and you win. However, there are some bonus stages that are not unlockable until after you finish the main story. On top of which, any stage which you complete with a “Great” rating unlocks in a higher-tempo mode which increases the challenge. The replay value really depends on where you fall on rhythm game spectrum. If you are into the score attack/perfect run, then there is a lot to go back to here. If you are looking more from the platformer side, once you are done, you are probably done.

Visually, the game reminds me of a mix between Dragon Quest and Klonoa. I mean that as a compliment. Until the credits rolled and I saw that Game Freaks developed the title I did not get a Pokémon vibe. Upon reflection, the similarities in certain visuals should have been obvious. It is cartoonish and cute.

HarmoKnight was a recent reward for me from Club Nintendo. I was waiting for the new 3DS hardware to come out before I downloaded it, though. I played over a few days and beat the game and have had a great time with it. If you are a fan of rhythm games, I highly recommend it.

So I did it! I beat the Four in February challenge. I took 4 games from my Pile of Shame and beat them in the month of February. Sure, I had to sub out Shadow of the Colossus for HarmoKnight at the end, but that is one of the great parts about this challenge: there are no real rules. In the month of February, I completed Uncharted: Golden Abyss, FTL, Infamous: Second Son, and HarmoKnight. My Pile of Shame is a little smaller and I have honored in a small way what Joystiq brought to gaming journalism. Hopefully, I have also entertained you, too, dear reader. Thanks for following

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Four in February – Week 3 Update

Posted on February 22, 2015 by

Just joining us? Catch up with the previous posts: intro, week 1, week 2.

This week was a touch tumultuous. It started with an ice storm that threatened to completely derail my attempt at this challenge but has ended with the goal very close to realization with one week to go. This week I was able to finish Infamous: Second Son and FTL and am close to finishing Uncharted: Golden Abyss. That just leaves Shadow of the Colossus as the major hurdle to completing the challenge.

Monday evening an ice storm hit and knocked out my neighborhood’s power from Monday around 9 pm to Wednesday morning around 2:30 am. It was very chilly in my house. Still, I would be remiss to not take this opportunity to publicly thank all of the people who were out in the bad weather working to fix things. Thank you.

Tuesdays are normally heavy playing days for me. Instead, I had one (luckily full) charge on my PS Vita to last the entire time my power was out. It turned out to be fortuitous that I did not spend more time with Uncharted, otherwise that full charge would not have done much good in relation to this challenge.

However, while I am close to beating Uncharted, I am not quite there and I do not want to give my impressions right now, because I am at a crucial point of the story (I think). I need to play more of the story from where I am now to give a fair and full impression of the game.

Once the power came back on, I still had a couple of days to make progress in the challenge for the week. I focused on Infamous first, and found I was further in the story than I anticipated- or rather, the story was shorter than I thought, after I was done freeing Seattle from DUP control. This is the flip side to my play style when it comes to these open world games. I spend a lot of time doing the side missions and powering up which in turn makes the main story missions easier than intended.

It would be unfair for me to hold my play style against Sucker Punch. The only way for them to mitigate my play style is to put artificial barriers to my advancement into the game. They do put one in by making you get a certain power by completing a certain mission to reach the second half of the map. Used sparingly, a story block works but if there are too many it makes the game feel linear and defeats the feel of choice and openness that the game world is based upon.

So, you get players like me who spend time going around collecting all the power shards and leveling my karmic standing enabling me to max a power’s level as soon as I gain access to it. I absolutely break the game’s power curve. In addition, because I leave the story missions for last, I mess with the narrative’s timing and pace to its detriment. That is the choice I make in how I play and if Sucker Punch were to do too much to deter my approach, it would break the larger framework of the game. That would be a shame, because Sucker Punch did a really amazing job with Infamous: Second Son.

The graphics, story, sound design, and design decisions all work together to create a compelling game play experience in Infamous: Second Son. The characters are well introduced and developed through game play. When back story is introduced, it is done in a way that makes sense within the mechanics of the game. Learning about the other conduits through nicely stylized vignettes when gaining some of their powers worked for me as a story telling device. It also gave the player these characters’ stories through their own voice, which goes a long way to making them more real. Yet, at the same time, you get a visual reputation that allows another layer of subtext to their story allowing the player to interpret the character’s story through a different view. This worked best for me with Fetch and Augustine. Those two characters felt more well-rounded and real to me than the other conduits. Still, all of the characters have motivations, and more importantly, agency within the story. I find that to still be a minority position in video game storytelling- especially AAA-title video game story telling.

Additionally, the story and interactions of your main character, Delsin Rowe, and his brother Reggie, while told in a more traditional narrative approach, was well crafted and delivered. Those interactions and that relationship felt genuine. That is all the harder with the karmic system on top of the story. The relationship and story has to work regardless of how you choose to play Delsin, and they do.

