|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 14:23:52 GMT -5
44. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (known as Winning Eleven 9 in Japan and World Soccer: Winning Eleven 9 in the North America) is a football video game developed and produced by Konami as part of the Pro Evolution Soccer series. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were released on 21 October 2005 with the PC version released a week later on the 28 October. The game is the first in the series to include officially licensed British teams—Arsenal and Chelsea of England, as well as Celtic and Rangers of Scotland. The game also includes fully licensed leagues— La Liga of Spain, Eredivisie of the Netherlands, and Serie A of Italy. It was also the first in the series to include fully licensed national teams - Japan and South Korea. As with previous versions, the game features an edit mode allowing the player to edit certain elements of the game. It was the last game to feature the Bundesliga (in the game as German league) before it would be replaced by a generic league. The PlayStation 2 version was the first to feature online play (currently free of charge). Within online play, statistics and league points are stored on the server for each game played. These points determine a team's (player's) position within the five online divisions. The stats for the players in the Pro Evolution games are provided by Sports Interactive. PES5 was also the first Pro Evolution to appear on the PSP and despite it being slowed down, it is considered by many players the best Pro Evolution game due to its realism and amazing step up from PES 4, these included: * More realistic Preset Faces * The ability to customize kits by overlaying patterns and combine 1st and 2nd kits * The introduction of snow * More Edit appearance options such as untucked shirts and under-shorts * More realistic player interaction (such as cold air being visible out of the players mouth) * Online play * New positions such as Second Striker (SS)
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 14:32:46 GMT -5
43. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is an action role-playing game developed primarily by Raven Software and published by Activision. It is the follow up to 2004's X-Men Legends. It was first released in September 2005 for the GameCube, Microsoft Windows, N-Gage, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Xbox video game platforms. It is set after the events of X-Men Legends and features the mutant supervillain Apocalypse as the primary antagonist. The game was well received by the media. All platforms hold aggregate scores in the 80–85% range at aggregate review websites GameRankings and Metacritic. Critics felt that the inclusion of online play, additional mutant powers, and a larger cast made the game an improvement over its predecessor. Some reviewers were critical of the game's voice acting and felt that the gameplay was repetitive. X-Men Legends II is an action role-playing game. Players choose a team of up to four characters from a larger group of characters. As players proceed through the game additional characters are unlocked. On the console versions up to four players can play on one machine cooperatively, with the ability to add or remove players at any time. The game also features online play for up to four players, a first for the series. New characters are introduced, both X-Men and select members of the Brotherhood of Mutants. A new game plus mode is included which allows players to play through the game a second time while retaining all character stats. As characters gain experience points players can upgrade their four main powers and other abilities unique to that character. Items found during gameplay can also be equipped to further enhance a character's abilities. Characters can combine attacks to create a combo, in which two or more players punch or kick a single enemy at the same time. The character's special abilities can also be used in the same manner to create a Super Combo. In X-Men Legends characters were limited to four core mutant powers, however in X-Men Legends II each character has several powers that players can assign to buttons. The game also features a skirmish mode, which allows players to fight against each other or against waves of computer-controlled enemies. Unlike X-Men Legends, Rise of Apocalypse does not feature one central hub that players return to between missions. Instead the hub changes based on the current act of the game. Here players can also view loading screen art, cinematics, and comic book covers acquired during gameplay. Biographies of the X-Men and their enemies can be accessed on computers located in the mansion. Players can participate in an X-Men trivia game, which rewards experience points for correct answers. Additionally, players can access the Danger Room's computer to play challenge missions unlocked during gameplay. The mobile version of the game is primarily a beat 'em up with role-playing elements. Unlike the consoles the game is a side-scroller in the same vein as the 1992 X-Men arcade game. There are five selectable characters, and the game retains the ability to upgrade characters through experience points earned. Players control one character at a time, and can switch to another character at the press of a button. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is not set in any particular Marvel Comics universe. The game takes place some time after the events of X-Men Legends. The mutant supervillain Apocalypse, having witnessed the X-Men's defeat of Magneto remotely. Apocalypse declares to the unknowing on-screen Professor X that the Age of Apocalypse is nigh. At some point prior to the game's campaign he kidnaps Professor X and Polaris for unknown purposes. Locations include a military prison in Greenland, the fictional mutant sanctuary of Genosha, the Savage Land and Egypt. The game begins with the X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants uniting forces to save Professor X and Polaris. Cyclops, Storm, and Wolverine meet up with Magneto, Mystique, and Sabretooth at a military prison outpost in Greenland to free the Professor. Upon freeing him, the teams relocate to Genosha to work through the wreckage and find out what Apocalypse wanted with the area. Finding Quicksilver also kidnapped, the teams prepare to return to the X-Mansion, but Apocalypse arrives first. He plants a bomb, which more or less destroys the X-Mansion, and kidnaps Beast, who manages to point the team in the direction of the Savage Land. The teams work their way through the Savage Land, freeing Beast and hindering Apocalypse's plans, and continue to fight against his forces; however, Apocalypse manages to conquer New York and seize control. The teams work at sabotaging his army and resources, but Emma Frost and Angel are soon kidnapped as well. Angel is transformed into Archangel to act as a Horseman of Apocalypse, to defend Apocalypse's tower. When the teams infiltrate it, they find Beast, too, is working against them under the name Dark Beast; he kidnaps Sabretooth and escapes with Apocalypse and Mr. Sinister to Egypt while the teams deal with Archangel. The teams learn that Apocalypse's plan is to use Polaris, Quicksilver, Emma Frost, and Sabretooth — four mutants with Harmonic DNA — to power an experiment to grant him massive amounts of power. The teams then follow him to Egypt to defeat him once and for all, after first defeating Sinister and Dark Beast (returning the latter to normal). After besting the final guard, the Living Monolith, the teams take on Apocalypse and defeat him by stealing the powers from his machine. In the final cutscene, Magneto and Xavier part once again as adversaries, noting that Apocalypse was defeated but not destroyed. Beast ponders why the machine did not work properly, wondering if sabotage was a factor. As the X-Jet flies away, Sinister is seen on top of the pyramid, laughing, hinting that he sabotaged the machine. Several playable characters return from X-Men Legends,a and select members of the Brotherhood of Mutants are also playable. Some non-playable X-Men and Brotherhood characters appear during some levels. Additionally, in some instances dialogue throughout the game can be character-to-character specific, depending on the player character's alignment and relationship with the non-player character. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse was announced on October 21, 2004, exactly one month after the release of X-Men Legends. It was shown at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and San Diego Comic-Con in 2005. It was first released in North America on September 20, 2005 for the Gamecube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows platforms. The PlayStation Portable version was released approximately one month later on October 19, 2005. It was released on the first-generation N-Gage handheld platform on October 31, 2005. A mobile phone version was launched on December 19, 2005. A playable demo was released for the Windows version of the game on November 3, 2005. Developer Raven Software sought to expand on the preceding game's scale. As such, characters were given additional powers to choose from. Locations were also made more diverse. "With the environments we tried to create [something] more exotic and organic" stated Dan Vondrak, Project Lead on X-Men Legends II. Locations span from the fictional mutant haven of Genosha, to the Marvel Comics jungle known as the Savage Land, to ancient temples in Egypt. Raven Software collaborated directly with Marvel to write the game's story. Man of Action, a group of former Marvel writers who were responsible for the previous game's story, were not involved. The music was composed by Gregor Narholz. Gameplay and story aspects were adjusted to ensure that four players can play continuously, whereas in the previous game certain missions were limited to one player. The CGI cinematics were created by Blur Studio, who would go on to create cinematics for games such as Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. Vicarious Visions's engine powers Rise of Apocalypse and its predecessor. They also were responsible for the PlayStation Portable version of the game. Karthik Bala, CEO of Vicarious Visions felt strongly that the PSP version should have the same gameplay as the consoles. "One of our main goals [...] was to really bring the depth and detail of the console game over to portable form on the PSP." Four new exclusive characters were added to the PSP version along with nine new side missions. The control system had to be modified to accommodate the PSP's fewer buttons. Online play is available on the PSP, both in ad-hoc and infrastructure modes. Bala stated that it was a priority for his team. SuperVillain Studios was brought on to the project to focus on the online component of the game. Beenox ported X-Men Legends II to Microsoft Windows. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse was well received by critics. All platforms hold aggregate scores in the 80–85% range at aggregate review websites GameRankings and Metacritic. According to the NPD Group, Rise of Apocalypse sold over 63,000 units on the Xbox during the month of its release. GameTrailers's reviewer gave the game an 8 out of 10. The reviewer disliked that several famous X-Men and Brotherhood characters were not playable, but appeared only as side characters. They also cited issues with voice acting and a convoluted story. The inclusion of additional mutant powers and online gameplay were points of praise. The reviewer also noted that the game's visuals had improved greatly, citing the effects, environments and cinematics as some of the largest upgrades. G4TV's reviewer gave the game 4 out of 5 stars. The lauded the destructible environments and character cast, but felt that the gameplay lacked variation. Unlike the critic from GameTrailers G4's reviewer praised the overall story. VideoGamer.com gave the game a slightly lower score of 7 out of 10. The reviewer noted that the co-operative gameplay was strong, and that the addition of online play "opens the [gameplay] up to a wider range of people." PALGN's Jeremy Jastrzab felt that the game's menus were convoluted and difficult to navigate, and also felt that the game began to drag near the end of the story. He did concede that it "caters for X-Men fans and if you can gather three others, you’re going to have a great time." Greg Mueller of GameSpot scored the game an 8.1 out of 10. He praised the game's vast cast of characters, destructible environments and unlockable content, but felt that the user interface was awkward. Mueller also felt that the game loaded content far too frequently. GamesRadar's Raymond Padilla had similar complaints about the frequency and length of the game's load times. He also felt that the game's graphics felt dated. Padilla praised the addition of online play and the automatic upgrade system. The game was given an A rating from Tom Byron of 1UP.com. Byron praised several aspects of the game, and felt that amidst the The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Ultimate Spider-Man and Fantastic Four game releases in 2005 X-Men Legends II was the best release from Marvel that year. The success of the X-Men Legends series led Raven Software, Marvel, and Activision to create the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, which was released on several consoles, handheld devices and Microsoft Windows in 2007. Barking Lizards, Vicarious Visions and Beenox handled the ports for different platforms. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance was followed by Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, jointly developed by Vicarious Visions, n-Space and Savage Entertainment. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was released on several consoles and handhelds in the fall of 2009. Vicarious Visions developed the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, while n-Space developed the Nintendo DS, PSP and Wii versions. Savage Entertainment ported the version developed by n-Space to the PSP.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 14:45:58 GMT -5
42. Gran Turismo 4 Gran Turismo 4 (commonly abbreviated GT4) is a racing simulator video game for the Sony PlayStation 2 which was developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released on December 28, 2004 in Japan and Hong Kong (NTSC-J), February 22, 2005 in North America (NTSC-U/C), and March 9, 2005 in Europe (PAL), and has since been re-issued under Sony's 'Greatest Hits' line. Gran Turismo 4 is one of only four titles for the PlayStation 2 that is capable of 1080i output, another being Tourist Trophy which was also created by Polyphony. GT4 was delayed for over a year and a half by Polyphony Digital, and had its online mode removed (later added in Gran Turismo Online test version). The game features over 700 cars from 80 manufacturers, from as early as the 1886 Daimler Motor Carriage and as far into the future as concepts for 2022. The game also features 51 tracks, many of which are new or modified versions of old Gran Turismo favorites, with some notable real-world additions. The Chinese, Japanese and Korean versions of the game were bundled with a 212-page driving guide and lessons on the physics of racing. A limited edition, Gran Turismo 4 Online test version, was released in Japan in summer 2006. A PSP enhanced port entitled Gran Turismo Mobile was originally planned for development, but was later renamed to Gran Turismo (PSP), which was released October 1, 2009. In November 2010 the follow-up, Gran Turismo 5 was released, exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Players now accumulate points by winning races in the normal first-person driving mode, called A-Spec mode. Each race event can yield up to a maximum of 200 A-Spec points. Generally, a win using a car with less of an advantage over the AI opponents is worth more points. Points can only be won once, so to win further points from a previously-won event, it must be re-won using a car with less of an advantage over the AI. There are also the 34 Missions which can yield 250 points each. Despite this, A-Spec points are experience points, not money. The new B-Spec mode puts players in the place of a racing crew chief: telling the driver how aggressively to drive, when to pass, and mandating pit stops (by monitoring tire wear and fuel level). The speed of the time in the race can be increased up to 3x, allowing for Endurance races to be completed in less time than would take in A-Spec mode. The 3x feature, however, must be turned on after every pit stop because it resets to normal time. The game manual says that the player may speed up B-Spec mode by up to 5x, but this is believed to be a typo. B-Spec points are given out for each race completed in B-Spec mode. This increases the skill level of the AI driver in the categories of vehicle skill, course skill, and battle skill. Players can thereby use B-Spec mode in harder races as the game progresses, but this mode cannot be used on wet, dirt and snow courses. Another new addition to the game is the Driving Missions, which are similar in experience to the license tests, but award successful completion with 250 A-Spec points and 1000 of more credits. Each mission takes place with a given car on a given track or section of track, and a given set of opponents. There are 4 sets of missions: The Pass, in which the driver must overtake an opponent within a certain distance; 3 Lap Battle, in which the driver must pass 5 opponents over the course of 3 laps; Slipstream Battle, in which the driver must overtake identical opponents by way of drafting; and 1 Lap Magic, in which the driver starts with a significant time penalty against much slower opponents and must overtake them all in the space of a single lap. Completing each set of missions earns the player a prize car. There are a total of 5 prize cars available to be won, they are DMCDelorean, Jay Leno Tank Car, Pagani Zonda Race Car, Toyota 7, and the Nissan R89C. A new Photo Mode is included in the game, which allows the player to control a virtual camera, taking pictures of their cars on the track or at specific locations, including the Grand Canyon. This game is able to produce a selection of screenshots with variable compression rate (Normal/Fine/SuperFine) and size (up to 1280x960 72dpi), and the user can choose to save or print to a supported USB device. Compared with Gran Turismo 3, graphics are greatly improved (despite running on the same PlayStation 2 hardware). The physics is also greatly improved, with the major upgrade that cars now experience body movement (such as dive under brakes). Barriers have a lot more friction to slow down the cars in GT3 (in an attempt to stop the use of "wall riding"), however there is minimal friction between cars, so the advantage obtained by running into the side of another car (instead of braking) is still present. GT4 supports 480p/1080i (NTSC only) and widescreen modes, however 1080i is only supported in single player races. Despite the lack of online gameplay, GT4 does support use of the PlayStation 2 Network Adapter, which can be used to communicate with additional PS2s to create a multi-screen setup. In addition, the Network Adapter can be used to play games on a local subnet for up to six players, though player customized cars cannot be used in a LAN game. Support for the Logitech Driving Force Pro and GT Force steering wheels is continued from Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. Other "PC" steering wheels previously (and unofficially) supported in GT3 were explicitly disabled for GT4. New support is given for USB storage and print devices used in Photo Mode. GT4 continues in its predecessors' footsteps by offering an extremely large list of cars; the PAL version, for example, features 721 cars from 80 manufacturers. There are differences in the car lists between the different GT4 regional versions, and some cars have different names, e.g. the JDM Toyota Vitz is known as the Toyota Yaris in places such as Europe and Puerto Rico and the second generation Mazda Demio is known as the Mazda 2 in the same places (PAL version only), and a well spotted example is the Opel Speedster which is more commonly known as the Vauxhall VX220. One notable omission of the game is that it does not feature some well-known car manufacturer names such as Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. However, RUF, a company that modifies Porsches, is in GT4. Some of the cars are multiple variations on a single base model; there are 20 different Subaru Imprezas and Legacies, 25 Mitsubishi Lancer/Lancer Evolutions, and 48 Nissan Skylines, including the Nissan GT-R Proto. One vehicle, another Skyline, is in pace car form in the "Guide Lap" licence tests and is also a prize car. There is also the GT Edition, which was the pace car without the pace car lights, and even more power (541 horsepower, the standard version packs 276). Each vehicle model has over 4000 polygons.[2] Car prices range from about 2500 credits for basic 1980s Japanese used cars up to 4,500,000 (450,000,000 in Japanese version) credits for the top end (mostly Le Mans) race cars. Some special prize-only cars (such as the Pagani Zonda LM Race Car '01) are not visible in the vehicle showrooms, and a few do not have corresponding dealerships, and thus are unmodifiable, for example, the Formula Gran Turismo (F1 car). GT4 is responsible for a few vehicle firsts in the Gran Turismo series. It is the first to feature pickup trucks, such as the Ford Lightning, Toyota Tacoma, and Dodge Ram. It is the first game in the series to feature the DeLorean, using the stage II spec engine (developed in 2004, hence the 2004 designation). It is also the first in the series to feature a diesel powered car, the BMW 120d. A special edition of GT4 featuring the 120d (and the rest of the 1 Series line), and three tracks were provided to BMW customers who purchased their 1 Series automobile before the release of GT4. While Gran Turismo 2 did have a one-off F1 engine version of the Renault Espace, GT4 was the first of the series to feature a production minivan, the Honda Odyssey (JDM version). A first-generation Mitsubishi Pajero Paris-Dakar rally car, a winner of the 1985 rally, makes an appearance as the first SUV in racing trim; the first SUV to appear in the GT series was the Subaru Forester in GT2 (although in fact the Forester can be racing modified). It was also the first in the series to feature D1 Grand Prix tuned cars such as Ken Nomura's Blitz ER34 D1GP. The game includes some prize cars of historical interest, such as vehicles from as far back as 1886 at the dawn of the automobile. A special car called the Auto Union V16 Type C Streamline, built in 1937, can only be used in Power and Speed (which tests the performance of vehicles) or a test drive in Nürburgring, but interestingly has around 542 HP. Even some modern cars with complex body shapes cannot be raced against opponents, such as the Caterham Seven Fireblade. In Arcade Mode, these cars can be raced against a single opponent; this is the case for any convertible with the top down There is also a special car which is specially tuned, called the 'Shuichi Shigeno' version of Toyota AE86, which is taken from Initial D, and is licensed by Toyota, although Toyota has never used the name of the author of Initial D. Comedian Jay Leno, an avid car collector, is listed in the game as a manufacturer; one of his custom cars, the Blastolene Special or "Tank Car", is included in the game as a prize car, available after beating missions 11-20. The 2022 Nike ONE has Morse code on the right hand side of the car. When reversed, this reads "www.phil-frank.com", the artist commissioned to design this car for GT4. There is also some Morse code visible on the inside of all four tires, but it is not decipherable. GT4 retains all the familiar tuning parameters from the previous games in the series, but also allows weight to be added to the car. This can be positioned to affect handling or used as a form of handicapping. Another new vehicle tuning addition is nitrous oxide injection. Also, GT Auto can now install a rear wing on some cars, making it possible to adjust the car' downforce, which was previously only possible on racing cars or, on the first two games in the series, cars with the racing modification performed. The Suzuki Swift was present in its successor, Gran Turismo 5 but was known as a concept car in GT4, since the launch of the car was not official at the time of the game's launch. The game features 51 tracks, which are divided into 4 groups, World Circuits, Original Circuits, City Courses and Dirt & Snow. Many of which are new or modified versions of old Gran Turismo favorites, however the inclusion of the Nurburgring is a centerpiece of the game. Notable real-world track inclusions are the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Suzuka Circuit, Twin Ring Motegi (with three Road Course configurations, as well as the Super Speedway) and Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans). There are also tracks modeled after world famous attractions such as New York City's Times Square, Hong Kong, Paris, and the Las Vegas Strip. The Hong Kong course is located in the Tsim Sha Tsui district, which, in its clockwise configuration, starts at Salisbury Road, passes through the city's waterfront and then Nathan Road. The Città d'Aria course follows actual roads in Assisi, Italy. The race starts/finishes in the piazza in front of the temple Minerva. Just before the start/finish line on this course, written on the tarmac is an inscription in broken Italian: "Dio lo benedice — fate il suo guidare il più sicuro e divertirsi", which, when translated, means "God blesses him; make his driving the most safely and to have fun." On the Seattle circuit, the Kingdome, previous home of the Seattle Mariners, is visible next to their current stadium, Safeco Field. Kingdome was demolished in an implosion on March 26, 2000. Because the Seattle circuit was created for GT2 in 1999, before the Kingdome's demolition, it has been left unchanged, and the Mariners' now completed home, Safeco Field, remains under construction, frozen in time. A section of the Opera Paris course passing through Place de la Concorde was traversed by Claude Lelouch in the short film C'etait un rendez-vous. Gran Turismo 4 was met with generally positive reaction from game critics. It received an aggregated score of 89.53% on GameRankings and 89/100 on Metacritic. Jeremy Clarkson, host of the Top Gear television program, performed a head-to-head test of real life versus GT4 on an episode of the program. He ran Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in real life and used an Acura NSX for a lap time of 1:57. But in the game he used a Honda NSX-R (which is lighter) with a lap time of 1:41:148. Clarkson also had to be shown by a race driving instructor where the line was between the game and reality. He pointed out that adjusting one's braking mid-turn in a real car could cause loss of control, and also mentioned that in the game, he is compelled to take bigger risks than he would in real life, and that in the game, the car did not suffer from brake fade. Despite the apparent discrepancies, in a column for The Sunday Times, Clarkson had this to say about GT4 "I called Sony and asked it to send me a game chip already loaded with the 700 computer cars. And I am in a position to test out its claims because, unlike most people, I really have driven almost all of them in real life. There are mistakes. The BMW M3 CSL, for instance, brakes much better on the road than it does on the screen. And there's no way a Peugeot 106 could outdrag a Fiat Punto off the line. But other than this, I’m struggling: they’ve even managed to accurately reflect the differences between a Mercedes SL 600 and the Mercedes SL 55, which is hard enough to do in real life. There's more, too. If you take a banked curve in the Bentley Le Mans car flat out, you’ll be fine. If you back off, even a little bit, you lose the aerodynamic grip and end up spinning. That's how it is. This game would only be more real if a big spike shot out of the screen and skewered your head every time you crashed. In fact that's the only real drawback: that you can hit the barriers hard without ever damaging you or your car. Maybe they’re saving that for GT5. Perhaps it’ll be called Death or Glory." Karl Brauer of edmunds.com performed a similar test, also at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in which he and two others — professional race driver AJ Allmendinger, and IGN gaming editor Justin Kaehler — set times in GT4 and real life in a variety of cars. Brauer's best time in a Ford GT in the game was 1:38, and his best time on the real track was 1:52. In the four vehicles the trio tested, none was able to duplicate his game times on the real track. Brauer suggested the main differences between the game and reality" "Which brings up the single biggest difference between reality and virtual reality — consequences. A mistake on Gran Turismo 4 costs me nothing more than a bad lap time. A mistake with a real exotic car on a real racetrack is... a bit more costly. The other major difference between virtual racing and the real thing is feedback from the car — or an almost total lack thereof. Yes, the force feedback steering wheel does its best to let you know when you're veering off the track, or sliding the rear end, but none of this comes close to the kind of information you get while driving a real vehicle. And in a car like the Ford GT, that's vital information. Reviewers criticize the game for its continued lack of rendered damage. Instead of actual damage, the cars (depending on the speed and angle in which the collision occurred) simply bounce or spin off of the car, wall, or obstacle. Reviewers complained of the continued ability to take unrealistic short cuts, such as the ones on Fuji Speedway 90's, Driving Park Beginner Course and Circuit de la Sarthe I, where the driver can cut right across the chicane, allowing a player to win by cheating. One reviewer also complained that cars do not have enough grip. The game has also been criticized for lack of online play which had been promised during early development, but was announced as being removed at the time of release. Many reviewers expressed disappointment in the game's AI system, noting that "virtual racers will follow their (driving) line with little concern for where the human driver is at any one time." This is more evident during rally races and missions in which a 5 second speed penalty is given for hitting the other cars or the barriers, regardless of who initiated the contact. Some critics found B-Spec mode to offer little to the overall experience. By December 2011, Gran Turismo 4 had shipped 1.27 million copies in Japan, 3.23 million in North America, 6.76 million in Europe, and 180,000 in Asia for a total of 11.44 million copies. It is the second highest-selling game in the Gran Turismo franchise ahead of Gran Turismo but behind Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec respectively.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 14:54:00 GMT -5
