PAX '07

To say I had a good time at this year's event would be a bit of an understatement. Events like this always put the drive back into me, reminding me why I do what I do and what the next step to take might be.

I've been attending PAX in some forms for several years now, this one being my third. The very first time was a direct result of my involvement in the community for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. In the long run, that effort didn't turn out perfectly, but it was my first glimpse into the behind-the-scenes aspect of game development that curried my desire to get involved. It was there that I met up with community representative Cindy Bowens, a bit of a legend when it comes to MMO-related community management. She was extremely kind and led to my first volunteer job  as a games "journalist". I use quotations since the only journalism involved was focused on a single game rather than the industry as a whole. I wrote articles, did interviews, and performed a multitude of tasks for the hopeful community of an ultimately doomed game.

The second year was a bit of a solitary task. I had attended in hopes of meeting up with people, but ultimately was shut down by the extremely limited space that the Bellevue Convention Center had to offer. It was nigh impossible to walk, let alone move, through the place. Needless to say I was discouraged and left early, hoping that in the future a larger space would be acquired.

This year's convention answered my pleas and delivered in one of the best convention spaces I've experienced yet. Amusingly enough, despite living here, I've never been to the Washington State Convention Center (where this year's PAX took place). It's really a wonderful location for an event like this, from the multitude of glass walls near registration, to the very spacious showroom floor. Appropriate signage led me to where I needed to go without much confusion, and it seemed like everyone else was having a great time too.

The day started off somewhat solitary, as I had yet to spot anyone I knew. Yet suddenly, all within the span of 30 minutes or so, I had run into close to five or six co-workers. During the majority of my afternoon, I spent the time roaming the showroom floor and gathering impressions from various games on display:

Heavenly Sword - This was one of the first games I ran into, and one I already know I'm picking up once it's released. However, it was great to go in and play for a period of time that's not extremely short (such as the PSN demo provided). While the area I played was an arena battle, I really enjoyed playing through it. I tried as many ways as possible to kill the oncoming adversaries, my favourite of which involving throwing deceased soldiers at a line of advancing ones, knocking them all to the floor. The boss that followed, an encounter versus Flying Fox (one of the main henchmen), was relatively straight-forward, but by the time he emerged I had taken so much damage that I couldn't claim victory over him. Sadness, but it was a good stopping point.

Lair - Being a game of much contention among reviewers, I'm glad I finally got to get some hands-on time with it to formulate my own opinions before it launches in September. The only unfortunate part is that I believe the demo on the floor was an old E3 build, as it clearly wasn't optimized to the point that the game needs to be for its shipping quality. As a result, things were very choppy in places, especially scaled animations of far-away dragons (previously, I had only thought MMOs did this type of scaling). However, I personally got used to the controls very swiftly compared to most others' impressions. I love the feel of motion-controlled flight, and including a camera lock-on is a massive boon that saves the game and makes it tolerable in its massive scope. I'm very much looking forward to the final game, and really hope that the graphical polish is much better than the build I played. (Explosions are just terrible and uninspiring.)

Other games at the Sony Booth that I didn't get to play were Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, both of which looked stunning. I can't go too deep into impressions though, since it's nothing much different than watching gameplay videos.

Eye of Judgement was another game I didn't get to play hands-on, but got a good impression from seeing a setup of about 4-5 tables set up and playing it. Contrary to prior belief, the game actually comes packaged with everything for the standard $60 price point. And this is including the Playstation Eye, which wows me. The main concerns I have involve how the game will prevent severe cheating while playing online, such as drawing more cards than indicated or just browsing your entire deck unbeknownst to the opposing party. I should've asked the representatives there, but I didn't think of it at the time.

The next Midnight Club game was having a live demonstration behind a curtain at Rockstar's booth, which really impressed me as well. While I likely won't get it, as I'm not a huge racing game fan, they're doing a lot of very cool things with the franchise for current gen. And there's an in-car view too! One thing that may sell me on GT5, but that's another story altogether.

Last but not least on the list is Rock Band, a game that has "win" written all over it. The best possible promotional setup for the game was put on by EA, featuring a big stage set up with two guitars, drums and a microphone for vocalists. A huge line stretched around the booth, filled with eager gamers ready to get their rock on. And so four by four, the bands played their tunes to various degrees of success. One thing that came to mind immediately was that if you're going to have someone playing the drums, they need to be good, or else the entire song just goes to hell and sounds terrible. This happened more often than not, but sometimes an experienced player would step up and regain the rock.

