To Infinity and...

Beyond... way beyond. I'll confess, I was on the fence with Disney Infinity. I wasn't quite sure what to expect outside of a money sink. And while there is certainly that aspect of it, I will say this, I am in love with Disney Infinity.

I will say as a disclaimer, I admit I am a bit of a Disney wonk. It's not like I write for Orlando Attractions magazine exactly, but I have three sets of Mickey ears (regular plastic, Sorcerer''s Apprentice, and groom set). I love going to Downton Disney to head to the pin trading hut. I have the Oswald the Rabbit DVD collection.

So, of course, Disney Infinity seemed like an obvious choice. That said, I can't say how much I've been impressed by this game, specifically, the Toy Box. So, of course, there will be immediate comparisons to Skylanders -- collectible toys placed on a portal. That's not untrue. Others will say we're dealing with Minecraft lite. The popular analogy goes "Minecraft is to Legos as Infinity is to Duplos." Though I haven't spent a lot of time in Minecraft, I don't believe that to be an untrue statement either.

I actually held off on the launch release purchase because it seemed a bit too much. $75 for a starter pack. Restrictions on multiplayer (must use like-themed character for the playsets, i.e., to play Pirates of the Carribbean in co-op, you must have Jack Sparrow with the starter set and either Davy Jones or Barbarossa). Power discs only purchased through blind packs. Missions reserved for particular characters. Two additional playsets ($35 each) for Cars and Lone Ranger. My wife actually wanted to surprise me when I suggested the purchase and so she went ahead and ordered through Amazon. Except it never came.

After a week or so of waiting, I was champing at the bit. I'd read all the reviews (74 on Metacritic), started visiting the forums. But still, the game was stuck in constant "shipping" status, and not "shipped." In fact, I ended up purchasing not only secondary characters for co-op missions to play with the wife, but I was convinced by the Best Buy saleperson that in doing price match, I coud get the two additional playsets for buy one, get the other 50% off. Who was I to say "no?" Already, I had some $90 invested in the game and I had yet to actually get the $75 starter pack. At least I hadn't purchased any power discs... yet.

After realizing the delay on our Amazon order was because of the Infinity portion, I got the green light to go ahead and purchase the game in-store and I jumped at the chance. What can I say? The characters were gorgeous.

The craziest thing is -- between Pirates, Monsters University, and The Incredibles, these aren't even the Disney movies that I love. While I appreciate what Pixar has done, these titles are no Lion King or Aladdin or Little Mermaid, let alone Cinderella, Dumbo, or Snow White.

The first big test came when my wife and I fired up Infinity for the first time and played as Mr. and Mrs. Incredible. While the game is listed as 6+, in terms of age, I guess that doesn't necessarily take into consideration the dual analog stick noob. Not that my wife hasn't played video games, but she didn't quite get the hang of using RS to control the camera. Even still, we had an enjoyable time running through a bit of the Incredibles playset though things were certainly a bit hectic.

After she went to bed that first night, I did spend a little bit of time in the Toy Box, just to get my feet wet. And that is where I realized just how much potential this game had. Prior to actually obtaining the game, I had already discovered Chad Liddell's tumblr site. I had caught a glimpse of all the game could do.

The thing is, the game's playsets are fairly straightforward, non-challenging runs through already created worlds. I have seen descriptions of Incredibles (Crackdown lite), Lone Ranger (Red Dead Redemption lite), etc. The comparison, I think fair and accurate, had the playsets as Lego game difficulty equivalents. Easy, perhaps, but what you got was the fun without the frustration. The Toy Box, however, is where the game, in theory, could and should shine.

As a prelude, the game does offer essentially mini-games under the "Adventures" label. They are games that showcase just what all one can do in the Toy Box and it really is pretty amazing. Toy Box offers creation tools for any number of gametypes. While I can't say I have experience let alone expertise with all that it has to offer, the gametypes range from very competent kart racers to arena battlers/horde type modes to platformers. Today, for example, I ran through not only the kart races but also a forced top-view "off-road" gametype, a la Ivan Ironman Stewart's Super Off Road.

I know some have complained about what you can and can't do straight away, and certainly I do see some bit of frustration with not being able to have all of the tools at one's immediate disposal. In fact, it was nearly a week before I finally "unlocked" the start/finish line to create my own races.

