Second Look - Touch My Katamari

As the popularity of the Katamari series continued, the series later ventured back into the handheld space, this time with a launch title for the PS Vita in 2012 (2011 in Japan) called Touch My Katamari. Unfortunately, the game was a failure, resulting in the series going all but dormant for 14 years until the announcement of Once Upon a Katamari, at least partially attributed to the PS Vita itself failing as a system. The formal return of the franchise led me to dig out my copy of Touch My Katamari, which I last played in 2013 according to my save data, to reevaluate my opinions. Looking back on it, although I noticed more flaws in the game this time, I still found it an ultimately entertaining experience, even if not the best.

Resistance: Burning Skies

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resistance: Burning Skies and other Resistance games.

When the PlayStation 3 and Vita digital storefront closures were announced, one Vita game that went on my radar was Resistance: Burning Skies, developed by Nihilistic Software and the final game in the Resistance franchise. I was originally going to buy the game digitally due to the higher aftermarket price on physical copies, however the later announced backpedaling on the store closures took some pressure off me. I would eventually buy a physical copy of the game anyway, however I was motivated to do so after finding a sealed copy in the wild, in part because I previously bought a physical copy of Resistance: Retribution, knowing I’d be paying a little over the MSRP of a digital version. While I did find the game worth playing, I’m not completely sure if the price was worth it.

Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz

Earlier this year, Sony announced the intent to shut down the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita digital storefronts, leaving countless digital games forever lost, only to reverse this decision later. It was during this brief period where we panic-bought a number of PS3 and PS Vita titles, during which we discovered that a game based on Phineas and Ferb had been released for the Vita, Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz, which we did not know about previously. Since the game only received a digital release in the US, I opted to purchase a European physical copy to take advantage of the system being region-free. Some time after the PS Vita store was announced to not be shut down, I decided to play the game to see what it was like. While it is generally decent, my feeling are mixed on how well it works as a Phineas and Ferb game.

Sly Cooper and the King of Thieves

Note: This review contains spoilers related to Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.

While I enjoyed Sly Cooper: Thieves in time in spite of its faults, it wasn’t until years later that I found out developer Sanzaru games was not going to follow up on its cliffhanger ending, a statement made in 2014. Around the same time, I also discovered that this soured the reputation of the developer amongst Sly Cooper fans, a sentiment shared by Tron fans with the game Tron RUN/r, also by Sanzaru. Years later, however, Sanzaru seems to have come to their senses, releasing a long-awaited surprise sequel to Sly 4 that attempts to address issues players had with said game, chief among them the infamous plot twist and cliffhanger ending, with a simultaneous release on PS4 and Vita. After getting to play it upon launch, I can safely say that the Sly Cooper franchise has gotten back on track and is better than ever.

Report from the Front: SDCC 2014 Video Game Demos

As with last year’s Comic-Con, I saw the convention as an opportunity to play some demos of upcoming games to see if they might be worth a future investment. While I did accomplish this goal on Sunday, the last and shortest day of the convention, I’ll admit right off the bat that I didn’t get the opportunity to play all of the games that I could have played. I didn’t end up playing Ultra Street Fighter 4 or anything at the Behemoth booth, nor did I get a chance to play the new Super Smash Bros. (though I’ll admit I consciously avoided it due to Nintendo always having a crowded booth). I also didn’t play Sunset Overdrive due to long lines (and wait times) and I also didn’t play Sonic Boom (I’ll stop there). However, I did get to play some games at the pretty empty Bandai Namco booth, as well as a couple games I’ve actually been anticipating. So, with all that said, let’s explore the games I actually tried out.

Preview Note: The following write-up solely expresses the opinions of the writer and is based on a work in progress. Should the final product be reviewed on Trophy Unlocked, these opinions may change to reflect the full game.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix (PlayStation 3)

This should be pretty obvious already, but I really love the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Going into the convention, I already knew that I wanted to play the upcoming HD 2.5 Remix, which features tweaked HD versions of the Final Mixes for both Kingdom Hearts II and Birth by Sleep, plus the cutscenes of Re:coded. However, I never actually anticipated that I would be able to play a demo of this hotly anticipated game at the Square Enix booth on the floor. Since I was waiting for a signing, and I had enough time to kill, I decided to try it out, finding myself in front of one of the kiosks for the Birth by Sleep portion of the game (there were plenty nearby for the Kingdom Hearts II portion).

The Birth by Sleep demo contained sections for Terra, Ventus and Aqua, the three main characters of the game. In the time I was there, I got to play through all of the Terra section and most of the one for Ventus. Though short, these sections really show off all of the improvements made to the game, the most noticeable one being the graphics. Simply put, this game now looks absolutely amazing, like how the PSP version looks in your mind’s eye. Character models are now much slicker and all of the little details are shown with more clarity. Combat remains exactly the same as the original game, but now with the added bonus of using the right analog stick to control the camera and a single shoulder button to lock on, creating much smoother combat.

I'm still getting used to my new Smartphone.

While the experience was very nice, there were a couple of sticking points. The camera was a little weird for me to control since it was inverted and pretty loose. I can chalk this up to the fact that I couldn’t access an options menu during the demo and that I didn’t have enough time to adjust to it. The other is that while the pre-determined command deck wasn’t that bad, I couldn’t change it even though I acquired different commands during Ventus’ section. Then again, I also play the Keyblade warriors differently than the demo would have me do, so the selection would naturally have been jarring. Nonetheless, December 2 can’t get here fast enough.

Aw yeah!

Dead Rising 3 (PC)

Since I played both Dead Rising 2 and it’s updated rerelease, Off the Record, on PS3, I’ve been a fan of the series, going so far as to buy the original Dead Rising for Xbox 360 (though I haven’t played it yet). Since Off the Record, I had anticipated the thought of a Dead Rising 3, though when they did finally announce it, my heart sank when I saw it would only be for the Xbox One. I also felt a little pissed off since PlayStation users previously had access to the series through both versions of Dead Rising 2, only to take that away with the latest installment. When they announced a Steam release however, my spirits were lifted by the possibility of finally being able to play it. On Sunday at Comic-Con, I was a bit surprised at how small the line was to play this game (i.e. almost non-existent).

