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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 23:43:56 GMT -5
27. Sly 2: Band of Thieves Sly 2: Band of Thieves is a platform stealth video game developed by Sucker Punch and published by Sony Computer Entertainment released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2. This title is a sequel to the game Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus and part of the Sly Cooper video game series. The sequel has a variety of changes, particularly in level design; the ultimate goal is to acquire the Clockwerk parts, one of which can be found per "world". Sly 2 features a health meter for characters such as Sly, Bentley and Murray, replacing the "charm system" of the first game. It also now takes several attacks to defeat local guards. Other changes include missions where the player controls not Sly, but Bentley or Murray, who are given their own unique skills and are able to do much more than in the previous game. However, Sly remains the central focus and character despite these changes to character roles. Skills can be unlocked by opening safes in each world, as the previous game allowed (collecting clue bottles), but skills are also acquired by collecting coins and purchasing them from safehouses via Thiefnet. A demo of this game was included in Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Music for the game was composed by Peter McConnell. On November 9, 2010, Sly 2: Band of Thieves was released on PlayStation 3 as part of The Sly Collection, which was released onto PSN on November 29, 2011. Sly 2: Band of Thieves brings several new gameplay elements into the fold. In addition to Sly, the player can play as Bentley the Turtle and Murray the Hippo. Bentley follows a more cloak and dagger approach to stealth. He can't climb poles or jump very far but he is equipped with a sleeper dart crossbow and countdown bombs to subdue and defeat enemies one-by-one or sabotage enemy equipment. Bentley can use his computer skills to hack villains' computers, bringing the player to a top-down shooter-like mini-game. Murray is much more direct. His brute strength allows him to take on groups of strong enemies by himself with powerful hooks and upper cuts. He can pick up objects and enemies to throw around and his "thunder flop" attack can stun and destroy enemies. His strength allows him to help the gang with heavy duty tasks. Each character now has a health bar and a special bar. Health is diminished every time the character gets attacked, hits a hazard, etc. If it is depleted entirely the player must restart any current mission and respawn at another location. The orange special bar depletes whenever a character uses a gadget move (some gadgets don't require special use). If it hits zero, manual gadgets moves can not be used. Some gadgets must be purchased in order to complete certain missions. Both of these bars (health and gadget) can be refilled by finding red "health" icons by breaking objects or destroying enemies. Missions are now connected to a main hub of the location Sly and the Gang are operating. A safehouse located in the hub is where the player can choose which character to use and get away from pursuing guards. This hub can range from a city to a lumber camp in the wilderness. Enemies patrol around this area although its usually a secluded spot, and there are no objectives until a character arrives at a mission beacon. Another new feature is pickpocketing (Sly only). When Sly sneaks up behind an enemy, he can reach out with his cane and grab coins out of their money pouch. The coins come in clusters, and they go directly to Sly's coin count. He does not need to pick them up. If there is an aura around an enemy's coin pouch, they are carrying an expensive item (i.e. Ruby, diamond, gold watch, etc.). Once Sly gets all of their coins, he can grab the enemy's item and sell it later back at the safehouse. Most powerups and extra moves are now bought from the safehouse instead of safes. Using collected coins, Sly can buy powerups from an in-game online store (Thiefnet) for each character. Sly's powerups focus on stealth, Murray's on power, and Bentley's on gadgets. Most powerups need to be assigned to a button, but some give a constant effect. Items stolen from guards can be sold for money in the safehouse to help fund upgrades. Special upgrades and moves can be found after a number of clue bottles are found in the main hub and a hidden safe is unlocked with the code. Certain valuables can be found around the field and can be stolen and then sold at the safehouse for a large amount of money; these valuables range from portraits to vases, etc. The game also makes use of the PlayStation 2's optional USB microphone allowing the player to use the sound of their voice to distract and attract in-game enemies. This in turn adds a new twist to the stealth elements, as the player has to refrain from noises such as talking or coughing or risk creating in-game noise. Two years have passed since Sly Cooper defeated Clockwerk. The game begins with Sly, Bentley and Murray breaking into the museum of natural history in Cairo, in order to steal and destroy the Clockwerk parts, so that the threat will never return. After going smoothly, the heist is suddenly ruined, as it appears that the Clockwerk parts have already been stolen. Carmelita Fox appears and accuses Sly of stealing the parts, but her new assistant, Constable Neyla suggests that the Cooper Gang isn't actually behind it, and that it resembles a "Klaww Gang" job. After a quick getaway, they start their research about the mysterious Klaww Gang, and begin to pursue them. The first Klaww Gang member is Dimitri, a misunderstood artist who now owns a nightclub in Paris. Dimitri uses the Clockwerk tail feathers for money printing. After a series of jobs, Sly defeats Dimitri and steals the feathers. Dimitri is arrested by Carmelita and Sly and the gang escape. The second Klaww Gang member is Rajan, a powerful Indian "spice lord" who is in possession of the Clockwerk wings and heart. After obtaining the wings, Rajan flees with the heart into the jungle. Obtaining the heart results in a fight where Sly and Murray get trapped, and arrested along with Rajan by the Contessa, who runs a prison center of hypnosis in Prague. Bentley immediately heads for the prison, where he finds out that the Contessa is really a secret Klaww Gang member who hypnotizes prisoners to tell her where their loot is. He then manages to break Sly out and, after a series of jobs, they free Murray. After a break, they pursue the Contessa to her castle estate where, despite the small war between her and Neyla, they steal Clockwerk's eyes from the Contessa and she is arrested by Neyla. After surviving the nightmare in Prague, the gang traces the spice sendings from Rajan and head north to Canada. Here, they find another Klaww Gang member, Jean Bison, who was once frozen down during the 19th century, but brought back to life due to global warming. The gang has to steal the Clockwerk's stomach and lungs from Jean, who uses them as machine parts for his trains. After stealing all the parts, the gang escape from the scene. The gang then follows Jean Bison to a wasteland of chopped trees, where he has a sawmill. On this location, he hides the Clockwerk talons, using them to cut down trees. The gang challenge him to a series of competitions known as the Lumber Jack Games, in which they cheat. Bison discovers this and they are put into custody. Jean later tells them that he found the Clockwerk parts in their safehouse and sold them all to the last Klaww Gang member Arpeggio, in addition to forcing the judges to give him perfect 10s during the competition under the line of threat (which was why he always won). With help from Sly, Bentley defeats Jean Bison in a fight, where the area is covered with traps that Sly controls on Bentley's command. Murray manages to make an exit, and they all rush to hide inside the Northern Light battery, which is lifted up to Arpeggio's giant air fortress. Jean is later arrested and jailed, though it is not shown. Aboard the air fortress, Sly infiltrates the main blimp where the Clockwerk parts are being reassembled, and finds that Neyla has been working directly for Arpeggio. Confronting Arpeggio, Sly discovers that Arpeggio has converted his blimp into an enormous transmitter which will unleash a hypnotic light show of hate over Paris and (with its population having been made susceptible to hypnosis, courtesy of Dimitri feeding spice to the entire city), the lights will cause an enormous wellspring of hatred which Arpeggio will channel into the Clockwerk frame with him inside it, causing him to become immortal. Suddenly, right before Arpeggio enters the Clockwerk frame, Neyla pushes Arpeggio aside, entering the frame herself. She kills Arpeggio, names herself Clock-La, and flies off. The gang starts disabling the airship's engines to weaken Clock-La. They then send a signal to Carmelita who has agreed to help them, and she arrives in a helicopter. They engage in a final shootout with Clock-La, who then crashes into the airship's main engine and shatters the fortress and takes the Northern Light Battery which Bentley and Murray are inside it. Sly makes his way back to the Northern Light Battery after the fortress collapses. Sly beats Clock-La, and they crash land in Paris. Clock-La is then unable to move. Murray opens up Clock-La's head, so that Bentley can finish her by planting bombs around her hologram head and then remove the hate chip, the center of Clockwerk's power. On his way out of the mouth, Clockwerk's beak falls down and crushes his legs. Murray saves him, but Bentley is unable to walk for the rest of his life. The gang makes a quick exit as Clockwerk's body explodes. Carmelita arrives in her helicopter and puts the gang under arrest, but not before destroying the hate chip, causing Clockwerk's parts to age and decay, destroying him forever and killing Neyla. Sly turns himself in, in return for letting his friends go because they're in no shape of making a fast getaway, and Carmelita accepts. During the helicopter ride to the station, Sly and Carmelita start getting more friendly and start talking about their previous adventures and personal likings, which Sly considered a first date. The conversation ends abruptly when Carmelita finds out the flight has lasted more than two hours than only a few minutes. Sly says he kind of figured since they flown past The Eiffel Tower seventeen times. Carmelita goes to the front of the chopper to inspect, only to find that Sly's friends rigged the chopper's controls, leaving enough time for Sly to parachute out. Sly then says that he could hear Carmelita yell "I'll find you Cooper". As the ending credits role, the statuses of the Klaww Gang members are shown. It is also pointed out that Sly's whereabouts are still unknown and that Carmelita is still searching for him. The game received very positive reviews from numerous publications. Its varied gameplay, intricate story and unique graphics were praised, but criticised for its lack of difficulty and length when compared to other platformers. 9.2 out of 10 from IGN. A from 1Up.com. 8.4 out of 10 from GameSpot. It was awarded IGN's editor's choice award and GameSpy placed the game as #23 on their list of best PlayStation 2 games of all time. In the second Contessa level there are several gravestones in the graveyard that read 'R.I.P. Rocket'.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 8, 2012 23:57:57 GMT -5
26. Silent Hill 2 Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror video game published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and developed by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. The second installment in the Silent Hill series, the game was released in September 2001; an extended version of it was released for the Xbox in December of the same year as Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams in North America and Silent Hill 2: Inner Fears in Europe, and for the PlayStation 2 in 2002 as Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut, with a port of Director's Cut to Microsoft Windows released in December 2002. Silent Hill 2 has been re-released multiple times, including under the Greatest Hits label and as part of The Silent Hill Collection, while a remastered high-definition version of it was released for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 on March 20, 2012. While set in the series' multiverse, which consists of reality and an alternate dimension whose form is based on the series' eponymous fictional American town, Silent Hill 2 is not a direct sequel to the first Silent Hill game. Instead, it centers on James Sunderland, who enters the town after receiving a letter written by his deceased wife, saying she is waiting for him in their "special place" in Silent Hill. Joined by Maria, who strongly resembles her, he searches for her and discovers the truth about her death. Additional material in re-releases and ports included Born from a Wish, a sub-scenario which focuses on Maria before she and James meet. Silent Hill 2 uses a third-person view and gameplay places a greater emphasis on finding items and solving riddles than combat. Psychological aspects such as the gradual disappearance of Mary's letter were added to the game. More humanoid than their counterparts in the preceding game, some of the monsters were designed as a reflection of James' subconscious. Real-life references to history, films and literary works can also be found in the game. Silent Hill 2 was positively received by the audience and critics. Within the month of its release in North America, Japan, and Europe, over one million copies were sold, with the greatest sales in North America. English-language critics praised the atmosphere, graphics, story and monster designs of Silent Hill 2, but criticized the controls as difficult to use. Silent Hill 2 appeared on several critics' top lists for its story and use of metaphors, psychological horror and taboo topics. The objective of Silent Hill 2 is to guide the player character, James Sunderland, through the monster-filled town of Silent Hill as he searches for his deceased wife. The game features a third-person view, with various camera angles. The default control for Silent Hill 2 has James moving in the direction that he is facing when the player tilts the analog stick upwards. Silent Hill 2 does not use a heads-up display; to check James' health, location, and items, the player must enter the pause-game menu to review his status. Throughout the game, James collects maps, which can only be read if there is sufficient light or when his flashlight is on. He also updates relevant maps to reflect locked doors, clues, and obstructions, and writes down the content of all documents for future reference. Much of the gameplay consists of navigating the town and finding keys or other items to bypass doors or other obstructions, with less focus on killing enemies. Occasionally puzzles will be presented, often with riddles left for the player to interpret.[8] The difficulty levels of the enemies and the puzzles are determined independently by the player before starting the game. James keeps a radio with him, which alerts him to the presence of creatures by emitting static, allowing him to detect them even through the thick fog. He also tilts his head in the direction of a nearby item or monster. For combat, he finds three melee weapons and three firearms over the course of the game, with another two melee weapons unlocked during replays. "Health" restoratives and ammunition can be found throughout the game. While not a direct sequel to the events and characters of the first Silent Hill game, Silent Hill 2 takes place in the series' namesake town, located in the northeastern United States. Silent Hill 2 is set in another area of the town, and explores some of Silent Hill's backstory. The town draws upon the psyche of its visitors and ultimately forms alternative versions of the town, which differ depending on the character. The concept behind the town was "a small, rural town in America"; to make the setting more realistic, some buildings and rooms lack furnishings. James Sunderland is the protagonist of the main scenario of Silent Hill 2, titled Letter from Silent Heaven. He comes to the town after receiving a letter from his wife Mary (Monica Taylor Horgan), who died of an illness three years ago. While exploring the town, he encounters Maria (Monica Taylor Horgan), who strongly resembles Mary except for a different personality and clothing; Angela Orosco (Donna Burke), a 19-year-old runaway on a search for her mother; Eddie Dombrowski (David Schaufele); and Laura (Jacquelyn Brekenridge), an eight-year-old who has met and befriended Mary. After arriving in Silent Hill, James decides to search a local park, where he meets Maria, who claims that she has never met or seen Mary and, as she is scared, he allows her to follow him. While looking for Laura inside a hospital, James and Maria are ambushed by the monster Pyramid Head, and Maria is killed by him just as James escapes; He resumes his task of finding Mary, and chooses to search a local hotel, where he and Mary spent their vacation. On the way, James finds Maria alive and unharmed in a locked room. She claims ignorance to their previous encounter and discusses elements of James and Mary's past that only Mary would know. James then sets off to find a way to release Maria from the room and eventually returns to find her dead again. Later on, he rescues Angela from a monster; she confesses that her father used to sexually abuse her, and a newspaper clipping James can find implies she killed him in self-defense before coming to Silent Hill. He also confronts Eddie, who admits to maiming a bully and killing a dog before fleeing to Silent Hill; Attacked by Eddie, James kills him in self-defense. At the hotel, James locates a videotape which depicts him killing his dying wife. At this point in the game, the letter from Mary vanishes from the envelope. In another room, a final meeting with Angela sees her giving up on life and unable to cope with her guilt any longer. She walks into a fire and is not seen again. James later encounters two Pyramid Heads, along with an alive Maria, who is killed again. James realizes that Pyramid Head was created because he needed someone to punish him. The envelope from Mary disappears and both Pyramid Heads commit suicide. James heads to the hotel's rooftop; depending on choices made by the player throughout the game, he encounters either Mary or Maria disguised as her. Silent Hill 2 features six endings, all presented as equally possible; Konami has kept their canonicity ambiguous. In "Leave", James has one last meeting with Mary, reads her letter and leaves the town with Laura, while "In Water" sees James commit suicide; in "Rebirth", James plans to resurrect Mary using objects collected throughout the game. The "Maria" ending sees Mary as the woman on the rooftop, who has not forgiven James for killing her. After her defeat, James dismisses her as a hallucination and then leaves the town with an alive Maria, who starts coughing. The other two are joke endings available on replay games: in the first, called "Dog", James discovers that a dog has apparently been controlling all the events of the game, and the second sees James be abducted by extraterrestrials with the help of the first game's protagonist, Harry Mason. Born from a Wish is a side-story scenario in the special editions and re-releases of the game in which the player takes control of Maria shortly before she and James meet at Silent Hill. After waking up in the town with a gun and contemplating suicide, she resolves to find someone. She eventually encounters a local mansion, where she hears the voice of its owner, Ernest Baldwin. Ernest refuses to let Maria into the room where he is and will only talk to her through its closed door. After Maria completes tasks for him, Ernest warns her about James, whom he describes as a "bad man". After Maria opens the door to Ernest's room and finds it empty, she leaves the mansion. At the conclusion of the scenario, Maria contemplates suicide, but ultimately resolves to find James. Silent Hill 2 was developed by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. The story was conceived by CGI director Takayoshi Sato who based it on the novel Crime and Punishment, with individual members of the team collaborating on the actual scenario. The main writing was done by Hiroyuki Owaku and Sato, the latter of which provided the dialog for the female characters. Silent Hill 2's budget has been estimated at US$7–10 million by Sato, in contrast to the previous installment's estimated one of US$3–5 million. The decision to produce a sequel to Silent Hill was partly a financial one, as it had been commercially successful, and partly a creative one, as the team had faced difficulties while working on the game. Producer Akihiro Imamura read all comments about the original game and kept them in mind when working on Silent Hill 2. He estimated that a total of fifty people worked on the game: while the creative team from the first game remained, they had to bring in thirty people from Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. Developed at the same time, the PlayStation 2 version of Silent Hill 2 and its Xbox port debuted at the March 2001 Tokyo Game Show to positive reaction. Silent Hill 2 shared the same atmosphere of psychological horror as the first Silent Hill game. As the developers already had a rough sense of the game's environment, they focused on the game's plot first, in contrast to the process of the first game. The hardware of the PlayStation 2 allowed the developers to create improved fog and shadow special effects; for example, as a monster approaches the player character, its shadow cast on the wall by the flashlight grows. When dealing with the camera angles of the game, the team struggled with a balance between those that stayed true to the creative vision and those that did not hamper gameplay. Psychological elements, such as the gradual disappearance of Mary's letter and symbolic holes, were incorporated into the game. The team wanted Silent Hill 2's protagonist to "reflect [the] evil," against which the protagonist of the first game battles. For the art style of the game, the team drew on a variety of influences: the work of film directors David Cronenberg, David Fincher, David Lynch, and Alfred Hitchcock, along with films similar to the 1990 psychological thriller/horror film Jacob's Ladder and painters such as Francis Bacon, Rembrandt, and Andrew Wyeth. Early in the project, they studied the 1996 video game Tomb Raider's creation of 3D environments. Other influences on the game included the 1992 survival horror video game Alone in the Dark, the first Silent Hill game, and the Japanese comic Whirr by Morohashi. When working on the character designs, Sato and his team sketched human faces and various expressions. To gain a better sense of the characters' facial structures, they drew the characters' profiles from various angles, before creating wire-frame models, each consisting of six thousand polygons; they then completed the model with textures. Data for the character animation was taken through motion capture, and using Softimage, they animated the characters. Masahiro Ito designed the monsters of Silent Hill 2; "soured flesh" was the concept behind their appearance. The monsters were also to incorporate "an element of humanity." For the most part, the monsters reflect the subconscious of the protagonist; for example, the monster Pyramid Head was based on the executioners of the town's fictional history and is intended to be a punisher for James. Two exceptions to this theme are the "Abstract Daddy", a reflection of the subconscious and memories of Angela, and the "Creepers", which are also seen in the first game. Silent Hill 2 also incorporates some references to real-life events. In the original scenario, the developers designed Maria and James with double personalities: Maria's other personality was "Mary", a reference to Mary Jane Kelly, Jack the Ripper's last victim, while James' was "Joseph", a reference to one of the Jack the Ripper suspects. Eddie Dombrowski's name was taken from actor Eddie Murphy back during the beginning phases of production when Eddie was originally designed with a pleasantly optimistic personality. The name of Angela Orosco was derived from Angela Bennett, the name of the protagonist in the 1995 film The Net, and Laura's from the 1970 novel No Language But a Cry by Richard D'Ambrosio. The developers satirized guns in American society by allowing James to find a handgun in a shopping cart. There are also indications that the layout of Silent Hill has been based on the town of San Bruno, California, to a certain extent. Akira Yamaoka composed the music of Silent Hill 2. At his home, Yamaoka took three days to write the music for "Theme of Laura", the main theme of Silent Hill 2, by combining "a sad melody" and "a strong beat", although he does not consider a melody to be the "most important" element of a music piece. He wanted to evoke emotion from the player with the music. Silent Hill 2 makes extensive use of sound effects ranging from screams to footsteps on broken glass. In charge of the game's fifty sound effects, Yamaoka wanted to surprise the player with different sounds and create an unsettling environment. He also incorporated occasional silence, commenting that "selecting moments of silence is another way of producing sound." Konami published Silent Hill 2 Original Soundtrack in Japan on October 3, 2001. Eight tracks ("Theme of Laura", "Null Moon", "Love Psalm", "True", "Promise", "Fermata in Mistic Air", "Laura Plays the Piano" and "Overdose Delusion") appeared in the 2006 PlayStation Portable release The Silent Hill Experience. At the 2006 Play! A Video Game Symphony concert in Chicago, Illinois, Yamaoka performed music from the series with a full-size orchestra; among the pieces performed was "Theme of Laura". Silent Hill 2 was first released for the PlayStation 2 in North America on September 24, 2001, in Japan on September 27, 2001, and in Europe on November 23, 2001. The original European edition also included a second disc: a "Making-of" DVD video featuring trailers, an artwork gallery and a documentary on the title's development. The revised version of the game was ported back to the PS2 and billed as a director's cut under both the "Greatest Hits" and "Platinum" labels depending on location. In 2006, Konami re-released Silent Hill 2 with its indirect PS2 sequels, Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4: The Room, as The Silent Hill Collection and again in 2009. Silent Hill HD Collection, a compilation of remastered high-definition editions of Silent Hill 2 and 3, released for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 on March 20, 2012; it also contains new voice actors for the characters of both games, along with the option in Silent Hill 2 to listen to the original ones. Ports of the game were also published. Konami released the Xbox port in North America on December 20, 2001, in Japan on February 22, 2002, and in Europe on October 14, 2002. Each region had a different subtitle: the Xbox port was subtitled Saigo no Uta in Japan, Restless Dreams in North America, and Inner Fears in Europe. Creature Labs ported Silent Hill 2 to the PC, which Konami released in December 2002. The PC port is equivalent to the Xbox port and the PS2 budget versions, and includes Born from a Wish and the extra ending. Added features included the ability to quicksave, and trailers for Silent Hill 3. Silent Hill 2 was positively received, selling over one million copies in the month of its release in North America, Japan and Europe, with the most units sold in North America. Critical reaction to the game was generally favorable. Rating aggregation site Game Rankings shows an average rating of 85.77% for the PS2 version, 82.40% for the Xbox version, and 71.30% for the PC version. Rating aggregation site Metacritic shows an average rating of 89 out of 100 for the PS2 version, 84 out of 100 for the Xbox version, and 70 out of 100 for the PC version. Silent Hill 2 has received praise from video game journalists at the time of its release and in retrospect. Andy Greenwald of Spin magazine praised it as a frightening, though "restrained" game. Jon Thompson of Allgame stated: "Silent Hill 2 feels a bit rushed, and although it might not live up to the dizzying horror of the first game, it packs enough of its own punch to make it a worthy sequel." IGN's Doug Perry wrote: "It's frightening, deep, clever, and tries to improve the genre, if just a little, and in the end, that's all I really want in a survival horror game." Joe Fielder of GameSpot concluded, "Silent Hill 2 is a much prettier, somewhat smarter but less-compelling game than the original." In Replay: The History of Video Games (2010), Tristian Donovan described Silent Hill 2 as the "high point" of the series. In a retrospective article on the survival horror genre, IGN writer Jim Sterling praised the game's plot as "one of the finest examples of narrative construction in gaming to this day." In another retrospective article on survival horror, fellow IGN writer Travis Fahs credited the game as a factor in the "short-lived period of renewed interest in horror games." The graphics and atmosphere of Silent Hill 2 received praise from reviewers, who highlighted the smooth transitions from computer-generated (CG) to in-game cutscenes and the sense of claustrophobia caused by the fog. On the other hand, Thompson felt that the grainy image effects and dense fog hid the details of the environment, while Fielder wrote that the exterior environments "rarely push the PlayStation 2's graphical capabilities". Character animation was considered realistic by reviewers, though James' animation in the CG sometimes appeared "marionette"-like, according to Perry. The voice acting received mixed responses from reviewers divided over whether it was well done with an improved script, or hampered by the script. Reviewers enjoyed the monster designs, although some found the monsters less frightening due to the abundance of ammunition, and easily avoided. Reviewers found the camera, though improved, still difficult when battling monsters which hung from the ceiling—concerns echoed by reviewers of the PC version. The soundtrack and sound effects were considered by reviewers to be effective in creating suspense, though Thompson considered them sometimes "a bit forced and contrived". The puzzles were generally seen as not overly challenging by reviewers, though Thompson found them generally easy and GameSpy's David Hodgeson wrote that they were sometimes illogical. Less well-received was the combat, criticized for its lack of challenge and easily defeated monsters and bosses. Reactions to the Xbox port were also positive. Reviewers have written that the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were mostly similar, except for the Born from a Wish side-scenario found on the Xbox version. Eurogamer's Kristan Reed called Born from a Wish "more like a demo than anything", while Fielder described it as "a commendable extra". Both felt that it could be completed in around an hour and did not add much to the game. The PC port, in contrast, received mixed reaction. Allen Rausch of GameSpy considered the PC port overall to be " fantastic translation of Konami's stylish and scary survival-horror game". IGN's Ivan Sulic advised against playing the game with the keyboard, and rated the game "Great". Conversely, Ron Dulin, another reviewer for GameSpot, wrote: "Not even the game's foggy atmosphere is thick enough to hide Silent Hill 2's problems." Silent Hill 2 appeared on several critics' lists for its story and use of metaphors, psychological horror, and taboo topics. It ranked 1st on X-Play's list of the "Scariest Games of All Time" in 2006. IGN listed it as one of the five best horror video games created after 2000 in 2009, and one of the twentieth greatest PlayStation 2 game of all time. Additionally in 2010, IGN ranked it as 54th in its "Top 100 PS2 games". In 2008, GamesRadar placed it on its list of the fifteen "Best Videogame Stories Ever", describing it as "a punishing tale not easily matched". In 2009, Wired News listed it as the eleventh most influential game of the decade for its emphasis on psychological horror and exploration of taboo topics such as incest and domestic abuse, rather than gore. In 2012, a "Top 100 Video Games of All Time" list by G4 television network ranked the game in the eighty-fifth place. In Silent Hill: The Terror Engine (2012), Bernard Perron wrote about Silent Hill 2's use of real-life time; for example, in the battles with Pyramid Head, whom the player character cannot kill, the player can only wait for enough time to pass for the monster to leave.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 0:12:31 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 30. SSX 3 29. The Simpsons: Hit & Run 28. Suikoden III 27. Sly 2: Band of Thieves 26. Silent Hill 2
Join us Sunday as we close this list by counting down the top 25 and with all of those games that missed out on the list, I am sure you can't wait.