After I was done wandering the showroom floor, it was just about time for the 1UP Gathering that I had been reading about. To my surprise, it would be even more fun and eventful than I had anticipated. I decided to, as P3 has taught me, burn my dread and wander over in a very self-confident manner and start getting in on conversations. Though there were several awkward moments when I found myself in a crowd of people who all obviously belonged together (due to their synchronized shirts), things were instantly lightened up when there were whispers going around about me, oddly enough. Thing is, The 1UP Show's Kathleen Sanders was there and had dyed her hair a very similar color to mine. So inquiries were going around as to whether I was some sort of long-lost brother.

After having met a number of people from 1UP and elsewhere that I have always wanted to meet, I ran into the awesome Jenn Frank who I helped find her way to a local brewery that seemed to be the popular spot to hang out outside the convention. Drink (only time for one) and good times were had, and suddenly it was time to head back to PAX for the live 1UP Yours podcast featuring the "original crew", meaning that Luke Smith was back in the 4th chair and back to his shenanigans. It was a hilarious show, and will be part of this Friday's upcoming podcast since it only lasted an hour due to convention scheduling. More good times were had, and I eventually bussed back to the ol' homestead extremely late.

In somewhat related news, I've decided to start up my own space at 1UP's blog space, and so starting next week all my posts will be located in both spots (double or mirror posting, in other words).

For now, that's all I've got. 'Till next week!

A Belatedly Busy Week

Blog post concepts have been billowing in my mind for the past week, since I neglected to update last weekend due to sheer busyness. One thing working full-time does, almost immediately, is make you perfectly aware of the weekends and learn to cherish them. Especially when big games come out all at once, like these past two weeks.

While I'd love to ramble on about something, much of my rambling likely has to do with what I've been playing lately, so I'm going to skip to the middle right away.

Weekly Gaming: PersonaShock Prime 3

Are these headers starting to get too cheesy? I don't know, but it's kind of amusing to play with them. Anyway...

The Fall & Winter tend to be the biggest seasons for hot game releases. It still is, especially concerning the massive onslaught of A+ games set to arrive for all three major consoles later this year. However, the storm has begun early with the release of three of my most anticipated titles of the year. The first of which being Persona 3.

The prelude to this is that I've always wanted to be a MegaTen fan, from the first days I ever set eyes on the concept art for Persona 2. That morbid surrealist in me just ate up all the weird and odd references peppering the franchise as a whole. But the one thing that always staved me off from the games were their admittedly harder-core-than-I difficulty and tendency to involve tedious grinding. Of course, since then I've gotten involved with MMOs, so there's really no excuse now to be adverse to grinding. But, in a single player game (especially one that's slightly clunky on the PSX hardware) it was more than I could take. Regardless, I loved the "real life meets surreal fantasy" vibe that all MegaTen games have presented, and especially Persona 2's curious detective story.

Then, enter Persona 3. There's nothing that pleases me more than a game developer that can take criticism, adapt their game, and still retain its core feel. That's what P3 feels like to me. Everything that I ever disliked about P2 got totally revamped and transformed, not unlike the formation of a certain tower named Tartarus. The story admittedly takes a bit of a back seat position once things start rolling in the game, but it's much more than just the main adventure. I don't think it would be at all adverse to call P3 the Japanese take on a Harry Potter like situation. Instead of an English boarding school as a basis, you have a coastal Japanese high school. While there is a large story at regular intervals throughout the game, there are also scenes that simply develop the school life of these teens and their relationships, much like how Harry Potter was more than just a series of books about a wizard. It was as much about the school and its history, students and teachers as it was about the main plot. I could probably  muse about the battle system and persona fusing, but I do have two other games to write about after all!

Chronologically, the next game that crossed my desk of playitude was none other than the oft-discussed BioShock. I'm not sure if there's anything that hasn't been said about it, but I can provide some insight from my first impressions for what it's worth.

I think the very first thing that crossed my mind when the game started up its introduction was, "Holy shit... this is actually running on my computer?" It really does look that good. Considering that I originally built my PC to play hardware-greedy MMOs, I had never realized how well it would handle a "next gen" PC title. Now I know the answer to that. And yes, I didn't pick up the 360 version (mainly because I don't own one). But I also really prefer the traditional keyboard+mouse setup for this game, probably because it's so deep in its mechanics that with all these shortcuts at my fingertips, I feel more in control of the game.

