Over a year ago White Knight Chronicles was released in Japan as one of the first PS3 exclusive RPGs.  After completing its leisurely journey to the West, I couldn’t help but pick it up — Level-5 after all does boast an impressive roster of games.

Did White Knight Chronicles prove to be a shimmering armor-clad success, or are the pages of this story not worth the 0s and 1s it’s made of?

System — Henshin!

The battle system for White Knight Chronicles feels like the one in Final Fantasy XII.  The player is free to select a character to wander the map with and control.  That character is joined by two allies who cannot be controlled.  There is a time gauge that fills at a certain rate based on the respective character’s agility.  Once it’s full, a command can be executed on an enemy within range.  Repeat until victory is attained.

Learning Skills Requires SP Gained at Each Level

Commands are acquired through a weapon-based job system.  If you want your character to tread the path of an axeman, then they’ll generate some hefty attack and HP.  At any time the player can choose to dabble in other weapon abilities.  Want to sling some magic between axe swings or learn some healing spells?  No problem, it’s entirely up to you how your characters grow.  I always appreciate this openness when it comes to character development so this earned some major points with me.

Commands can be strung together to make unique combos.  This system was actually a lot of fun, since there are a number of abilities which work well together in combos.  Your axeman can smack an enemy into the air, hit it a few times, then strike it straight downwards into the ground.  Executing combos requires the player to select the next move at the appropriate time however or the combo will fail.  This kept me engaged during battle and reminded me of Legend of Dragoon which was certainly appreciated.

Ankle-Biter Watches On

The one element that many people are familiar with from White Knight Chronicles is the huge shimmering knight you can transform into.  This is mainly used to combat the game’s many enormous bosses.  Where a normal character would only attack the shins of some enemies, a knight can get all up in its grill and dish out the justice.  This system consumes all of the character’s MP and AC (action chips, used for combos and special attacks) so it must be used sparingly.  Still, the player will use it enough for it to feel like a relevant part of the battle system.  It is also pretty fun, especially since knights can boost surrounding allies and their attacks are quite flashy.

My main complaint with the battle system comes from the games AI — mainly your allies’ AI.  If I am fighting a fire troll, it’s a fair guess that he’s weak to ice.  If my allies know all 4 elements, they’ll use a randomly selected element, meaning about 25% of the time a magically inclined ally will exploit a weakness.  This system forced me to take the reins of magical characters and let melee units mindlessly slash away at any enemy.  This resulted in a pretty solid system, but I would have preferred that AI units could exploit weaknesses on their own.  Also, I cannot tell you how many times the character I was controlling would be afflicted with sleep or paralysis only to have my two allies (who have the ability to cure my ailment) stand around dumbly staring at me until the effects wore off.  This system definitely could have been polished!

Story — More Like TRANSLUCENT Chronicles

The game’s story begins like nearly every RPG you have ever or never played.  There is an annoyingly upbeat guy who wants to save a princess who prays and has blond hair.  Admittingly, the characters surrounding the aforementioned clichés are considerably deeper.  By about the 20 hour mark things begin to get interesting with no help from the main character, Leonard.

I Am Thinking of a Word That Starts with “P”

If I had to sum up Leonard I would say that he is a record, playing on repeat.  His list of phrases include “We have to save the Princess!”, “Give us back the Princess!”, and of course “Princess!”.  By the end of the game (at least in this installment) he has not changed at all.  Leonard is a static character and this style of storytelling does not enhance anything.

As I mentioned, my love of certain supporting characters helped me choke down the story.  There were even a few twists which I found very surprising, earning the game some respect.  Given a more dynamic foundation the story of White Knight Chronicles could have been great.

Presentation, Mechanics, and Online — Avatars Everywhere

Graphically, there are more recent titles which easily surpass White Knight Chronicles.  However, the game maintains a cartoon-y anime feel which felt relatively timeless so that didn’t bother me.

Cut scenes are still pretty impressive, though there are few in the game.  Occasionally detailed hand-drawn art is used to depict the past which I enjoyed as well.

One of my favorite aspects of this game is the customizable avatar you create as soon as you start the game.  This avatar character will be joining the main cast for the game’s story as well as being the player’s vehicle for online play.  There is quite a bit that can be adjusted and you can easily spend an hour or so creating an acceptable character.

This system is an ingenious way of incorporating online play with a standard, story-heavy RPG.  I applaud Level-5 for their creativity.