Clues to the next five games
* Dagger of Time
* Enter the doorway into people's minds
* Fulfill Your Fantasy
* Keep Yorda away from the Queen
* What do Heihaci Mishima, Spawn, & Link have in common
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Big Bad Brad
Wade Wilson
Big Bad Brad
Tournament Master
Posts: 27,407
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Post by Big Bad Brad on Dec 9, 2012 9:35:24 GMT -5
I'm happy to see Suikoden III make it so high on the list can't wait to see where Suikoden V ranks.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 10:23:08 GMT -5
25. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a third-person action-adventure computer and video game published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 21, 2003 and is a reboot of the landmark video game series Prince of Persia, created by Jordan Mechner in 1989. The Sands of Time, developed internally at Ubisoft Montreal, successfully captures the mechanics of the original platformer and extends it to the 3D generation. An earlier attempt by The Learning Company to transfer the game to 3D (Prince of Persia 3D) was released in 1999, but despite its initial good reception failed to sell enough and the company's responsible behind that original trilogy was already closing doors. The game was praised for its visual design, finely tuned game mechanics and intriguing storyline, winning the game several awards. The game was developed for the PC, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, and later a 2D-version for the Game Boy Advance and mobile phones. The success of The Sands of Time led to two sequels, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and an interquel, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands in 2010. A remastered, High-Definition, version of The Sands of Time was released on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 on November 16, 2010. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 3D platformer which focuses on acrobatics and agility. Throughout much of the game, the player must attempt to traverse the palace by running across walls, ascending or descending chasms by jumping back and forth between walls, avoiding traps, climbing structures and jumping from platform to platform, making other types of well-timed leaps, solving puzzles, and using discovered objects to progress. Combat has a heavy focus on using acrobatics to defeat foes. One example is the ability of the Prince to rebound off walls in order to strike enemies decisively. The player can also vault over the enemies' backs and then finish them off. The player generally attacks enemies and blocks using a sword, although only the Dagger of Time can defeat humanoid enemies, with the exception of the final sword that is acquired in the game. The Dagger of Time contains "charges" of the Sands of Time from the hourglass that allow the Prince to control time. The Prince has the ability to "rewind" time and travel up to ten seconds into the past. While using this ability, all sounds and previous action play backwards. For example, if the Prince was struck by an enemy attack during the rewound period, the health he lost will be given back to him, or a bridge that was destroyed a few seconds ago will repair itself. He can also save himself from death by falling, by rewinding time. The Dagger also allows the Prince to slow down time, and freeze his enemies, using it as a main-gauche to attack them directly. The Dagger only comes with a limited number of uses which are replenished by absorbing enemies and Sand Clouds with the Dagger. This encourages the player to confront and vanquish enemies (as opposed to avoiding them) in order to replenish the power to manipulate time during the more tricky acrobatic sections of the game. However, if the player does not absorb the Sand from a fallen enemy in about five seconds, said enemy will come back to life. Extra Sand Tanks (used for rewinding time) can be gained by collecting eight Sand Clouds, and extra Power Tanks (used for all other abilities) are gained by vanquishing sixteen enemies after having collected a new Sand Tank. Early in the game, the player will receive help from a non-playable character named Farah. She will assist in solving puzzles too complex for one person. During fights with sand creatures, she will also shoot arrows in an attempt to assist the player. If she dies, the game ends. King Sharaman of Persia and his son, known only as the Prince, pass through India en route to Azad and conquer a city with the aid of the local Maharajah's traitorous Vizier. During the battle the Prince seeks to win honour and glory in his first battle and heads straight to the Maharajah's treasure vaults, where he discovers the mythical Sands of Time safely contained within their Hourglass and the Dagger of Time, which he quickly learns can turn back time a short amount. When the Prince presents the dagger to his father, the traitorous Vizier demands it as payment, but is refused by King Sharaman. The Persians then continue on their journey to Azad with the wealth taken from the Maharajah as well as the Maharajah's beautiful daughter, Princess Farah, as a prisoner. In Azad, the Vizier, now in the service of King Sharaman, tricks the Prince into using the Dagger to release the Sands of Time from the Hourglass. A horrific sandstorm engulfs the kingdom and the Sands of Time turn all the occupants of the palace into monsters. Only the Prince, Farah, and the Vizier remain unchanged due to their possessions; a dagger, a medallion, and a staff, respectively. Amid the catastrophe, the Vizier demands the dagger from the Prince, who refuses and manages to escape. The Prince soon teams up with Farah in an attempt to return the Sands of Time to the Hourglass, which the Vizier moves to the top of the Tower of Dawn. As they progress through the palace the pair are constantly waylaid by Sand Monsters and the deadly network of traps set in motion in the hopes of killing the creatures. The Prince becomes steadily more worn until his princely armor is mere shreds and his body covered in bloody wounds. While initially the Prince does not trust Farah because of the Persians' mistreatment of her, the two begin to grow closer as time goes on. After a terrific battle in the ascent of the Tower of Dawn, they reach the Hourglass and are about to complete their mission when the Prince hesitates, suddenly suspicious of what Farah's motives really are. Before Farah can convince the Prince otherwise, the Vizier confronts the pair and uses his magical powers to trap Farah and the Prince in a tomb. As they wait to die in the tomb Farah tells the Prince, who similarly reveals his claustrophobia, a story she had never told anyone before, about a time when she was little, when her mother told her about a secret magic word which would help her escape anything that scared her: "Kakolukia". As soon as the Prince repeats the word, as if by magic, the pair find a secret tunnel beneath one of the sarcophagi, which winds down into a mysterious, dreamlike bathhouse which resembles the magic fountains that the Prince earlier used to increase his health. As they bathe, the Prince and Farah finally make love and find comfort in each other amid their perilous situation. When the Prince awakens afterwards, he finds himself back in the tomb and discovers that Farah, the Dagger, and his sword are gone, leaving him with only Farah's medallion to protect him from the Sands of Time. The Prince, having found a new sword which destroys the sand monsters on contact, pursues and catches up to Farah once more atop the Tower of Dawn, which he must climb from the outside. When the Prince finally reaches the top he finds Farah being overwhelmed by the sand monsters and, despite his efforts to save her, she falls to her death in the Hourglass room below. Enraged by his lover's death, the Prince uses the Dagger to massacre the last of the sand monsters in the tower and descends to weep over Farah's body. As the Prince mourns, the Vizier emerges from the shadows and offers the Prince a partnership in his evil plan. The Prince angrily refuses and before the Vizier can stop him he drives the Dagger of Time into the Hourglass and reverses time to the night before the invasion of the Maharajah's kingdom. The Prince awakens, still with the Dagger of Time, and secretly finds his way to Farah's bedroom, where he tells her the whole story, which she does not remember as it had not happened yet. However, the Vizier discovers the Prince, and fearing his planned treachery already revealed, attempts to kill both Farah and the Prince. In the ensuing battle the Prince kills the Vizier. He then returns the Dagger of Time to Farah, who asks why the Prince invented such an unbelievable story to prove the Vizier's treachery. The Prince falsely admits it to be just a story but when asked about his name by Farah he replies, "Just call me, Kakolukia", before departing, leaving Farah amazed. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was revealed on March 3, 2003 and was created largely by the same studio behind Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell in attempts to "breathe new life" into the action/adventure genre.[Initially shipped on November 6, 2003 in North America, the game was later released on November 21, 2003 and September 2, 2004 for Europe and Japan, respectively. Development of the game was filmed for series 3 of the program How it's made in a section titled Video Games and shown on the Discovery Channel. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Original Soundtrack was released November 3, 2003 by Ubisoft. Stuart Chatwood, of the now defunct Canadian rock band The Tea Party, was selected as composer for the game in early 2002. He began drafting and writing material in late 2002, and began the recording process in January 2003. Included also in the writing process was Iranian composer and violionist Ali Tajvidi and Bijan Mortazavi, and Oud band Le Trio Joubran. The vocals of Maryem Tollar are featured throughout the game. IGN gave the game a 9.6/10 rating and voted it as the PlayStation 2 Game of the Year 2003 thus praising the game for its "intuitive control, stunning atmosphere and satisfyingly clever environmental puzzles," and later concluding it was one of "[their] favorite adventure offerings of all time." GameSpot gave The Sands of Time a score of 9.0/10 "recommend[ing it] wholeheartedly." Zero Punctuation repeatedly mentions the game as a personal favorite, praising the time-control mechanism, platforming, beautiful environments and "really strong characterization" of both the Prince and Farah and only marking it down for repetitive combat mechanisms. GSN Video Games, a short-lived video game show on Game Show Network, even gave the game a Perfect 10. In general, the game was most often praised for its graphics, the acrobatic combat and platforming, the forgiving and responsive controls, the animation of the Prince, the story, and the time-manipulation abilities of the Dagger. Graphics were received mostly as a positive aspect of the game, with GameSpot saying it had a "beautiful look to it". The Cincinnati Enquirer and Nintendo Power agreed, describing the game as "graceful", "gorgeous", and had "unprecedented animation". The game's average score on review aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings is a 92%, making it one of the best reviewed games for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. Both GamesRadar and IGN placed it in its lists of 100 best games of all time, while ComputerAndVideoGames.com placed it in its list of the 101 best PC games ever. Edge magazine also named it as one of the greatest games of all time. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a film loosely based on the game. The film is directed by Mike Newell and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, and Alfred Molina. Filming took place in the United Kingdom and Morocco. Prince of Persia was originally scheduled to be released on July 19, 2009, but this was postponed during the first month of shooting to May 28, 2010. The film was made for Disney by Jerry Bruckheimer's Studios, using the same team behind the Pirates of the Caribbean for the shooting schedule. Despite receiving generally mixed reviews from critics, it was a box office success and became the highest rated live-action movie based on a video game
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 10:36:49 GMT -5
24. Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 (subtitled Exciting Pro Wrestling 7 in Japan), is a professional wrestling video game released on the PlayStation 2 console and the PlayStation Portable handheld console by THQ and developed by Yuke's. It is part of the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw (later renamed to simply WWE) video game series based on the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It is the sequel to 2004's WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw and was succeeded by WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 in 2006. The main focus of the game is to bring more realism and authenticity to the series with many new features, breaking away from the arcade-like gameplay that earlier games in the SmackDown! series possessed. As well as the addition of the new Buried Alive and Fulfill Your Fantasy matches, the game also included two new modes: General Manager and Create-An-Entrance. This also marked the first time a game in the SmackDown! series was published for a handheld console, as it was released on the PlayStation Portable. It is also the last game in the series to be released exclusively for the PlayStation consoles. A new momentum bar has been introduced to determine the flow of the match, replacing the old clean/dirty and SmackDown! meters. If the player chooses their wrestler to fight clean, he/she will be portrayed as a face, If they choose fight dirty, he/she will be portrayed as a heel. The player also has to deal with a stamina bar, which drains as the wrestlers fights; the more elaborate the move, the more the wrestler will be tired. However, this is an optional feature and can be removed in the options menu. The player has to regenerate their stamina bar to prevent becoming completely exhausted and unable to perform. Each character also has a new stamina attribute, making those with a low stamina rating tire more easily. Also included is a new Hardcore attribute, allowing those rated high to inflict more damage to their opponent with weapons. Grapples have been improved, with each character having more specialized grapple types than the previous game's unchangeable group of four grapples. Each character has choice of three out of seven grapples: Power, Speed, Technical, Brawler, Martial Arts, Luchadore, and Old School. Each character has as well a Clean/Dirty grapple and a Submission grapple, making the total of grapples five. A new power Irish whip has been included, giving more offense to the opponent but at the price of draining more stamina. The game includes the SummerSlam, Backlash, ECW One Night Stand, Royal Rumble, No Mercy, No Way Out, Judgment Day, Unforgiven, New Year's Revolution, Vengeance, The Great American Bash, Taboo Tuesday, Survivor Series, and WrestleMania PPV arenas, as well as the WrestleMania IX arena. There are also arenas based on each WWE television show (Raw, SmackDown!, Heat, and Velocity). The arena crowd has also improved, with fully 3D characters replacing the mixture of 3D and 2D characters in the previous games. WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 includes an improved steel cage match, now allowing the player to escape through the cage's door.[3] The Bra and Panties match has been replaced by a Fulfill Your Fantasy match, which is based on the costume-based diva match that occurred on the Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view event. Unlike the real event which is more battle royal based, this version involves divas stripping their opponents to their bra and panties, spanking and throwing pillow shots instead. The Buried Alive match, a feature requested by players for several years, finally makes its debut. The gameplay of the "Buried Alive" match is actually more reminiscent of a heavily improved casket match from WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, in that the player had to trap their opponent in a casket to show a cut scene of the burial. Backstage fights are also improved and now include random people (referees, officials, and WWE personnel), who can be interacted with, backstage passing by during matches. In total, 100 different match types are available. The series' trademark Season mode lasts for two in-game years, one for the Raw brand and one for the SmackDown! brand. The objective of the mode is to win both brands' two main championships, the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship. The mode features 100 different motion-captured cinematic cut scenes, real-time storytelling, and improved voice acting. Players have a choice of five original voices for created superstars. A new 3D customizable locker room is also included. In contrast to the game's predecessor, some of the in-game legends also have voice-overs and are made playable in Season mode. In an interview, THQ designer Bryan Williams confirmed that only 32 superstars (which included legends Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind, and Hulk Hogan) could be used in season mode. Some of the standard characters in the game cannot be used in Season mode. These wrestlers include Steven Richards, Ric Flair, and Eugene. General Manager mode, which could be compared to the Extreme Warfare games and Final Fire Pro Wrestling's Management of the Ring mode, is included for the first time. In this mode, the player takes the role of General Manager for either the SmackDown! or Raw brand. Players begin by picking one of the two brands, followed by a choice of simulating or participating in a draft, where a player can pick a total of 20 Superstars. The player then allocates the championships before beginning the season. This mode goes into depth, with e-mail capabilities, the ability to book matches and statistics of how the fans reacted to the show, among other features. When WrestleMania rolls around, the General Manager of the Year is awarded, along with some unlockable features. As in the previous game, online play is available for those with a Sony Network Adapter. The title belts (including Create-A-Belt creations) can be defended online via a "virtual WWE Championship" with career leader boards and a permanent ID system that tracks all user stats. Players are also able to trade wrestlers created in the Create-A-Superstar mode with each other online. All arenas are also available for online play, including the unlockable WrestleMania IX Arena. The game sports a variety of create modes. Create-A-Belt is a returning feature, with players now able to create Tag Team belts. Along with the created belts is inclusion of title belts used in WWE during 2005, the WWE, World Heavyweight, Intercontinental, United States, WWE Tag Team, World Tag Team, Women's, and Cruiserweight championships. Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Championship and the WWE Hardcore Championship can also be won and defended in the game. The game also allows the player to defend and challenge for any of the titles in the game in Exhibition mode, a feature which was missing in previous games (after Smackdown 2). The Create-A-Superstar mode is much the same as the previous installments in this series. SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 adds a few new features, such as new items in the makeup category to give the player's created superstar more realistic facial features (such as wrinkles, a cleft chin, acne, and scars). Also included are new shirts and pants, which while unchangeable in color, look more realistic (as opposed to the "painted on" look of shirts from previous games). The Create-A-Move-Set mode, much like Create-A-Superstar, remains the same, except for updated and new moves. The Create-A-Stable mode has five pre-made stables such as the Basham Brothers and La Resistance. This mode gives players a chance to make wrestler 'groups' of 2-5 wrestlers, give a name for the stable, make an entrance (but not as advanced as the Create-An-Entrance mode) for the stable, and customize their teamwork attributes, deciding on how well they perform as a team in the ring. The game also includes a new Create-An-Entrance mode, allowing the player to customize a wrestler's entrance, down to details such as pyrotechnics, arena lighting, and camera angles. The one minute limit for all entrances that was enforced in previous games is now abolished. Many people believed this was a great addition to this game, after years of requesting this feature. However, it received some criticism in comparison to sister game WWE Day of Reckoning 2 which had more options, no loading times, and was easier to use. For the first time in the SmackDown! series, this game is also available on the PlayStation Portable. Although it is very similar to the PS2 version, there are special features that are exclusive to this version that the PS2 version did not bear. Because of this, to unlock the full features of each game, USB connectivity between the PS2 and PSP is needed. Jake "The Snake" Roberts is the exclusive PSP Legend and can only be played in the PS2 version by connecting the PSP to the PS2. However, before the PSP game was released, cheat devices also allowed Roberts to be unlocked. Other notable differences between the PS2 and PSP versions include the lack of in-ring commentary and the inclusion of voiceovers from the more popular superstars. The only major problem seen by most gamers was the game's horrendous loading times. They were so long that there was a warning about the load times when a created superstar is chosen for a match. The PSP version includes some features that were not included in the PS2 version. These features include three exclusive minigames that are playable from the start. All of these minigames offer single player and multiplayer modes. In multiplayer mode, players can make use of PSP's Wi-Fi functionality. Each mode allows up to four players to join in and play over a local connection. The first minigame, WWE Game Show, tests the knowledge of wrestling fans by offering 500 multi-layered wrestling questions. The WWE Game Show covers every wrestling topic imaginable including costumes, trends, music, finishers, styles, history, feuds, and more. Most questions include excerpts of songs and have players guess the tune or players are shown a video clip and must guess the match the clip is from. The questions range from easy to extremely difficult. Other minigames include a poker game and Eugene's airplane game in which the player navigates Eugene around the ring in the fastest time. The reception to the game was generally positive, with an 84% rating on GameRankings and an 82% rating on Metacritic for the PlayStation 2 version. The reaction to the PlayStation Portable version was also positive with 81% and 80% ratings from GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively. The game was praised by some critics for its depth of content. A GameSpot reviewer mentioned "the sheer breadth of content makes it an easy choice for any wrestling enthusiast, and quite possibly the best wrestling game available for the system." Comparisons with the game and the highly acclaimed Nintendo 64 game WWF No Mercy were made, with some reviewers putting the game on par with No Mercy. An IGN reviewer commented that "there's no other wrestling game since No Mercy that offers this much replay, value, or depth", while a Netjak reviewer quoted "WWF No Mercy on the Nintendo 64 ruled as the best wrestling game, but WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 is the new standard." However, there were some complaints for the game's limitations of game modes. Critics such as G4's reviewer felt that the General Manager mode "does not go as far as it should--no underhanded options--but it's a great start," while an eToychest reviewer quoted about the Season mode "for the first time through this more visual style of story has a lot going for it, but gameplay is about replayability, which is something that is sorely lacking here due to the limit placed on possible story arcs." The game also featured some complaints from people surrounding season mode. Around the time of the games release, WWE superstar Eddie Guerrero had died. During season mode Guerrero is seen being chokeslamed into a casket by The Undertaker. Many fans thought that this was very disrepectful to the deceased star but THQ could do nothing about it as the game had already hit the shelves. From the game's release up until December 2006, the game sold 3.3 million copies. On October 23, 2006, the game was added to Sony's Greatest Hits collection.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 10:45:39 GMT -5
23. Soul Calibur 2 Soulcalibur II is a weapon-based fighting game developed by Project Soul and published by Namco and the third installment in the Soul series. It was originally released for the arcades in 2002, before being ported to Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 in 2003. Compared to Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II has improved graphics and introduces new characters, stages, and music. Key game engine improvements include an easier "step" and "avoid" systems, arena walls (rather than ring-out ability on all sides) and wall-specific moves, a three-step Soul Charge system, a clash system that is used when two attacks would hit each other resulting in a white flash, Guard Break attacks which put a blocking player into a post guard-impact state. just frame moves awarding additional hits to players who could time their command inputs well, and a revised Guard Impact system that removed height-based Impact moves and instead used a more unified system (high and mid attacks are countered using Repels, mid and low attacks are countered using Parries). Soulcalibur II presents the normal modes from most fighting games: Arcade, Team Battle Mode (similar to arcade, but with teams of up to eight characters and without cutscenes or endings), Time Attack (fight against the clock to gain records), Survival Battle and Training Mode. There are also "Extra" versions of these modes, intended to allow the use of the Extra Weapons. Each character has one according to their story, and are shared by groups of two (for example: Mitsurugi¨Taki, Taki¨Mitsurugi) with the exception of the console-exclusive characters. As in Soulcalibur, there is a "Museum", containing character artwork, various videos (like Arcade Intro or WMM intro and Ending) and Weapon Exhibition. There is also the "Profile Viewer" (to see character's stories) and "Battle Theater" (to see CPU vs CPU battles). A returning feature from Soul Edge is the inclusion of extra weapons. Instead of Soul Edge's system of different stats, this one is based on power %, defense % and special abilities (drains energy, pass through defense, etc.). Each character has 12 different weapons, from the standard (basic) weapons for 1P and 2P to the powerful "Ultimate Weapon". Each character was granted a Soul Edge version of their arms and a "Joke Weapon" with bad stats and effect, with unique and funny hit sounds. Each weapon is given a backstory in the "Weapon Gallery". Like before, some characters are granted with a third costume, purchased in Weapon Master Mode. Out of the 25 selectable characters, 13 were granted a third costume: Astaroth, Cassandra, Ivy, Mitsurugi, Nightmare, Raphael, Seung Mina, Sophitia, Taki, Talim, Voldo and Xianghua. Link has four costumes (green, red, blue and lavender) and Assassin, Berserker and Lizardman each have six different costumes (three color edits of their two standard costumes). The Arcade version has a unique mode called "Conquest Mode" that allows the player to pick an army, fight enemies and gain experience points, allowing it to increase the level of the selected player. "Weapon Master Mode", made in a similar fashion to Soul Edge's "Edge Master Mode" and Soulcalibur's "Mission Mode", takes the core system from "Conquest Mode" and expands upon it. This mode presents a history set in an alternate world, while the player moves in a map divided in "regions" (named after stars) and fights enemies to gain experience points (which raises the "rank" of the character) and money (which can be used to buy weapons, art, costumes and videos). The mode has 10 normal chapters, four sub-chapters and two extra chapters as well as Extra-Missions (alternate version of normal missions). The plot of the mode puts the player into the role of a swordsman searching for Soul Edge, who suddenly is faced against a powerful mad knight named Veral (who takes the form of Nightmare, then Inferno), searching for Soul Edge for his own desires. Four new characters were introduced in Soulcalibur II: Cassandra, Raphael, Talim and Yun-seong. However, while Cassandra and Yun-seong's fighting styles are derived from established characters Sophitia and Hwang, Raphael and Talim's fighting styles are entirely unique. Charade, like his predecessors Edge Master and Inferno, switches his style to match existing characters' movelists with each individual round of fighting. Fully returning as playable characters are Cervantes, Ivy, Kilik, Maxi, Mitsurugi, Seung Mina, Sophitia, Taki, Voldo, Xianghua and Yoshimitsu. The home versions of the game feature Heihachi Mishima from Tekken, Link from The Legend of Zelda and Spawn from the comic book series by Todd McFarlane, as well as Necrid, a new character created by McFarlane. Each of the first three characters is exclusive to one of the three consoles the game was ported to (the PS2, GameCube and Xbox, respectively), while Necrid is present in all three home versions. Inferno is in the game, but he is not a playable character. Nightmare's third costume is Siegfried (though he is still referred to as Nightmare), while Assassin and Berserker play extremely similar to Hwang and Rock, who did not return from Soulcalibur. Lizardman returns, but is only playable in VS Mode and certain portions of Weapon Master. The game is set in the year 1591, four years after the events of Soulcalibur. The wave of slaughters that terrorized Europe reached a sudden end. The knight in azure armor, Nightmare, and his followers were successful in collecting enough souls and were about to start the restoring ceremony on the ruins of the once-proud Ostreinsburg Castle. But just as the ceremony was to start, three young warriors assaulted the castle. After an intense battle Nightmare fell, but then the evil soul inside Soul Edge sent the young warriors into a vortex of hellfire and stood to confront them. As a result of Soul Edge's evil aura, Krita-Yuga revealed its true form: that of the Holy Sword, Soul Calibur. The intense battle ended with the victory of the holy sword, but at the collapse of the vortex of Inferno, both swords along with the azure Nightmare were sucked in a void and expelled in another place. Siegfried, recognizing his sins, set out on a journey of atonement. Still the blade held a strong bond, and every night it took control of the body and took souls of those nearby. The efforts made by the young knight were fruitless, and four years later the Azure Knight Nightmare returned. Around those times various warriors came into contact of the blade's remaining fragments, revealing Soul Edge's ultimate survival after its defeat. Driven either to possess or destroy it, they join a new journey, while Nightmare begins his rampage, seeking souls to restore Soul Edge once again. A soundtrack for the game was released as Soulcalibur II Original Soundtrack. Reviews of Soulcalibur II were overwhelmingly favorable, earning it the average scores of 91.3% for the PlayStation 2,[5] 92.3% for the GameCube, and 91.6% for the Xbox. The game has earned a review score of 9.2 out of 10 from IGN. In 2011, Complex ranked it as the 14th best fighting game of all time.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 10:59:46 GMT -5
