Flower....

Yesterday I show flower to a friend and I felt in love so much again...


This is one of the most amazing games I've ever played!

Flowers looks like a simple game, incredibly beautiful to see and listen to, but there is so much in this game.
It's a sort of spiritual path. From start to the end, where you need to put all your effort to achieve great results.
It's a path for freedom, for your dream and for an utopia.
An utopia that blossoms in your dreams and you don't need to kill anything, but only apply yourself to free your dreams.
There are many important things you'll find during your travel, an immersion into the darkness to find the light and rise high to the sky and swift again over the earth and run free and wild as only the wind can do.

The game is awesome, from the start to the beautiful ending.
Yes, it looks like it's short, but I think the game has a perfect length, because it's a very intense experience and thanks to some people, we are lucky to play this game and it's an experience that no one should miss.

Reported comment from my VG hero
Ivy

Modnation Racers Review: A FUNtastic game!!!

Modnation Racers is the second release in the Play-Create-Share line and just as the first (Little Big Planet) it really is spot on as far as fun, customization and playability are concerned!



PLAY: being a game the core of it is playing and playing is really fun and engaging!
The kart commands are easy to master and driving experience is great.
Mastering the kart doesn't only mean learning to drive but also learning to effectively use the drift, the draft, the boosts and the various weapons against your opponents and obviously exploiting the track shortcuts, boosts, ramps etc.

You can play online against other 11 players either in ranked match (to earn XP) or in private ones.

And you can play the career mode where you unlock bonuses, earn tokens to spend on kart parts and unlock achievements (that also unlock mod parts, tracks items, NPS characters and so on).

The career mode (which also serves as tutorial and presentation at the beginning) is really well built: you basically impersonate a racer that is making progress to the professional circuit.
Everything is well thought-out: your manager, your mechanic, the funny commentators, all the details are there to suck you into the experience.

The races are funny and challenging with a good difficulty curve as you progress to higher level and more difficult races and with ever more challenging achievements.
The challenges get indeed harder and harder and, unfortunately, sometimes the AI really seem to "play against you" since once you complete one of the challenges on a track where you could "easily" win everyone plays against you to not make you arrive 1st, so some of the later tracks achievements are really hard to beat and require a lot of trials (so always remember to keep your boost for the shield)!
I would suggest to go on with the main career first to gather experience and then feel less frustrated at doing the challenges.


There are many little and bigger details that make the experience more intriguing and interesting and that really speak for the creativity and care put into the game:
for example the characters on the circuit show the very character faces so that's is really easy to understand what's your position on the track.
The shortcut scenes in the career mode add depth and involvement to the game.
The racers you race against are also nicely characterized as NPCs and everyone has his/her "cut-scene" when you race on their circuit.

The tracks are varied and really well built, the environments rich and detailed.
They are long enough to be varied but also short enough that you can easily memorize them and the best route to follow.
All tracks were built on different height levels and pose different challenges and options as far as terrain type, boosts and jump or shortcuts are concerned.
Everyone has its own flavour and its dangers and you can really build your own strategy.
They grow more complex as you progress so that you get easily used to the different threats and treats each track includes.

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CREATE: this part is just as great as the play part!
There are basically 3 things you can do:
- customize your mod (character)
- customize your kart
- create tracks.

The editors are incredibly user-friendly and creating custom content really is a breeze.
As you start there are many things that are locked (and that you earn through career mode either fulfilling achievements or collecting points that you can spend at the store) but you can already create a very personal racer.

There are tens of body parts, clothes and stickers you can mix and match, overlap and edit in many different ways.
And the very same is true for the karts!

The only limit is your imagination.

While creating a track from scratch may sound daunting at first it really isn't so and you'll be surprised yourself how quickly and easy you can create your own track.
It really is as easy as it was shown at E3 2009 for those that watched it!
Of course if you really want to create something unique and special you'll have to spend a bit more time on it but the editor is great and you'll just have fun doing it!

