Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game...finished!!

I've read the comics, I've watched the movie, and now I've played the game, which is a small mix of both, with a bit of Paul Robertson weirdness thrown in. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is a visual blend of references pulled from everything in general and slapped into a "River-City Ransom"-esque game allowing 4-player co-op in the same room. And the game plays splendidly...when it works.

What probably bothered me the most was the game's inconsistent save feature. At times, I would progress a full 6 levels and then go back to the world map, then power out. When I returned to the game, that 6 levels of progression are wiped clean when I returned. After some OCD, I left my save demons to rest only after verifying through clean exit to the title screen before returning to the game. No game should exit without an exhaustive test of the save feature, and it's sad to see a game so awesome like this get neglected in that department.

Another annoying feature is the lag the game sometimes had when trying to access the pause menu at times, sometimes reaching as long as a full 3 seconds before anything would register. Add to that one game freeze so far, and the whole thing would've been a recipe for disaster if it was a game I didn't absolutely love.

The game is initially slow to get the ball rolling, and, if you have a short temper, can be quite frustrating to deal with. Your character starts with a simple jump and set of attacks, and all your stats are zero to begin with, so you will get beat up, and fast. It's not until you take advantage of all the stat-building items you can purchase before you can really enjoy the game for what it's worth - a really awesome street brawler with TONS of enemies. You have stats for your strength, defense, speed, and willpower, all of which can be leveled up (maximum 100 points) through items purchased throughout the game. But it takes more than increased stats to give you a fighting edge; you'll need extra moves, and those are acquired over time as you level up. From performing dash attacks to double-jumping, you will amass a vast array of attacks against any enemy.

And all the moves you learn are practical. Initially you only have a simple block and your attacks, so you have no choice but to go on the offensive. Later on, you develop stronger attacks, and even an evade and recovery ability to keep you in the fight longer. I went from being completely offensive to holding a defense first to performing evade tactics first before anything. Before I knew it, I took out large groups of enemies in no time.

Did I forget to add that a joystick makes the experience even more arcade-y? Like, say, a Street Fighter IV TE joystick? I've grown so accustomed to the stick that I fumble horribly on a regular controller now.

Finally, to those people that won't play/buy the game because of the lack of online co-op...GET OVER YOURSELF!! The game stands to be one of those great games you can play again and again by yourself, and is an absolute blast to play with 2 or more people IN THE SAME ROOM!! Who wants to deal with people that jump online to play a little bit, only to exit unexpectedly just to fuck you over? At least if everyone's in the same room, you can use something called a "pause" button and resume back into gameplay. But to deny a game because of its lacking online possibilities is very selfish of ANY gamer.

Overall, despite the games shortcomings, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is one that, for a measly $10, will give any gamer wonderful visual easter eggs, awesome 8-bit music, and plenty of replay value. You'd be denying yourself a stellar game if you didn't pick this up.

Paul Robertson + Anamanaguchi = Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

That's the only thing I should say to people to convince them that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is awesome - both eye and ear candy! Oh, and there's 4-player simultaneous ass-kicking. C'mon!

Did I forget to mention that the game is only $10 on PSN now?

Oh, and don't let the "no online 4-player co-op" scare you away from this purchase. Why does a game absolutely need online for it to validate a purchase?? I mean:

1. It's Paul Robertson. He's been making made-up video-game videos for some time, it's about time one of them became real!
2. It's Anamanaguchi! Awesome 8-bit music and mixes. If you haven't listened to Dawn Metropolis, I urge you to check them out!

I've said my peace. Now I'm going to defeat some evil exes.

DeathSpank...finished!

I finally completed DeathSpank over the weekend, with 100% in trophies to boot. I think DeathSpank falls in a category of those people who are fans of the creator, much like how Brutal Legend was great for those that were fans of Tim Schafer and his works. Players who enjoyed Ron Gilbert’s Monkey Island series and humor will enjoy the wit that gets tossed around in DeathSpank.

As fun and enjoyable the game was, there were, however, large amounts of grinding and item gathering. And while the humor was great, they were nestled in small morsels mostly at the beginning and near the end, leaving the entire game in the middle almost devoid of any elaborate humor. I had an awesome time in the beginning and end with lengthy random conversations with the NPCs, but the people in-between had little or nothing to say to keep the humor mill running.

The gameplay was also a bit unbalanced overall. While there were plenty of weapons to equip and use, all you really need is a good melee weapon, one or two weapons with special powers, and a really good crossbow. Sadly, most of my battles were spent doing ranged attacks at a safe distance. And even if I received damage, the food system was so terribly broken that I never really found a need to use potions, except during boss battles when I don’t have 8 seconds to consume food.