That said, it really is not too difficult to run through and be able to secure the items needed to let your imagination run wild. I've probably played less than a couple hours worth of the actual playsets, run through the "Mastery Adventures" (the in-game tutorials to give an idea about the Toy Box potential), and earned gold or silver medals for the "Adventures."

The thing is, what you can create is more than competent within each gametype. I have spent the most time in various race modes and they all seem to handle extremely well. The games offer straight-up races or "battle races" with weapons, pre-race and in-race boosts, and even drifting.

Toy Box allows one to tie objects together, to use "logic" where one action begets another. In the shot above, I had not only the start/finish line, but also a race gate. I was able to connect the gate such that upon crossing, I was able to shoot fireworks from the containers on the right, get the crowd to cheer and move in the stands. And it all took fairly minimal effort.

The Toy Box offers no less than the following "Creativi-Toys:" stopwatch, replayer, enemy creator, vehicle weapons creator, skychanger, respawner, checkpoints, teleporter, activation areas, triggers, cannons, turrets, tripwires, spikes, automatic doors. Probably the biggest tell-tale of potential the Toy Box is the capability to create a logic gate.

It can be as easy or complicated I guess as you want. I was chatting with my sister-in-law last week and her three daughters have spent some time with Infinity. Creating things was not quite intuitive -- probably made even more difficult with the Wii.

The thing is, the walking about the Toy Box world itself can be pretty magical. I've unlocked some "set pieces" to populate my Toy Box including Cinderella's Castle, Spaceship Earth, Pride Rock, the Haunted Mansion, the Matterhorn, and the Cave of Wonders to name a few. With the power discs, I've unlocked the Sugar Rush theme, Rapunzel's birthday sky, Abu as an elephant mount, and the Nemo seascape sky. How could I not love this game?

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Do or Do Not: There Is No Trying Virtue's Last Reward

I was ready to give up.  And by the end, I sought clues from FAQs/Walkthroughs for the game without regret, and in some instances, hesitation.  The short of the matter is, to play Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, a player must be willing to devote some 25-30 hours to reach complete conclusion.

I will try to keep the post as spoiler free as I can, but if one desires to avoid any or all mention of a title, best to stop now.  Too much may have already been revealed.  If one is on the fence, then maybe reading may swing a decision one way or the other.  As an aside, some may argue for full effect, not only would one need to play through the 30 or so hours from this game, but one must play its predecessor, 999, first.  I did not for what it's worth.

It's hard to explain VLR.  The opening sequence contains flashbacks of an apparent abduction of the main character, Sigma, on December 25, 2028.  He/you awake in a small, locked chamber with Phi, a fellow captive who seems to know and not know you.  The game is divided into Novel and Escape sequences and drops the player into an Escape Room right away.  Upon escape, Sigma learns he, and eight fellow captives, is being subjected to the whims of Zero and the Nonary Game.  The basics of the game require players to score points to earn exit through the Number 9 door that can only occur once.  There is no limit to how many players are able to exit at that time given they have the requisite score.

For the most part, I believed the Escape Rooms to be fair.  I did not downgrade the difficulty level (easy offering more clues).  More often than not, solutions were fairly clear, but at times, sensitivity to point-and-click solutions/success led to a bigger roadblock than the puzzle itself.  Others were difficult and some, to the point where without referring to an outside source, I'd still be playing or have quite in frustration.  I know on at least one occasion, progress was at a standstill for almost two weeks.  It felt great working through the puzzles and I made frequent use of the in-game note taking system until the very end where pen and paper proved most efficient.  The process reminded me of those earlier NES days, mapping the dungeons in Legend of Zelda.  And that was kind of cool.

The Novel portions of the game carried a dual-edged sword of benefits and drawbacks.  The word-heavy narrative creates depth and develops the intriguing story.  The sections, however, could be extremely lengthy, sometimes creating more confusion than clarity.  I finished the game, but the mythology and science are complex enough that re-telling it would be similar to knowing the Forerunners created the Halo device to destroy the Flood and that UNSC and Covenant were enemies until they weren't.  The biggest drawback of the Novel sections, however, was the repetition of dialogue and sequences. in these portions.  The game did create ways to jump to sections as well as offered options to automatically scroll through dialogue or even skip at an unreadable, quick-flashed pace.  It didn't prevent points of hearing and seeing the same thing time and again.  Or worse, skipping ahead could mean missing dialogue when changes occurred unexpectedly.