22. Ico Ico is an action-adventure game developed by Team Ico and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, released for the PlayStation 2 video game console in 2001 and 2002 across various regions. It was designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, who wanted to create a minimalist game around a "boy meets girl" concept. Originally planned for the PlayStation, Ico took approximately four years to develop. The team employed a "subtracting design" approach to reduce elements of gameplay that interfered with the game's setting and story in order to create a high level of immersion. The protagonist is a young boy named Ico who was born with horns, which his village considers a bad omen. Warriors lock him away in an abandoned fortress. During his explorations of the fortress, Ico encounters Yorda, the daughter of the castle's Queen. The Queen plans to use Yorda's body to extend her own lifespan. Learning this, Ico seeks to escape the castle with Yorda, keeping her safe from the shadow-like creatures that attempt to draw her back. Throughout the game, the player controls Ico as he explores the castle, solves puzzles and assists Yorda across obstacles. Ico introduced several design and technical elements, including a story told with minimal dialog, bloom lighting and key frame animation, that have influenced subsequent games. Although not a commercial success, it was critically acclaimed for its art and story elements and received several awards, including "Game of the Year" nominations and three Game Developers Choice Awards. Ico is listed on several overall top game lists, and is often considered a work of art. The game was reprinted in Europe in 2006, in conjunction with the release of Shadow of the Colossus, the spiritual successor to Ico. Along with Shadow of the Colossus, Ico was released in The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection for the PlayStation 3 which featured HD graphics, Trophy and 3D support. The HD version was released separately in Japan. Ico is primarily a three-dimensional platform game. The player controls Ico from a third-person perspective as he explores the castle and attempts to escape it with Yorda. The camera is fixed in each room or area but swivels to follow Ico or Yorda as they move; the player can also pan the view a small degree in other directions to observe more of the surroundings. The game includes many elements of platform games; for example, the player must have Ico jump, climb, push and pull objects, and perform other tasks such as solving puzzles, to progress within the castle. These actions are complicated by the fact that only Ico is able to carry out these actions; Yorda can only jump short distances and cannot climb over tall barriers. The player must use Ico so that he helps Yorda cross obstacles, such as by lifting her to a higher ledge, or by arranging the environment to allow Yorda to cross a larger gap herself. The player is able to tell Yorda to follow Ico, or to wait at a spot. The player can also have Ico take Yorda's hand and pull her along at a faster pace across the environment. Players are unable to progress in the game until they move Yorda to certain doors that only she is able to open. Escaping the castle is made difficult by shadow creatures sent by the Queen. These creatures attempt to drag Yorda into black vortexes if Ico leaves her for any length of time, or if she is in certain areas of the castle. Ico can dispel these shadows using a stick or sword and pull Yorda free if she is drawn into a vortex. While the shadow creatures cannot harm Ico, the game is over if Yorda becomes fully engulfed by a vortex; the player restarts from a save point. The player will also restart from a save point if Ico falls from a large height. Save points in the game are represented by stone benches which Ico and Yorda rest on as the player saves the game. In European and Japanese releases of the game, upon completion of the game, the player has the opportunity to restart the game in a local co-operative two-player mode, where the second player plays as Yorda, still under the same limitations as the computer-controller version of the character. The game's protagonist, Ico, is a young boy with a pair of horns on his head—considered a bad omen by his village. As part of the village's tradition, he is taken by a group of warriors to a castle surrounded by water, and locked inside one of the stone coffins in a crypt. Some time after the warriors depart, a tremor runs through the castle, and Ico takes advantage of it to escape. As he searches the castle, he comes across Yorda, a captive girl who speaks in a language different from his. Ico helps Yorda escape, but finds she is hunted by shadow-like creatures (the souls of other horned children sacrificed to the fortress) that attempt to drag her into the portals from which they emerge. Although Ico cannot be harmed by the shadows and is able to drive them away from Yorda, he finds he cannot defeat the enemies with his simple weapons. The pair make their way through the abandoned castle, eventually arriving at the bridge leading to land. As they cross, the Queen, ruler of the fortress and Yorda's mother, appears and tells Yorda that as her daughter she cannot leave the castle. Ico and Yorda attempt to reopen the path, but the Queen destroys part of the bridge; although Yorda tries to save him, Ico falls off the bridge and loses consciousness. Ico awakens below the castle and travels back to the upper levels, finding a magic sword able to dispel the shadow creatures. After discovering that Yorda has been turned to stone by the Queen, he seeks out the Queen in her throne room. The Queen reveals that she is preventing Yorda from leaving so that she may extend her own life, which she had previously done by draining the life of those placed in the sarcophagi; now, she plans to restart her life anew by taking possession of Yorda's body. Ico and the Queen fight, Ico breaking both of his horns in the process. Ico is able to slay the Queen with the magic sword, but with her death the castle begins to collapse around him, and he loses consciousness again from falling debris. The Queen's spell on Yorda is broken, and a shadow version of Yorda carries Ico safely out of the castle and onto a boat, sending him to drift to the nearby shore and choosing not to accompany him. Ico awakens to find the distant castle in ruins, and Yorda, in her human form, washed up nearby him. She awakens just before the game ends. Lead developer Fumito Ueda came up with the concept for Ico in 1997, envisioning a "boy meets girl" story where the two main characters would hold hands during their adventure, forming a bond between them without communication. Ueda's main inspiration for Ico was Eric Chahi's game Another World (Outer World in Japan), which used cinematic cutscenes and lacked any head-up display elements as to play like a movie. It also featured an emotional connection between two characters, despite the use of minimal dialog. Ueda also cited Lemmings, Flashback and the original Prince of Persia games as influences, specifically regarding animation and gameplay style. With the help of an assistant, Ueda created an animation in Lightwave to get a feel for the final game and to better convey his vision. In the three-minute demonstration reel, Yorda had the horns instead of Ico, and flying robotic creatures were seen firing weapons to destroy the castle. Ueda stated that having this movie that represented his vision helped to keep the team on track for the long development process, and he reused this technique for the development of Shadow of the Colossus, the team's next effort. Ueda began working with producer Kenji Kaido in 1998 to develop the idea and bring the game to the PlayStation. Ico's design aesthetics were guided by three key notions: to make a game that would be different from others in the genre, feature an aesthetic style that would be consistently artistic, and play out in an imaginary yet realistic setting. This was achieved through the use of "subtracting design"; they removed elements from the game which interfered with the game's reality. This included removing any form of interface elements, keeping the gameplay focused only on the escape from the castle, and reducing the number of types of enemies in the game to a single foe. An interim design of the game shows Ico and Yorda facing horned warriors similar to those that take Ico to the castle. The game originally focused on Ico's attempt to return Yorda to her room in the castle after she was kidnapped by these warriors. Ueda believed this version had too much detail for the graphics engine they had developed, and as part of the "subtracting design", replaced the warriors with the shadow creatures. Ueda also brought in a number of people outside the video game industry to help with development. These consisted of two programmers, four artists, and one designer in addition to Ueda and Kaido, forming the base of what is now known as Team Ico. On reflection, Ueda noted that the subtracting design may have taken too much out of the game, and did not go to as great an extreme with Shadow of the Colossus. After two years of development, the team ran into limitations on the PlayStation hardware and faced a critical choice: either terminate the project altogether, alter their vision to fit the constraints of the hardware, or continue to explore more options. The team decided to remain true to Ueda's vision, and began to use the Emotion Engine of the PlayStation 2, taking advantage of the improved abilities of the platform. Character animation was accomplished through key frame animation instead of the more common motion capture technique. Ico is recognized as one of the first games to incorporate bloom lighting into video games, a feature that is common in later seventh generation console video games. The game took about four years to create. Ueda purposely left the ending vague, not stating whether Yorda was alive, whether she would travel with Ico, or if it was simply the protagonist's dream. The cover used for releases in Japan and PAL regions was drawn by Ueda himself, and was inspired by the surrealist artist Giorgio de Chirico and his work, The Nostalgia of the Infinite. Ueda believed that "the surrealistic world of de Chirico matched the allegoric world of Ico". The North American version lacks this cover as well as additional features that become available after the player completes the game once. The development team was unable to provide Ueda's cover or the additional features such as the two-player mode in time for Sony's planned North American release date, but included them for the later releases in Japan and PAL regions. On reflection, Yasuhide Kobayashi, vice-president of Sony's Japan Studio, believed the North American box art and lack of an identifiable English title led to the game's poor sales in the United States, and stated plans to correct that for the release of The Last Guardian. For its original release, a limited edition of the game was available in PAL regions that included a cardboard wrapping displaying artwork from the game and four art cards inside the box. The game was re-released as a standard edition in 2006 across all PAL regions except France after the 2005 release of Shadow of the Colossus, Ico's spiritual sequel, to allow players to "fill the gap in their collection". Ico uses minimal dialog in a fictional language to provide the story throughout the game. Voice actors included Kazuhiro Shindô as Ico, Rieko Takahashi as Yorda, and Misa Watanabe as the Queen. Ico and the Queen's words are presented in either English or Japanese subtitles depending on the release region, but Yorda's speech is presented in a symbolic language. Ueda opted not to provide the translation for Yorda's words as it would have overcome the language barrier between Ico and Yorda, and detracted from the "holding hands" concept of the game. In the non-North American releases, playing through the game again after completing the game replaces the symbolic text with appropriate language subtitles. Ico's audio featured a limited amount of music and sound effects. The soundtrack, Ico: Kiri no Naka no Senritsu, was composed by Michiru Oshima and Kôichi Yamazaki and released in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment on February 20, 2002. The album was distributed by Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works. The last song of the CD, "ICO -You Were There-", includes vocals sung by former Libera member Steven Geraghty. Ico sold 700,000 copies worldwide, with 270,000 in the United States and the bulk in PAL regions, and received strong reviews, becoming a cult hit among gamers. The game has received aggregate review scores of 90 out of 100 at Metacritic and 90% at GameRankings. In Japan, Famitsu magazine scored the PlayStation 2 version of the game a 30 out of 40. The game is considered by some to be one of the greatest games of all time; Edge ranked Ico as the 13th top game in a 2007 listing, while IGN ranked the game at number 18 in 2005, and at number 57 in 2007. Ico has been used as an example of a game that is a work of art. Ueda commented that he purposely tried to distance Ico from conventional video games due to the negative image that video games were receiving at that time, in order to draw more people to the title. Some reviewers have likened Ico to older, simpler adventure games such as Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider, that seek to evoke an emotional experience from the player; IGN's David Smith commented that while simple, as an experience the game was "near indescribable." The game's graphics and sound contributed strongly to the positive reactions from critics; Smith continues that "The visuals, sound, and original puzzle design come together to make something that is almost, if not quite, completely unlike anything else on the market, and feels wonderful because of it." Many reviewers were impressed with the expansiveness and the details given to the environments, the animation used for the main characters despite their low polygon count, as well as the use of lighting effects. Ico's ambiance, created by the simple music and the small attention to detail in the voice work of the main characters, were also called out as strong points for the game. Charles Herold of the New York Times summed up his review stating that "Ico is not a perfect game, but it is a game of perfect moments." Herold later commented that Ico breaks the mold of games that usually involve companions. In most games these companions are invulnerable and players will generally not concern with the non-playable characters' fate, but Ico creates the sense of "trust and childish fragility" around Yorda, and that these leads to the character being "the game’s entire focus". The game is noted for its simple combat system that would "disappoint those craving sheer mechanical depth", as stated by GameSpot's Miguel Lopez. The game's puzzle design has been praised for creating a rewarding experience for players who work through challenges on their own; Kristen Reed of Eurogamer, for example, said that "you quietly, logically, willingly proceed, and the illusion is perfect: the game never tells you what to do, even though the game is always telling you what to do". Ico is also considered a short game, taking between seven and ten hours for a single play through, which Game Revolution calls "painfully short" with "no replay outside of self-imposed challenges". G4TV's Matthew Keil, however, felt that "the game is so strong, many will finish 'Ico' in one or two sittings". The lack of features in the North American release, which would become unlocked on subsequent playthroughs after completing the game, was said to reduce the replay value of the title. Electronic Gaming Monthly notes that "Yorda would probably be the worst companion -she's scatterbrained and helpless; if not for the fact that the player develops a bond with her, making the game's ending all the more heartrending." Ico received several gaming acclamations from the video gaming press, and was considered to be one of the Games of the Year by many publications, despite competing with releases such as Halo, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Grand Theft Auto III. The game received three Game Developers Choice Awards in 2002, including "Excellence in Level Design", "Excellence in Visual Arts", and "Game Innovation Spotlight". The game won two Interactive Achievement Awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in 2002 for "Art Direction" and "Character or Story Development", and was nominated for awards of "Game of the Year", "Game Design", "Level Design" and "Sound Design". A novelization of the game titled Ico: Kiri no Shiro was released in Japan in 2004. Author Miyuki Miyabe wrote the novel because of her appreciation of the game. came out the following year, by Hwangmae Publishers, while an English translation was published by Viz Media on August 16 of 2011. Costumes (including Ico and Yorda), stickers, and sound effects from Ico are part of an add-on pack for the game LittleBigPlanet, alongside similar materials from Shadow of the Colossus, after being teased by the game's developers Media Molecule about two weeks prior. A film adaption of Ico may come about based on the success of the adaptation of Shadow of the Colossus being created by Misher Films in conjunction with Sony and Fumito Ueda. Several game designers, such as Eiji Aonuma, Hideo Kojima, and Jordan Mechner, have cited Ico as having influenced the visual appearance of their games, including The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, respectively. Marc Laidlaw, scriptwriter for the Half-Life series, commented that, among several other more memorable moments in the game, the point where Yorda attempts to save Ico from falling off the damaged bridge was "a significant event not only for that game, but for the art of game design". Movie director Guillermo del Toro has cited both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus as "masterpieces" and part of his directorial influence. Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead considers, of his top ten video games, "Ico might be the best one". Vander Caballero, the lead developer of Papo & Yo, credits Ico for inspiring the gameplay of Papo & Yo.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 11:09:35 GMT -5
21. Psychonauts Psychonauts is a platform video game created by Tim Schafer, developed by Double Fine Productions and published by Majesco, starring the voice of Richard Horvitz as Raz. The game was released on April 19, 2005, for the Xbox, April 26 for Microsoft Windows and June 21 for PlayStation 2. It was released on Steam on Oct 11, 2006, as an "Xbox Original" through Xbox Live Marketplace, and on the GameTap subscription service. On November 5, 2009, Psychonauts also became available through the online distribution service GOG.com through their partnership with Majesco. In September 2011, a new version with support for Steamworks features, including a Mac OS X port, was released. In May 2012, a Linux port was released through the Humble Indie Bundle V. The PS2 version was re-released on PlayStation Network on August 28, 2012. Psychonauts is based on the exploits of Raz, a young boy gifted with psychic abilities who runs away from the circus to try to sneak into a summer camp for those with similar powers in order to become a "Psychonaut". He finds that there is a sinister plot occurring at the camp that only he can stop. The game is centered on the widely strange and imaginative minds of various characters that Raz enters as a Psychonaut-in-training/"Psycadet" in order to help them overcome their fears or memories of their past, so as to gain their help and progress in the game. Raz gains use of several psychic abilities during the game that are used for both attacking foes and solving puzzles. While the game received strong critical praise and several accolades, Psychonauts suffered from poor sales and the publisher, Majesco, suffered financial difficulties relating to Psychonauts and other titles in its catalogue. However, the game has since gained a cult following. Psychonauts combines traditional console platformer elements with the kind of strong storytelling, humor and dialogue found in adventure games. The camp itself is fully explorable by the player to find hidden arrowheads that can be used to purchase items at the camp store and psi cards that help to improve Raz's Psi Ranking, to talk to other campers and camp advisers, and to make way to the various "levels" within the game. There are also areas in the "real world" of the camp, including a nearby insane asylum, that the player will explore during the course of the game. Throughout these areas are characters whose minds Raz can enter, either through their own actions, or by use of a small door that Raz uses on the character's forehead. Each of these character levels has its own unique visual design and set of challenges, related to the demons, nightmares and secret memories of the mind that Raz is exploring; for example, within the mind of the lungfish that terrorizes the camp lake, Raz is seen as a giant monster attacking a city filled with lungfish beings (in a level designed to parody most elements of the kaijû genre), while within the mind of Boyd, the insane security guard at the asylum, Raz finds a town, twisted and askew, with cameras and eyes hidden everywhere, which tune in with Boyd's paranoia. Within the mind levels, the player can collect various "figments of imagination" which can also lead to increasing Raz's Psi Ranking, locate tags to match with various "emotional baggage" within the level to advance ranks and unlock concept art and destroy "mental vaults" to unlock a slideshow that helps to explain the background of that character and his or her mental problem. The player must also avoid taking damage from censors that attempt to remove Raz from the character's mind. Each mind level typically ends with a boss fight that represents the main cause of the character's mental problems. Raz gains new psychic powers through the game through either instruction by the camp counselors, or by increasing his Psi Ranking. These powers include telekinesis, levitation, invisibility, pyrokinesis, clairvoyance, Psi Shield, Psi Blast and confusion. Additional Rankings increase the range, duration or potency of these abilities. These powers are directly involved in the puzzle-solving aspects of the game as well as to defeat foes within the game, and allow the player to tailor the solutions to his or her own playing strengths. The player also gains items that can be used either for solving puzzles, to escape from a mind level if they become stuck, or to get advice for solving some of the puzzles. Raz can also communicate with an older member of the Psychonauts for hints. However, due to a curse placed upon his family, he is unable to touch water and will die if he comes into contact with it too much. The story is set in fictional Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, a remote US government training facility under the guise of a children's summer camp. The area was hit centuries ago by a meteor made of psitanium (a fictional element that can grant psychic powers or strengthen existing powers), creating a huge crater. The psitanium affected the local wildlife, giving them limited psychic powers, such as bears with the ability to attack with telekinetic claws and cougars with pyrokinesis. The Native Americans of the area called psitanium "whispering rock", which they used to build arrowheads. When settlers began inhabiting the region, the psychoactive properties of the meteor slowly drove them insane. An asylum was built to house the afflicted, but within fifteen years, the asylum had more residents than the town did. The government relocated the remaining inhabitants and flooded the crater to prevent further settlement, creating what is now Lake Oblongata. The asylum still stands, but has fallen into disrepair. The government took advantage of the psitanium deposit to set up a training camp for Psychonauts, a group of agents gifted with psychic abilities and used to help defeat evil-doers. The training ground is disguised as a summer camp for young children, but in reality helps the children to hone their abilities and to train them to be Psychonauts themselves. Due to this, only those recruited by the Psychonauts are allowed into the camp. The protagonist and playable character of the game is Razputin "Raz" Aquato, the son of a family of circus performers, who runs away from the circus to become a Psychonaut, despite his father's wishes. His family is cursed to die in water, and a large hand attempts to submerge Raz whenever he approaches any significantly deep water. When at camp, Raz meets four of the Psychonauts that run the camp: the cool and calculating Sasha Nein (voice actor Stephen Stanton), the fun-loving Milla Vodello, the regimental Agent/Coach Morceau Oleander, and the aged Ford Cruller, said by Raz to have been the greatest leader the Psychonauts ever had, until a past psychic duel shattered Ford's psyche and left him with numerous quirky personalities and no memory of his real self (which explains why he's seen throughout the camp as a cook, ranger, admiral, etc.). Only when he is near the large concentration of Psitanium does his psyche come together enough to form his real personality. During his time at camp, Raz meets several of the other gifted children including Lili Zanotto, the daughter of the Grand Head of the Psychonauts, with whom he falls in love; and Dogen Boole, a boy who goes around with a tin foil hat to prevent his abilities from causing anyone's head to explode. Raz also meets ex-residents of the insane asylum including ex-dentist Dr. Loboto, as well as Fred Bonaparte, an asylum inmate with dissociative identity disorder, also known as a split personality, and Linda, the gigantic lung fish that transports him from the camp's shore to the asylum. Raz, having fled from the circus, tries to sneak into Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, but is caught by the Psychonauts agents. Though they contact his parents so that they may recover Raz, they allow Raz to stay at camp, though they do not allow him to participate in the camp activities. However, they recognize that Raz has strong psychic abilities. After Coach Oleander allows Raz to participate in "Basic Braining," Sasha, impressed by his performance, invites Raz to test how strong his abilities are. While exploring his own mind, Raz comes across a vision of Dr. Loboto attempting to pull Dogen's brain from his head, claiming it to be as a "bad tooth," and that when you have a bad tooth, you pull it out. Raz is unable to overcome a mental barrier to see more. When Raz returns to the real world, he finds that Dogen's brain has gone missing; the Agents pass it off as part of Dogen's personality. With Milla's training, Raz is able to overcome the mental barrier in his mind to learn that Dr. Loboto is working with Coach Oleander to extract the brains of the children and put them in psychic death tanks. Raz learns that Sasha and Milla have gone away from camp on "official business" (really a trap set by Oleander,) Coach Oleander is nowhere to be found, and learns that Lili has been chosen as the next victim, taken to the insane asylum for the process. Raz consults with Ford, who is unable to leave the camp but gives Raz a piece of bacon which he can use to contact Ford at any time. Raz, after freeing the mutated lungfish, Linda, from Oleander's control, crosses the lake, and encounters the few remaining residents of the insane asylum. After Raz helps to resolve their mental issues, the residents help Raz to reach Dr. Loboto's laboratory at the top of the asylum. He finds that Oleander and Doctor Loboto have taken Lili, Sasha, and Milla prisoner. Raz is able to free them, where they turn to fight Oleander (Dr. Loboto having fallen from the top of the asylum.) As they fight, the insane asylum is burned down, and while the others are rendered unconscious, Oleander transfers his mind to one of the death tanks and attacks Raz. Raz defeats the tank, but upon his success, super sneezing powder is ejected from the tank (a last resort of Oleander's.) The powder causes Raz to sneeze his brain out. Raz, without much choice, moves his brain into the tank, where his psyche merges with Oleander's. Raz finds himself in a mental world ("The Meat Circus") that combines his own fears of his father and the circus with Oleander's childhood fears of his father, a butcher. Raz escorts "Little Oly," the child version of Oleander, safely through the world, and is able to defeat the gruesome visions of his and Oly's fathers. Raz's real father then shows up in Raz's mind, telling him that he is also a powerful psychic. After seeing Raz's mental image of him he tells Raz that he didn't discourage Raz from being a psychic because he disapproved, but to protect him, and then easily defeats his mental duplicate. However, because Raz and Oly's minds are still melded together, the two visions combine into a powerful amalgam of their fathers that can only be defeated by Raz and his real father's combined powers. Raz and Oleander's brains then separate and are restored to their bodies. As the rest of the children's brains are restored, Raz is congratulated for his outstanding work, and is allowed to become a Psychonaut by both the agents and his father. As he is leaving camp, news arrives that the Grand Head of the Psychonauts—Lili's father, Truman Zanotto—has been kidnapped. Raz and his fellow Psychonauts (along with Lili) fly off to rescue him, leaving the game on a cliffhanger. The back-story for Psychonauts was originally conceived during the development of Full Throttle, where Tim Schafer envisioned a sequence where the protagonist Ben Throttle goes under a peyote-induced psychedelic experience. While this was eventually ejected from the original game (for not being family friendly enough), Schafer kept the idea and eventually developed it into Psychonauts. While still working at LucasArts, Tim Schafer decided to use the name "Raz" for a main character because he liked the nickname of the LucasArts animator, Razmig "Raz" Mavlian. When Mavlian joined Double Fine, there was increased confusion between the character and the animator. The game's associate producer, Camilla Fossen, suggested the name "Rasputin". Then Double Fine's lawyer suggested "Razputin" instead, so Double Fine could file a trademark. Schafer's team was partly made up of several people he worked with on Grim Fandango at LucasArts. The art design crew included background artist Peter Chan and cartoonist Scott Campbell. Voice actor Richard Steven Horvitz, best known for his portrayal of Zim in the cult favorite animated series Invader Zim, provides the voice of Raz, the game's protagonist. Raz was originally conceived as an ostrich suffering from mental imbalance and multiple personalities. Tim Schafer killed the idea because he strongly believes in games being "wish fulfillments," guessing that not many people fantasize about being an insane ostrich. Originally, Psychonauts was to be published by Microsoft for release exclusively on their Xbox console, but in March 2004, Microsoft pulled out of this deal. It emerged in August 2004 that Double Fine had negotiated a new publishing deal with Majesco to release the game on Windows as well as the Xbox. Tim Schafer was quoted as saying "Together we are going to make what could conservatively be called the greatest game of all time ever, and I think that's awesome." In October 2004, it was revealed that Psychonauts would be released on yet another platform, the PlayStation 2, ported by Budcat Creations. The final U.S. release date for the game on Xbox and Windows was April 19, 2005, with the PlayStation 2 port following on June 21, 2005. Psychonauts was re-released via Valve Corporation's Steam content delivery system on October 11, 2006. The budget for Psychonauts was approximately $13 million, according to Schafer. In June 2011, the original publishing deal with Majesco expired, and full publication rights for the game reverted back to Double Fine. In September 2011, Double Fine released an updated version for Microsoft Windows and a port to Mac OS X through Steam. The new version provided support for Steam features including achievements and cloud saving. The Mac OS X port was developed in partnership with Dracogen Strategic Investments. In conjunction with this release, an iOS application, Psychonauts Vault Viewer, was released at the same time, featuring the memory vaults from the game with commentary by Tim Schafer and Scott Campbell. Although initially unplayable on the Xbox 360, Tim Schafer spearheaded a successful e-mail campaign by fans which led to Psychonauts being added to the Xbox 360 backwards compatible list on December 12, 2006, and on December 4, 2007, Microsoft made Psychonauts one of the initial launch titles made available for direct download on the Xbox 360 through their Xbox Originals program. The soundtrack was composed by Peter McConnell, famous for his other works associated with LucasArts, such as Grim Fandango. A soundtrack featuring all the music was released in 2005. There was another soundtrack featuring music from the cutscenes as well as a remix of the main theme and credits. Psychonauts received critical acclaim, with its unique premise, endearing characters, sharp writing, and overall sense of humor being the most commonly praised aspects of the game. The PlayStation 2 version received slightly lower (though still high) scores than the Xbox and PC versions due to performance issues such as increased load times and frame rate problems. GameSpot wrote "The whole look of the game feels like the unholy love child of Tim Burton and a Pixar animation team, and it's just wonderful stuff... anyone looking for a fun and whimsical adventure with a brilliant presentation and a fantastic story will find just that in Psychonauts." IGN was positive: "The first half of this game is easily one of the most enjoyable I've had in the past year", but was critical though: "But as is the case with many humorous games, the laughs begin to fade in the home stretch and in the end Psychonauts started to wear on me." GameSpy: "It's one of the best platformers the system has seen, mostly thanks to its amazing visuals and downright hilarious dialogue." GameShark was positive also: "The best platform game ever to grace the Xbox." Electronic Gaming Monthly wrote "Anyone who doesn't fall for the unique characters, hilarious dialogue, and brilliantly conceived environments of Psychonauts has no soul. The James Brown of games, Psychonauts' personality overcomes its flaws." The New York Times: "Insanity is what makes Psychonauts entertaining and unusual, so it is a shame you have to spend several hours in the mildly eccentric minds of instructors before getting to the cool part of the game." The Sydney Morning Herald: "A wildly imaginative, frequently hilarious and hugely entertaining platforming romp through the subconscious." In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. Despite Psychonauts earning high critical praise and a number of awards, it was a commercial failure upon its initial release. Although the game was first cited as the primary contributing factor to a strong quarter immediately following its launch, a month later Majesco revised their fiscal year projections from a net profit of $18 million to a net loss of $18 million, and at the same time its CEO, Carl Yankowski, announced his immediate resignation. By the end of the year, the title had shipped fewer than 100,000 copies, and Majesco announced its plans to withdraw from the "big budget console game marketplace". However, this figure predated the game's European release, its release on Steam, and its inclusion on the Xbox 360's backward-compatible list. According to Schafer, as of March 6, 2012 the retail version Psychonauts had sold 400,000 copies. The game is still available via digital distribution services such as Steam and GOG.com. On December 4, 2007, the game was among the first games to be added to the "Xbox Originals" line of the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Marketplace, and remains as one of only a small number of titles released for that line. In August 2011, Psychonauts was removed from Xbox Live Marketplace as Majesco no longer held the publishing rights to the game. As Microsoft does not allow unpublished content on the Marketplace it was removed. Tim Schafer stated, in an online post, "We are working with Microsoft right now to get it re-propped to the system but there is a lot of red tape to melt with our minds." It returned to the Xbox Live Marketplace on February 24, 2012. On May 31, 2012, Psychonauts was announced as a part of Humble Indie Bundle V. Schafer, commenting in a Reddit "Ask me Anything" panel with other developers of games in the Bundle, stated that sales of Psychonauts exceeded past sales of the game within the "first few hours" of the Bundle going live. Although Tim Schafer has repeatedly expressed interest in working on the Psychonauts franchise again in the future, as of November 2010, no sequel is in development. The development of the sequel would require a publisher that was interested in the game. Schafer believes that widespread, inexpensive distribution of Psychonauts through both legitimate means such as digital distribution and illegitimate means of software piracy indicates that there would be a large market for the game's sequel. In 2010, UGO ranked Psychonauts third on its list of games that need sequels. After Double Fine's release of several smaller, self-published games such as Costume Quest and Iron Brigade, developed by separate teams within the company, Schafer also felt more comfortable about a sequel, as they were now in a place to develop multiple projects at the same time. On February 7, 2012, Markus Persson, the owner of Mojang, made a public offer to fund a sequel to Schafer through Twitter. Later that day, a company representative for Double Fine stated that Persson and Schafer were discussing the possibility, without further affirmation. Persson noted that the anticipated costs that Double Fine would need would be an estimated $13 million, far exceeding what was initially expected to fund and cautioned fans to avoid hyping the funding possibility. Persson and Schafer met at the Game Developers Conference in March 2012; however, no definitive plans were made for funding a sequel.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 11:22:25 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 30. SSX 3 29. The Simpsons: Hit & Run 28. Suikoden III 27. Sly 2: Band of Thieves 26. Silent Hill 2 25. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 24. Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 23. Soul Calibur 2 22. Ico 21. Psychonauts
Clues to the next five games
* First game not to have The Rock on the cover
* Gullwings vs. Vegnagun
* Liberty City
* Pursuing My True Self
* Tommy Vercetti is in the 80s
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 13:34:03 GMT -5