41. Dark Cloud 2 (aka Dark Chronicle) Dark Chronicle, released as Dark Cloud 2 in North America, is a role-playing video game for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was developed by Level-5 and SCE Japan Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in November 2002 in Japan, February 2003 in North America and September 2003 in Europe. It is the sequel to Dark Cloud, and features similar action role-playing and city-building game mechanics. Players control two main protagonists, Max and Monica, who come from the present and future, respectively, to stop the main antagonist, Emperor Griffon who wishes to destroy the present from the past. Dark Chronicle is a third-person role-playing game in which the player moves through randomly-generated dungeons, battling monsters and collecting items. These dungeons are periodically interrupted by set rooms/events where either a cutscene is shown or the player fights a boss. In the dungeons, the player will find various materials to use in item construction and Georama mode. Outside of dungeons, the main focus is on the Georama system where the player is tasked with rebuilding particular locations to restore the future. By retrieving Geostones from the dungeons, the player is given guidelines for the town rebuilding, as well as plans to make objects (houses, bridges, shops etc.) required for fulfilling those guidelines. After rebuilding the infrastructure, the town must be populated with inhabitants by completing mini-games. The goal of each Georama map is to complete as many of the ten objectives for that map as possible. While some objectives are requisite for advancing the plot, many are optional and provide bonus items when completed. The theme of rebuilding a decimated world is carried over from Dark Cloud, but unlike in the first game, Dark Chronicle uses a large machine named the 'Carpenterion' to rebuild the villages. Three features of Dark Chronicle are fishing, spheda (a sport similar to golf) and Georama. Players can bring their fish to weigh-in contests, or raise them in a fish-tank and enter them in races. Other features include NPC recruiting, photography, an invention system and a powerful and customizable robot that can be used in battle. An example of gameplay inside a randomly-generated dungeon. Another notable feature of Dark Chronicle is the focus on weapon growth instead of the traditional focus on character growth. When monsters are defeated, they drop absorption points (ABS), which, when collected, raise the experience of the weapon that dealt the final hit. When a weapon accumulates enough ABS, it will level up and gain Synthesis Points. Synthesis Points are used to infuse a weapon with an item that has been "spectrumized," which results in the weapon gaining specific stats depending on the item(s) that were spectrumized. Almost every item in the game can be spectrumized and synthesized to weaponry. Weapons themselves can also be spectrumized, but, unless it is level five or higher, the resulting spectrumized weapon will not carry over much of its stats. Weapons also have the capability to be "built-up." To be do so, a weapon must meet certain criteria. In most cases, a weapon needs to have at least a certain number of specified stats, while some weapons also require the player to have defeated particular types of enemies. Some weapons can be built-up into more than one new weapon. When a weapon is built-up, it gains strength, and starts over at level one. Built-up weapons are stronger than weapons that have not been built-up, and tend to earn more synthesis points when they level up. Weapons also have durability. When a melee weapon hits a monster, or a ranged weapon is fired, the durability of the weapon decreases. If it reaches zero, the player can no longer use the weapon until it is repaired with an item, or for no cost from an NPC. When a weapon breaks, the ABS points it has accumulated drops to zero, and must be raised once again. The player, controlling either protagonist, can recruit non-player characters into their team by performing different tasks. The characters are not controllable and do not appear in battle, but through the 'Characters' portion of the menu, the player can access a party member's special ability. Some party members also have an influence on the battle, for example increasing item drops or adjusting enemy behavior. Outside of dungeons (in the train and in Georama locations), some of these characters sell items. Weapons also have the capability to be "built-up." To be do so, a weapon must meet certain criteria. In most cases, a weapon needs to have at least a certain number of specified stats, while some weapons also require the player to have defeated particular types of enemies. Some weapons can be built-up into more than one new weapon. When a weapon is built-up, it gains strength, and starts over at level one. Built-up weapons are stronger than weapons that have not been built-up, and tend to earn more synthesis points when they level up. Weapons also have durability. When a melee weapon hits a monster, or a ranged weapon is fired, the durability of the weapon decreases. If it reaches zero, the player can no longer use the weapon until it is repaired with an item, or for no cost from an NPC. When a weapon breaks, the ABS points it has accumulated drops to zero, and must be raised once again. The player, controlling either protagonist, can recruit non-player characters into their team by performing different tasks. The characters are not controllable and do not appear in battle, but through the 'Characters' portion of the menu, the player can access a party member's special ability. Some party members also have an influence on the battle, for example increasing item drops or adjusting enemy behavior. Outside of dungeons (in the train and in Georama locations), some of these characters sell items. Characters are: * Maximilian (voiced by Megumi Kubota in the Japanese version and by Scott Menville in the English version) - a young aspiring inventor living with his father (his mother disappeared when he was younger). Max comes from a wealthy family, but has no interest in a privileged life, preferring instead to work with an elderly friend, Cedric (voiced by Paul Eiding), in his mechanic shop. After coincidentally overhearing Flotsam (Phil Proctor) - a homicidal circus ringmaster - pressuring the town mayor to produce a valuable stone, Max is soon caught up in a serious conflict, spanning both time and space. Working with Monica and other characters, Max must 'rebuild' the past to ensure a prosperous future. His weapons of choice are various wrenches, hammers and hand-held guns. He also has the ability to pilot the Ridepod, a steampunk-inspired mech named "Steve". Max has one of three special amulets, or Atlamillia, that enable travel through time, his red amulet allowing movement from the past into the future. * Monica (voiced by Hiroko Taguchi in the Japanese version and by Anndi McAfee in the English version) - a young princess, adept at both swordsmanship and magic, who hails from 100 years in the future. After the murder of her father at the hands of an enigmatic figure named Gaspard (Rino Romano), she sets out on a journey through time to search for him. Her travels take her into the past, where she helps Max in a battle against the evil clown Flotsam, who, like her nemesis Gaspard, is a servant of Emperor Griffon (Mark Hamill). Afterwards, she joins Max on the quest to rebuild time and put an end to Griffon's scheme. Her weapons of choice are various swords and special brassards that enable her to use elemental magic. She also has the unusual ability to change into monsters using special badges, which gives her new combat options, and enables her to talk to other monsters of the same type. Monica has one of three special amulets, or Atlamillia, that enable travel through time, her blue amulet allowing movement from the future back into the past. The story centers around Max, a young inventor who lives in the town of Palm Brinks. Working at Cedric's workshop, Max receives a ticket to the local carnival. While at the carnival, he is attacked by the ringleader, Flotsam, after overhearing a conversation between him and the mayor about the "outside world" and the Atlamillia stones. Discovering Flotsam has been bribing the mayor, Max flees from Flotsam and his clowns, who try to take the Atlamillia pendant Max has with him. Max escapes, concerned about Flotsam and the mayor's conversation about the outside world, a place of which he previously had no knowledge. He manages to get away from Flotsam's henchmen by hiding in the sewers, where he tells his friend Donny he believes this is an opportunity to see the outside world. By fighting his way through the sewers and escaping monsters, Flotsam's circus troops, and a huge robot named Halloween, Max quickly gathers together his mechanic partners and his mentor Cedric and boards a train out of Palm Brinks. Flotsam chases them down, and attempts to blow up the train, but is nearly killed by a young girl called Monica. Princess Monica Raybrandt has travelled back through time after her father, King Raybrandt, was assassinated by the Dark Assassin Gaspard. Monica is much more informed about the situation than the less-worldly Max. She tells him that an evil emperor is controlling time by using his Atlamillia, the Sun Stone, and is also attempting to destroy the world of the past so that he can rule the future. Together, they journey through many towns, rebuilding each of them; Sindain, Balance Valley, Veniccio and Mount Gundor. Each area has a "dungeon" they must conquer and from which they must retrieve special stones. Once all the stones have been collected, and the villages rebuilt, Max and Monica travel 10,000 years into the past to face Griffon. After a battle with Griffon in his palace, he steals both Atlamillia from Max and Monica and takes the Moon Flower Palace to Max's time. The only thing that can stop the Moon Flower Palace from destroying the world is the battle palace Paznos, which will not be completed until Monica's time. Max and Monica are able to trigger a chrono-union at the Kazherov Stonehenge, which allows Paznos to travel to Max's time, allowing the two to return to the Moon Flower Palace for another battle with Griffon. However, using his own Sun Stone, coupled with Max's Earth Stone, and Monica's Moon Stone, Griffon has summoned the Star of Oblivion, a huge meteor, which will destroy the world. Upon defeating Griffon, Max and Monica discover that he is in fact an innocent young Moon Person named Sirus, who had been possessed by the Dark Element. Max and Monica engage in a battle with the Element, with Sirus sacrificing his own life to ensure they win. Then, using the three stones, Max and Monica are able to deflect the meteor in time to save the world. Graphically, Dark Chronicle departs from the style of Dark Cloud completely by using cel-shading. The main characters have a higher polygon count than the supporting characters, composed of 2500 to 3000 polygons as opposed to 1500 to 2000 for supporting characters. The game's graphics were created with Softimage 3D. Event scenes utilized the same models that were used in the normal gameplay, both of which were generated in real-time. Because of this, even costume changes could be carried over from gameplay to events. Akihiro Hino, a Level-5 producer, stated that "smooth transitions between gameplay and event scenes help increase the empathy for the game." Soft textures were used to create a uniform feel for the visuals and minimize the computer generated appearance of the cel-shading. Texture mapping was also used occasionally to emulate lighting. The game's production took almost two years. The CG production and game development occurred concurrently. The 2-disc Dark Chronicle soundtrack was released to the Japanese market in late 2003. The soundtrack, composed by Tomohito Nishiura, consists of seventy-seven tracks. In 2004, a tribute album was made, Dark Chronicle Premium Arrange, consisting of remixes of some of the more famous tracks from the game. Many Japanese video game industry composers worked on the recordings, from people like Chrono series composer Yasunori Mitsuda to Nobuo Uematsu's former band The Black Mages. Upon its release, Famitsu magazine scored Dark Chronicle a 35 out of 40, and by the end of 2002, the game had sold 235,917 copies in Japan. It has been widely praised by Western reviewers, and received almost universally positive reviews. It has an aggregate review score of 88 at GameRankings and 87 at Metacritic. GameSpot awarded the game a 9.0 out of 10, concluding that "Dark Cloud 2 is simply a class act all the way. Every element of the game, from the georama system to the weapon upgrading to the interaction with a large cast of characters, displays a polish and attention to quality that you find only in real classics. Level-5 and Sony should both be commended for turning a fair-to-middling old game into what will now be a series to watch with great interest. Dark Cloud 2 could very well be the PlayStation 2's Zelda, and it will appeal to fans of the action RPG genre for a long time to come." GameSpot would go on to name Dark Chronicle as the Best PlayStation 2 game of 2003. IGN similarly lauded the game, also awarding it 9 out of 10 and giving it their "Editor's Choice" seal of approval. They particularly praised its graphics; "I can think of few games as visually impressive on the PS2 as this game. But what makes the game look so good is not incredibly high polygon counts or lots of extravagant lighting and particle effects. Instead, Dark Cloud 2 is a visual success due to its polished and graceful presentation, as well as its fantastic art design. While many games take the no-holds-barred approach and bombard the screen with as many effects as possible, Dark Cloud 2 heads down another path, full of subtle lighting effects and a crisp, fresh, and almost playful look. The overall effect is truly delighting to witness in motion. A large part of what makes Dark Cloud 2 stand out visually is its perfectly implemented use of cel shading. Rather than using a flat-shaded effect with heavy black outlines on every edge, Dark Cloud 2 uses a method that the developer refers to as "tonal rendering" where the polygons are given a soft, shaded look. Additionally, the use of black lines is used sparingly, but when it is, it's in all the right places, accenting and highlighting the wonderfully constructed character and environment models." They concluded that "Dark Cloud 2 is arguably the best looking PS2 game out there, period." They also praised the variety to be found in the game; "Even what's been mentioned here only scratches the surface of the joys you'll find in the game: the great (albeit somewhat easy) boss battles; the well implemented mini-games such as fishing and golf; the intricacies of town building and time traveling; the easy-to-digest story; the depth in upgrading and building your weapons; it's all there and then some." In 2010, IGN placed Dark Chronicle at #31 in their "Top 100 Playstation 2 Games". Game Revolution awarded the game a B, praising the graphics and variety of gameplay, but finding the game became somewhat repetitive towards the end; "Dark Cloud 2 is very serial in nature. It's a game you can pick up and play for a few hours, stomping though a few dungeon floors, trying to solve a problem or two, but after a while it meanders towards repetition. In truth, the game is filled with innumerable challenges, likable characters and a high production value. But beneath the surface, the lightweight story and characters combined with the almost rigidly episodic game flow still hold it back. It's a marked improvement, but the standards have gone up as well." GameSpy awarded the game 4 out of 5, praising the game in general, but finding it fell just short of being a classic; "There's no question in my mind that Dark Cloud 2 is one of the most solid RPG adventures for the PS2; but what I am sure of is that it doesn't quite live up to its potential. If Level-5 had worked out all of the kinks, it'd be one of my favorite games for the PS2. Sadly, it's not. While it has my grudging respect, there are many games that I prefer, thanks to DC2's idiosyncrasies. Although I have no doubts about its overall quality, I've lost count of the times I've let loose an expletive and rebooted the machine while playing the game, or even turned it off in frustration or temporary disinterest." Total PlayStation gave the game 8 out of 10. Gaming Target gave it a 9.5 out of 10.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 15:06:35 GMT -5
125 Favorite PS2 Games 125. Duel Hearts 124. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu 123. Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore 122. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis 121. Timesplitters 120. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 119. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon 118. Legends of Wrestling 117. Beyond Good And Evil 116. Dragonball Z: Budokai 115. Showdown: Legends of Wrestling 114. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht 113. Virtua Fighter 4 112. King of Fighters 2000 111. KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (aka King of Fighters 2006) 110. Burnout 3: Takedown 109. Legends of Wrestling II 108. Rogue Galaxy 107. Maximo: Ghosts To Glory 106. Silent Hill 3 105. MLB Slugfest 2003 104. Guitar Hero 103. Wild Arms 3 102. Need for Speed: Most Wanted 101. Megaman X8 100. Pro Evolution Soccer 3 99. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence 98. Dragonball Z: Budokai 2 97. Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 96. Megaman X Collection 95. Soul Calibur 3 94. Tekken 4 93. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy 92. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando 91. Killer7 90. Freekstyle 89. Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 88. Grandia III 87. Dark Cloud 86. Hot Shots Golf: Fore 85. We Love Katamari 84. Madden NFL 2003 83. Guitar Hero III 82. Garou: Mark of the Wolves 81. Rumble Roses 80. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude 79. Tekken Tag Tournament 78. Escape from Monkey Island 77. Tony Hawk Underground 76. James Bond 007: Nightfire 75. Guilty Gear X 74. NBA Ballers 73. Ratchet & Clank 72. Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers 71. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 70. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 69. NBA Street Vol. 2 68. Jak II 67. Half-Life 66. Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves 65. Def Jam Vendetta 64. ESPN NFL 2K5 63. Star Wars Battlefront II 62. Futurama 61. Suikoden Tactics 60. Megaman Anniversary Collection 59. The Simpsons: Road Rage 58. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 57. Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction 56. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal 55. Tekken 5 54. Sonic Heroes 53. Jak 3 52. Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories 51. Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millenium 2001 50. Wild Arms: Alter Code F 49. Suikoden IV 48. Madden NFL 2004 47. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne 46. Scarface: The World Is Yours 45. SOCOM: US Navy Seals 44. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 43. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse 42. Gran Turismo 4 41. Dark Cloud 2 (Dark Chronicle)
Clues to the next five games
* Come out and play
* Dante vs. Vergil
* Jimmy Hopkins vs. Gary Smith
* The Arcadian Empire subjugates both Nabradia and Dalmasca
* The Fiendish Five killed his parents and stole the family book
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 16:46:13 GMT -5
40. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, released in Japan as simply Devil May Cry 3, is a hack and slash beat 'em up video game that was developed and published by Capcom, released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 (also ported to the PC in 2006). The game is a prequel to the original Devil May Cry reflected in the younger cast. Set in modern times in an enchanted tower named Temen-ni-gru, the story centers on the dysfunctional relationship between Dante and his brother Vergil. The events of the game take place just as Dante has opened up the Devil May Cry agency (unnamed at this point in the story), and before Dante's demonic heritage has reached its full potential. The story is told primarily through a mixture of cutscenes using the game's engine with several pre-rendered full motion videos. Upon release, Devil May Cry 3 was widely criticized for its high level of difficulty, but was praised for improvements over its predecessor, and a return to the challenging gameplay of Devil May Cry. A manga prequel to the game was first published in Japan in 2005. Gameplay in Devil May Cry 3 consists of levels called "missions", in which players must fight numerous enemies, perform platforming tasks, and occasionally solve puzzles to progress through the story. The player's performance in each mission is graded from D at the bottom, up through C, B, A, with top ranks of S and SS, which have the strictest requirements. Grades are based on the time taken to complete the mission, the amount of "red orbs" gathered (the in-game currency obtained from defeated enemies), "stylish" combat, item usage, and damage taken. "Stylish" combat is defined as performing an unbroken series of varied attacks while avoiding damage, and is tracked by an on-screen gauge. The longer the player attacks without repeating techniques and evades damage, the higher the gauge rises. The gauge starts with no grade, becomes "Dope" after a minimum number of attacks, then proceeds with "Crazy", "Blast", "Alright", "Sweet", "SShowtime", and peaks at "SSStylish"; if Dante receives damage, the style rating drops a few levels; if the gauge is on "Crazy" or below, it will reset. The game's battle system allows the player to chain attacks together, with each weapon having a number of unique attacks. Although the game mainly focuses on an aggressive approach to battle, the player must employ some strategy as the enemies have a wide variety of artificial intelligence tactics, and will respond to a number of events. The Devil Trigger ability enables the player's character to change into a demonic form. This alters the character's appearance, increases attack and defense, slowly restores health, and enables special attacks. The Devil Trigger state lasts as long as there is energy in the Devil Trigger gauge, which is refilled by attacking or taunting enemies in the normal state, and decreases when using the Devil Trigger transformation or other abilities which draw on Devil Trigger power. Devil Trigger mode is not available to Dante until one third of the way through the game, while Vergil (who is playable in the Special Edition) has the ability at the outset. The major difference from previous Devil May Cry titles is the combat system, which allows the player to choose one of Dante's six different combat styles with different special techniques related to the style's focus. Style selection is available at the start of each level, as well as during gameplay at checkpoints. The styles available are: Trickster, for dodging and agility; Swordmaster, with extra abilities for swords and other melee weapons; Gunslinger, which has more techniques for firearms; Royal Guard, which allows the player to repel attacks with a properly-timed button press, and thereby charge energy for retaliation; Quicksilver, which slows down enemies while the character attacks at normal speed; and Doppelgänger, which creates a shadow double that fights alongside Dante. A second player can also control the shadow double by pressing "Start" on a second controller. A two-player mode, similar to Doppelgänger style, is accessible while fighting against Arkham. In the special edition of Devil May Cry 3, Vergil has one style called Dark Slayer with techniques similar to Trickster. Devil May Cry 3 opens in Dante's as-of-yet unnamed shop as a mysterious man named Arkham arrives with an invitation from Dante's brother Vergil in the form of a brutal demon attack. After Dante defeats the enemies, an immense tower erupts from the ground a short distance away. Sensing Vergil atop the structure, Dante takes the situation as a challenge. Dante starts fighting demons during his journey who, once defeated, became his weapons. Dante is then attacked by a woman on a motorcycle, whose name later becomes Lady, Arkham's daughter who wants to take revenge against her father for her mother's death. Arkham is working for Vergil and they plan to take Dante's half of the amulet their mother gave them and use its power to reactivate the tower's ability to connect the human and demon worlds. After numerous battles, an encounter with a being calling itself Jester, Dante attains the tower's summit and battles Vergil. Vergil soundly defeats Dante, steals his amulet, and departs. Dante's dormant devil powers emerge as a result of this setback, and he takes off in pursuit. He eventually catches up in the control room located in the tower's basement, where Vergil cannot reactivate the tower. The brothers battle again until they are interrupted first by Lady and then Jester. Jester reveals that he is in fact Arkham, and has been manipulating them all to reactivate the tower for his own ends. Arkham's plan is to cross over to the demon world and steal the Force Edge, the dormant form of Sparda's original sword which contains the bulk of Sparda's old power, and use it to rule over a demon-infested Earth. The tower then transforms as the spell is broken, carrying Arkham upwards to the summit, while Vergil vanishes in the confusion. Dante battles his way back up the tower and eventually fights Lady for the right to pursue Arkham. Dante wins and Lady lends him her most powerful weapon. Reaching the summit once again, Dante crosses over to the demon world and catches up with Arkham, who has assumed Sparda's demonic form. Overwhelmed by the power, Arkham transforms into a blob-like creature and battles Dante. Halfway through the fight, Vergil reappears and the brothers work together to bring Arkham down. Arkham is thrown out of the demon world in a weakened state and lands atop the tower where Lady kills him. In the demon world, Dante and Vergil battle over ownership of the Force Edge and the amulet halves. After being defeated, Vergil decides to stay behind as the portal closes, vanishing into the darkness with his half of the amulet. Dante meets Lady outside the tower the two form a friendship and the beginnings of a partnership in demon-slaying, and he names his shop "Devil May Cry". A scene after the credits reveals Vergil in the demon world, weakened yet determined, as he charges into battle against his father's old foe, Mundus. Following the mixed reception received by Devil May Cry 2, Capcom decided to develop Devil May Cry 3 in a similar manner to the series' more critically successful first entry, Devil May Cry. Gameplay elements such as the size of environments and the game's battle engine were reconsidered. Other aspects of Devil May Cry 2 which were criticized, such as Dante's cockiness being toned down and the game's weak difficulty, were brought back in line with Devil May Cry. According to a pre-release interview with the game's producer Tsuyoshi Tanaka, the thrust of the game's design was the creation of a new battle system allowing the player to control weapons in new and "stylish" ways. This went along with the design of a new type of in-game camera designed to keep the character in focus so as to avoid disorienting the player in crowded battle scenes. According to Tanaka, the difficulty of Devil May Cry 2 was toned down to get wider acceptance in the Japanese market, but this move had made the game lose support in other markets. To deal with this situation the Japanese release of Devil May Cry 3 had a lower difficulty than the North American and European releases. Dante's attitude was emphasized to reflect a younger and more arrogant character than in previous installments. Capcom also produced a second version called the "Special Edition", which was released on January 24, 2006 in North America. A PC version of Devil May Cry 3, with slight graphical changes, was developed by SourceNext and published by Ubisoft on June 28, 2006 in Europe and on October 16, 2006 in North America. Capcom promoted Devil May Cry 3's release with a multi-million dollar television campaign, along with prominent ads in video game magazines. The marketing campaign focused on the game's plot and its multiple fighting styles. The Devil Trigger forms for Dante and Vergil were designed by Kazuma Kaneko, who previously worked on Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Persona. Devil May Cry 3 was highly successful commercially, becoming the eighth best-selling game in Japan during the first week after its release. The game sold over 1,300,000 units worldwide, thereby earning Capcom's "Platinum Title" status. Devil May Cry 3 scored 84/100 at Metacritic and 84.2% at GameRankings. It was also included in Game Informer's "Top 50 Games of 2005" list and later received a "Game of the Month" award when the Special Edition was released. In 2010, IGN listed it at #18 in their "Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games". Reviews typically praised the game for avoiding the mistakes of the previous title, as well as for the storyline, options for customization, "over-the-top" gameplay and new combat engine. The style-based combat engine was thought to produce fighting sequences that made those in other games, such as Ninja Gaiden and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, appear unimpressive. Other aspects, such as the camera and controls, were also reviewed positively. However, the first North American and European release was criticized for its difficulty even in reviews that gave it a high score. Reviewers took issue with Capcom's decision to turn the Japanese version's "Hard" mode into the North American and European "Normal" mode. The Special Edition release was ranked 9th in GameSpy's "Game of the Year" selection for the PlayStation 2 in 2006, and was praised for re-balancing the difficulty. Other aspects of the game, such as the inclusion of a survival mode called "Bloody Palace" and the addition of Vergil as a playable character, received positive reviews. The PC version was widely criticized for being inferior to the PlayStation 2 version. Issues included the game engine, which was considered rough and under worked, the controls, and the inability to save the game anywhere on a given level and restart from that point in subsequent "loadings", a convenience afforded by most PC games. Jeremy Dunham of IGN gave the PC version a score of 5.8 out of 10 (compared to the PS2 version's 9.6), citing its "awful performance" and "craptacular controls" as major problems. Devil May Cry 3 was highly successful commercially, becoming the eighth best-selling game in Japan during the first week after its release. The game sold over 1,300,000 units worldwide, thereby earning Capcom's "Platinum Title" status. Devil May Cry 3 scored 84/100 at Metacritic and 84.2% at GameRankings. It was also included in Game Informer's "Top 50 Games of 2005" list and later received a "Game of the Month" award when the Special Edition was released. In 2010, IGN listed it at #18 in their "Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games". Reviews typically praised the game for avoiding the mistakes of the previous title, as well as for the storyline, options for customization, "over-the-top" gameplay and new combat engine. The style-based combat engine was thought to produce fighting sequences that made those in other games, such as Ninja Gaiden and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, appear unimpressive. Other aspects, such as the camera and controls, were also reviewed positively. However, the first North American and European release was criticized for its difficulty even in reviews that gave it a high score. Reviewers took issue with Capcom's decision to turn the Japanese version's "Hard" mode into the North American and European "Normal" mode. The Special Edition release (see following section) was ranked 9th in GameSpy's "Game of the Year" selection for the PlayStation 2 in 2006, and was praised for re-balancing the difficulty. Other aspects of the game, such as the inclusion of a survival mode called "Bloody Palace" and the addition of Vergil as a playable character, received positive reviews. The PC version was widely criticized for being inferior to the PlayStation 2 version. Issues included the game engine, which was considered rough and under worked, the controls, and the inability to save the game anywhere on a given level and restart from that point in subsequent "loadings", a convenience afforded by most PC games. Jeremy Dunham of IGN gave the PC version a score of 5.8 out of 10 (compared to the PS2 version's 9.6), citing its "awful performance" and "craptacular controls" as major problems. Following the release of Devil May Cry 3, Capcom released merchandise based on the game, including a manga written by Suguro Chayamachi and published by Tokyopop in North America, as well as a Dante action figure made by Revoltech. A source book entitled "Devil May Cry 3 Material Archive - Note of Naught" was released in 2006, containing previously unreleased production and CG artwork, storyboards, and a UMD video disc for the PSP, with trailers and videos (region 2 only). A three-disc Devil May Cry 3 soundtrack was released on March 31, 2005 shortly after the game's release, with Tetsuya Shibata and Kento Hasegawa credited as the producers. The lyrics for the vocal songs from Devil May Cry 3 were written, and the rough vocals performed, by Shawn McPherson. At the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, Capcom announced there would be a special edition of Devil May Cry 3.[56] It included a number of gameplay changes and additional content. Most notably, players could now choose to play as Dante's twin brother, Vergil. Other changes included an added survival mode called "Bloody Palace" with a total of 9999 levels; a new Jester fight early in the game, with optional fights later; a "Turbo Mode" for 20 percent faster gameplay; and a continue system which can revive the character instantly, or allow the player to restart the fight they just lost as many times as they like. The game also has rebalanced difficulty. Vergil has only one style, "Dark Slayer" (similar to Dante's "Trickster" style), which includes evasive maneuvers, and can be leveled up twice, just like Dante's initial four styles. He has three weapons: his O-katana called Yamato, the Beowulf gauntlets and greaves, and the Force Edge broadsword. He has two ranged attacks; "Summoned Swords", which creates magical swords that can be used for a variety of effects, and "Judgment Cut" which creates spheres of damaging force. The new boss is Jester, a plot-important character who was encountered several times during cutscenes in the first edition of the game but never actually fought. In Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, he is a semi-optional boss (insofar as the first fight with him is mandatory but the later encounters can be skipped) who can be fought three times. Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition was released on January 24, 2006 for $19.99 as part of the PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits Collection. It was later confirmed that the PlayStation 2 version of the game would also be released in Europe. On February 1, 2006, Ubisoft announced that they would be publishing a PC version of the game developed by SourceNext. The European PC version was the first to come out, even before the Special Edition was released for the PlayStation 2 in that region, being released on June 28, 2006. The North American version was released on October 16, 2006. The game was published in Japan on June 30, 2006. Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition was re-released in the Devil May Cry HD Collection for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, along Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 2.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 16:54:43 GMT -5
39. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (Sly Raccoon in Europe and Australia and Kaitô Sly Cooper) is a platform stealth video game created by Sucker Punch Productions, and released on the Sony PlayStation 2 in 2002, subsequently republished as a "Greatest Hits" title. The game was followed by two sequels, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. On November 9, 2010, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, as well as its two sequels were released together as The Sly Collection, a remastered port of all three games on a single Blu-ray disc as a Classics HD title for the PlayStation 3. On June 7, 2011, a fourth Sly Cooper title, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, was announced at E3 2011. The game focuses on master thief Sly Cooper and his gang, Bentley the Turtle and Murray the Hippo, as they seek out the Fiendish Five to recover his family's "Thievius Raccoonus", a book with the accumulation of all of Sly's ancestors' thieving moves. The game was praised for using a variation on cel-shading rendering, which is used to create a film noir feel, while still rendered as an animated movie, though criticized for being too short. Sly Cooper is set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic creatures. The game uses cutscenes to present the background of the eponymous Sly Cooper, raccoon who descended from a long line of master thieves who favor stealing from enemy gangs, corrupt governments, and crime syndicates instead of the innocent. However, that lineage became crippled when a gang known as the Fiendish Five, led by Clockwerk, a cyborg-like owl with a hatred for the Cooper line, killed Sly's father while Sly was still young. The Five also took the "Thievius Raccoonus", a book recording the journeys and skills of all the ancestors of the Cooper line. The Thievius Raccoonus was split into five pieces among the Five, and dispersed to their various personal lairs. Sly was taken to the Happy Camper orphanage where he became close friends with the intelligent Bentley the Turtle, and the happy-go-lucky Murray the Hippo. Sly and his friends eventually left the orphanage and formed a gang called The Cooper Gang, pulling off amazing heists and robberies. Their activities attracted the attention of Interpol Inspector Carmelita Fox, who made it her mission to capture Sly, though Sly takes a subtle romantic interest in her. At the start of the game, Sly learns of the location of the Fiendish Five by stealing the information from Carmelita's office, and conspires with Bentley and Murray to retrieve the stolen book. Sly is able to defeat the four underlings of the Five and their minions. Bentley is able to discover where Clockwerk is by tracing the materials used to make the weapons that the Five used to one location, all the while furiously chased by Carmelita. Sly, Murray, and Bentley assault Clockwerk's lair, but are separated and Sly is forced to continue without them. Sly spots Carmelita in a containment chamber in a seemingly confined room. Sly attempts to save her but is trapped himself. Clockwerk appears on the computers in the room and tells Sly that he has a pathetic weakness for chivalry and nearly gasses him to death. Bentley uses his computers to disable the gas and Sly frees Carmelita. Carmelita creates an exit for the room and decides to form a temporary alliance with him. She tells him that her jetpack can help defeat Clockwerk, which is atop Clockwerk's tower, which was where Clockwerk grabbed her. She promises Sly a ten second head start next time they meet. Sly acquires the jetpack, and is able to defeat Clockwerk and retrieve the Thievius Raccoonus, though Sly is cornered by Carmelita. However, Carmelita gives Sly the ten second head start she had promised. After using nine seconds of it, Sly takes an opportunity to kiss Carmelita, and handcuff her to the railing while she is distracted, thus enabling the gang to make their escape. Unknown to everyone, one of Clockwerk's eyes open, revealing that he still lives. A second ending cut scene is unlocked when Sly has opened every vault, showing him talking about instead of inheriting the book like his ancestors, he earned it. He decides to put his own stories into the book, before jumping off the rooftop, which is followed by an alarm going off and police sirens and ends with Sly saying "This is going to be fun." Sly Cooper is a third person platforming video game that incorporates stealth elements; as noted by an Official PlayStation Magazine retrospective, the game "tries to mix one-hit-kill arcade action with Splinter Cell sneaking". The player controls Sly Cooper, the title character, as he moves between each uniquely themed lair of the Fiendish Five and the sub-sections of those lairs, avoiding security systems and the watchful eyes of enemies. While Sly is equipped with a cane to attack his foes, he can be defeated with a single hit, thus the player is urged to use stealth maneuvers and the environment to evade or silently neutralize potential threats . To assist in these stealth moves, the environment contains special areas colored with blue sparkles of light, identified in the game as Sly's "thief senses". The player can trigger context-sensitive actions in these areas, such as shimmying along a narrow ledge or wall, landing on a pointed object such as an antenna or streetlight, climbing along the length of a narrow pole or pipe, or using the cane to grapple onto something. The player must avoid detection by security systems and enemies, otherwise an alarm will sound and the player will either have to destroy the alarm, avoid or defeat foes alerted by the alarm, or hide for several seconds until the alarm resets. The game uses a dynamic music system that changes depending on the state of alarm in the area: the music will increase in volume and pacing when Sly attacks or is detected, and then will quiet down as the disturbance goes away. Each sub-section of a lair contains a number of clue bottles which, when collected, allow Sly to access a safe in the level that contains a page from the Thievius Raccoonus. These pages grant Sly new moves to aid in movement, stealth, or combat, such as creating a decoy or dropping an explosive hat. Defeating each of the bosses also gives Sly moves, and these abilities are typically necessary to pass later levels. Coins are scattered about the levels and are also generated by defeating enemies or destroying objects. For every 100 coins collected, Sly gains a lucky horseshoe that is the color blue and when you have two hoseshoes, it turns gold. It will allow him to take extra hits, or if he currently has one, an extra life. If Sly collapses and loses a life, the current sub-level will be restarted or at a special "repeater" that acts as a checkpoint; if the player loses all of Sly's lives, they must restart that bosses' lair from the beginning. Besides the regular gameplay, there are mini-games that include driving levels (based on Murray), shooting levels to protect Murray as he ascends certain levels, and a cyber-tank game representing a hacking attempt by Bentley. One notable boss battle includes a rhythm-based sequence similar to Dance Dance Revolution. Levels can be returned to at any time to gain additional coins or to seek out special moves. When a level is completed, all of the clue bottles are collected and the secret move is found, the player can then attempt a "Master Sprint", a timed sprint through the level to try to beat a set time. The player can unlock additional artistic content by completing all the levels in this fashion. Brian Flemming of Sucker Punch called the rendering style as "Toon-shading", comparing the detailed backgrounds with cel-shading foregrounds to that of animated movies. An interview with the Sucker Punch development team identified that they took this route because "We wanted Sly and his world to look illustrated, but one step away from a flattened graphic style." To prevent slowdowns with framerates, the team "had at least one engineer working on nothing but performance for the entire development of Sly." The game art team "collected hundreds of photos and drawings of areas that looked like the worlds [they] wanted to create" to generate the backgrounds. The characters themselves underwent up to "six or eight major revisions" before the designs were finalized. The music was inspired by the artwork from the game; Ashif Hakik, composer of the game's music, stated that "Stylistic influences came from a combination of instrument choices and musical character defined and inspired by the locales in the game, and similar composer works like Yoko Kanno and her work on Cowboy Bebop, Henry Mancini, and Carl Stalling." He continued to note that "the interactive music engine we used made us consider the gameplay for each specific level a sort of starting point that would influence the way the music would be written." There are two different covers for the game and they both have two different names, depending on location. Sly Raccoon in Europe and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus in North America. The Japanese version of the game sports a vocal theme song called Blackjack, set to a flashy intro not seen in the North American or PAL versions of the game. While the group singing the song, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, has a distinct Japanese accent, none of the lyrics are in Japanese and the entire song is in English. Another addition in the Japanese version not present in the other versions is alternate animated introduction and ending sequences. These sequences feature full animation, as opposed to the limited flash-style animation seen in the other animated sequences present throughout the game. These alternate sequences are drawn in a typical anime style. The Japanese introduction is unlockable for view in the North American and PAL versions, but the Japanese ending can only be unlocked in the PAL version. Sly Cooper was generally well received by the video game media. Most reviewers praised the unique look of the game. GameSpot noted that "The game has a fantastic sense of style to its design that is reflected in everything from the animation to the unique use of the peaking fad, cel-shaded polygons." Many reviews also appreciated the ease of learning the controls and gameplay; IGN states that "Sly is incredibly responsive, and though his size seems a little large at times due to his long arms and legs and the cane he carries, skillfully jumping and hitting enemies with precision is a quick study." Several reviewers appreciated the fluidity of the game between actual play, cutscenes, and other features. The game was also praised for being a game that was accessible to both adults and children. A common detraction of the game was its length; as commented by GameSpot's review, "The main problem is that just as you're getting into a groove and really enjoying the variety seen throughout the different levels, the game ends." The length was defended by Sucker Punch's developers; Brian Flemming noted that there was additional content to be unlocked at several levels, including "for each [Master Sprint] you complete, you get bonus commentary from the designers, artists and programmers here at Sucker Punch, something that people have reacted to really positively." The game was also cited as being too easy, with GameSpot stating that "The game's relative ease combined with a very short length prevents Sly Cooper from becoming the next big platformer. But it's great while it lasts." However, OPM noted that in regards to the difficulty "There's a pleasant old-school feel to Thievius Raccoonus; the enemies are merciless but a bit stupid, and the platforming challenges come on strong and ramp up steadily in difficulty as the levels go by." Reviewers also noted some framerate slowdowns in latter levels of the game, as well as some camera control issues. Sales of Sly Cooper were initially poor, overshadowed by two other PlayStation 2 platformers published around 2002, Ratchet & Clank and Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. This, however, did not prevent the game from achieving at least 400,000 in sales a year since release to allow it to be included in Sony's "Greatest Hits" line, republishing it in 2003 and at a lower price. GameSpy considered Sly Cooper to be the 5th most underrated game of all time in a 2003 listing. The game has since yielded two sequels, Sly 2: Band of Thieves (2004) and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (2005) while a fourth game is currently in production. Sly Cooper won "Best New Character" and nominated for "Excellence in Visual Arts" at the 2003 Game Developer's Conference for 2002. Furthermore, the character of Sly Cooper has also been come to be considered as a mascot for the PlayStation systems, alongside both Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter. This has further lead to collaboration between the development teams for all three series, Sucker Punch, Insomniac Games, and Naughty Dog, leading to subtle inclusion of some elements of Sly Cooper within the other titles. For example, a brief gameplay clip of Sly Cooper plays among several for Ratchet & Clank 1&2, Jak and Daxter, and Jak II during the start menu for Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. In the video sequence after defeating Muggshot if you look closely at Murray he is wearing a hat with "WW" on it. This is a reference to Whoopie World from Rocket: Robot on Wheels.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 17:09:25 GMT -5
38. Bully Bully, also known as Canis Canem Edit (Latin for dog eat dog) for the PAL region PlayStation 2 version, is an action-adventure open world video game released by Rockstar Vancouver for the PlayStation 2 on 17 October 2006 in North America, and 25 October 2006 in the United Kingdom. An Xbox version was planned but cancelled for undisclosed reasons. The game was re-released as Bully: Scholarship Edition on 6 March 2008 for the Wii and Xbox 360 and 24 October 2008 on PC (this name is retained in the PAL releases). The PlayStation 2 version of the game is also available in the United States as a special edition that includes a limited edition comic book and a dodgeball of the same style as the ones used in the game, with the word "Bully" embossed on it. Bully is a subtle action-adventure open world video game set in a school environment. The player takes control of teenage rebel James "Jimmy" Hopkins, who from the opening cutscene is revealed to be a difficult student with a disruptive background. The game concerns the events that follow Jimmy being dropped off at Bullworth Academy, a fictional New England boarding school. The player is free to explore the school campus in the beginning and, later on in the game, the town, or to complete the main missions. The game makes extensive use of minigames. Some are used to earn money, others to improve Jimmy's abilities or get new items. School classes themselves are done in the form of minigames, broken into five levels of increasing difficulty. Each completed class brings a benefit to gameplay. English, as an example, is a word scramble minigame, and as Jimmy does well in this minigame, he learns various language-skills, such as the ability to apologize to police for small crimes. Chemistry is a button pushing minigame which rewards Jimmy with the ability to create firecrackers, stink bombs, and other items at his chemistry set in his room at the dorm. Jimmy has a multitude of weapons available, although they tend to run along the lines of things a school boy might actually attain, such as a slingshot, bags of marbles, itching powder, fire crackers, stink bombs, and, later in the game, a bottle rocket launcher and the spud cannon. He can pick up and use various improvised weapons like bats, sticks, or flowerpots. The weapon Jimmy uses the most are his fists and feet; as the game progresses, Jimmy will be able to learn new moves and combos. Fighting is an integral part of the game; each of the game's five chapters culminates in a battle against the leader or leaders of a given clique. Jimmy, however, has a health bar in which if it gets depleted, he becomes knocked out, causing the mission he is doing to fail and Jimmy to be sent to the nearest medical center. However, violence against girls, smaller kids, or adults and authority generally has swift and severe consequences. Jimmy can get busted by the prefects, teachers, police and even some townspeople after he commits crimes. If this happens, the mission he is doing automatically fails, and most of Jimmy's weapons are confiscated. Depending on where and when Jimmy gets busted, he gets sent to the headmaster's office (and possibly detention), his dorm room, the classroom with a class in session, the Bullworth Academy front gate, or the police station. Jimmy also has an assortment of vehicles to operate — mainly a skateboard, but also a scooter, a go-kart, a lawn mower (for money, and also to complete a detention and, towards the end of the game, some missions), and various bicycles. By passing shop classes, Jimmy can build increasingly high-performance BMX bikes, and use them in either races or a bike park. The player can alter Jimmy's physical appearance to their liking by purchasing new clothes, haircuts, masks, or even tattoos. Chapters are: * Chapter 1: Making New Friends and Enemies: Jimmy arrives at Bullworth Academy and immediately runs into trouble with the Bullies. * Chapter 2: Rich Kid Blues: Jimmy is now more popular, but he must deal with the spoiled Preppies. * Chapter 3: Love Makes the World Go Around: As Christmas time comes around the corner, Jimmy gets mixed in with the love affairs of Johnny Vincent, leader of the Greasers, and his promiscuous girlfriend Lola. * Chapter 4: A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body and Other Lies: Jimmy decides to take on the Jocks, but he first needs to convince the Nerds to help him. * Chapter 5: The Fall and Rise of Jimmy Hopkins, Aged 15: Jimmy, after briefly enjoying his power as king of Bullworth Academy, is expelled. He has to clear his name and get re-enrolled back into the Academy. * Chapter 6: Endless Summer: Jimmy can tie up any loose ends, such as finishing races, finding collectibles, exploring Bullworth town etc. The game takes place at Bullworth Academy, a fictional independent boarding school in the New England area of the United States. Jimmy ends up enrolled in the school when his newly married mother and stepfather go on a year-long honeymoon cruise. The school is located in the fictional town of Bullworth, which appears to exist in the same fictional universe as the Grand Theft Auto series. The school itself is a neo-gothic design and is similar to many other public schools and colleges in the United Kingdom and New England, in particular Fettes School in Edinburgh. The game focuses on Bullworth's newest student, James "Jimmy" Hopkins. As he advances through his academic career at Bullworth Academy, he may interact with the school's students and teachers, as well as people from the neighboring town, many of whom will give him errands to complete. He is greeted by Gary Smith, a scheming, unstable sociopath, and Pete Kowalski, a shy student who has yet to make any friends. Throughout the first chapter, Gary has Jimmy doing all of his dirty work, while playing continuous mind games with him. Jimmy also has to navigate his way through the five cliques of Bullworth — the Bullies, Nerds, Preppies, Greasers and Jocks, as well as the Townie kids and the mostly corrupt prefects and faculty. Most of the cliques have a sole female member, with whom Jimmy can pursue a romance. There are also a number of students who are not associated with any clique. Unlike other games from Rockstar, no two characters in Bully are the same, and every character has a name and distinct personality. * Jimmy, a 15 year old boy and the main protagonist of Bully. Jimmy comes from a troubled background, having been expelled from every school he ever attended, for a wide variety of offenses. His mother has just started her sixth marriage, this one with a man old enough to be Jimmy's grandfather. Unwilling to deal with Jimmy, they dump him on the steps of Bullworth Academy before leaving for a year-long honeymoon cruise. Stuck in a school where everyone wants to beat him up, Jimmy has no choice but to fight his way through all the cliques. Jimmy was designed to be an 'everykid'. Lead Producer of Bully, Jeronimo Barerra, claimed that what he wanted to do with Bully was to recreate the state of being a kid, and to make it fun. Parallels were also made between Jimmy and Holden Caulfield, the main character of Catcher in the Rye. Jimmy and Holden share a background of a difficult homelife and being thrown out of multiple private schools. Jimmy even uses Holden's favorite derogatory term, "phony", to describe his new stepfather. * Gary Smith: The main antagonist of the game, Gary is described by other characters as a sociopath. He admits that he suffers from attention-deficit disorder. He considers himself smarter and better than everyone, and wants to run the school. Initially Jimmy's friend, he turns on him early in the school year and spends the rest of the game behind the scenes, manipulating the cliques into fighting Jimmy for him. * Pete Kowalski: Pete, usually called "Petey", is a shy, smaller than average student who has trouble fitting in with any group and making friends. Pete is the second student to introduce himself to Jimmy, and becomes the closest thing to a friend Jimmy has at Bullworth. The two of them and Gary form a friendship of sorts, although Gary picks on Pete constantly. When Gary turns on Jimmy, Pete stays loyal to Jimmy and continues to for the rest of the school year. Although he doesn't have physical capabilities matching Jimmy's, he has a good tactical mind, and his advice helps Jimmy throughout the course of the game. * Dr. Crabblesnitch: The pompous principal of Bullworth Academy and all-around killjoy, Crabblesnitch believes that "rehabilitating" problem children is his calling in life. Crabblesnitch was originally introduced as the main nemesis, a corrupt, authoritarian bully. The character was changed by the time the game was released, leaving Crabblesnitch more self-righteous and oblivious than malignant. Crabblesnitch refers to the bullying taking place as "school spirit". He refuses to hear ill of his staff, even expelling Zoe for complaining about the gym teacher Mr. Burton hitting on her. He does, however, take appropriate action when confronted with undeniable truth, and fires two different teachers for misdeeds and corruption over the course of the game. * Russell Northrop: The leader of the Bullies clique. Russell isn't the smartest student at Bullworth Academy by a long shot. However, he is huge, very tough, and so strong that even the school's brutal and corrupt prefects are afraid of him. Early in the game, Gary manipulates him into fighting Jimmy. After Jimmy beats him, he becomes Jimmy's staunchest ally, assisting him with several important missions. * Zoe Taylor: A townie girl who was expelled from Bullworth Academy by Dr. Crabblesnitch for complaining that the gym teacher was hitting on her. In addition to serving as a primary love interest for Jimmy in the game, she helps him carry out an important mission near the end. After Jimmy defeats Gary, she is re-enrolled at the Academy. Early information released by Take-Two Interactive seemed to indicate that the player would be taking the role of a bully, and screenshots printed in Electronic Gaming Monthly showed the player-controlled antagonist administering a "swirlie" and throwing a punch at another student. However, the tone of the final game was different, with the player in the role of a problem student who stood up to and fought back against bullies, in effect, bullying on behalf of the victims, or in self-defense. The PlayStation 2 version of the game uses an advanced Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas engine through Renderware. Rockstar Vancouver also decided to make every student in the school have a unique appearance and personality. Bully received highly positive reviews from critics.[19] The game received ratings of 8.9/10 from IGN, 9.0/10 from Games Radar, a perfect 10/10 from 1UP.com, 8.7/10 from GameSpot, 5/5 from JIVE Magazine, 8.75/10 from VGRC.net, a 5/5 from X-Play, and made the Top 10 Games of '06 in PlayStation Magazine.[citation needed] Canis Canem Edit also got 9/10 from OPS2 Magazine. Critics generally praised the game's storyline, while they complained about particular stealth missions, as well as the camera. As of 12 March 2008, the PlayStation 2 version of Bully has sold 1.5 million copies according to Take-Two Interactive. Hyper's Daniel Wilks commends the game for its "clever script, some novel missions [and] well constructed characters". However, he criticises it for "time dilation, dodgy camera [and] generic mini-games". Bully has caused controversy among parents and educators. Criticisms are due to the adult nature of previous Rockstar games, in particular, the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Hot Coffee minigame controversy and certain aspects of the game including its title. Groups such as Bullying Online and Peaceaholics have criticized the game for glorifying or trivializing school bullying. Most of these criticisms were voiced before the content of the game was available to the public. In 2006, the United States-based Entertainment Software Rating Board officially gave Bully a rating of "T" (suitable for ages 13 and up), the BBFC gave Canis Canem Edit a 15 rating and the New Zealand OFLC restricted it to persons 13 years of age and over. In 2007, Yahoo! Games listed it as one of the top ten controversial games of all time. The OFLC of Australia gave Bully an M rating (recommended for mature audiences) for moderate themes, violence and sexual references. Sexuality is a present theme throughout Bully. Jimmy can kiss boys and girls in the game. The ESRB stated that they were fully aware of the bisexual content when they gave it a T rating. Prior to both the ESRB's rating and the release of Bully, Jack Thompson filed a lawsuit attempting to have the game blocked from store shelves in Florida. Thompson declared the game a "nuisance" and "Columbine simulator". He also argued this point on Attack of the Show! with Kevin Pereira on the opposite end on the show's segment "The Loop." Thompson's petition, filed with the 11th Judicial Circuit Court, asked for Wal-Mart and Take-Two to furnish him with an advance copy of Bully so he could have "an independent third party" play the game and determine if it would constitute a public nuisance in the state of Florida, in which case it could be banned. On 11 October 2006, Judge Ronald Friedman ordered Take-Two and Rockstar to provide the court with a copy of the game within 24 hours. On 13 October 2006, Friedman subsequently ruled in favor of shipping the game, noting that there was no content in the game that was not already on late night television. Thompson responded to the ruling with fiery speech directed at the judge, which began the road to disbarment for Thompson. When given a preview build, the mainstream American media took a generally positive view of the game. Press coverage has described the game as free-form, focusing on building a social network and learning new skills from classes, with strictly enforced punishments for serious misbehaviour. Whilst British Labour MP Keith Vaz argued that Bully be banned or reclassified as rated 18 in the UK before its publication and before the content had been finalized, the game was released rated 15. Currys and PC World, both owned by DSG International, said that they did not wish to sell the game in the UK because it is "not appropriate for Currys' family-friendly image". The official statement lists what Currys believes is "the explicit link between violence and children" as the reason behind the ban, and continues: "We haven't taken this decision lightly, particularly considering the excellent relationship we have with Rockstar." However despite this decision other high street retailers including Game, HMV and Virgin Megastores announced intentions to stock the game. DSG stores still stock other Rockstar games including the GTA series, and other violent games like Manhunt, which both have BBFC 18 ratings, whereas Bully has a BBFC 15 rating. Bully was banned in Brazil. In April 2008, Brazilian justice prohibited the commerce, import and availability of the game in Brazilian houses. The decision was taken by judge Flávio Mendes Rabelo from the state of Rio Grande do Sul based on psychological findings by the state psychology society which claims that the game would be potentially harmful to teenagers and adults. Anyone caught selling or even owning the game would face a daily fine of R$1,000.00. In November 2009, The Gaming Liberty interviewed musician Shawn Lee, who scored Bully, and was asked if he was scoring any more games in the near future; he responded, "Yes. It looks like I will be doing the soundtrack for Bully 2 in the not so distant future...". In November 2011, in an interview with Gamasutra, Rockstar executive Dan Houser revealed it may return to it for a sequel once Max Payne 3 is released. "Contrary to a lot of people, we like to take a little bit of time at the end of a game before starting a sequel, so we can wait for the excitement or disappointment and everything else of the experience to shake down and really see what we should do in the next game," he said. "So we knew that we didn't want to start doing the Bully sequel instantly at that second with those guys – even though it is a property that, like Max, we adore and might come back to in the future. There was just no impetus to do that then. So we said, 'You can do Max, and then we will see what we can do with Bully."
