Kaz Archive

Year in Review: 2010 Part 1

By
Kaz
 – August 28, 2010Posted in: Featured Article, Kaz

We all chose top 5 lists on the podcast as you may recall.

The most frustrating part is compiling a list of contenders among all the games that come out in a year. In an effort to help myself in January 2011, I’m trying to write down all of the games from January to June that I played and feel deserve my consideration or that others feel merit playing before I decide my top 5.

Here it goes:

Bayonetta (Release: January 5th) – I’ve tried to play through this game. After playing God of War more recently, I’ve come to appreciate how much better a game this is than other character action games. Nonetheless, I couldn’t get through the insipid dialog to force myself to the end. Unless something goes terribly wrong for the remaining titles this year, I don’t foresee this game being much of a contender.

Mass Effect 2 (Release: January 26th) – The first game this year that I couldn’t stop once I started. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun comparing storylines. Barring an unbelievably good times with a lot of titles this fall, Mass Effect 2 is in a good position to be a top contender. (Note to self: play through this game again before the end of the year.)

Bioshock 2 (February 9th) – The return trip to the underwater world of Rapture didn’t seem to click with me as much as the first. I tried to power through but I’m not going to force myself to play a game when there’s so much else that doesn’t require force feeding it to myself. Others may consider it Top 5 material, however, so I’ll keep it here as a reminder.

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (Release: February 17th) – I’ve got this game sitting on my hard drive untouched since the Steam summer sale. I don’t think it has a chance of hitting my top 5, but it’s a bit of 2010 required reading anyway.

Heavy Rain (February 23rd) – Not sure how I’m feeling about this one, I might need to play through again with Move support when it comes out to make a final decision on how this game shakes out on my Top 5. It’s an important game, no doubt, but it wasn’t a particularly good game.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (March 2nd) – What started out as a sophomoric series became something magical in its second outing. I still come back to the multiplayer frequently and the single player story, while juvenile again, knew better than to try as hard as Modern Warfare 2. A roller coaster from start to finish.

Toy Soldiers (March 3rd) – The first downloadable game that gripped me from the beginning, the setting and unique take on tower defense made for an engaging title that seemed bigger than its file size and price indicated.

Final Fantasy XIII (March 9th) – I didn’t play it and it has some polarizing reviews, but there are some out there who had a good time with this game. I absolutely adored Final Fantasy X, making part of me wish I could enjoy this adventure, but that long playtime is certainly a barrier to entry for me.

Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver (March 14th) – It’s Pokémon – not much more needs to be said. I’m glad I had it for PAX East, but not much has happened in my Johto since then.

Metro 2033 (March 16th) – The first game that I love despite itself in the year. I love the unique take on the Half Life 2 linear formula. Some gripping and honest scripted scenes play out in a magical way. I just wish it didn’t have so many intimidating PC game characteristics, so that I could trick people into playing it.

God of War 3 (March 16th) – Slowly working my way through this beast of a game, but after powering through GoW2, the formula is wearing thin on me. Maybe if I had more time between the two, I’d appreciate this game more.

Splinter Cell: Conviction (April 27th) – Justin seemed to like this and despite the outcry at the demo, I had fun with it. Maybe I’ll play through this sometime.

Super Street Fighter IV (April 27th) – The only 2D fighter I’ll play. Now that we’re a part of the Platform*Nation podcast family, maybe I’ll get to getting beaten down Friday nights with fellow hosts.

Picross 3D (May 3rd) – An entire trip to D.C. and back to see Nicolo devoted to playing through as many levels as possible. It’s just as addicting as the first DS title, but is that enough to break the Top 5?

Skate 3 (May 11th) – Probably not a contender but it came out right before some big titles so I didn’t get to give this game a proper playthrough. Maybe I’ll get back to it on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Bit.Trip Runner (May 17th) – A game good enough to make me dust off my Wii. I just wish there was a place for small games like this in a big Top 5 list.

Red Dead Redemption (May 18th) –  The glitches in the Wild West were awesome. Mexico is a drag and I don’t know if I’ll get back to it. Ten minutes in, this was a GotY shoe-in, but the game overstayed its welcome. I need to see the ending apparently; maybe that’ll sway me.

