Ned Flanders
Banned
Um, so, yeah. I went "overdue rental" crazy, and I mean that in the sense that I rented some games that I am long overdue in playing. I think I overdid it however because I'm having trouble playing them all.
Psi-Ops is extremely impressive, particularly coming from Midway. While I dare say that no single part of the game is A+ material (gfx are good but not outstanding, controls are well designed but lack tightness etc), the whole package comes together very nicely and the concept itself is refreshing. At first it seemed as though the weapons were weak, and though it still seems so, I understand now that it is because your psi powers already give you a huge advantage. The ragdoll physics really do add something to the experience, and the story, though cliche, is involving enough. This game is getting the bulk of the playtime so far. A really polished product. It has me curious as to what The Suffering is like..
Viewtiful Joe is about as zany as I expected. Another game with a cool premise and new gameplay concepts (well maybe the slowdown/speedup stuff isn't exactly new, but the implementation is). The cutscenes seem a little disappointing because it seems that, despite the deliberate camp factor accounting for some of its quirkiness, there is still a slightly hackish quality to it all (the pasted-on mouth of Joe's gf in the opening scene was a letdown). The first boss battle got me hyped as hell and I'm already pining for more moves, but alas I haven't been able to devote as much time to the game as I'd have liked thanks to Psi-Ops.
ZOE2 has only gotten a brief run-through so far, but my immediate impression is one of overwhelming quality and immersion. I'm not an anime fan in the least, but the combination of the new cutscenes and the cell-shaded gfx make for a stunning graphical package. Production quality seems ski-high, and my initial impression of the gameplay seems basically idential to the first (a good thing). I played through the first one on a rental and was simultaneously impressed and underwhelmed; it seemed like a game that only realized some of its potential. ZOE2 seems like the realization of that potential, and was engaging from the start. I can't wait to give it more playtime..
Psi-Ops is extremely impressive, particularly coming from Midway. While I dare say that no single part of the game is A+ material (gfx are good but not outstanding, controls are well designed but lack tightness etc), the whole package comes together very nicely and the concept itself is refreshing. At first it seemed as though the weapons were weak, and though it still seems so, I understand now that it is because your psi powers already give you a huge advantage. The ragdoll physics really do add something to the experience, and the story, though cliche, is involving enough. This game is getting the bulk of the playtime so far. A really polished product. It has me curious as to what The Suffering is like..
Viewtiful Joe is about as zany as I expected. Another game with a cool premise and new gameplay concepts (well maybe the slowdown/speedup stuff isn't exactly new, but the implementation is). The cutscenes seem a little disappointing because it seems that, despite the deliberate camp factor accounting for some of its quirkiness, there is still a slightly hackish quality to it all (the pasted-on mouth of Joe's gf in the opening scene was a letdown). The first boss battle got me hyped as hell and I'm already pining for more moves, but alas I haven't been able to devote as much time to the game as I'd have liked thanks to Psi-Ops.
ZOE2 has only gotten a brief run-through so far, but my immediate impression is one of overwhelming quality and immersion. I'm not an anime fan in the least, but the combination of the new cutscenes and the cell-shaded gfx make for a stunning graphical package. Production quality seems ski-high, and my initial impression of the gameplay seems basically idential to the first (a good thing). I played through the first one on a rental and was simultaneously impressed and underwhelmed; it seemed like a game that only realized some of its potential. ZOE2 seems like the realization of that potential, and was engaging from the start. I can't wait to give it more playtime..