30. Grand Thert Auto III Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action-adventure computer and video game developed by DMA Design (now Rockstar North) in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows, in November 2003 for the Xbox and in November 2010 for Mac OS X. It was made available on Steam on January 4, 2008 and on the Mac App Store on August 18, 2011. The game was released for iOS and Android mobile devices on December 15, 2011. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 on September 25, 2012. The game is preceded by Grand Theft Auto 2 and succeeded by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. GTA III is set in modern Liberty City, a fictional metropolitan city based on New York City. The game follows the story of a criminal named Claude who was betrayed by his girlfriend in a bank heist and is required to work his way up the crime ladder of the city before confronting her. GTA lll is composed of elements from driving games and third-person shooters. The game's concept and gameplay, coupled with the use of a 3D game engine for the first time in the series, contributed to Grand Theft Auto III's positive reception upon its release; it became 2001's top-selling video game and is cited as a landmark in video games for its far-reaching influence within the industry.[7] GTA III's success was a significant factor in the series' subsequent popularity; as of 2008, five GTA prequels set before events in GTA III have been released, particularly Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories which revisits GTA III's setting just three years prior. GTA III's violent and sexual content has also been the source of public concern and controversy. According to Metacritic, GTA III and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 both hold an average critic score of 97 out of 100, making them the highest-rated PlayStation 2 games of all time. Grand Theft Auto III takes place in Liberty City, a city on the East Coast of America, which is loosely based on New York City, but also incorporates elements of other American cities. Altogether, the city and surrounding areas take up about three square miles. GTA III's Liberty City has also been used for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto Advance and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (only for one mission in San Andreas), and is one of four renditions of "Liberty Cities" featured throughout the series; the other three are present in Grand Theft Auto (GTA1), Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV). GTA III is set around the autumn of 2001, when the game was first released; this was indicated by the Liberty Tree website, which included plot points that connect to events in the beginning of the game in its last existing monthly entry, dated October 18, 2001. The player progresses from the east (Portland) to the west (Shoreside Vale) during the game. Claude is a low-time thief working with his girlfriend and accomplice, Catalina, and they have been robbing small banks, betting shops and drugstores around the Southwestern U.S. After robbing for 9 years, they arrive to Liberty City, hoping to make big. On a rainy day in October 2001, they rob a Liberty City bank with an accomplice and a getaway driver Miguel. They charge in, take the money, and leave through the back. They run, but Catalina shoots the accomplice. Claude witnesses this, but she shoots him as well, leaving him in the alley behind the Liberty bank as she escapes with Miguel. Claude managed to survive the wound, but he is arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to 10 years to jail. The game then starts with the police convoy, transferring prisoners (including Claude) to the Liberty City prison. While they are passing the Callahan Bridge, a terrorist group ambushes the convoy, but they accidentally drop a bomb on the bridge, which goes unnoticed. They subdue the guards and take out the prisoners. Claude notices the bomb just as it explodes, destroying a part of the bridge and killing everyone except Claude and a fellow prisoner. The fellow prisoner introduces himself as 8-Ball and takes him to a small apartment to change out of his prison jumpsuit. 8-Ball introduces Claude to Luigi Goterelli, owner of the "Sex Club 7" and also the made-man of the Leone family. Claude is later introduced to Joey Leone, the son of Don Salvatore Leone, head of the Leone family. Claude starts working for the high ranking Toni Cipriani, Salvatore's Capo who helped defeat the Sicilian Mafia years before. During the work, Claude finds himself opposed of the Cartel, who are the dealers of a new designer drug, called SPANK. Once he is respected enough, Claude finally meets Salvatore at a meeting. Salvatore takes a liking to Claude and has him work directly against the Cartel. During this Claude realizes Catalina, now affiliated with the Cartel, is in charge of SPANK dealings. In the process, Maria, Salvatore's young and strained wife, begins to take a liking to Claude. Salvatore grows suspicious and leads him to a death trap via car bomb; but Maria saves him, remaining close to him throughout the storyline. He later goes to work for others, including the Liberty City Yakuza leader Asuka Kasen, Maria's close friend (and a lover) who gets Claude to kill Salvatore, cutting off all Claude's (and the Yakuza's) ties to the mafia. Claude's work leads him to allying himself with other criminal sources outside of the Mafia, such as Ray Machowiski, who is allied with the Yakuza and, like Claude, is an enemy of the Cartel, Claude later saves Machwiski from Internal Affairs, who seem to drop their investigation on him. Claude also meets the charismatic media mogul Donald Love, who is responsible for causing media fronts to block the conspiracy of his past cannibalism and necrophilia. In an effort to start a war between the Yakuza and Cartel, Claude and Love organize the death of Asuka's brother, Kenji Kasen and frame the Cartel. While on an errand, Claude finally confronts Catalina face to face, but she eludes death and leaves her second-in-command Miguel to his fate. Miguel is confronted by Asuka, who abducts him believing him to have knowledge of her brother's death. Miguel begs Claude to save him but Claude, remembering his role in the betrayal, leaves him. Shortly after this Love disappears under unknown circumstances. On the side, Claude works for smaller street gangs, like the Diablos, Southside Hoods, the Yardies and serial killer Marty Chonks. The Yardies leader, King Courtney, is responsible for Claude's falling out with the Diablos and betrays Claude himself after allying himself with the Cartel. This leaves the Southside Hoods to be one of the few allies Claude has. With the war with the Cartel intensifying, Asuka and Maria learn of Claude's history with Catalina and get him to fight many Cartel operations head on. Eventually, his exploits attract the attention of Catalina. This results in Maria's abduction by the Cartel and holding a ransom for her. This gives Claude the opportunity to face Catalina once more. When Claude makes it to the Cartel's mansion, he confronts Catalina who attempts to have Claude killed on the spot. Claude overpowers his would-be executioners and fights his way to the City's Dam. In the resulting final firefight, Catalina attempts to flee in a helicopter and makes a final attempt on Claude's life. Claude finds a discarded rocket launcher and proceeds to shoot down Catalina. As the game ends, Claude and Maria leave, and Maria starts talking to Claude. He takes out the gun, and a gunshot is heard. In addition to the exploits of Claude, the storyline, while not as integral to the game as its successors, depicts Claude's development of several non-player individuals and bosses, through cut scenes before the start of each mission, as the player progresses through the game. Most of the characters encountered revolve around corruption, crime and a fictional drug called "SPANK," which is a growing menace in the city. With the success of GTA III and its sequels, several of these characters or their relatives reappear in future GTA titles with major or minor roles, and their personal background expanded, particularly Leone family Don Salvatore Leone along with his "girl" Maria, media mogul Donald Love, Maria, Phil, the One-Armed Bandit, 8-Ball, Catalina and Toni Cipriani. The voice cast for the game's characters features several established celebrities. Notable voice actors include: Frank Vincent, Michael Madsen, Michael Rapaport, Joe Pantoliano, Debi Mazar, Kyle MacLachlan, Robert Loggia, Lazlow Jones and late rapper Guru. Grand Theft Auto III inherits and modifies much of the gameplay mechanics from its predecessors, Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2, combining elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game in a new 3D game engine. The idea of using a 3D game engine in such a genre was however not new: the first game to combine elements of action, shooting, and driving various vehicles in a sandbox-style 3D world was Hunter, released in 1991 for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST home computers. The first developed by DMA Design was Body Harvest (1998), for the Nintendo 64. Publicly debuted in 1995 at Nintendo's SpaceWorld video game trade show, Body Harvest was revolutionary for its time, but despite above average reviews, the game sold poorly. GTA III takes the gameplay elements of Body Harvest and combines them with the GTA series' open-ended game design to create a level of freedom and detail that was unprecedented in 2001. On foot, the player's character has the additional ability to sprint (but is incapable of swimming), as well as use weapons and perform basic hand to hand combat; he is also capable of driving a variety of vehicles, (with the addition of watercraft and a fixed-wing aircraft). Criminal offenses, such as carjacking, murder and theft will result in increasing levels of resistance from the authorities. If the player's "wanted" level reaches certain levels, the police, FBI, and army will respond accordingly. When the player character collapses from his injuries or is arrested, he will re-spawn at a local hospital or police station respectively, at the expense of losing all weapons and armor and an amount of money for medical expenses or bribes. While this is similar to previous Grand Theft Auto games, the player character is essentially offered unlimited "lives," as opposed to the limited number of lives in GTA1 and GTA2. This allows the player character to "die" as many times as she/he pleases, and render it impossible to indefinitely lose in the game. A major feature in GTA III's predecessors that allowed the player to obtain cash by committing petty crimes has been downplayed in GTA III, encompassing only car ramming, vehicle destruction and pedestrian killing. The amount of money in the player's possession is no longer a requirement to unlock new areas in GTA III. There are only two exceptions to this, which require the player to have a certain amount of money. Instead, the completion of missions and unfolding of the game's storyline are now responsible for this role. Additionally, the player is allowed to return to all unlocked areas of the city. However, as new areas open up, access to other, previously available areas becomes more dangerous or difficult, due to hostilities from enemy gangs. The interface of the game has been significantly overhauled. The player-centered compass is replaced by a separate mini-map that also displays a map of the city and key locations (safe houses and contact points) or targets. Armour and health levels are now indicated in numbers, and a 24-hour clock is added. Gang behavior is no longer dictated by "respect" meters used in GTA2; instead, the player character's progress through the story affects his view in the "eyes" of gang members. As the player completes missions for different gangs, rival gang members will come to recognize the character and subsequently shoot on sight. Whereas multiplayer modes from previous GTA titles allowed players to connect through a computer network and play the game with others, GTA III was the first computer game title to only ship with a single player game mode. As a result, third-party modifications were developed that re-extended the game with the absent network functionality through manipulation of the game's memory. One of these modifications became known as Multi Theft Auto and was developed alongside this title and future GTA successors. A common trait GTA III shares with the rest of the GTA series is the considerably non-linear gameplay within the open world environment of Liberty City. Missions that are offered to the player primarily fall into two categories: storyline-based and side missions. While the game's linear set of storyline-based missions are required to advance the plot and unlock certain areas of the map, the player can choose to complete them at his or her own leisure. Additionally, many of them are not mandatory. Alternatively, it is possible to ignore the main missions and only play side missions. If the player acquires a taxi cab, they can pick up designated non-player characters as fares and drop them off at different parts of the city for cash; obtaining an ambulance allows the player to pick up injured non-player characters and drive them to the hospital for cash. Fire fighting and vigilante police missions are also available. However, if the player wishes, he or she may avoid all missions and instead choose to explore the city, stealing cars, running over pedestrians, and avoiding or opposing the police. Whereas its predecessors merely featured a short cut scene upon completion of missions in each city, GTA III significantly expanded this feature, triggering cut scenes after the player enters a contact point or during certain missions. The cut scenes serve multiple purposes: as a visual narration of the storyline, as formal directives of a mission, and as a visual assessment of a scene and objective. During gameplay, mission updates and messages are relayed through text-based instructions given in the form of on-screen subtitles, or on a few occasions, the player character's pager, similar to GTA1. GTA III also includes one-time tutorial directives to familiarize the player with the game's controls and features. The selection of weapons provided in the game consists of firearms and explosives, with the addition of two forms of mêlée attacks (hand to hand combat and baseball bat). The weapons themselves are largely similar to the selection of weapons from the original GTA and GTA 2, such as the M1911, the Micro Uzi, an AK-47 and an M16A1, the rocket launcher, and the flamethrower, which are based on similar weapons from GTA1, and the shotgun and thrown weapons (Molotov cocktails and hand grenades) from GTA2. The porting of GTA III into a three dimensional environment also allows access to a first-person view, making the inclusion of the sniper rifle and first-person aiming of the M16A1 and rocket launcher possible. In addition, it becomes possible in the game to perform drive-by shooting using the Micro Uzi, while the inclusion of magazine-based weapons introduces the need to reload weapons after a magazine has been depleted. Additionally, wielding certain weapons restricts movement. Weapons may be purchased from local firearms dealers and businesses, retrieved for free from certain dead gang members, mission-specific characters, and law enforcers, or picked up in certain spots in the city. All versions of GTA III allow the player to auto-aim using a gamepad with the push of a button, holding human targets at gun point using most firearms, with the exception of first-person aiming for the sniper rifle, M16 and rocket launcher, which are aimed using the analog stick or mouse as the player presses the same auto aim button. The Microsoft Windows version includes the additional ability to look around and aim freely with a mouse while on foot; these control differences are seen in the console and Microsoft Windows ports of Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. One of the game's subtler inclusions was a variety of radio stations. The stations feature music specially written for the game (as well as many songs originating from the first two GTAs), but also includes licensed music, some of which were excerpts of several actual music albums; this combination differs from those of the game's predecessors, which featured entirely original soundtracks. One of the stations is a full-length talk show, and many of the callers are actually characters from the story missions, often demonstrating the same views and eccentricities that become apparent to the player during the missions. Another station "Flashback FM" features music heard throughout scenes in the film Scarface, which had heavy influence on the game's sequel, Vice City. Additionally, an online format of the fictional Liberty Tree newspaper, dedicated to events that took place within and outside Liberty City between February 2001 and October 2001, was made available months ahead of GTA III's release. The website, working in tandem with the official map-based website and sub-pages, also served to provide a back-story to GTA III, while evoking a sense that the reported events had actually taken place in real time, releasing monthly issues in its nine months of activity. The site also includes articles on criminal activities in the city and city development (i.e. delayed tunnel completion and the growth of Love Media in the city), and various advertising to fictional products. Pre-released screenshots of gameplay, the city's environment and characters were used as photographs for certain news articles. Various commercials are featured on both the radio stations and the Liberty Tree website. Certain ads often referred to their advertisers' official websites, such as petsovernight.com. All of these sites actually existed; they were set up to tie in with the game. However, although looking very much like genuine online stores of the era, all links to purchase or order the products actually led to rockstargames.com. Music can also be transferred through mp3 folder in GTA 3 for PC. All sorts of music can be played and there is no song limit. Grand Theft Auto III's new RenderWare game engine created by another British games company Criterion Games was a significant departure from its predecessors, most notably because it uses a forward-viewing perspective as the default view, similar to a majority of third-person shooters and driving games, and has much-improved street-level graphics. The game also offers several additional camera modes, including a cinematic view, and the top-down perspective prevalent in GTA III's predecessors (this last was omitted in following titles, making GTA III the last major console title in the series to include the top-down view). In console versions, the game runs in the display resolution dictated by the console, while the Microsoft Windows version permits resolutions of up to 1600 by 1200 pixels. The in-game environment is displayed through extensive use of level of detail (LOD), allowing areas directly surrounding the player to display objects in higher polygon counts (including vehicles, buildings and terrain) or minor props (e.g. street furniture), while areas far from the player are displayed with fewer polygons and less detail. As such, LODs aid GTA III in displaying a large environment with a further draw distance, while ensuring that the game's performance remains optimum. When traveling within the city, the game constantly swaps models of varied detail as the player moves from one area to another. However, when the player travels to another island, the game is required to load detailed models of the entire destination island, while also loading low-detail models for the island the player is leaving, requiring substantially more processing time; in the process, the game displays a "Welcome to..." screen for a short amount of time, before play resumes. Like the environment, vehicles and pedestrians are depicted by full three-dimensional models, compared to flat top-down sprites used in previous games. Both vehicles and pedestrians are constructed from individual polygons with a central "core" (the engine, chassis and body of vehicles, and the torso of pedestrians). The damage system of vehicles represents the minor vehicle parts (doors, frontal quarter panels, bumpers and wheels) as undamaged, damaged or missing, based on collisions detected on the vehicle; the core of each vehicle remains visually unchanged despite heavy damage. As pedestrians in GTA III are made out of separate polygon parts (limbs, a head and a torso), it is possible to detach the limbs or head of a pedestrian (by using heavy firearms or explosives). As the game runs a simulated 24-hour cycle, including changing weather, the game engine is also required to simulate day and night periods, as well as weather effects. This is done by adjusting surrounding visual effects and details in accordance to the weather and time of day. Other minor details are also present, like a rainbow and shiny streets after rain, and the sun moving from the northeast in the morning to the northwest in the evening. Prior to the 2001 release of the final game, several modifications were made to Grand Theft Auto III. The changes were apparent as several promotional materials had previously displayed features that would be absent in the final version of the game. While cuts and changes are frequent during game development, the changes in GTA III were of note as they were made around the time when the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred; this led some gamers to speculate that at least some of the changes were motivated by the attacks. Few changes were made and when they were conducted, Sam Houser, the president of Rockstar Games (based in Manhattan, New York City), was quoted September 19, 2001 saying that a review would be carried out for GTA III, in addition to confirming the delay of the game's release by three weeks (the original, rough release date was suggested by Houser to be on October 2, 2001): “...our biggest games, including Grand Theft Auto [III], have been delayed slightly. This decision is based on two factors, firstly it has been a little difficult to get work done in downtown Manhattan in the last week since basic communications infrastructure has been intermittent at best, and secondly we felt that a full content review of all our titles was absolutely necessary for us in light of the horrifying event we all witnessed in NYC last week. As for Grand Theft Auto III, since the game is so huge the review is no short process. So far we have come across certain small contextual references that we were no longer comfortable with, as well as a couple of very rare game play instances that no longer felt appropriate to us. We apologize to you and all the people waiting for this game to ship for the delays that have now ensued, but I'm sure you can understand our reasoning." Among the changes made shortly after 9/11 was the police cars' paint scheme. The old color scheme of blue with white stripes (seen in previews and the manual map) specifically resembled that of the NYPD. The new color scheme of the LCPD is modeled in a generic black-and-white design that is common amongst several police departments in the United States such as the LAPD and SFPD. Pre-release screenshots in the game's official website depicting police cars had also undergone modifications, around a week after September 11. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto IV saw paint schemes bearing likenesses to those of the NYPD's (past and present) returning, several years after GTA III was released. Another cut is that of Darkel, an in-game character, for the final version of the game. Mentioned in several early video game publications and websites, Darkel was to be a revolutionary urchin who vowed to bring down the city's economy. One mission involved stealing an ice cream van, using it to attract pedestrians, then blowing it up (this mission would eventually be given by El Burro instead in the final version of game to kill a group of gang members). Darkel was also originally expected to give out Rampage-like missions, and even had his voice recorded for this part. Rockstar later decided that they would like to go back to the original system of giving out rampages as featured in Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2. Although Darkel and his missions were removed indefinitely, the character remains listed in the manual's credits, as well as having a character texture retained in the game's data files. Another reminder of Darkel's existence is an abandoned tunnel in the city, associated with the character in the official website, and includes four homeless people in a group wielding Molotov cocktails. Both the tunnel and the four homeless people are retained in the final version of the game. The Dodo airplane, the only flyable aircraft in the game, was also a point of discussion; the wings of the vehicle were significantly short, while an uncontrollable full-winged version has been seen flying around the city. However, the plane, for months before 9/11, had a short wingspan, as evidenced from a preview in Game Informer (Issue #95), which indicated that the plane was to be used in a (now abandoned) mission to loft the plane high enough in its brief flight and reach new areas of the city. The Dodo is considerably difficult to control, usually resulting in short flights (although it is possible to fly the plane continuously around Liberty City when properly trained). Other changes included stopping the selection of certain character models when using cheat codes, removing the aforementioned ability to blow limbs off non-player characters in only the PlayStation 2 version of GTA III, (though this can enabled with a cheat code) elderly pedestrians with walkers, school children as pedestrians (from GameSpot UK's beta preview) and a school bus (seen in eight screenshots). During a Q and A session on their website, for the game's tenth anniversary, when asked how much was different from the original version, Rockstar stated: About 1% different. We removed only one mission that referenced terrorists and changed a few other cosmetic details – car details, a couple of ped[estrian] comments, lines of radio dialogue etc – the game came out a very short time later. The biggest change was the US packaging which remixed the previous packaging into what became our signature style – because the previous packaging [which was released as the cover of the game in Europe] was, we felt, too raw after 9/11. All of the more extreme rumours are amusing but impossible to have been achieved in such a short period of time. They also denied any of the rumors with school children being in the game. Expanding on the cover change during an interview with Edge, Sam Houser said that the new North American artwork had been created in an evening and that they instantly preferred it to the originally planned cover. Upon its release, Grand Theft Auto III received critical acclaim; while minor problems and comments pertaining to graphics, performance and controls were noted, GTA III was touted as revolutionary by several game review websites and publications. According to Game Rankings, the game won several awards, such as GameSpot's Console Game of the Year, Game of the Year from GameSpy and Cheat Code Central, and Best Action Game of 2001 by IGN. The game's average review score of 97% on Metacritic ties it with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for the highest ranked game in PlayStation 2 history. It was also inducted into GameSpot's Greatest Games of All Time list. Eurogamer stated "A luscious, sprawling epic of a game and one of the most complete experiences I have ever encountered. If this is what I've waited a year to see on my PS2, then I would have waited ten. Magnificent". Official PlayStation Magazine called the game "The most innovative, outlandish, brilliant video game I've ever seen". Allgame commented "From the eight professional-style radio stations to the variety of mission objectives and hidden goodies, GTA III is packed with high production values and oozing with addictive gameplay". Game Informer noted "The environments of Liberty City are stunning in scope and detail, dwarfing anything I've ever seen, and your choices are endless." While GameSpy cited "A fantastically designed and fun game that's one of the most absorbing, entertaining titles released in a while. It gets better and better with every single day, as you continue discovering new little features here and there." GTA III unexpectedly emerged as a smash hit at its initial US$49.95 price and became the #1 selling video game of 2001 in the United States. Later discounted to $19.95 as part of Sony's "Greatest Hits" program, it continued to sell well and went on to become the second best-selling video game of 2002, behind only its sequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. GTA III was bundled with Vice City for the Xbox Double Pack, which saw strong sales in December 2003, even though GTA III was two years old. The Double Pack's success for Xbox was due to several factors; the critical acclaim and controversial game content for the games, the graphical improvements specifically for the Xbox, and having two games in one, which led to GameSpy giving it their Best Value Award. As of September 26, 2007, Grand Theft Auto III has sold 12 million units according to Take-Two Interactive.[63] As of March 26, 2008, Grand Theft Auto III has sold 14.5 million units according to Take-Two Interactive. Although the Grand Theft Auto series had been an underground hit prior to the release of GTA III, it was this game that first brought the series mainstream success and widespread accolades. The success of GTA III resulted in two console and Microsoft Windows sequels (Vice City, San Andreas), both of which were able to build upon GTA III's success, as well as three additional titles for handheld consoles (Grand Theft Auto Advance, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories). The next generation in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV, was released on April 29, 2008. GamePro recently called GTA III the most important video game of all-time, explaining that the "game's open-ended gameplay elements have revolutionized the way all video games are made". Similarly, IGN ranked GTA III among the Top 10 Most Influential Games. Video game critics and players have used the term "GTA clone" to describe the slew of video games released which attempted to emulate the sandbox gameplay of GTA III. In 2009, Game Informer put GTA III 4th on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time", saying that it "changed the gaming landscape forever with its immersive open world sandbox". GamesRadar named it 'the most important game of the decade'. In November 2012, Time named it one of the 100 greatest video games of all time. Grand Theft Auto III was and remains very controversial because of its violent and sexual content. Frequently cited in the press is the opportunity for players to carjack a vehicle, pick up a prostitute, have (implied) sex with her, and then have the ability to kill her and steal her money. It was due to the notoriety of GTA III that the Wal-Mart chain of retail stores announced that, for games rated Mature ("M") by the ESRB, its staff would begin checking the identification of purchasers who appeared to be under 17. GameSpy, which named GTA III as "Game of the Year" in 2001, also gave it the title of "Most Offensive Game of the Year". GameSpy noted the difference between GTA III and other ESRB Mature rated games, saying "Counter-Strike is merely Cowboys and Indians writ large. When you get right down to it, deathmatches are just elaborate games of Tag. GTA 3 is a Thug Simulator...[GTA 3 is] absolutely reprehensible. This is a game that rewards you for causing mayhem. This is a game that is about causing mayhem. It's a game that rewards you for killing innocent people by the dozen." After its initial release in Australia, the game was banned for a period and a censored version of the game was to be released in its place. A key reason why this course of action was taken was that Rockstar did not submit GTA III to the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC), the body that, among other things, rates video games according to their content in Australia. Lacking a suitable R18+ rating (the highest rating being MA15+), the game was "Refused Classification" and banned for sale because they felt that the game was unsuitable for minors. The PC version though was reported to be uncut with an MA15+. While the Australian version of the sequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was censored by Rockstar (it was later rerated uncut retaining its MA15+), the next sequel Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was not, despite featuring more "mature" content (although, later, San Andreas was once given a Refused Classification rating amid the "Hot Coffee" controversy but retained its MA15+ once edited worldwide). On October 20, 2003, the families of Aaron Hamel and Kimberly Bede, two young people shot by teens William and Josh Buckner (who in statements to investigators claimed their actions were inspired by GTA III) filed a US$246 million lawsuit against publishers Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software, retailer Wal-Mart, and PlayStation 2 manufacturer Sony Computer Entertainment America. Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two, filed for dismissal of the lawsuit, stating in U.S. District Court on October 29, 2003 that the "ideas and concepts as well as the 'purported psychological effects' on the Buckners are protected by the First Amendment's free-speech clause." The lawyer of the victims, Jack Thompson, denied that and is attempting to move the lawsuit into a state court and under Tennessee's consumer protection act.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 13:51:12 GMT -5