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 17:20:19 GMT -5
37. The Warriors is a beat 'em up video game published by Rockstar Games. It was released on October 17, 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and February 12, 2007 for PlayStation Portable. The game is based on the 1979 film, The Warriors. The console versions of the game were developed at Rockstar Toronto, while the PSP port was developed by Rockstar Leeds. The game takes place in a gritty 1970's New York City in America and expands to NYC Boroughs. The Warriors focuses largely on gang rumble style action, with the player being assisted by other Warriors at once (minimum of 1, maximum of 8). The player plays as all nine of the main Warriors at different points throughout the game. Levels 1-13 take place three months before the meeting and 14-18 covers the movie itself. The game also includes five bonus levels called "Flashbacks" which creates a back story of the creation of The Warriors. The first segment of the plot mainly focuses on Cleon the leader of The Warriors owning all of their territory in Coney Island from their arch rivals The Destroyers. The Warriors receiving a "solid" reputation. After a turf war with The Destroyers, The Warriors own all of Coney, following the removal of their enemies. The second segment of the plot is similar to the 1979 film mainly focuses on the gangs' president being murdered secretly causing the truce to be off. Swan, who is now the leader (or "War Chief") of The Warriors after Cleon's demise, guides his fellow Warriors back to their home turf after they are framed for a murder they didn't commit. The game begins in 1979 when Rembrandt (Andy Senor) joins the Warriors. On the same night their turf is raided by their arch-rivals the Destroyers. Cleon (Dorsey Wright) the leader of the Warriors and Vermin (Joe Lo Truglio) recruit their fellow members, but their hangout is sprayed; Cleon tells Rembrandt to spray The Destroyers turf as revenge. Already finishing the Destroyers turf Vermin comes with a idea to spray the Destroyers hangout, in which Rembrandt does, which angers the Destroyers leader Virgil (Curtiss Cook) who swears revenge against The Warriors. Receiving news on the Radio, that a low-class gang named the Orphans had lied about beating up some Warriors, Cleon, Fox (Thomas G. Waites) and the New Bloods head up to their turf in Tremont to teach them a lesson. Conforting their leader Sully (Robert Cihra), he runs away, but the Warriors trash his car as a revenge. Rembrandt takes part in a spraying competition in Soho. The Warriors win; however, Scopes (Darryl McDaniels) is thrown of a scaffolding and the Hi-Hats trap the gangs for tagging on their turf, but the Warriors use a lift to escape and use bricks as a weapon to knock out their leader Chatterbox (Jordan Gelber). He falls of the Scaffolding. The Hi-Hats chase The Warriors but as they go in the hangout they vandalize it as revenge; thus avenging Scopes. Later, The Warriors names are mentioned in their hangout radio when it stated the Warriors are bring in a "heavy rep". It is heard from Rembrandt that Scopes is injured. Shortly before a gang war, the Hi-Hats return to Coney Island to invade it, but the Warriors defend their turf. An angered Chatterbox fights them, but the Warriors successfully kill him. The Warriors receive a call from Charlie the Plumber (Kurt Rhoads) that the Destroyers are back and want revenge. He pays them protection money to defend all the stores. The Destroyers cause havoc for The Warriors by trashing their stores, but the Warriors successfully beat the Destroyers. The Warriors receive news from Tony that Ash (Ephraim Benton) has been beaten to death by the Destroyers and his vest was removed, his body is then used as a bait to trap Cleon and Swan (Michael Beck). The Destroyers desperate attempt to kill them fails and Cleon and Swan escape. An enraged Cleon decides to rid the lives of Virgil and the Destroyers once and for all. The Warriors split into two groups Cleon, Vermin, Ajax (James Remar) and Snow (Sekou Campbell) vandalize their stores. Virgil becomes increasingly paranoid and sends his men to kill the Warriors, and goes to the shack for supplies. Arriving to their Hangout, the Warriors beat the Destroyers to death, but they discover Virgil isn't in and they see L.C. Cleon and Vermin sneak-fully stalk L.C (Leif Riddell) and hits him on the wall. Cleon and Vermin confort Virgil and they engage in a brutal fight. They win and escape, but Virgil is killed in the building fire. After the Destroyers removal, the Warriors now own all of Coney Island and they decide to bring themselves in the Gramercy Riffs network. Cleon receives word the Saracens leader Edge (El-P), that they are having trouble with the Jones Street Boys. Cowboy (Kurt Bauccio) and Cochise (David Harris) ends up getting the Jones Street Boys and two Cops arrested in a return to get them to the Riffs network. Rembrandt wants to take the Warriors All City by spraying trains, in which he does with the help of Scopes. The Riffs leader Cyrus (Roger Hill) calls a midnight summit of all New York area gangs, requesting them to send nine unarmed representatives to Van Cortlandt Park. Cyrus proposes the assembled crowd a permanent citywide truce that would allow the gangs to control the city. Most of the gangs laud his idea, but Cyrus is assassinated by the Rouges leader Luther (Oliver Wyman), when he shoots Cyrus with a gun. Fox witnesses Luther with the gun. Luther then lies to the Riffs that the Warriors are responsible for Cyrus' murder; and Cleon is beaten to death by The Riffs who believe the Warriors are responsible for Cyrus' death. With Cleon's fate unknown the other Warriors escape. Swan now "second in command", takes charge of the group and they head back to the subway. Cyrus' death sends anger and shock throughout the whole of New York City. Unbeknownst to the Warriors, Masai (Charles Parnell) now the leader of the Riffs call a hit on them through a radio DJ (Lynne Thigpen). All the gangs in New York are also enraged by their president's murder, that they decide to rid the lives of the Warriors once and for all. Almost immediately, the Turnbull AC's attempt to run down the Warriors but they manage to escape and board the subway. On the ride to Coney Island, the train is stopped by a fire on the tracks, stranding the Warriors in Tremont, in the Bronx. Setting out on foot, they come across the Orphans again, who were not invited to Cyrus' meeting and who are sensitive regarding their low status in the city hierarchy. Swan makes peace with the Orphans leader, Sully, who agrees to let the Warriors through their territory peacefully. Feeling mocked, a fight ensures and the Orphans are beaten badly. The police arrive and they attempt to arrest the Warriors, but they escape into the park. The Warriors encounter the Orphans again, they escape and they use a Molotov cocktail, blowing up a car in the process. When they arrive at the 96th Street and Broadway Fox, struggling with a police officer, falls to the tracks and is run over by a train while Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) escapes. Swan and the remaining three Warriors run outside, and are chased into Riverside Park by the Baseball Furies where a fight ensues and the Warriors emerge victorious. Ajax notices a lone woman (Mercedes Ruehl) in the park, becomes sexually aggressive towards her. Unbeknownst to Ajax the women is actually a undercover female police officer and is arrested. Rembrandt, Vermin and Cochise are being seduced by the Lizzies. Unaware it is actually a trap, Rembrandt is suspicious and the Lizzies try to kill them, but they escape. In wake of this, they learn the truth why that the city is after them because they think they shot Cyrus. Arriving to Union Square where Swan reunites with the other Warriors, a fight ensues with the Punks but the Warriors defeat them. The Riffs are meanwhile visited by a gang member who attended the earlier gathering, a witness to Luther firing the gun. The Warriors finally arrive at Coney Island, but find the Rogues waiting for them. Luther eventually admits to the murder, justifying "he likes doing things like that". Swan suggests he and Luther fight one-on-one, but Luther pulls his gun. Swan throws a knife into Luther's wrist, disarming Luther. Masai and the Riffs then arrive and apprehend the Rogues, as they are finally unmasked as Cyrus' killer. Masai states The Warriors as "the best". A fight ensures, executing the Rogues and a shattered Luther; The DJ announces that the big alert is called off when it turns out that the earlier reports were wrong. In the aftermath of these events the post-credits scene shows the game ends with Swan and Mercy beginning a relationship. The Warriors and Mercy walking off down the beach. The game takes place in a gritty 1970's New York City, and expands to NYC Boroughs, including Coney Island and The Bronx. The Warriors is an action-adventure, survival game which focuses heavily on brawling. Like most games from Rockstar Games, several minor gameplay elements are mixed into the experience, such as the ability to use spray paint to mark turf or to insult other people. In this prequel segment, The Warriors' headquarters serves as a hub. From inside, you can train (10 ranks of physical fitness that increase your stamina), talk to fellow gang members, play through rumble mode and other bonus material, walk outside to Coney Island for extra missions, or begin the next level of the story proper. Mission objectives are the typical "beat up these guys" or "steal X amount of items," with more complex and creative tasks like winning a graffiti competition in SoHo, stealing goods to plant on crooked cops and rival gang members, and running like mad from the bats of the Baseball Furies. Fighting takes the shape of gang rumble style action with the player being assisted by other Warriors at the same time (a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 8) with a targeting system critics found "refreshingly simple". Combos are performed with 2-3 button chains for weak attacks, strong attacks, holds and throws. The games see's The Warriors fight their way through the ranks, building a heavy rep and getting their colors out in force, until get the invite to summit, which is where the movie part (and the last few missions of the game) begins. The player plays as all nine of the main Warriors at different points throughout the game, but largely using Cleon, Swan and Rembrandt. Levels 1-13 take place three months before the meeting and 14-18 covers the movie itself. The game also includes five bonus levels called "Flashbacks" Which creates a back story of the creation of The Warriors. The following nine Warriors are playable in the game, six actors returned for their roles in the game. * Cleon: The Warlord, leader and co-founder of The Warriors. Cleon used to be a Destroyer with his former best friend and leader Virgil. After Cleon questioned a series of bad judgments, Virgil assumed that Cleon was plotting against him. So Virgil sent Cleon and fellow member Vermin on a phony drug deal with another gang called the Satan's Mothers, expecting both to be killed. The duo survived, and Cleon vowed revenge against Virgil. Cleon and Vermin would found the Warriors, being the first two inaugural members. Like in the film, Cleon is accused of killing Cyrus, and is promptly beaten and killed by the Riffs. He is the character that players use most in the main game until this point when he becomes inactive. Dorsey Wright reprises his role as Cleon. * Swan: The Warchief, second in command of The Warriors. Quiet and cool-headed, but possesses strong fighting and leadership skills. He has a friendship with Cleon from before joining the Destroyers. It is hinted that Swan also left the Destroyers to form his own, but the offer to join Cleon in the Warriors came up. After Cleon's capture, he becomes the main character used by the player. His main role is to ensure the survival of the Warriors, especially after Cleon is murdered. Michael Beck reprises his role as Swan. * Ajax: The Muscle. A fearless, cocky womanizer who is always up for a fight. He prefers to solve his problems through brawling, and his attitude tends to cause trouble for himself and the others in the gang. After the loss of Cleon at the conclave, he engages in a short confrontation with Swan over who should assume command. He is the most aggressive, toughest, roughest, and possibly the strongest Warrior. He wears fingerless leather gloves and a black tank-top under his Warriors vest. While escaping from all the gangs that thought The Warriors shot Cyrus, he tries to have sex with an undercover cop, who arrests him, separating him from the gang. From this point, he too becomes unavailable as a playable character. James Remar reprises his role as Ajax. * Vermin: Like Cleon, he is a former Destroyer. He also a co-founder of The Warriors after he and Cleon left the gang. A very pessimistic Warrior yet very loyal and can take care of himself in a fight. He wears no shirt under his Warriors vest. Started the gang with Cleon. Voiced by Joe Lo Truglio. * Rembrandt: The Writer. The gang's talented graffiti artist, he wears the standard Warrior's vest and an afro. The game starts with the player using Rembrandt, who is trying to get initiated into the Warriors. In multiple levels, he takes the lead with a smaller group in spite of his inexperience. The youngest member, Rembrandt is far less battle-hardened and is looked after by the other members of the gang. His job is to paint large W's (representing The Warriors) with a spray can containing red paint throughout the city. He also paints much more elaborate tags, so that the whole city will know The Warriors name. Voiced by Andy Senor. * Fox: The Scout, Fox is very familiar with other gangs and their rackets, territory, and numbers. Fox assists on most missions. What he lacks in fighting skill, he makes up for in other skills (like aiding fallen friends). After the meeting, he gets into a grappling situation with a police officer while trying to protect Mercy. The Police Officer accidentally throws him off the side of the train subway platform in front of an oncoming train. While it is implied that he has died, in a later scene, a mysterious man informs the Riffs of The Warriors' innocence who is believed by some to be an injured and disguised Fox. Thomas G. Waites reprises his role as Fox. * Snow: A stoic African-American Warrior with an afro parted down the middle. A bit more reserved, he is nevertheless a very talented fighter. Voiced by Sekou Campbell. * Cowboy: A Warrior who wears a Stetson cowboy hat. He was a former member of The Destroyers who left when Swan did. He is an optimistic, happy-go-lucky Warrior. He wears a hat that can be knocked off his head when he is hit hard. Like all characters, he can pick up discarded hats, but he complains if the hat is not his own. Voiced by Kurt Bauccio. He is the character that players get to use the least in the game. * Cochise: A heavy brawler, who's always looking for a good time. He wears Native American-style jewelry, leather pants and boots. He has an afro with a red bandanna tied around it. He was originally from Harlem but moved to Coney Island. His initial intent to join the Warriors is mocked at first, but he proves himself by stealing the hat of the Boppers' leader, which he does not wear at any other time. David Harris reprises his role as Cochise. Supporting characters are: * Virgil: Leader of The Destroyers. Cleon's and Vermin's former boss, he became increasingly paranoid and tried to set them up to be killed in a botched drug deal, causing Cleon to retaliate and found The Warriors, who became The Destroyers' main rivals. After killing Ash, a young member of the Warriors, and attempting to burn Cleon and Swan to death, all through his Destroyers, Cleon decides this time he has gone too far. Virgil engages in a fight with Cleon and Vermin where thereafter he is burned to death in a building fire. Following his death, it's presumed the surviving Destroyers disband as they are not present at the Cyrus meeting, or assuming that they are still active despite Virgil's death much like other gangs, despite the deaths of their leaders (e.g.: the Hi-Hats), they are not part of the Riffs' network, just like the Orphans. Voiced by Curtis Cook. * Ash: A young member of the Warriors. He takes part in two of the missions in the story. He is beaten to death by The Destroyers, and his vest removed. His body is then used as bait to also kill Cleon and Swan, which they fail to do. That same night The Warriors invade the Destroyers turf to wipe them out for good, thus avenging Ash. Voiced by Ephraim Benton. * Mercy: Mercy was originally the girlfriend of the Orphans' warlord (in the film, she is a prostitute, but this is not implied in the game). At first, she follows the Warriors, and then they accept her presence on their journey home. She and Swan fall in love, and she is seen in The Warriors' hangout after the main story is concluded. She cannot be used in the main levels and it is implied that she becomes the only female Warrior. Deborah Van Valkenburgh reprises her role of Mercy. * L.C.: A junkie and a top member of the Destroyers. He helped Virgil set Cleon and Vermin up by providing them with fake drugs. He is later kicked out of the flophouse that would become the Warriors' hangout and is beaten up by Ajax for stealing his vest. He tries to avoid the final confrontation between the Warriors and the Destroyers, but is knocked out by Cleon. It is unknown if he lives or dies. Voiced by Leif Riddell. * Scopes: A graffiti artist and a good friend of Rembrandt, a Warriors member. He is African American and wears a stylish blue tracksuit top, sunglasses and a hat. He was almost killed by The Hi-Hats when they threw him off of a scaffold at a set-up graffiti art competition. Voiced by Darryl McDaniels. * Masai: A high-ranking member of the Riffs, and a second-in-command to Cyrus. He is skeptical of Cyrus' plan of a city-wide truce, and warns him of the risk, which Cyrus ignores. The truce meeting starts out successful until Luther, a member of the Rogues, shoots Cyrus in the chest, killing him. Luther then frames the Warriors for the murder. Masai, now the Riffs' Warlord, puts a price on the Warriors' heads, causing every gang in the city to go after them. A few hours later, however, someone tells Masai and the Riffs the truth behind Cyrus' murder and clears the Warriors' name. Masai then leads a large number of Riffs down to Coney Island, where they find the Warriors about to go head-to-head with the Rogues. They compliment the Warriors on their skills while and as the Warriors leave, proceed to swarm the Rogues on the beach. Charles Parnell voices Masai. * Cyrus: The president of the Riffs and was shot by Luther in the big meeting in the Bronx that was attended by many gangs of the city including The Warriors, who were framed by Luther for the assassination of Cyrus. Cyrus is voiced by Michael Potts. The Warriors received positive reviews. Many praised the game for its deep combat and control, stating that the game helped breathe life into the brawler genre. The game was also praised for its unique seedy underbelly style, along with its story and music. Complaints were mostly directed towards the multiplayer. Critics complained about how the game's screen splits vertically for two players, creating a narrow field of vision—when compared to the "normal" view—and often cluttered screens. However, in the PSP version, this problem is rectified by virtue of the fact that the game is already being played on two separate screens. Game Informer praised the feel and style of the game, stating "The Warriors immerses you in a world that feels at once authentic and highly stylized, and it might just be the best game adaptation of a film ever in terms of capturing the mood of the original movie. Fans will notice that all of the iconic scenes of the film are recreated almost shot for shot. In addition, Rockstar Toronto has gone to the trouble of creating a completely new storyline that shows players how the Warriors came together, and the events leading up to the start of the film." The reviewer went on to applaud the developers, saying they "Tried to stretch the conventional formula for what’s considered a "brawler." Unlike most of the genre, where you walk down single-path alleyways, The Warriors, taking cues from other popular Rockstar titles, creates the illusion that you’re in a real, living city. Although, sizewise, the levels are much closer to Manhunt than GTA, there are areas to explore both on the ground and vertically, hidden items, amazing unlockables, and numerous side missions. They’ve also tried to expand the gameplay to incorporate more than just fisticuffs. You can engage in all sorts of petty crime, including muggings, stealing car stereos, lockpicking, and tagging graffiti. Throw in a little more variety in the form of some cool chase and stealth sequences, and you’ve got something more than a typical brawler." Roger Hill, who also played Cyrus in the movie, filed a lawsuit of $250,000 against Take-Two for using his voice and depiction in the video game without his permission. He claimed that it would not have been difficult for Take-Two to pay, since the game made $37 million. A spiritual sequel was planned by Rockstar, however was to be unrelated to the Warriors. The game was to be titled "We Are The Mods" which was to be set in 1960s England during the Mods and Rockers brawls. On September 23, 2009 The Warriors: Street Brawl was released on Xbox Live Arcade, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 17:45:03 GMT -5
36. Final Fantasy XII Final Fantasy XII is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 platform. Released in 2006, it is the twelfth title in the mainline Final Fantasy series and the last offline title in the mainline series to be released exclusively on PlayStation hardware. The game introduced several innovations to the offline titles in the mainline series: a seamless battle system, a controllable camera, a customizable "gambit" system automatically controls the actions of characters; and a "license" system determines which abilities and equipment are used by characters. Final Fantasy XII also includes elements from previous games in the series such as summoned monsters, Chocobos, and Moogles. The game takes place in the fictional land of Ivalice, where the empires of Archadia and Rozarria are waging an endless war. Dalmasca, a small kingdom, is caught between the warring nations. When Dalmasca is annexed by Archadia, its princess, Ashe, creates a resistance movement. During the struggle, she meets Vaan, a young adventurer who dreams of commanding an airship. They are quickly joined by a band of allies; together, they rally against the tyranny of the Archadian Empire. Final Fantasy XII received universally high review scores, and earned numerous "Game of the Year" awards in various categories from noted video game publications. Selling more than two million copies in Japan, it became the fourth best-selling PlayStation 2 game of 2006 worldwide. As of March 2007, over 5.2 million copies of the game have been shipped worldwide. A sequel, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, was released for the Nintendo DS in 2007. Throughout the game, the player directly controls the on-screen character from a third-person perspective to interact with people, objects, and enemies. Unlike previous games in the series, the player can also control the camera with the right analog stick, allowing for a 360¡ã view of the surroundings. While in towns and cities, the player may only see from the perspective of Vaan, but any character may be controlled in the field. The world of Final Fantasy XII is rendered to scale relative to the characters in it; instead of a caricature of the character roaming around miniature terrain, as found in the earlier Final Fantasy games, every area is represented proportionally. The player navigates the overworld by foot, Chocobo, or airship. Players may save their game to a memory card using save crystals or gate crystals, and may use the latter to teleport between gate crystals. An in-game bestiary provides incidental information about the world of Final Fantasy XII. Final Fantasy XII restructures the system of earning gil, the currency of the Final Fantasy games; instead of gil, most enemies drop "loot" which can be sold at shops. This ties into a new battle mechanic which rewards the player with improved loot for slaying a particular type of enemy multiple times in a row. Selling different types of loot also unlocks a bazaar option in shops, which provides items at a lower cost, or items exclusive to the bazaar. The elimination of "Random encounters", started in Final Fantasy XI continues in Final Fantasy XII; the previously common transition to a separate battle screen is absent. Instead, enemies are visible in the overworld area before an engagement and the player may choose to fight or avoid them. Battles unfold in real time, using a system called "Active Dimension Battle" (ADB). A battle begins when the party comes within range of an aggressive enemy, if the party attacks an enemy, or if a story event initiates a confrontation. When a character or enemy begins to perform an action, target lines connect characters to other party members or enemies; different colors represent the type of action. The player may swap to and issue commands to any of the three characters in the battle party at will; however, guest characters are controlled by the game's artificial intelligence.. Battle commands are initiated through a series of menus, and include Attack, Magicks & Technicks, Mist, Gambits, and Items. If a character is knocked out they may be substituted for other none KO'd characters until all characters are KO'd, at which point the game over screen appears. The absence of a transition to a battle screen means the traditional victory scene is also eliminated, though a successful "boss" battle does present the player with a "Congratulations" screen featuring the participating characters' victory poses and a variation on the well-known battle victory music theme used in most previous games in the series. A new feature in Final Fantasy XII is the "gambit" system, which allows the player to program each character to perform certain commands in battle in response to specified conditions. Using gambits, the player may set reactions to different stimuli for each character. Each gambit consists of three parts: a target, an action, and a priority. The target specifies which ally or foe to act on and the condition for applying the action. For example, the target "Ally: HP < 70%" causes the character to target any ally whose hit points have fallen below 70%. The action is the command to be performed on the target. The priority determines which gambit to perform when multiple gambits are triggered. These heuristics guide the characters when acting autonomously, though player-directed commands are always given top priority. In Final Fantasy XII, a mysterious phenomenon known as "Mist" is the key energy which allows the player to cast summoning magic and perform "Quickenings". After defeating one in combat, the player will be able to summon an "Esper" to the battlefield. Similar to Final Fantasy X, the summoned creatures become active participants in battle, as opposed to the cinematic attacks seen in previous games in the series. Unlike Final Fantasy X, however, Espers follow hidden gambits, rather than the player's direct command. The summoner remains an active member in the fight, able to attack and cast support magic, instead of leaving the party or standing idle while the summoned creature fights. An Esper will leave the battle if either the summoner or itself is knocked out, its time limit expires, or it executes its special attack. Some Espers have origins in Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and others are derived from the final bosses of previous Final Fantasy games such as Chaos, the final boss of the first Final Fantasy, and Zeromus, the final boss of Final Fantasy IV. Final Fantasy XII introduces "Quickenings", a new Limit Break system unique compared to those in previous games in the series.