Game Thoughts: Never Forget Me

Recently I found that a game I had played by WinterWolf Studios, received a sequel. Always Remember Me was a sweet stat building visual novel where the main character Amy and her bae get into a motorcycle accident. This should have ended in death but instead ends up with Amy having light injuries and the bf with amnesia. Yes...I know...but how it plays out you decided to either stay with your man in hopes he remembers or take advantage of this lapse in memory to start anew. (I make it sound terrible.)

So I'm talking quite a bit on the original game, so what about this sequel thing? WELL...

Never Forget Me is the epilogue in a way dealing with Amy's life with her chosen man AFTER the events of the first game. (The good endings). So it actually deals with married life.

Yes...you read right. A VN about married life! Whaaaaa?

In the beginning you choose which epilogue you want to play through and experience the various endings it could have.

Features
The game is a stat building game, but the stat building is optional. (Required to get some endings).
Similiar to the last game it gives you a series of 2 choices in a scene for you to play out.

Virtues
Does not over romanticize relationships
Deals with marriage AND KIDS
Handles mature topics gracefully

Vices
Uses the same character art from the first game but has way cool art for the title page.
The stat building feels like fluff
Doesn't make sense unless you've played the first game (Not a super negative but it's there)

Final Thoughts
The game is mature in that it deals with infidelity, child abuse, abuse, divorce, and taxes. That is to say that it does go through story points that go through some of the lows of relationships. But many things are good. It may not mean as much to a player if they haven't played the first game.
However, I can recommend it so long as you are aware of what you might be getting yourself into. (Honestly one of the storylines hits it a bit close to home for me and makes me uncomfortable.)

The game is available on the Winter Wolves website.

Game Thoughts: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice

 I love the Ace Attorney series. Even if its got so many flaws and hilarity when it comes to localization. Self-aware, pop-culture references, and delicious puns...it holds a dear part in my gamer heart.

So recently the newest installment for the series has come through to the States: Spirit of Justice. With a round of familiar faces coming back and great new ones.

Synopsis:
This time 'round, we go through trials dealing with corrupt judicial systems, in foreign lands where defense lawyers are outlawed. The system instead relies on seances where the last moments of a victim are replayed for the court. We follow trials of Phoenix Wright taking a trip to Kurain to visit Maya Fey, Apollo Justice taking care of the office back in the "USA", and Athena Sykes helping along.

Virtues:
Mixes a lot of the old gameplay from previous titles.
Excellent characterization and engaging storyline
Delicious puns

Vices:
They do show murder scenes so there is that.
...contortionist dude Maya...*shudder*...
Shows religious folks as pretentious or ignorant...or plain stubborn. Granted it is a hokey religion.

Conclusion:
I'm a bit biased toward these titles but for good reason. While the justice system is terribly flawed (and illegal) in the games, I'm ignorant enough of actual law to enjoy them. This one gets approval from me. Check it out if you so desire.

Game Thoughts: Ozmafia!

So I wasted my whole weekend going through all the endings for this game. I was turned around so many times.
Heads up, this will not be a spoiler free review.

So TL;DR: It's a mature game. Handle with care. Can't fully recommend. Bag of D*cks. <---Something I would say a LOT during my playthroughs.

So Ozmafia was released way back in 2013 by Poni-Pachet Sy. It was only made available on Steam this year I guess which is where I found it.

Synopsis:
You play the role of the amnesiac "Fuka" (or whatever you name her) as she blunders through a town full of characters from classic (and not so classic) fairy tales. (Reminds me of Fables in that regard). Anyway, the town is run by several mafia families based on various fairy tales and literary figures. Fuka has to decide what to do with the life she has and figure out who the heck she is.

Let me go right into the virtues and vices.

Virtues:
Some paths end in marriage. Yay.
Going through life with a positive attitude
Generosity?
You can be a nun! :)
Hilarious anime situations and dialog. This game made me laugh so much.
End of Life ethics

Vices...vices as far as the eye can see:
Murder
Organized crime
prostitution
pre-marital sex
manipulation
Corrupt clergy <--This made me so sad on many levels. Even though CLEARLY not Catholic.
General cheapening of life
Adultry/Infidelity

Dang, right? What's good about this game?! Granted, taking a lot of these things out of context can seem unfair. Because you can definitely have ALL these things and an amazing, worthwhile story. (Like Crime and Punishment which also has most of these things I list in the vice list.)

There are lots of things I like about the game too. Mostly it's art and the setting appeal to me. I'm a big fan of the Fables comic series which I see some similarities with. The music was charming but I really felt the art style (a soft watercolor) was a pretty stark contrast to the action in the game. Including straight up murdering folks and threats of gun violence. It's like a beatrix potter illustration gone dark.

Anyway, now let's get to the spoilery bits. If you don't want spoilers stop reading here.


The real premise of the game...
Dorothy Gale at the end of her journey does not go home but becomes a "good witch" instead. This requires her (for some reason) to live alone and never use magic on herself. She grants the wishes of her former travel companions to become human and creates a town for them including characters from fairy tales. (...which includes Oscar Wilde's characters. WHAT WAS THIS LITTLE GIRL READING!???) However, she ends up actually making a wish for herself which splits her into 3 parts: the tower, her magic and her hopes and dreams to grow up and fall in love. (Because the witch doesn't age older than a little kid.)

It took me days to get through all the endings to get to this reveal. One of my biggest frustrations was that "Fuka" NEVER gets her memories back or really tries to retrieve them in any of the romance paths. I tried every one. It gets mentioned but never resolved. It drove me CRAZY. So...good on you game making me replay ALL the things to see if they answered anything.

Part of the fun was trying to figure out each characters fairy tale counterpart. I was really bad when I first started and just started labeling people things. After playing the whole thing, my first guesses were WAY off. Also, my whole mistake of calling it OZMA-fia instead of Oz-Mafia. >_> Look, Ozma was a character in the books. I thought that was the play. Not being godfathered into mafia crime. -_- It took a long time for the lore to actually settle in. My first play through nothing was answered and I was floundering trying to make sense of anything except one character. Why don't they die when riddled with bullets? Why do the general population die? They BRAND everyone like cows? What even? I don't? Uggggggh!

It also had a mechanic with the Oz Trio where once you started "dating" one of them officially, the character with the 2nd highest affection points would try to interfere. You could switch characters. >_> For some reason this usually means as soon as you jump ship to the other ship you sleep with them...in the biblical sense. (Glen...everything cool she just said...you ruined it!)

First Play Through: Axel
 Took me far too long to realize he was the Tin Woodsman. ...I am an idiot.
I really enjoyed this character as he was considerate, restrained, honest and an awkward turtle. Didn't get the "good" ending but reminded me of myself. What is sad? What is love? Can not compute.
The most innocent character of the Oz three. Usually. (As I said if you jump ship from anyone you "break his factory seal" <---Dammit Kyrie! Why is this so hilarious to me?)

Second Play through: Kyrie...the bag of D*cks.
One...unfortunate name...really distracting when I go to Mass and think of this arse instead of Lord have Mercy, Kyrie Elison. This guy...I didn't like him...he was pretty tragic...and you end up marrying him in one ending. -_- I was so worried that this guy would be like Toma. He's manipulative and openly cruel. I couldn't trust him farther than I could throw. So not far. Oddly enough, his story is probably one of the more interesting ones. I personally liked the first ending I got where he loses his brains. ^_^ Seriously though...he's kind of a d*ckbag.

Third play through: Caramia
Again...unfortunate name...I kept thinking of Gomez and Morticia.

It's how it's said in my head EVERY TIME. Too sensual! His story was kind of vanilla if you ask me. It wasn't bad. I really enjoyed his storyline and character. He also treats the main character the best of all three in my opinion. But some endings are a bit on the eck...side. True ending ends in mawwige. So yay. He can cook too...always go for the guy who can cook! (Or will eat your crappy cooking. Either is good.)

Everyone Else...
Caesar: I was hoping this route would finally answer my burning questions about her past. NOPE. Disappointment. But hey...he stopped threatening to kill me? (Seriously, falling for your potential killer. What is wrong with this place?)

Scarlet: Innocent and sweet, one of the better ones. Optimism wins...and he cooks. Love a guy that can cook.

Pashet: Not a homosexual relationship like I originally assumed because ANIME. Fantastic storyline and I love her awkward relations with Axel. I ship them.

