A Journey Like No Other December 29, 2012

I picked up Journey: Collector’s Edition on Boxing Day. Since then, I have played through Journey three times and unlocked nearly all the trophies in the game. It just grabbed me in a way that I very rarely get grabbed in this day and age. I don’t know if it’s the gameplay, art style or music that has made this game such a classic among gamers and reviewers alike. It warranted such an amazing fan community, high review scores and a few Game of the Year Awards. Needless to say, I enjoyed this game, and I have a few ideas why. But I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself here.

Journey is a Playstation 3 game developed by thatgamecompany, the same company that made flOw and Flower. In all of the research I’ve done about the game, the game’s developers wanted to make it clear to players that their goal was to retell the story of The Hero’s Journey with this game. This is one of the classic staples of storytelling. The Hero’s Journey, as described by game designer Jenova Chen, is told in three acts. The story’s hero is not some overly muscular person out to save the world, the hero is simply the story’s protagonist, and can be anyone. The hero has to travel a great distance to a very important destination and return back to where they started. On their return the hero will bring something back with them from the journey which will either help themselves out our help their entire community. In the game, you play as the wanderer. You do not have the ability to speak. You have indescribable features as your clothing covers your entire body and face. Your goal is to make it to the peak of a mountain in the distance. To get there, you need to cross an entire desert. Along the way to the peak I realized I found one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with a video game.

As I started to play the game I started making up my own theories as to what it was that I was experiencing. Here I was on this great journey trying to climb a small hill off in the distance. My character stood up and as I crossed the first hill I saw the mountain for the first time. It was far off, and looked miles away. A beam of light protruded from the peak, a product of some almost otherworldly energy. I just knew in my heart I had to make it to the top of that mountain. I pressed on, unaware of where my path to the top would take me.

As my journey continued it became more perilous for my character. Occasionally, I would see another person like myself making the same journey. Occasionally they would join me and assist me in where I was going, but most of the time we would have different personal goals and would end up parting ways with each other as I continued on.

The final stretch of the game was the most grueling for my character. The mountain had frozen and the heavy winds were slowing my progress greatly. The enemies that I had been able to avoid in earlier chapters were now more intent on harming me. Their paths had slowed down and their area of sight had increased. The game was not phasing in other players. I would have to complete this section alone. As the mountain grew colder and colder the wanderer’s speed slowed to a complete stop. I fell to the ground, deep into the snow. The game faded to white.

Suddenly I was presented with the gaze of my ancestors, the very same ones that I had encounters with along my journey. They were all ready to help me reach the summit. My character’s spirits renewed, the sun became bright, the sky became blue, and I literally could fly to the top! As I reached the peak, the game faded to white once again and I saw my character become one with the light. Their spirit had been released and shot out of the peak of the mountain like a star! As the credits rolled the wanderer’s spirit traveled back through all of the land I had crossed, and returned back where it had all started. The game’s completion trophy unlocked, but what I had gained from the experience was a lot more than that.

My game finished, I started to have a good idea about what it was that I had experienced. The hero’s journey is a three act structure. Jenova Chen said another way to look at it would be like the cycle of life. This is the structure which made Journey possible. In the first act, you are born, in the second you are in your prime and in the final act you die. Journey is told in that same way. In fact to me, without knowing any of this beforehand, it felt to me like my path was that of a lost spirit making the final journey to the afterlife. To a lot of people, death is simply a part of rebirth and to me it felt like the wanderer represented the spirit of a person trying to reach paradise, and in the very end, as they reach it, their soul is released to the world.

Along the way you meet other travelers on your path. They seem to phase in and out without much fanfare. They can stay with you an assist you in your journey or move along at their own pace after their own goals. You cannot speak to each other and the game will not reveal who they are until the very end, but you will immediately feel a connection with them. You’re both traveling the same path. Your goals are the same. Jenova described this experience to being very similar to two people when they meet in a forest and they come across each other when hiking the same trail. You’ll never know everything about the person you encountered but you’ll know immediately you at least share the love of hiking and desire to hike.