[14] Characters learn Quickenings by progressing to specific panels on the License Board. Each character can learn three Quickenings, which are unique to that character. Characters may string together Quickenings into large combo attacks, called Mist Chains, via timed button presses. If a Mist Chain reaches a certain length, a final strike will be initiated at the end of the Quickening cycle, called a Concurrence. As in many role-playing games, characters "level up" each time they earn a set number of experience points from defeating enemies; each level gained increases the character's statistics and consequently, improves performance in battle. Statistics include hit points, the amount of damage a character can receive; strength, the power of the character's physical attacks; and magic, the potency of the character's magical spells. In addition to leveling up, players may improve their characters via the License Board. The License Board is an array of panels that contain "licenses"¡ªpermits which allow a character to perform certain actions. The board is split into two parts; the upper part contains Magick, Technick, Accessory, and Augment (stat increases and other permanent buffs) licenses, and the bottom part is filled mostly with Weapon and Armor licenses. To use a Magick, Technick, or piece of equipment, the character must obtain its corresponding license by spending the required amount of LP (License Points) to permit its use. LP are earned in battle along with the experience points. Like the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X, all characters may obtain all licenses on the board; however, each Quickening and Esper license may only be activated by a single character. Final Fantasy XII is set within the land of Ivalice during an age when "magic was commonplace" and "airships plied the skies, crowding out the heavens". At this time, magicite, a magic-rich mineral, is commonly used in magic spells and in powering airships¡ªa popular form of transportation in Ivalice. Ivalice is divided into three continents: Ordalia, Valendia, and Kerwon. Ordalia is located in the western part of Ivalice. The Rozarrian Empire makes its home in the vast inland plains of this continent as the eastern portion of it is largely desert or "jagd"¡ªlawless regions so rich in Mist (the ethereal manifestation of magicite) that airships cannot function. Valendia is the home of Imperial Archadia, where vast and lush plains dot the landscape. Central to the story is Dalmasca, a small kingdom between the two continents and empires. Located in the middle of the Galtean Peninsula of Ordalia, Dalmasca is surrounded by an expanse of desert. The temperate climate of Dalmasca differs from the cold environs of Kerwon and the lush plains of Valendia and Ordalia. During this time, Ivalice is beset by the pending war between the forces of Rozarria and Archadia. Caught between the two powerful Empires, Dalmasca and a number of smaller nations have already been subjugated by Archadia two years before the game begins. The six main playable characters in Final Fantasy XII are Vaan, an energetic orphan of Rabanastre who dreams of becoming a sky pirate; Ashe, a determined princess of Dalmasca who lost her father and husband in the Archadian invasion; Basch, a disgraced knight of Dalmasca charged with treason for slaying the king; Balthier, a gentlemanly sky pirate who pilots his airship, the Strahl; Fran, Balthier's partner and a Viera exile whose knowledge extends to legends and myths; and Penelo, Vaan's childhood friend who accompanies him on journeys to "keep an eye on him". The Archadian Empire is ruled by House Solidor, headed by Emperor Gramis. The family also consists of two siblings, Vayne and Larsa, the former a military genius and the latter a charismatic seeker of peace. Judge Magisters, upholders of Archadian law, protect House Solidor and execute every command issued by the ruling family. The technological marvels of airships and synthetic nethicite¡ªa form of magicite that absorbs Mist¡ªare thanks to Doctor Cid, a prominent researcher from Archadia. The Resistance against Archadia includes Dalmascan knight Vossler, an ally of Basch; Marquis Halim Ondore IV, the game's narrator and ruler of the skycity Bhujerba; Reddas, a sky pirate based in the port at Balfonheim; and the Rozarrian Empire, of which Al-Cid Margrace is a prince of the ruling family. The mythos of Final Fantasy XII revolves around a character known as Dynast-King Raithwall, a man who once united Ivalice to create the Galtean Alliance in ages past. Final Fantasy XII begins in Dalmasca's capital city of Rabanastre, where the happiness from the union of Princess Ashe of Dalmasca and Prince Rasler of Nabradia is interrupted by the Archadian Empire's invasion of Nabradia. In the subsequent war, Nabradia and Dalmasca are subjugated by Archadia; Prince Rasler is killed, and the Dalmascan king Raminas, after signing a treaty of surrender, is apparently assassinated by the Dalmascan captain Basch. Reks, a young knight under Basch's command, bears witness to the assassination, but later dies of his injuries. Marquis Ondore announces that Basch has been executed and Princess Ashe has committed suicide. Two years later, Vaan, the younger brother of Reks, is living as a street urchin in Rabanastre. Despite his friend Penelo's objections, he infiltrates the Rabanastre palace during a dinner celebrating the appointment of Vayne Solidor as consul. During the infiltration, Vaan encounters Balthier and Fran, a pair of sky pirates who are after the magicite that Vaan took from the royal treasury. Their escape attempt fails when a battle breaks out between Imperial troops and Dalmascan Resistance forces, and they end up in the sewers where they stumble upon the Resistance leader, Amalia. Vaan, Balthier, and Fran are captured by the Archadians and detained at the Nalbina Dungeons. In Nalbina, the three encounter Basch, imprisoned but alive, and they escape with him; Basch pleads that his twin brother, Gabranth, had posed as him on the night of the treaty and was the true assassin. While skeptical at first, Vaan eventually believes him. With the help of Balthier and Fran, the party then travels to Bhujerba, where Penelo is kidnapped by Ba'Gamnan, a bounty hunter trying to catch Balthier. While rescuing Penelo, the party meets Lamont, a curious boy who is Vayne's younger brother, Larsa, in disguise. Basch is also able to confront the Marquis, who captures the party and detains them on board the Archadian airship Leviathan, headed by Judge Ghis. On the Leviathan, the party is reunited with Amalia, who is revealed to be Princess Ashe. Ghis takes Vaan's magicite, a royal Dalmascan artifact, and sends it to Archadia. The company escapes from the airship after defeating Ghis and returns to Bhujerba; however, lacking the magicite, Ashe has no proof of her identity and Ondore suggests that Ashe remain hidden in Bhujerba. Instead, Ashe escapes and attempts to collect the treasures of Dynast-King Raithwall, which would prove her royal blood. The party acquires the Dawn Shard, a piece of "deifacted Nethicite", from Raithwall's Tomb, but Ghis seizes it. The small piece of magicite destroys the Leviathan, Ghis, and his fleet, while Ashe and her party barely escape alive. The company later encounters Larsa, who seeks a peace treaty between Dalmasca and the empire; Ashe initially objects, but Larsa convinces her to pursue a treaty in order to protect Dalmasca. She goes to Mt. Bur-Omisace to seek Gran Kiltias Anastasis' approval of her as queen of Dalmasca. The party learns in Mt. Bur-Omisace that many other influential people also hope to avert war. Larsa, who had been investigating Vayne's connection to the manufacted Nethicite, had made contact with Al-Cid Margrace, a member of the Rozarrian Empire ruling family, to convince the two Empires to cease their war. They plan to announce Ashe's status as Dalmascan Queen and to persuade the Archadian emperor Gramis not to go to war, but the plan is thwarted when the Emperor is killed, supposedly by Archadian Senate Chairman Gregoroth, and Vayne assumes the throne of Arcadia. With Anastasis' aid, Ashe retrieves the Sword of Kings, which can destroy Nethicite. While she obtains the sword, Anastasis is killed by Judge Bergan and Larsa is brought back to Archadia. After defeating Bergan, Ashe's party travels to Archades and the Draklor Laboratory, Doctor Cid's base of operations. Cid escapes and leaves clues that lead them to Giruvegan, the supposed location of the Sun-cryst, the source of all deifacted Nethicite. While the whole party is able to enter Giruvegan, only Ashe encounters the makers of the Sun-cryst, the immortal Occuria, who "pull the strings of history"; they give her the Treaty Blade to cut pieces of her own. In a cutscene, it is revealed that Doctor Cid's Nethicite research was augmented by knowledge from the Occurian heretic, Venat, who had allied with Cid and Vayne in order to put the "reins of History back in the hands of Man". Vayne aims to become the new Dynast-King by using manufacted Nethicite to conquer all of Ivalice. Cid, revealed to be Balthier's father, was obsessed with researching the Nethicite's power after his own visit to Giruvegan and initial encounter with Venat. Their expansion campaign¡ªwhich led to the Dalmasca's occupation and the destruction of the city of Nabudis¡ªwas made to obtain and study deifacted Nethicite. Ashe is faced with the choice to heed the Occuria and take pieces of the Sun-cryst for her revenge or to destroy it and end the Occurian control over history. Still undecided, Ashe and the party travel to the Pharos at Ridorana Cataract, where the Sun-cryst is located, accompanied by the pirate Reddas. At the top of the tower they face Gabranth, who admits to killing King Raminas in an attempt to force Ashe to give in to her hate. After they overpower him, Cid arrives and fights the party; they defeat him, but before he dies he uses Nethicite shards to harness the full power of the Sun-cryst. Reddas sacrifices himself to destroy it. Ashe learns from Al-Cid that a war between Archadia and the Resistance group led by Marquis Ondore is about to take place in Rabanastre. The Sky Fortress Bahamut, an enormous, Nethicite-fueled airship armed with incredibly powerful weapons, had absorbed the incredible amount of Mist released by the destruction of the Sun-cryst and now hovers above Rabanastre. Infiltrating the Bahamut with the aid of the Resistance, Basch confronts Gabranth, who is impressed by Basch's loyalty. The party encounters Vayne and Larsa in the midst of an argument over Vayne's plot for power, to which Larsa objects strongly; Larsa and Gabranth ally with the party to destroy Vayne and Venat. After Vayne's defeat, Ashe announces the end of the war and Larsa takes over the Imperial Army. The party escapes the Bahamut, now out of fuel after the final battle, with Gabranth's body and Larsa. Balthier and Fran remain on board the Bahamut, steering it away from Rabanastre to prevent a collision, though contact with them is lost. In the following year, Ashe becomes Queen of Dalmasca, and Basch replaces Gabranth as Judge Magister, serving as guardian to Larsa, now Emperor of Archadia. Vaan acquires his own airship, which he operates with Penelo. Balthier and Fran escape from Bahamut and survive to recover the Strahl and go to Bervenia. The game ends with Vaan and Penelo setting out to visit them, embarking on another adventure. Development for Final Fantasy XII began in 2001. Final Fantasy Tactics director Yasumi Matsuno, originally announced as producer and co-director (with Hiroyuki Ito), was forced to bow out of both roles midway through due to health concerns. Hiroshi Minagawa took his place as co-director while Akitoshi Kawazu, of SaGa series fame, became the executive producer. Series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi was disappointed by Matsuno's departure and declined to play the game beyond its introduction. The desire to move away from random encounters was present since the beginning of development. This desire fueled the development of the Active Dimension Battle system so players could seamlessly move from battle to exploration. The gambit system was conceived early on as a way to facilitate this change. Battle system designer Hiroshi Tomomatsu states that it gradually moved away from a complex and rigid formula to the more flexible form seen in the final version of the game. Ito drew inspiration for gambits from plays in American football where each team member has a specific job to do based on the conditions and desired outcome. As for the license system, he explained that needing "licenses" to perform certain actions was a natural extension of the rigid structured society of Archadia, as epitomized by its Judges. At the early stages of development, Minagawa revealed that numerous ideas and features were planned for the game, but were dropped from the final stages due to certain constraints and hardware limitations. Some of these included the ability for a second player to join in the gameplay, enabling a two-player mode. Another idea that was given a considerable amount of thought was the ability to recruit non-player characters to join in the mob hunts. Due to the technical limitations of the console and multiple number of characters joining the fray, the development phase took longer than expected, causing delays. Design inspiration came from a mix of medieval Mediterranean countries as demonstrated by the architectural styles found throughout Ivalice along with many of the races populating the region. The art team visited Turkey, which influenced the game's Mediterranean-style setting. The developers also used styles and deco from other sources including areas in India and New York City. Of note is the use of Sanskrit in the city of Bhujerba. Phrases such as "svagatam" (welcome) and titles like "parijanah" (guide) are lifted directly from Sanskrit. Hideo Minaba, developer and co-art director with Isamu Kamikokury¨, mentions that the team tried to bring out Arabic culture in the design of the game. War is a prominent theme of the game and the developers confirmed that the cutscene battles are influenced by Ancient Rome. When asked to comment on the fan observation of a Star Wars influence, Minaba replied that although he was a fan of the Star Wars series, it was not necessarily an influence to the game's designs. Basch was initially meant to be the main character of the story, but the focus was eventually shifted to Vaan and Penelo when the two characters were created later in development. The development team explained that their previous game, Vagrant Story, which featured a "strong man in his prime" as the protagonist had been unsuccessful and unpopular; the change regarding Final Fantasy XII from a "big and tough" protagonist to a younger, youthful one was thus decided after targeting demographics were considered. With the casting of dorama actor Kouhei Takeda for the voice acting and motion capture, Vaan became less feminine and more "active, upbeat bright and positive". Comments were made about the similarity between main character designer and background design supervisor Akihiko Yoshida's creations and those of Tetsuya Nomura, another Square Enix character designer. Yoshida feels this connection is sparked by the style of color used by both artists, which involves a color consistency between the characters and the environments. The designers stated that non-human characters and races feature a prominent role in the game, which was influenced by an interest in history among the developers. During the English localization process, Alexander O. Smith, who had previously worked on Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy X, acted as producer and translator. While still preserving the meaning behind the Japanese script written by Daisuke Watanabe and Miwa Shoda, Smith made the decision to use different dialects of English to reproduce the regional differences in pronunciation found in the Japanese version. He also tried to distance the game from the "flat reads" found in other dubbed work by casting voice actors who had experience in theatre work. In terms of general changes, the localization team introduced widescreen 16:9 ratio support and reinserted scenes that were left out of the original Japanese version for political reasons and to preserve an "All Ages" CERO rating. On November 15, 2005, a playable demo of the game was shipped with the North American release of Dragon Quest VIII. To commemorate the release of Final Fantasy XII, playable demos of the English version were available at DigitalLife's Gaming Pavilion in New York on October 11, 2006, a day dubbed "Final Fantasy XII Gamer's Day". Additionally, Square Enix gave fans the chance to cosplay as characters from Final Fantasy XII. Each person was asked to show Square Enix three photos of his or her costume for a chance to win a trip to New York and participate in the Final Fantasy XII Gamer's Day event. As of July 30, 2008, Final Fantasy XII holds the Guinness World Record for longest development period in a video game production. The record states it took a total of five years, spanning from 2001 until its release in 2006. At a Final Fantasy XII "postmortem" at MIT in March 2009, Hiroshi Minagawa mentioned that a large portion of the development time of Final Fantasy XII was devoted to the creation of custom tools used for the development of the game. Hitoshi Sakimoto composed most of the game's soundtrack; Masaharu Iwata and Hayato Matsuo created two and seven tracks respectively, while Nobuo Uematsu, following his departure from Square Enix in 2004, only contributed the theme song. Sakimoto experienced difficulty following in Uematsu's footsteps, but he decided to create a unique soundtrack in his own way. "Kiss Me Good-Bye", the theme song for Final Fantasy XII, was performed in both English and Japanese by Angela Aki. Uematsu noted Aki's style of playing the keyboard while singing reminded him of his childhood idol, Elton John, which was one of the reasons he chose her. The English version of the song was featured in both the Japanese and North American versions of the game. In addition to the theme song, violinist Taro Hakase co-composed, arranged, and performed the game's main instrumental theme, Symphonic Poem "Hope" along with Yuji Toriyama. Two promotional soundtracks were released before the original soundtrack, Symphonic Poem "Hope" and The Best of the Final Fantasy XII Soundtrack, on March 1 and March 15, 2006, respectively. The former contains all the music used in the game's trailer performed by Taro Hakase, including Symphonic Poem "Hope". The original soundtrack itself was released in Japan on May 31, 2006. It consists of 4 CDs with 100 tracks, and includes promotional tracks not in the final version of the game. The CD single for "Kiss Me Good-Bye" was released on the March 15, 2006. A limited edition was also released, featuring a DVD containing the music video for "Kiss Me Good-Bye". Tofu Records has released an abridged version of the original soundtrack, which contains 31 songs, including "Kiss Me Good-Bye". On March 16, 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan released a special Final Fantasy XII package, which contained a PlayStation 2 game system, the Final Fantasy XII game, a standard DualShock controller, and a vertical console stand. The Japanese third-party manufacturer Hori also released Final Fantasy XII memory cards on the day of the game's release; stickers of Final Fantasy XII characters are included. Game peripheral maker Logicool (Logitech's Japanese branch) released a special edition Final Fantasy XII controller alongside the title on March 16. Suntory produced "Final Fantasy XII Potion"¡ªa drink containing such ingredients as royal jelly, chamomile, sage, thyme, and marjoram. The drinks became commercially available in Japan on March 7, 2006. Suntory also released a Final Fantasy XII Premium Box, which came with a Final Fantasy XII collector's card. The Potion was a limited edition product and is no longer available. Final Fantasy XII was also adapted into a manga by Gin Amou. Square Enix published the series in a total of five tank¨bon volumes from December 22, 2006 to August 22, 2009. Studio BentStuff published three Ultimania books: Final Fantasy XII Battle Ultimania and the Final Fantasy XII Scenario Ultimania on June 16, 2006, and Final Fantasy XII Ultimania ¦¸ on November 24, 2006. The Battle Ultimania provides a description and analysis of the new battle system and its components, and developer interviews. The Scenario Ultimania describes the main scenarios in the game, profiles on the characters and areas in Ivalice, developer interviews, and details on each location. The last guide, the Ultimania ¦¸, includes voice actor interviews, the complete story of Final Fantasy XII including additional character profiles, a collection of artworks and illustrations, the complete play guide, and a novella written by Benny Matsuyama, author of Hoshi wo Meguru Otome from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania ¦¸ Guide. Another Ultimania edition, the Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System Ultimania, was released on September 6, 2007, as a guide book for the international version of the game. On December 18, 2012 the game will be re-released as part of the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box Japanese package. For the North American release, a "Collector's Edition" was available through GameStop and EB Games. This edition includes the original game packaged in a metallic case along with a special bonus disc, which contains Final Fantasy XII developer interviews, an art gallery, U.S. and Japanese trailers, and a featurette entitled "History of Final Fantasy", which gives a brief overview of most released and upcoming Final Fantasy games. On January 26, 2007, Square Enix Product Blog revealed full-color Gabranth, Ashe, Balthier, and Vaan figures. An international version of the game called Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System was announced on May 10, 2007. It would be released in Japan on August 9, 2007 as part of both Final Fantasy 20th anniversary and Ivalice Alliance. The game includes twelve License Boards available (instead of the original one), each corresponding to a different Zodiac sign and job. The battle system as a whole has been tweaked; guest characters and summons are controllable by the player, and holding the L1 button doubles the game's running speed. Additionally, the game features the English voices and the widescreen 16:9 ratio support of the North American version, along with a bonus disc based on the one initially released with the North American version. There is also a "New Game+" option, "New Game- (minus)" (where characters do not gain experience), and a "Trial Mode" which allows the player to hunt monsters in 100 different maps to gain items and money. Final Fantasy XII sold more than 1,764,000 copies in its first week in Japan, almost equaling the sales of Final Fantasy X in its first week. A Square Enix conference report stated that Final Fantasy XII sold more than 2.38 million copies in Japan in the two weeks since its March 16, 2006 release. In North America, Final Fantasy XII shipped approximately 1.5 million copies in its first week. As of March 2007, the game has shipped over 5.2 million copies worldwide. It was the fourth best-selling PlayStation 2 game of 2006 worldwide. On March 16, 2006, Final Fantasy XII became the sixth game to receive a perfect score from the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, making it the first Final Fantasy game and the first PlayStation 2 title to do so. It is also the second Yasumi Matsuno title to garner a perfect score, the first being Vagrant Story. The game was praised for its graphics, scenarios, game system, and the freshness it brought to the Final Fantasy series. The game was critically acclaimed by many reviewers outside of Japan even before its release in those territories. It was praised for its seamless transitions between full motion video segments and the in-game engine, and was voted number one for Best Art Style on IGN's weekly Top Ten. Newtype USA named Final Fantasy XII its "Game of the Month" for November 2006, praised the gameplay, graphics, and story, and called it "the best RPG to have been released for any Sony platform". Although GameSpot lauded the gambit and license systems as an innovative and in-depth way for the player to control the characters, it criticized them for being too complicated and difficult to adjust to, especially for newer players of the series. The reviewer also criticized the sometimes tedious back and forth travel. On the other hand, GameSpot took particular note of the "excellent" voice cast. IGN praised the game's rich storyline and artistic direction, shown through its "sheer depth of character". It also assuaged criticism that the gambit system would "let the game play itself", countering that gambits do not function without a player. However, it noted that, while "still extremely strong", Final Fantasy XII has one of the series' weaker soundtracks. Executive producer Akitoshi Kawazu was pleased by Famitsu's rating but admitted that he thought the game was not perfect; he felt that the storyline did not meet some fans' expectations. Kawazu expressed his frustration and regrets regarding the storyline, citing creative differences between the PlayOnline and Final Fantasy Tactics members of the development team. Final Fantasy XII was named best PlayStation 2 game and best role-playing game by numerous video game journals and websites, including GameSpot, GameSpy, and IGN. Both Edge and Famitsu awarded it Game of the Year 2006. The Japan Game Awards 2006 honored Final Fantasy XII with their "Grand Award" and "Award for Excellence" and the PlayStation Awards 2006 bestowed the "Double Platinum Prize". It was selected for the list "Top 100 New Japanese Styles", a list praising Japanese creativity and new innovations. Final Fantasy XII also received nominations in such categories as best role-playing game, art direction, character design, and musical score at the Interactive Achievement Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, BAFTA Video Games Awards, Spike Video Game Awards, and the Satellite Awards. A sequel to Final Fantasy XII was released for the Nintendo DS in 2007, entitled Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. It takes place one year after the events of Final Fantasy XII, following the adventures of Vaan. This game became one of four titles in the Ivalice Alliance, along with the international version of Final Fantasy XII. Fortress, a spin-off action game initially developed by GRIN, was intended to take place in Ivalice following the events of Revenant Wings and to be a "game with an epic scale both in story and production values". After six months of development, Square Enix reclaimed the project without paying GRIN, due to concerns over the quality of the work, which led to GRIN declaring bankruptcy. Although rumored to be in development at a different studio, at an interview at E3 2011, Fortress was officially declared to be "suspended" by Motomu Toriyama, director of Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, claiming that it will "never be released". In 2009, BioWare cited Final Fantasy XII's 'Gambit System' as an influence on their role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 18:03:49 GMT -5
125 Favorite PS2 Games 125. Duel Hearts 124. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu 123. Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore 122. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis 121. Timesplitters 120. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 119. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon 118. Legends of Wrestling 117. Beyond Good And Evil 116. Dragonball Z: Budokai 115. Showdown: Legends of Wrestling 114. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht 113. Virtua Fighter 4 112. King of Fighters 2000 111. KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (aka King of Fighters 2006) 110. Burnout 3: Takedown 109. Legends of Wrestling II 108. Rogue Galaxy 107. Maximo: Ghosts To Glory 106. Silent Hill 3 105. MLB Slugfest 2003 104. Guitar Hero 103. Wild Arms 3 102. Need for Speed: Most Wanted 101. Megaman X8 100. Pro Evolution Soccer 3 99. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence 98. Dragonball Z: Budokai 2 97. Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 96. Megaman X Collection 95. Soul Calibur 3 94. Tekken 4 93. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy 92. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando 91. Killer7 90. Freekstyle 89. Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 88. Grandia III 87. Dark Cloud 86. Hot Shots Golf: Fore 85. We Love Katamari 84. Madden NFL 2003 83. Guitar Hero III 82. Garou: Mark of the Wolves 81. Rumble Roses 80. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude 79. Tekken Tag Tournament 78. Escape from Monkey Island 77. Tony Hawk Underground 76. James Bond 007: Nightfire 75. Guilty Gear X 74. NBA Ballers 73. Ratchet & Clank 72. Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers 71. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 70. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 69. NBA Street Vol. 2 68. Jak II 67. Half-Life 66. Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves 65. Def Jam Vendetta 64. ESPN NFL 2K5 63. Star Wars Battlefront II 62. Futurama 61. Suikoden Tactics 60. Megaman Anniversary Collection 59. The Simpsons: Road Rage 58. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 57. Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction 56. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal 55. Tekken 5 54. Sonic Heroes 53. Jak 3 52. Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories 51. Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millenium 2001 50. Wild Arms: Alter Code F 49. Suikoden IV 48. Madden NFL 2004 47. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne 46. Scarface: The World Is Yours 45. SOCOM: US Navy Seals 44. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 43. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse 42. Gran Turismo 4 41. Dark Cloud 2 (Dark Chronicle) 40. Devil May Cry 3 39. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus 38. Bully 37. The Warriors 36. Final Fantasy XII
Clues to the next five games
* Has 161 characters you can play as, one of the largest for any fighting game
* Challenge of the Titans
* Four hundred years after The Second Story
* Naughty Dog's first game after they stopped doing Crash Bandicoot games
* Started out as the earliest incarnation of Resident Evil 4
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 22:50:02 GMT -5
35. Devil May Cry Devil May Cry is a hack and slash beat 'em up video game developed and published by Capcom, released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Although it is the first game in the series of the same name, the events in Devil May Cry are second in the series storyline's chronological order, taking place after Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and before Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 4. Set in modern times on the fictional Mallet Island, the story centers on the characters Dante and Trish and their quest to confront the demon lord Mundus. The story is told primarily through a mixture of cutscenes, which use the game's engine and several pre-rendered full motion videos. Devil May Cry received prominent coverage in the video game media, high overall scores from professional reviewers, and has sold more than two million copies. The gameplay consists of levels called "missions", where players must fight numerous enemies, perform platforming tasks, and occasionally solve puzzles to progress through the story. The player's performance in each mission is given a letter grade of A, B, C, or D, with an additional top grade of S. Grades are based on the time taken to complete the mission, the amount of "red orbs" gathered (the in-game currency obtained from defeated enemies), how "stylish" their combat was, item usage, and damage taken. "Stylish" combat is defined as performing an unbroken series of attacks while avoiding damage, with player performance tracked by an on-screen gauge. The more hits the player makes, the higher the gauge rises. The gauge starts at "Dull"; progresses through "Cool", "Bravo", and "Awesome"; and peaks at "Stylish". The gauge terms are similar to the grades given at the end of the missions. When the character receives damage, the style rating resets back to "Dull". Players can also maintain their style grade by taunting enemies at close range. The player can temporarily transform the character into a more powerful demonic creature by using the "Devil Trigger" ability. Doing so adds powers based on the current weapon and changes the character's appearance. The transformations typically increase strength and defense, slowly restore health, and grant special attacks. It is governed by the Devil Trigger gauge, which depletes as the ability is used, and is refilled by attacking enemies or taunting in normal form. Devil May Cry contains puzzles and other challenges besides regular combat gameplay. The main storyline often requires the player to find key items to advance, in a manner similar to puzzles in the Resident Evil games, as well as optional platforming and exploration tasks to find hidden caches of "orbs". Side quests, called "Secret Missions" in the game, are located in hidden or out-of-the-way areas and are not required for completion, but provide permanent power-ups. They typically challenge the player to defeat a group of enemies in a specific manner or within a time limit. Rewards for all optional puzzles and challenges come in different types of "orbs" which give bonuses such as extra lives. Devil May Cry begins with Dante being attacked in his office by a mysterious woman named Trish. He impresses her by easily brushing off her assault, and tells her that he hunts demons in pursuit of those who killed his mother and brother.