Robin Hood: I felt so unclean. >_> Once you find out he's a freakin' married man! But mix in Dr. Freeze and Frankenstien and yeah...it gets weird. I was so uncomfortable with this route. It was so wrong on so many levels. 

Brothel: One...the route is called BROTHEL ROUTE. You know nothing good can come of this. Guess what...NOTHING GOOD COMES OF THIS! This one made me feel the uncleanest. I didn't read most of it. I clicked through so much. 

Granted, the ending where you take over the brothel was weirdly satisfying. Probably because it throws Kyrie for a loop. Did I mention I don't like that guy? Yeah I REAAAALLY don't like Dorian Gray. Kyrie is cakewalk to that guy. He's the real bag of D*cks. 

Soh: Remember what I said about guys who cook. YES. Soh was another good one. Especially after the trauma that was the Brothel route. He's one of the few who tries to take you OUT of town away from madness. But his real identity isn't revealed until the Epilogue. Turns out...

He's the worst kind of. All this b.s. is his plan. It's terrible. Soh how could you play with my heart like that!?

Hamlien: I almost forgot about the Pied Piper. This one you can become a nun because he's a schizophrenic criminal. (Spoiler: It's Soh's fault. ;__;) It wasn't a super interesting storyline. It comes up if you don't settle for someone else's route. Probably because he appears as the villain in every other route, it unfairly paints him into a corner. It's also a super short route so not a lot happens. 

The Ending...everyone starts killing each other. Even the young lady...

My feels after playing this game. It's good in that it played with my expectations, flipped all the tables and stuck with me. But also so much yuck happens. Not that stories should exclude this stuff but still...so much Yuck. 

WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU DOROTHY GALE??!?

Final words, you have to be built of pretty solid stuff to get through this game on the moral front. It's not promoting a lot of good stuff. BUT it's entertaining as all get out. I weirdly enjoyed most of it. That said, can't say I would recommend it highly for the gif reasons above. However, mature audiences can enjoy it. It is a Will weakening one though. So maybe Pokemon Go...

Game Thoughts: Fire Emblem: Fates

So for Easter I got myself the game bundle for Fire Emblem Fates so I could play both storylines - Birthright and Conquest. One was advertised as being more difficult and focused on strategy, so I figured I might get frustrated with that storyline, but no...if you play both in Casual mode it's no biggy.

Synopsis

The avatar (Corrin) is royalty captured from their home country at a young age and raised with "the enemy" with the conflict growing between the countries Hoshido (clearly Japanese influenced) and Nohr (medieval Europe inspired). Once you find out your true heritage you must decide who you will support: the land of your birth or the family who raised you? Then work for peace and all that nonsense.

Features

The game decided to split the story into two games and you have to buy both to get the whole story, which is lame if you are more story-motivated to play the game. There's also a 3rd game that's supposed to clarify a few things "Revelation".

There is DLC and amiibo stuff and nonesense.

Weapons no longer have a limited number of uses.

The partner, marriage, children system is back. They added bonding time with avatar's chosen spouse. Which just means more work for me...uggggh.

Pros

Again the marriage with children thing I have to highlight that here.
Lovely art and music
Some returning characters for nostalgia.
Easier gameplay compared to Awakening, a lot more accessible.
Empowered female roles.
A huge cast of interesting characters
Lots of pro-family goodness.

Cons

Very sexualized, revealing armor and body-types for female characters
Includes a gay marriage (male in conquest, female in birthright)
A somewhat convoluted timeline, really not sure who was the parent of who, but there is time travel which ruins everything.
Almost an overload of characters.
Ritual suicide (samurai story so...it's expected.)
Personally the cutesie "bonding time" with your spouse is weird to me. Are we having sex? Is that what we're doing? I can't tell! I'm glad I can't tell, but seriously weird and oddly uncomfortable, but I'm uncomfortable with any affection from game characters anyway. I'll have to write about it later or something.
Suggested Incest? I think you can "marry" your blood siblings. Unless there's a story point that means you're not related to EITHER family. (Looking through walkthrough: spoiler not blood related but still very very very weird.)

Conclusion

I think this iteration can be passed over. The gameplay is similar to the last one but it's not super great. The fact you have to buy two games is rough. Personally, I like the Conquest storyline better. (Because personally, I'd feel more loyalty to the people I grew up with.) However, Awakening was a better experience for me.

2016 Year in Games Review

So I really haven't played as many games as I thought I would this year but here are a few of my stand out favorites.


 1. Undertale - yeah I think this is at the top of a lot of lists. I now have the soundtrack on my iPod and some fanart as my facebook banner. Because gooood.

2. King's Quest - True return to form with enjoyable voice acting, beautiful art and storytelling...also fantastic puns. We got two chapters to this episodic game.

3. Backstage Pass - Finally got some voice acting in. :) Really kind of a refreshing date sim where the protagonist isn't a vulnerable amnesiac who let's men lock her up in dog cages. I guess that's the difference for a u.s. based date sim. Or maybe I haven't found that route yet.

4. Inquisition - It goes on the list...because it just does. Also yay for the DLC. Finally got through ONE playthrough of it. Nice set up for the next bit in the series. Bravo team...bravo.


So what am I looking forward to?
Ummm...I don't know really. I like to be surprised so I haven't been following any game news recently. :P Although I've wanted to play an older game Masamura Demon Blade...because I enjoy Vanillaware's art for the most part. And Odin Sphere is one of my top favorite games of all time.

I think this year I should dust off my older consoles. I mean that literally. They're dusty. And play some of my old games or games I've bought for my WiiU that I need to get through like Resident Evil 4. I KNOW...I'm late to the game. But I liked 6...and I need to finish 5. Not as fun as 6 for me.

Peace and Happy New Year.

UPDATE: I just realize that there's a new Fire Emblem game coming out. Shut the front door.
One same sex couple possibility but still...marriage and kids. :) Yay w00t. Putting it on my wishlist...oh wait...crumbs. There two story routues but two separate games? Well played Nintendo...well played. >:(

Game Thoughts: King's Quest

Also after watching a playthrough I immediately got this installment of King's Quest. After decades since the last release, I was at first not interested. This is why I love let's play videos. I might have really missed out.

Only the first "episode" is available so look forward to future installments!

Synopsis:

 Flashback to the 80's and the first graphical games were coming out. King's Quest was one of the first revolutionary titles in a text-based game world. Full of humor and impossible puzzles unless you had the number to the Sierra hotline. It's a fond memory for many.

Today we have a release of the spiritual prequel. The adventures of King Graham before he became a knight of Daventry, before he went on his adventure for the crown. The old king Graham tells his spunky young granddaughter tales of his youth.

Virtues

All the puns...all of them. (Kind of the staple of the series.)
Charming characters with fun designs
Beautifual painted backgrounds
Splendid voice work
The puzzles do NOT require a walkthrough...yay
Wonderful story
Nostalgia as well as brimming with its own unique charm.
No Swearing, No Nudity, No Sex...complete rated G

Vices

Very, very mild gore
Puns? How could you hate them?
Seriously guys this is the hardest list I've had to come up with. Finally a simple, charming game without the nuttiness of smut, swearing, or all that fun stuff that I usually play.
It was a little sluggish on my laptop...but it was on my laptop.

Conclusion

King's Quest gets my support! It's enjoyable, funny, and a great successor to the King's Quest series, all modernized for today's audiences. Also, if you have a mind (and a walkthrough...trust me you'll need them) enjoy the original King's Quest series...also available on Steam. Good, clean fun. But you will pull your hair out at points. :)

Game Thoughts: Undertale

There has been some buzz on the Let's Play channels I frequent about this game Undertale so I went and had to try it for myself. I was not disappointed. The simplistic art and unique game mechanics really mesh well to make an rich experience. Allow me to summarize...

Summary
Long ago Monsters and Humans fought in a war. The monsters lost so they retreated underground and sealed themselves via magic. But they long for a return to the surface. Meanwhile, you a human child fall into the deep and wake up in a temple. Your goal is to get to the surface.
But how? Aren't you in enemy territory?

Virtues

Charming story, dialog and characters.
Turns lots of stereotypes on their heads.
Simplistic art.
Smart game play mechanics.
Non-violent route.
No Swearing.

Vices
Controls are really challenging if using a keyboard. Just saying.
There are some parts of the final boss that "crash" the game. This is just a mechanic I don't like. It's confusing. It works with the story but still.
Same-sex relationships.

