Mass Effect – It Has A Massive Effect

The Stats

Title: Mass Effect

Genre: Sci-Fi/RPG

Format: XBox 360

Release: Worldwide: November 2007

Summary

Developed by BioWare, Mass Effect has an interesting concept. A concept so ambitious that no-one has attempted it before. It is a game that combines popular elements from Sci-Fi and RPGs. Typically, RPGs are set in a fantasy world, where swords and magic are the weapons of choice. In the Mass Effect universe, firearms and technology are at the forefront. There are also many key elements to the games content such as space colonisation, racial discrimination and artificial intelligence. As a result, it makes for some very interesting and complex story telling. However, nothing should fly over the head of most players and nothing is dumbed down, so a very nice balance is achieved in everything it does.

There was much controversy surrounding the game at its release due to the sexual content found in the game. While infrequent and quite moderate, there were those that wished to undermine it by publishing articles and making reports containing many falsities. One article claimed that there were options that allowed rape and sexual abuse. As such, the gaming community responded very vocally, and eventually the article was removed. The game was also banned in Singapore, but the ban was soon lifted and the game was given an adult rating. Apparently, an alien caressing a human female is not OK.

Presentation

Pretty. Slick. Detailed. Sharp. These are just some of the adjectives I can use to describe how Mass Effect looks. A lot of effort has gone into the art and design. There’s never an ugly moment in this game, and when I say ugly, I mean poor art. Ugly aliens are a different matter! Despite being typical, the aliens are never generic, which does seem like an odd thing to say. Trust me, just look at them. Each environment has astonishing amount of detail which is a pleasant surprise since both RPGs and Sci-Fi games are guilty of barren/generic/basic landscapes. Aside from the obviously high polygon count and frame rate, the lighting effects need to be given kudos. Even firing a gun is a joy to watch. Some have lights to show if they are active or inactive, and every type of ammo has its own “trail and spark”.

However, I have a couple of issues with the graphics. On many occasions, you’ll notice that some textures take a few seconds to load. I know it’s too much to expect perfection, but this actually a glaring fault in the game’s engine. Also, a lot of textures, while nice, seem to be rather flat. To use an example, think back to walls in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The textures were well designed but they had a low number of pixels, and were 2D, as opposed to 3D. Also, bald people seemed to have had the top of their heads cut off since you could distinctly see a line that separated the top of the head and the face. This was actually rather comical to me.

Sound

My ears approved very much! Mass Effect’s music is another fine example of how to do game music right. There was never a piece that felt out of place and the use of music to further enhance a feeling of drama or suspense should be applauded. A special mention must go to the music used during the final chapter of the game. The feeling of an epic battle taking place was something that made me smile during those last moments.

The voice acting is fantastic. I think Mass Effect is one of the few games in existence where I don’t feel the urge to punch whoever is doing the voice of a character that annoys me. If they annoyed me, it was because they were a jerk. Anyway, despite being slightly generic, Shepard’s voice is very well suited to whatever personality you choose to give him (I haven’t played the game as a woman yet). As for the sound effects, I can’t ask for better. A job well done for the sound in general!

Gameplay

Despite being Sci-Fi, Mass Effect retains all the bells and whistles you’d come to expect from an RPG. Through battles, your character(s) become(s) stronger, more accurate, fitter, more adept, gains more powers, etc. These are done through gaining experience points as per usual. However, experience points are also acquired from gaining knowledge. The aim of the game is to be inquisitive, so a lot of time needs to be spent reading things and talking to people. Your weapons, tools and armour can be upgraded with items that you can buy or pick up. Another element that makes it slightly different is the use of real time fighting instead of turn based fighting. This is a better way because there are no random battles, so you can take cover in the middle of a fight to recover or regroup and come up with a plan or tactics. Another neat feature is that weapons will overheat, and this makes the player actually think about how they’re going to attack in case of overheating, instead of just blasting away without a care in the world. I do like a challenge.