But at the same time, similar to how each Half-Life began, it's hard to feel that it's a game you're playing until various mechanics are introduced to you in a very real and intuitive way. As everyone knows, if they've played the demo, the game starts you off in the water and wreckage of your plane having crashed miraculously in front of the lighthouse-esque entrance to Rapture. What follows is like a self-directed ride as you have no UI other than the immersive sounds of your character as he struggles to realize what's going on. Film reels, scratchy intercom voices, and menacing splicers then slowly unfold a narrative in your eyes and ears that conforms much to the "show, don't tell" theory of storytelling that games such as  ICO and Shadow of the Colossus have nailed.

Since I won't be doing a section on music this week, I do also want to briefly cover the game's soundtrack. It was recently made available to download from the game's official website, at a somewhat unfortunately short length. Though, I imagine the reason is because of the quantity of classic pieces from the 40's inserted into the game in one of the most fitting uses of licensed tunes. However, when present, the orchestral score is one of the most haunting and contemporary scores a game has ever been graced with. While many western-developed games are now using film scoring tactics for their orchestral soundtracks, they're often still very tonal or rhythmic when you break them down. However, the music in BioShock dares to delve into the world of atonality in a way that I previously only heard in college, studying modern "conservatory" composition. Some of the techniques and effects used in the orchestral scoring remind me strongly of Penderecki's Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima. It is, in my eyes, one of the most disturbing pieces of music ever written... And how fitting that BioShock's composer references it for reflecting on the disturbing nature of humanity's obsession with vanity and utopia presented in the game's themes.

Before I dive too deep into metaphor however, I'll wrap things up with the third game I've been playing this week. And it's actually one that not many have been playing... because it's not publicly released yet. One of the benefits of working for a gaming company is definitely the fact that we have access to games a little under a week prior to their official release date. And in conjunction with those perks, I've been playing the hell out of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

For weeks, after having tested countless games that do nothing for me, I've always said that the Wii has yet to host a game that really sold me on the system. Something that provided an experience that I couldn't get anywhere else. Moreso than Zelda, Smash Bros and Mario, I think that Metroid Prime 3 does the job extremely well and is the first proper Wii game I've played that convinced me in the console's virtues as a serious hardcore gaming device. Yes, it's cute to make mini-game collections using waggle (and touch-screen, as there's many analogous games created for the DS), but what I love to play are deep adventures that keep me engaged for hours. MP3 does this.

The first thing to come to mind, of course, is how much it begins not like other Metroid games. Many journalists have ran the line that the game begins very similar to the original Halo, and they're not wrong by any means. The intro is a full-fledged two-part siege on the Galactic Federation by the armies of the Space Pirates. Both on the beginning's space cruiser, and on the nearby planet's surface. Unlike the first Metroid Prime, the game doesn't begin properly once you land on a planet. Instead, it uses a series of other planets as its main staging point. The main difference here is that while the original Prime focused on vertical exploration, constantly moving throughout the planet's depths, Prime 3 focuses on a more horizontal exploration. The big draw is that you have full control over your ship and can land at many points on the planet's surface. This leads to more of a, dare I say it, Zelda-esque exploration scheme. And surprisingly, several boss battles feel very similar to a certain green tunic'd adventurer's encounters.

But beyond all the differences, is it still a Metroid game? I say yes. Why? Because, more than ever in the series, you are Samus. The Prime sub-series has no issue with presenting the fact that it is about immersing yourself as the character. With Prime 3, you feel more like the character than ever. Having people talk to her, react to her, flying and commanding her ship, physically ripping things off the walls and enemies... It all builds into the experience, and by the time you're on your main adventure, the sense of isolation kicks in strong. While you are working with rather set goals, there is a mystery there where things aren't quite as they should be. And once things get rolling, you are still Samus, the solitary Bounty Hunter that gets things done.

That's it for me this week. However, I'll have a special entry either later today or tomorrow, as I'm going to be going to Penny-Arcade Expo today! Expect impressions and stories. I'll hopefully have something interesting to say.