The game does give you a variety of weapons to use, and tries to enforce level restrictions and elemental improvements for its usage. But the hero cards that allow you to use equipment 1-2 levels higher than your current level defeat the former, and any stronger melee damage defeats the latter. And the only indicator you have that any elemental weapon is NOT working is the word “resist” above the enemy only AFTER you attack. The game could have used some enemy log to keep track of weaknesses or something.

The special runes are probably the most underrated items used in the game. They grant players to combine the use of two special weapons used at the same time for a greater combined effect. But, with an inventory system largely focused on a visual format, the runes surprisingly come with text descriptions on what to use.

Don’t forget that this is a Ron Gilbert game, and nothing would be complete without any puzzle-solving elements. Sadly, this felt a little lacking – almost like a half-finished Monkey Island game. I had items in my inventory that I almost NEVER used, making me wonder if I had truly finished all of the side quests. And believe me, I completed a HEFTY amount of them.

Despite my gripes with the game, the battles were solid and fun, and who doesn’t like going around taking out swarms of enemies at once? For a $15 experience, I think it would’ve been a better value at $10. But, considering it has been about 15 days since I bought the game, it was worth the $1-per-day to enjoy the game for what it’s worth.

When I'm too busy to play games...

...I read. And when I'm too lazy to read, I read graphic novels. With the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World movie coming out shortly, I thought it would be interesting to read all 6 volumes of the graphic novel (the 6th volume just came out this past July 20th).

Even before the movie was announced, I had some small interest in Scott Pilgrim. It seemed to be a graphic novel that didn't take itself too seriously, with an interesting plot and distinct style. Add to that the short but concise volume set, and you have a quick winner in my book.

And after checking out the interactive trailer that was just released, the movie will have plenty of nods to Scott Pilgrim fans from minute details here and there to full comic-to-screen recreations. Now, would I recommend you to read the novels before watching the movie?

Personally, if you read the books before the movie, you'll have a greater appreciation on how the movie's executed to match as close as possible the events in the book. Heck, it would probably make you question less what's going on, giving you more time to just enjoy the movie for what it's worth. I wonder how many of the critics that gave poor reviews actually read the books.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World comes out in theaters August 13th. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game comes out August 10th on PSN, and August 25th on XBLA.

Trinity Universe and Big Bang Mini arrive

I think I did a hefty amount of avoidance when it comes to NIS America and their JRPGs (Mostly because I'm terrible at finishing them. I'm looking at all you Disgaea games), so to succumb and try out Trinity Universe now at almost a month after a release is a new record for me. Hopefully this is better than Cross Edge.

Big Bang Mini, on the other hand, was only delayed for so long because I was looking for a good deal to bite on it. I've borrowed and played the game before, so I know what to expect - great gameplay, great music (which is still free to download from their site), and unique style makes the game a replayable classic. Did I mention there's single-cart 2-player mode?

DeathSpank leaves a strange craving...

I can't quite place it...demos are usually just that - a sample of gameplay to give you a taste, usually over-patronizing in tutorials, and end way too early before you get to try out the really cool stuff.

The DeathSpank demo does none of that; the demo feels like the full game, there's no countless windows of tutorial messages to clutter up your limited experience, and at one point, there is a timer in the upper-right corner ticking down from 20 minutes - probably a timer for how much time left you have to play the demo. The timer could've practically have been irrelevant to me, since the game sold me before that even went up.

I'll admit, I really had no initial anticipation for Deathspank. All I knew about it was it was created by Ron Gilbert (of Monkey Island fame) and a couple of videos. It wasn't until I actually sat down with the demo that I heard for the first time what the game sounded like.

DeathSpank's voice actor has the baritone of Qwark from Ratchet and Clank, and the allure of Zap Brannigan from Futurama. His personality is the perfect mixture of suave and heroic stupidity. All his interactions with the locals are reminiscent of "Monkey Island" brand humor, with multiple dialogue selections to carry conversations on wide tangents. And while the voice acting can get as slow as being hand-fed every spoonful of syllable, everyone else's role shines through. (Just found out now that it's Townsend Coleman, the same person that voiced The Tick from the animated series. That explains a lot!)

If you've ever played any Animal Crossing game after Wild World, the environment will be familiar ground. The terrain is like a long conveyor belt, simulating a vanishing horizon near the top of the screen, and adjusts as you traverse the world. It's both a visual treat and a practical gameplay element.

