Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Wii - First Two Hours Review

Hey everyone,

So I thought I’d let everyone know my thoughts on this game. First, some hefty background:

I’d categorize myself as an avid POP fan. Ever since SOT wowed me, I have followed the series pretty closely. Although I think the POP games are fantastic and one of the most underrated game franchises in the industry, none the sequels have touched SOT’s greatness for me. WW was a testament to how much brutal abuse and bastardization the game could take while still being a quality title and TT was some mixture between the two, although to this day I don’t know why Ubisoft thought that was a good idea. I played a tiny bit of the 2008 reboot, enough to convince myself I didn’t care for a game that played by itself. When the Forgotten Sands was announced, I was both excited and worried – I loved the direction of the original trilogy, but with both the release date and theme tied closely to the movie, I was worried FS would be a result of a weird hybridization between the “movie-tie-in” syndrome and “game-catering-to-movie-crowd.” Because the game didnot have seemingly enough time to be polished, along with the restriction of trying to appeal to movie goers, I was afraid.

I’d like to note a few reasons why I chose to pick up the Wii version as opposed to the 360/PS3 alternatives. First, I would like to point out that we should not compare the two games, despite being given the same name – they are completely different from each other. Secondly, the Wii version runs on the Jade engine, which is native to the original SOT trilogy. Fans of the series know what to expect from that engine and it gave me hope that Ubisoft Quebec could squeeze out more from that aging engine in a shorter development cycle than make a brand new game on a next-gen engine. All of that, plus the fact that the 360/PS3 versions sported a more dramatic, Two-Thronsian art style as opposed to the Wii’s enchanted visuals reminiscent of the original SOT, led me to my purchase of what many gamers are calling the “inferior” version.

Okay, so here is my experience of the game, play by play. I put the disc into the Wii. Once it loads in the Wii menu, it plays some mystical guitar and didgeridoo. I am in pause at this moment, as the music is very pretty, I dare say more so than SOT. Just that little 30 second loop had me hooked. Thank you TomSalta, great composer from Red Steel 2. I can honestly say he has done Stuart Chatwood service here. Click the link below to hear that music I was listening to, before even starting the game.

http://g4tv.com/videos/45413/The-Garden-from-Prince-of-Persia-The-Forgotten-Sands/

I then start the game. The title screen boots. Beautiful rendering of the Prince's sword, along with that enchanted music again. I am in awe, once again. The POP series has a fantastic history of having high-level presentation values and FS is no exception. The game isn’t trying to open up with some epic theme or dramatic strings to bring heroics to the Prince’s character - rather, this change in tone of music lets its gamers know that the game is making a return to its original Arabian Nights origins. From here, I boot the game.

I recommend having subtitles on when you play the game yourself, as the voices are at equal or lesser volume than the music or sound effects. The “genie” as we call her, is leading prince down a treacherous path of destruction as all that surrounds you is falling to pieces. Yuri is back to voice the Prince and sounds identical to his SOT self. One small thing that bugged me is that Yuri didn’t seem in top form in TT, but rest assured he is back in this game.

For an opening stage, the beginning of the game is engaging. The usual tutorial jumps are there and for series veterans, this may bore you. But because the locale is gorgeous and the rush of getting from A to B is eminent, I doubt many vets will mind. After the short stage is over, the real game begins.

The prince proves to be just as selfish as he was in SOT, but not without grace like WW or TT. He has dignity and reasons for his desires – he, being the youngest of his father’s sons, is denied a true throne. While he may have learned to stray from Honor and Glory to win his father’s approval, he has decided to create his own path by finding his own kingdom. He found Zahara in a marketplace and being promised near-immortality, a princess, and a kingdom, is following her almost blindly. Our question in participation of this cat-and-mouse game is whether or not to trust the genie, as she seems deceptive at best. This adds for some great tension as we, just like in SOT, are shouting at Prince for being a bumbling buffoon, while at the same time questioning for ourselves what may lie beyond the next barrier – Treasure or Tragedy?

