Hey, guys! I've been busy traveling back an forth from the states to Okinawa to Tokyo and back. I swear I'm still playing games. I'm in the process of putting together a review of Bioshock Infinite, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Animal Crossing, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and The Last of Us. I know these games aren't the newest, but I'm working on it. I've just started playing Final Fantasy XIV and once I can actually enter a server, maybe I'll be able to write something on here for that as well. In any case, stay tuned!
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom
As many of you know (or don't), I have a soft spot for shoujo manga and Japanese dating sims and Hakuoki has been filling my dating sim hole as of late. Set in Tokugawa Shogunate era of Japan and following the lives of the Shinsengumi, a group of young men loyal to the Shogunate, the game makes for an interesting history lesson. Now, I won't bore you with Japanese history (samurai!) and instead I'll explain the gameplay for those unfamiliar with the genre.
Image via Idea Factory
Traditionally, the dating sim genre has been dominated by men and most can only be obtained by entering not so subtle porn stores in Akihabara, BUT the market is vastly changing. Women are now demanding the same games, but without the grossly over the top sexual imagery (though it can be found if desired) and now female dating sims or "otome games" are flooding the Japanese market. In fact, while I was in Akihabara this past year, one of the local stores had an entire floor dedicated to otome games and I made Aaron go up a floor while I basked in their glory.
Hakuoki is the first otome game localized to the US on the psp, so naturally I HAD to support such a project by purchasing it Day 1 (thanks to my old pal Knodle). One of the first things I do is check the art for all the guys out! Its always easy to tell the character's personalities based on their art and Hakuoki is no exception. Naturally, I was immediately drawn to Saito because the quiet types are always the best in my opinion. Funny thing is the same line of logic does not seem to translate in real life.
Image via Idea Factory
Now, gameplay wise these games are not for everyone. Typically the game is entirely dialog which makes for a lot of reading and not so much decision making, but if you like interactive choose-your-own adventure time games than these are for you. I especially found the story interesting since it is loosely based on real events and therefore had me looking up who these men really were. Hint: not really that good looking in real life.
So far, I've made a habit of creating save files every time a major decision pops up, so I can go back and choose something else in case I messed up my chances with Saito, but being the clever developers that they are, there are limited slots and I have just filled them. We'll see how it goes from here. As long as I don't end up with Heisuke (the youngest and most annoying), I'll be happy enough. I'll keep you guys posted on which ending I get.
Traditionally, the dating sim genre has been dominated by men and most can only be obtained by entering not so subtle porn stores in Akihabara, BUT the market is vastly changing. Women are now demanding the same games, but without the grossly over the top sexual imagery (though it can be found if desired) and now female dating sims or "otome games" are flooding the Japanese market. In fact, while I was in Akihabara this past year, one of the local stores had an entire floor dedicated to otome games and I made Aaron go up a floor while I basked in their glory.
Hakuoki is the first otome game localized to the US on the psp, so naturally I HAD to support such a project by purchasing it Day 1 (thanks to my old pal Knodle). One of the first things I do is check the art for all the guys out! Its always easy to tell the character's personalities based on their art and Hakuoki is no exception. Naturally, I was immediately drawn to Saito because the quiet types are always the best in my opinion. Funny thing is the same line of logic does not seem to translate in real life.
Now, gameplay wise these games are not for everyone. Typically the game is entirely dialog which makes for a lot of reading and not so much decision making, but if you like interactive choose-your-own adventure time games than these are for you. I especially found the story interesting since it is loosely based on real events and therefore had me looking up who these men really were. Hint: not really that good looking in real life.
So far, I've made a habit of creating save files every time a major decision pops up, so I can go back and choose something else in case I messed up my chances with Saito, but being the clever developers that they are, there are limited slots and I have just filled them. We'll see how it goes from here. As long as I don't end up with Heisuke (the youngest and most annoying), I'll be happy enough. I'll keep you guys posted on which ending I get.
Friday, March 22, 2013
What Am I Playing? lololol
What am I playing right now? Well that's not an easy question to answer mainly because I have a tendency to start many games at once and never finish them. One of the reasons I'm starting this blog is to force myself to continue to the end and keep track of my daily progress. I hope I can eventually get through my extensive backlog, but with so many new games coming out (OMG BIOSHOCK INFINITE) it remains to be seen.
Image from Irrational Games
Starting earlier this week I had the hankering to shoot some people in the face and because movement was hard (my ass was BEAT on Tuesday), revisiting Modern Warfare 3 was in order. Now, let me explain that I bought the mid range special edition with a year's worth of Elite (Infinity Ward's version of a season pass with some other perks built in) on Day 1. One would expect that I have at least prestiged once if not twice by now. Well, when it came out I was just moving to Japan and had no time to play, plus playing in Japan makes it hard to connect to my friends in the states due to the time difference so I only achieved lvl 38.
Fast forward to today and I'm grossly outranked in multiplayer mode, but there is good news. Most of the hack assholes have moved on to Black Ops 2 making MW3 playable and mostly fun (if screaming at the TV is your idea of fun). The last couple of days I have returned to my favorite domination mode and managed to stay at the top of the boards for each game. Team Deathmatch is another story all together. Now, I've ALWAYS sucked at Team Deathmatch because I mostly rely on the points gained from captured flags in Domination to shoot me up the leaderboard, but when it comes to raw kills, I suck.
Image from Infinity Ward
I've always thrived in more flag or point based online modes because I find the strategy to be more interesting and fun. Having to predict where enemies will ambush from and finding back alleys to claim their flags is much more fun than just shooting everything that moves, mainly because it takes longer for me to aim. Free-for-All is just a shit show. Its hard to predict anyone's movements and its all out survival. That might be fun in a nerf fight, but not online with thousands of whiny guys yelling in your ear.
While MW3 can be fun, I have to have it in moderation mainly because I get frustrated after a while. Connection speed is everything and when your internet starts to crap out, death is imminent and the game becomes a test in patience. Let's see how long I last before this game goes back on the shelf.
Starting earlier this week I had the hankering to shoot some people in the face and because movement was hard (my ass was BEAT on Tuesday), revisiting Modern Warfare 3 was in order. Now, let me explain that I bought the mid range special edition with a year's worth of Elite (Infinity Ward's version of a season pass with some other perks built in) on Day 1. One would expect that I have at least prestiged once if not twice by now. Well, when it came out I was just moving to Japan and had no time to play, plus playing in Japan makes it hard to connect to my friends in the states due to the time difference so I only achieved lvl 38.
Fast forward to today and I'm grossly outranked in multiplayer mode, but there is good news. Most of the hack assholes have moved on to Black Ops 2 making MW3 playable and mostly fun (if screaming at the TV is your idea of fun). The last couple of days I have returned to my favorite domination mode and managed to stay at the top of the boards for each game. Team Deathmatch is another story all together. Now, I've ALWAYS sucked at Team Deathmatch because I mostly rely on the points gained from captured flags in Domination to shoot me up the leaderboard, but when it comes to raw kills, I suck.
I've always thrived in more flag or point based online modes because I find the strategy to be more interesting and fun. Having to predict where enemies will ambush from and finding back alleys to claim their flags is much more fun than just shooting everything that moves, mainly because it takes longer for me to aim. Free-for-All is just a shit show. Its hard to predict anyone's movements and its all out survival. That might be fun in a nerf fight, but not online with thousands of whiny guys yelling in your ear.
While MW3 can be fun, I have to have it in moderation mainly because I get frustrated after a while. Connection speed is everything and when your internet starts to crap out, death is imminent and the game becomes a test in patience. Let's see how long I last before this game goes back on the shelf.
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