Realised in my post announcing my review relocation to IGN- I never posted where you could directly see my reviews there... :|

So: My Reviews

As for reviews I'm currently working toward:

1. Demon's Souls: I was expecting to review this before NSMBW (Which I posted today), but that was not the case... As such- I am actually not sure when I'll finish my review for this one... :|
2. Dawn of War 2:Right now- I'm not sure if this will come before or after the Demon's Souls review. The former outcome looks to be more likely right now.
3. Wii Sports Resort:Not any time soon- most definitely not any time soon. I quite simply haven't played it enough yet. (My experience with it so far has been pretty positive though)
4. Dissidia: Final Fantasy:This'll probably be the next review to be posted. Possibly within a few days or by this weekend.

Given the fact that my Spring semester at Woodbury has just begun in the past week though- the predictions above could vary. So we'll see... :|

Thought I might as well make this quick post... :|

Just letting everyone know that I happen to have a Youtube account now...

HOWEVER- I made it primairly for commenting on other channels that I like. So don't expect TOO many videos...

But there is already 1 there in case you're interested:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MrMoreDakka

Also- I had to take the name "MrMoreDakka"

Tis not my normal name- but it'll do... :|

Hi again all. :P

My birthday was just yesterday... And I just got 2 games out of it. Here's a brief summary of the two and what to expect from my reviews of them so far...

Demon's Souls: Demon's Souls doesn't hate you- it loves you... It's just giving us plenty of tough love. Case in point- the difficulty is quite high, but does so through unforgiving level and enemy design. For some- the difficulty may seem absurdly high- and some of the enemies cheap. But trust me- it's not cheap- nowhere near as cheapas Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 was at times.

Case in point- knowledge of how the game engine, weapons, and enemy AI work gives you a huge advantage here. Long weapons can stab through small walls for instance, and the enemy AI's simplicitycan easily be abused. Perhaps a llittle TOO easily- but still (It can be easy to get enemies stuck or lure them into instant-death situations).

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron: With the formula of what was supposed to be Battlefront 3 supporting it- Elite Squadron was SUPPOSED to be a worthy successor to Renegade Squadron... Unfortunately- this is only partially the case. In terms of multiplayer- so far, I'd say Elite Squadron is a relatively worthy successor.

The single player could- no- should have been much more. Long story short- the campaign is hilariously abysmal in both storyline and design. (

And the worst part? Your FORCED to playthis mockery of a campaignto unlock many of the game's customization options... Absolutely unacceptable- especially when Renegade Squadron had all these options available from the get-go.

---

Reviews'll be coming relatively soon. I'll probably review Elite squadron first- then Demon's Souls sometime later.

Oh- and before I forget. Yes- these reviews will not be posted on Gamespot. I will now be posting them on IGN- as I won't be stuck with the .5 increments now. (.1 increments are back! yay!)

Sure- it's really actually a minor difference- like the score matters THAT much. But the way IGN's review system gives me an additional 5 scores to write summaries in I think makes the transition worth it. (In case your curious, my Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 review has already been posted over at IGN. I probably won't be posting it here)

Empire: Total War:

"Total War veterans- no- anyone who's played a Total War game recently- and even if it's been a while- should be able to up the battle AI difficulty to expert right away if they want any semblance of a fair fight in single player. And even then- you'll quickly see that Empire's Expert AI is just barely the equivalent of Normal difficulty AIs from other Total War games.

And even then- Rome: Total War's normal AI was better and more organized than Empire's expert AI.

Ouch."

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2:

"Easier than the 360 version? Yes.

But that doesn't mean it's a cakewalk in comparison- if you're new to the series, you should still expect to die at least a few times at the easiest difficulty level.

But the difficulty has been maintained ina fewgood ways. For example: sure- enemy numbers are lower, but their AI has been slightly improved- expect to see them dodging and blockingyour attacks a bit more often now."

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic:

"Too early to say much right now... Been greatly enjoying it so far though.

Thehigh emphasis on melee combat for non-jedi characters does hamper the "Star Wars" feel of the game for me- since ranged combat feels a little too weak- but this is really just me being nitpicky. (Or maybe my stats just aren't far enough yet- or maybe they're purposely trying to make us feel what it's like to have Stormtrooper accuracy?)"