What makes Mass Effect’s gameplay truly different is the ability to develop your character’s personality. Throughout the game you’ll go through lots and lots of dialogue. In every conversation you’ll be given two or more choices in what you can say. Usually, whatever choice you make does not affect the course of the plot. However, a lot of choices will affect how your personality develops. If you want to be nice, you gain Paragon points, and these open up more “nice” responses. If you want to be a jerk, you gain Renegade points, and these allow you to choose the “jerk” responses. This also affects your shopping (Charm gives you discounts, whereas Intimidate gets you more money from selling). Thankfully these decisions don’t classify you as good or bad, which is a rather redundant way of classifying a character. All in all, you’re a good guy. You can decide to be a jerk or nice person, which is a hell of a lot better. You get much more choice (unlike Bioshock). My only criticism is that the game will glitch very badly in the odd battle. It happened enough to be a big annoyance, but I stuck it out.

Verdict

Despite being rather short if you don’t do any side missions, Mass Effect is one of the most impressive games I have seen in recent years. What makes it really stand out is the combination of the typical RPG gameplay and improving it or putting its own spin on it. It is a very good change from regular RPGs and I for one, welcome it. It may have a few technical problems, but I’m sure they can be sorted by the time the sequels are released.

You can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be on the lookout for those too.

We Hate Your Hate

This guy is proof that the internet needs to come with training wheels or a licence is needed in order to post opinions somewhere. I will be a bit condescending and so forth, so please bear with me.

“But then there’s anime. And where there’s anime there is, the western anime “fan”. These bizarre and rabid obsessives of Japanese animation are typically the social outcast Neo-Goth type; clad like a thrift-store reject from a Matrix convention,”

You can tell a lot about a “journalist’s” integrity when they feel the need to put everyone from a culture in the same insult (and a poor insult at that. If you’re going to insult me, at least think of something that might sting.). I don’t have long, greasy hair. I’m not a gloomy and cynical bugger. I don’t wear all black clothing. I seem to fit into many social groups. Hmm, I need to find another way to be a Neo-Goth then (Jeez that is such a pretentious insult).

“usually with some self-involved rambling blog letting you know what latest OVA they picked up or which new anime soundtrack is synched up to their iPod – they seem to live their lives for another country’s culture, a culture they wish to embrace but can never be a part of.”

Sorry for expressing my thoughts and wondering if people might actually care. What a fool I am. I should have kept my opinions to myself and not try to expand my horizons and try to be creative or try to improve my writing. Shame on me. I’d better cancel my trip to Japan. Oops, I forgot. I’ve never planned or aspired to live in Japan, and would much rather stay in Scotland.

“No matter how anime fans want to paint it, stuff like Dragonball Z is nothing more than a glorified cartoon about trading cards…Give these poor kids some more He-Man and a little less Fruit Basket, please.”

You moron. He-Man was made by Hasbro to sell toys.

“Don’t tell me because it has blood and death and occasional nudity it’s grown up and adult. Don’t tell me because it’s been running since 1982 and has 500 episodes that means it’s good. 7th Heaven did too and it was a pile of overbearing moralistic shit.”

That’s true, but your way of putting it is childish.

“It’s a style of animation made by a culture which gave the world schoolgirl panty vending machines for crying out loud, the normal rules of quality, standards and ethics do not apply. The Japanese also have one of the world’s highest teen suicide rates. No wonder, after sitting through the same crap that western fanboys slaver over.”

I’m glad to see you didn’t research anything you said there; that makes it easier for me to rip into you more. When you say “one of the world’s highest teen suicide rates”, you invalidate your argument since you didn’t specify where Japan is “ranked”, and you don’t bother to explain why this is. Hell, I can name some real reasons without looking anything up because I have common sense.

“Most of the anime I see on shelves in the west, certainly where I live, seems to fall into several bizarre, pathetic categories: worrisome teenage schoolgirl obsession, tentacle/demon rape fantasy, and twee trading card spin-offs.”

Obvious troll is obvious, but I’ll bite. So, where did you hear about only these categories? Was it from an equally moronic friend or website? Have you only ever watched these types of anime? I suggest you check out 4chan. They’ll have everything your huge eyes and small brain need.

“Don’t give me that crap about Miyazaki. I know you will. It’s always the anime fan’s last bastion of defence. I saw Spirited Away and it was nothing more than a surrealist oriental take on western fairy tales. I don’t care how good you say it is, I refuse to believe that a movie about an ugly pig flying a red baron bi-plane is better than any of Pixar’s output. This Miyazaki character is just being used as a smoke-screen by social outcasts, to cover for their real reason for liking anime: they share the same bizarre twisted perversions that many Japanese do; only it’s not socially acceptable over here, so better to hide behind a few pretensions of so-called respectability. Or at the very least a silly kids cartoon based on trading cards.”