19. Shin Megami Tensai: Persona 4 Megami Tensei: Persona 4, originally released in Japan as simply Persona 4, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus for Sony's PlayStation 2, and chronologically the fifth installment in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series. Persona 4 was released in Japan in July 2008, North America in December 2008, and Europe in March 2009. It features a weather forecast system with events happening on foggy days to replace the moon phase system implemented in the previous games. Instead of the city locales of previous games in the series, Persona 4 takes place in a fictional Japanese countryside and is indirectly related to both Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (in terms of gameplay, story and production) and the Persona 2 duology (in terms of Shadow selves and confronting them to awaken Persona). The player-named main protagonist is a high-school student who moved into the countryside from the city for a year. During his year-long stay, he becomes involved in investigating mysterious murders while harnessing the power of summoning Persona. The release of the game in Japan was also accompanied with retail merchandise revolving around the game's theme such as character costumes and accessories. The North American package of the game was released with a CD with selected music from the game, and, unlike Persona 3, the European package also contained a soundtrack CD. The music was composed by Shôji Meguro, with vocals by Shihoko Hirata who sang the theme song "Pursuing My True Self". The game was positively received by critics, and it continues to be promoted by Atlus through releases in other media such as adaptation in manga and anime, followed by an enhanced remake, a fighting game sequel, and side stories in the forms of a manga and light novel. Like its predecessor, Persona 3, the gameplay of Persona 4 alternates between that of a traditional role-playing video game and of a simulation game. The protagonist of Persona 4 is a teenage boy, named and controlled by the player. The game takes place over the course of a traditional Japanese school year. Outside of key events, the protagonist attends school, and can interact with other students and characters, spend time at part-time jobs to earn money, or engage in other activities. The player may also enter the "TV World", an alternate reality where the game's dungeon-crawling gameplay occurs. Each day in Persona 4 is broken up into different periods of time, such as After School or Evening. Certain activities are limited to certain times of day. In addition, the ability to engage in certain activities is based on the day of the week, or the weather. By spending time with people, the protagonist forms "Social Links", which are friendships the protagonist makes as the game progresses, each represented by one of the Major Arcana. When a Social Link is first formed, it starts at Rank 1, increasing over time as the protagonist spends time with that person, until it reaches MAX Rank,which is Rank 10. Social Links grant the player bonuses when creating new Personas in the Velvet Room. Social Links are also influenced by the protagonist's five attributes: Understanding, Diligence, Courage, Knowledge and Expression, which can be improved through various activities, such as part-time jobs and sports teams. These attributes in turn may also affect the protagonist's interaction in daily activities outside of Social Links. Persona 4's timeline is driven by the disappearance of characters from the real world into the TV World, indicated through the "Midnight Channel". The one-week weather forecast indicates the amount of time players have to rescue people who have disappeared, in which the last foggy day of the week mark the deadline of the rescue mission. The game ends when the player fails to retrieve the missing person in time, and is given the choice to return to one week before the fog appeared. While in the TV World, the player explores randomly generated dungeons in the field map; each dungeon is of a certain theme, based on the victim that has been kidnapped. Dungeons are divided into floors, each containing Shadows, enemies the protagonist and his friends fight, and treasure chests, which contain items or equipment. Within the TV World, players fight against Shadows as they continue towards the final floor where the missing person is located. The game switches to a battle screen whenever the player comes in contact with a Shadow in the field map, and the player may be given the initiative if the player strikes the Shadow unnoticed. The battle system is turn-based, bearing similarities to the Press Turn system used in other Shin Megami Tensei games. Each character can perform a basic attack, use a special skill, or use an item. The player can choose to directly control the actions of all party members, or use the "Tactics" option to guide how they perform in battle. Offensive abilities cause certain types of damage, such as "physical", "fire" or "almighty". Enemies the player encounters may have a weakness to a certain type of attack. By exploiting an enemy's weakness, it will be knocked down, and the attacker is given the opportunity to act again. If every enemy in a battle is knocked down, the player may initiate an All-out Attack, a powerful attack in which the player's party rushes the downed enemies, removing weaker enemies and inflicting heavy damage on stronger ones. At the end of the battle, players are awarded with experience and items, and may be given the chance to choose a new Persona to summon in battle. Each party member has a Persona (an example of one would be the main protagonists default persona (Izanagi) that they can use during battle, with its own unique skills, and a specific set of strengths and weaknesses to certain attacks. Personas will gain experience from battle and learn new skills as they gain levels. The Personas of the other party members will also transform to a more powerful form after completing certain events in the game's story relating to that character. The protagonist is unique in that he can carry multiple Personas and switch between them during battle, giving the player access to a new set of skills. Outside of battle, the player can access the Velvet Room, where new Personas can be obtained. Two or more Personas can be fused to create a new one; the new Persona will inherit a certain number of combat skills from the Personas used to fuse it. Each Persona is of one of the Major Arcana. Fusing Personas of an arcana that matches an established Social Link will grant the Persona a bonus when it is created. The bonus is greater based on the current rank of the Social Link. Persona 4 takes place in the fictional, rural Japanese town of Inaba, which lies among floodplains and has its own high school and shopping districts. Unexplained murders have taken place in the small town, where bodies are found dangling among television antennas and their cause of death unknown. At the same time, rumor has begun to spread that watching a switched-off television set on rainy midnights will reveal a person's soulmate. Following the rumor, a group of high-school students discovered a fog-shrouded world accessed through television sets infested with monsters called Shadows. They also discovered each of their Shadow Selves, symbolizing their suppressed personalities. Confronting their Shadow Selves awakened their ability to summon beings known as Personas. Using Personas, the students form an Investigation Team to investigate the connection between the TV world and the murders, and possibly capture the culprit. The protagonist is a high school student who has recently moved from a large city to the town of Inaba, where he is to live and attend school for a year. While in Inaba, he stays with his relatives: his uncle Ryotaro Dojima, a police detective who is often on duty throughout the day, and Dojima's six-year-old daughter Nanako who has managed to take care of the household chores for her father. At school, he quickly becomes friends with Yosuke Hanamura, the somewhat-clumsy son of the manager of the local megastore Junes; Chie Satonaka, an energetic girl with a strong interest in martial arts; and Yukiko Amagi, a calm and refined girl who helps out at her family's inn. The four of them discover a world inside televisions, where they meet a friendly creature that lives there: a small, literally hollow bear with a costume-like appearance named Teddie. As they perform their investigation, the group gains new friends including Kanji Tatsumi, a male delinquent who is confused about his sexual and social identity; Rise Kujikawa, a disgraced teen idol that moved to Inaba and is another new transfer student; and Naoto Shirogane, a young female detective investigating the case with the local police but who is forced to take on a male identity to associate with them. Persona 4 opens with the protagonist arriving in Inaba to live with the Dojimas for one year (starting April 11, 2011), as his parents are working abroad. Just after his arrival, a TV announcer is found dead, her body hanging from an antenna; Saki Konishi, the high school student who had discovered the body, is later found dead under similar gruesome circumstances. After the protagonist and his friends accidentally enter the TV world, they encounter Teddie, who helps them travel freely between the TV and real worlds. They awaken their Persona abilities, and, realizing that the murders stem from Shadow attacks in the TV world, are able to rescue several would-be victims. Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, Rise Kujikawa and Teddie accept their other selves, which become giant Shadows in the TV world, and join the group as Persona-users. Mitsuo Kubo, a student from another high school who disappears following the death of Kinshiro Morooka, the protagonist's foul-mouthed homeroom teacher, claims credit for the murders; it is eventually learned that Kubo only killed the teacher and played no part in the other murders. Naoto Shirogane, a nationally renowned teenage detective investigating the case, is also rescued and joins the party, who learn that "he" is actually a girl who assumed a male identity to avoid the police's sexism. Events come to a head when the protagonist is mistakenly accused by Ryotaro Dojima of having some kind of role in the murders. Nanako Dojima is kidnapped while the protagonist is being interrogated, leading Ryotaro to engage in a vehicular pursuit with the culprit. The chase ends as they both crash; the kidnapper escapes with Nanako through a television set in his truck, and the gravely injured Ryotaro entrusts her rescue to the party. The group tracks them down within the TV world; the culprit, Taro Namatame, attacks them as a "human/Shadow" hybrid - Kunino-sagiri - but is defeated and both he and Nanako are taken to the Inaba hospital. When Nanako appears to die, the group furiously confronts Namatame; as the protagonist, the player must help the others realize that Namatame is not the killer by pointing out the lack of a proper motive, and subsequently work to determine that Ryotaro's assistant, Tohru Adachi, is the true killer. Failure to do so ends the game with the party being unable to solve the case; Nanako's death being permanent; and the recurring fog permanently setting in, the latter of which will eventually result in humanity's demise. Having identified the culprit as Adachi, the party chases and locates him within the TV world. Adachi explains his motives and ideals to the group; his claims are dismissed by the party. After fighting Adachi, he is possessed by Ameno-sagiri, the Japanese God of Fog, who reveals that the fog is lethal to people and will eventually wipe out humanity. Upon his defeat, he agrees to lift the fog, congratulating the party on their resolve. Defeated, the wounded Adachi agrees to assume responsibility for his actions and turns himself in. The game moves forward to the day before the protagonist must travel home; if the player returns to the Dojima residence, the game ends with the party sending the protagonist off as he departs Inaba. Alternatively, should the player be able to identify the unexplained origins of the Midnight Channel and attempt to resolve this plot element, the protagonist meets with the party and together they decide to put the case to a permanent end. The protagonist confronts the gas station attendant encountered at the start of the game, who reveals herself to be the Japanese goddess Izanami and the "conductor" behind the game's events. The cause of the recurring fog is established as an attempt to eliminate humans by merging the TV world with the human world, all for the sake of humanity. The party tracks Izanami down within the TV world and battle her, but is at first unable to win; the defeated protagonist is given strength by the bonds he has forged with those around him, and with this power awakens a new Persona - Izanagi-no-Okami - which he uses to defeat Izanami. In doing so the fog in each world is lifted, and the TV world is restored to its original form. The game ends with the party sending the protagonist off the following day, and a post-credits scene depicts the group resolving to remain friends forever as the protagonist examines a photo of the party. According to the game director Katsuro Hashino, while "ideas [had been] thrown around earlier", development on Persona 4 in Japan did not begin until after the release of Persona 3. The development team consisted of the team from Persona 3, all of whom retained their roles from the previous game, as well as new hires who were "fans of Persona 3". Atlus intended to improve both the gameplay and story elements of Persona 3 for the new game, to ensure it was not seen as a "retread" of its predecessor. Hashino said that "to accomplish that, we tried to give the players of Persona 4 a definite goal and a sense of purpose that would keep motivating them as they played through the game. The murder mystery plot was our way of doing that." Feedback from players on Persona 3 and Persona 3: FES was considered a "great help", as well as over 2,000 comments generated by Atlus staff on the company's internal website. The plot of Persona 4 was "greatly inspired", according to Hashino, by mystery novelists such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Seishi Yokomizo. "The discovery of a bizarre corpse in the countryside, and...a story that reflects Japanese mythology" are common elements of Japanese mystery novels reflected in the game.[4] Persona 4 was officially unveiled in the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu in March 2008. An article in the issue detailed the game's murder mystery premise, rural setting, and new weather forecast system. The game's North American release date was announced at the 2008 Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California. Atlus has stated that there will be no "Persona 4 FES". The design of Inaba is based on a town on the outskirts of Mount Fuji. Its rural design was a source of conflict between Persona 4's developers, as "each staff member had their own image of a rural town", according to director Katsura Hashino. The entire staff went "location hunting" to determine Inaba's design. Inaba does not represent a "a country town that has tourist attractions", but rather a non-notable, "'nowhere' place". Hashino described the town as being "for better or for worse...a run-of-the-mill town". Unlike other role-playing games, which may have large worlds for the player to explore, Persona 4 mostly takes place in Inaba. This reduced development costs, and enabled Atlus "to expand other portions of the game" in return. A central setting also allows players to "sympathize with the daily life that passes in the game." To prevent the setting from becoming stale, the development team established a set number of in-game events to be created to "keep the game exciting." Despite living in the countryside, Persona 4's characters were designed to look and sound "normal" and like "modern high-schoolers", according to lead editor Nich Maragos. Initially, he wrote the game's cast as being "more rural than was really called for." "The characters aren't really hicks...They just happen to live in a place that's not a major metropolitan area." While interviewing members of Persona 4's development team, 1UP.com editor Andrew Fitch noted that the characters from the city—Yosuke and the protagonist—have "more stylish" hair than the other characters. Art director Shigenori Soejima used hair styles to differentiate between characters from the city versus the country. "With Yosuke in particular, I gave him accessories, such as headphones and a bicycle, to make it more obvious that he was from the city." The soundtrack was mainly composed by Shôji Meguro with 4 tracks composed by Atsushi Kitajoh (known for his soundtrack for Trauma Center: New Blood and Trauma Team) and 3 tracks by Ryota Kozuka (1 composition and 2 arrangements). All the vocals were done by Shihoko Hirata, whom Meguro felt was able to meet the range of emotion needed for the soundtrack, while the lyrics were written by Reiko Tanaka, whom Meguro believes "writes excellent English-language lyrics." Meguro was given a rough outline of the game's plot and worked on the music in the same manner and simultaneously with the development of the story and spoken dialog, starting with the overall shape of the songs and eventually working on the finer details. According to Meguro, the songs "Pursuing My True Self" and "Reach Out to the Truth" were composed to reflect the inner conflict that the game's main characters; the former song, used as the opening theme, helped to set an understanding of the characters' conflicts, while the latter, used in battle sequences, emphasized the "strength of these characters to work through their internal struggles." The "Aria of the Soul" theme used in the Velvet Room, a concept common to all the Persona games, remained relatively unchanged, with Meguro believing "the shape of the song had been well defined" from previous games. Persona 4's soundtrack was released as a 2-disc Original Soundtrack on July 23, 2008, by Aniplex with the catalog number SVWC-7566/7. While Persona 3 had a more modern style and design, Persona 4 features a more retro one. The soundtrack is also available in the North American release, containing a Side A and Side B. The Side A of the soundtrack is the bonus disc packaged with each game, while Side B of the soundtrack is part of the Amazon.com Exclusive Persona 4 Social Link Expansion Pack. Similarly to Persona 3, a "Reincarnation" album for the game's original soundtrack titled Never More was released on October 26, 2011, featuring full length cuts of the game's vocal tracks and extended mixes of some of the instrumental tracks. Never More made it to the top of both the Oricon Weekly Album Charts and Billboard's Japan Top Albums chart for the week of its release, selling nearly 27 thousand copies to beat out Girls' Generation's The Boys by a margin of 6 thousand units. With the release of Persona 4, Atlus has also produced a line of merchandise, including action figures, published materials, toys and clothes. Atlus collaborated with the Japanese publishing company Enterbrain to publish the game's two strategy guides, an artbook detailing character and setting designs, as well a fan book called Persona Club P4 which included official artwork, fan art, as well as interviews with the design staff. Most items were only released in Japan, while other Japanese third-party manufacturers also produced figurines and toys. The action figures include a 1/8 scale PVC figurine of Yukiko Amagi as well as Teddie and Rise Kujikawa, produced by Alter. Licensed Atlus merchandise sold by Cospa includes Persona 4 t-shirts, tote bags, and the jacket and other accessories worn by the character Chie. Udon recently announced that they will release an English edition of Enterbrain's Persona 4: Official Design Works artbook to be released May 8, 2012. Persona 4 was also given a manga adaptation. It is written by Shûji Sogabe, the artist for Persona 3's manga, and started serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Black Maoh magazine on September 19, 2008. The first tankôbon volume was released on September 26, 2009, and six volumes have been released as of February 27, 2012. Shiichi Kukura also authored Persona 4 The Magician, a manga that focuses on Yosuke Hanamura's life in Inaba before the game's start. Its only volume was released on August 27, 2012. Another upcoming manga is the adaptation of the light novel Persona 4 x Detective Naoto that will be authored by Satoshi Shiki and published in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Maoh magazine starting on November 27, 2012 Mamiya Natsuki wrote a light novel titled Persona X Detective Naoto that focuses on the character of Naoto Shirogane a year after the events of Persona 4. She is hired to investigate the disappearance of a childhood friend in Yagakoro City where she is partnered with Sousei Kurogami, a mechanized detective. With illustrations by Shigenori Soejima and Shuji Sogabe, the light novel was released by Dengeki Bunko on June 8, 2012 in Japan. An anime television series based on the game has also begun airing, produced by AIC A.S.T.A. and directed by Seiji Kishi. Main voice actors from the original game are also set to reprise their roles in the TV series including Daisuke Namikawa (protagonist, renamed Yu Narukami in the anime series), Showtaro Morikubo (Yôsuke Hanamura), Yui Horie (Chie Satonaka), and Ami Koshimizu (Yukiko Amagi). The episodes started airing in Japan on MBS on October 6, 2011 and had a simulcast by Anime Network in North America. The run concluded March 29, 2012, with the 25th episode. A 26th "true ending" episode will be released on August 22. On November 23, 2011, Aniplex started releasing the series in DVD and Blu-ray volumes, with the first one including the first episode in a director's cut version and bonus CD single for the opening and ending themes. Following volumes will contain three episodes and a single CD with the second released on December 21, 2011. The releases have been popular in Japan with the first Blu-ray selling 27,951 copies during 2011. The anime has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks for Blu-ray and DVD release during 2012. Sentai has confirmed that the English dub will retain the same cast from the game. Sentai released the first collection of the anime on September 18, 2012. Also, a 90 minute film titled "Persona 4 The Animation -The Factor of Hope-" was released on June 9, 2012 in 10 theaters in Japan. This film is a condensed version of the anime that contains new footage that wasn't shown earlier. However, unlike the anime, it is edited to include the "true ending episode" that was to be released exclusively on the final volume of the anime's Blu-ray/DVD. A fighting game sequel, Persona 4 Arena, was released during summer 2012. As with the anime the protagonist is named Yu Narukami. Some Persona 3 characters will be playable as well, Aigis, Mitsuru, Elizabeth, and Akihiko are the only confirmed characters at this time. Set two months following the True Ending of the original game, the Investigation Team enters into a fighting tournament called the "P-1 Grand Prix" hosted by Teddie. Arc System Works, known for creating Guilty Gear and the BlazBlue games Calamity Trigger and Continuum Shift, will be developing the game. A live stage production titled VisuaLive: Persona 4 took place from March 15, 2012 to March 20. Actors starring in the stage production include Toru Baba as the protagonist (whose name was chosen by the audience within every performance), Takahisa Maeyama as Yosuke Hanamura, Minami Tsukui as Chie Satonaka, Risa Yoshiki as Yukiko Amagi, Jyôji Saotome as Daisuke Nagase, Motohiro Ota as Kou Ichijo, and Masashi Taniguchi as Ryotaro Dojima, and Masami Ito as Tohru Adachi. Kappei Yamaguchi reprised his role as Teddie in voice. Following the announcement, Youichiro Omi was cast as Kanji Tatsumi on December 1, 2011. Persona 4 was highly acclaimed by critics within and outside Japan, and remained on top of sales charts on its initial release. In Japan, the game sold 193,000 copies within a week of its release, while in North America, Persona 4 was the highest-selling PlayStation 2 game on Amazon.com for two consecutive weeks. A soundtrack disc was included in the North American and European releases of Persona 4, containing a selection of tracks from the full soundtrack released in Japan. Amazon.com exclusively sold the Persona 4 "Social Link Expansion Pack", which included an additional soundtrack disc, a t-shirt, a 2009 calendar, and a plush doll of the character Teddie. Persona 4 was awarded the "PlayStation 2 Game Prize" in the Famitsu Awards 2008, voted by readers of Famitsu. It was also recognized by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association as one of the recipients for the "Games of the Year Award of Excellence" in the Japan Game Awards 2009. The game was given the award for its "high quality of work", "excellent story, automatically generated dungeons and impressive background music". Persona 4 received critical acclaim from most game critics upon release. The game received a Metacritic score of 90/100, based on forty-seven reviews. Famitsu pointed out that while "there isn't much new from the last game", it favored the changes over the battle system, where the pacing "is quick so it doesn't get to be a pain", and the ability to control party members "makes play that much easier". IGN on the other hand noted that "the pacing can be somewhat off", and "some things feel repurposed or unaffected from previous games", while praising the game as an "evolution of the RPG series, and an instant classic". It also noted that the soundtrack can be "a bit repetitive". RPGFan's Ryan Mattich recommended Persona 4 as "one of the best RPG experiences of the year", noting that "among the cookie-cutter sequels and half-hearted remakes", the game is "a near flawless example of the perfect balance between 'falling back on what works' and 'pushing the genre forward'." 1UP.com's Andrew Fitch summarized Persona 4 as "some of this decade's finest RPG epics", although the reviewer criticized its "slight loading issues" and the time spent "waiting for the plot to advance". GameTrailers gave the game a score of 9.3, stating it's an exception to the rule of the Japanese Role-playing genre, and that it stands out of any other JRPG, including its predecessor, Persona 3. Wired pointed out that while the graphics are not up to par with those of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, "the clever art style makes up for that". It also praised the game's soundtrack as "excellent, especially the battle music". The game's setting garnered mixed reactions. IGN labeled Persona 4 as "a murder mystery set against the backdrop of familiar Persona 3 elements", and while this element adds "an interesting twist" to the dungeon crawl and social simulation gameplay, it also causes the plot to "slow down or suffer". Hyper's Tim Henderson commended the game for "willfully embellish[ing] absurd urban legends and other ideas with such assured consistency that the resulting whole is unshakabl[y] coherent". However, he criticized it for the narrative's sluggish pace and for how he felt the game is "lacking in elaborate set-pieces". 1UP.com called Persona 4 a "stylish murder mystery", the comparison given being a "small-town Scooby-Doo" adventure. The game is also noted for its "significant portion of the story revolving around sexual themes", as quoted from RPGFan's Ryan Mattich. One of the playable characters given attention by reviewers is Kanji, who is considered to be one of the first characters in a mainstream video game to struggle with their sexual orientation, and Atlus has been commended for the inclusion of that character. Atlus has stated that they left Kanji's sexual preferences ambiguous and up to the player. According to Dr. Antonia Levi, author of Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation, the questioning of Kanji's sexuality in the script is a "comment on homosexuality in a greater Japanese social context," in which "the notion of 'coming out' is seen as undesirable ... as it necessarily involves adopting a confrontational stance against mainstream lifestyles and values". Brenda Brathwaite, author of Sex in Video Games, thought it "would have been amazing if they would have made a concrete statement that [Kanji] is gay", but was otherwise "thrilled" with the treatment of the character and the game's representation of his "inner struggles and interactions with friends". RPGFan had expressed hope that attention be given on the localization effort as "homosexuals could certainly take issue with the manner in which they are represented".
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 14:00:10 GMT -5
18. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design) in the United Kingdom and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall. It debuted in North America on October 29, 2002 for the PlayStation 2 and was later ported to the Xbox, and Microsoft Windows in 2003. It was made available on Steam on January 4, 2008, and on the Mac App Store on August 25, 2011. The Nintendo GameCube version was planned, but it was never released. Vice City was preceded by Grand Theft Auto III and followed by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Vice City draws much of its inspiration from 1980s American culture. Set in 1986 in Vice City, a fictional city modeled after Miami, the story revolves around Mafia hitman Tommy Vercetti, who was recently released from prison. After being involved in a drug deal gone wrong, Tommy seeks out those responsible while building a criminal empire and seizing power from other criminal organizations in the city. The game uses a tweaked version of the game engine used in Grand Theft Auto III and similarly presents a huge cityscape, fully populated with buildings, vehicles, and people. Like other games in the series, Vice City has elements from driving games and third-person shooters, and features an open world gameplay that gives the player more control over their playing experience. Upon its release, Vice City became the best-selling video game of 2002. In July 2006, Vice City was the best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time. Vice City also appeared on Japanese magazine Famitsu's readers' list of the favorite 100 videogames of 2006, the only fully Western title on the list. Following this success, Vice City saw releases in Europe, Australia and Japan, as well as a release for the PC. Rockstar Vienna also packaged the game with its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto III, and sold it as Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack for the Xbox. Vice City's setting is also revisited in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, which serves as a prequel to events in Vice City. On December 6, 2012, Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto Vice City for iOS and Android platforms as celebration for the game's 10th anniversary Tommy Vercetti, a member of the Liberty City mafia, has been just released from prison in 1986 after serving fifteen years for killing eleven men. Tommy's old boss, Sonny Forelli, fears that Tommy's presence in Liberty City will heighten tensions and bring unwanted attention to his organization's criminal activities. To prevent this, Sonny ostensibly promotes Tommy and sends him to Vice City under the guardianship of Mafia lawyer Ken Rosenberg to act as their buyer for a series of cocaine deals. During Tommy's deal with the Vance Crime Family at the docks, an ambush by an unknown party results in the death of Tommy's bodyguards and the cocaine dealer, Victor Vance (the main character of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories). Tommy narrowly escapes, and in a result he ultimately loses both Forelli's money and the cocaine in the process. When Tommy informs Sonny of the ambush Sonny loses his temper and threatens Tommy with the consequences of attempting to cheat the Mafia. Tommy promises to retrieve the money and the cocaine and kill whoever was responsible for the ambush. Towards this end, Tommy meets up again with Ken Rosenberg, who leads Tommy to mid-level drug dealer Juan Garcia Cortez. Cortez expresses regret about Tommy's bad deal and promises that his own lines of inquiry are being made. Tommy also meets Cortez's daughter Mercedes, who becomes Tommy's confidante shortly thereafter. While Tommy waits for the outcome of Cortez's investigation he meets British record producer Kent Paul, real estate mogul Avery Carrington and local free-lance criminal Lance Vance, Victor's brother and business partner who is also seeking revenge. As time passes, Tommy befriends Cortez and begins to do regular work for him as an errand boy and hitman. On one such job, Tommy saves drug lord Ricardo Diaz's life during a deal which is ambushed by a gang of Haitians. Consequently, Diaz begins hiring Tommy for his own agenda. Tommy takes this work because it pays well, in spite of his distaste for Diaz's character. Tommy learns from Cortez that Cortez's own lieutenant, Gonzalez, was partially responsible for the ambush on Tommy's cocaine deal, and Cortez asks Tommy to kill Gonzalez as a favor. Afterwards Cortez lays suspicion for the ambush on Diaz. Tommy initially continues the status quo to prepare for his attack, but his hand is forced when Lance attempts to take revenge by himself and fails, forcing Tommy to rush across the city and rescue him. With the die cast, the two move quickly to raid Diaz's mansion and execute Diaz. With Diaz dead, and Colonel Cortez fleeing the country to escape arrest, the established drug empires in Vice City quickly crumble and Tommy and Lance personally take over, becoming Vice City's cocaine kingpins. Tommy becomes the head of his own organization, the Vercetti crime family, and the more powerful and rich Tommy becomes, the more Lance begins to exhibit paranoid and sociopathic behaviors, to the point that he begins to abuse his own bodyguards and constantly calls Tommy in states of hysteria. Tommy makes alliance with Umberto Robina's Cubans against Auntie Poulet's Haitians, even though he is at the same time hypnotized by Poulet's voodoo into helping the Haitians. However after Tommy and Poulet part ways Tommy and the Cubans sneak explosives into the Haitian drug factory disguised in Haitian gang cars and blow it up, effectively ending the conflict. As his drug business expands, Tommy buys assets in nearly bankrupt companies such as a car lot, a cab depot, a strip club, a night club, a boathouse, a print shop for counterfeit money, an ice-cream company, and an adult film company, all of which he turns back into competitive businesses. He also becomes a personal bodyguard to a rock band, an honorary member of a biker gang, and pulls off a major bank heist. Tommy begins to disobey Sonny's orders and enjoys the empire, without paying any tribute to the Forelli family, enraging Sonny, who constantly demands a larger cut of the profits from Tommy. Eventually, the Forelli family discovers that Tommy has taken over much of the action in Vice City without sending a cut to Sonny as required. Sonny is enraged and he feels betrayed by Tommy, that he sends collectors to force money out of Tommy's assets, but Tommy disposes of them. An angered Sonny arrives in Vice City with a small army of mafiosi, intent on taking their tribute by force. When Sonny and his henchmen arrive at the Vercetti Estate, Tommy attempts to give them their tribute in counterfeit money. However, Lance, resenting Tommy's substantial share of their profits, makes a back-room deal with the Forellis to topple the Vercetti family, and informs Sonny that the tribute money is counterfeit. In the game's climax, Tommy stands alone as Lance, Sonny, and Sonny's henchmen raid Tommy's Mansion. In the ensuring gunfight, Tommy first chases, ridicules, and finally kills Lance then storms downstairs where he faces off with Sonny. During the gunfight, Sonny admits he is the one who set Tommy up fifteen years before, sending him to kill the eleven men who were expecting him. Tommy eventually kills Sonny in the main hall of his estate. With his enemies vanquished, Tommy establishes himself as the undisputed crime kingpin of Vice City. The game is set in fictional Vice City, which is based heavily on the city of Miami, Florida. The game's look, particularly the clothing and vehicles, reflect (and sometimes parody) its 1980s setting. Many themes are borrowed from the major films Scarface, Carlito's Way and Blow, along with the hit 1980s television series Miami Vice. Vice City also parodies and pays tribute to much of 1980s culture in the cars, music, fashion, landmarks, and characters featured in the game. Ricardo Diaz's opulent mansion and the climactic battle which takes place in it are very similar to their counterparts in Scarface. Another reference is the game's overall storyline, as it is highly similar to the film, as is the design of the final mission. There are also more subtle references, such as an apartment hidden within the game with blood on the bathroom walls and a chainsaw (in a nod to the film's "chainsaw torture" scene), or the pair of detectives which come chasing Vercetti in a car resembling the Ferrari Testarossa after a three-star wanted level is attained, which look like characters portrayed by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in Miami Vice. Vice City features dozens of characters, many appearing only in the cut scenes which describe each mission. The voice-talent includes Ray Liotta as protagonist Tommy Vercetti, Tom Sizemore as Sonny Forelli, Robert Davi as Colonel Juan García Cortez, William Fichtner as Ken Rosenberg, Danny Dyer as Kent Paul, Dennis Hopper as pornography Director Steve Scott, Burt Reynolds as Avery Carrington, Luis Guzmán as Ricardo Diaz, Miami Vice star Philip Michael Thomas as Lance Vance, Danny Trejo as Umberto Robina, Gary Busey as Phil Cassidy, Lee Majors as "Big" Mitch Baker, Fairuza Balk as Mercedes Cortez, and porn actress Jenna Jameson as Candy Suxxx. The voice of the taxi dispatcher is provided by Blondie singer Debbie Harry. Although the main character is not the same as the one in Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City contains a few characters from GTA III at an earlier point in their lives. Donald Love, a business tycoon in GTA III, makes an appearance as an apprentice to real estate mogul Avery Carrington. The one-armed Phil Cassidy from GTA III appears in Vice City as well, with both arms intact, and one mission actually explains when and how he lost his arm. Several of GTA III's radio hosts can also be heard in Vice City: Lazlow, who was the host of Chatterbox, the talk radio station in GTA III, is the DJ for the hard-rock station, V-Rock, in Vice City (he mentioned in passing in GTA III that he used to be a DJ on a rock station). Toni, the burned-out, female disc jockey of Flashback 95.6, the 1980s music radio station in GTA III, also appears as a young, club-hopping DJ in Vice City's pop music station, Flash FM. Finally, Fernando, a self-glorifying procurer of women ("not a pimp... a savior," he claims) who appeared on Lazlow's show in GTA III, runs Emotion 98.3. Also naturist Barry Stark, a caller for Chatterbox in GTA III, appears as a guest on VCPR in Vice City. Because Vice City was built upon Grand Theft Auto III, the game