Naturally, this brings us into the game’s online features.  At a certain point in the main story, the player will be able to go online.  Here you can construct your own village called a Georama (a la Dark Cloud), complete with inhabitants of different professions who can harvest different materials.  The player can arrange buildings and a number of accessories to achieve their desired look for their Georama.

The Georama serves as a “room” when going online.  Other players can come to your Georama to shop, explore, harvest, and team up on missions.  I enjoy seeing the degree some players have gone when it comes to decorating.  I should mention that there is also a “cash shop” of sorts where more gung-ho players can purchase unique and more valuable items for their Georama using real money.  I became quite addicted to editing my Georama, which became one of my favorite features.

When you team up with other players online, you can complete a number of quests as if playing an MMORPG.  You can chat, emote, give items but sadly not kill each other.  When your Clan Rank is low there are few quests you can complete so moving up in rank will require some repetition.  If you aren’t afraid to grind a bit the game really opens up around Rank 7.  Certain weapons and armor can only be equipped based on your Clan Rank which is a good means of motivating people to keep playing post-game, at least for me.  I suppose if you aren’t into the grind you’ll probably ignore this feature and discard the game shortly after completing the ~40 hour main quest.

Conclusions

As a game which attempts to incorporate modern technology with a classic genre, White Knight Chronicles comes very close to succeeding.  I did enjoy the game and plan on playing it a while longer — hell, I will probably play it today after work.  Still it had its moments where I wanted to kick my Playstation in the teeth from the sheer corniness it was projecting onto my screen.

All in all I liked the game and look forward to seeing the direction the series will take.  Perhaps the later installments will be more polished and the story will mature.

Roy level-5, ps3, review, sony 2 comments

I don’t generally play action games but I did give Assassin’s Creed a chance shortly after purchasing my PS3.  I wanted to like it; it was an awesome concept and I loved the aesthetic of the game.  Despite a strong presentation, the game failed to wow me and quickly settled to the list of “games I would probably get to or something,” ultimately being sold on eBay.

The sequel promised fans a number of improvements and the part of my being that wanted to like the first title resurfaced, so I gave it a chance.

WE BUILT THIS CITY ON LINGUINI AND ROLLS

Possibly the most successful (and simple) improvement is the inclusion of a currency system.  There are a number of places where you can find cash in Assassin’s Creed II — this includes pickpocketing, looting corpses, treasure chests and so on.  Even if you may not be progressing in the story, building up cash still feels like you’re getting something done.

If you have money, then there are places to spend it.  Purchasable items include weapons, armor, medicine and more that become available as you progress in the story.  I should note that changing armor does slightly alter Ezio’s appearance which is always a big plus for me.  The weapons are distinct and intricate as well.

If you buy things, you need to put them somewhere, right?  This leads into my favorite element of the game: your villa.  After a few hours into the game you’ll become the proud, semi-owner of a house and a down-and-out village.  You can then pour your florins into fixing up the place, which attracts new residents who spend money at the shops you’ve helped out — meaning you’re entitled to a cut.  I found myself terribly addicted to working on my town and basically bought every upgrade as soon as I could afford it so I would earn more money when it came time to collect.

Upgrading your village also changes its appearance and gives the player access to new areas.  The system was terribly fun but I was disappointed when I had maxed all upgrades so quickly.  Especially in the late-to-post-game, I was just sitting on gobs of money but had nothing to do with it all!  Perhaps the average player wouldn’t attack this system with the same ferocity I did.  I guess I would have liked more upgrades to be available as the player progresses or maybe even some DLC.

I JUST KICKED THE POPE IN THE DICK

The setting for Assassin’s Creed II is absolutely one of its greatest selling points.  I really started to appreciate the research put into the game when I became aware that nearly every building, person, and town you will encounter is part of the recorded history of 15th century Italy.

Possibly more impressive than the research put into the historical characters is the way the writers piece them together to form a new “unwritten” part of history.  The validity of the true elements makes it seem that much more interesting — like a Dan Brown book, only not lame.

I was never a fan of the reality which serves as a frame for the actual meat of the game in both titles.  Desmond’s life of asking, “Huh, what’s going on?” and other people replying, “We don’t have time for this, Desmond!” gets kinda old.  Still, I suppose it is an effective way of connecting the two titles.  I also get the feeling that the creators have some big plans as to where Desmond’s story is going, or so I hope.

□ ASSASSINATE, □ ASSASSINATE, □ ASSASSINATE

All games are basically made up of a number of goals that lead to a boss: rinse and repeat.  Some games make this more painfully obvious than others.  A big way to prevent the player from feeling this cripplingly simplistic formula is with some variety in goals.  This was where, many would also argue, Assassin’s Creed failed.