The music, graphics, voice acting are all top notch. Okay, the genie’s voice leaves something to be desired, but a small quibble. None of this would matter if the gameplay was weak. I can happily say that in terms of the game mechanics, this is where tears of joy almost brimmed my eye lashes. This is, from what I can tell and foresee, the next level of POP. It takes all the great platforming and level design of SOT, adds a bit more depth with level exploration, and allows prince to run, dance, side-step, and jump much faster than before. Please, do not watch gameplay videos of this game and judge how this game plays; you really must play the game yourself to feel the sheer wonder in how the Prince controls. SOT was a joy because the controls were simple and the levels catered to what the prince could do. I would argue its sequels suffered because the Prince handled identically to his SOT counterpart but the levels demanded too much from him, adding frustration to some of the platforming and combat segments. Ubisoft Quebec was not lazy in completely reworking how the Prince performs all of his actions. He has all the usual tricks, but vets will notice differences in nuance in how exactly each mechanic is handled. While you can run up a wall, as usual, you don’t have to commit to the wall jump anymore. Oftentimes, even if you didn’t hit the jump button at the end of wall run, Prince would backflip over the ledge and fall to his death. This is not the case any more as he now flips and slides down to where he was previously standing. His running and jumping are much faster and his sliding along ledges is quicker so as to keep the game moving quickly and with pace. Also, many of the vertical cracks that 2008’s POP introduced are here, along with what looks like a glove much like the one held by that prince. Overall, the prince handles like a Spider-man in terms of speed and dexterity, while not being too nimble as to make the puzzles overly easy.

Combat has returned to SOT form. You wave the nunchuck to use your fist/gauntlet and the wiimote to attack with your sword. The popular jump-over-the-enemy-and-slash-from-behind attack is back and stronger, dealing more damage and knocks down. The Prince can now jump over enemies and flip them over, hurling them into other enemies. There is a light RPG system in place, allowing Prince to unlock stronger attacks and abilities, keeping combat fresh and new. While the combat is simplistic, it is satisfying as a means of breaking up the platforming which SOT got right the first time. Also, complaints of Wii-waggle should be dismissed as the sword attacks are very responsive to your flicks and once you gain a sense of Prince’s recovery and sword combos, you will know the proper timing for each swing of the wiimote. What is different this time around is that each enemy has different characteristics – drones, Knights with giant shields that need to be cracked in order to deal damage, and archers within the first hour. Instead of just being generic bad guys, these are serious threats to the Prince, leaving the player to strategize who to tackle first when fighting in large groups. Luckily, at keypoints in the game, it is possible to attack the highlighted leader in blue, in which its destruction makes all the other enemies disappear. This allows the player to end battles quicker if he/she wants to move on to the next platforming section, although attempting to do so may end in death as the leader’s followers will try to defend him.

The prince is given magical powers by way of creating puzzle-thwarting structures that allow him to traverse otherwise impossible terrain. This leads to possible branches in linearity, as the player can choose which route to take and explore the levels batter. Also, there are few segments which are impossible to retread as the game encourages and allows the curious gamer to go beyond the beaten path. This is no Metroid, but for a POP game this is a huge step in a wonderful direction.

The last aspect of FS that I want to point out is how the game handles death. While the SOT trilogy gave gamers the ability to rewind time and fix platforming mistakes (which was revolutionary), 2008’s Prince, who lacked time powers, couldn’t truly die. While each side has their critics, I believe FS for the Wii has created a happy medium. Within the first hour, the only “sand” power you get is the ability to freeze enemies. Other than that, there is no time travel. While the game is very forgiving, you can store or save three “lives.” Any death, either by combat or platforming, results in a complete restoration to a point prior to the death, which uses up a life. If one dies without having any stored lives, the game restarts to the last fountain checkpoint, which is also consequently your save point. So yes, no Game Overs here, but FS does not suffer from the pitfalls of the lack of dying. While I admit this system is a bit forgiving for a hardcore gamer who grew up in the 80s, this is a great compromise that works well at still punishing the gamer for lofty mistakes, but not so much so you wish there was a rewind feature.

