Theresa vs Kreia

It’s the battle of creepy creepy (blind) mentors! In case you don’t know, I’ll fill you in on the case.

Know Fable? Well, if you don’t, it’s a game franchise with a character named Theresa as your mentor. But only in Fable II and III. Look it up. Anyway, she’s a Hero, and can use magic to see the future. You could call her the right hand woman of fate itself. Oh, and she had her eyes gouged out by bandits. So she’s a “blind seer” which fits her role as a mentor. Plus, she has her own tower to lock herself into to “look into the future.”She’s a bit mystical and cryptic, and she knows everything, but at the same time, she’s pretty damn cool.

And then we come to Kreia, hailing from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Man, that title was long. Anyway, you might’ve heard of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is sorta the sequel to KOTOR II (this’ to shorten up the name). But still, KOTOR II is better. Anyway, Kreia is complex. Seriously, there is so much stuff surrounding her, I could make a post dedicated to the complexity of Kreia. Actually, good thought there… She is a very deep character. And she’s creepy. Her eyeballs are just … ewww. Anyway, she is very darkside. Well, at least that’s what we assume anyway. She’s also called Darth Traya too, and she gets creepier. Basically, she acts as your mentor, and has very controversial agendas to uphold, and she manipulates people from the shadows. Very … creepy. She’s powerful in the Force too, and has some seriously mind-blowing knowledge; she also has the power to predict the future when she’s at a special (read: evil) place called the Traya Academy.

Anyway, let’s pit these two creepy old women against each other!

Who’s Creepier?

Theresa:

Hmm… As much as her lack of eyeballs freaks me out … Well, she’s definitely creepy, and she has a habit of teleporting to you at random and inconvenient times. Plus, half the time, you have no idea why she’s doing something, or why she manipulated people to do things, and used them like puppets. But then again, if Theresa is creepy, then Kreia must make you scarred for life!

Kreia:

Creeped out yet?

Seriously, there’s creepy, then there’s Kreia. The entire game, you have no idea why she does things, and you can’t even tell if she’s evil or not; she’s just … mysterious. Really mysterious. Her motives are, even after her explanation at the endgame, unclear, and she’s just presented as a manipulative, cold witch. Even the characters pick up on this. They’re just as freaked out as the player.

Who’s Stronger?

Theresa:

Prophetic abilities, check. Can kill people using magic, check. Typical. Theresa is magically gifted, but she rarely ever uses magic to harm or beat up baddies. I’d love to know her full extent of magical warfare, but unfortunately, not possible.

She does has some cool magic though. Like teleporting at moments she shouldn’t.

Kreia:

Apparently, Kreia once held the universe by the throat...

Umm… You actually get to level her up in the game so … You could just leave her at Level 1 forever, but you’d be dumb. Seriously, as the last boss, she is strong. Every single dark side power. She also has incredible insight, and her use of the Force makes Yoda look like a real noob. She also has prophetic ability, and is just … powerful. She’s just made to look invincible. Except when you kill her. Even then, she has great endurance; she lived through the entire game without her left hand. No blood or anything, she just bears with it. Plus, she can really take a beating. As shown in multiple cutscenes.

Who’s Awesomer?

Theresa:

Style.

Well, when I say awesomer, it’s a bit vague. I’m talking in a very general tone, so basically, Theresa is pretty awesome. She’s presented as this all-knowing, and manipulative figure, who thinks only of the greater good. Neither good nor evil. Plus, the way she stands is cool. And I love her name. She also acts as a pretty good mentor in general, and it’s like she’s a real teacher. Oh, and she’s immortal. Pretty damn cool.

Kreia:


What can I say? Wields the Force, wears Jedi robes (sort of), and uses a lightsaber! I like it! Kreia’s just a really impactful character in general, mostly because of her murky motives, and just the presentation of her actions and dialogue. Oh, the dialogue. It’d be a shame if Kreia was mute, and note blind … but then again, she’s telepathic. Derp face. Anyway, she’s got a lot of interesting stuff to say, and it really relates to the player. And she’s a frickin’ Jedi/Sith.

Who’s Deeper?

Theresa:

We haven’t explored all of her character in the games, but Theresa’s pretty much the most complex character in Fable. Her motives in general, are pretty questionable, and she’s got a rich history and connections in Fable.

Deep indeed...

Kreia:

If you thought Theresa was deep, look at Kreia. I cannot describe it. I just can’t. She wins the “Character with Most Depth” award. There is so much history, tales, philosophical ideals, and motives with Kreia. It is unbelievable.