Location Matters

Freeform: Nix the World Map

Just a matter of minutes ago, I was browsing NeoGAF (as I tend to do idly before I head to sleep) and came across a thread that spurred my train of thought a bit. The general gist of it was reminiscing about past games that took place in a singular, isolated area. Either large or small. Several people mentioned a few classic games that have used this factor of scope in their design, but I'm slowly realizing that almost all of my favourite games of all time fit into this very distinct restriction.

Vagrant Story, the current ruler of my "best games ever" list, uses this style in the same vein as a lot of classic action/adventure titles have (action RPG in this case). It comes from the original Metroid, a game that pushed the conventions of gaming boundaries in its time. As the retrospective featured on GameTrailers puts it, it was one of the first open-world games, yet also one of the most cramped and claustrophobic. And because of it, it was brilliant at generating one of the most effective design aesthetics that I've come to appreciate over the years.

Since Metroid, every game in its series (with the possible exception of the upcoming Metroid Prime 3: Corruption) has taken place in this concept of isolation and discovery, preying upon the player's natural instinct to explore and become awestruck at what they find.  While Samus was in hiatus between Super Metroid and her eventual 2D predecessor Metroid Fusion, the Castlevania series borrowed the open world convention for its hallmark title Symphony of the Night. Instead of exploring the depths of an alien planet, those that would seek Dracula's head instead found themselves exploring the ever-changing labyrinth of a castle. As a convention, it was a perfect fit. The feeling of isolation and discovery held true due to the nature of a castle: Finite space, every room needing to be searched for all the treasures they held.

With Vagrant Story, a very similar bout of exploration came about in the adventures of Ashley Riot and his game of cat and mouse with the mysterious Sydney Losstarot. With exception of the opening sequence and initial dive through cavernous hallways to reach the city proper, all of the game took place within the abandoned city of Lea Monde. It was epic, yet not in the sense of world scope. The secluded location kept it private and personal. Several characters enter a mystical location and are changed forever. It is the stuff that the best theatrical plays utilize to their fullest. In the theater, location is always a limitation. There's only so much an audience will believe when presented with a static and often sparse visual. And so the transformations of characters is exploited to its fullest, whether it be subtle or bombastic.

Another game that does this exceptionally well is the extremely under-appreciated title Shadow of Destiny. Released relatively early in the PS2's lifecycle, the game was ultimately passed over for its somewhat sub-par adventure-based gameplay. However, it remains with me as a very strong piece of character development (despite some cheesy moments that prevent it from being excellent). Like the previously mentioned title, the game takes place distinctly within one small town. However, this town has several key differences: It's fully populated and busy, and you get to visit it in 5 different points in time thanks to the time-travel heavy plot. Between tracing family trees to ancestral roots in the medieval hamlet version of the town, to observing the parents or grandparents of several of the town's inhabitants; Shadow of Destiny explores every aspect of the town and its citizens' histories.

I could probably ramble on for a lot longer, exploring the elements of solitary exploration in a closed environment in my favourite games and what makes them tick. Other titles include ICO, the Silent Hill series, and Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter. Ultimately, the theme sits strong with me and always strikes some part of my gaming tastes.

Weekly Gaming: Minish Rogue Stories

This week has been one of rediscovering and playing old games from several years back that I never got around to. The only unfortunate part to it all is that I know I probably won't finish any of the console games before the heavy hitters start getting released. Next week is the lovely Persona 3, which I've been waiting for quite some time for. Two weeks afterwards, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption makes its way to the Wii. Which gives me two weeks to complete P3, whereas the titles I'm currently playing have only got a few days left! This means that ultimately I'm going to have to stop playing one of the two console titles. But why don't I get on with what exactly they are.

My portable title of the week has been Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap for the GBA. This little gem of a game is, believe me, absolutely impossible to find. After weeks of futile searches, a co-worker mentions that he'd be willing to lend it to me. Score! And so my adventure into this title came to be. I've been enjoying it thoroughly so far, having beaten two out of the four dungeons initially presented. What I like the most is how unique it feels, yet still remaining a traditional Zelda game. In the same way that Link's Awakening or Majora's Mask shook up the formula, Minish Cap does it again and even better in some parts. New gameplay mechanics are introduced, brand new items never used before are mixed in with series staples (mainly in the form of bombs and the ever-present boomerang).  The story is a classic and overdone tale of greed and lust for power, but that's what the Legend of Zelda series has always been about since day one. I wouldn't expect anything else, though this game continues to prove that Ganon doesn't always need to be that embodiment of greed.