The game contains multiple story branches.  And while some may view these as "endings," both good and bad, I believe there is no way a player could reach a partial ending and feel satisfied.  In fact, I could see a player finishing every "ending" and still feel not completely satisfied.  But perhaps I say too much.

"We're All Dead"

As we await Season 2 of The Walking Dead video game, I find myself in a much different position than when I was first surprised by the depth and feeling of Season 1. Lee and Clementine existed in a world I had only heard about it. I had no idea.

The game inspired me to look into the comic series and I am now utterly hooked. I read Compendiums 1 and 2, bought Vol. 17 of the trade paperbacks, and needing more, downloaded every issue via Comixology (through Issue 112). That's what, some nine years worth of material. I learned no one, save Rick and Carl minus body parts/organs, are safe.

And to revisit the post-zombie world with a full taste of the mythology behind it makes me appreciate Tell Tale's game even more. By all accounts, 400 Days stands as a bridge between Seasons 1 and 2. I haven't finished it yet, but I have played a couple of the vignettes out. Apparently random characters have brief moments. It doesn't take long to see the decision timer count down and to feel the familiar quickening of the pulse.

And again, I was thrown back into moments of "what would I do" and "I don't like any of these choices" and perhaps worst of all, "that's not what I wanted or expected to happen." Yet despite this lack of control, I think therein lies some of the excitement and beauty of the game's execution. The game, like the comic, takes you to those moments when you realize you're not in control.

I like that the stories are short and the characters have not overlapped. It does give some freedom to mess with decisions, to move beyond the constancy of how I wanted to play Lee. But most importantly, what 400 Days has done is whetted my appetite to return to Clem and see where we are.

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To Be Continued? I'll "To Be Continued" You!

NO IMAGE

So there I was, playing Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward.  I was really getting into the atmosphere of the whole thing.  Quirky characters, bizarrely twisted story, eerie soundtrack and setting, complete mystery.  Puzzles were fair for the most part and even ones I did a quick FAQ check-up on, I was right around where I needed to be to solve.  And then it was over... but it wasn't.

I'm not even sure where to begin.  VLR is a sequel to DS game 999.  In poking about, I saw Jason Schreier at Kotaku thought playing the predecessor was an absolute requirement.  I haven't and I probably won't.  The short of it is the game is divided between its story component and escape/puzzle component.  Stakes are high and mysteries unfold the further you progress.

Without giving too much away, and really, not completely understanding how the story progresses or knowing what things mean, apparently, I reached one of the game's endings without realizing it.  By the time I did, days later by the way, I couldn't quite pull the screen capture I wanted.  I received a "To Be Continued" screen and thought it was a good save point.  When I returned to my game save, I found myself in the exact same place as I was five hours of game play previously, the beginning of the game.  Wha?!

To say I was disoriented would be an understatement.  To say I was disappointed would be pretty dead on. I did realize all my progress carried over.  Notes and information and passcodes were all inventoried and carried through.  The bigger pain was what appeared to be the repetition of dialogue.  I may have mentioned it in passing in other posts, but though the voice acting is good, there is quite a bit of dialogue and character development where the "player" is reduced to button pushes to scroll through dialogue.  Imagine going through twenty minutes or so of it just to get to the next "branch" of story.

I've been reading trying to figure out what can and can't be done and I'm hoping there are ways to more quickly scroll through or ultimately skip dialogue.  I hope that's the case because though I do find the story intriguing and the gameplay challenging but fair, if I can't jump through repeated parts, I guess I will have found the next game to go from the Vita memory card.  You know, space is at a premium and I have a purchased but undownloaded Mortal Kombat waiting for space.

I did run across this on the Zero Escape wikia:

"In Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, there are 24 endings in total composed of good and bad endings.  There are 9 character endings including the true ending, 11 bad endings, 6 game overs, and 2 endings occurring after the true ending.  When an ending is completed the portrait of the character appears on your flowchart and save file and on the PS Vita you earn a trophy for each one (excluding bad endings and game overs)."

Maybe part of the problem was the first ending I hit must be a bad ending.  Not a good way to make me want to continue.