On my third playthrough, I decided it was time to get some of the last trophies that I hadn’t gotten in my first two playthroughs. I turned off the Playstation Network so I wouldn’t interrupt anyone’s game and could get through the first section without much issue. I still needed the trophy in the third area, but something inside me told me that since I had already gotten most of the other major trophies in the game, it wouldn’t hurt to log back into the PSN. I thought, hey, maybe I could find someone willing to finish the game with me. Up until that point, no one had been willing to do that. Within no time another traveller appeared in the level with me when I hit the second area. Even though my objective was to get to the third area as quickly as possible, I decided to check out this new player and see how long he wanted to play.

We had no way of communicating with each other, short of some minor gestures with the circle button, but just by looking at the other player’s robes I could tell at least a few things about them. They had a single gold band around the bottom of their robe, and because of that I could tell that the person had played through the game at least once. Since they were wearing the default brown robes, I could also tell that they hadn’t unlocked all of the game’s secrets yet, but I couldn’t tell exactly what they had and hadn’t unlocked. I decided to show the other player some good faith by pointing them to some secret spots in the second area that I had found which could help them level up their character a bit. It would have taken far too long to navigate the entire area, so I kept most of the stops short. He tagged along pretty close and within no time we had made it to the final climb up the summit.

As I had competed this path before two previous times I lead, and he followed very close to me. We took a shortcut up the mountain, and I pointed out some secret areas that weren’t too far off the beaten path from us. As the enemies swarmed around us, I thought for sure I had mastered their timing by this point, so I lead us from shelter to shelter, trying to stay out of their gaze. He followed close, and I thought we had made it out unscathed, until just as I was about to leave the area, I noticed that my partner had attracted the attention of one of the enemies, and they were headed right for him! Throwing caution to the wind, I ran for them, hoping to distract the monster or take the attack myself! The monster ended up knocking both of us to the ground and harming our floating ability. I was severely worried that this would cause them to log out of the game in frustration, but they got up, shook off the snow, and we continued moving forward into the final area.

It was a gruling final push up the mountain and we stayed as close as possible together. Knowing the game would fade to white I wanted to ensure that we both would trigger the game’s final push together and not hand me another player. We had come this far together, we were going to finish this together. That was my mantra during the entire endgame. We both passed out together, triggering the game’s final cutscene. We had made it to the final part of the game, and we were going to fly through it together. As I played through the sequence I noticed that the game’s last level was almost like a retelling of our entire journey, starting with the simple processes that the game taught in the early levels, and moving to the more complex designs towards the end.

Together we had made it to the cave at the peak of the mountain. We walked into the cave, and the game took over. In the distance I could see two figures stepping into the light together, and the game faded to white as the credits began to roll once more. As the credits rolled I waited in anticipation not just for the notification if we had completed the game’s most difficult trophy, but for the credits to tell me just who this other player was that had assisted me in the game.

The final credit rolled and I saw a single name. In the upper right hand corner of my screen a trophy display popped up. We had done it, and we had done it together. I quit the game and fired up the PS3’s message system, something I very rarely used and addressed a simple thank you to the other player. Together, we had gotten some of the game’s hardest trophies, but more than that we had one hell of a great experience doing it.

Before writing this article the player I decided to check my PS3’s inbox to see if the other player had sent me something back. They got my message, and I had a very nice response back. I checked their profile, wondering if they had also gotten the same trophy during our playthrough that I had, and they indeed had unlocked it. I don’t know who this person is, I probably have never met this person before and never will, but like two people hiking the same trail, for two hours, we had succeeded in helping each other accomplish one very specific goal without saying one word to each other. Gaming can bridge the widest gaps among cultures, as like two people on a trail have the love of the hike in common, gamers have the love of the games to share.

What an experience. I can’t wait to see what thatgamecompany comes up with next.