Conclusion:
I like how it turned the idea of fight the monsters in RPGs on its head. It's not always obvious (and because I was watching a Pacifist playthrough on the Let's Plays it was given away.)
The game has enjoyable humor and even gets kind of metaphysical. Souls is a pretty big theme throughout the game. The thing about humans is that their souls persist after death. :) :) So immortal souls. That's Catholic-y sound.

Definitely an enjoyable tale and worth a try. Just keep in mind that some characters are involved in a same-sex romantic relationship.

Game Thoughts: Amnesia: Memories

Greetings...excuse me while I dust off this blog. A lot has happened in the past year. The last time I wrote I was finishing up a contract job and spent a long time job searching and generally enjoying other hobbies. I got a new job back in April and it's been a fun challenge. Finally I feel settled in and I'm doing very well.

I've been playing plenty of games as well.

Today I'll write about the one that's freshest in my memory, Amnesia: Memories.

No...not the horror - survival game series Amnesia Dark Descent but a Visual Novel/Dating Sim...anime style. Although...it might fit with the Amnesia series in some ways. Allow me to introduce the game.

Summary

 You play as a young woman in her first year of college (university) whose memories were displaced by a clumsy, young spirit named Orion. He and the heroine (named by the player) are on a quest to recover her memories so the spirit can separate. They have about one month to do this.

There are 4 "worlds" to enter which follow a different storyline/scenario. (Basically it picks which guy you were dating before losing the memories.) Characters are slightly different but the same in each world.

Virtues...

Well...it's one of those more "innocent" dating sims where there's no sex or excess of mammaries.

 Lots of focus on various relationship types and how memory affects them. Interesting in that way.
Also Truth and Lies.

 Lovely anime style art. Very fancy. Although that chest piercing really got distracting.

I suppose there's lots of good advice about trust and personal safety. It illustrates what NOT to do very well.

It made me do math problems. Thank God it was multiple choice.

Just lots of interesting themes if you care to read into them. (And after much after thought as I squeal "Notice Me Sempai" to my cat while playing.)

Vices
 MATH PROBLEMS WAAAH!?

Promotion of co-habitation.

Very passive protagonist prone to getting walked all over and taken advantage of. Well, there is the "amnesia".

An amnesia plot. Meh.

Rewarding abusive behavior. This always hurts me to see.

Spoiler: There's always one serial killer type of character in these kinds of stories. (Or at least some of them that I've been playing.) This one has 3. ^^ So easy to die by murder. So easy.

Lots and lots of sexual harassment. ...so painful to watch...

Other Thoughts:
So many I want to go through right now I'll break it up into the various "chapters" I've played so far.
Just so you know there will be spoilers to the story. I do think the game is enjoyable and worth a read if you are of appropriate age. If anything, the artwork is gorgeous.

So let me give a rundown of my play-throughs and reactions. (There's a playing card theme.)

Clover: Kent
 The first plunge I took was in clover world since I had heard about the game from a Let's Play video and didn't like the world she picked. Went into this with NO pre-conceived notions about the characters. So the man that you "date" is Kent. A graduate student. Go figure I'd pick the oldest and smartest. I was generally enjoying the storyline going with my instincts on choices. Ended up getting a "normal ending" (yay for branching path stories.). The story itself was one of those trying to humanize a super robot nerd. In this playthrough you were given 10 word problems to solve during the game. I remember thinking "THIS IS THE WORST" why would you make me do math in a romance novel? It's so cruel! I question my choices in life! I got most of them right.

After you get to know Kent better there's a stalker/psychopath who is CLEARLY the murderer. Because...he threatens to do so. Despite that one factor, it was fairly light-hearted.

 I felt pretty good about the game after that playthrough. I decided to just work my way through Spade World like the let's play with the intent of breaking up with the character.

Spade: Ikki
 In this world you date playboy idol Ikki. One of those narcissistic womanizer tropes that is god's gift to woman kind because he so pwetty! (Personally eye tattoos and barrettes aren't a big attraction factors for me.)
Ikki is always followed around by a gaggle of girls that call themselves a fanclub. They threaten to kill you if you date Ikki for more than 3 months and your time is almost up. It did start getting a little dark in those scenes.

In the end I did manage to break his heart as I had planned.

 Of course I went back to play for the other endings but next I went to Diamond World.

Diamond: Toma

 Wow...this one threw me for the biggest of loops. Toma is a childhood friend who is like an older brother (that you want to jump). He treats you like a little sister. The storyline is pretty drastic and scary in an uncomfortable way. There's harassment, online bullying, and threats to physical safety. It was tense. But the scariest of them all is Toma himself. Early on he seemed safe enough. LESSON LEARNED THOUGH. Holy balls...at one point he locks you in a large dog kennel for your safety. OH and mickeys your drink. In trying to keep you IN, he makes you want to LEAVE even more. I was like WTFballs is this nonsense. Some of the potential responses were even MORE disturbing.
I was like POKE HIM IN THE EYES! FIGHT! You can win.

I got two bad ends right way. One ended in physical death the other in mental/emotional death.

Can't even. Had to calm down after that storyline. I tried replaying it over and over to attempt a different ending. Nope. The normal ending was best because Shin saves you and Toma leaves for good. Probably the best ending in that situation to be honest.

Heart: Shin

The kid with the pec piercing? (Is that really a thing? I kept wanting to cover it up. Looked uncomfortable. What if it snagged on a shirt or someone gave you a titty-twister?) Anyway, Shin is another childhood friend, who is a bit cold, arrogant but super observant. Don't judge a book by its cover...I ended up really liking his tough love attitude. Ended up getting a "normal" ending which was nice.

 Also solving a mysterious crime that happened to you! Who pushed you off a cliff and nearly got you killed? (Oddly enough since I played this after Toma's line...ALWAYS SUSPECT HIM!) So a bit of investigation and logic. Also it was refreshing that he figures out about your memory loss pretty much immediately and helps you out.

I immediately played it again to see the bad endings. Because I'm like that. Ended up dead...twice! Once by the creeper who shows up in every world. And once by guess who...our favorite villain...Toma! Double homicide. You'd never think it too. So scary. SO SCARY!

The good ending was very sweet and satisfying. Not going to spoil that so enjoy.

Side note: You're in a band apparently. awesome.

Diamond Revisited: Toma...can you be gud?

Followed a walkthrough to see the good ending. Not super good. End up dating him DESPITE THE DOG CAGE. Even if it was to protect you from harassment from Ikki's fanclub which was getting dangerous. Like seriously dangerous. It's terrible that they think you were dating Ikki thus the overboard harassment. Toma tries to hide it from you to the extreme. /sigh/ Not very happy with that one. It was weirdly satisfying in away but not.

So off to Spade again to try the "good" ending.
I was a little harsh about Ikki before. He has a celebrity complex which is why I feel bad for celebrities. It's hard to tell who likes you for you and all that. Even though he acts sleazy...gets drunk...flirts a lot...you get through it and he's not that bad. But there is that co-habitation thing and suggestions of future sexy times. ...buuuuuugggghhhh....gross. Went back to play the ending where I was killed by fangirls. Yes...sweet death.
Toma was not fudged up in this one though.

HA HA kidding. One of the many bad endings he straight up kills you to protect you from the fanclub or something. Honestly I was skipping dialog just to see these endings in one night. Will actually read what he does but waaah...

Other bad endings are mostly just death and break up.

I liked the normal ending for this one though. Character moves back in with her parents and Ikki visits on the weekends. Appropriate.

Clover World: What could be bad about Kent?

 Wanted to save his good ending for very last so I went through the bad endings. Again, one ends in murder in a hospital...thrown from the roof by the creepy killer in every world. Then there was a break up version too where you're put in a hospital and just get worse.

Finally the good ending. The best good ending IMO. Get to go to London and we get a proposal. A GUY WHO GETS IT?? WHAAAA? Squeeeeeee!

Final World: Joker World??

So this world opens up after you've seen all four good endings. It's one of those characters who screws up the timeline by traveling to all the worlds and turns out to be the reason why you've lost memories in the first place. Original boyfriend made a deal with a god (don't mess with spirits man.) in an effort to save girlfriend. Ends up that reality realizes he an anomaly in every world he goes to and kills him somehow unless he can kill you first. (SO this is why you can get murdered SO FAST in the other games.)
All the death endings (there are 7) are absolutely brutal. Just brutal. I was just getting through the choices to see the screens at this point and didn't really read much. Didn't like his character design. (stupid cop hat just didn't look like it sat right on his head.) But dying over and over yet not dying is kinda the worst and probably would make anyone a rampaging, murdering psychopath.