[5] She says the attack was a test, and that the demon emperor Mundus, whom Dante holds responsible for the deaths of his family, is planning a return. The scene jumps to their arrival at an immense castle, whereupon Trish abruptly leaps and vanishes over a high wall. Dante explores the castle and encounters the game's stock enemies, demonic marionettes. He also finds a new sword called Alastor, and battles the first boss, a giant spider/scorpion demon named Phantom. Dante wins the battle, but in what becomes a recurring theme, the defeated boss monster reappears a short time later in a corridor, forcing Dante to choose a narrow escape or to fight in the tight confines. After further exploration and combat, Dante battles a demon named Nelo Angelo who impresses Dante with his confidence. The demon wins, but suddenly flees upon seeing the half-amulet Dante wears, which contains a picture of his mother. The demon attacks twice more in later missions, and is eventually revealed to be Dante's identical twin brother, Vergil. After Angelo/Vergil's death, his amulet joins with his brother's half, and "Force Edge", the game's default sword, which had belonged to the twins' father, changes into its true form and becomes the Sparda sword. When Dante next meets Trish, she betrays him and reveals that she too is working for Mundus, but when her life is endangered, Dante chooses to save her. Claiming he did so only because of her resemblance to his mother, he warns her to stay away. Yet when he finally confronts Mundus, who is about to kill Trish, Dante again chooses to save her and is injured. Mundus tries to finish him off, but Trish takes the attack instead. This unleashes Dante's full power, thus allowing him to take on the form of Sparda. Dante and Mundus then battle on another plane of existence. Dante is victorious, and leaves the amulet and sword with Trish's immobile body before departing. Mundus returns and corners Dante, who is now back to his regular strength, before he can flee the island; Trish also returns and lends Dante her power. Dante defeats Mundus, who vows to return and rule the human world. When Trish tries to apologize she begins to cry, and Dante tells her it means she has become human and not just a devil, because "devils never cry". Dante and Trish escape on a plane as the island collapses. After the credits, it is revealed that Dante and Trish are working together as partners, and have renamed the shop "Devil Never Cry". First hinted at in early December 1999, Devil May Cry started out as the earliest incarnation of Resident Evil 4. Initially developed for the PlayStation 2, the game was directed by Hideki Kamiya after producer Shinji Mikami requested him to create a new entry in the Resident Evil series. Around the turn of the millennium, regular series writer Noboru Sugimura created a scenario for the title, based on Kamiya's idea to make a very cool and stylized action game. The story was based on unraveling the mystery surrounding the body of protagonist Tony, an invincible man with skills and an intellect exceeding that of normal people, his superhuman abilities explained with biotechnology. As Kamiya felt the playable character did not look brave and heroic enough in battles from a fixed angle, he decided to drop the prerendered backgrounds from previous Resident Evil installments and instead opted for a dynamic camera system. This new direction required the team to make a trip to Europe where they spent eleven days in the United Kingdom and Spain photographing things like Gothic statues, bricks, and stone pavements for use in textures. Though the developers tried to make the "coolness" theme fit into the world of Resident Evil, Mikami felt it strayed too far from the series' survival horror roots and gradually convinced all of the staff members to make the game independent from it. Kamiya eventually rewrote the story to be set in a world full of demons and changed the hero's name to "Dante". The cast of characters remained largely identical to that in Sugimura's scenario, although appearances of the hero's mother and father were written out of the story. The game's new title was revealed as Devil May Cry in November 2000. The game was developed by Team Little Devils, a group of staff members within Capcom Production Studio 4. Some of the major gameplay elements were partially inspired by a bug found in Onimusha: Warlords. During a test-play, Kamiya discovered that enemies could be kept in the air by slashing them repeatedly, which lead to the inclusion of juggles by gunfire and sword strikes in Devil May Cry. According to the director, Devil May Cry was designed from the ground up around Dante's acrobatics and combat abilities. The decision was made late in the development process to change the game to a more mission-based advancement, instead of the more open-ended structure of the Resident Evil games. Devil May Cry's difficulty was intentional, according to Kamiya, who called it his "challenge to those who played light, casual games." Reviews from video game news websites typically praised Devil May Cry's gameplay innovations, action, visuals, camera control, and gothic ambience. The game also received positive reviews from video game print publications for similar reasons. Game Informer summarized their review by saying the game "makes Resident Evil look like a slow zombie". The average review score at GameRankings, based on input from 69 publications, was 92.60% Devil May Cry also frequents several Top Video Games of All Time lists. Gamefury, for instance, listed Devil May Cry at #31 in their Top 40 Console Games of All Time feature. In 2010, IGN listed it at #42 in their "Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games". The game was also subject to criticism, however. Next Generation Magazine objected to the difficulty level, wondering if the challenge was added to prolong the gameplay. The Electric Playground pointed to the unusual control scheme and lack of configuration options. GameSpy cited the camera's behavior, the learning curve for the controls, and graphical shortcomings such as flickering and jagginess. GameSpot criticized the game's conclusion for its dramatic change in gameplay to a rail shooter-like style at the story's climax, as well as a leveling-off of the difficulty. Lastly, Gamecritics felt that the story was overly short and the characters were underdeveloped. Devil May Cry has spawned a sequel, Devil May Cry 2 and a prequel, Devil May Cry 3; both of which have sold more than one million copies. A fourth game, Devil May Cry 4, was released on February 5, 2008 in the United States for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Total sales for all versions as of February 10, 2009 is approximately 2.48 million copies. The game has likewise resulted in the release of two novels by Shinya Goikeda, and an anime series. On October 15, 2004, three years after the game's release, a soundtrack containing the game's music was released alongside the soundtrack to Devil May Cry 2. Plans for a PlayStation Portable installment, tentatively titled Devil May Cry Series, and a live action film adaptation have been announced, although it was later confirmed in 2009 that the PSP adaptation of Devil May Cry was officially cancelled. Devil May Cry has been cited as the beginning of a sub-genre of action games called "Extreme Combat", which focus on powerful heroes fighting hordes of foes with a focus on stylish action. The game has also been described as being the first game that "successfully captured the twitch-based, relentlessly free-flowing gameplay style of so many classic 2D action games". The series has become the standard against which other 3D action games are measured, with comparisons in reviews of games including God of War, Chaos Legion, and Blood Will Tell.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 22:59:43 GMT -5
34. God of War II God of War II is a third person action-adventure video game developed by SCE Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released for the PlayStation 2 video game console on March 13, 2007, and is the second installment in the God of War series and the sequel to 2005's critically acclaimed God of War. The game features improved puzzles and four times as many bosses as the original. God of War II, along with God of War, was remastered and released on November 17, 2009 as part of the God of War Collection for the PlayStation 3 video game console. The remastered version was released again on August 28, 2012 as part of the God of War Saga, also for the PlayStation 3. God of War II is loosely based on Greek mythology, and is set in Ancient Greece. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, the new God of War who has killed the former, Ares. Kratos is betrayed by Zeus, the King of the Olympian Gods, who strips him of his godhood. Kratos is saved by the Titan Gaia who instructs Kratos to find The Sisters of Fate, who will allow him to travel back in time, avert his betrayal and change his destiny. God of War II is chronologically the sixth chapter in the series, and forms part of a saga with vengeance as a central theme. God of War II was regarded as one of the best PlayStation 2 games and action games of all time. IGN listed the game as the second best PlayStation 2 game, and both IGN and GameSpot consider it to part of the closing phase of the PlayStation 2 era. In 2012, Complex.com named God of War II the best PlayStation 2 game of all time. The game has sold more than 4.2 million copies worldwide as of June 2012, and was the best-selling game in the UK during the week of its release. The gameplay of God of War II is very similar to that of its predecessor, God of War. It is a single-player video game that features a fixed camera that shows a third-person view. The player controls the game's protagonist character Kratos in a combination of combat, both normal and quick time, with platforming and puzzle game elements. The player navigates Kratos through a long series of tests, trials and mazes to achieve goals. Many of the combination attacks used in God of War reappear, and the game features four times as many boss fights and improved puzzles than the original. Combat includes a quick time event (QTE) feature that is initiated when the player has weakened a strong foe. The player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen prompt using the circle button on the controller. It allows limited control of Kratos during the QTE cinematic sequence. If the player succeeds, the battle ends, whereas failure usually resulting in damage. Kratos' main weapons are a pair of double-chained blades called Athena's Blades, and as the game progresses, Kratos acquires new weapons—the Barbarian Hammer, the Spear of Destiny, and periodically the Blade of Olympus. Although Kratos begins the game with Athena's Blades and the magic ability Poseidon's Rage at maximum, he loses these abilities after an encounter with Zeus. Kratos retains the relic Poseidon's Trident from the original installment and acquires several other relics, such as the Amulet of the Fates, the Golden Fleece, and Icarus' Wings. Kratos uses magical abilities, including Typhon's Bane, Cronos' Rage, Head of Euryale, and Atlas Quake. Rage of the Gods featured in the previous game is replaced by Rage of the Titans, which provides temporary invulnerability and increased attack damage. During the game, the player finds chests containing orbs colored green, blue, red and gold. Green orbs replenish health, blue ones replenish magic, red ones replenish experience—for upgrading weapons and magic and making new and more powerful attacks available—and gold orbs replenish the Rage meter for Rage of the Titans. The player also collects red orbs by killing foes and destroying certain inanimate objects. Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers, which increase the maximum amount of Health and Magic respectively, return and are found in plain, non-colored chests. The player must find six Eyes or Feathers to increase each meter's maximum. The player must also find three large chests that provide an increase to the Health and Magic meters; the third chest releases a large amount of red orbs. Several urns are hidden in the game which, upon completion of the Challenge mode, will unlock special abilities. A quick-time sex mini-game is included in the form of an encounter with two women. The challenge mode also returns. Completing the game unlocks the Challenge of the Titans (seven trials). The player may unlock bonus costumes, behind-the-scenes videos, and art galleries as rewards, and usage of the abilities found in the urns during the first playthrough. Completion of each difficulty level also unlocks various rewards. A new arena mode, called Arena of the Fates, allows players to set difficulty levels and choose their own opponents. As with other games in the God of War franchise, God of War II is set in an alternate version of Ancient Greece populated by the Olympian gods, Titans, heroes and other mythical beings taken from Greek mythology. The narrative begins in the ancient city of Rhodes, moves to the Underworld, a mountain range and finally the Island of Creation. Kratos attempts to find the mysterious Sisters of Fate in order to take revenge on Zeus for his betrayal. The protagonist of the game is Kratos, a Spartan warrior who became the God of War after killing the god Ares. Other characters appear in supporting roles, including Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, Zeus, King of the Gods and the main antagonist, several Titans—including Gaia, Atlas, Prometheus, Typhon and Cronos—heroes Theseus and Perseus, the maverick Icarus, the gorgon Euryale, and the Sisters of Fate— Lakhesis, Atropos, and Clotho. Minor characters include the Barbarian King, the Boat Captain, and a loyal Spartan soldier (the Last Spartan). Kratos' wife Lysandra and their child Calliope also appear in flashbacks. Kratos, the God of War, is still haunted by nightmares about his past and is shunned by the other gods for his destructive ways. Ignoring Athena's warnings, Kratos joins the Spartan army in an attack on Rhodes, during which a giant eagle suddenly drains him of his powers and animates the Colossus of Rhodes. After battling the statue, Zeus offers Kratos the Blade of Olympus in order to defeat it, requiring Kratos to infuse the blade with the remainder of his godly power. Although now human, Kratos defeats the Colossus but is mortally wounded. The eagle reveals itself to be Zeus, who states he was forced to intervene as Athena refused to do so. Zeus then grants Kratos a final opportunity to be loyal to the gods, but Kratos refuses. Zeus kills him with the blade and destroys the Spartan army. Kratos is slowly dragged to the Underworld but is saved by the Titan Gaia. Gaia tells Kratos that she once raised the young Zeus, who eventually betrayed the Titans as vengeance for the cruelty inflicted on his siblings by Zeus' father, Cronos. She instructs Kratos to find the Sisters of Fate, who can alter time, prevent his death and allow him his revenge on Zeus. With the aid of Pegasus, Kratos finds the lair of Gaia's brother Typhon. Imprisoned under a mountain, Typhon is angered at the intrusion and traps Pegasus, forcing Kratos to explore on foot. Kratos encounters the Titan Prometheus, who is chained in mortal form and tortured at Zeus' directive for giving fire to mankind. Prometheus begs to be released from his torment, so Kratos confronts Typhon to steal his magical bow. He blinds Typhon with it to escape and then returns to free Prometheus. Prometheus falls into a fire and dies, finally free of eternal torture, while the immolation releases the power of the Titans which Kratos absorbs. Kratos frees Pegasus with the power and then flies to the Island of Creation. Kratos encounters and defeats several foes, some of whom are also seeking the Sisters of Fate, including an undead Barbarian King, his old foe, the gorgon Euryale, Theseus, Perseus and Icarus. He eventually encounters the imprisoned Titan Atlas, who initially resents Kratos for his current predicament. After Kratos explains his intent, Atlas reveals that Gaia and the other Titans seek revenge on Zeus after their defeat in the Great War. Atlas reveals that the Blade of Olympus is the key to defeating Zeus and helps Kratos to reach the Palace of the Fates. After evading traps and defeating many enemies, including the Kraken, Kratos encounters an unseen foe, revealed to be a loyal Spartan soldier. Before he dies, the soldier tells Kratos that Zeus has destroyed Sparta in Kratos' absence. Outraged, Kratos is further motivated and frees a phoenix, riding the creature to the Sisters' stronghold where he confronts two of them, Lakhesis and Atropos. After they refuse his request to alter time, Kratos battles them. During this the Sisters try to change the outcome of Kratos' battle with Ares, but Kratos kills them both, then confronts Clotho, the remaining Sister. He kills her using her traps and acquires the Loom of Fate in order to return to the point at which Zeus betrayed him. Kratos surprises Zeus, seizes the Blade of Olympus and finally incapacitates him. Athena intervenes and begs Kratos to stop, as by killing Zeus he will destroy Olympus. Kratos ignores Athena's pleas and attempts to kill Zeus, but Athena sacrifices herself by impaling herself upon the blade. Before she dies, Athena reveals that Kratos is Zeus' son. Zeus was afraid Kratos would usurp him, just as Zeus usurped his father. Kratos declares that the rule of the gods is at an end, then travels back in time and rescues the Titans just before their defeat in the Great War. He returns with the Titans to the present, and the gods watch as their former foes climb Mount Olympus. Kratos, standing on the back of Gaia, tells Zeus he has brought about the destruction of Olympus. God of War II was first referenced during the end credits of God of War, that stated "Kratos Will Return". The game was officially announced at GDC 2006. David Jaffe, Game Director of God of War and now Creative Director of its sequel, was succeeded by Cory Barlog, the lead animator of God of War. In an interview with IGN in February 2007, Game Director Cory Barlog said that his goals for God of War II were to continue the previous game's story, expand on several elements and to feature more epic moments as opposed to cinematics during gameplay. Barlog said there were many additions to the game, but that they did not differ greatly from the style of the previous game. Set-pieces and large scale epic moments were reworked "so that each battle you have really feels epic and unique." Barlog also hinted that another sequel would be made; he said, "The story has not yet been completed. The end has only just begun." In another interview with IGN, both Jaffe and Barlog said that they did not view God of War II as a sequel, but rather a continuation of the previous game. Jaffe said that they did not want II in the title for this reason, and that the game title should not convey the impression it was an expansion pack.[12] Cory Barlog and David Jaffe both said that the reason God of War II appeared on the PlayStation 2 instead of the PlayStation 3—which was released four months prior to God of War II— is because "there's a 100 million people out there that will be able to play God of War II as soon as it launches." Barlog also said that the game would be playable on the newer platform, which had PS2 backwards-compatibility. Terrence C. Carson returns as the voice of Kratos, Carole Ruggier is Athena, and Keith Ferguson plays the Boat Captain. Linda Hunt returns as the narrator, who is revealed to be the Titan Gaia. Corey Burton assumes the role of Zeus, who was previously voiced by Paul Eiding, who voices the character Theseus. The Titans Atlas, Cronos, Prometheus, and Typhon are voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan, Lloyd Sherr, Alan Oppenheimer, and Fred Tatasciore respectively. Bob Joles provides the voices of the Barbarian King and Icarus, and Euryale and the Last Spartan are voiced by Jennifer Martin and Josh Keaton, respectively. The Sisters of Fate—Lakhesis, Atropos, and Clotho—are voiced by Leigh-Allyn Baker, Debi Mae West, and Susan Silo respectively. Baker and West also voice two minor characters. Actor Harry Hamlin was chosen to voice the character Perseus because of his previous portrayal of the same character in the 1981 feature film, Clash of the Titans. Although removed early in the game's development, Cam Clarke is credited for the voice of Hercules. Other voice actors who play minor roles include Robin Atkin Downes, Armin Shimerman, Stefan Marks, Marc Worden, Greg Ellis, Khary Payton, Peter Lurie, and Keythe Farley; Farley was also the Voice Director alongside Kris Zimmerman and Gordon Hunt. God of War II was released in North America on March 13, 2007, in Europe on April 27, 2007, and May 3, 2007 in Australia. The North American version of God of War II was packaged in a two-disc set. The first disc contains the game, and the second disc is dedicated to the game's development, and includes a diary of the game's production. The European/Australian PAL version was released as two different editions: a single disc standard edition and a two disc "Special Edition" with different box art and a bonus DVD. The game is also available in the PlayStation 2's lineup of Greatest Hits. Both God of War and God of War II were re-released in North America on November 17, 2009 as part of the God of War Collection, which featured remastered ports of both games to PlayStation 3 format with up-scaled graphics and support for PlayStation Trophies. This collection was released in Japan on March 18, 2010, Australia on April 29, 2010, and the UK on April 30, 2010. The "God of War II Bonus Materials" was included with the collection. On November 2, 2010, God of War Collection was released as a digital download on the PlayStation Store, and was the first product containing PS2 material to be made available via download. The bonus materials, however, are not included in the digital download version. PlayStation Plus subscribers may download a one hour trial of each game and for a limited time could receive a God of War III skin with the purchase of each game: "Phantom of Chaos" (God of War) and "Forgotten Warrior" (God of War II) respectively. On August 28, 2012, the remastered version of God of War II—along with God of War, God of War III, God of War: Chains of Olympus, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta— was released as part of the God of War Saga under Sony's new line of PlayStation Collections for the PlayStation 3 in North America. As a pre-order incentive, the demo disc of God of War II was made available to all customers who pre-ordered the game.[24] On March 1, 2007 Sony held a media event that featured scantily clad women and a dead goat in Athens as part of the game's marketing campaign. The following month, the Daily Mail learned of the event from the UK Official PlayStation Magazine, called it a "depraved promotion stunt", and reported that MP and anti-video game violence campaigner Keith Vaz said he would understand if the incident resulted in a boycott of Sony products. In response, Sony said the event had been sensationalized with hyperbole and that the article contained several inaccuracies, but apologized for the event. On April 10, 2007, God of War II: Original Soundtrack from the Video Game, composed by Gerard K. Marino, Ron Fish, Mike Reagan and Cris Velasco, was released on CD by SCEI. Dave Valentine of Square Enix Music Online gave the soundtrack an eight out of ten, and said that it features a wide variety of ominous orchestral pieces, and each composers' contributions seems slightly more distinctive than the previous installment. Spence D. of IGN wrote that the score, "is an impressive orchestral accomplishment within the ever-growing and constantly changing arena of videogame composition," but that it was aimed more towards the gaming experience of God of War II rather than being a stand alone musical experience. At the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards, the score was nominated for Best Original Score. An official novelization of the game, titled God of War II, is being written by Robert E. Vardeman and is expected to be released on February 5, 2013 by Del Rey Books. It will be available in paperback, Kindle, and audio formats. Upon release, God of War II was commercially successful in multiple markets. In North America, the game sold 833,209 copies by the end of March 2007, twice as many copies as the next-best selling game. It was the highest-selling game in the UK in the first week of release. The game sold over one million copies in the first three months after release, and sold more than 4.2 million by June 2012, and the God of War Collection—which includes God of War II—sold more than 2.4 million units. On April 6, 2008, God of War II joined Sony's "Greatest Hits" list. God of War II received universal critical acclaim, and was regarded as one of the best PlayStation 2 games and action games of all time. Chris Roper of IGN scored the game 9.7 out of 10 and wrote that it was "one of gaming's most intense and engaging experiences available." Kristan Reed of Eurogamer scored the game 9 out of 10, and wrote, "God of War II sports one of the most satisfyingly honed game designs we've ever come across." Reed also wrote that the game would not overwhelm players, and that it motivates them to keep going and inspires them to improve their skills. The balance, said Reed, "always feels spot-on", and the "learning curve is just right," adding that the magic attacks were more useful than those in God of War. He wrote, "If you can find a flaw in God of War II, it'll be down to personal taste," and that regardless of refinement, "you can never quite replicate the wow factor of the original—even if it ends up being a better game." Alex Navarro of GameSpot wrote that the game was "[f]antastically paced, with some ingenious puzzle designs", the " cale of some of the levels is unbelievably massive", and that the sound and graphics were superb. However, he said the "[c]ombat is overly straightforward at times and still prone to button mashing", and that the ending leaves players hanging. In 2009, IGN listed God of War II at number two on the "top 25 PS2 Games of All Time" list—five ahead of its predecessor. IGN and GameSpot consider God of War II to be the "swan song" of the PlayStation 2 era. At the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards, the game was nominated for Best Action Game and Best Original Score. In November 2012, Complex.com named God of War II the best PlayStation 2 game of all time—where God of War was named the 11th best—and consider it better than its successor, God of War III.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 23:07:49 GMT -5
33. Star Ocean: Till The End of Time Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is the third main game in the Star Ocean series. The game was developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 console. It was released in Japan, North America, and the PAL territories. The original Japanese release date was in February 2003 by Enix, its penultimate release before its merger to become Square Enix. It was re-released in 2004 as a two disc Director's Cut version with bonus features such as new characters and dungeons. The North American and European versions are based on the Director's Cut version. Till the End of Time takes place four hundred years after the events of Star Ocean: The Second Story. The universe of Star Ocean is science fiction in nature, although like the first two games in the series, much of the plot is set on an "underdeveloped planet." It features a galaxy-spanning government in the Pangalactic Federation, several races and species of aliens, different factions, multiple colonized planets, and advanced technology. But despite this science fiction atmosphere, a form of magic exists in the universe: symbology, also translated as heraldry in the Japanese version and in Star Ocean: The Second Story. Standard symbology involves tattooing crests and runes onto one's flesh to draw out apparently latent power in the form of spells, and numerous underdeveloped planets make extensive use of it. Despite its supernatural connotations, Symbology is treated as a legitimate field of scientific study in-universe. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time begins on the planet Hyda IV where a young man, Fayt Leingod, and his childhood friend, Sophia Esteed, are on vacation with Fayt's family. Fayt is the son of Robert Leingod, a famous scientist in the field of symbological genetics. For an unknown reason, the Vendeeni — an alien civilization with highly advanced technology that spans only a single planet — attacks Hyda IV unprovoked, thus initiating a war with the Pangalactic Federation. Fayt and Sophia escape on the starship Helre, but are separated from Fayt's parents, Robert and Ryoko Leingod. The Helre is also attacked by the Vendeeni, and the two are separated. Fayt's escape pod lands on the "underdeveloped planet" Vanguard III, a planet with technology equivalent to 16th Century Earth, and discovers an off-world criminal, the exiled Rezerbian Norton, plotting to take it over. Cliff Fittir, a member of the anti-Federation organization Quark, then lands and helps Fayt defeat this criminal. Fayt learns that Quark's leader wishes to speak to him and plans on rescuing his father, though Cliff does not reveal the reason behind this interest. After getting off the planet with Cliff and meeting his assistant Mirage, the Vendeeni again attack them — but they escape and crash-land on another underdeveloped world, Elicoor II. Elicoor seems to be around 17th Century Earth in terms of technological advancement. Fayt, Cliff, and Mirage crash-land into the capital of the Kingdom of Airyglyph, who believe that their ship is a weapon developed by the country they are at war with, Aquaria. Fayt and Cliff are imprisoned as a result Mirage escapes, though they are soon rescued by an assassin-like agent, Nel Zelpher, who believes they are engineers from the technologically advanced continent of Greeton. She rescues them under the condition that they aid her country, Aquaria, with their technological knowledge or that she will kill them to prevent them leaking secrets to Airyglyph. This leads the two directly into the war between the two kingdoms and eventually into a great final battle between them. Then a new — at least to the Elicoorians — foe appears in the skies above, a Vendeeni battleship that has found their quarry. However, Fayt destroys the battleship with a previously unknown power of his, though another battleship remains in orbit. During the distraction, the leader of Quark, Maria Traydor, manages to arrive on Elicoor. It seems that both Quark and the Vendeeni knew of Fayt's unusual abilities, and he had been their target the whole time. The party vies with the Vendeeni over control of an unusual "out of place artifact" and Fayt's father, who is killed before Maria can finish interrogating him over his "crimes." Fayt finds himself space-borne once more, and the galaxy has not stood still. Shortly after the apparently unprovoked attack on Hyda IV, a threat of destruct-full magnitude emerges in the form of ultra-powerful space-borne beings calling themselves "Executioners." The best ships of the Federation and the Vendeeni are nearly powerless against these new beings, and are quickly being forced into full retreat. The party, acting on a hint from Fayt's father, venture to the Moonbase research station, and Fayt is reunited with Sophia. While on the station, they are confronted by an angelic-looking Executioner that calls itself Proclaimer. It launches itself to attack, telling them that they must be destroyed. Investigation of the Moonbase records reveals the truth behind the Executioners and their appearance. During the charting of a planet called Styx, explorers encountered an extremely advanced and extremely old Time Gate. When activated, it informed them that their forays into the field of symbological genetics had angered the Creator, and that they were to be destroyed. Even if they were to abandon symbological genetics, the reins would be taken up by another soon enough, and that they were not being warned — they were being sentenced. The explorers beat a hasty retreat and informed the Federation of what they had found. Studies soon suggested that the statement came from another plane of existence; an entirely new universe. Further study revealed that symbology might be used to access this universe. The scientists agreed to use their own offspring; the subjects were Fayt Leingod, Sophia Esteed, and Maria Traydor. Fayt was the son of Robert and Ryoko Leingod, while Sophia was the daughter of Clive Esteed. Maria was an orphan who was later adopted by the fourth member of the team, Jessie Traydor. The three were symbologically altered in such a way that if they worked together, they could gain entry through the Time Gate. Maria was given the power of Alteration, which would allow her and those with her to remain in physical forms in the new world. Fayt was given the power of Destruction, as it was assumed they would need to physically defend themselves. Two years later, the younger Sophia was given the power of Connection - the key ability needed to make contact with 4D space. (This process of creating humans with inherent symbological power is quite similar to Nede's creation of the Ten Wise Men in Star Ocean: The Second Story, though this did not draw down the wrath of the Executioners due Star Ocean 3: Till The End of Time being out of continuity with other Star Ocean games.) The Vendeeni had been attacking in hopes of handing over Fayt to the Executioners and staying their wrath. The party goes to Styx and finds the area flooded with Executioners. Escaping their ship in a small shuttle, they witness the mysterious beings and their awesome might first-hand as the Federation battleship Aquaelie which had escorted them is destroyed. Reaching the Time Gate, the party enters "4D space," a dimension higher than their own. According to the 4D beings, their universe is actually not real in relation to 4D space; rather, it is a computer simulation developed by Luther Lansfeld, the owner of the Sphere Company. Dubbed the "Eternal Sphere", it is similar to a real-world massively multiplayer online game for the inhabitants of 4D space. Fayt and his allies learn that the Executioners are anti-viruses sent to delete anomalies in the Milky Way section of the Eternal Sphere. With the help of Blair Lansfeld, programmer and sister to Luther, the party manages to find Luther. Blair and the group believe that the residents of the Eternal Sphere have managed to achieve a level of intelligence equal to that of 4D citizens; Luther, however, considers them "mere data." Luther then decides that the only way to delete them is to delete the entire universe (apparently ignoring that he is currently in the Eternal Sphere). The party fights and defeats him, causing him to be deleted himself, but fails to stop the deletion. However, the world is not destroyed for not entirely clear reasons. Blair mentions an "Eternal Sphere backup" earlier, but there's no evidence that it was applied. The characters decide that even if they really are just programs, they have achieved "consciousness" and therefore cannot be deleted. Alternatively, others suggest Maria's power of Alteration has something to do with it, perhaps even implying that their universe has truly become a reality unto