Pictured: A hope spot.

I didn’t play very much of the game because time and Psycho fight with no preparation, but I really enjoyed what I played. I like the idea of the open world atmosphere, as it presents more opportunities to do what you want and craft combinations of items. The graphics are the best I’ve seen of the series so far and the frame rate suffered no drops despite the large number of zombies on display at once. One of the best features however is that there were absolutely no loading times, an impressive feat indeed. After I played for a bit I talked to the rep about the game and he informed me of other really cool features, such as combo vehicles and one mechanic I had been clamoring for since I played Dead Rising 2: time is no longer an issue. Dead Rising 3 is more of an open sandbox where you can do what you want and accomplish the individual story goals pretty much any time you want, while also having other side missions sprinkled throughout Los Perdidos. For those who want the traditional time limit and save options, there is also a Nightmare Mode for increased difficulty. All of these features and more are getting me excited to play as Nick Ramos sometime in the future.

Project Cars (PlayStation 4)

I’ll admit that I’m not really familiar with this title, having only really heard about it at SDCC when I saw it at the Bandai Namco booth. However, since no one was really playing it and I had time to kill, I decided to give it a shot; I regretted this decision. The idea seems to be that it’s a more realistic racing game, though I couldn’t really get into it. The steering felt incredibly floaty and hard to wrestle with, with too much movement on the right stick causing me to spin out. Maybe this was due to in-game damage I suffered while trying to figure things out, but even when the car was “fresh” I still had a hard time getting used to the controls, even when I found out which button was the handbrake. I wasn’t really interested in playing this game anyway, but my time with it only drove the wedge between me and the game even further. I know someone out there will buy it, and they can go ahead and do so, but I certainly won’t.

Pictured: A metaphor.

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 (PlayStation 3/Nintendo 3DS)

As I did with Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures last year, I decided to play Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2, once again on two platforms (in this case PS3 and 3DS). This time I got a better feel for the games, with Pac-Man still being able to go between two different forms, in one case resembling a 3D version of his original arcade appearance. The controls are very responsive and the levels feel pretty polished, although some of the puzzles require a good amount of patience (Full Disclosure: I sucked at the puzzles). It’s still not pretty exciting to me, and I won’t be investing in it in the future, but if you feel like getting it then by all means do so; I guess I’m just not the audience is all.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment (PlayStation Vita)

Okay, I have some background on this one. I watched Sword Art Online as it aired on Toonami because people were talking about it and I was taking a Japanese class at the time (where other students kept talking about it). I didn’t have high expectations and when I first saw it, I actually kind of liked it. The premise was very interesting, providing a sense of urgency through people trapped in an MMORPG where death is real. Kirito was also shaping up to be an interesting character, since he had Beta Tested the titular game and had planted the seeds for a future relationship with a girl he knew nothing about. I figured that this sort of high stakes, emotional beginning would be the start of something great. Of course, once I finished watching it, it turned out that the story didn’t care about any of that and now I can describe it best with a single image:

Their words, not mine.

That said, when I saw the game with no one in front of it, I figured “Why not?” and began playing. A few seconds in though, I realized I had made a mistake. I had no context for anything going on and the control scheme felt highly unorthodox. The graphics were pretty decent from what I remember, but unfortunately I don’t have much to say beyond that. I kind of figured out the controls as I fought a few monsters, but after about a minute I felt I wasn’t going to be able to give it a fair shake, especially since I couldn’t just go back to the main menu or some similarly safe place, and just decided to stop playing. If I had an opportunity to play where I wasn’t just dumped in the middle of things and given more time to adjust to the controls, I’d probably go for it, but as it stands I’m not too enthusiastic about it.

It's hard to get a clear photo of a handheld game.

So ends another San Diego Comic-Con Wrap-Up. Hopefully I’ll get to play more games next year and find out about games I’m anticipating, as well as maybe walk away as a fan of something else.

Also, I apologize for the lateness of this post. I’ve been putting Comic-Con away at home and also got really into JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (foreshadowing alert!).

Lumines: Electronic Symphony

As stated in my review of Child of Eden, one series of puzzle games I enjoy playing is the Lumines series, which I have played before as an alternative to Tetris. As such, when I heard that a new game in the series, Lumines: Electronic Symphony, was going to be a launch title for Sony’s then-new PlayStation Vita system in 2012, I knew it was something I had to check out if I ever got the handheld. Needless to say, after I acquired the handheld, I eventually did get the chance to play this game, namely after I got it for Christmas last year (at the same time I got Child of Eden, coincidentally by the same developer, Q Entertainment). After spending some time with this game, I found that the game was not only worth the wait, but actually exceeded my expectations.

The core gameplay of Lumines is actually fairly simple: Similarly to Tetris, you must adjust falling blocks as they come down, except rather than clearing lines with seven different shapes, you are trying to make 2x2 blocks of one or two colors connect such that four sections connect to form a square, building off from there to create combos (the grid is also horizontal rather than vertical). At the same time, a timeline regularly runs across the grid as it clears your combos and earns you points. What makes this interesting, however, is that the speed of the squares and the timeline are both dictated by the tempo of the song playing in the background, which changes regularly depending on how fast you clear each stage, or Skin. This alone makes for some incredibly addictive gameplay and can lead to some minor suspense as you try and figure out how/whether you’re going to make it out of a corner in time (assuming you end up in that situation).

On top of this, there are some additional gameplay elements that help keep the game interesting. For example, you might come across a Chain Block, which creates a combo out of any square of the same color that connects to the base square, or a Shuffle Block, which rearranges whatever gathering of blocks it touches at random; both of these special blocks can come in real handy to not only create some big combos when done right, but they can also help you out of a tight spot (they’ve helped me out more than once). You also have an Avatar which has a special power that can be activated by pressing the Vita’s touch screen (you can unlock more over time to set as your Avatar, though the default is Boy, which turns an upcoming block into a Chain Block); however, once you use this power, you have to wait for it to recharge before you can use it again. Fortunately, while combos can help recharge this power faster, you can also repeatedly tap the rear touch pad of the Vita to do the same task (though this may become less of an option should a game become more frantic).