This is a long post so I'll wrap this up now.

Game Thoughts: Dreamfall Chapters

So after 8 years, the sequel to Dreamfall: The Longest Journey has finally been released. It started as a Kickstarter campaign. Red Thread games is the new company developing the game made up of most of the original team. Instead of the full game, they are going for the episodic gaming route.
So this will be a look at the first chapter which is the only one out at this time.

Synopsis

We return to Zoe Castillo who is still in a coma and living in a world between called Storytime. She wakes up and starts her new life after her coma. She's starting a new job, volunteering for a political campaign and got back together with her boyfriend Reza. Meanwhile, Kian is in prison awaiting his execution. He is assisted in an escape. The first chapter closes with another between world's location where you play as a baby named Saga.

Virtues

Choice system affects later events in the game. It's similar to some of the aspects in The Wolf Among Us, where choices selected will affect later chapters.

Lovely graphics, beautiful scenery, and a great soundtrack. The atmosphere in every location is well crafted and detailed. The character models have improved, but we still have that familiar voice acting.

Female lead, not overly sexualized. Lots of strong female characters. Good diversity in characters.

Puzzles make sense so far.

Vices

There's lots of rough language, f-bombs, and a few instances of the Lord's name taken in vain.

Co-habitation. Look I'm Catholic, I take issue with this although it's common. Granted the relationship is portrayed realistically. Sex is only discussed never shown.

Performance issues. Maybe it's because I'm on a laptop...but hey, I was able to play Mass Effect 3 without lag. A patch did go in to help though. It worked for me. But the framrate would really chug and drop in a lot of places.

Bugs here and there. People floating, characters getting lost/stuck in the geometry. No lip sync or improper lip sync.

Having to wait for the next episode.

Did Kian get whiter? I thought he was black. I'll blame the lighting.

Conclusion

I'm invested in the series, but personally it might be worth waiting for a couple episodes to be out. The stories flow better when they're done all at once. But that's okay too. I enjoyed it very much and I wonder what themes will come out of this one. It's also worth playing through a few times.

Game Thoughts: The Wolf Among Us

Last weekend I started watching a play through of The Wolf Among Us (TWAU) on YouTube, but after the first episode I stopped. I HAD to play this game myself. So I did. This is my first time playing an Episodic game title. I'm getting positive vibes from this...but here are my game thoughts.

Synopsis

 Based on the comic series "Fables", the game acts as a pre-cursor story to the "Fables" comic series. (If wikipedia is to be believed.) In a neighborhood of Manhattan fairytales live in the mundane world as mere shadows of their legendary selves. The game follows Sheriff Bigby Wolf (formerly the Big Bad Wolf) in a film noir style, murder mystery.

Virtues

I am rolling around squealing at the AMAZING art design. The lighting, the lines, the colors. It IS like a living comic book page.

...personal preference...I like Bigby's visual design and voice...this may have colored my WHOLE view of this game. I'm sorry/not sorry. I go for Wolverine types.
...
Sorry...still thinking about him and the voice. /sigh/

Okay I'm back.

Lovely soundtrack and voice acting.

Mostly consists of quick time events to progress the story and even make little changes depending on those choices.

Very cinematic.

Some very well developed female characters. Mostly modest...see vices for the exceptions.
(Bloody Mary may be my favorite.)

Themes of redemption.

Replayability. I feel you have to play it many times through to get the whole story. I've gone through at least twice with a good wolf and a bad wolf. I will play many more times to see all options.

Vices

So, off the bat you'll find that the language is very, very crass. God's name taken in vain, lots of f-bombs...seriously...and overall foulness. It goes with the tone of a comic, noir...but can be very off putting.

Also off the bat, violence is very prevalent and at times a bit gory. But, it is a murder mystery...so there is a body expected. And lots of fist-fights. Early on it's established that the Fables are near immortal. Surviving multiple gunshots, an axe to the head, a fall from the 2nd floor, etc. Still, it's very violent and on the gruesome side.

Working Women are present and there's so far only one topless scene at the brothel? Topless bar? I don't know what to call it without resorting to foul language. For the most part the girls are actually wearing clothes like halter top dresses or even knee length pencil skirts with a corset top. Sex is suggested but never shown.

No options to speed through cinematics which can be tedious on replay.

Waiting for the next episode??? OH man, now I know what episodic games are like. Maaaaan...
(This is not really a vice. But the problem with me and murder mysteries...I'm too dumb to figure it out I need to know!!!)

Conclusion

I don't know if this really reflects what NYC and the Bronx is really like OR if it's just adding to my long list of reasons why I'll never even visit the big apple. Violence, poverty, swearing, and sinful behavior are staples as is typical of this type of story. I think like most "gritty and real" stories, if you can get past the abrasive surface, there's a good story and good characters. ...And I may just be giving my interpretation of Bigby there. Lol...this is the problem with being a fan of a character I guess. It's making me biased. The warning signs are all over the game, but I found it worth playing.

(Oh my wolverinnnnnnne!!!! Why am I so drawn to chain smoking, gruff, near immortal guys??)

Game Thoughts: Hometown Story (First Impressions)

The other day I was browsing a game store before an appointment when I noticed Hometown Story. I remembered that some months ago I had heard about this title and was interested in checking it out. My interest was due to the fact that the creator of Harvest Moon was also the creator of this title. As a big fan of the HM series I figured that the new venture would be worth looking into. However, I have found that I may not be the biggest fan of Hometown Story (now HMS). Here's my look at the game.



Synopsis
After the passing of your grandmother, your character returns to the town she/he grew up. Upon meeting a magic creature that now lives at Nana's shop, the protagonist is suddenly recruited into running the shop and restoring the town population. In the game your character forages or buys stock from locals or traveling merchants, arranges the shop layout, stocks shelves adn sets the price for products. Customers come in and buy items, make suggestions as to their favorite products and so on. There is a social aspect where the protagonist is able to woo and marry one of the villagers.

Virtues:

Non-violent: Like most games in the HM series, HMS takes on the tradition of a non-violent storyline.

Good Graphics: The characters are visually appealing and the color scheme is very relaxing.

Customized Avatar: You're able to create your avatar and change their look at the beginning of the game. You can play as either a male or female protagonist.

Vices

Lack of Concrete Goals: The game taught only the most basic of controls. The storyline was not very motivating nor the goal clear. Was the town dying? Were people leaving en masse? No, from the in-game dialog it's almost a kidnapping. The protagonist answers a letter and a strange creature basically tells you that you now must own and run the shop.

Unintuitive Gameplay: In my gameplay, I was able to figure out stocking and setting the price easy enough. I was able to ring people up without a fuss. However, for the longest time I could not figure out where to get new products. In my mind, I had to man the shop from open to close, but here's the thing, the store actually does NOT close until the protagonist goes to bed. What I did not realize until I read a walkthrough was that you are able to leave the shop at ANY time to collect new materials and talk with townsfolk. This simply did not make sense to me. A store has business hours. After business hours, the owner can do other things. Or the owner has the power to close the shop for a period of time.

Boring: Perhaps it is the slow start, the uniteresting dialog and descriptions, or the traces of a plot. There is not much to motivate me to play this game. The pacing is very slow, the work is tedious. Now I've play shop simulation games that I enjoyed. HOwever, the style of gameplay was different. (Both had annoying floating sidekicks but the other at least had RPG elements that drive the shop.)

Disorienting Camera: The camera changes angles on its own in every location. It becomes disorienting moving between screens. The layout of the town is quite empty and tricky to navigate. Luckily the map is very good. It also weirds me out that everywhere you go, the floating mouse thing follows. And speaking about the floating mouse thing...

The Pet thing: The little "guide" is some kind of magic floating creature that after the tutorial seems to have no real purpose. The model often gets in the way when trying to place items on shelves. It would make more sense IF the pet thing could be sent to collect for forest items while the owner stays in the shop. OR to man the register while the owner is out.

Uninteresting Characters: The 2D graphics and character designs look very plain and uninteresting. The visual style of the characters lacks something distinct.

Conclusion:

I hate to say that I'm going to sell this game back to the store to get something else. I am disappointed with how this final product came out. It could work but the execution just did not meet my expectations. (These weren't high expectations either.) That said I am still looking forward to the new Harvest Moon, Linking the New World.

