Tag: Xbox 360

#WeeklyGameMusic: Song of the Ancients ~ Fate (NieR)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

In celebration of the upcoming NieR remake coming up…albeit, the Japan-only version instead of the better-liked Western one, this week’s #WeeklyGameMusic celebrates the game’s most memorable boss battle theme, the Song of the Ancients, Fate variation (this game also features an adoptive soundtrack). Composed by Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi, and Takafumi Nishimura, this track from now-defunct Cavia classic fits well with the tragic undertone behind this Drakengard spin-off series.

In a future only a couple decades from now, Japan is totaled by the constant snow, lasting well past the summer. In addition to the uncomfortably consistent weather, humans has been haunted by a growing and deadly population of ethereal creatures, shades. In this mess, begins the survivalist journey between a man and his daughter…or brother and sister, depending on which version you’re playing (Gestalt and Replicant respectively). Unfortunately for our hero, the daughter seems to be suffering an incurable disease.

Oh, wait, nevermind: the actual game takes place a full millennium past modern times. And, uh, apparently magic exists? Huh, that’s weir-*shuffles notes*…no, the plots still the same. Our hero, Nier is still trying to keep his sickly daughter/sister, Yonah, alive. Shades still haunts the town Nier lives in. The world is in a constant state of decline. So, uh, how did they survive for so long? Are they amnesic? Why are we suddenly in a fantasy town setting? This…this is still Japan, right? And why is the opening dialogue filled near-back-to-back with slurs?

NieR is an action JRPG renowned for its innovative narrative techniques. At first blush, the game appears like a simple hack-and-slash. Those who’ve played the highly acclaimed NieR: Automata knows, however, the game rapidly changes gameplay, with an eccentric set of party members following along your bizarre adventure. In addition, the series’ trademark multiple endings, each providing a new perspective in the main story, is here as well. Much like how the gameplay changes perspective frequently, so to will the player’s understanding of the overall plot.

NieR was originally released in the US on the Xbox 360 exclusively. It’s remake, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… will be released soon for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

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#WeeklyGameMusic: Blue Chair (Cloudberry Kingdom)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

Let’s get those blood pumping with this week’s #WeeklyGameMusic! Blue Chair, composed by Blind Digital, is one of the many fantastic themes composed for Pwnee Studios’ procedurally generated platformer game, Cloudberry Kingdom. The indie game’s extraordinary algorithm can generate both reasonable Super Mario-like stages, and Kaizo-level, controller-breaking ridiculousness.

Oh no! The evil king, Kobbler, has kidnapped the fair (…and sarcastic) Princess! And to add to the insult, he stole the infinite level generator orb as well! It’s up to a brave…tired…middle-aged hero named Bob to save her.

You know…

That same, bland, sexist plot again.

Obviously poking fun at the usual paper-thin Super Mario plot, Cloudberry Kingdom plays like the Nintendo classic, but with more focus on flow rather than precision. The platformer’s algorithm always calculates at least one plausible path, meaning a lot of the levels are generated with constant movement in mind. To further add variation to the play, the game provides many different control variations, including inclusion of double-jump, jetpacks, Sonic-like momentum-based movement, no-gravity, always-bouncing, etc.

Another innovation the game provides is actually having a demo-mode where an AI demonstrates how to complete a level. This is particularly impressive when one drastically ramps up the complexity of the game to generate levels that are absurdly difficult. One would think like Nintendo’s assist mode, this would help the player to understand the level better, but…

Cloudberry Kingdom is available on Windows via Steam, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii U

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#WeeklyGameMusic: Sync (Fez)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

#WeeklyGameMusic: New week, new music.

Do you feel the beat? Yes, that one. Careful, don’t skip that one. You don’t want to fall off of those disappearing platforms! Great, now keep the rhythm. Now we’re all in Sync, a piece by Disasterpeace from the mind-bending game, Fez.

Fez is a fairly simple puzzle-platformer with a simple story. Gomez, the lead character, lives a rather sheltered but still peaceful village whose knowledge and experience ends in 2D. Yet as a chosen one, Gomez obtains a magical fez from the village elder that allows him to travel in semi-3D. Abusing this power, however, causes the one thing that keeps the world together to break apart, and defrag across different worlds. It also crashes the game. Stuck in a progressively degrading world, it’s up to Gomez to fix his mistake.

The gameplay of Fez, as mentioned earlier, is about traveling in a bizarrely 3D way. More accurately, the fez allows Gomez to rotate the world on its vertical axis by 90 degrees. But since Gomez operates in 2D physics, the depth of the level collapses after every rotation, allowing him to make platforms align properly. While most puzzles rely on understanding how this physics system works, another set of puzzles rely on deciphering codes. When one finds a Fez code, they can input the button combination the code represents, unlocking some fun collectables. Overall, it’s a delightfully colorful platformer that isn’t very punishing, but has some nasty difficult codes to decipher.