A sample of gameplay.

Additionally, the game has a couple different control options. There’s the normal control scheme, consisting of moving blocks with the D-Pad while using action buttons to turn them; or there’s touch screen controls, wherein you can move a block left or right by swiping it with your finger, spin the block by tapping it, and make a hard drop by swiping it down with your finger. While these controls work well, I found myself primarily using the normal controls, as I had grown more accustomed to them over time (this may vary from person to person).

The game also offers a number of gameplay modes to keep one occupied, the main one of which is Voyage, in which you go through normal gameplay while unlocking more Skins as you go; the more points you earn in one playthrough before quitting, the more you level up to unlock more Avatars. You also have the option to restart upon the end of gameplay, normally after a block is unable to go down in time, which will restart you from whichever Skin you lost on, though as a penalty it resets your current score to 0. In addition, extra modes such as Stopwatch, in which you clear as many squares as possible in a set time frame; Playlist, in which you make your own music selection to play through from the game’s soundtrack; and Master, a shorter, more difficult game, can also provide further challenge and entertainment as you hone your skills and create your own Playlists out of your favorite Skins.

One important aspect of Lumines is its music, and this game has a great selection of electronic music songs to create its own atmosphere, including tracks from artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Kaskade, Benny Benassi, Wolfgang Gartner, Aphex Twin, and many more, some of which can really make you want to move to the beat as you play through each one. Each of these Skins also has their own distinct visual style, including the color and style of the blocks in addition to the background visuals, which can help create a unique experience that periodically changes as you keep playing. While I am familiar with some of the songs and artists featured in the game, a few of the tracks have also gotten me curious about checking out some of their work, including Orbital, whose song “Never” is not playable, but still plays in the credits of the game.

Different tracks offer different Skins.

Interestingly, as a side note, this game was originally going to heavily feature Daft Punk, to the point where Daft Punk themselves were willing to do it and record new material for use in the game. However, these plans were axed as the electronic duo was tied up with composing the music for Tron: Legacy, which lead to what Electronic Symphony became upon release. While I still enjoyed playing through this game, having found out about the original pitch after it already came out, this knowledge as a Daft Punk fan only make me wonder what it might have been like had this gone through (though considering how good the music for Tron: Legacy turned out, I would say it was well worth it in the end).

Lumines: Electronic Symphony is a very enjoyable, and very addicting, puzzle game. The touch screen controls are very interesting, though not everyone will probably use them, and the extra gameplay modes add some extra replay value to the core gameplay. However, the music and visuals come together in addition to the gameplay to make the whole experience worthwhile. This game will most likely appeal to fans of Lumines who have not played this game already, as well as any newcomers who enjoy puzzle games like the Tetris series. For anyone interested in trying out Lumines for the first time, this is a great starting point and one that will not disappoint. Lumines: Electronic Symphony is quite possibly the best Lumines game I have yet played, and for Vita owners, this is a game worth checking out and a true audio-visual spectacle you do not want to miss.

Thomas Was Alone (Vita)

It isn’t often that I invest in indie games, mainly because I’m not only interested in a lot of big budget titles, but I also have a large backlog of games in my library that I could potentially review at any time. I also don’t see the need to invest in every single indie game that people praise because, again, my priorities are different. For these reasons, I mainly obtain indie games cheaply through Humble Bundles or for free via my PlayStation Plus subscription, although occasionally I’ll gladly invest fully in a title that I really want to play such as Journey. It was my PlayStation Plus subscription that allowed me to access the critically acclaimed Thomas Was Alone on both my PS3 and Vita, though I opted to play it on my Vita due to having a lot of time on a recent trip. Within the couple hours it took me to play through all 100 levels, I could see how it would be heavily praised, but at the same time I didn’t feel as connected to it as others did and I felt unsure that I would have spent $10 on it.

Thomas Was Alone is about an AI named Thomas who finds himself alone in a test chamber. As he keeps going up and to the right, he runs into more AIs, including Chris, who doesn’t like that Thomas can jump higher than him. As the AIs meet each other and eventually form a group of seven, each with their own personalities and abilities, they all find out the truth about their situation and learn about a world outside of their own.

Thomas' story is also self-referential.

The story is what is most heavily praised about Thomas Was Alone and I can see why. It does a very good job of giving unique traits and characterization to a group of minimalist rectangles. Danny Wallace’s narration certainly helps in keeping the player interested in what the story has to say and can add a humorous tone to the script. However, I didn’t really find myself completely invested in the characters throughout the game, though I did find myself caring more once the game took a tonal shift in the latter half in a story that seems otherwise unconnected to Thomas’, like a sequel that never got made but was put in anyway to get the level count up to 100. I thought about why this was for a minute and I think I’ve figured it out. One part of it is that minimalist games about isolation and companionship, mostly on the theme of love, are so prevalent on Kongregate that it’s become a running joke in both comments and even game titles. As a result, it felt a little like I was playing a game with similar themes, except that developer Mike Bithell was asking for money.

The other aspect is the humor, which sometimes felt like it was trying a little hard to be funny by way of including what I saw as a list of things that would make geeks laugh, including references to Transformers and Nathan Fillion (not Nathan Fillion in any particular role, just Nathan Fillion the actor (maybe that reference is aimed at Browncoats?)). To me, these references also took away from the game’s ability to be timeless. To clarify, I loved it when South Park: The Stick of Truth made references to pop culture icons like Facebook/Twitter and Skyrim or timely references to current events like Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Tacos and the infamously faulty Obamacare website (I’ll stop right there) because South Park has pretty much always been timely about what they have commentary about, so it felt natural for the game to also be a product of its time. With Thomas Was Alone however, I felt that because of the nature of the game, it should have been more timeless, but because they decided to try and get geeks and hardcore gamers to laugh at their references, including two for dead memes, the game became an unintentional period piece and will thus be more of a time capsule that won’t be as appealing to newcomers down the line. But this is just my opinion and you do not necessarily have to agree with it.