Holiday Games Gift Guide – Xbox 360 December 23, 2012

The Holidays are coming pretty soon and I know that many of you may very well be opening up brand new gifts including a wide range of consoles and handhelds for the first time. However, with a new console or handheld comes the responsiblity to find some of the best games to get for it. The hope is to bring you a list of currently in print brand new games which are either some of the best for the platform or the best deals on the platform that you can easily pick up at the store for a reasonable price, pop it into your new gaming system and enjoy every second of it! So, in the time leading up to Christmas, I’m going to be posting a series of articles for each platform and handheld system currently on the market and tell you what are some of the must-have games for new console owners!

As we come to the final platform for this year’s Holiday Games Gift Guide, we’re going to be talking about the Microsoft Xbox 360. Okay, let’s get this out of the way first off, Halo 4 is probably the newest and biggest 360-exclusive release, and one heck of a great reason to get a 360, but after that game what other 360 exclusive games are out there that can be gotten for a reasonable price?

Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, Halo Wars – Like it or not, the Xbox 360 is the Halo platform, and with very good reason. The Halo games have been some of the most polished games of the past ten years. Halo 3 finished the fight. Halo 3 ODST may have a short single player campaign but that short story is one of the best stories (with some of the best music) of the series, and it includes all the downloadable multiplayer maps for Halo 3 on a second disc. Halo Wars took the RTS concept and made it actually work on a console, offered pre-rendered FMVs that rivaled some computer animated feature-length movies, and new Platinum Hits copies of the game will include download codes for all the game’s downloadable content. You can probably find all of these games for between $19.99-$24.99 US each.

Gears of War Triple Pack – Other than Halo, there has been no other exclusive franchise as important to the 360 as Gears of War, and with good reason. These games redefined what made for an action game. This bundles together the first two Gears of War games in one package. Sadly, Gears of War 3 isn’t included with this pack, but it does come with codes for all DLC for Gears of War 2, including several map packs and a deleted single player level. The downloadable map packs for the original Gears of War are all free. You can find this for $24.99 US.

And for those of you who have a Kinect to go along with that Xbox 360, here are some games I recommend which take advantage or require the Kinect.

Kinect Adventures – This will probably be the first Kinect title you play on the Xbox 360 and let me tell you that this game alone made my purchase worth it. It was a ton of fun going through all the different game types on the disc with a friend, trying to get the medals needed to unlock the later stages. Kinect Adventures is included free with every Kinect or Kinect-Bundled Xbox 360.

The Gunstringer – Made by the awesome guys over at Twisted Pixel, The Gunstringer is an amazing game which blends live action and 3D gameplay better than anything I’ve ever seen before. You control The Gunstringer, a mariachi puppet out for revenge against the gang that killed him. Oh and did I mention it’s hilarious too? The game also features a free DLC called the “Wavy Tube Man Chronicles”, and a voucher for the free XBLA Kinect game Fruit Ninja. The Gunstringer is currently $39.99 US.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary – The entire original Halo: Combat Evolved game, remade for the Xbox 360 with brand new graphics and unlockables. I know what you’re thinking, why would I include this game in the Kinect section of the list if it can be played without a Kinect? Because the game’s library feature, which allows you to scan objects, items and characters in the game and unlock encyclopedia entries in the game menu will only work for Kinect-equipped players. Oh and it includes the full multiplayer Halo Reach client on disc, and a download code that gives Reach players some new multiplayer maps to boot. If you’re lucky you can probably find the game for $29.99 US, but the normal price for it is $39.99 US.

And with that, we come to the end of this year’s Holiday Gift Games Guide. Wishing all of you a happy and safe holiday season!

Holiday Games Gift Guide – Playstation Vita December 22, 2012

The Holidays are coming pretty soon and I know that many of you may very well be opening up brand new gifts including a wide range of consoles and handhelds for the first time. However, with a new console or handheld comes the responsiblity to find some of the best games to get for it. The hope is to bring you a list of currently in print brand new games which are either some of the best for the platform or the best deals on the platform that you can easily pick up at the store for a reasonable price, pop it into your new gaming system and enjoy every second of it! So, in the time leading up to Christmas, I’m going to be posting a series of articles for each platform and handheld system currently on the market and tell you what are some of the must-have games for new console owners!

Well, keeping with the theme of covering the handheld consoles today, lets talk about the games on the Playstation Vita from Sony.