These 3 reviews will be coming soon- expect the Empire:Total War review to come first, probably followed by Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma.

Tsk! It's been a while... (I blame college classes and the fact that I am admittedly shifting over to using other game sites such as gametrailers, IGN, Giant Bomb, andeven most recently Gamespy [though only because ofFlintcock versus the Horde]more often than Gamespot now...)

Anyway- I just got back from my weekend dance competition... Yes- the Emerald Ball, I was there both saturday and sunday for the event at the Hilton near LAX airport.

Knowing I would have at least two long breaks on Saturday and Sunday (a 7 hour break on Saturday, 4 hour break on Sunday), I brought my PSP just in case...

But- I should've known this would happen due to my experience with more expensive hotels- there was a Nintendo 64 in the room...

So- yes, the N64 won out over my PSP, easily. They had 31 games on offer- including: (In no particular order)

• Super Mario 64
• Star Fox 64
• Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Majora's Mask
• Mortal Kombat 4
• Mario tennis
• Mario Kart 64
• F-Zero X
• Excitebike 64
• Mario Golf
• Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
• Mario Party 3

And that's just a few! I myself played a bit of Mario Party 3 andMortal Kombat 4... But, the one game on offer that I played the most was none other than the ORIGINAL Super Smash Bros...

Of course I played it the most! I had memories of enjoying it at other hotels and during summer school- and with all my experience in Brawl, I figured that maybe I'd actually be able to fare well in the game now!

I was only mostly correct... For there were a few gameplay differences from Melee/Brawl that surprised me... No air dodging? No charged smash attacks? No down-dodging (You could only dodge sideways...)? Took me a little time to get used to them...

Which brings me to the focus of this post... It's another 'The ancient, the rugged, and the testy,' for the original SSB is around 10 years old at this point- so it qualifies. (That, and I have/got enough experience with it to do a casual review on it- which has already been posted)

So it's today's victim! Let's get started...

Super Smash Bros (SSB) was released back in 1999 for the N64. Despite being a low-budget title (2D pokemon and items should make that obvious), SSB garnered plenty of attention- and quickly became one of Nintendo's newest highly popular series.

Unlike other fighters, SSB wasn't about KOing your opponents by depleting their health- it was all about stacking damage onto your opponent so you could knock them off the arena. Along with normal and smash attacks, you had plenty of items to use to help with this task- such as poke balls, beam swords, baseball bats, bomb-ombs, and much more (all in 2D!).

If you've played Melee or Brawl- then you'll already know how the original SSB works- despite the lack of air dodging and charged smash attacks. In terms of value however, the original SSB is very limited compared to both Melee and Brawl- for the number of modes and customization options were incredibly limited. In single player- all you had was the mode known as classic mode in Melee and Brawl- only without the randomization, it was always the same opponents (So you'll always start with link- always fight that Giant Donkey Kong with 2 AI allies- always fight that Metal Mario, etc.). There was also the option to practice the game's two types of bonus stage- target smash and board the platforms.

Then there was the series mainstay- the VS mode. You could play with up to 4 players, both human and AI with 9 difficulty levels to choose from- just like in Melee and Brawl. Unlike melee and brawl though- your options for VS mode were limited to team games, time limit, and stock. You couldn't change much else- not even what items appeared in-game.

As such- that's why SSB seems rugged and testy compared to Melee and Brawl- it's replay value hasn't aged too well, despite how well it's gameplay has aged. It doesn't have the customization of Melee and Brawl, it doesn't have the large character rosters either has, and it's AI isn't as good as Brawl's (surprisingly commonly messing up recoveries...).

But the ancient part of the game is what still shines- despite being outclassed by Melee and Brawl. There are enough gameplay differences to make the originall SSB still worth checking out- given how it feels surprisingly different from Brawl at times. SSB has held up surprisingly well over time- and is ultimately not as ancient as you may think.

The ancient: SSB was the beginning of the Smash Bros series! As such, a few moves we take for granted in Melee and Brawl- such as charged smash attacks and air dodging, aren't present here. These differences are enough to make the game feel ancient, and yet surprisingly fresh compared to Brawl at the same time.