itself and therefore not subject to deletion. The ending slightly changes based on the "affection level" of the other characters for Fayt, derived from the player's choices during the game and in Private Actions. Fayt has an ending for each character if that character has the highest affection level with him, as well as an "alone" ending if no one has sufficient affection level with him. Characters are: * Fayt Leingod (Earthling, Male, 19 years old) The main character of Star Ocean 3. He is a seemingly normal college student from Earth who doesn't pay too much attention to his studies, and takes every opportunity to engage in combat simulation holographic games. He uses a sword in combat, with some skill in Symbology. Voice: (Japanese) Soichiro Hoshi (English) Steve Staley * Sophia Esteed (Earthling, Female, 17 years old) Fayt's childhood friend who accompanies him to Hyda IV. Sophia was born on the orbital colony Moonbase and moved to Earth later. Because she is such close friends with Fayt and his parents, as well as her parents and Fayt's parents working together, she is considered a member of the family and refers to Fayt's parents as "Uncle Robert" and "Aunty Ryoko". Unusually for girls of her time, she has traditionally feminine interests like cooking and sewing. She uses Symbology in combat, and is a weak physical fighter. Voice: (Japanese) Atsuko Enomoto (English) Michelle Ruff * Peppita Rossetti (Velbaysian, Female, 14 years old) A young, energetic and flamboyant Velbaysian from a circus group known as the Rosseti Troupe. She makes her debut as a dancer, and hopes to become the star attraction. She is taken care of by the circus ringmaster, and awaits for her father, who is a soldier within the Federation. Her fighting style is acrobatic, and she uses shoes and bangles as weapons, giving her unusual fighting style. Voice: (Japanese) Masayo Kurata (English) Sherry Lynn * Cliff Fittir (Klausian, Male, 36 years old) Klausian born on the planet Klaus III. He is a member of the anti-Federation organization Quark, which is labeled a terrorist group by the Federation government. Cliff possesses much greater strength than other humanoids due to the high-gravity environment of his planet, and fights physically in combat unarmed. Voice: (Japanese) Hiroki Touchi (English) Dave Wittenberg * Nel Zelpher (Elicoorian, Female, 23 years old) An agent of Aquaria who specializes in infiltration and intelligence gathering. She serves as a guide for Fayt while on her planet, and is a user of "Runology," something that is suspiciously similar to Symbology. She is a fast and agile character, who attacks with small blades. Voice: (Japanese) Yuu Asakawa (English) Wendee Lee * Roger S. Huxley (Elicoorian (Menodix), Male, 12 years old) A young Menodix from the Lost City of Surferio, which lies in the Sanmite Republic on Elicoor II. Tough and stubborn, he wishes to be a 'real man', and uses large axes and equips heavy armor in combat. Voice: (Japanese) Mari Malta (English) Mona Marshall * Mirage Koas (Klausian, Female, 27 years old) A Klausian, and member of the anti-Federation organization Quark. Cliff wishes to finally best her in a sparring match, and has been beaten by her since they were children. Her father is dojo owner who took Cliff in when he was a child. She fights physically unarmed in battle, though is faster than Cliff. Voice: (Japanese) Emi Shinohara (English) Kari Wahlgren * Adray Lasbard (Elicoorian, Male, 54 years old) Clair's father and member of the Crimson Blade of the Aquarian Kingdom on Elicoor II. He constantly pressures his daughter to marry and find a husband. Aside from Symbology, he also uses a katana in combat, in a style similar to Iaijutsu. Voice: (Japanese) Unshou Ishizuka (English) Beau Billingslea * Albel Nox The commander of the Black Brigade, one of the three military divisions of the Kingdom of Airyglyph, and is known as "Albel the Wicked". He is bitter and malicious, though possesses intense self-loathing due to the blame he feels for the death of his father. He uses a katana in combat, as well as the claw-like gauntlet on his left arm. Voice: (Japanese) Isshin Chiba (English) Crispin Freeman * Maria Traydor An enigmatic young woman hunted by the Federation, and serves as the leader of Quark. She holds a special interest in Fayt. In combat, she attacks long range with a gun, but also utilizes martial arts moves taught to her by Mirarge. Voice: (Japanese) Michiko Neya (English) Dorothy Elias-Fahn Mirage Koas and Adray Lasbard were added into the Director's Cut version of Star Ocean: Till The End of Time. Mirage was already in the original version as part of the story, but she never joined the party. Adray is a completely original character who was not in the original version of the game at all, and was added primarily to increase the appeal of the game's second release. While having many similarities to its predecessor, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time includes many elements that make it unique among the majority of role-playing video games. Instead of menu-driven combat, Star Ocean 3 offers real-time interactive combat, similar to the .hack and Tales series. Battles occur when running into enemies on the main travel field or when certain pre-scripted events occur. In battle, the player directly controls one character, while the other two characters are controlled by AI. The player can, however, choose the tactics used by AI characters or switch which character they are directly controlling. Enemy attacks can target either a player's hit points (HP) or mental points (MP). Players will also lose HP from using special attacks or lose MP from using symbology or runeology, which is functionally equivalent to magic in other games.[3] If a character loses all of their HP or, unlike most games, if they lose all of their MP, they are knocked out and unable to continue participation in the battle (unless certain revival items are used). Each character also has a Fury meter, which governs how fast the character moves over the battle screen, and how often actions can be performed. Standing still will replenish Fury, while any movement will continue to drain it or cause the character to lag. If all three characters are defeated, the game is over and the player must reload from their last saved game. If all the enemies are defeated, the player is awarded money (Fol) and experience points (EXP). When some groups of enemies are defeated, the player's characters can also receive a small amount of HP/MP, to counteract the HP/MP that was lost as a result of using special attacks or symbology/runeology. When the player strikes an enemy, the Bonus Battle Gauge will fill. When the gauge reaches full capacity, the player will enter "Bonus Battle". In "Bonus Battle", the player receives special bonuses, which can help benefit a character's EXP, Fol, items received after battle, etc. However, if a character receives a critical hit, runs away from battle, or dies, the gauge will deplete completely, resulting in the end of "Bonus Battle" and any bonuses the player received. The Bonus Battle Gauge will also reset if the player turns the game off and turns it back on, or restarts their save file. Like the previous games in the series, the game contains an Item Creation feature that allows the player to create and enhance a multitude of items. A variety of trades are offered, including Cookery, Alchemy, Engineering, and Smithery. Workshops for Item Creation are scattered throughout the towns and dungeons of the game and can be invested in by the player to allow a wider variety of items to be made there. Once a player invents an item, they can file for a patent, and get money from the profits made off selling those items in various shops. The player is also able to recruit inventors to aid them in creating various items. The Director's Cut version added a VS. Mode to battle against a second player or against the computer. Up to two human players could compete, either against each other or against another character controlled by the computer. Another addition was the use of "Battle Trophies" which may be acquired by completing various challenges in combat. For example, a player can receive a battle trophy for winning a battle in under 30 seconds, or for defeating a boss without receiving damage. Earning battle trophies unlocks bonus options such as harder game difficulty levels, alternate costumes, and a sound test The music for this game was composed by Motoi Sakuraba, a long-time collaborator with tri-Ace. The soundtrack was eventually released in four parts: * Original Soundtrack Volume 1 - A 2-CD set containing mainly the softer and orchestral pieces from the game. * Original Soundtrack Volume 2 - Another 2-CD set containing the upbeat music, primarily the battle and dungeon themes. * Arrange Album - A selection of tracks from the game reworked in different styles. * Voice Mix - Similar to the Arrange Album, but featuring dialogue sampled from the Japanese version of the game along with the music. The limited edition of Volume 1 also came with a box to hold all four albums. When the game was revised into the Director's Cut, Sakuraba composed a few new pieces of music and released an album for them. The song "The Small Bird That Forgot How To Fly" by the JPop singer Misia was used to accompany the game's ending credits. Initially, the game received a somewhat negative impression in Japan. Parts of the game were alleged to be buggy, and the game refused to work at all in older SCPH-10000 PlayStation 2s. Enix blamed Sony, as they had coded Star Ocean 3 with features from updated libraries that were apparently not backward-compatible. Sony denied all responsibility. Regardless, it impacted the game's sales, and Enix released the Director's Cut in 2004 to assuage grievances about the original by fixing the bugs and adding features. In North America, the game was initially well received among both critics and players, with Game Rankings, a compilation of critical reviews, giving it an average score of 80.99%. Star Ocean 3 was the 96th-best seller among console games of the PS2/GameCube/Xbox generation as of July 2006; it had estimated U.S. sales of 630,000 copies, with revenues of $23 million. In Japan, the original sold 533,373 copies as of 2008.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 23:10:43 GMT -5
32. Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, originally published as Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Meteor in Japan, is the third installment in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. The game is available on both Sony's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's Wii. The game was released in Japan on October 4, 2007, in North America on November 13, 2007 and in Europe on November 9, 2007 for the PlayStation 2 (the Wii version was released in Japan on October 4, 2007, in North America on December 3, 2007, and in Europe on February 15, 2008). Tenkaichi 3 features 161 characters, the largest character roster in any Dragon Ball Z game, as well as one of the largest rosters in any fighting game. Ryo Mito once stated that the game would feature never-before-seen characters made exclusively for the game, although the only exclusive characters were the saiyans turning into Great Apes. Several new notable features include: Battle Replay, night and day stages, the Wii's online capability. Battle Replay allows players to capture their favorite fights and save them to an SD card to view later on. Night and day stages allow for more accurate battles in Dragon Ball History, as well as the ability to transform into a Great Ape by using the moon (although Saiyans such as Scouter Vegeta can still transform in daytime via artificial moons). There are also several other time differences, such as dawn and afternoon. Not all stages provide different times. The player can also change the aura of their character. The Wii version features online multiplayer capability, the first game in the series to have such a feature. Players can fight against anyone from around the globe with a ranking system showing the player's current standing compared to anyone else who has played online. As compensation for the lack of online, Spike has added a new "Disc Fusion System" to the PlayStation 2 version. Inserting a Tenkaichi 1 or Tenkaichi 2 disc during play unlocks Ultimate Battle or Ultimate Battle Z (using different regions of discs will not work), modes featured in the respective games needed to unlock them. The game also supports 480p for both the Wii and the PlayStation 2 versions. Other features in the game includes more combo attacks or character specific combos, the Blast Combos, and the Z Burst Dash. The additional combo attacks will be able to help chain in more attacks for more damage and longer combos. The Blast Combos are normal combos used in the game, however by inputting another button into the attack will allow the player to use a blast attack for extra damage. Depending on the moves of the character the player might not be able to use this feat such as Videl or Hercule. The Z Burst Dash is a much faster and more evasive version of the Dragon Dash. It allows the user to get behind the opponent at high speeds for either a strike or to avoid a blast 2 attack. The drawback to this technique is that it will rapidly drain the player of energy. Also to charge up all your energy you must have one blast one stock filled up to power up to the very limit.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 23:15:40 GMT -5
31. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment and is the first video game in the Jak and Daxter series. It was released exclusively for the Sony PlayStation 2 on December 3, 2001 for North America, December 7, 2001 for Europe and December 20, 2001 for Japan. To date, the game has sold 4.2 million copies. Jak and Daxter holds similarities to platform games such as Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64, and the Ratchet and Clank Series, in that the objective is to gather items to progress through the levels. The player has access to super-human abilities such as double-jumping, a rapid spinning kick, and sustaining only limited damage through falling from great heights. Injuries are accounted for by way of a life meter, which decreases as the player character is hit by enemies, falls long distances, and makes contact with hazardous surfaces. The game revolves around the collection of Power Cells, which can be earned by fighting enemies, paying for them via Precursor Orbs, accomplishing platforming challenges, and other ways. The player character "Jak" has punch and kick attacks, and can also utilize various Eco energies to augment his skills temporarily. Being a platformer, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy offers several collectibles for the player to gather. The main objects are "Power Cells", used to energize machinery for use in reaching new levels. Egg-shaped "Precursor Orbs" function as currency, and can be traded in for Power Cells at several locations in the game, while collecting all seven "Scout Flies" in any level rewards the player with a Power Cell. While Precursor Orbs are present in all Jak and Daxter games, Power Cells would not make a reappearance until Jak 3, where they appear in artifact collecting missions. The game contains a number of bosses, whose defeat earns the player Power Cells or some method of progressing further in the game. One such enemy is not mandatory, and is only defeated in order to gain a Power Cell, and to cause spiked tentacles across the jungle to wither away, no longer posing a threat to the player. Another boss, a cyborg named Klaww, must be defeated in order to leave the mountain area. To do so, players must collect enough Power Cells to utilize a levitation device and unblock a path, allowing access to him. Once he is defeated, the areas beyond his lair are accessible. A large part of the gameplay revolves around "Eco", a type of colored energy which comes in six different forms. The player is able to utilize Eco by way of glowing particles which bestow a small amount, or Eco vents which grant a fully charged burst of Eco energy. The Green Eco, the most common, restores health. Blue Eco increases Jak's speed, attracts Precursor Orbs as well as small clusters of Blue and Green Eco towards him, and activates certain machinery. Red Eco increases attack power, while Yellow Eco allows the player to shoot bursts of energy through the hands. The other two types of Eco only make appearances, and are not actively used by the player during the main game. Small amounts of Dark Eco cause damage upon contact with the player, and falling into a pool of Dark Eco results in instant death. Light Eco is seen and used only during the final boss battle, and is a combination of all other types of Eco with the exception of Dark. The story begins with a narration by Samos the Sage, master of the Green Eco. He speaks cryptically of the Precursors, the masters of the universe and creators of all life on the planet, and the powerful substance known as Eco. Meanwhile, Jak and his mischief-making best friend, Daxter, are making their way to Misty Island, against Samos' warnings. After arriving, they see two people plotting with an army of evil creatures known as Lurkers. The duo, worried by what they are seeing, prepare to leave, but are attacked by a large Lurker. Jak manages to destroy it using a barrel of Eco, but the explosion throws Daxter into a pool of Dark Eco. Daxter flies back out of the pit, transformed into an ottsel (a hybrid of an otter and a weasel), but otherwise unharmed. Returning to their village of Sandover, they seek help from Samos who states that only Gol Acheron, the Sage of Dark Eco, could change Daxter back. The route north towards Gol is blocked by Fire Canyon, which can only be traversed with Keira's Zoomer (essentially a hoverbike) equipped with a heat shield fueled with enough Power Cells (spheres of energy). After Jak and Daxter collect enough Power Cells they make their way back to the Blue Sage's village. The village at the end of the canyon has been mostly destroyed by a giant cyborg Lurker named Klaww, while the Sage of Blue Eco who watches over the village has mysteriously vanished. Jak and Daxter find themselves in search of more Power Cells to energize an anti-gravity device and unblock the way to Klaww's lair at the peak. After opening a path up the mountain, they defeat Klaww and ride their Zoomer down the mountain to the Volcanic Crater. Jak makes his way to the Red Sage's laboratory, where he learns that all of the sages except Samos have been kidnapped by the same people who Jak and Daxter saw speaking to Lurkers on Misty Island. The people turn out to be Gol Acheron and Maia Acheron, Gol's sister, who wish to flood the world with dark eco. Jak recovers more power cells so Keira can upgrade the Zoomer heat shield in order to navigate a lava-filled tunnel. On the other side of the tunnel, in the Yellow Sage's lab, Keira declares that Samos has been captured as well. Journeying through Gol and Maia's citadel, Jak and Daxter successfully free all the sages, saving Samos last. He tells them that Gol and Maia are using all the sage's energies to power their robot, which is powerful enough to break open the Dark Eco silos. Jak and Daxter then travel to the top of the Dark Eco Silos to confront a reactivated Precursor Robot controlled by Gol and Maia. Jak battles the robot, but only disables it by destroying the robot's weapons. After this, 4 mini-silos, that are attached to the large silo, which each contain a different eco type shoot beams of light towards the middle of the silo in the air above, clashing and forming a pyramid-like shape. This combines all the ecos and forms into light eco. Daxter realizes that the Light Eco would change him back to normal if he were to absorb it, but ultimately allows Jak to use it and disable the robot. Trapped in the robot, Gol and Maia sink into the Dark Eco silo, which then closes and traps them inside, presumably killing them both; Samos, however, is not certain that this is the case. The group's attention is then directed toward an immense Precursor Door, which can only open with the energy of 100 Power Cells. With the cells, the door opens to reveal an ambiguous large object enveloped in a blinding light; the details are explained in the next game. The game is set on a fictional planet created by Naughty Dog specifically for the game. It has different areas that have various themes such as snow, swamp, jungle, beaches, and volcanoes. Like all subsequent games in the series with the exception of the PlayStation Portable game Daxter, the main character is Jak, a silent protagonist who is 15 years old. His best friend is Daxter (voiced by Max Casella), a loudmouth who is transformed at the beginning of the game into a fictional hybrid of an otter and a weasel, called an ottsel. The two boys live with Samos Hagai, the Sage of Green Eco, and father of Keira, who is Jak's self-decided love interest. She builds the flying Zoomer vehicle that Jak and Daxter use multiple times during the game. The antagonists of the game are Gol Acheron (voiced by Dee Snider) and his sister Maia, researchers who have been turned evil by the effects of the Dark Eco they studied. Their goal is to open a giant silo full of Dark Eco and use it to shape the universe to their liking. Other characters are the Blue, Red, and Yellow Sages, all of whom are masters of the Eco they take their name from. Along with Samos, they are captured by Gol and Maia near the end of the game in order to power a giant robot, which they hope to use to open the Dark Eco silo. Development on Jak and Daxter began in January 1999. As the rest of the Naughty Dog team were working on Crash Team Racing, only two programmers were allocated to the project. The rest of the team began work on Jak as well after the release of the PlayStation 2. Because of the PS2's status as a new console, Naughty Dog felt they had to create a unique character for it. Before the main development of Jak and Daxter, Naughty Dog confirmed the idea with Sony Computer Entertainment, and after showing them a character they dubbed "Boxman" to demonstrate their animation engine, they came up with Jak and Daxter. The game was in development for almost three years, and throughout this time numerous changes were made to almost every aspect of the game, while the various engines used in the game were all tweaked to optimize their performance. The engine tweaks allowed Jak and Daxter to have no loading times or fogging and be able to display high quality textures in a seamless, multi-level world. The main characters also went through changes. Originally there was going to be a third main character that would develop as the game was played in a Tamagotchi style. Instead Naughty Dog concentrated their efforts on two main characters in order to create the exact characters they wanted. Naughty Dog stated in several interviews that "The character inspiration was more Joe Madureira who did Battle Chasers, the comic book, than anything else..." in an interview. After the release of Jak and Daxter, Naughty Dog was prepared to create a sequel as long as the first did well enough to warrant it. After the game did go on to sell admirably, development of Jak II was begun shortly thereafter. The game received positive reviews from critics. Before its release SCEA gave IGN a demo build of Jak and Daxter. Douglass C. Perry, a member of IGN’s staff said that "...Jak and Daxter is a breath of fresh air, a funny, light-hearted, but no less epic action-adventure game all its own..." after reviewing the demo build for twelve hours. Gamespot gave a score of 8.8 out of 10, praising its tight execution and heavy action elements which "ensure that things never become dull" and continued, "Next to Rayman 2, Jak and Daxter is the best 3D platformer available for the PlayStation 2." Game Informer gave the game a high score of 9.25 out of 10, and also offered praise to its graphics and the absence of load times, saying "On several occasions, I found myself staring in awe at the little details Naughty Dog so meticulously included." IGN listed the game 8th on their list of "The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time". After its release in late 2001 it went on to sell over 1 million copies promoting it to "Greatest Hits" and reducing the price. To date, Jak and Daxter has sold almost 2 million copies (1.97million) in the US alone.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 23:24:14 GMT -5
125 Favorite PS2 Games 125. Duel Hearts 124. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu 123. Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore 122. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis 121. Timesplitters 120. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 119. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon 118. Legends of Wrestling 117. Beyond Good And Evil 116. Dragonball Z: Budokai 115. Showdown: Legends of Wrestling 114. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht 113. Virtua Fighter 4 112. King of Fighters 2000 111. KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (aka King of Fighters 2006) 110. Burnout 3: Takedown 109. Legends of Wrestling II 108. Rogue Galaxy 107. Maximo: Ghosts To Glory 106. Silent Hill 3 105. MLB Slugfest 2003 104. Guitar Hero 103. Wild Arms 3 102. Need for Speed: Most Wanted 101. Megaman X8 100. Pro Evolution Soccer 3 99. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence 98. Dragonball Z: Budokai 2 97. Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 96. Megaman X Collection 95. Soul Calibur 3 94. Tekken 4 93. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy 92. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando 91. Killer7 90. Freekstyle 89. Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 88. Grandia III 87. Dark Cloud 86. Hot Shots Golf: Fore 85. We Love Katamari 84. Madden NFL 2003 83. Guitar Hero III 82. Garou: Mark of the Wolves 81. Rumble Roses 80. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude 79. Tekken Tag Tournament 78. Escape from Monkey Island 77. Tony Hawk Underground 76. James Bond 007: Nightfire 75. Guilty Gear X 74. NBA Ballers 73. Ratchet & Clank 72. Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers 71. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 70. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 69. NBA Street Vol. 2 68. Jak II 67. Half-Life 66. Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves 65. Def Jam Vendetta 64. ESPN NFL 2K5 63. Star Wars Battlefront II 62. Futurama 61. Suikoden Tactics 60. Megaman Anniversary Collection 59. The Simpsons: Road Rage 58. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 57. Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction 56. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal 55. Tekken 5 54. Sonic Heroes 53. Jak 3 52. Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories 51. Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millenium 2001 50. Wild Arms: Alter Code F 49. Suikoden IV 48. Madden NFL 2004 47. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne 46. Scarface: The World Is Yours 45. SOCOM: US Navy Seals 44. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 43. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse 42. Gran Turismo 4 41. Dark Cloud 2 (Dark Chronicle) 40. Devil May Cry 3 39. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus 38. Bully 37. The Warriors 36. Final Fantasy XII 35. Devil May Cry 34. God of War II 33. Star Ocean: Till The End of Time 32. Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 31. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Clues to the next five games
* Clockwerk is back
* Four Ways to "Conquer The Mountain"
* Hugo, Chris, & Geddoe
* Kang & Kodos are filming for a reality television show called "Foolish Earthlings"
* The debut of Pyramid Head
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 23:27:04 GMT -5
30. SSX 3 SSX 3 (Snowboard Super Cross 3) is a snowboarding extreme racing game published by Electronic Arts and developed by EA Sports BIG, which was released in late 2003 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Gamecube and Game Boy Advance. It was later in 2005 ported for the Gizmondo as a launch title. SSX 3 is the third installment in the SSX series, and is THX approved. The game was critically acclaimed. As in previous SSX titles, players choose one of several characters, participate in races or trick competitions, and earn rewards. The most obvious change to the series is the location. In earlier games, individual tracks were located around the world. In SSX 3, the entire game takes place on one mountain, with three peaks and several individual runs. Runs are designated as "race", "slopestyle", "super pipe", "big air", or "backcountry" tracks, and are designed accordingly. The race tracks are connected; it is possible to board through these tracks from the top of the mountain to the bottom without stopping or reloading each track. The reward system is also revamped and improved. Although some rewards are still tied to what medals the player gets, most rewards are bought using money earned in competition or when finding hidden collectibles. Outfits, stat improvements, "cheat characters" (character models) and game art are all available. Graphically the game is improved over previous installments by featuring a new graphics engine which adds various visual improvements such as 'Mountain effects': special effects to the game's mountain, such as thunder. Furthermore, the game is based around a "freeroaming" architecture akin to the later installments of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series. Other notable changes include the introduction of a second level of "über tricks"; the elimination of freestyle/BX/Alpine boards in favor of a single board type, and the elimination of statistical differences between characters, and the continuity in tracks linked together by "Stations." In general, the game emphasizes customization much more than in previous games; for example, different boards no longer have different effects on how they perform, allowing the player to choose between them based purely on aesthetics as opposed to taking the statistics into consideration, as was common previously. There are four ways to "Conquer the Mountain" and advance to higher peaks: One is to earn medals in racing events, eventually leading to a challenge by the master of that peak in a backcountry event, and then a full peak challenge, which covers that peak's backcountry all the way to the bottom of Peak 1. There are 5 official race courses in the game, not including the 6 rival challenge races. Freestyle works similarly, given that there are more freestyle events than there are races. Also, the full peak challenges for Peaks 1 and 2 only cover their respective backcountries and slopestyles. There are 9 official freestyle courses in the game, not including the 6 rival challenge freestyles. Freeride works in an entirely different way. The player can earn a certain percentage of the collectibles for the peak and also win a certain number of the peak's "Big Challenges" (special challenges that range from breaking glass panes in superpipes to punching targets in "The Throne"). The "typical" Big Challenge has the player score points in a race track or speed down a slopestyle track. Some of the BIG Challenges have three different steps - the higher step, the harder challenge. After completing a challenge who appeared as a green beam, it will eventually turn blue instead of white, showing that there is a harder version of that challenge. After you complete step two, the challenge will turn red, and will become much difficultier than the previous challenges. This could for example be: The first challenge has a goal to punch 5 punching bags. The second step of this challenge is punching 10, and the third and last step is punching 15. Earnings is a set amount of money the player is supposed to earn while playing the game normally. SSX 3 received universal acclaim upon its release. The PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube versions hold overall scores of 93, 92, and 92 respectively on aggregate website Metacritic and 92.28%, 89.93%, and 92.00% respectively on aggregate website GameRankings. GameSpot gave it a 9.0 out of 10, stating that "SSX 3 delivers a rush like few racing games or action sports games have ever achieved."IGN gave the game a 9.5 out of 10, saying that "this is the best snowboarding game I have ever played." and "It's arcade-centric, trick heavy, and on the third peak, it's brutal, but in the end, nothing comes close to SSX 3."