What's probably the most engrossing part is what everyone touts as the "Diablo-like" equipment system, where you can equip yourself with items, weapons, and armor picked up as you progress. And the game spares no time taking itself seriously with item names like "Cleaver of Cleavening." What it boils down to is an RPG of mixing and matching equipment based on the situation, using what works best at that moment.

Bottom line, if you like Ron Gilbert humor and mindless enemy killings, you'll enjoy DeathSpank. Hell, in the time I took to write this article, I've downloaded the full game!

Finally received my Zero T-Shirt!

Thanks to Capcom-Unity and their awesome Mega Man Zero Collection fan event, everyone that attended got a free shirt mailed to them. And mine finally arrived! Gaze at the awesomeness that is Zero in this winning T-shirt design!

Super Mario Galaxy 2...120 stars complete!

Just like the first game, I've completed Super Mario Galaxy 2 with its own 120 stars, but not without some sweat and tears. While I believe the difficulty factor was increased a notch, it didn't feel as difficult as the first one. However, they did bring back that cursed 8-bit Mario level that everyone practically hated for its purple-coin challenge with an added twist, and made a rolling-ball level on a Rainbow-Road track. Kudos to Nintendo for busting out the familiar "OMGWTF was that" references!

And like the first game, there's another set of 120 stars to collect in the form of Green Prankster stars littered in all the levels. Basically, for every star that existed in each level, another green star is there. And some of them are located in very sneaky places! I'm into 160+ stars now, so look out in the future for another post for possibly a FULL completion of a game!

E3 2010: Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Hands-On

The call for more Castlevania 2D games has been answered a number of times, so expecting another version to appear at E3 is practically a no-brainer. But what if no story were attached to it? What if all you were tasked to do was to slaughter all of Dracula's minions just for the sake of it? Enter the arcade-y stylings of Castlevania: Harmony of Despair.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair takes the tried-and-true 2D platformer and boiled it down to a saucy reduction of pure flavor; gone are the story elements that generally weave through all the boss battles, the lengthy backtracking through the ENTIRE castle to accomplish goals, and even the use of the map as a tool. What's left are small, short bursts of vampire-whipping levels with a starting point and a boss battle goal, all on a level designed straight on the map. What's even more amusing is the three different zoom modes you can set on the level. So, you can zoom up to a normal playing perspective, a partial zoom-out to see all nearby rooms surrounding you, or a full-blown, where-the-hell-am-I zoom out where you see practically EVERYTHING.

The demo of the game had 5 selectable characters, most of which are actually from the DS games. Apart from Alucard from Symphony of the Night, there is Soma Cruz, Shanoa, and the dual of Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin from Dawn of Sorrow, Order of Ecclesia, and Portrait of Ruin, respectively. Each character also comes with their own set of special abilities they can perform with magic, all triggered Smash Bros. style by pressing a direction and the B button.

There are even unique game mechanics that characters carry with them from their previous titles. For example, Shanoa's ability in Order of Ecclesia was her surrounding sphere that allowed her to lock onto gems in levels, and you would used the stylus to drag her in one direction from the gem in a slingshot-like fashion to release and launch her to hard-to-reach areas. In the levels themselves, certain rooms will contain these gems that only Shanoa will be able to utilize. Depending on what character you choose, your level traversing options may vary.

The level structures all follow a set format: a starting point, a big boss location, and a time limit. What's awesome is that everything's happening all at once before you; enemies in every room are moving around in their own pace, platforms and pendulums are swinging around waiting to be used, and the boss can suddenly wake up and dish out an attack that crosses through the entire map aimed squarely at you. This time it's you against the entire map, and if you're not careful, the map will win.

In addition to the single-player mode, there will be a co-op mode (which will bring about harder bosses to take down) and survival mode. Games can also host up to 6 players simultaneously, and will be online. Expect Castlevania: Harmony of Despair to be released on Xbox Live Arcade on August 4th.

E3 2010: Sonic Colors Hands-On

On the floor, I decided to humor myself and see how horrible Sonic Colors on the Wii would turn out to be. Turns out, I was in for a surprise.

Not only was Sonic Colors fun to play, but it felt like a Sonic game; a game more focused on speed and agility without all the added minor gameplay elements. Getting from point A to point B was straight-forward, and the attacks were a mere button press away as you auto-lock your enemies without missing a beat. With a mix of small 3D elements and 2D platformer, it almost plays like a good (dare I say it) Mario game! Even with the added color elements, all of which perform a specific action like drilling or increased speed, Sonic Colors doesn't stray too far from its original roots.