One can easily spend hours customizing mods (characters), karts and tracks without even realizing it, it's so much fun!

Fear not, if there are any pieces you're missing for your mod you can mix an already available mod as you like. Above my Black Cherry is based on Lish since I still have to unlock that hair style!

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SHARE: couldn't be easier, you just save your stuff, go at the share boot and upload it using the most appropriate tags!
And downloading is just as easy, go at the booth, browse and download what you like!

Bubble Gum, a cute alien girl (on the left) is the first mod I've shared (Black Cherry coming soon together with her car). On the right Cap. James T. Kirk still needs the final touches :).

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And so....
The game is really stylish, the characters remind those vinyl toys that designers love to customize so much.
The graphic is excellent, very detailed and polished, there is no place where you feel something is missing, in fact the tracks are cluttered with items with nice special effect such as dust, boost and the various weapons effects.

As for the loading times to be honest they aren't so painful or unbearable. Sometimes you have to wait a few seconds indeed but to be honest you can just spend that time imagining your next mod or kart!!!

I have to confess that after trying the beta a few months back I was a bit perplexed as far as the frame-rate was concerned as it felt a bit too low but the final game doesn't have any frame-rate problem.
It probably isn't a 60 frames per second but the frame-rate is high enough and steady for a great racing experience!

This isn't a game for kart/racing games fans only, it's a game for everyone that likes to have fun!!!

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Conclusions:
First and foremost because it really is FUN!
Racing is a breeze, the tracks are very well built and intriguing, the game is really involving.

The create part of the game is fantastic, user-friendly and very easy to master.

All in all is a really involving and funny game you'll be spending hours playing!

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UPs:
funny, intriguing driving experience
infinite room for customization
lots of bonuses/achievemnts to unlock

DOWNs:
you can't invite friends to online ranked matches.
harder challenges can be very hard as the AI seems to really play against you
the online still needs to be finalized: both for matchmaking and disconnections

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My SCORES:

GRAPHIC: 9
ART: Very stylish, the vinyl-toys template for the mods works a treat for customization.
Great variety but the style is always consistent.

ENGINE: works very well, good anti-aliasing and good frame-rate for a smooth race experience. The graphic always looks polished and rich! Nice weapons effects.

SOUND: 8.5
MUSIC: good music that matches the game style

VOICES: the commentators are really fun and nice to listen too, good variety of voices for the mods as well!

GAMEPLAY: 9.5
The racing experience is smooth and well done, the controls are very responsive with nice additions to the basic experience: drifting, side-swiping etc.
The weapons "charging" feature is very nice.

Achievements and unlocks add re-playability and challenge to the game. Well structured tracks.

FUN FACTOR: 9.5
The career mode is an excellent experience, the difficulty level is well balanced.
Challenges are intriguing (though hard) and give nice rewards, The create is incredibly fun and user-friendly.

The online modes are good but need a patch, however the racing experience is smooth and well done!

ONLINE: 8.0
The online is promising but still quite bugged.
Matchmaking is faulty and disconnections all too frequent: a patch should solve the problems and make the experience very funny!

However you cannot create teams and invite friends to ranked races, only private ones.

OVERALL: 9.0

And have fun!!!
Ivy

Games are art (full stop).

Sometimes debates arise about games being or not being art.

I don't see why there should be any debate since games are obviously art. (Full Stop)

And a very complex form of art than encompass and includes several other kind of arts to provide a complete, unique experience.

Doubtful? What is art then?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_arts

If we take into consideration the traditional forms of art:

• 4 Fine arts
  • 4.1 Drawing
  • 4.2 Gastronomy
  • 4.3 Architecture
  • 4.4 Painting
  • 4.5 Conceptual art
  • 4.6 Literature
• 5 Performing arts
  • 5.1 Music
  • 5.2 Theatre
  • 5.3 Dance

Well, games make very extensive use of both the Fine Arts: Drawing (concepts, texturing), Painting (concept, texturing, matte painting) , Architecture (concept, modeling, matte painting), Conceptual art and Literature (story-telling, plotting etc.)