Who’s Got The Better Outfit?

Theresa:

For some reason, I reaaalllyy like her outfit. It’s like a gypsy witch, or something; I’ve got a picture. It gives you a slight chill. It’s like a dress, sort of thing, with a hood, with bangles, and rings, and beads. Like a soothsayer.

Kreia:

As much as the brown robes fit her, they’re not quite as epic as Theresa’s. They look mysterious, but not awesome. They look … alright.

Results

Kreia: 4 Points

Theresa: 1 Point

So Kreia is the winner!

Excellent...

Bad luck Theresa…. But then again, you’re pretty much just a copy of Kreia anyway. I’m pretty sure Fable II came out after KOTOR II anyway.

Excalibur Brothers - Link

We all like reading a great review posted up on IGN or Gamespot, or whatever site you use. Watching a review is good too, right?

How about watching a review that is absolutely awesome, picks up on the stuff that’s actually interesting to know, and most of all, has great (British) voiceovers? Enter Excalibur Brothers and their Excalibur Reviews. They’ve also done work in the abridged field, and they’ve covered Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and they’re currently doing Mass Effect. They’ve even done some reviews on movies, and a bit of music work too. All of this work is posted up on Youtube, and also their site – here’s a link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ExcaliburBrothers

Well ... their name IS Excalibur Brothers ... Anyway, this' just the site name...

If there’s a reviewer out there who deserves attention, it’s Excalibur Brothers. You must click on it. No, really, they have brilliant videos, and there’s only about 300, 000 views or so. Which really sucks, because they put a lot of effort into these videos, and they deserve it.

So what’re you waiting for, click on the link! You’re missing out!

It's E3! - Part 4

My favourite part of E3! The games! And this year’s lineup was pretty darn good, I have to admit. I am dying to get my hands on some of the soon-to-be-masterpieces. Seriously, I can’t wait.

So let’s get into it, shall we? Here’s my list of games to look out for:

·         The Last of Us

·         Beyond: Two Souls

·         Nintendo Land

·         Dead or Alive 5

·         Tomb Raider

There’s probably more, but at the moment I can’t think of any others, but some of the above games are just fantastic. Wanna know more? Look below:

Overview

The batch of games we got was just great. Well, we always say that, and next year, we end up saying they were good too, but yeah, whatever. Now, you know how there’s tons of “action/adventure” games out there now? Well, E3 2012 seems to be full of the stuff; Tomb Raider + The Last of Us + Beyond (not sure) + Assassin’s Creed III, and probably others, but they were the most noteworthy. Just one thing, every action/adventure is copying off Uncharted. Seriously, I’ve said this so many times over. Another gripe is the lack of innovative and revolutionary games. Technically, I am being a bit harsh, but aside from Beyond, and ZombiU, I was about disappointed in the originality of the games. Sure they sound great. Sure they look fun. But it’s not like they’re blowing everything out of the water. It’s the old, with a new coat of paint, and some new decorations here or there, and some patching up. But I digress, there are some nice additions. Really there are.

Specifics:

·         The Last of Us

A post-apocalyptic survival 3^rd Person shooter (whew, that was long!) it’s your typical “the world’s ended” survival game. But it just looks so good! The graphics are just superb, and they really capture the “oh no, it’s the end of the world” thing. The concept is pretty interesting too; basically, there’s two survivors from a disease that affected the entire world, causing fungus to grow in their head and something like that. Pretty cool, huh? You play as Joel, and you’re accompanied by a girl who must be Navi (an annoying whiny fairy from Zelda) except grown up and less annoying, and more helpful. Anyway, there is violence! And it’s just great to watch! The fighting is really gritty and visceral; melee, shooting, and even Molotov cocktail (like a bomb from alcohol)! The interface seems to be real time; if you’ve played Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, you’ll get what I mean. If you don’t, well I’ll explain. Basically, you know how you have to access your inventory, or switch weapons, and stuff like that? Well, when you’re busy getting that health potion out, enemies can still move around, and the action doesn’t pause; you have to do it in actual time.

Overall, it’s a bit clichéd, but very nice looking game we’ve got. I would’ve liked multiple solutions to things, and I really want to be able to make more bombs and stuff like that, because it just sounds great. This game DID come from the makers of Uncharted, so we know it’s gonna be good. Because it’s so much like Uncharted, I think it’s going to be just as good.