With all due respect, this is a game I'm sure Sonic fans will revel in, since it feels like a big-brother version of Sonic Rush on the DS. Coincidentally, the DS version of Sonic Colors follows the same vein as Sonic Rush, bringing another 2D Sonic Game to the portable console.

Sonic Colors comes out on the Wii and DS this Fall 2010.

E3 2010: Goldeneye 007 Hands-On

Goldeneye for the N64 was a great title in its time, and one of the pioneers in promoting Nintendo's 4-port system toward friendly game-night gatherings. But in all honesty, it's been quite some time since I've played the game to really make any comparisons to today's remake. In the end, however, the memories that remain are the game's strong multiplayer presence, its fine gameplay, and different modes to play as. And, in that light, Goldeneye 007 for the Wii certainly lives up to it.

I got to start a two-player game with another person on the floor. I was playing as Oddjob on the Classic Controller, while my opponent was Jaws. The first thing I noticed was how the controls were a bit flighty, making me feel like I wasn't really walking on the floor. I'm sure after some personal tweaking that this is an easy issue to resolve. Also, my Oddjob character had his special trademark hat-throwing attack as his special, which I went nuts over before I got killed. As for the weapons, they were still satisfying to aim and fire at your opponent. The graphics are a nice upgrade from the much-more-blockier designs the N64 version were filled with, and adequate enough for a Wii remake; there wasn't any over-the-top glossy textures or extravagant backgrounds necessary to make the game stand out any more than it should.

Overall, the time spent in the game just whisked me away to a magical memory when gamers were still virgin FPS players, and tea-bagging was still an afternoon activity with real tea. Sure, Goldeneye 007 is a remake and not the original port of its N64 counterpart, and there will be people completely opposed to that simple fact - but the sensation of the game is still alive in spirit, and I'm sure people will gladly overlook that just to relive their childhood once more.

Super Mario Galaxy 2...finished!

It was a lukewarm reception, but Super Mario Galaxy 2 is now finished. As to it being complete, well, that's another matter entirely. If any Mario player is dedicated, the game is quite short going off the bare minimum. Even with the often double-backing I did to get some out-of-the-way stars that were just for completion's sake, the game still felt shorter than I thought. However, I've only secured only about 80+ stars, still far from collecting them all

Still, the level structures were well-thought of, and the game keeps itself quite fresh at times, so you never feel like anything's really the same. A gaming classic amongst Mario titles, for sure.

E3 2010: I finally got my hands on the Nintendo 3DS, but I'm tired

But I'll say this: The 3D works well, it's very awesome, and I want it NOW! More details and impressions/suggestions later!

E3 2010: Hands-on with...

Dragon Quest: Sentinels of the Starry Skies on the Nintendo DS! The game is much more surprising than I thought, and is a very-welcomed addition to the series. Stay tuned to Akiba-Station.com for impressions!

E3 2010: Lost in Shadow

This game is beautiful. Will have more on this game later.

E3 2010: Day 2 coverage begins today

I'm finding that having a blackberry for blog coverage is more useful than I realized. So you'll see on-the-floor E3 coverage sprinkled throughout the day!

E3 2010: Nintendo 3DS up real close

And behind glass. The lines were WAY too long to check it out, so all you get for now are pictures.

The system looks pretty slick there with its nicely-formed analog stick.

Notice how the Select, Home, and Start keys are right below the touch screen? And you can see the SD-card slot and volume control from this angle, too.

The back of the system also shows the two cameras used to make your own 3D images!

And the back of the system shows the power adaptor port, 3DS/DS slot, stylus holder, and infra-red port.

Hopefully the lines aren't so bad tomorrow for me to get a better hands-on of the actual device, as well as the highly-touted 3D experience.

E3 2010: Some random things on the E3 floor...

Just fresh from his last kill, Issac starts to eye my limbs...

Wouldn't it have been great if one of them was actually a real person in costume and waved to the crowd?

A rather timid Sonic, not sure if his presence was known on the E3 showroom floor.

E3 2010: Day One over...

...But I'll get to posting this day's discoveries tonite! Stay tuned!

The calm before the E3 storm

Portable devices...check. Laptop...check. Pen and paper...check. Camera...check. E3 pass...check and double-check. Looks like I'm good and ready to report! Remember that if you want me to ask any particular questions, send them (one question at a time) to GameritisGuy@gmail.com, and I'll do my best to get some answers!

Gameritis also has a facebook page, so please "like" it if you want to receive updates through there.

I'll also be coverage over on Akiba-Station as GameOrDie, so please check for updates there as well!

Less than 6 hours til go-time...