Assassin’s Creed: Liberation – A side story of the widely popular Assassin’s Creed series, this is the game that really pushes what can be done with this system graphically and features a whole new character, setting and storyline.  There are also some exclusive unlockables with this game for any players that have Assassin’s Creed III on the Playstation 3.  Twitch and I recommend getting the White Playstation Vita bundled with this game, as the $249.99 US WiFi model only bundle will practically get you this game and a Vita memory card for free.  If you can’t find any Vitas bundled with this game, the game alone costs $39.99 US.

Sound Shapes – The first downloadable title that I’ve included in the Holiday Games Gift Guide, I first demoed Sound Shapes back in E3 2011 and enjoyed it quite a bit.  It has a great soundtrack and addictive gameplay for such a simple game.  If you’re interested in picking it up, Sound Shapes is $14.99 US on the Playstation Store.  It is also on the Playstation 3.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss – This was the killer app launch title for the Playstation Vita and it just got a price drop.  I can’t think of any game I demoed on the Vita that captured all the cool features of the system’s touch screen better than Golden Abyss did.  It is so exciting to navigate Nathan Drake through all sorts of areas, and have the added effect of using the Vita’s touch screen and gyro sensors to climb, jump and shimmy from ledge to ledge.  Uncharted: Golden Abyss is $39.99 US.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories – The most recent release in the hugely popular Silent Hill series from Konami, this game brings a lot of new features to the table, and many of them are perfect for the handheld.  This game features a unique cooperative campaign you can play with your friends, giving you the chance to work together to solve challenges in the Otherworld.  It also allows you to fully customize your characters, giving you the chance to put your own personal stamp on the character you are playing as.  You can get the game for $39.99 US.

So there we have it for the Playstation Vita, some unique platform exclusives you should have no problem finding brand new in stores.  Stay tuned this weekend, as there is still one more platform that we haven’t discussed yet in the Holiday Games Gift Guide, the Xbox 360.

Holiday Games Gift Guide – 3DS/DS December 22, 2012

The Holidays are coming pretty soon and I know that many of you may very well be opening up brand new gifts including a wide range of consoles and handhelds for the first time. However, with a new console or handheld comes the responsiblity to find some of the best games to get for it. The hope is to bring you a list of currently in print brand new games which are either some of the best for the platform or the best deals on the platform that you can easily pick up at the store for a reasonable price, pop it into your new gaming system and enjoy every second of it! So, in the time leading up to Christmas, I’m going to be posting a series of articles for each platform and handheld system currently on the market and tell you what are some of the must-have games for new console owners!

I’m going to include games here for both the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, as both platforms are still in print and seeing new games. Also, don’t forget that the Nintendo 3DS is fully backwards compatible with all Nintendo DS games, making it practically two platforms in one.

Okay, so lets start off by listing some games that are out for the DS, and can be played on any model DS or 3DS.

Pokémon Black 2/White 2 – The only official sequel to a Pokémon game of any generation, this game is a direct sequel to the fifth generation Pokémon Black and White games. While the game has just been released, with the heavy sales that have been going on for these games this holiday season, I have seen prices for it as low as $34.99 US each, making it cheaper than a copy of Pokémon SoulSilver. If you prefer to play the original Pokémon Black and White games before playing the sequels, you can also find Pokémon Black or Pokémon White for $34.99 US each.

The World Ends with You – A sleeper hit from Square Enix at its release, The World Ends With You has gained a cult status on the handheld. It has a fantastic art style I appreciated a lot and a unique storyline. Since the release of the iOS version a few months ago, the game has been reprinted on its original platform, the DS. While there hasn’t yet been an announcement of a sequel some of the characters from the game do make an appearance in a game further down this list. If you can find yourself a new copy, I’ve seen prices for it as low as $19.99 US, but given its popularity you may have to pay as high as $34.99 US.

Okay, now lets talk about some 3DS exclusives. These will only work on a Nintendo 3DS or 3DS XL.

