|
Post by kog3100edw on Jul 18, 2011 16:04:32 GMT -5
Playing the fetch-quest extravaganza that is Epic Mickey.
I started this because my interest in the nostalgia this would evoke (and it is pretty melancholy to boot) and because I felt I could handle what seemed to be the most frequent complaint, the camera. The camera is annoying but manageable. The sedate pace and all the fetch-quests though not normally my thing are an okay change of pace from my usual gaming fodder.
Here's what's kinda pissing me off: Strat Guide Required Syndrome.
This is where something inherent in some games, usually unclear objectives, poorly designed or obscurely lit levels, or just plain lack of logic, makes finding on object or completing a task impossible without referring to a guide OR hoping you stumble on it by going over every square inch of a level performing whatever task 'uncovers' the item.
I've run into my first case with Epic Mickey and I think it is probably going to be a recurring thing. The game asked me to find a few items scattered around a level. Not unusual. It had asked this before, and it took poking around but it wasn't really a problem. I just needed to be thorough. THIS TIME though, I was thorough and couldn't figure out why I could only find ONE of the three items. So I finally looked at a guide wondering what the game (or designers) could be wanting from me? What is THEIR logic so that I could hopefully incorporate that in case this sort of thing came up again.
Their logic is: look in the guide. The other two items were hidden beneath parts of the landscape (you can erase backgrounds and objects in many places), but with no clue visual or verbal as to where they were. If one did not have a hintbook, you'd literally have to go over the whole level spraying thinner on everything to uncover the hiding spots.
I'm not really keen on carpeting levels in thinner hoping I stumble across necessary items! Blech. This sort of shit just reeks of being put in to sell guides.
|
|
|
Post by kog3100edw on Jul 22, 2011 12:05:22 GMT -5
Poked a bit at EDF: IA.
Its a bit tricky since I have a Japanese version. All the weapon names are in English during actual play, but everything else... all menus, all spoken text, all onscreen instructions are in Japanese. And there are no online mission FAQs that I've been able to find.
Good thing my kid has already blasted through the whole campaign (on his USA copy) so he can help me out. He's not too good with keeping quiet about spoilers though.
I'm also out of luck on playing online with fellow USA EDFers! I'm paying a pretty heavy price with this game for having a Japanese console!
|
|
|
Post by ECM on Jul 22, 2011 12:47:06 GMT -5
I know this is going to sound patronizing (it isn't meant to be), but it would probably take a guy like yourself about two days to learn Hiragana and Katakana[footnote:1]It took me very little time (maybe 10-12 hours over two days) to memorize them all w/ some mnemonic creativity.[/footnote], so you'd never be stymied by stuff like that again. (It's really helpful if you play a lot of Japanese games...which you, uh, do.)
|
|
|
Post by feilong80 on Jul 22, 2011 13:44:36 GMT -5
Poked a bit at EDF: IA. Its a bit tricky since I have a Japanese version. All the weapon names are in English during actual play, but everything else... all menus, all spoken text, all onscreen instructions are in Japanese. And there are no online mission FAQs that I've been able to find. Good thing my kid has already blasted through the whole campaign (on his USA copy) so he can help me out. He's not too good with keeping quiet about spoilers though. I'm also out of luck on playing online with fellow USA EDFers! I'm paying a pretty heavy price with this game for having a Japanese console! This must be cause you are on the 360 right? Cause I see quite a few players on the PS3 who appear to be Japanese players? Or am I just seeing tons of otaku?
|
|
|
Post by kog3100edw on Jul 22, 2011 15:10:56 GMT -5
I haven't yet tried multiplayer on the game yet, but usually Xbox360 online lobbies and leaderboards aren't worldwide. There are exceptions, but region-locking is usually a strong indicator that the game will not be one. Even if you have game that is NOT region-locked or that was released over XBLA everywhere simultaneously, the tendency is still to keep things regional.
So for instance, SSFIV:AE isn't region-locked but Daigo isn't at the top of the rankings on my copy because my leaderboards are American. The game ignores the region my console came from and assumes because my gamertag is American that is the region it covers in online.
|
|
|
Post by kog3100edw on Jul 22, 2011 15:17:33 GMT -5
ECM re: Japanese alphabets.
It doesn't sound patronising. You might be right. But I'm not even adept at speaking the language let alone reading it. I did get through basic Japanese courses years ago at a local college, but the alphabet-learning aspect of that is just gone with me. Severe life changes at the time took me out of it and I never got back.