And the performing arts: Music (score), Theatre (acting, dubbing, motion capture, animation reference), Dance (motion capture, animation reference).

And then we have the specific CG Arts: Animation, Lighting, Shading, Texturing, Digital scultping, Animation, VFX.

And something that is not included in the above categories are also: photography and directing.

So tell me why a game that includes the Art in so many forms (or so many forms of art if you want) shouldn't be considered an Art by itself?


And actually we could go a step further and say that thanks to games Art is currently really striving, think about how many artists have games-related jobs, either as concept artist, modelers, game designers, matte painters, texturers, soundtrack composers and so on.
And also actors to both perform motion capture and dubbing and so on and on.

An heartfelt THANK YOU to the gaming world for offering us such amazing and immersive experiences, for creating worlds and adventures we can explore and live.
Gaming really is the 21st century art!

Have fun!!!
Ivy

2010 games you shouldn't miss - playing the hardcore way!

Well, the first month of 2010 are gone already and we there have been some amazing games already.
This year should be a huge one for games, even bigger than the last one.
Many very promising games are coming (Alan Wake, Modnation racers, Red Dead Redemption) and E3 is just around certainly with big announcements (apart from the ones revealed already, for example Little Big Planet 2 and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood).

As far as these very first months are concerned however we have had really bit stuff that no one should miss, read along:

God of War 3
Massive, brutal and totally awesome!

I have to confess this was my first God of War game, mostly because I started to play games more seriously rather than occasionally after I got my PS3.
On one hand I certainly missed elements of the story and so on (although I did actually know the story) but on the other hand I didn't have any expectations and just enjoyed what I got.

After I played the demo I was a bit unsure whether I would play it or not because it looked a bit too crude, however once I've got it in my hands I just truly enjoyed it.

What is really impressive and something that Santa Monica Studio wanted to exploit is the scale of everything in game, from the environments to the characters and enemies: is really massive.
Everything is huge, complex and totally awesome-looking. Considering this is the Studio first game on PS3 it's really an outstanding achievement!

The gameplay however is what totally sold me.
Although definitely frantic it does not get chaotic or repetitive. The moves are great and the animations exceptional.
There are several and different weapons that are most suited (and sometimes necessary) to defeat certain foes which means you get to use and experience them all and that you have to put some thinking and definitely strategy in your fights, especially in Titan mode where you get hurt quite easily so dodging and blocking are must-haves.
You easily get to know the various weapons, switching is very easy and fast so that you can mix and match moves and magics.

Playing it in Titan mode IS hard, truth be told tough checkpoints are very well put and saving points are also frequent enough. One doesn't easily get frustrated about dieing and having to re-play that much of a level.
There are a couple of spots that really are hard to beat: a fight in the labyrinth ("you got to be kidding" kind of thing) and the first part of the fight against Zeus.
Beating it in Titan however is really fulfilling!

As for the gore I have to say this really is brutal but definitely not in a morbid way.
I guess it's all in the character, Kratos is just that, he fights ruthlessly and without second thoughts and in the end it does not leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Apart from the game itself the additional Challenges are pretty cool (the stoned one is a hard one!), they are hard but very varied and nicely structured, really added more fun to the game.


One last note goes to the graphic which simply put is outstanding!
Obviously anyone expected as much from Santa Monica Studio but the point is they really delivered it.
Kratos is alive, so detailed, he really looks like made of flesh and muscles and the various foes and monsters are also great!
Models, textures and normal maps are impressive but probably it's the shading and lighting work that made the God of War III world so real and alive.
The lighting truly make all the details stand out and always create deep, atmospheric moods.
This game deserves a second walk-through in easy-mode just to appreciate the world they created to its fullest, like it is an exhibition of contemporary 3D/game art!

ps.: and let's not forget the score: it's in my playlist already!

links
game: http://www.godofwar.com/Index/
guides: http://www.ps3trophies.org/game/god-of-war-iii/trophies/
developer: http://www.worldwidestudios.net/santamonica

Bioshock 2
Not the best looking graphic but super-excellent mood and game!