Mario Kart 7 – If you own a 3DS, you must own this game. It is simply the best game I have played on the platform. A continuation of the fantastic Mario Kart series the game has some of the best 3D effects on the system, fantastic controls, and some of the best race tracks (new and old) that I have seen on any Mario Kart game. You can also play the game locally with a friend or online and race worldwide. Mario Kart 7 is 3DS exclusive and can be bought for $39.99 US.

Resident Evil Revelations – Many critics found themselves disappointed by Resident Evil 6 for the consoles, but a lot of people found a lot to love in Revelations. This was no series of minigames or rail shooting sequences, this featured the full gameplay features of a console Resident Evil game, and it all came on a handheld device in 3D. Didn’t like the control scheme? It took advantage of the Circle Pad Pro accessory just in case you needed to have an extra thumbstick. Resident Evil Revelations is currently $19.99 US for the Nintendo 3DS.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance – The first game to continue the Kingdom Hearts storyline since the release of Kingdom Hearts II back in 2005, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance easily recaptures all the magic of the original Kingdom Hearts games, and looks stunning on the 3D screen. All the original game’s gameplay is intact, and entirely new features are availble, as well as new Disney worlds to explore. You can probably find the game new for $39.99 US.

Hope you’re enjoying the list!  More will be coming all weekend!

Holiday Games Gift Guide – Wii U December 21, 2012

The Holidays are coming pretty soon and I know that many of you may very well be opening up brand new gifts including a wide range of consoles and handhelds for the first time. However, with a new console or handheld comes the responsiblity to find some of the best games to get for it. The hope is to bring you a list of currently in print brand new games which are either some of the best for the platform or the best deals on the platform that you can easily pick up at the store for a reasonable price, pop it into your new gaming system and enjoy every second of it! So, in the time leading up to Christmas, I’m going to be posting a series of articles for each platform and handheld system currently on the market and tell you what are some of the must-have games for new console owners!

So lets talk about the Wii U. Given the fact that the system has only been out for a little over a month, it doesn’t have as big a gaming library as the other consoles do but it does have an amazing launch lineup with a wide spectrum of good games. If you just got a Wii U, here’s some great games to get for it!

ZombiU – This is without a doubt the third party killer app for the Wii U. I know it had a mixed reception from the critics, but to me it felt like the issues critics had with it were unfounded. It has a pretty steep learning curve, but this is a survival game, not an action game. The developers tried something new and I thought it worked. I also thought the game’s atmosphere was great, not that many games that can capture a great atmosphere like that. You can find it it for $59.99.

New Super Mario Bros U – This is the Mario launch title for the Wii U. A continuation of the highly popular “New” Super Mario Bros series, this game is a throwback to the classic Super Mario Bros platformers of the 2D era. This game is also great to play with friends. If you have some WiiMotes around, you can play levels together with four friends. If you were a fan of any of the New games or fondly look back at games like Super Mario World, give this game a look. It’s $59.99 US.

Nintendo Land – To me, Nintendo Land is just as important to showcase all the capabilities of the Wii U as Wii Sports was to showcase all the capabilities of the Wii was. There’s also games for all your favorite Nintendo icons. Zelda, Mario, Metroid all have their own park rides, and they’re joined by Pikmin, Donkey Kong, and Animal Crossing. Nintendo Land is included free with all Wii U 32GB Deluxe Editions. It is $59.99 US normally. Trust me, get the Deluxe Edition Wii U, its only a $50 premium over the 8GB model and that alone will cover the cost of Nintendo Land, saving you ten dollars and give you a Wii U with a higher memory capacity.

Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition – If you’ve got yourself a Wii U, don’t get the Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition, this is the true Arkham City Game of the Year Edition. Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition comes with ALL the previously released downloadable content for Arkham City, but retools all of its gameplay to take full advantage of the Wii U’s controller. In my opinion, out of all the multiplatform games that was released for the Wii U, this game takes advantage of the Wii U’s controller better than any other multiplatform game did. When you’re done, you’ll never know how you could play the game without it. The game also features exclusive armored suits for Batman and Catwoman, as well as access to the new B-A-T feature during gameplay, making Batman and Catwoman ever more devistating during battle. You can probably find the game for $59.99 US normally, but I’ve seen some stores selling it for $49.99 US for the holidays.