There is also a lot of extra content. POP vets will know that the series is notorious for having a lack of extras and replay value. While the original SOT didn’t need it – its replay value was intrinsic, after all – its sequels have been ill-equipped to compete with their peers in terms of value-for-your-money. This changes with FS for the Wii. Within the first ten minutes, thanks to my curious eye, I unlocked the original POP. I don’t know if this is the SNES version that was allegedly included in the game, as what I played seemed a perfect representation of the MAC version, but future play will explore that. There are several unlockable costumes for the prince, along with an achievement system akin to Metroid Prime Trilogy, which mimicked what was established for all titles on Xbox 360. All of this, along with extra levels that can be unlocked as challenges much like Bionic Commando Rearmed, and this game is the most feature-packed POP yet. I was pleasantly surprised – a POP game, if done right, doesn’t need any of this, but the fact that it is present is icing on an already wonderful cake. Then consider that this game had a very strict time constraint and is considered a mere “side-quest” to its next gen alternatives, it becomes bedazzling that all of this could be fit into the development cycle with so much polish.

Forgotten Sands for the Wii is wonderful so far. I expected nothing more than a decent platforming romp, in which Ubisoft Quebec delivered me a masterpiece that ranks among SOT. If SOT is the best game in the series, FS is very close behind, beating out all of its previous games. The gameplay, including combat, is vastly improved to SOT, with only the story not being as compelling as SOT. If the game keeps up the pace that I have witnessed, especially after experiencing the epic first boss battle (which incorporates the wonderful platforming we all love), this may dethrone SOT for me. I can’t compare this game to its next-gen brethren, but given from what I have seen, this seems to be the more proper jump for POP fans, pun intended.

Battle High Test Version Now Available!

I helped design a fighting game. Its first release since I was signed on to the project has become available here. Check it out and be sure to report bugs and game issues.


http://z11.invisionfree.com/PointFiveProjects/index.php?showtopic=461

Battle of Archaic - A Review

After a fantastic surprise Birthday party and another one the day before (back to back, ingenious planning) I received a slew of gifts. Too many, even. You see, despite the fact that I am in the summer season, most of my day is generally revolved around other people, so free time is not something I generally have. That and summer classes...

One of the gifts I received was slightly gag-infested - a copy of Chrono Trigger for Nintendo DS. For whatever reason, it was recommended by someone that I should get this "great game." I played the game years ago, never felt impressed, and with my current disposition toward RPGs in general (hate) laughing ensued. I was quickly given a receipt to return the game for something of similar value. Long story short, that game was Rygar: The Battle of Argus for Nintendo Wii.

For RPG fans rolling in their own bodily fluids at my gesture towards a "classic," I have nothing to say. I can only justify my purchase toward a game no one cares about; I had been following the (development?) hype of Rygar on Wii for a while - a port of what seems like a good game in the vein of God of War. I hestitated toward getting it on launch due to the vast abundance of lackluster reviews, but at the expense of trading a gift in to Play-N-Trade (free) I was able to form my own opinion on the game, knowing how I tend to disagree with every commercial entertainment review site (MGS4 and GTA4 are NOT perfect video games).

The skinny: I cannot on any grounds recommend Rygar: TBOA to anyone. I can't tell you how great the story is because it sucks. I can't exclaim how much the voice acting is laughibly terrible or really well done - it falls dully inbetween the two extremes. I can't come to your house and show you the awesome display of graphical prowess this game has - it looks like a dated Dreamcast game. I can't even tell you that the gameplay is utterly fantastic because, honestly, the controls are sluggish and non-conforming to former video game traditions (Canceling moves into others) and the core of the game, which is beating the crap out of people with a chained-shield, is unsatisfying to say the least. There is no reason why you would spend your hard earned money on this aged media of entertainment.

Unless you are me.

