I’m back, kind of. As most of you know Pay Homage has been silent for a while because I’m in the middle of A SECRET WRITING PROJECT. Obviously when I sit down to write, this is what I do and have little time to play games anymore, let alone write about them! However! Inspired by the games I’ve been playing of late I’ve managed to find a minute to write up very quick, very sketchy opinions on the titles I’ve been dabbling in. For my thoughts on Fallout: New Vegas, Super Meat Boy and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, hit the jump!.
Fallout: New Vegas was a game I’ve been nervous about for some time now. Fallout 3 was easily my personal GOTY in 2008 and, as with anything I love, I’m worry it will be destroyed. The fact that a different developer took the reigns for this next iteration was a constant concern, but one that I found out I needn’t have. I’ve only plugged about four hours into it so far but the tone of New Vegas is a darker, more mature storyline, without the quirky-camp humour that riddles Berthesda’s titles. The graphics are propped up by a four year old engine and are butt-ugly accordingly, but I don’t mind that so much.
The gameplay has matured somewhat too. The same old gunplay is here, with VATs being as delightful as it always was, but there’s a new depth in the game HARDCORE mode – a mode where food and water are a constant necessity, broken limbs stay broken until you make it to a doctors, sleep deprivation is a killer and weapons fall to pieces quicker than my mom during the opening scenes of Bambi. It’s a rough ride but an endlessly fulfilling one.
Super Meat Boy held my attention for the last four or five days with its balls-to-the-wall gameplay and incredible style. I can only compare it to a Tarantino movie – an endless homage but wholly it’s own. Around every corner is a reference to gaming culture and – more surprisingly – the indie side of the games industry, but it tightens these hundreds of strings and pulls them into a unique and awesome game that stands out from the crowd it likens itself to.
At it’s core SMB is a ridiculously difficult platformer, akin only to titles like N+, where wall jumps and mad dashes through perilous levels are the staple elements. It’s frustrating but holds that near-mythical level of one more try, just one more try thanks to it’s super-tight controls, level design perfection and – most of all – fairness. If you screw up, it’s all you, there’s nothing else to blame other than your own incompetence, and it’s this drive to better oneself that will have you screaming into the early hours of the morning.
Early impressions of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow are underwhelming. I was pretty pumped for this game but waited a while after launch before picking this up thanks to what I thought was a pretty mediocre demo. Within days, however, gaming media had me believing once again in the project and I picked it up. I’ve plugged about five hours into it so far, five enjoyed-yet-hampered hours, but enjoyed nevertheless.
There’s a good game in here somewhere. Scratch that – there’s a phenomenal game in here somewhere, but it’s lost. It’s lost amongst poorly designed platforming and combat mechanics that infuriate rather than encourage. It’s a shame these qualms exist because what else is here is truly great. The graphics are beyond stunning. The presentation of everything frontend is awesome – the brilliantly animated sketches of moves you can purchase being a particular favourite of mine. The music is great, the all-star voice acting is professionally delivered, despite reading some of the worst writing in a game I’ve heard since Lost Planet 2. The design – the architecture of the world and the style of the title are really some of the best out there. But a complete package this is not.
Really my biggest gripe – the combat system – is enjoyable (if not a little uninspired – see Bayonetta for an excellent example in how to make a hack and slash engine unique) in theory, the moveset is robust and diverse but the enemy programming brings a nicely built system crashing down. Telegraphing in a hack and slash is a big must for me. If an enemy manages to land a hit without a discerning gamer seeing it coming, that’s a problem. This might be due to my own incompetence, but – and I’m attempting modesty here – I’ve bested Ninja Gaiden 2. It’s not that this game is particularly difficult. It’s simply flawed. Enemies knock you out of air combos by jumping near you, player hit boxes seem overly wide and awkward to consider. The block / counter system is an absolute mess. Finicky details bring down what would otherwise be a competent brawler.
I’m hoping it tightens up along the way, I’m hoping it will click a couple more hours in and these niggling concerns will slot into place to make an enjoyable overall experience. Some games have learning curves, I’m hoping this one has an acceptance curve.