follows a largely similar gameplay design and interface with GTA III with several tweaks and improvements over its predecessor. The gameplay is very open-ended, a characteristic of the Grand Theft Auto franchise; although missions must be completed to complete the storyline and unlock new areas of the city, the player is able to drive around and visit different parts of the city at his/her leisure and otherwise, do whatever they wish if not currently in the middle of a mission. Various items such as hidden weapons and packages are also scattered throughout the landscape, as it has been with previous GTA titles. Players can steal vehicles, (cars, boats, motorcycles, and even helicopters) partake in drive-by shootings, robberies, and generally create chaos. However, doing so tends to generate unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the police (or, in extreme cases, the FBI and even the National Guard). Police behavior is mostly similar to Grand Theft Auto III, although police units will now wield night sticks, deploy spike strips to puncture the tires of the player's car, as well as SWAT teams being rapelled down from flying police helicopters and undercover police units, à la-Vice Squad. Police attention can be neutralized in a variety of ways. A new addition in the game is the ability of the player to purchase a number of properties distributed across the city. Some of these are additional hideouts (essentially locations where weapons can be collected and the game saved). There are also a variety of businesses called "assets" which the player can buy. These include a film studio, a dance club, a strip club, a taxi company, an "ice-cream delivery business" (acting as a front company), a boatyard, a printing works, and a car showroom. Each commercial property has a number of missions attached to it, such as eliminating the competition or stealing equipment. Once all the missions for a given property are complete, the property will begin to generate an ongoing income, which the increasingly prosperous Vercetti may periodically collect. Various gangs make frequent appearances in the game, some of whom are integral to story events. These gangs typically have a positive or negative opinion of the player and act accordingly by following the player or shooting at him. Shootouts between members of rival gangs can occur spontaneously and several missions involve organized fights between opposing gangs. Optional side-missions are once again included, giving the player the opportunity to make pizza deliveries, drive injured people to a hospital with an ambulance, extinguish fires with a fire truck, deliver passengers in a taxi, be a vigilante, using a police vehicle to kill criminals, and the ability to drive a bus, transporting fare-paying passengers. Monetary rewards and occasional gameplay advantages (e.g. increased health and armor capacity and infinite sprinting) are awarded for completing different difficulty levels of these activities. Different sums of money are awarded for landing trick jumps in motorcycles or fast cars depending on the number of flips and height achieved. In total, there are about 114 types of vehicles in the game (including non-maneuverable vehicles and remote-controlled vehicles), compared to the approximate 85 in GTA III. Taxicabs, automobiles and boats return from the game (along with many others), while new additions include helicopters and motorcycles (a citywide ban in 2001 in GTA III prohibited their use in Liberty City). The car physics and features are relatively similar to that of GTA III, and some cars were added to the game, including a sportier variant of a luxury car, while some vehicles from that game were highly modified. The Skimmer plane is the only flyable fixed wing aircraft in Vice City, and because it features pontoons and is normally found in water, it is a floatplane, a type of seaplane. It can land almost anywhere, in contrast to the jets in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It has been noted that the Skimmer's design is almost exactly like the Dodo airplane in GTA III. Vehicle performance varies with location, some vehicles performing better off-road or on the street, while others perform better in the air or on land. Vice City includes a large collection of licensed music from 1986 and before. It can be listened to by means of various in-car radio stations. Each station covers a particular music genre, such as rap music (Wildstyle), rock (V-Rock) and (most predominantly) pop music (Wave 103, Flash FM). The tracks are for the most part works from various real-life artists, such as Megadeth, Electric Light Orchestra, Judas Priest, Quiet Riot, Toto, Blondie, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, David Lee Roth, INXS, Michael Jackson, Teena Marie, Rick James, Kate Bush, Bryan Adams, Go West, Luther Vandross, Kool & the Gang, A Flock of Seagulls, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Spandau Ballet, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Hashim, Corey Hart, Laura Branigan, REO Speedwagon, and Eumir Deodato. Additionally, a talk station (K-Chat) and a public radio debate show Pressing Issues (VCPR) are included. The radio stations and the game's storyline also feature a fictional heavy metal band called Love Fist. The multi-CD soundtrack to the game was an instant best-seller. In addition to music and interviews, the stations also include satirical commercials, such as the Degenatron, a fictional video game console ("Save the green dots with your fantastic flying red square!"), likely a parody of the Atari 2600. The commercials and the game setting are consistent: Degenatron advertisements appear on billboards, and ads air for stores in which the player can actually shop, such as Ammu-Nation. Months before the release of Vice City, Rockstar Games created a Degenatron "fansite", which allowed users to actually play the "emulated" games. There is also a commercial for the "popular" weapons store Ammu-Nation ("We even have the rocket launcher that was used when we whipped Australia's Ass"), a deodorant named "Pitbomb", which is a parody of Right Guard, and a car called the Maibatsu Thunder, a parody of the Mitsubishi Starion, which was a favored import sports car of the day. The Windows and Mac versions of the game allow users to import MP3 songs, allowing them to hear their own music through vehicle radio when tuning to an extra radio station called "MP3". To be able to do this, the user must copy their MP3 files to a specific folder installed by the game. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was released to critical acclaim from critics and fans alike. The game received ratings of 9.7/10 from IGN, 9.6/10 from GameSpot, 5/5 from GamePro, and 10/10 from Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. The game has a score of 95 out of 100 on the review compiling website Metacritic making Vice City the sixth highest rated PlayStation 2 game on the site. It was also generally praised for its open-ended action and entertaining re-creation of 1980s culture. The readers of Official UK PlayStation Magazine voted it the 4th greatest PlayStation title ever released. As of September 26, 2007, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has sold 15 million units according to Take-Two Interactive. As of March 26, 2008, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has sold 17.5 million units according to Take-Two Interactive, making it the fourth highest selling video game for the PlayStation 2. Like Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has been labeled as violent and explicit, and is considered highly controversial by many special interest groups, some of whom suggest that parental supervision is necessary when young people play this game, since children were never the game's intended audience. The ESRB rated this game "M" for Mature. In Australia, it was censored in case of it receiving a refused classification rating in which the ability to pick up a prostitute was blocked, so the game could be given a MA15+ rating. In 2010, these small cuts were added back and the game still retained its MA15+ rating. In November 2003, Cuban and Haitian groups in Florida targeted the title. They accused the game of inviting people to harm immigrants from those two nations. The groups' claims of racism and incitement to genocide attracted a good deal of public attention towards Vice City. Rockstar Games issued a press release stating that they understood the concern of Cubans and Haitians, but also believed those groups were blowing the issue out of proportion. Under further pressure, including threats from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to "do everything we possibly can" if Rockstar did not comply, Take-Two (the game's publisher) did agree to remove several lines of dialogue. This seems to have largely satisfied the groups who raised the complaints, although the case was then referred to a state court, downgraded from the initial decision to refer the case to a federal court. In 2004, a new version of the game was released, removing and changing those lines of dialogue. In February 2005, a lawsuit was brought upon the makers and distributors of the Grand Theft Auto series claiming the games caused a teenager to shoot and kill three members of the Alabama police force. The shooting took place in June 2003 when Devin Moore, 17 years old at the time, was brought in for questioning to a Fayette police station regarding a stolen vehicle. Moore then grabbed a pistol from one of the police officers and shot and killed him along with another officer and dispatcher before fleeing in a police car. One of Moore's attorneys, Jack Thompson, claimed it was GTA's graphic nature — with his constant playing time — that caused Moore to commit the murders, and Moore's family agrees. Damages are being sought from the Jasper branches of GameStop and Wal-Mart, the stores from which GTA III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, respectively, were purchased and also from the games' publisher Take-Two Interactive, and the PlayStation 2 manufacturer Sony Computer Entertainment. The case Strickland v. Sony was heard by the same judge who presided over Moore's criminal trial, in which he was sentenced to death for his actions. In May 2008, he was criticised by Judge Dava Tunis for unprofessional conduct during the Strickland v. Sony case. In September 2006, Jack Thompson brought another lawsuit, claiming that Cody Posey played the game obsessively before murdering his father, stepmother, and stepsister on a ranch in Hondo, New Mexico. The suit was filed on behalf of the victims' families. During the criminal trial, Posey's defense team argued he was abused by his father, and tormented by his stepmother. Posey was also taking Zoloft at the time of the killings. The suit alleged that were it not for his obsessive playing of Vice City, the murders would not have taken place. Named in the suit were Cody Posey, Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive, and Sony. The suit asked for US$600 million in damages. The case was dismissed in December 2007, as New Mexico held no jurisdiction over Sony or Take-Two.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 14:04:05 GMT -5
17. Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth (Known as Exciting Pro Wrestling 4 in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game released on the PlayStation 2 console by THQ and developed by Yuke's. It is part of the WWE SmackDown! video game series based on the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). This game was the sequel to WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It and was succeeded by WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. It was the first game not to have The Rock on the cover, although he appeared on the cover of the PAL version along with Hulk Hogan. This would also be the first game under the WWE banner. Season mode has been lengthened to two in-game years and features the Brand Extension featuring Ric Flair's Raw and Vince McMahon's SmackDown!. For the first time only male wrestlers can participate in season mode. Players compete exclusively on the show they are drafted to for the first few months of year one, consisting of four Raw or four SmackDown! events, plus a monthly pay-per-view event. If the player's character is a created superstar, or if the original superstar has a rating lower than 60, he will instead wrestle on Sunday Night HEAT. Eventually, the player will be booked on the two major TV shows, appearing on two RAW and two SmackDown! shows and the PPV event, even if he did not hold the Undisputed Championship. One of the major angles featured is based on a nWo storyline featured in early 2002 that included Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and X-Pac, who replaced the released Scott Hall from the original televised storyline. Like its predecessor WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It, Shut Your Mouth's championships cannot be contended for in Exhibition mode and can only be defended in season mode. All of the major titles of the time, except for the WWE Women's Championship are included in the game: WWE Undisputed, Intercontinental, European, Tag Team, Cruiserweight, and Hardcore championships. Various unlockables such as alternate player attires can be unlocked through Season mode. Televised and pay-per-view events are televised from the SmackDown! Arena, the exterior of which is based on Madison Square Garden. Although Jim Ross announces a different city at the start of each events, the exteriors remain the same. Notable areas are a New York Subway stop named SmackDown! Station, Times Square, and The World. The game features several arenas that WWE held events at in 2001 and 2002. There are also arenas based on each WWE television show. In certain arenas, players could make their wrestlers scale the TitanTron and jump off it. In addition, The Undertaker's motorcycle could be ridden in some matches. Create-A-Superstar mode gives the freedom to manipulate any part of the superstar's body. It also offers over 58 move sets from a combination of wrestlers in WWE not featured in the game or working in different promotions. Wrestler models were greatly improved, and included realistic facial features. Fully animated entrances for each character are featured, with their entrance video playing on the TitanTron, and their respective themes playing in the arena. The title belts are also displayed in the entrances realistically (e.g. Brock Lesnar carrying the title belt to the ring and tossing it above his head). For wrestler entrances, most of the themes used in the televised and house shows were incorporated into the game. Along with the in-house music from Jim Johnston, remakes of Johnston's originals from bands such as Breaking Point (for Rob Van Dam), Our Lady Peace (for Chris Benoit), and Saliva (for The Dudley Boyz) were featured. However, Maven and The Hardy Boyz do not have their correct themes, however Maven's Theme is hidden in the game and is hackable. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler provide sporadic commentary while ring announcer Howard Finkel provided his voice for match introductions and wrestler entrances. This is the first game to feature wrestlers on different brands, Raw and SmackDown!. In this game, all the wrestlers, including champions are eligible to be drafted on both brands, except for the WWE Undisputed Champion, who is available on both brands, as long as he is the champion. Scott Hall originally appeared as a member of the nWo. However, because of his release a few months earlier he was removed from the game, also Mick Foley and Bret Hart are not in the game but their created faces and features are. Shawn Michaels appears as a playable character in Exhibition mode and also can be used as a special referee but as an NPC for Season Mode. Vince McMahon and Ric Flair and Stephanie McMahon are NPCs but can be played in special match types. This game marks the first appearance of former ECW and WCW wrestlers, as Vince McMahon purchased both companies in 2001. Superstars including Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Diamond Dallas Page, Lance Storm, Billy Kidman, Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler, Jazz, The Hurricane, Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak. This game also marks the first appearance of Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar as playable characters. This game is Jeff Hardy's last video game appearance until WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2008 in November 2007, as well as Mark Henry's last video game appearance until WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2007. The game received favorable reviews from critics. It received aggregate scores of 84% from GameRankings and 82/100 from Metacritic. GameSpot states how "The gameplay still might be a little too fast-paced for some, but Shut Your Mouth tries to balance it with a more useful grappling, submission, and counter system." IGN stated: "This is the first time there hasn't been an obvious, glaring problem with the series' gameplay, which is cause for some kind of celebration." BBC Sport states how "The arenas are superbly well done, with excellent layout and ultra smooth texturing." GameZone stated: "Control-wise the game has been nicely polished since 'Know Your Role' and 'Just Bring It.'" However, Electronic Gaming Monthly stated how "Changes to the in-ring gameplay itself are barely noticeable. It's good, but if you're not a hardcore fan, you'll tire of it quickly." While Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine stated: "The controls bug me, too. Where's the innovation?"
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 14:17:23 GMT -5
16. Final Fantasy X-2 Final Fantasy X-2 is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for Sony's PlayStation 2. It was released in 2003 and is the sequel to the 2001 game Final Fantasy X. The game's story follows the character Yuna from Final Fantasy X as she seeks to resolve political conflicts in the fictional world of Spira before it leads to war. Final Fantasy X-2 set several precedents in the Final Fantasy series aside from being the first direct sequel in video game form and the second sequel in the franchise, after the anime Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals. It was the first game in the series to feature only three playable characters, an all-female main cast, and early access to most of the game's locations. Additionally, it featured a variation of the character classes system¡ªone of the series' classic gameplay concepts¡ªand is one of the few games in the series to feature multiple endings. Finally, it was the first Final Fantasy game in the series that did not have musical contributions in it from longtime composer Nobuo Uematsu. The game was positively received by critics and was commercially successful. After nine months of being released in Japan, it sold a million copies in North America, and approximately four million copies worldwide. Final Fantasy X-2 was voted as the 32nd best game of all time by the readers of Famitsu. The English version of the game won an award for "Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance" at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in 2004. The game has attained a rating of 86% on Game Rankings and an 85% rating on Metacritic. Though a direct sequel to Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2 does not duplicate its predecessor's gameplay; instead, it innovates on traditional elements. Like pre-Final Fantasy X installments, characters "level up" after a certain number of battles, by gaining pre-determined stat bonuses. The Conditional Turn-Based Battle system in Final Fantasy X has been replaced by a faster-paced variation of the Final Fantasy series' traditional Active Time Battle (ATB) system, which was originally designed by Hiroyuki Ito and first featured in Final Fantasy IV. Whenever a random enemy is encountered, the ATB system is used. Under this enhanced version of the ATB, playable characters may interrupt an enemy while they are preparing to take action, in lieu of waiting for an enemy's turn to finish before attacking. Furthermore, it is possible for both characters and enemies to chain attacks together for greater damage. Another departure from the gameplay of Final Fantasy X is in its world navigation system: players can visit almost every location in Spira from early in the game, transported via the airship Celsius. This is a deviation from the overall Final Fantasy series, where the most efficient means of transportation is typically not obtained until late in the game. These two changes allow players to choose a less linear storyline. Unlike Final Fantasy X, in which a player's course through the game's world was largely straightforward, Final Fantasy X-2 is almost entirely free form. The game consists of five chapters, with each location featuring one scenario per chapter. Put together, the five scenarios in one locale form a subplot of the game, called an "Episode". Only a few scenarios per chapter are integral to the game's central plot, and are marked on the world navigation system as "Hotspots" ("Active Links" in the Japanese version). By accessing only Hotspots, a player can quickly proceed through the game's story without participating in sidequests. The game keeps track of the player's completed percentage of the storyline, increased by viewing the scenarios comprising each Episode. If 100% of the game is completed, an additional ending will be unlocked. The game features a fork in its plot, allowing the player to make a choice that changes what scenes they see and the number of percentage points they acquire afterward. It is impossible to see all of the game's content on a single playthrough, due to this fork in the storyline, although it is possible to achieve 100% storyline completion in a single playthrough. However, a 100% storyline completion can only be achieved through one of the two possible storylines. When the game is completed for the first time, it unlocks a New Game Plus option that allows the player to restart the game with all of the items, Garment Grids, dresspheres and storyline completion percentage achieved previously. However, all character levels are set back to one. The field-map navigation system is largely unchanged from Final Fantasy X; it is still dominantly three dimensional with mostly continuous locations. A few upgrades have been implemented, providing the player with extended interaction with the environment through jumping, climbing and rotating camera angles. The game's sidequests include minor tasks and quests, optional bosses and dungeons, and the most minigames of any Final Fantasy at the time of its release. These minigames include Gunner's Gauntlet (a third-person/first-person shooter game) and Sphere Break (a mathematical coin game involving addition and multiplication), as well as the fictional underwater sport blitzball originally featured in Final Fantasy X with a different control scheme. Director Motomu Toriyama has explained that one of the concepts at issue during development was providing a large variety of minigames, such that "if you bought Final Fantasy X-2 you wouldn't need any other game". Final Fantasy X-2 reintroduces the series' classic character class system (seen previously in Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy Tactics) through the inclusion of dresspheres. Because the party never grows beyond three characters, switching characters during battle is unnecessary. Instead, the player can switch character classes, providing access to different abilities. The playable characters are allowed to equip one dressphere at a time, each providing different battle functions and abilities. Characters can learn new skills for each dressphere with the use of Ability Points (AP). AP is obtained by defeating enemies and by the use of items and abilities for that sphere. Abilities to be learned are chosen in the main menu. During battle, AP is given to that ability until it is learned. Each character can access as many as six dresspheres at a time, depending on the specific properties of the Garment Grid they are wearing. The Garment Grid is a placard featuring a geometric shape connected by nodes. These nodes are slots that can be filled with dresspheres, allowing characters to change character classes during their turn in battle. Most Garment Grids possess Gates that when passed through grant the user a complimentary buff. As with equipped items, Garment Grids often provide characters with a variety of enhancements and extra abilities. The game features diverse Garment Grids and dresspheres which can be discovered as the game progresses. While normal dresspheres can be used by all three playable characters, each character can acquire a dressphere that only they can use. These dresspheres can only be activated after a character has changed into all of the classes designated to her Garment Grid in a single battle. When a character activates one of these dresspheres, the other characters are replaced by two controllable support units. While the setting of the original Final Fantasy X was decidedly somber, in Final Fantasy X-2, the main characters were fitted with a jovial Charlie's Angels-like motif. Aesthetically, the world of Spira is essentially unchanged in the two years since Final Fantasy X. Most areas are from the original return (exceptions being the Omega Ruins and Baaj Temple), with few new locations. The only significant changes include the reconstruction of the village of Kilika and the clearing of the mist atop Mt. Gagazet, revealing forgotten ruins. Additionally, the Palace of St. Bevelle is now accessible throughout the game, rather than only during mandatory storyline sequences. However, even with Sin gone, fiends are no less populous than before. Despite cosmetic changes, there are major differences in the ideology of Spira's people. After Sin's defeat came the arrival of an era known as "the Eternal Calm". The priests of the Yevon religion chose to expose the truth about the order, leaving the population to decide for themselves how to live in a world without that particular religion, and without Sin. Advanced technology and the Al Bhed are now embraced by the population as a whole, and most have begun to pursue leisures such as attending musical concerts and participating in the sport of blitzball. Others have become hunters of ancient treasures, ranging from coins and machinery long buried under the sands on Bikanel Island to spheres in forgotten caves and ruins. Those who pursue the latter are known as "sphere hunters", of which many groups have formed. Despite the absence of Sin and the corrupt maesters of Yevon, Spira is not without conflict. Young people were especially quick to abandon Yevon and embrace machinery (called "machina" in the game), eager to see Spira develop, while many of the older generation felt that cultural changes were happening too quickly. As new ideals and practices began to sweep Spira, several new political groups emerged. Most influential among them were the Youth League, led by Mevyn Nooj, and the New Yevon Party, led by a former priest named "Trema" until his disappearance, and later by Praetor Baralai. The Youth League consists mainly of young people, determined to see Spira completely abandon its past practices, while the New Yevon Party consists of members both old and young who felt that changes should be gradual, their motto being, "One thing at a time". Following their formation, both the Youth League and New Yevon sought High Summoner Yuna's support in the hopes of bolstering their political presence. She chose to remain neutral, instead joining the Gullwings, the sphere hunter group to which her cousins Brother and Rikku belonged. She also began working with the excavation team of the Machine Faction, a neutral group of Al Bhed researching more advanced machina technology, and led by a young man named "Gippal". As time passed, tensions between the Youth League and New Yevon began to escalate towards violence. Meanwhile, Yuna sought spheres that she hoped would lead her to Tidus, her lost love who vanished during the ending of Final Fantasy X. After defeating Sin, Yuna initially retired to a quiet life on the island of Besaid, arranging appointments daily with the citizens of Spira. However, Rikku brought Yuna a video sphere discovered on Mt. Gagazet by her childhood guardian, Kimahri, now the elder of the Ronso Tribe. The sphere displayed a young man with a strong resemblance to Tidus, apparently locked inside a prison cell. Despite misgivings from Wakka¡ªnow married to his childhood friend, Lulu¡ªRikku convinced Yuna that she had fulfilled her duty to Spira and deserved to follow her heart. Yuna then left Besaid to join the Gullwings and hunt for more clues about the identity of the man shown in the sphere in the hope that it might be Tidus. Whereas Final Fantasy X drew heavily on ancient Japanese culture and Asian settings, Final Fantasy X-2 incorporated a number of elements from modern Japanese pop culture.[3] An exception, however, is the Trainer dressphere, featuring the game's main characters fighting alongside a dog, monkey and bird, the three animals befriended by the Japanese folk hero Momotar¨ in a traditional story. Another exception is the Samurai dressphere, which features each character fighting in traditional Japanese samurai armor. The three main playable characters of Final Fantasy X-2 are Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, whose team is abbreviated in-game as "YRP" ("YuRiPa" in the original Japanese version). Yuna and Rikku reprise their roles from Final Fantasy X, and, though their personalities are much the same as before, Square decided that their appearances would be heavily altered to give a greater impression of activity. Furthermore, it was decided that the pervading cultural changes occurring in Final Fantasy X's world as they and others began trying to live positively would be reflected in the new clothing of these two characters. The character of Paine is a new creation designed for inclusion in Final Fantasy X-2, to accommodate the game's intended action-adventure style revolving around a trio of female characters. Her personality is far more cynical and emotionally distant than that of her teammates, and she keeps her past a secret from them for much of the game. Several other major and supporting characters from Final Fantasy X appear in the game. Additionally, other new characters are introduced in Final Fantasy X-2, such as the Leblanc Syndicate, a group of sphere hunters who serve as the Gullwings' rivals for much of the game. The game's main antagonist is Shuyin, another new character. The story begins as Yuna, Rikku and Paine recover Yuna's stolen Garment Grid from the Leblanc Syndicate in the first of several encounters in which they vie for spheres. The game is punctuated by a narration of Yuna addressing Tidus, as though she is recounting the events of the game to him as they occur in a[clarification needed] in medias res. Although Yuna's quest is to find clues that may lead her to Tidus, much of the storyline of the game follows the clash of the factions that have established themselves in the time since the coming of the Eternal Calm in Final Fantasy X, and the uncovering of hidden legacies from Spira's ancient history. A significant portion of the game's events are unnecessary for the completion of the main storyline, but much of the depth of the story¡ªincluding characterization and background details¡ªare featured in the optional content, which generally follows how Spira is healing in the time since the end of Sin. As the game progresses, the hostilities between the Youth League and New Yevon come to a head. Meanwhile, the Gullwings discover an ancient sphere containing images of an enormous machina weapon called "Vegnagun" that was secretly buried beneath Bevelle. The weapon has enough power to threaten all of Spira, and, moreover, it is revealed that Vegnagun's AI is unable to distinguish friend from foe once activated. The Gullwings then join forces with the Leblanc Syndicate to investigate the underground areas of the city in an attempt to destroy the machine before it can be used by either side in the upcoming conflict. However, discovering a large tunnel recently dug into the floor of the weapon's chamber, they realize that Vegnagun has apparently moved to the Farplane, located at Spira's core. Disagreements between Spira's factions are soon punctuated further after the disappearance of Baralai, Nooj, and Gippal¡ªthe leaders of New Yevon, the Youth League and the Machine Faction respectively. Returning to the underground areas of Bevelle, the Gullwings discover the missing faction leaders discussing Vegnagun and learn that the machine's AI allows it to detect hostility and to respond by activating itself and fleeing. Additionally, it is revealed that Nooj had come to Bevelle with the intention of destroying Vegnagun previously, prompting it to flee to the Farplane. The player then learns that Paine had once been friends with all three men, assigned to be their sphere recorder while they were candidates for the Crimson Squad, an elite group intended to be assigned leadership of Crusader chapters across Spira. Two years earlier in a cave beneath Mushroom Rock Road called "the Den of Woe," just before the failed Operation Mi'ihen, the squad's final exercise was conducted. Within the cave, the various squad candidates were swarmed by pyreflies and driven to kill one another. The only survivors were Paine, Baralai, Gippal, and Nooj, who were themselves targeted by the Order of Yevon afterward when they revealed having seen images of Vegnagun while in the cave. Soon after, Nooj shot his surviving comrades and left them to die, severing the friendship the group had with one another. However, at this time, it is revealed that he was not acting of his own accord when he shot them. The feelings that drove the squad members to kill one another are revealed to have been the despair of the spirit Shuyin, who died 1000 years earlier. Before the four survivors could leave the cave, the spirit of Shuyin¡ªrequiring a host in order to interact with the world physically¡ªhad possessed Nooj, and later forced him to shoot his comrades. Failing to control Nooj, Shuyin possesses Baralai's body, pursuing Vegnagun to the Farplane. Nooj and Gippal follow in pursuit, asking Yuna to keep things under control on the surface. In doing so, the player must fight and defeat each of Yuna's aeons from Final Fantasy X, their spirits now corrupted by Shuyin's despair on the Farplane. During this mission, Yuna falls into the Farplane and meets Shuyin, who mistakes her for a woman named "Lenne". Shuyin expresses his anger that Spira's citizens have not yet come to understand the heartache that war can cause, and reveals that he has developed a plan to use the old (but still operational) Vegnagun to destroy all of Spira, ending the possibility of there ever being a war again. In so doing, he believes that he will be making the world a better place. The player learns that 1000 years before the game, Shuyin was a famous blitzball player in the high-tech metropolis of Zanarkand, and the lover of a popular songstress and summoner¡ªLenne. The two lived during Zanarkand's war with the more powerful Bevelle, and during the course of the war, Zanarkand ordered all summoners to the front lines, separating the couple. Believing that Lenne would die in battle, Shuyin decided that the only way to save her was to infiltrate Bevelle, commandeer Vegnagun, and use it to destroy Zanarkand's enemies. However, Lenne perceived Shuyin's intentions, and¡ªunwilling to allow him to take the lives of many others for her sake¡ªfollowed him. When she caught up to Shuyin in Bevelle, he had only just begun to operate Vegnagun's control panel. Before he could use Vengagun, Lenne begged him to stop. Shuyin yielded, but a group of Bevelle soldiers arrived a moment later and shot the couple. Over the course of the following 1000 years, Shuyin's despair and resentment over his failure to save Lenne continued to the point they despair became so powerful that it began acting on its own. Now with an understanding of Shuyin's hatred for war, Yuna manages to return to the surface, and the Gullwings organize a concert to which everyone in Spira is invited, supporters of the Youth League and New Yevon alike. Additionally, the Songstress dressphere worn by Yuna is revealed to hold Lenne's memories, resulting in a sphere screen projecting them to everyone in attendance during the concert. Witnessing images of Shuyin and Lenne's last moments, Spira's citizens begin to understand the unproductive nature of their disagreements. The player then learns that it was because of Lenne's memories that Shuyin had mistaken Yuna for Lenne. Although the factional fighting has ceased, Shuyin has nearly carried out his plan to destroy Spira with Vegnagun. Joining forces with the Leblanc Syndicate once again, the Gullwings make their way to the Farplane and find Gippal and Nooj already battling Vegnagun. Working together, they manage to disable the giant machina before its cannon can fire at Spira. Finally confronting Shuyin, Lenne's consciousness emerges from the Songstress dressphere and convinces him to abandon his mission and be at peace. Thanking Yuna, Lenne guides Shuyin's spirit to peace on the Farplane. Subsequently, the fayth once located in Bevelle appears before Yuna and thanks her as well. He then asks her if she would like to see "him" again. If the player replies with "Yes", and a sufficient percentage of the game's optional storyline has been completed, the fayth locates Tidus's scattered pyreflies and sends them to Besaid, where they reform; thus, when Yuna returns home, she is reunited with Tidus. Players who achieve 100% completion in addition to reviving Tidus will see an additional reunion scene in Zanarkand. Development of Final Fantasy X-2 began in late 2001 in response to the success of Final Fantasy X, particularly fan reaction to the Eternal Calm video included in the Japanese version of Final Fantasy X International. It was released in Japan shortly before the merger between Square and Enix. The production team was one third the size of the previous installment. This was because the team was already familiar with the material and it allowed them to give a hand-crafted feel to the game. In designing the game, a significant number of character models, enemies, and location designs from Final Fantasy X were reused. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura has explained that this allowed the game to be developed in one year and at half the normal scope Final Fantasy titles are normally produced. Maya and Softimage 3D were the two main programs used to create the graphics. Producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama have explained that the objective in mind when designing Final Fantasy X-2 was to embrace the concept of change as the game's theme and establish a more upbeat atmosphere than its predecessor. To portray the drastic change in Spira, the developers excluded summons, redesigned towns, and included vehicles. The low-flying vehicles were added to allow the player quicker access and mobility to the areas that were already available in the previous title. Because of the emphasis on a more optimistic setting, the game's dressphere system (inspired by the magical girl sub-genre of anime and manga) was implemented, and the atmosphere of J-pop introduced right from the game's opening sequence. Additional allusions to popular culture in general were featured, such as the style of Charlie's Angels. Though work on the opening song and motion capture began early in development, the opening sequence was actually the last portion of the game to be completed. For Final Fantasy X-2, regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu was replaced by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi of The Bouncer fame. Among the game's more notable tracks are two vocalized songs: the J-pop-style "Real Emotion" and a more slowly-paced ballad, "1000 Words". The English versions of the songs are sung by Jade Villalon of Sweetbox. She released extended versions of the songs she sang as bonus tracks on the Japanese release of her album, Adagio. The Japanese versions of the songs are sung by Kumi Koda, a Japanese music artist who also performed motion capture for the "Real Emotion" opening full motion video and provided the voice of Lenne in the Japanese version of the game. Koda also released her own English versions of the songs on her CD single Come with Me. While similar, the lyrics of Koda's versions differ from those sung by Jade Villalon. As with Final Fantasy X, an expanded international version was produced for Final Fantasy X-2. This version of the game, titled Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission, introduces two new dresspheres, an additional "Last Mission" at a location called "Yadonoki Tower," and the option to capture numerous monsters and characters including Tidus, Auron and Seymour from Final Fantasy X¡ªas well as several supporting characters from both games¡ªduring battle. This version was never released outside of Japan, although the English voices were used for the main story in the International version (not in the Last Mission). Due to this change, parts of the Japanese subtitles were changed or altered to fit the voice-overs. This was detailed in the official strategy book for the International version (see below). In 2005, a compilation featuring Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 was released in Japan under the title Final Fantasy X/X-2 Ultimate Box. Several action figures, books and soundtracks were released by Square Enix. Among the books that were published were three Ultimania guidebooks, a series of artbooks/strategy guides published by Square Enix in Japan. They feature original artwork from Final Fantasy X-2, offer gameplay walkthroughs, expand upon many aspects of the game's storyline, and feature several interviews with the game's designers. There are three books in the series: Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania, Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania ¦¸, and Final Fantasy X-2: International+Last Mission Ultimania. A similar three-book series was produced for Final Fantasy X. Gaming peripheral company Hori produced PlayStation 2 controllers modeled after the Tiny Bee guns Yuna uses in Final Fantasy X-2. These controllers were released only in Japan. They were re-released in a new silver box to coincide with the release of Final Fantasy X-2: International+Last Mission. Within nine months of its Japanese release, Final Fantasy X-2 sold more than a million copies in North America (within two months of its release there), and nearly four million copies worldwide. It went on to sell 2.11 million units in Japan,[46] 1.85 million units in the United States, and more than 100,000 units in the United Kingdom. It was voted as the 32nd best game of all time by readers of the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu, which also gave it a 34 out of 40. The English release of Final Fantasy X-2 won the Seventh Annual Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences award in 2004 for "Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance" in recognition of the character Rikku. Multimedia website IGN felt that the game's shift in tone is "part of what makes [it] so intriguing," labeling the storyline "a deep political drama" that "always manages to keep from taking things too seriously." They also commented that the game "treats its history with intelligence" and "its returning characters...just as clever". Further positive reaction came from RPGamer, with one staff reviewer summarizing X-2 as "a light-hearted fun game" that "may ... be the most enjoyable thing to come from the series in several years", while another regarded its battle system as innovative and "very simple to navigate". The game's stylistic changes from past Final Fantasy titles sparked negative comments, with some perceiving it as a change in the spirit of the franchise. Among these were the game's status as Final Fantasy's first direct sequel and the change from a tragic atmosphere in Final Fantasy X to a dominantly lighthearted tone in Final Fantasy X-2. In the words of one reviewer, "Final Fantasy X opens with the destruction of an entire city, whereas Final Fantasy X-2 begins with...a pop concert". In their review, gaming website GameSpot commented that "Some of the missions ... come off as downright silly and a bit tacked on". Additionally, they felt that the game's non-linear style makes it "[lack] the singular narrative thrust of Final Fantasy X or other typical RPGs, and the storyline can feel a little nebulous and disjointed as a result". Moreover, GameSpot commented that "trivial minigames have been creeping into the Final Fantasy games at an alarming rate over the last few years, and in this regard, X-2 is definitely the most egregious offender in the series". Despite these comments, they praised the battle system as a "welcome addition", while regarding its voice-overs and localizations as "outstanding". Another aspect of the game that has attracted criticism is the reuse of graphical designs from Final Fantasy X. One reviewer at RPGamer commented that "there is little question that the graphics in Final Fantasy X-2 could rival just about any other RPG on the market ... [but] one does not get ... [the impression] that the graphics have been improved in any significant way since Final Fantasy X", while GameSpot said "X-2 doesn't look that much better than X did two years ago". Electronic Gaming Monthly regarded this reuse of code as "[tripping up] in the one area where Final Fantasy titles usually shine". The game's soundtrack was met with mixed feelings, because Final Fantasy X-2's score was the first in the series without input from Nobuo Uematsu, composer of all previous games in the main series, and because of the change to a distinct J-pop atmosphere. While IGN commented that the music provided an "appropriately fitting backdrop" and 1UP.com suggested that it "certainly is in keeping with the new flavor", others, such as Electronic Gaming Monthly, regarded it as "too bubbly." One staff member at RPGamer suggested that "the absence of Uematsu proves deafening," and "the soundtrack that accompanies this nonsensical adventure manages to encapsulate the shallow nature of the game perfectly." Moreover, some reviewers felt that the outfits worn by the main characters are too revealing and aimed at making the game more appealing to Final Fantasy's largely male audience. Despite the negative comments it has received, Final Fantasy X-2's critical reception has been largely positive, with IGN summarizing it as "a brilliant and addictive romp through Spira that we're certainly glad to experience", and GameSpot commenting that it is "every bit as poignant, endearing, and engrossing as its forebears," with strengths that "ultimately make ... X-2's minor flaws forgivable". The game maintains an 86.25% approval rating on GameRankings and an 85/100 rating on Metacritic, both only slightly down from its predecessor.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 14:25:44 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 30. SSX 3 29. The Simpsons: Hit & Run 28. Suikoden III 27. Sly 2: Band of Thieves 26. Silent Hill 2 25. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 24. Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 23. Soul Calibur 2 22. Ico 21. Psychonauts 20. Grand Theft Auto III 19. Shin Megami Tensai: Persona 4 18. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 17. Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth 16. Final Fantasy X-2
Clues to the next five games
* Fix the King of the Cosmos' mess
* Las Plagas
* Learn about the secret organization known as The Patriots
* New death match types (electrified barbed wire, landmine)
* Political struggles of the Queendom of Falena
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 15:56:58 GMT -5
15. Katamari Damacy Katamari Damacy is a third-person puzzle-action video game that is developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan, and then later in South Korea and North America. The game resulted from a school project from the Namco Digital Hollywood Game Laboratory, and was developed for less than $1 million. In designing Katamari Damacy, the development team aimed to maintain four key points: novelty, ease of understanding, enjoyment, and humor. The game's plot concerns a diminutive prince on a mission to rebuild the stars, constellations, and Moon, which were accidentally destroyed by his father, the King of All Cosmos. This is achieved by rolling a magical, highly adhesive ball called a katamari around various locations, collecting increasingly larger objects, ranging from thumbtacks to people to mountains, until the ball has grown great enough to become a star. Katamari Damacy's story, characters, and settings are bizarre and heavily stylized, rarely attempting any resemblance of realism, though the brands and items used are based on those current in Japan during the game's production. Overall, Katamari Damacy was well received in Japan and North America. The game was dubbed a sleeper hit, and won several awards. Katamari Damacy inspired the development of other video games, and led to the release of seven sequels in Japan and other territories: We Love Katamari (PlayStation 2), Me & My Katamari (PlayStation Portable), Beautiful Katamari (Xbox 360), i Love Katamari (iOS), Katamari Forever (PlayStation 3), Katamari Amore (iOS), and Touch My Katamari (PlayStation Vita). The primary story in Katamari Damacy deals with the aftermath of the planet-sized King of All Cosmos' binge drinking spree that wiped out all the stars and other celestial bodies from the sky. The King (who appears to be chronically dissatisfied with his 5-cm-tall son's small size) charges the Prince to go to Earth with a "katamari"—a magical ball that allows anything smaller than it to stick to it and make it grow—and collect enough material for him to recreate the stars and constellations. The Prince is successful, and the sky is returned to normal. A side-story follows the Hoshino family as the Prince works at his tasks. The father, an astronaut, is unable to go to the moon after it is wiped out by the King, and the daughter, whose name is Michiru, "senses" the Prince's work—she can feel when each constellation returns to the sky. Ultimately, the family, along with their house and town, are rolled up in the katamari that is used to remake the moon. The player controls the Prince as he rolls the katamari around houses, gardens, and towns in order to meet certain parameters set by the King of All Cosmos. The player uses the two analog sticks on the DualShock controller in a manner similar to the classic arcade game Battlezone to control the direction the katamari rolls. Other controls can be triggered by the player to gain a quick burst of speed, flip the Prince to the other side of the katamari, and more. Objects that are smaller than the katamari will stick to it when the player comes into contact with them, while greater objects can be hurdles; colliding at high speed with any may cause objects to fall off the katamari, slowing the player's progress. The game uses size, weight, and surface area to determine if an object will stick to the katamari. This allows slender objects, such as pencils, that are wider than the katamari, to be picked up, and these will alter how the katamari rolls until more objects are picked up. Animals such as cats will chase the katamari, knocking things from it, but once the katamari is great enough, it will scare the animals away, and they can be rolled up once they are chased down. As objects stick to the katamari, the katamari will grow, eventually allowing objects that were once hurdles to be picked up, and creating access to areas that were formerly blocked. In this manner, the player might start the game by picking up thumbtacks and ants, and slowly work up to the point where the katamari is picking up buildings, mountains, and clouds. The typical mission given by the King of All Cosmos is the "Make a Star" mode, where the player needs to grow the katamari to a specific size within a given timeframe. Other missions have more specific collecting rules, such as collecting as many items (swans, crabs, pairs) as possible within a given time, or collecting the largest item possible (such as a cow or bear). The player can attempt a score attack mode for any level, in which they would try to make the greatest katamari possible in the time allotted. Certain levels can unlock an "eternal mode" by creating an exceptionally large katamari. In eternal modes, the player can explore the level with no time limit. Each level features two secret items that can be found. The first item is a royal present that contains an object that the Prince can wear. Most gifts are non-functional, but one includes a camera that can be used to take in-game screenshots. The other secret item is a cousin of the Prince, which, once rolled up in main gameplay, can be used as a character in the various multiplayer modes. However, cousins can only be found and rolled up after the game is beaten. The game also tracks which objects the player has collected at any time, allowing them to review all the various objects within the game. In the two-player mode, a player can choose to play as either the Prince or one of his numerous Cousins. The screen is split vertically; player one is on the left, and player two is on the right. Players compete simultaneously in a small arena to collect the most objects within three minutes. The playfield is replenished with new objects periodically. Players can ram into each other, knocking items from their opponents' katamaris, and if one player leads by a fair amount, then it is possible to roll up the opponent's katamari. Toru Iwatani, head of research and development for Namco, stated that the idea for Katamari Damacy resulted from Keita Takahashi's school project from the Namco Digital Hollywood Game Laboratory, a sponsored institute for game development education. Keita Takahashi's final thesis bore out the core gameplay ideas, while a team of ten (including the student) developed the final product. The game was developed for less than US$1 million, a tenth of the cost of Namco blockbuster titles such as Ridge Racer or Soulcalibur. The game took a year and a half to develop, with eight months of prototyping. Lead developer Keita Takahashi said that the team was aiming for four key points in developing the game: novelty, ease of understanding, enjoyment, and humor. Iwatani compared the game to Namco's Pac-Man, which focused on simplicity and innovation, and served as a template for future games from the company. At one point during development, Takahashi "proactively ignored" advice from Namco to increase the complexity of the game. The core gameplay of Katamari Damacy is the subject of U.S. Patent 7,402,104, "Game performing method, game apparatus, storage medium, data signal and program". The patent, issued in 2009, primarily describes how the game maintains the roughly spherical nature of the katamari when objects are picked up, though extends to concepts such as tracking objects collected based on temperature or weight values, which were modes included with later games of the series. Katamari Damacy was first revealed at the 2003 Tokyo Game Show, at which the press dubbed it a "snowball simulator". The image featured on the cover of the pre-release demo showed the large red ball used in "Tamakorogashi", a game played at Japanese school sports meets (undokai) that was an influence for the game. Plans for releasing the game in Western countries were tied to its performance in Japan. Katamari Damacy was first shown in the United States at the Experimental Gameplay Workshop during the March 2004 Game Developers Conference. Due to its popularity at trade shows and a write-in campaign, Namco decided to release the game in the United States. In Japanese, Katamari means "clump" or "clod" and Damashii is the rendaku form of tamashii which means "soul" or "wit". Therefore, the phrase approximates to "clump spirit" (in the same sense as "team spirit" or "school spirit", meaning "enthusiasm"; cf. the use of "damashii" in Yamato-damashii). The two kanji that form the name look similar, in a kind of visual alliteration. The name is officially transliterated as Katamari Damacy in most releases. In an interview with Dengeki Online, producer Keita Takahashi said that when asked about the title, "It just popped into my head suddenly, and this is what it has been from the beginning." The music in Katamari Damacy was widely hailed as imaginative and original (winning both IGN's and GameSpot's "Soundtrack of the Year 2004" awards), and was considered one of the game's best features. The soundtrack was released in Japan as Katamari Fortissimo Damacy. Its eclectic composition featured elements of traditional electronic video game music, as well as heavy jazz and samba influences (Shibuya-kei). Most of the tracks were composed by Yû Miyake, and many feature vocals from popular J-pop singers, such as Yui Asaka from the Sukeban Deka 3 TV series, and anime voice actors, including Nobue Matsubara and Ado Mizumori. One track is sung and written by Charlie Kosei, composer of the Lupin III soundtrack. Katamari Damacy enjoyed moderate success in Japan. The game was sold at about two-thirds of the price of a new game at the time. It was the top selling game the week of its release with 32,000 units sold. However, Namco originally estimated that over 500,000 units would be sold in Japan. Katamari Damacy was one of the recipients of the 2004 Good Design Award in Japan, the first time a video game has won this award. The game was included at a 2012 exhibit at the New York Museum of Modern Art, entitled "Century of the Child: Growing by Design", and was used to demonstrate the change in toys and playthings over the 20th century, specifically praising the game for its "quirky manipulations of scale" that makes it accessible for all ages. The game was not released in PAL territories such as Europe and Australia, since publishers thought it was too "quirky" for these markets; however, Electronic Arts picked up both sequels, We Love Katamari and Me & My Katamari, for release in Europe. The North American release of the game was very well received by professional reviewers, was mentioned and praised on TechTV, and was a featured sidebar in the May 23, 2004, edition of Time magazine. Time continued to praise the game in its November 22, 2004 "Best games of the year" special, calling it "the most unusual and original game to hit PlayStation2". Most retailers underestimated the demand for such a quirky game, and only purchased a few copies of this sleeper hit; it rapidly sold out nationwide, with sales surpassing 120,000 units in North America. It also won the U.S. award for "Excellence in Game Design" at the 2005 Game Developers Choice Awards, and G4techTV awarded Katamari Damacy its "Best Innovation" prize in its G-Phoria of that year. Although the game has rapidly achieved a cult following and has been praised by many reviewers, it also has its share of criticism. A common complaint is that the game is relatively short and repetitive—it can be completed in under ten hours, and the gameplay stays virtually the same all the way through. However, others, such as Electronic Gaming Monthly reviewer Mark McDonald, argue that the game's limitations are made up for by its strengths: "Sure, you're basically doing the same thing each mission, but Katamari's elegant controls, killer soundtrack, and wicked humor make it perfectly suited for replay." As a well-executed, non-traditional game, Katamari Damacy has been influential in the game development community. Since its release, a number of designers have developed works inspired by Katamari: among them Isostar, and The Wonderful End of the World. Katamari Damacy has spawned numerous sequels on the PlayStation 2 and newer game consoles. The game's direct sequel on the PlayStation 2, We Love Katamari, was released internationally in 2005 and 2006. Its story is self-referential, following on the success of the first game, most of the levels are based on requests from newfound fans of the King and the Prince. Though sharing the same mechanics, We Love Katamari introduces new gameplay features, such as co-operative play, and new goals, such as collecting the most valuable objects, that would continue through its sequels. Me & My Katamari was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2005 and 2006, featuring levels based on helping the animals of an island devastated by a tsunami. Beautiful Katamari (Beautiful Katamari Damacy) was an Xbox 360 title released in 2007 and 2008, following the Royal Family using katamaris to close up a black hole created while the King was playing tennis. The newer console allowed for higher-resolution graphics and support for online network play, leaderboards, and downloadable content. While PlayStation 3 and Wii ports were planned for Beautiful Katamari, these never were released. Katamari Forever (Katamari Damacy Tribute) was released for the PlayStation 3 internationally in 2009. Katamari Forever incorporates a mix of previous levels from the series, framed around the King trying to recover from amnesia, and new levels where the katamari is needed to repair damage done by a rampaging "RoboKing". It further improved on the graphics capabilities of Beautiful Katamari, and introduced new moves for the player. Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy was released for the Nintendo DSi via DSiWare in 2009. Similar in play to Tetris, the player used the prince to drop a Katamari into the playing field to clear the puzzle field. Touch My Katamari is a regional launch title for the PlayStation Vita portable game system in late 2011 and early 2012. The No-Vita moniker is a play on the Vita console name and the Japanese word nobita, meaning "to lengthen or extend". While the core mechanics are similar to other games in the series, Touch My Katamari allows the player to use the rear touch-pad on the Vita to temporarily stretch the katamari into an ovoid shape, allowing it to roll through narrow spaces or collect small objects. Several mobile versions have also been released. Rolling With Katamari was released in Japan only in 2007 for the Mitsubishi P904i series of phones, using their tilt-sensitive technology to let the player control the katamari. Katamari Damacy Mobile was released in 2009 for several wirless devices, and is a 2D side-scrolling version of Katamari Damacy similar to a mini-mode included with Me & My Katamari., I Love Katamari was released in 2008 for the iPhone and iPod Touch, with later patched for the iPad and other iOS devices and for Windows Phone 7. Another iOS game, Katamari Amore, was released in early 2011. WindySoft, a South Korean developer, announced plans for a Katamari Damacy Online' game, which was due to be released in 2007. It was never brought to the US. The character of the Prince makes an appearance in two Namco-Bandai games, Pac-Man World Rally and Keroro RPG: Kishi to Musha to Densetsu no Kaizoku. In March 2011, an independent developer made a web–browsing application that allows users to play Katamari with the webpage they are viewing. This was not developed by NamcoBandai but was named after the game.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 16:03:44 GMT -5
14. Suikoden V Suikoden V is a role-playing video game developed by Konami and Hudson Soft and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console and the fifth main installment of the Suikoden video game series. It was released in 2006, and has sold around 200,000 copies in Japan. Loosely based on a classical Chinese novel, Shui Hu Zhuan by Shi Nai'an, Suikoden V centers around the political struggles of the Queendom of Falena, and takes place 6 in-universe years before the events of the first Suikoden. The player controls the Prince of Falena and travels the world, acquiring allies and dealing with the problems of the nation. The game features a vast array of characters, with over sixty characters usable in combat and many more able to help or hinder the Prince in a variety of ways. Suikoden V is a role-playing video game and thus features many of the usual traits. The player controls the Prince and travels with him around the world map, advancing the plot by completing tasks and talking with other characters. The Prince can also recruit new characters to his cause, which often involves a short sidequest. In towns, the player can gather information, sharpen character's weaponry, learn new skills, and buy equipment; wilderness areas generally feature random encounters with monsters. The battle system to Suikoden V features six person parties in combat rather than the four person parties of Suikoden IV, reversing a much-decried change. Each character is individually controllable, as well (as opposed to Suikoden III). A variety of statistics in Suikoden V determine in-game combat ability. Like in Suikoden III, there exists a skill system in Suikoden V; for instance, the "Stamina" skill increases a character's hit points. Different characters have affinities for different skills. Only two skills can be equipped to each character, though they can be switched at any time between battles. If all six 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. The characters can be setup in a variety of fighting formations across a roughly 6x4 grid. Each formation allows the party to gain increased statistics, such as increased defense or increased attacks, occasionally offset by decreased stats in other categories, as well as a special attack based on the formation. New formations are acquired over the course of the game. Like in previous games, some characters have special cooperative attacks that can potentially do more damage. These attacks often do more damage than normal and cannot miss, but they also cannot receive critical damage bonuses and cannot hit targets multiple times. An auto-battle function is enable as well for quickly breezing through easy battles. Characters that don't participate directly in combat usually offer other services to the Prince, such as running a shop, giving clues for potential recruits, or aiding in the strategic war battles. Additionally, up to four characters may be kept in reserve of the current party; some non-combat characters, when in the reserve, offer minor benefits such as healing after battle or a greater chance of finding a special item after battle. Runes, the source of all magic in the world of Suikoden, are handled similarly to other Suikoden games. Characters have a certain number of spell usages per "spell level;" for instance, a character with four level 1 spell slots and a Water Rune could cast "Kindness Drops" (the level 1 Water Rune spell) four times. Other runes offer different benefits, and some may be used as often as desired. The strategic war battles from earlier Suikodens return for major army clashes, in real-time with more freedom of movement than the hex and square based earlier installments. Instead, the battlefield is now continuous. Both land and naval battles exist in Suikoden V; some battles even combine both elements. The system is analogous to Rock, Paper, Scissors, where cavalry beats infantry, infantry beats archers, and archers beat cavalry; at sea, ram ships are strong against archery ships, infantry ships defeat rams, and archery ships beat infantry ships. There are also additional benefits to having certain characters in certain units, such as magical attacks using runes or leadership bonuses. A few special units exist as well in beaver units and dragon cavalry units, which can travel on both sea and land. Suikoden V also contains a number of minigames, including, but not limited to, fishing, accessible through the character Subala, and Blind Man's Bluff, a card game that Linfa plays. Suikoden V takes place in the Queendom of Falena, portraying the events of that region of the Suikoden world eight years before the events in Suikoden and 142 years after the events in Suikoden IV (~IS 449). The Queendom of Falena is a relatively rich land sustained by the Feitas River, which connects its disparate parts and enables trade and communication. It is ruled by Queen Arshtat and her husband Ferid, who have been a balancing and steady force since the demise of her somewhat rash mother. However, the tensions of the past have not been entirely settled. Arshtat's mother and aunt had been engaged in a covert struggle for power over the succession. Falena's government also has powerful nobles who maintain their own separate forces, loyal to them. Arshtat's hand in marriage was seen as key to gaining power in the future by the nobles; a civil war was narrowly averted when Ferid, a neutral outsider, won the Sacred Games and thus the right to marry Arshtat. Arshtat and Ferid begat two heirs, the Prince (named by the player, called Freyjdour in the manga) and Lymsleia. At the beginning of Suikoden V, the time has come for Lymsleia's Sacred Games, a gladiatorial tournament in which the winner may ask for the future Queen's hand in marriage. (As a Queendom rather than a Kingdom, the first-born female is in line for the throne.) Aside from the many freelancers, suitors, and independent nobles who desire this prize, the two most powerful noble houses both bear a special interest in it; like with Arshtat's Sacred Games, Lymsleia's hand could prove a crucial advantage. The Godwins believe that Falena needs to be more centralized, powerful and perhaps expansionistic. The Barows seek more to rebuild and trade with foreign nations. The Barows faction has of late been somewhat on the decline, though they are still powerful; a recent war with the neighboring New Armes Kingdom was fought on Barows-allied lands, while the Godwins remained safe and untouched in the west of Falena, perhaps explaining the Barows wish to not further antagonize Armes. The royal family and others worry that if a Godwin or Barows were to win, it might well trigger another struggle. A key part of the Suikoden setting is the existence of Runes, the source of all magic. 