·         Beyond: Two Souls

I can’t express my joy for this. I really can’t. It’s quite a departure from the norm of its genre. Oh, and the facial modelling. IGN, Gamespot, Kotaku, etc, have all noted this. And it is just out of this world. Anyway, Beyond has a very mature, gritty, and noir tone about it; not for little kiddies. Gritty and mature are what describe it. You play two characters; a girl who has an unknown-as-of-now past, with her pet ghost. Well, maybe not her pet, but companion at least. He protects her using his ghostly powers. Oh yeah, it’s a him. It’s all about what happens beyond death (see what I did there?) and the ghost links back to this. The gameplay is similar to most action/adventure. Except for when you’re in control of the ghostie guy. He can do your standard ghost stuff; frighten people, go through walls, make shield bubbles, and all that supernatural stuff. But the way they presented and showed me at E3 just blew me away. My description sucks. The overall concept is a mature one, and I’m really interested. It sounds good, right?

No, this is not a soon-to-be blockbuster movie that will become an all time classic that will forever more be engraved in history. No. It's an amazing game. But still, I reckon someone should make a movie on this.

Overall, this is a revolutionary game. I can’t pick up many faults; it’s tense and dramatic, while mysterious and gripping. It’s like a murder mystery, and once you start reading/playing, you can’t put it/the controller down. There are some really great concepts there, and there’s no doubt in originality.

·         Nintendo Land

It’s the new Wii U version of Wii Sports! … I think anyway. Well, that’s what Nintendo said anyway. I haven’t looked it up too much, but I quite like it; it’s like Super Smash Bros, but Wii Sports style. A whole bunch of minigames, all based on other Nintendo games (Mario, Zelda, Pokemon for example), thrown into a theme park. Guess what it’s called? Nintendo Land. I’m loving it. You can use your Miis too, so it adds to the fun. And to make matters even more wild, the gameplay evolves and shifts if you use different controllers. Wanna use your old Wiimote? You can! Wanna bring out that Wii Balance Board? You can! Wanna bust out that Wii U Gamepad, with it’s multiple and complicated (and expensive) design? You frickin’ can! It sounds so … Nintendo-like. Oh wait, it’s from Nintendo. It sounds very original, and the gameplay will surely draw in hardcore Nintendo fans, and it’s an interesting idea. I’m keeping tabs on this.

·         Tomb Raider

Uh… Lara, old girl? You’re supposed to be raiding tombs, not trying to survive on an island. … Oh, I see, this is a reboot… Wait … WHAT?!

Anyway, yes, it’s a reboot of this series. Lara’s fresh outta college … and happens to be stranded on an island with hostiles. So, Bear Grylls time it is! Anyway, another standard action/adventure type gameplay, though some of it seems pretty darn clever, even Zelda-like in smartness of delivery.

Let’s say Lara is being confronted with enemies. She’s at the top of a hill, and the baddies are getting up. What’s she to do? Well, personally, I’d hack and slash through their ranks, leaving a bloody mess behind me, like in Ninja Gaiden, but nope, Lara shoots a bunch of stacked barrels, and lets gravity do the work for her. She then climbs onto a metal roof thingy, and doesn’t have to step over bodies! Sounds almost like Zelda, huh? There’s parachuting (and hitting trees), swimming (well, more like being swept away by a strong current and trying to stay alive in it), ducking while randoms are shooting away at her, jumping HUGE distances (and while she’s at it, waving her arms like an idiot) and more action-ish stuff. It’s pretty awesome. It’s what every action/adventure game aspires to be. Except … the linear passages. There’s no choice on where to go, so the exploration goes down, while the action goes up. Not sure if I like that. And what’s more, too many quick time events. Seriously, God of War was good with that, but I think we’ve had enough of those for a lifetime. But aside that, I am so excited. Goodbye Uncharted, hello Tomb Raider!

·         Dead or Alive 5

She’s alive! After a 7-ish year hiatus, our favourite boob-bouncy fighter is back! With more maturity clearly. The boobs aren’t gone (I’m sure some people are pleased) but the game’s taking a darker and more mature turn. And the graphics are beautiful. The characters now look more like human beings instead of dolls, and the environments look wonderful as ever. There’s also Power Blows, which is your equivalent of a special, and Cliffhangers, which is a bit complicated to explain, but I’ll say more later. Overall, Dead or Alive 5 is looking great. I think it’s really time for it to compete in the fighting game competition – everything’s been upgraded, and while I am a bit concerned for the online, the actual fighting will be well worth the wait.