Hope you’ve been enjoying this holiday game guide! More articles will be coming all weekend! Got a lot more platforms coming up!

Holiday Games Gift Guide – Wii December 20, 2012

The Holidays are coming pretty soon and I know that many of you may very well be opening up brand new gifts including a wide range of consoles and handhelds for the first time.  However, with a new console or handheld comes the responsiblity to find some of the best games to get for it.  The hope is to bring you a list of currently in print brand new games which are either some of the best for the platform or the best deals on the platform that you can easily pick up at the store for a reasonable price, pop it into your new gaming system and enjoy every second of it!  So, in the time leading up to Christmas, I’m going to be posting a series of articles for each platform and handheld system currently on the market and tell you what are some of the must-have games for new console owners!

Whether you picked up a Nintendo Wii or a Nintendo Wii U, you’re going to find some amazing games for the Wii out there, all of which are compatible with the Wii U with the latest firmware update.

Wii Sports/Wii Sports Resort – This combo game which features both Wii Sports and its sequel Wii Sports Resort on one disc is included only with brand new Nintendo Wii consoles.  Wii Sports took full advantage of all of the Wii’s capabilities and the decision to pack it with all new Wiis was probably one of the best decisions that Nintendo ever made, as it got a lot of people to buy the Wii at launch.  A sequel was released some time later, which took advantage of the Wii’s MotionPlus accessory and got it to be heavily adopted by current Wii owners, so much so that the MotionPlus is now standard in all new Wiimotes and used in many Wii U games as well.  You can only get this game collection bundled for free with all new Nintendo Wii systems, which currently cost $129.99 US.  Separate, Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort are $19.99 US each.

Super Mario Galaxy – Probably one of the most addictive Mario games I have played in years.  A truly innovative game which harkens back to how innovative Super Mario 64 was back when the Nintendo 64 launched.  Now, Mario travels the entire galaxy, collecting stars, navigating planets and saving the Princess.  Seriously there is no shortage of content in this game.  With 120 stars to find in it, countless worlds to visit and galaxies to travel to, this game will take you a while to find every single secret nook and cranny, even if you have already defeated Bowser.  Since it was recently re-released with the Nintendo Selects line, you can get Super Mario Galaxy for $19.99 US.

Metroid: Other M – I know this game got a really bad rap when it was released but I enjoyed it quite a lot.  It had a gameplay style that harkened back to the original Metroid games.  By turning the Wiimote sideways, it felt like I was playing an NES game all over again, and when I pointed the Wiimote at the screen, it felt like I was playing Metroid Prime again.  In the franchise storyline, it follows Super Metroid (Metroid 3), and establishes the backstory mentioned in Metroid Fusion.  The graphics on it are some of the best for the Wii and while the storyline may be controversial it has some of the best cinematics I’ve seen.  If you just want to enjoy the story with some popcorn, it has an entire DVD style FMV theater option, which I wish more games had.  You can also get it really cheap, as I’ve seen prices for this game for as low as $10 US.

Super Smash Bros Melee – As I’ve mentioned in an article a long time ago, I simply cannot allow anyone to buy a Wii without picking up this game.  This has been considered by many to be the must have game for the Wii.  Featuring every single one of the characters that Nintendo made famous, it has the biggest roster of any Super Smash Bros game and, for the first time in the series, an entire single player campaign.  You can probably find the game for $29.99 US.

Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess – When you get yourself a Nintendo console, you expect it to have three staples, Mario, Metroid and of course, Zelda.  It’s hard to imagine that a game that was a launch title for the system would still be in print this far down the road, but, as The Angry Video Game Nerd put it, it kicks so much ass.  Like Super Mario Galaxy, Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess was re-released with the Nintendo Selects line and can probably be purchased for $19.99 US.

And if you’re already a Wii owner and end up getting yourself a Wii U this holiday, don’t forget, all your Wii’s purchased data and save games will transfer to the Wii U.

More platforms are still to come and because of that, even more guides are coming!