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 powerful 27 True Runes, which created the world in Suikoden's mythology. Falena's national treasure is the Sun Rune, a True Rune which can both bring prosperity and growth as well as destruction and calamity. Falena also controls the "child" runes of the Sun Rune, the Dawn Rune and Twilight Rune. However, Falena's grip on the runes has gone somewhat awry. Two years prior to the start of Suikoden V, residents of Lordlake rioted and charged the East Palace, near the capital of Sol-Falena. In the confusion, the Dawn Rune, which was housed there, was stolen. Lordlake had previously been considered the most loyal of all the towns to the royal government and granted special privileges. With this seeming act of high treason by Lordlake, Arshtat took the Sun Rune upon herself, normally stored in Sol-Falena's palace on a pedestal, and used the Rune's power to scorch Lordlake's vegetation, wildlife, and river, killing its leader Lord Rovere in the process. Since bearing the Sun Rune, the normally compassionate Arshtat has grown more and more erratic in behavior, prone to mood swings and wild fits of vengeance. As with previous Suikoden titles, there are "108 Stars of Destiny" to recruit in the game. While some characters join as per the story's requirements, others require that the Prince recruit them either at a specific time, or by fulfilling particular conditions. As such, certain characters can be missed entirely. Some of the characters from Suikoden V appeared in earlier Suikoden games; as Suikoden V takes place before I-III, their experiences in Falena are a prequel of sorts for them. Notably, Georg Prime and Lorelai both play important roles in Suikoden V and appear in other games, while Viki, Jeane, and Leknaat continue their run of all Suikoden games to date. List of recurring characters in Suikoden shows all characters who span multiple parts of the series. Two years after Lordlake was razed by her Sun Rune, Queen Arshtat dispatches her son the Prince, her sister Sialeeds, and their royal bodyguards Lyon and Georg Prime to inspect the state of the ruined town. The player as the Prince sees the grim state of the dried-up town and report on it, but Arshtat scorns this; she declares that Lordlake's citizens deserve their desolation for stealing the Dawn Rune. Arshtat's husband Ferid pulls her back to her senses, and she dismisses the inspection party with a whisper. The next issue of contention is the Sacred Games for Princess Lymsleia's hand in marriage, being held somewhat early for the ten-year old Lymsleia. The two main contestants, both representing themselves with a champion, hail from rival noble houses: The foppish Euram Barows, and Sialeeds' former fiance, the charismatic Gizel Godwin. The royal family, however, favors the mysterious outsider Belcoot, as a neutral option less likely to cause strife; the Prince attempts to aid Belcoot quietly with Ferid's approval. However, Gizel successfully rigs the Games to his advantage, and his champion Childerich defeats a drugged Belcoot while the Barow's champion is disqualified. However, Lord Marscal Godwin, Gizel's father, is less than impressed with Gizel's activities, thinking that he has made an enemy of the Prince and the royal family as a whole with his plotting. Additionally, the royal family took Zegai, the Barows champion, into their own personal custody, who could perhaps help reveal the Godwins cheating and offer an excuse to annul the engagement. Thus, the Godwins launch a preemptive attack at the engagement ceremony in Sol-Falena, Falena's capital. Arshtat and Ferid had anticipated and prepared for the attack, but not the involvement of the elite Nether Gate assassins, who overwhelm the palace's defenses. The struggle culminates in Arshtat and Ferid's deaths, while Lymsleia finds herself a captive. The Prince (whose irrelevance to the line of succession made him the lowest-priority target), Lyon, Georg, and Sialeeds are forced to flee. The Prince searches first for a sanctuary, then for a way to fight back. He finds both (temporarily) as a guest of the influential noble Salum Barows, Lord Godwin's long-time rival. Salum (with his son Euram alongside) clearly plans to be the senior partner in his alliance with the Prince, but the Prince must take what allies he can find. Reluctantly, Sialeeds suggests bringing in help in the form of the legendary tactician Lucretia Merces, whom the Prince frees from prison. With her intelligence and vast network of contacts, Lucretia finds out that the Barows were behind the theft of the Dawn Rune - an act of high treason. With this revelation, the Prince is able to convince the Barows' allies to join him personally, including even Salum's daughter Luserina. The recovered Dawn Rune picks the Prince as its new bearer, even though the Prince can never inherit the throne. Lucretia guides the Prince and his army in establishing a headquarters, forging alliances, restoring Lordlake, and winning a long streak of battles. The Godwins crown Lymsleia Queen and claim to fight in her name, but lose the public relations war due to the Prince's resistance, the claims of a coup, the restoration of Lordlake (thus fixing a mistake of Arshtat's rule), and the Godwins' army commanders foolish brutality. The civil war almost comes to a close when Lymsleia takes the field personally, officially due to the Godwin's failure to put down the "rebellion," but actually to be rescued by her brother. The Prince and his forces defeat her bodyguards and find Lymsleia; without Lymsleia, the Godwin's government would collapse. At this juncture, however, Sialeeds defects to Gizel's side, spiriting Lymsleia away and prolonging the conflict. Lyon is seriously wounded, preventing the party from pursuing Lymsleia. Meanwhile, Sialeeds takes up the Twilight Rune, the counterpart to the Dawn Rune held in Godwin territory. The Godwins enjoy a brief reversal in fortunes with new army levies and an alliance with a faction of Falena's neighbor Armes. However, Falena's normally neutral Dragon Cavalry enters the war on the Prince's side due to Armes' involvement, and the Godwins are driven back once more. Sialeeds ensures that the Prince's forces must capture Stormfist, the seat of Godwin power, and thoroughly erase any possible strongholds of Godwin sympathy. Despite seemingly being affiliated with the Godwins, however, Sialeeds incinerates a Godwin ambush of the Prince's force. Sialeeds later murders Salum Barows in Gizel's name, leaving the whimpering Euram alive with the venomous taunt that the Barows faction will surely fall to ruin with an idiot like him in charge. Only the capital city of Sol-Falena remains under Godwin control. The battle for it claims the lives of both Sialeeds and Gizel. As she expires, Sialeeds hints at her motives (which her maids confirm, if the player speaks with them later): She knew that, if the Prince had rescued Lymsleia when he first had the chance, things only would have returned to the way they were before, with the same corrupt nobility holding power struggles. The only way, in her mind, to secure the royal family's hold on the Queendom was to prolong the war such that the nobility would be completely and utterly ruined. By doing it in the Godwins' name, the Prince and Lymsleia could be rid of them without getting their hands dirty. As Gizel dies, felled by the Prince in a duel, he declares that Sialeeds was the only real winner. Lord Marscal, the only remaining Godwin, retreats with the Sun Rune to a nearby mountain range, where he meets the Prince in a showdown to prove that the royals can rule without the power of the Sun Rune. He draws the Rune's power into himself for the final battle with the Rune incarnation. In the ending, Lymsleia re-assumes the throne and dissolves the Senate, though a new representative parliament is created to replace it and advise the Queen. Depending on the player's choices and performance, several endings are possible. If very few optional stars of destiny were recruited, Lyon dies of the wounds she received earlier and the Prince wanders off alone in despair. If most but not all of the stars were recruited, the Prince travels the world with Georg. If all 108 Stars were recruited, Lyon survives. If the Prince chose to be nice when interacting with Lymsleia, he has the further option of staying in Falena and becoming the new Commander of the Queen's Knights, with Lyon by his side. Suikoden V was directed by Takahiro Sakiyama, a newcomer to the Suikoden franchise, and written by Kazuyoshi Tsugawa, who served as the writer for The Sword of Etheria and worked on the battle system design for Skies of Arcadia. The game started out as a gaiden to the series, with development beginning even before that of Suikoden IV. However, as the content that the team came up with grew, it eventually evolved into a main installment. The music to Suikoden V was composed by Norikazu Miura and Konami veteran Miki Higashino. Miura, however, did all of the arrangement. The opening movie piece, "Wind of Phantom," was composed, conducted, and produced by Yuji Toriyama; he arranged for it to be played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The soundtrack includes a large number of remixes and references to Higashino's work in Suikoden and Suikoden II, ending with "Into a World of Illusions." The complete Genso Suikoden V OST, featuring all the music from the game in original form, was released on March 24, 2006. A shorter "Limited Edition" demo disc with 10 tracks had been released earlier. Suikoden V had disappointing sales compared to earlier PlayStation 2 Suikodens. In 2006 in Japan, the game sold 194,780 copies, down from Suikoden IV's 303,069 in Japan. Critical and fan reaction was generally positive. The plot received praise for the depth of its political maneuverings, even if the game starts off somewhat slowly: GameSpy said "Suikoden V has a robust, well-done plot that doesn't telegraph every twist or conform to embarrassing clichés." Most reviewers also found the cast of characters engaging, as well; GameSpot said that "Suikoden's always been great at making the stars evince unique personalities with just a few exchanges of conversation, and there's lots of interesting people to meet and lure to your forces." Suikoden V also reversed some of the unpopular changes of Suikoden IV (such as 4-person parties), and offered some tie-ins to Suikoden and Suikoden II for fans of the original PlayStation games. The graphics and loading times were generally criticized, however. IGN wrote "there's a ton of loading everywhere you turn. Moving from one area to another means 2-5 second loads; initiating a battle means 7-10 second loads; winning a skirmish brings 4-6 second loads afterwards." Game-Revolution said of the graphics that "Army battles and in-engine cut scenes look blocky and raw, but the CGI cut scenes are beautiful and detailed. Towns look great, but dungeons are horrid, bland, maze-like nightmares." Suikoden V won IGN's 2006 award for Best Story on the PlayStation 2. It also won the Danish gaming magazine Gamereactor's award for Best Story overall, and was named the 9th best game of the year by them.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 16:20:25 GMT -5
13. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (commonly abbreviated as MGS2) is a stealth action video game directed by Hideo Kojima, originally developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. It is the fourth Metal Gear game produced and directed by Kojima and the direct sequel to Metal Gear Solid. Its release was followed by an expanded edition, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, a prequel to the entire Metal Gear series, followed in 2004. In 2008, a direct sequel, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was released. The story revolves around the "Big Shell", a massive offshore clean-up facility that has been seized by a group of terrorists that call themselves "Sons of Liberty". They demand a massive ransom in exchange for the life of the President of the United States, and threaten to destroy the facility and create a cataclysmic environmental disaster if their demands are not met. The motives and identities of many of the antagonists and allies change rapidly, as the protagonists discover a world-shaking conspiracy constructed by a powerful organization known as the Patriots. The game was well-received, shipping over 7 million copies worldwide and scoring an average Metacritic aggregate score of 96%, making it the fourth highest-rated game on the PlayStation 2, and the tied sixth highest-rated game of all time. While the gameplay was universally acclaimed, critics were divided on the philosophical nature and execution of the game's storyline, which explores themes such as memes, social engineering, political conspiracies, censorship, and artificial intelligence. It has been considered the first example of a postmodern video game, and has been cited as a primary example of artistic expression in video games. The game was controversial due to its complex narrative and unconventional protagonist. Metal Gear Solid 2 carries the title of "Tactical Espionage Action," and most of the game involves the protagonist sneaking around avoiding being seen by the enemies. Most fundamental are the wider range of skills offered to the player. The new first-person aiming mode allows players to target specific points in the game, greatly expanding tactical options; guards can be blinded by steam, distracted by a flying piece of fruit or hit in weak spots. Players can now walk slowly, allowing them to sneak over noisy flooring without making a sound, or hang off walkways to slip past below guards' feet. The corner-press move from the original title, which allowed players a sneak peek around the next bend is expanded to allow players to fire from cover. Other new abilities included leaping over and hanging off of railings, opening and hiding in storage lockers, and sneaking up behind enemies to hold them at gunpoint for items and ammunition. Players are also able to shoot out the enemy's radio so they are unable to communicate with others on their team. The environment also had a greater impact on the stealth gameplay, taking into account factors such as weather, smell, atmosphere and temperature. In Metal Gear Solid 2, the enemy guards were given more advanced AI "to prevent an imbalance of power," and unlike the original Metal Gear Solid, work in squads. They call on their radios for a strike team upon seeing the player, then attempt to flank him and cut off his escape while avoiding the player's attacks. Often strike teams will carry body armor and riot shields, making them an even greater threat. Even if the player escapes to a hiding place, a team will sweep in to check the area. The game has a collective enemy AI, where enemy guards work together in squads, can communicate with one another, and react in a more realistic manner towards the player. The game's enemy AI was considered one of the best in gaming for many years. The game also expanded its predecessor's cover mechanic, with Solid Snake or Raiden now able to take cover behind walls or objects and pop out to shoot at enemies, while the improved enemy AI allowed enemies to also take cover from the player character. The enemies would often take cover to call for backup, but during battle, they would take cover then pop out and shoot at the player or blindly throw grenades from behind their cover. The game also features a laser sight mechanic, where a laser sight helps assist with manually aiming a gun, similar to WinBack (1999) and Resident Evil 4 (2005) but with first-person aiming rather than third-person. Boss battles and set-pieces remain a case of finding a strategy that bypasses the defenses of the enemy. However, in a major break from action game standards, it is also possible to clear the entire game, including boss fights, without causing a single deliberate death, through use of tranquilizer guns, stun grenades and melee attacks. The protagonist of MGS2 is a young rookie agent named Raiden. He is supported by his commanding officer, the Colonel, and Rosemary, his girlfriend. Allies formed on the mission include Lt. Junior Grade Iroquois Pliskin, a Navy SEAL of mysterious background who provides his knowledge of the facility and later revealed as the claimed terrorist Solid Snake; Peter Stillman, a NYPD bomb-disposal expert; Otacon, a computer security specialist; and a cyborg ninja imitating Gray Fox's persona, but calling itself Mr. X. The antagonists of peace are the Sons of Liberty, a group of terrorists who seize control of the Big Shell Disposal Facility, including anti-terror training unit Dead Cell, and a Russian mercenary force. The Dead Cell team members are Vamp, an immortal man exhibiting vampire-like attributes; Fatman, a rotund man with exceptional knowledge of bombs; and Fortune, a woman capable of cheating death by apparent supernatural means. The leader of Sons of Liberty claims to be Solid Snake, previously declared dead after a terrorist attack, later revealed to be Solidus Snake, a third clone in "Les Enfants Terribles" project. Assisting the Sons of Liberty are Olga Gurlukovich, commander of a rogue Russian mercenary army, and Revolver Ocelot, a disenfranchised Russian nationalist and former FOXHOUND agent, Solid Snake's old archnemesis, and henchman of Solidus Snake. Other characters include Emma Emmerich, Otacon's stepsister and a computer wiz-kid; Sergei Gurlukovich, Ocelot's former commanding officer and Olga's father; President James Johnson, held hostage by the Sons of Liberty; and DIA operative Richard Ames. Liquid Snake returns as he communicates via Ocelot because his right hand, sliced by Gray Fox in the previous game, has been replaced with the right hand of Liquid. This game features cameos by Mei Ling, the communications expert who aided Snake in the first game, and Johnny Sasaki, the luckless soldier with chronic digestive problems. The game opens with a flashback in 2007, two years after the Shadow Moses incident that was described in the original Metal Gear Solid. On August 8, 2007, Solid Snake and Otacon, now members of the non-governmental organization Philanthropy, are investigating the development of a new Metal Gear. Shortly after Snake arrives on the disguised oil tanker U.S.S. Discovery, Russian commander nationalist Sergei Gurlukovich and his group of Russian ex-military terrorists attacks the ship. Snake sneaks down to the hold in order to record pictures of the new Metal Gear RAY. Sergei Gurlukovich sneaks into the hold and holds Scott Dolph at gunpoint, before Ocelot kills them. It is revealed that Ocelot had his severed arm replaced with that of the late Liquid Snake. The implant causes a change in Revolver Ocelot's demeanor and behavior, with Liquid somehow "possessing" him. Under Liquid's control he sinks the tanker and escapes with RAY before regaining command of his body. Two years later on April 29, 2009, Raiden is operating under a reformed FOXHOUND two years after the Tanker Chapter. He has orders to rescue hostages, including the US president, from the terrorist group Sons of Liberty (whose leader claims to be Solid Snake), backed up by the rogue anti-terror training unit, Dead Cell, who are also threatening to destroy the Big Shell clean-up facility they have seized. All of the SEAL team are killed by Dead Cell members Vamp and Fortune. The surviving members of the SEAL assault team, Iroquis Pliskin, and bomb specialist Peter Stillman join Raiden to disable explosives planted on the Shell by Stillman's former pupil, Fatman, now a terrorist. Although Raiden successfully eliminates Fatman, Stillman is killed by his traps in Shell 2 . A mysterious cyborg ninja, Mr. X informs Raiden of a man named Ames, who knows where the president is being held. Ocelot discovers Raiden shortly after Ames dies of a heart attack, while the Sons of Liberty's leader is revealed as Solidus Snake. Pliskin is revealed to be the real Solid Snake, who, along with Otacon, helps him find the location of the President. Raiden moves deeper into the facility and locates President Johnson, who informs him that Big Shell is actually a facade to hide a new Metal Gear. Known as Arsenal Gear, it houses a powerful AI called "GW", which is capable of controlling the transmission of digital information. The president also claims that the democratic process is a sham, and the true rulers of the United States are a secret organization called the Patriots. Ocelot kills the president soon after this revelation. Raiden moves on to disabling Arsenal Gear and halting a nuclear strike. Snake and an Arsenal Gear engineer, Emma Emmerich (Otacon's sister), assist Raiden in uploading a virus into the "GW" mainframe, but the upload is halted partway, when Emma is killed by Vamp. Otacon escapes with the surviving hostages, just as Mr. X returns and reveals itself to be Olga Gurlukovich who captures Raiden. Raiden awakens in a torture chamber where Solidus Snake reveals that he once adopted Raiden, a former child soldier, as his son during the Liberian civil war, and that Raiden is now a Patriot agent. Solidus then leaves the chamber, and Olga steps in and frees Raiden, telling him that she is also a Patriot double-agent within the Sons of Liberty and that she was blackmailed by the Patriots to aid Raiden in order to protect her child. While Raiden makes his way through the bowels of the facility, his commanding officer, the Colonel, begins to act very erratically, giving him odd instructions. It becomes apparent that the "Colonel" Raiden has been taking orders from is actually a construct of the GW supercomputer, and that the partially uploaded virus is beginning to damage its systems. Raiden receives a call from Rose, whose voice begins to deepen and slow down as the conversation is cut off, but not before she manages to reveal she is pregnant with his child. Raiden reunites with Snake and his gear, and the two then encounter Fortune, who fights Snake while Raiden searches for Solidus. He is then forced into a battle with the 25 Metal Gear RAY units in Arsenal Gear. Olga protects him, before Solidus kills her. The RAY units suddenly malfunction and begin to attack him and each other. Ocelot reveals that he too is a Patriot agent, and that the entire Big Shell mission was a carefully coordinated attempt to reenact the events of the Shadow Moses incident, for the purpose of creating a soldier (Raiden) on the level of Snake. Ocelot kills Fortune, before Liquid announces his plan to hunt down the Patriots based on his host's knowledge. He sets Arsenal Gear on a collision course with New York then steals the remaining RAY unit and launches it into the ocean, with Snake diving after him. Arsenal Gear crashes into downtown Manhattan, launching Raiden and Solidus onto the roof of Federal Hall. Solidus attempts to kill Raiden, intending to use Raiden's nanomachines to lead him to the Patriots, eliminate them, and form a nation of "Sons of Liberty". At this point, Raiden is contacted by another AI, introducing itself as a representative of the Patriots, who reveals that the true purpose of the simulation was to see how well they could simulate and control human behavior. Raiden is forced to fight Solidus, after the Patriots threaten to kill Olga's child and Rose if he does not cooperate. After Solidus's defeat, Snake reveals he planted a tracking device on Liquid's Metal Gear. Snake and Otacon plan to follow him, and to hunt down the Patriots, whose details were hidden in the GW computer virus disc. Raiden is finally reunited with Rose, on April 30, 2009, the anniversary of their first meeting. As the reunion and meeting with Snake transpires, Vamp is seen in the background, having survived being shot (as he later appears in the direct sequel.) In a brief epilogue, Otacon and Snake discuss the decoding of the virus disc, which contains the personal data on all twelve members of the Patriots' high council. However, it is revealed that all twelve members of the Wisemen's Committee are not only not alive, but have been dead for 'about a 100 years'. Kojima's original design document for the game was completed in January 1999; it was later made publically available several years later and then translated into English in 2006. It mentioned that the game was originally going to be called Metal Gear Solid III to symbolize Manhattan's three tallest skyscrapers at the time and that Raiden was designed as "a character in which women can more easily empathize." The document outlines new game mechanics and features, such as bodies that need to be hidden, enemies being able to detect shadows, lights in an area that can be destroyed to affect enemy vision, realistic enemy AI that relies on squad tactics rather than working individually, and multi-level environments that add an element of "vertical tension" to the stealth gameplay. It also outlines themes, such as passing on memories, environmental issues, and particularly social themes regarding the "digitization of the military," digital simulations, the "digitization of operational planning," the "digitization of everyday life," and the "effects of digitization on personality." The document stated that the "aim of the story" involves "a series of betrayals and sudden reversals, to the point where the player is unable to tell fact from fiction" (departing from the "very clear and understandable story" of its predecessor), that "every character lies to (betrays) someone once," blurring the line between "what is real, and what is fantasy," and "ironies aimed at the digital society and gaming culture." The game's production budget was $10 million. Kojima states that when he "heard about the hardware for the PlayStation 2," he "wanted to try something new. Up to that point, all cutscenes had focused more on details like facial expressions, but I wanted to pay more attention to the surroundings, to see how much I could change them in real time." According to Hideo Kojima in the documentary Metal Gear Saga Vol. 1, the original plot of the game revolved around nuclear weapon inspections in Iraq and Iran and had Solid Snake trying to stop the Metal Gear while it was located on an aircraft carrier, in a certain time limit, while trying to stop Liquid Snake and his group. However, about six months into the project the political situation in the Middle East became a concern and they decided that they couldn't make a game with such a plot. The tanker in the released game is based on this original plot. MGS2 was also intended to reference the novel City of Glass, notably in the naming of its characters. Raiden's support team originally featured a different field commander named Colonel Daniel Quinn; Maxine "Max" Work, an Asian woman who saves game data and quotes Shakespeare, and William "Doc" Wilson, the creator of GW. All take their names from key characters in the book, and all three would have turned out to be artificial intelligences. None of these characters survived to the final edition, their roles being absorbed by other characters, namely the "Colonel Campbell" simulation, Rose, and Emma Emmerich. Peter Stillman, however, takes his name from another City of Glass character. Kojima has also cited another novel, Kôbô Abe's Kangaroo Notebook, as an influence on the game. A character named Chinaman, originally planned to be included as a villain, was later on omitted and his abilities incorporated in Vamp, namely the ability to walk on water and walls. Chinaman would have movements modeled after Jet Li and have a body tattoo of a dragon that would come alive as soon as he dove into water. Significant changes to the game's ending were made late in development following the September 11 attacks in New York, where the finale occurs. A sequence depicting Arsenal Gear's displacement of the Statue of Liberty and crashing through half of Manhattan was removed, as was a short coda to appear after the credits, a breaking newscast showing the Statue of Liberty's new resting place, Ellis Island. At the point where Solidus dies, Raiden was supposed to have cut the rope on Federal Hall's flagpole, causing an American flag to fall over Solidus' body, and American flags that were supposed to be on all the flagpoles in New York were removed from the title. More recently, Kojima revealed that the name "Raiden" was spelled in kanji rather than katakana due to the latter form of the name resembling "Bin Laden" in Japanese. Hideo Kojima's choice of composer for Metal Gear Solid 2 was highly publicized in the run-up to the game's release. Kojima decided upon Harry Gregson-Williams, a Hollywood film composer from Hans Zimmer's studio, after watching The Replacement Killers with sound director Kazuki Muraoka. A mix CD containing 18 tracks of Gregson-Williams' work was sent to his office. Flattered by the research put into creating the CD (as some of the tracks were unreleased, and that what tracks he'd worked on for some films were undocumented), he joined the project soon after. In order to bypass the language barrier and allow the score to be developed before the cut-scenes were finalized, Gregson-Williams was sent short phrases or descriptions of the intended action. The resultant themes then shaped the action sequences in return. Gregson-Williams also arranged and re-orchestrated the original "Metal Gear Solid Main Theme" for use in the game's opening title sequence. Norihiko Hibino, who had worked on previous Konami games such as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, was responsible for all of the in-game music. He also worked on the majority of the game's cut scenes, re-orchestrating Gregson-Williams' "Main Theme" remix for use in several sequences. As with Metal Gear Solid, the cut scene music includes orchestral and choir pieces, while the in-game soundtrack is scored with ambient electronic music. However, the score as a whole incorporates more electronic elements (particularly breakbeat) than its predecessor, in order to reflect the plot's thematic thrust of a machine-dominated society. Rika Muranaka again provided a vocal ending theme, a jazz track entitled "Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday", sung by Carla White. The game's music was released via 4 CDs: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Original Soundtrack, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Soundtrack 2: The Other Side, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance Limited Sorter (Black Edition) and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance Ultimate Sorter (White Edition). The MGS2 main theme was chosen by the London Philharmonic Orchestra for their Greatest Video Game Music-compilation, and the theme is a key regular in the Video Games Live concert when the Metal Gear Solid segment is introduced. A segment of the song's main chorus is also included during the closing sequence of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The Japanese release was held back two weeks following the initial American release. As a result, the developers added new features and cut scenes, including two new modes: Boss Survival and Casting Theatre (the latter allowed players to select cut scenes and change the character models used). Like the original Metal Gear Solid, a Premium Package of the game was issued in addition to the stand-alone version. The box came with the reversible cover art on the DVD case, a DVD video, an A4-sized pamphlet and a metallic-colored Solid Snake figurine. The game's initially scheduled European release date of February 22, 2002, nearly three months after the other releases, was delayed another two weeks. The added features from the Japanese release were carried over to the European version, along with a new difficulty setting (European Extreme). In addition, the European edition featured a Making Of DVD video by French television production house FunTV. As well as collating all of the game's promotional trailers and a Gamespot feature on the title's closing days of production, it featured a documentary filmed at KCEJ West's Japanese studio. The DVD was included as an apology to European gamers for the several month delay that had occurred between the American and Japanese releases, which saw numerous European gaming magazines detail the various twists in the game. As a result of promising trailers and the huge commercial success of its predecessor Metal Gear Solid, there was a high level of anticipation in the gaming community surrounding the release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The game's E3 2000 demo surprised many spectators with its level of realism and played a key role in the PlayStation 2 console's early success. Upon release, Metal Gear Solid 2 received a large amount of critical and fan praise, having sold over 7 million copies worldwide and maintaining a critical average of 96% on Metacritic, where it is the third highest-rated game on the PlayStation 2, and the tied sixth highest-rated game of all time. Game Informer Magazine gave the game a score of 10/10, and it received high reviews from nearly all major publications and websites. Gamespot gave the game a high 9.6 rating, stating, "It all boils down to this: You must play Metal Gear Solid 2". Critics praised the title's stealth gameplay, particularly the improvements over its predecessor, as well as the game's level of graphical detail, in particular the use of in-game graphics to render plot-driving cut scenes. Despite the gameplay being universally acclaimed, the title's storyline was divisive and became the source of mixed opinions and controversy. The storyline explores many social, philosophical and cyberpunk themes in great detail, including meme theory, social engineering, sociology, artificial intelligence, information control, conspiracy theories, political and military maneuvering, evolution, existentialism, censorship, the manipulation of free will, the nature of reality, child exploitation, and taboos such as incest and sexual orientation. Hideo Kojima's ambitious script has been praised, some even calling it the first example of a postmodern video game. However, some critics considered the plot to be "incomprehensible" and overly heavy for an action game, and also felt that the lengthy dialogue sections heavily disrupted the gameplay, and that the dialogue itself was overly disjointed and convoluted. The surprise introduction of Raiden as the protagonist for the majority of the game (replacing long-time series protagonist Solid Snake) was also controversial with fans of Metal Gear Solid.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Dec 9, 2012 16:25:58 GMT -5
12. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (FPR) is a professional wrestling video game that was released in 2005 in Japan, and was released on November 13, 2007 in North America and February 8, 2008 in Italy. The game is part of the Fire Pro Wrestling series. As the title suggests, the game marks Spike's return to 2D wrestling games. Some time after Spike released its 3D "King of Colosseum" wrestling game for the PlayStation 2, the publisher announced their 2003 PlayStation 2 title Fire Pro Wrestling Z would be the end of the Fire Pro Wrestling series. Like other titles in the Fire Pro Wrestling series, Fire Pro Wrestling Returns distinguishes itself from other wrestling games by focusing on timing and complex strategy, as opposed to the button-mashing tactics with which most wrestling gamers are familiar for 2-D games. Agetec released an official North American port of the game on November 13, 2007. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns offers a roster of 327 wrestlers from a variety of real-life wrestling companies. Using a sophisticated design mode, the game also allows players to build and wrestle with or against 500 additional characters. Players can create custom wrestling rings, belts, promotions, and referees. One of the best-selling Fire Pro Wrestling games in the series. Unlike a number of previous Fire Pro titles, Returns does not imitate rosters of American wrestling companies like World Wrestling Entertainment, although the AWG Organization in the game does have many characters that look just like various known legends from WWE, WCW, ECW, and TNA. Also, the game's hefty stockpile of template heads, bodies, clothes and accessories has allowed American wrestling fans to recreate many of their favorite wrestling superstars accurately with great ease, and make them available for download online. As reported by IGN, Returns supplies new customizing tools, such as a "Face Layer" feature that allows players to create a wrestler's face using multiple objects.[3] Hundreds of wrestler faces are available, including those of many historical wrestlers. Players can add up to two layers of facial accessories, including hair styles, visors, beards, helmets and tattoos. "One example starts with a base face, adds a mohawk... and finishes off with a colorful mask," IGN.com's review stated. Returns provides 1,649 wrestling moves to choose from when customizing a character and the game's engine allows you to give the character complicated logic instructions dictating how an AI version of the character behaves in a variety of situations. Other new features are: * The game allows the player to create up to 500 wrestlers (not including modified preset wrestlers). * The creation of custom titles is now possible as a new belt editing feature is added. * The number of custom logos is increased to six. * Up to 10 custom rings can be designed in the new ring editor (where colors and turnbuckle type, but not contrast can be modified). * The belt editor now has brightness/contrast options to add a "shine" to created belts. * Smaller indy promotions and wrestlers are featured in the default roster. * Factions can be adjusted to reflect heel or face alignments. * Up to 4 preset match setups for most game modes can be saved. * Steel Cage Match (replaces the electrified cage from previous games). * New death match types (electrified barbed wire, landmine). * The "Octagon Ring" used in Gruesome Fighting now has 12 sides. * Post-match attacks make a comeback as players can continue to attack their opponents after the match has ended. * Sprites are designed larger than in previous Fire Pro games.
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