While the story didn’t draw me in as much as it did for others, the gameplay is what really kept me going. Each of the seven-plus characters has a unique size and special ability, which may need to be used in tandem in order to reach the level goal. As the levels get progressively complex, it’s good that they keep things fresh every so often, like introducing a new character or gameplay element such as floating colors that can change someone’s power upon touching it. Though a level from time to time felt a little annoying to complete, I liked having to keep thinking about the world around me to find a way to the exit. The platforming is very solid and tight, although I did run into a couple of technical issues. The Vita version presents multiple ways to switch between characters, since you can use the L and R buttons, hold your finger or thumb on the bottom right corner of the screen and scroll between available characters or tap the touchscreen in the general direction or exact position of the character you wish to use next. I ended up using all three options at some point or another, since the levels can get really complex, but personally I found the touch screen to be a little sensitive, since I would occasionally lightly tap the screen by accident and end up controlling a character I hadn’t planned to use at that moment; In the wrong situation this would end up undoing a bit of progress. I’d blame this more on how the controls were applied to the Vita as opposed to the Vita itself, since this does in a way show off just how responsive the system’s touchscreen is. In any case, try to keep your thumbs away from the Vita screen if you can unless you plan on playing that way anyway.

One of the game's more complex puzzles (it's a little harder than it looks).

As more of a side note, there is a bit of replay value present in the form of collectibles that are very well hidden throughout each chapter of the story. If you miss one, you can simply select any of the 100 levels at will from the main menu. This would also help a player if they are shooting for a particular score on the leaderboard.

I suppose the last thing to mention would be the graphics and sound. For a minimalist game, the graphics are very good with a great color choice and incredible lighting and shadow work. On a couple of occasions however, the shadows actually worked against me since a combination of specific background colors, character colors and shadows could actually cause the darker colored characters to become nearly invisible. On the subject of sound, the effects were well-chosen, though I did recognize some sounds from other games, and the subtle score was a good choice, as it enhances the mood without drawing too much attention to itself.

Thomas Was Alone is a game worth trying out, although I didn’t like it as much as other people did. The story is interesting, though not thoroughly compelling, and the jokes may be funny to some but end up turning the game into a time capsule instead of aiding its potential timelessness. On the other hand, the platforming is very good at stretching the mind in figuring out how to make characters with more specialized abilities work together to reach the end goal. If you’re curious about trying it out, then by all means do so, but I would recommend trying to get it through a future Humble Bundle if able or for free through PlayStation Plus (as of this writing, it’s still one of the free titles in the Instant Game Collection). It’s a game that will appeal to many, but the $10 price point may not feel completely worth it for everyone.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate

In an effort to continue interest, and profit, from the popular Batman: Arkham series of games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released two games on the same day, October 25, 2013, which serve as prequels to the games developed by Rocksteady (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City). I’ve already reviewed one of them, Arkham Origins, but I have yet to discuss the other one, and the subject of this review, Arkham Origins Blackgate. Rather than have WB Montréal develop the game, this one is done by Armature Studio, whose only other work beforehand was the Vita version of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (I have yet to play this version of that game, but I’d like to out of interest). Fittingly, I’m going to look at the Vita version of Arkham Origins Blackgate, which I think is all right, but could have used a lot of improvement.

Three months after the events of Arkham Origins, Batman spots Catwoman stealing from a high-tech building and chases, eventually capturing her and having her taken to Blackgate. Two weeks later, Batman is informed of an explosion at Blackgate and goes to investigate. When he arrives, he is told by Catwoman of multiple hostages being held captive underneath the prison in the Arkham Wing. In order to open the Arkham Wing, however, Batman will need to take out the leaders of three different factions running the prison: Joker, Penguin and Black Mask. With this knowledge, Batman enters the prison and begins his journey to rescue the hostages.

Also, more obscure guys like Bronze Tiger show up.

The story of Arkham Origins Blackgate is a little looser from the previous Arkham games. While there is a beginning, middle and end, the shape of the story itself is a little more dependent on what order you decide to tackle the bosses, with the ending and final mission being drastically different depending on who you take out last; In my playthrough for this review, I went in the order of Joker, Penguin, Black Mask. The script is pretty well written, and I was able to get into it, but it didn’t have the same impact on me as the other Arkham games. Despite this, the ability to replay the game in a different order to see different events is an intriguing idea and has almost roped me into playing the game again, although the gameplay didn’t grab me quite enough to get me to do that.

When it comes to the gameplay itself, one could think of Arkham Origins Blackgate as a light version of Arkham Origins, only set entirely in Blackgate Prison. The spaces are more enclosed than before, even in regards to Arkham City, and strips down the gameplay of the Arkham franchise to the Metroidvania aspect, meaning that the game isn’t a Metroid title but has the backtracking elements of Metroid, which is fitting considering that Armature Studio’s founders worked on Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Batman also only uses four gadgets, the Line Launcher, Explosive Gel, Batarangs and Batclaw, and has him placed into a 2.5D brawler with mild predator elements. This isn’t that bad of an idea, since it works pretty well for a handheld, but combat is much easier compared to Arkham Origins, eventually making a lot of fights pretty trivial. That said, Blackgate is laid out pretty well as the emphasis on puzzle-solving works out well by forcing you to really think about your environment.

There are still a couple things that bugged me about the game though, one of which is how Detective Mode is implemented. In this game, you activate it by tapping the touch screen (and like in the other Arkham games, you’ll never want to turn it off), which allows you to see a lot of hidden objects or figure out where the bad guys are. However, before you’re able to interact with a lot of the environment, you have to hold down the touch screen and scan green objects, which will have the Batcomputer analyze them and turn them orange, usually allowing you to interact with all objects of that type in the area. It may not sound that bad at first, but consider that you must do this every single time you come across a new object or obstacle, which can prevent you from coming up with new solutions for enemy encounters on the fly or making any progress with the game. I’m not kidding; I actually thought I was doing something completely wrong at one point because I tried everything, only to feel stupid once I started scanning the area. Sometimes, you even have to do the scanning every single time you find an object of the same type, primarily surfaces which the explosive gel can bust through. The main reason this annoyed me is because in every other Arkham game the interaction points were all revealed instantly upon activating Detective Mode, so I thought that suddenly they had changed the rules on me.