My lack of Japanese language knowledge is actually really a standout anomaly with me since I'm an import gamer, Japan-centric martial artist, avid kaiju and jidaigeki 'watcher', blah blah ad nauseum. How I can be such a Nipponophile and not know the alphabets by now... it's shameful.
|
|
|
Post by ECM on Jul 22, 2011 15:19:03 GMT -5
You're fired.
|
|
|
Post by ECM on Jul 23, 2011 10:07:59 GMT -5
Aye, tis handy, verily!
Moving along:
Captain America (Wii): thanks to the largess of one my myriad patrons, I received this in the mail yesterday and, shock of shocks, it's good?!?!
Basically, it's a complete rip-off of Batman AA, albeit way way waaaaay more linear. That doesn't make it bad, though. (And yes, fei, it's amazingly dumbed-down from AA, but it's still quite fun.) I have the PS3 rev here, too, and I'll try to get a crack at that this weekend to see if it's basically the same thing w/ better graphics (though I do love me some pointer controls for tossing Cap's shield!).
|
|
|
Post by ECM on Jul 24, 2011 20:30:31 GMT -5
Dungeons of Dredmore (PC/MAC): this is pretty sweet: a Rogulike for $5! Sure, it's a budget affair, but it's a full-blown, fist-shaking, deathtrap-riddled, 'if only I had left the floor before getting greedy and now I'm fucking dead...again' funtastic adventure. (Yes, funtastic!)
|
|
|
Post by elchevalier on Jul 25, 2011 14:27:04 GMT -5
Watching Taxi Driver for the first time? Sweet, be sure to make a topic once you're done with it.
|
|
|
Post by kog3100edw on Jul 26, 2011 15:03:41 GMT -5
What happened to your interest in Child of Eden? Did I kill it with my pedantic 'summary'?
|
|
|
Post by elchevalier on Jul 26, 2011 18:47:56 GMT -5
I am getting Child of Eden too....that is until it's release for the ps3.
|
|
|
Post by kog3100edw on Jul 26, 2011 19:14:02 GMT -5
EDF: IA and Child of Eden.
Apart from the fact that they are both 3d and involve shooting stuff they couldn't be more un-alike.
No one can say this forum bunch lacks diverse tastes!
|
|
|
Post by kog3100edw on Jul 27, 2011 14:30:53 GMT -5
Disney's Epic Mickey is done and dusted.
I bought this one for my kids (and they love it) but had an interest in myself fired by nostalgia for the old Disney cartoon shorts. I bought the guide around the same time because I knew this was a collect-a-thon and thought the children would get into it enough to use the book for completion's sake... and the guide is nicer and more thorough than most, so its a good companion collectable to the game.
Little did I know I would actually need the guide. Twice.
I'll write up more about this on The Ramble I'm sure, but essentially most reviews I've read on this game are correct about good and bad points. The game is aesthetically wonderful, coming off both visually and musically like Tim Burton and Danny Elfman had collaborated on a Disney cartoon.
But it is hard to believe some very basic issues with the mechanics couldn't have been cleared up before release. Many third-person 3D games have camera issues, but Epic Mickey's are atrocious. It was particularly frustrating since the controls themselves are fluid, and I liked it all on the wiimote. But y'know? I deal with camera issues. I could teeth-gnashingly deal with this.
A worse issue for me is the guide-itis. The paint/thinner mechanic was something I thought worked well, if not put to particularly clever use EVER. But mostly using thinner, there are many times you need to find something, and there are no clues or dialogue to help narrow down the search. You literally have to cover an entire stage in thinner, uncovering every niche or pit, in order to find the needed item. A lot of fetch quests is one thing. It is quite another to have to use the 'skill' of spotting every patch of paint that can be eradicated in order to move on in the game. Once cottoned onto this requirement, I didn't need the guide anymore, but I wouldn't say that solution was particularly fun. It really dragged out a game that gets pretty bogged down in tedium (at times) as it is.
I think it is great to have a game that is more about non-violent problems and positive solutions. The combat is a minor part of the game, and no problem for gamers who are proficient in action games. But the camera is at its worst during the fights. So they are easy enough if you can learn how to keep your enemy in sight.
The kids are still pretty jazzed about it, my son now on his second playthrough for more items and to alter the ending... so I'm not badmouthing it much at home. There's obviously a lot of money and time and love put into this thing. Some moments were quite touching. It just has a number of very basic faults that date back to games on the N64.
|
|
|
Post by ECM on Jul 27, 2011 14:34:55 GMT -5
It does have some issues, but I ate it up and then some. (Though I didn't have the 'guide-itis' problem you had.)
I do think most of your complaints are down to the usual suspect: must ship before Xmas, that evil, game-destroying/limiting, holiday.
I really, really hope (and assume, based on 2 million+ copies sold w/o even a Japanese release) that we get a Wii U follow-up.
|
|