The creators of the sequel definitely took this issue to heart.  I never felt as though my actions were repetitive and I frankly appreciated the creativity behind them, especially toward the end of the game.  One particularly creative assassination required me to don a golden mask allowing me to sneak into a masquerade to time a shot from a wrist-pistol with the blast of an exploding firework.  That’s just plain sexy.

I will admit, however, that the level of difficulty was rarely a concern for me.  I wouldn’t flinch at taking on upwards of ten guards since by the end of the game, I had so much HP and fifteen vials of medicine ready to suck down at a moment’s notice.  If a higher difficulty was unlocked the second time around (a la Demon’s Souls) I would gladly replay the game, but since there isn’t I can’t say there is much replay value.

CONCLUSIONS — REQUIESCAT EN PACE

Assassin’s Creed II is a shining example of developers recognizing how a game can be improved and implementing that knowledge.  The result is a game which is significantly more enjoyable than its predecessor.

These improvements, in my opinion, blur the line between an action game and an RPG, which is a big part of why I enjoyed it.  My only real complaint is the lack of any deeper or more challenging game-play, especially post-game.  Still, the main quest is great, and with some DLC on the way Assassin’s Creed II promises to entertain into 2010.

Roy ps3, review, ubisoft 5 comments

I finally got around to completing the demo of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker the other day.  It took longer than I had anticipated since it was kinda tough, and I’ve been busy and all.

The controls were the first hurdle to overcome, but ultimately I settled on the action-based scheme as opposed to the FPS style.  With a few alterations to aiming I was pretty comfortable with the controls.  They are rather similar to Monster Hunter Freedom Unite meaning you move your character with the analog stick and change view with the d-pad.  Holding R1 brings the screen into an over-the-shoulder aiming mode which can be set for auto-aim.  I left this option off since it goes for body shots instead of head shots.

Some changes have been made to the classic system which I have mixed feelings about.  For starters, it appears that Snake can no longer crawl.  It’s possible to lie down by holding X which makes Snake less visible, but while he’s doing this he cannot do anything else.  You cannot crawl or fire a weapon from this position.  I saw at least two trucks in the demo and both times my natural MGS instinct was to crawl under them, but they are built right into the ground!  This feels like a step backwards.

“After being betrayed by America… I will never crawl again.”

On the plus side, that is my only substantial complaint.  Another change I noticed, which makes the game a bit more interesting is that enemies now have different armor levels.  Not every enemy will die from just a few bullets.  On several occasions when trying to tranquilize enemies by shooting them in the head with my MK.22, the pistol simply knocked off their helmet, alerting the enemy to my presence.  I am not sure if it’s because of the size of the round (a .22 is rather small) or if my aim was off, but after that I changed my strategy to shoot-to-kill which resulted in less alarm phases.  I appreciate the realism of this change which really contrasts not being able to crawl.  Yeah, I am still bitter.

Other updates include a more advanced CQC system allowing multiple foes to be dispatched at once.  I did have a lot of fun with this, but for whatever reason I could only execute it in the tutorial in the beginning of the demo and not the heat of combat.  Perhaps I just need a bit more practice.

CQC in a refreshing rainstorm

Since the game has a multi-player option, changing equipment no longer pauses action, meaning you need fast fingers when in alert mode or when facing a boss.  Luckily I feel I got used to the controls pretty quickly so this only really got me in trouble once or twice.  Still, I can imagine some people getting frustrated by this.

I managed to blow through the demo without teaming up with anyone.  I am pretty confident I will be playing this whole game solo, at least for the first play-through since the story is paramount.  Still, the new multi-player features are really cool.  Possibly my favorite element is the “co-op ring”.  When two or more players are in close proximity their rings will form one large ring.  While inside, the allies will share HP and have immediate access to each other items.  This is possibly the greatest and least cumbersome way of swapping items I have ever seen in a game.

When it comes to the story, the demo really doesn’t offer much, which I found surprising.  There is a simple cut-scene showing Snake being approached by some folks from Costa Rica a tad concerned with the goings-on inside their military-less country.  They want Snake’s help in getting them out, and he’s all like “I’m not a dog of war, blah blah.”

I do like the unique comic-book style used for the game’s cut-scenes.  It really creates a sense of cohesion with the character designs used throughout the series.  I just hope it will be able to maintain the level of maturity I love from the series, when necessary.