Now imagine that before actually throwing the Batarang,
you had to first scan the chandeliers.

The other thing which didn’t seem quite right was the boss fights. It’s interesting to be able to fight Joker, Penguin and Black Mask, but their fights, as well as a couple other skirmishes, feel rigid in their design. Essentially, there is really only one way to take down each and every boss and deviating from that path in any way or trying to be creative in your approach will get you killed. Eventually, replaying these fights to figure out the solution becomes an exercise in tedium and I just wanted them to be over with so I could continue the story. This structure causes the final boss fight to be annoying as well and it’s easy to see how a lot of players would have an extremely difficult time against them. I also want to mention that at one point in the sewers, you suddenly fight Solomon Grundy. He just shows up right out of nowhere, has no relevance to the plot and is barely mentioned again afterwards, although he is required to defeat in order to continue and the environment still requires scanning some objects individually. After a while, I just sort of rolled with it and did my best to beat him before continuing on with my mission.

Graphically, the game understandably doesn’t look as good as Arkham Origins, with decent models for a handheld game. However, this didn’t stop me from doing a double-take with Joker during his fight or questioning aloud why Batman never moves his mouth when he talks (possibly due to the alternate costumes you can unlock). The comic book style cutscenes look pretty good though, capturing the feel of the characters and events pretty well, although I think word balloons instead of captions would have made the feeling more complete. Due to how much is shown in these scenes though, I suppose that what they did was for the best. On a different note, the music is mostly borrowed from Arkham Origins and the voice acting, featuring the same people from Arkham Origins, is still of great quality.

Joker certainly looks better here than in the actual game.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is a good Batman game, but not quite as enjoyable as the other Batman: Arkham titles. Its story and gameplay do allow for a good amount of replay value, but combat and Detective Mode aren’t as fun and the levels, despite taking great advantage of the 2.5D style, have a little more tedium involved in their exploration. Still, if one is looking for a decent Metroidvania brawler to fill a gap between games, as I did while waiting for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, and they like Batman, this would be that game.

Flow (Vita)

Around the time I got Journey Collector’s Edition, I reviewed the game Flow off of that collection, since I had not played it beforehand, and I called it art in video game form. Recently, Flow has also been ported to the PlayStation 4 and Vita systems, joining Flower as a Thatgamecompany game available for the new home console. When I found out about Flow’s recent porting, I became curious about how the game would work with the Vita’s controls, so I decided to check it out. After having played the Vita version of the game, I can safely tell you that the game is still worth the investment.

As with my review of Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault for Vita, anything I have said about Flow that is not related to graphics or controls can be found my original review of the PS3 version; also like Full Frontal Assault for Vita, keep in mind that this review is based solely on the single-player experience (the game disabled Network functions when I played). Now that that’s out of the way, I would like to explain how the experience differs between PS3 and Vita, if applicable.

The graphics of the Vita port of Flow are very impressive, especially for a handheld device, though this may have to do with the game’s art style. In any case, I’m impressed by how smoothly the game flows (no pun intended), with very seamless movement and no noticeable lag. The game looks just as good as ever, which shows evidence that great care was taken with this port’s visuals. As for the controls, there obviously had to be some modifications made to fit with the Vita’s layout. To move, you have to take advantage of the system’s gyroscope function, which makes sense since the PS3 version used the console’s SIXAXIS controls for movement. Controlling your organism with the gyroscope takes a little getting used to at first, but you quickly get the hang of it and the game becomes enjoyable to play through. As with the PS3 version, you can use practically any button you want to gain a short boost, but now there’s the added capability of using both shoulder buttons (at once) to help stabilize movement, which works fairly well.

The Vita version of Flow is a very well-made port of a great indie title and I highly recommend downloading it, whether you have or have not already played and enjoyed a previous version of the game. The gyroscope-enabled motion controls take a little getting used to, but overall it is a very solid product that is very much worth your time and money. It may cost $6 to download, but it will work with the PS3 and PS4 in addition to the Vita, so you will definitely be able to get more mileage out of your purchase if you have at least one of the aforementioned consoles. If you only have the Vita on hand, it’s still worth the purchase anyway.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss - Golden Abysmal

When the PlayStation Vita was released in February of last year, one of the launch titles was Uncharted: Golden Abyss, the subject of this review. As a PlayStation Plus member, I was able to get a few Vita games for free, which happened to include this one and Gravity Rush. While the release of this game wasn't exactly confidential, I decided to download it, figuring it had potential since I had played the other Uncharted games. Having finally gotten around to playing it (after moving my Gravity Rush save to make room on my ridiculously small memory card), I now think that Golden Abyss is great...as a tech demo.

Some time before the events of Drake's Fortune, Nathan Drake is following a man named Jason Dante to a dig site in Panama. During the trip it is shown that Dante's ropes have been cut, which causes Drake to suspect that the land owner, Roberto Guerro, doesn't want them there. Dante ignores this and presses forward until they get to the site, run by Dante's partner, Marisa Chase. When Dante leaves to discuss matters with Guerro, Chase reveals to Drake that she doesn't trust her "partner" and ends up discovering something significant about the site. The joy of discovery doesn't last long however as it quickly goes sour when Dante reveals that he's not exactly the most trustworthy person on the planet.

Now that looks like a guy you can trust.

Compared with the other Uncharted games, Golden Abyss is a bit lacking in the story department. While there is something interesting in the ultimate search for a Quiviran myth, the pacing is sometimes at odds, with a couple of time skips among some sections that last quite a few chapters (there are 34 in the game overall), all so the game can meet the two weeks present in the in medias res opening. That said, the characters are also a little underdeveloped. Guerro is fueled by a lust for power and Dante is a total asshat who is only concerned with monetary matters, specifically of the gaining kind. Nathan and Victor Sullivan are the only ones who comes off as complete, though that's more likely due to their established relationship in the game's console brethren. Marisa Chase, as the new female lead, is also a little worse for wear. She does have some rather interesting character moments, I'll give her that, but she's more consistently the damsel in distress compared with Elena Fisher and Chloe Frazer. When she's actually at your side however, she's actually a bit useless, having terrible aim (possibly excused by her lack of experience with a gun, but you'd still expect an AI partner to be at least helpful) and otherwise being a dead weight. In the end, the writing is overall pretty weak.