If you have a PlayStation 4 and you have not played Infamous: Second Son, you are missing out. It is exciting to see a game this polished and this good this early in the console’s cycle. It makes me excited for what is to come. I highly recommend it, and am glad that I chose it as a title for this challenge.

With FTL, I am pleased that my strategy proved effective. I took my time with my victory play through. Last week, I was just starting sector 6. It took me all week to advance through sectors 6 and 7 and last night I triumphed in sector 8. I barely made it. My ship had only 4 hull points left when I defeated the main boss. It is humbling to remember that this was easy mode.

I am very glad I pulled off this victory. If I had not won on this play through, I am not sure I would have had the determination to play back through another attempt this week. I am not sure FTL was a good choice for this challenge. That is not a comment about the quality of FTL by any means. I have loved my time with FTL and will probably use it as my spare time game for a while. Any time I have my computer and 10 – 15 minutes of spare time, FTL can fill that time and I do not have to worry about being able to stop where I am. I mean simply that FTL can be an unforgiving game and when a loss means starting over from square one it can get very taxing on a player with the artificial deadline of the challenge compounding that pressure. When a random procedurally generated encounter can destroy a perfectly good play through it can get frustrating if your only goal is to “beat” the game.

That is the other issue in terms of FTL and this challenge. Being a rogue-like game, I am not sure the point of FTL is to get past the final boss. At some level it is, sure, but there is also the element of just bettering your previous game. I would have felt terrible if the only thing that separated me from feeling like I completed this challenge was defeating the final encounter of the game. Even without that, I felt that I had met this challenge in relation with FTL just by enjoying my time with the game, and finally playing it and seeing what it was all about. Oh well, I did beat the boss encounter, so no worries there.

Alright, so there we are. I have a little more than two and two thirds of the challenge complete, but only one week left to complete it. I am not quite as far along as I hoped I would be last week, but I can blame the weather for that a little. Still, I am optimistic that this is going to happen and that I will complete the Four in February challenge and that my Pile of Shame will be 4 games smaller. Will I make it? Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion.

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Four in February – Week 2 Update

Posted on February 15, 2015 by

Just joining us? Catch up with the previous posts: intro, week 1.

Wait, what? We are already half done with February? Yikes. So the challenge is to finish four games this month. I am still sitting on the big ol’ goose-egg. I have not completed Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Infamous: Second Son, Shadow of the Colossus, nor FTL. Despite that, I am still feeling pretty good about my chances. This week, Uncharted and Infamous got the lion’s share of playing time with FTL a distant third and no time on Shadow of the Colossus this week. Here is what is going on.

I am getting better at FTL. I say that despite the fact that I have yet to get back to the final encounter. It takes a strategy to make it through the stages and be prepared for that encounter. I am getting close to having that strategy. In fact, I just reached sector 6 in my current play through and am feeling pretty good about it. Of course, since I just told you all that, sector 6 will probably lead to the death of my crew and ship. While you can have a great plan there is still a large element of randomness, as is often the case in rogue-like games, which can bring your plans to ruin. Either way, I hope to have FTL in the done pile next week.

Now that I have decided to go with the easy difficulty, I am making progress in Uncharted: Golden Abyss. It is slow, but that has been my experience with all of the Uncharted games. Part of the mastery of the series is that they are so well set up within their narrative. They unpack like a great pulp adventure or action movie. This leads to some of the best set pieces of the last game generation and has made the Uncharted series one of the highest rated game franchises ever. It also means it takes me a while to really get into the games. It is not that the first chapters are poorly designed, rather it takes me a little while to get invested in the new characters and plot. If an Uncharted game were a roller-coaster, I am still on the chain-climb to the top of the first big drop.

I just started chapter 5, so still at the beginning, but far enough in to start to get a feel for the mechanics. Most of the way the game plays so far feels a lot like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and lacks the refinements of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. However, as told in this incredible interview, while they had access to the source code of both Uncharted and Uncharted 2 the team at Bend Studios used it as a blueprint for a new game engine for the PS Vita. That had to be a tremendous amount of pressure facing the developers. Here you go guys, you are developing the showcase launch game for our new handheld hardware using the universe of our most successful first-party title and have to show off all the quirks of this machine like touch- and motion-control. Do not screw this up. So far I am very impressed.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss feels like it belongs with its big-brother counterparts on the consoles. Sure that means the shooting mechanics are pretty squishy, but that has always been of secondary importance to the story, characters, and fun of the series. Here is where some of the hardware showcase works, and some feels shoehorned in. I really like how the touch screen and motion controls works for climbing. Just trace the path you want Nathan to transverse and he goes for it. This is very intuitive. Tilting the Vita to swing on a rope is intuitive and adds to the immersion into the game. It is less successful on the parts that feel forced into the game like keeping your balance on a log for a few seconds by tilting the Vita or using the machete via touch- both by following on-screen prompts. These examples feel more tech demo and actually break immersion for me.