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 23:33:10 GMT -5
29. The Simpsons: Hit & Run The Simpsons Hit & Run is an action-adventure video game based on the animated sitcom The Simpsons. It was released for the GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Windows in North America on September 16, 2003, In Europe and Australia on October 31, 2003 and in Japan on December 25, 2003. The story and dialogue were crafted by writers from The Simpsons, with all character voices supplied by the actual cast. The game follows the Simpson family and the citizens of Springfield, who witness many strange incidents that occur in Springfield. When several of the citizens take matters into their own hands, they discover that two aliens Kang and Kodos are filming a reality television series about the populace. To make the show more interesting, the aliens release a new version of the popular soft drink Buzz Cola into Springfield's water supply—however, this particular version causes insanity. With help from Professor Frink, Homer is able to destroy the aliens' spaceship, and Springfield and its inhabitants are returned to normal. The game received generally favorable reviews from video game critics. Praise focused on the interpretation of the Simpsons television series as a video game and its parodical take on Grand Theft Auto III, while criticism mostly surrounded some aspects of gameplay. The game received the award for Fave Video Game at the 2004 Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards. As of June 2007, over three million copies of the game were sold. Hit & Run has seven levels, each with missions and a unique plot. The player can only control one specific character in each level. The game's playable characters are Homer Simpson (played twice), Bart Simpson (played twice), Lisa Simpson, Marge Simpson, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. When traveling by foot, the player character can walk, run, and perform several attacks: a normal kick, a jumping kick, and a smashing move. To drive, the player can either commandeer one of the vehicles that litter the road, a feature taken from Grand Theft Auto III, or use a phone booth to select a car. The game's driving missions are also similar to those of Grand Theft Auto III. In both games, the player races against other characters, collects items before a timer runs out, and wrecks other cars. The game has a sandbox-style format that emphasizes driving, and the player controls their character from a third-person view. The character can perform certain acts of violence, such as attacking pedestrians, blowing up vehicles, and destroying the environment. The Simpsons Hit & Run has a warning meter that indicates when the police will retaliate for bad behavior. Located in the bottom-right corner of the screen, the circular "hit and run" meter fills up when the character runs people over or destroys objects, and it will decrease when they cease doing so. When full, several police cars chase the character for the duration of the hit and run. Each level contains items the player can collect, such as coins, which can be used to buy new cars and outfits that are required to progress through the game. The player can also collect wasps strapped with cameras and Itchy and Scratchy cards. By collecting all 49 of the latter, seven in each level, the player unlocks a special The Itchy & Scratchy Show video. Several events can cause the player to lose coins; because the character cannot die, injuries cause the player to lose coins. If the player is close enough to police cars for a certain period of time when being chased, they will be fined fifty coins. Mysterious happenings are occurring in Springfield; a horde of robot wasps descend upon the city at the beginning of the game. After a tractor beam kidnaps Bart outside a stadium, Lisa attempts to find her brother by exploring the town for clues. She learns that the black sedans that have been appearing around town are connected to Bart's disappearance. Lisa eventually finds Bart on a ship in Springfield harbor. He appears to have memory loss and is mumbling unintelligibly while occasionally mentioning the sedans and Buzz Cola, the "new and improved" cola drink recently launched by television personality Krusty the Clown. Marge sets out to learn what has affected Bart. As she investigates a crop circle that recently appeared in Cletus Spuckler's crop field, Abraham Simpson tells Marge that the crop circle is an exact replica of the Buzz Cola logo. Marge gives a can of the cola to Bart, which snaps him out of his stupor. Bart reveals that the new Buzz Cola is a mind-control cola produced by aliens. Marge decides to purge Springfield of the cola, but in spite of her valiant efforts, the drink still maintains its popularity. Inspired by Marge's efforts and remorseful for selling the cola in the first place, Apu tries to discover the source of the cola. Snake Jailbird tells him that the cola trucks are registered to the Springfield Museum of Natural History. Apu and Bart decide to go inside the museum, where they find a meteor as the source of the cola. They eavesdrop on a conversation between aliens Kang and Kodos, who are masterminding a scheme. Apu and Bart learn that the wasp cameras are filming the antics of Springfield for an intergalactic reality show, Foolish Earthlings. The aliens are using the cola to make people insane, by which time Kang and Kodos will distribute laser guns among the populace to drive the town to a violent massacre sure to draw many viewers. Bart takes it upon himself to foil Kang and Kodos' plan. He asks Krusty for help, but Krusty informs Bart that he has already helped the Duff Brewery set up free laser gun stands around Springfield. Bart then goes to his father, Homer, for help, and the duo quickly pursue Kang and Kodos to the brewery. However, the aliens escape, and before departing, they reveal that they have already released Buzz Cola throughout Springfield's water supply. As the cola seeps into the ground, it releases the un-dead from the Springfield Cemetery, who invade Springfield. When Homer collects supplies to protect his family and home from the marauding zombies, he decides to pursue a black sports car—which he believes belong to the aliens—to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. The car, however, belongs to Professor Frink, who has discovered the aliens' weakness: nuclear waste. He plans to use the space ship's tractor beam to suck up cars that are loaded with drums of nuclear waste. After successfully loading Frink's car, along with three more, into the aliens' tractor beam, the ship explodes. The following day, Springfield is returned to normal. The game's developer, Radical Entertainment, received the rights to create games for The Simpsons franchise when they demonstrated a playable prototype. Radical released its first The Simpsons game in 2001 called The Simpsons Road Rage, a parody of the Crazy Taxi series of video games. After Road Rage was released, the development team for Hit & Run decided not to create a direct sequel to Road Rage. Instead, Radical wanted to steer the franchise's video game series in a different direction by giving the game engine a complete overhaul. The developers felt that everything else needed a new approach, while only the driving portion of Road Rage was worth keeping; in Hit & Run, enhanced traffic artificial intelligence is introduced, which makes computer-controlled vehicles react better to the player's driving. The developers also decided to add an exploration element to the game to make players get out of the car and navigate the area on foot, so that the game offered a better experience of Springfield. When developing the game's graphics, the team decided to include landmarks from Springfield. The player is able to enter some of them, including the Kwik-E-Mart, Moe's Tavern, Springfield Elementary School, and The Android's Dungeon and Baseball Card Shop. During Hit & Run's development, 20th Century Fox, Gracie Films, and Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, played important roles in bringing the Simpsons universe into a 3D environment. All character voices were supplied by the actual cast, and the series' writers wrote the entire story for the game, including dialogue. Tim Ramage, the associate producer of the game's publisher, Vivendi Universal Games, considered it a blessing to have the opportunity of working with the Simpsons cast, along with the writers, who Ramage called "the best there is [sic]". The game was released by Vivendi Universal for the Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Windows in the United States on September 16, 2003 and in Europe on October 24, 2003. Several reviews considered Hit & Run to be the best Simpsons game to date, and it was given generally favorable reviews, receiving an aggregated score of 81% from Metacritic for its Xbox version. Praise focused on the move from the Simpsons television series to the video game format, while criticism targeted some aspects of gameplay. Hit & Run won the award for Fave Video Game at the 2004 Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards. Over one million copies of the game were sold as of June 2004, and three million as of June 2007. A number of reviews complimented the transposition of the Simpsons television series to a video game. Game Informer and GameSpot commented on how well the game depicted the fictional city of Springfield from the television series, and called it the most accurate representation of Springfield ever put into a game. Official Xbox Magazine said that the game did the show justice, and Play Magazine felt that it was "essentially the show in real time", summing up its review by calling the game a "truly great cross-over product". GameSpot thought that the humor that the game offered included many excellent self-referential jokes, and TeamXbox concluded its review by predicting that the game would be extremely appealing to gamers, especially hardcore Simpsons fans. Entertainment newspaper Variety surmised that Hit & Run was the first Simpsons game to include humor comparable to what was in the television series. Hit & Run's parodical take on the Grand Theft Auto III video game was praised by several reviewers. It was considered to "deftly satirize Grand Theft Auto while being almost as entertaining" in a review by GameSpy, which suggested that Hit & Run improved several gameplay aspects that it borrowed from Grand Theft Auto, including instant mission restarts, a superior guidance system, and an easily accessible collection of vehicles. Official Xbox Magazine agreed that Hit & Run was an excellent game in its own right, and found the game to be a "brilliant" clone of Grand Theft Auto. The combination of the Simpsons universe with the gameplay of the Grand Theft Auto series was also praised by IGN as "pure brilliance". Positive reviews of Hit & Run focused on its graphics and gameplay. Play Magazine appreciated the virtual world that the game offered, describing it as "grandiose in its expanse and artistic rendering". GameSpot found the gameplay to be very engaging. The game was found to be "very fun and very funny" by Zach Meston of GameSpy, and Game Informer called it "nothing short of astonishing". Despite positive reactions, the game also had serious issues that were brought up in several reviews, which focused on the game's bugs and glitches. Both TeamXbox and Game Revolution pointed out that Hit & Run had a few gameplay issues and graphical shortcomings that included strange artificial intelligence behavior and a broken camera system, which they felt hindered the overall experience of the game.
|
|
|
Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 23:40:38 GMT -5
28. Suikoden III Suikoden III is a role-playing video game developed and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console, and the third installment in the Suikoden video game series. It was released in 2002 in Japan and North America, with a manga adaption published in 2004. Like other games in the series, Suikoden III features an intricate, detailed setting. The game's story is presented through the "Trinity Sight System"; rather than having only one "hero", the plot is explored through three different viewpoints, allowing events to be seen from multiple sides. There are three struggling factions in Suikoden III, each with their own divisions and politics, and there is no unambiguous "right" side. Hugo of the Karaya Clan is a Grasslander, Chris Lightfellow is a Knight of the merchant nation of Zexen, and Geddoe is a member of the Harmonian Southern Frontier Defense Force, keeping watch for the huge nation of Harmonia on the Grasslands area. The named "hero" chosen by the player at the beginning of the game is actually the Flame Champion, the Grassland leader who upheld the independence of the Grasslands against a Harmonian incursion decades ago. Unlike other Suikoden games, which generally feature a silent protagonist, the Flame Champion and the other main characters all have personalities and dialog. Suikoden III shares many elements with other role-playing video games. The player controls the current protagonist and travels with them around the world map, advancing the plot by completing tasks and talking with other characters. In towns, they can gather information, sharpen their weaponry, learn new skills, and buy equipment; wilderness areas generally feature random encounters with monsters. Aside from the main plot, after a certain point in each main character's chapters, they may recruit new characters to go to Budehuc castle. Recruiting a character often requires a short sidequest or other mission. Unlike Suikoden II and Suikoden V, Suikoden III has no "time limits" for character recruitment; assuming certain plot decisions are made "correctly," it is always possible to recruit all 108 Stars of Destiny. As in other RPGS, characters in Suikoden III possess a variety of statistics that determine in-game combat ability. However, characters can also learn specific skills; for instance, the "Parry" skill allows a character to defend against attacks more often, while other skills may increase damage output or hasten the casting of spells. Different characters have affinities for different skills, and their own maximum limit on the number of skills they can learn. Parties may consist of up to 6 characters who participate in combat and one "support" character who adds a special skill to the party, such as minor healing after battle. If all 6 characters lose all their hit points (and are thus incapacitated), it is game over and the player must restart. Exceptions exist for certain plot battles in which winning is optional; the player can lose and the plot continues on, albeit in a slightly different fashion. Battles in Suikoden III take place on a continuous field of battle, unlike the static front and back rows of earlier Suikodens. Characters are still aligned in rows at the onset of battle, but the front and back character in each row are controlled as a pair. For example, selecting to cast a rune spell with the character in the back row of the pair will cause the character in the front row to defend them while they are casting. On the other hand, choosing to attack will cause a character in the front row to move towards the enemy and strike. Runes, the primary source of magic in the world of Suikoden, are generally handled similarly to other Suikoden games. Characters have a certain number of spell usages per "spell level;" for instance, a character with 4 level 1 spell slots and a Water Rune could cast "Kindness Drops" (the level 1 Water Rune spell) 4 times. Other runes offer different benefits, and some may be used as often as desired. Since Suikoden III's combat takes place on a free movement field, some of the rune effects were reinterpreted from other games to strike areas. For example, some Fire rune effects that only struck enemies in earlier Suikoden games now strike a generalized area, meaning they could affect allies who moved in too close. The rune spells cause the caster to begin chanting. While in this state the character can be struck to slow or halt the casting time. The time required for chanting varies depending on the abilities of the character and the magnitude of the spell. At certain points in the game, armies clash and a strategic battle system is used, similar to those seen in military turn-based strategy games. These are set on a graph, a set of connected vertices. Certain places on the map offer special advantages for units occupying them, such as a defense bonus for a forest or castle ramparts, or automatic free healing for a base of operations. When attacking, units in other nodes adjoining the attacked space can aid, giving a bonus to the attack. When army units engage in combat (generally by one unit moving into a space occupied by a hostile unit), the standard Suikoden III battle system is used, albeit an extremely sped-up variety in which no orders are issued and characters act on a simple AI. Leaders can aid their army units with a variety of special abilities and rune magic. Each side also requires a strategist; the better the strategist, the more moves that side can take before their turn is over. Strategy battles end when the pre-set mission objectives are completed, generally either to take a node on the map for offensive missions, or to successfully hold a node or escape for defensive engagements. Alternatively, they can end in failure if a main character is defeated. Suikoden III also features a number of minigames, such as gambling on dice, card games, and horse racing. These minigames are generally accessible from Budehuc castle. Suikoden III is set in IS 475, roughly 16 in-game years after the events of Suikoden II. The game takes place in the diverse Grasslands region, an area to the northwest of Dunan from Suikoden II (which itself was to the north of the Toran area from Suikoden). Politically, the Grasslands are mostly controlled by the Six Clans, a loose coalition between the Karaya, Lizard, Duck, Chisha, Safir and Alma Kinan clans. The clans are considered rather backward and barbaric by neighboring powers, and the clans have comparatively smaller towns than the cities seen elsewhere in the Suikoden universe. On the western coast, the merchant nation of Zexen thrives. The Zexens were an ignored offshoot of the Grassland clans long ago, and have since grown to be powerful and independent. Their architecture, politics, and citizenry are similar to Renaissance Western European civilizations. To the east lie imposing mountains and eventually Harmonia, a gigantic and populous nation. Harmonia maintains outposts along the border, notably the submissive, conquered town of Le Buque, formerly a clan from the Grasslands, and the trading citadel Caleria. All magic in the world of Suikoden comes from Runes. Any person can have a rune inscribed on them, although some people are more talented in their use, and others can inscribe more than one rune (with three as the general maximum). In turn, all power from individual carved runes ultimately descends from the 27 True Runes, which created the world in Suikoden's mythology. Bearers of a True Rune gain tremendous power and do not age; these Runes are thus hotly contested. Around 50 years prior to the start of Suikoden III, Harmonia attempted to extend its control over the Grasslands, and eventually invaded. Resistance was fierce, and eventually a successful leader known as the Flame Champion emerged from among the clans who was said to bear the True Fire Rune. His followers—considered bandits by the Harmonians—raided the Harmonians constantly and became known as the Fire Bringer. Eventually, a titanic clash was fought between the combined armies of the Grasslands and Harmonia. In it, the Flame Champion unleashed the full power of the True Fire Rune, and both sides suffered tremendous casualties in the resulting raging fire. The battle was a draw, but Harmonia withdrew nevertheless, unwilling to pay any more lives for the land, and a truce was signed. The Trinity Sight System contains three chronological chapters per character. Players have the ability to switch characters and point of view after the end of each chapter. Hugo is the son of Lucia, the chief of the Karaya Clan. He is sent to visit the Zexen capital to deliver a truce offer for the Clans, who had been clashing against Zexen recently. The visit goes wrong, and Hugo is forced to flee back to Karaya, only to find it in flames. His childhood friend, Lulu, is then slain by Chris Lightfellow. Eager for revenge and to help defend the Clans, Hugo travels the Grasslands, eventually reuniting with the other Karayans in exile at the Lizard Clan's Great Hollow. He learns from Lilly Pendragon of the Flame Champion's story, and eventually seeks out the Flame Champion for aid with the Clans set upon by both the Zexens and, in Chisha village, the Harmonians. Chris Lightfellow is the Acting Captain of the Zexen Knights. Respected and revered as a hero, she is known as the 'Silver Maiden'. While she is dedicated to protecting her country and people, Chris finds herself increasingly frustrated with the Zexen Council, disagreeing with their methods. This dilemma only worsens as the conflict with the Grassland clans increases. Chris commands the Zexen forces against the Grassland clans early in the game, fighting them at the botched truce agreement, the Karaya village (where she kills Hugo's friend Lulu), and the Lizard's Great Hollow. At Iksay Village, where she helps fend off a combined assault by the Lizard and Karaya clans, she finds that her missing and assumed dead father Wyatt may still be alive. She sets off on a personal journey throughout the Grasslands to find him and whatever traces she can as to the nature of recent events. In doing so, Chris also comes to meet and learn more of the people she has been fighting. Geddoe is the reserved and enigmatic leader of the Twelfth Harmonian Southern Fringe Defense Force Unit, a band of mercenaries under the employ of Harmonia. He is charged with investigating rumors of the resurgence of the Fire Bringer. As a somewhat neutral observer on the Zexen - Grassland conflict, Geddoe and his band see several of the more provocative moments, such as the inexplicable attack by the Zexens on the Great Hollow, the assassination of the Lizard clan chief, and the burning of Karaya village by the Zexens. Despite Harmonia's orders, Geddoe has his own agenda; he is especially suspicious of a new bishop of Harmonia who always wears a mask. Eventually Geddoe is ordered to look for the True Fire Rune itself, a rather easy task for him. Geddoe is in truth the bearer of the True Lightning Rune and was a personal companion of the Flame Champion from 50 years ago. He travels to the True Fire Rune in order to defend the Grasslands once more. Despite his knowledge of history and events, Geddoe does not often divulge his information, preferring to remain enigmatic. Likewise, the members of his team have generally left their pasts behind and use aliases. Geddoe's chapters are also somewhat unique in that his team changes very little; after saving and recruiting the Karayan Aila, Geddoe's 5 companions stick together, unlike the other chapters in which characters join and leave often. At the end of each character's Chapter 3, they meet at the Flame Champion's hideout. Up until the end of Chapter 3, it is assumed by Hugo (and some players) that the Flame Champion was still alive and would now join the group. However, the Flame Champion is not at the hideout; his elderly wife Sana is. The Flame Champion is dead, as he chose to give up his True Rune and age with his wife. At this point, a new Flame Champion is chosen from among the three protagonists by the player. In canon and the manga, Hugo becomes the Flame Champion, though it is emphasized that this "destiny" is not fixed. Afterward, the "Destroyer" forces seen in the background earlier attack to claim the True Fire Rune themselves, and the masked bishop is revealed to be Luc from the earlier Suikoden games. Despite Luc's True Wind Rune, the Destroyers are deterred by protections the old Flame Champion left in his hideout. At the onset of Chapter 4, the Harmonian army attacks in force. The new Flame Champion must rally the feuding Grassland and Zexen forces together in a fighting retreat against the larger and better trained Harmonian army. After retreating from the Chisha and Duck clan villages, the unified army makes its stand at the fortified Brass Castle and stops the Harmonian advance. The new Flame Champion may also (at the player's choice) take up the old Flame Champion's name. As Brass Castle is a Zexen stronghold, the unified army decides to make its new base at the more neutral Budehuc Castle, suggested by its master Thomas. Budehuc may also be renamed. Afterward, both Luc's Destroyers and the new Fire Bringer advance to the Sindar Ruins where the True Water Rune is sealed. There, its bearer Jimba — in truth, Wyatt Lightfellow, Chris's father and companion of Geddoe and the original Flame Champion — is slain, and the rune passed on to either Chris or Hugo (if Chris is the Flame Champion). In Chapter 5, Luc's political scheme evaporates as he engages in his real plan- to steal all the elemental True Runes himself, and use their combined power to destroy his own True Rune that has dominated his destiny. With the aid of Sarah and a series of traps, Luc successfully claims the True Lightning, Fire, and Water runes from the protagonists. He also steals his supposed ally Sasarai's True Earth Rune, guaranteeing Harmonian support against the Destroyers. Though increasingly exhausted, Sarah is still able to summon large quantities of magical monsters to serve as a surrogate army. A second assault against Brass Castle is repulsed by the unified army, and the monster army is chased to the Ceremonial Site, where Luc intends to focus the energies of the True Runes into destroying his Rune. There, the other True Runes are reclaimed, and though Luc defeats Sasarai in a duel, the incarnation of the True Wind Rune which gave Luc his haunting visions is defeated. Other views There are three optional viewpoints in addition to the mandatory ones. * Thomas, a young minor noble from the northern lands, has two chapters which become available once his castle is visited by the other main characters. After a visit from his illegitimate son Thomas, the Zexen Council member Lowma desires to rid himself of the embarrassment by appointing Thomas as master of the poor and rundown Budehuc castle. To revitalize the castle, Thomas decides to rent out land to potential store owners in order to earn money and promote commerce. With the help of the castle's staff, Thomas travels and recruits Stars of Destiny. However, flouting the Zexen regulations eventually brings trouble upon Budehuc. If the Thomas chapters are not completed by the time the third chapter for each other character has completed, they become unavailable, and Thomas and his acquaintances join the Stars of Destiny in Chapter 4. * Koroku, a dog, has a short chapter intended for humor. Koroku can listen in to other characters within the castle and eavesdrop, occasionally hearing some interesting dialogue. * Luc is the main antagonist of the game. If all 108 Stars of Destiny are recruited before the end of the game, then Luc's scenario may be seen, showing his band's plotting and scheming throughout the game. It is speculated that Sasarai was intended to have an optional chapter as well, due to the fact that all the True Rune holders in the game would then have a chapter. The Sasarai chapter would presumably have replaced Koroku's short chapter. Suikoden III was developed by the same team as Suikoden II, for the most part. In June 2002, just a month before its release, some of Suikoden III's team left Konami, including series creator Yoshitaka Murayama. Programmer Keiichi Isobe took over as Senior Director after Murayama's departure. With the removal of Murayama and the other's names from the end-credits, fans speculated that a case of corporate meddling had caused him to leave, but Murayama himself denies this and claims their relations remain amicable, and that the omission of credits were due to a Konami company policy of not crediting former employees. The opening video sequence for Suikoden III was developed and produced by the team responsible for animating the Suikogaiden games; following the second Suikogaiden game's completion, the Suikogaiden team and Suikoden III team merged and went on to develop Suikoden IV and Suikoden V. The music to Suikoden III was composed by Michiru Yamane, Keiko Fukami, and Masahiko Kimura. The vocal to the opening track "Ai wo Koete" (usually translated as "Exceeding Love" or "Transcending Love") was performed by Himekami. The soundtrack was released on 2 CDs on July 24, 2002 as Genso Suikoden III Original Soundtrack. Miki Higashino, who had composed the main Suikoden themes and most of the music in the first two games, did not participate in the soundtrack, which explains the noticeable difference in style from the earlier soundtracks. On September 11, 2002, Genso Suikoden III Collection ~Rustling Wind~ was released, featuring 10 tracks from the game with new arrangements. The arrangement was done by a group calling themselves "bosque aroma" that consisted of Shusei Murai, Jiro Okada, and Mantell Nonoda. By the end of 2002, 377,729 copies of Suikoden III were sold in Japan. American sales were 190,000 copies in total. Konami did not release Suikoden III in PAL territories. A European version was announced but cancelled a few months before release, allegedly due to problems with the conversion tools. Konami's policy at that time was that all PAL games had to be fully translated to the respective languages and that only releasing the game in English was not an option. Petitions to change Konami's decision on the matter were unsuccessful. Critical response to Suikoden III was very positive, making it the most critically acclaimed entry in the series. GameSpot said that it "had the makings of a classic" and that "the plot is more mature than that of the average 'bad guy threatens to destroy the world' RPG"; its only criticism was that "apart from the striking theme accompanying the opening movie, the music is largely unremarkable." IGN's reviewer said that the game was "as close to perfection as I could have hoped. An easy recommendation to any and all RPG fans regardless of their dedication." The game won both GameSpot and IGN's RPG of the Year for 2002. In 2007, IGN awarded Suikoden III the 24th spot on their Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time retrospective list, and later in 2010 it was awarded the 47th spot on IGN's Top 100 Playstation 2 games. Negative reviews tended to fall into two camps. Some, such as Official PlayStation Magazine's review, felt that the game dragged too much: "With each chapter I became more discouraged by the lack of action and the overwhelming amounts of story thrust upon me... Suikoden III forces you to spend so much time weaving in and out of the different storylines that you barely have time to enjoy any combat." Others were from some fans of the first two Suikodens who felt that Suikoden III had tampered too much with what they enjoyed of the first two games. An 11-volume manga series based on Suikoden III by Aki Shimizu was published by Tokyopop in 2004 in North America. There was also a small amount of merchandising done with the three main characters, who had figurines of them released in the Japan-only Suikoden Figurine collection by Yamato Toys. Brady Games was commissioned by Konami to write the official U.S. strategy guide for release in the U.S. The guide was co-authored by IGN.com's Jeremy Dunham and Brady's own Laura Parkinson, but due to undisclosed reasons, it was never published.
|
|