The rugged: In terms of replay value- SSB has absolutely nothing on Melee and Brawl. This would be the one reason you would want to pass on SSB if you want a new smash bros game and already have Brawl. If your really desperate for a new smash bros game- already have Brawl, but want plenty of value- go with Melee, for the original SSB is a bit lacking here.

The Testy: SSB was a low-budget title... The 2D pokemon and items should make this obvious... Another thing here is the game's AI- which suffers from many more quibbles than Melee's AI, and especially Brawl's AI.

My review: http://www.gamespot.com/n64/action/supersmashbros/player_review.html?id=657641&tag=all-about;review1

EDIT 1: Gack! The Star Wars title included in the list of N64 games was wrong! It's Rogue Squadron- not Renegade Squadron! (This has now been fixed- I blame the fact that Renegade Squadron WAS one of hte games I had brought for my PSP)

Well, I hope everyone had a very good Christmas- I certainly did. :D

This christmas has proven to be quite nice indeed- finally getting several of the game's that I've wanted! :D

So, since I've gotten so many new games- might as well sort out a review schedule of sorts. Chances are it won't be 100% accurate, but oh well...

So- upcoming reviews in order of first to last:

1: Little Big Planet: I've been playing it quite a bit and may be able to post a review of it as early as this weekend. I must say- I think it's overrated, but not by any huge margin.

2: Resistance 2: This is a game my brother recieved for christmas- one I didn't think he was interested in, since we don't own the original resistance (though I think he played it elsewhere). Whatever the case, my Resistance 2 review will potentially come as early and the middle of next week- but probably later.

3: Baja: Edge of control: Admittedly, my dad bought the WRONG VERSION of this game- so I haven't played it at all yet, but it'll be here officially by next monday. Whatever the case- I'm really looking forward to dealing with the game's crazy physics engine.

4: Whatever Virtual Console games we buy: My Wii isn't going completely ignored this christmas! We've got some wii points lined up- so we'll see what we end up getting soon enough.

5: Left 4 Dead: No guarantees- but I should be able to buy this off of Steam relatively soon. It may have to wait until January however. Whatever the case, It'll be sweet once I get it- cause the demo was a blast.

Ah- feels nice to be able to get back into reviewing again after a bit of a hiatus! :D

And again- I hope you all had a very good christmas, and have a great new year! :)

Hi everyone. Curious on the entry title? Think about it...

I've decided that it may be worth while looking back at some of the older games I have in my collection- specifically the ones I've been playing again recently.

There are but a few requirements to get into my new 'potential series': :P

1. The Game must be relatively old- at least 8-10 years old.

2: It must be a game that I've reinstalled/replayed/or just plain noticed and thought about recently.

Anyway, with that out of the way- let us begin...

Today's victim: Populous: The Beginning

Populous: The Beginning was the third game released in Bullfrog's Populous series (Released in 1998 ). The Populous series had been a relatively popular one- for it was one of the first 'god' games, in that you played as a god. As such- Populous: The Beginning was a bit of a change up for the series. It was still considered a god game in many respects- but the gameplay was much more like an RTS than it had been in the previous games.

In the game, you played as the Shaman of- we'll call them the 'blue tribe' (your tribe had no official name here, but it's color was blue...)- and you sought to bring your tribe to power, conquer the Dakini, Matak, and Chumara tribes, and become a god. To achieve this goal- players had to conquer 25 increasingly difficult levels by leading a small variety of follower types and using their shaman's spells to wreak utter over-powering havoc on their enemies.

In-game, your objective was almost always as simple as wiping all of your enemies followers off the map so you would be left standing alone. Populous: The Beginning gave players plenty of tools to bring destruction to their enemies. First, there were the followers who came in 5 varieties: Braves, who built structures, Warriors, the main melee combatants of the game, preachers, followers who could convert enemy followers over time (with the exception of the shaman and other preachers), firewarriors, the game's ranged units, and spies, who could disguise as an enemy brave and torch enemy buildings when undercover.