These are just my initial thoughts. I still have a lot of time to spend with Nathan Drake, so we will see where I am next week.

The game I have spent the most time with this week is Infamous: Second Son, and I am having a blast. Sucker Punch has really improved upon their formula from the PS3 Infamous games and delivered a strong game. The problem with partially open-world games like this or the Assassin’s Creed games is I get lost in the side missions a lot. With Infamous this has meant I have spent a lot of time clearing sections of Seattle from DUP authority and leveling up my conduit powers more so than advancing the story. As an example, here is what my map looked like before the mission to get to the top of the Space Needle:

If you have not played this game that is about the second mission after you get to Seattle. Each of those sectors in the city start out with lots of markers and side activities to do. It looks more like this:

I will be finishing this game this week. It is going to happen. I will have more to say about it then. Hopefully, things will go well with FTL and I will finish it. If I could also finish Uncharted, I would be back on track and have a week to focus on Shadows of the Colossus. As a side note, I have not played any I have not played any Destiny this week. Not even the nightfall or weekly heroic missions. So at least, this challenge has been successful in making me branch out in my gaming.

Alright, see y’all next week.

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Four in February – Week 1 Update

Posted on February 8, 2015 by

One week down, and I am happy to report I have made progress in my Four in February challenge. In case you are just tuning-in, you can catch up with the introduction here. I would love to tell you, dear reader, that I have already completed a game out of the four. Alas, that did not quite come to pass. Still, I am happy with what I was able to get done this week but am also left with a philosophical question about what this challenge requires.

I am still deep in my obsession of Destiny. I am a Destiny apologist. Yes, it has some issues as a game but those are minor compared to the enjoyment I get from playing. Since its launch, it has been the only game I have played on my PS4 except when my wife and I play a game together. So, my first step to completing this challenge was to stop playing Destiny, or at least make room in my gaming time for games that are not Destiny. To this end, I was mostly successful. Tuesday, the day the servers for Destiny reset for the week, was still devoted to Destiny but I played games other than or in addition to Destiny every other day of the week.

I did not play any Infamous: Second Son. I did take it out of its wrapper and get it installed to my PS4. That is progress, right? I will get into it next week. Of course, that is the same attitude that placed it on my Pile of Shame in the first place.

I was very excited to start Shadow of the Colossus. As I sat down to play, I hoped that I had already downloaded the game. I have a slow DSL connection so game downloads are generally an overnight affair. The good news was I had already downloaded the game. The bad news was that I needed a system update for my PS3. Luckily, I have a PS+ subscription so the update was already downloaded and I just had to wait for it to install. A few minutes later and I started playing.

My initial impression is that this game is beautiful. Its age shows a bit, even in the HD enhanced edition, but not enough to overcome the art direction and atmosphere of the game. I took off in search of the first colossus, soaking in the well-crafted environments. I got to the cliffs, and started to run into the real challenge of the game. The control scheme for the game is not intuitive. The button combinations and overall control scheme takes some adjustment. For example, what the game calls “normal” and “inverted” in the options menu is the exact opposite of what I expected them to be. I played for a bit and took down the first two colossi. I stopped there because I want to enjoy this game and if I played longer I was worried I would be frustrated by the true enemy of the game: the controls.

The game that got the most play time from me this week was FTL. If you are unfamiliar with this game, it is a strategy game in which you are commander of a spaceship on the run from the rebel fleet trying to stop you from delivering intelligence about that rebel fleet to the Federation’s leadership. In order to do this, you have to make a series of faster than light jumps between navigation beacons in star systems. At each jump, there is a chance for an encounter that often involves some space combat. You have to manage ship resources while doing your best to not die. You can collect scrap that you can then use to upgrade your ship’s systems to hopefully make your future encounters easier to survive. Meanwhile, each jump you make brings the rebel fleet closer in pursuit, so you cannot just take a pleasure cruise around the universe.

I have had a lot of fun playing FTL but I have come to the conclusion that I am not very good at it. On normal difficulty I have not yet made it past the third stage. So, I kicked the difficulty to easy and was able to get to the final stage but have yet to defeat the final boss. I will keep trying.

I only played through the tutorial stage of Uncharted: Golden Abyss before pausing. My main complaint with the Uncharted series has always been the shooting mechanics. They have always frustrated me, especially since I like the stories in the series so much. I do not like the gameplay getting in the way of my enjoyment of the experience.

