I was accosted by a green 6 foot cat wielding maracas.

Posted: August 20th ~5:00pm

So I've been playing Soul Calibur IV, its been fun. Its obvious that much work was put into the game just by watching some of the movies and seeing some of the game play. Of course being able to play as some of the Star Wars characters makes no sense but is loads of fun. Overall they have improved the game in many ways but also I think made it worse in others.Some of the improvements that are easy to mention are the significant increases to character creator mode. The player now has the option of using a stock version of one of the normal characters with a powered up weapon and special item (mostly rings, or gems), or customizing the stock characters by giving them completely different armor, while keeping the character's physical appearance and the same set of weapons to choose from; however, once any piece of the stock character's outfit or armor is modified using the special items becomes disabled. The player also has the choice to come up with their own character much like that of Soul Calibur III. Customizing appearance, armor, and the set of weapons the character can use, as with customizing the stock characters the special items are disabled for the player's own creations. Already there are plenty of videos out there similar to this this one where people have made very similar characters to those who appear in other games.

The main reason for having so many choices in the game now is they have given each piece of armor and each weapon even more influence over the character's abilities by having each piece of armor increase one or more of 8 total individual stats. The first set of 3 stats relate to the character's core being power, defense and HP. Higher power relates to more damage per blow, higher defense relates to less damage being taken per hit and a higher HP literally just gives the character more health points. The second subset of stats gives you control over the character's power, impact, boost, gauge and special. Each of these stats relate to up to four abilities the player can choose for the character. The list is long but some of the better ones are varying levels of ring outs, shaving damage (where even if the enemy blocks the attack, damage is taken) and grapple breaking. Success in some modes literally depends on the player being able to make a character whose abilities give an edge against certain enemies.

That leads me into another great improvement of this game, the "Tower of Lost Souls" mode, where the player gets an initial choice of ascending. Then, once enough levels in the tower have been cleared the player unlocks descending mode. In ascending mode the player works "level by level" (most often being 2 or 3 actual levels in the tower at a time) where the enemies get more difficult each level. In this mode on each level the player gets to choose from 1 - 3 characters (stock or custom) to use against whatever each level has. In descending mode the player gets to choose from 2 characters (stock or custom) and it is a survival mode. As the player descends farther the enemies get more and more difficult until both of the player's characters either die or are both ringed out. Starting at level 5 bosses appear which are custom characters who are females dressed in mascot-like cat suits of varying colors and who are very proficient in one of the stock character's style of combat, wielding that stock character's just-for-fun weapon. Which if I may say so myself can be terrifying; imagine a 6 foot tall cat coming at you wielding a giant cob of corn, I'll have nightmares for months.

Many of the modes are quite similar to the previous games. Arcade is almost exactly the same, you need to fight through 8 levels of single enemies where winning two rounds wins the match. The boss is new in this installment, a character named Algol who wields a version of soul calibur and soul edge, one on each hand. I stopped writing the post here and never started again, if you want to know more send me an email chris@christopherhaught.com

Continue / Exist

Posted: June 26th ~1:00am

It was a while ago now but I beat the game a week after I got it... almost to the hour in fact. It does have the rumored 90 minute cut scenes, but to me those just kept me imersed in the story and were part of why I played 8 hours straight to finish the game off. As Kojima had stated before he always intends his games to be more than just that, he wants the gamers to get a cinematic experience as well as great gameply and visuals. He has achieved this. He previously said that he was disappointed at how the game came out because of the limitations of the PS3. Knowing that and having seen what the game had to offer, I would like to actually see what his dream really looked like.

That being said there are some things I would have done differently. First of all having to L1, Triangle then R1 to shoot first person is a bit much. While it is possible to configure the game so you don't have to do this most people don't have a clue the options menu allows any configurations of controls at all. This options menu acutally gives the player more custimization of individual controls, item menus, etc however it is so poorly noted that I would be most players will beat the game never knowing it existed. The numerous buttons necessary to do many of the actions could be said to be quite an issue in this game. Another movement the player can do but I couldn't imagine trying to in a gun fight or intense moment is the roll. For those who don't know Snake now has the ability to roll left and right while laying down. The actual button combination escapes me right now but suffice it to say it would take a bit of practice to be able to do that without thinking a bit about it.

Another problem all the way around is using the Mk. II. That little machine is one of the best additions to a game in a while, especially considering all it is capable of doing. However, where it falls short is being able to aim its tazer wire with any degree of accuracy the first time you use it. Not to mention that when you do use the wire it takes down the optic camouflage with is often enough to get a guards attention.

My last little bit of constructive criticism will be the AI. While at times the AI of the game seems brilliant other times it seems like that of MGS1. Story time: so I was sitting playing the game on my second run through with Spanish Man in the big comfy chair watching. I had gotten to one of the sections I believe in the second act where the rebels are trying to take certain buildings and if the player has helped them they leave Snake alone. Well during this part PMC troops will keep spawning and attacking at certain spots. So what I decided to do was play the game How Many Guys Can I Shoot in the Head Without Them Caring, of course I mean this strictly in the gaming sense and have no actual desire to shoot people in the head, but during the game it is fun, mostly because AI reacts so humorously. Basically what I would do was shoot a guy, he would then fall lifeless to the ground. The next guy would then say something like "Are you ok?" and would proceed to walk up to his downed comrad slowly crouch down and stare at him. At which point I would shoot him in the head and the whole cycle would start over. Needless to say we got some amusement out of it, especially when I started using the sniper rifle with Magnum rounds.

Besides that the game is really fun and well put together. I would advise anyone with a bit of patience and a general love of gaming to pick it up. Ohh and just for funzies shake the controller like a steering wheel during the game, cutscenes and when talking to people on the codec, hopefully you can at least appreciate what happens.

Metal Gear Solid 4

Posted: June 14th 1:45pm

So Thursday morning at around 9:30am I woke up, found a "clean" shirt, walked Cookie, hopped in the tacoma and headed to GameStop. I got there about 10 minutes before they opened so I spent the time staring at the employees as they shuffled around the store. Once they opened the gate I ran to the register knocking over a couple displays and I'm pretty sure punting an infant through a couple isles, but hey I have been waiting for years for this game. Anyway I got my special edition copy of the game, went home and played it for like 3 hours before I had to go to class.

All I can say is that the game is amazing... It surpasses anything I have ever played on any system. Not too mention that it adheres to one of my fundamental rules when rating a game, "Is it just as fun to play online as it is offline?" The answer to quote Dane Cook is, "Yes Yes Y E S." I haven't had this much fun playing a game since the last MGS or maybe even Gears of War came out. Visually it is unsurpassed by any game I have seen, for reals I never thought watching a virtual egg cook could be so fun. The developers also continued with the theme of making the screen an acutal object. For instance, when a gust of wind blows by Snake dusts sticks on your screen for a minute. Snake's camo is also a triumph visually; his suit clones the appearance of any surface you press against which is amazing to watch but also critical to master. The player always needs to pay attention to the surface which they choose to blend into; for instance, if the player chooses to blend into a wall with a crazy red and white stripped pattern, they obviously need to change the appearance pretty quickly after moving off the wall or they will literally be a moving target.

The player also has to be 100% aware of what is going on around them. After replaying certain sections I have found great items and weapon upgrades that you would miss if you follow the more linear path that is available. Snake is also much more realistic in this game. He is growing old prematurely, as a symptom of this he will commonly moan and grab his back when he stands up. I have alerted enemies a few times already because of this, and I wasn't too pissed because of how surprised I was at the attention to detail.