Ok! I have more opinions on the games, but I might post some more in a couple days, so watch out! Next up is a concluding statement for E3 2012!

It's E3! - Part 3

So this time, I’ll go over how some of the big companies went through E3! This year has been … unusual, but still very interesting.

Well, I guess I’ll stop dragging this on, and start! 

Overall, Nintendo’s showcasing of their Wii U was interesting and definitely had some good concepts, maybe not awesomely mind-blowing like with the Wii. But I’m not saying you should be disinterested in the Wii U. Oh no you don’t. Don’t you dare be un-excited. In fact, be very excited. It’s a great console, with great graphics, great games, great in-built avatar system, so what’s not to like?

I think Microsoft did fine. Maybe it wasn’t the centre of attention, but it did well in capturing my interest with the SmartGlass. Fine additions, that have adapted to the modern age, but it feels like they should’ve done this a while ago. Not bad, but I think I’ll wait ‘till when Xbox 720 is coming my way to finally start looking back at Microsoft.

Uh, apparently, the phone controls the tablet,  and the tablet controls the controller,  and the controller is also hooked up to the screen, and so is the phone. Oh, and you can do this while you're in the shower. I think.
Sony’s show at E3 was … not that good. Besides one great game, and a struggling attempt at using J.K Rowling’s fanbase and trying to squeeze on last drop of value out of the thing that copied the Wii, it didn’t really interest me. Just go back to looking at Nintendo. It’s more interesting anyway.

Just saying, this was the only interesting thing about Sony's presentation overall. Seriously, this game is awesome.

Ok! Next up in this series, are specific games! And trust me, gaming’s taking a darker, more mature view on games…. 

It's E3! - Part 2

Ok! E3 is over now! And personally, I reckon it was a pretty interesting year – there’re some really promising looking games and new consoles and old consoles with new and absolutely great additions that have been really mind-blowing.

So, I’ll give my own opinion. Because I just feel like it. Yup.

Now, I think I’ll just give a general overview of what I thought of E3:

General Overview – My Opinion

This year could’ve been better. Well, we always say that, and then next year, we end up saying “oh, last year’s E3 was so much better.”

Just to say, there is an outrageous amount of new games I simply MUST get my hands on. I mean it. Seriously, there are so many fantastic looking games there. The only problem isn’t the fantastic, but more like the lack of innovative and new. True, there are a few scattered new ideas, but a lot of what was shown at E3 was really just the old with a fresh coat of paint and a few new tricks up its sleeve.

And for some reason, gaming is taking a darker turn. Well, you might not know what I mean by that, but take a good look around.

A huge list of games all seem to want to have that “grittier, darker, more mature” feel to it. I can make a huge list of these; it’s usually on Nintendo that fixes this, and churns out some original, and yet family friendly content that suits everyone.

That, and copy and paste. Who doesn’t love it? Even big gaming companies seem to like it too. The entire action/adventure genre is turning towards Uncharted, (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing … hehe…) Sony and Nintendo are copying Microsoft (sort of), and fighting games seem to be copying each other.

So, E3 2012! It’s … a bit messy, and maybe not what we all hyped it up to be.

Just so say, I'll provide more of my opinion on E3 - this post is just an overview! More to come, on my opinion of E3! Next up are my thoughts on those big companies!

It's E3! - Part 1

Hey all! It’s E3!

If you miss out on this, you really suck. Jokes. No, you're just missing out. Actually, no, you do suck if you miss this. So hurry up and look it up on IGN!

This post is totally irrelevant, but anyway … Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony have all displayed their line of (awesome looking) games!

So, here are a couple of things I noted, and what I think of them:

·         There are some really reaaallly great looking games there. And here they are (most of these are the ones I’m interested in):

o    Assassin’s Creed III

o   The Last of Us

o   Beyond: Two Souls

o   Halo 4

o   Dead or Alive 5

o   Tomb Raider

o   Super Mario Bros Wii U

·         The Wii U’s tablet controller thingy is now slightly more awesome – there’s the addition of the “Pro” controller … which is in the exact shape of an Xbox 360 controller. Literally. It’s just that the “A, X, B, Y,” buttons and the Right Control Stick swapped positions. Oh, and the Wii U comes in black. Thank god. And not to mention Nintendo is also creating the Miiverse, universes for people with completely flat faces, and hardly interact unless you’re playing Wii Sport or the sequel. Anyway, they seem to be covering up for the Wii’s blunder of bad online and console universe. Which I think is an interesting proposition actually. It sounds pretty appealing to me.