But the game's followers were nothing compared to what the Shaman was capable of doing. Over the course of the game, the shaman would be able to cast up to 20 different spells, including volcanoes, lightning, tornadoes, firestorms, angels of death, swarms of annoying bees, swamps, landbridges, the game-finishing armageddon, and much more. The variety of spells was nice and incredibly fun to use and watch- unless it was you who was on the recieving end of course...

As an RTS, Populous: The Beginning was ultimately a neat- and mostly well-done entry in the series. The 'strategy' of the game almost completely revolved around spell usage and what spells to charge when- along with how to set up your base's defenses. In all reality- the shaman was essentially a trump-card against enemy followers that was almost always available. On the defensive against enemy followers- a well-used, well-prepared shaman could single-handedly stave off an entire attack force easily. But amazingly, followers weren't completely useless- a well-prepared and positioned defense could stop any shaman- no matter how well prepared that shaman was. So despite the fact that the Shaman was incredibly powerful- the game still required you to make a balanced force of followers as backup, striking a very effective balance.

Populous: The Beginning's single player was relatively limited since it only had the campaign available and no AI skirmish mode of any kind, which was very unfortunate- because the enemy AI in Populous:The Beginning was actually pretty good. Granted- it was almost completely scripted and thus predictable, but these were well-done scripts. As a result, the difficulty of the campaign goes up pretty fast as the enemy AI starts launching very potent attacks against you- and also makes decent usage of it's Shaman. It's worth noting however that the 25th mission had a nice reward for anyone who managed to reach it. (I may tell you this reward if you ask...)

Populous: the Beginning also had multiplayer- even though it's collection of maps was fairly limited. Now days however- the main populous site is down, so you have to download the 3rd-party Populous matchmaker in order to play online if you have the game- which is something I have done recently and enjoyed. The group still online is pretty small- but it's not that hard to find an online game with the matchmaker, which works just like the old populous main site did.

Graphically, Populous: The Beginning was the first time the series was in full 3D- if you don't count the character sprites that is. Whatever the case, for their time, Populous: The Beginning had some highly detailed graphics. The buildings and environments both looked great, and the spell effects were also well done. The follower's sprites were also well-done with some decent animation and detail.

Sound wise- Populous: The Beginning was much less notable. There was some voice acting in the game- but only in the pre-rendered cinematics- and it was only done by the Shaman herself. What was there however was decent. The other sound in the game overall is capable enough- the music merely fit the theme, and the grunts of your followers were entertaining enough. The spell's sounds are probably the best part of the entire sound work in Populous- as they really capture how much devastation your spells are/are about to cause when used.

So how was Populous: The Beginning recieved over all? Well...

My review: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/populousthebeginning/player_review.html?id=489194

Gamespot review: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/populousthebeginning/review.html?tag=tabs;reviews

Believe it or not, Populous: The Beginning also got released onto the original Playstatiion- but was not recieved well at all...

Gamespot PS review: http://www.gamespot.com/ps/strategy/populousthebeginning/review.html?tag=tabs;reviews

Apparently, I'm not positive since I've never seen it there, Populous: The Beginning's PS version IS available on the Playstation network for download, and can be played on either the PSP or PS3 (As of the 1.70 firmware). So if you want an old console strategy game that wasn't well recieved- it could be worth checking out... I might check it out myself if I get curious enough...

So has Populous: The Beginning held up? Ultimately, I'd have to say yes- it's merely rugged. The strategy behind the spell usage is ultimately what makes it very interesting. Without the spells- Populous: The Beginning would have been a very poor and boring RTS, since the followers aren't nearly as fun or intuitive to use. But despite the game's issues, Populous: The Beginning is one of those rusty relics that's worth digging up if you're interested. Just don't expect anything as sharp as, oh say, hmmm, Command and Conquer. Yeah- they've been compared believe it or not.

The Ancient: Populous: The Beginning is a rather old RTS- released way back in 1998. As such, it's gameplay caters directly to people who like old-fashioned RTS titles. Especially since the core gameplay- barring spells- is actually similar to C&C.

The Rugged: Being an older RTS, people spoiled by more recent/fresher RTS games (World in Conflict, hint hint nudge nudge) may find themselves questioning the gameplay here. If anything- the strategy behind spell casting may be the saving grace here.