On the console side, I've been juggling between two rather similar (in some ways) action-RPGs: Rogue Galaxy and Radiata Stories. During the first 5 hours of both, I remained somewhat tentative on giving either of them a chance. I'll deconstruct them a bit in the paragraphs to follow.

With Rogue Galaxy, I came in with some bit of knowledge. I've owned the soundtrack for over a year now, and am very familiar with its tracks ups and downs. The composer is trying very hard for a Williams-esque Star Wars feel in its more orchestral and dramatic pieces, and ultimately fails at it. Synthesized choruses attempt to chant out ala Phantom Menace's epic battle theme, and just come across as a cheesy mess. However, the soundtrack really shines when it comes to the smaller and more tribal sounding pieces. The man is clearly a guitarist, and it shows in these smaller tracks.

As far as the actual game, it begins on a huge downer: A starry view of space with a simple page of text labeled "Story" and concluded with "Press X to Continue." Not exactly how I would open up an epic RPG adventure. Once passed though, a CG cutscene begins and introduces us to our hero: Jaster. He's returning from something, parched and on a desert planet not unlike Tatooine. He laments the Empire's (not really, but it's not like it's any different) dominance over his planet. I bet if provoked, he'd whine for some power converters too. Regardless, he gives a bit of an eloquent monologue about how he wants to make a difference. And then in the next scene, all pretense of a serious plot is shattered. Cue over-the-top goofy comic relief music as C3PO wannabe "Steve" and his companion (An R2D2 that happens to be more of a mechanical mole with a Scottish accent.) search for a legendary bounty hunter. When all's said and done, a big monster attacks the city and everyone's drawn to it as a catalyst for combat explanation (a well-fortified city suddenly has skeletons popping out of the sand!) and plot advancement as the pirate version of Han Solo invites Jaster to join him (under false pretenses, having been mistaken for said legendary Bounty Hunter.) It's all very goofy and tongue in cheek, and ultimately do I care much for it yet? Too early to tell, but I was going to stick with it until I reached a certain point in the second game I'm tackling with...

Radiata Stories is a bit of an odd one. It arrived without much fanfare, but is one of the very few original IPs that Square Enix has published in the recent years. It's actually developed by Tri-Ace, the team behind the Star Ocean games. And it shows, especially in its battle system. However, since I talked about Rogue Galaxy's first, I have to mention Radiata's obscure soundtrack. Never have I seriously hated and loved a soundtrack so much simultaneously. On one hand, you have the very over-the-top jazz-inspired tunes with wonky pitch-shifting woodwind lines and a cheesy midi horn section extremely similar to Marvel VS Capcom 2's schlocky BGM. Yet, on the other hand you have some genuinely beautiful bits of live violin playing and orchestral writing that seems to come out of nowhere considering the goofy vibe most of the soundtrack takes. I can only hope the lighthearted theme begins to fade slightly as the game dwells deeper in into reality, which I'll touch on below.

The storyline of Radiata, erm, Stories is somewhat deceptive. In the beginning you have Jack Russell, a character that at several points in the game's first 5 hours made me want to strangle him on the spot. He's your typical happy-go-lucky anime star that is reckless and idiotic yet somehow respected because he is courageous and true. He fails miserably at his trial to apply for the Radiata Knights, and yet gets in on the pretense that his father was one of the best warriors the kingdom has ever had. The rest of the game's lengthy introduction is spent in two missions where several overarching story elements and main characters are introduced. We learn that there's a very lenient tension between the humans of Radiata and the non-human faerie creatures including the dwarves and elves. All very standard fantasy stuff. You also have the bumbling and strident Captain Ganz and the sheltered raised-a-knight female protagonist Ridley. The latter of which has a very predictable competative-yet-caring relationship with Jack. At this point, I'm asking myself why I'm continuing to play this game and on the verge of switching back to Rogue Galaxy.

