Success!

With the new found sudden slight success of the JTV channel, I'm more excited than ever about GlassesGaming!

Hopefully I'm going to purchase a Dazzle capture card for my 360 so I can cast some interesting console games on there. If I can't Jordan will be able too. We shall see.

Ahhh, dfficulty?

We've all had those moments where you spout some sort of harsh word mommy wouldn't approve of (unless your mom is totally awesome). These moments, for a gamer, happen when a game is stupidly hard, ridiculous, or even broken. I take games like these to be games that I don't really have any drive to play for the most part. Games like MegaMan and Ninja Gaiden (on Master Ninja or whatever the crazy difficulty setting is) are games in which that I just don't enjoy having my face punched in repeatedly. However, my real point is: How do we specify difficulty in relation to game?*

Battletoads, MegaMan, Ikaruga, Ghouls n' Ghosts, R-Type, Ninja Gaiden, and even Guitar Hero on expert all carry difficulty levels for extremely different types of gamers. As well as they all are difficult in their own merit. Some are reckoned to be broken whilst being infamous for difficulty (Battletoads for example). Difficulty in relation to game works in the realm of whether or not a specific genre is known to be difficult. Genre's like shoot 'em ups are held in a realm where only those who possess a certain affinity for pattern memorization and quick movements. However, most games, in general, can be trumped by pattern memorization. Ikaruga and MegaMan are two games that I know specifically that one can perform the same exact movements and beat the game multiple times over. I realize that no human can hold that kind of consistency, but regardless. These games, to the common person would seem extremely difficult, but are they really? This is where things can turn subjective in nature. Is pattern memorization difficulty? Or is it just time consuming to acquire the stamp inside one's brain on how to beat IceMan or the third stage of Ikaruga?

Believe it or not, PATTERNS.

Unfortunately the issue of pattern memorization in relation of games is deeply rooted into the core of the game. Games are coded to recognize triggers and display patters in relation. So this means that every bullet in Ikaruga and every platform or common enemy in MegaMan all pretty much do the same thing per round. Ikaruga, I feel, is a better example of just raw pattern memorization, especially when one witnesses a video like this. Considering the time and effort taken to actually be able to remember those exact movements, one may say that this is difficult. However, I think the difficulty lies, not in the memorization of the patterns, but the ability to consistently perform these movements within a level. The coordination required to both recognize threats and avoid them seems to be where people muck-up in games that are known to be difficult (within the retro realm). It may have something to do with a reaction to threat that certain people have, or certain people do not have. These reactions (using MegaMan) can be "Oh GOD a bullet!" or "Bullet, dodge, land, shoot". This kind of decisive thinking, and systematic thought decides if you can beat a certain level in MegaMan or any difficult game for that matter.


Have you ever tried to play Ninja Gaiden on Master Ninja? Or tried to beat a song on expert in Guitar Hero without proper practice? Hard isn't it? As it should be. These games are the games I consider (as well as many others) to be definitively skill based in difficulty. These are games where you need perform unique types of actions in order to triumph over the AI opponents. Ninja Gaiden, in a realm of abstract, can be related to fighting games. This relation is derived in the idea that you need to know the moves of the character in order to beat each individual opponent. If you don't, you'll end up looking like a monkey flailing its arms at a tank. Note: This isn't effective. The same skill requirement is required for Guitar Hero, although it's a different type of skill, it's still a level of skill. Guitar Hero (and other rhythm type games) sits in a place where it is close to that of pattern memorization, but I feel it requires more pure skill to actually master and execute. Instruments like the drums in Guitar Hero require actual skill acquired from the game (or outside of the game) with the keeping a beat and multi-tasking with each pop on the plastic drums.

You win!

I feel there's a third type of game that explores a different type of difficulty. These games are the games that require slight finesse or perfection in controls. These are the games like simulation racers or games like the Trials series. The first simulation game that comes my mind is Forza Motor-sport 2. This game caters to those who appreciate the reality of how cars control, and from what I've played it controls as one expects. However, this in a game environment (as well as a racing environment) proves to be difficult to me; and others. Onto games like the Trials** series. These games are a product of trial and error. I'm not sure why I am a huge fan of them, being extremely frustrating, but I think it has to do with how easy it is to just "give it another go". These games make you try the same area over and over again for countless faults. Within the game there is a fault counter, which counts how many times you choose to reset or fall. I've reached over 200 times, on one section in Trials 2. These games are the worst that I've found where something just seems genuinely impossible, but the best when you beat that which was so impossible five minutes prior.

