Lost Planet 2

This week I've been invited to "KILL BIG" in Lost Planet 2.  Bigger Akrids, Civil War, and Vital Suits, Oh My!  Let's go harvest some T-ENG.

Story

Set 10 years after the events of the first game, E.D.N. III has undergone some changes.  It's no longer a huge frozen planet.  Sections of the planet have become lush jungles and huge deserts.  One thing that remains constant though is the need for T-ENG, the substance that powers practically everything and helps keep players alive.  Also some of the akrid have grown substantially larger.  The planet is undergoing a civil war of sorts as different factions vie for control.  As you play through the main campain you will switch between characters in these factions. 

You start off as a member of the Snow Pirates invading a Jungle Pirates mining base.  You'll also play as members of NEVEC, Waysiders, Vagabundo, and some ex-NEVEC commandos. The overall story is told through their eyes which makes the story a bit disjointed and hard to follow.  At points you wonder what the heck is going on? Towards the end it finally comes together in a we-have-to-tie-it-all-together kind of way, but by then you've just given up on the story and are along for the ride, and what a ride.  You'll battle other factions and akrid, some of which are so huge you have to be swallowed by it to defeat it from the inside by shooting up it's internal organs.

Controls

While not bad they weren't great.  Some buttons had multiple uses which made a little confusion at times.  The B button (Circle for PS3 owners) became sort of a catch-all button with running, melee, and data point/vital suit activation all being mapped to it.  Overall the control was fine, it just took some getting used to it.

Gameplay

The gameplay is your basic third person shooter, shoot everything that moves.  Lost Planet 2 though really weighs heavily towards 4 player co-op.  So much so that by default if you want to play the campaign it will try to drop you into an game online, if you are not connected online it will try system link.  If you want to play by yourself you have to go into the settings and set it to offline.  Even then you still get 3 AI players that follow you around.  They're not exactly the brightest AI, but they aren't the worst.  They do sometimes fight smart enough not to get killed.  You do have the option to play with a friend split screen also. 

One problem with the co-op, no jump-in.  If you have a friend that wants to join you they have to wait for you to finish your mission (missions are several chapters long).  Also your friend has to have played as far into the game as you have, no joining missions they haven't played through yet.

Even so if you have 3 friends that have the game also, the co-op campaign is solid and works best when all slots are filled with humans.

The one thing this game did pretty well is the online multiplayer.  Capcom took the civil war from the storyline and applied it to this.  Each faction is battling for control of the planet. When you jump into the multiplayer you can choose which faction you are fighting for.  As the factions win battles stats are kept to show who's the winning-est faction.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics are really beautiful.  In some cases if enemies weren't trying to kill you or akrid trying to bite your head off you might even enjoy the view.  The art style for the various factions really reminded me of the the artwork of Moebius, because while their outfits didn't look functional, the did look cool.  The soundtrack was very good and so was the voice acting.

Overall

While my basic rule of "did I have fun" applies here, the game did have it's annoyances.  The biggest is the game leaning hard on the co-op play.  The game does not scale to whether you are playing by yourself or not.  I have nothing against playing co-op, but it would be nice if the game scaled itself to the number of players.  There was a boss battle I played by myself that I would get killed over and over.  I finally got some serious luck to get past, but damn it was hard. 

Borderlands and Crackdown are both game I feel show how a game can scale well.  Replacing human players with AI does not cut it.  I have yet to play a game where they do. Yet neither of those game try to fill out a party with useless AI players and they play and scale well, whatever the party size.  I have to give a big thanks and shout to BBboy20, Da Slayer45, lazyboy71, wanderingsolder, and RaspyClock for helping me play though the campaign.

One other problem, and this might be more to other people than me is a possibly offensive ethnic stereotype.  Remember the old western movies that had the Mexican bandits that were not quite the brightest, half-drunk on tequila and where played for comedic relief?  Well they are the Vagabundo faction here.  In fact you play a whole mission as them.  Now I did enjoy the comedy this brought to the story, but I know someone somewhere is going to get a politically correct and seriously offended.  I say this because it wasn't just a couple of them that were stereotypical, the whole group was.  To the point of at one point I wondered how they all survived long enough to get this far.

I did though overall have fun.  I mean really, how many games do you get to play where you have to be swallowed by a giant monster to defeat it?  Lost Planet 2 gets a 4 out of 5.

Lost Planet 2 is rated T for Teen for Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Also they have some really cool unlockable skins.

Alan Wake

This week I go looking for things that go bump in the night with Alan Wake.  The game was in development for what seemed like forever, almost becoming the next Duke Nukem Forever.  Well I have it and I've played it, it is real.  So grab a spot around the campfire, it's spooky story time.

Story

Alan Wake is a best selling author, but for the last few years he's had writers block.  His wife, Alice, thinking a change of scenery may snap him out of it, suggests a vacation.  So they leave the big city for a vacation in the Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls, Washington.  Once there Alan gets the keys to the rental cabin from a mysterious lady dressed in a black funeral dress.

Once at the cabin Alice reveals the real reason she chose Bright Falls was because a doctor there specializes in helping artists with creative blocks.  Furious Alan storms out of the cabin.  Moments later Alice screams and Alan races back to the cabin.  Unable to find her he sees the back porch railing broken.  Thinking she may have fallen into the lake he dives in...

...only to wake up behind the wheel of a crashed car.  Making his way out of the wreck he spots the lights of a distant gas station.  He starts making his way though the dark night-time forest to the gas station to call for help when something makes a noise.

I will not reveal any more.  Suffice to say Alan finds himself in a nightmare that literally is of his own making.  All the while making the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

Controls

The controls were pretty tight and good for this third person game.  The only questionable control was the dodge and run on the same button, but really that wasn't a problem.  Trust me when I say if you want to dodge in this game you want to run right after.  Targeting was kind of loose in that you can't precisely aim, but are generally in the right spot when shooting.  Meaning where the flashlight is pointed is the direction you are going to shoot, still it's not terrible enough to hurt the game.