Pixar have produced about…maybe three good movies in their existence (and one was a sequel) so making a comparison like that doesn’t work. Miyazaki is recognised in Hollywood as an influential director/creator. It’s a fact. DEAL WITH IT.

After all, why else would anyone get so defensive over something so ridiculous, other than latent guilt? If you like Akira, fine. Went through a phase in your teens where you got into 3×3 Eyes? All well and good. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re in your 20s and have a DVD rack full of nothing but Studio Ghibli titles (and your secret Urotsukidoji stash at the back of the closet that nobody knows about of course), time for you to realise you are an adults living in a western world. Start acting like it. Turn off the pervy cartoons, get out of the house and meet some real, normal people with hair and eyes in proper proportion to their heads.”

The “guilt ridden pervert” routine is old. We all know it’s not true. Like I’ve said, I have a collection of anime that doesn’t fit into your idea of perversion, yet I still go out and stay with friends to go out and have fun. I’m normal, yet I like anime. Get your head out from your arse, douchebag.

The “author’s” inability to make any sort reply to 90% of the comments is testament to how much of an ignoramus he is.

No More Heroes: A postmodern head trip through life, death and Santa Destroy

I would like to open this review with a quick explanation of the format these articles are going to follow. Each review will contain six sections. The first section is Statistics, it just contains information about the game you need to know, format, release date etc. The second section is Summary, and will take the form of a quick explanation of the game being reviewed. After that is Presentation, which will comprise an assessment of the game’s graphical and design qualities. It covers everything the game provides visually. The fourth section, logically, is Sound, and that will cover the game’s aural achievements. The fifth section, is Gameplay, and this is where I will explain the game’s mechanics. It is more than merely describing how the game plays, but also assessing how effective the game’s mechanical flow is. The final section is the Verdict, which unsurprisingly, is were the final assessment of the game is made. Screenshots will be strewn throughout, and I have chosen not to provide any kind of score based analysis. My words will contain all the information you need.

 

If I gain any regular readership, this is what to expect from these reviews. Thanks for your time, now onto what you have been waiting for.

 

 

The Stats

 

Title: No More Heroes

Genre: Action/Adventure

Format: Wii

Release: Japan: November 2007, US: November 2007, Europe: March 2008

 

Summary

 

No More Heroes is the recently released second game from legendary games designer Suda51, who’s previous credits include “Killer7”, “Flower, Sun & Rain”, “The Silver Case”, and the “Fire Pro Wrestling” series. The game saw a muted release in Japan, selling less than half the shipped amount of copies, and has also been the victim of controversy based on European publisher Red Star Games’ decision to cut the game’s blood content.

 

So there is no lack of notoriety for a game that in some ways is out to shock. Which is no surprise, given the content of it’s predecessor Killer7, which was a deeply artistic and disturbing opus. The player takes control of Travis Touchdown, a geeky Otaku with a deep desire to be the best… and to sleep with a hot chick he met at the bar one night. She offers him a shot at both, but he must defeat the top ten assassins of the world in an organised contest, pitting sicko versus psycho, that kind of thing. The contest is held in various locations around Travis’ hometown of Santa Destroy, and he must earn the money to pay for each organised battle, heading for the promised land that being number one assures him. But, will Travis truly find what he desires? The game’s narrative is more complex than at first glance, and I will not spoil anything, but as to be expected from Suda51, things in Santa Destroy are not what they first seem, and Travis will suffer that fact through his battles.

 

Presentation:

 

I’ll be honest and cut to the chase. No More Heroes is technically not very impressive. It is rendered in a similar style to Killer7, however, perhaps it was Killer7’s minimal approach to it’s environments or perhaps the initial reaction it was able to generate on being the first game to have this odd, anime faux noir look, but No More Heroes is noticeably blocky and even ugly at times. The whole of Santa Destroy is rendered as one location in the game, being that the game’s structure dictates it, and driving through Santa Destroy on Travis’ motorbike is an exercise in highly noticeable popup, and nor is there a great frame rate. The character models of random citizens wandering the streets are also very, very basic.