Rygar harkens back to something few gamers will either remember or appreciate. Back in a time when 3D graphics were just starting to look impressive and 3rd-party developers were tapping into the magic of Super Mario 64's atmosphere, developers were ambitious with their titles. Every game worth its salt in advertising was at least interesting, if not unique or inspired. Today we are filled with shovelware (Wii), penis-enlarging graphics and online (X360) and the games best played in our dreams (PS3). While we had all those thins when Playstation 2 thrived, the headliner was always "Too many good games on one console: What do we do?" Prior to this era, I owned a Playstation and Nintendo 64, only feeling that the latter's flagship title utilized 3D space in an interesting way that merited the change in gameplay. It was fun to swim underwater and wall jump the castle grounds. No other game, until the 128-bit era, made me feel that way. Rygar, in no reasonable fashion, makes me feel this way, but the developers were trying to make a game that felt alive while being scripted and action oriented. Rygar is the love child of hungry developers, with the beckoning 200 Mhz CPU of the Sony Playstation 2, eager to make an engaging interactive journey only made possible with (then) state of the art technology. In more elegant words: to make what couldn't be made before.

To further illustrate my point, I'll tell you one of my prized stories of youth. When I first purchased my Playstation 2, I only had two games - Metal Gear Solid 2 and Final Fantasy X. I knew a few people who really loved the system and would let me borrow games. At the time, I was really interested in how some of my favorite franchises branched out - one of which was Resident Evil. A friend let me borrow his copy of Veronica X and I played it for a total of (drumroll) 40 minutes. Whatever love I had toward the frachise was missing - it felt the same as RE2 but with no enhancement to gameplay. I took the game out of my console in disgust, only to find an additional demo disc in the game case.

Those of you savy enough to remember or simply use google will know that demo was one of the best games on PS2. I didn't know that when I popped it in and I can honestly say I had never spent so much time playing a 3 level demo in my life. It was so much fun to be in this gothic world filled with demons and a little bit of mystery. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the rest of the franchise, but the premier title is still one of my most treasured games in my library. The fixed camera, high-action gameplay, clever platforming... all of it is represented here in Rygar for Wii.


Yes, the game is nothing more than a port with a few slapped on features and costume changes. If I was a fan of the original game, I'd probably be pissed at Tecmo for rehashing it to the Wii with crappy "waggle" gimmicks to create false longevity for the game. But as someone who missed it the first time around and is a huge fan of God of War and Devil May Cry, I love this game. For one, it has a fantastic soundtrack - fully orchestrated in a slight Baroque manner. I am a bit of a music snob and I have found a lot of games try too hard at being "epic" with their scores or do the Michael Bay approach - Rygar escapes these societal complaints with thorough interlaced harmonies and Romantic leitmotifs. The game also has a lot of exploration for a DMC clone - something think video games should delve into more. Tunnels, dungeons and overworlds all make Rygar more than a mission based combo-fest like DMC3. Add a very cool Roman theme, some interesting art design and multiple disk-armors to equip, the game is pretty engaging if you give it the time of day.

Yes, the game is horribly aged and for that reason I cannot recommend it. But if you happen to be a clone of myself, are hungry for no-frills action gaming and can overlook some design flaws, Devil May Cry 1 is for you. 2nd place goes to Rygar: The Battle of Argus.

The Way of Visual Appeal and Longevity

"Good games are not marked by their visual appeal, but rather their depth and ability to please gamers as participants of interactive media." - Yours Truly.

Chances are, if you are a gamer, you know at least ONE person in your circle of friends that has said something along the lines of the above. In this case, it is myself. As much as I wish this was 100% true, I do have to make an appendage to the stated claim - despite how much we may try to deny or overemphasize graphic's importance, it is the graphics (sometimes mainly the visual style/appeal) that can hook and sometimes keep gamers' attention. I am going to chronicle the Street Fighter series in juxtaposition to popular and competitive audiences reacting to the visual appeal of the games.