Hmm... What does this remind me of...?

·         Sony seems to have a lineup of some really … unusual games, but mixed in with some real beauties (Assassin’s Creed, The Last of Us, Tomb Raider *cough cough) mixed in.

·         Microsoft is extending the ol’ 360 from just Xbox to Kinect, and now to SmartGlass … which is so cool, I’d scream in your ears … but that’s just not nice. Anyway, it looks like you can connect your iPhone/iPad/similar thing to it, and use that as a controller. Sounds great, huh? But apparently, you can connect it to the Internet as well, and there’s all this complicated stuff that sounds interesting … but you should look it up in case you’re interested. Anyway, I reckon it’s a great idea, and it’s a smart one too.

Must've taken them all day to think of a name like "SmartGlass."

·         For some reason (actually it’s pretty obvious), a lot of games/companies are trying to copy each other discreetly (well, when I say “discreetly,” it’s actually really really obvious.). A whole ton of games like The Last of Us and Tomb Raider are all trying to copy off Uncharted, and Nintendo seems to have run out of innovative designs and is gunning for the Xbox Controller look. Sony’s trying to get the PS3 to connect to the PSVita … while Microsoft is going further and wants to get ALL (I mean it) kinds of iPhones/iPads/etc to connect to the 360. So yeah, a whole ton of copying.

The best thing ever invented. The only thing left to do after this is to press "Synonyms" and change everything.

Anyway, get back onto IGN (or any other site; it’s just that I like using IGN) and start going through E3! I’ll be sure to post more about my own thoughts on E3; this was just a quick overview!

Minigame Collections - Games That Need Improving

Too long has the gaming world suffered a little thorn in its side known as bad minigame collections. True, you might say there are some good ones out there (Wario SmoothMoves on Wii, and Wii Sports and it’s sequel) but there’s still a whole bunch of them out there, wasting away.

So why am I just complaining to you? Well, it’s because I just played one last night. It was … horrible. So I’ve decided; minigame collections need improving.

Here are some things I’ve picked up about minigame collections:

·         A quarter of the minigames suck. Really bad too.

·         There isn’t enough satisfying minigames.

·         Some of them don’t even work properly.

·         There just isn’t enough replay value because most of them are pretty tedious.

·         There’s nothing to do but look at the menu and go “what else is there to do in this dumb game?”

Just saying, not all minigame collections are like this.

Here’s a little comparison. It’s like this:

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 vs Wii Sport Resort

Just saying, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 or DOAX2, had you either watching sickeningly bouncy boob physics and looking at skimpy outfits in naughty cutscenes. Either that, or you were playing tedious/boring/difficult/pointless minigames to buy more skimpy outfits. Controls that … don’t really exist, a blindingly bright selection of colours, nice graphics (but with the weird hair mechanics…), and bland bland music.

You think this is skimpy? Clearly you haven't seen the rest of the game.

And Wii Sport Resort was one of the best sports and minigame collection games on Wii, with motion gaming put to its limits and shown to its maximum. Fantastic controls, a relaxing and cool colour scheme, Wii-like graphics (it’s actually a good thing) and some very nice tunes in there that are just pleasant to hear.

And so, because of all of these terrible (but sometimes good) minigame collections, I’ve made a little list of some things minigame collections should pick up:

·         Draft a whole ton of ideas. Even the ones that sound really wacky. Then, try to stick most of them into the game, so there’s a good variety and then the gamer can pick out the good and the bad. Now, I know they probably already do this, but re-drafting is always good. And asking others, and doing it some more is good too.

·         Look at well made minigame collections – and follow their example. After all, if every minigame collection followed Mario Party, then they’d actually be worth it.

·         Create a general hub (which should be interesting), where you can access the minigames. It might also be good to make it explorable, but that depends more on the game itself.

·         Add the ability to make in-game avatars or use the console’s own avatars (like the Miis from the Wii or the avatars from Xbox). And besides, it just feels good playing as yourself.

·         Add some sort of compelling goals – Go Vacation (a pretty good Wii minigame collection) had you clearing the activities on all difficulties so you could get Keys to unlock stuff for your own in-game villa. Something like that.

·         Include special challenges to overcome – finish an activity with exactly 77 points, or do something incredible.

·         Use controls that don’t involve spamming a single input, or something that’s really dumb.

·         Make something fun.

Although most of these are just my opinion, I sorta wish some of these would start happening – minigame collections just might start making a comeback. But before that, I guess they need quite a bit of improving….