Time is on my side: Massive gaming update

OK, been a good two plus months now since I wrote anything, but with the amount of new shit I've been trying out and playing it's high time I tossed in my two cents about some games. First off, a bunch of games I played in Bodø.

To begin with I'd like to say a thing or two about Guitar Hero II. Anyone in their right mind has at this point at least given this title a go by now. I've until recently played it sporadically at best
but recently I spent some elongated quality time with the game and got completely hooked. I have yet to get around to grinding through "hard"-mode but most of medium is aced.. yeah, not the most hard core there is yet, but who really gives a crap anyway. An interesting thing about the game was pointed out to me by my pacifist musicloving father as he watched me play it (the playing took place at my parents house during the holidays). He noted how it was one of few games where the object is in no way, shape or form about destruction or killing.. and he's right, it really is one of few recent games that isn't confrontational and at the same time a massive success. Dwell on that for a minute.

Speaking of music games, I tried another more or less related title on the DS as well, Elite Beat Agents. It's a adaptation of a japanese title for the western market where the aim is to tap hotspots on the touch screen in time to the music. The in-game premise is quite strange but also fairly hilarious: when regular people have regular everyday problems they can't handle, they call for help and the EBA step to and dance the problems away. Only in japan.. In any case the tracks vary in terms of appeal but the game is fun all the way and has many of the same addictive premises as GH, worth a look if you're into music/rhythm action/crazy j-style games. Over-the-top visuals and a strong comedic nerve make it a stand-out title and a game that truly has it's home on the DS.

Speaking of DS, I had a run at Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, a surprising sequel indeed. Whereas many of the CV games of late have been quite good but somewhat formulaic this one steps it's game up by introducing not only a very well-implemented two-character system (no, not in the same way as Dawn of Sorrow) but also smaller environments outside Dracula's castle. The former twist works very nicely because it alters the gameplay dynamic quite noticably as you can switch characters swiftly, have the current secondary back you up at any given time or just go at it solo. This helps tailor the gameplay for a variety of situations (one of my favourite being the ability to jump off the secondary characters shoulders), and also because the two characters are specialized in magic and physical combat respectively. This may remind some of DoS option for two sets of interchangeable gear but is more expansive. The second twist is the most noticable not only in terms of introducing fresh environments but also in presenting a wide array of entirely new enemies. These sublevels are also at times structured in a radically different way and therefore offer a genuine break from the at this point almost predictable castle exploration the series is famous for. However, much like 10,000 days wasn't better than Ænima this doesn't beat Symphony of the Night, but it's possibly the most interesting installation in the franchise since said title. The only really negative thing I can come up with is that the music could have been better, but the rest of the sound design is spot-on. The animations and graphics deserve mention too. Crisp, clean, fluid sprites all round and vibrant detailed backgrounds make this a very pretty game indeed.

The last of the Bodø games is, however, by no means the least. Quite the contrary. If you own a PS2 and haven't already gotten Okami, do yourself a major favour and do so at the first possible opportunity. Not only is it the swan song for the short-lived but excellent Clover Studios, it is also a slice of pure beauty so sensually appealing you wouldn't believe the hardware powering it was capable of such things. On the one hand there is the stunning and artisticly superior visuals that pair up with exciting and brilliantly implemented sound design to enthrall your senses. On the other there is the almost Zelda-like explorational action-adventure gameplay that channels your commands fluently from hand to screen, guiding your character with effortless ease and grace. If you are unfamiliar with the premise it's quite the standard evil darkness and corruption versus the good forces of nature (note here the strong environmental vibe that courses through the game, hinting at a political agenda), a fairly standard framework based on several old Shinto myths that work well enough for the game but won't win awards for originality. You play as Amaterasu, a goddess in the form of a white wolf who travels the land with a magical paintbrush with the intent of ridding said lands of a cursed darkness that has swept over them. I won't go into details further about this, you'll have ample time to explore the story once you play the game. The two major gripes I have with this game is the unskippable story sections (the intro is excruciatingly lengthy) and the fact that the control of the magical brush with a Dualshock analogue stick leaves something to be desired in terms of precision. This last point is at times a jarring contrast to the main character controls, but not enough so to break an otherwise astoundingly gripping game. It took a couple of hours for my love for this game to surface, but when it came it stuck and my only regret at this point is that I wasn't able to play through it. Well worth the time!

Next post will address recent gaming adventures after my move to Oslo.