Game Thoughts: Dreamfall

After finishing The Longest Journey, I started playing the 2nd game in the series, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. Developed by Funcom and released in 2006, this title takes a more action-adventure gameplay style compared to the predessor. The player controls character movement, but still solves puzzles via collecting and interacting with people and objects.

Synopsis

Again in the setting of the twin worlds connected by dreams, we follow Zoe, a rich student suffering from clinical depression/apathy. (I could RELATE!) She sets off on a journey while searching for her ex-boyfriend Reza, a journalist for a controversial paper. During the journey she meets April from the previous game and uncovers a dangerous conspiracy.

Virtues

A non-white female lead! Zoe is a beautiful Eurasian woman with very good flaws and interesting relationships.
Play as multiple characters. April returns to the title as a playable character and newcomer Kian.
Great graphical improvement really helped immersion reach a new level. Environments were lush and absolutely goregous. The characters look and move in more human-like ways.
Not hypersexualized. The women are beautiful and sexy but note in a hypersexualized way. Zoe wears practical clothes for the most part. True there are underwear dream sequences, but it's a white cami and bikini underwear. Sexual relations are spoken about but never shown.
Diverse characters. People come in all shapes, sizes, ages and colors.
Lovely soundtrack and good voice acting. Maybe it's just that I enjoy British and Irish accents but it was lovely.
Puzzles were all very solvable without a walkthrough. (Except for a couple that I got lazy on.)
Good story. With good or at least decent morals. And a sweet romance. The theme is "Faith", which is nicely explored. I was uncertain about Kian but wait it out and let it develop. It gets good. Questioning his faith and finding True Faith and strength in his religion. He sees the flaws and failings of the people but not the true goodness of it.
Traveling was faster with the new action system.

Vices

Primitive battle system. Zoe could do karate, Kian a sword, and April a staff. It was clunky and slow. The battle AI also did not provide much challenge. (Which suits the system.)
Again, lots of strong language and swearing. Now more violence because of the battle system.
Disorienting at first. Okay, maybe I've been spoiled by mini-maps for games like this. It was easy to get turned around and lost while trying to find the next objective. (Which I guess could be a good thing too. It WAS very immersive.)
The game plays well with a controller, it's very tricky with a mouse and keyboard. (Thus I used a controller.)
Lots of plot points left hanging for a sequel. Frustrating for the player, to be left with more questions than answers. (Luckily the sequel comes out this year.)

Conclusion

As someone who has experienced clinical depression, I could relate to Zoe's feelings in the beginning and enjoy seeing her try to overcome it and return to her former self. This one was more fun than the first. It was an excellent improvement and hard to put down. The ending left me hungry for more and I'm glad I played it NOW rather than when it was first released. (That's a long time to wait for a sequel!) It is for a mature audience, but I would recommend it rather highly. No Catholics in this one but definitely more cultures. (Love it!)

Game Thoughts: The Longest Journey

Okay, I'm sort of back with a new post. Thank you for prayers, I'm starting to recover and return to my old self. (Yay!) Also, I've managed to play a few games that I can have Game thoughts about! So my most recent game is Funcom's The Longest Journey which was released in 1999/2000 and currently available on Steam. (Which is where I got it.) It's a point and click adventure game.

Synopsis

In a cyber-punk future, you play April Ryan, an art student with a troubled youth who is haunted by dreams of another world. By the guidance of an enigmatic, old homeless man, she finds herself on a journey to save two worlds (one of science and one of magic) and restore the "Balance".

Virtues

A realistic female lead. How refreshing! Also supporting cast is well developed and charming.
The Catholic Church exists still! One point, April talks to a Catholic priest who sort of reconciles the "Balance" with the Catholic faith. Or rather show how they both don't exclude one another.
Interesting worlds, storyline and morals (Forgiveness seems to be a big one). Character change and develop.
Beautiful background environments. Lovely soundtrack. Pretty decent voice acting...for the time.Like many adventure games, almost everything has something the character comments on.
Nothing is super hyper sexualized. Sexual relations are talked about but never portrayed.

Vices

Lots and Lots of harsh language. It's fitting for the most part but could get a bit tiresome and excessive.
Obscure puzzles: Some puzzles were really difficult to figure out without a guide. No hints or story suggestions at all to what the answer would be.
Character graphics are primitive. A vice that can't be helped due to the limitations of game art back then. Gorgeous for the time but it has not aged that well. Human faces could look very alien at times. Also some male nudity...but again primitive graphics tone this down. (No female nudity, just underpants and a cami.)
Slow movement. To move is simple, point and click for April to walk to the destination. Double click to jog. It still takes quite some time for the animation to complete and for April to cross the screen. This seemed to stretch gameplay.
Some violence but comparatively tame to current standards. The low poly graphics aide in this.

Conclusion

The world-building, exploration, and strange story really drew me in and kept me hooked. It helped me overlook the primitive 3D graphics which could be quite distracting. Characters are all flawed but done so well. Of course it gets cliche and predictable at points. The language could get very distracting and slightly offensive at times. (Generally I have a pretty thick skin, but lots of taking the lord's name in vain really bugs me.) Personally, I enjoyed it but it is definitely for a mature audience.

Game Thoughts: Mass Effect 3

So I've played the 3rd and final game of the trilogy which is definitely very intense. I wrote about the notorious ending before but now I get to experience it for myself.

Synopsis

 After defeating the Collectors, the Reaper threat looms. With the galaxy under attack it's up to Shepard to rally the whole galaxy under one banner and defeat the Reapers or die trying.

Virtues

 The immersion and environment is very well done. My goodness. It's so depressing. The sheer scale of things really does feel heavy.

Amazing characterization so far. Lots of throwbacks to previous games.

Gushy, sweet "romantic" lines (as Shepard tends to be super awkward). I am a SUCKER for these.

Moreso than the romantic cuteness, more focus is now on family bonds and other meaningful relationships. Not just one or two characters, but almost everyone really starts emphasizing their family. I guess the situation makes that easier.

I think the situation also makes things less sexy or sexualized. The whole "issue" with the neutral ground space station is that the war doesn't feel real there. All the distractions seem hollow or tragic.

Positive homosexual character. For the most part. It feels like they "get" the gay guy, but all lesbians seem like male pandering.

Decisions made early in the game that seemed like a good idea can turn out to be short sighted. Renegade (evil) choices finally hit a sweet spot of short term benefits that came back to haunt me later. Some Paragon (good) choices also don't seem correct.

Weapon modding was fun. No vehicle sections again. Mostly familiar gameplay elements.

Vices

 The duck and cover mechanics were much better in 2.  Do not like the new cover and movement system.

 ...a sexy robot...sigh... You have objectified a woman. *slow clap*

Still a lot of language, violence and sexy cakes of beef and cheese variety.

Definition of Life, Soul, and Humanity: On the plus side, VERY good to think about. What separates us from the animals? What separates us from the androids? In any case, the simplified answers to this bug me and seem very off. It basically dumbs down the supernatural soul and reasoning to complex programming. The only thing humanity seems to have over the machines is "free-will".

No God. Again, all deities are equal and pretty much hokey. Thus the above complaint about the hollow definition of humanity. It's pretty much the fullest extend of human hubris to think that we are something without God. It definitely illustrates the failings of finding a meaningful answer without something supernatural.

Sex is always outside of marriage. *head desk* I just...I mean...darn it culture! I know I can't expect the real moral high ground from a big game company but still. There's a ship captain! Can't we do a Pirates of the Caribbean marriage thing? I know the world's about to end but that has never stopped people before! This has been the vice in all 3 games.

The Homosexual issue. So there is 1 lesbian, 1 gay, and 4 bi-sexual characters that are "romance options". (One of whom is a potential "Anders" incident where he's straight in the other 2 games.) I'll throw back to the whole culture shapes entertainment and visa versa. It's normalizing the vice of pre-marital sex throughout all games, but also cakes on the gay marriage.

Conclusion

I have mixed feelings on this title. The story world had definitely suckered me in and offers a playground of moral, ethical and philosophical issues to think about. However, vices are also stronger. Perhaps I'm just tripped over all the sexy robot stuff or "synthetic life". Thank you for the tough question of when do you call something alive, but the complete absence of anything believably spiritual or supernatural bothers me. It's what bothers me most about space exploration style sci-fi.

Of the three, I have to say that the first game is probably my favorite. It had the right balance of severity, mood and characters. At the very least it gave a nod to any human religion. And it was easier to shoot things.