Paz being introduced in the cutscene from the demo

All in all I enjoyed the demo.  Once you get used to the controls you’ll really have a lot to do… aside from crawling.  Sorry, I am just deeply disturbed by the omission of such a key part of MGS games.  I really need to move on…

I look forward to Peace Walker’s May 25th release date, as well as hopefully getting some multiplayer under my belt!

Roy konami, psp, review 2 comments

Yesterday I spent a bit of time playing through the recently released demo of Valkyria Chronicles 2.  It beings with a few scenes from the most recent TGS trailers: tanks blasting through innocent walls, lockers filled with munitions, normal school stuff.  The player can then experiment with the training mode as well as an actual mission.

In terms of controls the demo feels like a pretty decent translation of the system from the first game.  It didn’t take long for my fingers to remember which buttons did what.  The analog stick makes aiming difficult and I usually had to rely on the d-pad to get my cross-hairs where I wanted them.  When moving units on the map however, the analog stick seems to make things easier than the d-pad.  Despite having to switch between the two, the controls never really felt awkward.

I am not sure if this is exclusive to the demo or the sequel as a whole, but the accuracy of units seems to have been markedly improved.  I had two characters get blown away by a lancer in a sniper’s perch in the first mission.  The shots this unit made would never have even come close in the first game.  Also, my units seemed much better at getting head-shots off than I am used to.  If this is a reflection of the final product, I think the game may be more challenging than the first title.

In terms of new features, sadly the defender was not playable, only the standard infantry units from the first title: sniper, lancer, scout, medic/engineer.  The game’s heroine Cosette is a medic, but I was disappointed to see that her AP was just godawful.  Engineers used to have AP comparable to a scout, but now their AP is more like that of a Sniper.  I fear that this will slow down movement across the field for players relying on medics.  I think I may just leave my medics in bases and bring wounded units to them.  Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself…

Graphically the game is obviously not as impressive as the first game.  How could it be?  But I wouldn’t say the graphics disappointed me, the overall feeling is there, just no real advances to mention.  I noticed that from a distance enemy units look a little boxy, but this is the demo so it may not be what we can expect from the final product.  I still have my complaints when it comes to the anime style which permeates the game, but if you have come to my site before, I don’t think I need to go into that again.

All in all the demo was enjoyable and I found myself wanting to play more when I was done.  I think this may be the first handheld title in a while to really maintain my interest which says a lot.

Related Entries:
Valkyria Chronicles 2: Japanese Demo Available

Roy psp, review, sega 2 comments

Demon’s Souls is a game which is preceded by its reputation.  In the West, Asian copies began flooding in early this year featuring a rudimentary English localization.  The game received nothing but praise and respect for its high level of difficulty. Fans of RPGs and PS3 owners alike waited with uncertainty as to whether a U.S. release would ever become a reality.  When Atlus finally announced they would be bringing the game over, I was excited to say the least.  I have spent the past month previewing the game thanks to Atlus and certainly have a lot to say about this title and its reputation.

Story — Let Sleeping Demons Lie

The game’s story is rather dark and surreal, more so than one might expect from a game with a WRPG appearance:

A great king who had been channeling the power of spirits mistakenly awoke a massive demon, simply referred to as The Old One.  Its revival causes a strange fog to encircle the kingdom, which causes demons to emerge and snatch the souls of the kingdom’s inhabitants.  Those who have their souls taken go mad and turn on the living.  The player assumes the role of a brave warrior who enters the fog from the outside world in an attempt to return The Old One to its slumber.

The feeling of loneliness and danger I get from the story seems to jive well with the game’s lack of coddling the player.  You will feel like the unimportant, lost wanderer you are assuming the role of.  Now, when I reflect on game with similarly distraught settings, it seems strange to have received the guidance I did.

System — Survival of the Soul-iest

Everyone’s journey into Boletaria will begin by creating their character.  Character creation includes selecting a name, gender, job-class, and appearance.  Who doesn’t love creating a video game self?  I was a bit confused by all the different attributes, but once I was able to alter my character’s stats, I found that weaknesses are easily buffed out with enough effort.  This may ease any anxiety you have when it comes to selecting a job-class.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I love games where your character is not limited by their initial job-class.  With enough work, Demon’s Souls will allow any character to sling a powerful bolt of magic or lift a giant sword onto their shoulder.  This allows you to enjoy and sample nearly every aspect of battle and decide what’s best for you.