This concern leads me to my philosophical question. Does finishing a game on easy difficulty negate this challenge? As a younger gamer, I was time rich and game poor. Megaman was awesome in part because it was hard but I had a lot more time to devote to that single game. Now that I am older, I still game as a hobby mainly because of the experience I get from the games. That experience can be different for different games. I do not get the same thing out of playing Peggle as from The Last of Us, but they are both valid gaming experiences. I have nothing to prove to anyone about the validity of my personal game experience. Therefore, I am going to play both Uncharted and FTL on easy difficulty setting and not feel bad about it. As I said in the introduction, gaming is supposed to be fun, not a chore. I will play these games to get the most enjoyment out of them.

That is all for this week. Check back in next week and see if I manage to complete any of these games.

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Four in February Pile of Shame Challenge

Posted on February 3, 2015 by

Many gamers run into a problem with their hobby, me included. Namely, there are more games that we want to play than we have time to play. For many of us, this has introduced us to the concept of the Pile of Shame – our growing catalog of titles we have acquired but have not finished and in some instances have not even started to play.

There are many reasons for the Pile of Shame: Steam sales, Humble Bundles, PlayStation Plus (PS+), Games with Gold, other obligations taking gaming time, not being able to put down Destiny, etc. Personally, my Pile of Shame is stacked high with impulse purchases, Club Nintendo rewards, and good gaming intentions. Today, being the first Tuesday of the month, means my pile just got 6 games deeper; thanks Sony. (No really, thanks. I love the PS+ games program.) New games keep coming out, and our collections and our piles grow.

Luckily, game journalist Mike Suszek introduced the idea of Four in February a couple of years ago through Joystiq. The plan is simple: pick four games from your Pile of Shame and commit to finishing them in the month of February. There is not much more to it than that, though there is a Facebook group for the community to share its triumphs.

After a decade of pushing game journalism in a positive direction, Joystiq is closing today. It is consolidating with Engadget, and hopefully the spirit of Joystiq will continue there- time will tell. In honor of Joystiq, I will be taking the Four in February challenge as an homage to all the great things Joystiq has given gamers over the years. I invite you to come with me on this journey as I chronicle my attempt to make a dent in my Pile of Shame.

I had a few requirements for choosing which four games to use in the challenge. First, I wanted to use several different platforms. I am primarily a console gamer, but have plenty of PC and handheld games on my Pile as well. I figured the challenge can help push me to game on devices I sometimes neglect. Second, I wanted to choose games so that I actually have a chance of finishing all four without drastically increasing my playing time. I want the challenge to be achievable, not just another source of shame. Gaming is supposed to be enjoyable, not a chore. Third, all the games on my list are games I have not started. I hope that getting into these games for the first time will be easier than trying to go back to a game I am midway through but have not played in months or years. Finally, I wanted to choose games that epitomize my Pile of Shame in some form. Here is my list, in no particular order:

Uncharted: Golden Abyss – PS Vita

Developer: SCE Bend Studio; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

This game holds a special spot on my Pile of Shame. I got it as part of the original PS+ Instant Game Collection for Vita, before I actually owned a Vita. In fact, the PS+ free games are a major reason I finally purchased a Vita. I really enjoy the Uncharted series, but even after getting a Vita, I have not gotten around to playing this installment.

FTL: Faster than Light – PC

Developer & Publisher: Subset Games

Besides being my PC entry for the challenge, FTL holds the distinction of being a game I have purchased twice and played zero times. I purchased it on Good Old Games during one of their sales, and again as a part of a Humble Bundle. Many of my friends have played and praised the game. It is time I join that club. Besides, spaceships are cool.

Infamous: Second Son – PlayStation 4

Developer: Sucker Punch Productions; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

All of the Infamous titles are actually on my Pile of Shame, but I’ve played solid chunks of Infamous and Infamous 2. This game is still unopened on my shelf- mocking me from inside its cellophane cocoon. On top of that, Infamous: First Light was free for PS+ members last month and is sitting on my dashboard reminding me I should probably give the game a shot.

Shadow of the Colossus – PlayStation 3

Developer: Team Ico; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

This is one of my biggest shames on my Pile of Shame. Critically acclaimed and I really liked ICO but never got around to Shadow of the Colossus. I have two copies of this game, too: both for the PS2 and PS3. Unlike FTL though, I only paid for one as the PS3 version is from the PS+ program. Every time I see a screenshot of the game on the Internet, I think what an amazing looking game, I should really play that. This month, I will.

There you have my line-up. Yes, it is Sony heavy but that is an unintentional side-effect of my criteria. I will update my progress each of the next 4 Sundays, and I hope you will come back to see how I do with this challenge. See you on Sunday.

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