Now having played through the "controversial" ending, I was absolutely fine with the ending. I even got the worst one on my first play through. And that was without the "extended cut"...which I forgot to download (I do intend to play the same ending with the extra cutscenes).

Game Thoughts: Mass Effect 2

Okay, well, I guess I'll do the whole series as I go through it because well, things change from 1 to 2.
Now I knew the story before playing the game since I watched someone's renegade playthrough. I'm also playing the games with 3 characters. Paragon Male, Paragon Female, Renegade Female. So I've played all 3 games 3 times in one sitting.

Synopsis

After saving the galaxy, Shepard goes on missions to hunt down Geth (semi-sentient robots) and find more evidence of the return of the Reapers (more robots coming to wipe out advanced organic life in the galaxy). One of the missions tragically ends in Shepard's death but s/he is brought back by the questionable organization Cerberus and the Illusive Man. Human Space Colonies are disappearing, supposedly by an advanced species known as the Collectors. Shepard must form a team to take on this newest threat.

Virtues

More of the moral dilemma goodies like the first game of the series.
Humanity's Self-Interest vs Getting Help, Justice vs Mercy, and so much more.
I really liked Mordin's loyalty mission for medical ethical goodies.

Pretty good philosophical questions to think about, although responses are limited and very simplified.

No Vehicle sections.

More fun alien designs and cultures. Story depth and immersion.

More Organic environments.

Better gameplay, graphics etc.

Good choices can often make something more difficult if you wish to keep your ideals. Bad choices can offer short term rewards and make more sense.

Vices

Still a lot of weird sexualized situations. The sex scenes are tamer or only implied...mostly. Still kind of soft-porny. But all optional.  But dear lord, do I hate Miranda's outfit or Jack's lack thereof. (Thank you modding community for giving me an alternative outfits.)

Again, no organized religion, only crazies or "safe" nondescript spirituality.

No Souls. Not so much a vice as it is a criticism. The whole premise of "bringing Shepard back" with all memories, personality, etc. using science is not convincing to me. But fictional story, fine, I'll go with it. I'll just say Jesus was undercover there all along. /sigh/ But now I'm thinking of C.S. Lewis' "That Hideous Strength". ...I want to make a game for that book series. It would be awesome. Crap...project idea pinned. Curse you Mass Effect!!

Limited ammo is not my friend. Okay not a vice just whining.

Violent. The story requires it but there's a lot of needless violence and petty violence. Add realism I guess but eh.

Conclusion

The story, myth and so on still suffers the same vices as the first game. So there really isn't too much to add on that. This story I found (well, sans the beginning "Lazarus" project) more engaging. The world is established, my choices in the previous game seem to have made an impact and old characters come back.

Still a lot of poo-poo on religion and women.

So, I like this game but it's definitely for a mature minded person. Lots of opportunity to weaken the will are present.

Game Thoughts: Mass Effect 1

For many years, I had a silent protest against the Mass Effect series. I avoided the franchise after the game inspired some awkward conversations with former co-workers. In any case, I watched a playthrough of the first two games of the series, the whole trilogy came out on sale and my Halo armor costume  project has also lead to finding images of Mass Effect Cosplay. Soooo...I like that stuff.

Reasons for Protest

There were 3 major reasons why I avoided the game.

1. Soft Porn Scenes and overt Sexualization - I swear at every opportunity they made something weirdly erotic. Costuming is the biggest offender for this one. But even tone of voice, actions and situations could end up as suddenly weirdly sexual. 
2. I don't like Sci-Fi - This is completely personal taste. The inorganic nature of the environments, the hospital colors, and the sterile nature of such settings do not appeal to me.
3. Over-Hype - It's true, fans can ruin everything. I recall being VERY pressured to play the game, when I had just bought the game that they had been pressuring me to play just a week or two ago.

Now for the actual thoughts...

Synopsis

You play as a commanding officer, Shepard in a human-based space military called the Alliance. Humanity is relying on you to help our species get a place on the galactic council, the ruling body for many species. Shepard goes on various missions to impress this council and discovers some unsettling big picture problems about to go down. Inorganic or mostly machine enemies have this big conspiracy plot to destroy all advanced organic life in the galaxy. This must be stopped.

Virtues

As true with most games of this nature, there are plenty of opportunities for "lessons" in morality. If you're playing with the right mindset. It does tackle some hard to deal with issues. 

Some of the interesting "morals" I had run across: do the ends justify the means in law enforcement, wiping out the last of a species that was previously hunted to extinction, being independent as a species vs relying on others, does someone deserve a second chance, should a woman get genetic therapy for her unborn baby, and more. 

The design and culture of the world has be thoroughly detailed making it a very immersive experience. 

I really like a lot of the alien designs. Expecially the Quarians and Turians. (Kitty faced dinosaurs.) 

Excellent character development. 

A mention of God and faith that reminded me of C.S. Lewis' "Out of the Silent Planet". (Sadly, it's only a mention in passing.)

Paragon (good) choices reaped long-term good benefits, Renegade (evil) choices usually end in only short term benefits. 

Vices

This list might be a bit long. So let's start with game play elements.

I didn't want to believe other reviewers that the land vehicle sections controlled like a cow in a pushcart with 3 wheels. Getting from point A to point B was like herding cats. 

Renegade (evil) options are hardly ever appealing or very blatantly awful. At least give me some grey area where it might be a good idea or seem slightly beneficial. There was an unbalanced amount of favor to Paragon (good) choices. I know it's kind of weird to list this as a "vice" but I prefer a little grey area in these option. Not that "evil" should be rewarded, but the weakness of such a system feels like imbalanced gameplay. 

A whole race of fetish aliens - The Asari are a single sexed species. This is fine and a fascinating concept. How would we a complimentary sexed species relate, how would their culture be different. No, instead, we have a race of hot females with no sexual shame that can control when they become "pregnant". They still have this concept of mother and father.
I see the intent and I respect that it is an interesting idea, but the presentation is definitely what a lot of people see. It doesn't help that they mostly employ them as strippers. 

Strong Atheism, weak deism - One of the many weaknesses in a sci-fi story is the exclusion of faith or the demonizing of it. Some faiths are okay, such as the Asari belief in the Goddess. Others are demonized, such as the hanar's evangelical preaching about the Enkindlers. We have one deist in Ashley, who only believes in God but doesn't seem to associate with any one religion. 

Is it really so difficult for someone to be portrayed not only as a good Christian but a scientist or soldier? So very little is said about one of humanities BIGGEST humanizing features. Seriously, we Catholics believe that the all powerful, creator of the universe became Man and dwelt among us. Seriously. Other aliens outside looking in might see that as our hubris, but it makes humans truly unique. ...yes okay, I like writing my own semi-sci-fi worlds where THIS IS AN ISSUE. How would the church fit in with these aliens? Also...if they all have reasoning, therefore supernatural souls...is inter-species marriage...agh...I can see how that might complicate things. 

Conclusion

There are several characters that I like and its a pretty good story. But more often than not, the story or character development would go to an uncomfortable place. I had to double check a walkthrough to make sure I didn't pick the choice that triggered the sex scene. (Because you can't skip the movies like you can in Dragon Age.) I like romance in games, because I like those kinds of stories and it adds a human element to an otherwise inhuman setting.

It's okay. I wasn't blown away by it and don't feel like I missed much when I originally avoided playing the game. HOWEVER, I am going to continue into the next 2 games. Because the setting is great, the characters are great, the story and trimmings I could take or leave. 

Game Thoughts: Fire Emblem: Awakening

After many years of HATING hype from co-workers...this one I'm glad they pressured me into getting. I've know OF the Fire Emblem series, but never played the games. Couldn't tell you why either, but I'll definitely be exploring earlier titles.

This will currently be a "first impressions" as I've only played the game  for six hours or so. (Probably more as I kept deleting files and remaking characters.)

So on we go with synopsis, virtues and vices.

Synopsis

We have what I'd ironically call "standard" fantasy fare. (Only in our modern age could fantasy become "standard".) There's some great dark (the fell dragon Grima) stirring up trouble in our neighborhood, namely war mongering. The player is a tactician in a military group called "Shepherds" that start fighting invading brigands and a new threat called the "Risen". (Darkspawn, Zombies, that whole reanimated dead evil guy thing.)

Gameplay is strategy based with a grid plane and various character classes in a very complicated game of chess. (That's really a gross simplification.)

Virtues

Fire Emblem boasts of a near infinite ways to approach party building, classes and battle strategy.