However, something happens that (as most typical movie trailers reiterate) changes everything. Throughout the game, the idyllic and quirky vibe has been quite abundant. Jack is a Naruto-esque guy that wants to be the best despite his constant failing. During the second mission, a blood orc suddenly appears and engages the brigade in battle. Ridley nearly dies as a result, and Jack breaks from his fantasy world to suddenly grip reality and takes charge in the intention to help her survive. Upon returning with the girl on the brink of death, her father snaps and orders the head of the Knights to take action against Jack and Ganz. The pressure is on, and so he does. Just as the game begins to make you feel safe in the happy and predictable life of a royal knight, they disband your brigade and strip you and your captain of all rank. Homeless and aimless, the two emerge into the suddenly very real streets of Radiata. Ganz heads to the tavern for a drink, and the two of them eventually discover the Theater Vancoor, a rough and tumble Warrior's Guild. It's then from there and your shanty apartment do you embark into the real world, and the real game. Gone are the original stereotypes that plagued my first impressions, and instead you have a bleak sense of abandonment and a quest for survival out on your own. The game has already taken the first steps of a great coming of age story, and I look forward to how things develop from here.

Weekly Music: A Brief Sonata

I've probably spent long enough blathering on in the previous two sections, but I at least wanted to mention something about what I've been listening to this week. The new release in gaming soundtracks this time around is Eternal Sonata, or Trusty Bell as it's known in Japan. Motoi Sakuraba of Valkyrie Profile and Star Ocean fame delves into his more classical and orchestral side (versus the palette of synths and guitars he often falls back on in most soundtracks.) While I won't go too in depth, I was on a whole pleased with the soundtrack, though it was all very similar and relatively safe writing. The main things of note that challenged Sakuraba's usual faire were a variety of original piano pieces to fit in with Chopin's own compositions. They hold up quite well, surprisingly, and are even rather inventive compositionally. The true hallmark of the soundtrack though, comes in the form of the most badass final battle music ever: Chopin's Revolutionary Étude (Op. 10 No. 12) fused with Sakuraba's progressive rock style of battle music in one impressively bombastic tune. Classical music really is the predecessor of metal after all.

Structure as a Theme

I suppose I'll begin with a brief apology for anyone that was initially looking to this blog for immediate updates. I started it up roughly a month ago, but as circumstances would take hold of my time, no grand ideas came to me for topics. However, I think I finally have my bearings about me and will begin to update weekly, on either Saturday or Sunday. I think this will be the format that will work the best for my schedule, and I'll try to keep to it as best as I can.

Freeform: A New Act

As my life proceeds onward, I can put some very distinct categorization on various periods in it. A popular term is beginning a new chapter... though it's not a very elegant one considering how the concept of chapter in a novel has a somewhat limited scope and timeline. An act within a play would likely be a better term for it. But I digress.

The most recent act has been the four years of college. It was mainly a period of time where I focused specifically on what my long-term goal is in life, and gained as much knowledge as possible about it as I could. There was a lot of experimentation, and while that still goes on today, my more recent exploration has been more defined by honing in on a singular voice.

After graduation, there was a year's intermission where I finally got to experience what a freeform life was like. It was a whole year free from schedules and assignments, just focusing on making my way and seeking out freelancing opportunities. While that ultimately didn't work out financially, it was a good experience to have.

The latest act is one where I play the role of full-time employee. The most I can say is that I've entered the video game industry in one of the several entry-level positions out there. While it isn't anything analogous to my ultimate goal of writing music full-time for games, it's a foot in the door of the best kind. I can only hope that as this new portion of my life proceeds, I'll continue to meet great people and more opportunities will open up.

Weekly Gaming: Wrecking Dracula with Math

One of the most unfortunate parts about having a job with a severe NDA is that it limits my blogging rights tremendously. However, what I do in my free time is fair game to the max! (So to speak.)

With the advent of a full-time job, it also means that I'm spending at minimum 2 hours a day in transit where I'm just sitting on a bus either gaming or listening to music. (Potentially reading, but I conquered Book 7 in its release weekend, and have yet to figure out what I might tackle next).

One of the new games to come out that I've been tackling has been Picross DS. For those not familiar with the series, essentially what the game boils down to is sort of an inverse Minesweeper with a purpose, with a bit of Sudoku thrown in for good measure. Instead of uncovering bombs by looking at interior numbers, you're uncovering boxes or pixels that collectively come together to make a picture. On each row and column of the puzzle, various numbers represent the groupings of pixels that exist. For example if a column of 10 pixels had the numbers 4, 2 and 2, that would indicate that somewhere within the column there would be 4 in a row, and two sets of 2 in a row. So take that and apply it to a full 10x10 square, and you have the easiest puzzles in the game. It sounds extremely difficult, and I can say that the later puzzles most definitely are... However, the game thankfully starts you out with very simple endeavors before ramping up to its extreme difficulty.