Alan Wake (May 18th) – Better than people give it credit for, Alan Wake manages to provide a type of game that isn’t out there right now. It’s the direct middle ground between Resident Evil and Gears of War. Engaging and action-packed and atmospheric all at the same time. If only the story wasn’t so confusing. We’ll see if the DLC helps clear the story and a space for Alan Wake in my Top 5.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (May 23rd) – Obscenely high reviews and recommendation from friends necessitate I play this at some point. But I don’t wanna…

Let me know if I missed any titles. I’ll add them to the list.

Puzzle Agent Review

By
Kaz
 – July 22, 2010Posted in: Featured Article, Kaz, Main, Review

Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent, from Telltale Games, thrusts you into the strange world of the FBI’s best puzzle research agent. Those familiar with the whimsical nature of the Professor Layton series from Level 5 will be instantly comfortable with the juxtaposition of adventure game roaming and non-sequitur puzzle solving. They will also find a game that exceeds that series in story and setting while falling short on the puzzles.

NTPA:Office

Nelson is a puzzle-solving superstar.  He is sent to the strange town of Scoggins to investigate an accident at an eraser factory that has affected the White House’s supply. The hand of previous LucasArts employees is clearly evident with such a preposterous mission given to the player, but it sets up some of the cleverest writing and animation I’ve seen in a game in a while. Creative director Graham Annable employs the same wit and style found in his Grickle animations to great effect, given this nearly impossible setup.

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Kaz’s E3 Thoughts: The Big 3 Conferences

By
Kaz
 – June 16, 2010Posted in: Blogs, Kaz, Main

Microsoft:

Early takeaway - Call of Duty: Black Ops is not that bad looking, especially once the player was out of the tunnels. The spooky gameplay didn’t do it for me, but the jungle looked lush and great, and the chopper gameplay was nifty. It reminded me a lot of the main campaign of Bad Company 2. Metal Gear Solid: Rising looks interesting but I’m not all that excited to go back into the confusion that is the MGS universe.

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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Preview

By
Kaz
 – February 19, 2010Posted in: Kaz, Main, Preview

I’ve spent a good deal of time with the Bad Company 2 beta on the PC, and I’ve got some initial thoughts about the multiplayer and the new mode showcased in the beta called “Squad Rush.”

BF:BC2_1

It’s kind of weird to consider this beta as anything more than a glorified demo. I’m sure the DICE team is hard at work using this as a stress tester for online play and using the large pool of players to verify stability on a variety of setups. I have a hard time imagining that any significant tweaks will be made two weeks prior to release. (Is a last minute change like that even possible?)

The big question: will this be worth your money?

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Mass Effect 2 Review

By
Kaz
 – February 4, 2010Posted in: Kaz, Main, Review

It is times like this that make me wish I had a better memory.  Now, when 2011 rears its ugly head, I’m going to have to think all the way back to Jan 26 when I contemplate the games that defined 2010. Thank you, Mass Effect 2.

As I sat down to type this review the first time, I found myself trying to go down a bullet list of pros and cons of ME2.  I found myself able to list out a disturbing number of cons that I could easily put into words. The pros, however, weren’t so easily wrangled. As we’ve mentioned numerous times on the podcast, BioWare games have a knack for making you think about the whole, rather than discrete parts.

I’ve never played a game that is so clearly disjointed. Shooting, dialogue, cut scenes – each segment is completely isolated from the rest. You’re never caught off-guard by the action, unlike in Uncharted 2, where you sometimes don’t realize when the cut-scene is done and it’s your turn to play. In ME2, the game jerks from dialogue  to third-person action.  The game is very clear here: now is the time to start killing things. The talkie bits are done.

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Forced Feedback: What exactly is a modern RPG?

By
Justin
 – February 1, 2010Posted in: Blogs, Forced Feedback, Justin, Kaz, Main

If you listened to our show last week, then you know that our “What is an RPG?” discussion somehow became pretty heated. Kaz, frustrated over a recent installment of Active Time Babble, suggested that perhaps it’s time to redefine our game classifications. In this installment of Forced Feedback, he and Justin debate whether or not we need new terminology to define our favorite experiences. What exactly does this moldy acronym mean anymore? Read on and see if you can figure it out.