You can play as a male or female avatar with mild customization.

Women in the game are for the most part (so far) presented in a respectful way. There are many females in roles of leadership both politically and militarily. While they still fall into roles of "healer without a way to defend herself" (no male characters take up this role), women are equally shown as lancers, swordswomen and so on. There are some "sexy" outfits but there are more examples of modest dress and actually functioning armor. And some male characters have very impractical armor that's just for show. Also...a woman of color as a leader. :)
Edit: The more I play the more "sexy" armor I see particularly with female riding armor which lacks enough material to cover a bum. :/

This particular title in the series allows for partnering which is a new mechanic. There is also importance put on developing relationships so that on the battle field, they support each other better. There are romance elements that are pretty much "clean" that lead to marriage and eventually children that can join the battle.
...
I'd like to repeat that...MARRIAGE that leads to CHILDREN that play significant roles in game.
I want a BIG FAT highlighter on that. Although the romance is all narrative driven and not really a "date sim", for the longest time I've been looking for examples of games where marriage is a POSITIVE and end goal of a relationship.

Death...if you play in "classic" mode (aka the way the franchise is "supposed" to play) is permanent for pretty much all characters. For immersion, I REALLY think this is cool. But I'll also be listing it as a Vice.

So far, I haven't seen a "revenge" plot.

*Update*...there was a line that "only men can be priests, women are clerics". Granted this is a completely fantasy styled religion, but that line got a little smile from orthodox me.

Vices

If you don't regularly play the grid  type tactical battle games, it's hard and may not appeal to a large audience. I list this under vice only because I really think showcases many positive qualities narratively. The only reason it is hard is that there are so many nuances to remember.

Time travel. No spoilers but there's a bit of "time travel" involved. It follows Back to the Future logic instead of Bill and Ted logic. I tend to follow the Bill and Ted school of time travel. "Time has told." Honestly, this is really a MINOR vice that is more personal than anything.

Classic vs. Casual, because I'm not very good at this type of game I play in casual mode. I started in classic because I wanted to understand how it's "really suppose to play". It ends up I'd pretty much lose everyone within 5 maps. Even on "easy classic" setting, it's NOT a very beginner friendly. Really this fits in with my first vice about accessibility.

So many characters...omg...This could be a "good" thing and it's also part of games of this type. However, many other strategy tactics games like this...say like Disgaea only have a handful of named characters (I only remember 6 from Disgaea). FE pretty much has named every character. So far I think I have about 16 named characters that I can send into battle. I had the same problem with NWN2 with the huge cast. There is a narrative being told, I'm not sure how many of my current characters are really all that important. Some get characterized, while others only seem to get a mention every now and again.

Values...now I haven't played far enough into the game story yet to really get a full read on the values it promotes. So far I've only seen violence in a violent situation and a dragon cult. Most of the battles have been as "defense". I know these sound more like virtues, but let's just say I'm going to reserve judgement. So far, it's the "typical" fantasy medieval village raids, war crimes and so on with a very "clean" look to it. (No rape or visible murder of innocents.) This tends to be a vice of most games, making "light" of real violence. At the same time, horrors of war don't fit the tone of this game.

Addiction warning. Playing this game takes time and once you get going it's hard to stop. This is a vice of compelling gameplay design and story. There's so much stuffed into this game!

*Update*
Ah yes...a value I usually have a problem with just occurred: suicide as sacrifice. This one straddles the fence for me but I'll put it on the vice list as I have fairly strong feelings about suicide. I won't give any spoilers but this is something common I see in JRPGs. You could argue it's self-sacrifice, but the context is different. Self-sacrifice is like Boromir in LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring or Gandalf in Two Towers. I know that suicide is viewed a bit differently in Japanese culture but here it's no es bueno.

Conclusion

So far, I can give my approval for this game. Unless it does a 180 and it turns out the Catholic Church was the villain the whole time. (Highly unlikely.)
These are my thoughts "so far". I may add an addendum later in the game.

Game Thoughts: Neverwinter Nights 2

I am almost ashamed to say it took 3 years before I finally played through this whole game. The game was originally purchased as a "text book" for one of my classes in which we used the toolset to learn about Game Writing. Best class ever, but I never got very far in the game whenever I started it.

Although every time I restart, I spend a few days trying to remember how to make the camera not suck...and adding several graphical mods to make the player character look like how I want. But that's not what I'd like to talk about today. Today I intend to talk about the writing, pacing and characters of this game.

Synopsis
Like many RPGs of the Oblivion/Bioware Family, it follows the Mono-myth/Hero's Journey pretty much to the letter. Your character starts off in a quaint village that is suddenly attacked before being sent away on a journey that leads into fighting a larger over-arching dark lord/King of Shadows.

Pacing
Normally, I LOVE playing stories that are epic and sprawling but NWN2 campaign felt like it was dragging its feet. Perhaps since I was not familiar with D&D lore that the game takes place in that I failed to find any significance in certain characters, locations and creatures. The main plot feels like its slow going into it because it takes a long time to finish enough of a quest to get to the next leg of the story. In particular, in the First Act, the player can either join the city watch or a thieves guild to enter a part of the city that has been quarantined. To get into that district of the city requires several gopher quests that neither develop any of the side characters nor moves the story forward in any significant way. Most of the main leg of the campaign feels like this. The major plot point that the player tries to reach is padded out with seemingly pointless or dull quests.
 Maybe it reflects more on D&D campaigns in tabletop versions that can take days with lots of menial quests along the way. However, it made it kind of a chore to pick the game back up to see if I could make it to the next main plot point battle.

That is to say there is nothing wrong with smaller quests but they have to feel like they add to the story in a significant way or develop the characters further or offer a significant reward that helps in a final battle. There were points in the game that I felt were better paced. The very beginnings of each act were interesting and provided great set up.

Writing
The way the story was portrayed could be confusing at times. Cinematic portions showed enemy movement behind the scenes but might not be significant until much later in the game. For instance, late in Act 1 a mage hires another mage to make a construct that will kill one of the party members. The player does not meet the construct until the middle of Act 3. There were many occasions where this happened an event was hinted at or suggested early on, forgotten, then brought up again as significant in the last part of the story.

Now because of the style of gameplay, NWN2 has story branches that are triggered based on player responses in certain quests. How the story flows has to funnel into a situation that makes sense whether or not the player chose to help the City Watch or become a Thief.

Characters
My favorite part about these games are the companions that join the party. They provide not only much needed battle support but a certain amount of entertainment value with quirks, personalities and extra layers of story to explore. You would think that with a cast of roughly 14 possible party members, you'd have some real gems. However, I think this starts to become a stretch for the story as characters are introduced late in the game or get killed off. Due to the type of character you create, certain roles are more necessary than others. Instead of including a character I might have wanted to get to know more because the character seemed interesting or amusing, I was forced to stick with characters that offered the right battle support in quests.

Not all the characters were "winners" as far as characterization goes either. The most interesting characters tended to be the ones that went through ordeals and changed, had curious backgrounds, or an unexpected personality. But with such a high number of potential party members, not everyone could get a significant amount of screen time or quest time to develop fully. Either that or character development occurred at odd points in the game. Bishop for example doesn't give his backstory until just before the 2nd last battle of the game.

Most of the other games of this type that I play have at most 9 potential party members. I think that's the magic number they settled on for a 3 act story. Other game series are able to simplify their class system but NWN2 is based on D&D lore and rule sets. The ideal party make-up changes depending on the class you roll for your character. I first started playing with a paladin which turns out to be pretty tough in the first part of the game when the only other companions you have are a fighter and a rogue with low combat skills. Then again, I'm spoiled and need some form of crowd control when faced with swarms of enemies. Restarting the game as a Druid helped with that. (I'm not a good D&D player I guess.)

I also may be spoiled by other game titles and have high expectations. Many of the characters were well written although some of the dialog choices weren't as diverse as other games and often retained questions that only matter in Act 1 when you first meet the character. (I could as Khelgar "Who are you again?" throughout the WHOLE game even though he's the first real companion recruited.)

Conclusion
I'm sure fans of the Forgotten Realms will be able to relate to the story better. I wanted to finish the game out of pure stubbornness for having owned the game for years and years but never really finishing it all the way to Act 2. (I always got bored or had a computer problem around that time.) 
There are parts I enjoy and I especially love games I can mod. However I do think that after playing games like KoTOR, Dragon Age, and such like that I have become elitist towards these types of games. Handling repeat information, checking for flags (I've built partial mods...I know how these things work.), individual character quests (optional) make the cast more part of the story than functions in the game.
(I had to have that dullard Casavir in my party all the time because he was my best tank.)