I didn't play the first BioShock but really liked the concept and mood and were definitely looking forward to this one. The 50s steampunk setting definitely is intriguing.
The special edition package was über and so stylish, if there's something this game has, it really is style!
The graphic isn't up to par with most new-gen stuff, especially as far as texturing resolution and sharpness are concerned however the world is detailed and very well built, one could say it totally makes sense.

The level design is excellent, intricate and really fun to explore with areas more or less difficult to reach, especially if you aim at getting all available resources, be them Eves or Tonics or Power to the People machines.
A great plus is that the game is full of things to do and you really feel into the world, you feel you have a goal and you have to work your butt out to reach it.
We could say there are several mini-games that interlink with the main adventure.

Also, this is one of those game that a real gamer really MUST play at hardest difficulty, why? Because the experience is really enhanced and very rewarding.
One really has to pay attention to his/her resources and get the best out of them, maximize all the life and Eve.
Also, if you want to Platinum it you can chose to play with the Vita Chambers disabled, this means there are no re-spawn points in the game and once you die you're simply dead and returned to the load screen, however since you can save your game anytime this will just enhance the experience and add that bit of thrill to the playing experience.

This game is really filled with things to do and you can easily "customize", so to speak, your gameplay. You can mix and match powers and tonics, you can use the environment to your advantage and you can use the camera to gain bonuses on your foes.
There's a lot of strategy going on in Biochock 2, and underlay of complexity that really makes it an enjoyable and fulfilling gaming experience.
Add to it a very good AI, enemies not only attack you in varied and different ways depending on their own weapons but they also go hide and heal themselves (so always hack the heal stations ;))!

And don't forget the ending will depend on the choices you take while playing, whether you decide to save or harvest the little sisters, whether you kill or spare some of the foes you confront and so on...

As for the online, I haven't played it yet since I'm totally into the campaign, so can't say much about it yet...

tip: if you want to collect all diaries (which really help deepen into the story) you may want to use this great tool: http://www.mlwgames.com/bioshock2/guide/audio-diaries, rather than consulting the map, however just use it to tick off what you find!

links
game: http://www.bioshock2game.com/
guides: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/bioshock-2/guide/
developer: http://www.2kgames.com/#/

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Good campaign, really solid multiplayer!

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multi-player is really awesome, for me, considering the ones I've played (a lot) in the last year or so (Red Faction: Guerrilla, MW2, MAG) was the most enjoyable so far!
The squad system is very well done and if you play with your friends the fun really goes high (a three or four friends squad is the best).
The environment destructibility adds a lot plus all classes are nice, with their features and peculiarities, also there are tons of things to unlock, tens of little and bigger awards... and in the end you can really enjoy your favourite gaming style and create your "custom" class once you've got everything unlocked.
I, for one, really loved to play the "Assault Sniper", with sniper, mortar strike and the Saiga shotgun pumped to its max.


The single player campaign is also well structured if a bit guided. the "fading" scenes always give me that "episodic" feel (the "Lair" feel) but still is totally enjoyable.
In fact the characters are very well done and you really feel into the game, I played it through the end in a breath, you know (and I don't really like contemporary war settings as well :P).

It was my the first Battlefield I played but I could already "understand" all the characters very easily, they're strong and well characterized.
The story is nice and certainly makes you curious about what will come next and the gameplay varied enough to keep you interested.

In hard mode there are just a couple of spots where it becomes a little frustrating 'cause you die over and over but by and large is quite balanced, with well placed check-points.
Some of the M-COM stations are truly well hidden but you can re-play any episode any time so you're safe about the trophy/achievement if you aim for a platinum.

links
game: http://www.badcompany2.ea.com/agegate
guides: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=1347
statscard: http://bfbc2.statsverse.com/
developer: http://www.dice.se/

Heavy Rain
A very intense and compelling experience

The trophy one unlocks right upon finishing the first chapter is "Thank you for supporting Interactive Drama", so that's exactly what Heavy Rain was in the minds of its creators and what it really is as a game.
It sort of feels like playing a movie and you decide how it should go on and proceed.