Once your character is created, your life of soul-acquisition beings.  Every living thing can be bested in an advanced hack-and-slash fashion, earning you souls.  Souls are the currency of the game’s dreary world; they will be needed to level up your character, buy items, and strengthen equipment.  These soul-filled-enemies are not without their wiles and if given the chance can kill you.

Joining forces with an ally makes it easier to take down some of the larger enemies in the game.

Life and death are strange concepts in Demon’s Souls.  Life is defined as having a body, which is the highest state of being in the game.  Once you die, your character wanders in a blueish spirit form.  You will have about half your HP but have slightly stronger offenses.  I found that I really had to get over my attachment to my body.  For whatever reason, I felt naked without it even though the game is essentially the same as a spirit.  Eventually I settled into this notion but had to fight everything that my mind has absorbed about “good” or “bad” from any game ever.  In a way, I was a zen trainee, and Demon’s Souls was my master hitting me on the head with a knobby walking stick.

Recovering your body requires you to either defeat a boss, help a stranger defeat a boss, or defeat a stranger.  This means that there is really no shortage of bodies for you to inhabit as long as you aren’t afraid of a little multi-player.  There is also a rare item called “Stone of Ephemeral Eyes” which instantly orders up one hot pile of body.

Having a corporal form can be dangerous since losing it in a certain level will affect that world’s tendency negatively, pushing it towards darkness.  Worlds with darker tendencies have stronger enemies better suited to continue killing you.  Tipping the scale the opposite direction will require you to defeat a boss or team up with an ally and defeat a boss.  Likewise, invading a player’s game and impaling them will net you a decent tendency hit to your character.  I found that this system helps break up the monotony of levels since they change based on the tendency of their respective world.  Playing with the difficulty is also fun in a dangerous kind of way.

Difficulty — Walk Along the Razor’s Edge

If Demon’s Souls were a Rorschach test and you showed it to 10 gamers, 9 of them would wet their pants. Every time.  I am not saying that the game is unbelievably hard, it just has a reputation of being unbelievably hard.  In my experiences, however, this isn’t true.

Bloodstains show the final moments of slain warriors and provide warnings to players.

The game is challenging — there is no argument there — but it is not unfairly so.  Players who respect the system and make a genuine attempt to learn and understand it, rather than fight against it, will see this as well.  I think that this mentality is something many of us have lost.  We play games to beat them and developers make the games so that they are beatable.  Demon’s Souls, however, was made to be beaten by those who truly love it.

Presentation — Gloom Orchestra

Considering the gloom of the game’s world, I was happy that each of the five areas the player can visit differ, which prevents any sense of visual monotony.  I think if every level took place somewhere in a castle’s walls it would probably turn a lot of people away.  In addition to successfully gloomy, albeit varying aesthetics, the game’s mood is further enhanced by its music and sound.  I recall one instance quite vividly in 3-1 when walking thorough an abandoned prison.  I could hear the cries of trapped dredglings as well as a rather angry warrior echoing through the level.  As I approached the floor and cell where the warrior was held, his cries seemed to get louder…  Scary stuff!

When it comes to the game’s re-localization, Atlus’s revamped version is essential to anyone planning on getting into the game.  There are not a lot of times when Demon’s Souls explains things to you, but I found the few explanations that do exist very clear and helpful.  This was certainly in contrast to what Aram had shown me when demonstrating the Asian version of the game, which was rife with inaccuracies and confusing abbreviations.  It also should be mentioned that the North American version is getting its own server where everyone will be just as much a nub as you!

Atlus is offering their re-localization in both a standard edition and a special edition, the latter of which includes a guide by the makers of DoubleJump books, which is certainly a huge plus. By pre-ordering the game consumers will also receive a pretty snazzy full soundtrack:

Aram of Atlus PR explaining the benefits of Demon’s Souls Special Edition between sniffs

I plan on writing a mini starter guide which will be available sometime soon on the site!  It may be unnecessary considering the amount of of info out there on the game, but I have been asked for advice from a few people.

Conclusions — Ichiban

For more of my thoughts on the game please check out my recent podcast at PSNation.

I know the caliber of gamers that read my site aren’t afraid of a challenge, so long as there is a great game tying it all together.  I assure you that Demon’s Souls nails this formula, providing a healthy challenge, an immersible atmosphere, and a complex but enjoyable system.  This game offers a truly rare experience and is easily my favorite title of 2009.  Come October 6th, I will eagerly begin my journey again in the game, and I strongly urge you do to the same!

Roy atlus, ps3, review 14 comments