A Soul Sacrifice Cheat Sheet

So I have put a little bit more time into the Soul Sacrifice and my immediate thought was that the demo certainly doesn't do it a whole lot of favors. In fact, the first part of the game, controls are not easily digested. I suppose reading the eManual does help a bit, but let me see if I can give you a quick intro.

You are a prisoner of evil sorcerer Magusar. You witness him destroy another before you get control and uncover a talking book, the Libron. What the book does is allow you to relive experiences of its author. You are transported back to a scene with Magusar as ally before he becomes completely mad.

I think part of the issue is that there does not appear to be a "Pause" type function to the action (outside of using the PS button). Getting to the action, this is the meat of the UI.

The player is armed with six spells activated by the face buttons. Pressing R displays the second available set of spells. "X" evades/sprints. Left stick is used to move; right stick controls the camera. L locks on to targets. Sometimes, activating spells will bring up specific effects of button presses:

I found that locking on does a quick centering to attack foes. It's sometimes tricky to determine who are allies and who are opponents. Spellcasting is limited and may even cause some damage to self.

 

Now, I'm not sure how far the demo goes. I suspect I have played beyond the demo. The Libron offers a different missions from which the captive can read through and experience the Libron, learning the powers of the sorcerer. The dilemma facing the sorcerer comes upon defeating a foe. He is given the opportunity to determine whether he will save or sacrifice the vanquished foe. The sacrifice increases magic level, the save increases the life level. The premise of Soul Sacrifice derives from the notion that through sacrifice, the sorcerer pays a price for power. The bloodlust creates or reveals a monster within.

 

Anyway, that's the basic gist of it as far as I understand/have played. I'd be curious to see if that helps or what people think about the demo with a little bit of primer. Good luck!

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The End of Innocence: A Fanboy Becomes a Man

It was supposed to be one of those everlasting, "I was there" stories. July 10, 2000, Lance Armstrong charges up Hautacam, putting ten minutes on his rivals in ten miles up the brutally steep, HC climb on a cold, rainy Pyrenees day. He won the yellow jersey that day and kept it through Paris, winning his second Tour de France. And there I was, a witness to history.

Traveling through Europe, I made sure a trip to Lourdes coincided with the Tour's pass through the mountains. A recreational cyclist and an Armstrong fan long before the LIVESTRONG yellow bracelets became popular, I trudged up the mountain with a 30 lb. pack, rain-soaked socks, and no room reservation for the night. I tried to sleep at the bus stop, awaiting the first transport back to Lourdes, but chattering teeth and raisin-wrinkled feet proved too great of obstacles to slumber.

I bought into the myth. Now, I feel foolish, angry and embarrassed. A treasured memory stolen away. Years of pride in Armstrong's accomplishments, a fierce loyalty against the number of accusers, an unknowing accomplice to the sham by parroting the oft-repeated mantra that Armstrong was the most tested athlete in sports with ne'er a positive test (almost). I couldn't bring myself to watch the Oprah special. A straight punch to the gut.

That sums up my Monday too. I confess: I was a Microsoft fanboy. While I was slow to adopt the original Xbox, pretty much waited for Halo 2 before jumping in, I was there Day One for the Xbox 360. In fact, I was there Day Zero, camped out at my local Best Buy the day before the console's release. It was a cold November day, night and morning. I took the afternoon off from work so I could be at the front of the line. I resisted the ebay urge to sell my launch console at triple the price I paid so I could spend time with Project Gotham Racing 3, Geometry Wars, and Perfect Dark Zero. OK, maybe the PDZ did not quite work out but I quickly moved on to Kameo, and I was hooked.

How bad was the addiction? I am on my fourth console. I own the HD-DVD player and a large collection of HD-DVD titles. I have Kinect and bought Child of Eden as soon as it was released. I enjoyed my time as Sergeant Forge as much as Master Chief, drove thousands of miles in Forza 2, 3, 4 and Horizon. I played Skulls of the Shogun on both the 360 and my Windows phone, purchased specifically for that purpose. I am well-versed in Microsoft currency and with it, I downloaded gamer pics for Guitar Hero 2 and Grey's Anatomy, themes, premium themes, avatar clothes and a black cat. I have COG dog tags. And the reward for my loyalty?

XBone. All $500 of it. The forced, always on Kinect 2. The internet required connection/check-in. The draconian DRM policy. Before we even get to the alternatives presented, the biggest issue beyond any of the listed complaints rests in Microsoft's attitude. I have seen it before. Remember Sony's E3 presser announcing the PS3 for $599?