It is just as well then that the game saves some horsepower for keeping its highly energetic combat running at a consistent frame rate, and also ensuring that the models for the important characters look above average. In this instance, Suda’s idiosyncratic design shines through to provide visually striking characters whom will be what the player remembers about this game long after they beat it, as well as the game’s mix of retro chic and postmodern sense of humour in the design of it’s menus and cut scenes, including some visual parodies of anime girls, retro arcade games and lucha libre. Worthy of note also is the player’s ability to customise the clothing of Travis. There are many, many pieces of clothing to be found or bought, and is a nice touch to the game.

 

No More Heroes isn’t a graphically astounding game, and probably doesn’t even push the Wii, but it is visually striking and different from everything else available on the system.

 

Sound:

 

No More Heroes offers a much more inspired approach to how it sounds than how it looks, from the strange yet oddly fitting sound effects, to the enthusiastic voice acting and the pumping mix of riffs and beats that the soundtrack offers. Notable tracks include the heavy metal knockoff of “Eye of the Tiger” played when Travis visit’s the gym and the intro music. But it’s definitely the voice acting that stands out most.

The script is interesting to say the least, with a lot of cheesy, exaggerated accents, swearing and deft comedic timing. There are plenty of pop culture references and jokes. There is also a very interesting use of the Wiimote’s mic, towards the end of each ranked mission, Travis’ cellphone will ring. The player holds the Wiimote up to their ear to receive a pulse pounding pep talk from Sylvia Crystal, the contest organiser and the “chick” I mentioned earlier.

 

No More Heroes is pleasant to the ears and makes innovative use of sound to aid its gameplay, a very impressive accomplishment.

 

Gameplay:

 

So far, we’ve established that No More Heroes has an interesting and humourous story, good music, superior voice acting, intriguing characters and average graphics, so what of the most important aspect, the gameplay? As a whole, the could be considered a box of tricks in a way, mixing gimmicks with more conventional action. The game’s structure appears to have some similarities to sandbox titles such as Grand Theft Auto, Mercenaries and Crackdown. Such comparisons are not without merit, especially the latter one, but in truth the game is largely linear. There is not a great amount of sidequests, and most are for making money to pay your way into the next ranked battle. However, they do serve to break up the action nicely. From doing jobs to earn a wage, to collecting rubber balls to unlock special abilities for Travis, everything in the game at least could be said to have a purpose.

The game’s combat is a definite highlight. The Wiimote is used effectively as a means of delivering death blows and grapple moves, but the A and B buttons have the lions share of action, performing vicious weapon and physical combos. The height with which Travis attacks is dictated by how the Wiimote is held. The combat isn’t going to make Ninja Gaiden or God Hand sweat, but it does have enough quirks to make it deep without sacrificing accessibility. I do have one problem, and that is the extra challenge missions that are unlocked throughout Santa Destroy. All of these require Travis to defeat a set number of enemies without taking a single hit. I found that whilst these will no doubt provide a challenge for those that like to perfect the game, as a means of making money these missions can be irritating, because you earn nothing if you fail, meaning potentially, you will waste a lot of time and effort on these missions and earn nothing for it.

 

Fortunately this is not the case with jobs or the assassin missions, which will be your primary methods of making money. The ranking missions themselves, range from very fun and offbeat to rather monotonous. Very varied if nothing else, and you will be, among other things, forced to run through a massive straight tunnel taking out enemies, play an ingame ultra hard shmup, biking your way through a road based level, and hitting homeruns with your Wiimote. The boss battles never disappoint, requiring knowledgeable use of Travis’ various abilities to succeed. Successfully beating these battles and moving up in the ranks is the crux of this game’s appeal.

 

 

Verdict:

 

To be brutally honest, No More Heroes is a game that is hurt somewhat by it’s lack of originality. Killer7, it’s predecessor, was a game that was in essence original in almost every way, many of it’s gameplay functions had never actually been done before. But what No More Heroes is, is a postmodern ragtag of different gameplay functions and presentation quirks found in many popular or obscure games. It is largely a more accessible game than Killer7, but in my view, less interesting. As well as that, it’s a game that is heavily built on novelty. The novelties wear off, and what you are eventually left with is a game that simply does not have long legs. However, for as long as the initial buzz lasts, No More Heroes is a pulse pounding, heart ripping ride through a buffet of funky humour and gratuitous violence. It is a solid release for the Wii, and definitely worth looking into.