Of course I also need to discuss the gameplay, in which I found quite a few flaws. Since the control layout doesn't have the L2 or R2 buttons, they of course needed to adapt the familiar scheme to work on the handheld and they managed to do that pretty well. It's more akin to Drake's Fortune in that there isn't a whole lot of complexity, but this does allow the design to get pretty much everything in minus the "Look Mode" and change grenade throwing to a system involving the touchscreen wherein a tap of the icon will throw it toward the center of the screen but dragging the icon allows for more precise throws. In this sense, Golden Abyss works very well and makes it easy to get into the game.

Where it fails however is in the alternate control scheme, which actually runs simultaneously with the one I described. Confused? Allow me to explain. The alternate scheme includes the use of the touch screen, gyroscope and rear touch pad to navigate and aim. Touching a ledge while climbing or swiping (described as "painting") the ledges will make Drake automatically make his way there, which is actually pretty useful and I'd mix it up with real skill at times, but it still comes across as something introduced for the smartphone crowd. Then there's using the rear touchpad for zooming with a camera or sniper rifle, the latter of which was most annoying since not only are there times when you're pretty much required to use the gun, but the way my hands grip the Vita naturally puts my fingers on the pad, so my aim keeps changing unless I hold the system by the edges; not exactly convenient. Sometimes a sidebar also pops up on screen when there is an action you can perform, which works well until you need to use a turret. Until I knew exactly how to have my thumb on the right stick (admittedly the grip would be better of the sticks were concave but I do manage to make it work in the end), my thumb would keep pressing the exact part of the screen with the turret icon, exiting me from the turret and forcing me to work out how to keep my thumb down properly.

This is not natural!

The other great annoyance was the use of the gyroscope to aim, which I saw described on a forum as basically fine-tuning your aim after you use the right analog stick. My issue with this? I already know how to aim pretty well and I'm pretty sure that I know where I want my shot to be. The extra "fine-tuning" that the gyroscope may provide actually threw me off, causing me to turn off the feature to prevent further annoyance down the road. Because aiming was also pretty slow (especially when using the camera), I also had to increase the sensitivity to maximum just so it would be more expedient to aim before shooting. This is significant for me, since I never turn off or adjust options before doing a review, with the exception of turning on subtitles so I can better understand what someone is saying and better remember what's going on (as a result I'm annoyed when a modern game doesn't have a subtitle option, but I never address this for fear of coming off as nitpicking).

Melee is also pretty bad, since it's always three hits with the Square button, or alternatively three taps of the punch icon, and then one or two swipes on the screen. I didn't exactly enjoy this, since it made it rather monotonous and it was sometimes easy for the game to fail at recognizing my strokes. This is greatly disappointing, since the melee in Drake's Deception was absolutely amazing to the point where I actually made it part of my combat repertoire, and considering that this game came out after Drake's Deception, they could have altered the controls to better match this (then again I'm not exactly an expert on game development aside form the fact that maybe they were already too far gone in their decisions, so you can probably take that with a grain of salt).

When the extra features of the Vita aren't used in combat however, they are used elsewhere. For one, you cannot navigate menus except by touch, mirroring the Vita's main menu, which I think is a bad call considering my first instinct with any game is to navigate menus with the d-pad and make selections with the action buttons, not figuring out how to touch things and getting annoyed when I didn't make the exact motion needed in the exact spot (you can probably tell by this point that I'm not the kind of guy who plays a whole lot of smartphone games, though this is justified by me having an outdated "dumb phone" if you will). Touching the screen is also required for picking up treasures by using the sidebar, though I would have preferred the more expedient use of an action button. The sidebar also has other opportunities for more collectibles, including charcoal rubbing that requires you to rub the screen, which I actually thought was a pretty fun thing. Sadly, the screen/pad combo is used for rubbing an object clean, though this isn't for collectibles so much as it is for something that would advance the story; it's also used for observing objects for certain details, but I have no real way of determining how I get 100% at that stuff.

Not that bad, all things considered.

Then we have the design of the puzzles, which does everything in its power to make sure you use that touchscreen, because all of them do in some fashion. This includes opening locks by turning a dial (and having the characters explain how to do it every single time), moving items on a board (and making me wonder how Drake can do these amazing feats of strength) and reforming an image with torn pieces of paper through such an orientation that I had to turn my Vita on its side...like a smartphone. On top of this there is one puzzle that requires a light source hitting the camera, but since my house isn't the brightest, my brother had to a hold a flashlight under the system to prevent me from accidentally blinding myself on a super-bright bulb while still letting me see the end result. In the end I'd consider the puzzles, for lack of better words, uninspired.

Equally uninspired is the level design. It feels pretty safe without some of the complexities of the console games. Uncharted is also known for its action set pieces, and while there are a couple of great ones here, there weren't enough to keep me interested throughout the campaign. It also doesn't help that there aren't as many environments, though they are impressively detailed, and some might defend this by saying that the system has limitations, but I believe that if God of War: Ghost of Sparta could have amazing and more varied environments, and that was a PSP game for crying out loud, then SCE Bend Studio could have done better.

Actually pretty impressive.

One thing I can still praise this game for would be its voice acting, which is actually pretty good and shows how good the actors, especially Nolan North, can be, no matter how flat their characters are. The sounds were also on par with the console games and the music is actually pretty decent, if not exactly on par.

As a side note, you can also now, thanks to a patch, collect and power up cards for another Uncharted game called Fight for Fortune, a card game which I have no interest in playing, but I still felt was worth mentioning.