The testy: Populous wants it's website back... (If I recall from when I last tried to visit it several years ago, I think it was replaced by an Electronic Arts website...)

Hmph, it's been a while since I've posted here, but oh well. I haven't had much to post about...

Anyway- today's topic- the student-made game called "Master Plan".

Master Plan is a project made by students at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Company (FIEA). I was at SIGGRAPH 2008 today and stopped by FIEA's booth... They were showing the game off, and were giving out free copies of the game!

How could I resist? :D (SIGGRAPh 2008 was awesome by the way- I got to play a little of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed! It was pretty fun what little I played- But it goes to be noted that no one I saw playing the demo at the lucasarts booth could get past that first AT-ST... :P )

Anyway, back to the main topic here...

Master Plan is basically an action game in which you get to play as a mad scientist- one who wears a gas mask and has a flower on his hat... At the outset, the Mad Scientist is doing these weird experiments that are deemed illegal by the city. So the hero/your enemy in the game- Captain Justice- comes by and smashes the mad scientist's lab. Unfortunately for him- the mad scientist survives- rebuilds his lab- and starts building a tank with which to take revenge on the city and Captain Justice. That's where you come in.

At the start of the game, you must customize your tank- which only has a set of wheels and a cockpit at the outset. Unlike many games which let you customize a vehicle like this- Master Plan only starts you with a very limited set of basic parts- no weapons included! Fortunately- this is quickly remedied after you complete the first few missions in the game. By the time the police start hounding you- you'll have a few ion cannons ready to take them on with. As you destroy more buildings and enemies, you'll stumble upon a ton of spare parts to use.

The ammount of parts available to you is a bit limited-with only four categories of parts and only a maximum of four part types per category. But there's still enough here to make the customization relatively entertaining. Just don't come in with high expectations- especially if your used to games like, lets say the Armored Core series.

The main goal in most of your missions is simply to wreak havoc in the city- either simply destroying just a few buildings to raise the panic level in the city- or destroying specific targets in order to gain access to new parts to equip your tank with. As you cause havoc, the panic level will start to rise. The higher it is- the more enemies that will come for you- ranging from basic police cars, to missile-equipped tanks and suicide vehicles.

The game lets you teleport back to your lab whenever you want to repair and upgrade your tank, but there is a slight catch. You can't just teleport back to the lab during combat- so you have to make sure no enemies are attacking you when you try to teleport your tank away.

Eventually, when you raise the threat level high enough, Captain Justice himself comes to face you. It goes to be noted- Captain Justice is a very worthy final boss- cause he's tough, especially when your used to having an easy time with the police and tanks. This is partially because Captain Justice's AI is actually of surprsingly good quality- especially for a student-made game. He does a very good job of dodging your projectiles, and uses a decent variety of attacks.

As a bonus, once you've finally defeated Captain Justice- you can feel free to just wreak as much havoc as you want on what remains of the city! The game even provides codes for invincibility and a full inventory if you want at the end.

The main problem with Master Plan is it's length- it is a VERY short game. If you know what your doing, you could possibly steam through the game in less than an hour. The replayability is also a little limited since the customization is as simple as it is.

Graphically, Master Plan is relatively well-done for a student-made game. Of course, by today's standards it's quite primitive, but it is still well done all around, especially with how buildings blow up. The particle effects of weapons are also relatively well done. The game also has a few incredibly well done cinematics. Sound wise, Master Plan doesn't fare quite as well. The voice acting in the game is very reptitive, along with the weapon and destruction sounds.

For a student project, Master Plan is ultimately a surprisingly good game- albeit a very short lived one. It is still worth playing through however and will undoubtedly be an impressive addition to the resumes of the 34 students who worked on this game (Yes, 34, source of info: http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/425/student_postmortem_fieas_master_.php ). If you want to check out Master Plan, you can download it from this link: http://www.masterplangame.com/ .

Pros: Entertaining mindless action- devastating the city is fun! Captain Justice's AI is surprisingly good. Decent graphics- along with a few excellent cinematics.

Cons: Mostly dismissable sound work all around. Very short. Customization is a little limited due to a lack of part types.