The other game that I've been picking away at this week has been the recently re-released Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on PS3's Playstation Store. While I do own a CD copy of the game, it has sadly fallen into a massively damaged state. Areas of the game have music that skips or refuses to play, and for me that's a big issue. Thankfully, 10 bucks later, I've got a perfectly refurbished copy that can never get scratched. Though I haven't progressed too far yet, it's such a brilliantly nostalgic journey into my gaming past. The game is still as smooth as it ever was, and reminds me how much time has passed since I originally played it back in my first year of high school. One thing that always strikes my RPG-fan nerve (in a good way) is that random rare drops off of enemies in an action game is such an appreciated layer to the game. There's nothing quite like getting lucky, finding a rapier rather early on in the game, and stabbing things up with its heightened stats (compared to some of the early crap swords) and amusing flurry attack. It only drives me to keep playing and seeing what else I'll come across, even though I've beaten the game twice over.

Weekly Music: Heavenly Daft Souls

Recently, a few coincidences involving friends seeing live Daft Punk concerts and raving about them, and a friend hooking me up with the full collection of their albums, led me to revisit their music in a marathon of album play through's in my bussing adventures. The long and short of my conclusion is that Discovery is still one of the best albums I own, and still the best work that Daft Punk has put out in my personal opinion. While their first album is classic, to me it doesn't have nearly the same amount of character that Discovery does. I also had never bothered checking out their relatively newer album, Human After All. While it certainly contains some cool grooves... The album seems extremely limited and overly simplistic to me. Late to the party on this one, but I was really disappointed to find that nearly every track just contained a generally static groove based around the title of the song. Granted, the play off of "Steam Machine" was pretty neat and made for a trippy atmosphere, and the list poem of Technologic has gained much infamy through internet memes. However, compared to progressive pieces like Harder Better Stronger Faster and songs like One More Time, they just don't hold up beyond being cool grooves.

In the oft-visited realm of Japanese game music, I've been listening to a lot of Folks Soul's (Folklore in the US) neat little soundtrack. The majority of the OST's themes were composed by Kenji Kawai, who is mainly known for his work in film and anime. He's done a few games here and there, but this will likely be his first top-notch game title. Picking up additional composition credits are Shinji Hosoe (known recently for his BGM in Xenosaga Episode II and prior work with Namco on Ridge Racer titles), Hiroto Saitoh, and Ayako Saso. There's even a few Irish folk tunes thrown in for pub music. Overall, the game has an epic orchestral feel to it with a supernatural and dark tone... But in an Elfman sort of way, even though comparisons are drawn to his work far too often. The most enjoyable parts of the soundtrack are definitely the orchestral/choral pieces recorded by Kawai, as they have a really unique style to them. The other pieces are enjoyable, although somewhat roughly mocked up with samples rather than a live orchestra. The additional composers are able to capture Kawai's style accurately, but unfortunately don't put their own spin on it, playing it safe for the most part. A lot of the pieces are very aggressive and brash, which I suppose is for more action-packed aspects of the game... considering that is is an action-RPG after all. However, I don't think the action pieces were handled with as much grace as the original themes and more ambient pieces were. Fortunately, the amazing violin player Yuriko Mukojima comes in for two tracks (four, if you include the two Irish folk songs) filled with emotion and feeling that almost steal the show for me.

As a small addendum to close on that will hopefully be expanded on in the future... I've also been listening, albeit limitedly, to two sampler pieces from the upcoming Heavenly Sword soundtrack by Marc Canham and Nimrod Productions... Based on these two tracks and what I've heard in the demo gameplay, color me extremely impressed so far. It sounds very unlike everything we've been hearing in your typical action game. Coupled with Folklore, Lair and Warhawk, I have to say... One aspect that Sony's 1st and 2nd party studios certainly aren't skimping on lately has been music. Not only are they hiring very talented composers, but they're also funding some extraordinary production. I was able to attend a panel at GDC where a majority was spent talking about Sony's methods of handling music and audio production, and I was certainly very impressed. I would be honored to one day be involved in such a project.