I bring myself to the certain sect of people who choose to make games that are manageable, even harder. I recently met a person who seems to thrive off of making games much more difficult than they are. Take Super Metroid for example, this person chose to do a minimum item run. This means only 2 energy tanks (for those who know what I mean, those who don't --sorry), and a few other items throughout the entire game. Making the boss battles next to impossible. These are the kinds of people who only use the MegaBuster in MegaMan games, only the first three hearts in Zelda games, get no power ups in Contra, or never die in Metal Slug. I have to say though, these people impress me. Their determination overcomes just the pure aggrivation that these challenge runs provide. Congrats to them.

Exactly

*Specifying difficulty in game, as difficulty comes, is purely subjective, so take note that this is all my point of view on difficult games.

**if you haven't seen the Trials series, Trials HD is out on Xbox Live Arcade, and Trials 1 and 2 are out for the PC, here

Glasses Gaming Justin.tv cast.

We are a go! Head to justin.tv every friday night for a GameNight cast, we will be on our third cast this Friday!

Hope to see you all there.


In our efforts to make this more official I have set up a twitter, contributed this blog more towards Glasses Gaming, and the justin.tv account is all set up!

If you haven't seen us yet, and wish too, check out justin.tv/mattroot to find the glasses gaming page!

Loners

My current escapades land me in the world of Aion. The new up and coming Massively Multiplayer Online game published by NCSoft. Through some troubles of my own I managed to gain access to a free server on the Chinese Aion client that I can play on. Recently very excited for this game I have been looking up and consuming everything within my grasp about Aion. This is not a review for the Aion MMO. This is a small detailing on how I am feeling in playing an MMO completely alone.

One doesn't realize when you play an mmo how many of your options are based on the people around you. The grouping instances, trading, working together for quests, even companionship is all based on communication. This communication, I'm left without in the Chinese Aion game.

Starting out, normal MMO players realize that for the first few levels you are, essentially; alone. This isn't an issue for the first 5-10 levels or so. Maybe a little grouping experience here and there, and a single friend is sometimes made in early levels. I started playing Aion knowing that I was going to be exiled from the rest of the players with my English name Kalimedef acting like a smelly friend for all the Chinese players to avoid. I managed to get a few random groups which my class essentially granted me. Playing a Cleric, which is essentially the healer, I grant myself automatic group invites upon sight of my class. So I guess that's my perfume.

Overall, the worst part of being alone in this mmo is my hopeless romantic esque attempts at reaching out to the people within the game. Offering friendly waves only to be blatantly ignored. I even whisper other players with english names to have them speaking Russian back at me. I continued my efforts in trying to find a guild, I'm sure there are other English speaking players somewhere in the world of Aion. One would assume the guild name "Soul" would mean english players. Turns out they all speak Chinese still.

All of this makes me think about the players that act as the "lonewolves" in mmo's. The players, even set with a game made for interaction with people, exile themselves away from the community. Avoiding the other characters, wearing blinders as to keep focused, and seem to have never typed a word into the chatbox; these people I cannot understand. With my lonely experience in Aion I just can't grasp how one could enjoy acting as a single unit in a world made for interaction.

I suppose the people that are self-exiled don't mind this because it is their goal to be alone. Whereas my exile is forced.

Ah well. I'm not stopping now, I'll find someone.

Persona 4

A few friends of mine recommended the persona series. One of my only friends that watches anime that I can talk about anime with said that this game is a must try as far as the RPG and anime style games go. I came into this game knowing that I would spend a ridiculous amount of time playing this game. Make that about 56 hours of game-time right up until the end.

Upon entering the game you are briefed with a very nice anime opening of a mysterious limousine that you later come to know as the Velvet Room. This room will be the basis of your many fusions that can be performed throughout the game between the different Persona's (more on this later).

The spinning hubcab and the tire of this limousine are represented in a fully animated cut-scene. A very nice feature that I wish would happen more frequently throughout the story. In the beginning of the game there are a few anime cut-scenes which are beautiful, but unfortunately they quickly become scarce in the plot of the story and it is a shame they don't happen more consistently, as it would make the story that much more gripping to see the characters you interact with (and build a small bond with - believe it or not) in full animation rather that janky PS2 movements. A few moments after entering the Velvet Room the game present another one of it's diamonds: the voice acting.

The voice acting in Persona 4 is something to marvel at. Not only does it serve as a gameplay function, but it also proves to be very gripping when listening to the characters. There is always a text alternative to the voice option, so if you're without sound you won't be left out. The way that the voice acting can serve as a small gameplay function is that it turns out to be a blatant indication of the importance of a character in the story, or to your advancement in the game (Note: These two ARE different things. The story is the main plot of the story of the game, and the advancement envelopes all of the Leveling and RPG developments that you as the player perform).
The characters in the story make this story worth playing. I have to say the persona 4 story is a very well done rendition of the interaction between highschool students (even if the characters are somewhat naive at times to certain subjects). I found myself laughing at points, and genuinely shocked at other times. The story by itself is good, but the presentation, the cut-scenes and the voice acting really bring it home and it turns to be something really worth trying out.