Street Fighter 4. The latest installment of Street Fighter is looking pretty good - not because of a high-end graphics engine, but because of a slick style and sharp presentation. Bright colors, vivid character expressions, flashy Ultra combo animations - all of these lend to a very satisfying visual experience. Because of this success in presenting the Street Fighter essence, the game is a hit with both competitive players and casual players. But it goes a little deeper than simply stating the game looks pretty. Gamers with HD televisions are lucky to have the full visual experience, as it is comparable to the arcade set up arcade players experience. Here, we see a congruency in the visual representation - both games look the same.

Let's take Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, a 15 year old stalemate in the SF2 saga. It has stood the test of time because of its depth in competitive environments, not through casual popularity. In fact, most casual SF fans or fans of fighting games in general believe Street Fighter 2' Hyper Fighting is superior. While arguments of balance may come into play in this debate (this writer takes the viewpoint that SSF2T has the most varied gameplay which takes precedence over balance) what is important to note is the common casual complaints of the visual design of the game. The announcer's voice is always on top of the list, with more sophisticated complaints stemming at mixture of dated visuals with enhanced backgrounds, while others even going further to claim Hyper Fighting was a better looking game altogether. Jeff Gerstmann, slightly renown video game guru and reviewer, is a represenative of these complaints.

What is important to note here, and I apologize for not finding a better seque into this chunk of information, is the difference between an arcade setting, which is mostly dedicated to the competitive audience, and the console/home setting which is aimed at the casual audience. Arcade monitors display colors very differently from a regular tube TV - Colors tend to be brighter and any pixelation is "blinded" by the inherent scanlines on the arcade monitor. So we can possibly assess that SSF2T looks very different from arcade to console, no matter how perfect the port job or emulation is. Also note the atmosphere of the arcade - mostly dimly lit with loud music in the background and usually a substantial amount of games being played at once. Through this we see that it is more than likely arcade gamers won't even be able to hear the annoying announcer's voice and the brightly lit screen comes as even more vibrant against the dark shadows of the arcade cabinet. What we have are two clear illustrations of two different ways to experience the same game (save me the specifics, ST nerds), which brings about two different viewpoints on the game - casuals don't like ST while those who grew up in the arcade still play it today.

From SSF2T to SSF2T:HDR. To save on length of this article and time reading on development issues, HD Remix is a redrawn version of SSF2T with a new soundtrack, a pretty good netplay option, and a rebalanced mode catered to the hardcore fans. HDR fixes the problems casual gamers had with SSF2T's visuals and suddenly everyone is a fan of this dated classic. Even Jeff Gerstmann, although he is not saved by claiming his astonishment comes from smart balance changes (no one can say that the week a FG drops). HDR looks good for the casual audience and now it is a hit. Some might say it is the balanced mode that sealed the deal, but I'd wager that the casual players wouldn't care - a redrawn version of a Street Fighter game nobody played will seem like a new game regardless.

Lastly, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. A lot of people love this game. There is no denying the complexity, execution, and guessing-games in it that keep the game wildly popular among both casual and competitive fans. It does have complaints - many can be articulately stated by this man - which range from imbalance to nullification of SF-trademark fireballs, but it constantly builds in popularity. My proposed reasoning behind this phenomena - SF3 also looks really good on both arcade and console.

Fliud animation, big characters, vibrant colors and detailed stages (though not as much as 2nd Impact) all lend this game to being a showstopper. The first time I saw this game I was stunned; as a heavy player in ST, I still sometimes look at the game in awe in comparison to other fighters. Few 2d games look so good. Sure, GGXXAC has a more balanced, more vivid visual flare and a few new games (BlazBlue, KOFXII) might trump SF3 even more, but the balance between animation, ease of use (6 buttons as opposed to 4,5) is truly unmatched. Not only that, but despite a heavy anime influence in SF3, 3s is mature looking in theme and has a bad-ass announcer, which can't be said for SSF2T:HDR's dumbed down color scaling and autistic-sounding announcer. This isn't your brother's SF2 - this is SF3.

So, before closing, I want everyone to know that it was very hard for me to recognize these differences in graphical prowess and cultural semiotics - I am usually blind to that sort of thing. However, I don't think many people can argue againts my points, unless they have more confirmable data than I do. In that case, I fold.