Fez was originally released for Xbox 360 as a downloadable. It is now available for Playstation 3 & 4, and on Steam for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

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#WeeklyGameMusic: Temple of Rain (Guacamelee!)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

#WeeklyGameMusic: New week, new music.

This week’s music, Temple of Rain, is mucho Mexican composition by Rom Di Prisco. It’s a bueno piece that makes you excitado for the majesty that is temple número uno. ¿I mean, what were you expecting, señor luchador? ¡This! ¡is! ¡The pun-filled! ¡Guacamelee!

Guacamelee! is a metroidvania beat ’em up starring lone farmer Juan Aguacate in a pursuit to save El Presidente’s Daughter (the game reveals her name only after completing it; I’m unfortunately not that bueno). He also gets killed by the skeleton Carlos Calaca within the first cinco minutos. ¡Ay! Fortunately for Juan, he is sent to the parallel universe where the dead lives, and finds a legendario luchador mask that lets him travel between the living and the dead. With his newfound powers, he heads straight towards Carlos’ base to beat him once and for all. But first, he needs to break that Choozo statue. ¡It’s importante!

Unlike the common metroidvania tropes, Juan doesn’t use weapons to fight against enemies. Like a true luchador, he fights with fists and kicks, leading to some surprisingly deep combat system. Each power he gains can be used not only to smack harder on his enemies, but can also increase his combo and reach to higher and/or farther ledges. A huge amount of focus in the game is in teeth-gritting hard platforming and gauntlets, and boy is it satisfying to get through this game’s many challenges. Combined with lots of universe-hopping, genuinely useful dodges, and a grapple & throw move that adds more to both puzzles and combat, and we have a winner.

Guacamelee! was originally developed as a downloadable for Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita. It is also available of Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 4, Wii U, and Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux.

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#WeeklyGameMusic: Gone Home (Journey’s End) (Dust: An Elysian Tail)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

#WeeklyGameMusic: New week, new music.

Oh man! I’ve been dying to tell about Dust: An Elsyian Tail, a game made by a single Korean-American. But first, the music: from Hyperduck Studios comes a touching credits music called Gone Home (Journey’s End). Can you hear all that rain pouring from your eyes?

The game’s story starts with Dust waking up in a forest, and having a terrible case of amnesia. For one, there’s a floating, talking sword flying towards him, vaguely informing him the journey he must overcome. For another, there’s a squeaking nimbat following the sword, claiming it’s hers. And lastly, they’re surrounded by monsters. You know, a typical video game hero’s morning.

As it turns out, the game has a lot to give. For one, the game has very tight combat and platforming controls. Outside of the quick one-two-three combos, Ahrah, the talking sword, can also pull out the dust storm that sucks everything in and hit them multiple times. Fidget, the flying nimbat herself can cast magic, which combined with the dust storm creates devastating attacks. Outside of combat, the map is organized in a Metroidvania fashion. Unlocking new skills also allows Dust to traverse places he hasn’t before. And the story of Dust is surprisingly pure, which despite having only a few twists, is endearing on its own.

Dust: An Elsyian Tail was originally released as a downloadable on Xbox 360. It is currently available on Playstartion 4 as a downloadable, and Steam for PC, Mac and Linux.

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#WeeklyGameMusic: Life is Beautiful (Deadly Premonition)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

#WeeklyGameMusic: New week, new music.

This week’s music is…the creepiest…most haunting…and downright scary music track in horror games’ histor- AH HA HA HA! No, sorry, I can’t do this. I mean, this horror game, Deadly Premonition is famous for being so bad, it’s good. So of course this week’s music is the one that hilariously breaks this game’s serious mood, Life is Beautiful by Riyou Kinugasa, Takuya Kobayashi and Hiromi Mizutani.

Deadly Premonition should hit the Twin Peaks fans’ funny bone with its story. Greenvale is currently housing the mysterious serial killer, the Raincoat Killer. His first victim, Anna Graham, was found pinned into a tree in a T-pose, with her stomach cut open. Naturally, a crime so deliberate would attract FBI agent Francis “York” Morgan attention, as he investigates various clues at the crime scene to profile what has happened. But first, York needs to pass through the red room. Because Twin Peaks.

Despite being labeled a horror game, Deadly Premonition is mainly an open world game with lots of side quests. It shares a lot in common with Majora’s Mask in that each citizens has their own schedule, and taking on side quests involves knowing when, where, and who to talk to. Honestly, these open-world portions are where the game shines the brightest, with distinct characters, funny dialog, and lots of bugs to make fun of. Action sequences are clearly indicated when the world suddenly darkens with a purple haze, doors no longer lead to the same place, and violent “shadows” (zombie-like creatures whose dialog often flip-flops between whether they want to die or not) start appearing. In this mode, weapons are utilized similar to Resident Evil 4, where any long-range weapons requires stopping in-place and aiming. In comparison to the open world portion, these parts are frequently panned.

Deadly Premonition was originally developed on the Xbox 360. The improved versions are available on Playstation 3 and PC via Steam.

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