In the end, Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a game that's just okay. It's definitely not as good as the ones on PS3 thanks to not only an uninteresting narrative, but also some poorly executed features that manage to negate a portion of the good features present. I'd recommend this to fans of Uncharted, but only on the grounds that they really want to drop money on something this average. If you're not an Uncharted fan or willing to drop however much it costs, then you're much better off downloading it for free with a PlayStation Plus account. Even then, I can't guarantee that you'll enjoy the adventure.

[OLD] Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault (Vita)

As with Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault is one of Sony's Cross Buy titles, meaning a purchase of the PS3 version nets you the Vita version for free. However, unlike Sly 4, the Vita version of this game was delayed for several months with an offer of the HD version of Ratchet: Deadlocked for free to compensate for the wait. Now that the handheld port of the game has been released, I decided to take a separate look at it due to the massive delay to see whether or not it was worth the wait. After completing the campaign, I would say that it was well worth it.

I'll admit I haven't checked out the multiplayer at all, partly because I don't know another person with a copy of the game to help me test it out, but from my experience with the single player, I would say that it's a decent port. All comments that are not about controls and graphics can be found in my original review of the PS3 version of the game, so let's take a look at what's different. The graphics, while not as impressive due to system limitations, look pretty decent for the platform; nothing stands out as being ugly-looking or anything, but you can tell there's some attempt at helping the game look close to its console counterpart. At times there isn't as much detail and some textures look a little pixelated, but you can tell the dev team was at least trying. There's some slight lag when too many things are on the screen at once, but it's not unbearable and it goes away rather quickly.

The controls are pretty much the same as the PS3 version, though slightly different. It doesn't make any attempt to take advantage of the Vita's touch features, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, since those features are not required for a game to work. One of the main differences is that, to make up for there being no L2 or R2, the way you use the Hoverboots is moving forward and pressing O at the same time. This change isn't awkward and actually works for the limitations the system has in terms of button layout.

Overall, the release of the Vita version of Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault is well worth the wait. It's not as visually impressive as the PS3 version due to hardware limitations, but it still looks pretty close to it. The Vita version's controls are easy to handle and aren't very awkward, making it easier to handle. If you have any interest in picking up Full Frontal Assault, make sure to pick up the PS3 version, since you get two more games (including the Vita port) for free. Having this version of the game is also a better investment than Size Matters or Secret Agent Clank.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - Time Is On Sly's Side

It's been about 8 years since the last one, but finally, after all this time, a brand new entry in the Sly Cooper franchise has been released. To celebrate this, this blog has gone over as many of the entries in what has been referred to as Sony's "platforming trio" (Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank up to All 4 One) as possible before the release of this game. However, it should be noted that, rather than Sly creator Sucker Punch Productions (who seems to be busy with their Infamous IP), it is developer Sanzaru Games, the ones who ported the original Sly trilogy to PS3, that is responsible for this game, as they are actually fans of the Sly Cooper franchise. Though the game was theoretically made by fans, it's clear that Sanzaru had a real passion for the franchise, said passion helping to keep this game feeling like a true and welcome entry in the series.

An undisclosed amount of time has passed since the end of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, Sly Cooper himself having faked amnesia so he could be closer to Inspector Carmelita Fox. Bentley has been conducting scientific research with his girlfriend Penelope; one day, Penelope mysteriously disappears, along with, as Bentley discovers, the information written in the Thievius Raccoonus, the book belonging to the Cooper Clan. As generations of Cooper history literally vanish from the book, Bentley shows this to Sly and Murray, along with his advances in the field of time travel. With the Cooper Gang's van fitted with Bentley's time machine, they perform a museum heist so they can get the machine working (in order to travel through time, you need an object from the same era) and save Cooper history from being permanently extinguished.

The plot of Thieves in Time is, I must say, pretty well executed. It does its job by jumping off from the end of Sly 3, taking its premise from Bentley telling the player at the end that he has been working on a time machine while also expanding upon Sly's false amnesia. There is also some focus on the relationship between Sly and Carmelita, exploring on their feelings for one another as they see it from each other's perspectives. The main plot is rather interesting, as the Cooper Gang has to rescue Cooper history as they face equally interesting adversaries along the way. There's plenty of intriguing plot twists to keep the story interesting, though one in particular doesn't feel entirely justified despite its shock value. That aside, it feels very much like a real Sly Cooper plot and a true expansion on the third game's ending.

The Cooper Gang (from left): Sly, Murray, and Bentley.

The story of the game is told through cut scenes of course, both animated with in-game graphics and through special animations. The animated cut scenes are narrated much like the previous games, but what sets them apart from the others is that they are in full motion, rather than like a motion comic, and the animation is simply amazing. The fluid animation helps the characters seem more alive, and the variety of expression helps create some interesting scenes while the full motion enables easier insertion of humor. A few of these scenes also use a variety of art styles to help illustrate a character's backstory, which helps them feel more unique. (A particular cut scene I like is the one describing a boss named The Grizz, where as Sly is explaining his origins, The Grizz only stands in one spot while everything changes around him accordingly.) This effort, combined with the promotional short released prior to the game, make Sly 4 the closest you will ever get to a full-fledged Sly Cooper animated series, which this franchise seems like it would be able to pull off in reality. Fortunately, as with previous games, you can go back and watch earlier cut scenes in all their animated glory.

If you've played Sly Cooper before, you should be able to recognize this scene.

On that note, the in-game graphics are equally spectacular, updating the designs of each character while still retaining the cartoonish elements in a way that looks visually appealing. Character designs such as Murray's are more closely modeled after their real-world counterparts, though they are thankfully still stylized to fit more in line with a Sly Cooper game. There is a lot more detail to be found here, mainly due to the game being designed for HD, especially when it comes to the more furry characters such as Sly and his ancestors, among others like Carmelita and another boss named El Jefe. The characters also move very fluidly and characters with long tails have equally fluid and realistic tail animations, which is something I (admittedly) have always enjoyed about the Sly cooper series' idle animations.