Otherwise, happy gaming.

I Like Vanilla

Like sugar cookies, I find my taste buds flourish in simple sugary treats. The easy to digest glucose is nearly instantaneous and wonderful in every respect. Maybe that is why I really enjoy Vanilla ST over SSF2THDR.

Puns aside, it seems SSF2THDR has some balance issues. I had worries upon release of the game, but I didn't want to voice them lest any new developments came to the interweb news of Fighting Games. Unfortunately, I was correct in my worry - more developments have proved there are more hazardous matchups than I had anticipated.

I love ST. It isn't perfect, but goddamn it is fun and exciting. In no other game do I feel like Guile or Ryu, using offensive strategies to create defensive walls for my opponents to penetrate. Every single character has really interesting tools which set ST apart from a more balanced game, Hyper Fighting. It seems like David Sirlin and Seth Killian had this all in mind for HD Remix, more so than myself. While Sirlin wooed me by stating mesianic mission to balance ST more than it is already is, Seth had something different to say.

I can get behind Seth on this one, but I can't help but feel massively betrayed by Sirlin as well as sneakily beaten in logic by Capcom. You see, Akuma is still WAY too good in HDR. His hotboxes are just plain obnoxious. It would seem he is due for a patch or banning by the SRK community. But after Damdai's amazing pilgrimmage, the Evo heads are calling it all a bluff. Even after handily beating Valle and Choi online, still Mr. Wizard is against banning Akuma at Evo. We cry injustice - HDR is supposed to be "balanced." And here Seth tells us it doesn't have to be.

Fine. I'll buy all of it. I am cool with this injustice. Just don't fool me again, Capcom.

Super Turbo and I

After a long set with friends JMS and ehonda, I have to reassess my skill-set in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. I have improved in some areas, and gotten worse in others.

Let me put myself down before I state how I have come further in improvement -

My execution has gotten far worse than I remember. I used to be able to DP on reaction; reversal DPs were my weapons of mass destruction. Part of this is probably because I don't practice anymore - not having a ps2 or anyway to train stick techniques hurts my game I think. I am also branching out in playing other games, which makes it hard for me to keep track of what gameplay nuances I need to keep in mind.

My gameplan is highly habitual. I find myself not thinking and getting punished for dumb, repeated attack strings that just don't work. Hurricane Kick on block is not safe, yet I continue to do it, for reasons beyond my cerebellum. I need to break habits and play smarter, not harder.

I let my super go at very bad moments. My philosophy: I get super meter so fast I can afford to lose it and gain it again in the same round. The people I am playing, however, are very good and deserve better than that. I was only able to get a clean confirm on my Shinkuu Hadouken ONCE in my 5 hour session today. The other whiffs were blocked, for substantial chip damage, but I can do better.

What has improved:

I understand the game better. Matchups are clearer and I know what to do in situations that once puzzled me. In matches where I have no idea what to do, I am able to formulate my own attack plan and perfomr reasonably.

I am less tense in matches. I don't choke in close matches and I keep a level head the entire game. I tend to play safe in this mindset and frustrate players that way.

I have a very good tick throw/Overhead/fireball/DP trap that my friends are still trying to guess. It could be better, but it is pretty good right now.

I can detect when people are going to use super combos and either runaway or counter.

I now know exactly what people mean when they say "Jab Strong Fierce Short Forward Roundhouse." I always knew what they represented, but it used to take me a few seconds to translate them to lp mp hp etc.


So I am frustrated that I got better by getting worse, but I assume no learning is without its plateaus. I hope to get better in the coming weeks and report my progress with footage and response.

Updates Are My Bane

But in other news...

I have a youtube account chronicling my progress as a SF2 player and video game thinker/reviewer. So far I have reviews of Star Soldier R, House of the Dead and SF2 matches. Oh, and a surprise for my lady friend.

I also have a newly written review for one of my favorite video games of all time, The Revenge of Shinobi for the Sega Genesis.

And that's all for now. Expect more updates soon!