However, I do intend to check out the Baldur's Gate 2 re-release to see if the writing is good in that. I hear it's pretty awesome.

Game Thoughts: Harvest Moon

For the past several weeks, I've been enjoying my new Wii console with the game Harvest Moon: Animal Parade. The Harvest Moon series is one that I have enjoyed for many years. It was first introduced to me on the N64 system. So now I'd like to share with you my thoughts and reflections about the game series.

Game Concept

The primary goal of the game is to gradually build a successful, efficient farm and start a family. In most versions there are several secondary goals to achieve that can help with the primary goal.
All the games come with a story premise as to why you want to restore the farm. Some it is to please a departed grandfather, save the productivity of a town, or save the mythical Harvest Goddess.
The story premise usually changes the secondary goals of the game allowing for subtle differences between each version of the game.

Game Virtues

There are a few positive aspects of the game that I'd like to highlight. It's one of the few examples of a non-violent game with fantasy elements that I can think of.

The game also encourages the setting of goals and forming strategy on how to achieve the goals. It encourages the virtue of patience...sometimes too well.

It's about nurturing and the affect it has on others. What you ship from your farm in some titles will affect businesses in town. In incredibly simple terms it shows the relationship between industry and agriculture.

Relationships are viewed in a positive light with no objectification of men or women. (Granted the personalities are incredibly simple, but distinct.) Marriage and family is the goal of a relationship.
It's also fairly "pro-life" in that it really encourages the player to marry AND have a child. (Although where the baby came from is a MYSTERY TO ME. ;))

Game Vices

There are of course many flaws to the game. The major one is the repetitive and seemingly slow paced game play. At the beginning of the game its more interesting because you use old, rusty tools which makes working the land difficult, so you don't make too much money. But as you get new tools, the challenge decreases and it becomes kind of dull. This makes the game a test of patience which can sometimes be its downfall.

Some may feel that it over-simplifies complexities of farm life. If you're looking for an accurate farm simulation, Harvest Moon does not provide that. There are no pests, cows always produce milk without hormones (except in the GameCube version A Wonderful Life. Cows needed to be impregnated to continue to produce milk.), and you water all crops by hand with a watering can. (It's more of a vegetable garden really.)

It could be said that its too idealistic or too happy. This is a matter of taste but sometimes even I feel bothered that there's no trouble in paradise. In a few titles there ARE a few incidents that might be considered tragic. However, there are enough fantasy elements to cushion the blow in most cases. (There is ONE that just doesn't get better.) It could be said that the beginning of most HM games are impending tragedy and failure is tragic. In earlier games, failing to run a successful farm in a set number of years meant failure. Which brings me to another vice.

Many of the later titles have the games set up in a way where you really can not lose. It just takes time. In earlier games, the time limit and farm success provided more motivation since there was an end goal. I feel like this element of suspense is not as present in later titles. The game doesn't end or it simply ends when you want it to.

Conclusion

 I know this may sound like I'm poo-pooing on the game with my very elaborate vice report, but it's one of the few games...scratch that...the ONLY game I have literally played for nearly 10 hours STRAIGHT. I really like this game series. I really feel like the virtue outweighs the vices for me. However, I think if games like Harvest Moon were promoted more it might help change the public image of video games. While the graphics are anime-cartoonish, it really tackles some oddly mature topics. Or at least treats them in a mature fashion. I say mature fashion because although simplified, it's positive and not juvenile. That's is important to highlight, I feel. While the concepts are fiercely simplified, it does not feel immature. It's simple to "save game time", because you're patience is always being tested!

I highly recommend the following website if you are curious about the various games of the series: Ushi No Tane (All in english despite the title.)

NCLB: How to Find your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul

Yesterday my dad sent me a book on dating that he had heard about on a Catholic news site. He asked me to give it a read and see if it was something my sisters would enjoy. So I started reading it and got through it in one night. That is because well...I started skipping things that did not apply to me personally. I skimmed and skipped quite a lot in this book because it was advice that simply did not apply to me, did not speak to me, or I had heard so often before in Youth Group Chastity talks.

So for me it had points, but the age for which this book is aimed is younger than I am, at least mentally.

Book Summary
The book is co-authored by a husband and wife, Jason and Crystalina Evert. There are 21 chapters with "secrets" and advice for women seeking love. They pull from talks they have given, email stories they have received, various behavior and scientific studies and their own experiences. The emphasis is on instilling virtue in young women when they date offering the Catholic alternative to the secular culture's ideas of love, sex and courting. The advice includes ten "guy" behavior traits to outright avoid to prevent getting hurt. It guides the reader through a process of building self-esteem, setting standards, and what love is suppose to be. There's nothing saccharine about the advice, it's very down to earth and supplemented well with stories from young women they received letters from or spoke to.

Much of the middle of the book is about "healing" and forgiving yourself if you failed to live chaste and want to turn over a new leaf. The authors themselves have admitted their failures many times but reassure the reader that they are not undeserving of love because of it.

The last third of the book is somewhat practical as well as spiritual advice about how to live a pure life. It includes a chapter on dressing modestly, how to break up, and bringing prayer and Christ into your life to help.

The Good Stuff
Some of the studies the book quotes were very interesting and I think will have a strong effect on the point the book sets out to make. Sharing stories from real girls does add a great dimension and context for the message of each chapter. It makes it relative to the reader by putting a personal touch on the chapter's topic.

It's not soaked with reprimands or "should haves", but offers an invitation for change, to raise the bar and practical ways to change your mindset about love and relationships. They save most of the "God Talk" to one or two specific chapters about renewing your spiritual life.

The Bad Stuff
There's not so much bad about the book so much as the fact that a book like this NEEDS to exist. It seems to me that the intended audience is a sexually active or formerly sexually active teenager or young adult. They come from broken homes and lack a good father figure.
That said, it means that the intended audience is a probably someone not very familiar with their faith or in a very bad spot. So for me it was disturbing that there seems to be this epidemic unloved women who have lost faith in true love.

For this reason, the book did not speak to me. I am not the books audience. I'm much older than the intended demographic and have luckily never experienced abuse. However, I have read a secular book meant for older women to regain confidence in dating and finding true love. Many of the secular books points were relatively the same advice but geared toward an older audience and introducing the concept of Affirmation.

Oh and there is one more kind of sour note that I will mention. Because of the intended audience, which seems to be broken young women who are sexually active, it feels like there are no virgins in high school or university. To me it ignored the virgin and made her/him feel like a non-existent entity or a relic of the past. I think I read one or two stories about a girl who was made fun of for her sexual inexperience and one about a woman from the 1940s retelling how she met her husband and virginity was a given. Luckily, much of the advice applies to any woman with low self-esteem. Only the presentation makes me feel like the authors were not writing to me.

Recommendation
I could recommend this book to someone in high school or university who feels in the target demographic. Even older women with a "young girl" mentality or a woman struggling with self-esteem issues. But a little part of me feels sorry that someone needs a book like this, but that is the world we live in.

However, many of the topics within the book come from chastity talks which can come off as condescending if you are living a chaste life. I recall those talks in high school and already knowing that I was doing good. And that may have fostered some form of arrogance in me and often I recall thinking like the proud Pharisee proclaiming to God "Look I'm not like that slut crying over there. I've stayed pure and chaste. Reward me!" Only to be reminded that like the Elder brother in the story of the Prodigal Son, "You are always with me. You have everything."

Basically as Jesus said, "It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)
(Still, reassurance is nice every once in awhile. It's important for virgins to find role models and pray for strength from St. Joseph, St. Raphael and the Virgin Mary. And if you're feeling tempted, St. Mary Magdalene knows how you feel.)

For my sisters, I think they might enjoy parts of the book as I did, but we are VERY lucky to have a loving father who has remained faithful to mother for nearly 30 years now. We know what marriage and love looks like, we have the good example.
For me, it just encouraged me to return to some advice I got from the other marriage advice book about Affirmation but coupled more strongly to prayer.

Last Note
There were a couple of points where I wanted to punch the book in the face for talking down guys that play video games need to grow up. This may be a reflection on the industry but its still "common knowledge" that games are for children...despite us having games rated M for mature. But that is a rant for another day and done better by someone else.
Wow, I managed to tie games into this somehow. YES. Mission Accomplished.