Final Score: 8.0 (NOT compared to retail releases- that's why it's scored as high as it is- it's an impressive student project :) )

The video game industry used to be much simpler than it is today.

In the past, people who wanted to play video games simply had to stop by the arcades, but the days of the arcades are mostly gone and now the majority of gamers have to buy a console or computer in order to play.

As technology for these platforms advanced, such as the development of the Internet for online play and more advanced game engines for powering their games, video games have also been advancing along with technology.

Believe it or not however, even in today's high-tech world, not everyone has a speedy internet connection. And not every gamer has hundreds of hours to kill either. And most of gaming's genres, such as strategy games and shooters, require some kind of non-player controlled resistance. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes in.

AI has had a role in video games for a long time. AI-controlled characters first started appearing in the 1970s and '80s in arcade games such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man.

When new genres such as real-time-strategy started appearing in the 1990s, AI development became more complex, as video games started featuring more in-game tasks for AI to handle. And the AI of video games quickly rose up to the new challenges.

These days, AI is regarded as a very important aspect of most single-player games, and even some multiplayer games.

The use and necessity of AI in video games varies heavily depending upon what genre is being focused on, and whether or not the game is focused on single player or multiplayer.

Multiplayer focused games have commonly excluded AI support, since it is viewed as an unnecessary addition since you can play against other human players. Recently, however, an increasing number of multiplayer-focused games, such as Unreal Tournament series and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars have started to go the extra length and provide AI to play against.

Some multiplayer games have gained critical acclaim because of their AI. The Unreal Tournament series is a perfect example of this, as it has been reported that many people who play Unreal Tournament are content playing against the game's high-quality AI instead of going online.

Ultimately however, the whole point of a multiplayer game is to have human players go against each other.

Some say that the purpose of AI in multiplayer games is simply that of a placeholder for when human players aren't available. On the other hand, some would also think that multiplayer AI should be more than just a placeholder and actually play the game skillfully enough so that it becomes tricky to differentiate human players from AI-controlled players.

Then there are single player modes, in which the purpose of AI is much more easily defined. At the same time however, the use of AI for single player is much more varied than it is with multiplayer games, since AI characters can have different capabilities, options, and roles than the player - differences that would never fit into a multiplayer game.

When they create single-player campaigns and modes, some developers take the extra effort to make their AI characters put up an extremely challenging performance for the player, while others settle with an average, but still entertaining AI. There are nearly endless possibilities for what can be done with AI in single player to enhance the experience.

So how should developers use AI to attain the best experience possible with their video games? Should they rely on godlike AI or average AI?

Developers should try to strike a balance and offer both strong and average AI, not just in single player games, but in multiplayer games as well because, as said above, not everyone has a speedy Internet connection.

By offering both strong and weak AIs, developers can truly enhance just about any game they create. The only type of AI developers need to avoid is weak AI, which is a type of AI that far too many developers use.

Although the quality of video game AI has improved vastly over the years, the uses and importance of AI has for the most part been the same. As such, AI has made a firm role for itself in the video game industry, and should keep players entertained for years to come.

My journalism class is proving to be most lucrative recently...

I've been getting several new games as a result of my job as the game reviewer for the newspaper, and I've just been able to score a PS3 cause of it...

I wasn't expecting to get a PS3 until this Christmas at the earliest... So the arrival of the PS3 at my house is a very nice surprise. It fits in alot better asthetically with my video game room anyways- since its almost always dark in there. The Wii sticks out like a sore thumb though... :P

Anyway, my last "profssional" review for a while will be for Haze- which isn't getting very good scores.

I personally don't think its that bad right now- the AI isn't as bad as they say it is... Its certainly better than Half-life 2's AI.

BUT- Crike- the whole game looks dated... The graphics look like they come from the 4-year-old Doom 3 engine... The only difference between Haze's graphics and the Doom 3 engine's graphics- the Doom 3 engine was better with textures than Haze is. Its still decent- but horribly dated by current-gen standards.

But graphics are the least of my worries right now. I gotta get arround to seeing if my PS3 can get connected online eventually so I can test the multiplayer.

Expect my Haze review within a few days.

Until next time everyone.