Certain characters within the story only server the purpose of advancing your Social Links. These social links make your fusions more powerful. From what I can see that is their only purpose. However, they are not to be taken lightly as the social linking aspect of the game is very large. The way the game lays out is in days. You recieve four sections of days, morning, afternoon, after-school, and night. Only certain actions can be preformed in each section of the day. The mornings are usually sanctioned off for the singular use of presenting the player with a question that may increase the stats of the character at school. The afternoons usually present some sort of interaction between the player character and his peers, as well as a chance to improve social links. The after-school area is where the bulk of all the game's actions are done. This is where you can preform the majority of your typical RPG elements, doing quests, buying items for your party, and talking to the random NPC's walking back and forth.

The weather also dictates what you can do on a given day. There are three types of weather in Persona 4, absolute downpour, fog, and bright sun. If it is raining on a given day it will make the monsters in your current dungeon a little easier to fight, however if it is foggy then the monsters will become mercilessly strong. The sunny days are your comfortable medium if you wish to even enter the dungeons on those days. The sunny days are the days you primarily get to advance your Social Links. The rainy days turned out to be the days that I would go do my mundane RPG tasks.

You can also scour the dungeons within the after-school time-frame. I will not reveal how these dungeons become available due to the possibility of a spoiler. In these dungeons you have your typical Turn based RPG fights with your party. Which you can customize the members of as the game goes on to your liking, or in an effort of min/max your efficiency in battles (if you're crazy like me).

These fights are generally quickly handled (unless you're at a sub-boss or boss; of course). There's even a rush option if you just want your characters to beat the snot out of the random mob you run into. This is good due to the fact that you'll be repeating the same fight more than once per floor of the dungeon. Not to mention the fact that dungeons can have up too eleven floors in them. It's disappointing that you may even have to grind to level up your characters due to the difficulty level on the various settings. This game WILL kick you ass on the higher difficulty levels in the fights. Even the regular passing fights shouldn't be taken lightly within the upper difficulties.

The presentation in Persona 4 is truly j-pop. If you don't know what I mean by that, google it. This game is handled in a strictly modern japanese culture vibe, from the upbeat music that loops throughout the school, to the flashy colorful menus. Each text box has a drawn rendition of the character (if they're important) you're talking too. This makes it easier to personify the characters within the story. I enjoyed the music in this game I actually ended up borrowing the soundtrack from a friend of mine.

The save points in Persona 4 are scarce. You can only save when the game pretty much lets you. Strategic saving is something each player must do. Save before boss fights, and every moment the game lets you. The game will sit you down pressing x to advance a text based cut-scene, for sometimes and obscenely long amount of time.

Update

I haven't written anything for a few days so I figure I should preface things to come.

I'm going to write a snazzy new review of Persona 4 which I recently played and loved. So biased opinions ahoy!

Then I'm off to the cold Nordberd to talk about Overlord II and the most adorable creatures that pillage villages, drink, and piss all over the snow.

Maybe I'll even squeeze in an article on game's rentals and their effect from my point of view (maybe a little used game sales talk too?).


We shall see!

Press A

Ah the immediate pulse of button mashing that we as gamers have come to know and hate. To be honest, who actually thinks that mashing the X button (or which ever respectable platform you play on) makes for a better gameplay alternative to say a quick-time press or even a combination of buttons like those seen in Mass Effect safe hacking.

The idea that puzzles me is that develops actually think that button mashing is a good alternative to another gameplay input type. Recently I was playing Prototype and the scenario where you hijack a tank came up. I press the button to initiate the sequence to hijack the tank. Soon after initiating this sequence I was prompted with a button with a flashing starburst around it. This symbol, the symbol I have come to hate, signifies that I need to mash the crap out of the Y button until something happens. Not only is this inconsistent in that they do not tell you how many you need to mash, so in theory (and plain far-shot) a developer could make a completely blasphemously long mashing sequence. Of course, no self respecting interface developer would make this terrible decision, but the possibility still remains.

Now, I'm not going to have this post existing to bash Prototype, but another instance I don't care for in the button mashing sequence is that sometimes I continue to get bombarded by the NPC characters. If an instance reveals itself as necessary for button mashing I should not continue to eat the bullets and tank shells from all 360 degrees around me.

I do not mind quick button presses, but haven't we, as a medium, evolved passed the need for button mashing? I'm sure I'm not the first person to voice some opinion against this mediocre solution, but I'm surprised we haven't seen any major changes away from this decision.

Ah well, when I become a dev I suppose I'll turn a revolution!