It is an intense, unique experience and one just wants to keep playing to see the next scene, drive the next character, get nearer to solve the mystery.

Playing it in hard mode it's not particularly difficult if one's used to the SixAxis controller. It certainly does require a good doses of reflexes but that's true for most games.
Probably the most difficult scene is at Mad Jack's, when you have like a 10 sequence, your fingers only won't probably be enough so get ready to put your nose on the pad as well :P!
Anyhow, apart from the commands it mostly is a matter of choices, one has to chose how to impersonate the characters, what path to walk.

By impersonating all various characters you also basically experience various methods of investigation:
- the advanced ARI of FBI agent Norman Jayden
- the private-eye way with Scott Shleby
- the assault journalist with Madison Paige
- the desperate father with Ethan Mars

Obviously everyone has his/her own peculiarities and it's very intriguing to impersonate them, seeing things from their point of view etc.
This is a gaming experience that really shouldn't be missed!!!

links
game: http://www.heavyrainps3.com/
guides: http://www.ps3trophies.org/game/heavy-rain/guide/
developer: http://www.quanticdream.com/

Mass Effect 2
Immersive experience but does have some gaps.

The second Mass Effect biggest merit (which is the same as the first one) is that it totally immerse you in an alternative, sci-fi, fantastic world.

Anyhow have to say I'm a bit torn about Mass Effect 2:

- on one hand when you arrive to the end you cannot help feeling totally part of the experience, "been there, done that" sort of feel.
You really feel you were the Shepard that did it all (especially if you imported your character from the first Mass Effect).

- on the other however there are some things that don't really leave a sweet taste in your mouth.
Mass Effect 2 is defined as an RPG, yet it lacks many RPG elements, also elements that were present in the previous chapter. The character customization is very limited, of course you choose your class and powers but it's nothing that deep. Armors and weapons also are just that.
Anyone that was hoping for a more RPG character sheet style of character won't get it.

Another sore point is that there is too much shooting, almost every scene and every task means long sessions of shooting, there are exceptions, but as said, they are exceptions rather than the game core.
I understand the grim and darker mood but we're talking bloodbath here and as an additional point while the shooting was somehow improved it still isn't so cool that you actually enjoy spending all that time shooting.
In fact in the end it is fairly straight. Go on, look for cover, try to command your mates in a decent way (good chances are they'll just stand in the middle of the scene to get shot at since there is no go there AND TAKE COVER command... sigh).

While the various places you visit are beautiful and really well done and built, with an excellent atmosphere and mood some also feel a bit too limited. The citadel for example, really make you feel you're playing in a box, so to speak. Of course this isn't a sandbox game, yet a bit more space to explore would have been more than welcome.
And also some variation of NPC dialogue, when you go somewhere you keep hearing the very same sentences over and over and over again, some variation would have added a lot!

To immerse myself more of the awesome game feel (because it really is awesome) I just spent sessions going round the ship talking with everyone and yes, there could have been more dialogues, although the ones present were really good.

But in the end despite the bloodshed, too much shooting etc. you can't but go on because it really is compelling.
The best thing of this game are the characters. They are deep and intense and alive. A bit too grim overall but certainly well done.
You feel into your character, you feel into an amazing world (if partial) and you want to save the universe!
So every sci-fi lover should still play this, regardless of all the downs and let's hope Mass Effect 3 will be even better and that they finally show our most beloved Tali (I don't care about details, just make her pretty :P).

links
game: http://masseffect.bioware.com/agegate/?url=%2F
guides: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/mass-effect-2/guide/
developer: http://www.bioware.com/

Have fun!
Ivy