Kaz: I’m bringing this back up from the show for a couple reasons. I was irritated listening to games journalists, a group that frequently complains that there isn’t an audience for serious game discussions, sidestep and give up on an important discussion. To say that we can use vague, ill-defined words and “get what we mean” from them is copping out.

All too often, gamers fall into the trap of not wanting to engage in difficult discussions because “games are for fun and what fun can be had of serious discussion.” I don’t think that discussing how to define a game precludes having fun with it. I like to think about how to better define genre-bending games like Bioshock. Trying to define the experience lets us develop a means to express the value of a game beyond the obvious “because it’s fun.”

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Time Better Spent

By
Kaz
 – January 3, 2010Posted in: Blogs, Kaz, Personal

I just spent the better part of the last two days blowing through Assassin’s Creed II, which is a credit to the game’s design and execution. I do have some complaints about the game that carry over from the first one, but aside from control issues, I think they’re intentional.

I don’t want to talk about the game’s quality here, though. I just wanted to make it perfectly clear that what I want to talk about isn’t a condemnation of Assassin’s Creed II – merely a strange phenomenon I’ve been experiencing.

Similar to when I blew through Modern Warfare 2 and Arkham Asylum, I feel thoroughly “vegged” out. I also feel a pang of guilt. Guilt that I played through a good game too fast and didn’t properly enjoy it. Guilt that, while I was totally enthralled and entertained, I may have just wasted precious time that could have been better spent. Guilt that I’m not having as much fun as I should.

I’m sure sometime around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, when I’m back at work after a two week break, I’ll be begging for a six hour chunk of time to game non-stop. I’ll be daydreaming of one more Modern Warfare 2 match or a long, arduous play of a Left 4 Dead 2 campaign. But for now, I’m left wondering if any game in recent memory has made me smile throughout. I seem to recall being irritated by little issues in games more than entertained by the good parts.

For a while, I had chalked up my displeasure with gaming to unemployment. It’s hard to enjoy anything when, in the back of your mind, you’re always thinking about how you’re going to make it to the next rent payment. But a month and a half into employment (at a job I find 100 times better to boot), I’m still not hitting up that gaming magic. What happened to joyously playing through Crackdown and laughing all the way?

I need to find that again. Even when playing Forza Motorsport 3, I’m not giddy like I want to be. And I’m probably going to pin that game as my favorite of the year.

I suppose I’ll leave these musings to my blog and keep them off the podcast. But if you’re wondering why my opinions seem depressing even when I think highly of a game, you’ll know why. Nothing seems to be sparking the way I want it to.

The Orange Box: Half Life 2 Review

By
Kaz
 – December 11, 2007Posted in: Kaz, Main, Review

Welcome to America: Land of the free and home of the First-Person Shooter. Let’s face it – if you’re an American gamer, you’ve probably played an FPS in your life. You know the deal, grab the gun, go for the headshot, lob the grenade, “Terrorists Win!” At a rudimentary level, the genre seems crude, overly-violent, and twitch-heavy. These are “gun games” made for “gun fans.” Is it really a surprise that we see so many shooters like this, especially living in a country where you can buy a gun at Walmart?

As someone who doesn’t play a lot of FPS (I’m pretty awful at Halo, and haven’t owned one since Goldeneye), I’m kind of sick of seeing one mindless shooter after another being crapped out of western game studios. The angsty inner teenager within me’s“why should I care?” attitude was quickly taking over my thought process. Then a little game called The Orange Box (you might have heard of it by now) came out, and for the first time ever I stepped into City 17.

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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Review

By
Kaz
 – November 5, 2007Posted in: Kaz, Main, Review

2007 was the year of games that you start playing casually and end playing like a cocaine addict. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was no exception.

I spent a good part of the summer addicted to the beta of the online component, in spite of the fact that I would have to do it all over again when the game came out proper. Surprisingly the part of the game I thought I would play the least of is the part I could not put down.

The single player story gripped my attention for three days the way the multiplayer had when I first downloaded the beta. The campaign did all the things you’ve read in reviews elsewhere–it was immersing, intense, vividly realistic at times and didn’t lose momentum from start to finish. What was most impressive about the game is it was the first shooter in a while where I’ve felt for the characters in your squad. Something about the representation of soldiers felt more real in this game than in any game prior.

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