And this:

What does it all mean? Especially for a one-console household? I guess it is time to grow up and out of the fanboy phase and carefully decide which console best suits my gaming needs and habits. While cost plays some role, it is not the dispositive factor. I will look at exclusive titles at launch and in the future. I will look where my friends are and what they are playing. I will look at connectivity between Vita vs. SmartGlass.

Microsoft, if you want me to purchase an Xbox One, you are going to have to sell me on it because at this point, I feel I've been left with no choice but to explore other options.

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Those Who Cannot Remember the Past

With the reveal of the next Microsoft console just around the corner, there's probably a larger portion of people than Microsoft would want to acknowledge that still shudder at mere mention of the name Kudo Tsunoda. While I wouldn't call the Kinect an abeject failure, it certainly did not live up to the hype nor the potential of the accessory. Many concerned gamers fear the force feeding of Kinect 2 or more motion controls that aren't necessarily wanted. I think there are problems that any new hardware faces, but I earnestly hope that Microsoft has considered some lessons from its Kinect past.

Do not sell what you do not have

Perhaps one of the biggest barriers to full-on Kinect adoption was that gamers believed or at least hoped Microsoft was offering a controller-less Move/Wii control scheme. "You are the controller" we were told. Unfortunately, the delay between movement and on-screen action was a little too noticeable to be as fun or connected than what serious gaming requires. While anticipation could be negotiated in lighter fare like Kinect Adventures, lag between a person's actions and the resultant on-screen movement dooms any game needing immediate, precise movement.

In an ideal world, motion controls for Tiger Woods seem like it could or should be a golfer's dream. -- an off-season way to stay sharp, hone and improve real wold skills. But Kinect is not a fine enough sensor to capture the subtleties of a golf swing. Heck, even using Kinect to navigate menus, the goals of ease and simplicity are clearly further away than just picking up a controller and using the analog sticks and buttons. That the Xbox controller feels so comfortable in the hands of the player makes it that much tougher a sell for what appears an over promised gimmick at best, a complete pander to the Wii family crowd at worst.

It's the software dummy

Games, game, games. As great as the technology may be, if there is not the appropriate software to take advantage of the beast under the hood, then what do we have? Not a big step from the current generation. Certainly, systems have had weak launches and still succeeded but to have an "it" game can really get the ball rolling in the right direction. Halo. 'Nuff said, right? Looking at the WiiU launch, I don't know that I could tell you what came out Day One. I'm guessing a Super Mario Bros. of some type.

But really, what makes a person make the jump? I have pondered this past year the thought that I feel perfectly satisfied with the current console generation. Unless I'm offered something I don't know that I want/need right now, launch day becomes more about the experience of getting on board early and less about playing what I can't currently play.

For Kinect, Dance Central did just that. It was the game I could depend on to show my family and friends my new Xbox peripheral. It worked within the Kinect's limitations and provided a show piece, fun play where frustration was minimized with no fail conditions. Before I realized, "Poker Face" was irritatingly and irreversibly etched in my subconscious.

Of course, part and parcel to the "killer app" is the all important next wave of games. And for Kinect, I don't count Dance Central 2 or Dance Central 3 or Zumba Fitness or Zumba Fitness Rush or Zumba Fitness Core as worthy succesors. Gunstringer, Child of Eden and Fruit Ninja all showed promise, but most often software support didn't come in the form of innovation or originality. Instead, options were limited to fitness and dance titles and their sequels.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should

The last thing I think Microsoft can learn from its Kinect experience is that just because all these bells and whistles are aailable does not necessarily mean you need to use them. Microsoft desribed a number of games that were Kinect compatible but not required as "Better With Kinect" and yet, I don't know that (m)any of these titles were actually better. Did anyone use Kinect with Mass Effect 3, Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Forza Horizon, Tiger Woods? No, no, no, and no.

Of course, with any new toy, I can see why a company wants to tout all of its features. But there's a point where it's too much. Don't let features be crammed into a game just because your system can support motion and/or voice controls. If it's part of the game fine, but when it's an add-on, the forced gameplay detracts from the natural flow and progression.

I have no idea what to expect come Tuesday, but I do have high hopes. Let's hope Microsoft remembers the past and heads in the right direction.

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