Gameplay

The game is basically a third person action game with a horror overtone.  The general driving element is to find your wife.  Along the way you either fight, or if out of ammo, run from possessed people or objects.  Thing is you never know when or where they are coming from and they will sneak up on you.

Graphics and Sound

Graphics are really good.  The only fault I can give them is that the facial animation is a bit out of sync when characters talk, so they are a bit like ventriloquist dummies.  Still though it's really good.  Developers Remedy Entertainment really wanted to get the feel of the Pacific Northwest and took thousands of photos of Diablo Dam in Washington, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and many other places in Washington and Oregon.  When the game is set during the day you really notice this touch.

The voice acting is really good too.  Each person fits their character like a glove.  The music also sets the mood too, like a combination of Twilight Zone and Twin Peaks.  And while I have been asked not to reveal the songs in the soundtrack, I have to say whoever picked out these songs, thumbs up.  They are great songs and fit the mood and theme of the game.

Overall

To be honest this wasn't a game I had any real interest in.  Now that I've played it I really can't wait to see what Remedy Entertainment have up their sleeves next.  I like a good suspenseful horror tale and this game did not disappoint.  Chills up my spine, hair standing on end, pick a cliche and I felt it.  One of the things you find throughout the game is pages of manuscript that Alan wrote, but does not remember writing.  What is significant is that these pages are coming true as you play the game.  So in some cases even though you have been told what's coming it's still a surprise or scare when it happens.

Some of the storytelling touches I really liked.  Such as each chapter after the first starting like it was the next episode in a TV show.  "Previously on Alan Wake," and they would give you a summary of events in the previous chapter.

I'm glad Microsoft let Remedy take their time to put this game together and not rushed them to get it out.  It may have been delayed, but the game, the story, everything shows that they really worked hard at making a phenomenal experience.  This game really raises the bar on almost all fronts, much like Heavy Rain.  I think between the two games Remedy and Quantic Dream have both shown that there is a lot more that can be done with games.

So Alan Wake gets the 5 out of 5.  If you really like a good solid game and  Stephen King-esque horror then pick up Alan Wake.  Simply put, one of the best games I've played.

Really the only thing I can really say bad about this game besides the facial animation is the product placement. Ford, Microsoft Sync, and Energizer batteries get some pretty obvious plugs.  On the other hand I'm a bit surprised Energizer went with it.  As quickly as the batteries die in game you'd think they were the worst batteries to get.  Still if I have to have some product placement to get a game of this level of quality then bring it.

Alan Wake is rated T for Teen for Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Stitch Jam

This week I'm reviewing something for the kids, Disney's Stitch Jam for the Nintendo DS.  So how does a space alien experimental critter play music?  Carefully.

Story

The storyline is Stitch is going to take his girlfriend, Angel, on a date.  Trouble starts though when Dr. Hamsterviel kidnaps her.  Seems Angel's singing voice has the power to turn good people into evil people.

So Stitch quests across the globe and galaxy to save her and stop Dr. Hamsterivel's plot to control the universe.

Controls

There are two control methods and both are very simple.  One is using the stylus to tap or slide in the proper direction on the notes as Stitch passes them.  The other is using the buttons and D-pad.  Press the proper button or direction on the D-pad when Stitch passes the notes.  Easy to learn, hard to master.

Gameplay

The gameplay is all about timing and rhythm.  The music that plays in the game is almost like a "call and response."  As Stitch moves across the screen the music will play.  When he gets close to a note you do the proper move (tap, slide, etc.) and a complementary piece will play.  The more correct notes you play the bigger your combo will be and better score.  Do the wrong move, hit it too early or late and "error" sound plays and Stitch takes a hit.  Too many hits and the game is over.  Again pretty simple, but hard to master.  As you play though the game you can unlock costumes for Stitch and costume parts for your avatar at D Gamer, Disney's online social community for Disney Gamers.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics are very colorful and cartoon which they should be for this game.  The music is catchy and fun.  Pretty much what you would expect from Disney.

Overall

You may have picked up some of my hints, the game is easy to learn, but hard to master.  I'd like to think I have some rhythm, I sang in high school choir and I'm decent at Guitar Hero/Rock Band.  This game though put me in my place.  I tried playing through at first with the stylus.  It really didn't work for me.  Holding the stylus over the screen in anticipation of whatever the move may be kind of blocked my view of the action.  I did much better with the button controls.  Then it became much easier for me, but even then my timing wasn't always right.

Really though I could have mastered the buttons or the stylus it would not have mattered.  The biggest drawback of the game was repetition.  The gameplay was very repetitive.  Each level you did the same thing, did the right move as Stitch got to it.  I was bored by level 3 and the levels are short.  Granted now I'm not the target age group, but given the attention level most kids have and I don't see them interested long either.

I asked a friend to play through the game also.  She felt the same about it overall and was concerned that Dr. Hamsterivel is using words that might be over the heads of most children, when the rest of the cast spoke in fairly simple terms.  To me that just makes Dr. Hamsterivel more "evil."

There is a co-op mode where 2 people can play through the missions together.  There is also access to Disney's D Gamer via WiFi.  This is basically a social chat room of sorts for Disney fans to communicate back and forth.  As I mentioned before you can unlock things such as shirts, hats, etc for your D Gamer avatar. 

Overall this game is really for Disney or Lilo and Stitch fans, maybe even kids that really like music games.  It's cute and fun at first, but fades quickly.  I give it a 3 out of 5.

Disney's Stitch Jam is Rated E for Everyone with Comic Mischief cited as the only content concern.