Then there is the voice acting. Aside from the returning actors of the main trio (Sly, Bentley, and Murray), the game also has the talents of Steve Blum and Nolan North, voicing Sly's ancestor Rioichi Cooper and Sly's enemy El Jefe respectively. These voice actors, along with the likes of Yuri Lowenthal and Grey DeLisle and many others, help make each performance worthwhile and give each character their unique personality. Though it's been years since the returning cast has been involved with Sly Cooper, save for the recent PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, their performances in this game prove that they've still got it in them. Grey DeLisle's performance as Inspector Carmelita Fox works really well for the character, though how any of her other voices compare is up to you, much like another video game character who can't seem to keep his voice straight.

Gameplay is similar to previous entries in the series, making it familiar for returning players, but with some new twists. First off is that the Cooper ancestors each have their own unique abilities in addition to Sly's own, such as Rioichi Cooper having an extended version of the Ninja Spire Jump and Tennessee "Kid" Cooper being able to shoot multiple targets at once with the gun in his cane (with one in particular showing a nice bit of attention to detail regarding his abilities). The ancestors also each have their own stealth take-down animations and special attacks, making each one feel different enough to not feel like a rehash of Sly's move set. There's also some challenge to be found in the boss fights (except for the last one, since it's just a series of Quick-Time Events), each one bringing something new to the table in such a way as to make them memorable (for example, The Grizz's boss fight involves ice-skating of all things).

Sly facing off against El Jefe.

Another addition to the game is a set of costumes Sly can wear, each of which also give him special abilities (in some cases in exchange for being unable to use his regular thieving moves) rather than just providing a disguise for sneaking around in. For instance, a set of Japanese armor allows Sly to be fireproof and reflect fireballs while an archery costume allows Sly to interact with a bucket of arrows to fire at a distant target, creating a tightrope to walk on. These costumes can be switched out through a special menu by holding down a button, then selecting your outfit while holding the button (otherwise it defaults to the last one you used). Some areas require multiple costumes, while others are made to show off what your new clothes can do, and the game does what it can to make sure you use every costume. Carmelita and Bentley have similar menus for their weapons, but you'll probably be less likely to explore those options, as I was.

There's also some points where you have to complete a rhythm-based mini game, much like in Sly 3, only this time you must hit them in time as they pass by on the bottom of the screen, similarly to Guitar Hero (or Secret Agent Clank if its rhythm sections had any actual semblance of a beat). There's also one near the end that provides a small workout as it requires you to shake your controller, though I won't tell you the context here.

Bentley once again does his hacking thing in this game, but with some improvements. The twin-stick hacking you've come to expect is there, but with some major graphical improvements that make it gorgeous to look at. Thanks to the graphical power of the PS3, there's plenty of detail to behold here, the end result being something that wouldn't feel out of place in Tron. There's also some variety in the hacking this time around, with a side-scroller of sorts where Bentley's avatar looks like a Ninja Turtle with guns (though not exactly), and one where you use the SIXAXIS controls to move a ball of energy through a pinball-like set-up with a timer and pitfalls. This level of variety in the hacking helps the game feel like a fresh installment and not a simple rehash of Sucker Punch's existing work on the franchise. Of course ThiefNet is back in full swing, taking its more convenient money-making system from Sly 3, though I should point out that you will never be short on coins in this game, since they are rather easy to come by (though I'm not complaining, since it alleviates excessive grinding).

There's also plenty of collectibles scattered around each level, which are actually required to unlock more things in the game. Collecting hidden treasures scattered throughout each (hub) map unlocks arcade cabinets in each hideout, while collecting hidden masks in every area unlocks hidden items, such as character and Para-Glider skins (I have yet to collect all of them). Clue Bottles also make a return in this game, which provides a perfect incentive to explore every new territory to unlock a safe containing a useful item, a few of which make call backs to the first Sly game. But if collecting items tires you out, you can always play a round of virtual ping pong with Bentley back at the hideout.

For when repairing the time-space continuum gets boring.

Finding these treasures is made infinitely easier thanks to the power of the PlayStation Vita, which you can get a free copy of this game for if you purchase the PS3 version via Cross-Buy. In the PS3 version, if you turn the AR Server on, then you can activate the AR Treasures feature in the Vita version of the game to scan your TV screen for hidden treasures and Sly masks in applicable areas. If you tap the Vita screen while in this mode, a helpful cross hair will show up on the TV in the PS3 version to help you find each item. However, this feature is best implemented when you have a second player, since using it by yourself is rather awkward and unwieldy. With another person at the controls, it makes finding collectibles infinitely easier.

This game also supports Cross-Play, where you can Cross-Save your data from one version onto a cloud server and then continue playing on the other. This is a very useful feature, since I was able to keep playing when the PS3 was being used or I was on the move (I even transferred my save to another PS3, using my Vita as a sort of vessel to transfer data between consoles). Gameplay is very similar to the PS3 version of Sly 4, with clever use of touch screen and touch pad controls to make up for the lack of shoulder buttons, while also taking advantage of the Vita's gyroscope for certain tasks, mostly anything that would normally involve the SIXAXIS. Of course, everything in this version is sort of a visual downgrade of its bigger sibling, but the experience is nonetheless similar to what you can find on the PS3 version and is perfect for when you want to continue playing outside of your own home.

As I was playing this game after beating the campaign, I gained knowledge that there is a secret ending to the game, which is obtained by getting the Platinum trophy and then (re)watching the credits. I have yet to complete all the objectives necessary to see this ending for myself and, while a YouTube upload is tempting to watch, I would much rather earn this ending on my own time so I feel more satisfied with all my hard work.

In short, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is an excellent return to the Sly Cooper franchise after such a lengthy absence. Sanzaru really did their homework on this one, pulling out all the stops to make sure you get the full Sly cooper experience and more. While the opening does try to explain the happenings of the series to newcomers (for those who choose the option at the beginning to watch it), I would actually recommend playing the original Sly trilogy first, if only for the sake of the plot and to gain a better understanding of Sly's world and history. For both new and existing fans of the series, I would tell you to get both versions of this installment, if only because both versions actually go hand-in-hand with each other. Sanzaru clearly knew what they were doing when they were allowed to to make their own Sly Cooper game, and I can't wait to play Sly 5 when it comes out (hopefully we won't have to wait 8 years for that one).